Review with Muhammad

The proposed reforms have been met with strong opposition, with Senator Ndume storming out of the legislative session, alongside some Northern senators. Senator Barau has also faced backlash for chairing the session and accused of manipulatively facilitating the reform's second reading passage in the Red Chamber. Northern governors forum categorically opposed it and many other stakeholders.  In the words of Jaafar Jaafar " Zulum ta cire soro ta saya da kafanta. " This is evident in an interview Governor Zulum granted with BBC Hausa saying that many states not only in the North but Southeast and some southwest may not afford to pay salary upon passing of this tax reform. The most problematic concept of the reform is about the VAT sharing formula. Since 1993 the VAT is shared thus: 15% Federal government  50% States government (36+FCT) 35% Local government (774) But the boiling point is how the VAT between and amongst states is being shared and here is the existing formula....

Following a succinct explanation of how computational biology revolutionized the approach to disease control, through easing experimentation procedure, accelerating research timeframe, enhancing data accuracy, among other things, Dr AbdulQaadir Yusuf Maigoro (@Abdul_Y_Maigoro) further explored AI's significant contributions to this field.  Notably, their recent team's groundbreaking research that gave birth to a technological device, capable of detecting malaria-transmitting mosquitoes and bringing them to justice. Yes! for the crime they have been perpetrating against humanity. Do you know the genocidal magnitude of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes? Although, figures vary but it's in the range of 700,000 to 1million deaths annually courtesy of malaria.  Back to the technology, this cutting-edge device offers a game-changing, eco-friendly solution to mitigate these vector-borne casualties. And we may have to waive all their economic benefits, we now enjoy. Yes, thanks to Dr ...

Last night, we had another date with Albaqiyah Heritage Foundation on a mind-blowing journey into the world of these small yet amazing creatures - honeybees by Mal. Ibrahim Uba Zango (@IbrahimUbaZango). He opened the discussion with a compelling argument that humans, without bees, will not survive for more than four years, this was backed by Albert Einstein’s quote “If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man will have no more than four years to live.” This is courtesy of their pollination activities which is said to have accounted for one third of the food we have today. We need to acknowledge the service of these busy insects for human race. Talking about busy, it will interest to you to know that the cliché ‘as busy as bee’ is beyond exaggeration, for they spend almost two-third of their time relaxing. Yes! after a great work of course.  Mal. Ibrahim dived into their anatomical construct and how their features support the mechanism of their existence and their class...

EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protesters in Abuja on Thursday, August 1, 2024. Photo: Olukayode Jaiyeola To address this question, it's essential to understand the system of governance in Nigeria. We must, therefore, comprehend that the challenges do not occur in a vacuum; rather, they are systemic. Consequently, comprehending the system will provide the most fitting solutions possible.   WHAT IS GOVERNANCE? According to Wikipedia, governance refers to a complex system or framework of processes, functions, structures, rule of law, and norms born out of the relationships, interactions, and power dynamics and communication within an organized group of people. It sets the boundaries of acceptable conduct and practices of different actors within the group and controls their decision-making processes through the creation and enforcement of rules and guidelines.   WHAT ARE THE PRINCIPLES OF GOOD GOVERNANCE? Here are the eight principles of good governance given by the United...

This week, Albaqiyah Heritage Foundation hosted Mal. Ismail Auwal (ismaaga6) who navigated the above topic. Ismail began by challenging the conventional assumption that 'network is about the people you know' but rather it's about the people who know you and know your capacity. The emphasis is therefore on the not just recalling your name but what you are capable of doing. This will prompt their mind to remember you in association with what you can offer.  An efficient strategy of establishing network with people especially in a gathering is not mere exchanging contacts but making gestures that stick, an action to be remembered for as that calls for easier recollection. Building network has to also be very intentional, the presenter stressed. You need to identify your values and ensure that the network you hope to build, align with such principles. Those guiding principles will help in carving your desired network be it social, intellectual, professional, spiritual or financ...

'The Cost of Being a Muslim' is the title of this week talk presented by Mal.  Mahmoud Abubakar under the umbrella of Albaqiyah Heritage Foundation;  charitable organization with a vision of creating a well-informed Muslim community through intellectual discussions, promoting research and pursuit of knowledge in all perspectives, and conducting programs on social welfare, health and entrepreneurship.   The presenter, perhaps being a banker, associated 'cost' with the title which we later came to know as responsibilities attached to anyone being a Muslim. We are made to understand that the cost of being a Muslim is to submit yourself to all the provisions of the Deen without any reservations. This implies being steadfast on the path despite the odds... saying no to environmental temptations, economic shortcuts that defy Islamic principles, or peer and media pressure that tally not with the Deen. Each parameter was supported by multiple illustrations in the course of th...

