Opinion

By Tajuddeen Ahmad Tijjani

Air Marshall Sadiq Abubakar needs the support of the APC faithful and, by extension, the good people of Bauchi State to win the 2023 governorship election.

We hope his victory at the just concluded primary election will be a turning point for uniting the party and mark a positive difference – if God gives him the leadership of our dear State in the 2023 general election.

In terms of competence, yes, he’s indeed equal to the task to salvage the people of Bauchi and impact positively on our lives. 

The unity of our party at this juncture is paramount. Therefore, we call on other contenders and all stakeholders to rally around him in giving a new face to the progress and ideals of the party. It’s the foundation the party is built on. However, the task is not expected to be easy, but repositioning the party and moving Bauchi State forward is the people’s expectation. 

We shall move together to make APC’s success achievable in the forthcoming election. The new bride, who’s versatile and indeed a rare gem, can give us new hope for the betterment of our people.

So let’s rally around this formidable candidate with the capacity to take APC back to Ramat House in 2023, in sha Allah!

Tajuddeen Ahmad Tijjani writes from Galadima Mahmoud street kasuwar kaji Azare.

By Abdullahi Abubakar Lamido

Bleak Economic Future on Losing bread Winner

Think of it; the moment you die, the socioeconomic status of your children and wives changes. Your children (those young among them especially) become orphans, and your wives are called widows. While alive, you worked hard and earned for their feeding, clothing, shelter, education, healthcare and general wellbeing. The moment you die, they lose a breadwinner. If in your lifetime you have searched from the Islamic Sharī’ah, you would have learned the art and science of planning beyond your lifetime for these prospective widows and orphans. After relying on Allah, you would have built for them a prospect such that they would live a life of meaning, success, prosperity and contribution, insha Allah. And here comes the relevance of family waqf; waqf, in general, being the Islamic instrument for institutionalising philanthropy and ensuring perpetuity in giving!

Family Waqf as a superb socioeconomic institution enables one posthumously to maintain his parenthood and breadwinner status for his family, generates him reward permanently and preserves the dignity of his progeny everlastingly. In family waqf, you find one of the essential instruments for planning the future prosperity of your progeny.

Family Waqf as Solution

Family waqf, also called posterity waqf, is a kind of endowment created as a futuristic investment for the sustainable prosperity of the endower’s relatives or friends. It is often called a restricted waqf, distinct from a public waqf whose benefits go to an open class of beneficiaries. It can be for the immediate family; wives and children. It may also include parents. It can be made for the extended family, depending upon the financial capacity of the endower. One can make a family waqf for a child with a special need, say one with sickle-cell disease. The beneficiaries of a family waqf, in short, are those defined by the endower.    

Significantly, although the primary beneficiaries of this form of waqf are those pinpointed from the endower’s family, time may expand the scope of the recipients of its fruits. When, for example, the revenues generated from the waqf grow so large beyond the family’s need, or when the family gradually goes extinct after some long time, the waqf could be converted to a public waqf, expanding the coverage of those who enjoy its benefits. Therefore, what distinguishes a family waqf from a general public waqf is its scope of defined beneficiaries. Virtually all other rules of its governance are the same with public waqf. It can be made a direct waqf, one that creates direct benefits, on an investment waqf whose revenues are distributed to the designated recipients.   

Family waqf can be made for the provision of all forms of welfare and empowerment services for the family. It can be made for education, healthcare, feeding, clothing and other needs. It can also be made, specifically for the sponsorship of Hajj to family members. In this regard, instead of spending five million naira for two or three members of the family to perform Hajj this year, the same amount can be invested as a waqf, such that after its maturity, the proceeds from the investment waqf can be used to sponsor Hajj for a certain number of family members every year. With proper management and Allah’s barakah, instead of three family members, dozens of them can enjoy Hajj from the same seed money even long after the demise of the original donor. Waqf multiplies benefits and rewards manifold.

More often than not, you hear people complain over the demands of their family members overwhelming them even as they want to contribute. But little do they know they have a satisfactory answer in family waqf. For example, suppose you know you spend two million naira for the education of your children and extended family annually. Why not make an investment waqf so that the proceeds of the waqf relieve you of any spending in that direction in some years to come?

