Marginalization of the North

With

Abubakar Sulaiman Muhd

24/10/2013

Alfalancy@yahoo.com

We could not, inevitably avoid the politics of tribe and religion when it comes to the sharing opportunities from the federal government due to the heterogeneous structure of Nigerian societies. And that is why any president surrounds himself with henchmen from his tribe holding key and strategic positions in the cabinet. But at least we could retain our sense of belonging as one nation with the regard to the fact that there are many other people different from our own living in the country. Late professor Chinua Achebe argued in his book The trouble with Nigeria that we should eliminate the issue of doing things on ethnic and religious lines. But we still do it because even in the filling of forms for admission into any federal establishments one is required to state his religion and tribe or local government of origin. The thought of Achebe was that of genuine democracy where things are done based on competency and qualification.  Here in Nigeria we believe that one community will dominate another if we adopt the formula of admission or sharing resources based on the dictates of democracy, which is competency not the tribe of origin or religion. Come to the north we have the vast majority. But you are parasite, a southerner would say. Go to the south, they have the educational advantage. But you have quack and fake certifications, a northerner would say. Either way there is problem. As we in the north are clamouring for population as a formula of sharing revenues since democracy is the game of number but our brothers in the south-south are fighting to maintain the status quo  or rather demanding the increase of the revenue since it is from their region the country get the revenue.

Despite the effort made, including that creation of the Federal Character Commission, to sustain the peaceful co-existence of the country, yet some government officials are subverting the system. Look at the unbecoming behaviour of Mrs Stella Odua, the Aviation Minister who is brazenly   making effort to see the downfall of the northern region. She has been retarding the renovation project of the Aminu Kano International Airport the work which has narrowly completed, long ago after its contemporaries in Enugu benefited the project. In an interview granted by Hon. Aliyu Madaki from Dala Constituency , see article, “Aviation Minister Implementing Grand Plot To Enervate North”  published by People’s Daily on Nov., 2013,  we see how she tried to enervate the activities in the airport.  And now the commercials airlines requested approval to start operating in the north and the Minister refused to grant land permit to them which again the same Hon. without tire sponsored a motion on the House floor to investigate the refusal of the Aviation Minister to grant landing permit to the foreign flights to commence operation in the north. While the airlines are already in full force working in Enugu, Lagos and Phartcourt. After having mounting pressure lodged against her form the legislatures and the shameful scam of embezzling public fund of buying armoured two cars worth N255m found against her, the minister granted the permit. But it is the same as before for she imposed additional tax over any airline that would operate in the region which was not imposed for the operation in the south. Despite our backbenchers legislatures we need our Hon. Madaki and his kind to put stop to this again. Hon silent Chi ka Tsere and our unpatriotic ministers should also speak because their mouth is close to the government ears.      

Then came the discrepancy recorded during the last admission into the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) where the Muslims were marginalized. Even though I was unable to read the reports on my own because I was in vigil of leg injury but the report culled from the Daily Trust shows that the majority of the successful candidates were either Christians or southerners.  When contacted by the press to account the processes of the admission, the Director Defence Information, Brigadier General Chris Olukolade maintained that the procedures were duly observed according to the guidelines of the Federal Character Commission. The implication which offended our polity and the provision of section (219) (a & b) of the federal constitution. According to the provision of the FCC it is against the commission’s provisions to fill any position with people from other states even if the state the posts allocated is lacking the people to occupy the posts. Come to Kano or Jigawa and see how many southerners are in the services with certificate of those states. But you could not find a Kano-indigene working with certificate of Enugu Or Ondo. It was the same case last year in the recruitment of staff in the Immigration Service after which the investigation found incomprehensive disparity between the north and south before the officials righted the admission. When the Head of the ministry was fired by the journalists why the inequality she replied the implausible and stupid excuse that she was trying to avoid recruiting Boko Harams into the services. Since then, our helpless proponents have been crying for our representatives to take measures to stop this scenario from happening again because we don’t really know, if care is not taken it will turn out that in near future it would probably be an offence against anyone who grows whisker or bear or a basis not be recruited into the Nigerian Services. The case clearly shows that Muslims in Nigeria are systematically marginalized to get rid of our youth from the Armed Forces, Security Agencies and other admission into the governmental institutions. It’s in the same vein when you talk about fiscal allocation, loans, and other supportive financial programmes from the federal government, hardly could you find mallams enjoying the benefits. Even the federal scholarship award, I could not show a close or distant neighbour who benefited from it. All the benefits go to the south and our representatives are as dormant as they always be! Shame. 

To avoid falling into this mayhem, the marginalization of one portion of the nations, the federal government in 1996 created Federal Character Commission by Act No. 34 of the Constitution and charged it with the responsibility of implementing and enforcing the federal character principle of fairness and equality in the distribution of public posts and socio-economic infrastructure among the various federating units of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The provision of the 1999 Constitution consolidated the establishment of the FCC in sections 14 and 153 for operating in democratic setting since the time the commission was introduced was military regime under Gen. Sani Abacha. The FCC was mandated by paragraph 8 (1) (a) and (b) of section C, part 1, Third schedule of the Constitution of Nigeria to work out equitable formula subject to the approval of the National Assembly for the distribution of all cadres of posts in the public service of the federation and the states, the Armed Forces, Nigerian Police Force and other Governmental Security Agencies, Public Companies and Parastatals: and to promote, monitor and to ensure compliance with the principle of proportional sharing of all bureaucratic, economic, media and political posts at all levels. But with this in place the south sets to marginalize our people on the basis of regional bias.  

