By Uzair Adam Imam

The sum of $61,400, which the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari allegedly offered as bribe to the operatives of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has been admitted as exhibit by court.

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja under Justice Emeka Nwite, has admitted the money as exhibit on Wednesday.

The Daily Reality recalls that Kyari was on February 22 arraigned alongside ACP Sunday Ubua, ASP Bawa James, Inspectors Simon Agirigba and John Nuhu, while one ASP John Umoru was said to be at large.

Reports, however, gathered that this was coming after the NDLEA tendered the money through the third prosecution witness, Peter Joshua.

Joshua, told the court at the resumed hearing that the currency was handed over to him on January 25 after he conducted preliminary tests on the exhibits.

The NDLEA claimed to have obtained a video footage of Kyari negotiating the $61,400 sum as a bribe with its investigators to prevent the testing of the 17.55 kilogrammes of the drugs.

The witness also tendered 24 packs of cocaine brought before the court in two travelling bags.

However, the bags contained nine packs wrapped in white cotton sacks, three additional packs of cocaine, and 12 pellets that were separately tied in nylon bags.

By Aisar Fagge and Uzair Adam Imam

The House of Representatives has urged the federal government to come to the rescue of Darazo community in Bauchi State affected by a devastating flood a few days ago.

The Daily Reality gathered that the devastating flood disaster destroyed more than 200 houses, farmlands and other sources of livelihood.

The lawmakers made the call through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the North East Development Commission (NEDC) and other relevant agencies.

However, reports disclosed that this was coming Wednesday at the plenary after the adoption and passage of a motion moved by the member representing Darazo/Ganjuwa Federal Constituency, Mansur Manu Soro.

Soro expressed deep concern over what happened in the community that the flood had displaced thousands of citizens.

Therefore, The House has called on the NEMA to provide support to the victims and to also engage the Bauchi State Government with a view to resettling those who were displaced by the flood disaster.

By Hamza Sulayman, PhD

One of the most difficult questions to answer among Nigerians is “How much is your salary?”. It does not matter who asked the question; the answer is always tricky. It might be a father asking his son or daughter after spending a fortune paying for their education, or a wife asking her beloved husband. The reason behind this varies from one person to another.

I came across a US-based content creator (IG: americanincome) who moves around the cities of the US asking strangers about their annual salary. To my surprise, they always answer right away and specifically to the last dollar. He asked some follow-up questions, like what did you study? And from which university, how many years of experience do you have? And what advice will you give someone who wants to follow in your footsteps?

To me, that type of content creation is amazing because it provides the young generation with factual data on how they can achieve their goals, which is much better than what the guidance and counselling departments of schools and universities can offer. That is, if the department exists.

My recent interaction with some youth led me to believe that they are after the money or, as they say, “secure the bag”. So, for example, if you are willing to get $150,000 per year, you should work as a Data Analyst, Model, or Software Engineer. If you are humble, you can be a high school teacher and earn about $42,000 a year. If you have a higher taste, you can be a doctor or dentist and rake about $200,000 to $300,000. There are other non-formal sectors with high income, like a professional barber earning $300,000 (I was surprised too) and a sneaker dealer earning $150,000. Top on the list was a luxury watch seller that makes $1,200,000 yearly.

Enough with the numbers, can you answer the question? How much is your salary? Many people cannot answer the question because they don’t even know. After all, what they received is not what is on their offer/pay slip, or the amount is laughable. Some people don’t answer the question because of what people might expect from them. I remember one of my colleagues. He told me that when the salary scale of academic staff was circulating on social media, it became a blessing for him because his family and extended family saw his salary as a Professor and decided to reduce the responsibilities placed on him.

Although in Nigeria, what you study is not entirely relevant to where you work, having a guidance and counselling advisor or a mentor is still advisable. Find someone you want to be like in the future and ask him to mentor you. Learn from their strengths and weaknesses and be a better version of yourself. Lastly, choose a career path that will make you happy, whether it is about the monetary aspect or otherwise.

Hamza Sulayman is a postdoctoral research fellow at Zhejiang University, China. He can be reached via hamza.sulayman@gmail.com.

