hajia

In a month time or so the yearly fasting period will have commenced and as usual there will be arguments about moon sighting. Some people will refuse to believe in the Sultan’s announcement for one reason or another. They normally insist on seeing the moon with their own eyes before starting the fasting. Why we have the controversy every year beats my imagination, but like in all the years gone, this year again several people will begin their fasting on different dates.
Be that as it may let me point out the increased activity in KT central market. People are buying household products and beverages as if an impending hurricane was announced by the weather service. They are especially buying sugar, milk and other beverages so as to hedge against inflation. This is not a bad idea at all since most of these items will be given out as gifts to relations, friends, and in-laws. The rest will be used as a sweetener in koko, kunu, kamu, hura and sundry food items.

As for date of starting, me and several others will as usual abide by what the radio says. When the announcement is made on Radio Kaduna, I pronounce my intention and commence my fast. It’s as simple as that when you have a positive attitude towards your religion.
So here is a happy Ramadan Kareem for the Muslim Umma here in Nigeria and worldwide.

The sun was hot and Asr time was along way off. Lunch had been eaten, plates washed, and about five or six of us were sitting idle in a friend’s sitting room. Really ten would have been the number or more. Am notso sure... We all squatted on the floor and I thought that was a weird thing to do. Our discussions gravitated to that old, old topic: men. And the things they do. This is a topic women can never really conclude or even come to terms with. It just goes on and on and on as new contributions and revelations emerge. It was going that way when I surreptitiously changed the subject. I asked the audience, who among the KT governorship aspirants was best suited for the post? I quickly added that we should assume that the election would be decided by women votes only.
Faces turned at me and a blanket of silence fell on the room. They were busy gauging the candidates using a new evaluative criterion. These women were all professionals: a doctor, a lawyer, a school teacher and two retired civil servants. There were several others whose professions I could not determine. May be I have never seen them. And as if to prove or display their professions they all mostof them donned their professional clothes. That was a bit kinky too. It took along time before responses started coming. In torrents.
Here is a summary of how it happened and our collective analysis: After some argument all of us agreed that if women were to vote for the most suitable candidate to be the Governor of Katsina State, then all the votes would go to no other than Barrister Shema. And the reason is not far fetched: he is the most handsome among the whole lot, period. But because there was a split in opinion mention must be made of the two runners up: Murtala Safana came second and then Dr. Jabir Mohammed third.
But hold it someone shouted. Shema's candidature may not even materialise if rumours about his marital status came to light. In fact this Shema fellow has a pile of problems bigger than Gobarau minaret. We turned to hear more of these.
It turned out that the parochial forces in the state had already spread word that the gentleman is not even married. Which is a euphemism for saying he did not marry a daughter of the soil. Why should that be a problem? Some of us asked. If the guy has someone he calls wife then what’s the fuss?
Well it turns out again that there is a big fuss in certain circles about these issues. If a guy refused to marry properly ie from the state, he is disqualified from a few things including the plum job. A traditional title is just out Aof the question. Someone mentioned Hamza Zayyad. He did take a second wife from the soil. Was he forced to do that before he was turbaned the Waziri of Katsina? What about Ibrahim Ida? Was he also forced to take a second wife before they gave him a title? That kind of punctured a hole in the argument but the contributor moved on unruffled. But someone gave out a roll call of all those with similar problems: Dr Kabir Mustapha, Ali Kankia, Lawai Batagarawa, Ladan Kontagora, Bolaji Akinyemi, ex-IG Shinkafi, Kofi Anan, Hosni Mubarak...she rattled away.

