Education

By Sumayyah Auwal Usman

The Governing Council of the Kaduna State University has named Prof. Yohanna Tella the acting Vice-Chancellor of the university. Tella, a professor of mathematics and the current Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, was announced on Thursday by the Governing Council.

Prof. Tella takes over from Prof. Muhammad Tanko, whose five-year tenure ended. This was after a heated debate lasting about five hours. The new acting Vice-Chancellor will act for six months before the appointment of a substantive Vice-Chancellor. 

The Daily Reality had earlier reported that electing the institution’s new VC has been tense due to clashes between various interest groups in and outside the university.

By Uzair Adam Imam

A renowned political analyst, Prof. Kamilu Sani Fagge, the lead presenter in the Nigerian Guild of Editors Meeting held in Kano, has said that media play a vital role in consolidating democracy in Nigeria.

Citing historical examples, Prof. Fagge said that after Nigeria’s independence, media was at the forefront in any attempt to democratise the country.

Fagge spoke at the Tawn Hall Meeting of Guild Editors held at Tahir Guest Palace Hotel, Kano, on Wednesday, January 19, 2022.

The event, supported by the US Embassy, was themed: Agenda Setting For Sustainable Democratic Culture.

Owing to the press role of holding the government accountable, Prof. Kamilu stated that media serves to deter corruption. If the media is silent about corrupt officials, many issues will have been swept under the carpet. However, “If you don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill you!”

In his remark, The Emir of Kano, Alh. Aminu Ado Bayero has urged editors and journalists to avoid spreading fake news, which hampers democracy and threatens the unity of Nigeria.

Also commenting, Prof. Auwalu Nadudu emphasised that “media has been the tool and mechanism of sustaining and protecting democracy.”

Reporters and editors of various media organisations, including students of mass communication from Bayero University and Kano State Polytechnic, were among the event participants.

By Abdullahi Adamu

Nigeria’s economy has not been in good shape for the past five years and first went into recession in 2016. Then, in 2020, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it plunged into another recession – its worst in four decades. As a result, it recorded a gross domestic product contraction of 3.62 per cent in the third quarter of 2020.

There’s been a lot of uncertainty about where people should invest, mainly due to policy inconsistencies. This cut across various economic sectors. The poor performance of different sectors of the economy, especially the agricultural sector, has created uncertainty and unemployment. In addition, the recurring farmer-herder crisis has hurt agriculture in the country.

However, can agriculture be used to reduce the high rate of poverty and unemployment in Nigeria? Absolutely! Agriculture has the potential to reduce the high rate of poverty and unemployment in the country by employing millions of Nigerians across the agriculture value chain.

Take cassava processing as an example. Nigeria is the largest cassava producer in the world. There is much to gain from knowing the value chain of cassava, starting from production to processing and then marketing. Cassava, just like yam, is a root and tuber crop.

However, unlike yam, it can grow in relatively poor soil and low rainfall areas. Cassava and its by-products have various uses. It can be processed into starch: the cassava starch used for making paper and textiles. It can be processed into flour to make cakes, bread and biscuits. It can be processed into chips usable for animal feed. It can be processed into ethanol, which is used as bio-fuel when combined with additives. Cassava is also processed into fructose, used in the industry for sweetening fizzy drinks.

In Nigeria, we produce over 50 million tons of cassava every year, and over 26 states out of the 36 states in Nigeria produce the crop. Therefore, if we embrace good agricultural practices, the production, processing, and marketing of cassava can serve as a good tool to reduce the country’s high rate of poverty and unemployment.

It is also important to note that the most considerable portion of the population of Nigeria is the youth. The percentage of youth (age 15 – 35) among the unemployed population is 55.4 per cent. So, with increased youth involvement in agriculture, the sector can reduce youth unemployment.

Agriculture is the easiest and fastest route to empower the most vulnerable, especially the youth. However, it also needs improvement in the micro and macroeconomics of the country.

It is imperative to turn around the economic fortunes of Nigeria through the agricultural revolution, especially in the face of dwindling revenue to the governments due to the global financial crisis aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The country needs to sustain the present agricultural revolution tempo and bring about social engineering that will inspire more young people and women to engage in mechanised farming.

Abdullahi Adamu wrote via nasabooyoyo@gmail.com.

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.