Opinion

By AF Sessay

The data you don’t talk about comes back to haunt you!  And when it does come, it comes violently. Many years of corruption, nepotism and neglect of the basic rights of citizens quickly metamorphose into all forms of crime. While government inaction is not and cannot always be the cause of citizen-on-citizen crime, yet research suggesting the correlation between corruption in public places and crimes on the streets should not be taken with a pinch of salt.  

This is also true for the failings in high places and the ugly effect this has on battlefields. Because beyond artillery and manpower, there is a great need for strategy, intelligence, consistent supply of food, effective and top-notch communication and above all, sincerity of purpose. Unfortunately, in the situation where the cankerworms of embezzlement latch and sucks blood out of any of these in the security value, the figurative blood usually becomes pools of real blood. So, when it lingers, question the data. Who does what, and where are the numbers to say they are really doing it? 

Nigeria currently stands on a tripod of corruption, injustice and hope (no matter the percentage of that hope). 

Corruption keeps the corrupt healthy and well-nourished to perpetrate more acts of corruption with hands, heads, tongues and minds.

Injustice keeps the people blind to the truth. It is an essential spear in the hands of many African leaders and former leaders to strike and blind the advocates for truth, make deaf the masses, and cripple the nation.

As for Hope, it is always a ‘good’ magic wand, or opium, or weapon (depending on who is defining it) to mobilize the people for elections, discourage them from revolting and contain them till the next election.

On top of this tripod rotates the head of change. In every season, every decade, every century, there is always one head dressed with a different colour to match the epoch and circumstance. The change of this era is the change from a corruption-ridden nation to a corruption-free state.

Now, how many people are not corrupt so that they can serve as models of integrity for the corrupt? It seems this is a difficult question; let’s turn it the other way round. How many people are corrupt and ready to serve as models of corruption to others? The statistics here are too terrifying to betray the calculus of any optimist on the future of Nigeria and the African continent.

While the masses shy away from their responsibility to come out and spearhead this journey to a reformed Nigeria, the corrupt are on the other side of the divide, ever determined to embolden their fingerprint on the face of civilization! No wonder they get most of the honours, most of the honorary degrees, most of the titles, most of the praises, most youths ready to die for the “good cause”, most of the best universities for their children…

Are you surprised? Why should they not be determined and willing to sacrifice their wealth and might to fight for the continuation of corruption? See! Listen! They were born in it, bred and nourished in it, educated in it, employed in it, voted in it and possibly wish to die in it.

They are not scared of sitting on the corpses of millions of their brothers if that is the only throne they can find to sustain their Kingdom of Corruption. They are very okay with the fact that the millions awaiting their grave permit languish and die in scarcity, adversity, poverty, obscurity – you name it. This is nothing compared to losing a single day in their lives to integrity and probity.

They will fight, hire the best lawyers, get the cruellest thugs, sponsor many false reports to raise public ire and angst against the people who seek to “unjustly” drive them from their ‘paradise.’ They will make many human sacrifices. They will even invent new smart devices of iniquity. Don’t underestimate their ingenuity when it comes to protecting corruption. Never underestimate them.

Alas, how long will they fight before they run out of vim? How long will they endure against the harsh winds of change? How long will they live to eat the billions they have amassed over seasons and seasons of rot, corruption and cruelty in this farmland of the world. How long will they procure mass graves for hundreds of citizens so as to exercise their will to power? They call our youths to their graves while their duplexes and children and girlfriends enjoy the loots of Nigeria in Dubai and London.

They will fight, but the people will also fight back. And as far as I know, no Empire or force or fight is powerful enough to stop the might of the people when they are determined for reform.

Do you want to join this fight? In which army will you prefer to fight? If you must join the side of those who want reform in the polity, then you must do so while you are well armed with patience and firm belief in God then the leader’s ability to bring change. Don’t be carried away by the plots and ploys of the corrupt. Correct when mistakes are made, tell the truth where and when needed, be just and bold in your assessment but never be a recruit (though subconsciously) in the army of the corrupt!

AF Sessay writes from Lagos. He can be reached via amarasesay.amir@gmail.com.

By Rabiu Muhammad Gama

Introduction

Have you ever wondered why Americans go on vacation while Brits go on holiday? I am sure you have. Or haven’t you ever heard that American kids like candy while British kids are crazy about sweets? Our Law of Contract lecturer, who was so lucky to do his PhD in England, once told us how nice his flat was when he was in England. On the other hand, one of our learned professors, who was privileged to have some training from Harvard Law School, lamented that he suffered before he could afford an apartment during his stay in the US. Curious?  Well, I can’t actually blame you for that. I think all these go to show us how beautiful the English language is.

