By AD Raula

I thought I should be one of those facilitating the spate of hatred and senseless vilification against Kano State Hisba over the runs of their functions in protecting the social mores of Kano folks. I once defied Hisba in their command office over their discriminatory treatment of poor people, after which they even locked me off and set me into trepidation of prosecution. This came after they dealt with me deftly and violated my justiciable rights. However, I was granted bail on that night as they could not take me to court after the miniature intimidation. Still, their treatment then was horrendous altogether.

The narration above had happened when I went to their state command in Sharada to pursue bail upon receiving a call from my brother, whom they arrested along with coteries in birthday function at Sharada municipality of the state.

Nevertheless, I didn’t arrive at their office in Sharada till late in the evening. They explained their inability to vouchsafe the detainees’ bail in their custody (including my brother) pending when their lawyer would be available the following day. Subsequently, the backwash of what transpired between us (me and Hisba) was the release of the then commissioner of the environment’s daughter, who was also my brother’s confederate. But we were kept (other bail seekers and me) outside the premises impotently.

My crime in the Hisba headquarters was merely unravelling what they might have forgotten that they represent Islam and that everything they do has to be in line with Islamic manners and principles. In contrast, what they did to us was the blended injustice, and that’s how everything became worst as I couldn’t withstand their ill-usage approach.

Howbeit, the honesty of the matter is that Hisba, as the morality enforcement body, has its shortcomings and lapses just as police and other military bodies have. We all know that their satisfactory moral and shari’a services within which they were established are far beyond that of other federal law enforcement agencies. But, why do we tend to transmit condemnatory gestures to them and not appreciation instead, which I believe they deserve only encouragement rather than the opposite from us as the Muslims? Also, most of these Hisba folks live with their families on low monthly earnings that you can never survive on as their denigrator.

My firm belief is that the existence of Hisba and operations reduce fornications and other social vices to certain degrees that their abolishment or nonexistence would have brought. Similarly, the extent to which they are playing justice between parties is more appealing, acceptable, and equitable if compared with other securities in the country.

In closing, people should know that no codification of laws on earth or being made favour poor folks. On the contrary, laws are always at the side of those with power and wealth. So, please, pray for Hisba, support their effort or keep silent.

AD Raula wrote from Kano. He can be reached via raulerabdul6@gmail.com.

By Engr. Mustapha Habu

The Director-General, NITDA, Malam Kashifu Inuwa, paid an assessment visit to Engausa Global Tech. Hub to assess the level of development achieved by the Hub and the impacts of its initiatives after it emerged as a beneficiary of a grant from NITDA last year.

ENGAUSA had been able to train 313 young people within two years (2019-2020). However, after winning the grant, the number surges dramatically. Today ENGAUSA has successfully trained 800 young people in 2021. The NITDA, in conjunction with ENGAUSA, will therefore conduct an end-of-training event in January 2022.

Before the end-of-the-year break commenced, Malam Kashifu assessed the expertise of 50 primary and secondary school kids, who were trained under a theme titled ENGAUSA CARCH THEM YOUNG.

ENGAUSA presented to the DG what was being invented by young people and Almajiris at ENGAUSA HUB. He was also happy and surprised how they make inventions without having gone to higher schools—as some of them are dropouts with expertise in drawing and innovation of the modern time.

Others on SIWES from various universities and those that have not got the opportunity to further their education are already into robotics and the Internet of Things (IoT).

The Hub introduced other graduates out of the 60 who established their firms after getting trained at ENGAUSA Hub. The firms include THE D E-SERVICES, DASHERE ELECTRIC SERVICES, SD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, and so on.

An outstanding mentee who invented a mathematics learning app called HausaMaths was also introduced to the DG. Another one also built a science and technology teaching app in the Hausa language called Bemitela.Africa.

The DG also met some young people employed by companies in Kano and Abuja, namely JETSON ENGINEERING (that deploys them to COSGROVE estate sites in Abuja), CHOSEN ONE GLOBAL TECH LTD, which has sites in Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, and other states in the northern part of the country.

