hajia

A friend phoned to tell me that it rained in KT last Wednesday. The town has cooled down since then. Here is praying the rains will continue to fall so as to minimize the intense heat. The hot temperature actually made me to leave town of late. See what I wrote on the excessive heat in KT below under the title “KT to catch fire?”

Trust the Chinese to come up with something out of the ordinary. And it comes right from the heart – of their wallets.

The tourism industry in China is building a city where women will rule while men are obliged to just obey. Sound kinky eh? Well it’s for real and is part of a plan to attract more tourists to the Chongqing municipality. While in the town female tourist will be dominant and generally will dictate to the men what to buy, where to stay and stuff like that. Read more here.

Sounds interesting to me. Imagine this idea stretched to a situation where women run the affairs of a town or local governments in Nigeria. We will definitely see changes, lots of changes. For example there will be less corruption and violence and more productivity and prosperity.

KT TO CATCH FIRE?

This is the time of the year when life in Katsina becomes unbearable because of the stifling heat. The temperature rises steadily in the mornings and by 12 noon it climbs to 38 degrees Celsius. You call that real hot but by about 2 pm the mercury rises to 40 degrees. And that’s the time folks restrict themselves to any available shade. People desert the streets and engage in reverse hibernation.

This year the heat is particularly intense and perhaps that has to do with the on going global warming. Temperatures go beyond 40 degrees outside thereby forcing room temperatures to go beyond 30 degrees. In my upstairs room it is a bit cooler and that’s where I usually retire to from 12 noon. What about the air conditioner? Well, they make sure I don’t use it by supplying low voltage current all the time. I am talking about NEPA here.

The bad thing about excessive heat is the prospect of diseases like CSM (cerebro spinal meningitis) outbreak.

Ay any rate judging by the way everything gets hot, it is really not far off the mark to conclude that KT might just catch fire.

WELCOME TO NEW PLANET

European astronomers have reported discovering a planet that resembles our earth in several ways. They said it’s located in the constellation Libra and is more than 22 million light years away. The European southern observatory telescope based in Chile detected the planet. You may click here for more details.

This is good news considering the fact that we are on the verge of destroying this earth with either a nuclear catastrophe or the incessant depletion of the ozone layer. Both of these are imminent in the world we live today and so what a relief to know that some of us could actually escape to another far away planet in future.

I only wish that people like Carl Sagan and the others who pioneered SETI were around. SETI is the abbreviation for search for extra terrestrial intelligence, a body established by astronomers and others interested in finding life elsewhere in the universe.

ELECTIONS? WHAT ELECTIONS?

It’s no more news that an exercise which some people call elections took place recently in Nigeria. I have already forgotten the dates they took place but not the events leading to them. Especially the Thursday preceding the elections.

That day ANPP was to wrap up its campaigns at Polo ground in Katsina. Trouble broke out somehow and property and lives were destroyed. Irate youths from both parties roamed the streets burning old tyres, smashing cars and creating mayhem along the way. They chanted war songs as they moved in mobs. Buhari did come that day but was as soon shepherded out of town along with his entourage. By evening the mood of the town had changed dramatically and troops in full military gear were drafted to man the streets. Soldiers brandishing AK47 rifles mounted road blocks and checked every one passing with a menacing face. That really scared many people including yours truly.

On Friday the town was still tense and that made my family to stock foodstuff and beverages against Saturday. We believed then that violence would erupt across town during the elections.

The house remained locked through out Saturday and no one went out to vote. The same thing happened the second Saturday of voting. Of course no violence broke out. The only activity that was rampant that day was ballot box snatching and ballot box stuffing and the sudden appearance of alien ballot boxes at collating centres.

Well, no sooner the election results started coming out than condemnations broke out from left, right and centre. The opposition parties led the charges. The elections were indeed marred by all manner of fraud. International observers have attested to that and even Obasanjo himself has concurred. Indeed elections all over the world are fraught with fraudulent practices. However it remains to be seen what Nigerians will do about that.

The opposition parties are calling for an interim government while the winning and ruling party is asking for those aggrieved to go to court. The opposition has also called for a massive peaceful rally on Tuesday to coincide with May Day. The winning and ruling party replied by banning all rallies, marches, groupings, meetings etc henceforth. The die appears to be cast and the question on peoples’ lips is “Whither Nigeria?” Within a month we shall know …..

Meanwhile many Nigerians must be amused by the litany emanating from the embattled Vice president. He is crying blue murder now thereby forgetting completely what happened in 2003. But we Nigerians are afflicted with chronic mass amnesia. We forget so quickly and completely that criminals who had served time roam the streets with us holding their heads high. And so Atiku ride on.

Above picture shows a section of Katsina State University (KSU) students during their matriculation ceremony. Take note of the new design academic gown - green with yellow landing on the sleeves and cap. There was huge standing ovation when Umaru Musa YarAdua, the state governor, climbed from his Toyota Jeep clad in a similar gown but with a wide brimmed professorial cap. The clappings went on and on. It was the moment of truth as the University cut its first tooth at that occasion.
After a lul the registrar went to the podium to introduce the first Vice Chancellor in the person of Professor Abdullahi Mustapha. It was an historic event as the governor promised full support for the institution in order to make it compete with others in the country and beyond.
More than one thousand student matriculated that day at both 100 and 200 levels.
Here is my prayer for the students to read hard and earn the confidence reposed on them by the governor and people of Katsina state.

