Opinion

By Zayyad I. Muhammad

The 2023 Adamawa governorship election was not only tough for Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, but it also shocked him to his marrows. Fintiri said he didn’t only contest against Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed Binani, but against a powerful people in Abuja- Governor Fintiri further said it was an attempted coup d’état against him.

The aftermath of the April 15th governorship election rerun led to Gov. Fintiri ending his first term in a kind of ‘Anger’. So, Fintiri’s second term is highly likely to begin in anger, vengeance, and fighting real and imaginary political enemies.

This is where we must pity Fintiri; if he mistakenly allowed these three things to control his thinking in making appointments, siting of development projects, and creating policies and programs – his four years of the second term would be shrouded with just politics, politics and politics. if  Fintiri is not very careful, he will allow the ‘trauma’  of April  15th to be on his head- his second term’s appointments, projects, and policies will be full of vengeance, anger, and unnecessary fights- if that happens; it will be the beginning of the end of his political future,  because of 2 things- the complexity of Adamawa politics and the current moment.

Nevertheless, Fintiri’s first actions will be how to punish those he presumed did anti-party in the PDP and how to compensate the ‘outsiders’ who did anti-party in their parties to his advantage. This is where the first problem of Fintiri’s second term will commence- new enemies within his party, the outsiders will feel meagerly compensated while those who worked hard for his second term will feel that the outsiders have more than what they ought to have.

For his political survival, Fintiri’s second term should be a kind of political redemption for him- work on his poor relationship with some of his party stakeholders, discard any thought of unnecessary fights with people who he thinks have worked against him and cool the growing tongue and faith division in the state’s polity, especially among jobless young people.

Fintiri’s second term should be a reconciliatory one towards some of his party stakeholders, the traditional class, and some of his so-called enemies. And his appointment should reflect Adamawa’s complexity and the people that truly contributed to his victory in both his first and second terms. This will go a long way to ‘heal’ the past and ‘nurture’ the future.

As things stand now,  if Fintiri doesn’t apply the science of politics and wisdom in his thoughts-  most of his actions will be viewed through the prism of ‘we’ vs ‘them’, which will be very bad for a Governor in a second term; because second terms are intricate – one’s political values diminish as he utilizes the term’s years; followership  reduces, permutations and carpets cross occur without necessarily factoring the second term’s driver’ while those wishing to replace the driver becomes more of yes men, at the detriment of the driver

Fintiri should quickly make some in-delectable marks with legacy programs and projects in the area of youth empowerment, poverty reduction, and human development and industrialization, amongst others. Roads projects are good- but  within 10-20 years, often,  people will forget who to do them; while some will deteriorate, new ones will replace them, but human development and youth empowerment are everlasting- this is where Kwankwaso and Tinubu derived their unending popularity at their primary constituencies

The truth is, the Binani case is a big hammer dangling on Fintiri’s head. Anything can happen in a Tinubu regime that will be thirsty to maintain the old & get new strongholds and votes, including being non-apolitical on some issues.

Fintiri should be fast- bring new thinking, new ideas, and new vigour. Though this is only possible if he brings on board all his party, including young people and even people with opposing political views, to do some intelligent thinking free of politics but development.

Congratulations, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri.

Zayyad I. Muhammad writes from Abuja via zaymohd@yahoo.com.

By Mohammed Kabir

The title of this piece was adapted from “A Physician’s Diary,” a Daily Trust’s column written by my friend Dr. Fatima Damagum. Titled “First, Do No Harm”, Dr. Damagum counselled her fellow medical practitioners to do no harm to patients with chronic and complicated illness when they are not so sure the prescribed treatments would improve the patients’ conditions. I am myself a victim of harmful decisions taken by medical personnel when I first lost my hearing at the age of 9.

The same principle applies to the newly sworn-in President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. If his predecessor, former President Buhari, had done no harm after carrying out exhaustive analysis of the underlying challenges facing Nigeria when he assumed office in 2015, he would not probably have left the country worse than he met it. I know some people may argue that Buhari had left Nigeria better than he met it. That’s their opinion and they are certainly entitled to it.

Tinubu has achieved his lifelong ambition to become Nigeria’s President. He admitted it is the proudest moment of his life. However, he was quick to add that the proud moment is not for himself but for all the people of Nigeria. I sincerely pray and hope so. Nigerian leaders have penchant for making insincere political statements. Former President Buhari’s (in)famous “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody” is still vivid in our memories.

