By Nasiru Lawal
For those who do not know, or have forgotten, or knew but decide to ignore, a brief biography of Alhaji Bukar Abba Ibrahim, the governor of Yobe State, is worth recapping for the purpose of this article, which I must confessed was necessitated by the governor’s ongoing political summersaults, if not outright suicide.
Alhaji Bukar Abba Ibrahim was born in October 1950, exactly 10 years before Nigeria’s independence. By profession, he supposed to be in Abuja (where modern buildings are daily constructed) making it as a professional Quantity Surveyor, since that is what he studied from the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University ABU Zaria.
As the Almighty will have it, rather than dealing with architects and building engineers, labourers and so on, Yobe State was carved out of Borno State by IBB. Months after its creation, Bukar Abba Ibrahim the quantity surveyor contested and won the young state’s gubernatorial election under Social Democratic Party, SDP and became its first civilian and democratically elected governor. Unfortunately for him, the soldiers stroke again in 1993, and he went into political oblivion.
In 1999, after Abdulsalami Abubakar’s transition programme occasioned by the sudden death of Abacha, Bukar Abba Ibrahim bounced back. He contested elections and won again, under the All Nigeria People’s Party. And since then, he has been the governor of the State that prides itself as the‘Pride of the Sahel’.
In fact in Yobe State, one can say without fear of contradiction that democracy starts and ends with Bukar Abba Ibrahim. Unfortunately the dividend of democracy is not there for the people to enjoy. The roads are as bad as ever, the taps are without water, and the city is just one huge
village where the governor reigns supreme as the village head. Though is a member of the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP), however, he is at the forefront championing programmes that have no place in his party. He is perhaps more vocal in defending PDP unfriendly policies than most of the party’s governors.
If you did not watch the opening ceremony of the PDP organised public hearing in Maiduguri, aimed solely at extending the tenure of President Obasanjo, you’d have missed only one thing- Governor Bukar’s legitimate ignorance. He forgot that Nigerians have a right to be heard if the public hearing is really about them. In the whole room where the public hearing was conducted, everybody was there, except of course the common man, who is either ignored or thought unfit to be listened to.
President Obasanjo might also suppose that he has an ally in the person of Bukar Ibrahim, but that would be wrong. The only thing Bukar Ibrahim is after is his own political career, which he can gladly continue even if it is under a military head of state. At least he did it under IBB and it paid him well just it is paying him well today.
According to Bukar Abba Ibrahim, there should not be limit as to the number of terms a governor can serve. This is understandable. The governor is only speaking out his mind and this is good for him. If democracy should cease to exist from today, he would have made history as the only democratically elected governor Yobe State ever had. You sometimes wonder who governors are representing. If tenure extension is okay, of continuity as they always say is good, why did Bukar change local government chairmen in the State? Or are they not entitled to the continuity stunts?
Consider this short piece posted on the net, it is a comparison between Obasanjo and Mbeki: When the Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, was asked on Nigerian national television a few months back whether he intends staying in office beyond the constitutionally stipulated date of May 2007, he simply did not answer the question. Rather, he chose to beat about the bush speaking about economic reforms and things that had nothing to do with the question asked.
The question was asked during a phone-in program through which ordinary Nigerians get to ask their leader questions directly.
Mr. Obasanjo, though never coming out publicly to state that he intends staying in office beyond that allowed by the current Nigerian constitution, appears to have fooled very few. State governors (like Bukar Abba Ibrahim) have recently been shamelessly coming out to endorse an extension of his tenure.”
Meanwhile, South Africa's Mail & Guardian is reporting that the South African president, Thabo Mbeki was asked if he intended staying in office for a third term. His answer was simple: “By the end of 2009, I will have been in a senior position in government for 15 years. I think that's too
long…I think that after 15 years, I should step aside in any case…The ANC has taken the position that we don't want to change the Constitution…Even when we got that more than two-thirds majority, we said this, that we are not going to use this two-thirds majority fundamentally to alter the Constitution. And that remains our position.”
Governor Bukar Abba Ibrahim seems to be ignorant of the feelings of the majority of Nigerians
over the planned constitutional amendment. What Nigerians are saying is that amending the constitution at this time when the present administration has less that 16 months in office can only point to one thing- attempt to extend its tenure in power.
If this is not the case, the amendment should be carried out by the government elected in 2007. Or else, no public office holder should enjoy the extension of tenure even if adopted by the constitution review committee.
Nasiru Lawal is Abuja-based journalist
Posted on the - Nigerian Village Square on Sunday, 26 February 2006 07:31
naslawal@yahoo.com
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Sheikh Lawal Abubakar: Four long years on
By Nasiru L. Abubakar
It is exactly four years since the passing away of our dear father and renowned Islamic scholar Sheikh Lawal Abubakar. He died on May 24, 2004 around 5:15 pm. And as the Almighty Allah will have it, at the time of his death, he left four wives, 30 children and 50 grandchildren behind. Now, two of the children have died, – Mansir died Wednesday March 7, 2007 and Haula died Wednesday April 30, 2008 – thereby reducing our number to 28. But the number of grandchildren has since hit 73, and still counting. Just two days ago there was a naming ceremony.
I still remember things Malam, as we fondly call our father, used to tell me as though he told me just yesterday. And they have impacted on me so much that I still see him giving his consent or refusing same in almost everything I do. I remember during one of the last discussions I had with him, which centred on marriage. "Marriage," he told me then "is not something you rush into simply because people say it is full of joy. Likewise, it is not something you should shy away from just because those who did are complaining, or because you are yet to possess some things. As far as marriage is concerned, every body has his own peculiar experience."
Malam did not ask me to get married, at least not directly. But the import of that admonition, contained in that memorable discussion, was never lost on me. I took it to mean a reminder that time was going. Somehow, I did not get married until two years after his death. The Almighty Allah certainly has a reason for that. And as someone whose love for children was well known, I would have loved to see him play with my year-old daughter, Yusra (another of his grand children he never lived to see).
Indeed, as a family, our most trying time without Malam was when on Wednesday February 21, 2007, the books and the handwritten notes he left behind were gutted by midnight fire. The books, mostly on Islamic law and jurisprudence, may not be recovered from bookshops because some of them were given to him directly by their authors either in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere.
The jealousy with which Malam guarded his books perhaps attests to the esteem with which he held them. While he was alive, he hardly lends out his book because they may not be returned. He would rather advice even we his children to buy our own books than rely on his own. And somehow, he has a way of finding out when his books are tampered with, let alone removed from where they originally were. He attached so much relevance to the books hoping that it would turn out to be of help to his children and other people who have reasons to refer to them.
The handwritten notes some of 40 forty years cannot be recovered. Malam was fond of writing footnotes and attaching them to his books for the sake of simplicity and easy understanding for those who may come into contact with the books. The written texts of Wa’azin Musulunci, an Islamic programme – some parts of it have being compiled into a book – have vanished in the inferno. Luckily the audio is still been aired on Radio Nigeria, Kaduna, Kano State Radio and some other private stations.
