Education

By Kasim Isa Muhammad

Education is the bedrock of development. Suppose the education system in the country can be revised to emphasize the practical aspect of education, particularly entrepreneurship. In that case, there is a great tendency that youths will be self-reliant and employers of labour. This is because they must have developed knowledge in technology and had productive knowledge for the future.

Education can be the key to success if the government, at all levels, can create a technical support platform for undergraduates to learn how to transform their knowledge into something useful for the nation.

Also, education can be considered a key to success when the students acquire good knowledge from qualified teachers and trainers. Therefore, the government needs to look for quality teachers, put them at the forefront, pay them good salaries, and equip the educational buildings with modern materials. If the students go through such a way of acquiring knowledge, education can be described as the key to success.

There is no doubt that education is the key to the problem in every human society, but, unfortunately, in Nigeria, the case is entirely different, where graduates roam the streets looking for jobs. However, in developed countries, students are taught to invest in entrepreneurship.

Recent statistics establish that 25 million graduates are unemployed, indicating that the government cannot employ the high population of graduates. Thus, there is a need for government to think and rethink providing job opportunities for our teeming youths.

Nonetheless, the government is doing its best to reduce unemployment with many programs initiated by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. The N-power is a good example. The program was solely established to reduce unemployment, but unfortunately, many Nigerians are misusing the money that will help them invest in entrepreneurship.

Yes, education is still a key to success when some skills are acquired. However, many of our graduates do not know that skill is sometimes more important than a certificate. Obviously, in the real world, people need to see what you can give, not what you have.

We all need to wake up from our deep slumber because the government cannot do it alone. We need to use the skills we acquired to help find lasting solutions to problems bedevilling the country.

Kasim Isa Muhammad wrote from Potiskum, Yobe state.

By Salim Yunusa

Whenever I proudly proclaim “Ni fa ɗan Tudun Wada ne” – I am from Tudun Wada, – people think I say that to sound tough, rough or somewhat a deviant. And they’re partly right, because being from Tudun Wada will make anyone dealing with you to know that you don’t take crap and you’re not a pushover.

Tudun Wada, Zaria, a place once known for thuggery, moral decadence and regression, has had an amazing twist of fate in the last few decades; the thugs have dropped their weapons and picked up tools, seeking gainful employment. Spots and sights that are notoriously famous for immoral acts have been converted to schools and trade sites. Of course, no society is perfect, but the progress recorded in our community is on the right side of history.

When I walk around the long roads of Aminu and Maje roads, I see the imprint of my childhood; of games played in filin Ka-ci-uwaka, of tyres rolled in the streets of Kugu road and playing “service” in the middle of Sabon layi. I see my peers, whom I once hid from due to fear as they sneaked for a swim in River Kubanni and Anguwan Ƙaya. As I walk around I pluck down memories of childhood from trees we once stripped off of their fruits and I see houses and faces that have weathered the weight of time.

But most importantly, whenever I say I’m from Tudun Wada – and I say it a lot, I say it with so much pride, encompassing the wholeness of it; of what it was, where it is now and where it’ll be. I am its people, its landmarks and its institutions. I am a walking encyclopedia of Tudun Wada, a reel of memories and a calendar of memorable dates and events. I am a visual album of its people, a hidden scroll of its past and a blueprint for its future.

I am Tudun Wada; the proud outcast son of Zaria, a son which traditional supremacists tag “baƙo” – a visitor, who has made his host and others proud. Taking on all the negative tags and ugly labels, I do not allow my past nor my origin define me. Like fine wine, I get better with time, constantly churning out prodigies that are putting not just Zaria, but Nigeria on the map.

I am Tudun Wada, the home of Muslim Refresher Course Program and its many offshoots – Muslim Special Training Program, ELSA and others. Refresher is the mother of all weekend lessons in Zaria and has successfully ran for 26 years and counting, producing professors, an appreciable number of PhDs and uncountable Msc and BSc holders in Zaria and beyond. Refresher is unarguably the pride of Tudun Wada, for it welcomes all students of knowledge from far and sundry has also been replicated in other areas of Zaria and beyond.

In my well-planned grid iron patterned streets, I contain historic and prestigious incubators of Islamic knowledge such as Higher Islam, Imamu, Nurut Tilawah, Darul Salafeeyah, the house of Sheikh Muazu, Dahleez, Markaz, Mu’assasah, many reputable Zaures and Islamiyyahs. In me are Niimah Jumuah Mosque, Eid Prayer Ground and many other prayer houses that people come to from far and wide.