President Tinubu must quickly assemble his team and hit the ground running. There is no time to waste. Nigeria is currently in an ICU. It needs urgent diagnosis and quite possibly multiple surgeries. Sectors that need immediate priority attention include security, economy, power and national unity. This is not to say that other sectors like education, health, agriculture and foreign policy are insignificant.

On security, the President should sack the present crop of service chiefs he has inherited from his predecessor and replace them with more competent ones. If he and his team cannot identify qualified high ranking officers in the military and police to fill the top positions and drive his national security agenda, he should just manage with the current ones. The new President should please do no harm. Any thoughtless attempts to replace the service chiefs with indolent or incompetent ones will spell greater disaster for our country and worsen the prevailing security situation.

On the economy, the President needs to rescind his ambiguous statement regarding fuel subsidy removal. I am not sure it was a carefully thought-out policy statement. A first-hand and
more painstaking analysis is necessary to decide whether or not the fuel subsidy should be sustained. Former President Buhari who repeatedly called the fuel subsidy a scam before his ascension to power could not do away with it for eight long years. I am sure there is more to it than what the anti-subsidy elements are telling us.

It may be absolutely true that the fuel subsidy has been benefiting the affluent class. However, the reckless and ill-timed removal has translated to exponential rise in fuel price and caused a general galloping inflation. Nigerians are already fed up with the incoherent policies of the ruling party under former President Buhari and any attempts by President Tinubu to push for policies that will further aggravate the already precarious situation of the masses is likely to trigger nationwide anger and discontent.

President Tinubu should focus on blocking leakages in the oil sector, place a total ban on smuggling of petroleum products through our ever-porous borders and impose severe penalties on smugglers. The new administration should liaise with the Dangote Refinery to ensure availability of petroleum products, support the completion of the ongoing BUA Refinery, encourage the development and operational efficiency of modular refineries, and make concentrated efforts to revive our ailing refineries. Otherwise, President Tinubu should retain the subsidy payments and do no harm.

Still on the national economy, the President’s order for sacking the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the directives given to the relevant law enforcement agencies to immediately arrest and prosecute him for economic crimes and sabotage is a timely idea. No apex bank governor in the history of Nigeria has done so much harm and caused chaos and suffering to the unsuspecting citizens of Nigeria like Mr. Godwin Emefiele. The President’s statement on the unification of exchange rates is a good move but should be done with caution. His economic management team must come together and help him make informed decisions. Otherwise, he should just maintain the status quo and do no harm.

On power, the new President should declare state of emergency, set up a high-powered committee to review the current arrangements pertaining to the generation and distribution of electricity nationwide. The recent dispute between market operator and distribution companies caused avoidable intermittent blackouts across the country and crippled businesses worth billions of Naira. It is becoming quite obvious that a cabal has hijacked the power sector and it is fraudulently profiting from the present generation and distribution arrangements. The President should maintain status quo and do no harm if he cannot implement urgent reforms needed to guarantee uninterrupted power supply and foster the growth of SMEs.

On national unity, the country has never been so polarized. The Muslim-Muslim ticket generated enormous anger and pitted so many millions of Nigerians against one another. The new President should initiate people-oriented policies and programs that foster harmonious coexistence among Nigerias from diverse backgrounds. President Tinubu should work with the national assembly to enact relevant legislations that will transform the present six geo-political zones into six regional development agencies and foster inter-regional cooperation, as well as healthy inter-regional competition. If the president has no interest in prioritizing national integration and harmony, he should do no harm by allowing his belligerent supporters and overzealous political associates to calumniate and disparage members of the opposition and anyone who criticizes his policies.

On a final note, it appears the president is someone who is so eager to make statements. He should be made aware that the office he now occupies demands the highest level of restraint. His words must be carefully chosen in order not to jeopardize our staggering economy or the already fragile national unity. However, still President Tinubu needs to speak regularly to Nigerians about his policies and programs but also avoid making statements that are open to unnecessary speculations and allusions. Once again, president Tinubu, please do no harm. If you are not so sure about the feasibility, workability and sincerity of any proposed policy or action, just maintain the status quo ante bellum. So many millions of Nigerians, including those who did not vote for you are sincerely rooting for you and praying that you succeed.

Mohammed Kabir sent this article from Kaduna and can be reached via mohammedkabir.ibrahim@gmail.com

By Mukhtar Jarmajo 

The state of education in Bauchi state is in disarray as over 1.4 million children remain out of school, according to recent reports. This crisis manifests itself in the acute shortage of qualified teachers, inadequate infrastructure, and poor funding for education. The Gabchyari community in Darazo local government is a classic example of the sorry state of our education system.

