Bauchi State

By Mallam Musbahu Magayaki

It is no longer news that flooding has washed away about 1,567 farmlands on Tuesday 10 August 2021 in Jama’are Local Government Area of Bauchi State. According to reports by Daily Trust, there were seven villages affected by the menace.

However, Jama’are River, also known as the Bunga River in its upper reaches, starts in the highlands near Jos, Plateau State, Nigerian, and flows northeast through Bauchi and Yobe States before joining the Hadejia River to form the Yobe River. Therefore, if and when over flooding occurs, the resultant effect would undoubtedly lead to the loss of countless lives of peoples’ and destroy their farmlands because of its wide range.

Furthermore, mitigating flooding hazard is one of the responsibilities of ecological fund management by funding the projects to alleviate and manage social-ecological knots. And by extension, the management concerned can liaise with the state government witnessing devastating and uncontrollable flooding risk.

Remember that almost 80 per cent of Jama’are dwellers are farmers where they find it too difficult to get their farming crops for sale in the market when flooding occurs. People from various regions of this country are struggling in Jama’are to buy farming materials. As a result of continuous flooding each rainy season, there are attendant of loss of farming produce.

The government is negligent in mitigating the flooding menace. As the federal government fully knows all the areas submerged by flooding in the rainy season, the government should do the needful before the season.

Advisably, the government should set up committees for monitoring flooding affected areas by observing the type of works that the site needs.

In a nutshell, ecological fund management and state government should, in a matter of urgency, collaborate with World banks flood protection projects to seek their assistance because the projects are capital intensive.

Mallam Musbahu Magayaki writes from Sabon Fegi, Azare, Bauchi State. He can be reached via usbahumuhammad258@gmail.com.

By Sulaiman Maijama’a

Reading the report of the disheartening revelation that the Bauchi state government has uncovered over 7000 ghost workers and pensioners from its payroll, which will enable it to realise over 500 Million Naira savings monthly, has given me sleepless nights this week. This is one of the terrible experiences I have had in recent times. I did not know when I was engulfed by raw, unadulterated pain, thinking about how the state’s governor, Bala Mohammed, is taking bold steps to sanitise civil service and block all leakages, other ungodly and unpatriotic people are sabotaging his efforts. If the government is to employ fresh graduates on the N50,000 salary scale, 500 million is equivalent to 10,000 employees.

 When the global economy is ravaged, and governments all over are trying to cushion the effect. Bauchi State is not an exception; these people fail to have the conscience, unleash their cruelty on the resources of the poor masses. And while these fraudulent people, whom I describe as “demons in human structure”, are benefiting illegally from this organised financial scam, the Governor is unjustifiably being criticised for being seen at fault, and the civil servants are in difficulty. This is, indeed, more than double jeopardy. However, if justice is to prevail, one cannot point an accusing finger at the citizens of the state who have been registering their discontent and throwing a barrage of questions to the State Governor, Sen. Bala Mohammed, seeking clarification on why are the salaries of some workers not paid as at when due. Those who think to seek clarification on issues of this nature is a crime know nothing about the Constitution because every citizen is entitled to ask questions on any public issue, except for classified matters, as by law established.

For a couple of months ago, there have been concerns by the Bauchi State citizens, especially civil servants, as regards the hitches that result in delay of the payment of some workers’ salaries in the State. Because Bauchi State is a civil service state, the problem appears to be the greatest concern of the people these days. The opponents of the PDP led administration take that to their advantage by crashing in, posing questions to the Government in power as to why the delay and why despite death, retirement and record of no employment, there has been an exponential rise in the wage bill?

This fraud in civil service started long before Senator Bala Mohammed came on board as the executive governor of Bauchi state. Though his approach to bringing it to a halt is extraordinary, It appears we have a long way to go as the efforts have always proven to be an exercise in futility.

To address the challenges on the issue in September 2020, Governor Bala hosted a Media Parley with civil servants, labour leaders, Government’s officials, elder statesmen, stakeholders and the Media where massive corruption in the system was exposed. A financial consulting firm, DYNATECH Solutions Limited, contracted by the State Government to sanitise its payroll and nominal roll, had revealed that ghost pensioners had been paid over N700 million within one year. While addressing the government, DYNATECH said the sum of N744,000,000 had been siphoned out of the state treasury.

