Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo has today agreed to move to his former EPL club, Manchester United, after being in Juventus since 2018.

This is contained in an official statement released by the EPL giant on their website.

The statement reads: “Manchester United is delighted to confirm that the club has reached [an] agreement with Juventus for the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo, subject to agreement of personal terms, visa and medical.

“Cristiano, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, has so far won over 30 major trophies during his career, including five UEFA Champions League titles, four FIFA Club World Cups, seven league titles in England, Spain and Italy, and the European Championship for his native Portugal.

“In his first spell for Manchester United, he scored 118 goals in 292 games.

“Everyone at the club looks forward to welcoming Cristiano back to Manchester.”

By Ishaq Habeeb

The media serves as the fourth estate, or the fourth arm of government, that works to ensure that the rights and privileges of Nigerian citizens; rights such as freedom of expression, freedom of information, among others, are well protected and granted under the provisions of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The media carry out the daunting task of holding the government accountable for their deeds, misdeeds, actions or inactions, by informing and educating the citizenry about the state of the nation, which motivates people to insist that the government keep its campaign promises and are sticking to the rule of law in ways that wouldn’t tamper with the lives and well-being of the citizenry.

In present-day Nigeria, however, practising balanced journalism is arguably one of the most demanding jobs, as Journalists are torn between two dilemmas. On the one hand, they have to own up to their responsibility of informing the people of daily happenings and state of the nation, being as informative and as accurate as possible while at it.

While on the other hand, they can’t do that now without inadvertently giving criminal elements, e.g., bandits, unmerited media popularity. This subsequently encourages them and their heinous activities, plus undermining government efforts in tackling the state of wanton insecurity, currently bedevilling us in Nigeria.

Take today, for example, virtually every news media platform in the country is carrying a headline detailing reports of bandits’ attack on the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Afaka, Kaduna state. In the attack, two or so officers were reportedly shot dead and one other allegedly abducted.

Recently, rumours were that the APC government, in its autocratic fashion, attempts to gag Nigeria’s media from reporting successful terror attack stories. It is part of its efforts to demoralise the terrorists, instead of emboldening them with catchy news headlines by the media, especially about such embarrassing attacks on key federal facilities as NDA and/or it’s personnel, whenever there’s any.

The policy, undemocratic as it may seem, may not be entirely misplaced. However, if there’s strong political will, the government can do a lot better in handling the insecurity problem than just gagging the news media for simply doing their job legitimately.

As i penned this, the bandits that attacked, killed and kidnapped Nigerian army personnel today, at their strongest base, are probably out there somewhere right now, reading the trending news headlines, gloating, having a house party and perhaps, promoting their daredevil commandants behind the brazen attack on Nigeria’s strongest military facility, for their dare devilishness.

Now you can see how the media, by simply doing their job, are inadvertently giving the bandits undeserved media popularity, which is what the government was thinking – in their narrow approach – when they moved to regulate the way media reports such news, which is, of course, morale-depleting for the security operatives and morale-boosting for the terrorists.

Ishaq Habeeb is a pubic affairs analyst and a freelance journalist; he writes from Nigeria and can be reached through simplyishaqhabeeb@gmail.com.

By Muhammad Abdurrahman

Despite millions of applications by Nigerian Muslims for the Central Bank of Nigeria’s interest-free interventions, the apex bank decides to discard this critical project.

A year ago, on July 24, 2020, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) unveiled series of guidelines for the non-interest financial interventions under its Agri-Business, Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS), Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF), the Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme (AADS) and host of others. Millions of Nigerians, especially Muslims guided by the sermons of prominent clerics and the assistance of many Muslim IT specialists and academics, applied for these CBN’s interventions.

Nevertheless, more than a year later, there has not been any information or explanation from the CBN regarding these crucial programmes. As a result, Nigerians are now left only with speculations, which are gradually gaining ground.

Many people alleged that some interests within the bank and the country’s financial architecture sabotage the interventions, with all the consequences on the Federal Government’s acclaimed concern for integrated development.

In a statement signed by the National Secretary-General of the Da’awah Coordination Council of Nigeria (DCCN), Engr Ahmad M.Y. Jumba said, “It will be a great disservice for the Federal Government, which has been widely applauded for this milestone, to allow this intervention to end up in the dustbin of calculatingly sabotaged policies and programmes. If the CBN is serious, why then the delay in implementation even as it continues to implement other programmes?

“The Da’awah council calls on the authorities concerned to expedite action and make those interventions immediately available, accessible and affordable. At a time when many Nigerians are suffering from extreme poverty and hunger, when small businesses are crumbling due to lack of capital, when millions of youth are roaming the streets with no jobs and no access to start-ups; at this time of hyperinflation amidst dwindling incomes, we find it suicidal for the CBN to remain conspicuously silent about a programme that has all it takes to support Nigerians get out of poverty and put our dear nation on the path of inclusive growth and sustainable development,” Jumba lamented.

