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By Muhammadu Sabiu

Ramon Abbas, better known by his online handle Hushpuppi, has had his verified Instagram account banned.

Recall that a joint team from the Dubai Police and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, detained Hushpuppi in June 2020 in Dubai for alleged online fraud. He now faces charges in the US.

Other charges he is facing include hacking, impersonation, scamming, banking fraud, and identity theft.

Hushpuppi was detained and put on trial, but Instagram still permitted him to post videos and pictures as long as he did not represent any harmful entities or people.

The social networking site, however, appears to have reconsidered its choice to keep Hushpuppi’s account active.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The social media app, Twitter, plans to start charging $20 dollars per month for users whose Twitter accounts are verified.

According to reports by The Verge, verified users would have 90 days to subscribe or lose their blue tick badge.

This is coming after Elon Musk completed the acquisition of Twitter. It is believed to be amongst the many policies expected from Twitter’s new owner.

Musk has been critical of Twitter’s verification process before acquisition. He announced in a tweet on Sunday, October 30, 2022, that the the entire verification process is currently being revamped.

“The whole verification process is being revamped right now ” He tweeted

Employees working on the new features were reportedly given a deadline of November 7 to complete their task or get fired by Musk.

By Sule Abubakar Lucky Mark

The throwing of verbal punches soars dramatically, and I don’t know when it will come to a screeching halt. These Obidients are radical but not tactical. To them, all that glitters is Obi, and all that is Obi glitters! And if it is not Obi, then it should not be any other person. All that is Obi should be deified, but all that is not should be demonised, demolished and desecrated. What insolence!

Of course, political wrangling is not bad. On the contrary, a sensible, harmless political dispute beautifies democracy, especially as it has almost become our culture in Nigeria during electioneering. However, if it is taken to the extremes, that is when such political culture becomes autocratically undemocratic!

When people declare their interest/candidacy, they automatically sign up for public scrutiny and surveillance. And as we all know, deep-seated criticism is one of the essential components of democracy. ‘It’, according to Professor Farooq Kperogi, ‘marks the difference between autocracy and democracy.’ Unfortunately, this central democratic constituent is subdued in Nigeria, especially by some of these Obidients.

Peter Obi has been literally deified (aka ‘godified’) by most of his supporters, especially the ones I have seen and met. Whenever Obi is subject to intense scrutiny, it is considered blasphemy. They have malevolently vilified me (and others, too) for harmlessly asking questions and even writing objectively on Obi. Some of them come up with unsubstantiated claims that some people have paid me to write what I write or that I have some political affiliations with certain presidential candidates. Some of the Obidients go as far as sending irritating, threatening and accusatory PMs to me. Funnily enough, an elderly Obidient told my first cousin that my cousin should not greet him again for supporting a different candidate from his.

This visceral deification of Obi was surprisingly taken to the extremes when I saw some Obidients threaten other people with metaphysical and extrajudicial threats of death. On Facebook and, especially, on Twitter, the more intense your criticism of Obi, the higher your threat. And the milder your criticism of Obi, the milder your invective from the Obidients!

Democracy, as I always say, is choice-driven. So, you can’t use asinine threat, weak-kneed verbal causticity, and the modern pejorative sense of rhetoric to compel others in a democratic setting. Coercion is an infringement on the democratic rights of people!

Every criticism hurled at Obi is considered by this set of Obidients as sacrilegious. When Obi is brought under even the littlest public scrutiny, such public scrutiny would be instantly met with their stiffest form of opposition. Their belief in the sacredness of Obi is as strong as they come, but I can unequivocally say that Obi, like every other Nigerian politician, is not some infallible demigod. So, the beatification of Obi should stop now!

If the ‘Obidient movement’ is for ‘political revolution’, as they say, why do they still tow the path of vulgarity which could eventually stymie their goals? Such hostility towards other people could make Peter Obi’s chance of winning the election peter out because the more they are hostile towards people, the more they unwittingly drive prospective supporters away.

Supporters are won over through brilliant persuasion, not through the usual throwing of verbal punches at other people and the hurling of rhetorical missiles at prospective voters/supporters!