ENGAUSA HUB presented some 10 Almajiris enrolled for the ENGAUSA CATCH THEM YOUNG and have followed the footsteps of the rest in areas of graphic design and innovation. One of the Almajiris has even been employed by ENGAUSA HUB for his outstanding performance. Alhaji Yahaya Yusuf Kwande (who is not from Kano) is the one who sponsored the registration of the Kano Almajiris.

The able DG of NITDA assured ENGAUSA HUB that his agency would collaborate with the Hub in promoting such developmental projects across the states in Nigeria.

As of the time of writing this, ENGAUSA is part of the Technology Incubation Center (of NBTI) established to work under the custody of the Federal Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation. We also have a branch on Rijiyar Zaki Gwarzo Road and other cities that we plan to collaborate with within Jigawa, Kaduna, and Abuja to enhance modern skills and ease learning initiatives.

Our door is open for anyone willing to collaborate with us in making this a reality.

By Yaseera Muhammad Bello 

Given the indisputable fact that Nigeria is currently trekking on the part of degeneration due to the menace of insecurity that grows daily, some questions have been scalding my tongue, seeking honest answers. What perpetuates insecurity in Nigeria? What machinery drives the brutal car of insecurity that has been killing innocent people in my fatherland? Who is to blame?

An undeniable, albeit unfortunate, fact about Nigeria today is that we read news of devastation on our national dailies for over seven years. The reports we hear on our radio stations and televisions revolve around the menace of terrorism. And it’s an inevitable fact that until we unearth the indices that hamper insecurity in Nigeria, we cannot live a life full of happiness and serenity. That being said, what are the factors that ignited the flame of insecurity in Nigeria?

Despite our portions of blame, our leaders are to be counted as the bedrock of igniting insecurity in the country. This is because we have long been electing incompetent leaders who cannot render their services effectively for the nation’s good. And this is because of the affinity we share with them when they are put into the offices. And at the end, when things fall apart, we’ll be barking like dogs seeking a peaceful society.

On the other hand, unemployment is another worrisome factor that vigorously plays a role in watering Nigeria’s black tree of insecurity. Most of our youths today in Nigeria have nothing to do but join groups that commit despicable acts. And this is mainly due to their state of unemployment perpetuated by the virulent animosity among our tribes. This is strictly said, having seen how tribalism has been hindering youths from getting job opportunities in the count. And at the end of the day, the youths have no choice but to join the horrific menace of insecurity that bedevilled our nation.

Furthermore, corruption in Nigeria, like all the other potent factors dittoed responsible for Nigeria’s insecurity, has its portions of blame. It’s now becoming rampant and our daily meal in the country. Corruption ignites numerous perplexities impeding us, including the threatening menace of insecurity. When leaders become corrupt, they fail to give security personnel adequate arms and support to fight terrorist groups and other factors that might threaten the safety of the citizens. 

Undoubtedly, until we put competent leaders into the offices irrespective of one’s tribe, religion or any affiliation, alleviate unemployment and stamp out corruption in the country, we will still wallow in the muddy water of insecurity. 

Yaseera Muhammad Bello writes from Gombe state is a student of Science Laboratory Technology (SLT), Gombe State University (GSU). She can be reached via misseerahbello@gmail.com.

By Muhammad Sulaiman

At this delicate time and cruel Nigeria that takes advantage of your laziness, incapabilities, lack of purchasing power and goal to actualize one’s dream, it will be hard for the less privileged and children born with a wooden spoon to attain a better by acquiring education. 

Umar Muhammad is a native of Jigawa state and lives in Dutse. A practical example of a downtrodden who may have given up and rejected every instinct that he might someday attain every possible accomplishment that life has to offer through education.

Umar has been consistent in his practical life to make ends meet since a tender age. He has built a definite guide that multiplies his efficiency to actualize his potentials and build his independence. 

Passionate about education, Umar started out and established his Cap-laundering business that has now metamorphosed into one of the most efficient and reliable persons in the town. He has funded his education up to the university level.

At an upheaval time of youthful exuberance, Umar’s story should inspire many people who unfortunately find themselves in similar life circumstances that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. With self-determination, visualization and internalization of self-worth, being less privileged cannot restrict one from actualizing his full potential. 