The only primary and junior secondary school in this area, which has approximately 350 students, has just three teachers, as reported by The Nation Newspaper last Monday. This is a gross inadequacy, as it means that each teacher will be responsible for teaching over 100 students. This will invariably lead to overcrowding, poor quality of learning, and the inability of individual students to receive adequate attention and care.

The continual neglect and unwillingness of the government to provide quality education for our children is evident in the rising number of out-of-school children in the state. This growing trend should be of concern to well-meaning citizens of the state, as it poses a threat to our future and that of the nation.

The consequences of the education crisis in Bauchi state are far-reaching and multifaceted. The inability of these children to access quality education could lead to a high rate of poverty, unemployment, and a general lack of development in the state. We cannot continue to ignore the plight of these children, as they represent the future of our society, and their education is a fundamental human right.

It is, therefore, imperative that the government takes urgent steps to address this crisis. The government must invest more in education by providing adequate funding, training and recruiting qualified teachers and building more schools in rural areas where the majority of these children live.

The education crisis in Bauchi state is a ticking time bomb that needs to be diffused as soon as possible. As stakeholders and well-meaning citizens, we must continue to put pressure on the government at all levels to take education seriously as an essential tool for development and nation-building. The time to act is now before it is too late.

Jarmajo can be reached via dattuwamanga@gmail.com.

By Zahra Batul

A Nigerian entrepreneur and investor, Taslim Ahmed Iya has made a significant contribution towards resolving Nigeria’s protracted economic woes with the unveiling of his book, Nigeria Unlocked: Unleashing the Potential of a Great Nation. 

The 60-page book comprehensively analyses Nigeria’s current challenges and a practical roadmap for restructuring its economy. 

Interestingly, it is a product of intense research by an expert in economics and business who has obtained degrees in Economics and Management from Bocconi University in Italy. 

Taslim is also the CEO of Eximus Partners, an investment management firm focused on Long-Term Investments and Private Equity in Nigeria, Europe and the US.

The book draws from case studies and best practices from other successful emerging economies, presenting a bold vision for Nigeria’s future. 

From addressing corruption and creating a more transparent governance structure to promoting entrepreneurship and creating a skilled workforce, “Nigeria Unlocked” offers a comprehensive roadmap for revitalising the Nigerian economy and improving the lives of its citizens.

The inspiring book is available nationwide in Roving Heights and Spine and Label Bookstores.

Also available on Amazon in e-book and physical copy format

The author also worked as a Management Consultant in various industries, including Oil and Gas, Insurance, Real Estate, FMCG, Supermarkets, and Restaurants. 

His extensive experience in these industries has given him a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities businesses face in today’s ever-changing market.

His latest literary work is essential reading for policymakers, business leaders, economists, and anyone interested in Nigeria’s economic future. It provides a clear and compelling vision for transforming Nigeria into a vibrant and prosperous nation that serves as a beacon for the rest of Africa and the world.

Apart from his professional endeavours, Taslim is also a passionate entrepreneur, having founded Uncle Tee’s, a restaurant chain in Nigeria, among others. 

He is also deeply committed to improving the education system in Nigeria. He is the founder of Youth Compass Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing educational opportunities for young people in the country.

Zahrah Batul wrote via xahrabatul91@gmail.com.

By Mohammad Qaddam Sidq Isa (Daddy) 

Notwithstanding the appropriateness or otherwise of the recent and unprecedented wave of demolitions in Kano by the newly inaugurated governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, it may have triggered a vicious circle of the incumbent governors and their predecessors taking turns revoking, converting and reallocating public land and facilities in the state. 

Though purportedly guided by relevant legislation and overriding public interest, successive Kano state governors have been involved, to various extents, in controversial public land and facility-related scandals. However, the immediate past governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, having literally overdone it, has been particularly notorious in this regard. 

Now with the recent demolitions, Governor Abba has proven that it’s indeed his turn. The way they were conducted, which made the operation look more like mob action, has been effectively set as a precedent for future similar operations in the state. 

So, unless this looming vicious circle is averted, Kano may, after every four or eight-year tenure, witness similar operations with persistently worsening intensity and impacts.   

Having monitored the situation from afar, thanks to the viral video clips on social media, I felt not only sad but extremely embarrassed watching helplessly how my city, a supposedly aspiring mega city, was being systematically bastardized.

