Education

By Nuru Aliyu Bauchi

Permit me a little space in your new but rapidly growing and widely read newspaper to contribute from my little knowledge of English on English Tenses. Tenses are among the most important but often neglected and poorly mastered topics, even among graduates of the English language. Two incidents involving two graduates of the English language from different universities recently made me dumbfounded.

The first incident was a Corp member posted to serve at one of the secondary schools in my home state. I asked her to list the twelve English tenses but could only provide five (not accordingly). She confessed that the last time she had a lesson on tenses was in secondary school. The second was another graduate of English seeking a teaching job. I was one of the interviewers. Again, I asked her to list and exemplify the twelve English tenses. Likewise, she could only supply four randomly. I always wonder what is so tricky in mastering English tenses, considering that one must use them whenever one writes or speaks. 

We have three (3) main tenses. These are 1. Present tense 2. Past tense 3. Future tense. Each of the three tenses has four (4) aspects, as can be seen below:

PRESENT TENSE

1. simple present tense

2. Present continuous tense

3. Present perfect tense

4. Present perfect continuous tense

SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

This tense expresses habitual/repeated actions, general truth, sports commentary, or news heading. Infinite or ‘s form of a  verb is used alongside the subject (noun or pronoun). If the subject is either first person (I, we) or second person (you) or third person plural (they), use an infinitive form (go, wash, brush, fly, teach). But, if the subject is third person singular (he, she, it, Nuru, the boy, the teacher) or any singular indefinite pronoun (each, one of the…, everybody, someone etc.), use and ‘s form ( goes, washes, brushes, flies, teaches).

In other words, if the subject is singular, use a singular verb, while if the subject is plural, use a plural verb. REMEMBER that singular nouns do not have an ‘s (bag, boy, car, house), but singular verbs have an ‘s or ‘es( teaches, goes, cooks, sweeps, etc.). E.g., Subject + verb(s).

Example

1. Nuru goes to school every day.

2. The children play football every day.

3. Dogs bark.

4. I like ice cream.

5. Mr president presents the 2022 budget.

6. Everybody knows the answer.

COMMON MISTAKES

1. I goes to school (wrong)

2. He brush his teeth every day (wrong)

3. Musa teach English language (wrong)

PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE

This tense is a bit simple because it has only subject+auxiliary verb (is or are ) + verb in -ing form. This tense is used for ongoing activities.

Example

1. The boy is reading.

2. The girl is cooking.

3. The students are writing.

4. We are jumping

5. He is sleeping

COMMON MISTAKES

One should be careful to avoid using nouns and pronouns together as follows

1. Adamu he is reading. (wrong)

2. Zainab she is cooking. (wrong)

To be continued

Nuru Aliyu Bauchi teaches at Abubakar Tatari Ali Polu (ATAP), Bauchi State. He can be reached via nurubh2015@gmail.com.

By Haidar Hasheem Kano

Kano State continues to mark its name in gold as its indigenes emerged best in different academic fields in national and foreign universities.

Engr. Yahaya Hassan Labaran, an indigene of Kano state from Kura local government, emerged as the overall best student for the 2020/2021 academic session with a CGPA of 9.9 out of 10, at prestigious Sharda University, India.

Engr. Yahaya graduated with first-class in Civil Engineering graduate of Kano University of Science and Technology (KUST), Wudil, in 2017. He won a fully-funded scholarship to study Master of Technology in Civil Engineering with a specialization in Construction Management in India in 2019.

In addition to being the university’s overall best student, He also won a Vice-Chancellor’s Gold Medal award for securing the 1st position in the Master of Technology course at the School of Engineering.

Engr. Yahaya stands out to be the best among hundreds of students from different countries across the globe.

According to his sighted CV online, Yahaya has numerous publications to his name and membership in professional organizations such as the American Society of Engineers, the Nigerian Society of Engineers, and 11 others. In addition, he attended over 40 conferences, seminars, and workshops.

