Opinion

By Muhammad Tsaure

The Biafra saga is no longer South East or South-South issue; instead, it has culminated into something more devastating and absolute hatred to Buhari in particular and Northern Nigeria in general.  I garnered series of experiences primarily based on the discussion I held with a significant number of people from the southeastern region. I learned from them that they mainly think the North doesn’t want them to leave the union because the proportionate percentage of the country’s GDP comes from their region. Thus, if they secede, the North will be left bankrupt and nowhere to turn to.

Unknown to many of those people, this thought is nothing short of ignorance about the exact nature of Northern Nigeria. The North is endowed with whatever a country needs to survive, prosper and develop. We are not parasites, as they claim. But, if they want to go, please, let them go in peace. Nigeria doesn’t necessarily need Igbos to survive.

The North has come of age now; we can fend for ourselves and don’t need any region to live and survive as a country. Whoever wants to go, let them go. The North has treated Igbo people with dignity, love and leniency. The entire Biafra States are not up to Kaduna State in terms of population as well as geography.

In 2015 I was at the Niger-Delta University (NDU) at Wilberforce Island for a conference organised by the Literary Society of Nigeria. After presenting my research paper entitled “Diaspora Literature: A Protest Literature or Romanticism?” We went along with other colleagues to Yenagoa (the capital city of Bayelsa State) to explore or otherwise become a group of tourists. But, to my amazement, the entire Bayelsa State is not up to Bichi local government area in Kano or Funtua local government of Katsina State. Yet, they have three Senators; representing Bayelsa Central, Bayelsa West and Bayelsa East and five Members House of Representatives, and one minister of State on Petroleum.

The conference lasted for six days, and I visited the entire eight (8) local government areas of Bayelsa State. You hardly believe whether or not people are living in some of these local governments. Houses scattered, each community has its language or dialect.

The same week I came back home, I went to Bichi local government of Kano state to verify my assumption or guess. On reaching there, the conclusion I had to make was that Bichi local government is far larger in terms of population, buildings, and whatever one could think of than Bayelsa State. And nobody in the North ever complains about that.

Muhammad Tsaure is the Principal of Government Secondary School, Tsaure. He can be reached via 76muhammadtsaure@gmail.com.

By Salisu Uba Kofar-Wambai

It is very mind-blowing to view a national football team that ideally suppose to possess the quality of national outlook looking so sectional and tribal. Unfortunately, for quite a long time, the Nigerian football national team has been dominated by only what we called “southern players” at almost every level.

One will wonder why the utmost and utterly lopsidedness? After all, with its advantages, thanks to its vast population over the South, northern Nigeria has the upper hand to have more visibility in such national assignments. However, the reverse is always the case. Is that signifying that the northern folks lack interest in sports, especially football? Or does it mean that the North is consciously hiding its light under a bushel? NO! 

If one wakes up at dawn in northern cities and towns, the young, agile athletes are often the first people to meet exercising to their respective football pitches.

Moreover, the geographical advantage in terms of the landmass, with all the potentialities of its flatness, accurate for football arena and pitches against terrain nature and scarcity of southern land is another pointer that ought to have shot north ahead.

It is an indisputable fact that if you take around northern states, you will invariably discover that numerous football clubs are established in several places in the region. You will find players who can match the skills and talents of Messi, Ronaldo, Zidane, Figos, but all – or most – go nowhere. They mostly played in their small villages and ended up uncelebrated.

In Kano alone, the heart of the North, there are more than thousands of clubs playing in different levels and capacities. The Sports Ministry is, year-in-year-out, organising leagues for these clubs from league A to Z. These clubs produce young talents that can play at every level of football worldwide.

With globalisation and communication technologies taking centre stage of our lives, if one goes to viewing centres, where foreign leagues matches are shown, the story and impression one will get is that football has become part and parcel of our youths’ routine. It’s now popular culture. Football is always the topic of discussion on the lips of northern youth. Therefore, the football obsession comes in both ways – theoretical and practical, respectively. But why northern players are almost absent or underdogs in the national team?

And again, with football now going lucrative venture that quickly shoots up people to billionaire charts, with the abject poverty bedevilling the north and youth joblessness, sports can do a lot towards alleviating these monsters if taken significantly.