British and American English

That famous Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw, once said, “the United States and the United Kingdom are two countries divided by a common language.” That was Shaw. And he wasn’t entirely wrong.

There are many varieties of English today: American English, British English, Australian English, Canadian English, Caribbean English, to mention but a few. However, for some historical and accidental factors, American and British Englishes are the most widely used across the globe today. These two Englishes,  I am confident you may be aware of, are not always the same. However, they are not very different either. As far as this article is concerned, American English is that variety of the English language widely written and spoken in the United States and some parts of Canada. While British English, just as the name hints, is the standard dialect of the English language spoken and written in the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).

The most noticeable areas where British and American Englishes differ are vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and, though very rarely, idiomatic expressions. Forget about pronunciation; it does not count – as far as Standard English is concerned, pronunciation is not an accurate barometer for measuring “good English”. Ask around if you doubt me.

Vocabulary

This is arguably the most significant area where the two Englishes differ. Americans don’t say lifter; they say elevator. It’s the Britons that call it lifter. Had Leonel Messi moved to Manchester City rather than Paris Saint-Germain, he would have been playing football by now. But, if he were to move to any football team in the US, say, the indomitable Seattle Sounders or the New York City FC, he would be playing soccer. Donald Trump, the most confused American president in recent history, is crazy about expensive automobiles. It may shock you to hear that the current Prime Minister of England, Boris Johnson, doesn’t know how to drive a car! If you go to the US, you will need an airplane to commute from Orlando to Las Vegas (the Sin City) because the cities are very far from each other. Go to the UK afterwards; you won’t need an aeroplane to move from Liverpool to Manchester – the two cities are only a stone’s throw from each other.

Spelling

There are many spelling differences between American and British English. Words like color, labor and honor are found only in American English. In England, they would write these words as colour, labour and honour, respectively. In words like these, where the Americans use an “o”, the Britons would use “ou”. Where an American would ask you if you know any good theater, a Briton would ask you if you know any good theatre, “er” in American English changes to “re” in British English. The Britons organise programmes, but the Americans only organize programs. I am sure you got this last point, too, don’t you?

Grammar

In addition to spelling and vocabulary, there are specific grammar differences between British and American English. For instance, collective nouns are considered singular in American English, while they’re mostly treated as plural in British English. For example,  where an American would tell you that “his family is large”, a Briton would, most likely, tell you that “his family are large.” The Americans always take a shower, while the Britons mostly have a shower. The word “gotten”, the past particle of “get”, is now dead and buried in British English. Surprisingly enough, the word is still alive and kicking in American English.

On a final note, American English is the child of British English. Nonetheless, the former is the most widely written and spoken English today, thanks to America’s technology and robust economy. So, don’t be shocked whenever you read that the Brits actually introduced the language to the Americans because it’s true. Anyway, it is not uncommon to see a child that overshadows his dad. It’s, however, very unusual, perhaps unprecedented, to see a child reporting his mom to an anti-graft agency!

Rabiu Muhammad Gama is a level 300 Law student and  English Enthusiast. He can be reached on rabiuminuwa327@gmail.com or 09061912994.

By Garba Sidi

Attitudes are fundamental to understanding social perceptions because they strongly influence our perception of people we meet, the people we live with, the groups we join or avoid, and colleagues in our various communities. In addition, attitudes are essential in organising information about other people. Thus, as we interact with different individuals, objects or situations from time to time and in different environments, we tend to form specific attitudes just as others form attitudes about us.

As psychologists said, our attitudes are formed firstly from family, society and schools. These three places are where children shape their attitudes, either negative or positive. Children will not pass without family, so that means the family is the first chain for shaping a child’s attitude. Whatever role the family play is how their children will grow and develop cognitively.

Family combine parents, sisters and brothers in nuclear family and grandfather, grandmother and uncles are included in the extended family. Each one of those members has a role to play in shaping a child attitude positively and negatively. Family is like a tree; any branch and leaf have a role in contributing to the survival of that tree. Failure of one branch or leaf will cause damage to the entire tree. That’s how the wrong role of one member will cause an unwanted attitude to the children of that family.

Sadly, nowadays family ignore their responsibility and substitute it with hatred, showing concerns to only biological sons and daughters. Even some parents leave their sons and daughters to live like sheep without shepherds. This careless behaviour that emerges today is hazardous, and it’s the central foundation of the problems we indulged in today.

Unfortunately, frustration is what leads the majority of children to form all these kinds of undesirable attitudes. Some children find themselves in a family full of challenges like hatred toward the mother by one’s stepmother, father not taking responsibility for his children, etc.