I was then happy when the Governor resolved not to spare anyone found behind the organised financial crime on the Government’s payroll. Unfortunately, however, less than one year down the line, some people could be brave enough to summon the courage and orchestrate their devilish act, just a replay of last year. Something then is wrong!  For Senator Bala to find a lasting solution to this, he must begin to speak to those found to be involved in collecting undeserved salaries and pensions “in a language that they understand”. What language do they understand?

I remember a couple of months ago when some crooks found to be behind financial scams on the state’s payroll were publicised; their names published on national dailies along with pictures and their places of work. Please, your Excellency, sustain this. Whoever is found indulging in such a shameful act, regardless of his social status, should be breaking news for the day on national dailies, radio and television stations. Their names should make the banner headlines, and their pictures take the front pages of the newspaper. This is the best way to embarrass them, just like they embarrass the responsibility they are entrusted with. It will also serve as a deterrent to others.

Since these people do not mean and wish well for the society as their actions result in general affliction in the society with public institutions being grounded to a halt, please, your Excellency, we want to see them facing the fullest wrath of the law, being chased to jail, for they are nothing but calamity to our journey to promised land.

Maijama’a writes from the Faculty of Mass Communication, Bayero University, Kano. He can be contacted via sulaimanmaija@gmail.com.

By Tajudden Ahmad Tijjani

The Bauchi State government has indeed taken the bull by the horns by suspending the license of all private NCE awarding colleges. It’s a fact that any society that does not prioritise education will retrogress.

The state government’s decision is a welcome development. All private National Certificate of Education ( NCE) granting institutions have had their license revoked in the pearl of tourism because of their negative contribution to the state’s educational development. The standard of education in the state is persistently getting lower. 

For the operators of such mushroom NCEs, losing their license will be a tough pill to swallow. Notwithstanding, it’s the right call from the government’s side because allowing them to continue operating results in the graduation of incompetent, quack teachers who are the benchmark of our state’s underdevelopment.
Indeed, anywhere In the world, the importance of education can never be overemphasised; quality education is essential for long-term development.

Last September, the United Nations (UN) ratified 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to serve as benchmarks for every nation to ensure global prosperity, protection of the planet, and poverty eradication.

All countries and stakeholders acting in collaborative partnerships will implement the plan Goal 4—Quality Education: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning.

The call for a Quality Education, not merely access to any education, by the UN is a great step in ensuring that all children and adults, not just those born with a silver spoon, have access to quality education.

Education is more than just a content delivery system; it is a system designed to help all children and adults reach their full potential and see themselves as contributing partners of society. The former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon set the SDG process in motion in 2012 by declaring that every child must be in school. The quality of those schools must improve so that students are prepared to be productive citizens ready to lead the future. 

Indeed, supporters of our beloved state should applaud the Bauchi state government’s decision to not only renew the licenses of these schools but also to sanction any defaulting so-called institutions per existing laws.

 However, let the government ensure that standards are strictly followed, that rich content is provided, and graduates are produced who are assets and productive in the twenty-first century, rather than liabilities.

Tajuddeen Ahmad Tijjani writes from Galadima Mahmud street, Kasuwar-kaji Azare, Bauchi State.

By Muhammadu Sabiu

Slaughtering of animals on the tenth day of Zul-hijja is one of the core forms of worship for that day. Those animals include rams, sheep, goats, cows, camels. However, the ram is always preferable to the other animals, especially with respect to the tradition of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

In Islam, this tradition of slaughtering originated since Prophet Abraham (AS), when Allahu (SWT) commanded him to slaughter his son as a form of sacrifice. However, on laying him to the ground to slaughter him, the divine command changed. Then the Almighty sent him a ram to slaughter instead of his beloved son.

With the coming of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the final Messenger sent by Allah to preach to humankind, the tradition of slaughtering got attached a full-fledged form of worship.

As part of “ibadat”, it’s highly recommended for every sane, financially capable Muslim to get any of the animals mentioned above—preferably a ram—to slaughter on the tenth day of Zul-hijja.

Looking at how the nation has plunged into an economic quagmire that bites harder, ram buyers are groaning over the high prices of ram in Bauchi. We, therefore, tried to survey the cost of rams and a comparison as to how they were sold in 2020 and how they are sold this year.

A buyer of ram, who bought a ram from Durun market in Bauchi State alongside his other two friends and who pleaded anonymity said, “Rams that ranged from ₦30,000 to ₦31,000 now cost from ₦48,000 to ₦50,000 thereby amounting to an increment to the tune of ₦20,000 each. Each of us bought rams, whose prices were ₦48,000, ₦49,000 and ₦50,000.”

