International

By Muhammadu Sabiu

After losing 1-0 to Inter Milan on Tuesday, Barcelona is in danger of not making it out of their Champions League group.

They now have three points from three games as a result of the outcome.

At the San Siro stadium, Hakan Calhanoglu scored the game’s lone goal to give Inter all three points.

Bayern Munich leads the group with a perfect nine points after defeating Barcelona 2-0 in the most recent round of games.

With six points, Inter is in second place, ahead of Barca, as there is still no point for Viktoria Plzen.

Next week’s matchup between Inter and Barcelona will take place at Camp Nou.

Barcelona have also gone five games in a row in the Champions League without scoring.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has been conferred with honorary citizenship of the county of Dallas in Texas, United States of America.

Peter Obi disclosed this in a tweet on Wednesday, October 5, 2022.

“Today in Dallas Texas United States, I met with the Mayor of Dallas and his team. I had the privilege of being conferred with the honorary citizenship of Dallas. I also met with a select group of Texas Judges.” He tweeted

Speaking at the ceremony of the conferment, the Mayor of Dallas, Eric Johnson said that the Labour Party presidential candidate shall uphold a place of high esteem in the minds of the people of Dallas city.

“Without a piece of doubt, with this conferment, you shall uphold a place of high esteem in the minds and hearts of the people of this great city (Dallas). Congratulations!,” he said.

By Isa Muhammad Inuwa

Thousands of Muslims in Kano, Nigeria, had Thursday converged at the Umar Bin Al-Khattab mosque, where they offered funeral prayer in absentia for the repose of the soul of the deceased Sheikh Youssef Al-Qardawi, who passed on in Doha, Qatar, recently.

Leading the congregation, Imam Sheikh Yahaya Tanko delivered the prayer interluded with four Takbirs (Allahu Akbar! chants) and supplications.

Addressing the crowd shortly after, Sheikh Tanko recalled that the distant funeral prayer was first conducted by the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), in Medina, for the soul of Al-Najjashi, the then late Emperor of Abyssinia (present Ethiopia). Al-Najjashi was deemed to have converted from Christianity to Islam before his death.

Also speaking to the gathering, Professor Muhammad Babangida of Bayero University, Kano, announced that the late Sheikh Al-Qardawi was “a famous Islamic scholar of international standing, who spent the largest part of his life contributing to Islamic knowledge, through his teachings, writings and extracting solutions to religious matters (Fatwa)”.

He added that the late Al-Qardawi authored no less than 170 books, some of which consisted of several volumes. He said he was head of numerous Islamic bodies and that he migrated from his home country Egypt to Qatar because of threats to his life by anti-Islamic forces.

He described the deceased as a moderate jurist who maintained a middle course in proposing solutions on matters of Islamic jurisprudence. “He neither swerved to the extreme nor tilted to the most lenient side”, adding that he was very apt in addressing current issues arising in modern life in his publications and jurisdictions.

The scholar also described Al-Qardawi’s death as a significant loss to the entire Muslim World, whose replacement is difficult to find. He then asked God to forgive the deceased and rest his soul in the highest abode of Paradise. 

By Tajuddeen Ahmad Tijjani

It was a very horrible incident how a Chinese man unjustly killed Ummakulsum in Kano State on Friday, September 16, 2022. No one could understand the real motives about how the young lady died so young in the hands of the evil man who was alleged to be her lover.

In Nigeria, the lives of ordinary citizens are becoming so easily taken and only become viral on social media without pursuing the incident to a logical conclusion. Indeed, it’s a duty upon the authorities to unravel the circumstances in which criminal activities are occasionally occurring in our country. Perhaps, we take it for granted that a foreigner could be allowed to perpetrate this criminal act in our midst. Even though every immoral act stands condemned no matter who’s involved.

Ummi or Ummita, as she’s popularly known, wasn’t the only case that happened in the community. Most young girls find fun in associating with people of different colours and unknown backgrounds. We must be concerned and warn our sisters to be cautious of who they associate with, and the community should, of course, be wary of people of questionable character approaching our sisters.

Sadly, the search for  exuberant life exposes women and girls to rapists and urchins who hide behind the cover of white skin to harm and spoil, thereby causing untold psychological, mental, health and physical trauma to young ladies in the country. Even though this happened in a most horrible way, but it shouldn’t be left to fade and wane, we must take precautions. In most cities, for example, we see young girls hiding behind as secretaries or even direct lovers to these white men, resulting in disasters and the destruction of their lives.