I am the host community of many institutions; welcoming and making it a sanctuary for both staff and students of ABU Kongo, ABUTH Tudun Wada, FCE Zaria, Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic, Queen FM among others. I contain the best secondary school in Zaria, Demonstration Secondary school, a melting point of great minds.

I am Tudun Wada, the proud father of illustrious scholars; from the learned Baba-Ahmed, whose teachings and progenies are a pride to Arewa and beyond; from establishing universities to conquering the media space and politics. I am the home of Abdurrahman Mora, who dedicated his life to the betterment of the community through knowledge, I housed Dr Abubakar Imam, a gifted storyteller, seasoned politician and a statesman Nigeria is still proud of, I am Adamu Dikko, Arewa’s first pharmacy technician. I birthed Namadi Sambo, a one-time Vice President of Nigeria and a one-time governor. I am Lawandi Tabaco, I am Maude and more. My story wouldn’t be complete without Hajiyar Makaranta, the female scholar who dedicated her life to teaching children.

I am Tudun Wada, who birthed Industrious sons and daughters; from Alhaji Banadeen, whose name is a household name in Zaria, to Alhaji Maje. I am the famous Shagalinku, who has a midas touch when it comes to commerce, to the large family of Baba Trader who are still standing tall to this day. I am Alhaji Haruna Ɗanja, whose mansion and mosque dots and adorn the Old Jos road. I am Hajiya Kaka, the story of my famous Masa has travelled far and wide. I am Ƴar Wali, the renown home of food for students and all. I am Alhaji Kilaco, whose sweetened yoghurt traveled far and wide.

I am Tudun wada, the home of tailors renowned for their expertise, interweaving the ancient skills of embroidery and design with modernity. I am the milkmaids of Bakin Kasuwa, traveling distant kilometers to satiate the thirst of hundreds everyday. I am the Igbo Spare Part sellers in Agoro. I am the home of insanely talented footballers and teams — I am Umaruru Zango and his brothers and the famous Hallirus. I am Salisu Yusuf D Black, I am Ibrahim Kwakwa. I am the past, present and future Nasara United — representing me both locally and internationally. I am a pool of energetic, ingenious youths such as Ibrahiym El-Caleel, Abdulhaleem Ringim, Ghazali Tanimu, Abubakar Sytees and more. I am a conglomeration of different tribes and cultures, living in harmony with all.

I am all I am today due to Allah’s blessings and the guidance and wisdom of our elders; Alhaji Ahmadu Ido, Alhaji Jibo, Alhaji Jafaru Mai Iyali, Baba Jafaru, Alhaji Shafi’i, the Musawas, Commissioner Jari and more, who pushed for education among their children and community. I owe my renaissance to Mal Aliyu Sabo and all the staff that dedicated their lives to educating the youth.

So, before you label and profile me, know that I am everything you could think of. I am all they say I am – and more. I am Tudun Wada and I am proud.

• Salim Yunusa,
  Salim writes from Zaria and is the Founder of the PoeticWednesdays Literary Initiative.

By Prof. Abdelmalik Abdelghaffar Amoka

The strike is 14 weeks (1 semester) today and we don’t know how many more weeks we are going to spend at home before getting back to classes. The closure of the universities has afforded us to spend a lot of time on the net, especially on social media, and following the happenings around Nigeria and the rest of the world. It is no more news that primary elections are ongoing in Nigeria and delegates are trending. The best business at the moment is to be a delegate of any of the two major political parties and you make cool millions at the expense of Nigeria. From the State House of Assembly, House of Rep, Senate, Governor, and Presidential ticket of APC or PDP, it is for the highest bidder.

They said Nigeria is broke and can’t fund education but contestants paid so much for nomination and expression of interest forms and are buying delegates to get their party’s ticket to contest to lead Nigerians. They have also budgeted the money to buy votes for the main election. Is Nigeria really poor? Who pays so much to lead a broke organization? While ASUU is on strike because that is the only thing to get the attention of our leaders, the president is traveling around the world, his associates are moving around the country with billions of naira looking for tickets, and the students are at home on Instagram, Facebooking, tweeting, and tiktoking.

You would have expected the students to take their destiny into their hands, but they can’t. They are celebrating the withholding of the salaries of lecturers, queuing behind the politicians looking for tickets, and celebrating the highest bidders that got the ticket. A few weeks ago, the students said there won’t be a primary election in Abuja if the strike is not called off. But PDP just finished its primary election in Abuja in the game of the highest bidder. I actually did not take the threat from our new generation of student leaders serious looking at the “success” of their recent university of the street protest.

With our version of democracy, there will never be money for education, healthcare delivery, and other critical sectors since they have to recover the invested funds to get “elected” with interest. It’s difficult to fight corruption because the foundation of our democracy is corruption. The person expected to fight corruption is fully immersed in corruption. So, how is he going to get the job done?