Some applicants contacted by The Daily Reality cried out that as is the norm for Muslim faithful, they had resorted to prayers and anticipation for God’s intervention. On this note, Jumba also added that:

“It is our hope that the Federal Government will fulfil its promise by directing the CBN to immediately release the modalities for accessing those interventions in the shortest possible time.

“We will call on all religious leaders, Imams, in particular, to use their pulpits and deliver QUNUT against any person who is deliberately engaged in sabotaging the interventions,” Jumba concluded.

Men of the Department of State Services Thursday stormed Sheraton Hotels in Abuja, where the Saudi Ministry of Health was interviewing doctors for recruitment.

The DSS operatives arrived at the interview venue, dispersed the medical doctors and arrested Marcus Fatunde, a journalist that works with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting.

However, the journalist was later released, and the interview exercise has been suspended.

Most of the doctors at the interview venue were either unemployed or poorly paid.

Doctors in Nigeria have on several occasions embarked upon industrial action due to bad working conditions and underpayment.

By Salisu Yusuf

Saturday, the 21st of August, 2021, marks a black day in our march towards achieving social equilibrium among Nigeria’s two social classes: the poor and the elites. The picture on social and conventional media of President Buhari, former President Jonathan, Atiku Abubakar, Femi Fani-Kayode, etc., dining, laughing, exchanging banter, posing for the camera at Bichi speaks volumes on the future of the masses in Nigeria.

On the one hand, these men would quarrel, argue and set their followers against each other just to win elections. But, on the other hand, they shower elitist solidarity to one another when anyone in the circle is celebrating or mourning. Alas, it’s the poor who’s socially excluded even though it’s through him they rode to power. 

While the glitz and glamour were going on at Bichi and Aso Villa, in Batsari, Danmusa and many palaces, people are running for their lives; some are bereaving the dead ones. Moreover, many are abducted by bandits. For example, over 150 Islamiyya students from Attagina (Tegina) in Niger State were, for months, in captivity. Six died, including a three-year-old boy. What do you think if these children belong to the upper class? It’s high time our politicians show class, empathy and maturity.

Today, Nigeria represents every aspect of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others,” says the satiric work! Clover, one of the most loyal and hardworking characters, symbolises the Nigerian poor. For the poor is the only symbol of loyalty and toil to the Nigerian state like Clover. Clover’s realisation toward the end of the novel of betrayal of the so-called revolution depicts the current sad reality:” if she herself had any picture of the future, it had been a society of animals set free from hunger and the whips, all equal, each working according to his capacity, the strong protecting the weak.” 

Photos of the number of jets grounded at Aminu Kano International Airport on social media depicts the sad reality. On the one hand, it reveals the massive gap between the elites and the poor. But, on the other hand, it reveals the security situation in the country and why our elites are reluctant to address it; they travel on planes, we travel by road, where kidnappers set up roadblocks. 

From the wedding scene, receptions, the phones distributed, to Abuja where the bride is conveyed, the glamour exhibited reflects how far we’ve regressed to the version of 18th-century capitalist Britain and its attendant ‘Enclosure System’. Oliver Goldsmith sums up our predicament in his famous ‘The Deserted Village’ when he says, ” to see profusion one cannot share, to see ten thousand baneful arts combined.. to pamper luxury and thin mankind.” 

Today, there are designated federal parastatals and ministries such as Petroleum, Finance, CBN, Federal Inland Revenue, etc., where the children of the poor can’t work; for them, these covetous places are uncharted territories. They’re meant for the rich.

Today, our leaders are attributed with everything elitist and why elitism represents. One salient legacy our man will be remembered is his earnest response to elites’ birthdays. They’re the hallmarks of elitism because they’re the only group who celebrate it. However, a poor isn’t after birthdays; he contends with his security and daily bread in a hostile socio-economic environment. Thus, he neither gets the bread nor feels secured; he’s barred from farming by a group that catches him and demands a ransom from his low-income family members who are too hungry to pay.

Sadly, the so-called ardent supporters couldn’t differentiate between sad reality and fantasy. Those who sometimes cried in the past, when we were in the new normal, can’t cry now when the new not normal sets in. We’re besieged from every angle of our home. The attack on the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) this week is the last straw…the definition of Nigeria and what it symbolises: chaos.

The government has so far mastered the art of rhetoric. They can rhetorically speak in the language the criminals understand; but can’t speak in the language the Talakawa understand: that provides the basic social services.

Never in the history of politics in Nigeria has a political figure garnered so much goodwill and solidarity from the poor like President Buhari. But, alas, the goodwill and the solidarity aren’t reciprocated. A conscientious man can’t sleep soundly when his subjects are daily hunted like dogs. Those poor masses who toil and sweat… 

As for now, the hope of the poor is so slim, for hunger, bandits, and elites besiege him.

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

By Muhammad Sabiu

The Hausa-speaking community on social media, especially Facebook and Twitter, is today celebrating World Hausa Day for the seventh time.