The central question is why many a time Kano clubs are the favourites and always win all Nigerian secondary schools? I think the appropriate answers to these questions are:

The North should embrace sports as a way of livelihood like its southern counterparts and encourage its youth to put in their best. The North should also give them support in terms of mentorship, send people of interest, read coaching courses, and, of course, financial assistance. Our well-to-do and government should facilitate our talents to get contracts in Europe through agents that secure clubs for players.

Our soccer administrators should make it compulsory for every coach vested with the responsibility of forming teams, especially in the under-17 and under-20, to always go round Nigeria for the players’ selection process. In most cases, those coaches sit back in their regions, select players from the South because they have already stereotyped northerners as worthless in that respective. And it is mostly the players of these levels that graduate into senior national teams levels and secure lucrative contracts to play in the prestigious leagues of Europe.

Northern youth should also try to go off weeds smoking; it is unfortunate to see a talented footballer and later find out that he’s a weed smoker. Most of them end up without achieving anything for obvious reasons. They should equally try to finish their secondary schools and be ready to go anywhere to play and show their resilience.

And above all, parents should pray for the guidance of their kids.

By doing this, I think the North will avoid the situation we are currently experiencing where northerners are a dot in the circle in the team of players representing Nigeria in the ongoing Olympics games in Japan.

Salisu Uba Kofar-Wambai is a PhD student at the Department of Mass Communication, Bayero University, Kano. He can be reached via salisunews@gmail.com.

By Lawi Auwal Yusuf

For any right-thinking, upright government with the political will, the EndSARS protests was not an incidence to be taken for granted or forgotten. On the contrary, the turmoil was the greatest challenge of Nigeria in 2020 after the Covid-19 epidemic. There are lessons to learn. It deserves special attention, critical thinking and drastic measure, not an indifferent and lackadaisical attitude.

It was a phenomenon that has shown that things are not well in this country. And it sent a strong and clear message that poverty, inequality, mass joblessness and underemployment are at their highest pinnacle. It manifested the annoyance, frustration and anger in the citizens of this dystopian country.

The hopeless, idle and ratty youths have fed up with their misery, plight, wretchedness, redundancy and unhappy dire future. This means that Nigerians are irritated and have despaired with the long-anticipated miracle change promised by the Buhari administration and his mega-merger party. This rebellion had evidently signalled the administration’s failure and its vague, obsolete and unrealistic policies that should be thrown overboard and swiftly replaced or radically reviewed.

A similar event like SARS brutally led to more than a decade of wars and fracases in many countries of the Middle East. What sparked off the disturbances was just even more trivial than what caused the EndSARS protests in Nigeria, where the SARS operatives slew a suspect extrajudicially.

The Arab Spring, which started in 2011, was ignited when a cop molested a fruit-seller on the street of Tunis. Muhammad Al-Bouazizi, a breadwinner, set himself ablaze in protest of confiscating his wares by the police from which he made his ends meet and put food on the table for his family and his aged parents.

After intense pressure from millions of demonstrators that took to the streets of the country’s metropolitan cities, it resulted in the ouster of the then authoritarian President of Tunisia, Zainul Abidin Ben Ali. And subsequently, these protests proliferated in neighbouring countries. Similarly, it led to the fall of other long-ruling regimes and sit-tight dictators like Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and later Muhammad Mursi, Abdallah Saleh of Yemen, Sa’ad Hariri and Hassan Diab of  Lebanon, Umar Al-Bashir of Sudan, Abdulaziz Bouteflika of Algeria, Blaise Compaore of  Burkina Faso and the currently embattled Bashar Assad of Syria. And most recently, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita of Mali, a West  African country and a member of the CEDEAO (ECOWAS) and a neighbour to Nigeria with the closest proximity to Nigeria among the mentioned states.

And I am sure it is unarguable that police in Nigeria are more hostile, ruthless, brutal and more corrupt than these countries. Nevertheless, their leaders were more committed to developing their economies and serving their masses than the Nigerian unpatriotic, unmindful, extravagant and wanton politicians. Their leaders were more just, accountable, transparent, modest, nationalist, less corrupt and materialistic and love their people more than our leaders do. Moreover, their masses are far better off than Nigerians. Despite these, their people revolted against them, and it is the wish and age-long dream of  Nigerians to have leaders like that of those countries so that our country can reach their level of development. And one may think that if genuine and urgent efforts are not made to resolve the problems of this country, it may be next.       

