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#ENDSARS PROTEST: MY APPEAL!-Bello Sani Yahuza

Published

4 years ago

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By: Bello Sani Yahuza

Salam to my brothers and sisters both in Nigeria and abroad. These days we (are) witness (ing) the beginning of social unrest, disorder, and anarchy.

This started with the #ENDSARS protest in the south-west geopolitical region which eventually metamorphosed into violence and destruction of lives and properties.

It is indeed, a sad and unfortunate thing to happen to our dear country. A supposedly peaceful protest has been hijacked and took taken over by hoodlums and criminals.

This has caused the loss of countless lives and properties of the citizens particularly at this hard time of economic downturn amid COVID-19 pandemic crises. In fact, this could be worse than the COVID-19 pandemic if, God forbids, this spreads all over the country.

Propaganda and fake news are circulating everywhere on social media platforms. Differing opinions, viewpoints, and narrations are being shared. Some information is valid but misleadingly twisted, instigating, and insightful to deceive our youths to achieve a hidden agenda. Some violent, disgusting, and horrifying videos are being posted on daily basis. I found that very little of this information is peaceful, useful, and truthful.

At this juncture, we the good citizens of Nigeria within and outside the country need to pause, look inwardly and think deeply to bring any possible, positive and peaceful solution to the present and future of our country.

The solution to our problems is within not outside ourselves. No country from the international community will care for us, and why would they? The problem is ours, not theirs. After all who cater to their own problems. And if we fail our country why will somebody develop it for us. Our predecessors leave behind for us a great nation that we should not destroy

. As such, I hereby forward my appeal:

1. MY APPEAL, to the leaders is just one, DO JUSTICE TO ALL NIGERIANS. With justice, nothing of this sort will ever happen. I fully remember a late national father, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule of blessed memory saying: “…do justice to all and sundry…” his admonition to PMB back in 2015. Surely, justice is the solution and I hope our leaders will strive at all costs to establish social justice and good governance.

2. MY CONDOLENCES, to the friends and families of those whose lives and properties are lost. I console them to exercise patience and have trust in God, more fortunes, and success in the future await them. May Allah give them spiritual support to recover mental psychological trauma.

Arewa Youth Writes Buhari ,Says Protest a Threat to Country’s Collective Survival

3. MY ADVICE, to the Nigerians wherever they are, shun violence with all your overt and covert actions or inactions. It is our own brothers and sisters who suffer this destruction, not the leaders. It is ourselves we punish not them. We, whether from north, south or east, Muslims or Christians, and Hausa, Yoruba or Igbo are all victims of injustice in one way or the other. But why do we punish ourselves for someone else’s wrong? This is a double punishment. Please, let’s regain our senses, calm our minds, and control our actions. Of course, with injustice, no country will develop. But also, surely, no country will develop with violence and disorder. So, let’s the leaders do justice and the masses live peacefully.

4. MY CALL, to the clergies, is to proactively work to calm the situation and restore peace. Let our Muslim and Christian organizations come together for the common good of our country. At this time, our clerics should actively engage themselves to clear misconceptions and sensitize our youth. History will not count us by doing nothing to rescue our own country. We on our own do the needful at the time needed most.

5. MY SUPPORT, to the Nigerian securities for their selfless duty of protecting the country, without their tireless efforts, Nigeria cannot survive these crises, with the country just recently celebrates 60th independence anniversary, the journey so far should not end this way.

6. MY COMMENDATION goes to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Since March 23, 2020, ASUU has been on a nationwide industrial strike for seven months from now. The intellectual body struggling with their unsuccessful negotiation, re-negotiation, MoU, MoA, etc, with the Federal Government of Nigeria, suffering on the process a lot of disappointment, blackmail, and intimidation from the Government side, but never resort to violence. Problems ranging from the infamous IPPIS saga to the stoppage of salaries amid COVID-19 lockdown, to violation of university autonomy, to the disrespectful go-back-to-farming comment are just too little to instigate the intellectual sages of Nigeria. Of course, lest one should expect from the caliber of an intellectual organization such as ASUU. In all of this, ASUU has remained dogged, steadfast, committed, and resolute to its mission, i.e. rescuing the Nigerian education system from unholy destruction. There I say KUDOS! To you ASUU, you have set a good example for Nigerians to follow. ASUU’s role does not stop only just at this, but more than that, The ASUU-Kano Zone in her effort to curve the spread of the crises, proactively went ahead to postpone an important town hall meeting with the general public on 22/10/2020. Due to the current situation, a well-scheduled meeting will now be rescheduled for another date. The meeting aims to enlighten people on the current struggle in defense of Nigerian Public Universities. Thus, I urge the agitators and aggrieved Nigerians to copy from ASUU’s peaceful struggle to achieve success.