By Auwal Mustapha Imam, PhD

Nigerian politics should copy ASUU politics. There’s no union, party, association, society or any group in Nigeria that has the structures as firm as that of ASUU. None has united, tolerant and harmonized structures as ASUU. ASUU is mindless of the religion, region, ethnicity or tribe of who becomes its leader, the only thing ASUU members are after is, someone that has the capacity to face and challenge any inappropriation, misconduct, injustice or insincerity from the powers that be.

The leadership has been like that since its inception. No one cares wether or not the leader is a Muslim/Christian or any tribe. If the leader is a Christian from the South, he challenges the powers and addresses the problems of every Muslim lecturer from the North, devoid of consideration of his faith. This goes vice versa.

When my teacher and mentor Dr. Nasir Isa Fagge, a Muslim from Bayero University, Kano was the President of ASUU, he faced and challenged the then President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, a Christian from the South. None of either ASUU members or Nigerians complained that he was harsh because the President was a Southern Christian. All they were after was the result and the struggle.

Now that President Buhari, a Muslim from the North is the President, the two consecutive ASUU leaders Professor Biodun Ogunyemi (immediate past) and Professor Emmanuel Osodoke (the present) are fiercely challenging the Buhari’s government for the betterment of education in Nigeria, where both Muslims and Christians from all angles of the country can benefit. None of either ASUU members or Nigerians are complaining that the strike lingers because a Northerner is the President. All we are after is the result and the struggle.

Whereas, in Nigerian politics, one’s religion, region and ethnicity are scrutinized and looked at first before even his intellectual capacity. This has thrown us into a deep mess that led us to underdevelopment and public service abuses. Every organization recruits not based on merit, but connection, relationship and nepotism. This can never allow us to establish a structure that will ensure transparency and good governance.

ASUU’s structure, opinions and decisions are both descending and ascending. All deliberations from the local chapters ascend to the zone, then to the national. Likewise, all communications and decisions descend from the national to the zones and to the local chapters. Every member of ASUU is a stakeholder and all opinions are listened to and respected. This is why it is difficult for government to break the structure and penetrate with any inducement to corner the loyalty of some members to the agreement of government’s policies against ASUU.

ASUU’s structure enables unity and enforces loyalty to decisions. If your voice is heard and respected, you have no reason to go against the decision you took part in. This is why every member is loyal.

My master, Professor Mutari Hajara Ali of Physics Department BUK, once told me how he used his Vespa then for commercial “achaba” to survive the harsh policies of the then government of no-work-no-pay against them. I know many lecturers who are currently into commercial transportation services with their vehicles to survive the policy and endure the strike.

To all ASUU members, struggles and sacrifices are part of the job. Hence, nor starvation can force ASUU to retreat, unless its demands are met. Many of us are into hardships, but to us, the struggle needs to reach a logical conclusion rather than back down because of hunger.

Aluta Continua!

By Muhammad Aminu

The Federal Government has denied giving any ultimatum to the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, to bring an end to the lingering industrial action in public universities.

Senior Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said in a statement on Wednesday that there was no ultimatum given to the education minister to end the strike.

He accused the media of being deceived by their sources by giving definite time, saying the minister only suggested two or three weeks or even less.

The statement noted: “Neither during nor after the meeting was any ultimatum given to the Minister of Education.

“During the meeting, the Minister of Education requested that the Minister of Labour hands off the negotiation to allow him lead and conclude what he had earlier on started with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). And he promised that he could get an agreement within the shortest possible time, possibly two to three weeks.”

“It is a pity that almost all media houses allowed themselves to be deceived by interested sources that are not the authorized spokesmen of the government.

According to Shehu, the Minister will carry all the necessary stakeholders who can realistically work to end the strike as the government doors are open.

“In carrying out this assignment, the Minister will carry along all relevant ministries and agencies with statutory functions and duties relating to the issues involved.

“The Presidency is optimistic that agreements can be reached in even a shorter period if all parties/stakeholders are not unrealistically obstinate. We appeal to the parties to work together to end the strikes.

“On the part of the administration, all doors remain open for dialogue and the resolution of the issues.”

The statement called on the media to desist from spreading misinformation on the matter.

“We appeal to the media not try to spread misinformation. The orchestrated media narratives seeking to present an entirely different picture, attributed to sources, in the last 24 hours are not helpful at all.

