Nigeria

By Uzair Adam Imam

An aggrieved lecturer at the University of Maiduguri has put his personal library for sale as the dispute between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) lingers.

The lecturer, Othman Abubakar, disclosed this in a short note, which The Daily Reality verified, titled, “Goodbye To Education In Nigeria, No Hope”.

The Daily Reality recalls that ASUU has been on strike since February 14, 2022, resulting in the shutdown of public universities nationwide for over seven months.

The union is protesting against alleged infrastructure decay at various institutions and neglect of its members’ welfare.

Abubakar said, “With the destruction of university education in Nigeria today, and the starving of university lecturers by the insensitive APC government, I no longer need these books. 

“Those that still believe that education in Nigeria is important, please come to my office at the address below and buy these books at your own price l am available in the office from 9 am to 5 pm daily, including weekends.

“Access Address: Department of English and literary studies, University of Maiduguri. Sign. Dr Abubakar Othman,” he stated.

Currently, the case between ASUU and FG is in court as the FG dragged the union before the court to put an end to its lingering strike that led to the shutdown of all public universities nationwide.

By Uzair Adam Imam

A Federal High Court in Zamfara State has invalidated the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) primary election that produced Alh. Dauda Lawal as the state gubernatorial candidate in the 2023 general election.

Alh. Ibrahim Shehu Gusau, former federal lawmaker, who contested against Dare in the primary election, took the case to the court seeking justice, adding that there had been many irregularities in the election.

However, the court, preceded by Justice Aminu, invalidated the election and ordered that fresh primary election must be conducted to ensure justice and fairness to all parties.

Barrister Ibrahim Ali, counsel for the plaintiff, while speaking to journalists shortly after the judgement, said, “The court looked at the merit of the matter and decided the case in favour of the plaintiffs.”

He added, “Our prayers were that the primary elections conducted by a committee led by Adamu Maina Waziri be nullified by the court and order be given by the court for the conduct of a fresh election in line with the PDP’s constitution and guidelines. All our prayers have been granted.

“The judgment was well evaluated because we proved our case beyond reasonable doubts and we are happy with the decision of the court.”

By Muhammadu Sabiu

A total of 286 foreigners, including 86 Lebanese, 14 Britons, and 4 Americans, received Nigerian citizenship on Thursday in Abuja from the Federal Government.

At the State House, President Muhammadu Buhari granted the affected foreign nationals the status of Nigerian citizens.

By means of naturalization, 208 qualified individuals who signed the declaration declaring themselves to be Nigerians received citizenship.

After they had formally uttered the national pledge and oath of allegiance for Nigeria, the remaining 78 were granted the same status by registration.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr Buhari gave the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) instructions to present the new Nigerians with the proper credentials right away.

According to him, this would allow people to start enjoying the prestige bestowed upon them, regardless of where they reside in the nation.

Mr Buhari asked them to uphold national beliefs and make an effort to positively impact the communities in which they live.

The president noted that the event was required under the constitution and was intended to exonerate all lawful citizens of the nation from the label of “statelessness.”

Meanwhile, Rauf Aregbesola, the interior minister, had earlier disclosed that the foreigners had undergone a series of exhaustive examinations by the country’s security agencies before being deemed qualified and deserving of Nigerian citizenship.

He was quoted to have said: “Today’s ceremony is a reminder of our common human ancestry.

”These people came from near and distant lands, from different races, religions, ethnicity, and other social affiliations and identities.”

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Federal Government of Nigeria, today Thursday, has said that the family of Kaduna-Abuja train victims should be at ease as the arrest of Tukur Mamu will not halt the efforts to rescue those in captivity.

The Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammed Maigari Dingiyadi, disclosed this in Abuja after the NSC meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chambers.

The Daily Reality reported how more than 60 passengers were abducted when terrorists attacked the train conveying them from Abuja to Kaduna. However, today marks exactly 186 days after their abduction and 23 of the victims are still in captivity while others, on the hand, who regained their freedom, were said to have allegedly paid N100 million as ransom.

The Daily Reality also reported that the bandits negotiator was first arrested in Egypt on the orders of the federal government of Nigeria on Wednesday, September 7, 2022.

He was later brought back to Nigeria where he was, again, arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Our reporters learned that the train victims have not communicated with their families since Mamu’s arrest.

