By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Lagos State University (LASU) has urged Bella Shmurda to return to school and earn his degree. This was disclosed on the University official Twitter handle known as @LASUOfficial.

The University said this while wishing the famous singer a happy birthday on Twitter on Friday, January 28, 2022.

On his birthday, the singer, whose real name is Akinbiyi Abiola, said he did not regret his decision to leave the school and face his passion.

The University tweeted:

“@fineboybella. Glad you have come this far pursuing your dream. Also glad @LASUOfficial played a part in your beautiful story because Univ. don’t make people rich, only incubate them to find and achieve purpose. BTW, please come back to class and earn your degree♥️.”

The singer also replied in a tweet, “I now worth half a billion streams(550millions streams to be precise ) I for still Dey lasu wine and dine with carry overs and stranded with nothing, forever glad I did my thing…🌹”

By Maimuna Abubakar

The house girl business is ancient in Nigeria and the most common one in my area. I am from the north-central part of Nigeria, also known as ‘The Middle-Belt’.

It is common among women here in my local government area to keep girls at home as house helps, girls who, in most cases, are between the age of 13-18 while some may even be younger.

The idea of keeping young children as house helps has always eaten me up, and I have probed a lot of people regarding the rationale behind it. And because I am familiar with a number of these girls and even one of the parents, I decided to ask directly from the horse’s mouth.

For the sake of privacy, I will name the girls after colours. The first house girls I know are Violet, Lavender and Purple. They were about the same age, 12 or 13, I guess. They were brought to the city by a man from their village, who works in the city and became the supplier of these girls. These three girls stayed with people I know, and their job description involved doing all house chores and hawking.

In addition, the girls took care of the domestic needs of their madam’s children, such as the washing of clothes, sweeping and tidying of their rooms, making their meals etc., including children that are older than the girls. Their case, except for Lavender, is a bit favourable compared to others because these madams treated them almost the same as their children. They bought whatever they got for their children and enrolled them in Islamic schools (Islamiyya).

When I asked Violet who I was closest to why they don’t attend a school like the children of their employers did, she told me their parents are against it and asked that they should be enrolled in skill acquisition instead. Unfortunately, the reason these parents are against their children going to school was not disclosed to the wards concerned, as Violet told me.

However, she was very curious to learn. She would always ask me to teach her how to spell things or say when speaking to someone who doesn’t understand Hausa. As Violet got older while staying with her madam, she began to lose interest in her job. Every time she came back from their two-week annual break – they got to see their parents for only two weeks in a year – Violent kept telling me that she wished she never returned, that her father is an older man who she believes needed her assistance. Still, her stepmother insisted that she be married off with nothing from her family if she didn’t return to her job. So she was sent out to the city to fetch money to get her married to a man chosen by her family. Violet later told me that she kept coming back even though she hated it because it was the only choice she got if she didn’t want to get married at such an early age.

The story is the same for Purple. Although, unlike Violet, who was very enthusiastic and ready to learn, Purple always stayed home and watched movies while her madam was at work and the children had gone to Islamiyya. 

On the other hand, Lavender was not as lucky as Violet and Purple. Her mistress owns a local restaurant. She woke up as early as 5 am and slept as late as 12 am, and the cycle continued. She often faced sexual harassment from her madam’s customers, but she could not report them because the first and the last time she did, she was beaten black and blue after being accused of lying. So she had to learn to protect herself by cursing them and drawing others’ attention when anyone tries something inappropriate.

Lavender didn’t attend any school, nor did she acquire any vocational skills. She later ran back to her village and never returned. But I heard from Violet that she was taken to another state different from ours. These three girls were later called back home by their parents and were married off.

Blue is another girl I know who was brought to the city by a woman from her village. She worked with this lady who didn’t allow her to eat with the rest of the family, wash her clothes along with the lady’s children’s or even sleep on the same bed even though they were almost Blue’s age or younger. She couldn’t eat if the children didn’t eat because she was supposed to eat only the remnants of the family’s meal. She got beaten for slight mistakes like accidentally destroying anything from the lady’s home, even if it was as small as a plate. The lady always threatened to deduct it from her annual payment.

