The Devil Is It, Mr. President written on Jan 21, 2004 (20years ago)

By Dangiwa Abubakar Umar, rtd Col.

An Open Letter to President Obasanjo

January 21, 2004

Mr. President,

Although this wish or prayer may be totally unnecessary, since leaders who believe they are divinely appointed and inspired don’t need prayers, I still volunteer to wish you and your well endowed family a very merry Christmas and happy New Year in arrears. It was impossible to reach you before the events because while you were busy running court and entertaining your new friends and well-wishers and thanking the Lord for continuing to subjugate us to you, I was in far away Niger Republic for what I now regard as a convalescence holiday. You may not believe it, Mr. President, that as materially poor as Niger is, it is a more amenable human habitat compared to our vastly endowed Nigeria, thanks to the Lord who has been so merciful in guiding their leaders. The journey from Kaduna to our border with Niger was a very bad experience. However, the trip from Kamba, our last border town, to Niamey was physically refreshing but psychologically torturing. The torture was caused by the realisation that Niger is a very poor country that imports bitumen from Nigeria. But its roads resemble the German autobahns all due to the good and honest management of resources by its leaders. We did not encounter a single pothole throughout. Nigeria supplies electric power to Niger. Yet while power outages are a daily routine here, Niger enjoys uninterrupted power supply. Consequently, its few industries are functioning.

The police in Niger are some of the most courteous and duty conscious that I have seen. They don’t demand nor do they expect bribes. There is evidence of good governance. The leaders are evidently honest which makes the followership content in their relative material poverty and willing to make sacrifices for the common good. Niger is a true nation.
If one could place God in time and space, one could safely conclude that He is now in Niger and no longer in Nigeria as was once supposed. President Tanja Mohammadu is a humble man who is busy doing his duty without laying any claim to the monopoly of God’s grace. He, apparently in doing so, does understand the Lord very well, going by our standards here!

It was on my way back at Birnin Kebbi, my hometown, that I read Mr. President’s end-of-year testimony, given at Owu Baptist Church in Abeokuta. In the testimony, you once again engaged in your usual blasphemous chest-beating. You claimed that your 2003 reelection was one more miracle performed by the Lord, considering the forces arrayed against you. Perhaps, because of my Niger experience and a definite feeling of pity for Nigerians who are currently saddled with a deluded leadership that is set on the course of national destruction, I decided to write you this open letter. The aim, of course, is to cause you to seek proper understanding of the Lord and to purge yourself of pagan beliefs. In doing so, I will not pretend to be an Imam or Bishop, neither will I resort to extensive quotations from the Holy Scriptures because I know how proficient you are in the latter. I will rather write as a simple believer in the omnipotence and omniscience of the Supreme Being, as one who has fully internalized the truth of the description of this transient world in the book of Ecclesiates as “vanity of vanities.” I also speak as one who has cried out twice in the past, at great personal peril, when I perceived dangerous clouds gathering in our national firmament.

Mr. President, I have in the last few years, been curious to study the life and particularly the background of the man Obasanjo. In view of your past apotheosis and your shocking dismal performance so far, it is, however, not necessary to reveal my findings now since they have been adequately addressed by some of your close associates and subordinates like Gen. Oluleye, Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu, the Ikemba Nnewi, Chief Allison Ayida and General Theophilus Danjuma. From their accounts, it is now clear that you have escaped public scrutiny through mis-representation, manipulation and cunning à la Abacha. It will suffice to review your performance as the democratic president between 1999 and 2003 and how you re-emerged in the 2003 elections in order to demonstrate that you derive your inspiration from some other being, which you tragically mistake for the good Lord.

For four years, Mr. President, the nation had accorded you such servile obeisance on the understanding that you inherited a weak state and that anything after Abacha was tolerable. The people were optimistic that you had the credentials to lead them to the Promised Land. What will now pass as your mythical image of a great achiever and statesman prevailed on even the doubting Thomases to believe that you were divinely anointed. But barely two years into your first term, it was clear to even your most jaundiced admirers that you are not after all the Messiah this nation has been waiting for. If in the past, the ship of state became rudderless due to poor handling by unskilled captains, you as the present captain decided to go to sleep dreaming that the Lord will steer the ship physically. When you awaken, you operate a theocracy, ruling from the pulpit. Your first term had therefore been characterized by too much sermonizing about very attractive ideals which, we now know, that you don’t even believe in. The result has been a worsening of our situation. But, let us see how, by reviewing your scorecard in the handling of the economy and socio-political development of the country.

It is incontrovertible that your government inherited a very weak economy that is precariously mono-cultural, depending on oil as its sole engine of growth. All other sectors had faced serious neglect. Excessive corruption had further compounded the problem. You had correctly identified this as an anomaly in your many beautiful speeches and promised to reform. Theoretically, you had some of the best plans for economic recovery. But insincerity and ineptitude ensured that such plans remained mere paper tigers as the economy continued to nosedive. For example, while you had consistently and routinely drawn budgets which were grudgingly passed into law by the National Assembly, your government circumvented them and illegally adopted other ways and means of misappropriating public funds. Accountability, which is the key to good management, is consequently sacrificed. There is therefore very little evidence of how a total revenue of about N3.5 trillion has been spent in the first term. There is, however, ample evidence to show that most of it has found its way out of the economy. Otherwise, how can one explain the deplorable and worsening state of our infrastructure in spite of the colossal sums released for its rehabilitation? Over N300 billion was supposedly spent on road maintenance. Yet there is not a single road that has been rehabilitated, including the one leading to Otta. Over $2 billion has been spent on NEPA. Yet power outages have worsened nationwide except perhaps in Abuja. The refineries remain shut in spite of the billions spent for their rehabilitation. This poor infrastructure has necessitated the closure of many of our industries. Capacity utilization for the remaining industries has fallen below 35%. This has impacted adversely on the employment rate. The naira has lost more than 50% of its value in the last 4 years. There is little evidence to show that the economy is being diversified, the media hype about telecommunications notwithstanding. The apparent success recorded in that sector is more than offset in macroeconomic terms by the massive daily outflow of our scarce foreign exchange through the purchase of recharge cards, which could easily be manufactured in Nigeria. Your government thus resembles one giant multinational oil company even though its sisters are better managed.

The social service sector has faced worse neglect. Most tertiary institutions here remained closed for well over two years of your first term. Education is apparently not one of your government’s priorities. At this rate, it will take about 10 years for a university student to graduate. Very soon, this country will resort to the import of professionals just as we are about to do with farmers from Southern Africa. Our hospitals have since declined from their consultancy status to mortuaries. At this rate, those hospitals will adopt traditional methods of healing since our universities are likely to lose their accreditation to train doctors and paramedical staff due to poor funding. Nigerians, you must be told, have never experienced this level of social distress and dislocation. Over 70% of Nigerians have fallen below the poverty line, thanks to your inhuman policies. Due to mismanagement, your government is always short of funds even though the price of oil has consistently been well above the budgeted figures. Your response has always been to devise an easy way out by further taxing an already over-burdened citizenry. While the payment of salaries and pensions, including those of ex-servicemen whose contributions have made it possible for you to claim a civil war hero’s status, have remained haphazard, your government has engaged in the extravagance of hosting worthless jamborees. Your deregulation and monetisation policies are premised on wrong assumptions and what I will term as management escapism.

Mr. President, I must be bold to tell you that nobody believes in your anti-corruption war any more. In fact many now find your exhortations as a plain insult to their intelligence. Although you claim to have deployed weapons of mass destruction against corruption, Nigeria has sunk to the position of second most corrupt nation in the world for two years running. It was 27th under Abacha and this is for those who are interested in comparisons. Although corruption is fast trickling to the lowest levels of government, over 50% of it occurs in the presidency as the Western press, which is so mindful of its professional image in spite of your toadying to their home governments, so readily testify. Your family may frequent the courts in trying to absolve itself of wrong-doing but it has to deal with peoples’ impressions.
The shabby treatment which you meted out to the former acting Auditor General of the Federation, for having the audacity to do his job with professional integrity and the opacity of your privatisation exercise, all testify to the cynicism with which you regard the anti-corruption war. In the few instances where your government has prosecuted people for corruption, they invariably turned out to have political disagreements with you. The fact that the church has recently officially taken over the anti-corruption crusade is enough evidence of the abysmal failure of your government in this regard.