By Uzair Adam Imam

A 14-year-old housemaid identified as Favour Iwuozor has allegedly abducted her mistress’s two-year-old son, planning to take him to Amraku Umorsu in Isiala/Mberna Local Government Area, Imo State.

Daily Post reported that the maid took the boy from a Sunday school class in church, pretending the mother sent her, but she made away with him and started begging for alms to raise money for transportation.

The maid had identified the 2-year old abducted boy as her younger brother left behind by their parents, who she lied died in an accident in December.

Reports have disclosed that while begging for alms at Yaba, Lagos, one Victoria Nwafor, who observed that the boy was very ill, took both of them to her house in the Sagamu area of Ogun State on December 22, 2021.

Mr Abimbola Oyeyemi, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, has confirmed the incident on Tuesday, 4th January 2022.

He said: “immediately the boy fully recovered, the suspect wanted to single-handedly take him to Imo State,” saying this aroused the woman’s suspicion; hence she reported at Sagamu police division on Monday.

“Upon the report, the DPO of Sagamu division, CSP Okiki Agunbiade, detailed his detectives to go and bring the girl and the little boy.

“On interrogation, the girl confessed that she was a maid to the mother of the little boy and that she left with the boy since the 19th of December, 2021, with the intention of taking the boy to Amraku Umorsu in Isiala/Mberna Local Government Area of Imo State,” Oyeyemi explained.

Oyeyemi added that the maid had confessed that “she took the baby from the church during Sunday school period, and since the Sunday school teacher knows her with the baby’s mother, she had no problem releasing the boy to her.”

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Federal Government has disclosed why it declined to designate bandits as terrorists, saying that it is because of international best practices.
Recall that in November, last year, a Federal High Court in Abuja granted an ex parte application for gunmen and terrorists to be declared as terrorists.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), made the disclosure in a TV show, NTA’s Good Morning Nigeria Show.

He said that the process would be concluded in a matter of days, adding that the court judgement that ordered the government to declare bandits as terrorists would be gazetted.

However, Malami was quoted as saying: “Government has a responsibility to act but within the context of acting, you equally expected to operate within the confines of international best practices associated with engagement and one of such best practices is that you can only use maximum force on groups, individuals that are declared terrorists and that is where the application of the Terrorism Act comes in place.

“With that in mind, Nigeria acted, first by proscribing IPOB, taking into consideration the threats to lives and properties they have caused in the nation. Boko Haram was proscribed.

“The gazetting of a court order or judgement is a process but what matters fundamentally within the context of [the] international convention is the judicial declaration and that has been obtained; the court has declared bandits, kidnappers, cattle rustlers as terrorists.

“So, with or without the gazette, what gives effect to such declaration is a judicial pronouncement but the gazette is a mere formality and it has been on and I believe within a matter of days, it will be concluded,” Malami added.

By Sumayyah Auwal Usman

The Kaduna State government said Tuesday that the ban on motorcycles (popularly known as “Okada”) for commercial or personal purposes is still in force.

The state’s Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Kaduna State, Samuel Aruwan, disclosed that “the Kaduna State Government wishes to inform citizens that the ban on use of motorcycles (popularly known as “Okada”), for commercial or personal purposes, remains in place until further notice”.

He further stated, “the Kaduna State Government continues to empathize with citizens over difficulties which these measures may engender, and implores all residents to comply fully with these measures in the wider interest of general security”.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Dr Doyin Salami as Chief Economic Adviser (CEAP).

An official statement released by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina on Facebook on Tuesday, January 4, confirms this development.

Mr Femi Adesina wrote that Dr Doyin Salami was educated in London, where he bagged his doctorate degree in Economics, Queen Mary College, University of London in 1989. He added that Dr Doyin Salami is a member of the Adjuct Faculty of the Lagos Business School (LBS), Pan Atlantic University, where he recently attained the rank of Associate Professor.

Femi Adesina noted that the Chief Economic Adviser to the President is to address all issues on domestic economy and present them to the President.

By Aeesha Abdullahi Alhaji

I winced while taking the journals I studied back into their bookshelf. Next, I rubbed my back slightly due to sitting in one place for so many hours. Then, I remembered I had a funeral to attend later in the day. So, I called Annabelle, my housekeeper, to prepare a light lunch for me to eat while I freshen up for the day’s businesses.

