Opinion

By Alkasim Harisu

In my neighbourhoods, a marriage contract that had stayed long in the making was recently cancelled. I received this news that made my worst news of the month about a week ago. My mother broke this tragic story about two families connected by blood and kinship marriage. They also were and are united by whereabouts. Above all, they once lived in the same house.

The two lovers dated for more than seven years. When the love commerce began, the girl was much younger. The guy, undoubtedly the older love partner, had kept courting the girl despite the difficulties that often arose. He had endured the immaturity girls the age of his date show. Whenever a misunderstanding happened between the duo, the girl would quickly fault him. But the guy would patiently swallow his anger, contrary opinion and eat humble pie even if he was correct. He is the epitome of patience. Because, as people close to him will say, the man epitomises patience in both his social and business intercourse with people. He never picks quarrels with people. He demonstrated more patience when the girl’s family postponed his wedding several times for no good reason because he should have tied the knot two years previously.

To cap it all, this guy was denied the girl on some loose basis. Guess why? He is not wealthy. It is sad to know that riches have capital importance to many of us. They mean everything, so to say. But, like it or not, in many circumstances, the continuation and/or breakdown of a relationship hugely rest upon riches.

I am not blowing my own trumpet, but I can indeed marry off my daughter to a responsible person provided he has got a job, and I don’t mind if he scavenges for a living. However, it is disappointing that today some people hate to give their daughters’ hands in marriage to people that carpenter, teach or plumb for a livelihood, no matter how morally and religiously good these people are. They consider such jobs disgusting and can’t bring themselves close to people in such occupations, let alone associating or identifying themselves with them. But you never can tell; such people can one day become stinking rich. Such is life.

Today, thanks to the difficulty of gaining employment, many people have had to combine jobs. As a result, many folks engage in various occupations, which fetches them a lot of money. I know one of such people who is currently building his own house due to his hard work and commitment.

To our dismay, the family of the girl I was earlier on talking about lost their humanity and sent back the engagement money of this guy. The marriage arrangement lacked architecture with them. This is evident in their frequent delaying of the wedding. They once said they were postponing the wedding to allow the man to complete his house because they did not want their daughter to languish in a rented house. As this occurred, only Allah knows how many sleepless nights the guy had experienced. Anyway, they have sufficiently assassinated their character themselves.

This girl has memorised some portion of the Holy Qur’an. Quite unfortunately, she shows it off. Even though she is not that beautiful, I can say she is averagely beautiful. And that does not matter. These and other reasons made her proudly say she could not wed someone with no gainful job. “Mai na sama ya ci, balle ya bawa na kasa“, the girl would often say. She was saying this because the guy is a jeweller. He is not rich enough to live up to her expectations. But he is responsible and can cater for her.

Towards the end of this love drama, the girl started making new dates. Just imagine the kind of family that permits this with a girl already betrothed. There was a time she got the number of my former colleague. Then, he was newly married. Not long ago, he got his firstborn. Seeing him in our neighbourhood with another co-working friend, she did the unimaginable to get his number. This Prince Charming stole her heart at first sight. No doubt, he came by car; that was why she lost herself to him. She ignorantly thought the car was his.

We share a neighbourhood with the elder sister of the ex-boyfriend. To be precise, she is our next-door neighbour. They rent their house. Shamelessly, the girl did not care to stand with her new boyfriends before her sister-in-law’s house and cousin. “Biri ya yi kama da mutum!” Indeed, she no longer had the guy at heart. Nevertheless, she summoned up all her willpower to do this to provoke her already-broken-hearted boyfriend.

When I passed by the girl’s house, I would often see her a bit far from the guy. I kept wondering how this was happening between lovers. From the perspective of space, the gap between them did not explain a love relationship. Those who study the science of space (proxemics) will tell us more. There is no telling that such a distance speaks about a lack of love. As I saw this, I always became the saddest.

Marriage is known to weld and cement relationships. But this cancelled marriage proposal will only devastate the relationship between the two families. I can’t think of the mess the two families will be in because the girl’s grandmother is the younger sister of the ex-boyfriend’s grandmother.

A lot of people think that peer pressure works on girls. I agree with them. Yes, most girls are misadvised by their close friends. This is even one of the disadvantages of collecting many friends. But this situation makes an exception. The problem originated from the girl’s family because the girl’s birth mother is worldly-wise; she only wants a wealthy person for her daughter. She is money-wise.

Indeed, you are a nobody to many people if you don’t have money. In sha Allah, they are only hoping against hope. The choice or dream husband will not come their way since they abandoned a poor person who sells jewellery for a living.

As the girl is becoming wiser with the passing of days, we pray she doesn’t end up in sexual commerce with people stealing her attention. Money talks, of course. But Allah is Ever-Awake. He will judge the situation.

Alkasim Hariru wrote from Kano. He can be reached via alkasabba10@gmail.com.