I still recall the day the compiled book on Wa’azin Musulunci was launched at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna. Malam said he only gave the publishers of the book the go ahead because he had realised that his days on earth were moving fast. He apologised to those who initially came up with the idea, but which he turned because he feared people will see it as a form of self glorification. Malam also told the gathering that the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) Kaduna, perhaps first alerted him that he was nearing his grave when they began recording and documenting his programmes. Before, old tapes were wiped with new ones.
Another thing I will never forget about my father was his characteristic humility, straightforwardness and humour. For the entire time I interacted with my father, I don’t remember him referring to himself as Sheikh whether in words or writing. He usually addressed himself simply as Imam Lawal Abubakar, no more, no less. He also never got tired of stressing the importance of education (both Islamic and western) and gave us all the encouragement we needed. "If you see people respecting me, it is because of the knowledge Allah (SWT) has blessed me with," he would say.
I also remember one day when two of our brothers had a quarrel between them. Let’s refer to them as Mr. A and Mr. B for this reason. Somehow Mr A managed to be the first to report the matter to Malam. Malam sent for Mr B but Mr. A came back to say that he (Mr. B) said he would not come. When Mr. B finally came, Malam said he would not listen to him since he would not answer his call. So Mr B threatened not to go to school where he was writing exams since Malam will not listen to him. When one of our mothers went and told Malam what Mr. B said, Malam came personally to where he was sitting. "Yi hakuri ka je ka rubuta jarabawar, maganar ta wuce" (in Hausa meaning, be patient, go and write your exams). For education, Malam was always willing to ‘accept a lie’ especially one done carefully.
Today, one of the things I enjoy doing is listening to those who know him very closely, I mean his contemporaries. One of them, Malam Ukasha, a Kano-based Islamic scholar is perhaps my favourite for obvious reasons. Malam Ukasha’s friendship with Malam dates back to years when they were teens moving from one place to another in search of knowledge, and later struggling to make ends meet.
Just last month we – myself, and three of my siblings – visited him in Kano, where we went to condole with the family of late Alhassan Abdallah (another friend of Malam who died recently). I listened to Malam Ukasha with interest as he narrated to us how he served as the intermediary when my father took in my mother as wife. Malam Ukasha told us how he, together with one his wives, took my mother from Garin Gabas in present day Jigawa State to Kaduna Government College where Malam was teaching then.
"Malam Lawal never saw her before the marriage was contracted. I was the one who took the dowry and everything to the bride’s parent. I was also the one who brought her to Kaduna. When we arrived at the school, he was inside the classroom with students. I excused him to come outside. When he came outside, I handed his wife over to him and told him that I would be going back to Kano. He thanked me but prevailed on me to stay and eat before leaving. He said definitely the lesson was over as it there was no way it would continue," Malam Ukasha recalled.
He also told us about their days in Lagos (engaged in the business of selling perfumes). Our father stayed in Lagos, South West Nigeria for quite a significant time that, till he died, he spoke passable Yoruba. I first learnt about it while I accompanied him on a journey to Kokami, his hometown in present day Danja local government area of Katsina State. Malam literally communicated with a vulcaniser when we stopped briefly somewhere around Jaji, along Kaduna-Zaria highway, to gauge our tyres.
I must admit that people like Malam Ukasha are the ones I like meeting everyday. People who will tell me things about my father, who will never end narrating their experiences of the man that has impacted so much on my life and that of my siblings without a word of prayer for him, who treat us as though he is still alive. May Allah afford us the strength to continue to pray for the soul of the departed and bless us with those who will pray for us when we depart.
*Note: This tribute was written in 2008 to mark the fourth year anniversary of the death of my father.
Nasiru Lawal Abubakar is a Post Graduate Student of Mass Communication at Bayero University Kano
Indecent dressing among women
By Nasiru Lawal Abubakar
Ordinarily, clothes are meant to cover our nudity. But for many women – and men I must quickly add – clothes for them are meant to do otherwise. i.e. expose as much flesh as possible. In fact it sometimes make me wonder, why put on clothes when your aim is to expose rather than to cover?
Though, only God knows the fate of the bill against indecent dressing at the Upper Legislative Chamber of the National Assembly, it was a good thing that the idea was even proposed. It showed that out Senators see the trend as disturbing and therefore worth discussing.
For us here in Nigeria, one can say without any fear of contradiction that indecent dressing is a foreign idea that has no origin in our culture. Hausa, Yoruba and Ibo all have their respective and respectful idea of what constitutes good clothing, and walking half naked is not one of them.
Indeed, it is heart-warming to see tertiary institutions in Nigeria – in both the Northern and Southern part of the country – coming up with acceptable modes of dressing. This to a large extent differentiated our higher institutions of learning from brothels.
Dress code, as popularly called, was introduced in schools to curb the irritating trend of indecent dresses on campuses. The Abia State University passed a bill of conduct admitting only students decently dressed in unprovocative, formal, and traditional attires that do not expose, suggest, or give away the contours of sensitive parts of the body.
The Lagos State University on its part turned down the application form of some new students for dressing immorally. At the Federal University of Technology, Minna, short and skimpy dresses were banned, so also others such as show-me-your-back/chest/stomach, body hugs, spaghetti wears, and other tights and dresses exposing sensitive parts.
Other forms of provocative wears banned include shorts that are above the knees (except for sporting purposes), tattered jeans with holes, transparent and see-through dresses, tight-fitting jeans, skirts, etc., that reveal the contours of the body.
Unfortunately, the trend is spreading like wildfire across the globe. According to Henry Makow, Ph.D., women in the Middle East are losing their religion and culture, exchanging the burka for a bikini. “For me, the burka represents a woman's consecration to her husband and family. Only they see her. It affirms the privacy, exclusivity and importance of the domestic sphere.
“In contrast, the bikinied American beauty queen struts practically naked in front of millions on TV. A feminist, she belongs to herself. In practice, paradoxically, she is public property. She belongs to no one and everyone. She shops her body to the highest bidder. She is auctioning herself all of the time.
It is unfortunate African girls now believe that will be loved only if they give sex. Thus, they now learn to "hook up" rather than to demand patient courtship and true love. As a result, dozens of males know her before her husband does. She loses her innocence, which is a part of her charm. She becomes hardened and calculating. Unable to love, she is unfit to receive her husband's seed.”
In a nutshell, what our sisters need to know is that exposing their body does not portray them as being smart. In fact, a village girl that had never seen the four walls of school may be blessed with better hips, breasts and other points of attraction more than the so-called educated urban ladies.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Meet Italian talatu, Ladidi, Lantana as Hausa students
By Nasiru L. Abubakar, who was in Kano.
At the Bayero University Kano (BUK), three Italian students – Silvia, Nunzia and Simona – have been attracting the people’s attention wherever they go, and that is not just because of their light complexion. Their manner of dressing, too, has stood them out in the crowd. The trio is in BUK to study (or at least appreciate) Hausa language, culture and literature for three months courtesy of a scholarship from the Università degli Studi di Napoli "L'Orientale" (Oriental Studies University of Naples).
