Northern Nigeria

By Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu

Muhsin Ibrahim had started a very interesting thread on his Facebook wall about language usage in northern Nigeria. Basically, the argument is about whether predominantly Hausa (his publics) should intensify their use of English in public discourse, especially now that things are getting more virtual. There has been a lot of resistance in using English among the Hausa because of the belief that using English (or other languages, except Arabic) leads to the erosion of identity. Muhsin urges the Hausa to embrace or at least immerse themselves as much as they can in the English language to gain a competitive advantage. I agree with him.

The arguments against the use of English are predicated upon language and identity. Generally, language symbolizes our identity and conveys identities to those who speak them. But how true is this in an interconnected world? I have a friend whose children were born in Hong Kong. They are adults now. They hardly speak Hausa. Does that make them Chinese? Imagine an Urdu-speaking Pakistani immigrant whose children were born in Wales and do not speak Urdu. Does that make the children Welsh?

In South Africa, the apartheid regime used language as one of the yardsticks, besides skin colour, to develop its divide-and-rule ideology against the black population. If a Black South African somehow was able to speak fluent Afrikaans, does that shifts his identity and make him White? I have encountered Hausa merchants in the Deira section of Dubai’s textile market speaking fluent Hindi – are they then Indians?

I once encountered a Yoruba mechanic in Gusau – born and bred there, but could only speak the Sokoto dialect of Hausa, not my absolutely wonderful Kano dialect, and informed me that although his parents were Yoruba, he does not speak the language. So, what was he? Bayarabe or Bazamfare? The Kano Hausa even created sociolinguistic categories for his situation: ‘Ɗan Kasa’ (‘son of the soil’), ‘Muna Kano’ (immigrant non-Hausa, Hausa-speaking), ‘Muna Hausa’ (immigrant, non-Hausa, retaining immigrant language identity). The two ‘outsider’ categories are easily recognized by Kanawa, who describe their Hausa as ‘wata iri’/strange. Oh, they will interact freely with you – until you come to marry one of their daughters!

So, does merely speaking a particular language confer on the speaker the identity of the originators of the language? We learn English and Arabic. Become fluent in them. Does that make us English or Arabs? Thus, if we speak other languages besides our mother tongue, does that shift the specific gravity of our identity? I have three adult children (an oxymoron, I know, but there you are!). We always address each other in Hausa, but we always write to each other in English! Does that alter our identity?

Then the big one. Any DNA test on me will reveal that I am genetically Fulbe (Silsilɓe/Torodbe mix). I don’t speak Pulaar. I tried to convince myself that I should speak Pulaar as a form of anchor to an identity. When I asked Aliyu U. Tilde about the easiest way to learn the language of my genetic ancestors, he suggested marrying a Fulɓe woman! Not on the cards – I am a single-wife person for life.

So, I moved into the anthropology of cultural preservation. At one stage, I was even the Grand Patron of the Fulani Development Association of Nigeria (FULDAN) Kano Branch. During one or two erratic meetings, I was the only one who could not speak Pulaar – and I was the Chairman! We set up an evening class school at Gidan Makama school in Kano to teach Pulaar. Not many people came – despite the usual posturing of many Kanawa that they are Fulɓe.

Next, with some funding from Maison des Cultures du Monde in Paris, I produced two CDs of Pulaar children’s songs (Surbajo, Short Round Crew), and with the help of the British Council in Kano, held a Pulaar music festival, Voices from the Desert, and included a Pulaar rap song (Wazobia Waru). I have no clue what the artists were singing! I next personally sponsored a series of video lessons on how to speak the language and paid lots to make the finished product sleek and professional. I planned to upload the lot on YouTube. That was four years ago. I never got around to it. If I could, somehow, learn Pulaar, what, exactly, would I do with it – none of my publics speaks it; so, with whom will I converse this new form of lost-and-found language identity?

I stopped all that and quit deceiving myself on the issue. Not even my great-grandparents from both sides of the genetic pool spoke it. At all. Only lovely, glorious, wonderful Hausa. In this, I stand with The Nigerian Bahaushe, where I belong. Gregor Mendel, the father of the modern study of Genetics, rest in peace.

So where do I find the intersection of my identity – at the junction of Hausa and Pulaar languages? And please, don’t say ‘Hausa Fulani’. There is absolutely nothing like that. The fact that the ‘Hausa’ was written before the ‘Fulani’ suggests a linguistic dominance, at the very least, not a genetic chiasma.