Prior to the attainment of independence, the need of many Nigerians was to have a country of justice, where all citizens regardless of their ethnic origin or religious or cultural affiliation or gender, will enjoy the right and privileges, chances and opportunities that the country offered. However as the storm for independence rocked up the expectation of equal Nigeria was not actualized. In 1954 when Nigeria adopted federal system of government certain observations were made:

It was observed that within Nigerian nations there were differences in culture, religion, stages of socio-economic development and political awareness. Secondly it was observed that disparities existed in educational development of different sections of the state where this resulted into some sections having disadvantages in the employment of indigenes in the public service. That is why at first place I said we could not avoid politics of ethnicity because it became our inherent characteristics. Therefore in 1954 the concept of Quarter System as a policy was adopted in the recruitment of persons into the Armed Forces and the Police as well as in admission into Educational Institutions. With attainment of independence the need to define criteria for the equitable spread of development became very relevant. The purpose of adopting it then, was to promote understanding, and cooperation among different communities. It was hoped that the system would yield healthy competition among the various units of the nations in their socio-economic and political development while receiving equitable resources from the federal government. However the citizens of Nigeria recognized the need for specific guidelines for the realization of fairness, sharing and allocation of resources as well as distribution of infrastructure, unfortunately there was no such procedure to address that. As a result there were differences in many aspects of life in terms of development. Having the complex structure of Nigerian society, it became necessary to define the process that would ensure the existence of peace, unity and cooperation to allow the country to exist as single entity. The Quarter System was reviewed in 1967 and adopted for filling the posts and vacancies into federal institutions. By 1975 the issue of federal character was a vital as was a body in place to implement the policies. The Constitutional Drafting Committee by Murtal regime was an effort to solve the problem of marginalization as defined in 1979 Constitution the federal character:

The desire of the citizens of Nigeria to promote unity and national  loyalty and to give Nigerians a sense of belonging with out the difference in ethnic, religion, origin, culture or language which may exist in their desire to see the advancement of the country. With this aim behind the creation of FCC the commission has some key strategies:

·        Secure for all Nigerians equity and balanced development.

·        Raising public awareness in national unity and cohesion through the principle of Federal Character.

·        Each state of the federation and the FCT respectively attain not less than the statutory of 2.5% and 1.0% representatives in the manpower distribution of each of the federal government ministry, agency and parastatal.

·        Provide the information for seeking redress of grievances under the provision of the commission. (see FCC Acts and Handbook for more details.)

Again the commission has warned against anybody who would offend its provisions in the course of recruiting persons into the governmental institutions and some parts of the provisions are as follows so that our representatives could use it to seek redress for the injustice committed against our people.

·        Section (1) (e) of the FCC empowers the commission to intervene in any recruitment process where the provision of the circular is being or likely to be contravened by any MDA

·        Therefore  any person or MDA ( hence activates are covered under the FCC Act) that carried out any recruitment in whatever form or guise without appropriate advertisement, and observance of the guidelines and procedures shall be committing an offence under section 14, punishable under section 15 of the Acts.

·        It shall be the responsibility of all Perm Secs, Chief Executive of Ministries, Extra-Ministerial Departments, Parastatals, Agencies, and other Governmental Establishment, Chief Service and the Inspector-General of Police to ensure compliance with those guidelines to procedures.

It is on this note I am apprising Hon. Aliyu Sani Madaki for his diligency and commitment for the service he has been doing in fighting for our fair share from the federal government. Power to your elbow and I wish you and others will continue to mount pressure on anybody trying to undermine the course of northern progress which will inevitably affect the progress of the country at large.  I am happy with the Hon. for his movement usually flickers across our television screen during the House sitting. We also get your word coming through media unlike other Honourable Members from my state.                

Murder of the innocents in Apo

Murder of the innocents in Apo

By

Abubakar Sulaiman Muhd

26/09/2013

alfalancy@yahoo.com

Well, Nigeria, according to Karl Maier the author of this house has fallen, is a place where a writer could find something to write everyday. The reason, perhaps, behind his assertion is the terrible happenings he had been seeing during his service in the country as a foreign reporter. It is true for one will be battling with what not write not what to write on the range of issues unfolding everyday in the country peculiarly those that catch public interest. Just recently a Karota driver chased a bus driver dangerously at Mariri here in Kano, in his effort to escape; his car somersaulted resulting the driver and the passengers, bystanders and pedestrians to kick the bucket instantly. Further investigation has shown that the Karota driver has no driving license but was given the car of the governmental agency to drive and more disgusting is that the agency is in charge of the road traffic regulation. This means that the agency is just a bundle wagon of ignorant human beings. This is not the first time Karota has been the cause of the accident on the road as many people are always complaining about their attitude. But this is not what we shall discuss here for Karota alone is a topic on its own.

I was travelling to Bagwai my village with a brother to attend a personal assignment on Friday, 20 Sept., 2013, when just I opened my gadget and found the latest bulleting reading the “Apo killing” on Daily Trust twitter page. The report briefly said that shootout erupted between Boko Haram and the security operatives in an uncompleted building in Zone E of the Apo legislative Quarters. Actually it took me some minutes before I relayed the update to him mulling over the matter silently in my mind knowing how difficult it must be to smuggle weapons into such sophisticated area, a home to one of the prestigious MPs on earth, let alone attacking security operatives in such area.

The uncompleted building where the security killed at least seven and later the toll rose to eight by Monday, was found to be the possession of Mrs. Adunni Oluwale Salisu, believed to be the sister to the former president Olesugun Obasanjo. Document from the Abuja Geographical Information System (AGIS) showed that the property with C of O OG247326 situated at No 8 Bamanga Tukur Street, Gudu District, belongs to Mrs Salisu, said Premium Times.

