hajia

BREAKING NEWS. It was revealed that KT has eleven billion naira in its coffers. The governor made the revelation in a newspaper report. Well this is some good news seeing that not many governors trust revealing such info to the public. For one it could make mouths to water in torrents and before you know it, important people could start putting pressure for their share. I therefore doff my hat for Shema for making the announcement.
But the revelation begs the question as to what to spend the money on? Eleven billion is a whole lot of big money and it may not be off the mark if someone asks for a referendum in the state to determine what to do with it. I would support such a move even though I know it would never come to fruition.
What we the citizens of the state are left with is not more than mere discussion among ourselves on how best to spend the money. I list below my contribution to this discussion after a careful analysis of the problems facing the state:
1. education sector should have 30 percent of the money allocated to it.
2. health sector should have 20 percent allocated to it.
3. industrial sector should have 20percent allocated to it.
4. another 20 percent should be shared among the other sectors.
5. The remaining 10 percent should be set aside for emergency.
Perhaps someone should start a YouTube chat where we tell the governor how best to spend the money.

Labels: KT WINDFALL

I have been reminded of other practices that have become traditions during the month of Ramadan. Flying east to Saudi Arabia for the lesser Hajj or Umra has now become fully entrenched as a Ramadan past time. All manner of people jostle for the journey and by far the biggest sponsor for the trips are state governments. Very few pay for the journey from their pockets.
Here is how the racket operates - in the early days of Ramadan you make it a point to get your name slotted in the list. The governor decides who goes and so your campaign should be directed at him. How you do it is left for you, but no one can guarantee you the flight except the governor.
Who jostle for government sponsorship? Well, traditional rulers are top on the list. Followed closely by the local clerics or religious leaders, top government officials (commissioners, special advisers etc), sundry politicians and the governor's relations. All in all the total number could be anywhere between 200 and 500 people. Now if you multiply this number with the token sum of 500,000 naira then you begin to see why this is important to talk about.
Is this sponsorship in accordance with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria? I can not answer this question since I am neither a lawyer nor a constitutional expert. But there is a sure way we can find out.
Governor Shema of KT is a lawyer and has in various forums asserted that his actions as a governor will be guided by the rule of law. So all we need to do is watch out whether he sponsors these people to the Umra or not. If he does then it is constitutional and the reverse holds if he refuses to approve any contingent. Fair enough eh? (Thanks Maimuna)

Labels: RAMADAN TRADITIONS

I have always wondered what goodies people use to break their fast with during Ramadan. I want to believe that many like me take the trouble of making sure nice and delicious things are laid on the table. This is considering the huge amounts spent by all in preparation for the month. But does that translate into a deliberate plan to gorge ourselves with the best food?
I conducted a short survey of the food items that my friends and I usually have for breaking the fast. Here is the list of items below:
1. Fruits - mostly dates, fruit salad for few
2. Pap and Kosai - this is a standard menu in every home
3. Roasted meat (chicken or beef or mutton or fish) - the average family have this on alternate days
4. Peppersoup of either of the above meats - on alternate days mostly
5. Potatoes and eggs and plantain - the average family could two of these daily
6. Fura - standard menu for some during sahur
7. Milk and beverage -standard for breaking or sahur time for the average families.
Now the question here is whether the above represent a real delicacy in the true sense of the word. If people make sure they eat the above during Ramadan then what do they eat in months other than Ramadan? A much less richer diet?

Fasting is not exactly my favourite form of worship. But I cherish and always look forward to Ramadan period. Indeed we all eagerly look forward to the Ramadan season. But personally I think this has more to do with the goodies we eat to break the fast than perhaps any religious penchant. Look at the statistics I gathered yesterday: the average family makes it a point to have roasted meat or chicken, potatoes and lots of fresh fruits on the table to break the fast daily. Of course there are those who can not afford a descent meal in the period, I hasten to add. But records from markets indicate that huge sums of money are spent to accommodate the demands of Ramadan fast. More than half of that amount goes to food items.

Incidentally my favourite form of worship is the Hajj. I love to go to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj and have been there four of five times. Nigerians love to go on Hajj and perhaps this too is for the little taste of life in the first world and the shopping spree. I like to think that Saudi Arabia is at par with western countries in some respects. Some respects because there are areas they can improve like in sanitation and garbage collection.
But this year the fare is so outrageous I am boycotting the journey completely. Half a million naira is no joke.

Today is the first day of Ramadan fast. The announcement for the commencement was made yesterday by the Sultan of Sokoto. Many will go by the announcement but there will be others who will not.
I did my Ramadan shopping about a month ago and am better off for that because prices have gone up since. I visited KT central market yesterday and it was a beehive of activity. Shoppers were in droves buying all manner of items. Top on the list included sugar, beverages, flour, apparels, and shoes. Apart from buying what to consume tradition dictates that one buys clothes for the coming Sallah Eid. And of course one buys things for gifts to relations and in-laws. Another thing that has almost become a tradition is the Ramadan text messages to friends on their mobile phones. I have received four of such messages so far and more are coming. And they can be quite interesting to read.
I wish us all a happy Ramadan season.

As a third world country that is fast sliding back to stone age, Nigeria is yet to get rid of mosquitoes. In fact I will not be surprized if someone theorizes that all the mosquitoes of the world are slowly but surely migrating to Nigeria. This is judging by such things as the rising number of mosquitoes in our houses and rooms, the rising large number of people reporting to hospitals and clinics with malaria, and the rising number of people who actually die from the disease. Mosquitoes in our country are just so many and so brazen that fleeting your room daily does not protect you from a bite or two in the wee hours of the morning. Thats the time when mosquitoes regain their energies and go into action with vengeance. And this leads me to the question of what to do in order to make your room mosquito-free?
I asked a few friends what they do to protect themselves from mosquitoes and the answers I got would shock officials of the World Health Organisation (WHO). By the way this is the only organisation that seem to bother about the mosquito scourge in Nigeria. This is because federal, state and local governments do not as a matter of policy bother and do not talk about malaria at all. Their budgets on health does not have any Kobo for checking the insects. here is are the responses:

More than sixty percent said they do not bother and do not buy anything to check mosquitoes in their bedrooms. They cited the cost of mosquito repellents as one reason.
Others said they use the cheap mosquito coils from China but admitted that they do not use them it on a daily basis.
No wonder malaria is on the increase.
Above is the picture of a pack of cheap mosquito coils that are imported from China. They have now saturated our markets and millions of Nigerians now inhale the smoke for eight hours during their sleep. This pack has no NAFDAC or FDA certification or number thereby suggesting there was no test conducted to ascertain its effect on human health.