Apart from that, he has completed numerous professional courses at various universities worldwide, including the University of California, Irvine, Georgia Institute of Technology, IE Business School, and the University of Geneva, to name a few.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Following the strike embarked upon by the Commercial Tricycle Riders (alias A Daidaita Sahu or Keke Napep), the management of Bayero University, Kano, has directed the university lecturers to suspend all continuous assessments (CAs) that were to be conducted this week.

The directive was on a social media post which the Bayero University Spokesman, Malam Lamara Garba, has confirmed to The Daily Reality. 

It said all planned continue assessments that were to be conducted by the lecturers this week had been suspended pending the strike’s outcome.

The A Daidaita Sahu Riders commenced a seven-day warning strike on Monday, January 10, 2021.

It was gathered that the riders are protesting against the Kano Road Traffic Agency (KAROTA) registration fee.

The agency is charging new registrants N18,000, while renewal is N8,000 annually.

By Aisha Abdullahi Bello

The word “Almajiri” is derived from the Arabic word “Almuhajir”, which means an immigrant or someone who migrates from one place to another. So, originally, Almajiri is an immigrant who leaves his place of birth at a very tender age to acquire Islamic education.

It was believed by the people then that if a child received Islamic education at a very young age, he was likely to retain it throughout his lifetime. This had made many parents enrol their male children in the system.

In the ancient days, the system was so organised, and the parents were much responsible that they didn’t just dump their children at the “allo [slate]” schools the way today’s parents do. They also made it mandatory upon themselves to provide necessary food items and other provisions for the children, which would be enough for them throughout their stay with the “malams [teachers]”.

At each interval, maybe a period of three to four months, the children were readied for a return to their various homes. So, you’ll find out that each Almajiri would at least visit his parents thrice or even four times a year.

Now, the system is no longer what it used to be. Everything seems to have changed completely; the system, the parents and the children have all turned into something else. If you call the name ‘almajiri’, instead of the title to ring the bell of a child who came from a distant land to acquire knowledge, a different bell will ring. The name suggests an unlucky child whose parents gave birth to and later abandoned on the streets to fend for himself by whatever means.

I am used to asking myself, what could be the cause of this disguised child abuse in the name of “almajirci”? What is the essence of bringing a child to this world if you cannot cater to his basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, and quality education? Could this problem (almajirci) be attributed to poverty, lack of parental care, or is it a lack of adequate measures to tackle the menace by the government? These are the series of questions that are yet to be answered.

The rate at which the syndrome is growing could be checked if the parents control their birth rate through family planning measures. The government should try to enlighten parents on the benefits of family planning and its impact on society as much as possible.

To sanitise the system, the government should create a committee that will focus on the issues by standardising it to suit the present time. This could be achieved by taking the statistics of all almajirai, providing them with uniforms and building classrooms for them to have a conducive learning atmosphere. This will go a long way in curbing the extent to which they wander over the city.

The government and well-to-do individuals in the society should join hands together to create skill acquisition programmes and sponsor programs on TV and radio to educate the almajirai on how to acquire skills and make use of them for survival.  These skills could be tailoring, dyeing, soap making, blacksmithing, shoemaking, etc.

With this, I believe the rate at which the almajirci syndrome grows will hopefully reduce to some considerable level and, if carefully sustained, will someday become history.

Aisha Abdullahi Bello sent this article via aishaabdullahibello@gmail.com.

By Musa Ummihani Onize

Nothing pushes the human mind faster into obscurity than hatred to reading. A society that’s losing hold on good reading culture can be on a fast-track to ruins for reading is an essential soft tool that helps the mind work at its best. To be fully aware of oneself, one’s surroundings, and the world at large, there’s a need for one to be passionate about acquiring knowledge through mindful reading.

There will be no better time than now that calls for the redevelopment of reading culture in the minds of Nigerians because the lack of information, understanding, and enlightenment on vital issues is a big threat to national development and security. And, in Nigeria, critical observations of many academicians have it that good reading habits are on a decline, especially from young adults.

Nigeria faces devastating social problems rooted in tribalism, religious intolerance, opposing political views, extremism on different grounds, etc. But, aside from these social problems that destabilize the public good, some underlying toxic behavioural traits are foundational and contribute to social problems. These behavioural traits vary in one person from another.

