RE: MAY ALLAH NEVER FORGET US
JEREMIAH OVEY ILIYA, ABUJA ([email protected]) May the ink never dry from your wealthy pen. It’s been a long time since I felt so emotional about a wonderful piece until you invoked that spirit once more. May Allah reward you always for the beautiful thought. I may not be your former student yet, but your story […]
JEREMIAH OVEY ILIYA, ABUJA ([email protected]) May the ink never dry from your wealthy pen. It’s been a long time since I felt so emotional about a wonderful piece until you invoked that spirit once more. May Allah reward you always for the beautiful thought. I may not be your former student yet, but your story about the family that forcibly stopped you on the highway just to appreciate your past deeds is indeed a sign that you have played your part well in imparting knowledge unto this generation. It’s unfortunate that many students tend to forget their teachers once they finish school, but just as you rightly said we are all humans and forgetfulness is an inherent characteristic in us as beings. Your kind rapport with your students also matters and that’s the more reason many of your former students will continue to stop you just to show their gratitude. May God continue to give you a kind heart to do more than this now and forevermore. Sometime I wish I can locate all my former teachers to thank them the same way, but it’s very difficult because we left them when GSM and the social media had not arrived. Therefore, we have no means of keeping contact. I have always prayed and wished to meet my former Headmistress at ERCC Nursery and Primary School Alushi, Akwanga, Nasarawa State, Mrs Margret I. Akinola. She left an indelible mark in my heart by making me what I am today. Her belief in me and support for me propelled me to greater heights, and I am very sure she will also be proud of me wherever she is today. I have not seen her again since 2002. This is indeed the kind of gesture we expect from teachers and students. An unforgettable bond is the mother of eternal greatness in the society. God bless you sir.
DR AMINATU A. ABDULRAHMAN, NATIONAL EYE CENTRE, KADUNA ([email protected]): Amin! Amin!! Amin!!! May Allah never forget us. It’s human nature to forget the good done to us by others, and to remember the bad things others do to us. It occurred to me this morning while I was making breakfast for my son – despite feeling a bit ill – that one should be especially kind to one’s children and students…because the future belongs to them…because we will need them to explain/navigate the complex things that will definitely come up…because they will be in charge when we come full circle… May Allah never forget us.
MUSLIHU AMINU PINDIGA ([email protected]): I shed emotional tears upon reading the Column, especially the lady-student story. Coincidentally, I experienced similar thing Monday 11/12/17 in the Gombe Federal Low-Cost Housing Estate. I was driving when I observed I was being stopped by two fellows in a similar car. I recognised neither. The passenger rushed to me, greeted and said “Mallam ba ka gane ni ba?” I confirmed that indeed I did not recognise him. It turned out he was my one-time student at Pilot Day Secondary School Gombe, and that I had influenced his life positively. He now has a garage for Peugeot repairs and, since I drive one, he insisted I should visit his garage whenever the need arose. That was his only reason for stopping me, and was sorry for that ‘inconvenience’ of having to stop me. Wallahi Sir, I shed many an emotional tear! This is the most a professional teacher would like to experience: impacting positively on the life of his students, automatically translating to societal development. Ma sha Allah for retiring as a teacher! Mallam Allah Ya kara albarka!
AND NOW THIS – SENATE ROUNDTABLE ON DRUG ABUSE EPIDEMIC IN NIGERIA: The Senate President is convening a Roundtable on Drug Abuse Epidemic in Nigeria in Kano this Monday and Tuesday. This is a welcome initiative and we thank our senior brother Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, Chief of Staff to the Senate President, for doing the needful. But before the arrival of the Senate President to Kano, permit us, Kano People, to ask Customs and the NDLEA some relevant questions: Where is that container of the drug Tramadol intercepted last month by a team of patriotic customs officers and which was destined for No. 3, Festing Road, Sabon Gari, Kano (<https://blueprint.ng/customs-seizes-container-of-illicit-drugs-declared-as-spare-parts/>)? Where is the trafficker who was arrested? Is it true he is walking free? Kano State Government, Kano State House of Assembly, Kano Emirate Council, Kano Forum, Council of Ulama, CSOs must all ask: Where is that container and where is the trafficker? In fact, has the Kano State Government Committee on Hard Drugs visited Number 3 Festing Road yet? Mr. Senate President, when you come to Kano Monday, help us ask – where are the drugs and where is the trafficker? And this is only about the November 2017 Container. And then we ask: Where is the July 2017 Container of Tramadol? The one trafficked by one Mr. Stanley Arinze of Anambra State (<https://www.straightfromnaija.com/man-arrested-with-tramadol-tablets-worth-n19200000/>). Where is Mr. Arinze and where is his container? And then we ask again: Where is the January 2016 Tramadol Container trafficked by Onuchukwu Benjamin Owulu and Igboanugo Vincent Tochukwu (<https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/two-pharmacists-in-ndlea-s-net-for-illegal-importation-of-controlled-drugs/130269.html>)? Kano must ask for the whereabouts of those Tramadol containers and their traffickers. So, as we welcome Senate Drug Roundtable to Kano, we need ‘Practicals’, not only ‘Theory’: WHERE ARE THOSE DRUGS AND WHERE ARE THE TRAFFICKERS!
AND THEN THIS: Very good news on the gas sector this week. It looks as if the decades-old dream of seeing piped gas this side of the country will come to reality soon. Have you read <https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/fec-approves-2-7bn-for-abuja-kaduna-kano-gas-pipeline.html>? If you haven’t, the summary is: “The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday approved the award of contract of over $2.7 billion to three consortiums that will complete the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline. This, according to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Ibe Kachikwu is to enhance movement of gas from the southern corridor to the north, increase power generation and enable utilization of gas up into the hinterlands.” Hurray! Kaduna and Kano and Zaria industrial clusters will now jump to life. But hold on. Has the gas pipeline reached Abuja yet? Has it left Warri? Has it reached Obajana and Itakpe and Ajaokuta and Geregu? Am I getting my geography all wrong? Is this not like “new train will go to Daura” before it reaches Kano (read below)?
AND THEN THE OTHER: Remember my rants on the ‘no movement on Kaduna-Kano modern rail line’? The one I advocated be started simultaneously with the Lagos-Ibadan line in order to create jobs both sides and also reward the massive votes this side of the country gave the ruling party? Did I tell you that some officials close to the Presidency privately assured me that the Principal is aware and that something will be done? Remember also that the Transportation Minister assured the Principal that the rail line, after passing through Kano, will ‘visit’ Daura and Jibiya and Katsina and Maradi? Do you remember we said that ‘assurer’ has no sense of our geography? Do you remember we reminded him that we can’t talk of train to Daura BEFORE it starts from Kaduna to Kano? You remember? Well, sorry, it seems you are the only ones who remember, for the Lagos-Ibadan end is soon to commence. It was delayed for almost a year because of a particular bridge at Jibowu in Lagos which the Chinese said must be removed before they start work. We screamed that, as we have no similar encumbrances on the Kaduna-Kano corridor, the Chinese should come here and start. But nobody listened. Meanwhile, Nigeria’s part-funding dollars are sitting pretty in some bank, accruing interest for…the TSA of course!