LOSING EYE SIGHT IS A TERRIFYING PROSPECT

                   

When last did you have a medical check up? Or to be precise and relate the question to the above topic, when last did you have an eye test? I trust many of us have never undertaken any in the last one or even two decades and many more of us have never at all. Ok, here is the thing:

Very early this year, one of my friends was hit with a tennis ball on his right eye during one of our evening trainings. Quite a platitude for this accident to happen during Fives trainings. But I tell you, it is not a good experience for one to find him self in this position as it is always very discomforting. To moderate the pain by making it easier to bear one is expected not to touch or wipe away the impending tears from the effected eye but to bear the pain to subside for about 30 minutes to an hour. If this is observed, then you are good for tomorrow’s game otherwise you will have to bear the consequences of not applying those palliative measures. As I write this piece, I feel sorry for my friend who is now confined to his house and in complete darkness for not showing restrain and adherence to the basics.

Barely 3 months ago, I had to go for eye test on the advice from many of my friends who noticed that at my age and with the way I use the screens I still do not use medicated eye glasses. This, they were pleasantly surprised.  You see, I have been on computers for more than a decade now and had my first machine in 2005. I have never been so glued to the computers like I was in the last 10 months putting in the average 5+ hours each day. When I am not looking at my screen designs I am typing letters or engaged on these social sites surrounding me on all sides constantly refocusing and repositioning my eyes on different text at different distances which always leave my eyes very tired by the end of the day. I didn’t realise this was having a great devastating effect on my eyes. The tests results indicate that I had to go for reading and travelling glasses. That was not any surprise to me as I was expecting that, in fact, I had already in mind the type of frame I would use for the glasses even before I went to the clinic. But the surprising aspect of the results was the fact that the Ophthalmologist indicated that he had noticed an ailment with my central vision which requires a more sophisticated equipment to diagnose. Sophisticated what? I quarried almost immediately. It is a certain thing I noticed within the retina that … That what?  I quickly interjected him again. In annoyance but professionally he told me that ‘the central vision helps you to see details, colours and shapes with clarity and all actions for the central vision take place in a spot on the retina called the macula which is one of the areas to weaken as we grow in age. The statement made my ‘body weak’. You mean I am going blind? I asked, rhetorically. He didn’t answer and I left the clinic without even collecting the referral. I was dumbfounded, totally confused and began to wonder in consternation. It is apparent that my left eye is defective since I could not even read the alphabets at the clinic with my right eye closed. As I drove out of the vicinity and to convince my self of my predicament  I would closed my left eye to see with the right eye and vice versa but each time I did so the difference became so glaring, so clear (7up), just like chalk and cheese.

The following morning I drove to Makka Medina Eye Hospital Kano where my left eye was diagnosed to have about 40% devastated by glaucoma. The Chief Consultant congratulated me for coming to the hospital. He said further delay could have escalated the problem and that would have caused me the whole eye and eventually it will go on to the right eye and within a short time I will be rendered blind. I would have become just like my friend who did not realise glaucoma had consumed his eyes and with the tennis ball accident he is now a complete blind man.

The import of this rhapsody is to strike awareness and to ensure that we attend medical check regularly. I know none of us has ever thought about the possibility of going blind but the chances are very high now as statistics on blindness in Nigeria stated that 41 out of every 100 Nigerian adults over 40 years have a sight impediment while 41 out of every 1000 are completely blind. It also stated that 1 out of 3 of these blindness cases are caused by avoidable conditions like cataract and glaucoma. It is therefore advisable for us to visit an eye clinic to determine how healthy our eyes are to avoid being in my position and that of my friend. More elementary, DO THIS NOW: cover your right eye with your hand to see how bad your left eye has really gone. Do the same for the other eye and that will determine if you really need to see an ophalmologist.