2003 Presidential Election

Now, to your reemergence in the 2003 elections. It is well known that the PDP presidential primaries were characterised by manipulation, settlement and intimidation. Who does not know that the numbering of ballot papers was done in such a way that it was possible to identify states’ and even individual’s preferences? Who has not heard of the president’s nocturnal visits to PDP state governors, of course escorted by cash carriers or bullion vans? Contracts for long neglected roads and construction of dams were haphazardly signed in the corridors of Aso Rock. I will not comment on the presidential election results since the case is sub-judice. Suffice it to say that both domestic and international observers have declared the elections as flawed and the mandate that brought this government to power is not the mandate of the people given in accordance with the Constitution and the electoral law. This conclusion is plausible in view of your dismal performance in the first term. The danger which this precedent has set in the political history of the Fourth Republic, will be made manifest in future. If we accept in our political philosophy the view of Mr. Fasehun, one of your most prominent apologists, that rigging is no longer reprehensible per se so long as the rigger is “one of our sons,” I wonder the kind of democracy we are heading for in this country. I hope that the others who fought for democracy as I did, and who were given the increasingly meaningless title “heroes of democracy,” are equally reflecting on this point.

A person who commits errors and realises his folly is easier to correct. But he who does not understand or refuses to accept when he is wrong becomes incorrigible. This is dangerous where such a person is the leader of a nation. It is worse when the person believes that he is divinely guided. Unlike what many critics believe, Nigeria is not degenerating into a one-party state, but rather into a one-person malevolent dictatorship. It is now evident that you must be in the president’s good books to survive economically and politically. No one, no matter how talented or hard-working, can be successful in business unless he toes government’s or the president’s line. While dubious cronies and sycophants are making a killing, honest, hard-working Nigerians are being frustrated out of business. God helps any person who dares cross your cronies either in business or in politics. We are painfully and helplessly watching how one of your godsons is gleefully demonstrating his political clout in Anambra State. It is only a matter of time before Governor Ngige is chased out of power if he is lucky to escape with his life. This, of course, is with your tacit support. Were it not for public pressure, Iyiola Omisore would be sitting at the Senate, if not in your cabinet. While some of us will certainly end up in jail between now and 2007, the Bode George, who has learnt well how to massage your ego, will collect more national honours, the Nigerian Ports Authority probe notwithstanding.

I must, however, warn you Mr. President that when a person continues to show signs of prosperity in spite of his many transgressions, he gets tempted to become reckless and heedless as he attributes his seeming success to God’s support and approval. Such a person is condemned to indulgence. But for those that fully understand the Lord’s ways, they know that it is simply a long rope given by the Lord. The Muslims identify this as ISTIDIRAJI. For as long as what you sow is what you reap, there is a just reward for all actions no matter how long it takes. The wise one will always reflect and atone while the hypocrite will use it to demonstrate his closeness to God and imagine that his exterior is a reflection of his interior virtues when it is not so. All this is also reflected in the Holy Bible, which you are so fond of quoting. I believe you need the service of your good friend Archbishop Mbang. He needs to constantly remind you of the import of Mathew 6:4, which says, “Your father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” I am also sure that you have come across Mathew 15: 7-9, which says, “You hypocrites!” Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you; “these people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by man.”

Mr. President, I beseech you to return to the Lord God. It seems you have parted ways since your merciful release from prison. Today, while your flock is suffering on account of your bad leadership, you are busy attributing your misdeeds to the good Lord. Those of us who are able to discern, know that you are mistaking the devil for the Lord. Sooner than later, He will fight back by disowning you. But before that happens, it is incumbent upon us as your loyal citizens to warn you to seek peace with God. May the good Lord deliver us.

Once again, happy New Year Mr. President.

Ever loyally yours,

Col. D.A. Umar (rtd).

Professor Ibrahim Alkali Ayagi (1940–2020): An Icon of Greatness. By Muhammad Tukur Hamisu

Innalillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Rajiun! Innalillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Rajiun!! Innalillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Rajiun!!!

On the 2nd day of Ramadan 1441 which is equivalent to 25th day of April 2020. We lost an icon to the cold hands of death. “Every soul shall taste death. Then to Us will you be returned” Q29:57.

I don’t even know how to begin this. I am writing this with a heavy heart, dipping my pen into an unending inkwell of tears. To many Nigerians, he was an accomplished Academician, Banker, Economist and Administrator. To us, those who attended Hassan Ibrahim Gwarzo Secondary School (HIGSS), he was more than that. He was our father, role model, disciplinarian, servant of the Qur’an and much more. Thanks to him, every student who passed through HIGSS memorized the whole Quran, a large part of the Quran or at least can fluently and unabashedly read the Quran. The discipline to pray five (5) times daily and to be a morally upright member of the society were deeply inculcated into the school’s system. It is the perfect place to spend one’s malleable adolescent period.

In an appellation to the blessed memory of his dear friend, Grand Qhadi of Kano, Late Hassan Gwarzo, Prof Ayagi named the school after him, which says a lot about the person of Prof Ayagi. The school became the watershed in which many schools in Northern Nigeria were set up, there I say- Nigeria at large. He proved that Islamic and Western Education can not only be obtained side by side, but he bespoke that such settings ameliorate the process of knowledge acquisition. Subsequently, other schools used HIGSS as a model and template in establishing an Islamic cum Western Education Schools. Proudly, the Qur’anic and Islamic teachings have always been our symbols. Hence the school’s motto: “The best of you is who learns the Quran and teaches it”. Additionally, we were not in any way left behind when it comes to Western Education. HIGSS has always boasted of having one of the best SSCE results in Kano and Nigeria. We do complete the SS3 syllabuses by the end of SS2, thanks to the long extensions and Operation Credit Only (OCO) programme. The school participated in many state and national quizzes, debates and essay competitions, and have been guaranteed a podium. While a student at HIGSS and a participant at the competitions, the schools I dreaded as opponents in Academic Competition happen to be the schools he established while he was doubling as Commissioner of Education and Commissioner of Economic Development, they are the Dawakin Tofa and Dawakin Kudu Science Colleges. A competition? Bring it on, as long as those schools aren’t invited but if they were, then we are going to have a very long day.

Prof Ayagi was a visionary. He saw the need to establish Science Schools and he followed through long before the recent realization. He campaigned and gave particular attention to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses. Amongst his legacies were the popular twin Dawakin Tofa-Dawakin Kudu Science Colleges and HIGSS. He established the former as a commissioner and the latter was his school. These schools have hatched the best of the best, pioneers in their respective fields. Whether it is the many doctors in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital or the many numbers of Engineers in Oil and Gas and Tech. The alumni of these schools have occupied premium positions. This is not to forget the Academics, Islamic Scholars, Architects, Nurses et cetera that the schools produced. These are legacies, which anyone would envy and potently pursue.