I asked Blue why she stayed despite this visible maltreatment, and she said it was because she had to earn to support her family. She never returned after she left this lady’s house, but I am almost certain that she was taken to another home.

On the other hand, Ash is a bit older than the rest of them, and she is the one whose mum I know. Financial hardship made Ash’s mother send her to her neighbour’s house as a house help in exchange for Ash’s school fees. When this neighbour decided to relocate to a new environment, Ash’s mother pleaded with her to take her daughter along to get an education. But this neighbour is a difficult one.

If Ash doesn’t finish her chores on time, she won’t be allowed to go to school. If the neighbour’s children don’t go to school, Ash won’t go too. If they are sick, Ash cannot go to school. Ash will also have to miss school if their school is on break. And because Ash does everything in the house, including cooking for about eight to ten kinds of dishes a day since the neighbour loves varieties and always have guest around, Ash is consistently unable to do her homework and often fails her tests and examinations. Not considering all the extreme labour Ash is carrying out, this neighbour told Ash’s parents that she is a dumb girl and only wastes her money on Ash’s education. She refused to allow her to attend extra lessons organized for students like Ash, who are left behind academically, especially since they are about to write their SSCE. Ash was only enrolled in Islamiyya when the neighbour’s kids were old enough to attend. 

Ash felt she couldn’t take it anymore, so she sought respite in marriage. She decided she wanted to get married as soon as she completed her WAEC and NECO, so she brought home a man she chose for herself. He is a young man who owns a kiosk close to Ash school. He asked Ash out when she was in SS2. But Mrs Neighbor said that Ash could not marry an illiterate. That Ash should either bring an M.Sc. or at least a degree holder or no one. She told Ash’s parents that it is in the girl’s best interest that she is trying to make sure Ash has both social and financial security.

Although Ash is not very far from her parents’ house, she seldom visits them because, according to this neighbour, no one will do the house chores while she is gone. Therefore, if Ash’s parents wanted to see her, they would go to the neighbour’s house. Ash’s mother, on several occasions, goes to this neighbour’s house while the neighbour is at work to relieve her daughter of the overbearing labour.

These are a few out of a hundred horrible stories of such girls. I’m not saying there are no house helps who have attained success or are in the process of achieving their life goals with their initial job as a stepping stone. There are!

I know someone who owns a fashion designing shop. I also know someone who has graduated from a higher institution and is already starting a career. Some are still pursuing their education at different levels. But, there are only a handful of such girls, they are rare, and their rarity proves the point that house help business as conducted in my locality especially is just typical child labour and abuse.

How do we curb this dangerous abuse that has been going on in almost all parts of the country?

Since the growing number of working-class women in our society means that mothers can no longer take care of their children 24/7, entrepreneurs can use this opportunity to create niche markets. They can then form a house help agency in or around areas where mothers with such needs are residing.

Again, we have thousands of graduates from the department of ECCE (Early Child Care Education) both from our various colleges of education and our universities. These entrepreneurs can implore their services. These agencies can then employ older women willing to take care of children. Young individuals, both men and women, can also be engaged as either part-time or full-time employees depending on such a person’s financial needs.

The agency can also run a temporary employment program for college students who are on holiday to earn money before resumption. These agencies can have two or more departments; those involved in housekeeping, those responsible for babysitting etc. That way, hopefully, these teenage girls whose parents have been taking advantage of them can also have a life of their own. 

Maimuna Abubakar is a Sociology Student at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. She sent this article via maimunaabubakar200@gmail.com.

By Ishaka Mohammed

The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development has fixed the first batch of NEXIT training for February 2022.

In a statement through its verified Twitter account late Saturday, the ministry asked exited N-Power beneficiaries to check their eligibility and confirm their availability within a week. 

“Kindly dial *45665# on or before Friday 4th February to check your eligibility and indicate your availability to take part in the programme,” the statement reads in part.

The NEXIT empowerment programme is designed for exited N-Power beneficiaries and will provide skills and funding to start up a business or support existing businesses.

Recall that 390,000 applicants were shortlisted for the programme in September 2021. 