Form and Functioning of the Family Waqf

A person can build a rentable shopping complex, subscribe to Islamic bonds (Sukuk), buy shares of a halal company, and dedicate the same and profits thereof as a waqf for the education of his children and grandchildren. Likewise, one can build an orchard full of date trees, mango trees and other fruit-bearing trees, dedicating them as a waqf for the future specific or general financing of the needs of their children.

When the endower specifies in the waqf deed that it is only for the education of his children, then, as a rule, no part of the rentals shall be spent on other needs, just as the resources cannot be used to fund the education of children other than his, except when the yields grow far beyond the education of the designated siblings. If the endower dedicates it to education and healthcare, its proceeds cannot be diverted to feeding the family or other things except under absolute necessity. All this is to safeguard the sanctity of the waqf, ensure its sustainability, and guarantee the continuous flow of its yields in line with the overall goals and objectives for which it is created.

 The good thing is that, like all other waqfs, making it a family waqf makes the investment/asset inalienable. It prevents it from being counted among the inheritable wealth of the endower, as it will remain a separate entity that creates benefits perpetually to the entire qualified beneficiaries. The asset can neither be sold nor given as collateral. It remains a waqf asset. This way, even when the children need other things, they source them outside the waqf, allowing the waqf to maintain its defined purpose perpetually.  

The idea behind family waqf stems from Islam’s emphasis on ensuring the wellbeing of a person’s family and biological relations and the need to spend continuously on all aspects of their needs; spiritual, intellectual, biological, physiological, socio-cultural, and so on. Talking about spending, the Qur’an draws attention to prioritising spending on the family. When, for instance, the companions continued to ask the Prophet (SAW) how best to organise their spending, Allah intervened with a divine spending formula: that whatever you plan to spend for good or charity, direct it to your “parents, relatives, orphans, the needy and the traveller” (Qur’an 2: 215).

Your family, in short, occupies the first three spaces on your scale of spending preference. They are the primary beneficiaries of your giving, be it obligatory or voluntary. Now, if, as the Prophet declares, the most pleasing act in the sight of Allah is one that is perpetual and sustainable; then it becomes apparent that the most rewarding spending on the family is the “gift that keeps on giving”, that is a waqf that keeps bearing fruits to the family.

Start Early, Start Now!

It is important you begin the waqf plan early. Many people start their marital lives with moderate incomes, which, with little adjustments, a futuristic mindset and financial discipline, are sufficient to be divided into consumption, saving and little investments. However, financial shortsightedness often prevents them from allocating some portion of that “meagre income” to what would ease their financial burdens and create a sustainable flow of income – and reward- for themselves and their family in the future. Little do they realise that as their family grows, so do their financial burdens. If these are added to inflation and other economic unpredictables, the complexity of the situation worsens.

Many people do not also realise that the best immunisation from the negative socioeconomic consequences of shrinking disposable income is to begin early implementation of an effective financial plan. Many begin to regret when the regret cannot change anything; they would want to start to cry when the head is already cut off!  

So, plan for the future of your beloved wives, children and relatives. That is a Sunnah, a well-established one, for that matter. A viable and well-managed revenue-generating waqf can do that for you. You get double rewards; you safeguard your family’s future Islamically and earn rewards perpetually. Make an effective plan for their feeding, sheltering, education, medicine, and socioeconomic prosperity. Make a waqf for their Hajj, ‘umrah and general spiritual wellbeing. That is sunnatic. Do not miss the opportunity to practice this multidimensional Sunnah, the Sunnah of family waqf. Our dear mother and wife of the Noblest Prophet, Aisha, reports to us that the Prophet (peace be upon him) dedicated his seven gardens as waqf to benefit the clans of Banū Abd Muttalib and Banū Hāshim as recorded by Bayhaqi.

We also see emphasising family waqf in the guidance of the Prophet to his companions. After the revelation of the verse “By no means shall you attain righteousness/piety unless you spend of that which you love; and whatever good you spend, Allah knows it well” (3:92), Abu Talha met the Prophet and said, “This is what Allah has revealed, and the most treasured of all my wealth is this garden, Bayruhā’. I have set it aside as a ṣadaqah to attract reward from Allah. Therefore, you should administer it the way you wish”. The Prophet was amazed by this gesture. And so he said, “Certainly your wealth is blessed. Having heard what you have said, I recommend that you dedicate it as a perpetual charity to your relatives”. Based on this Prophetic advice Abu Talhah made it a waqf for his close relatives and cousins (Bukhari and Muslim).