IN SUPPORT OF PROFESSIONALISM

                                   

More than two decades ago an interesting episode took place at the GRA Katsina where the owner of one beautiful house, in fact it was the best constructed house in Katsina then, both in terms of the architectural designs and the serene environment on which the house was constructed complained to my brother how the landscape of the house was a source of concern to him. He told my brother how he wasted so much money and time on landscaping the house but to no avail. He was advised by one Julius Berger expatriate staff to see my brother for technical advice. His grouse was that on three occasions he planted different exotic flowers to beautify his house and for the same occasions the flowers were destroyed by yet to know who. The following morning he would ask the top soil of the whole area to be removed and new one brought in and another set of followers would be planted and this continued for about six months or more. My brother then set out for a reconnaissance of the area to determine how the work would start. After about 30 minutes in the area he did not see anything unusual that will prevent flowers and other plants from growing. He then thought of taking sample of the soil to test its quality and determine if it is good for landscaping purposes but after packing some quantities he noticed some dead black insects and decided to take both the sand and dead insects along. The following morning he drove to Bayero University Kano where he went to the botanical laboratory of the University to have the soil test. Meanwhile, as the soil test was going on he decided to go to the library with the dead insects and after about 30 minutes on an insect’s encyclopaedia he found out the name of the insect and immediately formed an impression that it was the insects that were responsible for the destruction of the flowers. He further found out that the insects stay right inside the ground about 18 inches from the top soil but only come out at midnight and would eat up the flowers for about one hour then return back to their base and they would return the following night to eat up what was left. After getting this information he left the botanical garden without even minding the results of the soil test. Immediately he came back to the house he asked the labourers around to start to dig through the soil profile into about 20 inches deep and in the course of that they met several hundreds of dead insects until they finally met hundreds of the live insects living in cluster and unionism. Insecticide and insectifuge were immediately applied to kill the insects and after about two days new sand was brought in to fill all the trenches made after removing all the fossils and residues of the insects. The result of that professionalism is the lush green flowers you always see when ever you go to Alhaji Labo Tarka’s house near the Commissioner of Police’s house at the GRA.

I think professionalism is not just being good at what you do but it has a lot to do with how you do it and the result you get from that. If you want to be successful in your business or any chosen career you will have to get used to being a professional. In which case you must have passed through some level of education and in the course of that have acquired some certification. One of the greatest problems we encounter these days is the fact that we have more pseudo professionals (gyara samun sa’a) in our midst than the actual professionals.  We have them as teachers, nurses, contractors, mechanics and others that you will not even know until you require their services. In order to move our state forward in this time of Internet technology we surely need professionals in teaching (forget the debate whether teaching is a profession or not), nurses, architects, Surveyors, builders (not of Idi Kwado’s brand) to propel us to break the glass ceiling.

THE RE-USE OF GRAVES AND THE NEED FOR CEMETERY MANAGEMENT IN KATSINA

                    

I had to tarry from concluding the rhapsody on APC with the title ‘Reincarnation of the black sheep’ I started and was supposed to be on net since the last two weeks  to enable me pass one or two comments on the above stated topic. I have always wanted to write on this issue long time ago but for one reason or the other I was not able to do so. The opportunity came last week Friday after attending the burial of one Assistant Director of Immigration but then the Ramadan schedules started to take toll on me and I became rusty. The urge to write rekindled yesterday when I was at the same Gidan Dawa Cemetery at the instance of one of my friends whose wife died and was buried at the grave yard at about 3pm, thursday afternoon.

