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ATM, Banks and Helpless Customers

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By Prof Yusuf Adamu

 

Automated Teller Machines otherwise known as ATM were designed to reduce stress on customers of banks seeking to withdraw money. ATMs provide services to card holders wherever they may find themselves. Some of us who know the cheque era can remember the frustrations customers experience collecting money especially at the end of the month when salaries are paid. Customers have to be given a tally because the queue is so long and chaotic. In the Nigeria’s characteristic manner of impatience, people shun the queue, reserve and even physically fight.

Some readers may remember one popular advert, I can’t remember for which bank where customers come to banks with their sleeping mat and that popular phrase ‘’give me my tally number’’ is still fresh in my mind. To make things worse, you can only cash money from the bank whose cheques you have. For instance, you can’t use First banks cheque to collect cash at UBA. If you are given a Unity Bank cheque you can only cash it at a Unity bank. Transfers take longer time, one have to use bank drafts etc.

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Today, many young people do not even know that people use cheques to cash money. Some months a go my ATM has experienced and I needed money, so I gave my son, a level three undergraduate student a cheque to cash and he was puzzled. What is this? I explained to him what a cheque is and he was surprised that one can use that paper and collect money. All he knows is the ATM card. It was an experience for him to cash money using a cheque.

During the pre-ATM era, people go to the bank once, twice or thrice in a month and manage their spending in such a way as to avoid going to the bank again until the coming month. That in some way helps customers to spend less and with some degree of discipline. It helps customers to ensure that they have cash at hand for every future transaction they may do because when the time comes the banks might be closed or the long queues may delay or stop the transactions. In that period, it is money on demand-like. The coming of the ATM changed all that.

When ATMs were introduced, many people hesitate to use them because they are scared of the technology and reliability of the cards. So it was started as a kind of a voluntary service. If you want, you apply and get one. As usual young people who see it as vogue started adapting the ATM before old people who are more used to the cheque system. But the Federal Government at the time was pushing for what it calls a cashless economy, even when many people including me feel it is too early to go fully cashless. Today, most bank customers have ATM cards, sometimes at request sometimes automatic. Even housewives have their ATMS and usually send someone to cash on their behalf, giving the cashier their pass word and all with no insurance.

With an ATM gave us more freedom to cash money at will. It gives us the opportunity to do transactions using our computers or even mobile handsets. It gives us the freedom to withdraw money from any available ATM anywhere in the world. ATM cards created many opportunity we never thought possible. But they also come with their unique problems. Every new technology brings its challenges to people’s way of life. Just like mobile phones changed our lifestyles leaving us wondering how life will be without them (forgetting that we lived without them safely and well), so have ATM cards.

Here we are holding beautiful well designed cards that we can always use anywhere anytime to withdraw cash and do transactions with the available monies in our account. So, with our ATM cards today, we have changed the way we spend money. We no longer have to cash money in advance and keep because we can always cash money from the ATM. We spend more money now and spend more at shops that operate Point of Sale (POS) where one can use his card to pay for transactions. One doesn’t feel as much pinch when he uses ATM card as when he uses cash, so one can spend more using card.

The major challenges customers faces using the ATM cards include annoying phrases like dispense error, temporarily unable to dispense cash, the issuer is none cooperative, out of service and the ATM queues which are different from the banking hall queues. Let’s start with the quality of service provided. All the signboards of ATMs usually have 24/7 on them, meaning, available for 24 hours daily, 7 times a week. This shows that one can withdraw money any time we chose. But, is that so? Can we really get the money anytime anywhere? There are ATMs located in bank premises and some outside bank’s premises. It is understandable that you go to a non-bank premises ATM and fail to get money, but it is inconceivable that you fail to get money in a bank-premises ATM.

This is one aspect that bankers show most irresponsibility to customers. Bankers should know the frequency and quantum of withdrawals at different periods of the month and ensure that monies are made available at peak points-usually month end. What are their research units doing not to understand customers demand pattern? One can visit 10-20 ATMs and being annoyingly told temporarily unable to dispense cash. This attitude must stop, the Central Bank of Nigeria that is preaching and imposing this new innovation must come to the aid of customers. In some banks, the night watchmen at their own will or on instruction lock the gates of the ATMs at 10:00 pm while the signboard is still telling you that the ATM provides services 24/7.