Yes, there is often a particularly strong link between language and a sense of belonging to a national group, a sense of national identity. Further, although fears are voiced in some countries about the loss of national identity caused by learning foreign languages, especially English, there is little, if any, research evidence to justify this fear. Studies of language and identity have traditionally focused on how individuals or groups maintain, construct, project or negotiate their social identities in and through linguistic practices. Speaking English, however, does not make you English (not to talk of being Welsh, Irish, or Scottish), even if you are British.

It is believed that languages become endangered when they are not passed on to children or when a metropolitan language dominates over others. The tenacity of the Hausa language and its speakers will only endanger those who come in contact with Hausa, not the other way around. No matter how much immersion in English the Hausa have, I doubt if they are in danger of losing their language and identity. After all, what is identity?

Broken down to the interpersonal level, identity is a person’s sense of self, established by their unique characteristics, affiliations, and social roles. We must therefore see identity as a shifting focus on multiple planes – cultural identity, professional identity, ethnic and national identity, religious identity, gender identity, etc. Language can bind but not suppress them.

Thus, acquiring the English language gives the Hausa a competitive advantage in any international communication while, at the same time, tenaciously retaining their identity. I know. I am one of them!

Prof. Adamu can be contacted via auadamu@yahoo.com.

By Maimuna Abubakar

People’s opinions of others have always psychologically impacted their social relationships and behaviours without considering an individual’s mental state and capacities. Many people say things to each other that are more painful than some physical injuries. Often that has detrimental effects on the psychological well-being of the parties involved. The issue of body shaming often results in self-loathing and even compels people to yearn for people’s validation.

Body Shaming is the act of humiliating a person by mocking, making jest, or making critical comments about their physical appearance in the form of the person’s body size, shape or weight.

Often, those who body-shame others claim to be just joking. However, the negative impacts of body shaming are numerous; it makes victims self-conscious, brings about issues of low self-esteem and poor self-confidence, and makes victims question their self-worth. Mentally, it creates the feeling of self-disgust or shame in the victims, while some feel like they have some biological defects like something is wrong with their biological makeup.

The media, especially social media and some product marketers, have succeeded in projecting what an “ideal body type” should look like, which is where most body type critics derive their inspiration. They believe that one has to be at least close to those “ideal body types” or that such a person is lacking in their physical structure.

Although fat shaming is the most common form of body shaming, people must understand that ‘skinny shaming’ is just as hurtful as fat shaming. Because some people are naturally thin or fat, it is in their genetics. Therefore, they can’t just gain weight or lose it simply because people say they should.

Body shaming has led many people to develop eating disorders that can be fatal to their general health, such as Bulimia Nervosa and Anorexia Nervosa.

Bulimia or Bulimia Nervosa is a serious disorder that occurs chiefly in females, characterised by compulsive overeating usually followed by self-induced vomiting and is often accompanied by guilt and depression.

Anorexia or Anorexia Nervosa, on the other hand, is another serious disorder in eating behaviour characterised by a pathological fear of weight gain leading to faulty eating patterns such as prolonged starvation.

Eating disorders are currently the mental conditions with the highest mortality rates, as research statistics show in Japan, the USA and other cities worldwide (BMC Psychiatry: 2020).

Body shaming has led to so many attempted suicide. Victims of body shaming, over time, begin to hate themselves as they view themselves through the lenses their critics see them. So many potentials are not discovered because victims of body shaming dread people’s criticism about their physique and, as a result, prefer to keep themselves hidden.

When I opened up a discussion about body shaming with some of my friends and classmates, it surprised me how many of us have, at one point in life, suffered at the hands of body type critics, and some are still suffering.

One of such friends, who is chubby, told me that when she was in her second year at the university, her roommate pleaded with her not to conceal her beauty by putting on the hijab over her well-tailored dress. When she refused to oblige, her roommate accused her of being insecure about her body weight and diagnosed her with an inferiority complex. She said that comment made her see herself differently and that throughout that academic session, she questioned her every action, constantly assessing herself until she deliberately learned to love herself for who she is.

Another close friend recounted how her close friends, immediate and extended relatives, would say things like: “Ina zaki kai wannan jiki haka?”, “Da dai kin rage cin abinci ya fi ye maki saboda maza bã sã son mace mai qiba“, “Wacce ko kyau ba ki yi ba. Wannan qiba haka wazai kwasa?” Her friends will joke about her body size, “me kike ci ne haka, muma a san ma na mu ci mu yi qiba“.

They possibly may not intend to hurt her feelings, but little did they know that such comments shatter their friends’ and families’ self-esteem.

Another said that her professor kept addressing her as a married woman, always asking her about her husband and children in class. Her classmates would laugh about it, and she would laugh too. Still, it hurt her every time he made such comments because she believed he assumed she was married simply due to her plus size.