Somebody once wrote that the government want to give a loan of 1 million naira to students and ASUU was against it. This is the scam. Do you still remember when DISCOs in collaboration with FG came up with electricity bills by bands in 2020? Less than 2 years later, the band on a minimum of 20 electricity per day now gets less than 4 hours electricity per day and no one to complain to and no compensation. That is what will happen to the student’s loan. They will give you the loan which you can’t pay back because there is no job except you the money to buy a job as is currently obtainable. After about 5 years later, the loan will stop and you are stuck with tuition that an average Nigerian parent cannot afford. But why is ASUU even bothering itself with this scam? Why is ASUU thinking for the parents and the general public? We possibly need to start thinking of letting it be and focus on our welfare. Let’s allow the government to introduce tuition and leave that to the public to deal with.

While the government is complaining of no funds for education and our universities are closed for 1 semester and still counting due to a crisis between ASUU and FG over university funding and welfare, the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has shortlisted 8,800 applicants for its overseas scholarship programme. This scheme is smoothly going on every year for over 20 years without any complaints. It is budgeted for and no need for a strike to get that done. Our universities are underfunded and we are shipping our limited resources abroad in the name of the overseas scholarship to contribute to the development of universities in Malaysia, the UK, Germany, France, and China through PTDF, TETFund, NITDA, etc.

These scholarship schemes have been on for over 20 years and we are gladly sending more for MSc and PhD abroad every year on public funds while public universities are underfunded and ASUU has to fight, the academic calendar distorted to get a little attention for our public universities. While the scholars on FG scholarship are living a comfortable life abroad, the students in Nigeria’s public universities are studying under pathetic conditions and have to suffer from the frequent ASUU strike.

Sadly, the bond signed by these scholars is just a formality as you don’t have to come back. Even the scholars that came back to the country are frustrated and can’t fit into the system that funded their scholarship as there is no preparation for their return. No provision for a conducive environment to enable them to be productive and train others.

You spent so much money to train scholars every year without any plan for them. If care is not taken, the amount of money spent on these scholarship schemes every year may be close to half of the money being requested for the revitalization of public universities. We are rich enough to keep funding overseas scholarship schemes to train individuals but too poor to properly fund public universities to develop better mass human resources for our system.

Meanwhile, what are the objectives of these scholarship schemes? What is the timeline to achieve it? It is definitely not for life. Has PTDF, TETFund, and NITDA sat down to evaluate how far we have gone and the impact of these schemes so far on the system with respect to the objectives? Where is the report? Haven’t we trained enough manpower to be empowered to train others in our universities in Nigeria? Why can’t we redirect these funds to our universities for these trained scholars to use to train others?

Unfortunately, we are developing individuals and not the system. The scholars are trained for themselves, the delegates’ vote is for the highest bidder, the highest bidder will bribe the voters to win the election, and the winner of the election will go there to help himself and leave the system poor. I watched a video recently where the wife of a governor was sharing 1 million naira each to her security staff. Where did she get the money from? State resources? She is not known for any business. Teachers in that same state are paid 17% of their salary. They don’t care what happens to public schools at all levels.

Dear Nigerians, as the delegates that you sent for the primary elections, are happily enjoying the money they were paid for their vote and you are celebrating the highest bidder that got the ticket and mocking those that could not afford to buy the delegates, just know that they have just been paid the money meant for education and other critical sectors. We have lost the moral right to complain about corruption.

Dear students, It is a vicious cycle and it ain’t going to change till we are willing to change it. The lecturers have taken their decisions and they are willing to stay off academic activities for as long as possible with or without salary, till their demands are met. The politicians don’t care that you are at home after all their kids are not in public school. They are bribing their ways to sustain their political and economic dynasty and the delegates are happily collecting it.

Meanwhile, who were the returning officers at the primary elections? Definitely not Professors. Tomorrow you will start blaming ASUU that Professors helped them rig elections. Politicians know how to rig the elections with or without the presence of the Professors that the INEC boss invited. So, use your head when you blame ASUU.

In conclusion, the people that can raise such an amount of money to spend to get political positions can also generate funds to save our universities from collapsing if they so care to lead you. It’s up to you if you want to remain at home, Facebooking, tweeting, tiktoking, and keep watching as the system keeps decaying. The ball is in your court.

Amoka is from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.

By Khairat Suleiman Jaruma

For most Nigerians, there is no hope left for this complicated country of ours. As many often say, “Naija is finished”. I disagree that Nigeria is finished. We might think we are having our worst days as a country, but the worst is yet to come, and it will only come when we give up on fixing this dear country of ours.

