Local

By Salisu Yusuf

There’s an established cultural practice of female social exclusion in the Muslim North that’s partly patriarchal and partly a cultural construct fuelled by religious misinterpretation, especially on business transaction issues. 

Many people wrongly and unfairly assume that women must not participate in business dealings because men cater for their needs. However, instances from Islamic history and established ahadith corroborate women’s active role in market-oriented activities, especially during the caliphate of Sayyid Umar bn Khattab (RA). I have a story to tell which will convince you that our women should, or even must, be allowed to transact.

A close, affluent friend of mine died two years ago. He left behind four wives, children and millions of naira. Fortunately or not, the deceased’s male relatives could not handle the proceeds of the orphans properly. And even if they could handle the wealth well, most people nowadays are morally lax in handling trusts, especially inheritance. Only a few handle it sincerely, while many others betray the trust given to them. So, the widows became carers and guardians; in other words, the bulk of wealth is handed over to them.

Those who had never transacted (only two out of the four) became businesswomen in their life. They are both fathering and mothering the young orphans. Although single parenting is a difficult task, the women brace up, take care of the children efficiently, conduct business aspects, get profits, provide daily bread, support the children’s education, and other basics such as clothing. I am deeply impressed by the women’s resolve to forget their differences, shun their rivalries, burry their wounds, pick up the pieces and continue to survive in the absence of the best husband and father. 

Two years after their husband’s death, the entire house fares very well, managing to survive despite the harsh realities of the Nigerian socio-economic milieu. When last I visited the family, they told me of the difficulty in combining business dealings with parenting and guidance. One widow told me how lucky they were to learn to trade even before their husband’s death because he had numerously given them startups to learn to earn a living. She said if they had not been this fortunate – under a caring husband who had so much empathy and understanding, they would have been left in the cold, would have devoured the money and would have been left at the mercy of a hostile public as beggars.

Two years since their breadwinner’s death, the women turned men survive because they can hold their heads, transact, guard and guide the young orphans.

Salisu can be reached via salisuyusuf111@gmail.com.

By Adamu Tilde, PhD.

For a while now, Nigeria has been witnessing exponential growth in the rise of certificate-awarding institutions and massive production of holders of certificates of all kinds: diplomas, NCEs, degrees, masters, PGDs, etc. Ordinarily, this should be a welcome development. But, unfortunately, this phenomenon comes at the expense of acquiring quality skills, thus resulting in the production of certificate holders with no skills at all or with some skills that are not in demand and/or have no economic value whatsoever.

One comes to realise the effects of this phenomenon when one does a simple close-proximity analysis—for example, over sixty registered and unregistered colleges of education award NCE certificates in Bauchi state alone. Most of the courses offered in these colleges are combinations of English/Hausa, Social Studies/English, Arabic/Fulfulde, etc. The questions to ask are: what are the specific skills that an average NCE holder acquires in the three years they spend in college? Do these skills, if any, have any economic value? If yes, how many NCE holders, for example, does Bauchi state need at any given time?

Again, in Toro, one out of the twenty local government areas of Bauchi state, there are six colleges of health technology and counting. Most of the courses offered in these colleges are diplomas in Medical Records, Environmental Health, Community Health, Laboratory Technology, etc. I may sound so dismissive of these courses, but don’t get me wrong. These are significant courses and, perhaps, with valuable skills to offer, but we already have enough to go around. And, trust economics, its laws are no respecters of irrational decisions: the higher the supply, the lower the demand and invariably the price. So the need to rethink why we do certain things instead of other things could not be more urgent.

Way Forward

To be very clear, I am not presenting anything novel. Our pioneer leaders had envisaged the inevitable need for technical skills for economic growth and development, and that’s why they established monotechnics, polytechnics, and technical colleges across the country. No thanks to unimaginative leadership and penchant for mass production of certificates-wielding graduates that had led to having polytechnics with more students studying mass communication, theatre arts than engineering, computer science, statistics, etc. Nothing can be more ironic.