By Muhammad Sabiu

Chaos erupted in the Oke Aregba neighbourhood of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, as the locals discovered three young men burning the head of a lady alleged to be in a relationship with one of them.

Mr Segun Adewusi, the community security guard, had noticed four boys burning what presumed to be a human head in a local pot on the road in the early hours of Saturday.

According to reports, the security guard quickly contacted the police station in Adatan, who responded to the site and apprehended three lads, one of whom had left before police arrived.

According to a source who confirmed the incident to our correspondent, the slain girl, identified as Rofiat, was a resident of Idi-Ape. She was the girlfriend of one Soliu, now in police custody.

Soliu allegedly enticed Rofiat into his apartment, held her down, and requested one of his buddies to slaughter her with a knife.

“The arrested suspects were identified as 17-year-old Wariz Oladeinde from Kugba, 19-year-old Abdulgafar Lukman from Kugba and Mustakeem Balogun from Bode Olude, all in Abeokuta. Soliu was the boyfriend of the girl, he ran away but was later arrested.

“They killed Rofiat, cut her head, packed the headless body in a sack and started burning the head in a pot. They told the police in the presence of a mammoth crowd that they wanted to use it for a money ritual.

“The police have taken the body away to a mortuary,” the source said on Saturday.

By Zaynab Abdool

It’s winter morning, a new day, and I’m awake, Alhamdulillah. When my foggy gaze fell upon the aesthetic rays of sunshine that sneaked through the holes in the window, surged past the transparent curtains, and stood grandly on my bedroom’s plain wall, I couldn’t help but admire its gracious beauty while my soul sent praises to the creator of man and nature. 

‘Zainabuwa, what on earth are you still doing in bed? Reincarnating?’         

A lusty yet irritating voice accompanied by a loud knock sailed me back from my small world of imagination. That was Husna, my new friend who just moved next door a month ago. The love we both had for certain things, such as the love for books, poetry, cats, henna and hijab, truly helped blow the flames of our friendship. So, we were on good terms.    

Stepping down from my bed, I yawned lazily, ignoring the annoying voice behind the closed door. After taking off my crystalline PJ’s, I slipped on a black gown and strolled across my room to get to the door. Glowering Husna was all I saw before I was kicked aside, and the next was the elegant Husna clad in a light blue hijab that complemented her black skin, cat-walking towards my bed while reciting a poem with the zestiest voice ever:

‘Habibi, you carried          

The weight of my poem         

Like pen amidst thy fingers,          

You stole my lines, stanzas         

And my entire muse         

With just a blink.’

After listening to those lines, I was shocked out of my wits. 

‘WTF! I’ve always thought you’re only into dark poetry! Don’t tell me you wrote that piece!”

‘Babe, forget about those dark kinds of stuff, I’m a phoenix now, and I’ve finally found him,’ she said happily with stars in her eyes.

‘Him? Who?’ I asked, confused.’ My knight mana,’ she replied with a sly smile plastered on her pretty face.

‘Oh! Do you mean to tell me that you’ve found a handsome male lad in those web novels you downloaded lately?’

‘Damn! I found one last night, and he’s so damn amazing that I felt like dying in his arms…’

I scooped and sat beside her on the bed, rolling my eyes.

‘You’re a fool, you know?’, she reacted to my body language. 

‘Yeah, a pretty fool,’ I chuckled before adding: ‘You need to get back home and return after I had my breakfast. It’s hot milk and chips today.’

‘I hate milk and chips,’ she frowned.’ Oh, wow! Stay and feel at home then,’ I exclaimed gladly.

‘Stingy brat, now let’s discuss some serious kinds of stuff.’ 

‘Oh, okay, let’s discuss fast; I’m hungry,’ I yawned

‘My man’s birthday party is in five days and, of course, I will be there because I’m his queen,’ she stated happily. 

I stared blankly at her flushed face, uttering: ‘What’s she talking about,’ I thought, still finding it hard to believe what I just heard.

‘What man? What birthday party? What queen? Do you want to slay? Or you wanna join the movie industry?’ I asked hectically.