However, Nigeria’s Twitter ban early this year has reduced much of the day’s celebration on the microblogging site.

The day was first introduced and celebrated in 2015, courtesy of concerned social media users such as Jamila Kabiru Fagge, Abdulbaki Jari, Bashir Ahmad, Salihu Tanko Yakasai, Faisal Abdullahi, Ila Bappa, Maryam Ado, others. The objective was to promote the Hausa language, its development and the challenges it faces as one of the major languages in West Africa.

The day allows Hausa users to come up and post witty Hausa sayings and make corrections as to how the language is used in conformity with its orthographical rules.

Hausa is one of the most spoken languages in Africa. It is spoken in about 30 African countries, with over 100 million speakers.

The language gathers momentum each day as several renowned media organisations broadcast in it. For example, media houses like the BBC, VOA, DW, Radio France International and the like broadcast in the Hausa language.

However, some social media users lament some challenges that the Hausa language and its people face today.

For example, Nurudeen Dauda wrote the following in his article: “Our people almost regarded begging as [a] profession. All well-meaning Hausas should and or must make [a] serious effort towards discouraging our people from begging. After all, we are not the only people suffering from poverty in Nigeria. It is among all!”

By Ishaka Mohammed

The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, has received the NPF Special Investigation Panel (SIP) report on the alleged indictment of DCP Abba Kyari. 

In a statement signed by the public relations officer of the Nigerian Police Force, CP Frank Mba, the IGP received the report on Thursday, August 26, 2021.

The IGP commended the panel and assured the general public that appropriate actions would be taken after carefully reviewing the report. “[IGP] reiterated as always the commitment of the Force to justice for all,” the statement reads.

According to the chairman of the panel, DIG Joseph Egbunike, “The report presented contained the case file of the probe, evidences and findings as well as testimonies from DCP Abba Kyari and other persons and groups linked to the matter.”

Recall that the panel was inaugurated on August 2, 2021, to probe the alleged indictment of DCP Abba Kyari by the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The case centres on Mr Kyari’s involvement in a multimillion-dollar transnational fraud involving Ramon Abbas, aka “Hushpuppi”, who is currently in the custody of the US authorities.

By Muhammad Sabiu

The ISWAP terror group in the northeastern part of Nigeria has suffered a heavy casualty on Wednesday as at least 43 of its members were killed in a gun duel with troops of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF).

Unfortunately, a military official said that seven soldiers also lost their lives during the battle.

Sources in the know of the incident stated that the troops came under a heavy attack by members of the terror group in Diffa province of Niger Republic.

A spokesman of the joint task force, Colonel Mohammed Dole, praised the soldiers for preventing the insurgents from attacking them.

The colonel, in a statement, said, “Troops of the Sector deployed in Baroua came under heavy attack by suspected BHT/ISWAP criminals in the small hours of Wednesday 25 Aug. 2021.”

“At the end of the encounter, a total of Forty-Three (43) dead bodies of BHT/ISWAP insurgents were scattered around the engagement areas.”

Colonel Dole also disclosed that an unnamed leader of the terrorists was captured alive. 

He added that a “large cache of arms, ammunitions were recovered, and four enemy gun trucks were destroyed.”

By Sumayyah Auwal Ishaq

The Kaduna State Government, under the leadership of Governor Nasir El-Rufa’i, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on gas utilisation and expansion with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria (GACN).

During the signing ceremony today in Kaduna, the governor said the MoU has brought nearer the availability of a significant additional energy source for businesses and residents in Kaduna State.

“For the Kaduna State Government, this project is a welcome boost to our investment and job creation strategy. It will create jobs and provide skills for artisans who will work on the gas pipelines and associated infrastructure. Beyond that, this project will power the industries that have responded with enthusiasm to our investment promotion campaign,” El-Rufai said.

On his part, the General Managing Director, NNPC, Mele Kyari, said the management of NNPC would make sure the partnership work. He also commended the governor for his excellent leadership skills.

By Muhammad Sabiu

The governor of Zamfara State, Muhammad Bello Matawalle, has advised the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on security.

Mr Matawalle made the recommendation when he hosted Ali Janga, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, in charge of Zamfara, Sokoto and Kebbi on Wednesday.

The governor also expressed his concern over the incessant attacks of bandits on communities in the northwestern part of the country, which, according to him, are what call for the declaration of a state of emergency on security.

A statement made available by Zailani Bappa, Special Adviser, Public Enlightenment, Media and Communications, indicates that the governor said: “No one feels safe anymore, and the only way to return the country on the path of sanity is to act out of the box.”

He also praised the federal government and security personnel for their diligence in the fight against killings in the region.

Nevertheless, he said, “extra effort is required to contain the growing security problems that are mounting by the day.

“The problem in Zamfara State is quite unique from those in other places and therefore require very careful and constructive solutions to control it.”

The state has, over the years, suffered killings and kidnappings, which lead to the death and displacement of countless people.