It is interesting also that most companions of the Prophet are reported to have implemented this Sunnah. For example, Caliph Abubakar dedicated a house as a waqf for his son, and Umar dedicated a waqf near Marwa to his son. Also, Zubayr endowed a house in Makkah, another in Egypt, and yet another in Medina as waqfs for his children. Amr b. ‘Āss endowed a house and another huge property in Mecca for his children, just as Hakīm b. Hizām also dedicated a house as a waqf in Mecca and another in Medina for his son. After reporting all of these, Ibn Qudamah says in al-Mughniy, “All this are intact till date”.

Family waqf is a Sunnah of the Prophet, his companions and generations of Muslims in the last fourteen centuries. It is a well-developed institution that grew as a robust instrument for family empowerment and societal development until it faced the orchestrated wrath of the colonial monsters. The colonialists saw it as an institution that gave families and societies independence against their mercilessness and hence officially abolished it in Muslim nations like Egypt, Morocco, and so on.

Sadly, there is hardly any evidence of its practice as enshrined in Islamic law and civilisation here in Nigeria. With the growing waqf awakening in Nigeria, one hopes that a new page would be opened for entrenching this all-important Islamic civilisational institution. The good news is that with each family doing it, we gradually build a new waqf generation. Through that, we give a big blow to poverty at family levels before we finally eject it out of our communities. The early we sow, the earlier we reap. The more we sow, the more we reap. May we begin this journey NOW.

Abdullahi Abubakar Lamido, Chairman, Zakah and Waqf Foundation, Gombe . He can be reached via lamidomabudi@gmail.com.

By Simbo Olorunfemi

It might yet turn out that, by some accident or slip on the part of members of the National Assembly, Nigeria might have stumbled upon a system that might yet become useful in retooling the mechanics of the Presidential system as we currently practise it.

Of course, the idea that the template that had been forced upon the political parties for the election of Candidates in this election will outlive this season is unlikely, as letting the Buhari ‘veto’ stay would amount to class suicide, with power of election/selection slipping out of the hands of those who had assumed the status of ‘statutory’ or ‘super’ delegates. The Legislators are unlikely to ever let that happen.

But I wouldn’t let that stop my interrogation of what is accidental, but I see as potentially beneficial intervention in the electoral system.

Whereas the idea of electing candidates through a collegiate system, made up of delegates is not new, what has played out this time around is one in which all the delegates who participated in the election of candidates were elected. Whereas these ones were supposedly ‘ad-hoc’, who were to be add-ons to the supermen and women who are automatic delegates by virtue of the offices they hold/held.

So, as the malfunction in the legislative process led to the omission of super delegates who had been the dominant players in the space, the task of producing candidates was solely left to the adhoc delegates, who suddenly became beautiful brides desperately sought by aspirants.

Whereas there has been a lot of talk about what has become a highly monetised delegates procurement process, my observation does, in fact, suggest that it is the statutory or super delegates who have constituted themselves into ‘cabals’ and pressure groups, taking advantage of their positions to put pressure on aspirants, leading to the monetisation of the process.

First, we have former members of the National Assembly, having formed themselves into groups, waiting for the period of elections to milk aspirants. Then, we have a situation in which the list of delegates tilts heavily in favour of these groups, making the system more susceptible to manipulation.

So, what is wrong with tweaking with this accidental system that we now have and explore the possibility of institutionalising it as a model for electing Candidates?

As we have it now, members of the party go through a process of election which see them emerging as ward, local government and State delegates, to be able to vote for candidates in the different elections.

Whereas the contest within the parties to qualify as a ‘Delegate’ was not one that had the big players contending, having already qualified to participate in the process as statutory delegates, I will argue for the idea of statutory delegates to be scrapped entirely.

I will argue for a system in which all delegates are elected by members of the party. This primary election had 5 delegates per ward (APC) and 3 delegates per ward (PDP) for the State House of Assembly Elections.

