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By Ishaka Mohammed

Sometime in April 2021, an interviewer told me that there were only five kinds of nouns. She went further to reject some of the concepts I used while trying to disagree with her. For example, she claimed that neither ‘uncountable’ nor ‘mass’ could be used while discussing kinds of nouns. Surprisingly, however, she accepted ‘countable’. Before I could say anything further, she had mentioned her qualifications, perhaps to prove her superiority to me. Although I apologised to her, I wished I hadn’t encountered such a drama, thanks to Covid-19. I’ll explain this in the following story.

Due to my observation of many state civil servants, especially teachers, I’m usually afraid of relying on a state government job in Nigeria. Although I’ve applied for some government jobs in Kaduna State, I’ve never thought of depending totally on any (if employed). Besides, it’s highly unwise to rely on a single source of income.

However, as a private school teacher, my Covid-19 lockdown experience made me see one advantage of government jobs. Government workers received their salaries despite being away from work for months. Unfortunately, it was a different story for most of us (especially teachers) in the private sector.

Most schools in Kaduna had been on lockdown even before the federal imposed the same. I thought normalcy would return within a short time, but I was wrong. I had to stay for five months without a salary but not without food. To complement the assistance from some friends and relatives, I did some menial jobs until I decided to post my story on Nairaland. All I needed was a daily income of N500.

About an hour after posting the story, a lady responded and asked me to chat with her via WhatsApp. I wasted no time, and we reached an agreement. She would send snapped or scanned copies of handwritten notes from Ibadan, and I would type them on my phone and send them to her. We agreed on N30 per page, but she usually paid me higher than that. However, the biggest amount of money I received at the time was N1,200, and it took me three days to complete the task. Moreover, it was difficult typing the contents of the photos on the same phone containing them (the images).

With the lockdown experience, I became so much interested in government jobs. So, when the Kaduna State Teachers’ Service Board (KSTSB) advertised teaching vacancies in December 2020, I responded at once. I was shortlisted for a test, and owing to my high score, my hopes were high. So, expectedly, I was invited for an interview.

I prepared well and looked forward to facing the interview panel, but little did I know that I would be asked a question similar to the number of times President Muhammadu Buhari has been shocked. By the way, despite answering the last three questions correctly, the first one had already created friction between a member of the panel and me.

The woman insisted that there were only five kinds of nouns. I immediately disagreed with her and mentioned more than eight. Surprisingly, she accepted ‘countable nouns’ but rejected ‘uncountable nouns’. I quickly drew her attention to the fact that uncountable nouns are also called mass nouns, but my assertion infuriated her. She claimed that she had never come across ‘mass nouns’, and to prove her authority, she had to boast of the number of degrees she had, with the first being in language arts. I kindly said, “I’m sorry, ma.” However, that was like appointing a campaign director after one has already lost an election. I didn’t get the job.

Since then, I’ve consulted many sources to know how many kinds of nouns there are, but I have

yet to get a definite answer. Should you have an answer to that question, please share it with me.

Ishaka Mohammed wrote from Kaduna. He can be reached via ishakamohammed39@gmail.com.

By Lawi Auwal Yusuf

Some say that all poverty alleviation programmes would be a failure. Unfortunately, given the dispositions of our politicians, this is to a significant extent true because it suggests that they are not genuinely committed to dispelling all forms of deprivation. And this severe material lacking happens to reach its pinnacle that the idea of affluence is a contrived mirage, compromising the economic firmament upon which everything else must rest.

Poverty is the scarcity of material resources or the meagerness of the money needed to acquire those commodities believed to be required to maintain an acceptable living standard. Its a condition of severe deprivation of the basic human needs that include food, safe drinking water, healthcare, education, housing and sanitation facilities. It depends not only on income but also on access to services.

Poverty is deeply entrenched in Nigeria and ravages people’s lives devastatingly. It must be conquered because it leads to cycles of deprivation, whereas poverty is bequeathed from one generation to the other. However, any government that is not making genuine efforts to fight poverty is consciously pushing people deeper into it. This is because government policies significantly influence the extent of poverty. Therefore, impoverished Nigerians and the socially excluded must be helped to alleviate their plight.