And determined to enjoy their stay and make it worthwhile, they have since adopted Hausa names, which the people now address them with. Silvia, who is the eldest of the trio, has adopted Ladidi; Nunzia is being addressed as Lantana while Simona answers Talatu. Though Ladidi, Lantana and Talatu are names given to females born on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, respectively, they do not reflect the birth date of the trio.
Weekly Trust cornered the Italian students during one of their lecture-free moments for a chat and their story was as interesting as it is adventurous.
‘Why we are here’
Nunzia (Lantana) is 24. She hails from Naples, Italy. She was the first person to speak – because, as Simona (Talatu) puts it “she is the most shy.” “We are here primarily to study Hausa language, culture and literature. I studied African languages and now I want to learn Hausa and Kiswahili. For now, I just want to see Africa, to know more about Hausa and Hausa people,” She said, adding that Hausa is simple, even though she is yet to master the language.
Silivia (Ladidi) is 26 and studied at Università degli Studi di Napoli "L'Orientale" (Oriental Studies University of Naples), and Simona, who is 22 years old, also studied African languages. “I got my degree just last year November 2008, and we are here courtesy of scholarship given to us by our university,” she told Weekly Trust.
The programme, as they told Weekly Trust, will only last for three months, which they considered “a bit inadequate” for them to fully achieve their purpose of being at the Bayero University Kano. “But it is okay, at least we are getting to see the Hausa man and his culture in a way we have never done before,” says Silvia.
Coping with studies
Studying Hausa, the Italian students say, is not as easy as they thought. “The teachers speak in Hausa and we don’t understand most of the things that they say. It is very complicated for us. And they tend to speak fast,” Silvia said. However, she said, they always try to take summary notes, to speak with friends and exchange notebooks with students. And that way, they have been improving.
To make sure they utilise the little time they have for the programme, Simona said they do spend a lot of time in the library. “This is because we don’t have chairs in our room, we have just our bed so we can’t study there. So we like coming to the library because here it is very comfortable. There are a lot of books we can use. We wake up every day by 6am, take our bath, have our breakfast and go to the library or our lessons.”
Simona also said that, “We can attend the lectures of Diploma 1 and 2 and level 1, 2, 3, and 4. The lectures of Diploma 1 and 2, and level 1 and 2 are not easy but we can understand. But level 3 and 4 are too difficult for us to understand because Malam (teacher) just talks in Hausa.”
‘We enjoy Tuwon Shinkafa’
Nunzia (Lantana) said they sometimes cook food by themselves just they go to the canteen sometimes to buy. “But we only eat what we like. For instance, we like Tuwon Shinkafa da miyar taushe; we like Burabusko too, it tastes real good; but we don’t like tuwon dawa; we also don’t enjoy Fura, it feels somehow in the mouth.” As Nunzia was speaking, Silvia and Simona were nodding their heads as if to concur.
Then Simona added, “We also like Indomie noodles; though I know it is not a Hausa food, but we like it a lot. We also eat meat-pie, kosai (bean cake). But we are also cooking some Italian food like potatoes, tomatoes, pasta and so on because we the ingredients are available.
However, Silvia said she will not like to taste ice cream here again due to a terrible experience she once had. I took an ice cream about two weeks ago and I had a stomach upset, maybe because it got thawed – that is not good for an ice cream. May be that was because of power failure at night, which made it to become liquid instead of solid. But I have decided not to take ice cream here again.”
The trio also told Weekly Trust that they are seriously trying to learn how to cook Hausa foods – the ones they like – so that they can cook them for their parents, friends and others when they return to Italy.
‘Staying in Kano, Nigeria’
The Italian students say they are enjoying their stay in Nigeria, both on and off the campus – they have a room at the Ramat Hall, an all-female hostel at the Bayero University Kano. “People here are very kind and gentle. Of course that is not to say we didn’t have any difficulty settling down. You know we came from Europe where you have different kind of dresses, culture and so on. But they are not big problems for me, and I believe for my friends also,” Simona said.
“In Europe,” she continued, “you have very eventful nightlife. However, here we do not see clubs around. All the same, now we are here so we have to like the people here. That is why we have been trying to do some local things like using the dankwali (head tie) and some others. And kadan-kadan (gradually) we hope to do so many things. For now, we mostly dress in our own attire.”
“Then the weather is very hot here. It is definitely not as in Italy. In Italy, we don’t experience this kind of temperature. So, it was a little hard for us. We always need t drink a lot of water. We do miss some Italian foods, which cannot cook here, our families and a little bit of weather. Right now in Italy is the best season – spring. But, it is ok. We like the environment and other things around.
Places visited in Kano
Kano, according to the accounts of the Italian students, is a big city and the people are friendly. They said they want to see a lot of Kano because, “We know that Kano is the ancient city of the Hausa kingdom. We have visited the Kano zoo, the national museum, Gidan Dan Hausa – where we saw both the Hausa and Arabian architecture, Dala Hill and Goron Dutse, Sabongari, Kofar Mata, Kurmi Market, Bompai road and a host of other interesting places,” said Simona, who added that they mostly go out by themselves.
“We like the scene at the market because it is full of colours, smells, people, things and so on,” Silvia chipped in, adding that, “We will also love to see other cities apart from Kano. I think we will go to Sokoto, Abuja, Katsina before we return to Italy. We will also want to see Lagos but it is so far from here. But we want to see Abuja, which is the capital of Nigeria. Three months are really not enough to do all what we want.”
Nunzia said seeing other places outside Kano will give the opportunity to see the differences in the Hausa people’s way of living and broaden their horizon as far as their field of study is concerned.
Another chance
“If I have the chance to come back here after my study, I will take it because I like a lot of this city, this language and this culture. But if I am coming to spend like a year here, I will have to organize myself because I can’t always eat potatoes, tomatoes, I have to find a solution here – so I can have other Italian foods. It is so sad we have to return to Italy at the end of the programme. But, if offered, I will return here as soon as possible,” Silvia said.
As for Simona, it all depends on what happens. “You see I came here courtesy of a scholarship that my university gave me. I cannot stay here by myself because I don’t have a job and here I cannot have the same job of Italy. Again, I don’t know if my father can pay for me because my sister is still studying and my father has to give her money. If somebody can pay for me or if I win another scholarship, I will.”
Nunzia however said that she will have to wait until after the study. “For now, I don’t know exactly what will happen at the end of my study, even though I am enjoying my stay here.”
Can they marry here?
Weekly Trust asked the Italian students whether they will want to marry and remain here. Only Simona volunteered to answer the question as Silvia and Nunzia just laughed it off. Simona said, “I am not in love with anybody here. And if someone proposes to me, it will depend on how I respond to his feelings. If I am positive about the relationship, then it will be possible.”