So, to curb and manage man’s excesses and toxic traits －the ones known and unknown to him, there’s a need for equipping his mind with beneficial information through reading so to enable him to have a sense of understanding and tolerance towards people from different tribes, religion and nationality, and also to have the mental ability to differentiate the good from the bad in his personal activities and choices.

A study has it that people who have decent habits towards reading are less likely abusive and violent.

The revival of the dying reading culture in Nigeria can only be possible when concerned citizens put in collective efforts to educate and enlighten their loved ones and close associates on the importance of reading. It’s said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a step. Therefore, it will be helpful and productive to educate our circles about the peace-enabling effects of good reading habits.

To ensure their growth, encourage them to read books.

Musa Ummihani Onize writes from Okene, Kogi, State via musauumiize@gmail.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Kano State Commissioner of Education, Muhammad Sanusi Sa’id Kiru, has debunked the wide circulated rumour for the extention of first term resumption date.

Kiru said that the remour is baseless, adding that the resumption dates for Boarding Primary and Secondary Schools remain Sunday 9th January 2022 while that for the Day schools is 10th January 2022. The dismiss was in a release signed Saturday by Aliyu Yusuf, the CPRO Ministry of Education Kano State.

However, the commissioner also called on parents/guardians and the general public to disregard the rumour going round about extension of resumption date.

He added that the ministry has its estsblished means of dessiminating information to members of the public, therefore, if there is any new development, such medium will be used to reach members of the public accordingly. He then called on parents/guardians to ensure that their children return to their respective schools on the scheduled dates as penalties awaits defaulters.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said that there is a possibility of going on a strike if the government does not address its demands.

The union said that the N52.5bn it received from the Federal Government would not be sufficient to deal with the challenges facing the university system in the country.

Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, the ASUU President, disclosed this in an interview with the journalists.

“There was a possibility that the union would still go on strike unless the government addressed its demands, including the 2009 agreement,” he said.

The Daily Reality gathered that the Federal Government had released N30bn Revitalisation Fund and N22.5bn Earned Academic Allowance totalling N52.5bn to the union.

Osodeke added that: “The Federal Government had said it paid lecturers N30bn Revitalisation Fund and N22.5bn Earned Academic Allowance.
“It noted that it had made some progress in implementing the Memorandum of Understanding the government reached with the union,” he stated.

However, Osodeke also described the fund released by the government as a token payment, reiterating that it was not enough for lecturers to change their minds on the suspended strike.

By Aldelghaffar Abdelmalik Amoka

When I was admitted into the Ahmadu Bello University School of General and Remedial Studies (SGRS) in the 1992/1993 academic session, I registered with the intention to study medicine after the one-year remedial program. During the program, I started having a second thought on medicine and was considering Engineering. But by the end of it, I was offered Physics. I was like “what will I do with physics?”. This is a subject you can hardly find a qualified teacher to teach in secondary schools. So why physics? I wanted to change, but transfer rules changed that same academic year, and changing courses, especially to the so-called professional courses, became difficult.

I had two choices at the end of my first year when it was obvious I can’t change from physics. It was either I carry on with my studies or leave. So, l chose to stay but without any love for the subject. That continued till my final year when we were taught Solid State Physics by this Professor, an Indian, that changed my mind about physics. He made us see the beauty of physics. He made us see how basic physics is changing the world. He told us how physics concepts like the total internal reflection in optics have revolutionalised medicine and telecommunications. He was an inspiration. What he taught us in 1999 came to my mind when I had a shoulder operation in the UK in 2011 that was done without a visible scar on my shoulder.

That interaction in our final year made me desire I do my final year project under his supervision. I eventually returned to do MSc Physics under his guidance to tap more from his wealth of knowledge and personality. He introduced me to the field of dielectric physics, the field that opened the opportunity to my travel to some countries and has made me meet great minds. At the end of the MSc program, his recommendation got us a job in the department in 2005. I was walking towards the ABU North Gate when Prof’s call came in: “Amoka, where are you? Congratulations, the VC has approved your appointment. Please inform Tajudeen”. The best news for an unemployed graduate.