“The outcome of the meeting held by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday with relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to end the agitations by university unions ought to be beyond spin-doctoring and conjectures, it added.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Nigeria’s former vice president and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, said the Buhari-led government had adopted his proposal to rebrand the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC

Atiku disclosed this in a post he made on his verified Facebook page on Wednesday, July 20, 2022. He said he is happy the decision was taken, but there is still more to be done to make the NNPC a world-class company.

“I had in 2018 made public my plans to reform the NNPC to make it more profitable, transparent and efficient. The APC-led government denigrated me for my patriotic vision. But today, I am happy to note that the same government has taken a tentative step along the lines of the suggestions that I had made. It is a step in the right direction, but we are still far from what I had envisaged. I hope I’ll have the opportunity to complete the process of turning the NNPC into a genuinely world-class company in the mould of NLNG, Aramco of Saudi Arabia and Petrobras of Brazil, where Nigerians and institutions will invest in. ” Atiku posted 

 Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari, in a televised programme on Tuesday, officially unveiled the rebranding and commercialization of the NNPC.

By Muhammad Sabiu

The Delta State Police Command has nabbed a 23-year-old man named Godspower Adigheti for allegedly killing his girlfriend Gift Oloku.

It was discovered that Oloku, a student at the Delta State Polytechnic in Ozoro, was allegedly murdered by the suspect because she had broken his iPhone 11 Pro Max.

According to sources, Adigheti got into a disagreement with the deceased, who shared a home with him, over what she did there.

It was learned that the suspect’s iPhone 11 Pro Max’s screen was broken during the tense altercation.

The woman passed away in a hospital, according to State Police Public Relations Officer DSP Bright Edafe, who confirmed the incident in a statement.

The statement reads, “On July 16, 2022, the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Ozoro received a distress call that one Godspower Adigheti, 23, of Oramudu quarters, inflicted machete cuts on his 22-year-old girlfriend, Gift Oloku.

“The lady was taken to a hospital where she was confirmed dead. Meanwhile, the suspect is in custody, and an investigation is ongoing into the matter.”

By Usman Ibrahim

For a long time, Kano State has battled the enormous increase in drug abuse and trafficking of illicit drugs. Most commonly, many people directly or indirectly abuse drugs. In the past, only male youths aged 18 years and above were the major players in the business. But these days, it is more heart-aching that underage boys and girls, including married women, are into drug abuse, and it is increasing by the day and assuming top spots on the statistics.

People often see drug abusers as jobless who consume the drugs to forget their problems of unemployment and poverty. The precarious situation makes them steal from their families, friends, and even their communities.

Drug addicts are particularly vulnerable to politicians who utilize them to cause havoc during elections and protect them from the wrath of the law after their arrest. When they don’t get the opportunity to become the “boys” of the politicians, they resort to their communities and continue to cement their legacies as the greatest criminals of their time.

In addition, they sometimes make it uncomfortable for people in their communities to commute to some streets. Unfortunately, though, others see drug abuse as something one chooses to do due to peer group influence. Unfortunately, even teens living in stable and affluent homes are also into this drug addiction – many rich teens are into drug abuse despite all the care their parents have shown them.

Badawa in Kano State is one of the communities notorious for drug abuse. It is an intensely multi-ethnic setting harbouring diverse ethnicities but deeply troubled by illicit drug sales and consumption for over a decade. In an interview with a teenager into selling these intoxicants, he admitted that he couldn’t stop selling illegal drugs because he earns a lot from it, and many people from distant places come and buy from him at expensive rates. I also asked him whether he was aware of the anti-drugs agency or the vigilante groups who would arrest him, and he said he was aware. Still, he cannot stop because it is the only way to source his income.

But a philanthropist defies all odds to change existing narratives in the community. Seeing the height of the problem has made the anonymous Good Samaritan solve the menace. With his own money, he purchased three cars, walkie-talkies and uniforms to help arrest hard drug dealers and employed some men in the community’s vigilante group to assist in the fight.

According to Badar, one of the vigilante members, “At least we have arrested more than ten drug dealers in which some of them are in prison”. However, he also states that their work involves too much risk because some drug dealers walk along with knives, sharp horns and machetes, among other dangerous local weapons. So they are always cautious in handling their operations. And they work hand in hand with NDLEA to give them more information about the community.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s (NDLEA) significant role is exterminating illicit drug trafficking and consumption in Nigeria. And also, it is for the sake of protecting the country from the dangers of hard drugs. Since the agency’s establishment in 1989, the war against hard drugs has been increasing yearly. The agency tries its best to tackle drug trafficking and importation of hard drugs such as cocaine, marijuana, cough syrups and other hard substances. However, the activities of philanthropists cannot be underscored because of the rapid increase in violence, especially during elections and among drug addicts in communities.