Prof Ayagi was a man who never shielded away from taking big decisions regardless of who gets hurt along the line, so far the noble aim is worth it. He was a man who was very principled and remained dogged to his ideals once he is convinced he is doing the right thing. He was a man of many ordeals, as such, resigned from positions once he thinks the purpose is derailing. To make reference to one or two of such ordeals; While serving as the Managing Director Continental Merchant Bank (now defunct), he opposed the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) of the then Military Government of General Babangida. He refused the IMF conditionalities and even had the courage to take the Government to court (and won) for its method of allocating Foreign Exchange. In a typical military and dictatorial fashion, he was sacked from his position, but he never regretted this action. He fervently educated Nigerians on the evil of the Bretton Woods System in newspaper columns and his book The trapped economy: Nigeria, a non-ideological strategy for self-reliance. The former Emir of Kano who is an accomplished banker and economist, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, described him as an Economist who is patriotic to Nigeria in his article Buharism Beyond Buhari: A Response to Mohammed Haruna. Prof Ayagi tirelessly and silently worked as the Chairman of National Economic Intelligence Committee (NEIC) during the years of Obasanjo, he played a huge role in the upfront payment of $12 Billion of haunting Foreign Debt until the remaining part of the debt eventually got cancelled. His name and his committee didn’t make it to the Headlines. The CBN Governor and Minister made it. They got all the optics and the accolades. After President Umaru Yar’Adua came to power, he was called for an appointment, which he turned down.

Needless to say, I have since become a member of his family. Both he and his wife (Yakumbo as we call her) were fond of me. I am still a good friend of his first grandchild, a pharmacologist, Al-Mustapha Ayagi. On a memorable day after I was made the Head Boy, Prof Ayagi said to me “Congratulations, I know you are up to the task” these words resonate with me till today. I became very close to his family while doing my job. I got gifts, provisions and occasionally money from his wife. On a much-unrelated matter, I got unprecedented powers that were not seen hitherto. Oh, the memories!! From the changing of food timetable during extension, to Champions League Nights, to the review of Sauka Qualifying Exams pass mark etc. No single proposal of mine was declined by him. None! I can’t separate my past from him.

He was a man who conducted all his affairs in a refined judgement and distinction. A life well-lived. May Allah (SWT) forgive you Prof Ayagi and have mercy on you. HIGSS products, may we all be a source of Sadaqatul Jariya for you. May Allah give your family and the HIGSS family to fortitude to bear the immense loss. May Jannatul Firdaus be your final abode. Goodbye Kawu! Goodbye Father! Goodbye, our Professor! Till we meet me again in Jannatul Firdaus — In Shaa Allah. We are very grateful sir! You parted us so quickly in a time where we could not even attend your burial. Nevertheless, you have left us with permanent memories, memories we will cherish till we meet again. My inkwell is overflowing with tears, but my pen cannot write anymore. We Love You and We’ll Miss You!

The dead teach the living

By Mahmud Jega

The avalanche of stories, articles, comments and jibes in the traditional and social media since the death last Friday of Malam Abba Kyari reminded me of a passage in Arthur Hailey’s 1959 novel, The Final Diagnosis. It was about Dr. Joseph Pearson, the head of pathology at a fictional American hospital. Pearson walked into a theatre full of student doctors to perform an autopsy. He pointed to a plaque on the wall, with the Latin inscription “Mortui vivos docent.” That is, the dead shall teach the living. It is what an autopsy is all about, Pearson said.

Tribute to a departed high official is the journalistic equivalent of autopsy and what it can teach those who are still living. The first, bitter lesson from Abba Kyari’s death was learnt by Kano State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mu’azu Magaji. Governor Abdullahi Ganduje promptly gave him the sack when screenshots emerged that Magaji celebrated Kyari’s death on his Facebook page. Now, I will not rule out the possibility that the power circle around Ganduje did not like Abba Kyari, so the commissioner thought he was toeing the line when he did the celebration. He learnt the hard way that in Northern Nigeria at least, you don’t celebrate anyone’s death so openly. Besides, even though Kyari is dead and cannot do any harm, President Buhari and his administration are very much around, so a state government cannot fool around with Kyari’s memory.

Several dozen high and middle level Administration officials who attended Abba Kyari’s funeral in Abuja, returned home only to be slapped with an order not to enter State House for two weeks. For most of them, attending his funeral was the only honour that they must do to their departed boss and friend. Unfortunately, the times are far from normal and the Presidency was embarrassed that its stay at home and social distancing campaign was rubbished by its own top officials. Unless it responded harshly, other people could stage a crowded funeral for a pastor or an Imam and security agents would have no moral right to stop them.

Otherwise, nothing added a note of urgency to government’s desperate campaign to stop the spread of COVID-19 like the death of Abba Kyari. Quite alright he was a bit elderly, at 67, and was not in the best of health. But that this God-forsaken virus could kill such a powerful man despite the best efforts of an air ambulance and facilities at one of Lagos’ best hospitals, should be enough warning to any lesser mortal who chances upon this virus. Although some people sniped that it was because Kyari could not be flown abroad, it is not like European and American hospitals have any magic wands in this matter. Thousands of their countrymen and women are dying in their hands every day. The most important lesson is not to get infected, if you can help it, through staying at home, social distancing and hand washing.

The life of Malam Abba Kyari, especially the last five years of it as Chief of Staff to the President, is a very controversial matter in Nigeria, as was evident from the cascade of comments that followed his departure. Despite his very good educational background as a First-Class student at Warwick, Cambridge and Harvard universities, despite his lawyer’s training, despite his having been a state commissioner, despite his long legal and banking career which culminated as Managing Director of UBA and despite his serving on many blue chip company boards and on an editorial board, Abba Kyari had the taciturnity and self-effacement of a Borno ward bulama.

Scrambling newsrooms on Friday night and Saturday morning could not even find his exact birthday. Several news media said he was 81 years old, having confused him with the late Brigadier Abba Kyari, military governor of the old North Central State who Wikipedia stated was born in 1938. Nigerian publishers must find an answer to editors who saw no problem with a biodata that said this Abba Kyari was a military governor 50 years ago. The matter of Abba Kyari’s age was only settled when President Buhari stated in his personal message that Kyari was 67.

Abba Kyari became a very familiar public figure in Nigeria because of his trademark unembroidered white gown and cheap red cap. His friends knew that this was a mark of simplicity. However, many other Nigerians saw the symbols in a sinister fashion, as further proof of a scheming cabal that had seized power from the elected President. Kyari featured prominently in every allegation of a cabal. The event that most added fuel to the cabalistic fire was the President’s directive last July that all ministers should report to the Chief of Staff. The National Security Adviser’s leaked memo of last December, alleging that Abba Kyari held meetings with military service chiefs, worsened matters, as did his last foreign trip to negotiate power sector deals with Siemens of Germany. Kyari’s shouting match with Head of Service Mrs Oyo-Ita at a FEC meeting, which the cameras recorded, did not help matters either.

The biggest problem however was Kyari’s total disinclination to state his own side of stories to the public. For a man like me who has practiced journalism for three decades, I know that every story has many sides and that whenever you get to listen to a man that is the butt of allegations, you end up modifying your views of him. Not in all cases, but in most. Even though he could easily do so, Kyari allowed damaging allegations against himself to reign unchallenged for months and years. His belief, apparently, was that Allah and the President knew the truth so it did not matter what the people believed. It is a fairly common attitude among top officials in Northern Nigeria. Unfortunately, in a democracy, people’s ignorant opinions matter very much.

My few and far between engagements with Abba Kyari easily questioned many of the public perceptions of him as a cold and calculating operator with a stern mien and an insatiable appetite for power. When I was editor of New Nigerian in Kaduna in 2004, a tall man with a white gown and red cap walked into my office unannounced. Fortunately for me I recognised him from a picture on a UBA office calendar. Several of my staffers who previously worked in The Democrat newspaper knew him very well and they rushed to greet him. He was based in Lagos then but he had nostalgia for the newspaper where he briefly worked in the mid-1970s. We chatted for a while; he made no request, and I saw him off to his car.

In the next two years, he visited my office three more times, always with nothing in particular to say. In March 2006 when he heard about my sack at New Nigerian, Abba Kyari rushed to my house early in the morning. He said he was going to rent a house for me to move into. I told him that I was only sacked as editor but not from the company, so I still had accommodation. He still gave me N100,000, which was my nearly three months’ salary.