I was in the company of about 4 people waiting for the corpse to be interred, some grave yard discussions ensued. I always hated discussions during interment but sometimes you can’t help being drag in to it. One elderly person at the site was a loquacious but seemed knowledgeable opined that cemeteries are grossly inadequate in Katsina but he was swiftly interjected by one other person near me who I later found to be a very senior land officer from the Ministry of lands. He gave us a complete run down of the grave yards in the city and we all agreed that the number of the grave yards in the city is sufficient even with the high frequency of death.  Another person nearby sounded so sarcastic suggested that the frequency at which people die in Katsina is occasioned by PDP maladministration that subject the citizenry into abject poverty. No medicines in our hospitals despite the lies that have been going round on certain category of people receiving free medicines, no portable drinking water, no food, no nothing! But I was not interested in those PDP escapades as the internment was rounded up with individual prayers for the repose of the dead and for the bereaved the fortitude to bear the loss. We went out of the cemetery just like we came in, minding our steps so as not to put your feet on certain graves. This is so because the graves are jam parked and clustered together. There is no any form of planning as graves are dug according to the availability of the space. Most of the times bereaved families spend a large chunk of time looking for available space to bury their dead. This is even more difficult if you have to bury a corpse in the night. My aunt died about two weeks ago as we were about to break our fast but for reasons best known to my uncles we had to bury her that night.  We therefore trooped to the new Dantakum grave yard at about 9 pm with more than half of us holding different types of  lamps and torch lights of different shapes and sizes  and of course of different illuminations. We really had a difficult time as we had to go with virtually everything and most important we spent considerable amount of time fretting for a space to dig the grave because it is not just readily available. This is not good enough.

As it is now, the 3 major cemeteries in the city namely Danmarna, Dantakum and the new Dantakuma near the general hospital are full to the brim as such new ones must be opened and in order to have organised cemeteries the following measures must be put into consideration:  A Cemetery management committee be set by the State government and be charged with the responsibility of managing the grave yards we have all over the state or local government as the case may be. The employment of skilled labourers for the preparation of graves this is not only to ensure that graves are dug in the correct location and at the correct shapes and depth, but also to relieve bereaved family of having to dig the grave for a recently dead relative. The new cemetery must be designed in such a way that even motor vehicle could pass through the grave yard without marching the graves and footpaths properly delineated. The graves are to be designed in such an order that will portray planning and orderliness, a systematic layout of graves in rows so that in the event that it is full we can start from the beginning and re- use the graves without the fear of having to come through fresh one.  Some facilities such as bore wells, pails and buckets, some digging implements, flood lights, cemetery registers must be provided. I think the onus now lies with the State Government to let us have this one. Let this one be a legacy the PDP will bequeath to us.