My junior colleague at the office lost his wife while giving birth. As I arrived at the venue, there was a commotion because Mr Andre, the bereaved, refused to allow his deceased wife’s body to be lowered into the grave. He was crying profusely. Looking at his unshaven face and unkempt beard, I knew he must have gone through a lot these past few days.

My eyes burned with unshed eyes, making me remember a fleeting memory of the worse day I pray never happens to any mortal on the face of the earth. I quickly shrugged off the bitter moment and walked over to the crowd gathered around Mr Andre. He was being consoled, but all was futile. He was devasted at the loss of his dear wife. After the burial, Mr Andre refused to leave his wife final resting place.

After an hour of waiting for him at his house to pay my final condolence, his older brother walked in, worries written over him. He attempted to explain to sympathizers how Andre refused to leave the cemetery. I smiled bitterly and told his family members I would get him.

I went back to the funeral ground, met him staring at her final abode, tears running down his cheek. I sat quietly behind him, asking him why he couldn’t accept destiny and let go of what had been ordained by the Creator. After all, death is a plane all of us will board.

He turned to look at me with a grief-stricken face saying, “Prof. Akin, you won’t understand. My wife and I have been through a lot. She had been through thin and thick of life trials and tribulations with me, but when my hard work is paying off today, she is no longer here with me. So what’s the essence of all I have endured getting if my loving wife is not here to enjoy it with me?”

I chuckled, swallowing a bitter taste that erupted in my mouth. I looked into his eyes. “Andrew, whatever has happened to you today, worse of it has happened to others, and I am one of them.”

My statement startled him. Yes, I nodded, adding: “Do you remember how often you asked me about my family, and I often shunned the topic? Let me tell you something today; I am the last of my kin.” Andre looked more surprised in disbelief.

Thinking about it, I started recollecting the sad memory.

“Darling, please, I have a senate meeting at the university. So I won’t be able to come with you to pick up our kids and their families at the airport but please, help me explain to them. But I will try to go home early enough for the family reunion dinner. Bye, my love,” I told my wife.

I hung up the phone with a big relief. I was not happy I could not pick up our kids coming home after a year abroad. But what could I do as official duty at times comes first?

An hour later, I received a call from an unknown number to come to a fatal crash scene involving a motorcade of cars. I ran out of the meeting; only God knew how I got to the accident scene with my sanity intact.

I could not believe my eyes until I saw the dead bodies of my wife, my three kids, daughters-in-law, seven grandchildren all lying dead. My world turned upside down. Though many people lost their lives in that accident, my loss was colossal. I lost my entire family that fateful day.

I later heard the cause of the accident was that they were in the traffic when, unfortunately, an oil tank lost brake and collided with many cars, going up in flames and affecting the other vehicles.

So you see, Mr Andre, your loss is nothing compared to mine. That tragic incident left me shattered. I go home every day from work with no family to welcome me. I have no family left, No kin to continue my lineage. I can no longer have kids talkless of remarrying because I am old now. My bones are crumbling, but what keeps me going is the sheer pleasure and smiles on my students’ faces. I take solace in them, seeing them as my kids.

So, be grateful at least you still have kids your late wife left behind. You better man up and start being a mother and a father to them. Please, don’t mourn for a lifetime because you have kids waiting for you to fill the vacuum of a mother and a father to them. Death is a whirlwind of fate that comes unannounced into our lives, but anyway, we are leaving the seasonal shade of life someday.

Mr Andre looked at me, dumbfounded. My life story numbed him. I patted his back and told him to go home. He stood up, smiling faintly grateful for my kind words and left. I stood watching the sunset in, a favourite pastime of my late wife.

Aeesha Abdullahi Alhaji is a student at the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Niger State, Nigeria. She is also a member of the prestigious Hilltop Creative Art Foundation, Minna Literary Society, etc.

By Alkasim Harisu Alkasim

The challenges of marriage are common knowledge within and outside Nigeria. To sensible people, marriage is a keystone of luxury life. Yet, although marriage sometimes falls short of happiness and peace, personal uprightness and esteem still accompany and embellish those in the industry.

