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‎By Comerade Bashir A Bashir
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‎As Associate Professor Sunusi Ahmad Yakubu prepares to conclude his tenure as the Provost of Kano State College of Education and Preliminary Studies (KCEPS), his remarkable journey stands as a shining example of leadership, vision, and tireless service to education in Kano State and beyond. Since assuming the mantle of leadership in 2017, Prof. Yakubu has steered the college through a new era of growth, reform, and recognition, turning KCEPS into a beacon of excellence.
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‎LAYING THE FOUNDATION: BUILDING ON THE LEGACY OF LEGENDS
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‎Upon his appointment by the former Executive Governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Prof. Sunusi Ahmad Yakubu was challenged to articulate his vision for the college. He responded with a strong commitment to consolidation—building upon the solid foundation laid by his predecessors, including revered names such as Malam Sa’eedu Gwarzo, Prof. Ibrahim Umar, Late Malam Abubakar Imam, Malam Abdulhamid Hassan, Malam Tijjani Ibrahim, AT Abdullahi, Sa’eedu Zakari of Garun Babba, Dr. Kabir (former Head of Service), and Prof. Sani Lawan Malumfashi, whom he succeeded.
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‎Guided by the vision to consolidate and expand, Prof. Yakubu initiated a robust process to reform the structure and academic framework of the institution. One of his most notable achievements was the transformation of the College’s name and legal framework from CAS to KCEPS. This institutional rebranding paved the way for the issuance of authentic and recognized NCE certificates, a milestone that had been long overdue.
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‎HISTORIC ACADEMIC AND INFRASTRUCTURAL ADVANCEMENTS
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‎A key focus of Prof. Yakubu’s leadership has been addressing long-standing gaps in the college’s academic and administrative systems. For the first time in its history since its founding in 1972, major legal, academic, and infrastructural reforms were actualized. These included the introduction of a dual deputy provost structure—Deputy Provost for NCE and Deputy Provost for CEC—to ensure efficient governance and specialization.
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‎Through his leadership, KCEPS attracted massive support from TETFund, resulting in the construction of new, modern buildings and facilities. These interventions broke a long-standing stagnation that saw the college fall behind despite having produced distinguished alumni such as former Kano State Governor Sen. Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya, former Speaker of the House of Representatives Rt. Hon. Ghali Umar Na’abba, former Jigawa Governor Ali Sa’adu Birnin Kudu, and the Former DSS Director General Magaji Bichi, among others.
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‎HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT: INVESTING IN STAFF AND STUDENTS
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‎Prof. Yakubu’s leadership was not only about infrastructure—it was deeply rooted in human development. He prioritized the advancement of lecturers and academic staff, facilitating overseas and local training opportunities. Today, many lecturers have earned advanced degrees, with over 50 benefiting from scholarships and study grants.
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‎Lecturers pursuing master’s degrees now receive between ₦1.2 million to ₦1.5 million, while those studying for PhDs receive as much as ₦4.5 million—an unprecedented development in the college’s history. Additionally, over 50 lecturers have participated in local and international conferences, including training programs at ASCON in Lagos, helping to enhance their academic and administrative capacity.
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‎The Train the Trainer program has sent staff abroad, including to the United States, to acquire global best practices in education.
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‎DIGITAL REVOLUTION AND COMMUNITY EXPANSION
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‎Under his watch, KCEPS embraced technological advancement with the introduction of e-learning facilities that allow students to access academic materials and lectures online. Furthermore, he spearheaded the creation of an Annex Campus, expanding the college’s outreach and presence within the state.
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‎Understanding the challenges rural students face, Prof. Yakubu secured Amana College in Kunchi Now (Ghari College of Education) as a study center, where over 100 students where then enrolled in NCE Programs. Furthermore The college then operates hostels that accommodate more than 360 students, creating an inclusive and accessible learning environment.
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‎EMPOWERING YOUTHS AND SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY
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‎Recognizing the changing dynamics of youth interest and the increasing cost of living, Prof. Yakubu initiated vocational training programs, including weekend tailoring classes for students without formal education. These programs aim to empower youth with practical skills to support themselves economically. Discussions are underway with the Kano State Government and local authorities to scale up these initiatives.
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‎Importantly, his administration also ushered in the Association of Students Union—a structure that has strengthened student representation and engagement across the college.
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‎A CHAMPION OF SOCIAL JUSTICE
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‎True to his roots in activism and social development, Prof. Sunusi Ahmad Yakubu has been a strong ally of student leaders and comrades. He has provided scholarships to many orphaned youths and financially disadvantaged students, enabling them to achieve their dreams of formal education. His door has remained open to those in need, reflecting his belief in education as a right, not a privilege.
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‎A LEADER DEPARTING WITH HONOR
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‎As his tenure comes to an end, Associate Professor Sunusi Ahmad Yakubu leaves behind a legacy of transformation, compassion, and service. He didn’t just lead KCEPS—he elevated it. Through vision, integrity, and a commitment to justice, he has written a bold chapter in the history of education in Kano State.
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‎The second part of this compelling conversation with the outgoing Provost is on the way—stay tuned.
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‎Indeed, heroes don’t only lead; they inspire generations.
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‎By: Comerade Bashir A Bashir
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By Alhassan Bala