Simona also told Weekly Trust of how “a small baby” once approached her. “I called him a baby because he was only 18 years old and I am 22. I don’t think he is mature enough to start a relationship,” she said.
‘They are friendly’
Eyinla Tetsoma, one of their Nigerian friends, said the Italian students live as any other student on campus. “They don’t feel they are different from other students. They use the toilets at the hostel like other students, go to students’ canteen etc. They are also free with everybody and they don’t snub anybody.”
Also published in the Weekly Trust newspaper
At the Bayero University Kano (BUK), three Italian students – Silvia, Nunzia and Simona – have been attracting the people’s attention wherever they go, and that is not just because of their light complexion. Their manner of dressing, too, has stood them out in the crowd. The trio is in BUK to study (or at least appreciate) Hausa language, culture and literature for three months courtesy of a scholarship from the Università degli Studi di Napoli "L'Orientale" (Oriental Studies University of Naples).
And determined to enjoy their stay and make it worthwhile, they have since adopted Hausa names, which the people now address them with. Silvia, who is the eldest of the trio, has adopted Ladidi; Nunzia is being addressed as Lantana while Simona answers Talatu. Though Ladidi, Lantana and Talatu are names given to females born on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, respectively, they do not reflect the birth date of the trio.
Weekly Trust cornered the Italian students during one of their lecture-free moments for a chat and their story was as interesting as it is adventurous.
‘Why we are here’
Nunzia (Lantana) is 24. She hails from Naples, Italy. She was the first person to speak – because, as Simona (Talatu) puts it “she is the most shy.” “We are here primarily to study Hausa language, culture and literature. I studied African languages and now I want to learn Hausa and Kiswahili. For now, I just want to see Africa, to know more about Hausa and Hausa people,” She said, adding that Hausa is simple, even though she is yet to master the language.
Silivia (Ladidi) is 26 and studied at Università degli Studi di Napoli "L'Orientale" (Oriental Studies University of Naples), and Simona, who is 22 years old, also studied African languages. “I got my degree just last year November 2008, and we are here courtesy of scholarship given to us by our university,” she told Weekly Trust.
The programme, as they told Weekly Trust, will only last for three months, which they considered “a bit inadequate” for them to fully achieve their purpose of being at the Bayero University Kano. “But it is okay, at least we are getting to see the Hausa man and his culture in a way we have never done before,” says Silvia.
Coping with studies
Studying Hausa, the Italian students say, is not as easy as they thought. “The teachers speak in Hausa and we don’t understand most of the things that they say. It is very complicated for us. And they tend to speak fast,” Silvia said. However, she said, they always try to take summary notes, to speak with friends and exchange notebooks with students. And that way, they have been improving.
To make sure they utilise the little time they have for the programme, Simona said they do spend a lot of time in the library. “This is because we don’t have chairs in our room, we have just our bed so we can’t study there. So we like coming to the library because here it is very comfortable. There are a lot of books we can use. We wake up every day by 6am, take our bath, have our breakfast and go to the library or our lessons.”
Simona also said that, “We can attend the lectures of Diploma 1 and 2 and level 1, 2, 3, and 4. The lectures of Diploma 1 and 2, and level 1 and 2 are not easy but we can understand. But level 3 and 4 are too difficult for us to understand because Malam (teacher) just talks in Hausa.”
‘We enjoy Tuwon Shinkafa’
Nunzia (Lantana) said they sometimes cook food by themselves just they go to the canteen sometimes to buy. “But we only eat what we like. For instance, we like Tuwon Shinkafa da miyar taushe; we like Burabusko too, it tastes real good; but we don’t like tuwon dawa; we also don’t enjoy Fura, it feels somehow in the mouth.” As Nunzia was speaking, Silvia and Simona were nodding their heads as if to concur.
Then Simona added, “We also like Indomie noodles; though I know it is not a Hausa food, but we like it a lot. We also eat meat-pie, kosai (bean cake). But we are also cooking some Italian food like potatoes, tomatoes, pasta and so on because we the ingredients are available.
However, Silvia said she will not like to taste ice cream here again due to a terrible experience she once had. I took an ice cream about two weeks ago and I had a stomach upset, maybe because it got thawed – that is not good for an ice cream. May be that was because of power failure at night, which made it to become liquid instead of solid. But I have decided not to take ice cream here again.”
The trio also told Weekly Trust that they are seriously trying to learn how to cook Hausa foods – the ones they like – so that they can cook them for their parents, friends and others when they return to Italy.
‘Staying in Kano, Nigeria’
The Italian students say they are enjoying their stay in Nigeria, both on and off the campus – they have a room at the Ramat Hall, an all-female hostel at the Bayero University Kano. “People here are very kind and gentle. Of course that is not to say we didn’t have any difficulty settling down. You know we came from Europe where you have different kind of dresses, culture and so on. But they are not big problems for me, and I believe for my friends also,” Simona said.
“In Europe,” she continued, “you have very eventful nightlife. However, here we do not see clubs around. All the same, now we are here so we have to like the people here. That is why we have been trying to do some local things like using the dankwali (head tie) and some others. And kadan-kadan (gradually) we hope to do so many things. For now, we mostly dress in our own attire.”
“Then the weather is very hot here. It is definitely not as in Italy. In Italy, we don’t experience this kind of temperature. So, it was a little hard for us. We always need t drink a lot of water. We do miss some Italian foods, which cannot cook here, our families and a little bit of weather. Right now in Italy is the best season – spring. But, it is ok. We like the environment and other things around.
Places visited in Kano
Kano, according to the accounts of the Italian students, is a big city and the people are friendly. They said they want to see a lot of Kano because, “We know that Kano is the ancient city of the Hausa kingdom. We have visited the Kano zoo, the national museum, Gidan Dan Hausa – where we saw both the Hausa and Arabian architecture, Dala Hill and Goron Dutse, Sabongari, Kofar Mata, Kurmi Market, Bompai road and a host of other interesting places,” said Simona, who added that they mostly go out by themselves.
“We like the scene at the market because it is full of colours, smells, people, things and so on,” Silvia chipped in, adding that, “We will also love to see other cities apart from Kano. I think we will go to Sokoto, Abuja, Katsina before we return to Italy. We will also want to see Lagos but it is so far from here. But we want to see Abuja, which is the capital of Nigeria. Three months are really not enough to do all what we want.”
Nunzia said seeing other places outside Kano will give the opportunity to see the differences in the Hausa people’s way of living and broaden their horizon as far as their field of study is concerned.
Another chance
“If I have the chance to come back here after my study, I will take it because I like a lot of this city, this language and this culture. But if I am coming to spend like a year here, I will have to organize myself because I can’t always eat potatoes, tomatoes, I have to find a solution here – so I can have other Italian foods. It is so sad we have to return to Italy at the end of the programme. But, if offered, I will return here as soon as possible,” Silvia said.