WHAT MANNER OF REPRESENTATION…

It was on the 29th of May 1999 when democratic rule was restored in the country after several years of military interruptions. The 1999 constitution ensures the political orientation of those who favor government by the people or by their elected representatives; it is the political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them. The onus therefore lies with the electorates to elect and be the watchdog of their respective representatives, the representatives on their own part are required to serve the people honestly, conscientiously and loyally. The people hold the voting power to decide whether or not a member should be returned after the first four years. Unreasonable, stingy, unproductive and negative members should know that they may not serve for more than a term in the legislature. A lot will depend on his positive contribution on the floor of the house and what he is able to do for his constituency in terms of developmental programmes and other dividends of democracy. In Katsina state, from 1999 to date we have had several representatives from across the spectrum of the popular political parties and I think each of these parties have had a fair share of these representatives in the state house of assembly and the Federal seats. In all these representations it is instructive to acknowledge that while some have proven their mettle to be first among equals others are/ were mere bench warmers. It is on record that one of our representatives was made the Speaker of the house of representatives, two others were majority leaders at the senate at different times, several were made and are still Chairmen of most powerful committees in both the Senate and the House of representatives and at a time one of our representatives was a minority leader at the red chambers.. This is a feat that I don’t think there is any state in the country that has marched these credentials. But it is sad to note that the majority of our representatives in all the avenues of legislation i.e the state house of assembly, the House of Representatives and the Senate amount to naught. Wallahi, some of them have no business being there! At one time, one of our representatives at the Senate was adjudged to be the worst senator as he had never contributed to any debate for 4 years. I will not be surprised if many of our representatives do not know their powers, functions and as well as their limitations as enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Surely this is not good enough. It is imperative to point out that our representatives should resist the temptation of being parochial, seeing themselves only as representing small, individual constituencies. While it is true that every member has been elected to represent a constituency, he should put the interests of the entire state and the country above everything else. After all, laws made through legislation are applicable to all members and not restricted to a particular person or constituency. It is therefore necessary to draw a line between being a member, reps or senator and being a member of a political party. While partisan political party interests will remain with all members, yet such interests must not be allowed to override state and national interests. In a democratic, multi –party system as we are operating now, it is only natural that one candidate will win while others have to lose the race for various elective offices but once elected, the successful candidate should be magnanimous and be less partisan in his approach to official matters. It is against this background that I always have a hard feeling against some of our representatives who are in the habit of buying all sort of things ranging from vehicles to food stuffs to a section of the electorates and in most cases the beneficiaries cannot even maintain these vehicles to even fuel them is a herculean task and in the end they sell them at a take away prize. To my mind, this approach to say the least is shabby because I think by this time we should be looking beyond individuals, we should rise above hate and do things to the Glory of the Lord and the generality of the people, that is the way to greatness and prosperity. But if you look at it from another angle these members are 100% better than those who don’t give a hoot to the flight of the electorates, whenever they are in town nobody sees them. They hide themselves in the clubs, where you need to be a member before you can get access inside, membership there goes up to N100K. We are lucky our member does not own a house in Kaduna otherwise he would have relocated but just give him one year in office and see what is going to happen. You see, that is what they always do, they have two houses one in Abuja and other in Kaduna, they come to Kaduna for weekend and Tuesday the following week they in Abuja for usual EEYS or NAYS. The case of one representative is even more poignant, he too distributed motorcycles in his own town but what made his case laughable is the fact that he gave money to people from his own local government area and forgot the other two local government areas that made up the rest of his constituency but you know what? The money he distributed was in form of a loan, can you just imagine, LOAN. This learned representative is not aware of one of the fundamental principles of the CPC as a party is to free the masses from oppression by the ruling class, in all its manifestations. In essence what this portends is a great danger because as long as you cannot meet up the deadline for the payment your means of livelihood (your farm) is taken away from you. What manner of a representation? The People Democratic Party has made nonsense of our body politics to the extent that elected representatives must recoup the money they used during electioneering campaigns when they find themselves in office and this attitude seriously mar the progress of many communities. But we are very lucky here in Katsina as our representatives from the CPC block did not spend much to warrant any recouping, this is more than one year they are in office so even if they had, they must have recouped it by now. The remaining 3 years is for us: so we should see some dividends of democracy in all the constituencies these representatives come from. We don’t want perishables we want to see monuments and edifices; we don’t want your money we want to see structures. We don’t want you to sponsor any Tafsir during Ramadaan period but use that money to buy medicines in our hospitals. We don’t want any rice or sugar during Ramadaan we want you to create an enabling environment for our youth to break up the glass ceiling. I think we have the right to tell you what we need as all of you now owe. You all rode on the mighty shoulders of GMB to be where you are now as such we should dictate to you what we really want. We were there during the campaigns, you did not spend much, we saw what happened, we campaigned for you and we were there!!! But I think you have enough time to make a difference in our lives by complementing the seemingly little efforts of the state government. I was told that some of you would like to aspire for bigger positions; well, there is nothing wrong with that provided you wake up from your slumber. Let us see more of you on the floors of your respective assemblies, sponsor bills that have bearing with up- grading of our socio- economic status. Let us see more community based programmes in all your constituencies executed by your humble selves, then we would know that you are ready to accept more responsibilities. Allah shi taimaka. To us the electorates, my sincere advise is that we should rise above primordial sentiments if we want to progress as a people and as a state. We should collectively come together and come out with quality representatives. People who are ready to serve our cause, when they are talking in any forum you will be satisfied and say, yes! that is my representative. Not the type of deaf and dumb representatives we see lurking around our State and National Assemblies.

