By Uzair Adam Imam

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has condemned a decision by the Lagos State Office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to hold its meeting inside a church in Ikeja, Lagos State.

Prof. Ishaq Akintola, the MURIC Director, made the condemnation in a statement released and issued to journalists on Thursday.

It was gathered that the Lagos headquarters of INEC scheduled a meeting for Thursday and picked Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral, Ikeja, as the venue of the meeting.

Akintola advised INEC Lagos headquarters not to hold any of its activities in any church except those meant for church members alone and that same goes for mosques and shrines.

He added that INEC has no business using places of worship for their activities, adding that the development is ‘very disappointing’.

The statement read, “This is very disappointing. How can an electoral body of INEC status pick a religious house of worship as venue for its meeting? Is the meeting for the Christian wing of INEC or what? Is INEC meeting members of the church? It is unacceptable.

“The choice of a church as venue for a meeting of INEC is very insensitive particularly given the very volatile situation, we are in Nigeria today. It is an open secret that Christian pastors are deeply involved in political campaigns.

“Many of them have turned 2023 election into a straight fight between them and the Muslims.

“INEC Lagos Headquarters has taken a false step. Holding an electoral body’s meeting inside a church is like holding it inside the secretariat of one of the political parties.

“It erodes confidence. It is totally wrong particularly in a situation whereby the church has publicly revealed that it is an interested party in the ongoing electioneering exercises.

“Why pick a church when there are hundreds of neutral places all over Lagos? Is INEC promoting the church’s vested interest in the 2023 election? Is some kind of connivance in the offing?

“INEC Lagos headquarters must prove to Lagosians that their votes will count. We call on Lagosians to watch the activities of INEC from now on because we are not convinced that it is going to be neutral,” Akintola said.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Nigeria’s Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo is set to attend a meeting in the United States for African Carbon Market.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity (Office of the Vice-President), Laolu Akande said Prof. Osinbajo will be in attendance alongside other key actors in the clean energy market.

Mr Akande said the Vice-President will be delivering the keynote address at a high-level meeting hosted by the Rockefeller Foundation in New York.

He said : “In a major push for funding and technical support for the Nigerian Energy Transition Plan, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, will be delivering the keynote address at a high-level meeting hosted by The Rockefeller Foundation in New York, with global agencies and potential financial partners in attendance to facilitate the activation of the Voluntary Carbon Market in Nigeria and on the African continent.”

He also noted that the high-level which holds on Friday will also be attended by officials from the US government and will explore potential opportunities which the carbon markets offer.

“The high-level meeting which holds on Friday will also be attended by officials from the US government and will explore potential opportunities which carbon markets offer to generate resources for clean energy transitions while accelerating economic growth in Nigeria and other African countries.” He said.

By Muhammadu Sabiu

The Senate has scheduled a hearing on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) most recent cash withdrawal limit policy for Tuesday, December 13, 2022.

In its plenary session on Wednesday, the Senate voiced its concerns.

In a point of order, Senate Minority Leader Aduda Phillip called attention to the CBN’s new policy because it will have an impact on many people, particularly small company owners.

In response, Senate President Ahmad Lawan instructed the banking committee to speak with the CBN and discuss the issue during the screening of the CBN Deputy Governor, which is anticipated to take place before the next week. 

Recall that Lawan had previously advised the CBN not to approach the policy immediately.

The CBN limited the maximum weekly cash withdrawal over the counter (OTC) by corporate organisations and individuals to N500,000 and N100,000, respectively, under the new withdrawal policy.

The new withdrawal rule set the weekly limit cash withdrawal by Automated Teller Machine (ATM) at N100,000, with a daily maximum of N20,000.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Bill Cosby, a renowned American stand-up comedian and actor, has been sued by five women over sexual assault during their early careers.

The 85-year-old Cosby has been dragged through the mud by numerous women over the allegation of rape throughout the years.