In Abuja too, we met several times before he became Chief of Staff but not once since then, though we spoke numerous times on the phone. In November 2015 when he presented Buhari’s first ministerial list to the Senate President, Daily Trust’s newsroom was desperate to get the list, so I sent a text message to Abba Kyari pleading for a leak. He did not respond but after a while, I received the list from an anonymous phone number. Whether he sent it, I don’t know.

He sometimes called me when he read the Monday Column. In late 2018 he tried to send me to NIPSS. I sent to him my CV and minutes later, he called to say, ‘Why did you people accuse Mrs Kemi Adeosun of dodging NYSC?’ I realised my mistake; NYSC was missing from the CV I sent. I quickly corrected it and stated that I did my NYSC at Nnobi Girls, Anambra State. Minutes later Abba Kyari called again. He said, ‘You could be our Judge Kavanaugh,’ i.e. President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee who was accused of rape after three decades. I assured him that I never raped anyone [though my memory of such matters is a bit fuzzy].

In July last year, I saw Malam Abba’s call early on a Sunday morning. He said, ‘Go and do another story and say I am in the office again today.’ Daily Trust had done a story two days earlier, that Kyari and other top officials were still in their offices even though Buhari did not reappoint them after his re-election. He realised my discomfiture, then quickly said, ‘Not you! I mean tell your State House reporter to do another story.’ I mumbled that it was not the reporter’s fault, that ‘it was the Newsroom’ that did that story. Abba Kyari then said he was joking and quickly began cracking some jokes.

For President Buhari and his administration, which is increasingly beleaguered public-opinion wise, the passing of Malam Abba Kyari presents a tricky opportunity. The late Chief of Staff could very well be post-humously vindicated in the public eye if many of the administration’s perceived problems persist. Nigerians could begin to say that well, now we know it was not Abba Kyari’s fault, that he was merely trying to cover up for and take the bullets for someone else.

The trick begins from appointment of a replacement. How fast it is done; who is appointed; whether the new Chief of Staff turns out to be as powerful as the deceased one; and whether allegations such as snail slow pace, alleged absence of coherent program, alleged regional lop-sidedness in appointments, alleged nepotism, alleged quarrelsomeness, alleged persecution of political opponents and alleged white-washing of opponents who see the light, persist. Going forward too, no Chief of Staff or any administration’s high official should allow damaging allegations against himself to persist without a careful explanation.

We learn these lessons from the life and death of Malam Abba Kyari, a great and patriotic public officer who was much misunderstood during his lifetime. He will be better understood after his life. May Allah grant him rest in Aljannat.

​*DEAR YOUNG GUYS AT THE AGE OF 25 TO 30* by

Don’t make mistakes some of our Fathers or Senior Brothers made.

Marry now with the little you have. Don’t wait to

be a millionaire, Have kids early so you can grow

with them. Grow with your kids and succeed with

your wife. You will never finish making money or

achieving your plans. You might still not succeed

at your target year. So start your life early, with

consistency you will grow.

My father said this to me: _When i was 25, i was

talking about making billions before i marry.

Many years later, billions didn’t come, yet no kid

no wife… I had an opportunity to marry the most beautiful love

of my life very early, But my fear was, can i

really take care of her? But right now She’s married with

Four grown up children. The guy that married her

was still schooling then, but had the courage.

They worked hard and succeeded together. I

failed, so please if you can feed yourself, you can

feed your wife. You have to believe it, marry

early, don’t wait.
 Don’t make our mistakes, I see

my childhood friends play with their kids.. Most

of them are not doing as well as me.. But they

are happier with their families..

Trust me it isn’t money only, but Rather your Maturity, your

happiness depends entirely on your wisdom and the way you Handle Life. With

a well planned life they are happier.

 Trust me it

isn’t money, What is our problem? Build mansion, buy the latest Car in Town, marry Sharon stone type, but still we don’t have those things we dreamt of,

and of course the years we wasted, we can never have them neverrrr!!!_

Please don’t be 60yrs old and your kids will still

be in their 20’s..What are you supposed to be at

that age? Their grand father.

Please young men, take my advice seriously.

Marry, don’t be afraid, that girl you are finding too many 

fault in has many good qualities if you look well.
Don’t think you will get every thing before you

settle down. God can change your life in a blink,

with a good and Focus wife by your side, you will succeed

by God grace….Amen
 *Ladies, please try and pass this across to Ur boyfriend or fiancé*  *Guys please have a   re-think and tell other guys about it too… And consider this advice*°°°°°°°°

IGBO LAND NEEDS HEALING..HATE IT OR LOVE IT, THE MORE WE RUN FROM THE BITTER TRUTH THE STINKER OUR REGION BECOME – Chike Afanna

I’ve been in very deep pains since yesterday. I’m from Nnewi and my grandmother is from that village [Amakwa, Ozubulu].
The issue is not an isolated case as Gov. Obiano said yesterday. The degradation of our moral values started many years ago. I can trace this drug business and get-rich-quick syndrome to Awka-etiti in the same Anambra State, where suddenly a Secondary School student will quit School, join a drug gang in their village, his travel papers will be processed and he will travel to Europe or Americas.
After 3 months, he will build a mansion and buy big cars. There was massive withdrawal from Schools by young boys in pursuit of quick money. Then, US government sent their marines to come and arrest their kingpins here in Nigeria. Then Musa Bamayi broke the gangs, including the gangs in Ojoto and Oraifte.
Then it was about bringing the drugs from South America to Nigeria and from Nigeria to Europe. They also bring from Thailand and Pakistan to Nigeria and take to Europe and America.
Thereafter, new gangs developed in Nnewi, Utu, Ukpor and Onitsha. These gangs are much bigger and well connected to the worst and deadly gangs in South America. They have outposts in all African countries and they move the drugs in tons.
Most of their drugs end up in South Africa, Europe and some Asian countries. These guys use shipping containers, submarines to ship drugs and can drop it anywhere on African continent before looking for ways to move it around.
They have money and can buy new cars and create compartments, load drugs in those compartments and can drive from Nigeria to South Africa by road. The journey can take up to 30 days.
This guy called Bishop joined at this level and blossomed when one guy called Atine who came from Nnewi South was killed in South America. The guy is married to a Brazilian lady and connected to the global biggest Barons and delivers tons of drugs to Africa.
This guy called Bishop inherited Atine’s network and took it to another level. He started to import semi processed ‘Coke’ and brought many guys into Nigeria from South America. He will import containers of ephedrine into Nigeria from India and the South Americans will use it to produce tons of ‘ice’, which is also called ‘met’.
He was shipping his products to South Africa and made real money through this deal. That guy has made more than $3billion in less than 4yrs. His boys are all over the world and to clip his wings will need an international collaboration.
Let me stop at this point and will write more on this as events unfolds.
We have a very big problem in Igbo land. Most young people who didn’t go to school wants to be billionaires within the shortest possible time. Crime means a fancy word among the young people. It’s a normal way of life, and prison is considered a slight distraction. If you have not gone to prison, you’re considered a non-starter.
Kidnapping, 419 and other forms of crime is considered a normal way to riches and once you succeed, the traditional rulers, religious leaders and politicians will be falling over themselves to recognize the criminals.
Governor Obiano commissioned the roads built by this criminal, Catholic bishops accepted his built Churches and cars without question.
Parents are withdrawing their kids from School and send them out to any country at all, to go and succeed like Bishop of Ozubulu. They just don’t care about the crimes they commit as long as they send money to them.
A beg make una put us for prayer, help us beg God to forgive us and heal our land. Igbo land needs God.

*ILLOLIN MAGANIN MATA*

💞 *Aunty Sis*💞
Mata masu amfani da maganin mata musamman na matsi..wlh muyi ma kanmu fada mu rage koma mu dena gaba daya.