Sule Abubakar Lucky Mark via suleabubakarmark2020@gmail.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The development of security threats in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, has become worrisome and continues to terrorise citizens.

Countries, including the United Kingdom and the United State of America, issued the wake of a terror alert to Nigeria and their citizens that have been in the country for various reasons. 

On Saturday, Nigeria was greeted by the Republic of Turkey’s words to deploy drones and helicopters to Nigeria to help the country cope with the fears of insecurity threats. 

The Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Nigeria, Hidayet Bayraktar, disclosed this adding that the drones and helicopters would soon arrive in Nigeria as part of efforts to strengthen the security architecture of the country.

Bayraktar was reported to have made this intention public during the commemoration of the 99th National Day of the Republic of Turkey in Abuja.

He said, “The defence contracts signed between our countries last year marked a historical record.

“Taking this opportunity, I am proud to announce that two of our flagship defence industry platforms, Bayraktar (TB-2) drones and (T-149) ATAK helicopters, are set to arrive in Nigeria.

“We are confident that new Turkish defence products will support the efforts of the Nigerian government and contribute immensely to the peace, prosperity and security of fellow Nigerians,” Bayraktar said.

By Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu

As we enter into the ‘will they, will they not’ mode of uncertainty typical of Nigerian public culture about the change of Nigerian higher currency denominations announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on 25th October 2022, my mind went back to an article I wrote on 16th April 2007. This was in the wake of the removal of “Arabic inscriptions” on the Nigerian currency (the Naira) on 28th February 2007 in the new currency notes that removed the Ajami (Hausa written in Arabic script) writing that indicated the denomination of the respective currency note and replaced with the Latin alphabet. This is a ‘remix’ of that posting on the then-popular platforms of Blogspot. Mine was called Nishadin Hululu (Hausa Popular Culture).

The full historical overview of how the Arabic “script” came to become part of the essentially northern Nigerian Muslim Hausa educational package is given in Manuscript Learnability and Indigenous Knowledge for Development – Hausa Ajami in Historical Context. A version is available at https://bit.ly/3zoi7XN.

I rarely bother to visit Nigerian “Naija” websites on the web or any other group of politically motivated Nigerians. I know what I will find – the usual vituperative tirade against northern Nigerians, Muslims, Hausa, ad nauseum. Southern Nigerians have three fundamental articles in their crusade against northern Nigeria: Islamic fanaticism, conservative feudalism and their weird perception of the “born to rule” syndrome held by the ‘northerners’. No matter how many groups of Nigerians you interact with, these three form the main focus of the divide in Nigeria. They are the main reasons why Nigerian “unity” is virtually impossible.

I doubt if there is any other group of Africans who hang out their dirty ethnic laundry like Nigerians. Although, I accept, for the most part, such ranting is probably not personal; they are basically religious – the Christian versus Muslim divide, rather than any feeling of superiority of one ethnic group over the other. Any such feelings of superiority are part of a religious template that sees the acquisition of education as the central criteria for judging the value of a whole people. Thus education, not religion, is the central fulcrum around which the Nigerian nation wobbles.

Southern Nigerians acquired education through Christian Missionary activities from about 1849. Such education became the mainstay of acquiring Westernized modernity. Inevitably Western education brought by Christian missionaries to Nigeria became equated with Western Christian values. For the most part, Christian southern Nigerians are happy with this because it makes them “civilised” – in the absence of any cherished antecedent cultural values. Thus, any other worldview is considered barbaric.

Northern Nigerians, specifically the Hausa and the Kanuri, acquired education through conversion to Islam since 1250 and even earlier in the Kanuri kingdom. The constant eddy of scholars from north African learning centres throughout the 14th to 17th centuries ensured a sustained scholastic tradition in Muslim northern Nigeria. Muslim northern Nigerians, therefore, had a longer exposure to the concept of formalised learning and literacy than southern Nigerians. Universal basic education was indeed introduced around 1464 in the city of Kano when new methods of indigenising the Arabic script to Hausa phonology were created. This led to the creation of a novel way of writing out the Hausa language in a script that young scholars will understand. This method of indigenising Arabic script to the Hausa language became “Ajami”. It became one of the main ways of educating young pupils in northern Nigeria. Do you remember all those “Almajirai” you see in northern Nigerian cities? Well, most are fluent in Ajami writing. Currently, the most prominent modern Hausa political singer (though not the most talented or likeable), Dauda “Rarara” Adamu Kahutu, has an extensive catalogue of his songs, all written in Ajami which he reads as he records in the studio.