Secondly Barrister Shema will have to slug it out with his mentor in the person of Ambassador Magaji Mohammed of Dutsinma. Now how does one start biting the hands that fed and clothed one? I am glad it’s the barrister who will have to decide and not me.
The Ambassador enrolled Shema in to school from primary to University and also paid for his Law School fees and provided him with posh accommodation in Ikoyi. Is he trying to pay all these and the other favours back by joining issues with his mentor in the governorship race? Thirdly Shema’s performance as the state Commissioner of Justice and Attorney General leaves much to be desired. His luck lustre performance during the Sharia trials would never be lost on us. In particular his responses to a BBC reporter in an interview were scandalous to say the least. He kept mum on the issue of the man who impregnated the woman on trial thereby suggesting an official pardon for the culprit and all similar culprits.
He also refused to join issues with those local judges who banned music in the state. All these were not lost on the people of the state especially women.
Another voice took over and said Shema was never state-centric. His stint as commissioner was his longest residency period in KT since he finished secondary school. Also that his eyes are oly focussed on the United Nations. He wants to get a job there. All the degrees he collected were meant to facilitate his relocation to New York City and ……..I cut her short.
Granted all the above allegations are true, what could possibly stop him from out performing better than the present governor if he is given the chance?
A chorus of NO WAY filled the room.
Dead end here I thought.
I then gave another scenario, different question. That is, who among the aspirants is more religious, God fearing, leads a low profile life and generally identify more with the Talakawas? A long silence.
Then someone started gingerly by mentioning Garba Aminchi – the present deputy Governor. They all nodded their heads using exactly the same motion. How odd? But I wanted to get it out clearly enough on one key issue and so I asked again: Are you saying Garba Aminchi fears God much more among the whole bunch? A chorus of yes answered the question.
Holy Moses, what a bunch of women? And what a hell of a choice? Are we going to have another “Sabo Bakin Zuwo” for a Governor in KT? I shuddered at the prospect……..

Voices and commotion pierced my subconcious and I woke with a start. My eyes rivetted to the door and then I heard the shrill voice of my mother. My heart was still pounding as I realised that It was all a dream………

I came across this 4 billion story from sadiqs blog. Check it out at sadiqsafana.blogspot.com. Very high tech blog at that. This guy is in cyprus but gets info about KT faster than me. Isnt it an irony. Well thanks sadiq and keep it up.
Now this airport thing has been bugging KT for quite sometime. Since the time IBB promised to airlift Hajj pilgrims from the airport along time ago. Ambassador Zakari was the then Minister of State in charge of Hajj. I remember how bitter he fought to get the airlift from KT and the bitter response he gave to one FAA official who said that KT airport was not suitable. Ex Hon Sadik Yaradua also made efforts in the House of Reps to get the airport ready for hajj airlift and in the process got himself muddled in a plagiarism flak from another KT indigene in The Daily Trust. Very unfortunate. Well if only it could be ready we will all be happy. Or shall we?

The Governor will obviuosly have the last laugh if this dream come true. Remember how he received a bath from critics for his apparent failure to airlift the majority of pilgrims from the state last year? He used all sorts of fora (including Sallah) to give his version of the story but to no avail. Unlike Mantu though, he did not resort to the "GOD- decreed- it- that- way excuse".

Let me say however that personally I would have loved the airport to be left alone. I would rather have the train, in fact I love the train much more than a tarmac. A tarmac wll be in use only once a year during the Hajj. The train on the other hand will carry people and bring fresh fruits round the year. And I am sure if a referendum were to be carried the train will win. The only negative for the train: it will kill Shakka's lorry, the cheapest way to go to Kano from KT. Last time I heard it was just ten naira to Kano at the speed of a snail.

In addition I would also have loved Gov. YarAdua to cotton in on ICT and a more spatial distribution of secondary schools in the town and elsewhere. Imagine the congestion and chaos along WTC road in the mornings and when the students close for the day. Its like a riot and this is daily replicated at ATC, KTC and GCK. I would have thought decongesting these schools will help the traffic situation besides reducing the distance for these students. And also the money dished out by parents for the daily for machine or Achaba ride.

The Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in the news now for quite sometime. Is he the nut case of the Persian Region? I read one blog in which someone had theorized that every region has its own nut case of a leader. Gaddafi is the one for the Magreb and we know that from the macabre comments he makes everytime he opens his mouth. His comments on the recently concluded FIFA World Cup and especially Saudi Arabia’s participation is a testimony to his imbecility. First he condemned the games as a waste of money and then later admitted to watching with disinterest. On the Saudi Arabian team he had the temerity to claim that the players were all slaves of the Saud family. How preposterous of him to infer that because most of the players were black or darker than Arabs they are slaves. And slaves in this twenty first century? Come on Gadfly where have you been all these years?

Anyway Ahmadinejad was reported to have said that the state of Israel must be wiped out in order to have peace in the Middle East. I thought the remark was unwarranted and uncalled for. But just as I was getting ready to write on that, MBC 4 satellite channel advertised the CBS 60 Minutes Show in which Mark Wallace interviewed no other than Ahmadinejad. I primed myself to watch it but NEPA struck and I missed it.