All these will lead a child to form unwanted behaviour after indulged in frustration. No doubt, our society is ravaged by kidnappers, sexual immorality, drunkenness and armed robbery. Children lack a sense of duty with lofty aspirations of becoming rich overnight to fulfil their needs. They engage in cultism and occultism, a fastest ritual way of getting rich and are subjected to unbearable pains and suffering.

May Allah save us, amin.

Garba Sidi can be reached at sidihadejia@yahoo.com.

By Ishaka Mohammed

Dear Professor Ibrahim Dantani Wushishi, we are aware that you have reached the pinnacle of your career as a Nigerian academic. That means you must have directly interacted with an overwhelming number of Nigerian students. We also know that you specialise in education. Therefore, you should know better than many of us the pros and cons of educational policies.

As the current registrar of the National Examinations Council (NECO), you think that the Federal Government of Nigeria should consider removing credit passes in English language and mathematics as criteria for admission to Nigeria’s higher institutions. This is further proof that you know Nigerian students and how difficult it is to pass these subjects in their Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE).

Similar to your suggestion, the current registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Is-haq Oloyede, once advocated that a credit grade be removed as an admission criterion for the arts and humanities in polytechnics and colleges of education. I subscribe to his submission.

However, considering the status of the English language in the 21st century and the fact that it’s our official language, I think it’s costly to abolish a credit grade in the subject (English language) as a criterion for admission into our tertiary institutions.

It’s glaring that despite the presence of this criterion which forces many of us to learn the language, we’re far from attaining true proficiency.

Prof., if you seek a paragon of “nobody is perfect”, just pay attention to how we (Nigerians) use the English language, starting from this write-up. Even the highly educated are prone to uttering or writing wrong English expressions. Concerning this claim, many people argue that no one is above mistakes, but I say that mistakes aren’t the same as errors. When one’s use of a wrong expression results from one’s unawareness of the correct pattern, that’s an error.

Sir, I think a few examples will suffice. Many Nigerian graduates wish to further their studies abroad, specifically in the United States and the United Kingdom, but their proficiency level hinders them in the English language. Each of the two main internationally recognised English language proficiency tests is difficult for most Nigerians to pass. Those who have sat for the tests or accessed their past questions can attest to my claim. Even an excellent Nigerian graduate needs intensive coaching to pass the Test Of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing Systems (IELTS).

Prof., if making English errors were a criminal offence, we would be in jail. But, of course, that’s if judges aren’t guilty as well.

Sir, it’s a known fact that exposure to news media content boosts one’s language proficiency. Although the reverse isn’t totally the case in our country, consumers of Nigerian media content had better be wary of heavily relying on their (the media’s) expressions. Other authorities, including dictionaries, should be consulted as frequently as possible.

Let me buttress the above point. Since 1961, the Nigerian Guild of Editors has been a network of experienced journalists who have attained editors’ positions in their respective organisations. Ordinarily, one would assume that every member of the network possesses an unquestionable mastery of the English language. But, no, this isn’t the case. Some of the past presidents of the guild have repeatedly published wrong English expressions not as mistakes but as errors. One of such expressions is “Buhari felicitates with”. I’m sure the president has media aides, two of whom have presided over the affairs of the Nigerian Guild of Editors in the past.

In a similar vein, many of the federal ministry of education documents aren’t free of English errors, neither are those from our schools.

The above instances speak volumes about our deficiency in our lingua franca. Being aware of this situation, isn’t it advisable that we adopt measures to encourage us to learn the English language? Will it then be wise to abolish existing measures? 

I believe in the saying that where there’s a will, there’s a way. Our determination to secure admission to tertiary institutions makes us learn English more than we would ordinarily do. The more we practise, the better we’re highly likely to become. Frequency and expertise have a significant relationship.

Therefore, Prof., let’s maintain a credit grade in English as a criterion for admission to our higher institutions.

Ishaka Mohammed writes from Kaduna. He can be reached via ishakamohammed39@gmail.com.

By Ahmad Ganga

The recent executive order signed by Katsina State Government (KTSG) is filled with grammatical and typographical errors that critics can never overlook, even though English is not the problem. Instead, the problem lies in constituting members of the executive council tasked with governance delivery. Virtually, almost every politician in the North despises having competent people within their domain who can question their decision and ask for clarification for every policy made. That’s why lowbrows make a list of cabinet members: SAs, EAs, PAs, Secs, etc.