Ajami, therefore, is any literacy strategy in which any language is written in Arabic. Over 50 languages are currently written in the script. First, let us look at the parallel sphere. If any African language is written in Latin characters, it can be called Ajami. Ajami is not Islamic; any more than the Latin alphabet is Christian.

However, in a new era of reform, CBN decided to remove the “Arabic” script from the Nigerian currency in new currency notes launched on 28th February 2007. The removal of the Ajami script on the Nigerian currency reflected Nigeria’s deep-rooted religious divide because the Arabic script was seen as religious – and Nigeria is considered a secular country. This equates Arabic with Islam – ignoring the vast number of Arab Christians throughout the Middle East.

The logic of the removal of what the Nigerian economic establishment calls “Arabic inscription” on the Nigerian currency given by the Nigerian Government was premised on using a Latin inscription that is available to all Nigerians (even if in mutually exclusive languages), rather than an exclusive script tied down to a particular religious culture. According to the then Governor of CBN, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, during a sensitisation visit to the Sultan of Sokoto,

“I will also like to inform you that the removal of the Arabic inscription on the notes is not targeted at any group or religion but rather to promote our language and cultural heritage…As you can see, Naira is the symbol of our nationalism and our pride. It is pertinent to let you understand that Arabic is not one of our national languages, and it was inscribed on the notes forty years ago because the majority of people then could read it in the northern part of the country to the detriment of their counterparts in the South (ThisDay, 16th February 2007, posted to the web 19th February 2007 at https://bit.ly/3TQ4FEw.

Similarly, the CBN issued a rebuttal to the controversies by stating that the “de-ajamization” was to “conform (to) Section 55 of the 1999 Constitution, which recognises four languages, English, Hausa, Ibo and Yoruba as medium of conducting government businesses.” After all, as they claimed, after forty years of Western education, most people in Nigeria should be able to recognise Roman inscriptions. This, we believe, can strengthen our unity by ensuring equity and fairness. Indeed, the replacement was done in national interest and the desire to comply with the Constitution of the country.”

But how can national unity be attained when a large proportion of the country is still marginalised? To prevent this marginalisation, the British colonial administration introduced the Ajami letters on the first Nigerian modernised currencies, well aware of the large education gap – and therefore, the ability to read and understand Latin characters on the country’s currency notes. An example was the £1 note.

“Fam daya” was prominently written to enable those literate in Ajami, but not the Latin alphabet, to identify the currency.

Interestingly, the main argument was that the presence of Ajami on Nigerian currency was seen to the “detrimental” to southern Nigerians (who presumably do not understand it) – yet the inclusion of the Latin alphabet is not seen as detrimental to non-Roman literate northern Nigerians (mainly Muslim Hausa, who presumably do not understand it). In this warped logic, it is, therefore, easier to alienate Muslim Hausa northern Nigerians than southern Nigerians, especially since a Christian was the President of the country (and a Christian Governor of the Central Bank facilitated the alienation). Of course, when a Muslim becomes the President, the arguments might be revisited – and reversed, which another subsequent Christian president will also revisit, and so on endlessly. Farooq Kperogi actually imagined a nightmare scenario that might come out of this in 2022 at https://bit.ly/3TOt2T1.

The inclusion of the script on the Nigerian currency by the British colonial administration was an acknowledgement of the rich literary heritage of a vast number of people in Nigeria who could not read the Latin script– and not a strategy to impose Islam on anyone in Nigeria. Indeed, the British colonial administration had no reason to propagate Islam. Yet on the currencies circulated by the same administration, the “Arabic inscription” was conspicuously present. This was maintained until 2007 when the despised Arabic inscription was removed and replaced with the much-loved Latin ‘inscription’. An example with ₦50 illustrates this.

