Opinion

By Muhsin Ibrahim

Social media has a double-edged function. It can uplift you or do the exact opposite. It largely depends on the people and pages you interact with. Worried about their teens’ mental health, Utah became the first US state to regulate teen social media access this week.

According to a BBC report, “under the measures enacted on Thursday, a parent or guardian’s explicit consent will be needed before children can create accounts on apps such [as] Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.”

People of all ages can have their mental health wrecked on social media if they aren’t cautious. Some of us crave attention or other’s validation. Thus, people do crazy things to get more “likes” or ensure what they do gets their friends’ applause. That is one thing some of your social media ‘friends’ will never grant you because they are not your friends in the true sense of the word. So, the earlier you understand this, the better.

Of course, you should not be carefree. Each culture has its codes, and so on. So, consider these etiquettes but worry not about people’s attention or endorsement. Social media friendship is primarily fake. Folks, especially teens, can’t understand this. Thus, trolling push them to lose self-esteem, hate themselves, and some take their lives!

I salute the government of Utah. I am sure more states in the US and elsewhere will do the same. However, as ours (in Nigeria) will likely not do the same anytime soon, parents and guardians should do more. As it’s very challenging to deny your kids access to social media, monitor whom they interact with and the pages they visit.

Muhsin Ibrahim lives and works in Cologne, Germany. He can be contacted via muhsin2008@gmail.com.

By Salim Toro

A mistake repeated more than once is not a mistake anymore. It is a decision. – Paulo Coelho

I am not sure if this write-up will reach the appropriate authorities. But, anyway, if it reaches them, they should please consider and solve all the problems facing students of this great learning environment.

This question keeps coming to my mind. I can say that most of the University of Maiduguri students recall that the school commenced its 2022/2023 academic session on 3rd January 2023 for its new students and 16th January 2023 for returning students. However, I can see that no one is talking about it, although it’s already getting to two months, and no proper academic activities have commenced yet. 

Firstly, I’m not sure if this happens at a few universities. Still, it’s not proper to commence an academic session without placing your students’ results/academic statuses. But the case is different at the University of Maiduguri, and no effort is put into changing it. This same mistake happened last year, resulting in massive failure the following semester for those carrying over previous level courses, especially first-semester courses, because tests had already been conducted before the placement of the academic status. 

It’s tragic to know that the University of Maiduguri, a university created in 1985, doesn’t have any active student portal for registration, hostel registration, etc. They always come up with a new portal at the beginning of each session, with many difficulties for students when registering. Many students could not apply for hostel last year due to such challenges, and the management is still not ready to sort out this problem. 

Moreover, the university management doesn’t listen to students’ pleas on issues such as electricity, hostel maintenance and water supply. Sadly, students stayed in total blackout for weeks during the last examination session, which might result in massive failure in the semester examinations. Unfortunately, neither the school management nor the Student Union Government (SUG) takes serious action to solve the problem.

It’s sad to say that when the student representative met with the Vice Chancellor of the university, he boldly told them that the students should focus on their primary assignment and should not bother about anything other than that, which is impertinent. 

Although the SUG is supposed to be a channel between us and the management and a representative when any matter arises, I think they were appointed without minding to know the exact duty of the student union, and at last, they failed woefully. Aliyu Fannami’s administration is the worst SUG administration the university has ever had. 

Lastly, I’m calling on the JAGABAN of this administration to please put things into order. There’s still time to leave good legacies that will write your name with a golden pen in the university’s history, sir, because going down like this will only write your name as one of the worst JAGABAN the university ever had. 

Best wishes, Sir!

Salim Toro writes from Toro and is a 400l student from the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maiduguri. He can be contacted via salimabdulhamid0909@gmail.com.

By Engr. Auwal Rabiu Dansharif, PhD

The presidential and national assembly elections have come and gone, but the intense political scheming for leadership roles in the National Assembly is still ongoing. 

While it is very logical and democratic for every geopolitical zone in the country to express interest in any leadership role of their choice, it is important to note that some zones are more qualified and befitting to be chosen based on their incredible performance during the February 25, 2023, presidential and national assembly elections. 

In this regard, the Northwest zone of the country comprising Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Zamfara, Sokoto, and Jigawa states should be given topmost priority and consideration for the Senate Presidency. 