Immediately after the killing the SSS said to the world that the incident was s shootout with Boko Haram militants when the security launched a raid at the place following a tip-off they received form the members of the sect in detention. They said that they were searching weapons when they came under fire by the sect members. But the survivors of the attack, Sani Abdurrahman Safana, Abubakar Auwal Bichi, Yusuf Abubakar Moriki and Bashir Usman insisted that they were not BH members but were jus squatters at the building as they could not pay the cost of renting expensive houses in Abuja. They contradicted SSS assertion that they were given a week eviction notice by a retired military man and all of a sudden they were attacked just three days after the warning.

Apo killing left many questions unanswered for at first place the spokeperson of the Service Marlyn Orgar said that the security men were not murderers but are paid to secure lives and property of the people.  Behold the irony here, how would they kill people under the discretion of one person and said unfazedly they are protecting the lives and property of people? When bombarded with a seamless flow of press interrogation after it was discovered that the killing was extra-judicial, she then said that she stood by her previous words that the operation was carried out after the SSS obtained information from the militant members in detention that the building was a hideout where the militants stashed their weapons. But she later shun any response to the question regarding the incident when the SSS failed to showcase the weapons they found in the building. A kind of stupidity that nobody would believe. For how the institution that has zero tolerance on terrorism would fail to display to the world the progress they made in the fight against terror? Another damning proof that confirmed the inkling that the killing was a ploy to annihilate human being is that the security men has failed, one more time, to present even figures indicating the number of the operatives, even one person killed or injured from the shooting since it was an indiscriminate fire exchange. The public are still waiting to the Service to produce a proof of the shot or injured person from their operatives as we saw those shot and injured from the other side. And if they fail, which they definitely would, their action would translate their grave crime of attacking unarmed persons. This has two implications. Fist it shows that the SSS has failed to apply the civilized professional methods of fighting in conflict situation which is meant mainly to capture not kill in order to eke out more information regarding the rebels. Second if the SSS killed the seven squatters out of wanton destruction of lives to fulfill the personal desire of one individual, they should know that they committed war crimes according to the Fourth Geneva Convention to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of Arm Conflicts which was first adopted in 1949 based on the part of the 1907 Hague Convention IV. These killers if found guilty for this charge alone would face the same punishment that landed Charles Taylor in jail to serve 50-year prison term. 

Many people are opining their views that why the building was not demolished just instantly when the security found the building because it shelters terrorists? We know how tight the Security men are in the fight of terror whenever they discovered a building to be the den of the militia, but still the building remains standing. Another evidence revealing the fact that those people were killed innocently and the elements behind the murder are those men close to power. But no matter how powerful they appear, they will get their nemesis sooner or later, here or in the hereafter. We also know how extreme the Security are to pursue a person even on a spurious allegation of him being a member of Boko Haram, which resulted the exile of many people because of the fear that once caught they will not get fair treatment. The survivors of the attack remained at large in Abuja, Asokoro General Hospital.

Attacking civilian population through the conduit of war against terror is not uncommon event in Nigeria. It has become a norm to see security operatives maiming and killing helpless citizens without a slightest crumb of compunction because they know they will go unpunished. The killing in Baga is the case in point. Here in Kano for example, people have succumbed to be loyal to the security men on whatever condition and maltreatment they mete out to them because they just want to go unscathed with their life along. A refusal to give even twenty Naira to the security men will take a person to his grave.

The blood of our fellow citizens would not go in vain. I believe advocates of justice across the country are struggling fervently for the victims’ right as many people especially form the states where the victims hail visited and continue visiting the injured in the hospital and are still chanting songs of solidarity to see justice prevail. What I expected initially was to see the face of governors, senators, national and state assembly members from the victims’ states receiving the corpses and even taking them to the twin chambers for special sitting.  We want to see an army of our politicians from Kano, Katsina, Zamfara, and Yobe infesting in the case to ensure that justice is done. Their involvement will make the matter to be taken more seriously since the victims are particularly helpless and less privileged persons. Compensation alone will not do away the havoc it wrought on the victims and their family but it is still recommended since many who have fallen into similar case previously have been compensated. The SSS should publicly apologize to the victims for their wrong action.

Vote of thanks goes to Mal. Sani Shehu a-kaduna based activist for his presence during the reception of the corpses in the hospital. A train of commendation to Dr. Aliyu Tilde for the effort made to raise awareness to the public and his ceaseless search for information to relay to the public. Also Mal. Lawan Abubakar the Imam of the Triumph Juma’at mosque for his visit to the victims.

Finally, I hope the Senate Panel set to investigate the killing will do their job with justice, and the NHRC report will thoroughly be considered to ensure that justice is done to the victims and the murderers punished.

Sulieman Imran Katsina, Mamman Abdullahi Katsina, Ashiru Musa Katsina, Nura Abdullahi Katsina, Ahmad Musa Zamfara, Buhari Ibrahim Kano and many others who were killed, be received in a perfect peace. Amen! 

  

Women in Tribulation, Help Them

Women in Tribulation, Help Them

With

Abubakar Sulaiman Muhd

The peace for women is the peace for men and   the peace for men is the peace for the world. I am not advocating or giving room for women to come out to vie with men, nor am I subscribing the paganistic belief in the doctrine of ancient Greece and Rome that women are Venetians and deserve more than enough respect. Of course not me accepting the belief in the doctrine of original sin which subjects women to a certain hatred and torture.

It pains me to the core seeing women in suffering simply because I have great desire, love, passion and sympathy for them. These callings I have for them are not just for concupiscence or rather gratification of sexual lust. Nay, neither. It is as a result of understanding their situation and the urge to help them free from the social bondage.  

Women have to be respected and considered as life associates not as slaves or second-class human beings. Women at homes or schools and everywhere need special attention and consideration because of their natural body structure.

