By Abubakar Suleiman

Many topics that have been generating rancour or heated arguments on Facebook or any other platform today have been discussed or debated exhaustively in the past. Lately, even if I have an opinion about a topic today, I do tarry a while before I write because I have this strong feeling that someone must have written virtually all the things I have in mind. This gives me the pleasure of saving myself the stress of writing; hence I mainly read opinions and sometimes laugh.

One such controversial topic raising dust today is the celebration of Mauludun Nabiyy (S.A.W). Some respected writers, ‘elders’ and creative minds took exceptions in discussing maulud and all it entails, particularly on social media. Maybe they find it counter-productive or think it won’t change anything because people will keep celebrating maulud and embracing anything that comes with it while others won’t celebrate it. Some would say regurgitating this topic or argument year in and year out is needless. I beg to disagree.

This logic or take, in my opinion, is flawed. The fact that some people will keep celebrating Maulud while others won’t should not make us shy away from discussing its legality, Islamically or otherwise, whenever the need arises. A replica of this kind of skewed opinion is Christians should not call Muslims to Christianity and vice-versa hence let’s just concentrate on politics and economy. Impliedly, da’wah is needless.

For sure, people will keep being Christians, Muslims, Atheists etc., and divisions in the understanding of religious diktats will continue till the end of time, but that shouldn’t hinder a sincere call or an honest critique of a creed, ideology or religion. It should also not stop us from enjoining people to do what we believe is good or the truth and forbid what we believe is bad or falsehood based on our understanding. I think discussions on religious matters, and even other matters, should be done with the utmost wisdom, refined words, and sincerity of purpose, and they should also be devoid of ad hominem.

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was reported to have said: “Whosoever of you sees an evil, let him change it with his hands; and if he is not able to do so then [let him change it] with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart – and that is the weakest of faith.” Yes, one should choose his audience wisely so as to avoid unnecessary ruckus, and one should know when, where and how to say the truth and even who to tell the truth. Thus, one must not force his/her ideology or creed down someone’s throat.

In his book, “Think Again,” Adam Grant espoused that “our opinions can become so sacred that we grow hostile to the mere thought of being wrong, and the totalitarian ego leaps in to silence counterarguments, squash contrary evidence, and close the door on learning.” In another place in the book, he informed us that, “wisdom is also recognizing that we are wrong more often than we’d like to admit, and the more we deny it, the deeper the hole we dig for ourselves.”

Therefore, we should be open to discussions around some ideologies we hold so dear and be willing to stomach an honest critique of these ideologies, especially when these discussions are premised on mutual respect, wisdom and verifiable evidence or facts. Overall, we learn more from these kinds of discussions and/or dispositions. But insulting or talking down on people with a contrary understanding of our ‘cherished ideology’ will only yield a fertile ground for extreme tendencies, and this will further push us away from objective truth.

Unlike political or economic views, you don’t just seek religious knowledge; you practise it and call people to it while you embrace patience in doing so. Consequently, it is not an effort in futility to engage people in such discussions. And what does one gain after discussing all the political or economic issues on earth and ending up in hell for going against a religious teaching rooted in Islamic primary sources of knowledge.

We seem to underestimate the power of information put out on social media platforms and the influence it carries. We have gullible people who join these platforms, and they could be lured into any kind of creed or sect. In fact, these days, more people get radicalised or lured into a sect through social media than the masjids. On these platforms, many people have had discussions with some people, and such has led those people to denounce or accept their religion, maulud etc. However, we can peacefully stay away from toxic discussions after putting out our understanding.

Therefore, it is not about proving to be more intelligent than anyone who holds a contrary religious view or trying to be the gatekeepers of heaven or hell. It goes beyond that. It is about discussing our differences for a good understanding of our religion. Let us simply embrace sincerity and decorum in our discussions while we stay away from toxic people who aren’t ready for honest and open discussions.

Interestingly, opinions or ideas could change due to contexts or circumstances. Over time, people learn from exposure, old age or new knowledge. We may find ourselves opposing some views or ideas we hold so dear today. Conversely, we may be less hostile to contrary views when we continue to seek knowledge or begin to rethink our stands on many issues in the future.

May Allah show us the truth and give us the conviction to embrace it, and may He also show falsehood and give us the courage to turn away from it.

Abubakar Suleiman writes from Kaduna and be reached via abusuleiman06@yahoo.com.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

A Nigerian lady, Aisha Abubakar Hassan, has emerged as the second-position winner in the just concluded sixth edition of the Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Holy Qur’an Competition for women in Dubai. 

Fifty countries participated in the competition that was held from the 1st to the 7th of October at the Dubai Culture and Science Society.