Furthermore, the EndSARS resistance has shown that Nigerian politicians are no longer running the country’s affairs with the mandate and consent of the people because they believed that they are deceived and betrayed by politicians. Thus, democracy is an illusion as it has metamorphosed into a democratic dictatorship.

Lastly, as every Nigerian is responsible and must be blamed for the nation’s state and as we have all paid the price for this destructive behaviour of these youths, change must begin with each and every one of us. Therefore, on the part of the government, I suggest it should convene a conference and bring together technocrats from different professions like sociologists, economists, political scientists, security experts and so on to assess the situation and its causes come up with solutions to avert any future reoccurrences.

Lawi Auwal Yusuf Maikanawa writes from Kano. He can be reached via laymaikanawa@gmail.com.

 As we move closer to 2023, when power may be shifted to the South, social and political events point to a bleak future for the North. The North/South relationship is at its lowest level; tension is growing by the day, the body polity is being heated, and behind the scene, enemies of the country are planting the seeds of animosity. 

A bad omen is set for a bleak 2023 early this month when the Southern governors met in Lagos. Their communique strongly called for a power shift to the South come 2023. The governors had forgotten that leadership rotation was the brainchild of the North, that it was a political concession meant to heal old wounds following the June 12 political turmoil. They also forgot that when President Umar Musa died two years into his first term, the same South flouted the power shift arrangement. Former President Jonathan openly said this section of the country hated him because they said the power shift arrangement be honoured. 

Two recent social unrests define the Noth/South relationship and the political tension that’s setting. First was a disagreement between a Northerner, tomato seller and a Yoruba woman that degenerated into killings and displacement of mostly Northerners in Ibadan. Then came the IPOB’s sit-at-home order in the South East, where ethnic persecution of the Northerners ensued. Many were killed and hundreds displaced.

Recently, there seems to be a collective animosity towards the North and whatever the North represents. The problem with many Nigerians is that they can’t differentiate between elitism, elitist tendencies and the massive social gaps between the two classes. Historically, these same elites from either side of the divide have been known to exert elitist solidarity in perpetuating their own interests, in the process, alienating the masses. 

Most of these Southern grievances emanate from skewed political appointments by President Buhari. They forget that Buhari’s government is the reincarnation of Jonathan’s. Once, Air Marshall Alex Badeh, Major General Minimah, Air Vice Marshall Amosu were chiefs of defence, army staff and air staff, respectively. Only Admiral Jibrin was from another faith. Moreover, the President, Secretary to the Government, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Minister of Finance were from the same faith. The same with the ‘Kitchen Cabinets.’ Remember the powerful economic team? Hausas say ‘idan ɗan maye ya manta…’

Granted that President Buhari’s government suffers from poor public relations from the President himself to his public relations team. So also was Jonathan. Towards the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015, shortly before the general elections, Jonathan and his wife, Patience, went to churches in Abuja and South East preaching the gospel of hatred. I am not condoning nor defending the present arrangement, far from that; I am reminding us about the past lest we forget. 

The recent Afenifere political blunder is a clear pointer that Southerners would politically persecute the Northerners when power is shifted to the South. Afenifere strikes intentionally and timely to cause disaffection. Like Chalie Hebdo, they know that to Muslims, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is the centre of gravity; he’s the Prophet, the Divine link, the undisputed spiritual leader, the guide, the intercessor, the light, the mercy and blessing to humanity. To the Muslims, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is the best that could happen to the world. Yet, they intentionally came out to hurt feelings and cause disaffection.

They claimed to be liberals, but where’s the so-called liberalism when you lack empathy? Where’s the so-called freedom of expression when it overlooks inclusion ànd pluralism? Where’s the so-called free press when it can’t draw a line between the intellectual identification of feelings, sensitivity, thoughts of a people on the one hand, and on the other hand, the subjective urge to exhibit petty tribal solidarity?  

What Afenifere does is self-immolation. This is because there’s no ethnic group in Nigeria that’s socio-culturally cohesive, an ethnic group that’s equally infiltrated by the two major religions like Yoruba. Religious consciousness is new to them. Now the Yoruba Muslims would undoubtedly realise that Afenifere doesn’t represent them. Thus, setting an unprecedented social trajectory of an ethnic group stratified along religious faultline. It would be the worst-case scenario, for this would divide families, friends, and social groups along religious lines as is found in the North, the root cause of social unrest.

The North may have a majority in the service chiefs and defence, yet they can’t secure the North from the clutch of marauding bandits. We have the minister of finance who can’t lessen the Noth’s skydiving poverty! 