Ga kadan daga irin illolin maganin mata musamman na matsi Wanda nayi witnessing da idanuwa na guda biyu.
Yanzu wata irin masifa ce ta shigo cikin al ummarmu ta magungunan mata Wanda da lokacin iyayenmu da kaninnmu basu yi,idan ma sunayi ina jin na hankali ne ba irin na yanzu ba na rashin hankali

Yanzu mata mun maida abun kamar yaki musamman masu kishiyoyi kuma baayinshi ta hankali da tunani komai aka samu sai dai a sha a kuma tura a gaba

Kuma mafi yawancin masu danyen aikin nan yaran mata ne irinmu da kanmu ke hayaki wajen biya ma miji bukata ta kowa ce hanya don kada ayi mana kishiya ko kuma hankalinshi ya karkata kanta ita daya fiye da yar uwar zamanta

Naga ikon Allah a asibiti wasu har yanzu na tuna hankalina na tashi.. naga yadda maganin matsi ke lallata mata wasu har tsutsa da wari gabansu ke yi

Wasu fa babu wani toilet infection sbd suna zaune gd su kadai ke amfani da toilet dinsu babu wata kwamacala..Amma yanzu da mace taje asibiti sai ace mata toilet infection ne ke damunta sbd ta debi hade hade da suke very contaminated ta tura a gabanta..ba toilet infection har toilet virus dole ya kama mutum

Duk likitan da yasan abunda yake idan dai ba qauck bane mataki na farko lab zai tura mace don wadan nan aune aunen..awon kala 2 ne 

1- *HVS MCS* *(high viginal swab microscopic culture and sensitivity*) 

2- *ECS MCS* ( *Endo cervical swab microscopic culture and sensitivity*) shi na biyun ma sai ansa well sterilized  karafa an bude gaban mace tukunna a debi sample din da swab stick sannan aje ayi  culturing kan culture media ana using *Mckonkey agar,eosine methylene blue agar,mannitol salt agar* etc depending on wadda ake so akwai kuma *Sabroid dextrox agar 4 fungal count*

_Idan anyi culturing akan culture media din da akayi preparing a petridish sai ayi incubating 4 24 hrs sannan sai ayi sensitivity test using antibiotic disc 2 see which drug is sensitive and resistant 2 d bacteria found_

Abun mamakin wlh sai kuga duk anyi wahalar nan amma a banza sbd bacteria is not sensitive 2 any antibiotics listed and bata ma da suna sbd tana possessing wani irin shape da xtics da babu su cikin classes na bacteria ko fungi tsabar baa san ina aka samo ciwon ba

Sai dai likitoci su basu magani kawai da zai rage masu kaikayi da zafin gaba da odourly discharge da suke yi 

Amma yan lab basu San mai nene ba balle likita dake jiran result.

Wlh wata sai an  bude gaban wasu matan bana iya daukar sample din sbd amai nake na fitar hankali..zaki ji suna wari da doyi kuma duk ta dalilin maganin ne  wasu irin Abu na fito masu babu kyan gani..kuma babban abun bakin cikin ko aske gashin hammata da gabansu basu yi sai dai kokarin a cusa koma mainene.

Kiga mace har mace a ido yar gayu yar boko amma kasanta a lalace sbd fitinar tureturen maganin mata 

Nasha fira da wasu suna gaya mun da sune yan lele wajen miji amma yanzu lalaura ta same su ya juya masu baya..wata kuma tace yayi amarya wata kuma tace amaryar zai yi..

Wasu har kuka suke idan suna magana sbd yadda suka bata lokacinsu da kudinsu don su zama star miji yaji dadi amma kuma a karshe sune abun wulakantawa sbd basu da sauran amfani
Yanzu ina ranar irin haka garin neman gira a rasa ido

Basu ga mijin basu ga lfyr jikinsu
Atleast ko kishiya zaayi ma mutum..ayo ta kana da sauran lfy da amfani a wajen miji ai yafi sai kuyi kishi mai Kyau..ba sai lokacin da baki da amfani ba..kuma kina ji kina gani babu abinda zaa fasa😭
Kuma in normal sense tsakani da Allah duk abinda zai matse mace ai an san abun nan na debe niima ne..sbd wajen is slippery, always wet and soft..to taya ake son ya matse idan ba damshin lemar zaa tsotse ba sai wajen ya matse..Wanda gaskia to me I doubt idan wajen nan zai iya komawa ya matse ka jika kamar budurwa ( *I dunno sha*)

Maganin matsi bala’eene wlh sbd cusawa kake amma baka san da mai akayi shi ba..ita kanta mai saidawar bata san da mai akayi shi ba..kunga kenan bashi da wani amfani sai ja mana masifa da tsoma rayuwarmu cikin garari

Kuma kusa hankalinku a matsayinku na iyaye mata masu tarbiyar miji da Yaya Ku gani..ita mai saida irin magungunan mai mallaka na abun duniar da take maki kwadayin mallaka wajen miji idan kinyi amfani da magungunanta? Ya rayuwar zamanta take da nata mijin? Ita mai yasa bata mallakeshi ba alhalin ita ke saidawa? Ita mai yasa bai bata gd,mota da kujerar aikin hajji? Ita mai yasa bata zaman lfy da shi yarda ya dace alhalin itace dealer ta maganin? Sai ke yaruwata?

Sbd tana son lalata rayuwarki taci kudinki daga baya ki kare da infection idan yayi kamari ya koma cancer..a lokacin kuma namiji ya gama da iyawarki wata zai je ya auro.. Ita tana ina a lokacin? 

Ya kamata mu saka number six dinmu mu dinga yima kanmu fada kan wasu abubuwan Kafin wani yayi mana.

*Su fa magungunan matan nan idan shansu yayi yawa  har liver da kidney suke batawa without us knowing*
 *Dalilaina*
1- Liver is d main organ of  drugs metabolism.. Drug interactions, clearance are all taking place in d liver,liver is d oragn dt detoxify drugs don haka yawan shan magunguna kona asibitine misali yawan shan paracetamol yana lalata liver( *goggle metabolism of acetaminophen..u wl see d side effect of such analgesic drugs*)..nama asibiti kenan balle kuma na gargajiya wanda wasu ma bamu san ina ake samo su ba..yawan magunguna da take detoxyfying yana sa ta gaji da aikinta na detoxifying har ta fara barin wasu a jikinta da suke zama toxic, poisonous and harmful to d liver..a hankali kuma ta fara Lalacewa..kuma itace main *organ of glucose metabolism and glucose constituent of almost 80% of our metabolic fuel dt help in body activity more* *especially brain*..kuma idan tana samun matsala wajen metabolizing glucose sai kuma a fara samun matsala ta hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia meaning increase or decrease in glucose level in d body which can cause glucose related diseases..daga nan kuma sai kaji lbr ya canza kullum ana hanyar asibiti ana fama..shi kuma mijin nan da kikayi don shi nashi daga Allah ya sawwake sai kudin magani ga mai imani kenan wani ma ko a jikin shi wlh..sai dai kai da ka debo ma kanka wahala kayi ta fama
3- *Kidney* … *kidney is d organ of excretion*.. Ita ke tace abubuwan da suka shiga cikin mutum..ta tura na jini wajenshi..na ruwa haka..fitsari..zufa da sauransu..idan ta gaji da aikinta itama tana bari suna dankarewa a wajen sbd sunyi yawa morethan it can take.. daga nan sai a fara samun matsalar fitsari,and oda kidney diseases..kuma tana iya tara maka byproduct dinta a jiki..Kuma kun san ita bata da hakuri unlike liver da 80% zai iya lalacewa amma kuma tana functioning yadda ya kamata..amma ita kidney zaka iya rayuwa da daya amma a wahalce..to ina amfanin wahala?😭😭😭

*SHAWARATA*

Ma sisters an san mace dole sai da gyara amma kuma asan ciwon kai a San irin gyaran da za’ayi..kada garin aji dadi ko a mallake miji abun kuma yayi backfiring akanka..