Empowerment of women educationally is the first step to grant women their freedom, right, chance and opportunity, and it’s the best weapon to fight them freedom from the grip of the macho, wicked and unconcerned society. In school the urge to help women makes me and will continue to make me appear a poodle, a candle burning itself to give light to others. Though the general perception in the course of male/female relationship especially in schools is assumed to be exploitative. Female students exploiting their male counterpart. Far from this, my belief is that I vow to take the pain upon myself to succour   women in any situation where I am able to do so because my indulgence is a contribution of fostering women education, the best way out of their predicament.  

Education as I described earlier as the first step of empowering women, is a means with which they can acquire skills not only to work in public and private organizations but can also apply their knowledge in their matrimonial life to breed a good posterity for future generation and to serve as a civil mediators in resolving conflict with the people around them.

Women shouldn’t necessarily seek knowledge with firm do-or-die determination to work in public offices. Women are naturally preserved to be delicate, precious, priceless and prestigious. The history of women in labour force began around 18^th -19^th centaury. In the heyday of industrial revolution where women were forced to come out by the economic strain, to work in the British factories in order to supplement the meager income of their husbands just to survive the dire social hardship and the pressure rooted by the compartmentalization  of social order based on material well-being. This is just the root cause. It is not something worth copying for it did not originate from a good civilization, intellectuality or educatedness, or stylistic way of adorable life. It was from hardship, deplorability, austerity and the ilk. It was from the regimented course of European life for a family to be able to exist – to survive  paying the tax,  living on their own under a situation that have no human face of humanitarian assistance from kith and kin which African cultural humanity, communality and togetherness warrant. In fact this is what led to a concept we now call individualism. A social setting where husband works for his only self, the wife for her own survival and the children sent off at tender age of eighteen to fend for themselves in the jungle of today’s capitalistic society. This is the fountain from which our people source their wrong civilization and assumed the practice as the prerogative of the civilized ones, the elites. 

I am not completely debunking the idea of women going to work because nowadays their work is giving rather contribution to the family and the society at large. All I am doing is decrying the people who hold the belief that it is civility or educatedness leaving women to come out for work; to rescue those people out of the darkness shrouding their shallow brain and to make them in the know of the source of their civilization.

Our life is naturally built to depend on the contribution of each sex. For even in Islam, women have their role to play. Referring back to the life history of our beloved prophet (SAW), we can see many examples where women went out, going to the battle ground to give humanitarian services, relief assistance and medical care to the male soldiers. Women have all the right to acquire education since Aisha (RA) the most loved wife of the prophet (SAW) set examples where she was noted to have reported more than four thousand prophetic traditions.

In our context, we need women in almost all spheres of life. We need female gynecologists to attend their fellow women hence to avert avoidable contact with male doctors. We need women lecturers to provide a sense of belonging and security to the female students against any unwanted elements on the campus. We need women bankers to accommodate the needs of women going to the bank for their business without necessarily engaging with unlawful males. We also need female journalists to present programmes to women audiences about the problem related to their womanistic concerns.

On the other hand, I have a pillary against those who oppose women education. I challenge them to produce even a proof from the heavenly scriptures supporting their course. Besides what pains me about the behaviour of these people is this, they are mostly those who disapprove of taking girls child to the hospitals for medication on the ground that the personnel in service are male staff, people from the opposite sex. To their ignomable belief it is rather preferable to let a birthing women die of bleeding to taking her to the hospital. I appeal to their ignorance, for God sakeness, who they expect to be the doctors when all the society is deriving their girl children away from becoming medical personnel when they are married them off along their way to the profession?

I stand to a position that such people who disallow women education are masking their pure intention of continuing to perpetrate crimes against women. Or such that they are those who are trying to escape their turn of harvesting the evil they planted, the sexual exploitation they committed to other people’ daughters. If not for these reasons why will they deny women right to education despite all these ample examples from the prophet and Sahaba down to the Salaf and to the brilliantly educated Nana Asma’u the daughter of Usman Dan Fodio and many others of our contemporary scholars? And if they are saying western education is bad, so I ask this: do they enroll their daughters in proper Islamic school to study the religion widely?, because all knowledge is the same. No, they only put them in a local Allo school where they wouldn’t be paying money. Anybody believing in denying women education should better investigate in the family of any scholar they trust, I am rest assured, by God, to make an uncompensatery swear; they would find none among their wives or daughters is illiterate.

Women are always at the receiving end, whether literate or illiterate, traditional or modern girl. By traditional I mean the one who is utterly ignorant both side (ba Arabi ba Boko). Her life is much more in jeopardy, suffering and predicament than any other woman. At the age of 18 she was already divorced with three children or the husband abandoned her to care for them. The children from all indication, like their mother would not get access to education, health care and economic right. Already before her marriage she was an excellent hawker in the street who witnessed several cases of sexual molestation. She will now end up toiling, serving as a maid in the homes of riches eking out her living. Her children would be sent away to serve as almajiris who will also later end their lives as mendicants, wondering and begging in the streets. If there is a girl among the children she would follow suit like her former mother, hawking groundnuts and kolanuts in the streets. The mother will never see them again until they complete big almajiris, cobblers, solo dancers and or notorious pick-pocketers around ‘Yan Kura-Bata axis.

A modern girl also faces the same tragedy but in different form. She is the one in the university. A striking lass may be forced or willingly succumb to the demand of her lecturer in exchange for better grade. It is still exploitative because of the unequal power dynamics. The girl will not work hard but she is sure that she could get all she wants by trading her body, her chastity, her beauty and her thigh in order to pass her course. Such girls even their admission in to the schools is invariably connected to sexual liaison not the meritocracy.    