By: Murtala Uba Mohammed (PhD)

Recently, Nigerian government took an audacious step by throwing a baby and its bath water not only into a river, but to a deep and distant ocean. It was in 2013 that the country in its attempt to reform its educational system particularly at secondary school level, relegated some important subjects to the background; bringing up some newer ones. Subject such as geography and history suffered from this restructuring of making these corner stone subjects- in terms of what they offered in the understanding of man and his physical environment as well as the historical explanation of the past to build the future. Making these subjects optional at the crucial level of building an imprint of human-environment relationships in the minds of our younger is synonymous to drawing the country in terms of a better well-informed society. While one may not completely agree with the argument advanced by the authorities that the reform was made to introduce subjects that aimed at fostering self-reliance and entrepreneurship with a view to curving the rate of unemployment in the country. It is important to note that the reasons given were quite inadequate to justify the need for the replacement. It is imperative to note that a lot were written to convince the government on the need to revert back the curriculum to the status quo, especial considering the importance of the subjects in creating national consciousness and self-awareness in the case of history and on learning about the country and of being foundation to most environmental related discipline in the case of geography. This writing decides to differ a bit, approaching the issue from the perspective of national security challenges.

Nigeria is currently witnessing the most difficult challenge it ever faced in its history and territory; no part of the country is presently spared from one or more security threats. From its relatively wetter southernmost part to its most-drier north, the country is at war with itself, facing threats such as banditry, armed robbery, ethno-religious bigotry, tribal clashes and political thuggery. The threats of Boko-haram, IPOB and to a lesser extend Afenifere are sufficient enough to sink the already overloaded and about to crash ship called Nigeria. Most worrisome, is the daily reportage of killing of its citizenry by both known and ‘unknown devils’ that terrorize almost all part of the country. This is most especially in Northwestern Geopolitical Zone where daily killing and abduction for ransom has become a norm, more especially in Katsina, Zamfara and Sokoto States. In the mid of crisis at the periphery, one hopes the center to be secured; but in the case of Nigeria the ailment has afflicted all her body. Niger state is now so powerless that ‘bandits’ are now having their field days in many parts of it. Just like Niger, Kaduna to Abuja Road is so unsecured that travelers to and from Abuja were compelled to go for rail. Even in the nation’s state, the suburb is unsecured as most part of the country. While most people end up in nostalgic mood, recollecting mainly the past peaceful experiences the country witnessed and some such as general TY Danjuma had long time condemned the country as ‘failed state’, this article hopes the issue will be addressed by deploying the knowledge of this important subject. It is (without any doubt) through geography that colonialism was achieved in the past and it is through it that societies were both dissemble and assemble, creating new states and modifying many ones. The subject can equally be used as discussed below, to arrest the security situation of Nigerian State.

While the values of the geography are so much, this piece highlights some of security related areas in which geography would be of critical support:

1. Regional Planning

As a discipline geography focuses on space which includes location and its attributes. In order to achieve the aim of place description, geography pays attention to details of location and tries to distinguish one location from another. Doing this helps in identifying uniqueness of an area which forms the basis for regional planning. Because each region is unique, its planning is based on its distinct characteristics which are used to harness its economic potentials. A vast country like Nigeria that traverses many climatic, geological, edaphic and demographic regions, is blessed in some way and have a particular advantage that can be tapped. The inhabitant of the region might have idea about this opportunity(ies), but it is government initiatives that can foster the best use and utilization of them. Regional planning especially at moderate to large scale is a domain of geography, and candidates with sound knowledge of geography particularly its regional sub-field will help a lot in regional planning which is conspicuously missing in the country. The way we are today is that the various entities that make up of the country are lacking in unique contribution each can offer to the country’s development. While governments are doing a lot, they hardly consider regional specialization in their programmes. They are rather imitating one another, and in many instances compete in urban based project. Recently, states in Northwestern Nigeria were suspected on competing in building bridges and underpasses in urban areas rather rural and agricultural development projects. This urban based development may only worsen the situations of the already poverty striking states by encouraging rural-urban migration which put more pressure on urban infrastructure and deprived hinterland its able builders. A combination of edaphic, eco-climatic and relief factor alone can be used in zoning the country for agricultural production which will not only cushion the current poverty level in the country, but foster regional complementarity and economic diversification. The country is also rich considering the various mineral resources gift of its diverse geology which can also the basis for planning. Also its cultural landscape and physiography can form the base for regional planning.

2. Identifying and Modelling the Crime Hotspot

One of the recent and most used geographic tools is the geographic information system (GIS). As an information system GIS is unique in that it gives emphasis to location in all its analyses; it is the capability of GIS to analyze display and model location-based events and situations that makes it appealing to all other fields and disciplines. Crime and conflicts have both temporal and locational attributes and can therefore be addressed through GIS. With GIS pattern(s) of conflicts and criminal activities can be established in more robust way, and can be arrest in a better way. GIS can tell the areas of high crime probability often known as hotspots with high level of precision. Modelling and prediction can be done for various crime types. This is essential for security and safety of the territory. With good data recording, digital based maps can be produced to inform users on security situation as they travel via road or train. GIS integrates various layer of information which can be used to explain and describe why crime happened in a location or time trajectory. When GIS is employed with it multi-layer combination capability, it has higher tendency to explain three key security questions of when, where and why. With answers to this question management of crime become becomes better. Doing all these require manpower with good background in geography.