I watched in shocked dismay how the lives of innocent traders, who simply happened to be tenets in the targeted buildings, were being turned to, perhaps, perpetual misery overnight by crowds of sadist creatures feigning being human looting their (traders) merchandise. Some buildings had already been looted even before the demolition team got there. There are verified heartbreaking stories about the plights of many victims. In a particular instance, one was reliably reported to have gone mad out of frustration. 

The sheer ferocity with which the mob plundered traders’ goods suggests deep-seated populist sadism and sheer envy in a society where tacit gloating over the misfortune of any real or perceived wealthy person has become normal. I have also observed tacit attempts on social media by many otherwise reasonable people to underestimate the plights of the victims and even put the blame on them for their ‘failure’ to evacuate their goods in time. 

Meanwhile, the cumulative impacts of this vicious circle on the state’s economy and other strategic interests cannot be overestimated. It’s already seriously affecting local investor confidence, for no one will consider the viability of any significant investment, especially in, say, real estate development and other related sectors, knowing that the land allocation is prone to arbitrary revocation and the structures are subject to impulsive demolition at any time. 

Equally, banks and other financial institutions will have to discontinue recognizing Kano government-issued certificates of property ownership as collateral, knowing that they may at any time be rendered as worthless as takardar tsire. 

Likewise, the state’s attractiveness to direct foreign investment (if there is currently any) will be hit even harder, for no prospective foreign investor, being typically particularly sensitive to any red flag suggesting policy inconsistency, will consider investing in Kano knowing that whatever policy or incentive attracted him can be impulsively terminated at any time. 

Now, obviously, Governor Abba is aware deep down that that wasn’t how he was supposed to handle the situation in the first place. His approach is enough to vindicate those who insist that he is simply on a vengeance mission with a premeditated resolve to settle scores with political opponents and their associates on behalf of his political godfather, Rabi’u Kwankwaso. 

He can address whatever land use abuses his predecessor committed, which are so many, by the way, but he should do it in a civilized way through due process leading to the demolishing of what indeed deserves to be demolished and sparing what deserves to be spared for the purpose of reclaiming and converting it into a public facility. 

Mohammad Qaddam Sidq Isa (Daddy) wrote from Dubai, UAE, and can be contacted via mohammadsidq@gmail.com.

By Dr Shamsuddeen Sani

I thought The Lebanese in Kano: An Immigrant Community in a Hausa Society in the Colonial and Post-Colonial Periods merely contained a handful of newspaper tales. I was mistaken! Within its pages lies a meticulously researched body of work, a testament to the cultural heritage of Kano that begs to be savoured and preserved for generations to come. It has profound glimpses into the very foundations of Kano’s societal evolution as it illuminates the paramount role played by the Lebanese community in the rich Kano’s historical traditions.

This book, published in 1995 and authored by S.A. Albasu, unfolds with an intricate chronology of eight captivating chapters. As the introduction sets the stage, the initial chapter gracefully delves into the existing body of literature on migration, skilfully intertwining it with the historical fabric of West Africa and Nigeria. Embracing a tangent in the second chapter, Albasu illuminates the emigration of the Lebanese into Kano, beginning in the mid-19th century.

However, a pivotal juncture in Lebanese history within Kano emerged in 1920, a defining moment marked by profound geographical and religious divisions among the Lebanese migrants. The historical catalysts propelling Lebanese emigration into Nigeria were meticulously examined within this segment.

It becomes apparent that prior to the 1920s, the Lebanese immigrants in Kano predominantly belonged to the Maronite Christian community. It is only after this period that a demographic shift occurs, welcoming the arrival of Muslim Lebanese, particularly those of the Shiite sectarian extraction hailing from southern Lebanon. The book exposes the reader to the sociocultural intricacies of the Lebanese community’s towns of origin and unravels the fabric of their society, dispelling prevailing myths.

The entire Lebanese migration into Kano is thoughtfully categorised into four distinct phases, each meticulously explored with great detail: 1890-1903, 1903-1912, 1912-1920, and the 1930s during the tumultuous period of the great depression. Each of these phases represents a significant milestone in the history of the Lebanese community within Kano, as well as its impact on the city’s socioeconomic development.

Subsequent chapters of this book delve into the physical establishment of the Lebanese community, intricately entwined with crucial historical policies such as colonial taxation, the indirect rule system, and segregation policies.