A very close friend said that when she was a teenager, she hated herself so much that she always had suicidal thoughts because people kept telling her that she was too thin, too skinny, too bonny, shapeless etc. “Don’t put on tight-fitting jeans; it’ll expose your thinness”, “Put on baggy dresses to conceal your shapelessness”, “You look more like a boy than a girl”, “You’re ugly and unattractive, please eat some fatty foods to help you gain weight so that you’ll look presentable”, etc.

Although females get more body shamed, men, too, are victims on several occasions. A cousin has refused meals several times because anytime he sits to eat, his parents remind him how fat he is growing and how he needs to watch his weight. They will always compare his size to his friends and other cousins. These are his very own parents!

Another 20-year-old I met recently told me she wished God hadn’t created her because when she was in secondary school, some of her classmates and neighbours always complained about how thin and unattractive she was. It made making friends difficult for her because she couldn’t discern who liked her for real and who was just tolerating her. She, therefore, grew up in solitude, always alone. But now she finds herself in the university and realises she can’t continue her solitary life, yet she doesn’t know how to approach people. She was literally scared of even talking to me.

So, to the parents who see fault in their children’s biologically inherited physical structure, I hope you remember your role in bringing such a child to life. If you find their body size, shape or weight repulsive, remember that your genetics created them.

To friends ( or so-called), relatives ( immediate and extended ) and other members of society, please DO NOT verbally abuse people with your judgemental, unsolicited opinions of them. There’s no nice way of body shaming; “I was just joking” is only an excuse to humiliate people whose daily struggles your feeble mind may not be able to contain.

Finally and most importantly, to the victims of people’s insensitive, inhumane criticism about how you look and why you look that way, know that YOU DO NOT need anyone’s validation to be whom you want to be. Work on yourself, eat healthy, exercise to avoid illness, and keep a healthy head space.

Maimuna Abubakar is a Sociology student at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. She sent this article via maimunaabubakar200@gmail.com.

By Musa Kalim Gambo

Around this time in 2015, the most populous black nation on earth was on the eve of casting her protest votes in favour of a highly populist politician. A politician who has by then taken blows from three different rounds of defeats at the polls. The very politician who has promised to end our perennial problems of corruption, insecurity, and economic instability once he emerged as the Grand Commander of our beloved nation. This promise was well accepted with the only collateral of a previous track record and a much-touted reputation of integrity. A dim lamp of hope was hoisted so high that the septuagenarian holding would sweep away all our troubles. He would lead us to prosperity and make life so easily affordable to even the almajiri on the streets.

When this Messianic politician finally defeated a sitting president with the free votes of the talakawa, it was a precedence that many of us have never imagined would ever occur in our part of the world or lifetime – in an atmosphere so chaotic and toxic, where powerful politicians could easily use instruments of the state and streets to hijack the God-given democratic will of the people.

When this occurred, there was celebration all over the nation – many patriots either slaughtered animals or lost their lives at the climax of the celebration of this ‘change’, the infamous slogan of the political party of the Messiah. So life was supposed to change for the better. Now we have one of us at the Rock, one who deeply cares about our woes. Almost eight years later, life continues to get bitter at an exponential rate.

The very people who would throw heavy rocks at anyone who dares criticise the Messiah now despise his name. Some of them were reported to have thrown rocks in the air last week as a form of protest against the new developments that have emerged out of his determination to leave a ‘legacy’ of a better nation. A state governor almost withdrew an invitation extended to the Messiah to commission some of the good works that have been done for the benefit talakawa of his state. With this turn of events, one wonders, are we living a mass national nightmare? Life could only have so changed in a nightmare – someone has to wake us up – the dream of buying a liter of PMS at the rate of ₦50 must not metamorphose into ₦185, or is it ₦350? Please wake me up. No one should remember that ASUU has been on strike for cumulatively over two years in the past eight years. This was not part of our dreams when we set out to vote for a Messiah in 2015. Let us only remember that events at the international scenes shaped our local reality, even if our dream is obviously a nightmare now.

It is certainly true that it is now safe to travel on the highways of the Northeast, even at night, unlike before and in the early days of 2015. But how safe is it to travel in the North-west even at midday today? How safe is it for the talaka in Birnin Gwari to go to his farm? Anyway, the road was safe for the presidential candidate of the ruling party to have travelled for several hours recently.

So much has been anticipated about the coming this year. At some point, I thought of boarding the Abuja – Kaduna train to escape from the uncertainties leading to this year of hikes in fuel price and scary increases in the price of basic food items that keep the talaka alive, like the maize.

As this much-awaited year began, I have so much concern, especially over this maize. There are contending issues surrounding the new elite status that our maize has acquired – the cost of fertiliser, which would still not have prevented farmers from producing this food item, and the devils who have now taken control of the farmlands. These devils, the kidnappers, I hear, are gradually being neutralised by the gallant men of the Nigerian armed forces.