By Ahmadu Shehu, PhD

For the first time in history, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Republic of Poland, H.E. Andrzej Duda, visited Nigeria on 6^th September 2022. Apart from being a landmark in history, this visit has renewed the longstanding alliance and friendship between these great nations and has substantially reduced miscommunications and misperceptions among the citizens and officials of both countries.

The visit has yielded bilateral agreements of enormous importance to both nations, especially on agriculture and technology transfer. Moreover, judging by its history and relationship with Nigeria, nay Africa, Nigeria and its sister nations stand to gain more level playing ground in bilateral negotiations with Poland than many other more advanced western countries. This, however, is a topic for another day.

The resilience of the Polish – Nigeria relationship was tested in the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As the Russian army steadily and mercilessly advanced toward major Ukrainian cities, foreign residents scampered for safety across all Ukrainian borders in search of safety. Thousands of Nigerians, mostly students, found themselves at the Polish border, which was already overwhelmed by destitute refugees struggling to cross into Poland. The scenes and images of the border control points shall never be missed!   

While a lot of misinformation and deliberate spinning of Poland as a racist, intolerant country was being cooked and distributed, the Polish diplomatic mission in Nigeria busied itself with solutions and helping Nigerians trapped in this conflict. A few days later, news surfaced that Polish officials were actually particularly kind to all citizens, especially Nigerians who were given special treatment by various missions based in Poland.  

Back at home, Polish companies and financiers have landed significant business deals to ramp up Nigeria’s solid minerals sector to ameliorate the foreseen global energy crises occasioned by the war. In addition, the Polish agro sector looked at Nigeria as the next solution to the food crises, raising the hope that the Nigerian agricultural value chain would become a global competitor.

Tracing the roots of Poland’s contribution to the growth of Nigeria’s tertiary education in the ‘60s, ‘70s and even ‘80s, several Nigerian universities have found valuable opportunities to collaborate with major Polish universities in various academic fields.

The Nasarawa State University, for instance, had a significant project that translated the works of a Polish scientist whose contributions to the Nigerian academic community cannot be quantified. Several first-class Nigerian universities, such as Bayero University, Kano, have maintained a functional MoU with the University of Warsaw for many years.

In line with its cultural heritage and educational development support, the Polish mission in Nigeria built a specialized school to support Almajiri and out-of-school children in Kaduna State. Although many foreign non-governmental organizations do these kinds of projects, Poland is the only country to start this foresighted initiative as part of its foreign mission activities.

The Polish mission established and sustains a vibrant Polish Alumni forum, which is meant to foster and strengthen the understanding between the citizens of the two countries. Nigerians who studied, trained or visited Poland in a working capacity discuss relevant issues of interest to Nigerians in Poland and the bilateral relations and areas of cooperation between the two countries. This initiative has led to mutually beneficial opportunities for Nigerians and Polish people willing to study, live or do business in either country.    

Polish – Nigeria relations is a sixty-year-old business that stood the test of time. However, to whom do we owe this enthusiastic revival of the friendship between these crucial countries? The bulk stops at the table of Her Excellency Joannah Tarnawska, the Poland ambassador to Nigeria.

Tarnawska is an African-born and bred Polish lady with a degree in African studies from the Faculty of Oriental Studies of the University of Warsaw. Mrs Tarnawska is currently doing a PhD in economics, with a research interest in economic issues in Africa.

Her cultural ties, deep understanding and love for Africa are unmatched. Thus, the amount of success she will record as a diplomat in Africa is promising. Her resilience and understanding of the murky waters of the Nigerian political landscape give her an edge to thrive. The balanced, respectful and dignified way in which the Polish mission now treats Africans will undoubtedly bring back the glory of the Republic of Poland as a true, non-colonial ally of this continent.         

Africa is the future! Therefore, this shall be a win-win for Poland and Nigeria!

Ahmadu Shehu is an Associate Professor at Kaduna State University. You can reach him at ahmadsheehu@gmail.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Join Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has urged the House of Representatives to grant the examination body total financial autonomy.

The Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, who made the plea on behalf of the examination body, asked the lawmakers to remove them from the annual national budget.

He made the call on Wednesday when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Finance on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF).