Anyway I do not support the wiping of Israel one bit. And I want to believe that among the Jews there are good people as well as bad people. Euronews recently told the story of a Jewish doctor in Nasariyah town who grafted a donated eye to an Arab. The eye had belonged to a dead jew but was donated to the Arab by the jewish brother of the deceased. Now this is one good deed that is worth emulating. Also the medical wonders that the Haddasah Hospital in Jerusalem is performing for its patients including Arabs. The bad Jews could include people like Olmert, Netanyahu, Sharon and all the other hawks who are always gunning for war.

I want to believe that peace can be achieved now and both Israel and the Palestinians and the Hizbollah are all capable of working something out with the help of the International community. The EEC especially.

NIGERIAN BUSINESS CULTURE
The other day I was meditating on the culture, business ethics and behaviour of KT people in general and the picture I arrived at was so grim it is worth sharing. KT is a subset of Nigeria and so what applies to it equally applies to the whole country. There could be pockets of exceptions here and there. For example the south and Kano are places where we see less of some of the negative things described below.
As a premise consider these hard facts of KT: wilful unemployment is more than fifty percent in all age categories in, level of entrepreneurship is nearly zero and amount of hard work by the few who are gainfully employed is at the minimum. And all these are self inflicted attributes that have been entrenched largely by a wrong interpretation of religious injunctions. What then are the evidences of all these. Consider what I posit below.
In KT there is a substantial social pressure against becoming successful. Whether at your work place or in your business, people generally do not wish you to succeed. Success is gauged by the type of car you ride, the house you build and the clothes you wear. Therefore becoming a winner in KT makes you the object of envy and resentment. Your relations are usually the first to show you by making impossible demands on you. Failure to comply pitches you against them in a running battle of backbiting and character assassination.
How many people have started businesses in KT only to be brought down by those who collect on credit but refused to pay? How many budding business men and women were ruined by this general behaviour of KT people? Very few remember to pay back. And very few are willing to enter into a legitimate business deal with their counterparts in the town. Hence the journeys to Kano to buy things that may have been made in KT.
In contrast, successful people in America enjoy high esteem and respect from members of the public.
Nigerians are generally not known for their drive, boundless energy, tenacity, hard work and perseverance. This is more so in KT.
In KT business ethics and personal ethics are essentially the same. Deception, bribery and lies are the order of the day whether in business or personal affairs. These are even encouraged, expected and rewarded by the larger society.

Is she a model or movie star? Or both? Is she from Hollywood in California, USA? Or is she from Bollywood, Mumbai, India? Or is she from Riverwood, Nairobi, Kenya. Perhaps from Nollywood, Lagos, Nigeria. Or even from Kannywood, Kano, Nigeria. Where ever she is from does not matter now.
Well movie, or shall we say video, making rackets all over the world are adding the suffix "wood" to their names. Perhaps so that the magic of Hollywood will rub on them. But no name is more bizzare than KANNYWOOD. Presumably from the name of the town Kano.i would have thought KANOWOOD would have been more suitable.
At any rate Kannywood refers to films made in Hausa language in kano or elsewhere. I have never watched any of such films because of the belief that they are below average in all the ratings. A friend tells me they are getting better by the day. So one of these days i will venture to watch one.
Just feed your orbs on this diva of a star.

I hate what Israel is doing to Lebanon. It is an overkill. It is a wanton destruction that defies logic. Is the little nation destroying Lebanon so that they will live in peace ever after. Or are they saying after Lebanon they will finish with Gaza and then West Bank. But after that there will be Iran and Syria to consider. Would these two be the next target? Perhaps after these two again then the other little Arab nations including Egypt and Jordan. Only then will Israel be safe? Is that their logic?

Its a great miscalculation. Israel will never win this war as time is in favour of the Arabs. They can afford to lose millions now but in the long run casualties on the Israeli side reduce their numbers in geometric progression. World opinion too is shifting in favour of the poor Lebanese. And Hizbollah is winning support not only in Lebanon but around the world as well.

Now who would have thought Jews will be that severe in inflicting violence on others? Considering what they suffered in the hands of Hitler. We are wiser now and the analogy with Hitler can not be lost on us: Olmert and Hitler are twins in their thirst for inocent blood. Auswitchz and Qana witnessed similar kind of pogrom, and their Star of David is equal to the Swastika.

Well the word is out. There is no deal between the owner and floater of Katsina State University (in the person of Alh. Sani Lugard) and the Governor of Katsina State (in the person of Alh. Ummaru Musa 'YarAdua). In my earlier post on the issue I pointed out how the University came into being and also the precarious situation the University has found itself. I also suggested that the best option will be for the state government to take it over. That however was not to be, as the erswhile proprietor cum sole owner has refused the overtures of the state government. In fact he took the matter to court and by so doing clearly stated his intention to hold on to the Unversity and run it the way he deems it fit. This was a rude shock for the state Governor. But trust YarAdua for adopting the sucker punch strategy...