A critical study of the presidential election results has shown that these seven (7) states alone gave the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a total of 2652824 votes against Atiku Abubakar, who polled a total of 2197824 votes in the region.

The votes of the Northwest have exceeded the 2542797 given to the President-Elect by the South-West, his home region, and represent 30 per cent of the overall votes won by the incoming president. This is a clear demonstration of the confidence and trusts the people of the Northwest have towards President-Elect Tinubu. In Kano, the presidential election results show that the APC scored the second-highest number of votes, with 517341 votes, after the NNPP. 

It is pertinent to note that the APC was able to achieve such success with the good efforts of experienced politicians like Senator Barau Jibrin, who was able to lead the party to success in spite of the formidable opposition in the state. It is only very fair for the Northwest region to be rewarded with the Senate Presidency for its efforts, and no candidate befits such reward more than Senator Barau Jibrin.

Barau Jibrin is the longest-serving senator from the region and has held positions that gave him the experience and network that is required for the seat of the Senate President. These make him the best choice among others to be considered for the position in the 10th National Assembly. 

To support this fact, let us revisit the election results that returned Senator Barau back to the Senate. As the saying goes, charity begins at home. Senator Barau of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who represents Kano North Senatorial District, polled 234,652 votes to defeat his main challenger, Dr Abdullahi Baffa Bichi of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), who scored 177,014 votes.

This may appear simple, but it was a really difficult feat for Senator Barau to be able to win re-election in Kano State, where almost all the candidates of the APC lost their elections or re-elections to the opposition in the state.

This was possible for Senator Barau because he has become endeared to his people owing to a patriotic philanthropist who gave generously to society and was always on the front line leading efforts to solve the problems of people both within his political domain and beyond. 

Since he was first elected into the Nigeria Senate in 2015, Senator Barau has initiated and executed almost uncountable interventions and projects in both his constituency and other parts of Kano State, which have directly impacted the lives of the common people positively. 

Some of the projects and programmes he has successfully implemented include the construction of the multi-billion naira Kabuga- Dayi Road, the establishment of Kabo Federal Polytechnic, the construction of access roads in all the 13 local governments of Kano North, construction of five (5) General Hospitals in Kano North, securing employment for a total of 1,459 youths in both state and federal levels as well as empowering thousands of women and youths in different trades and lots more of such. 

Senator Barau, in addition to bringing development to his state and constituency, has also forged excellent relationships with leaders across political divides. He is admired and enormously respected even among formidable opposition figures. 

As the political tsunami in Kano swept away candidates of the ruling party, Senator Barau enjoyed support from people in opposition strongholds who saw him as a bridge builder, a unifying figure that has assisted people irrespective of their political, religious and ethnic affiliations.

Even at the National Assembly, the senator, through his political shrewdness and intellect, has appealed to the good senses of his colleagues from across the numerous geopolitical zones of the country. 

Senator Barau’s journey in the national assembly gave him the opportunity to serve Nigerians in various capacities. Some of the portfolios he held include; Chairman Committee appropriation in the lower and upper chamber, member committee on power in the lower chamber, vice chairman and later chairman committee on petroleum resources (downstream), Chairman committee on the tertiary institution (Tetfund),  Member committees on Niger delta, industries, land transportation. 

The invaluable experience he gathered certainly makes him a good consideration for the seat of the Senate presidency. 

In terms of representation, Senator Barau has been an excellent ambassador of Kano state as well as a champion of many bills or motion that seeks to improve the lives of Nigerians from wherever they come. He was among the champions of the PIB bill, being a one-time vice chairman and eventually chairman committee on Petroleum Resources (downstream) of the Senate. He has also been a moderating voice and a mediator who has made a mark as one of the most stabilizing pillars of the upper chamber. 

Perhaps this virtue is one of the reasons that saw him as the best fit for being Chairman Committee on Appropriation both in the lower chamber when he was a member there and now in the Senate. Having to deal with almost all members in both chambers on issues of constituency projects and, at the same time, executives on their proposals is a herculean task that only the best can be able to handle and succeed at the same time. This virtue is also very important in shortening the journey a Bill takes from motion to accent, bringing closer the benefit of the accented bills to the Nigerian populace. 

