YET AGAIN, OVER TO YOU
RE: Nigeria at 50 Sagir Gezawa: What a mixed write-up! Emotional and pitiful for your friend and Nigeria, and humorous as usual! The closing paragraph was apt and succinct. S. Malami Bello: I was touched by the story of Tafida. Many of my classmates were affected by lack of Guidance and Counselling in those days […]
RE: Nigeria at 50
Sagir Gezawa: What a mixed write-up! Emotional and pitiful for your friend and Nigeria, and humorous as usual! The closing paragraph was apt and succinct.
S. Malami Bello: I was touched by the story of Tafida. Many of my classmates were affected by lack of Guidance and Counselling in those days and ended up with NCE’s that are unadvancable.
RE: Elegy for Ahmad Galadanci
A. Muhammad-Oumar: I’d like to add little to your elegy for Ahmad. I was Ahmad’s teacher at Kano State University of Science and Technology (KSUT), Wudil. I taught his 400 level class Theory and History of Architecture. The article you referred to that he pasted on his Facebook page was an assignment I gave his class. In order for them to fully understand the import of theory in Architecture I requested them to write a theory and history of themselves. Well, you saw what Ahmad wrote and from it no one is doubt about ‘ina yasa gaba’. Also what most people don’t know including Ahmad himself is that his paper on Theory & History of Architecture was the best.
Suraj Oyewale: I came across your elegy on Ahmad and found it very touching. I was forced to search for his Facebook profile after reading the piece and I got more information about his person. In fact Ahmad made a posting at 9.48am on that same day he died. It was touching. After exploring his Facebook stuff, I realized I have so many things in common with Ahmad, and in fact, I would have added him as friend on Facebook and gone the extra mile to reach him and speak with him as I have done to a few northern folks with passion for writing I have come across. It’s a great pity. But surely every one of us will surely return to his creator. May Allah admit Ahmad into al-jannah.
RE: Malaria
Abbati Dankanti Gumel: Thank you for the good write-up on the present day’s most wicked and murderous insect called mosquito, which spreads its infectious disease killing millions of people. You said a lot and I commend you for that; in particular, you advanced a lasting solution in the use of DDT in order to get rid of the mosquito malaria. I think the idea of recommending DDT would be an excellent measure in view of the experience we had in the 1990s in our local government in Jigawa State. In those days, the health officials of our local government, Gumel, used the outdoor chemical spray daily after Isha prayer, targeting the most notorious gutters, drainages, etc in the town. For a complete calendar year, there was no silly mosquito willing to come out and display its arrogance. People were happy and jubilating! Yes!
RE: Pilgrim
Abdullahi Jibrin: Yet again, you have written a brilliant piece. Despite the seriousness of the journey embarked, I still found some humour in it i.e. the story of the Missing Sandals and the referral to our Naija (hope Aunty Dora isn’t looking over my head). As for the Hiltonisation etc of the Prophet’s (SAW) mosque and surroundings, what I can say is that it is the effect of globalisation.
RE: High table
Is’haq Alhassan Qauran Mata: As usual, you have given me a reference material. A friend has been on my neck calling a whole me a coward for ‘living with only one wife in such a big house.’ Now I have an answer. If one-at-a-time is so obviously scared of ‘MAD AM’, despite throwing hidden punches, then who am I? My wise friends used to ask me ‘ina mai gidan?’ to her hearing, and they get served any special kept for me.
AND NOW, MY FIRST TERM IS OVER…
Four years ago, at the end of 2006 to be precise, the Elders of this newspaper met and decided that I was going to be the Consensus candidate to write this Saturday Column. These Elders had thought long and hard, I was made to understand, before they made their decision to invite me to pen the column. It is my hope that the Elders have not made a mistake by choosing me when they had several veterans around.
No matter. I am happy to announce that I have now completed my first term of four years. Kai! Time does fly! Actually I never thought I would last this long and be able to be true to myself and to my readers. But alhamdu lillah, I have kept faith with the assignment and have not failed even for one week to put something up on this page. It could be bland, it could be uninteresting, it could be a rehash of something someone had earlier penned; all the same, it was something. Alhamdu lillah!
Now that I have completed this term, it is over to you, readers, to decide whether I should go for a second term. I always thought one term would have sufficed to give vent to my ideas. But the time has flown, and perhaps I need more time to consolidate the gains of the first term. But if you decide that This Is It (ahem), I promise you one thing: if this is a boat, and it flounders, you flounder with it. The Captain will be saved!