‘Yeah, babe, I wanna slay for my boo. He’s worth it,’ she replied while browsing through her phone’s gallery. ‘Here, meet my prince,’ she flashed me a photo on her screen which got me back from my blackout state. ‘Huh!’ My jaw dropped. All I saw was a bronze skin guy with dreadlocks, dressed in sophisticated cocktail attire. The stiff aura around him emits a strong ‘arrogant playboy’ vibe.

‘How on earth did she even meet him? He’s so disgusting,’ I thought. ‘Erm, hmm Husna yo…you fancy him? Erhm, I, I mean you love him?’ I asked in between stammers.

‘Yeah, I truly love him. He’s charming and amazing… He’s not what you’re thinking, Zainab. He’s an overall different person inside. Don’t judge him by his appearance.”

‘So, to you, he’s worth imitating to your future kids?’ I asked in a low muttering voice. 

‘Yes, at least that’s what I think, and nobody’s perfect anyway. So, what do you suggest I wear to the party? ‘He said I should appear as classy and sexy as possible, even though he claimed to do something about my black skin before the D-day. I still need to give in some effort, right?’

‘What nonsense!’ I thought.

‘Husna, you’ve changed,’ I whispered. She chuckled before saying, ‘love has changed me.’

‘What love? This is pure bullshit. Have your parents even acknowledged him?’ I asked, finally coming back to my senses, knowing quite well that Husna’s parents – being the typical Hausa parents who will strictly push their kids towards the Deen; the type of parents who will teach their kids that Islamic education and good morals are far more important than anything – would never acknowledge her ‘so-called boyfriend’ as their son-in-law.      

‘No! Wallahi, you’re so dumb. Can’t you understand that we are into a secret relationship?’ she almost barked. 

‘Whatever the case, you’ve to break up with that demon you call a prince. You deserve someone far better than him-someone that will accept all your flaws and appreciate everything about you, someone with the ilm to defend his religion, a man of Deen whom your kids will be so proud to call ‘papa.’ You deserve someone whose testimonials are inspiring, someone whose effect on you would extend beyond this Dunya, a man who will walk you to Jannah, a man you can hold on to, a man you can proudly call the source of your true happiness and external strength. Not someone that will encourage you to bleach your skin and change who you are, not someone that will persuade you to flaunt your beauty and mess up your goals.’ I stopped to breathe.

‘You don’t have to impress anybody, my dear, you don’t have to sacrifice your happiness to anyone-the happiness your parents put so much effort to build and protect…’ I paused again and stared blankly at the walk with misty eyes, not sparing Husna a glance.

‘Our parents had gone through a lot to make us who we are today. They have sacrificed their blood and sweat to give us happiness, yet we chose to, to…’ I paused as tears of pity flowed down my cheeks to seek solace on my lips—tears of pain, the pain of betraying their thoughts and trust.

I restricted my gaze from the plain wall and pasted it on Husna’s forlorn face. I was shocked when I saw tears rolling down her flushed cheeks.

‘But it’s a free world, Husna, and as a friend, I’ve played my role here to guide you. So now it’s left for you to decide because hell is free, anyway,’ I said as I stood up lazily, wiped my tears and walked to the door. ‘I need to get my breakfast, Habibty; feel at home,’ I said, holding the doorknob. 

‘Innalillahi, I almost destroyed my life. What was I thinking, Astagfirullah’ I heard Husna mutters to herself from behind. 

I smiled, let out a sigh of relief and closed the door behind me before walking to the kitchen in high spirit.

© Zaynab Abdool (abdullateefzainab96@gmail.com)

By Muhammad Sabiu

Cocaine weighing 11.913kg was intercepted by the Nigeria Customs Service’s Seme Area Command, with a street value of N3,916,624,147.00.

DSC Hussaini Abdullahi, the Customs Public Relations Officer for Seme Command, confirmed this in a statement.

He added that Area Command intercepted 1,065 jerrycans of petroleum products with a Duty Paid Value of N10,041,198.00 on Wednesday.

He was quoted as saying, “This came after the Area Command initiated offensive patrol against the smuggling of petroleum products along the creeks within the Seme and Badagry.”