Waking up and walking through the length and breadth in this part of the world leaves me with a feeling and understanding that Central and Eastern Europe are the most misunderstood part of Europe arising from a lot of misconceptions and misunderstanding. And these are majorly due to some factors associated with misinformation/disinformation and more importantly the African countries’ bad history and experience of colonialism by some European countries.

To set the record straight, countries like Czechia, Poland, Ukraine, Slovakia, Latvia etc did not colonize any African country. What many did not know was these countries were colonized by Russia and also occupied by Germany, Austria and Hungarian empires.

Czechia with pride

Proudly donning my Hausa native dressing, I visited the Central European country, Czechia, which is popularly known as Czech Republic.

I was among the 11 Journalists from 8 African countries that attended the 20th Global Security Forum 2025 in Prague, Czechia capital. I was surprised how I was respected, loved because of the way I dressed. After meeting Czechian president, Petr Pavel, one of the foreign ministry officials told me that some of the presidential officials had actually admired my dressing and they loved it.

I could remember what Czehian foreign ministry staff, Nick Ojo Omorodion, and Katerina Zykova told me to maintain my Hausa dressing because it looks good on me.

I spent four good days in Prague, the day I was leaving Prague for Warsaw I wore English. However, the Czechia foreign ministry staff were not happy that I wore a shirt and trousers. But I told them because I had two bags so I needed to be free for walking.

Before I traveled to Poland all I could see about Poland in social media had to do with racism, although I have had the opportunity to relate with a Polish woman, named Agnieszka, who I can say, is among the nicest Europeans I ever met. She also supported me with advice and also was always readily available to provide positive suggestions and ideas.

Fond Poland experiences

This northern Nigerian journalist, Alhassan continues to wear his Hausa attires on his first day in Warsaw. To my utter surprise however, the Polish were so happy with the Hausa dressing. They spoke well about Hausa people that ever lived in Warsaw and also said they dress the way I dressed and they loved it. I was informed about the department that teaches Hausa language in the University of Warsaw, which I planned to pay a visit to, but unfortunately, they were on holiday.

Among the people that loved my dressing well in Poland was Marcin Grodzki, who also told me never to wear English as the way I dressed (English) wasn’t nice and beautiful. Other staff of the Polish foreign ministry admired the Hausa dressing as well. It surprised them when I said aside being a fact-checker and a journalist, I am also a trained Hausa teacher who has been teaching Europeans, Americans and even some Nigerians Hausa language, because I studied Hausa/Islamic studies in FCT College of Education, Zuba before I proceeded to the University of Abuja.

