News

By Muhammadu Sabiu 

India is soon to overtake China as the world’s most populated country, according to the United Nations Population Division.

John Wilmoth, the director of the UN Population Division, stated this at a press conference held on Monday at the UN’s New York headquarters.

Wilmoth asserted that the fertility rates in the two countries were the primary cause of this trend, stating that China and India together made up more than one-third of the world’s eight billion people.

Wilmoth was quoted as saying, “By the end of April, India’s population is expected to reach 1,425,775,850 people, with projections indicating further growth for several decades more.

“That’s slightly higher than China’s global record of 1.4 billion in 2022.

“China’s population reached its peak size in 2022 and has begun to decline.

“Projections indicate that the size of the Chinese population could drop below one billion before the end of the century.”

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Malam Adam Imam, the father of The Daily Reality reporter in Kano State, Uzair Adam Imam, has died.

Late Adam died on Sunday at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano State, after a protracted illness. 

Announcing the demise of the deceased on Facebook, Malam Aisar Fagge, co-founder and editor of The Daily Reality, wrote: 

 “Innalillahi wa inna ilaihirrajiun! Yanzu na ke samun rasuwar mahaifin su Uzair Adam Imam bayan fama da jinya da ya sha ta watanni. Mal. Uzair was one of our outstanding students as well as the staff of The Daily Reality. May Allah rest the soul of his father and give them the fortitude to bear this monumental loss, ameen.” 

He has since been buried according to Islamic rites.

By Muhammadu Sabiu 
 
The National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, informed Nigerians in Sudan on Saturday that the federal government was working to bring them home.
 
This is contained in a statement released by Manzo Ezekiel, the head of NEMA’s press unit, in Abuja. 
 
He said that NEMA was very worried about the situation, was keeping an eye on it, and was working on all available possibilities to return the trapped Nigerians to their loved ones’ homes in a safe and respectable manner.
 
The statement reads, “The attention of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is drawn to the widespread public concern on the situation in Sudan especially in regards to the ongoing conflict and the safety as well as well-being of stranded Nigerian citizens including hundreds of students in various universities of the country.
 
“It has become necessary to inform the public that NEMA is in constant communication with all relevant partners including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nigerian Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission and security agencies while seeking for an appropriate window of opportunity to evacuate all stranded Nigerians back home in a safe and dignified manner.
 
“The current emergency situation in Sudan is very complex with fighting between waring factions going on and all airports and land boarders closed. NEMA is working assiduously with all its partners and is constantly compiling updated information on the situation.
 
“A committee has been set up comprising of professional emergency responders, search and rescue experts to constantly evaluate the situation and seek for the safest way to evacuate the Nigerian citizens even if it is through a country neighbouring Sudan.”
 
Recall that there is ongoing violence involving the Sudanese Army and its paramilitary, which was recently characterised by heavy gunfire and explosions in the capital Khartoum.
 
 

By Uzair Adam Imam

Over 7,000 quack teachers were reported to have been remedied by the Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States. 

Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, the TRCN Chief Executive, made this disclosure to newsmen on Thursday at a workshop organised by the council.

At the workshop themed, “Strengthening Teachers Education: Challenges and Opportunities in Basic Sub-Sector in Nigeria”, Ajiboye lamented about the learning crisis in the country.

Ajiboye stated that the learning crisis in the country had always been attributed to poor teaching and the lack of qualified teachers.

However, he stated that the effort made by the council was to upscale the dignity of the teaching profession in the eyes of the public.

He stated, “The challenge with Nigerian education is largely attributed to poor teaching in which experienced, dedicated, committed and professional teachers were difficult to find in schools.

“The council, in order to upscale the dignity, rewards and recognition of the teaching profession, had developed a career path policy for the teaching profession,” he stated.

By Muhammadu Sabiu 

South Korea announced Friday that it would send a military aircraft and soldiers to evacuate South Korean citizens stuck in Sudan, where fighting has claimed hundreds of lives since it started last week.

Similar actions are being taken by Japan, which on Friday dispatched a military jet to attempt to retrieve its citizens from the country affected by the violence.

Violence between soldiers loyal to Sudan’s army head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who leads the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF), broke out on Saturday, killing more than 300 people.

Despite calls from world powers for end-of-Ramadan peace, there were numerous gunshots and explosions Friday in Khartoum, the capital, and other parts of the country.

By Muhammadu Sabiu

The Shawwal crescent of the Hijra year 1444 has been seen as confirmed by authorities.

This was stated in a short statement through the verified Facebook page of the Haramain Sharifain.

The statement reads, “The Crescent for the month of Shawwal 1444 was SEEN today in Tumair and Sudair subsequently tomorrow i.e Friday, 21st April 2023 is the day of Eid Al Fitr.”