Chapters four, five, and six embark on an exciting journey, covering the consolidation of the Lebanese community within Kano’s vibrant business milieu. From the thriving cattle trade to the realms of Kolanut and groundnut businesses, the book unfurls the profound influence of factors like colonial intervention, the upheaval of the Second World War, Nigeria’s independence, and the burgeoning national consciousness. The book has revelations of ground-breaking nature, leaving you enlightened and astounded, and for me, every piece seamlessly falls into place now.

By Adamu Muhammad Burga

As I scrolled down my Facebook newsfeed on Thursday, 11^th May 2023, I came across a post that reads, “Indeed we belong to Allah, and to Him we shall return”, and another one that reads, “Losing a good friend like Abdulhameed leaves a scar in the heart that never wanes,” and lots more. They left me agape and confused. Why? They were all attached to the same photo, Abdulhameed’s photo. My shock amplified when I checked my WhatsApp status updates to realise the same thing was happening. I know how death news sounds in peoples’ hearings and hearts, but mine couldn’t believe what I saw. It all seemed to be like a dream to me. 

Yet I called a friend out of sheer confusion to verify whether what I read was true, to which he answered in the affirmative and consoled me. I had one minute of silence before I moved on with my daily routines, still thinking that the news could be a fake one or maybe was mistaken for someone not Abdulhameed. Or perhaps it would later be retracted. ‘How could this be true about someone I visited a few days ago?’ is the question I had been asking myself for a while. 

It had also come to my notice on the day he passed away that a river miles away from my residence claimed a boy’s life. The devastating news saddened me, and why wouldn’t it? The boy was drowned on the day WAEC exams commenced, of which he was a candidate. He even had the wherewithal to sit the exam in the morning before he ‘answered the call of his Lord’. However, I was more shocked by the former’s demise than the latter’s. 

Friends and friends are two categories of people your life can never be devoid of. With the little I know about Abdulhameed’s life, I can conclude that the number of his friends and allies outnumbers that of friends. And this is one of the whys that made me pen this tribute to give a mere exposure to this great personality and exemplary icon — Rahimahullāh.

Abdulhameed was one of the unusual ones. He was resilient. Diligent. Jovial. Religious. Hardworking. A man in whose veins kindness flowed. A true optimist. An exceptional conservationist. 

Abdulhameed was so many different things. A teacher. A student. A Hafidh. A brother. A tech. An exceptionally proud member of the MSSN who served almost at all levels. And a great, a truly great man at diplomacy. And he was most likely a lot more than that. 

But there was one thing Abdulhameed wasn’t. And that’s afraid. Abdulhameed wasn’t scared of his challenges. Of being judged by people. He wasn’t afraid of friendship. A good laugh. He was never scared of a good time. A hard time. Or consequences of his good actions. Or of an impossible task. Or any kind of danger on the right course. And he certainly wasn’t afraid of doing the right thing. Ever.

No matter how hard life was for Abdulhameed, Abdulhameed loved life back. He embraced it without reservation, regret or remorse. And that’s rare, very rare among people of his time.

I wish more people were kind-hearted, diplomatic and easy-going like Abdulhameed. They’re the things about him I’ll miss the most besides his smiles. And I hope it’ll be some time before all my memories of him start to fade.

I remember the last time I visited him. I remember the smiles. I remember his beaming countenance, which told me I’d miss him when he passed. Little did I know that he was bidding me farewell. I wish I had bidden my final adieus to my friend as he bade me his before he left. But, unfortunately, I couldn’t. I failed. 

Having heard different stories of the deceased from other people from different angles, I believe that I’m not having a ‘single story’ of him, as put by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, nor am I satisfied with my only story of him. 

These few lines may not richly tell who Abdulhameed was, as they are, but what I have been able to gather from personalities and territories reachable to me. It’s just the tip of the iceberg. And I’m pretty sure there’s more to come—in sha Allah. I pray that Allah forgives his imperfections, provides him with a unique dwelling in Jannah, and gives fortitude to the bereaved.

And after all, ‘we’re all not here for a long time. We’re here for a good time’. May Allah make our ending a good one. 

Adamu Muhammad Burga writes from Bauchi and can be reached via or at abuzharrin212@gmail.com.

By ImamMalik Abdullahi Kaga

The removal of fuel subsidies has been a hotly debated and controversial topic in Nigeria for many years, especially now that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has made the pronouncement. For the longest time, fuel subsidies represented a significant portion of government expenditures, and many Nigerian leaders refused to remove them for fear of political backlash from their citizens. However, President Tinubu’s bold decision has been a critical step towards transforming the Nigerian economy and helping the poor.