7. MY CALL, to the agitators and other aggrieved citizens of Nigeria, this is a democratic system of government where freedom of speech and freedom of expression are generally considered and duly recognized by the law. Let’s follow the legal way and method in expressing our grievances, and not a violent one.

8. MY HOPE, this will open more room for understanding and allow our leaders to think more deeply in listening to people when they cry out for help and care for the poor citizens more. Reduce corruption, inequality, and bad governance, so that good governance prevails with responsiveness, transparency, and accountability.

9. MY PRAYER, is that this should cease to continue and not to escalate to any further violence so that peace will prevail in every nook and cranny of our country.

10. Finally, pluralism and diversity have been a curse to a country, it is a blessing. Unfortunately, we, the citizens of Nigeria are working hard to make it becomes a curse. If not so, why can’t we be honest and sincere to ourselves? Do we have any place other than Nigeria? May Allah bless and protect my DEAR NIGERIA! May He also give our leaders wisdom and commitment to the development of our dear NAIJA, Amen!

Always remember: …One nation bound in freedom, peace and unity!” That is Nigeria for you.
✍🏼✍🏼✍🏼
Bello Sani Yahuza
Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
22/10/2020.

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News

Muslim-Muslim Ticket: idea fixation pathetic, religion be excluded in politics and governance, says El-Rufai

Published

2 years ago

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June 11, 2022

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The Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has described the possibility that the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, would run a Muslim-Muslim ticket in the 2023 presidential election as mere speculation.

Making a remark on Channels TV’s political show, Politics Today, he said, Nigerians’ obsession with religion – when it comes to voting – rather than competence is sad. “This fixation of Nigerians on religion instead of competence, capacity, and capability is quite sad and pathetic.”

El-Rufai said that anyone asking him questions about the controversial Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket is asking the wrong person, because, in the 2019 general election he settled for a qualified Muslim woman as a running mate and won the election in Kaduna State.

He said, “I don’t look at people from Muslim-Muslim or Christian-Christian angle. Most of my closest friends are Christians. It was Pastor Tunde Bakare, a Pentecostal pastor, that took me to the CPC, not President Buhari. I’m very close to Bakare. I’m very close to many Christians. I don’t think the business of governance has anything to do with religion. I think we should look for the best person for the job. A person that will get the job done and let him do that.”

He advised Nigerian journalists to keep religion out of politics and government. He said, “I don’t think we should be looking at religion. We want to develop this country. When I get into a plane, I don’t ask about the religion of the pilot. When I go to the hospital, I don’t ask for the doctor’s religion of the doctor, I just want to get well. I just want to get to my destination when in an aircraft.

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Column

Nigerian Universities, the interference of Professional bodies, and the time bomb