Also, a seller of rams, who also wanted his name not to be mentioned, said, “First of all, I am engaged in the business of selling animals, and Eid el-Kabir is just around the corner. But there is one problem.”

When asked what the problem was, he added, “The animals have become untouchable because their prices are too high. Money is not circulating among people. Only those that are financially strong come to buy. Common people no longer come; they can only buy a goat worth like ₦12,000 or ₦13,000 and get back home. Last year, people had money, unlike this year.”

He confirmed that there had been an increase of about ₦20,000 when compared to last year. “And again, a ram that was worth ₦30,000 last year would now cost up to ₦50,000,” he added.

Tuesday, July 20, was declared Eid Day and, thus, a public holiday in Nigeria.

By Adamu Bello Mai-Bodi

The member representing Bauchi Federal constituency, Hon. Yakubu Shehu (Wakilin Birni) pulled up his trousers and went into the gutters to ensure Bauchi State is rightly apportioned what it deserves from the Federal Government. Furthermore, the lawmaker moved a motion during the plenary on Thursday 15, July 2021, seeking to declare Bauchi State an oil-producing state given that oil exploration started in 2018 in Alkaleri LGA of the state. This is nothing short of bravery; it depicts Yakubu’s sheer love and concern for the development of his state.

Yakubu boldly puts it bare on the floor that it has become imperative to ascertain the fortunes at the disposal of the Federal Government in Alkaleri LGA so as to hasten the process of giving effect to the provisions of the new Petroleum Industry Bill, 2021, in terms of the economic benefit the host community stands to gain.

As a Bauchi citizen, I couldn’t hold back my applause when Yakubu asserted that any community from whose location oil is discovered and or produced is entitled to some extra monetary packages for the upkeep of its environment, infrastructure and health impact. He went further and bolder to make a case for the people of Bauchi to start benefiting from the 13% derivation being the constitutional right in the form of an incentive to the host community.

As expected, the motion, which Hon. Mansur Manu Soro seconded nearly divided the House for obvious reasons, one of which is that there are no reports of production from the Kolmani Well. Notwithstanding, the Ayes have it after a third submission by the Speaker of the lower chamber. It is a crying shame that most of southern Nigeria’s media houses hypocritically reported that the House overwhelmingly rejected the motion despite the fact that the Speaker ruled in favour of the Ayes.

By sponsoring such a critical motion, Wakilin Birni has won a bravery medal for himself and some degree of prestige and assurances for the Pearl of Tourism. Moreover, the motion gives Bauchi people a sense of victory, for it puts Gombe’s unfounded contest over the oil field to a permanent rest. It also serves as a groundbreaking argument for declaring Bauchi an oil-producing state in the country, which shall come to pass God willing.

However, the most crucial component of the brave Yakubu’s motion was his prayer to mandate the committee on petroleum resources (upstream) to invite the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to give a comprehensive presentation on the level of work in the oil exploration currently undertaken in Alkaleri and the successes recorded. This is because we don’t want to be taken for a ride or fall into the same ditch as the Mambila hydropower project that was nearly completed on paper. Bauchi people and Nigerians need to know what is going on in the Kolmani River.

As I applaud Hon. Yakubu, I want to assure him that all well-meaning Bauchi citizens are solidly behind him on this. He must not relent, especially on mandating the committee on petroleum resources (upstream) to invite the NNPC to give a progress report on their undertaking of oil exploration in our state.

Adamu Bello Mai-Bodi writes from Gidado Bombiyo residenceK/Kaji Azare. He can be reached via 08067481928.

By Adamu Tilde, PhD.

For a while now, Nigeria has been witnessing exponential growth in the rise of certificate-awarding institutions and massive production of holders of certificates of all kinds: diplomas, NCEs, degrees, masters, PGDs, etc. Ordinarily, this should be a welcome development. But, unfortunately, this phenomenon comes at the expense of acquiring quality skills, thus resulting in the production of certificate holders with no skills at all or with some skills that are not in demand and/or have no economic value whatsoever.

One comes to realise the effects of this phenomenon when one does a simple close-proximity analysis—for example, over sixty registered and unregistered colleges of education award NCE certificates in Bauchi state alone. Most of the courses offered in these colleges are combinations of English/Hausa, Social Studies/English, Arabic/Fulfulde, etc. The questions to ask are: what are the specific skills that an average NCE holder acquires in the three years they spend in college? Do these skills, if any, have any economic value? If yes, how many NCE holders, for example, does Bauchi state need at any given time?