He added that in 2017, after remitting N7.5 billion, the examination body reviewed its registration fees downward from N5,000 to N3,500. However, Oloyede said the Federal Government should allow JAMB to revert, considering the current economic development in the country.

He stated, “There is nowhere that government funds this type of examination. They actually provide some support for the institution because students pay some token as registration fees, and from it, they bear the responsibility of salaries and provide some succours.

“We are comfortable to be taken off the budget, but there are conditions. One of the conditions, for example, when students registered in 2016, we collected N5,000, and that had been on for five years before I joined.

“When we came in, we remitted N7.5 billion. We felt it was too much and approached the federal government to reduce the fees. We have not added a Kobo since.

“I believe we should revert to the N5000 we were charging. Given the inflation, if we charge N10,000– I am just giving it as an example, nobody will ask the federal government for one kobo.

“I am not aware of anywhere in the world, except maybe Finland— that charges as low as JAMB is charging. In Finland, we know that everything is free,” he said.

By Alkasim Harisu

Thanks to the rapid growth of technology, the world witnesses an absolute change. Technology has afforded the world a one-in-a-million chance to communicate with people all around the globe. Distance, inarguably, can no longer hinder communication. The world, as Marshall McLuhan posits, has been reduced to a global village. Thus, the emergence of cellular phones has, doubtless, permitted people access to all parts of the world. 

Lump it or not, the phone, the above notwithstanding, is a curse in disguise. That is why it is described as a blessworthy and curseworthy thing, occupying the minds of the youth. The sudden spread of the phone has necessitated the proliferation of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, etc. What a breakthrough!

Those virtual platforms have become a commonplace occurrence. Everyone has their favourite social media handle and may be addicted to it or them. Some people own more than one handle. Honestly, chilling and relaxing constitute one of the biggest whys people can’t be less addicted to SM. This answers the question of the use or purpose of motivating the youth to join SM.

Day in, day out, people feel duty-bound to Facebook one another. On running out of data, many of us feel like nothing on earth. Some look like death warmed over. We toil to buy data to watch trivialities. Still, SM is, undoubtedly, a tool for knowledge. The Internet is today the most significant school, the most extensive library and the most learned and experienced teacher. There is virtual, nothing one can’t access, learn, or do on the Internet.

The SM platforms make athenaeums where everyone sells their ideas to the world. The political moguls, being attention-cravers, exploit the medium to attain a considerable following. The baddies, like the wind, sell and buy sex on the platforms. Evil-minded people, so also all forms of vulgarities, avail themselves of the opportunity to win popularity.  As smartphones overshadow all other forms of phones, phonephilia among the youth rapidly thickens.

The level our youth are addicted to phones defies any stress, no matter how obvious. Many youths can’t help surf the net or go online when ailing. I hope this addiction will not accompany them to old age. Instagramming to see ladies’ pictures is a notable reason some of us buy phones. As a result, when our phones do not tweet, Facebook or WhatsApp well, we, without a second thought, look for money to buy better phones. We can do all sorts of jobs to get enough to buy the phones.

Addiction to phones is continuously gaining momentum. I once got my phone faulty. At the moment, the coronavirus pandemic was hitting India hard. I felt an excruciating pain piercing my heart. I could not sleep the night without a phone. As a result, I borrowed a friend’s laptop to keep me company. It was a great difficulty for one to get out of the four walls of our university following the devastating, quick spread of the virus. Fortunately, there is a bank neighbouring it. Thus I used it to excuse my request to go out. Heading to the gatekeepers, I pretended to be going to the bank to correct a problem troubling my account. Instead, I hasted to a market at a nearby place called Gangrar. Having my phone fixed, I  intended a return to school. My return, unluckily, exposed me. Personnel keeping the gate saw me coming toward the school. My pleading a lot softened his heart. Thus, he forgave me. Had he not pardoned me, I would have received a two-week quarantine. 

It is a prodigious task for us to part ways with phones. It is a great difficulty, if not a sheer impossibility, to afford to remove ourselves from phones for two days, or even one, at the very least. I am at a loss for words to think of how to divorce our lives from these gadgets. Our addiction to phones has significantly deprived us of our immature reading culture. Students, nowadays, prefer watching videos on SM to reading. Our books gather dust because they don’t receive reading or talk of good care. Many of us hate to read even short write-ups on SM.