His portfolio in the National Assembly has given him the requisite experience to act as a bridge between one hand members across party lines and executives on the other hand. The idea of a rubber stamp senate president is hardly practical, being that motions are debated by all members with diverse political views and interests before being passed to the president for accent. This is, however, indicative of high political shrewdness, intellectual management, and reasoning. These qualities make him a good candidate for the seat of senate president, of which Senator Barau is an embodiment.

The running of the Senate is a continuous process from where the previous stops. Hence, it is pertinent that the incoming Senate president be one that has been actively involved in the activities of the Senate. There are Bills that are in motion, others in their last phase of reading, and a lot of others awaiting the accent of the President. Senator Barau being a second term senator already and having been part of the process all through, and having qualities as highlighted above, will be the best man to lead the 1oth senate to see these Bills see the light of day for Nigerians to benefit from. 

The 2023 elections have exposed some weaknesses that the APC has, among which is their loss of grip on Kano. It will be rational to see the APC strategizing to close that gap. It will be a good move for the APC Excos to galvanise support for Senator Barau’s bid for Senate Presidency, being the highest surviving political officer the APC has in the state, in order to match the formidable structure of the NNPP in the state. The might of the office of the Governor occupied by NNPP can only be matched by the might of the Senate president from the state. Senator Barau has a reputation for using his political strength to gain voters’ affinity, as highlighted above.

Based on the foregoing, there is a need for political stakeholders to study this proposal carefully and make the right choice by ensuring Senator Barau Jibrin emerges as the President of the 10th Senate. In doing so, there would be a joining of the political strength of person and region, which will translate to a win-win situation for the APC and Nigerians at large.

Engr. Auwal Rabi’u Dansharif writes from Kano and can be reached via ardansharif@hotmail.com.

Dear Sir,

I shall begin by congratulating you for winning the governorship election in Kano state. I am thrilled to write this letter, and I hope it will reach you in a sound manner.

Sir, the awaiting day has arrived, and your dream and ours have come true. The long and rough journey we have been travelling on has now come to an end. A new journey has begun.

Sir, you have witnessed the outstanding hard work and roles played by scholars, educationists and students in bringing you to this stage. We must salute the investment in education by the father, founder and leader of “Kwankwasiyya” in the name of Eng. Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

Education is the backbone of the development of every society. Therefore, reformation of the lopsided education system in this state is what poor masses have been dreaming of, and it is one of their reasons (if not the major) for casting their votes for you, courageously hoping that you will repair the broken shoulder of the education system in this state.

I hope this letter will serve as a call for the revocation of the defraud-sold public properties: some parts of the land of some primary and secondary schools, tertiary institutions, and some government organisations by the outgoing government around Kano state.

I shall also not be reluctant to mention the sale of GSS Panshekara, WRECA Quarters, land and defunct abattoir along Panshekara road. I am sure each of these lands is more than enough to build a new primary or secondary school or faculty for some of our state tertiary institutions.

Furthermore, civil servants should also not be forgotten or left behind. We hope that the incessant tears running in their faces for many years hope will be stopped and wiped by your blessing palms.

Sir, I hope you will act as your name implies, “Abban Kanawa”, which means “father of Kano people”. You will handle and take care of us as your children. May Allah help you and make it easier for you to carry out your duties and bring Kano state forward.

Yours faithfully,

Musa Idris Panshekara.

By Shu’aibu Rabiu

I’m writing this with my heart sinking out of the brink, confused, and absorbed in the prism of my mind lost in the ocean, wandering not because of the outcome of the election or what may become of the winner or the looser but rather, of the situation Jigawans might find themselves due to the unrest that has been going on due to the current mant

Jigawa has been known to be one of Nigeria’s most peaceful and harmonious states for decades. However, this aged-long history is currently being threatened by what seems to be political tribalism and jingoism (emiratism, to be specific).

Since the inception of Jigawa, it has had three democratically elected governors – Ibrahim Saminu Turaki (Jigawa north-west senatorial district comprising Kazaure, Ringim and Gumel emirates), Sule Lamido (Jigawa south-west senatorial district which consists of Dutse emirate only) and Muhammad Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa north-west senatorial district). Looking at the division above, one may wonder what the Jigawa north-east senatorial district is.