Published

2 years ago

on

November 4, 2021

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Having worked with multidisciplinary teams during my PhD at the Department of Engineering of the University of Leicester and postdoctoral fellowship at the Department of Electric Power Engineering at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), I decided to experiment the acceptability of a multidisciplinary team in Engineering departments in Nigerian universities in 21st century on my return in 2015. Then, I was already due to be a Senior Lecturer in ABU since 2014. So I sent my CV and an application letter for the position of Associate Professor to the VC through the Head of Electrical Engineering Department of one of our public universities in November 2015. And I received the following not very surprising reply.
“Having perused your application documents, I found them interesting and relevant to the need of the department. However, I cannot pass your application for further processing because of the post applied for. For your information, the Council for Regulation of Engineering in Nig. (COREN) has fixed the bar of an Engineering lecturer who is not registered with COREN at Lecturer I regardless of the number of his/her publications.”
The question that came to my mind was that is the regulation of engineering lecturers in universities part of the mandates of COREN? I read the reply again and he was very emphatic on my PhD and postdoctoral research experience and the relevance to his department. I was made to understand that the University has no academic staff in the area of high voltage engineering, but for them to utilize my experience in high voltage engineering, if I was actually ready to move there, I have to accept to be demoted for 4 years because COREN said so. And I can’t grow no matter my research output till I am registered with COREN. Amazing offer! It will take a complete idiot to accept such an offer. That is the reality of the compartmentalization of our university system and the destruction of the Nigerian university system and the structure by supposed professionals.
This was completely different from my experience in my two universities in Europe. Prof. Len Dissado had a first degree in chemistry and a PhD in chemistry but was a Professor of Engineering at Leicester because his research area was in Dielectrics, a topic very relevant to High Voltage Engineering. He was retained as Emeritus when I left in 2012. Dr. Steve S. Dodd had his first degree in Physics and PhD in Physics but was employed as a Senior Lecturer in Engineering (High Voltage Engineering group) because his research area was in Electrical insulation materials. He retired as a Reader in High Voltage Engineering. The HoD of the Electric Power Engineering as at the time I left the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in 2015 had a PhD in Physics and was a Professor of Electric Power Engineering. Universities in the rest of the world are closing gaps, while we are widening the gap. Since I could not close the gap, so we decided to have a High Voltage Laboratory in the Physics department.
In universities, we are academics and research workers. Irrespective of the field, we are employed to teach and do research. The yardstick for evaluating your performance is research output. Engineering graduates in academia are not left out. They are not employed as Engineers. Universities have their Engineers to do the engineering work. As an academic, you can be COREN registered to enable you to practice outside the university but not for the classroom and research labs in the university. I once asked a colleague some years back if as a university worker, he is an Engineer for real or a teacher and he was silent. I asked about the value of COREN registration in his teaching of Engineering courses, research output, and student project supervision and he could not give me a straight answer.
I still find it weird that COREN, a body regulating practicing engineers on the field is now setting standards for promotion in the Engineering departments of Nigerian universities. They will soon be telling Nigerian universities what to teach and what not to teach. The other councils of professionals will soon follow to set what they perceived as standards for the respective faculties or departments.
The interference of the Councils of professionals in the affairs of Nigerian universities has grown beyond setting promotion guidelines. They are now deciding the establishment of faculties and the duplication of academic departments. It does not matter the burden of running such faculties and departments on the universities. I am still wondering how they are able to twist the hands of NUC and the universities’ Senate and Governing Council to achieve all that. Not long ago, the Faculty of medicine in Nigerian public universities were converted to Colleges of Medical Sciences with 4 faculties and several departments, thanks to the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.
What baffled me was the fact that the Department of Biochemistry, for example, that has taught medical students the biochemistry they know since the inception of the study of medicine in Nigerian universities is suddenly no more qualified to teach medical students because the Lecturers do not have a degree in medicine. Very amazing! We now have duplicated Biochemistry departments across Nigerian universities that they called “Medical Biochemistry” in the college of medicine. The “medical biochemistry” will possibly be taught by the Medical Doctors based on what they learned from the Biochemists in life science while in medical school. Could this be a case of trading quality for ego?
We also, for example, have a medical microbiology department in the college of medicine, a microbiology
department in the faculty of life science, and a vet microbiology department in the faculty of Veterinary medicine.
The microbiologists will be able to explain to us the difference between the different versions of the microbiology.
I was in Norway in 2014 when the Norwegian couple at NTNU shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine with a Professor at the University College London (UCL). I tried to check the structure of these 2 universities. The faculty of medicine at NTNU has no biochemistry department. The Department of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, a replica of the Biochemistry department, is in the faculty of natural science and they provide service to the faculty of Medicine as we had before the coming of the colleges of medicine in Nigerian universities.
How the increased number of departments helping to improve the quality of our academic output is what I can’t figure out. Rather than the duplication of service departments that will only increase the number of academic departments and won’t really add much value to the system but increased running cost, we should have created a college of life sciences and pulled the relevant faculties and departments into it.
Individualistic research is going extinct and most of the novelties of the 21st century are from interdisciplinary researches. One of the winners of the 2014 Nobel prize in medicine John O’Keefe is a neuroscientist in the Faculty of life sciences at the UCL with his degrees in Psychology. But the others, May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser are both neuroscientists from the Faculty of Medicine at NTNU and received their first degree from the Department of Psychology and PhD in neurophysiology at the Faculty of Medicine in Oslo.
There is nothing more fascinating than the fusing of different ideas together to produce a unique product. That is the exploration in the 21st century. The world has left us behind in individualistic ideology and moved into multidisciplinary academics. If we must make progress in our universities, we must break our erected artificial barriers that are keeping us apart. The academics in physical sciences and engineering must come together with possibly a research centre that is into cutting-edge research that will involve research groups from all the relevant departments. Same way to bring life science and medical complex together.
I have seen graduates of mathematics that became Professors of Econometrics in Economics departments in universities in Europe, but not in Nigerian universities. I have seen a graduate of Chemistry that became a Professor of Engineering in Europe, but not in Nigerian universities. I have seen a graduate of Physics that became a Professor of Electric Power Engineering in Europe, but not in Nigerian universities. In Nigeria, I have seen Engr (Prof) XXX boldly written on our doors in the department but not in the universities in Europe. Are we having an identity crisis?
Professional bodies that are supposed to focus on the regulation of Professionals in the field should focus on their mandate and not be given free hands to change University policies as it pleases them. If we don’t end their interference, just like the medical council, COREN could wake up one day to tell our universities that there is a need for colleges of Engineering with departments of mathematics and physics to service the college because those in Mathematics and Physics departments are not qualified to teach engineering students because they don’t have engineering degrees. Vet council, Pharmaceuticals council, builders council, architects council, Quantity surveyors council, etc, may follow. So, how are we going to handle that?
Let’s stick to the founding principles of the university. Universities have world standards. We can stick to our British standard or borrow a leaf from the world’s top universities to improve our system, instead of allowing professional bodies to manipulate us and create barriers within the university system that will further slow down the progress we are to make.
Our universities are not in it’s best form and we have to do what we have to do to improve them. We should be more preoccupied with that. We should be discussing how to reposition Nigerian universities to be able to stand up to our various challenges and not duplicate departments without facilities because some Councils of professionals said so.
Finally, to my colleagues in Electric power engineering or high voltage engineering in Nigerian universities, you are welcome to experience our High Voltage Materials Laboratory in the Department of Physics, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. We have a 400 kV DC generator and 100 kV AC source with a partial discharge measurement system to serve you. Join us to learn the physics of electric power equipment. We do not have barriers!