Dr. Murtala teaches geography at Bayero University, Kano and can be reached via email: murtalamuhammadu@gmail.com

By Amara Sesay

History is replete with cases of people who listened and excelled as well as those who rebelled. In any case, there was always an exchange of content, and there was a reaction, too.

If anything has mattered over the last 15 or 20 years, it is the shortage of listeners. We have an economy that encourages speed more than anything, and in such cases, the first thing that is suspect is the patience to be calm, which is essential to listening.

And because it’s a lot of hard work to listen, people can only pretend and get away with it. So instead of the total body, which includes listening with the ears, heart and limbs, most people only listen with the tongue. And truth be told, the worst form of ignorance in the world stems from the inability to listen.

To listen with the tongue is to assume you don’t need to hear what others have to say and that you are only quiet out of a false sense of courtesy. It means you already have a lot to contribute, and no new information will be crucial to you. It means you are “loaded.”The problem with such an assumption is that it leaves you with something more dangerous than ignorance; it’s the delusion of knowledge.

Many individuals and civilizations would have made it to the promised land if only they had listened and obeyed. But, unfortunately, most people found delight in their ability to rebel.

While questioning the status quo is neither intrinsically wrong nor evil, the act of listening, even when an enemy is involved, is critical to success.

My advice to the younger generation is: listen more and talk less. That’s the best way to celebrate the gift of two ears and one mouth.

Amara Sesay wrote from Lagos. He can be reached via amarasesay.amir@gmail.com.

Ahmadu Shehu, PhD.

The first part of this essay published here highlights the necessary ingredients for genocide which are vividly in the advanced stage in Nigeria against the Fulani, one of the largest ethnic groups in the country. The socioeconomic and sociopolitical conditions that preluded genocide in various countries worldwide have been well documented in history books. Therefore, the worst anyone could do is to fail to see the looming disaster in Nigeria.

Decades ago, some political leaders had set the ball running when Bola Ige, a prominent Yoruba leader, called Fulani the “Tutsis” of Nigeria. Threatened by Fulani leaders’ socioeconomic and political clouds, politicians across the country who saw the Fulani not just as rivals but as a threat to their desired political hegemony borrowed a leaf from Ige’s playbook.

Those were the framers and promoters of diabolic stories against the North and northerners, especially the region’s political leadership. The narratives of “owners of Nigeria”, “northern oligarchy”, “Kaduna Mafia”, and such epithets as the cabal, northern domination, Islamization agenda and the completion of Danfodio jihad were given persistent, often aggressive, currency in the Nigerian public domain.

Another set of narratives to debase the intellectual competence and meritocracy of the North is put behind the federal character, with any northerner attaining success being assumed to be a beneficiary of some affirmative action, sheer luck or even the corrupt Nigerian system, regardless of their proven intellectual and mental capabilities.

This constant and persistent brainwashing has blindfolded a large chunk of southerners to the extent that many of those I meet believe that being Hausa-Fulani, even the richest black man on earth – Alh. Aliko Dangote – did not actually earn his wealth. So some of them would ask if I got some favours to be able to obtain a PhD from Europe, or question my academic job in Nigeria even when I teach them in Hamburg, Cologne or Vienna.

An average southerner has been made to believe that a northerner is an empty shell, a dullard, an illiterate who is incapable of any mental or physical success. Of course, these deliberate, false narratives are geared towards maligning and disorienting the North. But, the North is one large, diverse, but culturally interwoven community that cannot be beaten as a whole. There is, therefore, the need for a scapegoat.

Indeed, the orchestrators of this scheme got a few points wrong, but one thing they got right was the point of attack, i.e. the Fulani. Yes, Fulani, because they are the traditional rulers. They are the religious leaders. They are the political leaders. They have become Hausa-Fulani, and therefore the focal point of unity. The cultural war of the ’70s has failed to disunite the North simply because the Fulani historical and cultural orientation was left intact.

However, an opportunity presented itself when the media stereotyped the Fulani as herdsmen in all the reportage around herder-farmer conflicts – a stone-aged human resource conflict that has existed for ages – but only to be used as a tool for demonization and stereotyping of the Fulani people.

Populist politicians ala Ortom, Darius and their cronies in the North and South of the Niger seized the moment to first and foremost cover up their asses against the glaring failures of their administrations and to complete the agenda for the social, if not geographical, disintegration of the North. It was yet another tool for fighting a perceived Fulani president.

Throughout 2015 – 2019, the electronic, print and social media was flooded with the “Fulani herdsmen” stories. Headlines, editorials, columns, opinions, misinformation, disinformation, fake news – the word “Fulani” became the vogue in the media.

Today, this stereotyping has taken us a step closer to the looming genocide. Displaced Fulani herders in the northwest have become easy targets for recruitment into banditry and kidnapping. While arms dealers, informants, financial collaborators from other ethnic groups have established a business cartel in robbery, banditry and kidnapping, young, impoverished Fulani herders have become the foot soldiers that carry out these physical acts of crime.