Being His Excellency, Governor of Katsina State, a former Speaker House of Representatives and an experienced administrator, the errors wouldn’t have happened —if the politicians in this State didn’t present their puppeteers while constituting cabinet. Competency and skills should be a yardstick in the process, instead of connection. The Executive Governor is not alone in this. Secretary to State Government, Dr Mustapha Inuwa, was in academia for long before he set his feet into politics. Tell me why critics would not descend on KTSG for committing such public opprobrium?!

Let me tell you a story. When the news of my Principal’s house stormed media, I came across a post he made himself wherein he showcased the house on the internet. I asked him why he did it, and he told me that his guard said to him that some people, assumed to be journalists, came snapping the house and asking people about the person of Honourable Member who’s President Buhari’s nephew. So, instead of letting the journalists break the news and twist it the way it suits them, he broke the news himself. 

Let me go back to the initial topic. Suppose the elected and appointed officials gave room for competency, like asking for inputs from their aides and secretaries on every policy before releasing them to the public. In that case, they could avoid such errors. As I say in the headline, English is not the problem. Every one of the elected and appointed politicians is looking for someone who always says YES to whatever.

Considering the consequences that followed this executive order, I suggest that His Excellency give room for competency to reign in his cabinet to control the damage done so far since he was sworn in as the Executive Governor of Katsina State.

Ahmad Ganga can be contacted via ahmadganga66@gmail.com.

By Abubakar Isah Baba

The misrepresentation of northern Nigeria ranges from distorting and falsifying reality, profiling, underreporting, and not reporting about the region by media outlets owned and controlled by others. Apparent and alarming as this is, it has been going on for a long time. This requires no evidence or justification; it is a growing trend, especially when the country propagates alienation over harmony. But who cares? Even those who have the responsibility to do so are busily aggrandising their powers.

But how long it will take the sick region to learn from this great proverb: Until the lion has a historian, the story of the hunt will always favour the hunter. The North was painted black with negative phrases, tales of violence, poverty, unemployment, irresponsible marriages, out-of-school children and whatnot as if there were no other positive realities.

John Campbell attests to the above mischaracterisation in his book, Nigeria: Dancing on the Brink, that “The Nigerian media, mostly headquartered in the Southern part of the country, is routinely insensitive and simplistic in its reportage about Northern Nigeria. And it is the Nigerian media that colors the too-often superficial Western view of the North.” This has a significant effect on the economic decline in the North as no investor will invest in the region that is dangerous, volatile and unpromising.

Apart from the traditional cores of mass communication, which include informing, educating, and entertaining, it is also used for propaganda to gain support or sympathy from the public or authority. EndSARS saga is an indicator of the power of propaganda, for it taught the north a lesson that “Dokin mai baki ya fi gudu” – the South has a much louder voice. Please don’t confuse my lamenting with Afghanistanism (a term used in journalism to describe journalists who shun the problem of their community but go extra-mile in condemning others), far from it. I suggest North should define itself and tell its version of the story; represent itself properly as bias in the news is often backgrounded. Others could not define us nor report us properly. 

Traditional rulers, political leaders, scholars, and concerned people in Northern Nigeria should speedily and strategically address this problem of bad press and misrepresentation of the North through investing in the media and utilising it for the good of their people. With Daily Nigerian, Sahelian Times, Nigerian Tracker and recently The Daily Reality (TDR), we need to see more outlets so we can ship our information without thinking about sinking. Recently, TDR’s publications have changed the North’s fate. Remember CBN and the reopening of the NIRSAL site, Netflix and the Kannywood, etc.

Abubakar Isah Baba writes from Kano. He can be reached via abubakarisahbaba01@gmail.com.

By Abdelghaffar Amoka Abdelmalik 

We (Nigerians) are a very interesting set of people. God truly took his time to specially create us. In most cases, we look at issues with emotions and live by the moment. For every discussion, especially if it’s on a controversial issue, we choose the side to support based on the personality involved and our loyalty at that moment. We pose to know everything and as online expert commentators on all issues.

A widely publicized questionable promotion by a Nigerian university was observed a few days back that created heated discussions where individuals that have got no idea on how universities work and can’t differentiate between Assistant Professor and Associate Professor were trying hard to defend the questionable act by the university. Some attempted to give a religious colouration because an Islamic Scholar is involved. A popular online public commentator was so sure that the promotion to the rank of what he called a “full professor” has no specific criteria. That, universities can confer professorship to anyone they so wish. Really? By the way, there is no rank called “full-professor” in any Nigerian university.