The Daily Reality recalls that back in 2018, the comedian bagged a 10-year jail term in Pennsylvania for indecent assault.

Several reports indicated that the majority of the women sued the actor for acting more like a predator than a mentor to them.

The victims were identified as Plaintiffs Lili Bernard, Eden Tirl, Jewel Gittens, Jennifer Thompson, and Cindra Ladd.

They alleged that the actor was able to take advantage of them because they were young and vulnerable.

Some time ago, the actor was also dragged to court by Mrs Minifield, who claimed Cosby drugged and abused her multiple times.

The victim recalled one incident in which she awoke during a rape to discover the actor trying to smother her with a pillow.

By Muhammad Jameel Yusha’u, PhD

Apart from hosting us in their house during the Thanksgiving holiday, Danielle Callaway Njama and her husband, Philip Njama, booked a ticket for us to visit the National Museum of African American History in Washington DC. It was another rich historical voyage. I strongly recommend visiting the museum if you happen to be in Washington DC.

The museum, formally launched by President Barack Obama in 2016, documents the history of slavery and the unspoken contribution of Africans to European and American economies.

Walking through the floors of the museum, an air of historical insecurity, goosebumps, and lamentation engulfs you. As you read through the stories of how the enslaved Africans were transported to Europe and North America in chains and other inhuman conditions, you feel the blood of sympathy circumambulating in your veins.

While these thoughts were going through my mind, there was sudden silence among my family. I turned back, and my eldest daughter was in tears, struggling to hold her emotions while reading through the stories of Africans like Ayoub Suleiman from The Gambia, who was enslaved in Maryland, and Mahommah Baquaqua from Benin, who was sold in Brazil and transported to New York.

Being a student of economic development, I couldn’t miss the section in the museum that estimated the value of cotton produced by African Americans to $250,000,000 in 1861; and the value assigned to enslaved African Americans at $3,059,000,000 in 1860. What is the value in today’s terms?

This is a difficult history, but as I have discussed many times with friends and colleagues, Africans shouldn’t allow themselves to be the psychological prisoners of the trauma caused by slavery. Yes, it is difficult, but Africans must move forward with zeal and unparalleled determination to write a glorious chapter of their story no matter the odds against them. Creating a path to development is the antibiotic to economic dependency.

Takeaway: Torturous lessons of history are difficult to ignore. It is the lessons from history that help determined communities to write a glittering chapter for future generations.

Muhammad Jameel Yusha’u, PhD, is a candidate for a Mid-Career Master’s in Public Administration at Harvard University, John F Kennedy School of Government. He can be reached via mjyushau@yahoo.com.

By Mukhtar Jarmajo

Surely enough, one of the banes of our society is that, in most cases, whom we have at the helm of affairs, whether in power or at the community level, are rulers, not leaders. There is a clear distinction between rulers and leaders. Rulers do not listen to their people. They rather authoritatively give directives that must be obeyed without any hesitations and whether or not the result of taking such action will be in the best interest of the greater majority.

While leaders are good listeners who walk and work together with their people in the greater interest of society. And as John Quincy Adams, the 6th US President who served between 1825 and 1829, would say: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

Thus, by the words of John Quincy, leaders are motivators who not only reposition the society to greater heights but also make the people become better in themselves. And that is why it is said that one of the functions of a leader is to build more leaders. Thus, if building people is rightly one of the functions of a leader, then Mallam Isa Yuguda is a true leader.

Deliberately, the Matawallen Bauchi has, over the years, built people as he journeyed from the banking sector through the federal executive council to the Bauchi state government house. Without putting much emphasis on how he transformed the defunct Inland Bank from regional to national and indeed his excellent performance at the aviation and transport ministries as well as in Bauchi state when he held sway between 2007-2015, Yuguda is also an excellent team player who coaches the people that work with him. With the needed dose of confidence characterized by conviction and determination, he is humility and modesty personified. This is why Isa Yuguda is imparting positive behaviours to many and, thus, a role model.