Their knowledge of the forests and ecological terrain, their military-like lifestyle, bravery, coupled with the excruciating economic conditions, have made these unsuspecting lads easy prey of the city-based cartels. These are nomads who knew nothing, had nothing, and depended on nothing other than livestock, which is no longer a dependable source of livelihood, as indicated in the first part of this essay.

Millions of nomadic and sedentary herders’ continued destitution provided a vast army for crimes and criminalities we see today. This fact has been confirmed by research and is attested to by the governments. For example, in a recent in-depth study of banditry in northern Nigeria, Dr Murtala Rufa’i of Usman Danfodio University shows that bandits are victims of circumstances and tycoons from all other ethnic groups in the country.

Although this has been a known fact, have we ever heard of Igbo arms dealer, Hausa kidnap kingpin, Bagobiri kidnapper, Kanuri Boko Haram, Nupe informant, etc.? Do we know of Hausa yan-sa-kai, Bagobiri yan banga, etc.? How many people know that bandit Turji is actually ethnically Bagobiri and not Fulani? Why do we hear of “Fulani kidnappers” or “Fulani herdsmen”?

The implications for this sweeping criminalization of a whole community are as dangerous as they are numerous. Firstly, it has set the most united, cohesive ethnic groups, Hausa and Fulani, on each other’s throats. This is the arrow that might break the camel’s back in the scheme of setting the North on fire.

Secondly, it has criminalized the most important northern ethnic group in the sociopolitical front, making political cohesion impossible. Thirdly, it legitimizes crime and criminals by ascribing them to ethnicity or other human value systems. Fourthly, and sadly, that is the last bus stop on the road to Kigali.

When a whole community, ethnic group or society is viewed as criminal, worthless and or dangerous, the natural reaction is a sweeping, conscious and deliberate elimination of the community. Their elimination becomes a duty as the larger society feels unsafe in their presence. And yes, these feelings are illusions but have been entrenched in people’s minds to the extent that restraint becomes impossible.

Today, people (including Fulanis) consciously or subconsciously talk of killing the “Fulani” in Zamfara, Sokoto or Katsina. But then, in reality, when you kill Turji or his lieutenants, you do not kill Fulani. Because when you killed Shekau, you did not kill a Kanuri, neither did you kill Igbo by killing Evans. You have, in reality, killed a blood-thirsty criminal.

Now, why is the Fulani case different? Why are the media and various sections of this country bent on demonizing millions of Nigerians in the bad light of a few rugged criminals? At the risk of sounding conspiratorial, I will give my take in the next part of this essay.

By Lawi Auwal Yusuf

Prostitution is a global phenomenon and not particular to one society. However, it’s a worsening problem in tertiary institutions as female students take it as a means of livelihood and accomplishing their academic objectives. Moreover, extravagant lifestyles, peer-group influence, and drug addiction are also reasons for such deviance in academia.

This is the business of providing relatively indiscriminate lustful services to another person who is not a spouse in exchange for immediate payment, valuables, or a contracted favour. The absence of deep emotional liking is an essential element of passionate relationships.

These students readily accept these benefits in return for services to virtually everyone willing to pay, with few exceptions of relatives. Hence, the basis for engaging in the act is the reciprocal material benefit or favour while the male partner participates for pleasure.

The immoral students provide these illegitimate services to nefarious staff, co-students and off-campus lovers. They exhibit themselves enticingly to get undeserved favours like altering the marks of their failed courses to pass, upgrading their CGPA, divulging examination questions and other confidential information or giving admission to unqualified candidates. Moreover, their indecent and seductive dressing, revealing sensitive parts of their bodies, is an open invitation to lure men.

It is incredible to see how boisterous female hostels are at dusk and the splendid cars that pick up girls to hotels, nocturnal occasions, jamboree parties, clubs, and other joyous night entertainment. Affluent clients are supplied with enough quantity to satisfy their amorousness as simple as pressing a button. Similarly, tourists, especially those travelling from foreign countries, also patronise them. These harlots are also hired for politicians at the expense of taxpayers.

The effects of this illicit trade are enormous. It should not be perceived just as a victimless crime. It leads to other heinous crimes and unpredictable consequences. Corruption, favouritism, infidelity and the spread of venereal diseases are also repercussions of prostitution. Similarly, it contributes to the precarious state of education and the nation at large.

Higher institutions churn out these incompetent graduates who are employed into various positions to provide services to the public which require expertise. Today it’s so sad that jobs are given to the highest bidders or these strumpets who engage in the wicked services with employers before they are recruited. Lack of specialisation leads to rendering poor services. Thus, meritocracy as a core principle of bureaucracy and a catalyst for Nigeria’s advancement is at its lowest ebb.

The proliferation of brothels is noticeable in the neighbourhood of most schools. Student-whores find men on campus and in town whom they may never meet again and contact STDs. They subsequently infect several others, which may include innocent wives or husbands. These dangerous or fatal ailments are impediments to a healthy and productive population. Furthermore, the used paraphernalia not correctly disposed of are potentially hazardous to public health.

