National

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari.

The Government of Yobe State has distributed laptops to facilitate learning for indigenes of the state at the Nigerian Law School. 

The laptops were distributed to the students through the office of Yobe’s State Scholarship Board on Tuesday, April 26, 2022. 

Maimu Giwa, one of the beneficiaries, disclosed told The Daily Reality that the government also promised them school fees but was constrained due to a lack of funds. 

“But initially, the plan was that the laptops would be given to us along with school fees and wardrobe allowance, but due to financial issues, they only gave us some part of the money, and that was since November last year,” she said.

By Muhammad Sabiu

In a vicious fire battle along Orlu – Orsu Road on April 25, 2022, troops of the Nigerian Army’s 34 Artillery Brigade eliminated two gunmen and apprehended four other members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed affiliate, Eastern Security Network (ESN).

This is contained in a Facebook statement signed by Onyema Nwachu (Brigadier General), the Director of Army Public Relations, via the verified handle of the Nigerian Army.

The statement read, “The troops, while on routine patrol, made contact with elements of IPOB/ESN around the general area of Aluminium Company and All Saints Church. On sighting the patrol team, the criminal elements opened fire and launched [a] grenade attack on the troops. The vigilant troops responded with superior firepower neutralizing two of the criminal elements, compelling others to flee in disarray. 

“In a hot pursuit that followed the encounter, troops arrested four of the fleeing gunmen and recovered one AK 47 rifle, two magazines, one Police grenade launcher, two Baofeng communication radios, five mobile phones, one IPOB Beret, two Motorcycles, four SIM cards, five wallets containing different ID cards, afrodisiac [sic], charms and the sum of Sixteen Thousand Four Hundred and Sixty Naira only.”

The southeastern part of the country, which houses the secessionist Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has been experiencing the violent activities of the Biafran agitators over the years.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Nigeria’s Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, on Thursday,  April 21, 2022, said the decision to halt the ongoing strike solely lies with the Academic Staff Union of Universities,  ASUU. 

Ngige said this on Channels TV while featuring as a guest in the televised program ‘Politics Today.’

According to Ngige, the time the strike will end is only for ASUU to decide and that it is expected of the Union to decide if they have the student’s best interest at heart. 

On when the strike, which has crippled academic activities in Nigeria’s public universities, will end, the Labour Minister said, “It depends on ASUU. The ball is in their court. They should go and meet the Benimi Briggs Committee and look at what the committee is doing and make further inputs so that work can be accelerated, ” he said

Ngige added that ASUU’s attitude towards the labour crisis is not helping the situation. 

“ASUU has to come down from their high horse. You cannot go and start intimidating people in NITDA and threatening the Minister of Digital Economy and Communication with revocation of his professorship that he is a fake professor. You go to ABU and say you are going to withdraw the certificate of the director of NITDA. That’s bullying. It is not allowed in Labour negotiations,” he stated.

By Uzair Adam Imam

 As part of the contribution toward global peace, Nigeria has deployed about 173 soldiers to keep peace in Guinea Bissau despite rising insecurity in the country. 

The Chief of Operations, Army Headquarters, Major General Oluwafemi Akinjobi, made the disclosure at the pre-deployment training graduation of the Nigerian contingent to the ECOWAS Mission in Guinea Bissau.

He stated that since independence Nigeria has contributed over 100,000 troops to over 40 countries on peacekeeping missions.

Akinjobi, who was reportedly represented by the Chief of Operations, Major General Zakari Abubakar, noted that Nigeria remains the beacon of peace and the gatekeeper of the ECOWAS sub-region.

He added that Nigeria has helped restore peace in many conflict areas around the world.

Akinjobi was quoted as saying: “The nation continues to strive to ensure security and stability in Africa through collective security by contributing to international peace and security, which is essential to Nigeria’s defence policy.”

By Muhammadu Sabiu

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has demanded the firing of the Chief Executive officer (CEO) of Sterling Bank, Mr Abubakar Sulaiman, after the financial institution made a debatable Easter flyer.

The Christian body accused the bank of likening the Resurrection of Jesus to Agege bread, in response to which the CEO apologised.

A statement released by the CAN has described the comparison as “ungodly, wicked, insensitive and deliberately provocative.”

“The attention of the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria has been drawn to an ungodly, wicked, insensitive and deliberately provocative advertisement of Sterling Bank, comparing the Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ to ‘Agege bread’ amidst the Easter celebration.