As for Simona, it all depends on what happens. “You see I came here courtesy of a scholarship that my university gave me. I cannot stay here by myself because I don’t have a job and here I cannot have the same job of Italy. Again, I don’t know if my father can pay for me because my sister is still studying and my father has to give her money. If somebody can pay for me or if I win another scholarship, I will.”
Nunzia however said that she will have to wait until after the study. “For now, I don’t know exactly what will happen at the end of my study, even though I am enjoying my stay here.”
Can they marry here?
Weekly Trust asked the Italian students whether they will want to marry and remain here. Only Simona volunteered to answer the question as Silvia and Nunzia just laughed it off. Simona said, “I am not in love with anybody here. And if someone proposes to me, it will depend on how I respond to his feelings. If I am positive about the relationship, then it will be possible.”
Simona also told Weekly Trust of how “a small baby” once approached her. “I called him a baby because he was only 18 years old and I am 22. I don’t think he is mature enough to start a relationship,” she said.
‘They are friendly’
Eyinla Tetsoma, one of their Nigerian friends, said the Italian students live as any other student on campus. “They don’t feel they are different from other students. They use the toilets at the hostel like other students, go to students’ canteen etc. They are also free with everybody and they don’t snub anybody.”
Also published in the Weekly Trust newspaper
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Yahaya Ladan: Sunset at noon for a good soul
Nasiru L. AbubakarIn Nigeria, it is not uncommon to come across broken down vehicles at very dangerous spots on our highways and without any caution sign to warn road users of the danger lurking ahead. Last week Friday, February 20, 2009, we drove past two such vehicles – one close to the U-turn leading to Dikko Junction and the other somewhere near Katari – on our way to Kaduna from Abuja. Yakubu, who was driving, was visibly irked and spent about an hour lamenting the general state of our roads.The road safety officials who, in addition to other roles, are responsible for removing obstructions on our roads, Yakubu lamented, seem more ‘comfortable’ arresting motorists for not using seatbelts or motorcyclists for not wearing the crash helmets. Good as enforcement of the use of seatbelts and crash helmets are, there is no reason why road safety officers should limit their job to them or limit their presence to towns and cities even as their attention is very much needed on the highways.For if the road safety officials had been on the Abuja-Kaduna highway and caused the driver of broken down heavy equipment vehicle to put a caution sign on that fateful Friday, perhaps – just perhaps – my friend, Yahaya, and the four other people he was travelling with, would have been alive today. But “Qad ja’alal-Lahu likulli shay’in qadran” (Allah [Subhanahu wa ta’ala] has predetermined for everything its fate).Yahaya was in Abuja to see one of his paternal uncles. On his way back to Kaduna on Friday, February 20, 2009, he was involved in a fatal accident when the Gulf car they where travelling in ran into a vehicle that broke down on the speed lane at Suleja, close to Dikko Junction which leads to Minna, the capital of Niger State. Unfortunately, it was already dark (after Isha’ prayers, I learnt) and the driver had no inkling of the disaster lying in wait because there was no sign to warn him. More so the spot was a dangerous one and there was poor visibility.And when I received the shocking news on Saturday, my mind instantly recalled Yakubu’s lamentations the day before. It was the same vehicle we saw which Yakubu first complained about that claimed the lives of Yahaya and four others. And as usual with our disaster prevention agencies, they don’t always appear on time at disaster scenes. It is as if they are more concerned with evacuation of casualties than prevention of calamities. Among the first people to receive the shocking news of Yahaya’s death I learnt were those whose numbers happened to be on the redial list on his mobile phone, and his fiancé’s number was also there, meaning that she was among the first to receive the news concerning his accident. She was naturally thrown off balance and is still battling to live with this painful reality. Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun. (From Allah we come and to Him is our return.) When Yahaya’s remains were brought back home, it was clear that he bled through his nose, owing to the impact of the hit. From what I heard, the Good Samaritan who reached out to Yahaya’s people, and those of the four others I believe, was careful in delivering the message. But the reality did not take long in coming because Yahaya, and the four other people he was travelling with, have reached the end of their sojourn on earth. One thing about death, though, is that whenever it strikes, it lives in its wake painful memories. And despite the fact that death is an old reality, reactions to it have always been that of “if only, had it been and other forms of human astonishments.” A determined and focussed young man in his early thirties, Yahaya was to have tied the ‘nuptial knot’ in December 2008. But for reasons beyond human control, the date was shifted to February 2009 and later to July same year. All the most relevant arrangements have been made – formal introduction, presentation of wedding paraphernalia and so on. But that was not to be as Allah has decreed that Yahaya will meet him as a bachelor. May Allah compensate his marital plans with hoorun-in (The beautiful ladies of paradise), and reward him for opting for marriage as a way of keeping chastity.And as many people testified, Yahaya was calm and forthright. Two of his secondary school mates at Unity School Gummi, in today’s Zamfara State, Muawiya Abdullahi Kamba and Garba Abdullahi recall Yahaya as an amiable fellow who was always passionate about his academics. To him, it was school first and then any other thing can follow. Truth as their submissions remain about Yahaya, I also have fond memories about him growing up as young kids.I still recall, and vividly too, a day in the early 80s when we were playing somewhere behind Maiduguri Road mosque in Kaduna. What we were doing then was climb up a wall, leap and cling on to a branch of the tree that was standing near by, use our hands to move further on the branch and then jump down at the point where it was closer down. One day, Yahaya was the first to start. But after successfully finishing the leaping process, his landing was faulty – faulty because we all thought we have mastered the act. Like a joke – we actually thought he was joking – he went on his knees screaming “my leg, my leg”. A second look confirmed to us that Yahaya was not joking as we saw a bone protruding from between his shin and ankle. Yahaya was rushed to the hospital and I didn’t remember myself or any of the group members going there to play ever again.One of Yahaya’s paternal uncles, and the most senior of the famous Ladan Family, Alhaji Yusuf Ladan, Dan Iyan Zazzau and the District Head of Kabala, lives in Maiduguri Road, where he frequented as a kid. I got to know Yahaya through his cousins, Bello and Aliyu, my friends for as long as I can remember. In fact, we were more than just neighbours with the duo of Bello and Aliko, all members of the Yusuf Ladan family. We were so close that we shared a number of things together, like going to school, eating together and so on. In any case, we grew up to see our parents, Late Sheikh Lawal Abubakar and Alhaji Yusuf Ladan as more than just neighbours. Yahaya’s biological father, Malam Ilyasu Ladan was visibly touched, as were the other members of the Ladan family and friends. Yahaya was very close to his dad as he was to other members of the family. He valued friendship and did his best to keep friendship. He had better use for his energy and had no time keeping enemies. This much was clear from the sea of mourners that trooped to his family house situated along Marnona Street, Unguwar Sarki, in Kaduna. My condolences go to Yahaya’s parents, relations, friends and above all, his fiancé. It is also my prayer that Almighty Allah will overlook Yahaya’s shortcomings as a human being and reward his good deeds. Yes, the only way the living can benefit the dead is through constant prayers. May Allah in His infinite mercy give us the strength to continue praying for all those who have departed and bless us with those who will pray for us when we depart, as we surely will at the appropriate time.I will also want to use this opportunity to call on members of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to be alive to their responsibilities. Their services are very much needed on our highways, not just inside towns and cities. Nasiru L. Abubakar is a journalist based in Abuja.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Fuel crisis: How filling stations turned black market outlets
The fuel scarcity that enveloped the whole country in recent weeks may be subsiding, but the untold hardship it visited on Nigerians remain. Weekly Trust’s finding also show that the fuel crisis may be far from over unless the government makes clear its stand on deregulation.