There is also the problem of dispense error, I changed my bank because the could not get my monies back, I was debited a hundred thousand without dispensing and my bank could only get me 60,000 naira and for over four years today my 40,000 is still missing in action. In the new bank I transferred, it took me 43 days to reverse a dispense error of 20,000 naira. In fact, many people lose monies unnecessarily due to dispense error. I have no doubt that, if CBN is to commission a study on dispense error, it will find that Nigerians are loosing billions. Where are the monies going? No one is being punished.

Finally, I want to stop here with a call on the supervising agencies to come to the aid of customers. Customers pay for the services giving by banks and banks should be made more responsible to meeting customer’s needs. Severe punishments must be meted on erring banks that make customers suffer from their incompetence and neglect.

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Kano Water Scarcity: How Long is Governor Abba’s ‘State of Emergency’?

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_By Misbahu El-Hamza_

Kano State makes headlines almost every year, and coincidentally, during Ramadan for water scarcity. The frequent headlines are often attributed to electricity system failures, which disrupt water pumping, or equipment faults at water treatment plants, exacerbating the situation.

About ten months ago, upon taking office, Kano State Governor Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf declared a State of Emergency to address water scarcity across the state, urging for patience and maximum cooperation from residents. Although I haven’t seen or reviewed the governor’s plan during this emergency, I recall that resolving Kano’s water issues was one of his campaign promises.

I remember when the governor inspected the Challawa Water Treatment Plant in May 2023 and expressed dissatisfaction with its condition. It was said that only two of the six pumping machines of the facility were functioning at the time.

Following that, the governor give a one-week ultimatum to the Kano State Water Board to submit its demands in order to end the water shortage in the state. There was a sigh of relief by the public. Personally, I had hoped that we’re finally getting over this hardship.

Unfortunately, nearly a year now, the situation is not only prevalent in urban areas but is even worse in rural communities. We are not only seeing those trending headlines of water scarcity in Kano, we’re experiencing the brunt of it.

Recently, the price of a 25-liter jerrican of borehole water in Kano surged by ₦50 to ₦150. Someone told me that he bought one at ₦200 around Kurmi market. In areas like Hotoro, Nassarawa LGA, where I reside near Kumbotso LGA housing the Challawa water plant, prices rose from ₦40 to ₦70 or higher. The Chalawa water plant is believed to have the capacity of supply the whole of Kano with water, but we rely heavily on individual boreholes for water, with little to no infrastructure connecting us to the water plant.

While I resides in a suburb and can afford buying a jerrican of what seems to be clean water, in the rural areas where I often visit for work, the situation is dire. Many communities lack access to clean water sources, with broken or dried-up boreholes and wells being common. Residents, including young children, often resort to fetching water from stagnant ponds shared with cows, donkeys, camels, and even dogs. This water is what they use for all daily activities, posing serious health risks. It’s evident that both state and local governments have neglected these communities, offering little to no solutions for their water woes. Where you see boreholes or wells in these communities, they are either constructed by individual donors or (charity) organizations and a handful ones by politicians.

Governor Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf must be aware of the current water crisis in both rural and urban Kano. However, the pressing question remains: how long will his State of Emergency address the suffering caused by the persistent water scarcity or total lack of it across the state?

Three days ago, I heard a jingle apologizing for the water scarcity in Kano metropolitant, blaming the repair works at Challawa and Tamburawa treatment plants. It’s said to have been sponsored by Kano State Water Board. To me, the jingle suggests the governor partly fulfilled his pledge, now it’s the board’s turn to restore water supply. Or at least that’s my assumption.

I know this isn’t the first time the the board apologises. In 2022, the then Managing Director of the board was quoted apologizing to Kano residents for failing to supply water during Ramadan. At that time, 25-liters jerrican of borehole water cost between ₦30 – ₦100.

I remain hopeful that before his remaining three years expire, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf will emerge as Kano’s hero by addressing the water scarcity issue, providing relief to the growing population, including those in rural areas.