“In case the management of Sterling Bank is not aware, the Resurrection of Jesus witnesses to the immense power of God Himself. To believe in the Resurrection is to believe in God. If God exists, and if He created the universe and has power over it, then He has power to raise the dead. If He does not have such power, He is not worthy of our faith and worship.

“Only He who created life can resurrect it after death; only He can reverse the mystery that is death itself, and only He can remove the sting and gain the victory over the grave (1 Corinthians 15:54–55). In resurrecting Jesus from the grave, God reminds us of His absolute sovereignty over life and death,” the statement read partly.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Popularly known as Rema, Nigerian singer, Devine Ikubor, has appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, to call off its two-month-old strike. 

The 21 years old Afrobeats singer made the appeal on Monday,  April 18, 2022, on Twitter. 

“ASUU, since dem give me admission I neva start school o, e don do nau “, Rema tweeted. 

Rema was reportedly admitted to the University of Lagos in January and has not been able to assume school before the strike’s commencement.

ASUU has been on strike since February 14, 2022. The Federal Government’s failure to implement the 2009 agreement and not accepting the University Transparency and Accountability Solution, UTAS, as a payment platform are among the main reasons cited by ASUU for the industrial action.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Nigeria’s Minister of Labour and Employment,  Chris Ngige, is set to declare his intention to contest the 2023 presidential election on Tuesday. 

This is coming amidst the two-month-old strike embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.

Ngige, who has failed to resolve the lingering impasse between ASUU and the Federal Government, said on Saturday, April 16, 2022, that God has spoken to him regarding the presidency, and he will not disappoint his supporters. 

“The period of Lent ended last night; throughout the period, we communed with God. We did spiritual exercises and fasted. We talked to God and his angels, and God has talked back to us. God has spoken to me. I want to assure the people that I will not disappoint you,” he stated

Ngige added that he has the support of the trio of the APC, PDP and APGA in his ambition. 

“This journey is not for the APC alone. Our brothers and sisters in PDP and APGA  are in support. They know that I am more qualified than any other person from the South East. They will support me,” he said.

However, Ngige’s intended declaration does not go well with many, especially students who have been held at home by ASUU’s strike, which the Labour Minister has failed to resolve.

Maymunat Suleiman, a final year student of Chemistry at Federal University Lokoja, expressed her dismay regarding Ngige’s presidential bid during an interview with The Daily Reality.

“A presidential candidate who doesn’t take education seriously. These politicians only care about themselves and their families. I don’t see myself voting for that kind of candidate,” she said. 

Another student, who preferred to remain anonymous, described Ngige’s presidential bid as a joke that should not be taken seriously.

He further decried the minister’s poor management of the ASUU’s strike, which has kept students in public universities from school.

By Uzair Adam Imam 

The two-term governor of Kano, Engr Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, said he had concluded plans to formally declare his political ambition next week.

Kwankwaso, who has been nursing the ambition over the years, would contest for president on the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) platform.

Speaking at a news conference on Friday, Mr Kwankwaso said he consulted widely on his plan, and the responses were positive.

“I have been consulting widely with friends and Nigerians of diverse interests, and the outcome has been positive. 

“I will be informing Nigerians of my political ambition sometime early next week,” he said.

Kwankwaso also acknowledged the successes recorded by his new political party at its recently-concluded membership registration. 

He added, “the support for the NNPP had been overwhelming going by the responses recorded at its recently-concluded membership registration drive.”

By Uzair Adam Imam 

A 100 level student at the Claretian University of Nigeria, Imo State, Suel Ambrose, slumped and died while acting in a drama on campus.

The incident that took place Friday has thrown the whole school community members into confusion.

The drama was in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in respect to the Easter celebration.

Ambrose, who hailed from Benue State, was dramatising the role of the biblical Peter in the Passion of Christ when the incident occurred.

According to the source, who identified himself as Mavis, the 25-year-old first-year student fell on the floor and started bleeding. 

It was gathered the deceased had the dream of becoming a priest in the Catholic church before his demise. 

He added, “He was playing the role of the biblical Peter in the dream and that process when Peter cut the ear of one of the soldiers and Jesus fixed the ear and asked Peter to let them do their wish. You know how passionate the play is.

“So when the soldiers chase the disciples to drive them away from Jesus, the young man fell on the floor and started bleeding. We took him to our school hospital, and the doctors did their best, but he was not responding to treatment. 

“We took him to the Federal Medical Center in Owerri, where he was pronounced dead.”

The drama was in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in respect to the Easter celebration.

By Ibrahim A. El-Caleel

Muslims across the world love to complete the recitation of the Qur’an in Ramadan due to different reasons.