I was employed as an Assistant Lecturer under his guidance, registered for PhD in ABU in December 2005, and the work on dielectric physics continued. In August 2007, I informed him of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) scholarship opportunity that my brother told me about. Like he knew he had not more than a year to live from then, he encouraged me to apply. He followed it up till I submitted the scholarship application with the full PhD proposal that I was working on under his guide. A few weeks later, I was returning from Italy on a 2 weeks workshop trip in October 2007 and I called to inform him that I had arrived in Lagos when he informed me that he was sick and on his way to the airport. He got to India and was diagnosed with Cancer of the Colon. I became scared.

In January 2008, I received a handwritten note from him with a prayer request to make it through the cancer treatment. From the handwriting, I could figure out he was weak. I prayed hard that he get well and return soon. It was a shock when I made that call to India that early morning on Thursday, 17th April 2008, and I was informed that Prof was no more. The Giant was gone. He gave up that morning after about 6 months of battle with Cancer. I was broken. I have never seen anyone as humble as him. He has regard for everyone and he finds it so easy to relate with everyone including the cleaner. As the Head of Department, he made me realize that with proper management and financial discipline, which we lack these days, you can achieve a lot with little.

While I was still wondering how to proceed with the PhD without the only person that could supervise research work in material physics in the department, I got an email from IsDB of an award of scholarship for PhD under their Merit Scholarship Award for High Technology. The scholarship application was successful. It was unbelievable. Then the University of Leicester offered me admission for PhD in engineering research. That was how I met the famous Prof. John C. Fothergill, another Giant that I am standing on his shoulder.

Prof. Fothergill was such an amazing supervisor and shared similar characteristics with Prof. Hariharan. The 3 years 3 months with him was an amazing one with lots of memories. He doesn’t just bother himself with your personal development and the progress of your research but also your welfare. As he commends your efforts so do he point out the weakness to work on. With his tight schedule and the head of the department, I was always on his priority list.

Even after the PhD, John was concerned about my career development in my home institution. He sends to me any materials he finds useful to help my career growth and development. His notification and recommendation for a postdoc job in Norway got me the 2 years job. The postdoc job introduced me to partial discharges in power equipment components. He inspired me to start a lab. I did not just learn how to do dielectrics and electrical insulation research from Prof. John C. Fothergill, the British Professor of Engineering also taught me the benefits of writing in simple sentences. The Giant is still there for me to this day.

In my struggle to survive as an academic with all the peculiarities in our Universities in Nigeria, my path crossed with another Giant on whose shoulder I am standing. Academics are trained critics. They are also expected to have leadership skills. While I enjoyed being a critic right from my university days, I run away from leadership responsibility till I got a phone call in May 2020 during the ASUU strike about a letter for me and I told the caller I will pick it up when I get to the university later in the afternoon.

I opened the envelope and it was an appointment letter. I didn’t see that coming and could not run. The Giant found me worthy to lead (head) a Unit of the University. I was confused and scared as I have always had this feeling that critics hardly make good leaders. I later took it as a chance to see the other side of just being a critic. It has been tough but an amazing experience and have made me learn a lot. A colleague jokingly told me that I am an expert in reviving dead areas. I hope I will be able to live up to that expectations.

I think I am really lucky to have got many Giants on whose shoulders I am standing to see farther. If I have ever inspired or impressed you with my little efforts as an academic in the university, it was because God made it possible for me to meet these Giants in my life. They among other people paved the way for me to get here.

As the 2021 calendar year comes to an end in a few days, I wish to appreciate Prof N.I. Hariharan, Prof. John C. Fothergill, Prof. Kabir Bala, and all the giants on whose shoulders I am standing.

©Amoka

By Tahir Ibrahim Tahir (Talban Bauchi)

Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TetFund) recently celebrated its ten years of service, having gone through many changes in its functions, duties, coverage and composition. It had existed under different names before now. Still, the amendments to the act establishing it have turned it into a Tetfund, with more coverage of tertiary education in the country.