In general, what you can’t take away from us is that our inbuilt traits are not dead in us. It is true we love foreigners, mostly white men, for the simple fact that we feel they are more distant from us and we crave to make them feel at home, make them feel more comfortable in Nigeria, but that should not be taken for granted to take advantage of our kindness and inflict untold hardship on us. The gruesome murder of Ummita is highly unfortunate and indeed unacceptable.

However, security agencies must ensure the Chinese man is punished according to the law of the land to serve as a deterrent to others with similar bad intentions.

Tajuddeen Ahmad Tijjani writes from Galadima Mahmoud Street, Kasuwar Kaji Azare, Bauchi State, Nigeria.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, departs Abuja today and will be representing Nigeria at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in London. 

The spokesperson to the Vice President, Laolu Akande, stated in a statement he released on Saturday, September 17, 2022. 

According to the spokesperson, the Vice President will be among the guests and dignitaries to be received by King Charles III at a reception in Buckingham Palace on Sunday and the state funeral on Monday.

He also stated that on the sideline of the funeral is a scheduled bilateral meeting with UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

Part of the statement reads: “Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, will be representing Nigeria at a number of events tomorrow and on Monday, during the State funeral for the late Queen Elizabeth ll of the United Kingdom.

Prof. Osinbajo departs Abuja today and will join members of the Royal Family, world leaders – including members of the Commonwealth, Heads of State, Governors-General, Prime Ministers, and foreign royal families – at the ceremonies, including the funeral service scheduled to hold at Westminster Abbey on Monday.”

By Muhammadu Sabiu

Real Madrid have condemned the “racist and xenophobic” attack on their Brazilian player Vinicius Jr. 

Real Madrid said, in a statement released via its website on Friday, that the club has instructed its legal staff to pursue legal action against anyone using racist remarks toward its players before this weekend’s LaLiga clash against Atletico Madrid.

“Real Madrid CF rejects all kinds of racist and xenophobic expressions and behaviours in the field of football, sport, and life in general, such as the regrettable and unfortunate comments made in recent hours against our player Vinicius Junior.

“Real Madrid wants to show all its love and support for Vinicius Junior, a player who understands football as an attitude towards life-based on joy, respect and sportsmanship.

“Football, which is the most global sport that exists, must be an example of values and coexistence.

“The club has instructed its legal services to take legal action against anyone who uses racist expressions towards our players,” Real Madrid said in the statement

Remember that for his dancing celebration, Vinicius was the target of a racial comment made by Pedro Bravo.

The Brazilian international is well-known for dancing at the corner flag in front of fans, whether they are in the home or away end of the stadium, to celebrate the majority of his goals.

Pedro Bravo, the head of Spanish football agents, did make a statement on Vinicius’ celebration while appearing on El Chiringuito.

Bravo said, “You have to respect your opponents. When you score a goal, if you want to dance Samba, you should go to sambodromo in Brazil. You have to respect your mates and stop playing the monkey.”

By Muhammadu Sabiu

A total of 286 foreigners, including 86 Lebanese, 14 Britons, and 4 Americans, received Nigerian citizenship on Thursday in Abuja from the Federal Government.

At the State House, President Muhammadu Buhari granted the affected foreign nationals the status of Nigerian citizens.

By means of naturalization, 208 qualified individuals who signed the declaration declaring themselves to be Nigerians received citizenship.

After they had formally uttered the national pledge and oath of allegiance for Nigeria, the remaining 78 were granted the same status by registration.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr Buhari gave the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) instructions to present the new Nigerians with the proper credentials right away.

According to him, this would allow people to start enjoying the prestige bestowed upon them, regardless of where they reside in the nation.

Mr Buhari asked them to uphold national beliefs and make an effort to positively impact the communities in which they live.

The president noted that the event was required under the constitution and was intended to exonerate all lawful citizens of the nation from the label of “statelessness.”

Meanwhile, Rauf Aregbesola, the interior minister, had earlier disclosed that the foreigners had undergone a series of exhaustive examinations by the country’s security agencies before being deemed qualified and deserving of Nigerian citizenship.

He was quoted to have said: “Today’s ceremony is a reminder of our common human ancestry.

”These people came from near and distant lands, from different races, religions, ethnicity, and other social affiliations and identities.”

By Ahmadu Shehu, PhD

For the first time in history, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Republic of Poland, H.E. Andrzej Duda, visited Nigeria on 6^th September 2022. Apart from being a landmark in history, this visit has renewed the longstanding alliance and friendship between these great nations and has substantially reduced miscommunications and misperceptions among the citizens and officials of both countries.

The visit has yielded bilateral agreements of enormous importance to both nations, especially on agriculture and technology transfer. Moreover, judging by its history and relationship with Nigeria, nay Africa, Nigeria and its sister nations stand to gain more level playing ground in bilateral negotiations with Poland than many other more advanced western countries. This, however, is a topic for another day.