I will make a case for the primary election for the office of the President to be one delegate per ward, which would be the total number of delegates eligible to vote to 8, 813, just about what we had with statutory delegates participating in the process. But under this proposed arrangement, anyone who wants to be a delegate, either already elected into office or a political appointee will return to his ward to stand for election, and if qualified will serve as delegate at the Presidential primaries. Local government and states delegates will also emerge through the same process.

This system strengthens the party and returns power to the base, having within it some elements of the parliamentary system which I prefer and advocate a return to.

Simbo can be reached via; simboor@yahoo.com

By Abdullahi Abubakar Lamido

Introduction

In today’s Nigeria, we experience a rapidly growing population at an average rate of 3% per annum. We currently have about 220 million citizens and still counting. Our population is projected to reach nearly 400 million in the next 28 years. It is factual also that the population growth is much higher in the Muslim communities of Northern Nigeria than in other communities in both the North and the South.

Due to many reasons, foremost among which is the widespread practice of Islamically permissible polygyny, our population grows exponentially. At the same time, little is done to plan the expansion of infrastructure and provide alternative ways of coping with the needs of the expanding population. An average Northern Nigerian man likes and practices polygyny (i.e. marries more than one wife). In addition, family planning and birth control are generally considered taboos. Families are, therefore, mostly large.

While the population is supposed to be a blessing, it can also be a curse if not well managed. It is clear also that most of the Muslim masses and a large chunk of the Muslim leaders, intellectuals and even religious scholars are oblivious of the long term consequences of an ever-growing population that is not matched with a corresponding sharī’ah-compliant solid plan for taking care of the education, health, food and other socioeconomic and religio-spiritual needs of the expanding population.

While few are partly aware of some of the projections related to population growth vis-à-vis the socioeconomic and other realities, we are largely oblivious of the need to develop Islamic oriented ways of building the society and coping with the socioeconomic challenges associated with our growing population and exponentially changing societal dynamics. Therefore, the issue can quickly become controversial during any discussion.

But a society that accepts, based on an interpretation of religious teachings and cultural beliefs, that polygamy – rather polygyny – should be widely practised and even encouraged should also be a society that always goes back to the scripture for proper guidance on how to manage polygamous families. Since, as a religious Ummah, we have accepted what Islam has provided for us of the permissibility of having many children, is it not also Islamically incumbent upon us to go back to the Qur’an and Sunnah to learn how to organise the social, educational, economic and other needs of our families? Within this context, I intend to introduce family waqf, an almost entirely unknown Islamic institution for organising and planning the prosperity of families in Nigeria.  

Unpleasant Consequences of Life without Planning

How often have you heard stories that end with statements like: “Allahu Akbar! Late Alhaji Adamu was a wealthy person, a kind, gentle, and successful businessman. But look at how his children are suffering…”; or “Can you remember Alhaji Mai-Turare: the owner of XYZ Business at Tudun Muntsira quarters? Do you know that this hopeless drug addict is his son! He dropped out of school and joined a team of hooligans…Allah ya sa mu gama da duniya lafiya (May we have a good end in this world)”. And similar stories?!

Those are recurrent stories in Northern Nigeria. You have several successful entrepreneurs or accomplished aristocrats and professionals who reached the zenith of fortune in their chosen businesses and professions and lived lives of accomplishment and contribution. However, shortly after their demise, their estates would be shared among their 30 heirs; four wives, over 20 children, etc. After a few years, those inheritors of enormous wealth would fall from the world of prosperity to that of harsh poverty.

Many people would be rich, with an ever-expanding flow of income in the booming years of their careers. Still, they would never think of making a sustainable investment for the future prosperity of their children, not even for their life after retirement. After the family has grown large, inflation has multiplied manifold, and life has become unbearably expensive against their sources of income which have rather contracted due to age and other factors; they turn from affluence to poverty, battling to settle even the most basic of their bills. They neither invested for their retirement nor made an ever-flowing investment for their second life, the eternal life after death.

They have no passive investments that generate income for them at old age, nor a waqf (endowment) that would continue to fetch them rewards even while in their graves. They have no plan for what would sustainably finance their family’s education, health, and other essential needs. And so the worst happens. And the whistle is blown for their final, inevitable transition to the next world, leaving their family in economic and financial confusion, which often spirals into other messes in the spiritual, social and mental spheres. Soon after dearth, history forgets them as they have left nothing that continues to fetch them rewards and people’s prayers, not even for their immediate family.