In a crescendo voice I say: we have to respect women, to praise their effort and appreciate their commitment. We have to lead them in peace and love, like a farmer does to his herd not the boss does to his servant. Please and please and please, do not abuse, harass, violate, assail, assault, attack, annoy, bang, batter, beat, bother, bug, pester molest, torture, maltreat, hate, distress, pain, exploit, disturb, intimidate, whip, pounce, persecute, afflict, pinch, hit, hammer, strike, threaten, frighten, hurt, injure, harm, damage, scare, coerce, terrorize, bully, overawe, wound, impair, upset, daunt, discourage, dishearten, deter, overwhelm, put off, terrify, petrify, alarm, shock, horrify, panic, dread, thrush, punch, women!

The Comedy of Suntai’s Return

The Comedy of Suntai’s Return

With

Abubakar Sulaiman Muhd

10/09/2013

The biggest event that permeates the front banner of the national gossip is the debacle in Taraba State. Last year October 25, 2012, Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai met his fate of flight accident which led to his illness. As human beings, nobody is willing to accept the inevitable. Death. But fortunate enough to Governor Suntai for he did not die instantly, taken back to history as did his associate who was along with him when the crash occurred. To this end, he was taken to off abroad to practice the best of all medication on earth.

Since his departure, about a year ago, no credible updates was reaching the public about his health condition as though he was not a high public profile figure because some people barricaded any access to him in fear of revealing the veracity about him to the public. Only that people knew was that he was abroad seeking medication. This is not just the matter, for since his exit, some influential cabal kept busy assiduously and fervently, struggling to take advantage of his illness to manipulate the control of the state resources from the background, a vague scene, for their own benefit. Their crave for power shows them naked, how avaricious they are towards the state resources for instead of concentrating their pure concern on his health condition, they deploy it  on how to make their own way to the resources to reap the benefit.

The news of his return to the country last August 2013, stirred the political atmosphere and generated a heated argument. The entire country stood spectator to witness the return of the ailing player into the arena. But the charade arrangement of his return proved failure, a comedy and embarrassment to the schemers when he emerged from the plane flanked with handlers aiding him descend the stairs. A damning proof that he is yet capable. On the scene he was seen to display some of these features: blank gaze or empty stare, sudden outburst of speech or disjointed speech, tied-tongness, loss of cognitive sense (permanent or temporary loss of memory), repetition of a word or statement etc., which are all attributed by psychologists and psychoanalysts as Post Traumatic Brain Injury (PTBI). Think of it twice, how we expect a person who fails to control himself could to a State bearing tens and thousand of inhabitants. As if this is not enough for them to take lesson, the cabal behind the ploy took pretex under his impression to issue the signatory of dissolving the State Executive Council.

All these disgusting things unfolding in Taraba State, before our eyes like a farce drama, have backing sipirit of some officials in the presidency. Instead of leaving the constitution to reign, those nefarious people have narrowed their civilization so low as to revert to avoid the dictum of the rule of law they swore to protect and abide by. They should know that, if they are ignorant, it’s incivility to change the rule at the middle of the game.  The presidency supposed not to take side, supposed not temper with the constitution, supposed not to forget that it was the same constitutional provision during a similar case in Yar’adu’s regime that guaranteed its supremacy to confirm the incumbent president his position when some powerful few tried so hard to hijack the regime to dupe the country. These powerful few tilting to the Suntai’s side have lost their conscience and without regard to our intelligence, want to prevail their interest above that of the teeming populace of Taraba State which is in concord with the State constitution. Here we are!

We are not saying that the good people of Taraba State do not love their governor or have now turned against him. No!, what we are saying is that they are on the safe ground for they are the same people who initially, out of support, cast their vote for him. And what if the people changed their mind? To me those people should let Suntai a rest for if they are hankering for power, he had already written his name in the Guinness Book of political record for being once a governor, a prerogative of few among many.  And the Taraba people wouldn’t be chastised when they have arrived at a reasonable and justifiable conclusion that Suntai is incapable of continuing as a Chief Executive.

In a very civilized way and formal manner the Taraba State Assembly called things to order when the demanded Governor Suntai to appear in flesh before the House to prove his capability by addressing the Legislature. When he failed to show off, a realization that, even the signatory was a purported one, he was not fully recovered capable enough of continuing as a Chief Executive. The legislatures allowed him a decent and dignified exit to go and recuperate from his illness. The Taraba State Assembly have shown itself men of conscience and, we hope they would continue to prove honourable if they adhere to the constitutional provision to allow whoever he is, the deputy, without prejudice or distinction as to the tribe or religion, to take charge of the State affairs as conferred by the constitution. 

WE ARE STILL ALIVE, AND WE ARE RISING

by

 Abubakar Sulaiman Muhd

14/06/2013

It is roughly a complete two years form now with the sparks of the insurgency that messaged through Kano state from the environs of North-eastern states, which later catapulted into a full-blown turmoil.

        I just seated ruminating over a terrace of phenomena when it dawned on me important to trawl through the memories of the hard and trying time we found ourselves since from the inception of the insurgency, least we can evaluate the situation and learn some lessons.

        As intelligent human beings we should not fold our hands eyeing the situation unleashing hardship, tribulation and the massacre of our fellow citizens to continue unchecked, with impunity whereas ogres at the top are taking the advantage of the situation to  fiercely fawn  on us. By this we can create consciousness as to know where we are heading to.

        I remembered the Friday of the last two years when Kano was put in chaos by the attackers. People were at first jubilant to see the drama they have been hearing about unfolding at their close. We first regarded it as fleeting scene of a tragic plot that would come and pass like a supersonic game. In that afternoon, people were there at the places of monster jubilating the violence and fright that swooped over the police. This was a history, gone were the days when the security men after been attacked would allow the civilians who come by accident to passby or coming to witness the scene go without a pinch from them  unfailingly. Now the security exhaust their frustration on the innocents civilian population whenever they are been attacked. Beyond this, they are audaciously capable of going rampage in the society to hunt and kill whoever they jolly wish. Women, children and old ages are not excluded.