Being an election year, we will now be out in search of a new Messiah – one who will save us from the turbulent realities that we have endured. We forget that politicians would not save us. If they would, by now, we would have been across the Red Sea like the people of Moses on our march towards the Promised Land.

In the end, we must now learn to be weary of those politicians who stand at the centre of the market square to lay claim that they have a silver bullet to all our troubles. Of course, we cannot stop them from making promises of turning the hell we are facing into an earthly paradise, but we must not forget to subject them to serious interrogation. We must not forget to seek a clear understanding of the nature of the policies they intend to implement.

If Nigeria has proven so difficult, so challenging, so complex, for even the finest leader of the millennium, the Messiah who has presumably done all the best he could, who do you think would have the stamina to step into this giant pair of shoes now stuck in the thick mud of economic instability, uncertainty on major highways, the prohibitive cost of living, and the rise of non-state actors preventing the talaka from going to his farm in the bush? February 25^th would be the day to cast our answers down into the ballot box.

Gambo writes from Zaria and can be reached at gmkalim@hotmail.com

By Ahmad Muhammad Ahmad

I was thinking of a befitting title for this short tribute when I stumbled upon the adage above. It loosely translates to ‘character is a life companion’ and aptly summarises the thoughts running through my mind seeing the pool of praises resulting from the death of His Highness Sarkin Dutse, Alhaji Nuhu Muhammad Sanusi.

The life and times of great men teach subsequent generations about the true essence of life. Eulogies and tributes from equally great people are a testament of honour and moral eminence. The late Sarkin Dutse is a quintessence of nobility and magnanimity, a monarch with so much panache yet full of humility.

If the most beautiful ones amongst us would stay longer or forever, death would never have approached this epitome of scholarship and royalty. But immortality remains a characteristic of our Creator, the Lord of the worlds and to whom we shall all return.

I recently learnt that purpose and passion mean different things. Purpose revolves around using your passion for impacting the lives of others. The life of the late Sarkin Dutse exemplifies this to a great extent. He used his passion for philanthropy to create a rather better world far and wide. His life and leadership are true symbols of purpose, benevolence and contentment.

Late last year, I received a generous gift of his book (autographed by himself), which captures his experience growing up and memoirs from his several travels and encounters. I could not contain the joy of seeing my name handwritten by the Emir himself. I was meant to meet him after finishing the book, but as God would have it, it was never destined to be.

The second page of this book carries the following, which is also a summary of how he lived his life: “When you were born, you cried, and the whole world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice”. Sarkin Dutse truly lived up to these words. We can hear cries from beyond Dutse. The world has yet again lost one of its finest.

The praises and prayers we hear give us hope that the reward of the beauty he created in this world is awaiting him in his afterlife. Navigating through the pain of the lost, we can only hope and pray that God almighty will count him among those He has bestowed His favours upon from amongst the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous. May all the good he has done forebear him from every torment of the afterlife.

Allah Ya jikan Sarki!

Ahmad Muhammad Ahmad wrote from Kano, Nigeria.

By Mubarak Shu’aib

Portrayed as a fraud. Painted as a failed leader by others, there’s more to President Muhammad Buhari’s tenure than meets the eye. Charged with the titanic assignment of bringing Nigeria back and on track, his ascension to the Number One seat in 2015 highlighted the arrival of a new era. 

No living politician enjoyed the overwhelming support, love, care, concern etc., like Buhari. However, the time he spent in power has proven to be anticlimactic. Rightly so? 

President Buhari’s biggest flaw, his Achilles heel, can be summarised in one word. Narrow-mindedness.

His failure to recognise, acknowledge or accept ideas other than his own, even when reasons suggested, proved to be his greatest weakness. In addition, he’s a staunch critic who sees no good in his political rivals, except for President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ), who later handed him power on a silver platter. From labelling fuel subsidy as “Fraud”  and blabbing Jonathan’s efforts in his fight against the Boko Haram insurgency to touting the ASUU strike as something that could be resolved in a blink of an eye.

When he was declared the winner of the 2015 Presidential election, nothing but the second return of Jesus could elicit such a nationwide reaction. 

The Good:

From his inaugural speech, Nigerians, both at home and in the diaspora, were swept in joy. More interesting was his (in) famous line, which rekindled our hope, “I belong to everybody, and I belong to nobody.”  He further added, “My appeal for unity is predicated on the seriousness of the legacy we are getting into. With depleted foreign reserves, falling oil prices, leakages and debts, the Nigerian economy is in deep trouble and will require careful management to bring it around and to tackle the immediate challenges confronting us, namely; Boko Haram, the Niger Delta situation, the power shortages and unemployment especially among young people. In the longer term, we have to improve the standards of our education. We have to look at the whole field of medicare. We have to upgrade our dilapidated physical infrastructure.”