As the governor continues to address our water problem within this emergency period, I hope the demands the water board submitted to him as requested include: establishing new plants and resaviors or enhancing existing ones, extending mainline pipes to suburbs and rural areas, ensuring independent power supply for the plants, and securing permanent employment for existing and additional staff. If the board manages its expenses independently, perhaps shifting it to the state payroll would improve also efficiency.

With reliable service and effective system in place, the board and the state government should be rest assured that Kano people will be more willing to pay for water, and the board does not need to heavily depend for its revenue from the industries it diverts our little water to.

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Again, farming community in Kano counts losses as River Kura wreaks havoc

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Lawan Muhammad,Farmer

 

By A’isha Ahmad Isma’il

Flooding is a devastating term most farmers in Kano State are familiar with as it has plagued the state for years now, with unprecedented heavy rainfalls and floods wreaking havoc on communities and farmlands.

In 2022, flooding nationwide destroyed N700 billion worth of investment in the agricultural sector, according to the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS).

In Kano, flooding washed away 14,496 farms in five Local Government Areas (LGAswith everything planted in the soil. The recurrence of the flood has been linked to the spillway of Tiga Dam, according to the then Executive Secretary of Kano state Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Dr. Aliyu Jili.

Jiji said that in 2022, spillage of the Tiga dam destroyed another 16,644 farmlands in some local governments, including Kura.

Although farmers tried using flood resistant enhanced crops, it is of no use to those in Kunshama, in Daneji ward of Kura LGA in Kano State.

Farmers say the powerful waves caused each time the Kura River overflows its banks after the opening of the Tiga Dam have been devastating. And it occurs twice a year, whether it is the rainy and dry season.

Malam Bala working on some part of his farm completely washed by flood

Malam Bala working on some part of his farm completely washed by flood

Opened in 1974, the 178 square kilometers (69 sq mi) dam with a maximum capacity of nearly 2,000,000 cubic meters (71,000,000 cu ft) has been a major source of water to irrigation farmers.

Bala Dare Kunshama, farmer

Bala Dare Kunshama, farmer

However, what was created as a blessing, to Kunshama farmers, is a curse.

The people of Kunshama farming community State are beginning to panic as water from the Kura River washes away millions of naira worth of produce from their farmlands.

Kura LGA is believed to be one of the largest farming communities in the state and this includes both irrigation and wet season farming.

Lawan Muhammed Kunsharma, a rice farmer, said he lost over N3.1 million after the Kura River washed away half his rice seedlings weeks ago, adding that he has been enduring such losses for the past five to six years because there has been no help from anywhere.

Gazing over his devastated farm, he said “as you can see this is my farm, if not for the fact that the water has washed over here, you could have seen that I have plowed the land and planted rice”.

Muhammad said he used to harvest between 200-300 bags of rice per farming season. But now, he barely harvests 20 bags.

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“That is for the rice, but before the rice we used to plant onions, beans, and green beans”, he said bitterly.

The reporter could feel the anguish and pain in his voice as he spoke.

“We wish the Abba Kabir Yusuf – led Kano government would urgently help us, ” he cried out.

Hadejia Jamaare

Hadejia Jamaare

Lawan Ishaq Kunshama, another farmer in the area, said the flood is the biggest problem faced by the people in Kunshama.

While acknowledging efforts by the local councilor and council chairman, he lamented that “the matter is beyond them.”

The water passes through Kunshama from Tiga Dam to Wudil.

One of the dams

One of the community’s dams

“You see over there? That is what is left of the structures we tried to erect to prevent the water from running into our farm.”

The farmer pointed to a low slab put at the edges of the river with the intent of keeping the waters away from flowing into the farms.

He said they have been trying for four years, but the slabs collapse every time.

Ishaq added that when the water breaks into the farmlands, they must board canoes to rush and salvage rice seedlings to minimize losses that usually run into millions.

“For some of us that usually harvest about 100 bags of rice, when the water breaks in, we barely get 20 bags,” he lamented.

Ishaq also cried out to the government to come to their aid to prevent losses to the farmers and even the government in the form of revenue. (Farmers from rural areas pay produce tax when they take their produce to the markets.)