In the following subheadings, I will argue on why we should pay more attention to technical skills and invest more in establishing technical colleges:

Guaranteed employment

Rest assured that employers lined up waiting for you once you possess skills like plumbing, welding, woodwork, carpentry, masonry, tiling, electric wiring, programming, website and apps development, etc. With an increase in population comes corresponding demands for housing, food, and services. So these skills will forever be in need, so long as we breathe. And in the event you don’t want to be on the payroll of anybody, you can monetise the skills by employing yourself. For example, a diploma holder in animal health and production can engage in the private practice of visiting farms and local markets to provide first aid treatment. There are too many farms to go around. We can say the same about a plumber, tiler, painter, etc.

Less time than conventional schooling

Most technical skills can be acquired in a record time, probably in a year or two, and then you are good to go. The most interesting thing about a given skill is that the more you practice it, the more you master it. Moreover, it is more difficult for a person to forget a set of skills than the paper-based theories learned in school. Very unlike typical schooling (a diploma or a degree), where you would spend 2 or 4 years with no specific skills to show and then sooner you would forget the little theoretical knowledge you have acquired since you are not practising.

High return on investment

Compared to the money spent to acquire NCE certificates, diplomas in health-related courses, and some instances, degree courses, you are better off having any of the aforementioned technical skills. NCE holders and, in some cases, degree holders hardly make up to ₦30,000 per month in many private schools. In fact, even in public service, NCE holders fetch ₦36,000 per month in Bauchi state. When you analyse the time, money and energy expended to acquire the certificate and the monetary reward after that, you will struggle to make economic sense of the decision. So many Keke Napep guys make more than that amount in a month. So much for a heap of certificates!

Again, as a private investor, you are better off establishing a technical college, especially if you would engage in vertical integration by employing your products (graduates). For example, you can set a company that specialises in finishing and look for contracts. Trust me; we have a paucity of skilled workforce in the building industry. We do import tilers, plumbers, welders from outside. That’s how bad things are, and that’s how vast the opportunities are.

And for those who want to ‘japa‘ (to go abroad), your chance of securing a visa and employment abroad is greatly enhanced if you have any technical skills. This is for non-medical professionals and exceptionally brilliant computer wizards.

Note

The argument here is not whether an NCE certificate or health technology diploma or even degree certificate, for that matter, is good or not. No! The idea here is that we should go to colleges and universities to acquire skills that we can use to improve our financial situation. If the so-called certificate(s) you have obtained cannot fetch you a job or equip you with skills that people can pay for, you need to rethink why you were in school in the first place. We have tonnes of graduates and varying certificate-holders roaming the street for jobs that are not there and crying for lack of employment; meanwhile, they have no skills worth employing. We are massively producing what we do not need and under-producing what we urgently need. Something is wrong.

We have to appreciate the dynamics of time. Long ago, all it takes to climb the mythical social ladder and join the much-vaunted middle-class is a certificate of any kind. Whatever or not you studied in the university is immaterial; public jobs were waiting for you. But that was then. Those years of yore have passed for good. There are no more public jobs for everyone. Internalise this and know peace. As for private companies, well, first of all, they are not charity organisations. Secondly, they are profit-driven, so they don’t employ people to fill any underrepresented state’s quota. Thirdly, they reward value— what you have to offer is what counts. You need much more than a certificate to survive. You need skills, not just any skills, but skills that have economic value.

You need to wake up and smell the coffee. Hello!

Dr Tilde can be reached via adamtilde@gmail.com.

Nazifi Umar Alaramma,

This year, 2021, had experienced a late onset of rainfall in Kano and surrounding. Therefore, the onset of rain in Kano and surrounding was computed to be five days with 83 millimetres of rain fall.

83mm is equivalent to 9.2% of the mean annual rainfall of Kano state. However, the duration of the rainy season in Kano is between mid-May to early October. Nevertheless, the rain may delay until June. This means the rainy season could not begin before mid-May in Kano and surrounding. Likewise, it will not extend to November.