The Nigerian government spent an average of  $6.2 billion annually on fuel subsidies, and despite this, the country’s economy did not improve significantly. The fuel subsidy was primarily a means of subsidising fuel prices for Nigerian consumers, and the government aimed to keep the domestic fuel prices low, which, in turn, would help fight inflation and improve the economy. However, the fuel subsidy did not achieve this goal; instead, it distorted the market, leading to corruption, smuggling, and inflation.

Furthermore, fuel subsidies are often perceived as socially unjust because it benefits wealthier individuals more than the poor.  Studies have shown that the richest 10% of Nigerians receive up to 60% of the subsidy, while the poorest 10% only receive 1%.

It is well-known that the country’s wealthy motorists and industries benefit most from the subsidy, not the poor. Hence, the benefit did not trickle down to the poor but only helped the rich acquire fuel more cheaply. However, since most of the poor Nigerians are not benefitting from the fuel subsidy, it’s a commendable effort that the president made.

The removal of the fuel subsidy will create jobs in the downstream sector, increasing the availability of fuel and reducing smuggling, which will contribute significantly to the Nigerian economy’s growth.

Moreover, the government’s removal of the fuel subsidy will allow it to redirect the average amount, $6.2 billion, towards investing in critical sectors such as education, healthcare, agriculture, security, and infrastructure, which will help reduce poverty levels and create employment opportunities for Nigerians. The government’s commitment to investing in these critical sectors will reduce the dependency on oil, the country’s primary source of revenue, and make the economy more resilient to oil price fluctuations.

Tinubu’s fuel subsidy removal will also reduce government corruption, a significant problem in Nigeria. With the fuel subsidy, many government officials’ fraudulently inflated the amount allocated to the subsidy scheme, which was further used to enrich themselves. Removing the subsidy will prevent the exploitation of government funds by corrupt individuals, which will be an essential step toward improving the Nigerian economy.

I urge Nigerians to be patient and prayerful as Tinubu Administration has a lot in store for us– poor Nigerians.

By Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu

Frankfurt, Germany. 3rd July 2013

The German immigration officer looked at me and gave the usual clenched-mouth smile. I did the same. I am used to it. He flipped through my passport and then looked up.

“How many days are you staying THIS time.” Emphasis on THIS.

“Two days in Cologne”, I replied. “Today, tomorrow, and the day after that, I am off.”

He stamped the passport without asking for the usual – return ticket, invitation, hotel booking – all of which I had. He wished me a pleasant say and waved to the next person behind me.

I was then in Cologne to attend the valedictory retirement conference held in honour of the woman who mentored me and virtually adopted me as her son – Heike Behrend, who was retiring from the Institute of African Studies, University of Cologne, Germany, where she was the Director. She created the research category of “Media and Cultural Communication”, and I was the first African to be invited to deliver a lecture at the cluster. The Immigration Officer’s reference to the length of my stay was in response to the numerous times I had been to Germany – and never stayed beyond the time necessary for whatever it was that brought me.

The week from Tuesday, 30th May to Sunday, 4th June 2023, I returned after ten years. This time, the occasion was to attend ECAS2023: 9th European Conference on African Studies, with the theme of “African Futures.” It was hosted by the University of Cologne. “African Futures” explores the continent’s critical engagements with the past, present, and future of Africa’s global entanglements. ECAS is the largest and most visible single event under the AEGIS umbrella. AEGIS is an expression of a much wider and dynamic set of African Studies connections, collaborations, activities and opportunities within and beyond Europe. The conference, lasting four days, had over 70 panels involving hundreds of papers and speakers. All were efficiently coordinated through the various classes at the University of Cologne.

Earlier in the year, I and colleagues from Germany and US had submitted a panel, “Digital/social media and Afrophone literature”, for consideration at ECAS 9. It was accepted.  The conveners were me (BUK), Uta Reuster-Jahn, Umma Aliyu (Hamburg) and Stephanie Bosch Santana (UCLA). Before submitting our panel to ECAS, we first held an online symposium which was preceded by a call for papers. Despite sending the CfP to various universities and the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL), the response was pretty poor. The symposium was titled Social Media as New Canvas, Space and Channel for Afrophone Literatures. It was eventually held online at the University of Hamburg, Germany, on 22-23 February 2023. The participants then were from Germany (Uta Reuster-Jahn, Umma Aliyu Musa), Nigeria (Abdalla Uba Adamu, Zaynab Ango, Ado Ahmad Gidan Dabino, Nura Ibrahim, Asabe Kabir Usman, Isyaku Bala Ibrahim), Tanzania (Hussein Issa Tuwa, Zamda Geuza), Ghana (Nikitta Dede Adjirakor), Stephen Ney (Canada), US (Stephanie Bosch Santana).