“The Customs Area Controller, Compt. Bello Mohammed Jibo stressed that the offensive crackdown on the activities of the petroleum products smugglers is with a mission of getting them arrested wherever they are. He reassured that the Command will continue to make life uncomfortable for the unpatriotic Nigerians trading illegal businesses in the area.

“Speaking earlier on the cocaine seizure, Jibo explained that the substance was intercepted along Seme- Badagry Expressway at about 09:00 hrs on Sunday 23 January 2022.

“Consequently, the substance was subjected to test and verification by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control and was found to be cocaine weighing 11.913kg.

“While appreciating the cooperation of sister agencies and relevant stakeholders at Seme Border, the CAC reiterated the commitment of his Officers and Men in enforcing government fiscal policies for the overall national growth and development.”

By Ambali Abdulkabeer

More than any other incidents, the recent killing of one Hanifa Abubakar in Kano state by her wicked school head, Mr Abdulmalik Tanko, has been making the rounds on social media. People have angrily commented on the gory incident and demanded that the perpetrator be immediately killed in return. However, more than the angry ocean of comments made by parents who put themselves in the shoes of the diseased’s parents, it would be depressing to construe the motive behind the action. If truth be told, we live in a world rife with sheer inhumanity.

Based on the reports published by several newspapers, Mr Tanko, who is a father of three, had kidnapped the deceased and demanded 6 million ransom weeks before he eventually murdered her. He did that, according to reports, because the innocent girl recognized him. I can’t wrap my head around this. But, while we feel battered by his action, we should not forget that Mr Tanko is a representative of a larger, utterly redolent society.

In several parts of the country, such a case is rising. Our society has degenerated into a theatre of inexplicable death while we continue to pretend nothing is happening. It is not out of point to mention that ours is a world of wolves in sheep’s clothing. We no longer value human souls. Instead, we belittle the significance of life as enshrined in the sacred books available to us. Daily, people’s interactions are shaped by motives that stray away from the principles of humanity.

In all of this, I think we have to reflect on the happenings in our world. The fact that suspicion, manifest in hypocrisy and sheer wickedness, defines our relationships as a people should remind us of the destruction that has befallen the human race. As far as I know, no religion justifies the termination of the human soul on flimsy reason. No culture encourages such. What is wrong with us?

For instance, ALLAH reminds us in Qur’an 5:32 that killing of the human soul is a grave offence: “For that, cause We decreed for the Children of Israel that whosoever killeth a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind, and whoso saveth the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind.” Several Hadiths of the noble prophet Muhammad (SAW) also remind us of the enormous aberration that unjustifiable termination of human souls represents.

It is high time we began to pay attention to virtue in our society. I have always felt that Nigeria is descending into a society where morality and values are no longer cherished. People are driven by wealth, and this practice is not unconnected to the litany of woes that our society experiences. Cases of young people dying in their quest for ‘quick money’ are numberless. Unarguably, the high rate of unemployment, mismanagement of resources by those at the helms of affairs, utter cynicism evident in our religious institutions and others have also been cited as reasons people engage themselves in the unimaginable.

However, we would help our society a lot by refusing not to be driven into egregious acts such as killing innocent people, as Tanko did. He didn’t even think about Hanifa’s innocence, her parents and the fact that she had a future. Mr Tanko’s action, in other words, is a manifestation of the death of ethics in our evil society. George Bernard Shaw was right when he said, “The nation’s morals are like its teeth; the more decayed they are, the more it hurts to touch them.”

Mr Tanko should be punished according to the gravity of his offence. He doesn’t deserve mercy, and the law must not be altered to excuse his egregious act as not deserving of death. For subjecting the deceased’s parents to endless grief, for showing that the human soul doesn’t matter to him, for doing the unimaginable, Mr Tanko must not go scot-free. May ALLAH bless the deceased and comfort her parents.

Ambali Abdulkabeer writes in from Ilorin. He can be reached via abdulkabeerambali@gmail.com.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Kogi State University, Anyigba (KSU), has officially changed its name to Prince Abubakar Audu University.

The Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Kogi State Governor, Onogwu Muhammad, announced on Friday, January, 28.

