News

By Ibrahim Siraj

(Who is at Ingall, Agadez, Niger Republic)

Many Nigerians are attending this year’s ”Cure Saleé” festival at Ingall town, some one-hundred sixty kilometres Southwestern the ancient city of Agadez in the Niger Republic.

The three-day festival, which was declared open by President Bazoum, is officially billed to end today but may be extended to Sunday.

Cure Saleé is an annual event that showcases the rich cultural heritage of the Touregs and Nomads, including camel and horse racing, music and dance. It draws attendance from across Niger Republic, Africa and the world. Also in attendance are traditional rulers from Niger, Nigeria and other neighbouring countries.

Started several centuries ago, the festival brings together various Tuareg clans and Wodaabe Nomads to celebrate the end of the rainy season and to mark the beginning of a movement down south to survive the upcoming dry season.

The salty waters of Ingall are believed to possess medicinal and healing powers that can cure all diseases afflicting humans and animals.

Cure Saleé also serves as a melting point for several social, business, tourism and friendship activities.

The 2021 well-attended event is coming after the Covid-19 lockdown forced the cancellation of the festival in 2020.

Attending the event from Nigeria are scholars, researchers, tourists, journalists, photographers and other business and media personalities.

Declaring the 2021 Cure Saleé open, President Mohamed Bazoum, who attended the festival for the first time since he became President, welcomed all guests and assured the organisers of his government’s continued support.

Speaking to The Daily Reality on this significance of the festival, a foremost Kano Palace historian and researcher, Malam Nasiru Wada, said Cure Saleé offers students of culture like himself the opportunity to learn how life is defined by people living in the desert and to appreciate the difference between Africa’s divergent cultures. He listed the economic advantages of the festival to include tourism, inflow and outflow of goods and services, as well as job opportunities.

Also speaking, a Kano-based documentary photographer, Muhammad Mubarak aka Moha Sheikh, said his coming to Ingall is a follow-up to his participation at similar cultural event, Bianou, in Agadez last year. He said the two festivals had afforded him the opportunity to see and document culture.

Another documentary photographer, Emmanuel Abor, from Abuja, said the festival is a celebration of cultural preservation in the technological age.

At the end of the festival, prizes will be distributed to winners of different categories of competitions.

Ten students of Bethel Baptist College, Kaduna, were released this evening. Two were sick and eight let go on the magnanimity of their kidnappers.

Details later.

By Hussaina Sufyan Ahmed

Kano is the centre of commerce. Kano is the state where you find the complete structure of Nigerian cultures coexisting. The state gives potentialities of what Nigerians should envisage in peaceful coexistence. That includes interrelationship between marketers of different ethnic backgrounds to the various categories of people in the market system and beyond.

The Kano market system remains one of the most organised in Nigeria. The market structure sees room for you to decide your scale of preference as a buyer or seller. In addition, there are distinctions as to where and what you can obtain from a particular place in a specific setting.

These markets range in various products. Kano is known to harbour the sales of everything saleable, and this is why this essay intends to highlight to you a Kano resident or someone new to Kano the focus of some of the major markets.

Sabon Gari is the largest market in Kano state. In this market, you can get anything you wish to, irrespective of your preference. Though the market has sections of varieties from kitchen wares, shoe wares, body wares, home appliances, and many more, the most common segment exemplified as the rowdiest remains the perishable foods section (Yan Kura). You find fresh from farm tomatoes, veggies of various types, seafood, and many more in this part of the market. This market section has different Nigerian tribes. However, the most prominent remains the Igbos and the Edos. The sweet ambience that comes out of this market section is when you hear every tribe speaking in Hausa to form a unification.

Another prominent produce you can get in Yan Kura is raw food. You get rice, beans and even Garri at cheaper rates. This is because, in this market, the packaging of produce is not a celebrated thing. Therefore, lower-class, average and high-class people can access this market and find the prices very affordable.

Kasuwar Rimi is a market located around Kofar Nassarawa. It focuses on the sales of kitchen utensils. In this market, you get to be thrilled by the number of people that can hoard the same business and yet live on common grounds. Kasuwar Rimi is also a big market that can harbour newcomers asking about the routes if they do not know the ways of the markets; this is because the market is also very large.

 In this market, there are Kano indigenes, and the ambience that comes with the native speakers is so beautiful. However, you find out that those not from Kano find joy in communicating using the tone of the native speakers.

Kasuwan Wambai is more of a farther affiliation to the route of Sabon Gari market. To go to this market from Yan Kura, you get to board a specially organised tricycle generally known as “Keke Napep” that is different from the common yellow ones. In this market, you get to see the actual definition of runners and plastics with a preference for quality. You get to have wholesales in this market for almost every seller of the rubbers, plastics, jerry cans, and gallons sell in dozens or more. In this market, you hear a name like “Yan rubber”, and you know there are other boundaries to help you understand the market more according to the categorisation.

A sequel to this article will give you hindsight on navigating the various major markets in Kano state. This is to help you map out the way to go and the way not to go. This will also help curb if insecurity, as sometimes an unknown route becomes a danger zone.

