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By Sumayyah Auwal Ishaq

With less than 48 hours to the end of his five months tenure as the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the Kaduna State University (KASU), Professor Abdullahi Musa Ashafa, has continued to receive commendations for remarkable successes recorded during his brief tenure as the Chief Executive of KASU.

During a mini-ceremony organized by the Kaduna State University’s Alumni Association (KASUAA), the Chairman of KASUAA, Alhaji Abdulhadi Abdullahi said that Prof. Ashafa has performed wonderfully well in the last five months. “The five months was like 5 years. It was like the tenure should not come to an end”

The University’s Advancement Director, Professor Bashir Ali commended the outgoing Vice-Chancellor for his achievements and leadership style. Prof. Ali prayed to God Almighty to grant Prof. Ashafa success in his future endeavours. An alumnus, Dr. Philibus Audu said “The success story which KASU has become under the leadership of this quintessential scholar, enig­matic and energetic personali­ty is worth celebrating”.

In his own remarks at the event, the outgoing Acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ashafa said even though he had a very challenging tenure, he will remain thankful to Allah Almighty for everything. He said “As young people, remember to challenge yourself, face challenges to solve challenges. Remain kind, and never settle for being anything less than your best and the best you have learnt from our KASU. Thank you for your ideas, support, and most importantly, for sincere wishes and prayers. Allah knows best how to handle our situations and to Him we all defer our affairs”.

By Muhammadu Sabiu

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Zamfara State has lamented that thousands of permanent voter cards (PVCs) are yet to be picked up by their owners in the state.

The State Residence Commissioner, Professor Saidu Babura Ahmed, said the 2023 elections would be different from others because plans have been made for a free and fair process.

He made an appeal to traditional leaders, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), and other stakeholders to give necessary support to the Commission.

He said that the commission had made sufficient preparations in response to the inflow of internally displaced people to ensure that they would exercise their civic duties, noting that polling places will be built in locations where they would feel safer exercising their right to vote.

By Uzairu Adam Imam

To combat fake news and safeguard society from its adverse effects, Nigerians have been advised to check for elements of credibility in reports and consult media platforms with proven integrity in sourcing for news and information.

A lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, Kano State Polytechnic, Mallam Aisar Fagge, made the submission during a one-day workshop organized by the popular online newspaper The Daily Reality.

The lecture themed “Fake News on Nigerian Cyber Space: The Role of an Ideal Journalist” afforded young journalists the opportunity to understand the challenges of contemporary journalism practice.

Mallam Fagge said, “It is said ‘seeing is believing’ but not anymore. With Deepfake [and other apps], people can easily manipulate videos, pictures, etc. Thus, we need to dissect pieces of information before sharing them,” he stated.

He also called on the general public to examine stories critically before believing or sharing them with other people.

He further noted that fake news could be countered by applying the “technological, journalistic and pedagogical approaches among others.”

He noted that the nature of social media has made journalism more tasking and placed more responsibility on journalists, which behooves them to protect the image of journalism and not allow quacks to run them out of business.

Journalism educators, practitioners from conventional media and online newspapers as well as the students of Mass Communication from Kano State Polytechnic and Bayero University, Kano attended the event that took place on Sunday, 6th November, 2022 at the Centre for Research in Nigerian Languages, Translation and Folklore, BUK New Site.

By Muhammadu Sabi’u

One of the strongest opposition parties in Kano State, the New Nigerian People Party, has reacted to the alleged involvement in the looting of a huge amount of money by some three Nigerian governors.
 
Recall that the news alleging that three currently serving state governors are being watched for attempts to launder money by paying employees’ salaries under the table resurfaced a few days ago.
 
Reacting to the allegation, a Deputy Public Relations Officer of the NNPP in Kano State, Hon. Musa Nuhu Yankaba, hints that one of the governors in question is Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State.
 
In an interview with Premier Radio Kano, he said, “If he [Governor Ganduje] refuses to come out and clear himself, we, as natives of Kano State and members of an opposition party, will not accept that, and we will expose him, so as to tell the people of Kano all that is going on and for proper action to be taken.”
 
Despite all these, the anti-graft agency, the EFCC, did not reveal the identities of the three governors involved in the scandals.
 
However, the chairman of the EFCC noted in an interview that two of them were from the North, and the third was from the South of the nation.
 
He added that information at the agency’s disposal showed that the three governors had come up with strategies to inject the money into the system by paying their state employees’ wages on a table-payment basis.

By Uzair Adam Imam

A communication expert, Aisar Fagge, said the quest to keep up with breaking news has led to a high degree of error in online media reporting today.

Fagge, a lecturer at the Department of Mass Communication, Kano State Polytechnic, said the failure was due to the less or absence of proofreading and confirmation of facts by the editors.

He said this on Sunday when speaking on the “Fake News on Nigerian Cyber Space: The Role of an Ideal Journalist” at a One-Day Workshop for Early-Career Journalists on Reporting Northern Nigeria, Fake News and Journalism Ethics.

At the event organised by the management team of The Daily Reality Newspaper that took place in Bayero University, Kano, Fagge said the absence of or weak gate-keepers contributed to the lack of quality journalism in Nigerian cyberspace.