In a Facebook post, the CPS wrote, “In honour of one of the State’s illustrious sons, Late Prince ABUBAKAR Audu, Kogi State Governor, His Excellency Yahaya Bello announced in 2019 that the Kogi State University, Anyigba should be re-named ‘Prince ABUBAKAR Audu University, Anyigba’

He made announcement in Anyigba and followed it up. Today, the name of that University has officially been changed to Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba.”

The late Prince Abubakar Audu died while at the verge of winning Kogi gubernatorial election for another tenure in November, 2015.

By Uzair Adam Imam 

The governor of Kano State, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has said that the traditional institutions have a role in tackling the insecurity bedevilling the country over time.

Ganduje said being the traditional institutions as the custodian of history, culture, values, morals and ethics, their role in fighting insecurity is tremendous.

He stated this Thursday at the coronation lecture held at the Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil, as part of events for the coronation and presentation of Staff of Office to the Emir of Gaya, Alh. Aliyu Ibrahim Abdulkadir.

A statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor of Kano State, Hassan Musa Fagge, disclosed this on Monday.

The statement added that Ganduje, who was represented at the occasion by his deputy, Dr Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, the traditional rulers have been managing and leading people in their domain by ensuring peace and stability through conflict resolution, in fact, they are respected for the way they handle issues and resolve them amicably.

“Traditional Institutions are led by people who are knowledgeable and revered by their people.”

“The Traditional Rulers possess qualities such as experience and wisdom and give advice that prevents and solve conflicts,” he said.

However, Ganduje went on to say that knowing the role of the traditional institutions towards national development made his administration create additional emirates. 

He added that the aim is to harness their contributions and potentials with the aim of bringing more development to society.

Book Title: Kwaraption

Editors: Khalid Imam and Ola Ifatimehin                                                                                   

Type: Anthology of poetry written in Engausa

Publisher: Whetstone Art and Information Service

Pages: 72

Year of publication: 2021

Introduction:

Although not simple to define, corruption is a major impediment and barrier to Nigeria’s progress. For many years the country suffers a lack of infrastructure and poor condition of living because of corruption, which not only stagnates the nation but also derails it from the path of progress. Although more endemic now than ever before, the story of corruption in Nigeria is at least very old.

A missionary teacher in Kano, Madam Ethel Daniel Miller (who came to Kano in 1917) in her book The change here in Kano complained of a prince from the emirate that gifted her a set of clothes for the simple reason that she is a sister to Dr Walter Miller, thinking that she could influence his choice as a successor to the throne.

Other examples can be found in fictional works such as Magana Jari Ce (1937), where Dan’iya bribed a police officer to deceive his friend, Daudu, in a story titled “An ƙi cin biri an ci dila.” The case of Obi Okonkwo in Achebe’s No longer at ease (1960) and that of The Incorruptible Judge (1962) by Olu Olagoke were just a few out of many similar cases. These are clear indications of how writers used their pen to expose and sometimes fight corruption since the beginning of Nigeria formation.

This anthology of poetry edited by indefatigable Khalid Imam and awesome Ola Ifatimehin contains 51 poems contributed by 45 poets. Nearly half of the contributors are female writers, which is a clear indication that females have come of age in terms of literature in northern Nigeria.

The title of the book “Kwaraption” is a Hausa and English attempt at pronouncing corruption. While the first, “kwara” part is just the Hausa sound of the first four letters, “corru” (in a word corruption), the second part was derived from the last for letters (ption) of the original word. In other words, kwaraption is a corrupt way of saying corruption. Instead of the editors using Hausa translation of the word corruption which is loosely translated as Cin-hanci or Rashawa, or just writing Hausa variant of corruption as kwarafshin, they decided to retain part of the original English words. This is to portray the uniqueness of the work as an anthology of poems written using Engausa which involves coding switch or mixing of languages (English and Hausa) with a view to achieving artistical beauty and increasing richness of literature.

An Appreciation of Some of the Poems in the Collection

Looking at the anthology, one can understand that the poems covered a wide range of issues of interest as far as corruption in Nigeria is concerned. Some of the issues covered are:

1. Recognizing Nigeria as a rich country which is very blessed with both human and material resources, but whose citizens are poor because of corruption and other social vices.