        The dark situation is extremely disturbing and niggling which sometimes makes me ask: are we living in a thick forest of barbarism and lawlessness. In the eons of history, long, long time in the past when there was nothing a scrape of education and civilization?

        Anybody can justify a living witness when he comes out only to see anarchy moving around everywhere in our human streets. Regardless of the principle of rule of law, the law enforcement agent themselves are violators of the apparent and glaring laws in the full view of the public. But I excuse them because even the government’s officials in bowler hat and red cap are transgressors of the law.  Upon their perpetration they seem to appear agog of their offence as if it’s something worth of medal. Yes it is something worth of medal of ignorance. Out of complement, I give them a trophy for their barbarity. They are bruits for they feed from their bruitish demeanour.

        It’s just a cry without tears to remember the unsympathetic and barbaric killing of a pregnant woman in my neighbourhood, whom the security personnel opened fire at, after they had allegedly suspected her compound to be a den of militia. That day, the helpless woman passed away leaving behind her husband, a nursing baby and the entire family members in an untold agony.

        It has been equally sad how the security operatives harass and intimidate civilians in the street – maltreat a husband before his wife, a father before his son and a mother before her daughter by subjecting them to the humiliating and disgracing labour and corporal punishment such as caning, whipping and frog-jumps – a kind of humiliating exposure to every responsible man which is only suitable to the monsters.

        The most disgruntled, disgusting and disenchanted was the merciless killing of thousands civilian population in Baga township and the criminality of arson and other grave felonies committed by the state security. The aggression has been condemned by the international community, civil right groups and other private individuals with an atom of compassion and humane sipirit across the world. These grave violations of human liberty in the name of peace restoration are only the few examples that can easily be recaptured, for many have disappeared in the welter of thousands cases. Undoubtedly, if everybody is to be ask, many people have the experience to tell.

        Also the extra-legal imposition of State Emergency in the state with frenzy uproar proved to be entrenchment of fundamental human rights, for it degenerates the living condition of people into dilapidation, famine, diseases and malnutrition. The state is using the State of Emergency as a weapon of war to starve the people, deprive them their social right and to disallow them access to medical care and finally killing them out of negligence.

        Looking at the situation critically, it patently shows that Nigeria is fighting a war from within where the state deploys its heavy arsenal with military missiles, tanks and artilleries to crack down on its own citizens. At the same time employing other tactics of war  to render people homeless, internally displaced, starvation, sexual violence against women and girls, human right abuses and other form of aggression that constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity and crime of genocide. This latter categorization of crimes are seen by the international community beginning with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and later made permanent according to the Rome Statute 1998 of International Criminal Court as such.

        In every civilized state, officials provide an action plan of which to increase non-violent approach to conflict resolution and reduce the incidence of human right abuse in conflict situation. But in Nigeria the scourge keeps upsurging.

        If it proves that the president harbours grudge against a particular group, ethnic, region or belief which makes him to unleash all power and forces at his disposal against them, Mr. Bowler Hat should know that he cannot annihilate history. As hundreds are always being killed in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, thousands in torrent are always being born in Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Sokoto and many other places.

        According to Lisa Hajjar an American sociologist professor on terrorism and commentator on Middle East affair, she once wrote that armed struggle can never end using force and crack down. I much doubt if it proves contrary because US should have finished her task in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan within a blink of an eye. That is why USA put negotiation forth to the militant after several years of bleak military action.

        Mr. President you cannot fool intelligent Nigerians with your superficial dialogue proposal while behind the scene you are arming your troops to maim, to injure, to kill and of course marvel at their brutal misdeeds.

        If we dive into history we can ask where Pharaoh is, the infamous ruler of Egypt who oppressed his subjects at every turn of his whim. Where is Hitler for now? We saw Azazi’s end of dream. Where is your boss, the former president who ordered the killing of Muhammad Yusuf and his followers? They are all dead, cadavers. This reminds me of an experience with Nelson Mandela in his prison cell when a warder knocked at his door and found no response. On the second knock he woke him up and said that: Mandela you don’t have to bother yourself with sleeping here, you will have a long, long sleep. In response Mandela said that: we will have a long, long sleep all of us.

        I recommend for the removal of troops from the townships of Kano and other places for economic recovery and reintegration since they are not in good faith of their duty. All they are after is a handout- stretching their hands grabbing a pittance of five, ten to twenty Naira as a bribe. Here in Kano the security men hide in a corner to launch ambush on the vehiclists who are late to round up their businesses. But our governor like many other officials, have barricaded himself in a strong wall with heavy armed guards like a mafia manger inside the company safe – tethering himself to a confine not knowing the real state of affairs. But our determination to shimmer in the hot sun in search of livelihood is the sipirit behind our forwardness, unlike them sitting in the offices furnished with air conditioning system, seeping their drinks and glancing through the papers.

         It’s just a blow not a death. We only suffered grossly economic-wise; we are recuperating, resilient, energetic and optimistic. We are still alive and we are rising. As we didn’t know this in the past few years so will the next posterity in the few years to come for they will only read the document in library archives and history books.  The longest night ends with dawn. The war may someday end, but not because soldiers killed all the enemies in the North.

After all when the fire had died down we would take the president and his accomplice to the ICC to pay the price of their misdoings.      

Shokorology: Definition, Theory and Practice

By

 Abubakar Sulaiman Muhd

26/03/2013

 Many sociologists, thinkers and philosophers have tried to capture and explain the concept of Shokorology. Shokorology as a social phenomenon is a topic that has direct relationship with the study of interaction and relationship between individuals on campus.