After the symposium, we submitted a panel for the ECAS 9th edition. Our panel was accepted, and all the participants of the online seminar were issued official letters of invitation to process their funding for the conference in Cologne in June 2023. As a panelist, I was fully funded to attend by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG). Umma and Uta were able to sponsor themselves from Hamburg. Unfortunately, only Nikita from Ghana was able to come from the others who could not get any funding. As a result, our panel, held on Wednesday, 31st May 2023, had only four speakers. It was déjà vu all over again – after almost 24 hours of flying and waiting at airports (Kano, Abuja, Doha), I was given only 20 minutes for the presentation.

My paper was “From Kano Market Literature to Kano Social Media Literature: The Reincarnation of an Afrophone Literary Genre.” The paper traces the trajectory of the genre from print media to its liberation in online media, with a specific focus on Facebook, Wattpad and APK files on Google Play. The paper uses netnographic methodology to harvest the dominance of and reaction to the newly reincarnated genre, which, far from being dead and buried, is more than ever before, alive and kicking in other spaces – beyond censorship or any form of criticism. In the process, the paper explores the freedom gained by the authors in unrestricted storylines that cross boundaries of identity, gender and alternative sexualities.  The Journal of African Literature Association (curated by Taylor and Francis Group) has agreed to publish the papers of the Symposium in 2024. We will have to ask for more contributors.

Another dividend for me was that I was approached by a representative of Lexington Books in the US for the possibility of publishing my paper as part of a book on Hausa media cultures if I have something like that. As it happened, I have almost completed such a project titled “Hausa Cinema” (to complement Jonathan Haynes’s book, “Nollywood”) which was to be published by the Ohio University Press in 2010, but things went southwards! Now Lexington Books is providing an opportunity, and I am excited about it.  

Our panel was lively, though, and I even met a fan! He was Jos Damen, Head of the Library and ICT Department of the African Studies Centre at the University of Leiden. While I was making my presentation, he took my picture with his phone and uploaded it to my Wikipedia page (itself created by another fan)! Later he told me I needed to have a picture there, and he took that responsibility. So it was kind of him!

The conference attendance was a fantastic homecoming for me because although Heike Behrend had retired back to Berlin, where she came from (and where I visited her in 2015 had a wonderful dinner when I was a guest of the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin), Muhsin Ibrahim is now in the same institute. Both Muhsin and I were from Bayero University Kano. Muhsin was teaching Hausa at the Institute.

I first came to Cologne in 2004 – at the invitation of Heike Behrend when I met her in Kenya. At that time, I had an invitation to participate in an African Literatures project at Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz. Heike asked me to reroute my itinerary to stop at Cologne, teach a Postgraduate class and give a public lecture. I did both on Monday 15th November 2004. Since then, I have almost lost count of the times I visited Germany – Berlin, Freiburg, Hamburg, Leipzig, and the wonderful Cologne with its incredible, massive and stupendous cathedral – the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe. It was in Cologne in 2004 that the foundation of my ethnographic foray into critical media studies was laid. Unlike in Nigeria, where many saw me as an ‘interloper’ (as they murmur, ‘After all, he is a Biologist, isn’t he?’), here it is not what you study but what you can contribute to any discipline. I have been to Colone four times and other cities several times – all on the same mission of promoting Hausa media studies.

ECAS 2023 started wonderfully with Muhsin meeting me at the Koln Hauptbahnhof and helping me drag my luggage through various concourses to the trains that would take us to his flat: a very lovely well-furnished, and very spacious space. Upon arriving and freshening up, a massive mountain of uncharacteristically fat masa was waiting for me. Even the masa looks like a ‘Bajamushiya’! The soup alone could feed a family for a week! It was a truly delicious welcome. Once I got rid of the hunger, he took me to my hotel, IBIS Centrum.

Breakfast in the morning at the hotel saw a meeting of Who-is-Who in African studies – both diasporic Africans, home-based Africans and European and American researchers. It was indeed a wonderful gathering. In addition, I had a chance to reconnect with one of the most promising diasporic Hausa African Studies experts – Musa Ibrahim.