“The most immediate is Boko Haram’s insurgency. Progress has been made in recent weeks by our security forces, but victory cannot be achieved by basing the Command and Control Centre in Abuja. The command centre will be relocated to Maiduguri and remain until Boko Haram is completely subdued. But we cannot claim to have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls and all other innocent persons held hostage by insurgents.”

Throughout the inaugural speech, President Buhari was full of himself, firing shots across his bow, which almost suffocated the guilty minds. 

The Bad:

The first signs of bad were Buhari’s procrastination, complacency, blame game and failure to take responsibility. His greatest strength, which is the use of rhetoric to scare and naturally bully the guilty minds, slowly grew to become one of the biggest reasons for his fall. Initially, he has established himself as someone strategic, prowess and predatory. However, it later became clear that he was devoid of such qualities, even more obvious after it took him over six months to appoint his ministers. When he eventually did, some dead people made the list of the appointees. Concerns began to leak out around his leadership’s identity as an undefined style. Doubts began to set in. His lackadaisical approach continued to grow, but to doubt Buhari at that material time, was a heinous sin. Nigerians continue to play the sport of attacking ringworms while leprosy festers. Blaming the Sarakis, Dogaras etc., on the NASS floor as saboteurs of his government. This threw the re-election bid of Saraki, Dino, and Isah Hamma under the bus in the 2019 election to pave a clear pathway for Buhari. 

The ugly:

Nigeria’s Jekyll and Hyde performances under Buhari grew out of control. While Buhari struggled to explain the abnormal nature behind his government’s inconsistent performances, his puzzled supporters appeared equally as confused. 

His record in infrastructural development is good without being impressive. And, better not to visit the issue of insecurity, which assumed many dimensions (banditry, kidnapping, etc.), corruption/looting in billions, high unemployment rate, the exorbitant cost of living, fuel scarcity, the marathon ASUU strike, 8 months old. Cutting a long story short, the most anticipated “Jarmiya” and the aspirations to see Nigeria back and on track during “Mai Gaskiya” went up in flames. 

There were a series of decisions that had repercussions. Such as the border closure, adopting the economy of ‘borrow-and-spend’, unaccounted CBN loans, etc. A disturbing reflection of his tenure was the gruesome murder of innocent souls by the bandits, rampant ransom demand by kidnappers, attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train, Abuja Central Prison, and the Presidential convoy. 

Is Buhari Unfortunate? 

The economic recession, the coronavirus pandemic, oil doom,  etc., could all be attributed to his below-par performance. However, even at that, with good economic policies, and shrewd investment in the critical areas, he can do more. Even better, had he accepted responsibilities and moved on?

Final Days:

To borrow a word from the intimidating Mike Tyson in Dark Trade, “The leader’s always by himself in a time of doom.” As is Muhammadu Buhari. 

As Nigerians started counting down to just some days to the General Election, the frustration of the “talakawas“, like a rolling ball, is just getting bigger and bigger. First, it was in his home State, Katsina and later, Kano, where he was jeered and stoned. An incident which summarised how everything had turned ugly for him. Uglier still was his inability to understand the frustration of Nigerians. The love and support he enjoyed in those days have ebbed away. 

Conclusion

Nigeria had deteriorated in and around Goodluck Jonathan’s final years as a President, which Buhari recognised. 

He did fairly well in the security sector during his first tenure, but his second tenure spiralled into chaos once more, as he was eventually unable to liberate the country from turmoil. 

Although it didn’t sit well with my spirit that he was jeered and or stoned, Buhari of the masses failed to love them. He dropped the most critical ball that saw him claim victory against a sitting president. And it hurts to love and not be loved in return.

Mubarak Shu’aib write from Hardawa. Misau LGA Bauchi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via naisabur83@gmail.com.

 By Zayyad I. Muhammad

Outspoken northern politician and a former Presidential Campaign Council Director for the Civil Society Organization of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Naja’atu Bala Muhammad, has said that the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu does not have a blueprint for the North’s development.

Naja’atu was quoted to have said, “I met with Tinubu in London, and he told me he doesn’t have a blueprint for the North”. In short, Naja’atu implied that Tinubu didn’t know what to offer to the north.

In its response to Naja’atu, APC Presidential Campaign Council, through a statement by Mahmud Jega, its adviser in public affairs, said, Naja’atu was sacked for incompetence, quarrelsomeness, and after being uncovered to be a mole planted in APC’s winning campaign.