The ₦50 with the ‘Arabic inscription’ of Ajami merely indicates that it is fifty naira in Hausa. In the redesigned ₦50, the Roman name for the Hausa was ‘naira hamsin’ instead of the Ajamized ‘hamsin’ in the old note. Yet, ‘hamsin’ means fifty in Arabic! So, like it or not, Arabic remains on the naira. To get rid of it, you have to get rid of the Hausa language entirely since about almost 45% of Hausa words are based on the Arabic language.

Further, other multicultural countries pay such homage to multiple literacies in their currency notes. The Indian currency, for instance, has 15 language scripts, including Urdu (Ajami) – despite Arabic not being part of its national languages.

And while not explicitly stated, the links made by the Nigerian economic establishment with Arabic to Islam seem to be part of a move to “de-Islamize” Nigeria – scoring a cheap point, particularly in the way most northern Nigerian states re-introduced Islamic Shari’a in their governance from 1999 led by Zamfara State, and the earlier issue of Nigeria’s membership of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) in January 1986, which the Nigerian Christian (as well as Marxist Muslim) groups were against.

We look forward to the new currency notes in December 2022.

Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu wrote from the Department of Information and Media Studies, Bayero University Kano, Nigeria. He is, among many other things, the former Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). He can be reached via auadamu@yahoo.com.

By Maryam Mohammed Bawa

The outbreak of Covid-19 in late December 2019 has wreaked havoc worldwide, especially in critical sectors like education. Students, schools, colleges, and universities have been deeply affected. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), over 800 million learners from around the world have been affected, 1 in 5 learners cannot attend school, 1 in 4 cannot attend higher education classes, and over 102 countries have ordered nationwide school closures while 11 have implemented localized school closure.

The sudden outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019, which originated in the city of Wuhan, China, has become a major public health challenge for China and countries worldwide. The pandemic has led to the total lockdown of most human activities in various parts of the world. Infection control measures were necessary to prevent the virus from spreading further and to help control the epidemic. One of the control measures is the total lockdown of schools at various levels worldwide on March 19, 2020. Through the Federal Ministry of Education, the Nigerian government ordered the closure of all schools at various levels.

There is no doubt that the interference of the coronavirus pandemic has caused so many challenges in the Nigerian education system. Covid-19 has had an enormous negative impact on education at every level worldwide. Education is among the sectors with the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, the Nigerian education system adopted a face-to-face approach to teaching and learning in primary and secondary schools.

Primary and secondary school learners were not allowed to own any digital gadgets such as phones or computers. With the emergence of the lockdown condition and school closure, teachers and learners were helpless about how to continue learning in the face of the pandemic following the pandemic. In many African countries, the pandemic experience has been traumatic but not perhaps as catastrophic as some observers and experts had predicted. Mistakes were made, but there were notable successes too. Some African governments and institutions took steps that showed the sort of foresight, imagination, and innovation that was often lacking in other parts of the world.

It is on record that education challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic include school closures. So as not to spread the virus, the students and everyone else were advised to stay at home and have classes online instead for those who are able. The lack of face-to-face interaction and poor facilities sometimes led to poor learning. There was also unequal access to education opportunities and poor skills. As I stated earlier, not every pupil had access to gadgets, so there would be unequal knowledge gain or inequality in education.         

Furthermore, the pandemic negatively affects education, causing poor school enrollment and poor achievement because proper attention was not given to schools at that time. Poor school health and challenges in school assessment and transition. This was a challenge because some students were not a part of it, which led to chaos and confusion after the resumption. Also, schools weren’t going at the same pace because some were in their first term while others were already getting promoted. In this direction, Nigeria should put in place measures that will help to tackle such situations in the future, considering the negative impact of Covid-19 on education in Nigeria.

Maryam Mohammed Bawa wrote from the Department of Mass Communication, Skyline University, Nigeria. She sent this article via magicwriter009@gmail.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Investigations by the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) revealed that there had been massive purchases and hoarding of paddy rice across the country by the suspected members of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). 