He also attributed the high degree of error in today’s online news reporting to poor staffing, which leads to the single-handed operation of the media.

He said, “Almost everyone wants to establish an online newspaper. A single person wants to be a publisher, a reporter and an editor all by himself. No doubt, the standard of journalism falls.”

The event had in attendance many communication experts and journalists from within and outside Kano state, including some that joined the workshop via Zoom from overseas.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Kano State Emirates Council Friday turbaned two new kingmakers as Sarkin Bai and Walin Kano.

The new kingmakers turbaned by Kano State Emir, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, are Bashir Mahe Bashir as the Walin Kano and Mansur Mukhtar as the Sarkin Bai.

The Daily Reality gathered that Bashir Mahe, who succeeded his aged father, is now the seventh Walin Kano.

His father, Alhaji Mahe Bashir, resigned from his position to have some rest due to old age and health conditions.

While the newly turbaned Sarkin Bai, Masur Mukhtar, is a former Minister of Finance and current Vice President of the Islamic Development Bank.

Since the Jihad of Shehu Usman Danfodio in the Hausa land, Mukhtar is the ninth Sarkin Bai in the history of the Kano emirate.

Like Mahe, Mukhtar also succeeded his father, the longest-serving member of the Kano Emirate Council, who served for 63 years.

The turbaning ceremony was attended by traditional, political and community leaders from and across emirates within and outside Kano state.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) reportedly stormed the enclaves of Boko Haram and slaughtered six of its members, whom the ISWAP described as “infidels”, on weekend.

This is not the first time, in an inter-rivalry clash, that the ISWAP carried out a successful attack against Boko Haram, causing the group huge casualty and loss of weapons.

The development is believed to have been dragging Boko Haram insurgents down to their knees as they continue to count losses from the clashes.

It was gathered that the ISWAP had stormed the enclaves of Boko Haram insurgents in Gajibo, a town situated 95km northeast of Maiduguri, Borno State capital.

The ISWAP once vowed to battle more with Boko Haram than even with the Nigerian troops, worsening the rivalry clashes with bloodshed.

A counter-insurgency expert and security analyst in Lake Chad, Zagazola Makama, said the attackers also recovered five AK47 riffles from the Boko Haram terrorists.

Experts and analysts believe that the worsening of inter-rivalry clashes between ISWAP and Boko Haram may lead them to irreversible self-destruction.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Peter Obi, the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, denied the allegation made by the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufa’i that he was detained during Anambra governorship election in 2013.

El-Rufa’i laid the claim on Monday at an event for presidential candidates organised by the Arewa Joint Committee, saying that Obi ordered security operatives to detain him some nine years ago.

Responding, the LP candidate stated that he was not behind the directive for El-Rufai’s detention in Anambra.

He said, “When I came in now, somebody told me that my brother, the governor of Kaduna state, said that he came to my state and I detained him. Let me tell you, it is good when these things happen, you clarify them.

“Number one, in my eight years of being governor, only in the first three months did I have a commissioner that is not from the north — Commissioner of Police. And that’s because I met the person.

“At the time the governor said this, it was during election. The police commissioner that was there then was from Adamawa — CP Gwari from Adamawa. The AIG that supervised that election was CP Nasarawa from the north. The DIG that came for that election was from Kano.

“Tell me my power, that I was in APGA — government was PDP and APC. Tell me how APGA person will issue order for somebody to be detained. Even me was detained in my local government.

“However, the only offence I committed is that when they asked me, I said ‘that’s how they treat everybody; that I wouldn’t be in Kaduna on the day of election’. That was the only thing.

“I cannot do that. As governor of Anambra state, I had the best ADC in Nigeria — the best policeman. My ADC, Mohammed, is from Kano. He’s the best policeman that I have ever met. Who will I give the order? How will I tell who lives in my house every day; I’m close to his family; I get up and say ‘Mohammed, I want to deal with your people’, and he will stay there.

“Call my ADC today. I will give you his phone number. He’s the best policeman. He’s a CSP now. So, when people say Peter Obi is black. 2019, I was [vice-presidential candidate], I was a good man. Now that I want to be president, I’ve become a bad man. I did not do anything wrong. I want to change Nigeria.”

By Sumayyah Auwal Ishaq

The popular shopping center in Kaduna metropolis, Ramat Shopping Mall is currently on fire.

For now the cause of the fire outbreak is yet to be ascertained.

More details later.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The BUA Group responded to the threat by the Kogi State Assembly to revoke the 500-hectare land allocated to the company a decade ago, saying the group is no longer interested in the land.

On Monday, the Kogi State House of Assembly summoned the cement firm to account for why it failed to pay the premium and other charges.

The assembly alleged that the company did not pay the charges despite being issued a certificate of occupancy

But, the management of the company, in a statement Tuesday, said the feasibility studies had shown that only about 30% of the entire land mass is suitable for their investment, while the rest (66%) consists of rocky, hilly and/or undulating areas.

The company also stated that the government had failed to provide infrastructure to make the area accessible, adding, “The land could also be reached by water.”

This is, however, coming amidst a crisis with the Dangote Group over the ownership of the Obajana cement plant in Kogi State.

The conflict deepened last weekend as the state government and Dangote Cement Plc continued to lay claims to the facility.