Abin takaicin wasu matan ko shaving basu yi both hammata da prvt part dinsu amma sai ture turen banza da wofi.. Ni a nawa ganin idan mutum yana shaving yana amfani da turarurruka a gd masu kyau sannan 

 amfani da ruwan dumi Da’eeman wajen tsarki..shan   kunun aya, cin dabino, kankana,fruits in general da kuma matsa miski mai kyau after mp ko time to time like once or twice in a wk..sai nake ganin kamar zai iya wadatar damu wajen zamantakewar aure. Ammafa a tawa kalar wautar kenan😂
Abinda na fada daidai Allah yayi mai albarka kuskuren da nayi kuma Allah ya yafe mun nima yar Adam ce *Ajiza* irin kowa

    [truncated by WhatsApp]

​Re: Buhari, not Nnamdi Kanu is the biggest enabler of Biafra by khalifa musa muhammad

The above subjective piece, by Farooq Kperogi, appeared in the “Daily Trust Saturday” of 15 July 2017. For the umpteenth time, Dr Kperogi demonstrates that he is a lazy, irresponsible and reckless scholar. In addition he is a charlatan.

Tension over the Biafra affair has reached fever-pitch in Nigeria. Efforts are in top gear to douse the tension. Our sagacious Acting President in tandem with all stakeholders especially the Northern Governors Forum are working assiduously to calm frayed nerves. But, nincompoops like Dr Kperogi are adding oxygen to the fire with half-truths regarding President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB).
Farooq Kperogi is an educated illiterate that is why he does not know that the Biafran brouhaha predates PMB. The agitators have a number of issues which they summarize in one word: marginalisation. A senior citizen told me that alleged marginalisation of the Igbos has been advanced by prominent Igbos since the 1980s. In fact the word ‘marginalisation’ was popularised by a second republic presidential adviser of Igbo extraction since the late 1980s. This erudite Nigerian later led the Senate in the fourth republic.  It demonstrates poor research and lazy scholarship by Kperogi to put the blame of agitation for Biafra on PMB.
The nebulous claim of alleged marginalisation of the Igbos hovers around on a number of factors like having five states in the south-east and seven states in the north-west of Nigeria. Meanwhile, the north-west geo-political zone is several times bigger than the south-east. Even Sokoto State alone is about the size of all the five states of the south-east combined. Besides, what about comparing  the population of the two zones? Another factor is the struggle to have an Igbo president. For crying out loud PMB is not the stumbling block to Igbos having a president in Nigeria. After all in 2015 PMB did not contest against an Igbo candidate. Appointments at the federal level (read sharing of the national cake)is another bone of contention. Kperogi is so thick-headed not to notice that even states that contributed massively to PMB‘s victory in 2015 got junior ministers. These are Borno, Kaduna, Sokoto, and Yobe. I am not aware people from these states are complaining. Meanwhile, most states from the south-east got senior ministers courtesy of Buhari’s statesmanship. This leadership quality of Buhari is reinforced by appointing the head of service of the federation and a service chief from a south-south state that did not vote for him. Cynics like Kperogi turned a blind eye to all these noble actions by President Buhari.
Farooq Kperogi should know that as far as “marginalisation” is concerned all the six zones in the country have one or two grievances. Thus, it is not only the Igbos that feel marginalised.
In paragraph 14 of the piece, Kperogi criticised PMB for advising corpers to admonish their brethren to forget Biafra. The exhortation by PMB to the young Nigerians was an acme of statesmanship. Truth is bitter and it must be told categorically no matter whose ox is gored. History will vindicate PMB – or “the just” – to quote the great Zik of Africa.  Again, this shows that Kperogi is a worthless scholar for quoting Mr President out of context and for asserting that our imperfections should be swept under the carpet.
To buttress the fact that Kperogi is a disgrace to PhD holders he compared apples with oranges in the same paragraph 14. For Dr Kperogi’s information all well-meaning Muslims from the Sultan of Sokoto down to Youth Corpers and primary school pupils condemn terrorism: the obnoxious act is diametrically opposed to the ideals of Islam.
However, as regards the current Biafran agitation by Nnamdi Kanu no prominent Igbo son, until recently, came out to condemn him. He was spewing vitriolic, virulent and vicious language against Nigeria (which he calls a zoo), PMB, Hausas, Fulanis and northerners. How dare you Dr Kperogi blame PMB! This is unfair, uncalled for and misguided.
In another vein, I said you Dr Kperogi are a charlatan. Yes, you are! You tried without success to delve into psychology to prove some points. You should stick to your profession which is mass communication. Otherwise you will keep on exposing your intellectual bankruptcy. And, sooner than later, your Uncle Sam employers would realise that you lack substance and sack you as a faculty member in their ivory tower. For instance, an imbecile of a college professor like you kept on asserting that it was a Songhai scholar, Abd-al-Sadi in 1655, that coined the word “Yariba” for the current name Yoruba (of the south-west Nigeria). Yet, as a professor you relied only on one source. You threw all the guidelines of research methodology; you did not do a rigorous analysis. You ignorantly missed some basic facts. Hausaland is closer to Yorubaland than the home of the other scholar you mentioned who lived hundreds of kilometers from the home of the Yorubas. You did not contact experts on Hausa language who are abundant in Bayero University where you got your first degree. Hausas have traded, inter-married and had a host of other social, political and economic interactions with the people called Yariba (now Yoruba) for decades before 1665. Works by the pre-eminent historian, Dr Bala Usman and others, have shown that there were commonalities among almost all the present six geo-political zones for centuries. Yet, the Hausas never had a name for their esteemed neighbours! This cannot be possible by any stretch of imagination. You are lousy scholar Farooq. You stupidly argued that the Hausas borrowed the word from elsewhere through Sultan Bello only in 1812 (your column in ‘’Daily Trust’’ 1 July 2012).
What must have happened was that the people of Mali and Songhai empires had earlier and closer contact with great Arab writers like Al Maghili, Mahmud Kati, Ibn Batuta, Leo Africanus and their precursors. Therefore, they had imbibed the art of chronicling events as a result of earlier, closer and more frequent association with these great Arab historians. The literacy level in Hausaland, in Arabic language, which was one of the universal languages of intellectual discourse, was not that high in the mid-seventeenth century.  So, Dr Kperogi carry out more research and please jettison your cock-eyed theory that it was not the Hausas that coined the word Yariba (now Yoruba). It is disappointing that as a teacher of communication you do not know some of the basics of etymology.
My humble advice to you Dr Kperogi is to pursue research in these unexplored areas and push the frontiers of knowledge. Even at this, you should collaborate with the relevant experts: historians, anthropologists, sociologists, geographers and economists. There are scores of them in your great alma mater – Bayero University Kano.
Farooq Kperogi you nauseate a lot of people with what the Hausas call “karamin sani kukumi ne” (little knowledge is dangerous). You know so little but you try to show that you know a lot. Learn from the great philosopher Socrates who always said: “I don’t know”. Well, history and posterity know better – Socrates was highly knowledgeable. Not you Kperogi are an incurable and haughty ignoramus.
As an African child, avoid insulting elders like Alh Lai Mohammed and PMB. One day you too will grow old. As for PMB, at the last summit of African Heads of Government in Addis Ababa he was given kudos for his various policies. His wife, Aisha Buhari, was given the singular honour of reading to the whole world the communiqué of the resolutions of the First Ladies. And, most tellingly, even Baba Buhari’s staunchest critics acknowledge that he is not corrupt.
Unfortunately, narrow-minded columnists like you do not see all these – that Africa has enormous respect for our dear President Buhari. These are issues you should dwell on not the infantile, shallow and woolly-headed articles you write. On a positive note your column in ‘’ Daily Trust on Sunday’’, Politics of Grammar, is educative. Toe that line and become a universally acclaimed professor. For example, a Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Adichie, was awarded a French literary award for one of her works (‘Daily Trust on Sunday’, 16 July 2017). She is focused as writer and does not blindly stray into an unknown terrain and turf unlike you Kperogi. So, borrow a leaf from Chimamanda Adichie. Avoid delving into troubled waters of social criticism without knowing your onions. Worse still, you employ crude, intemperate and unmagisterial language against our elders and leaders. Quintessential columnists in the stable of ‘Daily Trust’ like Dr Jibrin Ibrahim, Ibrahim Dooba, Gambo Dori, Al Ghazzali, Tunde Asaju, Wole Olawoye, Eugine Enahoro, Jideofor Adibe and Sonala Olumhense are effective as social critics without being abrasive and crude like you Farook Kperogi. Thus, I humbly advise you to drink from the mature and measured style of your aforementioned colleagues.
On a final note, please try and avoid this Biafran issue so as not to aggravate tension in Nigeria. There are a thousand and one topics you could address. We want peace, stability, economic development, employment, industrialisation, efficient infrastructure in our fatherland. All-peace loving Hausas, Igbos, Fulanis, Yorubas, Baribas, Batonus, Nupes, Efiks, Ibibios, Ijaws, Yalas, Tivs, Eguns, Kanuris and the over 250 ethnic groups want one Nigeria. And, on a serious note, irresponsible, crude and bellicose columnists like Dr Farooq Kperogi should be censored by “Daily Trust”. Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Khalifa Musa Muhammad