At the Tetfund at Ten event, its Executive Secretary, Prof. Suleiman Bogoro, was introduced as the apostle of research and development. A very apt description, narrating how he has turned the tide of the impact of Tetfund from infrastructure to research. The previous administration first appointed Bogoro, and barely two years after, the new administration of President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) relieved him of his duties. Not long into the PMB administration, Bogoro was again re-appointed. This is a glaring testimony of the quality of stewardship he brings to the running of Tetfund. Tetfund staff rolled out the red carpets for him and welcomed him back to their fold amidst celebrations.

At Tetfund at 10, it was disclosed that 152838 infrastructural projects had been executed across the country. Thirty thousand lecturers have also been sponsored for Masters and PhD programmes. In addition, 68000 academic and non-academic staff of tertiary institutions have also been sponsored to attend local and international conferences. Tetfund has also supported 71263 lecturers under the Teacher’s Supervision Programme. Moreover, over two million books and 152000 E-resources have been procured by Tetfund.

The apostle of research and development came to improve funds for The National Research Fund, which had started with seed money of just 3 billion naira in 2011. Bogoro saw this fund’s growth by over 50 per cent, to an unprecedented 8.5 billion naira in 2021. So far, 9 billion has been accessed by lecturers to fund their research activities. Tetfund played a significant role in Covid-19 research. Tetfund approved four mega research clusters for Covid-19 vaccines and drug research and security and dairy research. The clusters had within the range of 250 million to 450 million to fund their research activities.

As the most pushful advocate for research in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, Prof. Bogoro has achieved near-global fame among education sectors’ stakeholders. In recognition of his efforts, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, named its research centre after him. This particular university is not even a beneficiary of Tetfund’s interventions and so cannot be accused of repaying him for any interventions in their school. Speakers at this event said Bogoro had earned for himself the appellation of Senior Advocate of Research, SAR. Bogoro emphasises advancing learning through research.

True to Bogoro’s advocacy for improved research and development, the Federal Government just received a draft executive bill for establishing the National Research and Development Foundation led by Tetfund. Bogoro, who received the bill on behalf of the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, thanked the Justice Ministry for drafting its staff to the exercise. This is a direct drive in turning Nigeria into a knowledge-driven economy. At the event, Bogoro stressed that Nigeria’s economy could not be competitive if it did not institutionalise Research and Development. He said that the most competitive nations placed innovation and creativity as the lead elements that drive society.

The Chairman of the drafting committee, Prof. Yadudu, commended Prof. Bogoro for putting the committee in place and his vision for the Research and Development Foundation. He also said that the country stands to reap bountifully when the bill is passed. “This is a bill which seeks to establish a National Research and Development Foundation to institutionalise, mainstream, and commercialise research and development; promote innovation and support enterprise development for job and wealth creation, for a knowledge-driven economy. This is the key thing,” Prof. Yadudu said.

Tahir is Talban Bauchi.

By: Murtala Uba Mohammed (PhD)

Recently, Nigerian government took an audacious step by throwing a baby and its bath water not only into a river, but to a deep and distant ocean. It was in 2013 that the country in its attempt to reform its educational system particularly at secondary school level, relegated some important subjects to the background; bringing up some newer ones. Subject such as geography and history suffered from this restructuring of making these corner stone subjects- in terms of what they offered in the understanding of man and his physical environment as well as the historical explanation of the past to build the future. Making these subjects optional at the crucial level of building an imprint of human-environment relationships in the minds of our younger is synonymous to drawing the country in terms of a better well-informed society. While one may not completely agree with the argument advanced by the authorities that the reform was made to introduce subjects that aimed at fostering self-reliance and entrepreneurship with a view to curving the rate of unemployment in the country. It is important to note that the reasons given were quite inadequate to justify the need for the replacement. It is imperative to note that a lot were written to convince the government on the need to revert back the curriculum to the status quo, especial considering the importance of the subjects in creating national consciousness and self-awareness in the case of history and on learning about the country and of being foundation to most environmental related discipline in the case of geography. This writing decides to differ a bit, approaching the issue from the perspective of national security challenges.