The Importance of Making a Financial Plan

But why is it essential to make a financial plan for your children’s and family’s future prosperity? Does that have any place in Islam? Sa’d b. Abu Waqqas was an uncle to the Prophet (peace be upon him). He was among the ten topmost companions that received glad tiding of a direct entry ticket to Paradise in one sitting. He was rich. Actually, very rich.

One day, during the farewell pilgrimage, the Prophet visited Sa’d on his sickbed. After exchanging greetings, Sa’d told the Prophet that I am seriously ill, as you can see. He apparently was doubtful of surviving that illness. He said, “And I am a very rich person, but there is no one to inherit my wealth except a single daughter.” He then asked if he could give two-thirds of his wealth to charity, leaving one-thirds for the daughter. The Prophet instantly replied with a quick “No”. “What of half?” The Prophet again said, “NO”! What of one-thirds?” Now, here is where the Prophet reluctantly approved by saying, “One-third! Even one-third is huge and too much”. Anyway, the Prophet followed this with a statement that deserves the attention of parents at all times; “It is better to die leaving your heirs in affluence than to leave them in poverty, so they continue begging people for alms”. 

Many lessons abound in the above conversation of great personalities. One, piety and affluence are never mutually exclusive; you can be profoundly pious and superlatively prosperous. Two, connected to this, enjoying worldly opulence does not preclude enjoying everlasting other earthly felicity. In fact, worldly riches are effective instruments for attaining success in the next world. This is clear in the stories of great companions like Abubakar Siddiq, Uthman Bin Affan, Abdurrahman and, of course, Sa’ad.

Significantly also, you can plan all of these for your loved ones beginning with your children and wives. Not only you can; you have to! This is Prophetic advice, if not an order. The Prophet (may peace be upon him) made it impermissible for a person, especially while bidding farewell to the world, having no chance on sight to go to the market and earn more resources from gifting out his fortunes lest he throws them into poverty after him.

In simple terms, what the Prophet wanted from us is to plan for making our children self-reliant, self-sufficient and socio-economically empowered. With this, instead of being dependent, they will be independent. We should try making them givers, not receivers, assets rather than liabilities. Ask yourself, if not for empowering the deceased person’s posterity, why would the Sharī’ah even prescribe the inheritance laws in the first place? And in the Hadith of Sa’d above, the Prophet wants us to understand that the philosophy behind inheritance itself is to plan for the sustainable prosperity and economic independence of the deceased’s heirs; leaving them with sufficient inheritable resources to make them rich (agniya’) as against poor (alah).  

Abdullahi Abubakar Lamido, Chairman, Zakah and Waqf Foundation, Gombe . He can be reached via lamidomabudi@gmail.com.

By Faruk Abdulkadir Waziri 

All trouble starts from the most trivial things. Hence the pertinence for instant reaction to even the tiniest disruption to an existing order. When a problem is tagged small and therefore left at the charge of its own amend, without making a move to tug or curtail it solely because it has insignificant effect and consequence, it rides the back of that indulgence and backfires. The minor issue of yesterday, when left unattended or given the least of consideration, becomes the biggest trouble of today and the looming disaster of tomorrow.

A case study in Nigeria’s incessant security ordeal. From the preventable event that led to the birth of Boko Haram in the North East to incompetence that saw the renaissance of kidnapping in the North West and the impassive nonchalance that underpins the thrive of murderous IPOB/ESN in the South East. All these menaces besetting this country today started as problems that could be averted. But the authority charged with this onus chose to go with the approach of levity and lackadaisical confrontation in eradicating them.

Despite the warnings of the impending doom and peril signalled by the early threats of these instabilities, the government was acting with careless flippancy. And this allowed the yield and spread of these acts of terrorism and abetted their growth in a fashion that the thrive of one led to the birth of the other. The lasting of Boko Haram against the effort to wipe them off added fillip to the resurgence of kidnappings, with the added incentive of unaccustomed plight— Banditry. The outlawed IPOB found the stimulus that motivated their cause to unleash terror in the South East from the inability of the government to find a lasting solution to the insurgency of Boko Haram. 