Well, after the completion of the party primaries in the state, Malam Umar Namadi Danmodi from Jigawa north-eastern senatorial district emerged victorious under the flag of the All Progressive Congress (APC), While Mustapha Sule Lamido from Jigawa south-western senatorial district, became the flagbearer of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). This, however, ignites the fire of what seems to be a battle between the already two conflicting emirates of Dutse and Hadejia, respectively.

For, Hadejia believed or rather thought of Dutse as its major shield or barrier in achieving its goal of producing a governor for the state. Dutse, on the other hand, considers Hadejia a threat to the state, for they believe Hadajiwas are selfish, narcissistic and self-centred, hence the hatred and hostility toward them.

The current enmity, hatred, hate speech and uproar doubled after the just concluded presidential election when both emirates decided to support their own (Hadejia went for APC’s presidential candidate, while Dutse voted for the PDP’s). This, however, became the major cause of the political unrest in the state, which, if care is not taken, will be a driving factor for the division of Jigawa in terms of political instability, peaceful coexistence and even beyond.

My main concern in the article is not who’s right or wrong for choosing to support their own and go against the other. Instead, my problem is what may become of Jigawa and its citizens now that Mustapha/Umar is declared governor-elect for the state.

It is pertinent to, at this juncture, make it categorically clear that the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria states that whoever wins an election will serve all the citizens irrespective of party, region or emirate affiliation. This means that Malam Umar Namadi will be a governor for all the citizens of Jigawa state, and his leadership will have no relation with the saying “to each, their own”. This is a hard-and-fast rule.

Well, first things first, we must know that there’s life after the election, which is one of the most important things to consider now. Because, often, the election comes and goes, and as far as tradition, it usually comes with things that jeopardise people’s relationships, which often lead to lifelong enmity. This, however, will affect the state in such a way that the winner you fought for will find it challenging to manage the administrative duties delicately because you’re at war. So he must find a way to stop it, which will divert his attention from doing tangible things for the development of the state.

For peace and stability to continue in Jigawa, we must eliminate what happened during the camping and the election in our minds. Let’s embrace each other, forgive and forget, and be our brothers’ keepers. Until we do this, the aged long peace and stability will only be a thing to remember.

I, therefore, appeal to my fellow Jigawa citizens to accept this outcome with open arms. If the outcome turnout against your prepared candidate, please pray it turns out the best. Similarly, don’t let what happened to ruin your relationship with your friends anywhere in the state. Remember, this is all politics!

And to Malam Umar Namadi, I pray that you turn out to be the best that ever happened to Jigawa, may Allah the omnipotent guide you to do the right thing for Jigawa, amin.

Congratulations and best wishes.

Shu’aibu Rabiu wrote via shubrabbkd@gmail.com.

By Saifullahi Attahir

It’s not surprising that nowadays you see my post regularly. I’m always looking forward to moments like this where  I get released from the yolk of sleep-inducing medical books. Once again, I’m lucky to be surrounded by my favourite literature I  enjoy which serves as a source of enlightenment, happiness, experience, and loyal and non-disturbing companionship.

This week I luckily came across a 362 pages novel written by a great and rare literary icon, Chinua Achebe, who needs no introduction. Dr Achebe was born around the 1930s in pre-independence Nigeria. He witnessed the early struggle of our nation with colonial amalgamation, premature political activities, and half-baked western knowledge. He was also blessed to witness the coup and the counter-coups, the civil war, the many long military juntas, and various democratic regimes. He died around 2013. what a long journey!

My respect for Achebe began when I discovered his early taste in Medicine (MBBS) at the University before switching to the Humanities. This is obvious in his surgical approach to writing and his simple use of words to convey a powerful message resembling a patient-doctor relationship in a way that no other can. Achebe is a political philosopher with all the tools to delve into politics (being famous, a great orator, experienced, a historian, and knowledgeable, of course, without the money) but decided to steer himself away from remaining a true nationalist.

The book, Man of the people, was so captivating that I couldn’t stop reading it until I was done in less than three days. How it related events in the early 1950s political arena to how it is in the present moment shows me that history is often a cyclical process with only names and dates that tend to change a little. This struck me with a reality that humans, despite our self-acclaim superior intelligence, are sometimes unfortunate gullible creatures that hardly learnt lessons from their past mistakes or the mistakes of others. This is more so true as today we rarely like to read history. Below is my take off from the book:

Chief Honourable Nanga is regarded in our settings as a wise and lucky few who was previously a low waged primary school teacher before finding his way into politics in the newly independent country. He was elected as a parliamentarian to represent his local people, who were mostly less literate in books than he was. Before his political adventure, Nanga was simple, intelligent, respectful, and friendly. All the mentioned attributes earned him the automatic approval of his people to represent them.