Violent crimes are also perpetrated on campuses as prostitution attracts anonymous visitors and criminals who rape, assault, dupe or even slay their lovers and other students. These criminals also engage in drug dealing and addiction. Crime is so dangerous when rates of victimisation are high because communities become dismembered. People become distrustful of one another and prefer to stay indoors. This will make students and staff uncomfortable and hinder teaching and learning.

Prostitution facilitates corruption and favouritism in government whereby politicians and civil servants steal public funds or make unmerited favours in exchange for the services. Policing also worsens extortion and bribery as it creates opportunities for police and college guards to engage in unethical conduct like collecting bribes in exchange for non-enforcement.

Furthermore, it is a nuisance to uninvolved people. Legitimate businesses lose customers who avoid the area due to inconvenience and traffic congestion, affecting the local economy. In addition, married people engaged in these promiscuous activities seem lackadaisical about the consequences when their spouse realises. Indeed, they run the risk of separation, resulting in higher divorce rates and broken families.

The untainted students can develop an interest in prostitution by intermingling with tainted ones, especially intimate groups and friends. The senior prostitutes influence those close to them in the environment and serve as the source of learning for new ones.

Moreover, such activities give room for ungodly male students and staff to sexually abuse innocent female students. They put them under duress or undue influence to concede and give in.

This makes numerous parents and husbands apprehensive and reluctant to let their daughters and wives pursue further education. In addition, some hate and stereotype Western education, which causes significant setbacks to girls’ education and gender equality.

Many of these erring personnel are apprehended and their appointments terminated while others are prosecuted. Unfortunately, this punishment seems to have no appreciable effect because it is becoming more rampant nowadays.

Finally, I hope this article will attract the attention of all the stakeholders more to make concerted efforts to exterminate this menace from our campuses.

Lawi Auwal Yusuf wrote from Kano, Nigeria. He can be contacted via laymaikanawa@gmail.com.

By Adamu Bello Mai-Bodi

The success stories emanating from the Boko Haram epicentre in Nigeria’s north-eastern states, particularly Borno and Yobe, must not be separated from the combination of unwavering military operations and the assistance given by the tactically planned Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF). CJTF is a local group founded in 2013 to support the Nigerian military’s operations against extremists and defend local populations from attacks like the ones currently taking place in Kaduna, Niger, Sokoto, Zamfara and Katsina.

Recent events in Nigeria reveal that the region’s indigenes primarily carry out terror activities. The Northwest is no exception. To put an end to this brutality, the authorities in the Northwest should take a page out of Borno State’s book and organize a local militia to work alongside the military. Locals know their communities’ lows and highs, nooks and crannies way better than military personnel. Therefore, involving them would boost the chances of conquering non-state actors and their partners in crime.

The people of Hausa land have a history of bravery and, if given a chance, many will volunteer to work in the task force to bring respite to and rid their community of murderous bandits. On this note, Nigerian authorities should give Northwest people a chance to work with the military and salvage the region. In addition, the loose group should possess basic weapons and must have female members to help with handling women and children. When this is done, I’m optimistic about having Borno-esque results.

The going is now rough in the Northwest, and the people are willing to fight back, but the constituted authorities don’t allow that. This region is densely populated. Every state can recruit at least thirty thousand vigilantes and pay each member a twenty-thousand naira incentive per month. Notwithstanding, authorities should be very observant during the recruitment of this recommended vigilante group to avoid engaging the bandits’ Trojan horses.

Gathering intelligence would be easier with the CJTF in place. The locals hired would quickly identify criminals and their enclaves, resulting in more successful security operations. Apart from increasing security, another positive aspect of the CJTF concept is that it provides people with temporary jobs to keep them occupied and provide food for their families. Instead of governments and individuals paying large sums of money as ransom to bandits, the money could be utilized to pay vigilantes a monthly stipend.

Adamu Bello Mai-Bodi writes from Azare, Bauchi State. He can be reached via admabel86@gmail.com.

By Auwal Umar

The books of history and religion are replete with facts of many apostles of Allah, their companions, their followers, other great personalities, as well as some pious predecessors who audaciously confronted the most brutally imposing rulers of their times. Prophet Moses’ Pharaoh is the most prominent example from the time immemorial to date. Two days ago, an erudite Sokoto-based Islamic scholar, Prof. Mansur Sokoto, chose that path of honour that commensurates with the position of Islamic scholarship regarding the tear-shedding condition of insecurity and unprecedented carefree attitude about the general plight of the masses.

In the lecture, the Islamic cleric gave an overview of the multifaceted ways the occupant of the number one seat, the assumed Messiah, betrayed the mandate entrusted to him by the Nigerian masses. You may recall how President Buhari shed tears each time he was on the losing side at the polls and showed sympathy with our plight during the previous dispensations. Due to his long-standing and seemingly unfading popularity, people from every nook and cranny in the North supported him.