We visited another city in Poland, the name of which remains sketchy in my mind, for a concert. Some natives stopped me and we had a discussion in English. They even collected my number just because of their love for the Hausa dressing.

The deep discussion we had between Marcin, Nick, Kayode and myself, which later Marcin met me and said “Alhassan, I really love the kind of person you are and I love how you love your culture.”

I met a professor at Warsaw School of Economics with a Hausa native cap. It is a kind of cap that my late father always wore. We snapped pictures. In fact he did a selfie with me.

I really appreciate the love for Hausa attire in Poland because an incident happened in a plane from Warsaw to the airport close to the Ukraine border with Poland. A Czechian that sat with me saw my picture with native attire and told me to continue wearing native not shirt and trousers. I even showed him my picture dressed in a suit and he said “I preferred the native dressing.” I really love the discussion with him because I heard a lot not from government officials but ordinary people as well.

Ukraine of all places!

Due to the attack that happened the day before we arrived in Ukraine and based on our itinerary, coupled with fact that I left one of my bags in Warsaw, these factors convinced me to wear English for some days.

The whole number of days I stayed in Lviv I was in shirt and trousers due to my understanding as a journalist that in case of an emergency to run, it will be easier!

But in Kyiv I wore native and it was admired by local Ukrainians and officials despite the situation they find themselves in, of possible attacks, trauma of the sirens which is still on my head.

Some Ukrainian locals snapped pictures with me, while in the foreign ministry, an official specifically asked for an official picture with me because of my native attire. He told me that he loves them, as he always sees them in pictures.

I met Crimean Tatars which are Muslims and they love the dressing and also upon learning that I am a Muslim the connection became closer, that was when I chatted with them and they told me how Russia is prosecuting their brothers and sisters in the occupied Crimea.

The two Crimean Tatars which I met without the knowledge of Ukrainian officials didn’t even know I was a journalist until after we finished discussion and what they told me made me understand that as a Muslim most of us don’t know the situation our other Muslim brothers are facing in the hands of Russia. They are in a dire situation under the Russians.

At an event in Kyiv Australian ambassador to Ukraine and Argentinian ambassador to Ukraine that both served in Nigeria. They recognized me because of my dressing and also take pictures with me.

The Argentinian ambassador even mentioned Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II of Kano. She described him as very intelligent person, she said she really love the Hawan Sallah, she asked me about the recognition of Hawan Daushe by UNESCO. She was happy seeing me well-dressed in Hausa attire.

Cummulatively, my experience in these Central and Eastern European countries taught me that unlike what is being conveyed to us, some of which I cannot say all because there is no way everyone will love you. Yet, they love our African dressing and cultures. They are also people that deep inside them love culture as I see in one event called Mazowsze in Poland. It therefore behoves on every Hausa-speaking individual heading to some of these oversea countries to feel free and be proud of his native dressing. That is just what they crave and value the most.

Bala is a Founder/Editor Alkalanci, a fact-checking and media literacy platform

By Habib Sani Galadima

In 2021, I attended the wedding dinner of my friend Jamilu Ibrahim Lawan. I was seated close to the front, on a white plastic chair wrapped in gold fabric. Before me, the table was neatly set: a plate of Jollof rice, definitely not Nigerian, soft meat, and chilled drinks.

Then the emcee began his greeting: “Malam Alhaji Dr. Musa, Hajiya Barrister Halima, distinguished guests…” The crowd responded with approving nods. The roll call was not mere protocol. It was a performance of hierarchy, identity, and cultural choreography; compressed into names.

Last week, I was at another gathering with my brother. We both wore beads, but his was longer and more ornate. I casually called him by his marketplace nickname “Ustaz”. Minutes later, someone suggested he should lead the zuhr prayer. I cannot say the title alone earned him that role, but I am certain it tipped the scale. In Hausa society, a name does not just identify, it calibrates power. Every title is weighed by a specific cultural logic.