The marriage industry is chaotic. It is now commonplace to see overaged women competing for the love of a single male person alongside younger ladies. This explains how choked the industry is. Marriage, as an institution, demands a lot from us. To excel in this business, one has to school himself in patience, courage and determination. Otherwise, one will do a lousy job, and things will go south. 

In today’s materialistic world, what we call true love is lacking. Money buys love. A person can date a highborn woman even if he is lowborn. What allows him to do so is bucks. In cultures such as Indian, there is what they call a “caste system” that stratifies the society whereby one marries from within one’s caste. Interclass marriage is an abomination and, thus, a bad omen. Excessive expenses usher marriage.

In northern Nigeria today, to marry means a lot. One has to break the bank to afford marriage and multitask to afford to run a family. The trousseau he will gather robs him of too much money. If not loaded, one will feel like breathing his last while readying himself for this Sisyphean task.

Many a great family pressure prospective male spouses a lot to the extent they feel compelled to compensate their colossal expenditure by undertreating the girls they wed. The sight of the girls bores them; as a result, they start to mistreat them. This also purges them of the hate they hold for these exploitative families.

Poverty is raging, and the employment industry is becoming more competitive. Degree holders swarm places looking for well-paying jobs. As a result, some graduates are now resorting to low jobs that discredit scholarship and the status they are beginning to build. Some, willy nilly, accept works that break the back and pay low, thanks to the devastating nature of Nigeria’s economy.

Telling a greedy girlfriend that your wages or salary is not handsome implies losing her.  It once happened to my friend whose name I won’t mention here, for I feel that should be private. This happened when his family went to the girlfriend’s place. His father honestly told them about the level of income of his son. This bitter truth opened for my friend Pandora’s box. The relationship had since then staggered. In short, the two lovebirds have parted ways.

What hardens the issue of marriage in the North is our belittling the effort of even the hardworking people. We neither accept what our sons-in-law present nor study the situation on the ground. We need to wise up on this. But, unfortunately, some circumstances press people to do only those things that top their priorities.

It is worrisome that many families capitalise on their children’s beauty to milk boys of all their money. Such homes allow their daughters to tryst (zance) with more than a person at a time. In some houses, queues are made every day for a single girl. Boys take turns. Sometimes, some inpatient boyfriends cut in on the conversations of their co-suitors. What a world! The girl is seen as a moneymaking machine. Likely, after cashing in on her suitors, the girl will go out of fashion. Her beauty and charisma will decrease. As she puts on age, her boyfriends vanish, and the likelihood to marry a dream husband reduces. Now it is her younger sisters’ time. When it salaams at their home, the sendee will mention the name of her younger sisters instead. It will take time before she gets dated by somebody. Indeed life is a roller coaster. 

The social commerce between a girl and a boy worsens when the girl’s family pressure the boy for money. As he feels absolutely tired of lifting the girl’s responsibilities, he looks for a way to benefit from the dealing. The social intercourse between a girl and a boy does not stop at the former’s house as the duo rendezvous at their chosen spots. Now, the love glue between them starts to grow stronger. He will undeniably feel the urge to do the unlawful with her to the level he begins bedding her.

The groom has to pay dowry that a time costs him much. There is an amount which, if he pays below, he will have his money returned or hotly debated right at the place where the thing of the knot is occurring. In some instances, such disagreement plants in the groom’s family some disregard for the bride’s home. A bride needs to be lodged and fed. And if the groom doesn’t have his own house, he will have to find a place to sleep with his wife. Today’s brides come with vast furniture; the groom has to look for a house that sleeps like five people to contain his wife’s belongings. 

Believe it or not, the complexion of our societies has changed; we are not aiming at uprightness. We are after money and money-related things. If you are monied, you are everything. You can marry who you want. One can be immoral and still have a choice wife. That is why the deep-pocketed hire people to fake it as their parents/relatives. A bastard, in the world of today, betters a son borne in wedlock. Therefore, to be virtuous is to be well-endowed.

Allah Ka gyara ma na. Amin.

Alkasim Harisu Alkasim wrote from Kano. He can be reached via alkasabba10@gmail.com.