Kano

By Uzair Adam Imam

Following the strike embarked upon by the Commercial Tricycle Riders (alias A Daidaita Sahu or Keke Napep), the management of Bayero University, Kano, has directed the university lecturers to suspend all continuous assessments (CAs) that were to be conducted this week.

The directive was on a social media post which the Bayero University Spokesman, Malam Lamara Garba, has confirmed to The Daily Reality. 

It said all planned continue assessments that were to be conducted by the lecturers this week had been suspended pending the strike’s outcome.

The A Daidaita Sahu Riders commenced a seven-day warning strike on Monday, January 10, 2021.

It was gathered that the riders are protesting against the Kano Road Traffic Agency (KAROTA) registration fee.

The agency is charging new registrants N18,000, while renewal is N8,000 annually.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Kano State Commissioner of Education, Muhammad Sanusi Sa’id Kiru, has debunked the wide circulated rumour for the extention of first term resumption date.

Kiru said that the remour is baseless, adding that the resumption dates for Boarding Primary and Secondary Schools remain Sunday 9th January 2022 while that for the Day schools is 10th January 2022. The dismiss was in a release signed Saturday by Aliyu Yusuf, the CPRO Ministry of Education Kano State.

However, the commissioner also called on parents/guardians and the general public to disregard the rumour going round about extension of resumption date.

He added that the ministry has its estsblished means of dessiminating information to members of the public, therefore, if there is any new development, such medium will be used to reach members of the public accordingly. He then called on parents/guardians to ensure that their children return to their respective schools on the scheduled dates as penalties awaits defaulters.

By Muhammad Sabiu

The Kano branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has set to educate business owners in December on its policies and how they can venture into various programmes initiated by the apex bank.

This is contained in a letter dated November 25, 2021, and signed by H.S. Mohammed on behalf of the Branch Controller, CBN Kano.

The letter was addressed to the Students’ Union Government president of Bayero University Kano, requesting the student leader to mobilise 50 of his union members at the sensitisation event.

The letter partly reads: “The Central Bank of Nigeria intends to sensitise manufacturers, traders, farmers, banks, artisans, cooperatives and the general public on the various policies and programmes of the Bank which they can key into.

“Consequently, the Bank is cordially inviting you and your members to in-depth presentations from 9:00 a.m daily on Wednesday, 1” and Thursday, 24 December 2021 at Afficent Event Centre, No. 4 Magajin Rumfa Road, Opposite DTSV Office Nassarawa, Kano.”

Explaining what the event is all about, the Bank wrote, “The ‘CBN Fair’ is a harmonised sensitisation program on all the Central Bank of Nigeria’s initiatives (Real Sector Financing and Interventions, Payment Systems Initiatives, Consumer Protection, Clean Naira Note Policy, Financial Inclusion and Consumer Rights) with a focus on the recent e-Naira initiative.”

By Salisu Uba Kofar-Wambai

By Muhammad Sulaiman Abdullahi

It has been widely confirmed and unanimously agreed by academics and other educational stakeholders that the culture of reading is fast dying across the globe, especially in Nigeria. This may be the reason why Bayero University, Kano, in collaboration and support of Florida State University, USA, established “The Nigeria Centre for Reading Research and Development” at Bayero University, Kano.

The Centre’s main aim is to encourage, support and upgrade the nature of reading and revive the reading culture, which, according to experts, is the only way and key to development of any nation.

The Director of the Centre, Professor Talatu Musa Garba, disclosed this development today during the opening ceremony of the 3rd National Conference on Children’s Book and the Teaching of Early Grade Reading in Nigeria.

Garba added that “It is my pleasure to announce that the Centre is now focused to develop various courses, in collaboration with the Department of Education, Bayero University, Kano, following the expiration of its collaboration with Florida State University earlier this year.

The Postgraduate Diploma in the Teaching of Reading approved by the university and advertised on the BUK official website has already commenced this academic year, which opened last week, on 1st November, 2021. The Centre has also concluded arrangements to offer the Certificate in the Teaching of Reading beginning in July 2022″.

BUK Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sagir Adamu Abbas, revealed that the Nigeria Centre for Reading, Research and Development is now entirely under Bayero University, Kano. He further added that “We in the management pledge to support its operation fully. In this regard, I  am pleased to inform the conference that the construction of the permanent building for the Centre has reached an advanced stage, as the physical structure is currently being furnished and equipped, accordingly. What remains is the landscaping, and the university is making provision for that before the end of the year.

The conference is still ongoing, and it will dwell and deliberate on “Children’s books as tools for the effective teaching of reading skills in the early grade in Nigeria”.

By Hussaina Sufyan Ahmad

Lines of cars on heavy queues return to Kano filling stations on November 7, 2021, prompting some people to accuse the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association (IPMAN) of intentionally creating an artificial scarcity.

Most filling stations have been nil with no sign of activities, while motorists move about looking for the fuel.

Reports indicate that speculation of a possible increase in fuel price by the Federal Government might have resulted in the scarcity.