Let me share my opinion having spent the last 16 years in academia on tenure appointment at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria. 5 of these years were spent in Europe; 2 years as a Postdoc at NTNU Trondheim, and 3 years for PhD/Part-time teaching assistant at Leicester. While I was at Leicester for graduation in July 2012, my second PhD supervisor hosted me in his house at Market Harborough. During our conversation, I asked him about the criteria to get the position of a Lecturer at Leicester and other universities in the UK and he said PhD with 5 journal articles in reputable journals. I asked about Professors and he smiled and responded that it is about how much money your innovative ideas can bring to the university. Professors are the lifeline of the universities in the UK as they are relied upon to attract grants/funds to the university. He added that you can be just Lecturer or Senior Lecturer till retirement if you can’t attract enough grants to earn a promotion.

Dear Nigerians, Professorial rank is not an honorary rank. Not in the British university system and not in any university in Nigeria. There are criteria to get to the rank. Search online, and you will find the promotion criteria/guidelines for several universities around the world. There is a strict guideline for promotion to the rank of Professor or any other rank in all the universities around the world. For Nigeria, I find the university of Ilorin promotion guidelines very interesting. It is a progressive and result-oriented promotion guideline. The guideline if implemented judiciously will place the university in a scholarly database visible to the world of research. I am hoping that other universities in Nigeria will adopt something similar.

For some universities in Nigeria, to be qualified to be promoted to the rank of Professor, you must have published a minimum of 15 journal articles in “non-predatory” journals, have 7 conference proceeding/conference papers, be involved in community service, have supervised at least 2 PhD students, involved in teaching and research for at least 3 years after the last promotion to the rank of Reader (Associate Professor), etc.

Meanwhile, before you get to that highest university rank, a fresh PhD with 3 journal publications and 2 conference papers may be employed as Lecturer II or Lecturer I. You are expected to teach for the next 3 years, research within that year and publish a total of 6 journal papers and 4 conference proceedings/papers to be promoted to the rank Senior Lecturer.

As Senior Lecturer, you are expected to be involved in postgraduate and undergraduate teaching and supervision for 3 years, supervise at least 1 PhD student, published a total of 10 journal papers and 5 conference proceedings/papers, engage in community service to be qualified for a promotion to the rank of a Reader (Associate Professor). And from there to the rank of Professor after satisfying the minimum condition stated above.

Every Nigerian public university is established with an Act of the National Assembly. They are independent of each other. They have their respective Governing Councils that steer their activities. Some academics rise faster by moving from one university to another. But for you to move from one university to another, you must secure a fresh appointment at the university you want to move to. You can then transfer your service from the old to the new public university in Nigeria. That is how it works.

The point to note is that a university cannot offer a promotion to an academic in another university. A non-faculty member and without employment history cannot be offered a promotion in any university except NUC has approved a rank called “Honorary Professor” for politicians.

Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (aka Sheikh Pantami) was a lecturer at ATBU Bauchi from 2004 to January 2014 according to his ResearchGate profile. He proceeded on study leave in 2010 to Robert Gordon University, Scotland for his PhD. Immediately after his PhD in January 2014, he got an appointment as an Assistant Professor at the Islamic University of Medina. Some said his rank at the Saudi University was Associate Professor. But I doubt if any serious university will employ a fresh PhD as Associate Professor. He spent 2 years 7 months at the Saudi university before he terminated his contract to pick up the political appointment at NITDA in 2016. 

Meanwhile, it is not certain if he absconded from ATBU to pick up the Saudi job or ATBU has no bond for their PhD scholars that went on study fellowship. He left Saudi Arabia to pick up the appointment with the government in 2016. He has worked as DG and is now a minister for the past 5 years. He seems to have no link with any university over the last 5 years and specifically no employment history with FUTO. But only to see the advertorial from Zamfara state governor on a national daily congratulating the Sheikh for his promotion to the rank of “Full Professor” in 2021 by the Council or Senate of the University. He was said to have published 160 papers. Papers that could not be found on the database of scholarly articles.

The advertorial raised questions and discussions started. From his history in academia, he seems not to possess the requirement for the said new rank. He is not involved in teaching and research for the last 5 years. Meanwhile, as a Minister of the Federal Republic, he can’t even take up another Federal government job except he resigns. If FUTO actually needed him for whatever reason, they could have hired him as a Visiting Professor, which is a part-time job and it is allowed. They can then offer him the position of Professor when he is done with his political appointment as long as he is willing to live, teach, do research, and supervise postgraduate students at FUTO. 

During the discussion, some irrelevant points were raised. It is to note that during the time of Aristotle, Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, and up till Wole Soyinka’s period, you can be a Professor without a PhD. But that is not the case now. For now, you can’t be a Professor (aside Medical Consultants) without a PhD. There is an ongoing discussion on the need for Medical Consultants to have a PhD to become Professors. People are quick to mention Dr Bala Usman even though he was not relevant in the discussion. The highly respected critic was qualified to be a Professor but chose not to be a Professor for personal reasons. 