Today, Mallam Isa Yuguda stands tall on the ladder of success. But unusually, Yuguda`s success is, among other reasons, simply because of the number of people he has trained and built. He is second to none in Bauchi state in this regard. In the tripod stand, either directly or indirectly, the Matawallen Bauchi has positively impacted the lives of as many people as possible. For instance, including the incumbent governor Bala Muhammed of Bauchi state, Matawallen Bauchi has played essential roles in the lives of almost any shining star in the Pearl of Tourism.

And while his virtues are extolled in appreciation of Isa Yuguda`s immense contributions to the growth of humanity, it is also right to urge other community and political leaders to emulate the Matawallen Bauchi. After all, as Ralph Waldo Emerson, the American philosopher and essayist, would say, the essence “of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”

Jarmajo wrote from Wuse 2, Abuja.

By Habibu Maaruf Abdu

The Arewa Film Makers Association of Nigeria (AFMAN) Kano chapter has elected new executives to pilot its affairs for the next two years.

The ten-member exco were elected unopposed in an uncontested election held on Saturday, December 3, 2022, at the Social Welfare Centre, Court Road, Kano.

Captain Musa Gambo emerged as the union’s new chairman, succeeding Jamilu Yakasai who had been holding the position since 2019.

Other members of the new exco include:

Mansurah Isah – Vice chairperson

Mustapha Anwar – Secretary

Abubakar Adamu G. Boy – Treasurer

Hassan Maiwada – Financial secretary

Zaharaddeen Muhammad – Press secretary 1

Abubakar Alaramma – Press secretary 2

Ali Worth Me – PRO 1

Rahama M.K. – PRO 2

Maimuna Muhammad (Wata Yarinya) – Welfare officer

By Muhammadu Sabiu

As a step toward implementing the naira redesign strategy, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has released a new cash withdrawal policy that states withdrawals over N100,000 and N500,000 will now be subject to 5% and 10% fees, respectively.

The apex bank also said that going forward, only denominations of N200 and lower will be accepted at ATMs.

All Deposit Money Banks, other financial institutions, primary mortgage banks, and microfinance banks received a letter on Monday from the director of banking supervision at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Haruna Mustafa.

A third-party check for more than N50,000 would not be accepted for payment, per the letter cited with the BSD/DIR/PUB/LAB/015/069. The daily cap for over-the-counter, OTC, and ATM withdrawals is N20,000.

The letter reads, “The maximum cash withdrawal over the counter (OTC) by individuals and corporate organizations per week shall henceforth be N100,000 and N500,000, respectively.

“Withdrawals above these limits shall attract processing fees of 5% and 10%, respectively; third-party cheques above N50,000 shall not be eligible for payment over the counter, while extant limits of N10,000,000 on clearing cheques still subsist; the maximum cash withdrawal per week via Automated Teller Machine (ATM) shall be N100,000 subject to a maximum of N20,000 cash withdrawal per day; Only denominations of N200 and below shall be loaded into the ATMs; The maximum cash withdrawal via point of sale (PoS) terminal shall be N20,000 daily and in compelling circumstances, not exceeding once a month, where cash withdrawals above the prescribed limits are required for legitimate purposes, such cash withdrawals shall not exceed N5,000,000 and 10,000,000 for individuals and corporate organizations.”

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

A young man identified as Emmanuel has dragged the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanw-Olu, to court over claims that the governor is his father and has refused to acknowledge paternity.

Emmanuel’s lawyer, John Aikpokpo-Martins, revealed this in a Facebook post on Tuesday. 

According to Aikpokpo-Martins, his client had approached the Delta State High Court claiming that the governor is his biological father. He noted that his client requested the governor to waive his constitutional immunity to undergo a DNA test to confirm the claim. 

He further stated that the governor had filed court processes refusing to waive his immunity and undergo a DNA test. As a result, the court has adjourned the case to January 17, 2023, to hear the objection of the governor. 