KT POLITICAL TERRAIN

PDP: SHEMA RULES OK?

A lot of water has passed under the bridge and now Ibrahim Shehu Shema is the PDP gubernatorial candidate for Katsina state. A lot of water indeed, since many people, big and small, contested for the primaries. Aminu Masari, Magaji Mohammed and Muurtala Safana were the most prominent. These three were often referred to in PDP circles as the three musketeers who fought tooth and nail to thwart Shema’s bid for nomination at the primaries. But Shema had YarAdua and the PDP national machinery behind him. The musketeers probably did not see the handwriting on the wall. When the going got tough these three formed an alliance to fight Shema’s candidature and actually tried to mobilize Katsina people by calling for a general meeting in Kaduna. That could not get them anywhere.

At long last every one of them capitulated by abandoning the race for the primaries. Magaji went back to Dutsin-Ma while Masari went back to his Speaker job in Abuja. Murtala turned out the lucky guy among them as he decamped to ANPP where he recently clinched the deputy governorship ticket.

Shema himself faced a lot of tough times. First he had to contend with his mentor Magaji Mohammed. In the early days of the race Magaji had confronted him but Shema denied any political ambition vehemently and actually cried openly to support his argument. Magaji was obviously not fooled as he told Shema that he (Magaji) was ready to contest with any body including his own biological son.

Secondly in the course of entrenching Shema as the PDP candidate many party stalwarts were sidelined or jettisoned and this could easily boomerang. Many however are in the campaign trail and God knows what they can do to sabotage the effort. Right now tongues are wagging in Katsina about huge amounts of money for campaign being held up by Shema himself.

Again Shema was in the early days told to consummate a proper marriage in order to consolidate his position. It was a tough decision for him but eventually he married. Who did he marry? No other than the governor’s daughter.

IMMORAL SWAPS

Is it morally right for elected office holders to swap their positions in order to remain relevant? This is the dangerous development we see happening in Katsina and elsewhere in this country. The electorates are been taken for a ride besides denying more suitable persons the chance to serve the people. Look at this example:

Tukur Shagumba is ther Chairman of Batagarawa

Local government while Gide Sani is the representative at the state assembly. These two gentlemen have now struck a deal that allows them to swap their positions. This means Shagumba will go to the state assembly while Gide will be the chairman of the local government. I find this practice contrary to the tenets of democracy and the earlier it is stopped the better. Or are we saying that these two are the only qualified people in the local government for the two positions. And what stops them from swapping again and again and again in future.

ANPP: DEN OF CHAOS

This is the opposition party with the best prospect of winning the gubernatorial elections in Katsina. But the way things are going, the party has thrown away its good chances to the dogs. This is because they have two candidates running neck to neck for governor. How did this happen?

Well, the party’s primaries returned Nura Khalil as the candidate. But a list of barred candidates was soon circulated by INEC/EFCC and Nura’s name was included. The party quickly replaced his name with that of Abu Ibrahim thereby giving this new man permission to parade himself as the new ANPP candidate. Nura went to court to challenge his inclusion in the list and the court declared its verdict in his favour. With this Nura also hit the campaign trail by parading himself as the bona fide ANPP candidate. So now we have Abu Ibrahim/Murtala Safana on the one hand and Nura Khalil/Hamisu Gambo on the other all claiming to be ANPP flag bearers and their deputies.

Of course the ANPP party secretariat caused this mess though some newspaper columnists had heaped the blame squarely on Mohammadu Buhari himself.

A meeting has been slated for the resolution of this problem but no matter what happens the prospect of cementing the party behind one candidate is really remote.

AC: E TU BUGAJE

The AC is the party Atiku Abubakar revived in order to contest the presidential elections. All his supporters have left PDP and are contesting for various posts under the party. Usman Bugaje is one of such people, and is contesting for the governorship position.

But who would have thought Bugaje will flag off his campaign at the Emir’s palace? The answer is no one. And that is because Bugaje has earned a good reputation for himself as the true friend of the masses. Consider these accolades for example: he has the best manifesto among all the candidates, he is the most learned and most humble, he has the best grasp of issues and displays good knowledge of how to tackle KT problems. Now with all these things in his kitty, people wonder why he went to the Emir at all. Was he seeking for permission or blessing? And assuming he wins the race, wouldn’t the palace be his first port of call? And one thing can lead to another and Bugaje would as soon be offered a traditional title. Perhaps then he would as soon be turbaned with some other crazy title.

At any rate one has to admit that Bugaje lacks political finesse as he commits one gaffe after another. The first was when he made unguarded remarks in the early days of the Shari’a debates. That earned him a lot of invectives and asinine prayers at various mosques across the North. He survived all those and came out up right largely as a result of his positive and pro masses contributions on the floor of the house. Now it appears he is risking everything as he hobnobs with an archaic and anachronistic institution.