​Whistle Blower Policy and Financial Crime by Khalifa Musa Muhammad (Malam Wiz)

On December 21, 2016 the Federal Government adopted a new policy on whistle blowing. Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun issued a statement after the Federal Executive Council meeting, chaired by President Buhari. She said: “the policy is a stop gap initiative until the National Assembly formally passes a law on whistle blowing. The new policy encourages Nigerians with information on financial crimes to disclose it”. She added: “the anonymity and protection of whistle blowers will be guaranteed.” Another crucial aspect of this policy is the incentive: 2.5-5% of the recovered loot will be given to the whistle blower.

President Buhari is known for his integrity and honesty; throughout his years in the Nigerian Army he displayed these qualities. As a Head of State(1984-1985), Buhari implemented War Against Indiscipline and also dealt with corrupt individuals. Even after his years in the Army, Buhari has advocated for fight against corruption; he is incorruptible and detests corruption.
We have different corrupt practices but the one Nigerians are sick and tired of is financial crime. Financial crime includes: fraud, money laundering, bribery and looting amongst others. Financial crime is a precursor to corrupt practices and can also lead to social vices. Financial crime in an organization will badly affect the economy of that organization.
To Buhari and his supporters this policy is a boost and good development to the fight against corruption; to the looters and their sympathisers this is a setback and an obstacle. Most importantly, Nigeria will benefit from this policy and any patriotic Nigerian will support it. The policy has started yielding fruit so far. The Federal Government has recovered $136,676,600.51 from an account in a commercial bank under a fake name, followed by 7 billion Naira and $15 million from another person and 1 billion Naira from yet another (Vanguard 12 February, 2017).
The Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said “when we told Nigerians that there was a primitive and mindless looting of the national treasury under the last administration, some people called us liars. Well, the whistle-blower policy is barely two months old and Nigerians have started feeling its impact, seeing how a few people squirreled away public funds. It is doubtful if any economy in the world will not feel the impact of such mind boggling looting of the treasury as was experienced in Nigeria. Yet whatever has been recovered so far, including the $9.2 million by the EFCC, is just a tip of the iceberg” (Vanguard 12 February, 2017).
In recent years, we have had two whistle blowers whose claim were futile and unfortunately both of them were suspended. This happened before the whistle blower policy was adopted. 
Some $9.8m and 74,000 pounds were found in the house of a former Group Managing Director of NNPC. This is mind boggling; the mode of concealing the illicit funds was exceptional. In an era where the general populace thinks that illicit funds are hidden in Lagos and Abuja, he brought it to Kaduna. In Kaduna State one would expect that the funds will be hidden at U/Rimi or Malali amongst others. As a good strategist, he was able to divert attention and confuse anticipation: he took the money to Sabon Tasha and hid it in a fire proof safe. Outstanding!
Sabon Tasha is not one of the posh areas in Kaduna State. Sabo as it is popularly called is one of the slums in Kaduna. If Sabo had anticipated being in the limelight as the hideout of illicit funds it would have declined such offer. One expects that the house that will keep such a whopping amount will be beautiful, but hell no! The house had no fence or gate. To cut a long story short, the house does not seem capable of stashing a million. Certainly, looks deceive.
The children and grandchildren of Sabo will be told stories of how it housed such amount without benefitting. If Sabo had a deity it will surely curse this man.
A Federal High Court sitting in Kano ordered the forfeiture of the money to Federal Government. This man fought back and asked a court in Kano to set aside the order of forfeiture (Daily Trust 20 February, 2017 Page 4). He is telling us that he got the money as gift from unnamed persons. If it was found at the residence of one of the country’s billionaire – with a legitimate business – the case would have been different.
It was alleged that the Southern Kaduna Coalition of Professional issued a statement supporting him; saying he is being witch-hunted. This kind of sycophancy and ethnic bigotry is annoying and disappointing.  Why not wait and see how things unfold? Or prove that the money is legitimate. Yet they call themselves professionals.
The whistle blower policy was adopted at the right time. People are now on the lookout, they don’t care if it’s their relative or friend. This policy will aid in the fight against corruption.
At a two-day judicial colloquium, organised by the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (CSLS). The then Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walker Onnoghen highlighted section 1 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act signed into law by President Jonathan in 2015. He said “the purpose of this act is to ensure that the system of administration of criminal justice in Nigeria promotes efficient management of criminal justice institutions, speedy dispensation of justice, protection of the society from crime and protection of the rights and interests of the suspects, the defendant and the victim” (Daily Trust February 21, 2017 Page 31). It’s been two years since the act was signed into law, but the pace at which it is driving the anti-corruption fight is lethargic. Nigerians want something better that will serve as a catalyst to this fight.
A lawless society is in the state of anarchy and impunity will surely reign. A society without law is in a terrible condition. A society that will jail a goat thief and allow a looter to keep roaming about is slightly different from the aforementioned. The law is not fair and we are tired of this inequality.
These looters are rich. In the society they are influential and wield a lot of power. Their CVs can be intimidating and some have reached the peak of their careers. We the youths used to look up to them. This makes one to believe that in Nigeria you reach the top only by contact with the corrupt: either by brushing their shoulders or to wine and dine with them.  Now that their masks have been unveiled – no need to look up to these characters.
A glance through the illicit funds forfeiture cases pending shows a huge amount of funds yet to be recovered. The siphoned money will significantly fund the budget of most African countries.  If the looted funds were invested in infrastructure, Nigeria would have been better off in terms of socio-economic development.
Identifying these looters is a defining moment in the history of this great Nation. Posterity and history will judge this administration for exposing the bad eggs. I urge the National Assembly, Judiciary, Ministry of Justice, Nigerian Bar Association and all stakeholders to support this fight. Necessity is the mother of invention; so they should create and implement measures that will facilitate the fight against financial crimes in Nigeria. Those culpable should face the full wrath of law. No more excuses! No more prolonged detention! All we want is conviction!
I support what the erudite columnist Jibrin Ibrahim said “we should open a register in what should be called the National Hall of Shame, where the names and terrible deeds of mega thieves will be displayed”.
I duly believe this will help in curtailing corrupt practices for subsequent generations.
Khalifa Musa Muhammad (Malam Wiz)
A Concerned Nigerian….