Musa is based in Ghana. He travelled there through South Africa and Japan, ending up in Bayreuth, Germany, where he obtained his doctorate. We met at Leipzig in 2018, and I collected his CV with the hope of getting him employed in our Information and Media Studies department, Bayero University Kano. However, the university was not interested. Before you knew it, he was grabbed by the University of Florida, Gainesville, where he spent about three years before getting another appointment at the University of Ghana. Such rich and varied experience would have been valuable to us in Kano, but the parochialism of our university system did not factor in multidisciplinarity.

The following day saw dinner at Muhsin’s house, and this time, Umma Aliyu, originally from Bauchi, joined us. Umma now lives and teaches in Germany at the University of Hamburg (after her studies at Leipzig). Like Muhsin, she also teaches Hausa at Hamburg, where she took over from Joe McIntyre (Malam Gambo), who retired some time ago. During dinner, we brainstormed the idea of two book projects – which, for me, was one of the significant takeaways from ECAS9.

Muhsin, Abdalla and Musa at ECAS9, Cologne

The first book project would be tentatively titled “Hausa Studies in European Diaspora: Experiences and Perspectives.” This will be a collection of chapters written by Hausawa living and working permanently in various European universities, either teaching Hausa or other disciplines.  The objective is to demonstrate how internationalised Hausa scholarship is. We started with about five in Germany alone.

The second book project would be a post-Boko Haram narrative. So far, the Boko Haram literature has focused on the human disaster of the insurgency – virtually all books written were from the governance, security and disaster perspectives. Yet, much success has been and is being recorded in the war against terror in the form of surrenders, deradicalisation and reintegration. Yet, no one is looking at this. Using ethnographic field data, the book project will provide another side of the war on terror in Nigeria. We were excited and promised to work on various draft proposals before embarking on the works, which we hope will be completed by 2025.

The Conference’s overwhelming focus on the multidisciplinarity of African Studies was an eye-opener—no room or time for a narrow perspective on scholarship. No one cares about what your degrees are in – what matters is what you are bringing to the table NOW and how it impacts the knowledge economy of African societies and contribute to the decolonisation narrative.

For me, Cologne is a Return to Forever – the beginning of an endless loop of research and investigation.

My deepest thanks to Muhsin for being such an excellent, graceful host.

By Mansur Hassan, PhD.

The abuse of the Kano State master plan during the administration of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has led to a proliferation of illegal structures. These include shops built within school premises, encroachments on mosques, hospitals, graveyards, and other areas not designated for such purposes.

Urban planning principles dictate that every city should have distinct residential, commercial, educational, and industrial areas. In line with his campaign promises, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s decision to demolish these structures is a step in the right direction, aimed at restoring order and proper planning in Kano State.

Urban planning is crucial for the development of sustainable and functional cities. A well-designed master plan ensures that cities function efficiently, with designated zones for different purposes.

Residential areas provide housing and essential amenities, commercial areas drive economic activities, educational areas facilitate learning, and industrial areas promote economic growth and employment opportunities.

Under the Ganduje administration, the master plan of Kano State was severely abused. Illegal structures were erected without regard for zoning regulations, leading to numerous consequences. Shops built within the compounds of existing schools not only compromised the safety and security of students but also disrupted their learning environment.

Encroachments on mosques and hospitals within residential areas caused congestion and noise pollution, disturbing the peace and privacy of residents. Additionally, the encroachment of graveyards demonstrated a lack of sensitivity and respect for the deceased and their families.

Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s decision to demolish these illegal structures is a positive and necessary step toward restoring order and rectifying the abuses that occurred under the previous administration. By adhering to his campaign promises, the governor demonstrates a commitment to responsible urban development in Kano State.

The demolition of illegal structures will yield several benefits. It will reinstate order and organization, as buildings will be appropriately placed within designated areas. Schools will regain their intended space, ensuring a safe and conducive learning environment for students.

Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s commitment to demolishing these illegal structures helps restore public trust in the government’s ability to enforce regulations and ensure responsible urban planning. It also highlights the governor’s long-term vision for the sustainable development of Kano State.

By adhering to the master plan, the government can effectively manage the city’s growth and expansion while meeting the needs of its residents. Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s decision to demolish illegal structures in Kano State represents a commendable effort to restore order and proper urban planning.

By rectifying the abuses that occurred under the previous administration, the government aims to create a more organized and functional city. This action reflects the governor’s commitment to fulfilling his campaign promises and ensuring the long-term development of Kano State.

As the city progresses, prioritizing adherence to the master plan will foster sustainable growth and improve the quality of life for all residents.

Mansur Hassan, PhD is a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics, Yusuf Maitama Sule UniversityHe can be reached via mhassan@yumsuk.edu.ng