To many people in the north, Naja’atu’s accusations were ‘heavy’ and ‘Tinubu does have any agenda for the North’s progress’. However, Naja’atu’s accusation became ‘weightless because, less than 48 hours after, she resigned from the APC and quit partisan politics, and accused Tinubu of having no blueprint for the north, she was seen at Atiku Abubakar’s residence and joined the Atiku’s campaign train.

Political pundits are of the view that no serious presidential candidate, whose candidature was 75%-made possible by the Northern APC Governors Forum, will carelessly open his mouth and say he doesn’t have a blueprint for a particular region, especially the north with its massive attractive votes.

Naja’atu Mohammed was just playing politics. Nevertheless. Let’s ‘keep’ Naja’atu aside; the big questions are: does Tinubu have any blueprint for the north?  If yes, is it what the north needs after 8 years of being in power at the centre?

The basic issue facing the north is insecurity- banditry, farmers-herders conflict, and poverty. To be fair to President Buhari and the APC, they did some well-done jobs in the agricultural sector, restoration of security in communities in the northeast, provision of new infrastructure, and the rehabilitation of the old ones, including the successes in the social intervention programs; especially petty cash distribution to the masses.

On October 17, 2022, Tinubu, at Arewa House, told the north his blueprint for the region. He said he would fight bandits and terrorists with technology which Buhari just started in 2022. Tinubu said he would turn the North’s fertile land into grain fields, and the North would become the hub of agriculture. The dairy economy and agro-allied industries will be promoted.  He said he would accelerate the Mambila Project and rejuvenate the existing power Stations. He assured to exploit of the gold in Zamfara and iron ore in Kogi State.

Tinubu also promised to bring back to school the millions of North’s out-of-school children through incentives. He further promised to create a special commission for Almajiri education, including employing Almajiri’s teachers.

Are Tinubu’s promises to the north enough and in line with the region’s needs and wants? Some political pundits believe that the promises are good, but development experts say the north needs more and a new approach, thoughts that resonate with this writer. Apart from these promises, the north extremely needs some strong-willed approach to the current monster of banditry in the northwest – a calculated crime that is as complex as Nigeria. A deployment of massive force and technology against the bandits in the villages where they operate is compulsory.

The North also needs a special economic recovery program in the area of youth empowerment, poverty reduction, and the uplift of business people.

President Buhari, in his own intuition, tried to tackle these issues by appointing many seasoned northerners into various positions of authority. But this has not worked. in fact, this political patronage strategy has failed. Most of the president’s appointees from the north have not served as a link between the president and his support base nor effectively reached the poor, who formed Buhari’s 12 million supporters, which APC is still banking-on.

As part of the agenda for the North, Tinubu, in his campaign, promises the region should also promise the north that- he will identify 50-100 business people and business enthusiasts in the north and assist them directly in their area of competence or choice. Imagine the impact new billionaires would have in the business sector, like new industries in the manufacturing and agricultural value chain, ICT, media, trading, etc.

Tinubu’s promise to North’s youth is still hazy. Since the North’s young people have lost in their quest to clinch the APC Vice Presidential candidate ticket, though, few young people have benefited from the APC Youth Wing appointments,  but most of the positions were not influential and direct, like the appointment of Abdulrasheed Bawa as EFCC Chairman, which got massive commendation throughout the country, with young northerners feeling well-recognized. Tinubu should directly ‘talk’ to the North’s youth via important and strategic appointments in his campaign council; bringing on more youngsters from the north would be a joker card in the north.

Most people support Tinubu in the north on the belief that he is a ‘builder’ of people. So the north expects from Tinubu three more things on his blueprint for the north- a promise to  ‘build’ some people who can as well build thousands of others and new businesses, to have direct contact with the youth – meaning using his today for their tomorrow; lastly, to confront head-on the senseless insecurity in the northwest, which is not just mere banditry.

Zayyad I. Muhammad writes from Abuja via zaymohd@yahoo.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Reports from Bauchi State indicate that at least four people were murdered when gunmen attacked a community in Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area of the state.

It was gathered that, during the attack Sunday, the gunmen abducted one person and left another person critically injured.

The Bauchi State Police Public Relations Officer, Ahmed Wakili, confirmed the attack in a statement he issued to journalists.

He stated, “On receiving the report, detectives of the command were drafted to the scene led by the DPO Tafawa Balewa Divisional Police Headquarters evacuated the victims to the Tafawa Balewa General Hospital for medical treatment.

“Unfortunately, four victims were certified dead by the medical doctor, while one person sustained various degrees of injury during the attack,” he stated.

Wakili added that the Commissioner of Police, Aminu Alhassan, has directed a discreet investigation to arrest the perpetrators of the act and bring them to justice.