RE: PROPAGANDOCRACY AND THE BUHARI MEDIA CENTRE by Khalifa Musa Muhammad (Malam Wiz)

Dear readers please ensure that Dr Farooq Kperogi and Muhammad Labbo (Chairman Buhari Media Support Group) read this rejoinder. Thank you. 
RE: PROPAGANDOCRACY AND THE BUHARI MEDIA CENTRE
The above-mentioned piece, by Farooq Kperogi, appeared in Daily Trust of Saturday 4 March 2017. It was, among other things, a rejoinder to Muhammad Labbo’s article in the opinion column of Daily Trust on 2 March 2017. In paragraph 17 his 20-paragraph rejoinder, Dr Farooq Kperogi advised Muhammad Labbo to take ‘elementary lessons in grammar and logic’. I will dwell much on this in due course.
I have followed Kperogi’s writings in the last few months and he seems to derive pleasure in insulting people, especially President  Muhammadu Buhari’s (PMB) supporters who do not share his views. A lot of people are appalled by the despicable language Dr Kperogi uses many a time. The conclusion my friends and I draw is that Kperogi is a disgrace to scholarship.
By all standards, Dr Kperogi knows his onions as an expert on English grammar. As an acclaimed scholar, Dr Kperogi should know that life is not restricted to “grammar and logic” – there are zillions of variables, factors and issues that influence man’s social, political, economic, cultural, legal and environmental activities. Reducing everything to “grammar and logic” by Dr Kperogi poignantly demonstrates that he is an educated illiterate – despite the fact that he is a PhD and teaches in an American University.
In the same issue of Daily Trust that Dr Kperogi threw tantrums at Muhammad Labbo and our dear PMB another Nigerian, much younger than him (Kperogi), was being celebrated. The novelist Chimamanda Adichie has been elected into the American Academy of Arts and Letters (Daily Trust 4 March 2017 page 38). She has etched her name in the annals of America’s great writers. Kperogi should learn from Adichie and other greats in the literary world – Rabindranath Tagore, Jean-Paul Sartre, Abubakar Imam, Abubakar Gimba, Achebe, Soyinka, Senghor, et al  – and enter the hall of fame in scholarship. Otherwise, I gleefully predict, that at the end of your career, you would be banished – in sha Allah – to the labyrinth of ignominy.
You, Dr Kperogi may be too thick-headed to join the club of the great icons. But, you can contribute to scholarship in many ways without insulting PMB and other leaders you do not agree with. Let me assure you that your “Politics of Grammar” column is good. You could continue along that line and Allah (SWT) knows how many great heights you can attain beginning with your seminal work on “glocal” English. Dr Kperogi, my humble advice to you is:  do not stray into areas like logic which obviously you are an ignoramus. There is no logic you can refer to from Socrates, Aristotle, etc to the present day to deny the achievements of PMB especially in the fight against corruption. Therefore, stop chasing shadows with your sesquipedalian grammar and dispassionately look at other social issues PMB is addressing.
PMB, if I may let you know, has a pedigree throughout his public service career in the Nigerian Army.  A few examples will suffice: he was one of the junior officers the then Lt Col Yakubu Gowon trusted and therefore  deployed in Lagos in January 1966 to bust the lopsided, ethnically biased bloody mutiny led by Major Ifeajuna in Lagos (and Major Nzeogwu in Kaduna). Buhari fought gallantly during the Nigerian Civil War (See Obasanjo’s “My Command”).  Buhari served diligently as a military governor, minister (then known as federal commissioner) of petroleum and General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Division of the Nigerian Army in Jos. Let it be known to a narrow-minded teacher of journalism like you that as GOC in Jos in 1983 Buhari decisively ended the menace of Chadian ragtag soldiers who were harassing Nigerian civilians along the shores of Lake Chad.
 Furthermore, let armchair critics like Dr Farooq “Fraud” Kperogi who cannot see beyond the four walls of a university classroom know that Buhari handled the funds from the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) where he exhibited probity, transparency and accountability. A lot of infrastructural projects were executed throughout the length and breadth of Nigeria; drugs and facilities were supplied to hospitals; books and other equipment were supplied to schools (primary to tertiary). It is on record that up to now there are PTF books in libraries in schools in the country. These few examples have few parallels in history of leadership in Africa. Buhari’s sobriquet should be “Farooq” – one who distinguishes right from wrong. The appellation should not be for a nincompoop like you. Let me add that you are antithetical to the beautiful name Farooq.
Yes, I dare say that Dr Farooq Kperogi you are myopic.  Your attitude towards contemporary leadership issues in Nigeria is the nadir of scholarship. The zenith of an intellectual, Dr Kperogi , is to accept that “I do not know” – also known as Socratic logic. It is a disgrace to you as a scholar for us, much younger people than you, to teach you Socratic approach to learning.
Dr Kperogi, you have the mistaken impression that it was people like you that worked for PMB’s epic victory in 2015: this is a monumental lie and a delusion. Buhari had built a solid reputation in public service from the mid-60s to the mid-80s as outlined above. Most of the voters in Nigeria and most parts of Africa and even advanced countries are not swayed by campaign slogans which you are obsessed with ad nauseam. In essence, the success of Buhari at the 2015 polls was more on his integrity than sloganeering. After all, how many voters read newspaper columns – even in advanced countries. Even if they do, it is not columns like yours that stand logic on its head. Yet, with a volcanic voice, my dear US college professor, you claim to profess logic.  
I know Dr Kperogi you have a tendency for insulting people who disagree with you. I am a young, patriotic Nigerian and I am ready for whatever barbs from you. You can sneer at my grammar in English but I do not give a hoot. After all, how many Japanese engineers can construct three correct sentences in English? Yet they are highly advanced technologically.  Life is not all about English grammar Dr Kperogi.  As Hausa will say “girmanka ya fadi Faruku” (Farooq, your status has fallen).
As for Muhammad Labbo, older people have told us that he is a journalist too and a quintessential reporter on the Nigerian Television Authority. As an academic, you need to be humble and consult people like him to learn the ropes of electronic journalism and possibly add value to your students in America. Not for you an arm-chair critic to criticize everybody that disagrees with you; discuss issues like logic which you do not know; and arrogantly pontificating as if you are the only grammarian. Sadly, you lack logic and you do not even know what is wrong and what is right. Learn from other Daily Trust columnists like Bala Muhammad,  Mohammed Haruna (now an electoral umpire), Dr Jibrin Ibrahim, Adamu Adamu (now Minister of Education) and Jideofor Adibe who do not insult anybody in their columns. Some readers, once in a while, disagree with them. But it does not reduce their status as great icons in the fourth estate of the realm.
My last word for you Dr Kperogi is: be sensible, logical, accurate, objective and learn to criticize constructively.  
Khalifa Musa Muhammad (Malam Wiz)

A Concerned Citizen.

​Lying behind the lefe debates by Ari-J

Lying behind the leefe debates are realities both sides are avoiding either intentionally or unintentionally. I have tried to out together a few. 
1. There are ladies who allow men to sleep with them in single rooms yet won’t marry them because they’re poor. 
2. There are men who are not financially capable and can’t marry even when they are given a zero leefey policy, yet they’ll go ahead and propose to ladies, keep talking to them for a long time and eventually sleep with them. If asked, they’ll say it’s because leefey is expensive. 

(And this is popular amongst those who should know better) 
3. Some ladies want the leefey themselves yet are hiding behind ” it’s the parents”. 
4. There are men who can afford to marry per what they have today, yet have decided to wait till they build a mansion and buy a car. In the process, they’ll be fornicating. When asked, they’ll say leefey is expensive. 
5. There are parents who are fully aware that their daughters are fornicating, yet they’ll resist marriage proposals either due to poverty on the side of the man or their daughter is too “young” to marry. When the daughter eventually gets pregnant, they’ll give her off for free to avoid shame. 
6. There are parents who are fully aware that their sons are fornicating. In fact, they bring the ladies to the house. Yet when issues of marriage is raised, they’ll lament that their sons are too young to be married. 
7. There are men who don’t want to choose ladies from families they can easily marry from. When asked, they’ll say their swag level is low. However when asked to present leefey to maintain the swag, they’ll lament. 
8. There are those who are hiding behind “leefey is expensive” to justify their fornication. When they know they are where they are bcs they chose to date. 

My brother, kindly face your reality and let the lady go. 
9. There are parents who have married their daughters off to men who are zero on deen and eeman bcs they offered them expensive leefey. 
May Allah make affairs easy for us, grant us righteous spouses and make us equally righteous. Ameen.