Whether it is ‘Malam’, ‘Alhaji’, ‘Ustaz’, ‘Engineer’, or ‘Sarki’, each one signals something; scholarship, pilgrimage, class, inheritance, or even self-promotion. To outsiders, they may sound interchangeable. To insiders, they map power, piety, education, and ambition.

Understanding Hausa titles is not about translating words. It is about interpreting what they signify, how they command trust, confer legitimacy, or inflate status.
Ask a Hausa child who taught them how to read Qur’an, and the answer is often the same: “Malam.” But today, that word travels far beyond the Tsangaya.

Originally from the Arabic ‘mu’allim’, meaning teacher, ‘Malam’ once marked someone rooted in Islamic knowledge, versed in tafsir, guardians of moral clarity, respected in both mosque and marketplace. A ‘Malam’ was more than a scholar. He was a compass.
Now the title is elastic. It applies to schoolteachers, lecturers, civil servants, even radio presenters with confident diction. In classrooms, it confers authority. In markets, it softens tone. Sometimes it is just what you call a man whose name you do not know. And on social media, Malam can shift from respect to ridicule, used to mock someone who parades borrowed wisdom.

This stretch reflects Hausa society’s deep reverence for learning, but also its evolving standards for what counts as knowledge. Malam no longer guarantees scholarship. It signals the appearance of learning, genuine or not.

Still, the word carries weight. It opens doors, commands silence, curates tone. Whether whispered by students or shouted from campaign stages, Malam remains a title that balances between reverence and performance. Between earned wisdom and social display.

Once upon a time, calling someone ‘Alhaji’ or ‘Malam’ was enough. Today, it is Alhaji Engr. (Dr.) Chief Sani, and the wedding card has not even listed his full name yet.
Across Northern Nigeria, title stacking has become a performance of prestige. What began as distinct acknowledgments of religious devotion (Alhaji), scholarly authority (Malam), or traditional office (Waziri, Sarki or Galadima) now mingle with Western academic and professional badges like Pharm., Barr., or Engr. One name carries five honorifics.

How did we go from single titles to full-length prefixes? The answer lies in both competition and code-switching. In a society where jobs are scarce and respect is fiercely guarded, titles become symbolic currency. They signal arrival. They fend off dismissal. A stacked name becomes shorthand for success, even when its credentials are uneven.

But it is more than vanity. Hausa speakers navigate overlapping systems of esteem; Islamic virtue, traditional nobility, colonial bureaucracy, and global credentialism. The title stack tries to contain them all: faith, lineage, modernity, merit, compressed into one string of prefixes.

The cost is semantic overload. At some point, ‘Dr. Alhaji Barr.’ says less about your knowledge than about your insecurity. It clutters public introductions and invites satire, as comedians mimic “Comrade Chief (Dr.) Honourable Mallam Digital Strategist…” to lampoon inflated self-worth.

Still, the inflation persists. Because in a culture where ‘girmamawa’ is armor, each new prefix feels like one more layer of protection.

In Hausa culture, titles matter. But girmamawa (respect) runs deeper.
An old man in a village, never called Alhaji or Malam, may command more silence in a gathering than someone with ten honorifics. Why? Because Hausa society has always known the difference between a name and a reputation.

Titles like Dr., Hajiya, Malam, or Waziri can open doors. They invite polite speech, they soften refusals, they protect ego. But respect is built slowly: through action, humility, and how one treats others when no one is watching.

People admire the man who settles disputes without shouting. The woman who feeds orphans without posting about it. The trader whose word is stronger than a receipt. These are the quiet architects of girmamawa.

The tension is real. A person can be called ‘Alhaji Barrister’ and still be mocked behind their back if they abuse power. On the other hand, someone with no title might be described as ‘mutumin kirki’ (a person of upright character) and be trusted with community secrets or village leadership.

Hausa proverbs capture this wisdom. One says, “A bin da ya fi ado, shi ne hali”, meaning, (character is greater than decoration).

The lesson is simple: titles may impress, but they cannot replace trust.