As per the climate of Kano, the region falls within 100 rainy days in West Africa. Therefore, rain may fall earliest in mid-May, never before. However, it could delay up to July.

In 2021 the rain had delayed to very late June due to natural and anthropogenic factors. The natural characteristics are the routine of delay rainy seasons that happen to entire Sudano-Sahelian environments, some every five years, like parts of Mali and Ethiopia and some for many years like Kano in Nigeria.

This year could have followed the suit of those who predate it to bring rainy season late. However, it is significant to note that delaying the rainy season and frequency of drought in Kano and surrounding had reduced following the construction of Tiga, Challawa and other more than 30 dams in the state. These dams increased the recharging of clouds. Hence, no frequent drought in Kano and surrounding since the 1970s. However, a delay of the rainy season has not been totally hampered yet. 

The human factor in delaying the rainy season this year may be human-induced climate change. We believe it originates from outside Nigeria. It is linked to the general circulation of the atmosphere, which alters Africa’s condition even if the major polluters are from Europe, America, and Asia.

Nazifi Alaramma is a lecturer at the Department of Geography Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano. He can be reached via alaramma12@gmail.com or nazifiumar@nwu.edu.ng.

Adamu speaking at the Coronation Lecture of his highness, the emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, which Kano Emirate Council organized in conjunction with the Bayero University, Kano held at the Convocation Arena of BUK on Thursday, July 1, 2021.

While delivering his paper titled “Kano Emirate: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow”, Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu argued that “Of all the grand emirates of northern Nigeria, none has the spectacular and expansive history and cultural anthropology recorded like the emirate, now the emirates of old Kano.”

In the historiography of Kano, Adamu traced that “Kano was founded in the 7th century by a group of wandering blacksmith seeking for iron ore from Gaya Town.” The versatile scholar used the typology of urban cultures developed by Fox (1977).

Adamu classified Kano as a ritual city, administrative city, mercantile city, scholastic city, colonial city, industrial city, and a bustling hub. He reiterated that it maintains the famous cultural jingle “Kano ko da me ka zo an fi ka”, loosely meaning: Kano is simply the best. 

Despite its greatness, Adamu lamented the increase in crimes and other social vices in Kano, adding that “these are the characteristics of any prosperous urban state.”

In his welcome address, the Vice-Chancellor of Bayero University, Prof. Sagir Adamu Abbas, said that it was a privilege to choose the University to host this maiden lecture. “It was a wise decision to introduce a public lecture into the activities of the coronation as it signals [a] new archetype in the affairs of Kano Emirate Council.”

Abbas commended the decision of the Kano State Government to formalize the Coronation of Sarkin Kano as that “demonstrates love and commitment towards ensuring a stable society and hopes Sarki Aminu Ado will use this opportunity to move Kano and the traditional institution to greater heights.”

Also speaking, the chairman of the occasion, His Eminence, The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, reminded the audience of the significance of traditional leaders as the custodian of cultural heritage. 

In his remark, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Dr Aminu Ado Bayero, the emir of Kano and the 15th Fulani ruling amir, described the relationship between Kano Emirate and Bayero University as that of “hanta da jini” [blood and liver]. Being a former student of Bayero University, mass communication programme, Sarki Aminu was delighted to see his former teacher, Prof. Cecil Blake, in the audience. 

In his speech, the Executive Governor of Kano State, His Excellency, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, said the title of the paper presented by Prof. Adamu “is apt.” Ganduje expressed happiness with the current peace in Kano State when many northern states are fighting insecurity. 

The event was attended by many politicians, academics, business people, traditional and religious leaders from and outside Kano State.