Of course, they weren’t wrong. Chief Nanga continues to be available to his people because he was a person you could describe as ‘let us eat together’. The main concern of his people was to bring them something to their mouths, not tangible and economically sustained programs. This automatically makes Chief Nanga the person whose main concern was to butcher the ‘national cake’ to satisfy his people and at least secure their approval for the next election round.

Chief Nanga was nominated a National Minister of Culture by the Prime Minister for his unquestionable ‘loyalty’ to the party and its leadership. The loyalty was nothing more than his ability to see wrongdoings and remains silent. Transgressions include high inflation, dashing money to party members, over-estimated contracts, sub-optimal road projects, conspicuous import duties, debt-ridden economic policies, debilitating educational reform, and countless more.

In exchange for his loyalty Chief Nanga was assured 10% of every project he was given, a 7-bedroom self-contained house, ten newly designed buses for his next election campaign, a  newly 2-storey mansion in his village hometown Anata, a new Cadillac car, and four security bodyguards. Remember that this was 1960’s politics!

In the story, there was an incident of some members of Parliaments who were not loyal to this dirty scheme of ‘party politics’ and stood their ground to expose all these scandalous affairs. Their fate was that the newspapers, magazines, and media outlets were being bought up (bribed) to write news regarding a coup plot arranged by those patriotic citizens who were later dismissed and imprisoned. At this juncture, I noticed that it’s true that news from some media outlets sometimes has some aspects of interest, either being compromised financially or for personal benefit. This required a separate article on its own.

It’s a rule of life that such activities can never continue unnoticed. Therefore a group of young, overzealous, and enlightened University graduates, some of whom were already practising in various sectors, including lawyers, doctors, teachers, and engineers led by  Max (a lawyer) and Odili (a teacher)  gathered to form a political party or rather a revolutionary movement to counter the activities of Chief Nanga’s Government. After various arrangements and meetings, they began launching their campaign. They were able to display every tactic to draw the attention of the common men and women in the country.

To cut the story short, these zealous young men were, to some level, unsuccessful in their mission; as the system began to unfold, it seemed a very complex situation where the very people they were shouting to rescue were the very culprit supporting the corruption. Those masses see the politician as saviours whose role is to go and bring them their share of the ‘national cake’ bounty because they do not view it as their right or National asset that deserves preservation up to their unborn generation.

The problem is that the same common masses are responsible for encouraging the leaders to do the vices. The common masses are the vanguards (‘yan jangaliya), the bodyguards, the local party chairman, and the man who complained of Kola-nut for his daughter’s marriage. The same masses would first laugh at him (elected politician)  after one year when he resigned from office without amassing something. Then, they would laugh at him that now he had become a  pauper, so this automatically creates the intrinsic urge to loot.

During the election campaign, Max lost his life after being attacked by those unfortunate vanguards, and  Odili sustained injuries, while his nomination paper didn’t even reach the electoral office as it was confiscated by corrupt Police. Chief Nanga’s party were ‘elected’ unopposed through massive ballot rigging and political hullabaloo. Fortunately, the country was saved by a military coup that overthrew Chief Nanga’s government.

The rest is history.

Saifullahi Attahir wrote from Dutse wrote via saifullahiattahir93@gmail.com.

By Ishaka Mohammed

Children smile when they are happy and cry or weep when they are hurting. They see you (an adult) as a loved one and guardian, so they hold your clothes, allow you to touch them and accept your gifts. Kids believe that everyone is innocent like them. Little do they know that some of their “loved” ones are child sexual abusers looking for opportunities to steal their innocence.

From relatives and friends to neighbours and teachers, we see people who derive pleasure from destroying poor kids. We live with people whom we consider as lovely friends and guardians of innocent children, unknown to us that they are monsters who see the innocent kids as sex objects. What a wicked world!