You may not believe this, but all the above girls are Arabs, Saudi Arabs. They are students of KSU ( now don’t confuse this abbreviation with Katsina State University, it really stands for King Saud University) Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Of course they cant walk the streets in that kind of attire. Perhaps thats why they hold their index fingers to their mouths which indicates a do-not-tell gesture. Among the girls is Farah Sowaleef who is an accomplished Saudi blogger. I culled the picture from farooha.buzznet.com where she uploaded a few of her pictures. She started her blog back in January 2005 and had published a lot. Here is the way she describes her blog:

“The every day nattering of an exhausted, repressed and bored Saudi Arabian Chic: A professional KSU geek, nonconformist wannabe, qualified gossip and reality tv junky. (Hey! everyone's got guilty pleasures, this one's mine)”

The above are her own direct words and the reason I am interested in the girl is because of the issues she writes on in her blog. She chronicles the life of a college student but occasionally touches on both local Saudi and international issues. Some of the issues could be pretty touchy in Saudi Arabia, like the thorny issue of driving cars by women. She is an intelligent girl no doubt. But the blog has of late disappeared without any trace. Yes, without any trace. Whenever I try to get to the web site using the address: http://farahssowaleef.blogspot.com a blogger site tells me PAGE NOT FOUND. Why is that so?

Well I have recently been theorizing that may be Farah has got herself into trouble with Saudi authorities and they just wiped her page into oblivion. This is in fact possible. Bloggers get into trouble with authorities every now and then. Moreover Saudi government has a high tech facility in Jedda that has the technical capability of doing that. They call it the King Abdulazeez City for Science and Technology (KACST). At one time they banished another blog site known as Saudi Eve and the blog remained un accessible in the kingdom for some time. That action drew sharp criticism from liberal bloggers who successfully exerted pressure on the Kingdom's Internet watchdog, KACST to unblock the site.

Was Farah’s site blocked by KACST? I don’t know for sure but what irks me most is the deepening silence on the issue by other Saudi bloggers. None of them is talking about the disappearance of Farah’s blogsite. Blogs like Saudi Jeans, Rasheed's World, eveksaI and all the rest are keeping mum. Now I find that odd.

I publish this story with the hope that one of you out there would have information on the disappearance of this fine blog site or information on the whereabouts of the woman involved ie Farah Abdulazeez (aka Farahssowaleef), knowing that there are ICT gurus among you. Pls solve this puzzle for me.....

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

This is a post I wrote on March 8 but could not publish it till now.

On this International Women's Day, I want to pay homage to all the women in Katsina and Nigeria for working hard under difficult conditions in order to survive and also bring about gender equality, justice and progress for our country. I particularly want to pay my respects to our female ancestors and grandmothers and pioneers in various fields. These women are many in our history and in our midst now who have really made and are making a mark. From the early days of our history we have Daurama (who married the man said to have come from Iraq, Bayajidda and she later gave birth to the founding fathers of the Seven Hausa City states), Queen Amina of Zaria ( a warrior led men in wars and whose campaigns took her thousands of miles from Zazzau and eventually died in Likoja), Nana Asmau ( the erudite daughter of Sheik Usman Dan Fodio who authored hundreds of books), Ba Dallaza ( the first daughter of Sarki Abubakar who was murdered in cold blood in an epic power struggle in Katsina), Hassu Wangam ( the first truly business woman in Katsina whose line included trade in commodities, jewellery and livestock), Ladi Kwali ( the Abuja pottery expert who preserved culture through her work), Hassu Iro Inko ( the first woman educationist per excellence in Katsina), Dr Halima Adamu (the first female doctor in Katsina whose radio broadcast on maternal and child care have now become classics), Dr Binta Sanusi ( a highly gifted KT gynecologist medical doctor), Professor Dora Akunyili ( NAFDAC no-nonsense strong woman who has now made our drugs safe to use), Mariya Dantata ( the mother of Dangote – the Dangote, and philanthropist who value, preach and practicalised women education). I also want to mention Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi’s mother who was said to have taught him the quran at a tender age.

The contributions of all these nwomen and indeed others too numerous to mention here made a difference to the world we live in today in several small ways. I admire the sacrifices they made and the examples of courage they set.

Here is an excerpt of what the United Nations said about the day:

“International Women's Day (8 March) is an occasion marked by women's groups around the world. This date is also commemorated at the United Nations and is designated in many countries as a national holiday. When women on all continents, often divided by national boundaries and by ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political differences, come together to celebrate their Day, they can look back to a tradition that represents at least nine decades of struggle for equality, justice, peace and development.

International Women's Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of history; it is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men. In ancient Greece, Lysistrata initiated a sexual strike against men in order to end war; during the French Revolution, Parisian women calling for "liberty, equality, fraternity" marched on Versailles to demand women's suffrage.

The idea of an International Women's Day first arose at the turn of the century, which in the industrialized world was a period of expansion and turbulence, booming population growth and radical ideologies……”

Hurray all as we pray for the new generation of women to do more.