CPC CRISIS: ABRIDGED VERSION

Having read the various representations from respective members of this great group, I became more convinced that history has always been pregnant with some measures of uncertainties. If written hastily some degree of inconsistencies are likely to emerge and if it is left unwritten for a long time the degree of inconsistencies become greater. In order to keep the level of inconsistencies to the barest minimal I urge the students of political history amongst us to take up the gauntlet. This will enable our posterity have a balanced literature to fall back on whenever the political history of Katsina is brought to fore. From the discussions two issues were highlighted; the issue of imposition and the issue of antiparty. But if we are to respect history, the issue of imposition does not even arise. This is because in the first place a primary election took place on the 13th that produced a winner and was recognized by the Party headquarters but for one reason or the other, the other side contested, which is ok in any democratic setting. But what is not ok was for them to concoct another election because they have the backing of the state branch. I think that was the threshold of the crisis. But having gone through the process of litigation up to the highest federal court which has jurisdiction over all courts in the nation - the Supreme Court, the ideal thing for any sensible person to do was to respect the outcome of the court’s ruling but that was not to be so as the local branch of the party had other ideas. What became clear was the way the local branch took side with Yakubu Lado in total disregard to the party’s extant rules and procedures even at the determination of the case by the Apex court. This unbridgeable disparity was responsible for much talked antiparty spearheaded by the local CPC branch. To those of us who are conversant with the political history of Katsina state knew exactly what happened in 2007 governorship primary elections in the ANPP. Few days to the elections a clear cut aspirant was not determined by the ANPP, the party where GMB contested the presidential elections. An almost similar scenario with what happened during the CPC governorship primaries of 2011. The case was between Alhaji Abu Ibrahim and Mallam Nura Khaliel; the imbroglio took its toll on the party which led to its defeat by its arch enemy, the PDP. And what was a common phenomenon between both situations (2007 and 2011) gubernatorial party primaries was the presence of the chairman of the party and his cohorts. It is instructive to point out that in 2007; Masari, Mustapa, Saddiq and others from the PDP Reform were not there, infact, not even the PDP because it was solely ANPP affair. Yet, they were either unable or unwilling to come out with an acceptable candidate. They debilitated, they wasted time, they compromised? History repeating itself you can say! Now, is it fair for us to say that it was the chairman and his cohorts that deliberately scuttled the 2007 and 2011 party primaries and by extension denied the state of a purposeful leadership? Is it fair for us to say they were the contractor politicians as already insinuated by many people? Now, this brings me to the issue of antiparty activities. Since the Apex court’s ruling did not favour the local branch, the chairman and his cohorts decided to pitch their tent with the ruling party and I think this answers my second poser above. As I tried to prove in my piece that the much talked antiparty was not responsible for PDP’s Pyrrhic victory, the only thing the antiparty did was to serve as an alibi. At that time, HE the governor was so desperate to the extent even a seven year old child could be of help to him but if he knew his PDP’s rigging machine could work so effectively he wouldn’t have asked for anybody’s assistance. Knowing how our man is, he wouldn’t like to part with a dime. But seeing how the enormous wealth splashed on the people of Katsina during the parliamentary seats elections that amounted to naught he had no option than to hold anything tight even if it is a very sharp sword because he was drowning. He knew he needed more than money to be able to win the governorship elections no matter who was the candidate because it already dawned on him that he was up against the might of GMB and not any CPC candidate parse. Cases abound indicate where CPC did not present candidates for elections yet the party won overwhelmingly. It is not about who was the candidate but it was all about ‘ta buhari’ or ‘mai alkalami’ as prospective voters would say and not minding whether it was Lado or Masari all they were after was ‘sai mai gaskiya’. As any politician within the confines of CPC has to climb on the shoulders of GMB to become what he is today but if anybody feels the general has outlived his usefulness in the party then that person should think again or better still he can leave the party and join another one, this my reaction to those who feel the general should leave the party for some young Turks. In the end I will like to appeal to the national headquarters to reconsider its stand on those expelled members. If really they can show some remorse I see no reason why they shouldn’t be absorb again. The fight against the PDP is an enormous one; all hands must be on deck to see that we drive the monster out. So help us God!