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Sports

Galadima Knocks Nigeria Sports Handlers Over Laziness in Talent Development,

Published

3 years ago

on

November 27, 2020

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By Abdulgafar Oladimeji.

Former chairman, Nigeria Football Association , NFA Ibrahim Galadima(MFR) has faulted the administration, promotion and development of sports in Nigeria, noting that  the continuous  degenerating  global  status of Nigeria on the  sporting  arena could be attributed to laziness.

The outspoken sports administrator   stated that the absence of  clear  cut policies  on how  sports should be driven in Nigeria  constitutes parts of the factors that  has enrolled Nigeria on the path of total  failure.

Galadima in his remarks  on ( Thursday)at a one day workshop organized by Sports Writers Association of Nigeria, SWAN  Kano state chapter held at the conference hall of the Kano state Sports Commission with the theme “Early Warnings and Security Vigilance At Sports Events, he said “we re yet to clearly structure and drive the message clearly to say whether we   are in sports for business or  for leisure purposes.”

“our sports is going through difficult times, certainly, the Kenyans have  a clear concentration, they  have  shown clearly where they belong by dominating marathon races, recently they came to Kaduna and stamped their dominance.

“The abundant talent in Nigeria remained untapped, no age group graduation, even if you are in Chad, you are considered as a foreign based athlete, we are now so lazy in identifying talents.” Galadima lamented.

He alleged that lack of trust and confidence has  sent sponsors out of the industry, adding that potential brand sponsors are shying away from injecting their monies into  the industry for the fear of unaccountability.

 

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