The younger generation keeps me motivated and convinces me that there is still hope for Nigeria. I see how the Western world shoves the whole LGBTQ ideology down young children’s necks from a very tender age, and these children grow with this ideology strongly built in them. Let us borrow this method of theirs and use it to instil civic education into our next generation so it will be strongly built in them, or use the priming effect method, which effectively works in selling an idea or instilling a belief in people.

The importance of civic education in fixing Nigeria’s mess cannot be overemphasized. The idea behind civic education is to promote the demand for good governance by informing and engaging the public and as a necessary complement to efforts to improve the practice of good governance.

Civic education is perhaps the only tool we can use to address political and governance issues and critical social issues. However, we need to do more than just giving children notes on civic education to copy in schools, and we need to be more intentional about it. I believe that one of the most important things we need to do to change the narrative and set our country on a path of progress is to create a civically well-educated generation. Nigeria needs a patriotic generation prepared for the future and ready to challenge the existing execrable system.

Also, civic education, like we often assume, is not just a subject to be taught in schools only. We need to do more than that. We need to put in more efforts to educate and create more awareness of the role and importance of civic education to a prosperous Nigeria. We all need to be involved as individuals, governmental organizations, civil society organizations, or non-governmental organizations. 

The effort is not limited to young children or the next generation alone. It is essential that everyone learns more about civic education and practice it as, more often than not, young children do more of what they see than what they are told.

The change we seek might take time, and most of us might not live long enough to see the results of our efforts. Still, we need to set a good and solid foundation of positive change for the generation after us, or what we are facing right now might just be the tip of the iceberg compared to what they will face.

According to Bruce Lee, “Real living is living for others”. So let’s live simultaneously for the next generation and a better Nigeria. 

Khairat Sulaiman Jaruma wrote from Kaduna. She can be reached via khairatsuleh@gmail.com.

By Husseina Ojochenemi Abubakar

“Collect the like terms”

“Divide both sides by 2”

Mathematics was my worst nightmare during my primary education and my early years in secondary school. The pronunciation of the word “M.A.T.H.E.M.A.T.I.C.S” always got me some butterflies jollying in my stomach, if you know what that means. But, on the contrary, other subjects were just easy as beans.

My twin sister Hassana helped me solve particular arithmetic involving a word problem more than a dozen times in my junior year in secondary school, all to get the hack to solve similar problems. Especially since I was the class captain, you are often the focal point of most teachers.

But once the question is a bit twisted from her examples, I would start developing migraine, which often marked the end of that practice. Nevertheless, I kept wondering about these two mathematical terms.

“collect the like terms”

“divide both sides by so and so.”

As I type this now, I can’t stop laughing at myself how something so simple could cause me sleepless nights. In short, it was a miracle that I fairly scaled through during my Junior School Certificate Examination.

This miracle became more apparent in my first year at Senior Secondary School. Then, I was made the female class captain.

Our charismatic, vibrant maths teacher walked majestically into our class one fateful morning with his head up high. We immediately stood up to welcome him, which was the usual class tradition whenever a teacher walked into the class. He gestured to us to sit down and, without introduction, went straight to the chalkboard and wrote Mathematics followed by an equation. He demanded that the class representatives stand, which was my assistant and me.

Upon hearing this, I lost my composure, my palms and feet began sweating profusely, and I started running high temperature all at once. It was one of those moments you would wish you had a magic wand that could be used to tear the earth widely open to swallow you.

He turned to the other lady and asked her the first step to solving the equation. “No idea,” my then assistant answered sheepishly.

Mr maths teacher then gestured in my direction. Without knowing where the energy suddenly came from, I quickly answered, “collect the like terms.”

He was so impressed that his applause echoed through the four walls of the classroom and beyond. Then, he went to the board and carried out the command.

From no angle of elevation or depression, this exercise stirs a cognitive essence in my brain. I  had treated this topic in my extra moral class, and I think I got a zero in the mini-test given at the end of that day. Now, it became crystal clear to me what the term stood for in Mr maths teacher’s class.

Again, he turned in my assistant captain’s direction asking for the next step, and she couldn’t come up with the answer. As he turned in my direction, I quickly answered, “Divide both sides by 2.”

He was impressed once again. He went back to the board and executed the command. That was how we arrived at the answer that marked the beginning of my journey to stardom as one of the best mathematics students.

After that incident, a mathematics Milo competition was organised amongst all the SSI students of the secondary schools within my local government (i.e. Idah).