Aindati Sisi from Senegal came first, while Aisha Abubakar Hassan from Nigeria and Shima Anfal Tabani from Algeria took the second and third places, respectively.

According to the organisers, the participants were women Quran memorisers with mastery of tajweed. They also have to be under 25 years old. 

The first position-winner received 250,000 dirhams; the second got 200,000 dirhams, and the third 150000 dirhams. Other participants who performed brilliantly in the competition were also handsomely rewarded.  

The Dubai International Holy Qur’an Award, DIHQA, hosts and organises the event for women worldwide annually.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, disclosed that it has intercepted 2.4 million tramadol pills from Pakistan at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport in Lagos

NDLEA Spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, announced the seizure of the drug in a statement released on Sunday, October 9, 2022.

According to the spokesperson, the drugs were intercepted by the agency’s operatives at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport on Friday

He also said the drug weighs 2,356kg and the value is estimated to be 1.4 billion naira

“Desperate attempts by the tramadol drug cartel to smuggle into Nigeria over two million four hundred and sixty-five thousand (2, 465, 000) tablets of the pharmaceutical opioid in 225mg and 250mg, weighing two thousand, three hundred and fifty six kilograms (2,356kgs) with an estimated street value of one billion, forty million naira (N1, 040, 000, 000) through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos have been foiled by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA),” the statement reads.

The NDLEA Chairman, Buba Marwa, commended the officers for their great works and advised them to remain “steadfast, resolute and unrelenting until the last gram of illicit drugs is taken away from the streets of Nigeria”

By Musa Idris Panshekara

Dear Sir,

I am Musa Idris, an ex-student of Government Secondary School (GSS) Panshekara.

Mr Chairman, news has been spreading like wildfire all over the town that you are planning to sell some parts of GSS Panshekara or build staff quarters on the land.

Mr Chairman, this news became a nightmare not only to the ex-students or the students but to the entire people of Panshekara.

Mr Chairman, I want to let you know that the school bear its name “GSS Panshekara” because it is located there, under Kumbotso local government. The people benefitting from it are not limited to the people of Panshekara or Kumbotso local government. Still, the school accommodates some students from some parts of Madobi and Gwale LGAs.

Mr Chairman, with your plan of selling or building staff quarters in the land, do you know the school has two sections, one in the morning and the other in the evening, senior and junior classes, respectively? This is happening not for style but because of the insufficient classes to accommodate all the students contemporaneously.

Moreover, the school does not have a friendly and conducive learning atmosphere, despite the overpopulation of students per class. As old as the school is, it has no more than four classes with sufficient seats for the students, not to mention the worn-out ceilings and floors which even you, you can not rear your animals inside one of it. The problems are not limited to that – some classes were previously used but are no longer in use now due to the lack of funds for upkeeping them. Nonetheless, about eight incompleted classes have been without cemented floors for over a decade.

Mr Chairman, there are countless problems the school has: liable scientific laboratory, biological garden, etcetera.

Therefore, no one asks you (if so) to rehabilitate the school from your pocket but the local government treasury. If there is no sufficient amount in the local government treasury, you can refer it to the state government. If the state cannot grant, nobody forces you to intervene in rehabilitation.

Mr Chairman, selling this land for the rehabilitation of the school is inept and inappropriate; moreover, it is a lack of priority if you think of building staff quarters on the land. There are previous chairmen before you who left without glancing at the school. So you are not the first and will not be the last. If you could/would not give your contribution, you can leave the school as it is.

In conclusion, Mr Chairman, do not be deceived by all these people parading behind you like a queen bee. They are parasites who would only suck your blood and throw you away. They will not be with you when you leave your position or with you when you go to your grave.

Mr Chairman, I urge you not to consider yourself or people like you. Instead, please consider the vulnerable children of poor masses coming in the 20, 30, 40 years, whose parents can not afford to take their children to private schools.

Mr Chairman, remember that Boko Haram use weapons to kill students, and teachers and destroy schools brutally. So please, you should not use your office to destroy our mother school in the name of reviving the school.

Yours,

Musa Idris Panshekara

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Minister of Interior, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, said he would meet with the state governors to agree on the mass release of inmates in the country’s custodial centres.

The Minister said the meeting would lead to the mass release of about 30 per cent of inmates from custodial centres across the country.

Aregbesola made this known when he appeared on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.

The Daily Reality reckons that the reason of the mass release is unconnected with the conjection in most of the country’s costodial centers.

However, the minister said the interface was necessary as more than 90 percent of the inmates were being held for contravening state laws.

He said, “I have written to the Nigerian Governors Forum to allow me to come and address them on how they can support the process of decongestion.

“Because the governors must buy into this system for us to do a massive decongestion, especially of Awaiting Trial Inmates.