As 2023 draws closer, it seems, whoever is selected to be president from the South, there may be the tendency of political persecution of the North, and the basis of this would be justified on the failure of the current leadership to stabilize the region. When finally we demand attention, they would respond that our kin couldn’t give us what we demand from them. For now, the sociopolitical trajectories portend a bleak future. But for now, only time will tell.

Salisu Yusuf can be reached at salisuyusuf111@gmail.com.

By Sulaiman Maijama’a

Suppose there is anything more flabbergasted, more blasphemous than what Abduljabbar Kabara had committed against our noble prophet (SAW). In that case, it is the report published by Sahara Reporters comparing the “Hijrah” of our most respected prophet to the evacuation of this Yoruba secessionist leader, whom I will not dignify by calling his name. Though attributed to Afenifere (Yoruba socio-cultural organisation), truth be told, Sahara Reporters is just disguising under the group to have unleashed their long-buried malice against Islam, which they are known for.

The contentious report pricked the sensitivity and sensibility of every Muslim faithful. If a fervent believer of Islam were to be given a choice between an assault on their prophet and assault on their parents, they would, before a blink of an eye, opt for the latter because of the enormity of love we have for him.

Don’t be deceived by the fact that the media outlet removed the report, owing to the heavy pressure put on them. Taking it down alone is not enough to comfort Muslim Ummah to spare them. Suppose Abduljabbar, one of the leading Islamic clerics from the North, could be dragged to prison by the same Muslim Northers for blasphemy and sacrilege against the prophet. How, then, could any group that has people with a proper cognitive ability not take stock of their utterances? I assumed if the Abdujabbar saga did not symbolise the deep reverence Muslim Ummah have for the prophet, nothing could do.

Afenifere instead of this your illogical comparison, since Nnamdi Kanu, another secessionist group leader, was recently apprehended from a foreign street and arraigned in a courtroom and later remanded just like how Sunday Igboho was arrested in Benin City, charged and jailed, it would have made sense if you had compared Igboho and Kanu, since they are like cousins, having the same mission of tearing Nigeria apart. Moreover, both have foreign passports; if things get out of hand, they can flee the country, leaving innocent people in a disastrous situation just like they did now.

But since you have misused simile, I still find it difficult to relate the point of comparison. The most acceptable annals of history in the world attest to the fact that prophet Muhammad (SAW) brought peace and harmony among the adherents of different religions. He is the most tolerant and Noble person ever lived on earth who preached to his companions to jettison racial prejudice. So is Sunday preaching unity or disunity?

Afenifere, in your statement, you made it clear that “there is nothing wrong with Yoruba Nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo, seeking asylum in another country where his safety can be guaranteed.” 

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) left Makkah mainly because he was denied “right to religion”, and when departing Makkah for Madinah, he went along with all his companions. This indicates the concern he had for his people, meaning the safety of his people is of equal importance as his safety. It also signifies the mission was out of honesty. Why Sunday fled Nigeria alone?   If his security can be guaranteed in another country, what is the fate of the people he left in Nigeria, whom he used and who are at the forefront of the clamour for a sovereign nation?

Maijama’a writes from the Faculty of Communication, Bayero University, Kano. He can be reached via: sulaimanmaija@gmail.com.

By Salisu Uba Kofar-Wambai

Though conflicts, for the most part, originate in the social world beyond the media, it is through the different media of journalism and circulation of news that many of them become publicly known and, often, pursued. Moreover, it is through many media lenses that the conflicts are variously defined, framed and visualized. Hence, media must always be socially responsible in its reportage not to stir up violence through its operations.

Journalism is a serious business in a multi-ethnic country like Nigeria, a country with over 400 ethnic groups, two major religious groups belonging to several sects, among other diversities. The media, especially the online newspapers, which serve as a watchdog and mirror of the society, cannot afford to be biased, lopsided and insensitive in the way they report such ethno-religious issues in the country.

Nigeria is a unique country on earth. You can hardly get a country that’s almost equally divided along two religious lines as Nigeria. Unfortunately, many studies conducted have shown the dirty hands of media in fanning the embers of hatred, animosity and conflicts they ought to have resolved among the followers of the two faiths.

The demonization of Fulani, the reportage of Sharia issues in the early 2000s, Boko Haram coverage, Niger Delta militancy reports, recent secessionists uprisings were all given oxygen by the media to survive, which seriously poses a threat to the unity and integration of the country.