We, moreover, habitually don’t recite going-to-bed and waking-up prayers. It astounds me to see people, upon completing prayers, bring out their phones. They don’t care to say the rosary, not to talk of praying to Allah for guidance. About this, I have firsthand knowledge. Phones enjoy the youth market. The market, or proportion of the phone-buying youth, is overwhelming. Our societies now swarm with mollycoddles whose parents buy them sophisticated phones—consequently, the number of young people who abuse the phone trebles. 

The setbacks social media bring to us are too many to mention and discuss. We, nevertheless, can monitor it. In this connection, I recommend the following:

1. Parents should exercise their duty more carefully. They should not buy their children phones at tender ages. They should also know that proper parenthood does not mean buying their children their wants. Because coddling children is tantamount to spoiling them rotten.  

2. The government should also exercise all the options at its disposal to rid children of phone addiction. For instance, it can recruit good teachers in schools, legislate the age of phone possession and ban less important and vulgar SM handles.

3. Schools should frequently organise debates and quizzes to allow students to exercise their brains. They should also ban the usage of phones in a class by teachers. 

4. society should go to great lengths to watch how youngsters use phones and combat phone abuse by either seizing or reporting the concerned kids to their parents/guardians. More so, society should preach ethics and patience to the youth.

In conclusion, the youth are the leaders of tomorrow. Hence, we must do our best to police their phone usage. We must be extra vigilant about the friends they make at school and at home. Today, one can almost access all sorts of knowledge on social media. Instead of spending our data and time on trivial things, why shouldn’t we watch educative videos on YouTube or subscribe to other well-meaning pages on SM? Because, as a matter of fact, the Internet, believe it or not, is the largest school this epoch has seen.

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

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Federal Government meets the striking Academic Union of Universities (ASUU) at the Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) for adjudication over incessant strike on Monday.

The Daily Really recalls that ASUU has been on strike since February 14, 2022, resulting to a total closure of all Nigerian public universities for over seven months now.

The union is protesting against alleged infrastructure decay at various institutions, as well as neglect of its members’ welfare.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, made this disclosure Sunday in Abuja in a letter addressed to the Registrar of NICN, dated Sept 8, 2022.

Ngige stated that the referral instrument had become necessary following the failure of dialogue between the union and the Federal Ministry of Education.

”The Federal Government has asked the NICN to inquire into the legality or otherwise of the ongoing prolonged strike by ASUU leadership and members that had continued even after apprehension.

“It asked the court to interpret in its entirety the provisions of Section 18 LFN 2004, especially as it applies to the cessation of strike once a trade dispute is apprehended by the Minister of Labour and Employment and conciliation is ongoing,” he said.

The ongoing dispute between the FG and ASUU, which started taking a new dimension, has made some people believe that things have all being politicised.

By Salisu Yusuf

Like other teachers in the so-called Third World countries, Nigerian teachers of English have their dilemma and challenges ranging from sociocultural issues to pedagogical, personality, and condition of service. A teacher has a lot to contend with.

Teaching (at the higher level) in the 21st century has evolved from the traditional teacher-centred to a more pragmatic students-centred approach. Teachers are no longer the dominating forces in the classroom. Instead, they serve as coordinators while students run the show. Ultimately, communicative situations are created in the classroom. Consequently, teachers of English need to be acquainted with the role and place of theatre and drama in education, a method that makes teaching a communicative endeavour.

Unfortunately, students in 21st century Nigeria are no longer interested in communicative situations as education at primary and secondary schools has gone below the standard bar. A teacher, therefore, ought to devise a way to motivate a class of passive learners.

Besides students’ lack of communicative approach, teachers of English in Nigeria are confronted with a dual phonetic issue; a teacher is expected to teach the British phonetic patterning of speech in a strictly diverse Nigerian environment with students under the influence of Nigerian phonetics. The confusion in most Nigerian phonetic realisations emanates from a mix-up of British and American dialects in our daily usage.

Most English words are pronounced in American phonetic realisations. Moreover, Yoruba language phonemics has hugely influenced how we pronounce English words. Therefore, an English teacher must fully explain the phonetic versions to his students. For example, the word “minor” has double pronunciations; the British /ˈmʌɪnə/ and Nigerian /ˈmʌɪnɔː/. Students should know this difference and why the former is the aptest while the latter is strictly Nigerian.