Again, in Toro, one out of the twenty local government areas of Bauchi state, there are six colleges of health technology and counting. Most of the courses offered in these colleges are diplomas in Medical Records, Environmental Health, Community Health, Laboratory Technology, etc. I may sound so dismissive of these courses, but don’t get me wrong. These are significant courses and, perhaps, with valuable skills to offer, but we already have enough to go around. And, trust economics, its laws are no respecters of irrational decisions: the higher the supply, the lower the demand and invariably the price. So the need to rethink why we do certain things instead of other things could not be more urgent.

Way Forward

To be very clear, I am not presenting anything novel. Our pioneer leaders had envisaged the inevitable need for technical skills for economic growth and development, and that’s why they established monotechnics, polytechnics, and technical colleges across the country. No thanks to unimaginative leadership and penchant for mass production of certificates-wielding graduates that had led to having polytechnics with more students studying mass communication, theatre arts than engineering, computer science, statistics, etc. Nothing can be more ironic.

In the following subheadings, I will argue on why we should pay more attention to technical skills and invest more in establishing technical colleges:

Guaranteed employment

Rest assured that employers lined up waiting for you once you possess skills like plumbing, welding, woodwork, carpentry, masonry, tiling, electric wiring, programming, website and apps development, etc. With an increase in population comes corresponding demands for housing, food, and services. So these skills will forever be in need, so long as we breathe. And in the event you don’t want to be on the payroll of anybody, you can monetise the skills by employing yourself. For example, a diploma holder in animal health and production can engage in the private practice of visiting farms and local markets to provide first aid treatment. There are too many farms to go around. We can say the same about a plumber, tiler, painter, etc.

Less time than conventional schooling

Most technical skills can be acquired in a record time, probably in a year or two, and then you are good to go. The most interesting thing about a given skill is that the more you practice it, the more you master it. Moreover, it is more difficult for a person to forget a set of skills than the paper-based theories learned in school. Very unlike typical schooling (a diploma or a degree), where you would spend 2 or 4 years with no specific skills to show and then sooner you would forget the little theoretical knowledge you have acquired since you are not practising.

High return on investment

Compared to the money spent to acquire NCE certificates, diplomas in health-related courses, and some instances, degree courses, you are better off having any of the aforementioned technical skills. NCE holders and, in some cases, degree holders hardly make up to ₦30,000 per month in many private schools. In fact, even in public service, NCE holders fetch ₦36,000 per month in Bauchi state. When you analyse the time, money and energy expended to acquire the certificate and the monetary reward after that, you will struggle to make economic sense of the decision. So many Keke Napep guys make more than that amount in a month. So much for a heap of certificates!

Again, as a private investor, you are better off establishing a technical college, especially if you would engage in vertical integration by employing your products (graduates). For example, you can set a company that specialises in finishing and look for contracts. Trust me; we have a paucity of skilled workforce in the building industry. We do import tilers, plumbers, welders from outside. That’s how bad things are, and that’s how vast the opportunities are.

And for those who want to ‘japa‘ (to go abroad), your chance of securing a visa and employment abroad is greatly enhanced if you have any technical skills. This is for non-medical professionals and exceptionally brilliant computer wizards.

Note

The argument here is not whether an NCE certificate or health technology diploma or even degree certificate, for that matter, is good or not. No! The idea here is that we should go to colleges and universities to acquire skills that we can use to improve our financial situation. If the so-called certificate(s) you have obtained cannot fetch you a job or equip you with skills that people can pay for, you need to rethink why you were in school in the first place. We have tonnes of graduates and varying certificate-holders roaming the street for jobs that are not there and crying for lack of employment; meanwhile, they have no skills worth employing. We are massively producing what we do not need and under-producing what we urgently need. Something is wrong.

We have to appreciate the dynamics of time. Long ago, all it takes to climb the mythical social ladder and join the much-vaunted middle-class is a certificate of any kind. Whatever or not you studied in the university is immaterial; public jobs were waiting for you. But that was then. Those years of yore have passed for good. There are no more public jobs for everyone. Internalise this and know peace. As for private companies, well, first of all, they are not charity organisations. Secondly, they are profit-driven, so they don’t employ people to fill any underrepresented state’s quota. Thirdly, they reward value— what you have to offer is what counts. You need much more than a certificate to survive. You need skills, not just any skills, but skills that have economic value.

You need to wake up and smell the coffee. Hello!

Dr Tilde can be reached via adamtilde@gmail.com.