Prof. Sokoto recounted how an old woman of 100 years or thereabouts was optatively praying: “O God never take away my soul, lest I die without voting for Buhari to the presidential seat.” Some in the North died due to wild celebrations for his success. He commented on the support he enjoyed from some Islamic clerics, with some of them publicly invoking the wrath of Allah upon those that refused to vote for him. These bespoke the unalloyed love President Buhari enjoyed.

During the lecture, Prof. Sokoto brought to the fore some of the campaign promises Buhari used to make. He always assured the northerners and Nigerians in general that he would equate the value of Naira to a Dollar, improve the quality of education at all levels, reduce the pump price, among many other sugarcoated promises. Before Prof. Sokoto went on squarely to shed light on the height of insensitivity of President Buhari, he commended his efforts for restoring peace in the North in his first tenure before the worst came to worst. Specifically, the following are some key takeaways from Prof. Sokoto’s lecture.

Discriminatory and lopsided treatment against the North

As highlighted in the lecture, despite all the support president Buhari received before and after getting elected, he scrapped the pilgrimage subsidy. On every predicament that befalls the South, the President and his aides will quickly make a press release and take necessary actions but act quite differently when there is a similar occurrence in the North. Recently, 42 passengers were ruthlessly burnt down to ashes by bandits, but their lives were not worth a word of sympathy from the President. On the following day, ignominiously, the President headed to Lagos for a book launch by Bisi Akande. Ironically, there in the book, many blows of satire were landed on his face, which he might be unaware of. Again, bandits launched a series of attacks for four consecutive days, killing an APC gubernatorial candidate. A Kaduna state law-maker and a Katsina State Science and Technology Commissioner also fell victim to the same fate. Additionally, the former President, Shehu Shagari, lost his life, but President chose to go to the funeral of late Abiola’s wife. Even Prof. Ayo Banjo, treated with reverence, was quick to disown some facts credited to him in the book that seemed to be more important than the lives of charred passengers.

Misplacement of priorities

Buhari’s government is very good at misplacing its priorities. He borrowed a large sum of billions to share with some ghosts and nonexistent beneficiaries. Such funds can be used appropriately to address many problems bedevilling the nation.  Had the amount, vainly shared with less visible economic impact, been channelled for the general fixing of the power sector, the impacts from all its veins would have been visibly seen. Resident doctors’ lingering problem of strikes can be a thing of the past if just four billion naira would be dedicated to their cause. That is without talking about the flashy presidential weddings that gulped many billions in a day.

Failure of the government to address cattle rustling dilemma

The cleric hints at a crucial point that needs special attention. He lamented that many Fulanis’ cattle were stolen with no action taken against the theft, and the entrepreneurs of doom and downfall might have capitalized this. In other words, the problem of banditry is probably the result of retaliation by the aggrieved Fulani youth whose cattle were rustled, and the government failed to call the culprits to book. Such instances of “I don’t-care attitudes” by Buhari’s government can’t be numbered. If the government were seriously proactive on the issue, the chances are that we would not be in the present situation.

Wrong advisors and mediocrity

Despite the inexplicable delay of six months to appoint ministers, President Buhari picked one of the worst sets of cabinets, some of whom are unheard of even in the mass media. The President neither gave room for workable advice nor appointed competent hands to handle the job. Moreover, he does not listen to the voices of the experts, journalists, activists and Islamic clerics.

The cabinet goes unchecked

Once you are appointed to serve in Buhari’s government, you can do whatever you like because no one would hold you responsible for your actions or inactions. Buhari hardly gets his cabinet reshuffled because he does not care for accountability. If you were to assess his cabinet by any reasonable standard, the result would surely be awful. As a result, his cabinet members are often unruffled and well aware that they would be sacked only if they clash with some untouchable cabals.

Corruption, impunity and an unworkable justice system

Prof. lamented the high level of corruption in the government, with government officials routinely stealing public funds, with no fear of facing the consequences. He labelled the justice system under this administration as unworkable. Unfortunately, the arrests of kidnappers, bandits and insurgents always resurface on social media, but you never hear of them being sentenced. More often than not, some criminals confess their crimes not under duress but because of frailty in the justice system. And yet, they still go scot-free.

Yawuri students still in captivity

A responsible government can never be in peace when just one of its citizens is in danger.  One cannot begin to imagine the unspeakable horror of being held captive by those filthiest beasts, rapists and defilers. The worst thing now is that government does not even talk about them, much less of their potential release from their captors. These innocently helpless students have been in captivity for five months in this horrific condition. There are other similar scenarios in Niger and many other northern states.

Powerful task force on security

The cleric recommended that the government set up a team of presidential task force similar or even more robust than the Covid-19 task force to tackle insecurity head-on. The team should include experts, intellectuals, journalists, traditional rulers, elder statesmen and politicians to provide strategic advice and technical know-how.

State governors should be granted the power to act on the security of their states

Although state governors nominally bear the ceremonial titles of “Chief Security”, their power to act on security issues is limited. Thus, Prof. Sokoto advised that laws should be enacted to enable governors to act and direct the security agencies at their disposal. However, it is a bitter truth that no matter how willing a governor of a crisis-ridden state is, he is not much different from his poor citizens. 