The sighting of the crescent indicates the end of the Ramadan fast.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Federal Government of Nigeria has described the recently concluded 2023 general elections as the most authentic ever held in Nigeria since independence.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, disclosed this yesterday while fielding questions from journalists after the FEC meeting.

He stated that despite efforts by the opposition parties to delegitimize the election, it was the most transparent, freest and authentic ever held in Nigeria.

Muhammed disclosed this as one of the reasons President Muhammadu Buhari refused to interfere with the Adamawa State poll debacle.

He added that the issue was strictly the responsibility of the Independent National Electoral Commission to sort out the matter

According to the Minister, it is not in Buhari’s character to micromanage the government’s institutions.

Mohammed said: “I don’t think that this government has ever intervened in the way the Independent National Electoral Commission conducts its elections.

“So, there’s no need for us to intervene. It was an entirely INEC matter, and INEC handled it.

“The chairman of INEC is in charge of all employees in INEC, and he’s handling it. So, what do you want the government to do?”

By Muhammadu Sabiu 
 
Nigerians studying in Sudan have written the Nigerian government to evacuate all its citizens trapped there, especially in the capital city of Khartoum where the military and paramilitary are fighting.
 
This is coming after some days since the fight had started, which left hundreds either killed or injured.
 
Reports have indicated that thousands of people are trapped in the city of Khartoum with no access to basic needs like food and medicine.
 
The National Association of Nigerian Students in Sudan made this request in a letter to the federal government.
 
The letter reads, “We write this to Nigerian Government in respect to the current and ongoing conflict that erupts between the Sudan military and paramilitary forces in these past days; particularly in Khartoum, the capital city where constant gunfire, explosions and airstrike attacks dominate its vicinity and environs (where a score of Nigerian Students study).
 
“2. The Nigerian Students have been stranded in fears with no access to basic needs equipment and have been facing dangerous threats. We hereby write soliciting and yearning for the Nigerian Government’s intercession to rescue and send for an immediate evacuation of the Nigerian students that are stuck in the center of the ongoing war.
 
“3. We strongly hope that our call for rescue to our dear nation Nigeria will be responded to with immediate effect.
 
 

By Uzair Adam Imam

The National Defence College (NDC) said Nigeria’s insecurity is not inevitable if only magic technologies like artificial intelligence are to be used in the nation.

The NDC commandant, Rear Adm. Murtala Bashir, stated this on Tuesday in Abuja, adding that the military needs to be ahead of the violent non-state actors to address the security challenges ravaging the country.

Over a decade, insecurity has been one of the major issues facing Nigeria and has claimed the lives of thousands of innocent people, leading to the displacement of several others in the country.

The activities of bandits have badly affected the economic growth of the nation as farmers and businessmen fear the atrocious attack by the bandits who either kidnap or slaughter any misfortune individual they encounter.

However, the NDC Commandant identified measures he believed could have been used to defeat terrorists and terrorism in the country.

He said, “Technologies like artificial intelligence and others are the much-needed game changers that will enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the military’s responses to the challenges facing Nigeria.

“If we’re to also avoid the experiences of the past, where Nigeria has to beg foreigners to prosecute legitimate internal security challenges against militancy, terrorism and insurgency, then we need to reappraise our research and development efforts in technology acquisition and innovation.

“We need to also revamp our military industrial complex, and these efforts must be of national outlook and driven by research and development,” he said.

By Muhammadu Sabiu 
 
FrieslandCampina, a multinational dairy producer of the famous Three Crowns Milk and many others, has come under fire over the wrong translation of a billboard advertisement from English to Hausa.
 
Many Hausa-speaking social media users, particularly on Facebook, have taken it to their handles to criticise the company for the unprofessional translation of the advertisement.
 
Several of them attributed the error to Campina’s unwillingness to hire professional Hausa translators, adding that it might have been a work of a machine translation.

Attaching pictures to his post about the advertisement, a Facebooker named Aliyu M. Ahmad wrote: “Have you seen the work of ‘Google Translate’?
 
“This is done as if we don’t have Hausa brand designers.
 
“Please, somebody should translate it into standard Hausa.”
 
Another one, Ashir, posted, “Three Crown[s], you’ve raped the Hausa language.”
 
The Daily Reality has gone through social media pages belonging to the company but has not seen any responses to the criticism yet. They were not reachable for a reaction either.

In the past, many Hausa social media users complained about similarly terrible translations seen on billboards adverting one or another product in northern Nigeria.

Others called on the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) to intervene. However, The Daily Reality has not seen such an intervention from the council as during this report.