Therefore, combating drug abuse as well as securing the lives and properties of Nigerians needs collaborative efforts between security agencies, community leaders as well as philanthropists. If there is a time when these collaborations are desperately needed, it is now.

Usman Ibrahim is a level 200 student from the Department of Information and Media Studies, Bayero University, Kano. He can be reached via usmannibrahim66@gmail.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam 

Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), has vowed that the come 2023 general election will be the best ever in Nigeria’s history.

Yakubu said this Tuesday, July 19th 2022, in Abuja, when he received delegations of the International Republican Institute (IRI) and that of the National Democratic Institute (NDI).

He also assured that INEC would improve on its successes in subsequent elections to come.

The Daily Reality gathered that the meeting was the first that INEC was hosting after Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State.

Yakubu was quoted as saying, “We assure you that we will continue to work not only hard but even harder to deliver the 2023 general elections.

“As for the preparation for the 2023 general elections, I want to assure you that we promised Nigerians that Ekiti was going to be good, and Ekiti was a good election.

“We promised that Osun was going to be better; Osun was a better election. We are promising that the 2023 general elections will be our best election ever, and we are committed to delivering the best election ever,’’ Yakubu said.

Speaking earlier, Secretary of State for Ohio, United States and leader of the delegations, Mr Frank LaRose, had commended INEC over on its successes.

He, however, commended INEC for its various efforts to improve the conduct of elections in Nigeria.

He states, “we took the opportunity to visit Osun because that was only the second time election has been conducted under the new Electoral Law. 

“We met with the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Osun, and we observed many different polling locations on Election Day,” he stated. 

By Muhammad Aminu

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), South-West Zone, has said it would join the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in protest to pressurise the federal government to end the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike.

In a statement issued by NANS Coordinator and Public Relations Officer Adegboye Olatunji and Awoyinfa Opeoluwa, which was made available to newsmen on Tuesday.

The NLC had earlier vowed to embark on a nationwide protest on July 26 and 27 in solidarity with the trade unions in the Nigerian public universities and others.

The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, who made the disclosure in a circular jointly signed by Mr Emmanuel Ugboaja, General Secretary of the Congress, on Sunday, said the protest was in line with the decisions of the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the NLC on June 30.

ASUU and other trade unions in the education sector have been on strike for over five months over the alleged failure of the Federal Government to keep to the agreement entered with the unions.

The demands of the striking workers include issues bordering on funding of universities, salaries, and earned allowances of lecturers.

However, the NANS leadership in the South-West zone called on students across the country to join the NLC in the nationwide protest in solidarity with ASUU.

NANS added that it would “not keep silent and watch our future being ruined by the prolonged ASUU strike.”

It stated: “It is timely and urgent to issue this statement today with a view to putting an end to the lingering strike action by ASUU. We want a total reformation of the educational sector.

“The Leadership of NANS, Zone D, has taken it upon herself to categorically stand against the dilapidated state of the educational sector in Nigeria.

“We are at a time when Nigerian students have lost hope and do not know what’s next on the radar. ASUU strike has been on for over five months without any hope of resumption.

“We have also waited for so long to see if the Federal Government will dance to the music of Nigerian students who have been clamouring for an end to the ASUU strike, but the reverse is the case.

“We’ve had several press conferences, granted several interviews, held several meetings to plead with both ASUU and the Federal Government, and held several peaceful protests across the Federation.

“According to the commandment of solidarity, we’re on the last ‘Cs of Aluta,’ which is confrontation. This is the time to call on all Nigerian students across all zones to join the NLC in solidarity to end the ASUU strike on Tuesday, July 26, 2022, and Wednesday, July 27, 2022. Nigerian students are tired of the long overdue strike action.

“Consequently, all NANS cadres and stakeholders, zonal leadership, Campus Committee Chairmen, Student Union Government presidents, Nigerian students, and the general public are hereby put on high notice to mobilise, organise and get prepared to be part of the movement,” NANS said