Tsohuwar Ajiya

By Habu Dawaki Some of the best sets of people that teach us about life are children. Among other things, children are known for their innocence, simplicity, purity of heart, frankness, spirit of forgiveness, genuineness, receptivity, trust, dependence, curiosity, energy, enthusiasm, of, wonder, open-mindedness and teachability. Children seem to know how to love and enjoy life rather than endure it. They appear to always have time to still play, sing, smile and laugh. A closer look at children reveals that they have no stress, high blood pressure and so on. I believe this is partly because they worry less. If they ever have problems at all, they simply hand them over to someone bigger than them. This could be their parents, guardians, teachers, aunts, or uncles, just to mention a few. I think children have an understanding that carrying all our burdens alone is destructive and injurious to our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. It is said that the average chil...

By Muhammad Umar Ndagi Conservatism may not absolutely be a negative tradition. It has its significance in the cultural history of any given society. Without yesterday, there wouldn’t have been today. And you also require today in order to shape tomorrow. The theoretical concept of westernization, however, is a crusade against cultural identity and determination of any given people which conservatism to a reasonable extent seeks to promote. No human culture has universally impacted on all nations of the world as westernization did. It has transformed virtually all aspects of human life. It is a deliberate mental process that is systematically, strategically and revolutionally infused into the traditional thoughts or spirit of a people without them actually having knowledge of how and when they unconsciously imbibed western norms and values. It is strategic because the “old wine” is always turned “into a new bottle” whenever the west realizes any form of resentment from the targe...

By Mahmud Jega September 4, 2004 H e himself threw on birthday bash, but on Sunday last week, when Kaduna state Governor Alhaji Ahmed Mohamed Makarfi clocked 48, there were many messages of congratulations on the radio, on television and newspapers. Since he himself did not speak publicly on it, it was left to those who saw him on that day to report his one well-spent. It wasn’t easy in the beginning, he said, but with Allah’s bountiful mercies and with his own struggle and hard work, he had accomplished more in the service of the people in 48 years than many people are opportune to do in 100. Talking about Allah’s mercies, exactly a week to the birthday, Alhaji Ahmed Makarfi and the administration he heads had been thrown into turmoil following the death of Alhaji Umaru Balarabe Kubau. He had been the Commissioner for Works, Housing and Transport throughout the Makarfi era, and more than that, he was the governor’s technocratic right-hand man and a pillar of the administratio...

By Wada Nas, September 4, 2004 Since the death of General Sani Abacha, I cannot recall a day when reference is not made to his so-called loot in the media. It has been a daily affair even when we all agree that the issue of corruption is worse today than it has ever been. For General Obasanjo in particular, it has been one of his sing-songs and prayer verse. His government has given the impression that Abacha is the only corrupt persons who ever lived in Nigeria, while he Obasanjo and his government are the most decent and clean saints we ever had or will ever have. Of course Nigerians know the truth about the state of corruption in Nigeria today. We do not need to recall the past about missing N350 billion annually from NNPC accounts whose senior minister is the general. Nor do we need to mention how he blocked the Na’ Abba led House of Representatives from looking into the books of the corporation. Reports about corruption have been occurring daily in the papers, enough such...