I was approached to represent my class and join two others for the whole arm of SSI at that time. However, I was still unsure of my mathematics potential, so I declined because I’m not good at maths. But the senior prefect convinced me that my other colleagues would assist as it was a collective effort. So, I agreed to participate.

Lo and behold, the day came, and I, who was supposed to be the backbencher during the mathematics, ended up receiving a standing ovation and monetary prizes because even the questions that were meant for the other school students, which they could not answer was answered majorly by me effortlessly.

One thing became clear to me—the power of grit (passion and perseverance when you face obstacles). I was not good at mathematics, but I never stopped trying to improve. I didn’t give up. I kept struggling. As you can deduce from the story, my effort eventually paid off when I least expected it.

This is my true life story. Even the mathematics was not in my hand; it was in my heart and subconsciousness.

You may be having some migraines over some challenges now. So, taking a break is allowed but don’t completely give up because not one of your efforts goes unregistered in your subconscious mind.

These are my words, my dear readers. Believe in the process, and you will arrive at your destination in sha Allah.

Husseina Ojochenemi Abubakar sent this article via hussymusty@gmail.com.

By Shehu Mubarak Sulaiman

“I believe that the best learning process of any kind of craft is to look at the works of others” – Wole Soyinka

About a month ago, I woke up to a message on my Facebook Messenger. I was perplexed as to why a message would come in that early. It was dawn, and the skies had not brightened significantly enough for the layman’s morning to be declared.

The sender was someone who had once informed me of his interest in poetry. He had slid into my inbox a couple of months ago, and had registered his love for my writings, after which he requested that I mentored him.

Without wasting much time, I had introduced him to Poetic Wednesdays Initiative and urged him to follow-up on their activities. I had also introduced him to similar platforms, like the Poets in Nigeria Initiative Facebook Group.

 A week later, I sent him a flyer for a forthcoming workshop and asked him to register. The workshop was organized by Poetic Wednesdays Initiative, and was to be facilitated by top-notch poets: Umar Abubakar Sidi and Dr. Ismail Bala. To cut the long story short and hit the nail on the head, Abdul-Rahman Jafaru Wali, a medical student of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria was the person in my inbox.

He had messaged me that early to inform me of his emergence as one of the ten winners of the recently-concluded “The Nigeria I See” poetry competition organized by MOP (Movement of the People). His feat had come just about a month after he had registered for a workshop organized by Poetic Wednesdays Initiative.

That is a practical portrayal of how much of a platform Poetic Wednesdays Initiative is, one does not come and leave empty-handed.

For three years now, I have been approached consistently by people slightly younger or even older than I am. Their solicitation has over the years lost every element of surprise. Whenever I receive a message from a stranger on Facebook, half of the time, it’s about poetry writing or writing pertaining to other genres of literature.

The question had always been the same from all of these people. They keep asking: “How can I learn poetry?” This is such a difficult question to answer, as there is a never-ending debate about whether poetry writing is an innate or a learnt skill.

Regardless, I refer back to Wole Soyinka’s quote about learning the craft of writing; how it relies heavily on imitation, and Poetic Wednesdays Initiative had always been my first recommendation for them.

First, if the advances are offline, I will ask them if they have a Facebook account. And if they answer in the affirmative, I’d urge them to like the page, and submit poems of any quality every Wednesday of the week. Over the years, I have lost count of people I had introduced to this platform.  Some of them have now grown to become a significant fraction of the finest writers that we have around.

The journey of these wonderful poets and wannabe poets reminds me of my own journey. I had started just like them, a newbie, and a sprouting seed.  In the concluding months of the year 2016, I had grown tired of talking about my dream of becoming a writer. The more I talked about it, the more I felt like a fraud, my impostor syndrome was becoming more and more intense that I had contemplated giving up writing altogether.

I was at the crossroads, one road led to an Eldorado of a life I had always made up in my head; the fantasies of what a celebrated writer’s life seems, and the other led to a path of giving up, a one-way route to despair.

Being a science student was more than enough deterrent already. I talked to a friend who had graduated from the university a year before me and who I believe had more life experience than I. He spoke of his friend called Salim Yunusa, who has founded this small literary platform that aims at nurturing young talents in literary-inclined endeavors.

I talked to Salim Yunusa and he introduced me to a platform called Poetic Wednesdays, that was before it became Poetic Wednesdays Initiative. It was the newly-founded platform of his. I had written a couple of poems before then, but I had posted none, they were all in my phone’s notepad, longing to be seen.

So, all I did was waited for that fateful Wednesday before making my entry. My poem was handpicked and afterwards posted on the page. I followed the poem up, and relished some of the praise-coated comments. That was my first official encounter with poem writing.