The need to be more pious

Finally, the Islamic cleric emphasized the need for the President and the rest of us to be more God-fearing in all our doings. May Allah reward Prof. Mansur Sokoto for his invaluable words concerning the reality and the sorry state of the nation, amin.

Auwal Umar wrote from Kano. He is a graduate student at the Department of English and Literary Studies, Bayero University, Kano.

By Abdelghaffar Abdelmalik Amoka

There was this piece of trending news over the last week on a certain ranking from the National University Commission (NUC) where the University of Ibadan was the best, and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University came last. The ranking received a lot of reactions. While there were jubilations from the graduates and students of the relatively younger universities (TETFund Universities as they are popularly called) as they were highly rated on the ranking, the students of some old universities (allegedly living on past glory) were not pleased with the ranking, especially those that were ranked very low despite their gigantic structures. On the other hand, some new universities without research infrastructures were reported to have high per capital google scholar index. Not sure how that was achieved, though.

While the argument was going on among the students about the ranking, ASUU members were having meetings across the universities on another looming strike. The ASUU NEC was reported to be in a meeting this weekend to decide on the looming 2021 strike. While we are awaiting the outcome of the meeting, the students seem to be more concerned with the ranking than the state of the universities and the ASUU strike.

I have been trying to imagine the merits and demerits of the NUC ranking but still trying to figure out one. All the public universities are in terrible shape. Is the ranking based on the best among the chronic underfunded public universities? The 2013 NEEDS Assessment committee of the former president, Goodluck Jonathan, chaired by Prof Mahmood Yakubu, the then TETFund Boss and currently the INEC Boss, revealed the terrible state of public universities and their lecture halls/rooms, and students’ hostels. Some of the hostels occupied by the students were reported not fit for humans.

Has all that changed in 2021? What are we ranking? FG is still dragging the revitalisation of public universities and releasing crumbs to the universities whenever ASUU barks. What are we ranking? Research is not adequately funded in public universities, younger universities have no research structure, and most of us are publishing papers just for promotion’s sake. What are we ranking? We can’t address several challenges from the university, a supposed hub for solution development. We can’t even develop solutions to solve our own challenges within the university. So, what are we ranking?

Who is NUC ranking the universities for? The government, with their deep poverty of sincerity on education, political class so that they can start patronising the universities rather than taking their kids abroad? The parents/students who care not about the quality but certificate, the few committed lecturers or the meal “ticketers”, or the International communities? If we have a structure to rank, there won’t be anxiety over another ASUU strike just a year after the suspension of a nine months strike.

Rather than expending resources on a ranking that changes nothing, the commission should have rather diverted the resources towards putting up a structure that will make the universities rank-able. We must develop strategies to fight both external and internal aggression.

The owners terribly underfund the Universities (Federal and state governments), and the academics are dreadfully paid with an Assistant Lecturer earning a net salary of about N115,000 per month and a Professor on the last step earning a net salary of N416,000. The quest for proper funding and better welfare has resulted in uncountable strike actions. However, I still maintain that if we define our priorities well, there is the fund to provide quality education for Nigerians.

Meanwhile, we also have internal issues to sort to improve the system. For example, we have Civil Engineering, Building, and Architecture departments in the universities where we train Civil Engineers, Builders, and Architects. Yet, we have awfully built new buildings and poorly maintained old buildings. We are training leaders in the universities but have terrible leaders in the universities who behave more like local politicians. We are training business and financial experts, but we can’t help the universities manage their resources and can’t help the universities to make money from the resources within the universities. We are training researchers to develop solutions for the world, but we can’t develop solutions for our challenges within the universities.

While the universities need proper funding, we have a lot to do internally to make the university work. Else, no matter how much money is injected into public universities, without responsible leadership to properly utilise the available resources for optimum impact, without academics (not meal ticketers) that are prepared to make things work and will objectively perform NUC accreditation, the funds will never produce the desired result.

Let’s do the cleanup, and everyone will be eager to see the ranking of our universities. You will see healthy competition where universities and departments compete to outperform each other.

Abdelghaffar Amoka Abdelmalik writes from Zaria and can be reached through aaabdelmalik@gmail.com.

By Ibrahim Siraj, PhD

One must start by giving thanks and praises to Allah the Almighty for the peace being enjoyed in Kano. Like the Prophet time Quraysh, Allah has made our city a peaceful sanctuary while people are “being snatched all around us”. Known proverbially as tumbin giwa, Kano is not only northern Nigeria’s commercial hub. It’s also a bastion of manufacturing and industrialization, notwithstanding efforts to cripple it by successive governments.

For several decades, Kano has maintained its cosmopolitan status, housing Nigerians from all across the country. Kano is also home to many expatriate communities, many of whom have come to accept it as their first if not the only home. Analysts and historians have attributed Kano’s development to this welcoming and all-embracing posture. In trade and business, education and scholarship, politics and governance, media and entertainment, Kano has provided a level playing field for everyone (indigenes and non-indigenes alike) to prosper, with non-indigenes often making it at the expense of the indigenes.