Bala Dare Kunshama, is another big irrigation farmer affected by the Kura River overflow. He owns six acres of farmland, most of which has been washed off after overflowing water from Kura River flooded his farm.

Looking mournful and dejected, Dare said he suffered unimaginably heavy losses due to the flood.

He stands at the edge of his farm looking from side to side and then gapes deeply into the water that has become his nightmare, a thousand thoughts coursing through his mind.

“This water broke into my farm, all our capital has finished, the water has killed all our efforts and now we have nothing,” he bit down his frustration while narrating his loss.

Unlike Muhammad, Dare said he tried planting tomatoes and onions this irrigation season, but the water has washed away most of it, which he said is worth more than N2.5 million.

Like Muhammed and Ishaq, he and other farmers in the agrarian community of Kunshama have been suffering losses for about six years now. Every year, the devious cycle repeats itself and the farmers are helpless.

Kunshama said he can no longer feed himself and his family and that most people in the community are in tears, but they do not know what to do.

“This is not something we can deal with by ourselves, we need the state government’s help,” he said.

VILLAGE HEAD ECHOES CRY FOR HELP

The Village Head of Kushama, Alhaji Garba Aliyu, through a representative, Malam Murtala Shehu, bemoaned the huge flooding challenge faced by the farmers within his domain.

“We need help, my people need help,” he stated.

According to him, his people “are at the brink of losing everything to the water.”

There’s no one else to ask, fully knowing they have done all they could, but the water would not stop.

He and the farmers wished for the Kano State government to prioritize their problem and find a lasting solution soonest.

The farmers are hoping the government could repair the controls of the drain outlet and block the way that serves as a diversion for the water into their farms.

The flooding too challenging for local government – Chairman

Mustapha Abdullahi Rabi’u, the immediate past Kura Local Government Chairman whose tenure ended on Sunday, February 11, 2024 lamented that Dukawa ward has been left to suffer from the floods for years.

“They came to me with the complaint, I was personally there to see the level of destruction it causes,” he said over the phone.

He said the water travels from Tiga, goes through Madobi, spins forward through Gadar Ɗan kifi in Chiromawa, then falls at the bridge separating Kura and Dawakin Kudu before it makes it way to Kunshama.

According to him, he had paid money even from his personal pocket to workers to build a drainage along the waterway to prevent further spillage into farms “but the water is too powerful, especially during the rainy season.”

The area needs two things, he stated.

“First, the drainage systems there need constant clearing, and second the route of the water to Challawa needs to be cleared as well.”

Acknowledging that the very persistent problem is quite challenging, Rabi’u promised to ensure the next local government leadership is made aware of the problem to find lasting solutions to the problem.

80% of Kura/Garun Malam farmers face seasonal losses– Farmers Association

The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in Kano, through its Secretary, Abdullahi Ali Mai Biredi, affirmed that the flood has been causing losses to residents of Kura and Garun Malam local governments.

He said about 80% of the farmers in that area are affected by seasonal floods, and occasionally by the overflowing of the Kura River.

He said, “if this continues, it will be a threat to food security.”

“Everyone knows how important that area is in rice farming. If this problem persists , I believe it will not only affect food security in Kano but Nigeria as a whole,” he asserted.

Though he admitted that the challenge was brought to their attention late, he noted the need for urgent intervention by the government in addressing the matter in the interest of the nation.

Expert blames poor repair of drainage outlet for the flood

Professor Abba Garba Gaya, a lecturer at the Faculty of Agriculture Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technical, Wudil, is an expert that knows about the flooding caused by the Kura River.

He told this reporter that the flooding is caused by a fault in a drain outlet used to control the flow of the water after its release from Tiga dam, close to Kunshama.

“It (drain outlet) developed a fault, so the water is retained in the area making it look like a swamp, and it subsequently overflows into farms,” he said.

He noted that the water that flows from Tiga usually prevents farming activities, especially during the rainy season.

He noted that “farmers are important to the society” adding that “the government has to do something about this problem that has been in existence for about 5 to 6 years.”