By Abdurraman Muhammad

As many Muslims around the world are celebrating the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be unto him), the former Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), Dr Abdullahi Baffa Bichi has distributed food items to over 500 households as a philanthropic gesture to commemorate the 1443 Maulud Celebration.

Speaking during the distribution exercise, that took place in his residence at Bayero University Kano, Old Campus, Dr Bichi said the essence was to put smile on the faces of people by cushioning the effect of harsh economic situation in the country.

He noted that many people are finding it difficult to feed their families and therefore, his action was to make them happy on this festive period.

The donated items included a bundle of cloth, bag of rice, millet and maize each and a portion of meet.

“As we are today celebrating the birth of our Noble Prophet SAW, we feel obliged to put smiles on the faces of our brothers who could not afford a good food for their families”.

Many people who benefitted from the gesture expressed their appreciations by describing him as the rising politician who has the interest of a common man at heart.

After collecting his items, Malam Abubakar Idris said, “the items came handy as he had no single grain in his house with a family of five.

Another woman busted into tears of joy, lamenting that it has been over a week since last they cooked a solid food in the house. They just rely on other difficult means.

“We were surviving on crunches for the last few weeks, as we have nothing in the house, my husband died last year during the Covid-19 pandemic, he left me with five children and no one to feed us. The selling of akra I was doing did not last long due to lack of capital. In addition to the food items, he equally supported us with a  by to take-off money to start a business. We really appreciate him and may Allah continue to guide him. Alhamdulillah.”

A director in the One 2 Tell 10 campaign organisation of Baffa Bichi, Honourable Ghali while explaining the concept of human empowerment, noted that the desire was to bail out the needy especially widows, orphans and other needy persons in the society.

Honourable Ghali disclosed that the only way out of the economic crunch is for all the wealthy and public sprites individuals to come up with program that would have a positive pact on the lives of the less privilege by providing them with capital money so as to be independent and self reliant.

“Our desire is to empower people to be self-reliant so that they can as well be productive to the society. No nation can grow and prosper if the teeming populace are in abject poverty and economic dependency. Ours is to teach a person how to fish so that he can be productive in the society,” he declared.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The former governor of Kano State, Engr. Rabu Musa Kwankwaso, has described the rumour of his arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as false and baseless, contrary to media reports.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Coordinator of Kwankwaso Media Center, Malam Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa.

The former governor, according to the statement, has described the petition as politically motivated.

The statement reads in part: “The rumour of my arrest is false and baseless. As a law-abiding and respected citizen, I personally visited the commission on Saturday in order to clear my name and exactly that’s what happened.

By Muhammad Sabiu

The daughter of the late Sheikh Ja’afar Mahmud Adam, Zainab, has been appointed as the new leader of a JIBWIS women body, also known as Nisa’us Sunna.

Delivering her acceptance speech after she was named the leader of Nisau Sunna, Malama Zainab expressed her gratitude to the Almighty Allah for making the event a reality.

She said, “I am grateful for being given this opportunity not because we are better than anybody, but for the simple reason that trust has been vested in us, with the thought that we will try our level best. And we hope the Almighty will spare us from disappointing (you), and may He grant us the opportunity to discharge the good expected of us.

“We, therefore, seek their [our leaders’] guidance in different aspects—in the aspect of praying for us as our parents, and on the part of commanding us.”

She also stressed the importance of the inclusion of women in areas that have to do with community development, adding that women are of great importance in any effort of bringing development.

The naming of Malama Zainab as a women’s leader went viral, thanks to the prominence and influence of her late father, Sheikh Ja’afar.

Recall that the late cleric was murdered in 2007. However, no culprit had been brought to justice even though a former leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, claimed responsibility for his killing on several occasions.

By Abubakar Ibrahim

Those looking for devolution of powers to make the states more powerful than the centre had forgotten about history.

The Soviet Union (USSSR) collapsed when it gave more powers to its states.

Nigeria government has given Governors’ clubs (governors forum; southern governors forum, northern Governors forum, etc.) leverage to the extent that they are now flaunting executive orders.

No governor obeyed the executive order to give monthly allocation directly to local government councils, legislature and judiciary in their respective states.

The antics of southern governors, especially of Rivers, Lagos and Ogun, will send Nigeria to its waterloo.

Governors forums have made them act as devils instead of angels. They have frustrated the inflow of funds to LGAs, state legislatures and judiciary. They have refused to pay the correct minimum wage.

Governors forums have done more harm than good. They are only good at wasting state resources in crisis, crossing the skies in charted flights attending their meetings at various locations. The worst scenario is they will leave their states at the mercy of nobody. Hence, this stagnates work until they are back.

It is time for these unproductive governors forums to be abolished. We like to see state governors behaving like former governors with integrity, people like late Governor Jakande, who had never travelled outside Nigeria and never run away from his state responsibilities throughout his tenure.

Governors like Audu Bako, through under a military regime, would only travel out to bring back goodies for the ordinary person, such as “irrigation schemes” that Kano people are still benefiting from after all these long years. It is a legacy he left behind.

Nigerians should come back from supporting politicians who are only good at building themselves and championing the course of disintegration.

Abubakar Ibrahim can be contacted via ai869802@gmail.com.