Nigeria is currently witnessing the most difficult challenge it ever faced in its history and territory; no part of the country is presently spared from one or more security threats. From its relatively wetter southernmost part to its most-drier north, the country is at war with itself, facing threats such as banditry, armed robbery, ethno-religious bigotry, tribal clashes and political thuggery. The threats of Boko-haram, IPOB and to a lesser extend Afenifere are sufficient enough to sink the already overloaded and about to crash ship called Nigeria. Most worrisome, is the daily reportage of killing of its citizenry by both known and ‘unknown devils’ that terrorize almost all part of the country. This is most especially in Northwestern Geopolitical Zone where daily killing and abduction for ransom has become a norm, more especially in Katsina, Zamfara and Sokoto States. In the mid of crisis at the periphery, one hopes the center to be secured; but in the case of Nigeria the ailment has afflicted all her body. Niger state is now so powerless that ‘bandits’ are now having their field days in many parts of it. Just like Niger, Kaduna to Abuja Road is so unsecured that travelers to and from Abuja were compelled to go for rail. Even in the nation’s state, the suburb is unsecured as most part of the country. While most people end up in nostalgic mood, recollecting mainly the past peaceful experiences the country witnessed and some such as general TY Danjuma had long time condemned the country as ‘failed state’, this article hopes the issue will be addressed by deploying the knowledge of this important subject. It is (without any doubt) through geography that colonialism was achieved in the past and it is through it that societies were both dissemble and assemble, creating new states and modifying many ones. The subject can equally be used as discussed below, to arrest the security situation of Nigerian State.

While the values of the geography are so much, this piece highlights some of security related areas in which geography would be of critical support:

1. Regional Planning

As a discipline geography focuses on space which includes location and its attributes. In order to achieve the aim of place description, geography pays attention to details of location and tries to distinguish one location from another. Doing this helps in identifying uniqueness of an area which forms the basis for regional planning. Because each region is unique, its planning is based on its distinct characteristics which are used to harness its economic potentials. A vast country like Nigeria that traverses many climatic, geological, edaphic and demographic regions, is blessed in some way and have a particular advantage that can be tapped. The inhabitant of the region might have idea about this opportunity(ies), but it is government initiatives that can foster the best use and utilization of them. Regional planning especially at moderate to large scale is a domain of geography, and candidates with sound knowledge of geography particularly its regional sub-field will help a lot in regional planning which is conspicuously missing in the country. The way we are today is that the various entities that make up of the country are lacking in unique contribution each can offer to the country’s development. While governments are doing a lot, they hardly consider regional specialization in their programmes. They are rather imitating one another, and in many instances compete in urban based project. Recently, states in Northwestern Nigeria were suspected on competing in building bridges and underpasses in urban areas rather rural and agricultural development projects. This urban based development may only worsen the situations of the already poverty striking states by encouraging rural-urban migration which put more pressure on urban infrastructure and deprived hinterland its able builders. A combination of edaphic, eco-climatic and relief factor alone can be used in zoning the country for agricultural production which will not only cushion the current poverty level in the country, but foster regional complementarity and economic diversification. The country is also rich considering the various mineral resources gift of its diverse geology which can also the basis for planning. Also its cultural landscape and physiography can form the base for regional planning.

2. Identifying and Modelling the Crime Hotspot

One of the recent and most used geographic tools is the geographic information system (GIS). As an information system GIS is unique in that it gives emphasis to location in all its analyses; it is the capability of GIS to analyze display and model location-based events and situations that makes it appealing to all other fields and disciplines. Crime and conflicts have both temporal and locational attributes and can therefore be addressed through GIS. With GIS pattern(s) of conflicts and criminal activities can be established in more robust way, and can be arrest in a better way. GIS can tell the areas of high crime probability often known as hotspots with high level of precision. Modelling and prediction can be done for various crime types. This is essential for security and safety of the territory. With good data recording, digital based maps can be produced to inform users on security situation as they travel via road or train. GIS integrates various layer of information which can be used to explain and describe why crime happened in a location or time trajectory. When GIS is employed with it multi-layer combination capability, it has higher tendency to explain three key security questions of when, where and why. With answers to this question management of crime become becomes better. Doing all these require manpower with good background in geography.

Dr. Murtala teaches geography at Bayero University, Kano and can be reached via email: murtalamuhammadu@gmail.com