Yes, we have issues of irregularities in the appointment and promotion in some of our universities and we hope that the Governing Councils of the respective universities can put an end to that someday as we work towards regaining the lost glory. But this questionable promotion at FUTO of a PhD with 2 years 7 months post-PhD teaching and research experience and 3 visible materials on Scopus and without employment history in the university, seems to be part of such irregularities.

Dear University managers, we have a responsibility to protect the university system and the ranks which are reserved for only those in the university that have worked for it and merited it in accordance with the university guidelines. We should not let it go the way of honorary degrees that are allegedly being purchased by politicians that are hungry for titles. 
ASUU has over the years worked very hard for the Autonomy of the universities, especially the federal universities, to shield them from political interference that is crippling the university system in Nigeria. We are still struggling with the principle of university autonomy even with the existence of the Autonomy Act. Let’s not give room for the interference to take new dimensions. We all need to rise against the irregular appointment and promotions like this so that it will not become a norm like honorary doctorate that is allegedly sold to politicians.

Dear Sheikh Pantami, you are a highly respected Islamic Scholar that I want to believe is not looking for titles. Titles can’t add value to your personality and what you stand for. It has no value for the hereafter. You have recorded notable achievements as a Cleric and as DG of NITDA and the Minister of Communications. It is obvious you have a love for academics. Just be patient and finish your assignment as the Minister. You can then join us in Bauchi or Owerri to mentor the next generation of cyber security experts, and you will rise to become a highly decorated Professor.

Dear Executive Secretary of NUC, I hope you will read this piece and take appropriate action to protect the little integrity left in our universities.

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

By Ahmadu Shehu, PhD

Since The Daily Reality has become the darling medium through which northern elites are called to task, I would instruct them to extend a short message to President Muhammad Buhari this weekend. Although Nigerians are used to the deafening silence of this administration to most of our perils and concerns, the president needs to be reminded of a few disturbing, foreseeable facts.

Let me first state that the people of this country, especially his brothers and sisters in the north, can’t wait to see the end of his rule. His ethnic group, the Hausa-Fulani, have carried his cross for too long. For over a decade, they gave their lives, wealth and resources for his candidature, and for seven years, they bore the blames, stereotypes and animosities for his presidency. What is their gain? An avoidable but seemingly inevitable genocide. If the president does not know, I will tell him that the people of this region are tired! They are no longer looking for what he can do for or to them. They are only anxious to survive the remaining days.   

I want the president to observe a few things. First, all Nigerian leaders lucky to have left the Villa alive went back to their hometowns after their tenures. For instance, Shehu Shagari, who was overthrown by then General Muhammadu Buhari, moved permanently to Shagari, securing a serene, fruitful life after that. While in retirement, Shagari remained relevant and served in various traditional positions within the Sokoto Caliphate. His love for his people, his engagements with his roots throughout his career, his pride in his people and culture and constant, persistent and proud leaning to his region endeared people to him even after his tenure. That love held him physically and psychologically intact, made him relevant and happy all through his old age.  

General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, who succeeded Gen. Buhari, retired to Minna, his birthplace from where he and his wife established great organizations that engendered socio-economic development. As a result, Babangida’s home became a centre of excellence in Minna metropolis, and people trooped to his doors for all kinds of support and favours.

General Abdussalami Abubakar became the Head of State after the death in office of Gen. Sani Abacha. Abdussalam followed the footsteps of his predecessors and retired in Minna, his hometown. This was possible for the two Generals only because of their good to their people and region. To date, Niger and indeed the North-Central are thankful for their service as Heads of State. They gained relevance and recorded developmental strides hitherto impossible without the emergence of their worthy sons.   

Then came Olusegun Obasanjo, who returned to power for the second time. After eight years in office, Obasanjo moved to Otta – not even Akure – to start a new life as a statesman. While Yar’adua died in office, his successor, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, immediately vacated Asorock for Otuoke, his birth village and assumed his gentle duty as the breadwinner of his people and region. Jonathan has was devilishly maligned as the enemy of the north, the clueless president of the country. But he ensured that the Niger Delta amnesty program succeeded, for he was conscious of life after office in the creeks. He, therefore, begot for himself and his people a place to live in peace. 

Here at home, the breadwinner of Adamawa state, former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, ensured that the state’s economic strength is sustained. He established institutions, provided hundreds of thousands of employments, empowered businesses and established banks for entrepreneurs and start-ups. Atiku Abubakar built his retirement home in Jada and moved his business headquarters to the state. He ensured that human development services, such as education, healthcare, media and IT industries only obtainable in the cultural West are brought home to the doorsteps of his compatriots. Thus, he was able to stay at home and proceed with his political career gracefully.  