Though welfare institutions have been designed to deal with the situations, at least on paper, the attempt to change the conditions of the poor fails because they are but dismal efforts, if not baseless paperwork. Inadequacy of the welfare state and the structure of society are responsible for poverty amid prosperity.

The welfare state is seen as the best remedy for overcoming poverty. Some social workers postulated that it helps tremendously in extirpating poverty and social exclusion and contended that it’s essential in solving many social problems. Therefore, full employment with prospects and increased welfare benefits would soon eradicate these intractable problems through redistributing wealth from the rich to the poor and significantly raising working-class living standards. However, critics argue that it does little to wipe it and even suggest it as a cause. 

Asa Briggs said that “the welfare state exists where governments decide that the private enterprise is failing to meet the needs of its citizens. The welfare state might intervene to meet such needs by providing services such as health care, education, social housing, transport and social services; or by redistributing resources to those in need through benefits system.” This means that money can be redistributed to the poor through the benefits system, and welfare services can be used to minimise poverty. 

The main problem with poverty eradication policies in this country is that they reduce the amount of poverty that truly exists. Hence, authorities attempt to deal with it through unfounded poverty alleviation programmes, frivolous economic empowerment schemes or even minor reforms. But, contrarily, its widespread are ruining Nigerians’ lives leading to social disorganisation, while deft changes are necessary to extricate it. Therefore, Nigerian policymakers must examine the problems in defining and measuring poverty and social exclusion, their causes and most importantly, the possible solutions.

Poverty is measured either in an absolute or relative term. Absolute poverty is usually based upon the notion of subsistence. This means that individuals are said to be poor if they lack the wherewithal to live decent lives. It is a judgment of basic human needs and is measured in terms of the resources needed for such living. Hence, it is much more concerned with establishing the quality and amount of food, shelter, clothing etc., deemed necessary to maintain physical, material, social and psychological wellbeing.  On the other hand, when measuring poverty in relative terms, the prosperity of that society at a particular time must be considered before fixing its threshold. 

The money needed for the subsistence level of existence must cover food, clothing, rent, schooling, fuel and light, and household and personal items. This must be adjusted according to family size.

Another contentious issue is whether poverty should be seen purely in material terms or must go beyond that. Supporters of the former view assume that poverty consists of insufficient material resources considered necessary to maintain a good everyday life. But, followers of the latter view believe it involves much more than material dearth. They see it as multiple deprivations with different dimensions.

For instance, there is a lack of educational opportunities, professional training or adverse working conditions. None of these conditions is directly related to an individual’s material possessions. It signifies radical societal changes rather than simply raising the income of the worst-off members. Tackling poverty in this sense would require a fairer redistribution of income, but also, it would require fundamental changes in the social structure.

Lawi Auwal Yusuf

Kano, Nigeria.

By MMuhammad Sabiu

The Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) meeting on Tuesday came to an end once more without a resolution.This indicates that the six-month-old lecturers’ strike at public universities will continue.

The Professor Nimi Briggs Committee and the striking academics met on Tuesday at the National University Commission in Abuja in the hope of breaking the deadlock.

Members of the Briggs renegotiation committee did not present any new offers to the table, according to a top member of ASUU who requested anonymity.

Instead, the committee begged the professors to cease their strike, the ASUU source claimed, assuring them that their issues would be addressed in the 2023 budget.

The discussion, which began at noon, reportedly lasted for about three hours without producing a resolution.

By Sumayyah Auwal Usman

The lead negotiator with the abductors of the Abuja-Kaduna train passengers, Malam Tukur Mamu, has confirmed that the remaining 27 victims of the train attack are still in captivity.

Mamu confirmed this in a press release he personally signed in Kaduna on Tuesday. He said “this is to confirm without doubt that the remaining 27 passengers of the train attack are still being held by their abductors, nearly 5 months after the unfortunate and preventable incidence”.

“Though I have disengaged myself from negotiating, anxious family members, pressmen and concerned Nigerians have been calling to confirm the veracity of the news while many others justifiably have been celebrating and even congratulating relatives of the innocent victims” he said.

“While it is a news we are all praying earnestly to hear, it is highly irresponsible for peddlers of FAKE NEWS to circulate sensitive contents that are not only unverifiable, untrue but news items that will certainly trigger anxiety and concerned amongst the family members of those that remained in captivity and millions of their well wishers across the globe”.