Harira, her unborn child, and four children were unfortunate victims of the country’s crass governance with no regard for human life. The perpetrators of their deaths were barbaric and bloodthirsty IPOB, but the government that allowed the monstrous operations of these savage beasts to prevail is of the bigger fault. Just days ago, a state legislature was decapitated within the same region Harira, and her kids were murdered. Before that, the ruthless mutilation of the military couple was perpetrated within the same area by the same group of demons.

Now,  imagine if swift action was taken after those two extrajudicial killings and the savages IPOB had met their waterloo. Poor Harira and her kids would have been alive today. This is just one to show you how the callous insouciance of the government has been the bedrock of the long-lasting terror in this country.

While we mourn the cruel murder of Harira and her family, bandits on the other end shot and killed 12 farmers in Katsina yesterday. An example that proves not only the northerners in the South are in the face of apparent danger and risk losing their lives, but also the many northerners in the comfort of their respective abode (North). There is no way to limit the killings and other strikes of the instability to tribal tensions alone. Of course, some were informed by groundless hatred and bigotry towards particular ethnicity. But look at the cause that sustains the frequent happening of these calamities. It is the disregard and unreadiness of the government to lay down proactive measures that will prevent the recurrence of these ordeals.

Crimes capitalize on the bloom of lawlessness, lawlessness prevails where there is rife injustice, and it remains the hallmark of bad governance.

May the killers of Harira and her kids never now peace in this life and the one hereafter, ameen.

Faruk Abdulkadir Waziri wrote via farukakwaziri019@gmail.com.

The “Hausa films in English” have, since their debut, been as much praised as they have been criticised. However, while a large section of spectators welcomes the films, many others regard them as a threat to the development of the indigenous language. Others go further to describe them as “non-Kannywood” productions.

However, their initiator and promoter, Malam Kabiru Musa Jammaje, remains undaunted. He is all set to enthral the audience with another Kannywood film in English after the remarkable success of There is a way (2016), This is the way (2017), Light and darkness (2018) and In search of the king (2019).

The soon-to-be-released movie, entitled Nanjala, is the first of its kind in Kannywood. It features the industry’s heavyweights alongside top Nollywood actors like Enyinna Nwigwe, Nancy Isime, Segun Arinze, Sola Sabowale, among others. Moreover, it’s reportedly the most expensive Kannywood movie with a budget worth over N35 million.

The movie was directed by “whizkid” Ali Nuhu, co-produced by Abubakar Bashir Mai-Shadda and titled after its main character, Nanjala. I have only watched its two-minute-long teaser, but I could grasp that the eponymous heroine, Nanjala, is a journalist whose investigative reports would lead to the main conflicts. The film’s themes may include corruption, honesty, women empowerment, the menace of drug abuse, moral decadence, etc. The cinematography is terrific, and the cast seems to give an outstanding performance.

To be right is to describe the film as ‘pan-Nigerian’ due to its production quality, cast, English medium, and the resonance of its message in the country. It’s, of course, promising and will surely appeal to moviegoers from a wide range of backgrounds.

I, therefore, commend the trio of Jammaje, Ali Nuhu and Mai-Shadda for making a Kannywood film with the potential to catapult the overlooked film industry to the international stage. I do hope that it will not disappoint.

Habibu Maaruf Abdu

Kano, Nigeria

habibumaaruf11@gmail.com

27.5.2022

By Amiru Halilu 

“When the calamity we feared is already arrived, or when the expectation of it is so certain as to shut out hope, there seems to be a principle within us by which we look with misanthropic composure on the state to which we are reduced, and the heart sullenly contracts and accommodates itself to what it must abhor.” William Godwin. 

Somewhere around the globe leaders convey joy, happiness, prosperity and economic development to the ruled. Over a decade, the aforementioned essentials for good leadership have waxed and waned in Nigeria. In the last thirteen years, Nigerians have drowned in blahs and are growing more melancholic every day. The mention of names: “Buhari, Jonathan” made the blood of an average Nigerian to boil. These nightmares ruined the nation beyond a remedied state. Instead of pursuing excellence and give the nation a clear sense of direction, both Buhari and Jonathan pursued retrogression, hopelessness; salivating the underlings and quibbling beyond what is reasonable. 