By going to court Sani Lugard has unwittingly dug his own grave and that of the University. This is because there is just no way the University can survive without the financial and moral support of the state government. Lugard can launch all the appeal funds he wants but adequate funds will never be raised. He can ask for the experience of Heritage University in Kaduna. Again he can make the rounds to the Arab countries once more and see what he can collect, what with the US on their necks over foreign donations. And what about the NUC, the body that accredits academic programmes in Universities? Without the clout of the state governemnt there is no way the University can survive its first accreditation exercise.
Again the claim made in the court was that the University belongs to the community or Muslim Umma. Now if this is truly the case then why is someone making all the decisions as if it is his personal property? And what will stop a Gani fawehinmi type of guy from going to court to stop the Waziri from running the University like his fiefdom? In fact this is one area I expect people like Aminu Milo ( a barrister to boot) to show their patriotism. Soon I hope other moral voices in the state and beyond should also join in on this issue so as to save the school.
So where will all these problems lead Sani Lugard to? Your guess is as good as mine. But the students on the ground will never find it funny.

Governor YarAdua's sucker punch is a resolve to get licensce for a new University and the University to be up and running by January next year! You may think this is a tall order but rest assured. YarAdua will indeed get his University come January 2007. If you are sitting on a giant tranche full of raw cash, you just get about everything you want.

A powerful committee has already been set up and a site chosen. Drawings have been agreed upon and contractors are falling over themselves to clinch the deal. Thwe first faculties to offer courses have also been identified. The governor is highly focussed on this and there is no going back. And thats my kind of Governor.

Ride on YarAdua, we are all behind you on this.

Women. The second sex. Made from a crooked rib. Also double X in genetics. For centuries women have been the second class citizens of all nations and races. This is despite the efforts of all the women libbers worldwide and indeed the sympathetic stance of some religions and male folks. Needless to say there is alot to do as women toil under the yoke and burden of men.
This brings me to the question as to the amount of hard work that the average woman undertake compared to what the men do. It is sad to note that women still work harder than men but receive less compensation or recognition for it. And Nigerian women in particular surpass all others in sheer hardwork. North or South, East or West the Nigerian woman toils, shuffles and trudges on with the work her society expects her to do. Men on the other hand laze about except for the minimum effort they put to bring what they can to the table (not the best mark you). What else do they do after that? Your guess is as good as mine.

Girl power and woman power as it is understood yonder has not yet surfaced here. The necessary empowerment is being delayed by men. However no amount of delay tactics will stop the day from coming sooner or later. And here is a list of wonderful things happening to women the world over. Ruminate them womenfolk as we celebrate womanhood in Nigeria and elsewhere. I lifted the material from www.glamourmagazine.com site.
14 Reasons its great to be a woman now:By Lynn Harris
1. Still first in the lifeboats. (And Hajj buses too)
2. Condoleeza, Hilary, J.Lo. The trailblazers are everywhere! (Our Dora Akunyilis are out there already)
3. Forty is the new 30, just ask Ashton. (Najja'atu, Murja Wambai, Yours truly)
4. We're getting more ready to take credit for our accompolishements.
5. Females are playing at almost every sport....Heck even sumo wrestling.
6. HOT PINK.
7. Curves plus Lycra - its a beautiful partnership. (also check www.campaingforrealbeauty.com)
8. "Madam President" sounds less and less awkward every minute. (Where is Sarah Jubril, the time has come)
9. Hey - singles! When was the last time you heard the word "spinster"?(Senior girls damn it all and enjoy yourselves)
10. Improved straight guy hygeine due to queer eye influence.
11. Celebreties these days are cheered for gaining weight.
12. Adoption, IVF, childless by choice.....its complicated but look at all the choices we've got now.( Yeah we can forget what the hubbies want or where there is no "Al Aseel" for a hubby, forget the whole crap)
13. Gray matter is the new black. Turns out we've got 15 to 20 percent more of it than men. So he may be a genius with anything wide screen or speaker related but you're probably a better multitasker and quicker thought-processor. (computer gizmos will soon be all women)
14. We're living the possibilities our grandmothers only imagined - and some that exceeded even their wildest dreams!
So take heart women as you remember all the above...