The resilience of the Polish – Nigeria relationship was tested in the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As the Russian army steadily and mercilessly advanced toward major Ukrainian cities, foreign residents scampered for safety across all Ukrainian borders in search of safety. Thousands of Nigerians, mostly students, found themselves at the Polish border, which was already overwhelmed by destitute refugees struggling to cross into Poland. The scenes and images of the border control points shall never be missed!   

While a lot of misinformation and deliberate spinning of Poland as a racist, intolerant country was being cooked and distributed, the Polish diplomatic mission in Nigeria busied itself with solutions and helping Nigerians trapped in this conflict. A few days later, news surfaced that Polish officials were actually particularly kind to all citizens, especially Nigerians who were given special treatment by various missions based in Poland.  

Back at home, Polish companies and financiers have landed significant business deals to ramp up Nigeria’s solid minerals sector to ameliorate the foreseen global energy crises occasioned by the war. In addition, the Polish agro sector looked at Nigeria as the next solution to the food crises, raising the hope that the Nigerian agricultural value chain would become a global competitor.

Tracing the roots of Poland’s contribution to the growth of Nigeria’s tertiary education in the ‘60s, ‘70s and even ‘80s, several Nigerian universities have found valuable opportunities to collaborate with major Polish universities in various academic fields.

The Nasarawa State University, for instance, had a significant project that translated the works of a Polish scientist whose contributions to the Nigerian academic community cannot be quantified. Several first-class Nigerian universities, such as Bayero University, Kano, have maintained a functional MoU with the University of Warsaw for many years.

In line with its cultural heritage and educational development support, the Polish mission in Nigeria built a specialized school to support Almajiri and out-of-school children in Kaduna State. Although many foreign non-governmental organizations do these kinds of projects, Poland is the only country to start this foresighted initiative as part of its foreign mission activities.

The Polish mission established and sustains a vibrant Polish Alumni forum, which is meant to foster and strengthen the understanding between the citizens of the two countries. Nigerians who studied, trained or visited Poland in a working capacity discuss relevant issues of interest to Nigerians in Poland and the bilateral relations and areas of cooperation between the two countries. This initiative has led to mutually beneficial opportunities for Nigerians and Polish people willing to study, live or do business in either country.    

Polish – Nigeria relations is a sixty-year-old business that stood the test of time. However, to whom do we owe this enthusiastic revival of the friendship between these crucial countries? The bulk stops at the table of Her Excellency Joannah Tarnawska, the Poland ambassador to Nigeria.

Tarnawska is an African-born and bred Polish lady with a degree in African studies from the Faculty of Oriental Studies of the University of Warsaw. Mrs Tarnawska is currently doing a PhD in economics, with a research interest in economic issues in Africa.

Her cultural ties, deep understanding and love for Africa are unmatched. Thus, the amount of success she will record as a diplomat in Africa is promising. Her resilience and understanding of the murky waters of the Nigerian political landscape give her an edge to thrive. The balanced, respectful and dignified way in which the Polish mission now treats Africans will undoubtedly bring back the glory of the Republic of Poland as a true, non-colonial ally of this continent.         

Africa is the future! Therefore, this shall be a win-win for Poland and Nigeria!

Ahmadu Shehu is an Associate Professor at Kaduna State University. You can reach him at ahmadsheehu@gmail.com.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky was involved in a car mishap early Thursday morning in Kyiv. 

In a brief statement by his spokesperson, Sergii Nykyforof, it was disclosed that the president did not suffer serious injuries

“The president was examined by a doctor, no serious injuries were found,” Nikiforov said.

Explaining how the accident happened, Nikiforov said another car collided with the president’s vehicle in Ukraine’s capital city, Kyiv

He also disclosed that the driver in the car was treated by the president’s medics and driven to an ambulance.

By Ibrahim Siraj Adhama in Mecca

Baba Sayinna Goni Mukhtar and Musa Ahmad Musa, both from Borno State, are competing in the second and third categories of the competition, respectively.

The preliminary stage was held between Saturday and Sunday in the hotel where all the participants are lodged and only successful reciters will make it to the final stage which will be conducted under full public glare within the precincts of the Grand Holy Mosque starting Monday.

Participants in the competition were drawn from Muslim countries around the world as well as representatives of minority Muslim communities.

The International Competition, which is returning after two years suspension due to the Covid-19 pandemic, promises to be exciting with the introduction of Qira’at category (now first category) and an upward review of cash prizes to be won.

Highlights of this year’s competition include visits to important religious sites in Mecca and Medina.

The competition will draw to a close on September 21 with the announcement of winners and distribution of prizes.