Nasiru L. Abubakar
Madam Naomi (not real name) is a civil servant working in Nigeria’s capital city Abuja, but who lives in Karu in neighbouring Nasarawa State because she can not afford living inside the federal capital territory with her ‘meagre’ salary. To ease her transportation problems, she bought – in January this year – a car with money she raised through donation with her colleagues at the office.
“When I bought the car I was so happy that the days of struggling to join commercial vehicles are over. In fact, I got registered with a driving school even before the arrival of car because I never wanted anything to stand in my way having known my experience at the end of every working day,” Madam Naomi said.
However, Madam Naomi’s euphoria was cut short by the debilitating fuel scarcity crisis that enveloped the nation for several weeks. “Now I literally spend my after work hours at the filling station trying to buy fuel, sometimes without even buying the fuel after waiting for so long. Sometimes I feel like abandoning the car at home because I can’t afford the black market rate of N800 naira for a four-litre gallon (i.e. N200 per litre). What is stopping me is my experience of struggling at the bus stop. I hope the government will do something about this permanently,” she said.
In Minna, the Niger State capital, a 58-year old woman, Sarah gave up the ghost while queuing to buy fuel at the filling station. She was said to have queued for four hours inside her car at one station without getting fuel. She then left for another station and succeeded in getting the fuel, also after some hours. However, while trying to pay for the fuel, she slumped and died, probably due to exhaustion.
Who is to blame?
Though, some have attributed the fuel crisis to the Easter break, President Umaru Yar’adua blamed the scarcity on the face-off between the Lagos State government and petroleum tanker drivers some parts of the country on the face-off between the Lagos State government and tanker drivers.
The Petrol Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) recently halted the lifting of products from depots in Lagos, in protest over what they said was the harassment of their members by Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA). The case had however being settled and the drivers have since resumed loading from Lagos depot but the scarcity persists even the government claims that the country has enough supply of Premium Motor Spirit otherwise known as petrol to meet local demand.
Filling stations or black outlets?
Ever since the re-emergence of fuel scarcity, filling stations especially ones owned by independent petroleum marketers, have turned black market outfits, selling well above the government stipulated rate of N65 per litre.
Weekly Trust survey Kano-Kaduna road showed that all the filling stations with very few queues are selling well above the normal rate. At one of the filling stations called Kubewa situated at Chiromawa, a village about 45 kilometres to Kano, a litre was being sold at N130 naira (two times the normal rate) and people were buying.
Though most of the buyers were apparently black marketers because they were buying in jerry cans and even drums, the few car owners told Weekly Trust that they had no alternative because they are on a journey and need the fuel to reach their destinations on time.
The manager of Kubewa Petroleum, who refused to give his name, said they also were forced to sell at the rate they were selling because they got their supply at a very exorbitant rate. When asked how they were getting petroleum while other stations are without it, he said they usually get their supply from some major marketers.
DPR seems powerless
While Weekly Trust was still at the Kubewa filling station, an official of the Department for Petroleum Resources (DPR) came visiting. The official who said he was on a routine inspection forced the attendants to revert to the old normal price of N65 naira. All the pleas by the manager were ignored by the DPR official. DPR officials across the country are also going round shutting down filling stations selling fuel above N65.
But in spite of the DPR’s inspection to ensure that fuel is sold at the official rate and that the machines are not adjusted to short-change customers, other surveys by Weekly Trust in Lagos, Kaduna, Niger, Sokoto, Adamawa, Plateau, Abuja, Zaria show that many stations were selling above the stipulated rate of N65.
In Taraba State, as in other states of the North East where fuel sells above government stipulated price even when the commodity is not scarce, independent marketers have refused to comply with the federal government’s directive on the sell of the commodity at the approved pomp price of N65 per litre.
This is after the reopening of over twenty filling stations belonging to independent marketers in Jalingo which were sealed up by the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, for violating the federal government’s directive. In spite of the undertakings they individually signed to sell at the official rate as a precondition for reopening their filling stations, the major marketers in the state have continued to defy government’s order by selling above the pomp price.
Taraba State chairman of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Ibrahim Liman, blamed the non compliance with the sale of petrol at official rates to alleged diversion of refined fuel from NNPC depots to private stations who sell to marketers at cut throat price.
Deregulation as culprit
When the government reduced the price of petroleum litre to N65 from N70 in January this year owing to the fact that landing cost of petroleum had fallen to N59, the scenario has now changed. Now that the government has withdrawn subsidy on petroleum products, the landing cost of PMS is about N70 per litre, said a petroleum marketer. “This means we cannot import (Nigeria now exports over 85% of its fuel for domestic consumption) and sell petrol at N65 per litre. That will be operating at a loss, which we can’t afford to.”
The marketer also said that by the time stocks they imported at N59 per litre is finished, fuel supply situation in the country is likely to worsen. He called on the government to rise to the occasion and go ahead with its plan to totally deregulate the oil sector.
“You see, we are still waiting for guidelines on deregulation before making any major commitments to new products importation. Without the government’s guidelines clearly being spelt out, we do not believe that we have deregulation in place and going ahead to import fuel may be suicidal.
The question on the minds of Nigerians is: when will Nigeria, as the sixth largest producer of crude oil in the world, see the end of fuel scarcity in the country? This is one question only the government – and perhaps, marketers of petroleum products in the country – can tell.
Nasiru L. Abubakar
Madam Naomi (not real name) is a civil servant working in Nigeria’s capital city Abuja, but who lives in Karu in neighbouring Nasarawa State because she can not afford living inside the federal capital territory with her ‘meagre’ salary. To ease her transportation problems, she bought – in January this year – a car with money she raised through donation with her colleagues at the office.
“When I bought the car I was so happy that the days of struggling to join commercial vehicles are over. In fact, I got registered with a driving school even before the arrival of car because I never wanted anything to stand in my way having known my experience at the end of every working day,” Madam Naomi said.
However, Madam Naomi’s euphoria was cut short by the debilitating fuel scarcity crisis that enveloped the nation for several weeks. “Now I literally spend my after work hours at the filling station trying to buy fuel, sometimes without even buying the fuel after waiting for so long. Sometimes I feel like abandoning the car at home because I can’t afford the black market rate of N800 naira for a four-litre gallon (i.e. N200 per litre). What is stopping me is my experience of struggling at the bus stop. I hope the government will do something about this permanently,” she said.