CPC CRISIS IN KATSINA: AN OPEN LETTER TO DISTINGUISHED SENATOR AHMED SANI STORES AKA ‘MAIGEMU’

Dear Distinguished Senator, I should have written this letter to you long time ago but for one reason or the other I decided to tarry a while. But with the recent development and its aftermaths within the CPC in Katsina which relates to your explosion from the party together with six others, I think the procrastination has become a blessing in disguise. You will wonder why I decided to make this letter open on Facebook and specifically on KT Discussion group and Progress and Development Initiative Katsina. Well, it is because I feel there are certain people within these folds who are likely to share my views on what I intend to say to you and will surely add value on the subject and of course they may be some who will oppose and together we will engender a good discourse that will enable you accept my preposition or not. Albeit I haven’t seen your traces on facebook or any of the social network sites for that matter but am sure the message will reach you within a short time and may be that will encourage you to open up an account. I bet you won’t regret doing it as it will make you link up with former school mates, class mates and other friends you have not seen for some time. Ok, let us go; The crisis: As everyone now knows, there is none among the political parties in the country that is not going through one form of crisis or another. We have heard of suspensions and expulsions in almost all the parties in the country. It is a fact that certain party members that have not succeeded in getting elected or appointed into public offices become disgruntled and are subverting their colleagues and parties, others are simply jealous somebody else and not themselves that is so and so. Unenlightened and unsportsmanlike as this may be, it is a fact that such situations exist in almost all the parties. It is, therefore, not strange that the CPC, like any other political party is having its own share of internal crisis. The crisis in Katsina has polarized the party into two distinct camps i.e. Masari and Lado camps, this you are quite aware of and since then a lot has been said about the supremacy as well as the right of the party to discipline its erring members because any party that lacks built- in mechanism of discipline is destined to fail. The higher interest of the party must override those of its individual members no matter how highly placed they may be. It is undoubtedly part of party discipline that the extant rules, regulations and procedures of the party are complied with by all members. The crisis of CPC in Katsina is a great design of hypocrisy, insincerity and a diabolical plan to entrench sycophancy, nepotism and to further the move to link the party with its arch enemy- the PDP. This fact you may not be aware of: We may not have seen the end of the crisis because I understand that you and the other expelled members have sworn not to abide by the party’s directive and this brings me to the import of this letter to you. You see, Distinguished Sen, since when I learnt you are back in Nigeria and you decided to join politics I was overwhelmed with joy especially when I learnt you are joining the progressive train of the CPC. But when I learnt you are in the same sinking boat with the dissidents my heart became ‘black’. Infact that was the first time I contemplated writing this letter. This is because you don’t actually belong to that camp. I watched your campaigns from afar as we are in different sites but each time I saw in you a bulging young Politian, I saw bright future, I saw hope in you because that is what you actually represent, unfortunately, you allowed yourself to be used by those who don’t have sympathy for our future. These are people who are self centered, who are only concerned in what they can get not what they are ready to do for the people. But Alhamdulillah, we are vindicated as the greatest beneficiaries of the CPC crisis in Katsna are Danmusa and Lado. Mamman Abubakar Danmusa knew from the onset as the ‘learned one’ that he was fighting a war that he would never win, he was fighting against party supremacy which no any party member can win. It is so right from the beginning of time, it is the party that is responsible for fielding a candidate and this fact was echoed by the 2011 Electoral act. Danmusa is destroying your political ambitions because as long as you are fighting the party that is supposed to be the umbrella under which you contest elections then you will never be a candidate. If you like employ the services of all the Senior Advocate of Nigeria to present your case; you will still be in a vicious circle. It is my prayer that you detach yourself from Mamman Abubakar Danmusa because as long as you are on his side then you are liable to the offence of antiparty activities and I don’t think there is anybody who can help you out; unless if you are part of the same agenda of bringing the party down. I don’t want to believe you are part of it. By the way, does Danmusa has any stake in the CPC? Wallahi, he doesn’t, he is done with it! He got his hands full with ‘salt and pepper’, he got one of his sons a commissioner, another a legislative assistance, another one waiting to a council chairman. You think he cares about you? No! He is only following a diabolical script to destroy the CPC as part of the agenda that he was paid for. Finally, Distnguished Sen. As the countdown to 2015 begins, the earlier you cut off the umbilical cord that links you with Danmusa and anything antiparty the better for you and your political survival, he has no value to add to you and your aspirations. So withdraw your name from the subsisting case and make up with your party. You have plenty of future ahead of you don’t squander it for the sake somebody who is not worth it. Please read between the lines. Sincerely Yours, ISA AHMED