“The condition of the remaining victims is still very bad, many of them are sick, the raining season is affecting them so much. I urge President Muhammadu Buhari to intensify efforts in securing their release immediately as the situation remains highly unpredictable while the families of those that are still in the bush are incapacitated in whatever way to negotiate the safe release of their loved ones”.

By Umar Haruna Tami

The people of Funtua Local Government Area of Katsina State had, on Friday morning, staged a protest to express their anger over continuous kidnappings in the town and the sorrounding villages which happen almost everyday.

The protest followed the kidnapping of eleven people on Thursday night, among which include women, a girl and a child. However, Police used tear gas to disperse the protesters shortly after the protest started.

Kidnapping has become endemic in the outskirts of Funtua town making it hardly a week to pass by without a news or two about either a kidnap attempt or a successful kidnap of residents.

Last Thursday night, around ten o’clock, kidnappers came to Sabuwar Abuja and kidnapped some men, women, children and shot one person who refused to open the door of his house.

At the beginning, when the kidnappers came to the victims’ houses they knocked on the doors and threatened to kill the victims if they refuse open. This forced many surrender and open the door.

But these days, the first thing they do after knocking a victim’s door is to use digger and axe to break it. If that doesn’t work, they break the house wall and enter the house through the hole and fetch the people.

When the people understood the new strategy the kidnappers use, they opted to fleeing their homes in the evening and move to their relatives’ houses in the town where they can sleep safely and come back to their homes in the morning.

Men and women from villages also come to the town in the evening to find shelter. Among these fleeing women, the kidnappers met some, in the recent incident, lately on their way to the city and kidnapped them.

None is spared in this barbarism the kidnappers are perpetrating against the people of Funtua including women, girls and children. In June, a kidnappers’ informant was arrested in the same area where Thursday’s incident occurred.

The victim confessed that his role in the crime is that of nforming kidnappers on the whereabouts of their potential victims. He also also confessed to murdering his neighbor who recognized him in one of the kidnapping operations he participated. In that operation, it was that same neighbor they attempted to kidnap.

His wife also recognized the informant, but he didn’t realize that. They kidnapped the neighbor’s wife, demanded ten million ransom and after her release, she blew the whistle and the informant was arrested by DSS.

The bottled anger the residents expressed during the protest over these incessant kidnappings has to do with the fact that Sabuwar Abuja, where the cases of kidnapping become rampant, has over two thousand houses.

And in all these houses, many people in the inner part of the town have relatives who, when kidnapped, those people have to contribute their own money to pay ransom for the release of their kidnapped relatives.

Although the protest was short-lived, people are waiting to see the outcome of their expressed anger. The residents and relatives of the people in the areas where kidnapping becomes the order of the day, may not afford to continue paying ransom and living in poverty and, at the same time, be captives in their homes.

Therefore, the government should, as a matter of urgency, look for ways to safeguard the lives of its people and, at the same time, pay attention to the influx of internally displaced persons from surrounding towns and villages, who are now populating all the nooks and crannies and the suburbs of Funtua City.

Umar Haruna Tami wrote from Funtua and can be reached via;
umartami1996@gmail.com

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Scotland has passed a law pronouncing period products free for all its citizens. The landmark legislation is the first of its kind in the world. 

The Members of Scottish Parliament, MSPs, have unanimously approved the Bill in November 2020 to combat period poverty

According to a report by BBC, local authorities now have a legal duty to provide free items such as tampons and sanitary pads to “anyone who needs them”.

 The bill, now known as the Period Products Act, was introduced by Labour MSP Monica Lennon, who has advocated to end period poverty since 2016. 

Lennon said: “Local authorities and partner organisations have worked hard to make the legal right to access free period products a reality.

“This is another big milestone for period dignity campaigners and grassroots movements which shows the difference that progressive and bold political choices can make.

“As the cost-of-living crisis takes hold, the Period Products Act is a beacon of hope which shows what can be achieved when politicians come together for the good of the people we serve.”

By Hussaini Hussaini

A few days ago, after witnessing the interment of a late Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), I made a grieving post on my social media handles as follows:

“It looks beautiful to witness the admission of an SAN into the inner bar; and it is so direful to witness the laying of a late SAN into the inner earth. The name, the prestige, gone! Bottom line is to watch the end as we watch the goal.”