However, irresponsible newspapers and so-called professionals working in the industry are to blame. The recent derogatory reportage of the unguarded utterances of the Afenifere, a Yoruba social-cultural organization, by Sahara Reporters is a textbook example of media complicity in causing violence in the country.

It looks like the Sahara Reporters had underrated and underestimated the profession’s ethics regarding such a sensitive and slippery issue. The editors haven’t done their onus professionally. Editing is a process of preparing language, images, or sound for presentation through correction, condensation, organization and other modifications. So, given the complex configuration of Nigerian society, an editor ought to be versatile and very knowledgeable of religious sensitivities. Newsroom desks must be given their cause to do their works. For instance, should the editor-in-chief be busy, the subeditors in the religious desk should handle it.

An editor is a gatekeeper who controls and sifts what will be disseminated to the enormous and varied readers, who have emanated from different social backgrounds, religious beliefs, and ethnic nuances. Therefore, an editor in a Nigerian newspaper ought to be someone with deep comparative religious knowledge who knows the sensitivities of every belief and faith. 

In a heterogeneous society like Nigeria, an editor must be Mr Know-All to escape falling into a ditch and trap of such violence invocation.

He should be aware that If Christians can compare every dimwit, imbecile character with Jesus (PBUH), Muslims don’t do it this way. In Islam, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is sacrosanct, inviolate. Thus, no one should compare the Prophet with any being, let alone Sunday Igboho, a run-away character the Nigerian government sees as a criminal and murderer.

I thought these so-called editors would take a lesson from what Isioma Daniel did, who tried to align Prophet Muhammad SAW with the dirty beauty pageants in the early 2000s. It turned out to be the worst professional blunder by Thisday newspapers. That single act that could be corrected by almighty editing led to gigantic violence that claimed more than 200 innocent souls in Kaduna.

 I also wonder that Afenifere apologists have more Muslims than Christians in their membership; they ought to know this. Therefore, that’s why many were suspecting that what transpired was deliberately done to instigate war.

Sahara Reporters is the only newspaper that reported such an incident as such. Most media outfits have abandoned the reports for their editors knew the consequences. They look at the news items and the society at large.

No matter what, the professional interest must not be mortgaged to religious and ethnic ties. We must allow competence and expertise to overshadow those personal interests.

Salisu Uba Kofar-Wambai is a PhD student at the Department of Mass Communication, Bayero University, Kano. He can be reached via salisunews@gmail.com.

By Sanusi Lafiagi

The blasphemous and sacrilegious statement credited to Afenifere, a Yoruba socio-cultural group, (and published by Sahara Reporters) comparing the plight of Sunday Igboho to that suffered by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is a great insult to Islām and Muslims all over the world. It behoves every Muslim, especially of Yoruba extraction to publicly condemn this blatant disrespect to our religion and demand an unreserved apology from them. The ignorance exhibited by the group about the Prophet ﷺ shows how lowly the so-called Yoruba nation agitators think of Muslims. Why did the group deem it fit to travel far into the 7th century to find a comparison for a thug when I could have simply compared him to Afonja?

Sunday Igboho is NOTHING compared to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ for the following reasons:

1. Muhammad ﷺ was a Prophet and Messenger of Allāh. He was divinely anointed and heavenly guided. Sunday Igboho, by his own admission, is a political thug and hire-for-pay warlord whose conscience is sold to the highest bidder.

2. Muhammad ﷺ spent 13 years in the hostile plains of Makkah preaching Unity of Allāh and devotion to His worship. In spite of the persecution (including summary execution) that he and his followers faced, it is NOT on record that he instigated them against the system or called for secession. Sunday Igboho on the other hand resorted to self-help and terrorised innocent northerners (remember that only a court of competent jurisdiction can declare anyone guilty of crimes brought against them), leading to deaths and destruction of invaluable properties. He instigated a violent insurrection against the system.

3. Muhammad ﷺ advanced the cause of humanity and was vehemently opposed to tribal bigotry and jingoism. He abolished the class system and preached the equality of mankind before Allāh. Sunday Igboho on the other hand is a tribal bigot who advanced ethnic cause and preached the superiority of Yoruba to the Hausa and Fulani ethnic groups. He described the latter as parasites and cancer, who are feeding fat on the fortunes of the Yorubas.