KATSINA MINORITY LEADER ESCAPES YOUTH MOLESTATION: AN OPEN LETTER

My dear Hon, I just read this disturbing news item from the daily trust news papers of yesterday that some Youths believed to be political thugs attempted to attack you and feel obliged to write this open letter to commiserate with you, your family and your teeming supporters state wide. Infact, I heard of it the previous day from a friend but like he was not too sure about it. So I consider it as one of those chitchats trying to wish somebody bad but then when I saw some posts about the incident on facebook in the evening I knew something was definitely wrong. After reading your testimony from the newspaper I became convinced that it was for real, it wasn’t armed robbery as is a common scene in the city. It was hired assassins. Look at this statement…the thugs told him that if not because they know him they would have accomplished their mission…meaning they would have just killed you. As I read between these lines and discerned their loss of temper, I promptly visualized on their faces the hate of intolerance and a potentially suppressed voice of rage which could make authorities contemplate the murder of their critics or to legislate prison terms. Now, that the expected did not happen and thank God for that. I should tell you to be ready for the worse as this is not about the ‘NIMA NA YARDA’ project as already insinuated. I tell you, it is not even about you. This is about what you stand for; this is all about the people of Katsina State and their common weal. It is not about the project because if they want it dead today it will not see the light of tomorrow and it is not about you because if they want you they can get you at any cost, trust me. These people don’t respect the rules, they don’t fight fair and they have no respect for any rules of engagement. But what they have not realized is that facts are very stubborn things and they are never silenced by declaring war on them. FACTS ARE FACTS, PERIOD!!! My dear, Hon. Our biggest problem here may turn out to be our elites who apparently understand all the problems associated with our state but are incapable of effectuating solutions because they have remained fixated at a particular point. They have unwittingly turned us to a state of ‘Siddon Look’ and as such we are nanus in our approach to our number one enemy. They choose to keep mute in the face of injustice. The profoundly honored Sheik Usman Danfodio said ‘Silence under injustice is the greatest crime’ I really don’t know if they are aware of this fact. But am happy for you and the erstwhile Scribe to the late head of state when he was in charge of the state, you have really paid your dues by coming out to speak your minds in the face of all the injustices that have been inflicted on our people. Finally, I pray that Allah will protect and reward you abundantly for all you been doing and stand for but for those who feel they are alpha and Omega and feel they can do anything more from whim or caprice than from reason or judgment, then we leave them to their fates. As all of us are going to account for whatever deed we exhibit and each dime we (mis)appropriate in the course of our stewardship. A German Philosopher by name Immanuel Kanet has this to say: ‘The drama of this life is not complete; there must be a second life to it, for we see the tyrant and his victims without seeing justice being executed. We see the Conqueror and the subjugated without the latter finding any revenge. Therefore, there must be another world where justice will be carried out’ Sincerely Yours, ISA AHMED