But with all the situations in the northwest, especially Katsina – his home state – and Kaduna – his preferred haven, where does President Buhari intend to retire and spend the rest of his life? For one, at 80, Buhari will be the oldest Nigerian president to leave office and probably the sickest at that weak point of human life. That is the moment he needs people the most and will undoubtedly go through the most painful retrospections of his administration’s actions and inactions. Then, he would face realities – poverty, inhumanity, misery, deprivation, etc. – that have become the norm on Nigerian streets. At that point, Buhari would need Nigerians, and Nigerians would not need him for anything.

The excoriating economic disaster in Buhari’s northwestern region today has not been seen in a long time. Thousands of people are homeless, hopeless and desperate for food and shelter. In Daura, for instance, hundreds of thousands of youth are unemployed. At the same time, his close relatives and families have bought over most farms and grazing lands around the emirate, extending the wicked hands of poverty to more people than ever. As it stands, hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing this region for safety, as kidnapping and banditry have overtaken citizens’ daily lives. Worse still, the president’s disposition and sheer lack of concern on anything “north” make it impossible for him to enjoy his cult-like mob that kept his military retirement years afloat.

Sadly, there is no going to be Buhari the messiah, Buhari Maigaskiya or Buhari jagoran talakawa. There will be only one Buhari in the world: the one who became president and failed to help his people. The one that has disappointed his most loyal supporters; the messiah that couldn’t save his people from hunger, deprivation and poverty. The Buhari who oversaw the worst economic period of his country. That Maigaskiya supervised the most criminal and cruellest regimes of corruption. The one that promised heaven but gave hell. How life looks for someone at that age in this condition will be very interesting to see.

Dr Ahmadu Shehu is a nomad cum herdsman, an Assistant Professor at the American University of Nigeria, Yola, and is passionate about the Nigerian project. You can reach him at ahmadsheehu@yahoo.com.

By Ibrahiym A. El-Caleel

Saner climes aren’t saner climes for nothing. They seem to have broader perspectives on life. They acknowledge success wherever it is and not getting unnecessarily fixated on just one thing. 

In Nigeria and several African countries, academic qualifications and honorary titles are seen as the only testimonial to weigh your level of intellect, level of exposure, degree of societal awareness and overall social image. So, if you want to be seen as a “rare gem” and the next human being to have sense since Plato, then you must accumulate as many academic qualifications as possible and have titles. 

Several people laughed at my comment elsewhere on Africans and their love for titles. I reminded us that the official name of the former Gambian President was, His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Abdul-Aziz Awal Jemus Junkung Jammeh Naasiru Deen Babili Mansa. You may please count the number of titles there. If you are a meticulous fellow like the academics, you would want to follow each of these titles to see how Yahya Jammeh got them. In most of the titles, you’ll see that they are either honorary or just self-assigned. 

The truth is, you don’t need all those titles before you can become an effective President. At the same time, across saner climes, America’s President was simply “Barack Obama”; UK’s Prime Minister was simply “Theresa May”; Turkish Prime Minister was simply “Recep Erdogan”. Yet all these countries were doing far better than the country whose president accumulated more titles than his name. 

Do not get me wrong. If you have titles, please feel free to assemble them before your name at birth. It is said that titles are adornments. If you have terms, flaunt them to everyone’s eyes! If you don’t have them, work hard to get them and then exhibit them. But do not get so obsessed with titles and attach them to your name; then, when it is time for verification, it will seem as if people are just envious of you or hate you. People want to verify things that aren’t so clear to them. It is in the spirit of filtering contents before they go into history. The unborn generation deserves to read truthful content. We owe them that. 

With all this Dr Pantami’s issue going on, I continuously kept visiting his official Facebook page to see what he might have to say. But, unfortunately, there was nothing there to read on the issue. 

As an academic, professorial chair is the pinnacle of your career. How would someone attain such great success and not be overwhelmed with joy to the extent of announcing it to us, his lovers and admirers? Isn’t such a promotion what we should celebrate with our loved one? Don’t we deserve to be let aware from the horse’s mouth? Do we deserve to be let in the hands of “envious academics” and polemicists who churn out narratives and counter-narratives as the clock ticks? 

I think lovers and fans deserve better treatment. With the level of energy dissipated, silence is not golden. The silence is graduating to the approval of the professorial appointment or promotion or whatnot. 