As time went by, submissions from me became more and more regular. I enjoyed every bit of it; the praise, the feeling of having written something someone else enjoyed reading. Amidst all that nursing school monotony, consistent memorization, and voracious reading to stay afloat, I found an escape.

I had started to look forward to every Wednesday, it felt refreshing reading through poems on the page, and sometimes using them as a blueprint to craft mine. I started to make friends online, Facebook transfigured from a place where I come to catch up on viral gossip, or post pictures, to a place where I have direct contact with intellectuals and like minds. My time online started to become more of an educative endeavor rather than a fun-seeking one.

Weeks passed by and I had started to play with different themes, I had become a favorite on the platform. People looked forward to every Wednesday, so they could catch a glimpse of my poem and savor all its flavors. I had copied styles of poets like Maryam Gatawa, Salim Yunusa, Sani Ammani, Nasiba Babale, and a host of others, before I had come to find my feet.

In 2018, there was a literary hangout somewhere in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria organized by this selfless platform. We dined, and recited poems for the relish of fellow poets and literature lovers present. We had a swell time. In 2019, I rendered my masterpiece titled “I AM NORTH” at one of Poetic Wednesday Initiative’s get-together at Kongo Campus, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

It is the reception it received that had led me to promoting it on different platforms. The video of the poem was played at the 2020 edition of the Nigerian Students Poetry Prize event that held in Lagos. The written form of the poem was published on Daily Trust Newspapers, Yasmin El-Rufai Foundation official website, and other notable platforms in Nigeria.

The creatively titled essay of Sa’id Sa’ad “Poetifying the North” is not a coincidence. I particularly love the witty coinage of the word ‘Poetifying’. Indeed, the North has been ‘Poetified’.   Today, in northern Nigeria, as opposed to the nearest past, there is a resurgence of literary activities and discussions like never before. There has been a fast-rising awareness of what literature stands for, and many have continued to embrace it.

Virtually all the states in northern Nigeria have one festival or the other, celebrating literature and further educating young minds on the importance of both literature in English as well as in other indigenous languages. This is not to say that the region had always been dormant in the realms of literature and arts, that won’t be fair to a region that has produced notable writers like Helon Habila, Abubakar Imam Kagara, Abuabakar Adam Ibrahim, Ahmed Maiwada, Ismail Bala, Aliyu Kamal, Victor Dugga, Maria Ajima, Zainab Alkali, Abubakar Gimba, and many others.

It is to say that the awareness about writing, reading, and other literary-inclined endeavors has been quite unprecedented in the last decade. Many young people have come to find it as interesting as any other thing young people enjoy. There are now more festivals, literary contests, literary magazines, literary organizations, school-based literary clubs and so on.

The younger generation had come to transform reading and writing from a tortuous exercise to something exceptionally pleasurable.

The perception towards literature has taken an entirely different dimension. If I am asked to pinpoint literary organizations in the north that have contributed immensely to this growth and literary resurgence, I will place Poetic Wednesdays Initiative amongst the first five on my list.

For the fact that it deals basically with young people and neophytes who may have or have not written anything before, it lays a solid foundation for those who develop cold feet when literary matters are being brought to the table.

This is quite hypothetical, but if one is to assemble ten young writers in northern Nigeria today, I am rest assured that two to three of them would attribute their literary indoctrination and growth from having to read, follow, or interact with poets and literature lovers like the likes of Salim Yunusa, Nasiba Babale, Aliyu Jalal, Mujahid Ameen Lilo, Abdulbasit Abubakar Adamu, Abdul-Rahman Abu-Yaman, Hajaar Muhammad Bashar,Usman Karofi, Maryam Gatawa, Sani Ammani, Abduljalal Musa Aliyu, Sa’id Sa’ad Ababakar and many more.

These writers that I have all had or still have something to do with Poetic Wednesdays Initiative. Nothing makes one more proudhearted.

Poetic Wednesdays Initiative’s six years anniversary is a celebration of poetry, literature, passion, creativity, community development, man-power development, and social change. As it stands, the initiative has organized offline creative writing workshops for more than three hundred secondary school students in Kano, Katsina, Yobe, and Kaduna. It has organized several literary hangouts for free, while also partnering with literary organizations like PIN (Poets in Nigeria), Ahmadu Bello University Arts Festival (ABUFEST), The Arts-Muse Fair, Open Arts, Creative Writer’s club, ABU, Minna Book and Arts Festival (MinnaBAF), Hausa International Book and Arts Festival (HIBAF) and many others, all to promote literary activities, especially in northern Nigeria.  

If this literary organization is assisted in its selfless strides, the future of literature in northern Nigeria will be as rosy as it could ever get.