In Kano, you do your things without fear of discrimination. Once your contribution is adjudged to be positive, you are as good as any bonafide Bakano. Unless, of course, it is realized that you are going to bring a bad name to the state, that’s when you risk being quickly disowned. There and then, you will be reminded that you are not “a son of the soil”. “Ba ɗan Kano ba ne” will now be the chorus around town.

The security situation in the country is so bad and pervasive that many think no place is safe. Innocent people are killed in towns and villages by marauding and murderous gangs of merciless armed men. Kidnapping for ransom has become a daily occurrence. Travellers take the roads not sure of reaching their destinations as many have had their journeys cut or diverted to bushes where they were subjected to the highest form of human humiliation for no sin committed. Such is the sad reality of the North-Western states with the only possible exception, apart from Kano, being Jigawa.

Amidst this terrible state of affairs, Allah has protected Kano from those assailants and made it largely peaceful. Not only is Kano peaceful, but it is also bustling. New businesses are springing up in various corners of the city. So are small and medium scale industries. Rice mills (big and small) are being established in almost all the industrial areas leveraging the Federal Government’s policy of encouraging local food production.

Many new millionaires and a handful of billionaires have been produced among the business class, don’t mind the much-touted poverty and widespread hardship in the country. In Kano, it is a case of “mutuwar wani tashin wani”, i.e. one man’s poison is another man’s meat, so to say. Or, as the Arabs would say, “masa’ibu qaumin inda qaumin fawa’idu” meaning what’s a bad situation for some is a good situation for others. While the poor masses are crying, this new super-wealthy are either smiling to the banks or busy spending lavishly on big houses or malls.

Indications have emerged recently that people from the troubled states in the North, especially Northeast and Northwest, are taking refuge in Kano with reports of several secret relocations. Politically exposed people from those states are alleged to have engaged in buying or building houses in the state with the intention of moving their families if they hadn’t done that already.

Alhamdulillah, Kano is now the place to be by everyone in search of peace and prosperity. Even the so-called bandits are believed to be relishing the peace in Kano. They are alleged to be sneaking into the commercial city to do business and return to their enclaves undetected. Although not confirmed by the intelligence community, this cannot be quickly ruled out given the large number of people coming to Kano daily from that part of the country.

Recently, someone suggested that one of the biggest mistakes of Boko Haram was attacking Kano. He reasoned that a safe and peaceful Kano would have been in their own nefarious interest as they could have exploited its vastness and used it as a cover from where they coordinate their insurgency activities. This may not be entirely correct, though, as we have seen recently, Kano has become the end-of-the-road for many high-profile criminals who wanted to make it their haven. Wadume readily comes to mind here.

The peace enjoyed in Kano is by no means absolute. The state has a myriad of sundry security challenges it is grappling with. Incidents of phone-snatching often with deadly consequences, thuggery fuelled by political actors, pockets of poorly organized abductions, and drug abuse are becoming a major security threat. Kano still has unresolved cases of kidnapped and sold out children, with many more still being reported missing. Yet, the absence of any large-scale acts of insecurity, the kind of which was witnessed during the dark and inglorious years of Boko Haram bombings or the sort happening in our neighbouring states, is giving us a cause to be thankful.

Many people have been wondering what could be responsible for Kano’s relative peace. Is Kano the so-called “God’s own” state? What are the people here doing that others are not? Or what are they not doing that others do? To whom goes the credit? How could the peace be maintained? For me, it’s only the wish of Allah and His mercy for Kano to enjoy this level of stability. As far as I can see, Kano is no less a sinful society than others facing security challenges. Of course, we have good people here, but we have our share of bad and notoriously evil ones too. Apparently, neither is it due to any conscious effort by security agencies – though not belittling their contribution – nor is it the making of government for some unscrupulous politicians to claim the credit.

But as it is often said, Kano is fortified by the blessings and prayers for peace and prosperity courtesy of those pious, sincere, devout, God-fearing and saintly scholars. They either resided in or visited the city several decades ago. It is believed that their remnants are still available, praying fervently though quietly for peace to reign in Kano and for the state to achieve economic prosperity. Their sacrifices and devotions – and not the deceptive shenanigans of those money-mongering, spiritually empty, morally bankrupt, ostentatious prayer merchants parading the corridors of power today – that are keeping Kano safe and secure.

Whatever it may be, maintaining the peace in Kano is in our own collective interest. We must, therefore, play our own roles. We must sustain prayers and shun sinful behaviour as much as we can. Let us all contribute in whatever way we can to preserve the peace. Let us cooperate with security agencies by providing them with the support they need to discharge their responsibility. Let us continue to pray for the quick return of peace and security to all troubled zones in the country and the world.

May Allah continue to make Kano more peaceful and safer. May He continue to protect it and make it more prosperous!

Dr Siraj writes from the Department of Mass Communication, Bayero University, Kano and is also a reporter for The Daily Reality.