A statement by the MURIC chairman, Kano State Chapter, Mallam Hassan Sani Indabawa, disclosed on Friday, calling on the Nigerian authorities to look into what it described as the ‘unwholesome attitude by the Christian association. 

The Muslim body also revealed that CAN is deliberately trying to create artificial food scarcity to discredit the Federal Government by making its efforts in the agriculture sector look like a failure. 

The statement read, “Series of investigations conducted by MURIC has revealed a disturbing trend of massive purchase of paddy rice across the rice producing belt, cutting across the three northern agricultural ecological zones of the country. Several reports from the field established that a huge number of strange people are massively buying the commodity in bulk in Kebbi, Niger, Benue, Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi and Yobe states.

 “The eight northern states account for over 70% of the rice being produced in the country. Nigeria is currently the largest producer of rice in Africa with a production capacity of 5.0m metric tonnes per annum.

“With the onset of the current harvest season, the unusual high demand for the commodity has already spiked the price upwards, aiming for the roof. While farmers may be happy with a good price, however, the rush for the mass purchase of the commodity is enough to raise some genuine concerns.

 “Farmers and other stakeholders noticed an organized and coordinated purchase of the commodity in large quantity. From Kebbi State, down to Gashua in Yobe State, the story of the influx of people, mainly Christians, is the same. They came for massive purchases of tons of rice, both milled and paddy.

CAN make the purchase in large quantity

“Our investigations further point to a high likelihood of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) being involved in this orchestrated mass purchase of rice produced for all Nigerians particularly because the buyers in large quantities are all Christians. They come with their weighing scale and tons of money. It is very suspicious.

 “Apart from the existing aggregating centers, new ones have emerged where the commodity is bought at a higher price. This has already made the price of the commodity to jump up at an alarming rate.

“While farmers and local dealers are happy with the new buyers, many are, alarmed by the disturbing trend. Many of the “new rice merchants” admitted to have been mobilized for the exercise. While it is obvious that the ordinary farmer is happy that he is getting ready buyers, the discerning mind must ask the question: Why are they all Christians?

CAN is plotting against Nigeria, Muslims

“The questions begging for answers are: What is the game plan of CAN? Why is the Christian body desperate to make the bulk purchase and hoard the commodity? And why at this crucial time, a few months to the general elections? Their action has already created unnecessary fear and anxiety, as no one is sure of CAN’s motive.

“Is CAN deliberately trying to create artificial scarcity, or is the Christian umbrella body preparing for a worst-case scenario? Or is it trying to discredit the Federal Government by making its efforts in the agriculture sector look like a failure? We all know how food is being weaponized in modern conflicts. Is CAN driving Nigerians to a stage when everyone will be forced to go to church for before they can get rice to buy?

“We call on the Nigerian authorities to look closely into this desperate move. Both the apex body of Nigerian farmers, the Apex Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) and the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) admitted to the unusual demand and the unprecedented hike in the price of the commodity at the peak of this year’s harvest season. 

“The Federal Government should do the needful by preparing adequately and timely to forestall possible hunger due to mischievous hoarding of this essential commodity by some evil forces. FG can evolve a counter-purchase plan to save Nigerians from the Shylock merchants in CAN. We warn CAN to eschew any diabolical plan it may have with the massive purchase of the commodity,” the statement added.

By Dr Aliyu Dahiru Muhammad

My brilliant friend Dr Muhsin Ibrahim, who tries to mentor and guide many followers on social media, raised a concern about how some people announce death news on social media. I found the topic interesting, especially the responses it generated. So, I contributed my points of view which I am reproducing here for the benefit of others.

1. I think we should learn the ethics of announcing death to a relative and the general public. For instance, posting the news on sick beds or even a corpse picture is unethical and unprofessional.

2. We should be aware and sensitive whether we are the ones to inform others or not. For instance, I post this kind of news when the death directly affects me, a relative, close friends etc. However, some elders represent their areas and people respect and trust them.