In the court processes seen by the Daily Reality, Emmanuel sought the following orders : 

“A declaration that the Defendant is the biological father of the claimant begotten from Madam Grace Moses of Oleri, Delta State.

“An order directing and compelling the Defendant to acknowledge and accord the claimant all the rights of a son in accordance with all the laws applicable whether customarily, statutorily or constitutionally.

“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant from further denying the parenthood of the claimant”

By Zailani Bappa

I read a post by someone who expressed his worry about the lack of unity of purpose (in fact, he said, unity of everything) among the Nigerian people. He was writing about the movie industry. He said Hollywood had been a household name for a country as vast as America. So also Bollywood for a country as big as India. Both countries are bigger and more economically prosperous than Nigeria.

However, despite the existence of Nollywood, we still have the Kannywood in Nigeria. He believes the existence and progression of Kannywood are retrogressive to the Unity of purpose in the industry in Nigeria. I reason with him. However, that is only when the matter is viewed from the surface. Scratch the surface a little, and you’ll see the bigger picture.

Both Nollywood and Kannywood emerged in prominence in the 1990s. Nollywood comes in English, pidgin, Igbo and Yoruba. The Kannywood comes mainly in Hausa and a few times in English. Looking at the Hollywood and Bollywood industries as both business and national projects, both Industries tend to project National Unity, National Pride and National dignity of their respective countries. And the business does not discriminate in the selection of protagonists.

However, in Nigeria, tribal, sectional and religious stereotypes continue to influence the industry, which makes it even more difficult to have a unified industry. To date, egg-heads of the Nollywood industry find it difficult to accept the fact that the industry needed to diversify and be all-inclusive in sourcing for their resource. For instance, African-Americans in the US are arguably the lowliest rated race in the US. However, the Hollywood industry does not believe so. The Industry became all-inclusive and explored for talents instead of being led by stereotypes. Now the negros are almost the best actors in the industry. That is how it grew to excellence.

In Nigeria, however, Nollywood, with the advantage of producing in English first, metamorphosed most of the vernacular protagonists into English productions but unwittingly limited the train to those from the South-East of the Country who saw themselves as the owners of the industry. For instance, the far Northern Nigerian does not deserve more than the role of a gateman in Nollywood films. If at all you hear the name Musa, Usman, or  Bala, then, it’s the guy employed to look after the gate or wash the cars of Obinna, Ifeanyi or Chibuzo. The Lagos-based Industry is not making any genuine efforts to integrate with the Kannywood industry, even as the latter continues to grow in influence and affluence in the North and elsewhere.

However, the Kannywood, with its vast audience across the Hausa-speaking communities across the globe, also failed to grow in its intellectual capacity. It instead gets stuck to its money-making trash productions in the name of soyayya themes, which, apart from the sheer entertainment it provides, literally promotes empty value to the morale, capacity and quality of lives of the audience, not to even talk of national value, pride and dignity.

In Nigeria, the film industry has no idea or focus on National project but purely exist for business reasons. Hollywood has developed over time to become an agenda setter for the United States policymakers and implementors. It has now become a platform and potent avenue for increasing the influence of the United States over other nations and peoples worldwide. The Indian Industry also helps that country placate the outside world with its numerous internal crises and contradictions by promoting a clean, prosperous and happy India.

In Nigeria, Nollywood promotes less national dignity and unity but corruption, indecency, cultism and disunity. It exposes more of the weak and bad sides of the country, its institutions, leaders and people instead of strengthening their good sides more. Why? Because they make better money doing that since their productions appeal more to the wrong side of humanity in us. The Kannywood, with its empty intellectual value, is simply vain. So, as the two continue to grow side by side like that, we may have to do with the fast growth of a two-left-legged maiden of an industry.

Zailani Bappa wrote from Bauchi State via zailanbappa@gmail.com.