Although male children are also victims, sexual violence or abuse disproportionately affects female children. At a tender age, the girl-child suffers sexual abuse from people she’s supposed to trust. While at home, her mother tends to be indifferent when a man starts his subliminal seduction by touching her and calling her “my wife”. And at school, some of her male teachers use their bare hands to smack her—not as a punishment. These unscrupulous men abuse the girl-child while smiling and making her do the same, taking advantage of her naivety. 

I recently read a disturbing story about the arrest of a teacher who allegedly defiled four underaged sisters within ten weeks. It’s even shocking that the eldest of those girls is just 14 years old. I initially wondered how the suspect got a one-to-one meeting with the girls. I later realised that some parents are utterly irresponsible.

While listening to a Muslim cleric a couple of weeks ago, a man rebutted the claim that the religious orientation of children (especially girls) is a collective responsibility. According to him (a supposed father), parents had done their part by enrolling their wards and paying school fees, so the rest should be on Islamiyya schools. I was disappointed to hear such from someone who sometimes leads us in prayer. With this kind of man as a parent, it might be easy for a male teacher to even invite a female student to his house for a special (one-to-one) session.

Many parents trivialise the care of the girl-child nowadays. Maybe they are oblivious to her vulnerability, so they leave her to the mercy of people they tend to trust. Call it suspicion or being overprotective; I insist that it can be disastrous for a girl to be with a man (except her husband) in seclusion, regardless of their biological or social relationship. 

While searching the incidence of incest in Nigeria some time ago, I found an enormous volume of reports. The findings shocked me because I grew up in a society where almost every family protected its name by keeping such nasty stories from the public. Besides, I never imagined sexual activities between parents and their children. Although I’ve read a few stories involving mothers, this unthinkable act happens mostly between fathers and daughters. If poor kids could be abused by their biological fathers, I doubt if they’d be safer anywhere else. So, what’s the way out?

Here’s my take. To protect the girl-child, we must shun emotional blackmail and take rigid measures. Members of every family should unanimously agree that any man (father, uncle, brother, teacher, etc.) that wants to talk to a female member should do so in the presence of other people. However, in the case of something seemingly private, they can be given a gap but must be visible to another member of the family.

You may think my position is absurd, but I’m sure you’d change your mind after reading some of the reports I’ve accessed. Child sexual abuse and incest in Nigeria cut across all regions and religions, so we must deny one another the chance to engage in this heinous act.

I once saw a quote that reads, “Virginity isn’t dignity; it’s lack of opportunity.” Although I disagree with the first part, I find the last one meaningful. A lot of people are innocent because they have no chance to commit certain sins.

I know a man in his late 30s who used to be angry with his dad because he had no personal room to copulate with girls, but this fellow is grateful today for the opportunity he didn’t have years ago. Indeed, a lack of something might just be a blessing in disguise. Dear men, let’s fight child sexual abuse by denying one another a one-to-one meeting with any girl.

By Umar Ahmad El-Rufai

Sheikh Ibrahim Khalil is a renowned Islamic scholar. However, as a gubernatorial candidate in Kano, he didn’t hide under religion to win an election.

Whether you know it or not, he didn’t beg others to endorse him due to his identity as an Islamic scholar. He regards himself as a politician. Every politics is local.

He campaigned like everyone and participated in politics. That’s his constitutional right. However, he neither sought donations from his students nor others dignitaries.

As a result of Malam’s political journey, anyone among our Islamic scholars is free to venture into politics now. Nobody should hide under religion to achieve his political goals.

Sheikh Ibrahim Khaleel became chairman of the Northwest Nigeria Council of Ulama, an organisation of Muslim religious leaders. He has been opening big doors with small keys. 

I regard him as a winner that reforms the system. As a result, nobody will come to get cheap popularity under religion. That’s a victory for everyone.

Politics is good to some. Mallam will be remembered as a political reformist. So do your politics; don’t hide under religion. The game is over.

Umar Ahmad Rufai wrote from Kano via umarahmadrufaijr@gmail.com. He is a student at Dala College of Education.

By Iranloye Sofiu Taiye

Gone are the days when most people in our society were contented with little they had and a time when we slept with our two eyes closed; it was a communal state characterised by collectivism. Then we were our brother’s keepers when travellers were safe to journey at night without any security threats, a time when meritocracy prevailed over mediocrity when criminals were not sympathised with, and an epoch when elderly people were highly respected and venerated. 