He said they are aware of the efforts by the Hadejia Jama’are River Basin Development Authority made about a year ago, but it has proven not to be enough.

He believes the work done was shoddy and not properly implemented.

Professor Gaya called on the Hadejia Jama’are River Basin Development Authority, Kano State and the federal governments to look into ways of dealing with the problem before it worsens.

Hadejia Jama’are River Basin Development Authority blames residents for the floods

The Hadejia Jama’are River Basin Development Authority says it is aware of the problem.

When contacted, the authority’s spokesman, Salisu Baba Hamzat, said the area is the last part of their irrigation scheme.

“Our scheme went as far as Ɗanga, that is where it was terminated. But the people living around the area tampered with the scheme because it is at the tail end and water does not reach there before a recent repair we had.”

Hamzat added that the people took advantage of the work being done to vandalize it for personal gains, by removing the cements at the sides of the canals and slabs to use in their homes.

He accused the residents of using the large slabs for personal use, including bathing on them in their bathrooms.

“They caused this problem,” he concluded.

He said the vandalization of the canals made them almost disappear, thus aiding the water to overflow since it can no longer be contained.

The destroyed canals, he said, were created to take unused water by farms in its irrigation scheme back to the main river, and back to Tamburawa River to Ringim, Hadejia and Lake Chad.

He then advised residents of Kunshama to officially write to HJRBA and request the audience to discuss ways to permanently solve the problem.

KANO GOVERNMENT REACTS

Isma’il Garba Gwammaja, the Director Public Enlightenment, Kano State Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, said the ministry is not aware of the problem.

“I advise that they should write officially to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, as soon as they do that, our assessment team would be there to assess the cause of the water.”

He said the assessment team would also check if the area was a water passage route or if something else went wrong, including if the water ways was blocked.

Gwammaja added that aside from being called by this reporter, his ministry is not aware of the problem. But he said action would be taken swiftly as soon as the community officially notifies the ministry.

“Our assessment team would give the relevant advice, and then decide how best to handle the situation,” he assured.

“This investigation is supported by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, under its Promoting Democratic Governance in Nigeria Project.”

 

 

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My Encounter with Professor Nimah Modupe Abdulraheem

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*By AbdurRaheem Sa’ad Dembo*

There are encounters that are memorable and worthwhile; mine with Professor Nimah Modupe Abdulraheem was one. It was on 31st December, 2023 during the annual programme of Bayero University Kano Alumni Association, Ilorin Emirate chapter in Ilorin, where I eventually got to know her .I have heard her name on several occasions from friends who are also members of BUK Alumni but I never knew her by face or met her in person. She is currently the Dean, Faculty of Law, University of llorin.She is not just a professor but one with a rank like a General. She speaks fluently with ease and humility;one could not expect anything less from a professor of Law.

The event has began, all of a sudden Professor Modupe who was anchoring the programme asked me to come forward and recite Suratu-Wakeeha. I was astonished because I never prepared for it. I could remember the last time I read holy Quran publicly was in the 80s during one of the Maolud Nabiy at my family house, Isale Maliki in Ilorin.The Maolud was usually organized by my late father, Sheikh Sa’ad Imam Yero.May Allah bless his soul and grant him aljannah firdaus.

Similarly, when I was asked to receive my award, she specifically mentioned that I was the one that recited “Isaa wowo”(Suratu-Wakeeha) earlier. Sincerely it was not an ordinary day to me and it would remain as such.

What if she called me to the podium and I couldn’t recite Quran? -Ahuzu billahi, she probably decided to call me, because I was the one that was called to do the opening prayer at the event

I pray for my late parents every day but from that day I had to mount the frequency at which I pray for them. As parents don’t just send your children to Western schools only,teach them religion of Islam; because Islam is the connection between a believer and Allah.How does one connects with Allah? Certainly is through prayers, without knowing how to recite Quran;one cannot pray.

In conclusion, It is not an exaggeration if one opines that Professor Modupe is a lover of holy Quran and a firm believer in the miracle of the holy book; when I dig further into her family background I couldn’t get dismayed at all by her disposition. May Allah continue to bless her

abdurraheemsaaddembo@gmail.com

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