Kano International Poetry Festival #KAFEST24 is one of the most enriching literary events held by Poetic Wednesdays Initiative last week in Kano.  Mudi Spikin Poetry Slam was the sensation of the event, it was truly a fiesta of words where men used words to literally display their fears, anger, love, sadness and joy; people could see their innermost feelings through the words they conjured. A fierce competition that brought the divine aspects of their beings. The event has succeeded not just in marshalling the art of poetry by talented artists but x-rating poetry as a concept especially in relation to Hausa traditions, a venture dated back to tastuniya  which gives armashi to the then stories. Subsequently, the introduction of Bollywood films in the 1960s in Nigerian cinemas further affected the poetic narrative through their lyrical aspects and dancing approaches. These were later incorporated into Kannywood in the late 1990s. Thanks to almighty Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu for t...

  I have always been in awe of the vastness of our universe, the concept of interplanetary distance and the idea of time in relationship to other galactic location will never cease to amaze me. It is always interesting to know that our planet Earth has so far been the only avenue that supports civilization in the entire universe. This is true because we are yet to come across any planet that supports life even though there have been speculations that some Earth planetary features have been known to be associated with some at distant galaxies. In our Solar system where among the 8 planets, only Earth supports civilization and planet Mars has been found to have possibility of accommodating life and efforts have now been put in place to terraform it so as we could assume the title of ‘multiplanetary species’. Yet, it will take one 6 to 9 month of uninterrupted space journey about 225million kilometers to move from Earth to Mars, which means the communication would be no longer busin...

  So visible was the redness in Magaji’s eyes with mix of madness as he led his gang to his rival’s stronghold taking them by surprise. They abruptly sent men to hiding as they brandished their machetes, hit the aluminum kiosks and the doors with their wooden rods chanting self-praised expressions and calling out their rivals to come and face them; “Yau karyarku ta k’are!” (your boastful pretension has ended) “ Ku fito idan kun haifu! ” (come out if you were born rightfully) “ Yau barzahu za tayi baki ”(afterlife is expecting you). Unprepared members of Attaura’s gang resolved to depend their domain with the little preparation and before you could say jack, the air was reeked of smoke, sweat and bloodlust. It was a fight from both side with ferocity and deep aggression, screams of men and clashes of machetes would be heard as the atmosphere became darkened. The brutal fight left five people dead, one from Magaji’s camp, three from Attaura’s and one an innocent passerby. Not to m...

Let's have a crash paragraph, not a course, of course, about SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). The concept was born in Dakar in 2015 with 100+ countries as a follow up to the then MDGs (Millenium Development Goals). The central theme of the SDGs is to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity which are broken down into 17 goals for easier implementation. The observation was that there was enough food to feed everyone, enough riches to eliminate poverty and we could minimize the damages caused by adversity of climate, yet people were not generous enough to share the food, their riches and to adopt necessary practices that could reduce the adverse of climate abnormalities. Rather, people were more concerned on themselves, chasing unnecessary needs while paying no heed to others around them that lack the basic necessities. This, therefore, brought up the idea of the SDGs breaking them into simpler, realizable and workable 17 goals which aimed to be achieved on or befor...

The theme for this year's festival is 'Hausa Diaspora' which seeks to explore Hausa outside the walls of its known domain of Northern Nigeria. We were amazed to know that Hausa has built homes across the globe not just in academic spheres of Europe and Asia which is predominantly taught as part of foreign languages in universities of United States, United Kingdom, Japan, China and so on but migration has taken it to virtually every nook and cranny of Africa, heart of Europe and as far as Southern America. Hausawa are now bonafide settlers of some of these places most of them knew nowhere but these countries and became the Hausawan Togo, Hausawan Brazil, etc. It will interest you to know that #HIBAF2023 explored another aspect of Hausa settlers especially in Saudi Arabia and United Kingdom where Hausawa have descendants that are so acclimatized to such environs that they can speak little of Hausa language as a result of their limited interactions. In their HIBAF panel, the d...

History has it that Ottoman Empire conquered the region where Palestine is, since 1517 and it remained so until the fall of the empire. The British army conquered and ruled Palestine since 1917 until a civil admiration was established in 1920 and a League of Nations (the then United Nations) approved Palestine as British mandate in 1922. Then came the Balfour Declaration, a public statement issued by British government in 1917 announcing its support for establishment of a 'National Home for the Jewish people' in Palestine which has small minority Jewish population. It will interest you to know that a British census of 1918 estimated 700,000 Arabs and 56,000 Jews. In 1920, the Third Palestine Congress in Haifa decried the British government's plans to support Zionist project and rejected Balfour Declaration as a violation of International Law and of the rights of the indigenous population. The British pay no heed to the Palestinians' concerns and began to facilitate the ...