The situation is quite catastrophic currently with the substitution of collectivism with individualism. We are now dwelling in a society where everyone minds his business with no form of a collective check on the excesses of our people, especially when it comes to criminal actions. I can vividly recall when we were juveniles. Generally, few people had cars, televisions, fridges, and generators.

Children had fewer clothes bought during the festival period and ate the best dishes (rice and chicken) during the festive season or special events. Yet, we are not frustrated. On the contrary, both day and night, the entrance and doors to the house of the rich are wildly often open to play and eat together with their children, and the rich also tolerate their children eating together in the less privileged homes and vice-versa. 

Children always troop into the room of anyone who has a television whenever there’s light to watch movies and listen to the news with no intimidation from anyone. In our community, we are always proud and happy if someone has a car in our area because, during any festival, all children in that community will go to the praying ground with that car. No one is under a burden to amass what they couldn’t afford just to oppress others.

Society has a culture of contentment though people strive to improve their living conditions within their means. Owing to contentment and collectivism, the crime rate was meagre because the notion of ‘i-must-make-it-anyhow’, which has ravaged our societies today, isn’t the order of the day then.   

Pathetically, our society of today has been polarised and characterised by social class disparity anchored on economic buoyancy, where those who are wealthy don’t tolerate the less privileged. Thus, the relationship only exists if the poor are ready to kowtow to the dictate of the rich to advance their oppression. 

Youths commit crimes including; kidnapping, armed robbery, murder, rape, internet fraud, money ritual, and alcoholism because they want to wear designer, drive the latest cars, use the latest iPhones, and party with open Street girls. Sadly, many members of our society today are abetting this aberration and terror, demonising our communities of which the parents, guidance, religious clerics, and even the bad eggs within our security personnel and government officials are not left out.  

The rise in the rate of internet fraud, known as Yahoo-Yahoo! and kidnapping is one of the major causes of carnage across our communities today, but all our hands are at akimbo as if what’s happening is normal in our communities today even though we are all aware the perpetrators of this evils engage in human parts harvesting for money rituals.

Many young men on our streets today are into drug abuse, cultism, and alcoholism, which have continued to pose a severe threat to the peace and security of our communities, thus, increasing the crime rate. Our parents, known to be a model before, had soiled their integrity and never cared to know the source of the wealth of their children today. Alas, we now have the ‘yahoo-yahoo mother association’ organised to support their children who are into cybercrime and internet fraud spiritually. Let alone ladies freely engage in advanced prostitution (hook-ups) to compete and oppress others. 

The schools and institutions known to be an avenue for character modelling before are nothing to write about today. People only attend school for academic accomplishment, devoid of character. Stealing and misappropriating the public commonwealth by those occupying public offices, including politicians and civil servants, is now a culture.

Regrettably, the court system and the judiciary are now blemished with conspiracies and marred with corruption. The supposed last hope of the masses has become the fortress for the rich, where the highest bidder gets the desired judgment.

How did our esteem values and norms get substituted, and why is criminality on the rise despite our religion and high level of education? I believe it’s already too late to continue to point fingers at colonialism, globalisation, or westernisation as our problem currently. But the main issue is that our values and norms have been neglected. Hence this dilemma and nightmares befall us.

As a Yoruba aphorism says, “if you know not where you’re heading to, you should know where you are coming from” Revival of our culture; norms and values are pertinent now to arrest and stem this risen criminality in our society.

Iranloye Sofiu Taiye (Optimism Mirror) is reachable via iranloye100@gmail.com.

By Abdussamad Ahmad Yusuf

While political support entirely is a choice, governed by emotion and often guided by personal aggrandisement, it is surprising if putting it written dismisses intellectual-based assessments and analyses coming from a scholar, even though a public relations consultant. So let me be clear here. I expect, yes, from a political PR consultant to sweet mouth his principal.

However, an assignment of this colour requires an honest appraisal of factors and challenges that might impede the principal’s success and how to mitigate them. Anyway, I rise to the task of unravelling the concoction of emotion and politics wrapped in the last article of Mallam Adnan Mukhtar Tudunwada titled Why Gawuna will win Kano Governorship.

The people of Kano are, at the moment, out at the polling unit to choose the next state governor between the quartet: Ibrahim Khalil; the charismatic Kano Malam, Abba Kabir Yusuf; Kwankwaso-backed candidates, the ‘born-again’ Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, and the carrier of the old school PRP; Salihu Tanko Yakasai!