“If we get the buy-in of state judicial authorities and the government of the states, we can pull out 30 percent of those who are there,” he said.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Reports from Lagos indicate that the supporters of the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) roamed the state’s major roads and caused a gridlock. 

The supporters were said to have taken the streets as a solidarity rally for the candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. 

The former Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Musiliu Akinsanya, announced on Sunday. 

He said, “Many vehicles struggled to make their way as the crowd occupied a significant portion of the road.

The Daily Reality recalls that this is coming after the supporters of the Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, marched on various streets of Lagos last week.

However, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenged the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) for not having a valid presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections. 

The National Publicity Secretary, PDP, Debo Ologunagba, disclosed this on Saturday while addressing the party’s conference on Saturday. 

However, the challenge appeared to have been unfavourable and did not sit well with the APC and Tinubu supporters. 

Muhammad Sabi’u

Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has ordered the 20 local government council chairmen, as well as their assistants, councillors, and secretaries to resign.

This is contained in a statement signed by Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Mukhtar Gidado, in Bauchi on Saturday.

The development is in accordance with the Local Government System Establishment and Administration of LG Councils Law of Bauchi State, 2013 as amended. 

He said that on Tuesday, October 11, 2022 the affected officials had been instructed to turn over control of their offices to the heads of administration of their various councils while new elections would be held or caretaker committees would be formed.

The Local Government System Establishment and Administration of Local Government Councils Law of Bauchi State 2013, as modified, was cited by the governor’s aide as the legal basis for the action.

“His Excellency, the governor thanked the outgoing chairmen, deputy chairmen, councilors, and secretaries for the services rendered to the state and wished them success in their future endeavors,” the statement said.

By Uzair Adam Imam

A one-story building reportedly collapsed Friday in Kano and killed two siblings aged 15 and 11, while the eldest of them, aged 17, was rescued alive.

A statement sturdy by the Kano State Fire Service spokesman, Saminu Abdullahi, disclosed this on Saturday.

The statement stated that the house was located in the state’s Kofar Mata Hauren Gadagi area.

It reads, “At approximately 10:50 p.m., we received a distress call from one Jamilu Salisu-Zango stating that the 50 feet x 40 feet structure used as a dwelling house had collapsed from the top floor.”

“We dispatched a rescue team to the scene, and the three siblings were extracted from the rubble.”

Abdullahi said that two of them were unconscious and had been rushed to the Murtala Muhammad Special Hospital for medical attention.

He added that doctors, as immediately as they arrived, confirmed the deaths of two of the siblings.

According to him, their corpses were turned over to police at Kofar Wambai Police Station for further investigation.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenged the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) for not having a valid presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections.

The National Publicity Secretary, PDP, Debo Ologunagba, disclosed this on Saturday while addressing the party’s conference on Saturday.

He stated that the ruling has nothing to offer and should go home and face the “issues of inconsistencies in his educational qualifications, name, ancestry, age as well as corruption allegations.”

Ologunagba added that the nullification of the candidacy of Osun State governors Gboyega Oyetola, confirmed the stand of the party that the executives and candidates put together by Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe, were illegal.

The Daily Reality recalls that a Federal High Court in Abuja invalidated the nomination of Governor Isiaka Oyetola and his Deputy, Benedict Alabi, as APC candidates in the Osun State governorship election.

Olgunagba stated that the judgment by the Federal High Coury invalidated the decision made by Buni, including supervising the election that produced the Abdullahi Adamu APC leadership and by extension, the primaries that produced Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

By Uzair Adam claim

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) accused the Federal Government of masterminding insecurity in the southeastern part of the country.

A statement by the group’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, disclosed this on Saturday.

The statement said the federal government aimed to cause fear and accuse the group members of such plans.

It added that the group has no intention to disrupt the election in Igbo-land come 2023 general elections.

It also disclosed that the circulating claim that the group planned to disrupt the 2023 general election was false.

However, in a recent video that went viral on social media, Mr. Simon Ekpa, said the group would not let any election to hold in Biafraland.

He said in the video, “The IPOB leadership has for umpteenth time stated unequivocally that part of our modus operandi in our agitation for freedom has never been, is not and will not be violent agitation.

“This explains our consistent demand for the United Nations (UN) to organize a referendum in the Biafran territory for the Biafran people to determine their destiny. To this effect, IPOB is neither contemplating nor will it encourage or sponsor anyone or group to disrupt the Nigeria shambolic selection process called election.

“IPOB has constantly made it public that we have no interest in and cannot legitimize the aberration they call election in Nigeria.

“We are a focused, determined and disciplined freedom fighting movement not political thugs and IPOB is devoted to the cause of liberating our people from subjugation and from modern day slavery and neo-colonialism and will not allow ourselves to be distracted from this very objective,” he stated.