By Muhammad Sulaiman Abdullahi, PhD

Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso’s NNPP has seemingly become the nightmare of many politicians in the Northern and Southern parts of Nigeria. This is simply because many Nigerians are not truly yearning for a better country.

Some Southern press, especially those who used to set the agenda for the country years ago, downplay Kwankwaso’s candidature and deliberately omit, ignore and replace Kwankwaso’s more prominent and more formidable party with someone who is not known beyond Twitter in their coverage.

The Southern press may be scared of Kwankwaso due to several reasons. These could be myopia, tribalism, regionalism, and religious mischief. Yes! I agree that Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and Asiwaju Bola Tinunbu of the APC may be considered as forefront candidates in some contexts. Thus, they may be regarded to be above Kwankwaso in terms of age, venturing into national politics, and political spread but nothing more.

Kwankwaso is naturally ahead of them in terms of integrity, health, foresight, political sagacity and shrewdness, and above all, the love and commitment towards the development of Nigeria. Moreover, his academic credentials are higher than all those who are contesting.

Furthermore, the Southern press thought they could do as they wished without being noticed. So, they cunningly choose to propagate one Yoruba (Tinubu), one Hausa (Atiku) and Peter Obi (Igbo). The latter cannot even publicly and unambiguously condemn the IPOB secessionists’ evil atrocities. Does he even believe in one indivisible Nigeria himself?

The Southern press is not alone in this mischief and tribalism. Some Northern writers who are, to some extent, their puppies and puppets downgrade Kwankwaso and fail to point out a single reason. They even tag him as a local champion. What is bad in being a local champion? All champions should be local, otherwise they don’t have any base.

If you check newspapers, both print and online, such as Vanguard, the Guardian, Punch, Premium Times and the likes, they are at the forefront of this amateur journalism. How can someone be so glaringly subjective in their journalism to the extent that even a blind can see? What kind of a country is this? Are they not aware of Kwankwaso’s credentials and positive antecedents? Are they unaware of how Kwankwaso transformed and developed Kano rapidly? How on earth can you compare Kwankwaso to all those contesting if someone is sensible and objective in his assessment? Most of them are either tribalistic or looking for big brown envelops filled with foreign currency.

These Southern press are not helping matters and are not objective. They are so divisive and tribalistic. To borrow from Orubebe’s outrage when he intended to save the nation from the ongoing catastrophe this Buhari-led government brought, while referring to Jega, he said: You are tribalistic. You are myopic, and we can’t take it!

Finally, the Southern media has achieved much in their agenda-setting warfare. Even some international media outlets borrow a leaf from them and mention Atiku, Tinubu and the other Igbo guy and, conspicuously, leave out Kwankwaso.

However, suppose we are to be sincerely and patriotically fair, let us put all the leading contenders on a scale of preference which is based on capacity and capability and see what happens. In that case, Kwankwaso is the best, followed by the Igbo man, and then Atiku while Tinunbu comes last. At least if they are to be objective, we have four leading contenders and not three, as they are falsely portraying.

Our votes are for Kwankwaso. And he will surely get more than many corrupt contenders and will win the presidential elections.

Muhammad Sulaiman Abdullahi, PhD, wrote from Kano. He can be reached via muhammadunfagge@yahoo.com. @muhammadunfagge.

By Ibrahim Alhamdu

The name Senator Ishaku Abbo, of the senator representing Adamawa north, is synonymous to controversies. Abbo, being one of the youngest senators in the Nigerian 9th senate, is always at the center of one controversy or another, which resulted in his condemnation by many people in his constituency – Adamawa north in Adamawa State and the entire northern Nigeria as a whole.

Before the inauguration of Abbo at the hallowed chamber of the Nigerian senate, a video clip of him physically assaulting a lady at a sex toy shop surfaced. After he physically assaulted the lady in the video, Abbo was seen ordering his police orderly to further arrest the lady he allegedly assaulted for taking sides with the shop owner. The incident generated so much angry reaction from Nigerians on social media and on the streets, which brought disrepute not only to Abbo, but his constituency and his political party. Though, days after the incident, Senator Abbo was arrested by the police who held him for a night, before granting him bail “after meeting a set of administrative conditions for his bond”. He later apologized: he said he was sorry for what happened, adding that regardless of the provocation, his action did not portray him as a good ambassador of the Senate, the PDP, and the youths of Nigeria.