In Minna, the Niger State capital, a 58-year old woman, Sarah gave up the ghost while queuing to buy fuel at the filling station. She was said to have queued for four hours inside her car at one station without getting fuel. She then left for another station and succeeded in getting the fuel, also after some hours. However, while trying to pay for the fuel, she slumped and died, probably due to exhaustion.
Who is to blame?
Though, some have attributed the fuel crisis to the Easter break, President Umaru Yar’adua blamed the scarcity on the face-off between the Lagos State government and petroleum tanker drivers some parts of the country on the face-off between the Lagos State government and tanker drivers.
The Petrol Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) recently halted the lifting of products from depots in Lagos, in protest over what they said was the harassment of their members by Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA). The case had however being settled and the drivers have since resumed loading from Lagos depot but the scarcity persists even the government claims that the country has enough supply of Premium Motor Spirit otherwise known as petrol to meet local demand.
Filling stations or black outlets?
Ever since the re-emergence of fuel scarcity, filling stations especially ones owned by independent petroleum marketers, have turned black market outfits, selling well above the government stipulated rate of N65 per litre.
Weekly Trust survey Kano-Kaduna road showed that all the filling stations with very few queues are selling well above the normal rate. At one of the filling stations called Kubewa situated at Chiromawa, a village about 45 kilometres to Kano, a litre was being sold at N130 naira (two times the normal rate) and people were buying.
Though most of the buyers were apparently black marketers because they were buying in jerry cans and even drums, the few car owners told Weekly Trust that they had no alternative because they are on a journey and need the fuel to reach their destinations on time.
The manager of Kubewa Petroleum, who refused to give his name, said they also were forced to sell at the rate they were selling because they got their supply at a very exorbitant rate. When asked how they were getting petroleum while other stations are without it, he said they usually get their supply from some major marketers.
DPR seems powerless
While Weekly Trust was still at the Kubewa filling station, an official of the Department for Petroleum Resources (DPR) came visiting. The official who said he was on a routine inspection forced the attendants to revert to the old normal price of N65 naira. All the pleas by the manager were ignored by the DPR official. DPR officials across the country are also going round shutting down filling stations selling fuel above N65.
But in spite of the DPR’s inspection to ensure that fuel is sold at the official rate and that the machines are not adjusted to short-change customers, other surveys by Weekly Trust in Lagos, Kaduna, Niger, Sokoto, Adamawa, Plateau, Abuja, Zaria show that many stations were selling above the stipulated rate of N65.
In Taraba State, as in other states of the North East where fuel sells above government stipulated price even when the commodity is not scarce, independent marketers have refused to comply with the federal government’s directive on the sell of the commodity at the approved pomp price of N65 per litre.
This is after the reopening of over twenty filling stations belonging to independent marketers in Jalingo which were sealed up by the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, for violating the federal government’s directive. In spite of the undertakings they individually signed to sell at the official rate as a precondition for reopening their filling stations, the major marketers in the state have continued to defy government’s order by selling above the pomp price.
Taraba State chairman of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Ibrahim Liman, blamed the non compliance with the sale of petrol at official rates to alleged diversion of refined fuel from NNPC depots to private stations who sell to marketers at cut throat price.
Deregulation as culprit
When the government reduced the price of petroleum litre to N65 from N70 in January this year owing to the fact that landing cost of petroleum had fallen to N59, the scenario has now changed. Now that the government has withdrawn subsidy on petroleum products, the landing cost of PMS is about N70 per litre, said a petroleum marketer. “This means we cannot import (Nigeria now exports over 85% of its fuel for domestic consumption) and sell petrol at N65 per litre. That will be operating at a loss, which we can’t afford to.”
The marketer also said that by the time stocks they imported at N59 per litre is finished, fuel supply situation in the country is likely to worsen. He called on the government to rise to the occasion and go ahead with its plan to totally deregulate the oil sector.
“You see, we are still waiting for guidelines on deregulation before making any major commitments to new products importation. Without the government’s guidelines clearly being spelt out, we do not believe that we have deregulation in place and going ahead to import fuel may be suicidal.
The question on the minds of Nigerians is: when will Nigeria, as the sixth largest producer of crude oil in the world, see the end of fuel scarcity in the country? This is one question only the government – and perhaps, marketers of petroleum products in the country – can tell.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Between Gumi and Nigerian politicians
By Nasiru L. Abubakar
At the 2nd annual Ramadan lecture jointly organised by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Kaduna and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) Kaduna , I had the opportunity of studying Dr. Ahmad Gumi more closely. And that is not to say I have never met him before. In fact, I had even interviewed him once at the residence of his late father, Sheikh Abubakar Mahmud Gumi. I have also had several other opportunities of listening to him, either directly or via mass media channels, conducting public lectures, Qur’anic commentary (tafsir) and so on.
My aim in this piece is not to pass judgement on what the Islamic scholar (even though respected writers like Adamu Adamu will rather call him a mere Ramadan preacher!) said concerning Buhari’s ongoing case before the Presidential Election Tribunal. No! What I intend to do here is to try to explain to Dr. Ahmad the workings of the mind of the average Nigerian politician. This I believe will give Gumi the opportunity to re-examine his stance about the nation’s politics.
Speaking at the said lecture titled “Leadership challenges: The Muslim perspective”, Dr Ahmad jokingly said, for the fact that he was born on the day Nigeria had its independence (October 1, 1960), he considers himself independent. The independence he said, included freedom of speech and his decision to start by recognising the presence of the Sultan of Sokoto, Sultan Sa’ad ahead of the Kaduna State governor in order of protocol. Nobody seemed to care, for the gathering was a religious one, and since the Sultan is seen as the spiritual leader of the Muslim ummah, he couldn’t be faulted.
Gumi used the lecture as an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. i.e. called for Muslim unity – which he said was paramount – on one hand, and expatiate his position on the petition instituted by General Buhari and Atiku Abubakar, even though he avoided mentioning the name of either of them. This perhaps might not be unconnected with the criticisms his interview with Weekly Trust (September15 2007) on the same issue drew.
In any case, Dr. Gumi appears not to bother with those criticisms, negative as they are. For if he does, he would have let the matter to die down, even if slowly. Indeed, if you happen to be among the regular listeners of the tafsir session being conducted by the scholar, you will realise that hardly a verse passes without him hammering on the need for Muslims to support this administration (Yar’Adua’s that is) as a basis for unity of the Muslim ummah and peaceful coexistence among citizens. He is passionate on everything he believes in, and this may be one of his weaknesses as a human being.
According to Dr Gumi, there is the need to support the present government which has, in an attempt to build structures needed for free and fair election, set up an electoral reform panel. The problems associated with the last flawed elections, he said, were due to absence of structures that will make rigging impossible. And since the government has agreed to put these structures, it is a religious duty to support him.