4. Muhammad ﷺ belonged to all who professed faith in Allāh and submitted to His worship. Despite that, he treated even his worst enemies with fairness and justice. He never at any time supported the corrupt system that operated in Makkah.

Sunday Igboho on the other hand (by his own admission) is a bonafide member of PDP who participated actively in election malpractices that foisted insecurity and corruption in society. His last political outing with the current governor of Oyo State, Engineer Seyi Makinde, was in Kogi state, during the election that earned governor Yahya Bello for the second term in office. This, it is not far-fetched to say that Igboho’s agitation, just like his counterpart’s, Nnamdi Kanu of IPOB is LARGELY (to put it mildly) political!

5. Muhammad ﷺ migrated to Madīnah to establish an Islamic state where members will be able to live freely and practise Islām without fear of torture and persecution. As a precursor to this flight, he had earlier sent his followers in groups first to Abyssinia, and later to Madīnah to take refuge while he stayed back. Neither did he leave his followers behind, nor fly to hide from the powers that be. Muhammad ﷺ wasn’t a coward. Sunday Igboho, like Ojukwu and his mentee, Nnamdi Kanu, fled the scene after causing trouble (leading to the death and arrest of some of his followers) to enjoy the warmth of his wife and kids. He’s a coward and rabble-rouser who has no balls!

6. Muhammad ﷺ fought the Makkans ONLY after he had settled in Madīnah and established an Islamic state with all its political and administrative apparatuses. The first battle, Badr, came about a year after his settlement in Madīnah. At the time, the majority of his followers had fled Makkah. Thus, he was able to provide maximum protection and support for them in the friendly and serene terrains of Madīnah. Sunday Igboho on the other hand wants to cause an uprising that will not only destroy the lives of millions of Yorubas living across the country but will also ground the nation’s fragile economy and heap more difficulty on innocent people.

7. Muhammad ﷺ was severally persecuted and harassed on the street of Makkah, yet he remained undeterred in his mission. He didn’t run away or stockpile arms to force liberation. There were days that he was attached even while observing Salāt. Sunday Igboho on the other hand is an oppressor and lout who publicly harassed first class Obas of Yorubaland and threatened violence. He’s on tape to have threatened to kill the Ooni of Ife and Bola Ahmed Tinubu, attack the palaces of some prominent Obas, mocked pastor Adeboye over the death of his son, and traded insults with Gani Adams.

8. Muhammad ﷺ was NOT a magician. He didn’t practice magic or boast of diabolical powers. Sunday Igboho, as it turns out is a jester, a lousy idiot, a comic actor and an empty shell of nothingness. One would expect that by now, given his incessant JuJu braggadocio, the security forces that invaded his house would have turned into fowls or that he wouldn’t need to go through an airport to disappear into thin air. Alas! The acclaimed warrior of Ife-Modakeke communal clash disappointed his cheerleaders and fans by not living up to expectations!!!

Therefore, comparing the noble Prophet of Islām to a nuisance like Igboho is a great disservice to humanity and an insult to the sensibilities of Muslims all over the world. It should be retracted immediately and an apology tendered.

Sanusi Lafiagi is a lecturer of Islamic Studies at the Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, Kwara State.

By Junaidu Danladi

I am writing this piece with too much pain, tears and sadness. The year 2020 will forever be remembered for the multiple calamities which have befallen humanity and the entire world. Ranging from the global Covid-19 pandemic to the economic meltdown and the mass deaths or the mysterious death as it was popularly called here in Kano. To people like me, though it affected many as well, the last was the most miserable. Mine was an unquantifiable and immeasurable sadness.

In 2020, I lost my beloved parents, relatives, friends, and teachers, including Baffa Malam Lawan, Malam Mamuda S/Fulani, Malam Ayuba, Maryama and Professor Haruna Wakili. My father, Abdulmutallib or Abdulmuɗallabi, as a native Hausa, prefers to pronounce it. Since birth, most people called him Danladi because he was born on Sunday, and this is traditionally known among the Hausa people.

As we called him, Baffa died on 9th August 2020 (19th Dhul Hijjah 1442 A.H.). His death did not come as a surprise to us due to his lingering health condition, which he dutifully managed for about a decade. I can still vividly remember how he died before me! It was around 7:00 pm when Dr Sa’adah of the emergency unit of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, confirmed to us that he was dead. We could only recite Innalillahi wa inna ilaihiraji’un – to Allah we belong, and to Him we shall all return – amidst a pool of tears. I managed to drive the car but in a very horrible condition. We refused to inform other members of the family of the sad news of what had happened. But by the time we arrived home, it was only crying and prayers all over. They have already heard it somewhere.