I received several direct messages seeking to correct my perceived grammatical error in using the indefinite article “an” to “SAN” in the first line of the above post. But in the true sense, there is no error in it, based on the popular usage of the term within the legal circle in Nigeria. An average lawyer uses the term as an abbreviation like “etc” not as an acronym such as NATO or CITAD. So forgive us for not using the dots like “S.A.N.”, which is typical of some abbreviations.

Therefore, an average lawyer pronounces the term to sound like “es-ey-en” and not sound like “-san” as in “Sani”, “san yoghurt”, or “San Francisco”. The contrary is the usual way of pronouncing the term by an average non-lawyer in Nigeria.

It is known that “a” as an indefinite article is attached to a word whose pronunciation starts with a consonant sound, while “an” is attached to a word which starts with a vowel sound. Therefore, since an indefinite article is attached to a word based on the sound of its preceding letter(s) of the alphabet, such as saying “an hour” or “a unanimous”, I believe a lawyer will be correct to say “an SAN”( es-ey-en).

I also said “a late SAN” in my post quoted above. However, I think that is not an issue because the article “a” serves the adjective “late” and not the SAN that succeeded it.

I am not a grammarian, but I hope this little explanation explains the tradition, most especially to people outside the bar.

I can’t imagine how funny it will sound after one works day and night to achieve the silk and a colleague look at him in the eye and call him “-san”.

I sincerely appreciate the efforts of those who attempted to correct my mistakes, and I will always welcome the same at any time. Thank you so much.

Hussaini Hussaini sent this article via hussaini4good@gmail.com.

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The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect The Daily Reality’s editorial stance.

By Muhammad Sabiu

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) will resume talks today, over their protracted strike, with representatives of the Federal Government.

The meeting, according to the organization’s president, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, is meant to discuss on one of the seven topics that ASUU is protesting about and “That’s the issue of renegotiation,” Osodeke said.

The chairman stated this in a Channels Television’s Politics Today yesterday Monday.

It is about “the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement. It’s not just about wages. It has to do with the system. The structure, the autonomy and other issues and how to fund universities.

“The government has reduced it to just salaries alone. But if they had looked at the whole agreement and implemented it, we would not be talking about funding.” Osodeke added

It can be recalled that on February 14, ASUU shut down public universities citing as their reason the Federal Government inability to respect prior agreements that both sides had made in their previous face-offs.

The issues of contention include funding for the revitalization of public institutions, earned academic allowances, the University Transparency Accountability Solution, promotion backlogs, among other grievances.

By Uzair Adam Imam

No fewer than 350 houses and food items were destroyed by the flood at three communities in the Tangaza Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

The incident that occurred over the weekend rendered many people homeless and washed away food items.

Abubakar Ghani, the spokesman for the state emergency management agency, confirmed the development Monday.

Ghani stated that the villages affected include Shiyar Ajiya, Makers and Runji, but said no life was lost during the disaster.

The Special Adviser to Governor Aminu Tambuwal symphatized with the people of the area.

He also assured them that the state government would provide relief materials to them as soon as possible.

The Daily Reality recalls heavy downpour has wreaked havoc in Jigawa communities, leading to the destruction of many houses, shops and prosperities worth millions of naira in the areas.

The Daily Reality reported that the communities affected included; Hadejia, Kafin Hausa, Kiri-Kasamma and some parts of Garun-Gabas, Tandanu and Bulangu of Jigawa state respectively.

Professionals have argued that there would be more flood in Nigeria in the next two months because of the climate change.

The Director General/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Prof Mansur Bako Matazu, has warned Nigerians to brace up for more rains in the next two months.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has suspended its General Secretary, Joyce Oduah, over what it called “gross misconduct”.

This is coming after an emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the association held on Monday, August 15, 2022.

The NEC meeting was presided by the 1st Vice President of the association, Mr John Aikpokpo-Martins, after the president , Mr Olumide AKpata, had voluntarily withdrawn from the meeting.

The major allegation levelled against Mrs Oduah was her solitary withdrawal of notices for the amendment of the NBA constitution, an action which has thrown the members of the association into pandemonium.

Troubles started for Mrs Oduah on Friday when the NBA President, Mr AKpata, issued a disclaimer annulling the withdrawal of the notices for the NBA constitution amendment .