         

Shokorology, in general terms, means relaxation and enjoyment of life. Shokorology can also be defined as a way of academic life in which students on campus enjoy their life by  devoting much of their time and attention to the pleasurable activities rather than the studies itself. It is away of academic life whereby students engage in certain activities they can derive pleasure and comfort from, and by displaying certain fashionable characters and appearance that will impress others.

Students with the belief in shokorology must be attending every resting point, joints and other amusement parks on campus where male and female students gather to interact freely for the enjoyment of themselves without internal disturbances and interference from the school authority or other external forces like Hisbah.

However, students in shokoro can be attending all their necessary lectures but have nothing to do with library except in some special and emergency cases, i.e. when exam is around the corner or they are given assignment finding information in books that can only be found in the library. This does not necessarily mean that students practicing shokorology are not serious, smart, intelligent and obedient. Shokorologists are brilliant and obedient to the rules of the college. Only that they devote much of their time to shokorology during day time to the extent that they can’t have spare time to read their books while on in school but do reading their notes with much concentration  at home after school hours.

While at resting point, joint or park, a shokorologist can buy dish and refreshment to all fellow shokoroloigts when he or she has has money in their pocket. But in the case when a student is in broke, that is no story,  she  or he can enjoy in the pain of the pocket of their friends. In reciprocation, put differently, when their friends have no money they can buy them dish and refreshment in return of the gesture they did to them when they were in the same condition of financial break down.

When a group of friends is in short of money or have no money at all, they can still derive comfort while watching others enjoy, a kind of existential or notional shokorology. Another swap means of maximizing pleasure is that students can kill time by engaging with the opposite sex in animated conversation on various aspects of social life ranging from school life, hobby, favourite dish, colour, books, movies, TV show, travelling, and other life experience as well as sharing ideas and views about their individual perception on the concept of love. 

During time-out or free hours, students usually come to the centre passageway of the college to sit and watch the world go by as students move to and from all directions. For male students in such sitting, their discussion centers on assessing the most impressive and attractive lady. A lady who among all the girls, wears the most attractive and flattering clothes and knows how best to apply them to match on her body with an acute consciousness to catch the attention of the guys.  For a lady to be chosen as the most fashionable and attractive, she must be a girl with high-level passion and deep desire in make-up, using a lot of cosmetics such as talcum powder, creams, ring, earring, necklace, perfume and costume, all of them working together to bring the unity of her face.

In this assessment, the look of the face counts a little. The main consideration and criterion set as a standard to qualify a girl win the position of a Lady of the College,  is her matching appearance. A girl wearing a red clothes, blue headscarf, and black shoes will have little chances, or no chance at all, in winning the coveted post. A lady who wears purple dress, violet scarf and shoes and holds a matching bag can easily win the position especially if she knows how to swing her body while she walks and opens her cleavage and the beauty of her face for others to see and appreciate. Another considerable factor is the way and manner in which she controls her voice with tantalizing pauses and delay, and by way of putting sweet phrases here and there in her speech. Such lady is what the guys usually referred to as ‘Babbar yarinya.’

         

Female students on the other hand are not left behind. They also form their own group to discuss and assess the most handsome and attractive guy. Unlike guys, ladies usually consider some attributes with which they choose the Boy of the College. A boy chosen appears to be tall, mesomorph, light-complexioned, and a Fulani-like with smooth shiny hair who always happens to be clean even if he is not brilliant. One important thing is, he must be unserious, playful and full of humor or else he might end serving as academic bodyguard. The girls don’t like someone with hefty ideas and too formal and serious.

The belief is that a boy with smooth and shiny hair is a seed in their life that can make them yield babies especially girls that will grow to have long and smooth hair, as the penchant for long hair is always gaining ground in the society. It is value-adding to have a light-skinned friend if you are pitch black. Unless you are hopeless and resign that you will always be rejected, but even that you can  consider having an open hand and pretend to be gullible. Girls will troop to share in the spoil. Also pretend to not know any bad words they would say about you, they will abuse you behind your back.

         

Types of Shokorology

There are broadly two types of shokorology: absolute shokorology and limited shokorology.

Absolute Shokorology

This is a situation where students engage and submit  themselves absolutely  to shokorology, neck deep. Their life seems to be made for the purpose, having no other concern in their mind or subject of discussion than shokoro activities. In this type of shokorology, students ask around and ferret out, seeking out information on any event taking place or going to take place with full detail as to when where, who and who among the ladies and girls will attend the show.

Shokorologists  have an extreme desire for attending parties and are normally those who love taking pictures, are at all the time at the forefront of any social events if not organizers.

On the campus they don’t attend all their lectures that truly concern them. They rather perambulate, malinger and regurgitate lackadaisically around the spots where girls are known to be found, and vice versa. In case they attend a lecture, it can be in another department different from their own and definitely it must be to the accompaniment of watching ladies only to concentrate on their phones doing 2go, facebook, twitter, Whatsup, Nimbuz and BBM etc.  

They don’t come to school on the official hours and sometimes play the game of truancy unless if they have an appointment with a lady whom they really want to see and have to comply with her directives to hang around, killing time up till she finishes all her lectures of the day.

In many cases, they take long time without crossing the threshold the school gate and when they do, they don’t come with their bags or take some portion of their books or any other learning materials. Rather, they come single handedly. While at home after school they go clubbing instead of reading the poor lessons they receive from the school.

As to the ladies, they practice virtually all the habits of their male partners. The only difference is that such ladies come to school regularly and are coming to school even during holiday just to keep to some appointments they made with their guys. In schools  that offer hostel facilities, such students prefer to remain on campus during holiday to going to their homes.

In their talks with guys, obscene words and lewd statements dominate their conversation which more often leads to fondling, touching and the big enjoyment, you know. They are confident, upbeat and unpretentious, they aren’t shy of anybody. The less confident can use veil at night and invite a man into their Hijab.