It was indeed a tough moment, not only for the immediate family but for many people around us. Baffa was not just a father to us but also a father to many people in our community. To me, he was not only a father, but he was my best “friend”! we spent most of our time together. Although I am not the last born, I am the last to survive; thus, I occupied the exalted position of “last born” (Dan Auta) by default. This development made me very close and endeared to him, especially in the last two decades. Whenever at home, we mostly live together. 

As a child, he used to share with me his experiences as a lucky orphan. His father – my grandfather – Yusuf, died when he was a child. He inculcated in me a passion for history. Perhaps that could have been part of why I developed the interest to study History instead of my earlier favourite course, Mass Communication. My passion for knowing the past made me live and stay, in many cases, with elderly persons. I can still remember that during my National Youth Service (NYSC) at Potiskum in Yobe state, I mostly stayed with people above my age. Baffa also shared with me his experiences in farming and later as a junior staff of Kano State Water Resources and Engineering Construction Agency (WRECA). He was later transferred to Dawakin Tofa Local Government. He told me how they contributed to water supply, especially in the rural communities that were in dire need of it then. Interestingly, I later developed an interest in the history of water and electricity supply, which became my PhD research topic at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

Despite my age and little experience, I became his chief adviser and treasurer. After he retired from civil service, he authorized me to be the signatory to his bank account.

As I was struggling to cope with the devastating situation of his demise, the sudden death of our mother occurred. She died on the 18th December 2020 (3rd Jumadal-Ula 1442 A.H.). It was around 1:25 am when my older brother Adamu (Danjuma) knocked at my door, informing me that she was in a critical condition that required prompt medical attention. We quickly rushed her to a hospital. However, she died a few minutes before reaching the hospital around 2:15 am. As usual, we could only recite Innalillahi wa inna ilaihiraji’un. You can imagine the situation. Returning home, it was just crying all over from family members and other people around that woke up at that time. Her death came with great surprise as she did not show any symptoms of illness.

After her death, it became clear that I have lost the dearest people in my life. However, I quickly consoled myself by remembering that even my father was an orphan. Above all, the greatest man in the history of this world, Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be with him), was an orphan.

Certainly, life will never be the same without them. But as a believer, I am very much sure that there is wisdom behind God’s decisions. And every soul must taste the pain of death.

I will not say much about their sterling qualities; it is a topic for another day. However, it is evident from the people’s testimony that they lived fulfilled lives worthy of emulation. My major worry is that I have lost their guidance, advice, support and constant prayers. The greatest responsibility before me now is how to uphold their good legacies.

May their souls rest in perfect peace, and may Aljannat al-Firdausi be their final home. May the Almighty Allah give us the fortitude to bear the irreparable losses, amen. And I wish to thank all for the condolences. May the Almighty God reward you richly.

Junaidu Danladi writes from the Department of History, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria and can be reached at: jdanladi.his@buk.edu.ng.

By Tajudden Ahmad Tijjani

The Bauchi State government has indeed taken the bull by the horns by suspending the license of all private NCE awarding colleges. It’s a fact that any society that does not prioritise education will retrogress.

The state government’s decision is a welcome development. All private National Certificate of Education ( NCE) granting institutions have had their license revoked in the pearl of tourism because of their negative contribution to the state’s educational development. The standard of education in the state is persistently getting lower. 

For the operators of such mushroom NCEs, losing their license will be a tough pill to swallow. Notwithstanding, it’s the right call from the government’s side because allowing them to continue operating results in the graduation of incompetent, quack teachers who are the benchmark of our state’s underdevelopment.
Indeed, anywhere In the world, the importance of education can never be overemphasised; quality education is essential for long-term development.

Last September, the United Nations (UN) ratified 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to serve as benchmarks for every nation to ensure global prosperity, protection of the planet, and poverty eradication.

All countries and stakeholders acting in collaborative partnerships will implement the plan Goal 4—Quality Education: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning.

The call for a Quality Education, not merely access to any education, by the UN is a great step in ensuring that all children and adults, not just those born with a silver spoon, have access to quality education.