What really determines a leader is largely one’s political formation, national commitment, love for his country, cognitive intuitiveness of identifying brilliant minds and ideas, self-denial and sound sacrificial ideals. Unfortunately, neither Jonathan nor Buhari possessed and exhibit the aforesaid principles. Throughout the unproductive six years of Jonathan and now the wasteful seven years of Buhari, Nigeria lost international honor recognition and dignity; the nation has been grappling to cast-away the numerous disasters caused by the senselessness of these deuces. Each runs the nation as if he was/is assigned a mission to wreck havoc on the populace.

It is obvious now the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) is on the cups of something terrible and that thing is the ugly idea of bringing Jonathan back to the throne. And perhaps, he may be better than many evil contestants under the party’s platform, but surely, darkness reigns at the foot of APC. What does this pack of deceitful scoundrels called APC mean by this suicidal mission? Is APC ready and well prepared to reconcile the clear contradiction between the brand (Jonathan) they putdown, tar-brushed as grossly incompetent, clueless, recklessly insensitive, brazenly irresponsible, irredeemably corrupt and the brand new Jonathan they are now trying to make their standard-bearer?

At this sober time of national renewal, at this time of gross social upheaval when the nation is in the sea of uncertainties, at a time when the economy stocked in reverse gear, in this auspicious moment when character and integrity are the signs and symbols that are absolutely needed, the man that was universally described as ineffectual buffoon and who had already done a colossal damage to the nation is certainly not the right man for the same job that requires certain degree of trust. He who participated in destroying Nigeria in the past would not partake in rebuilding her because destiny doesn’t believe in failure.

A person of Jonathan’s tragic qualification and profile shall never be asked to correct the wrong which he himself had instituted and normalized. We can’t expect the author to burn his own book. Jonathan could no more be a re-builder of Nigeria the way a wind can’t turn to rock or mud into gold. But Buhari and his handlers have seen Jonathan as the ultimate alternative because he managed to sink even lower. It’s hard to ever imagine that Buhari will have a remote link with Jonathan in respect to succession plan, but for an intellectually handicap, politically naive like him who had already convinced the world that there is neither honor nor integrity in governance in Nigeria it’s all in a days work.

Buhari’s attitude towards governance illustrates that Nigeria’s car has continued to be driven in reverse gear by drivers, including himself, who seem to be permanently on drugs. Thinking of bringing Jonathan back is just like calling back the captain of a ship whose negligence and inexperience had caused the death of many. The only thing that such mediocre captain will achieve is to completely submerge the ship and make sure that no single one on board has survived the next accident. Jonathan had melted down Nigeria; Buhari has milked her to her knees, and looking at the caliber of people Buhari wants to succeed him is a confirmation that he doesn’t mean well for the entire nation. 

The only candidate who perfectly possessed presidential credentials doesn’t seems to be Buhari’s favorite. The choice of Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu will not and will never go down well with those parasitic cabals who are less assured of themselves about what is possible in private life without the country’s largess. Today, we are just five days to the presidential primary elections yet, the presidency has been in limbo and drowned into the abyss of confusion in view of which puppet to field. A pliable puppet who will carry them along, cover their evil wrongdoings and forever follow their dangerous path and eventually sink the nation even deeper.

They perfectly know that Tinubu is a movement; he will not go with the flow; he will definitely sing a different tune. He is just like a medicine, good for you but hard to take. Those who love the party and those who want to save the party from collapsing before general election, must choose competence over hype; integrity over corruption; decisiveness over wavering; rationalism over chauvinism; action over rhetoric and above all, security over living in fear. Else those who have fed the party so well and feel that they have been paid with evil would likely leave the party after the long awaited presidential primary election.

Amiru Halilu writes from Kaduna and can be reached through haliluamiru@gmail.com or @AmiruHalilu

By Khairat Suleiman Jaruma

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Umar Yahaya

Yobe North has been blessed with the representation of an experienced lawmaker, Distinguished Dr Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, a fourth times senator and President of the Senate, who is now seeking support and collaboration to replace Buhari as the President in the forthcoming election. I wish him the best this journey has to offer; he possesses all the requirements to be President.

However, in the epoch-making election (2023), the Yobe North requires an experienced person to represent it in the tenth (10) Senate. So we are in the stage of opening a new chapter. Of all the contenders, only Abba Sarki possessed the qualifications, wisdom, brilliance, prudence and knowledge to represent it. I’m not embroidering anything here; it’s based on records, facts and figures. In a democratic setting, when someone presents himself for an elective office, the expectations are simple; what are your public or private sectors records and experiences? What have you done to people and your community before? What makes you a credible and right candidate for the position? These can allow us to put you on a scale and measure your weight and whether you deserve our vote and support.