By Lawi Auwal Yusuf

I have been keenly following the recent raging altercation aroused by the hard-hitting comments of Nafisa Abdullahi. Many people have voiced their diverging opinions; some took an affirmative position while others came out against her. However, there is a consensus between the different parties that Almajiris are in a dire condition. Hence, no one would like to see his son in such a critical situation.

Though everybody has the leeway to express his mind, why are we wasting our energies on arguments that will come to nothing? These children are clamouring for justice, not a palaver over their plight. Such wrangle will never let us escape from the shackles of mutual antagonism. I believe that this issue is beyond mere accusation and counter-accusation. On the contrary, we have to go the extra mile. We have to give it our best shot to mark a turning point in this issue. Thus, we must debate matters that will help us clinch a victory over the problem. Put another way, it is more important to shift our attention from pointing accusing fingers at each other and focusing on the solution. This tendency to emphasise the problem rather than the solution is deeply entrenched in society and ravages our daily lives. Instead, it is more logical to put the solution above the issue.

Concentrating more on the problem will put us on a road that goes nowhere. It will keep us going around in circles, remain coasting and yield no helpful result. It will always go against us while our efforts remain in the doldrums. If you think this is the right way to ward off the problem. Indeed, you are living in a dream world. It is time to stop the dispute, draw a line under the issue and face reality, as this intractable desertion is getting out of hand.

Those on the same wavelength with the actress should know that not all the children they see on the street begging are actually Almajiris. Many children from impoverished homes disguise themselves as Almajiris to beg for food or scavenge through garbage, looking for valuable materials to sell for a living.

Furthermore, I want to remind those lilliputians that ridicule the Tsangaya that immensurable successes had been achieved through the system. It was the only institution that catered to the educational needs of our people before the inception of Western education. It was the bedrock of our ancient civilisation that paved the way for modern civilisation. It was the institution upon which the foundation for the development of society rested. It was attended by both the nobles and the commoners.

The Sultans of the Sokoto Caliphate, emirs of its semi-autonomous city-states and other members of the aristocratic class all went to Tsangaya. Also, they received their leadership skills training there and trained other administrators who served in different capacities. Moreover, Tsangaya scholars designed the constitution used to govern such a gigantic empire effectively. In addition to all these, it rolled out the khadis (Shari’a court judges) that administered justice, the Imams that led prayers, and Muftis that issued verdicts to guide authorities and the people on both their spiritual and worldly affairs. They also served then as the think tank.

Similarly, great scholars impart knowledge, herbalists that cure ailments, astrologists that determined praying times, crescent sighting, weather forecasts and navigation routes came from such a school system. On this basis, Northerners were proud boastfully that they were literates with a systematic way of life even before the imperialists invaded the region. So, we must be grateful for that.

On the other hand, those who take an unfavourable position from the Kannywood model should understand that the system now doesn’t go; it has a lot of issues and needs momentous changes. It is not what it used to be before. It has taken a different dimension in the last decades. We can’t keep going like that. The Tsangaya must be radically renewed, and these downtrodden children must be liberated from such bondage. Their future must be secured. They need to be under the vehement supervision of their parents, accompanied by their affection, psychological support and care. They have to enjoy the comfort of their homes and the bond of kinship ties, as we have all enjoyed. They deserve a decent life.

Lastly, politicians that have been dilatory in dealing with this problem and wash their hands on the matter must back away from such attitude. They must show genuine commitment to eradicating this menace. We must help these children to salvage the country because we have no other country than Nigeria. IT’S OURS!

Lawi Auwal Yusuf wrote from Kano, Nigeria, via laymaikanawa@gmail.com.

By Professor Abdussamad Umar Jibia

Nigerian Muslims following discussions on the execution of a young woman by unknown youth in Sokoto would note that several obscure social media “Islamic scholars” have emerged. Some of them arrogated to themselves the right of ijtihad, a thing some of the most outstanding Islamic scholars avoided unless absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, people kept sharing such stuff as it suits their position on the matter.

When you decide to be a Muslim, you have taken a big decision to be a student of knowledge throughout your life. We all know this because the first passage of the Qur’an revealed to our Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) is essentially an instruction to sit up and learn. After that, the Prophet lived the remaining 23 years of his life interpreting the Qur’an revealed to him piecemeal using both verbal and practical approaches. By the time he left, the religion was complete, and a whole body of knowledge was on the ground, safely transferred from generation to generation of Muslim scholars.

The knowledge is vast as it covers all aspects of life. Take the five pillars of Islam, for example. Whole books have been written on aqidah, which constitutes the first pillar of Islam. There are books on Salah (prayers), the obligatory and supererogatory aspects of it, prayer timings, adhan, iqama, the core body of prayer, etc. Same with Zakah, Fasting and Hajj.