Education is more than just a content delivery system; it is a system designed to help all children and adults reach their full potential and see themselves as contributing partners of society. The former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon set the SDG process in motion in 2012 by declaring that every child must be in school. The quality of those schools must improve so that students are prepared to be productive citizens ready to lead the future. 

Indeed, supporters of our beloved state should applaud the Bauchi state government’s decision to not only renew the licenses of these schools but also to sanction any defaulting so-called institutions per existing laws.

 However, let the government ensure that standards are strictly followed, that rich content is provided, and graduates are produced who are assets and productive in the twenty-first century, rather than liabilities.

Tajuddeen Ahmad Tijjani writes from Galadima Mahmud street, Kasuwar-kaji Azare, Bauchi State.

By Salisu Yusuf

Since becoming the crown prince and de facto leader in 2017, Prince Mohammed bn Salman (known as MBS) is stirring controversies in Saudi Arabia and making the country a battleground between the conservative Sunni and trendy Western values.

Immediately after assuming power, MBS declared that the return of ‘moderate Islam’ was key to his plans. MBS’s declaration is an affront to Islam because his statement gives credit to Western media, which categorises Muslim adherents as either ‘moderate Muslim’ or ‘Islamic extremism.’ Such labels are derogatory and indictment; to label somebody as either moderate or extremist Muslim is to say that extremism is an extension of Islam. Moreover, MBS’s statement is a subtle backing to America retaining Guantanamo Bay Camp, where many innocent Muslims are being held without a trial and tortured. 

In 2018, MBS lifted a ban on women drivers. Saudi, being the last country in the world where such provision existed. Many, including Muslims, commanded the move as there’s no available Qur’anic injunction or Hadith that prohibits doing so. However, shortly before the ban was lifted, many women rights activists who campaigned against the ban were rounded up and imprisoned.

Bn Salman is seen by many as a power monger. For example, he was seen in 2017 shortly after becoming the crown prince with the former crown prince, Mohammed bn Nayef, the former pledging allegiance. Bn Nayef is King Salman’s nephew. He’s, therefore, MBS’s cousin. Bn Nayef was seen kneeling and kissing his older cousin’s hand, a gesture disapproved in Sunni Islam.

Saudi annual billion-dollar US arms deal is making Saudi Arabia a laughing stock. Former US President Trump supports Saudi because of the deal, and on the other hand, US moral and financial unconditional support to Israel is a source of concern.

The latest controversy is the mosque speaker restrictions. The Saudi government asks Imams and Muezzin to lower their speakers to a third of their maximum volumes during calls to prayer and during the prayer itself. 

Opponents criticise the restrictions, saying cafes and restaurants could be heard blaring loud music all over the country. Authorities had earlier said they placed the restrictions because parents complained that the speakers disrupt their children while asleep. Even though modern means of a call to prayer, the outrageous number of mosques and airing the prayer itself could be contestable if they’re brought under strict Islamic legal spotlight, some see MBS’s attempt to give some consolation measures to Western nationals living in the Kingdom.

Prince MBS has stepped up his opposition to freedom of expression, arresting and jailing many critics. Some have paid the heavy price with their lives, like the US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi who was extrajudicially killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Many members of the ruling family were also arrested and imprisoned. They could only be released after paying the state some huge amounts of money, which authorities claimed was payback for alleged corrupt practices. In the past, substantial freedom of expression was allowed, especially on issues of check and balance.

Brazenly, Saudi Arabia has recently signed a 10-year professional wrestling contest show with an American World Wrestling Entertainment Company (WWE). So today, you can go to a stadium in either Jeddah or Riyadh and watch wrestling contests; Royal Rumble, Super Showdown, etc., are a daily occurrence as is seen in Texas, New York, and other cities in America.

Moreover, Hajj has been suspended since last year. The first time a Hajj was suspended since the creation of the Saudi Kingdom in 1932. Many Muslims criticise the move after watching the mammoth crowd that graced the 2020 Euro final played this month (July) at Wembley stadium. Over 60,000 spectators watched the final. Prior to kickup, thousands of Italian and English fans were shown walking en route to Wembley, overlooking the so-called Covid-19 protocols. If Europe, the epicentre of the coronavirus, could gather such huge crowds, they asked, why the international Muslim community could not be allowed to go to Hajj?

As Prince Mohammed bn Salman consolidates power and his father gets older, only time will tell for how long and which of the two contrasting values will win the battle in Saudi Arabia’s mainly Sunni, conservative community.