Our students’ lack of reading culture has immensely affected English and literary studies. For instance, some students in literature class don’t want to frequent libraries and read selected texts. Instead, they prefer to visit internet sites, download summaries and read haphazardly. Teachers ought to be mentors in this regard.

A contemporary English teacher must keep abreast with modern English usage. For instance, some years back, a professor of English told our class that the plural of compound nouns such as female teacher and male servant are ‘females teachers’ and ‘males servants’, respectively. While some compound nouns are turned to plural from their first or last elements, the above two and many more are pluralised from their first and last elements. His assertion is, however, today obsolete; contemporary grammar has massively changed such patterns; female teachers and male servants have replaced the former.

 A teacher of English must not lose his head to the identity crisis. Some learners in philosophy and literature subsume into ideological attributes of these fields, thereby becoming victims of pull and inferiority complex. They can only feel superior when they identify with the other culture.

A teacher of English should see himself as a second language user who teaches a foreign language. He should not see himself as an English teacher but as a teacher of English. I have seen a colleague with cultural schizophrenia due mainly to an obsession with English culture. A second language user who sees himself as a  first language user usually suffers from identity crisis, culminating in cultural schizophrenia and, ultimately, psychological turmoil. Many I know have lost their faith and turned to atheism.

A teacher should see himself as someone who mediates between cultures in order to reach cultural equivalence. He should not pretend to be an English man, nor should he speak sleek English through a pointed nose. Rather, he should speak as an African who teaches a foreign language.

This doesn’t free him from strictly adhering to rules governing language use. He should be a traditional grammarian in his pedagogical engagements; he employs some aspects of contemporary grammar in both his classroom and outside classroom engagements.

Girl child abuse, pornography and sexual objectification have immensely affected the teaching profession in the 21st century. Victorianism, that 19th-century literary movement with all its attendant moral lashings, could not stop these deviations in academia. Some teachers see their female students as objects of beautification to be exploited. Female students stereotype and generalise their male teachers as admirers of their sleek bodies. Male students use their female counterparts as shields before their teachers, especially when looking for favours. These and many more are some of the causes of sexual scandals.

A teacher should see his female students as his congenial sisters whom he feeds with knowledge, no more, no less than this.

Many see teachers of English as grammar police, therefore, prescriptivists. I was numerously called a representative of her majesty, the late Queen. A teacher should do away with such social constructs and stereotypes and tackle his work head down. He’s a second language user called by fate to teach a foreign language, foreign culture. Therefore, he cannot escape such naming.

Last but not least, Nigeria’s teachers suffer from poor service conditions. Politicians have turned almost all other professions into… besides their own. Today, a month’s take-home pay of a politician can only be earned by a public servant for his entire working career. An instructor at a college in the neighbouring Niger Republic earns twice my wage.

 A teacher should consider his profession service to humanity, not a means to an end.

Salisu Yusuf wrote from Katsina via salisuyusuf111@gmail.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Reports from Kaduna disclosed that a pregnant woman abducted July this year has put to bed while in captivity.

The victim reportedly called on her ailing mother when bandits abducted her alongside her two sisters.

The victim’s husband, Muhammad Alabi, decried the traumatic development, adding that his wife was maltreated and severally flogged.

He stated that, “My wife gave birth at the kidnappers’ camp on 2nd August, 2022 and since then, both mother and child have not received any medical attention and to make matter worse, we learnt they were being maltreated and flogged.

“We are all dying emotionally and physically, that is why we are appealing to whoever God will use to secure their release to please help us free them.”

Recounting the family’s ordeal, father of the victims, Malam Abdulwahab Yusuf said the bandits broke into their Mando home around 1:05 am on the day of the attack.

“My two daughters used to take care of their mother who is sick, but unfortunately, that day their elder sister, who is pregnant came from her husband’s house to look after her mother when the bandits broke into the house and kidnapped my three daughters.

“They initially asked for N140 million, but now they have reduced the ransom to N50 million. The family has been adversely affected by the trauma. My wife, who was able to walk unaided before the incident, now uses wheelchair.

“We just carried out a surgery on her. I have not been myself, I cannot sleep, once it is night I don’t know how my body feels.”