Going by these, I would say Abba deserved to fly the APC flag. He has knowledge and expertise, rising to Director of Human Resources, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development and recently retired. A graduate of Political Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He knows and understands what it entails to be an administrator and manage resources. As the saying goes, “Good laws do not make themselves”. It requires inputs of time, lots of information, selection of what is based for the people, and articulating them into laws for the country’s benefit and its progress and development. I am confident he can perform well and do a great thing as he did before he retired from civil service. 

His public service understanding and knowledge give him more advantage over other contenders. He would sustain what was started by the current senator and consolidate the gains achieved. He inspired hope for a better tomorrow and representation. He would do a great job when given the mandate. In an ideal environment, a merit leadership position is your capacity and foresight, the vision and goals you have for the people. He has these attributes. 

In records, Abba Sarki facilitated projects as a Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture to our communities; it is visible. No one would dispute or deny this, from the construction of roads in Nguru, Machina and Karasuwa Local Governments, rehabilitation of infrastructure, specifically, Nguru Abattoir to an ultra-modern facility, drilling boreholes and provision of solar energy to both rural and urban communities. Facilitated training of youth and women in various skills such as fisheries and animal rearing.

In his desire to bring change and development to our communities, he helps in employment our people in different government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies. These are what make him stand out as the best for the job. Anyone who can’t show what he has done before seeking an elective office doesn’t deserve to present himself for any office or our vote. Politics is all about getting what is best for your people.

What is needed for the APC, His Excellency, Hon. Mai Mala Buni, Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan and Zonal APC stakeholders to allow for free, fair, and credible primary elections. Our people deserved the best. A zone that produced the President of the Senate requires a man with better qualifications, experiences and connections. His representation would give an equal opportunity, do a great job and wanders for his people, state and country.    

My prayers and hopes are that Abba Sarki is given a chance to represent us. He would command respect from his peers. He is charismatic, calm, kind, a beacon of hope, bold, hardworking, and committed to seeing our societies’ progress and development.

Let’s do it together.

Let’s change the narratives.

We deserve better.

We inspired hope.

New Vision.

Umar Yahaya wrote from Hausari Ward, Nguru, Yobe via umarnguru2015@gmail.com.

By Umar Sani Yakubu

It has been over a week since the arrest and eventual detention of a students’ leader and critic, Comrade Aminu Harsanu Guyaba, after being presented before the court of law. He was charged at the court for criticising the Executive Governor of Bauchi State, His Excellency Sen. Bala Muhammad Abdulkadir.

However, since then, several appeals and, in some instances, protests were conducted virtually (on media platforms) and physically calling on the state government and authorities for his release. This was done by students and his comrades claiming that there were many government critics all over the media doing more than what Guyaba did, and no one cared to stop or question their activities.

To some, the arrest of Guyana is nothing but a show of lack of resistance to criticism on the part of His Excellency as against his being an experienced and standstill politician that has been going around the country presenting himself to be. Thus, whatever people may have or want to conclude in the future, yesterday, 24 May 2022, Aminu Harsanu Guyaba celebrated one of his best days in detention. This is a day that brought his family the joy of their lives. We would have celebrated his birthday in front of a designated cake round with flowers and balloons among his family members, friends and other compatriots of a feather.

Unfortunately, only God knows what a situation he is passing through wherever he is. Who knows if he can even remember what this day is to him as against the usual remainder by Media platforms, banks and loved ones? What a pity?

Emphatically, as we did days ago, we want to remind His Excellency that Aminu Harsanu Guyaba is his child who was there through thick and thin to see that his government was brought to power. Furthermore, he has played a vital role in campaigning and securing votes for him. Therefore, we believe that Guyaba deserves better treatment from His Excellency no matter the grievance. Hence, Aminu is not more than a child that Kauran Bauchi could order to kneel and discipline.

We believe our outcry will not be like that of a fowl because many people from afar have started laughing at our government and us.

Sani writes from Bauchi and can be reached at saniumaryakubu@gmail.com.