The daily transactions of a Muslim in the market are well detailed in terms of halal and haram. In addition, there are books on rights, including rights of other Muslims, non-Muslims, neighbours, colleagues, animals, the environment, etc.

How would the sick be handled while still alive and after their death? What happens to their heritage? How is it shared? These are clearly stated.

All aspects of Islamic knowledge are available in detail, and, in sum, Islam is not a teach-yourself religion. Instead, it has to be learnt from those who know it.

Take it easy. I am not saying every Muslim must be a professional Islamic scholar, just like not everyone must be a medical doctor or an Engineer. You are probably 40, 50 or even 60 and above and have been working hard in the area Allah has placed you in. Keep working hard to earn a lawful means of livelihood for yourself and your family. That is an aspect of Jihad you are making.

I believe you would agree with me that you would not accept any quack to offer medical services to yourself and your family in the event of sickness. Most likely, you would look for the best affordable specialist to treat you and your loved ones. You would check their qualifications. You would not pick a document from an unknown specialist on the internet and begin to apply their medication and think you would be okay. When you want to build a house, you will look for the right architect to design it for you and the right engineer to supervise the work.

You are doing all of the above when it comes to Islamic knowledge. When you are going on hajj for the first time, for example, you would typically meet the scholar in your area to ask questions. You would probably attend the courses organized by the local pilgrims’ board. You are doing that to avoid wasting your money and make sure that you perform a hajj Allah would accept.

When your father dies, you would call someone you believe has a good knowledge of inheritance to help you share what has been left by the deceased. You do that for zakah, etc.

As a Muslim born to a Muslim family, you learnt to recite the Qur’an and pray from your Islamiyya days. Many thanks to your parents who took you there. Yet, you keep learning from your local Sheikh to make sure you recite the Qur’an even better and perform a prayer that is devoid of mistakes.

My brother, if you only consult an Islamic scholar you trust on all of the above, which are what you do daily and/or from time to time as a Muslim, why do you think you need a social media “scholar” to tell you the Islamic position on blasphemy, a thing not essential in your daily routine of Ibadat? I guess you are not contemplating insulting the personality of the Holy Prophet (SAW), and you are most probably not aspiring to be a Shariah court judge to know the kind of punishment you would pass on a blasphemer.

But in case you have abandoned your Sheikh and/or dropped all your Islamic books, thinking you don’t need to learn more about Islam, I am afraid that you are already preparing yourself for eternal destruction. So please go back, get an Islamic teacher you trust and continue.

As for the Sokoto case, we have shown sufficient anger, and anyone contemplating a repeat of what the young woman did would have to think many times. Let us leave the Muslim leadership to handle the rest. We should have confidence in the Sultan and his team.

May Allah forgive our shortcomings. Amin.

Professor Abdussamad Jibia can be contacted via aujibia@gmail.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) will commence a two-week warning strike on Monday, May 16, 2022.

According to the ASUP president, Anderson Ezeibe, the decision was borne out of the emergency meeting of the union National Executive Council on Wednesday, May 11, 2022.

However, this is coming amidst worries over the extension of strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

ASUP decried that the federal government has refused to meet their demand, making it necessary for the union to embark on a strike.

Recall that ASUP has suspended its industrial action declared on the 10th of June, 2021, following the Memorandum of Action (MoA) which the government had signed.

The union said in a statement, “Non-release of arrears of the new minimum wage: The owed 10 months arrears for the Polytechnics is yet to be released. The composite amount covering all Federal Tertiary Institutions to the approximate figure of N19Bn currently exists as an AIE in the Accountant Generals Office.”

“We are deploying this medium to equally appeal to members of the public to prevail on the government to do the needful within the two weeks period so as to avoid an indefinite shutdown of the sector,” the statement added.

By Muhammad Mahmud

I believe that Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) should join the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in solidarity. An injury to one is an injury to all.

I recall that an affiliate union embarked on industrial action during the military regime. I can’t remember exactly which, but the NLC joined in a solidarity move.

After some time, without a positive response from the government, the labour union directed all other affiliated unions to join. Thus, the PENGASSAN, NUPENG, NURTW etc., joined. Before you can say UTAS or PANTAMI, the nation was halted.

No flights were flying, no taxis or buses plying any road as fuel was absent, etc. This forced the government to give in to the demands of the workers.

I believe this is the only strategy that the politicians will understand. The NLC should initiate the process and start preparing for the mother of all strikes in solidarity with the ASUU.

Malam Muhammad writes from Kano. He can be reached via meinagge@gmail.com.