By Dr Ibrahim Siraj Adhama

News is often assumed to be a factual and objective account of happenings at global or local stages. Yet, news has always been a function of gatekeeping and, therefore, selective. Much is included or omitted through a selection process that is not entirely devoid of subjectivity and intrusion of personal judgement. Stories are framed to convey certain interpretations or promote certain ideologies. Facts are skewed to confer advantages on some individuals or groups who happen to be the news media owners and put the “others” at a disadvantage or cast them in a bad light. Globally, the media are being used, albeit cleverly, to promote their funders’ political ideology and protect their economic and other personal interests in a manner that is beyond what a layperson can see and understand. As the saying goes, no news is value-free.

Since its inception in Nigeria, one crucial feature of the media has been its religious, ethnic and regional configuration. Since independence, the Nigerian media have not only been highly politicized but were also found to be regional and ethnic in orientation and patronage. They seem to have fallen into and accepted the sad characterization of being ethnically and regionally oriented to the extent that issues of regional or ethnic significance are hardly treated objectively and professionally.

Northern Nigeria has always been a victim of media misrepresentation. Often, the media amplify the region’s challenges and, grossly, underreport its potentials. Of course, the North is battling serious developmental challenges, yet its vast mineral, agricultural and human resource potentials are entirely overlooked. The impression one gets is that of a region that is gradually turning into an epicentre of everything terrible or backward about Nigeria, bereft of any meaningful contribution to the country’s socio-economic development. It took the recent protests by food and animal suppliers to remind Nigerians that the key to the country’s food security lies in the hands of the North, a region portrayed by some as worthless.

True, the North has its more than fair share of challenges. It has a higher number of poor people. It also leads in other negative indices such as illiteracy, diseases, child mortality, hunger, and out-of-school children, especially if the available local and international statistics are anything to go by. This is not to mention the high level of insecurity that has continued to bedevil the region and is threatening to turn it into the largest killing field in the world.

The Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast is more than a decade old. Unfortunately, it does not show any sign of ending anytime soon. Bandits and kidnappers are on the prowl in the Northwest and the North-Central, killing and maiming at will. The kidnapping of school children is assuming a worryingly disturbing rate. The region similarly witnesses social and political upheavals with secessionist agitations re-emerging from East to West ostensibly to counter phantom Northern domination, domination about which an average Northerner knows close to nothing. Essentially looked upon through a parasitic lens, the North has disappointingly continued to be projected as the “sick man of Nigeria”.

To make things worse, the North appears not to have a voice of its own. Unlike what obtained in the past, the North has given up on the race to establish media outlets (especially news channels) to cater to the region’s information needs and ward off negative media campaigns from other regions. It was the late Ahmadu Bello Sardauna (of blessed memory) who said at the opening of New Nigerian in 1966 (shortly before his assassination) that “if you don’t blow your trumpet, nobody will blow it for you for the simple reason that they are too busy blowing theirs”.

Owing to good leadership, the North in those days was able to compete favourably against other regions in the media arena – from newspaper to radio and television. However, this is no longer the case, especially with regards to private news channels.

Since the deregulation of broadcasting in 1992 to allow for private ownership of radio and television in Nigeria, all the North can boast of are private FM radio stations and a handful of entertainment TV channels. In Kano, for instance, there are over twenty such radion stations and counting.

What the North actually needs at the moment are news channels in the form of TVC and Channels Television that will broadcast news and analysis of significant events to the world from a perspective that represents the average thinking of Northern people or at least does not misrepresent them. Enough of these avenues for “talking to ourselves” that these FM stations represent. There is the need to channel concerted efforts and resources towards achieving this in the nearest future if we are interested in changing the narrative about our region and what it stands for.

To better appreciate the need for this, one has to watch AIT, TVC or Channels Television coverage of such issues like restructuring, resource control, farmers-herders conflict or any of those issues that are so dear to the South but about which the North feels differently. The North is effectively turned into a punching bag of some sort by annoyingly ignorant noisemakers posing as analysts or barely informed ethnic bigots parading themselves as advocates for justice. Neither the right of self-defence nor the ethical prerequisite of fairness and balance could guarantee hearing from the other side. This has to be countered!

Dr Ibrahim wrote from the Department of Mass Communication, Bayero University, Kano.