Gumi seems to trust the Nigerian politician, and this is perhaps where the scholar gets it wrong on the Nigerian politician – Yar’Adua inclusive. Temporarily set aside Yar’Adua’s claim to being a servant leader, Nigerian politicians are in politics purely for business and not for service. And if the price is right, everything is possible. They are experts in the art of double speaking, perhaps to a professorial level.
Agreed, the system we are operating may not be a perfect (by the way, can any human endeavour be perfect?) one, but it has never been our major problem. Our problem has always been the politician himself, spurred on by the docility of the people to protect their votes. It is the politician that needs to be reformed, urgently and in totality too. (I hope members of the Justice Lawal Uwais panel are listening).
Carefully study this scenario: the country has a supposedly Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in place, we have the Electoral Act, law courts, the Police and other security agents. All these were on ground when the 2007 elections took place, but the politicians occupying positions of power will never allow them do their job. Because if they do, that would mean the beginning of their (politicians’) journey to irrelevance.
In any case, of what relevance will these structures be when politicians have only their interest, and not that of the people, at heart? Politicians know that if they can hire the best thugs, kill those considered as obstructions to success, and rig elections successfully, that will be it. This is so because your opponent is very much ready to jettison those that voted for him (with some losing their lives in the process) and abandon the struggle once he is offered some juicy positions or two. The politician aware of this anomaly will forever resort to killing, rigging and all forms of malpractices to get the power. The settlement can be done after he is sworn in.
Then consider a situation where all the above mentioned agencies are allowed to their job, and politicians pursue their rights to the latter, and in the process, some two or three governors have their victories reversed. The politician will be forced to have a rethink about engaging in these vices, spending money only for him to be recalled, and his ‘investments’ gone. Who will want to part with his money in return for nothing? Not even an armed robber will want to do that I believe.
Gumi should therefore support all those who are currently at the tribunals demanding justice. He should also encourage the judiciary to do their work without fear or favour and remind them of the penalties that await them in the hereafter should legalise an outright illegality. This is all the country needs to return to sanity as far as organising credible elections are concerned. You can have the best structures in the world, but as long as the Nigerian politician remains what he is, yesterday can only be better than today, and today better that tomorrow.
Abubakar is a journalist based in Abuja . naslawal@yahoo.com
Note: This piece was published in the Daily Trust and posted on Gamji.com
At the 2nd annual Ramadan lecture jointly organised by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Kaduna and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) Kaduna , I had the opportunity of studying Dr. Ahmad Gumi more closely. And that is not to say I have never met him before. In fact, I had even interviewed him once at the residence of his late father, Sheikh Abubakar Mahmud Gumi. I have also had several other opportunities of listening to him, either directly or via mass media channels, conducting public lectures, Qur’anic commentary (tafsir) and so on.
My aim in this piece is not to pass judgement on what the Islamic scholar (even though respected writers like Adamu Adamu will rather call him a mere Ramadan preacher!) said concerning Buhari’s ongoing case before the Presidential Election Tribunal. No! What I intend to do here is to try to explain to Dr. Ahmad the workings of the mind of the average Nigerian politician. This I believe will give Gumi the opportunity to re-examine his stance about the nation’s politics.
Speaking at the said lecture titled “Leadership challenges: The Muslim perspective”, Dr Ahmad jokingly said, for the fact that he was born on the day Nigeria had its independence (October 1, 1960), he considers himself independent. The independence he said, included freedom of speech and his decision to start by recognising the presence of the Sultan of Sokoto, Sultan Sa’ad ahead of the Kaduna State governor in order of protocol. Nobody seemed to care, for the gathering was a religious one, and since the Sultan is seen as the spiritual leader of the Muslim ummah, he couldn’t be faulted.
Gumi used the lecture as an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. i.e. called for Muslim unity – which he said was paramount – on one hand, and expatiate his position on the petition instituted by General Buhari and Atiku Abubakar, even though he avoided mentioning the name of either of them. This perhaps might not be unconnected with the criticisms his interview with Weekly Trust (September15 2007) on the same issue drew.
In any case, Dr. Gumi appears not to bother with those criticisms, negative as they are. For if he does, he would have let the matter to die down, even if slowly. Indeed, if you happen to be among the regular listeners of the tafsir session being conducted by the scholar, you will realise that hardly a verse passes without him hammering on the need for Muslims to support this administration (Yar’Adua’s that is) as a basis for unity of the Muslim ummah and peaceful coexistence among citizens. He is passionate on everything he believes in, and this may be one of his weaknesses as a human being.
According to Dr Gumi, there is the need to support the present government which has, in an attempt to build structures needed for free and fair election, set up an electoral reform panel. The problems associated with the last flawed elections, he said, were due to absence of structures that will make rigging impossible. And since the government has agreed to put these structures, it is a religious duty to support him.
Gumi seems to trust the Nigerian politician, and this is perhaps where the scholar gets it wrong on the Nigerian politician – Yar’Adua inclusive. Temporarily set aside Yar’Adua’s claim to being a servant leader, Nigerian politicians are in politics purely for business and not for service. And if the price is right, everything is possible. They are experts in the art of double speaking, perhaps to a professorial level.
Agreed, the system we are operating may not be a perfect (by the way, can any human endeavour be perfect?) one, but it has never been our major problem. Our problem has always been the politician himself, spurred on by the docility of the people to protect their votes. It is the politician that needs to be reformed, urgently and in totality too. (I hope members of the Justice Lawal Uwais panel are listening).
Carefully study this scenario: the country has a supposedly Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in place, we have the Electoral Act, law courts, the Police and other security agents. All these were on ground when the 2007 elections took place, but the politicians occupying positions of power will never allow them do their job. Because if they do, that would mean the beginning of their (politicians’) journey to irrelevance.
In any case, of what relevance will these structures be when politicians have only their interest, and not that of the people, at heart? Politicians know that if they can hire the best thugs, kill those considered as obstructions to success, and rig elections successfully, that will be it. This is so because your opponent is very much ready to jettison those that voted for him (with some losing their lives in the process) and abandon the struggle once he is offered some juicy positions or two. The politician aware of this anomaly will forever resort to killing, rigging and all forms of malpractices to get the power. The settlement can be done after he is sworn in.
Then consider a situation where all the above mentioned agencies are allowed to their job, and politicians pursue their rights to the latter, and in the process, some two or three governors have their victories reversed. The politician will be forced to have a rethink about engaging in these vices, spending money only for him to be recalled, and his ‘investments’ gone. Who will want to part with his money in return for nothing? Not even an armed robber will want to do that I believe.
Gumi should therefore support all those who are currently at the tribunals demanding justice. He should also encourage the judiciary to do their work without fear or favour and remind them of the penalties that await them in the hereafter should legalise an outright illegality. This is all the country needs to return to sanity as far as organising credible elections are concerned. You can have the best structures in the world, but as long as the Nigerian politician remains what he is, yesterday can only be better than today, and today better that tomorrow.
Abubakar is a journalist based in Abuja . naslawal@yahoo.com
Note: This piece was published in the Daily Trust and posted on Gamji.com
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