Unlike Adnan, I do not have a personal relationship with any of the four. Therefore, my response is purely based on the analysis of his candidate, Hon. Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna. Readers will believe me that an analysis of Gawuna should never be unconnected with the un-ceremonial Ganduje administration, especially since he is the number two.

The bane that will eventually cost Gawuna the Kano gubernatorial seat is, to list very few of the significant;

First. The Gawuna’s involvement in the Kano black history of ‘inconclusive’. It was exactly one year when the citizens of Kano, tired of the reckless and unthoughtful administration of Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, after parting way with his old political ally Rabiu Kwankwaso, came out en masse to vote out the administration.

However, Gawuna disrupted the final collation of Nasarawa LG results and eventual cancellations effected by INEC, leading to the declaration of the election as inconclusive. Then, as though this is not enough, Gawuna and cohort mobilised for the re-run, thugs that banned legitimate voters from exercising their enfranchise. One!

Two. After assuming office, Gawuna was party to the crimes committed by the Administration of his principal, Ganduje. The vendetta set out by their reign cost the revered emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, his throne. It didn’t stop at the elite; the vendetta did not spare even the proletariats. The story of ‘Yan Adaidaita Sahu is permanently fresh with traps to whittle their business network. It became a gist that ‘yau baba wa kuma zai sosa’ people expressed their fear.

Salaries were slashed. Pension became uncertain. KAROTA unleashed to markets where they apprehend business allies as they set out to leave Kano in vehicles after transactions at Kwari, Singa, Wambai, Galadima, etc. Of all these shams, Gawuna has proven himself to be with the Talakawa. Neither him expressing disappointment on how Ganduje massacres the future of the state. We have known of the ‘Yan tebura mall and the corruption there. The butchery of Kwari and Kofar Wambai markets, the persecution of Farm Centre phone marketers, and the Kano Cancer Centre corruption charges led to the lay-off of Engr Muaz Magaji.

Third. It is even wiser not to talk of education, health and the civil service. The statistics and data by both Governmental and Non-governmental tracking bodies are something to give you tears.

Fourth. Respect and dignification for elder statesmen Gawuna pretend to have. Where was he when his principal, in his front, called the Kano elders ‘Dattawan wukari’? Where was he when he shunned the Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, et al., mediation to dethrone Emir Muhammadu Sanusi? Where was he when Adaidita Sahu riders were called Yan Iska, rascals by the MD KAROTA – Baffa Babba?

Where was he when a grand allegation of corruption was being unearthed left, right and centre in the government? He’s a second. Where was he when pensioners and civil servants were denied their full salaries, wages and pension? Where was he when businesses and traders in the state are being pauperised deliberately? These are some of what will cost Gawuna the seat of Governor and why he will fail.

Fifth. The ‘youth constituency’ became the major ‘enemy’ of Gawuna politically, not by coincidence, because their administration has shown indifference to the plight of the youth. They first fizzled out the foreign scholarship program they inherited neither continue to age-long domestic scholarships to tertiary institution students. There was no ‘Youth empowerment’ program such as the Tukwui’s Fish and Poultry, nor Gabasawa’s school for security studies or Kura’s Sport.

No ‘Gawuna or Gandujiyya’ taxis or the Garman Shanu rural-farming boost programs exist—zero youth-centred human capital development. So what was/is the future of youth under the Ganduje-Gawuna and Gawuna-Garo administrations? This is a one-billion-dollar question! Answer with reference to his past antecedence.

The Kano citizens under Ganduje were subjected to hardship and stern corruption. They no longer trusted the government and its officials. This prompted them to have launched a search for alternatives in 2019. Shaaban Sharada emerged, who soon garnered reception, Mallam Khalil made a deep inroad, and Dawisu in the race, among others.

If these third forces could become something to reckon with in the Kano polity at the moment, how about the Kwankwasiyya ‘bloc’ that had given Ganduje-Gawuna a hard knock in 2019 and 2023 they re-strategizes and already won two senators out of three, and more than 18 seats for REPs out 24 in the state? These are factors that won’t allow Gawuna to emerge victorious today.

Abdussamad wrote via abdussamadahmad69@gmail.com from Abuja, monitoring the election.