3. We should be mindful of the time and how we announce if we are to do it. For instance, it was reported that one of the wives of the Prophet’s companion, whose son died, prepared him and dressed well before her husband came back. When he returned, she brought him food and had a marital relationship with him. After that, she asked him if someone kept trust in him and he now comes to take it, would he mind? He said no, it belongs to the owner. She now told him that Allah, that gave us our son, had taken him back. He now took a deep breath and started asking why you appeared the way you did until they had so and so relationship. She said to calm him down and allow him to submit easily to Allah’s will. Interestingly, they got another son who excelled among the companions in that relationship.

4. We should be ready and prepared, not panic always, and accept the sad reality. Since it’s the time of information and communication technology, and we use it for almost everything in our life, why not announce the death of our beloved ones? I rarely call on some people because after the closest relatives, neighbours and friends, as you have hundreds of contacts, it will be faster to let people know, and many people would tell you; I ATTENDED THE JANAZA because I saw your post. We know the benefits of praying for a person that passes away especially attending the funeral (Janazah) and seeking Allah’s forgiveness for them. We all want that, so there is no problem if we let people know with WISDOM.

5. We should pray even if we don’t type anything on a post, as Allah accepts a believer’s prayer. By so doing, we are actually attracting rewards to ourselves.

6. Since visiting the graveyard is difficult for some of us due to the situation we are in, the environment or other reasons, this may still remind us that death is inevitable. It’s coming to us all. It also sensitizes us to get ready and pray that it comes to us when Allah is pleased with us inshaAllah.

7. We should remember, one day, it’s ours, others will post, and we pray to Allah; whoever sees that, if he knows us, he will testify we lived a good life and have a good relationship with others and try to follow the teachings of our religion on all matters. May Allah forgive us, take our lives as faithful, and grant us your Rahma – Ya ArhamarRahimin.

Aliyu Dahiru Muhammad, PhD, wrote from Bayero University, Kano.

By Salisu Uba, FCIPS

I spoke on unlocking Nigeria’s innovation potential for economic growth and prosperity at the Digital Nigeria International Conference #DigitalNigeria2022 Innovation and Ecosystem Day in Abuja, held on the 28th of October, 2022. 

I focused on what innovation is in Tech and examined the top ten innovative countries; the difference is that they prioritise human capital development, infrastructure, and knowledge-based approaches to innovation. 

I emphasised Nigeria’s competitive landscape, which includes a youthful population, ICT-savvy people, low labour costs, the recent Startup Act, digital economy leadership, and internet access, as key drivers that can transform Nigeria into an innovative nation. 

I also stressed the importance of understanding how to diffuse innovation using the well-known Roger’s diffusion of innovation model. Surprisingly, despite technological advancements, the model remains applicable. 

I also discussed what young people could do to get to the point of developing and commercialising their ideas, emphasising the importance of equipping themselves with skills, networking, and openness. I consider these as factors that will propel one to success. 

More than 1000 people from all over the world attended the conference, which featured speakers from Europe, Asia, America, and the Middle East.

The full presentation and panel session can be found on the websites of Digital Nigeria and NITDA.

Salisu Uba, FCIPS, is a blockchain expert and supply chain and commercial leader from Glasgow, United Kingdom. He can be reached via salisuuba@ymail.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Kano State Emirates Council Friday turbaned two new kingmakers as Sarkin Bai and Walin Kano.

The new kingmakers turbaned by Kano State Emir, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, are Bashir Mahe Bashir as the Walin Kano and Mansur Mukhtar as the Sarkin Bai.

The Daily Reality gathered that Bashir Mahe, who succeeded his aged father, is now the seventh Walin Kano.

His father, Alhaji Mahe Bashir, resigned from his position to have some rest due to old age and health conditions.

While the newly turbaned Sarkin Bai, Masur Mukhtar, is a former Minister of Finance and current Vice President of the Islamic Development Bank.

Since the Jihad of Shehu Usman Danfodio in the Hausa land, Mukhtar is the ninth Sarkin Bai in the history of the Kano emirate.

Like Mahe, Mukhtar also succeeded his father, the longest-serving member of the Kano Emirate Council, who served for 63 years.

The turbaning ceremony was attended by traditional, political and community leaders from and across emirates within and outside Kano state.