Firstly, it was within the blessed month that the Qur’ān was sent down all at one time from Al-Lauhul Mahfūz (the Preserved tablet) to Al-Baitul Izzah (House of Might) in the heaven of this world.

Secondly, actions in this month are rewarded in manifolds. Good deeds and bad deeds alike. Ramadan has a single night whose eminence is better than a thousand months- 83 years+. Imagine submitting an act of good deed in this night and getting it accepted. The reward will be awesome.

Reciting the Qur’an is an easy way of accumulating good rewards. It is rewarded per alphabet. Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) said it is a 10-fold reward per alphabet each recited. An Uthmāni script of the Qur’an contains 604 pages, with each page having 15 lines. The estimated number of characters/alphabets in the Qur’ān is 330,000. Therefore, if you calculate the anticipated number of rewards for reciting the whole Qur’ān, you’ll see that it is massive. The reward becomes exponentially colossal if you factor in the multiplier effect of Ramadan.

This is why scholars of Islam from all walks of disciplines retire to the Qur’ān once it is Ramadan. They momentarily suspend studies in Hadīth, Fiqh, I’tiqād, History to settle for the Qur’ān so as to maximize the benefits in Ramadan. Mujāhid bn Jabr, a tabi’i expert in Tafseer used to complete the Qur’ān in every night in Ramadan. Imamul Shafi’i would complete the Qur’an 60 times in Ramadan!

Every conscious Muslim is looking forward to completing the recitation of the Qur’ān in Ramadan. It is a “bonanza period” for you to double your good deeds and earn some handsome rewards in your Book of Record. This is why everyone works on a plan to complete the Qur’ān. I have seen different plans that divide the Qur’an into number of pages, or rubu’, hizb or juz which should be covered on daily basis to complete the Noble Book before Ramadan elapses. Some go as detailed as breaking it down to recitals after each of the five obligatory prayers on daily basis.

AlhamdulilLahi. All these are implementable plans if one has the discipline to sustain them.

However, I have never tried following them because I do not have the organized sustenance culture in reading. And in the near past, either in 2016 or 17, there was a Ramadan where I was unable to complete the Qur’ān. Though there was nothing sinful about that, I wasn’t happy. I could make only around 45hizbs, falling short of 15. And since then I settled for my own personal plan.

My personal plan afterwards was a resolution not to join Taraweeh prayers in congregation unless I have completed the Qur’ān. Therefore, in the early days of Ramadan, typically before 10th, I do my taraweeh alone at home. I would silence-mode my phone to avoid any distraction. I would then pray my taraweeh typically covering 6 hizbs daily, in either two or four raka’ahs depending on my selection. It typically lasts two hours, or with an additional 30 minutes. Of course, the standing isnt easy but nothing rewarding has ever been easy. So, I bear it. Immediately after completing this taraweeh, I fall asleep. Saving me from the addition of late night punching of my phone.

This plan has been working for me, AlhamdulilLah. I am not sharing it for a holier-than-thou extravaganza, subhanallah. May Allah protect our deeds from show-off, Amin. But I am sharing it because it might be a method someone would want to adopt, especially for workers who run an 8am to 5pm work. They might not have chance to read the Qur’an during work hours in the day. And they may be thinking of what other plan can they adopt since they want to complete this Noble Book.

You don’t have to be a Qur’an memorizer to adopt this method. All you need is this copy of the Mushaf that is usually divided by hizbs selections numbering 1-10 (6 hizbs each) or numbering 1-6 (10 hizbs each). They are portable for use in prayers. And if you want to use the Qur’an app in your phone, no problem. You might just consider putting your phone in ‘Airplane Mode’ to ward off distractions.

It is halāl (permissible) to pray while holding the Qur’ān according to the most correct scholarly opinion. This applies to everyone- whether they are Qur’ān memorizers or not. In fact, Imamul Nawawiy considers it wajib if one hasn’t memorized Suratul Fātiha, then he must hold a Qur’ān and pray because not having Suratul Fatiha in your human brain isn’t an excuse for you not to pray. Therefore, whether you have the Qur’an at heart or not, you can still recite from the mushaf while in prayers.

If Islamic scholars are suspending other fields of knowledge to complete the Qur’ān in Ramadan, you can suspend social media to do same. If you want to use your annual leave, casual leave or compassionate leave from work, then so be it. It worths doing all these.

May Allah grant us the ability to maximize our time in Ramadan, Amin.

El-Caleel writes from Zaria, Kaduna State