“ƙasa mai albarka da albarkatu,

mai attajirai, masu ilmi da ‘yan siyasa” Hafsa Ja’afar in a poem titled Rashawa (p. 30). 

• The state of the country as far as corruption is concern. For example, Ameer Nasir in Cutar Zamani described the country as one having expertise in corruption to the extent that it is difficult to separate us from corruption “tamkar jini da hanta” (p.17). Basheer Adam Gobir assumes that ‘almost everyone’ in the country is corrupt (p.23). Similarly, Farida Mohammed Shehuin Abin Takaice (p.24)and Khalid Imam (p.37) see corruption as a hazard whose impact is everywhere; mosque, church and in all places, and Khalid particularly described corruption as ‘flood’ that destroys (Corruption Everywhere, p.39). Khadija Hanga in her poem titled Despicable Diseases sees corruption as marriageable girl, however dubious whose main goal is to deceive “a fool”. In fact, as captured by Ola in his allegory, “Kukan Kurciya”, corruption is now “new education”. Because we are so accustomed to corruption that we are given it good names and the corrupt person were assumed to be philanthropist as captured in a poem Philanthropist na gangan (p.26) “barazanar ɗan ta’adda ba ta mayar da shi gwarzo”. Also, YZ Ya’u corroborates this in his “Sai Mai Taimako”. Umma Aliyu educates us on different forms of corruption that we don’t see as such due to level of societal decay.
• Looking at corruption as a cause to many problems this country witnesses.  For example, in a poem “Tick” byAbubakar Isah Baba, corruption is responsible for poverty and insecurity;

It causes abubuwa masu yawa,

Poverty mai kashe gwiwa,

Insecurity mai karkatse rayuwa,

Ga misalan scandals nan da yawa.”

In “Lamentations for a Country,” Adesina Ajala blamed corruption for dividing the country along many social layers “Corruption is the common denominator that divides this land without fractions.” The division is along religious, ethnic, regional and even occupational strata. In “Gobarar Daji” Yahaya Abubakar sees corruption as “alpha and Omega”, hence, the chance of getting out of the current quagmire is very slim,

“ta yaya za mu yi rayuwa sustainable,

tattalin arziƙinmu disabled.”

Bashir Umar blames corruption for bankrolling the country such that it cannot meet its basic needs, he sees it as embarrassing that the country now relies on foreign aid for its development “wai yau ni ke neman aid from foreign organization”. The writers believed that Nigeria has taken a poisonous venom, whose effect transmitted to the children, making them engaged in killing one another “mun ɗauki kansakali, maimakon magani.” Ajuji in his “Bragging da Kayan Sata” captures an attribute of a corrupt person.

“there stand akimbo…

carrying pot belly,

like expected mother.”

• Trying to understand the dynamism and causes of corruption is one other focus of the poets in the anthology. Amatullah Saulawa in her “We shall not be afraid” boldly says:

“yes, it is our faults,

if dictators shift gears,

we bring them back” (p.15).

This is a similar submission of Maryam Baffer in the poem “Har da ni”. However, the politicians are most blamed in the collection because they stand for it

“ko da tsiya ko da tsiya tsiya

sun kasa

sun tsare,

sun raka,

sun rabe”

as stated by Hafsa Ja’afar in Rashawa (p. 30). Lynda Mustapha in her two poems “Write it down” and “Buhu-buhun Iskanc”i blamed politicians for perpetrating corruption in the country. Moses Odozie writes on corrupt civil servants whom he nicknamed “Ɓarawo mai Biro”. Murtala Uba Mohammed, in his poem “Corrupt Nation”, believed that corruption is not limited to politicians, there is also the police, court and parents (p.51).  

• The writers are tense of corruption and eagerly want it to end. Adesina Ajala said;

“Yaushe zamu warke daga wannan ciwon ne?

Wa zai haska fitilar gaskiya cikin wannan duhun baƙi?”.

