Local

By Muhammadu Sabiu

Police in Bauchi State have apprehended a teenager, 12, for allegedly kidnapping a 3-year-old kid in Magama Gumau, Toro Local Government Area.

The police spokesman for the state, SP Ahmad Wakil, made a statement on the incident on Saturday in Bauchi.

The suspect was said to have lured the victim into an isolated area and phoned to her father demanding N150,000 as ransom.

SP Wakili said in the statement, “A discreet investigation revealed that the suspect lured the victim to an isolated place near a football field at Kara Area of Magama Gumau and called the victim’s father on phone and made the demand.

“On hearing the demand, the victim’s father hung up and refused to take subsequent calls.

“After a while, the victim’s father called the suspect and identified him through his familiar voice.”

By Safiyanu Ladan

The henious activities of bloodthirsty and marauding bandits is taking a new toll in some communities in Giwa LGA, Kaduna state, despite the fact that military has orchestrated a new strategies aimed at mopping them up.

The remnant of these bandits are still lurking in some rural communities unleashing mayhem to the helpless and hopeless villagers.

A joint military and police operation carried out on 18th November, 2022 has foiled kidnap attempt along Funtua-Zaria road and led to the rescue of over 70 people.

In addition to that on 17th November, 2022 the Kaduna state police command has, acting on intelligence report that some armed bandits were sighted on motorcycle along Galadimawa-Tumburku Road in Giwa LGA, deployed its personnel and after an ensued engagement between the bandits and the police, one bandit was apprehended and five of their operational motorcycles were recovered.

The untiring efforts of military and police in checkmating the criminal activities of bandits is glaring as it brings back sanity to some communities. However, much need to be done in order to rid other communities of the clutches of armed bandits.

Some news reports coming out from other communities are disturbing because they indicated that residents in those communities live at the mercy of the dreaded bandits.The horrendous killing of eleven community members and the abduction of 24 others in Sarkin Rafi in Giwa local government area last Friday is a major setback in the security’s ongoing war with bandits.

I was enraged by the news that about ₦10 million ransom was paid to the bandits to secure the release of my cousin who was kidnapped alongside her husband and 7 other couples of just a few months in one of the community at Giwa LGA. They regained their freedom after spending over 40 days in the kidnapper’s dens.

The unreported and underreported incidents like the above-mentioned are going on without interruption in some communities at the detriment of the poor villagers who are always at the receiving end.

It’s on this note that, while we appreciate the efforts of security personnel for deploying the resources to combat the menace of armed bandits, we equally call on them to re- strategize and deal with them ruthlessly.

The life of any Nigerian matters and as such people should be allowed to pursue their legimate goals and ambitions ina peaceful setting as enshrined in the Constitution, without fear of being attacked by the miscreants.

Safiyanu Ladan writes from Zaria. uncledoctor24@gmail.com

By Aisar Fagge

Kano State Deputy Governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate, Dr Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna said no serious government will succeed without the contributions of Civil Society Organizations (CSO’s) and Non-Governmental organizations (NGO’s).

Gawuna made this statement on Monday, 14th November, 2022 during a continuation of interactive session series organised by a coalition of 21 Kano CSO’s and NGO’s aiming to promote peace and development of Kano State.

Gawuna said, “We are not enemies of NGO’s. That’s why we are here. We’ll work together with NGO’s and CSO’S especially on the issues concerning education, youth and women.

“In many places, government alone cannot do all it’s work. They need the intervention of NGO’s. I have seen one person in Kenya teaching the whole school. We too here are going to involve NGO’s in improvising classrooms to cater the needs of our school pupils,” he stressed.

“I urge you journalists, NGO’s and CSO’s to to enlighten people about the activities of government and its programmes,” Gawuna appealed.

Other issues the APC candidate discussed were his development agenda on employment, health, education, agriculture, infrastructure, climate change, etc.

Convened by Dr Aminu Magashi Garba, the sessions allowed the gubernatorial candidates to interact with members of NGO’s, CSO’s, media practitioners and community leaders and share their blueprints on critical areas such health, education, youths, women, environment, commerce, agriculture, technology among others.

The event that commences on 9th November was graced by gubernatorial candidates of People’s Redemption Party (PRP), Salihu Tanko Yakasai; Bala Muhammad Gwagwarwa of Social Democratic Party (SDP), Mal. Ibrahim Khalil of African Democratic Congress (ADC); Engr. Bashir I. Bashir of Labour Party (LP) and Sha’aban Ibrahim Sharada of Action Democratic Party (ADP). Participants were hoping to see Abba Kabir Yusuf of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and Sadiq Wali of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the subsequent meetings.

By Muhammadu Sabiu

The governor of Jigawa State, Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, has pledged to cast all of his state’s votes for Asiwaju Bola Ahmad Tinubu, the APC’s presidential candidate, in the general election of 2023.

This was said by the Governor on Sunday at the Hadejia kickoff of the Jigawa North East APC gubernatorial campaign.

He noted that the event was intended to introduce to the populace the gubernatorial, senatorial, and other zonal candidates.

Bola Tinubu, according to Governor Badaru, is the only presidential candidate who can protect the nation from economic suffering and endeavour to advance national development.

He was quoted saying, “Looking at his track record and experience, I am sure he has plans and policies that will help in the development of the country.”

According to him, the huge crowd that gathered at the event is a clear indication that Jigawa State is a stronghold of the APC.

By Habibu Maaruf Abdu

21 Kano-based Non-Governmental Organisations have organised interactive sessions with the aspirants for Kano state gubernatorial position ahead of the forthcoming 2023 elections. The two-day event took place on the 9th and 10th of November 2022 at the Babale Suite conference hall in Kano.

Convened by Dr Aminu Magashi Garba, the interactive sessions allowed the candidates to share their campaign blueprint with the NGO community and have a dialogue with them on critical thematic areas such as; Health, Education, Environment, Commerce and Industry, Agriculture, Technology, Women and Youth Development, among others.

Sessions with PRP candidate Salihu Tanko Yakasai and Bala Muhammad Gwagwarwa of SDP were held on the first day.

The second day saw sessions with ADC’s Mal. Ibrahim Khalil, LP’s Engr. Bashir I. Bashir, and ADP’s Sha’aban Sharada.

It was said that plans are on the ground to organise sessions with other major contenders, such as the NNPP, APC and PDP candidates, in the coming days.

Recall that the Kano Civil Society Organizations and Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) held similar sessions with the candidates a few weeks ago.

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.