Out of school environment, they maintain their relationship with their partners where they can meet at a rendezvous when they get titillated to exhaust their lust. This type of shokorology is meant for the class of students termed as “first class big boys and first class big.”

Limited Shokorology

In this type, students make the balance of shokorology and studies. Playing all the game of chatting, attending parties, gamboling around but careful of lectures and conscious of the purpose of their presence at school on the belief that without education all the pleasure of life will remain elusive. They attending all their lectures and take with them their books to read them at home. Students map their ways of deriving comfort and pleasure to some certain limits. They believe that school is a place of learning while home is a place for revising and duly studying what they take from the college.

Unlike students practicing absolute shokorology, this class of shokorologists doesn’t go clubbing and even on campus, they struggle to remain consistent with their religion and culture or attempt to reconcile the two with the social engagements. According to shokorogy theorist, students falling into this category are classified as social ustaz, very shy to do things freely because of the judgmental eyes and having lack immoral courage. The extreme of their decadency stops at the words of mouth where you can hear them say some phrases like ‘za ka ji dadinta. You will enjoy it. Za ka ci amfaninta. You will benefit from it.’ In as much as school hour is over they just abandon any shokoro activity.

These kinds of students are those who relax at school and study hard at home. Sometimes other students in the college look forward to their failure in the exam but strike their opponent with great surprise because after the result is released they emerge with flying colour and fascinating performance. This group of students is termed as “second class Big Boys and Girls.”

NB

Many young adults give the excuse that they enjoy their life in their young ages so as to avoid doing remedial of the shokoro in their their oldhood. It is equally important to know that, according to IBK, those who work hard and read a great deal of books are rewarded with important positions in the society. So the more effort you made the more reward you receive. As the same case with farmer, the more committed and dedicated he becomes to his farm the more and better yield he would cultivate. But no matter the amount of rain and fertilizer, he would not harvest the good yield if he is reneged to his farming responsibility.    

      

Factors Determining Shokorology

There are factors that determine the involvement of students into shokorology among which include:

1.     Financial status:- Income position of a student determines his/her behaviour to accept or reject shokorology. A student with high income status tends to incline to shokorology more than a student with meager income though some students endure to indulge in shokorology despite their financial strain.

2.     Family background: - Most of students who come from the hygienic family usually engage in shokoro activities as they appear always clean, than those who come from lesser hygienic background since the solid foundation upon which the concept stands is cuteness and smartness.

3.     Impression and personal interest:- A student who prior to his/her presence on  campus who may have no interest in shokorology can now develop the it especially if they find those pals  who are practicing it so impressively attractive. Or in many cases, students doing shokorology have already planned in their mind while they are at home before getting admission that they  engage in shokoro when they come on campus.

4.     Peer group:- The type of the associates a student meets in the school will greatly influence their  conduct. A student can be financially and comfortably off and might even come from hygienic family but may not have the pulse in shokoro. But if s/he meets friends who cherish the idea of shokorology s/he can be gradually influenced to buy the idea of the concept and develop the habit in their mind and later on to begin to demonstrate it physically.

5.     Level of socialization:- Students who already have the opportunity to socialize with others in the past or having past experience of associating with different people even with  their relatives at home, have the tendency to continue in the same line which they have become familiar with. Such students are usually gregarious who always want to share their world with others and do exhibit the habit of confidently socialization with the opposite sex.

Advantage

1.    One of the advantages of shokorology is that it gives pleasure, merriment, jollification and comfort.

2.    It is nourishing and refreshing.

3.    It does away with physical and mental stress since different sexes involve in mingling and interaction through the course of conversation and discussion.

4.    It promotes amity between male and female students hence socialization exists without gender discrimination.

5.    It is educative since the persons involved share views and ideas about social issues and other life experiences.

6.    It refreshes students’ brains to allow them comprehend the lectures clearly than those who do not participate in shokoro since the old saying ‘always work and no play made jack a dull boy.

7.    It encourages the performance of hygiene among students

Disadvantages

Every advantage has its disadvantage, shokorology as a social phenomenon has its own side effects.

1.    It encourages extravagant and imprudent spending of resources.

2.    It serves as a cult group.

3.     It encourages the spread of immoral activities such as homosexual, lesbianism, and fornication.

4.    It also promotes nefarious acts such as stealing and pilferage.

5.    Student may cheat their parent by increasing or claiming false academic expenses to supplement his/her shokoro expenditure.

6.    Students are likely to develop cavalier attitude or might forget the primary purpose of their presence in school especially if they become deeply involved in the art of shokorology.

7.    It is wasting time since the students must not meet again after leaving the college during the end of their programme.

8.    It creates nuisance e.g. music will be coming into the classrooms .

9.    There is a great risk of loss involved in attending party and other social event while lecture is in progress.

10.                        Shokorologists are seen in the society as defiants of the society if their activities deviate from the norms of the society which they belong to. For example it is deviation in Hausa community to intermingle between male and female overwhelmingly beyond plausible reason even among close relatives.

11.                       Shokorologist are very tricksters as they don’t tell heir friends that they read at home. This tricky attitude makes some members suffer a lot in the examination hall by looking at the ceiling or chewing the tail end of their pen since they don’t read and  know what to write on their answer sheet. The worst of it is that such students are always at the receiving end and are likely to face the hazard of withdrawal for poor performance in the exams or caught attempting exam malpractice.

By and large, due to the nature of shokorology as to its advantage and disadvantage, it is some times good and up to the student to make a careful consideration of the factors surrounding him or her, be ready to take responsibility of the consequence of their action, in making decision as to accept or reject shokorology practice or making the balance of the two. But all is depending upon the circumstances of economic and mindset of an individual.