On the one hand, if the professorial appointment is genuine and legit, Dr Isa Pantami will only clarify the inconsistencies on his number of peer-reviewed papers and the number of years spent in active service. Whatever it is that the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) used as a legit fulcrum to promote him, that is just what he will explain, and the world will have to live with it. 

On the other hand, if the promotion is just the sensationalism of overzealous fans, then Dr Isa Pantami only needs to clarify so to ask the public to disregard it. Because his silence would imply an integrity defect which is bad for his image first as a reputable Islamic scholar and second, as a distinguished compatriot of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 

Ibrahiym A. El-Caleel writes from Zaria and can be reached via caleel2009@gmail.com.

By Salisu Yusuf

Saturday, September 11, 2021, marks exactly 20 years since the attack on the USA allegedly by a group of Arab Muslims. Forget about conspiracy theories; the 9/11 attack will continue to raise unanswered questions on America’s foreign policy on Muslims and their countries. Issuance of visas and visa bans on some Muslim countries, America’s Green Card, former President Bush’s ‘ you’re with them or with us’ rhetoric reminiscent of the holy war are all glaring issues of stigmatizing of Muslim community for a supposed fault of a few. 

The bizarre and mob driven death of former Libyan leader, Muammar Ghaddafi in 2011, Saddam Hussein’s decapitation while being hanged in 2006, America’s attitude towards the deposition of democratic Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the strange death of its leader, Mohammed Morsi, during his trial say a lot about Muslim countries in the eyes of America.

The above actions and inactions strip America naked of all her so-called democratic garments. Today, Libya is rocked, divided and destroyed. Yet, America folds her arms and watches as hundreds of people get killed daily. Setting up Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, where hundreds of allegedly Al-Qaida and Taliban fighters and sympathisers were held, tortured is the biggest of human rights abuse. Some were recently released after undergoing a series of traumatic experiences. They could neither be indicted nor tried for lack of evidence. Why were they captured and detained in the first place? Because they’re Muslims, so they should be stereotyped? 

America’s occupation of Afghanistan is the biggest mistake of all. Thousands of Afghans, Americans and other nationals are still being killed. Recently, Americans realised their mistake, the cost of the war, and Afghanistan’s ungovernable nature without the Taliban. Thus, they reached out to Qatar, called out a summit between former President Ghani and the Taliban. Earlier, they’d designated Taliban terrorists, then met with the terrorists and handed over Afghanistan to terrorists with a pact that the terrorists must not accommodate any foreign terror group!  

The 9/11 attack will continue to be a mystery. Khaled Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), a Kuwaiti national is under America’s custody for 20 years, yet, for 20 years, he could neither be indicted nor tried. An FBI agent called Pellegrino had pursued Khaled for over 3 DECADES in connection with terrorism before the 9/11 tragedy, yet, America couldn’t capture Khaled to avert the 9/11 attack! His lawyer (an American) recently told the BBC that it might take another 20 years to complete the longest trial in history.  

Moreover, Pellegrino, the man who had interrogated Khaled, who’s also to serve as a witness, delayed his retirement from the service by 3 years in the hope that Khaled’s MILITARY TRIAL trial at Guantanamo would be completed. 

The FBI also linked Khaled in connection with the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. In 1995, he was also linked to a plot to blow up multiple international airliners over the Pacific. The question is, are all these allegations mere suspicions and assumptions? If not, come open, try, convict and sentence him as murderers and killers are tried in American courts. According to the BBC, in 2003, Khaled was arrested in Pakistan because the FBI’s Pellegrino had reported him. He’s taken to ‘Black Site’ (is an obscure camp in Pakistan where criminals are tortured) using ‘enhanced interrogation technique.  

In Guantanamo and America, Khaled was waterboarded at least 183 times (BBC). Waterboarding is a torture technique where a wet rag is placed in the mouth, pouring water through the rag into the victim’s mouth. As a result, the victim would torturously feel like drowning in a sea. He and hundreds of other prisoners were also subjected to rectal rehydration (a technique where victims are fed through the anus). Other techniques used by the CIA on innocent Muslims include stress position (where a victim may be asked to stand on the ball of his feet for hours), sleep deprivation (where you’re denied sleep). 

Khaled’s MILITARY TRIAL that began in 2008 had 8 judges who presided over the case. The recent one is the 9th! Many of the judges resigned over abnormalities in the trial. A trial in New York wasn’t successful, nor were those in Guantanamo. The excuse is that Covid-19 compounded the trial. Poor Covid! Currently, there are over 35,000 pages of previous hearings and motions before the current judge starts presiding over the case. ” It’s the most controversial trial,” says the BBC.

Salisu Yusuf writes from Katsina. He can be reached via salisuyusuf111@gmail.com.