A 25-year-old man, identified as Nasiru Muhammad, was arrested by the police in Jigawa State for allegedly having sex with a goat.

This was confirmed to newsmen in Dutse by the Jigawa State Police Public Relations Officer, Lawan Shi’isu Adam.

Mr Shi’isu was quoted as saying, “On 09/09/2021 at about 0100hrs, Police officers from Gwaram divisional headquarters, while on patrol within Gwaram and its environs, arrested a 25-year-old man, Nasiru Muhammad of Kunnadi quarters while having intercourse with a goat.”

He added that an investigation was ongoing and the suspect would be prosecuted subsequently.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has clarified that its Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, who received medical attention is now “hale and hearty.”

This is coming after he had nearly slumped when delivering a speech during an event at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The anti-graft agency made the clarification in a short statement it posted on its Facebook page.

“The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Commission, EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa is hale and hearty. This clarification became necessary following an incident today September 16, 2021, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja where he was giving a goodwill message to the National Identity Day celebration, felt unwell and had to return to his seat.

“He has since received medical attention and is due back at his desk,” the statement read.

By Muhammad Sabiu

The chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, collapsed while delivering a speech during a programme at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Mr Bawa was said to have suddenly stopped talking when giving a goodwill message and was later held by the Minister of Communications and other individuals.

He later fell and was hurriedly rushed to the hospital.

As of the time of filing this report, no details have been provided as to why the anti-graft agency’s boss collapsed.

By Muhammad Sabiu

The management of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), Edo State has asked its students to vacate the institution before 12 pm on Wednesday over a protest that had taken place on Tuesday.

Recall that students of the institution embarked upon a protest due to the late registration fee the school had imposed on them.

The students, however, dismissed the fee, saying it would be hard for them considering the economic situation of the country.

The announcement was contained in a statement signed by the university’s registrar, Mr Ademola Bobola Salami.

“The Vice-Chancellor has reviewed the agitation by a section of the students’ body on Tuesday.

“After due consultation and in the overall interest of all students’ body, the Vice-Chancellor has, on behalf of Senate, approved the immediate closure of the University.

“This is based on security reports to avoid the students’ action being hijacked by hoodlums, and thereby prevent any form of breakdown of law and order within and outside the campuses of the University,” the statement said.

By Muhammad Sabiu

The United Arab Emirates has declared thirty-eight individuals wanted, of which six are Nigerian citizens.

The declaration is in connection to allegations of involvement in terrorism and related activities, which had the names of the individuals included on the country’s terror designation list.

A foreign news platform, Al Arabiya, reports, “The decision, WAM stated, comes within the framework of the UAE’s efforts to target and disrupt networks associated with the financing of terrorism and its associated activities.”

Other individuals on the UAE’s terror list are from Iran, Iraq, India, Russia, Jordan, Britain and others.

According to the Daily Trust newspaper, the six Nigerians are Abdurrahaman Ado Musa, Salihu Yusuf Adamu, Bashir Ali Yusuf, Muhammed Ibrahim Isa, Ibrahim Ali Alhassan and Surajo Abubakar Muhammad.

By Muhammad Sabiu

Reports coming from Zamfara State, in Nigeria’s northwest, have indicated that at least seventy-five students, who were kidnapped at Government Day Secondary School, Kaya, have finally regained their freedom after spending twelve days in captivity.

The released students were received by Governor Muhammed Bello Matawalle at the state’s Government House in Gusau.

Confirming the release, Nigeria’s national television, popularly known as NTA, posted on Facebook that, “The seventy-five students of Government Day Secondary School Kaya in Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State abducted about two weeks ago regained freedom.”

This is coming amidst a military onslaught against the terrorists operating in the region, who are notorious for killing and kidnapping.

The Matawalle-led Zamfara government had since taken measures to halt the violent activities of the terrorists by intercepting the supply of foodstuffs and petroleum products to their respective camps.

The military onslaught has reportedly forced a number of them to flee their camps amidst suffering heavy casualties.

By Muhammad Sabiu

The alleged murder of a taxi driver by some men of the Special Task Force, Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) for allegedly flouting the 10:00 pm curfew imposed on some parts of Plateau State is going to be investigated.

This was disclosed on Saturday by the spokesperson of the operation, Maj. Ishaku Takwa, in Jos.

Recall that the taxi driver, identified as Abdullahi Karafa, was alleged to have been beaten to death by soldiers around the Farin Gada axis in Plateau State.

During a condolence visit paid to the family of the deceased, the Commander of the Task Force, Ibrahim Ali, gave assurance that any soldier culpable of the murder would be punished.

The statement reads, “OPSH received with shock a report that its personnel deployed at Farin Gada beat and murdered a commercial taxi driver, Mr Abdullahi Karafa.

“Immediately we received the report, our commander visited the deceased family and condoned them over the unfortunate incident.

“The commander has since constituted a board of enquiry to unravel those behind the heinous act.”

Since after the murder of some 30 Muslim travellers in the Rukuba community of Plateau State, there has been tension which is as a result of attacks and reprisals, and that forced the Plateau State Government to impose a night curfew on some parts of the state.