However, all of a sudden, on July 10, 2019, at the Senate hearing of Senator Elisha Abbo over his sex toy shop assault on a lady, there was an intense argument between Senator Oluremi Tinubu and Senator Abbo, while trying to emphasize the extent of the damage to the Senate body and her feeling as a woman, Senator Tinubu, expressed the embarrassment which the youngest Senator in the ninth Senate has brought to the entire National Assembly, but Senator Abbo, in his usual uncouth manner attacked Senator Remi defiantly.

The heat was so intense on Senator Abbo, as women’s groups, civil society movements, students unions, political groups, teams of lawyers and other common people frowned and condemned Abbo’s actions both at the sex toy shop and at the senate hearing, calling for his prosecution.

On September 28, 2020, an FCT High Court found Senator Abbo guilty of the offense. Delivering the judgment the judge ordered him to pay the sum of N50 million to the complainant, Osimibibra Warmate

In his usual character, around October 2019, Abbo picked a ‘fight’ with his governor- Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State. Abbo accused Governor Fintiri of being an ‘Alpha and Omega’ who parades himself as a demi-god, running the PDP like a ‘gangster’, Abbo went to the extent of describing Gov. Fintiri as a ‘small man’ with a big office. When Abbo finally realized that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) wouldl expel him, he defected to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) where his “sins” would automatically be forgiven.

However, after the APC accepted and admitted Abbo, the trend of his unnecessary political fight, use of excessive and offensive language which causes tension among people continued bitterly. His open campaign and criticism against his party’s Muslim-Muslim ticket, including criticizing the APC presidential flag-bearer, Bola Tinubu, on national television didn’t come as a surprise to many who knew his antecedents. These led to his expulsion by APC Mubi North Local Government Area on 7th October, 2022, for allegedly engaging in anti-party activities and tampering with the process of internal democracy of the party.

On January 11, 2023, the Adamawa State High Court of Justice No. 3, presided by Hon. Justice Danladi Mohammed, sacked Senator Abbo as APC Senatorial Candidate for Adamawa North, saying he is not entitled to seek re-election since he was expelled. Justice Danladi, held that Senator Abbo and APC are bound by the resolution of Mubi North LG Exco dated 7th October 2022, which expelled him, saying that he is not entitled to enjoy any right or privilege accorded to the APC members.

While responding to the judgment, Senator Abbo, said, the judgment is just a ‘child-play’- saying in Hausa- “Kare ya taka Nera ya wuce bai san kuɗi ba”. Abbo said – the judge is wrong and just wasting his time, peoples’ time, and the Senator’s time. But Abbo promised to appeal the judgment.

Now the question is; has Abbo truly lost his ticket?

Many legal experts are of the view that Senator Ishaku Abbo has lost the ticket, because, people saying that the state high court lacks jurisdiction on such matters, are wrong. Section 6, Subsection (3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria explains all the intricacies and the law has fully explains it all.

But what about a change of candidate? The electoral Act 2022 says: A political party shall not be allowed to change or substitute its candidate whose name has been submitted under section 29 of the Act, except in the case of death or withdrawal by the candidate: Senator Abbo is neither dead nor withdrawn his candidature. Many legal experts say the Nigerian Constitution supersedes the provisions in any other laws; a competent court of law has agreed and validated what the 29-member committee of APC Mubi North LGA, did – the expulsion of Senator Ishaku Abbo, thus, the judgment is bound on Abbo, APC and INEC, the only doctrine of necessity available to the APC and INEC is to accept the person that came second in the primary election that produced Abbo.

Some political pundits are of the view that this court judgment is a golden opportunity for the APC to easily replace Senator Abbo who has been in anti-party activities criticizing the party, its presidential and vice presidential candidates including other leaders of the party, bringing disrepute and low esteem to the whole APC.

Ibrahim Alhamdu is a social and political commentator. He writes from Abuja, Nigeria.

By Uzair Adam Imam

People in Tumburkai, a community in Katsina state, have decried the rising level of insecurity ravaging the community in recent times.

Several attacks by bandits on the community have displaced many people and widowed an unidentified number of women.

The community members expressed worries on Thursday when a Kaduna-based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Victims of Banditry Support Initiative, visited the area.

The Daily Reality gathered that, during the visit, the NGO distributed bags of rice, foodstuff and cash to women in the community and the neighbouring villages.

Speaking at the event, the National Coordinator of Victims of Banditry Support Initiative, Malam. Abdullahi Usman said there is a need for society to support the needy, especially widows.

He was quoted as saying, “Although we don’t have much, we are not happy seeing those affected by bandit activities cannot feed. So out of the little God has given us, we intend to ensure the needy are also fed.”

He added that the NGO would continue to supply food items and cash to the widows.

“The NGO intends to continue giving food items and cash to the widows and others for the foreseeable future, and we are calling on the state and federal governments and wealthy individuals to pool their resources together in helping the widows,” he added.