Corruption is here seen as a wound that needs to be cured and darkness of a night that should be put in the light. In “The Oak Tree”, Aliyu voices out; “yet we hope for betterment”

• The authors not only lamented over the problem, they also recommended some solutions to the problem. Madinah Abdussalam in his “Yours and Mine” sees the solution as public, that every person should do it himself.  He says “who will end corruption in ba mu ba”.

In “Soyyayar Corruption” by Elizabeth Zephaniah, the public is seen as a solution, she metaphorically states “yaushe za mu ga eagle na fighting corruption”. Musa Adam was also having a similar view in his “My father’s 61st Rebirth”. Some of the poets expressed unity as an important factor in the fight against corruption, “dole we have to be united” as stated by Haneefa Musa Isah in her poem “Mu haɗa kai” (p 31). Also, Sani Abdullahi Salisu in his Kwarapshin (p.61).      

Engausa

It was not surprising when I saw this anthology. This is because of my prior knowledge of the debate that started on the page of APNETi when Dr Ola began to release his poems in a fashion of code switch, mixing English with the Hausa language which Khalid and some other members called ENGAUSA and opined that it is new and welcomed development. Some members of the group, most especially Professor Yusuf Adamu objected to that saying that language blend and code switch is not new in poetry particularly among Hausa poets citing a popular line of late Nai’ibi Sulaiman Wali in his poem Damina

“… su yi kasuwa su yi kantuna,

kowa busy sai su damina.

Yaran gari ko sai bal suke,

kowa ka duba very happy…”.

Khalid and his likes were not convinced arguing that the example given is INGAUSA, different from ENGAUSA. They said INGAUSA is a Hausa poem where words and phrases are used to complement the writer’s inability to come up with the right words based on context or meaning as opposed to ENGAUSA which is a poem written specifically with two languages blending and it is purely artistical. In the introduction of this book, the editors maintained this view indicating that they had not shifted their position, more so, in an interview conducted by Ola stated that this Engausa is almost his own daughter.

While this anthology may certainly be the first collection on the ENGAUSA poem, the view that the ‘new ENGAUSA’ is different from the ‘conventional INGAUSA’ is very weak. This is because language swap in Hausa poetry is not just triggered by weakness or inability to come up with the right phrase or word in a context, it is equally deliberate. Also, when we look at recent popular Hausa songs we can see Engausa. In particular hip-hop singers such as Billy’o in his song “Rainy Season” wherein he said:

“Mosoyiya, farkon ganinki na yo confusing,

sai da zuciyata tai ta squeezing,

sai da temperature ta tai rising,

jiri nake sai ka ce na sha poising,

ni ko so nake a san ina da reason”

is a good example of Engausa. In recent, northern Nigeria’s film series such as “Son of the Caliphate” and “Gidan Danja” are also full of Engausa. In addition, Aliyu Idris aka Abdurabbihi is another example, whose poems are in a mix of Hausa, English and Arabic languages even before seeing Ola’s “Sarauniyata” which appeared first in APNETi platform. Agreed, Ola and to some extent. Khalid can take the accolades of popularizing the Engausa and APNETi for holding the first workshop to teach it. It is another issue as to whether the new Engausa has a rule or not. But it is important to state that Engausa is an attempt to mimic how we (particularly the educated elite among us) talk at home and other places.

Finally, I wish to congratulate the editors for the first Engausa anthology and the All Poet Network International (APNETi) and Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) for sponsoring the publication of important literary work that can help in Nigeria’s corruption crusade. The text is truly a noble of a kind. While wishing to see more literary work of this format, I wish the editors will do more in editing the Hausa language in the subsequent publications. I noticed many orthographic errors with respect to the Hausa language, which our indefatigable Imam will share the larger blame for his expertise in the area. I also conclude with the following lines:

Mai biɗar gane corruption,

To ya ɗau wannan collection,

Hausa tare da Englishin,

Sandwich kuma conjugation,

An zubo concatenation,

Kar ku ce contamination,

An yi ne don education,

Tun da Ola ya yi motion,

Ka ga Khalid zai yi action,

An yi  don inganta nation,

Yau kwaraption mun rejection.

The reviewer, Dr Murtala Uba Mohammed, is with Geography Department, Bayero University Kano, and can be reached via murtalamuhammadu@gmail.com.