By Bashir Mohammed
Kano

Senior Programme Officer, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Malam Isah Garba, has said that the Centre had made considerable inroad in stopping hate speech via the social media as it constitutesda threat to national security.
Speaking at its monthly press conference in Kano yesterday, Garba said in November alone, CITAD reported 942 hate speeches out of which religion and ethnicity took 837 with religion taking 432, while ethnicity taking 405, respectively.

Garba said the media was critical in the fight against hate speech and hate speakers, affirming that it was an abiding responsibility on the shoulders of media houses to enforce coverage and reportage of sanctions on well-defined hate speakers that “often do that to get relevance.”
He said CITAD observation had consistently shown that 97.9% of hate speakers in “Nigeria do not care to address their speech in coded language,” instead they used freely and plainly language indicating that no one cares to listen to what others were saying.
While commending the actions and support of other stakeholders for supporting the cause for eradicating hate speech, the CITAD Senior Programme officer condemned the “cavalier attitude of some prominent people who reduce themselves to becoming habitual hate speakers and perpetrators of inflammatory comments.”

By Najib Sani
Bauchi

A non-governmental organisation (NGO), Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), has urged the Police to bring the former Minister of Aviation, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode, to order over his alleged persistent hate speeches in the media and social networks which, it believed, were capable of causing chaos and disunity in the country.
In a press statement signed by its Team Leader, Sagiru Ado Abubakar, in Bauchi yesterday, the NGO said Fani-Kayode “is a statesman and should, therefore, watch his utterances,” adding that “for some time now, we have been monitoring his speeches which are aimed at only defaming the character of President Muhammadu Buhari and inciting citizens against fellow compatriots.”
“While condemning his hate speeches, we urge the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) and Department of State Security Service (DSS) to prosecute Femi Fani-Kayode over inflammatory statement she makes against President Muhammad Buhari,” the statement read in part.

It also recalled that Fani-Kayode in a recent article in some newspapers said President Buhari might either die or be overthrown as no core northern Muslim leader had ever ended well at Aso Rock.
The statement also quoted the former minister as saying: “The truth is that every single core northern Muslim leader that has ever ruled this country has either died on the throne or been removed from power in a military coup. None of them ended well. Whether the second coming of Buhari will end any differently remains to be seen. One thing that is clear to me, though, is that the whole thing is spiritual. It is being orchestrated and effected by the finger of God and not by any man. It is God’s way of saying that they were never meant to rule and be there in the first place and that He has rejected them. It is the work of the Ancient of Days and the Lord God of Hosts.”

For the past two years, 8-year-old Shafa’atu Haruna had nurtured a burning desire to attend school, but her village Shara – a typical rural community tucked deeply in Sumaila local government council of Kano State, does not have one.

The nearest primary school in the area is located in the neighbouring village of Matigwai which is more than five kilometers from Shara and separated by a rocky stream which overflows during the rains.

Respecting her determination to acquire formal education, Shafa’atu’s father, Muhammad Labiru Haruna, 35, agreed to enroll his daughter in the school after the rainy season in October last year. It was learnt that every morning, Shafa’atu would pick up her few books and pencil and trudge along a winding footpath, flanked by thick bushes, to attend her school, behind a mountain.

But her excitement, it was gathered, soon evaporated after the rains returned, flooding the only available route to the school and making it inaccessible even to adults. As a result, Shafa’atu was compelled to suspend her education and engage in house chores, hoping to return to school when the rains disappear and the stream dries up.

With over 500 children of school age, Shara – a farming community with a population of over 3,000 people, is one of many rural communities in Kano State, where children experience wasted childhood due to the absence of schools or difficulties accessing them.

Residents said for many years, the absence of a school in the community, coupled with the inability of pupils to easily access education elsewhere, has left them with no choice but to recruit their children into farming and other activities to assist the community.

Usman Saleh, a resident, told our reporter that once children in Shara attained the age of four, the boys accompany their fathers to the farms while the girls engage either in domestic chores or hawking food and other commodities within the community.

As soon as they reach adolescence, Saleh said the girls, who had by then generated enough money through years of hawking, would be married off at the age of 13 or 14 while the boys relocate to the cities where they take up menial jobs like hawking water in pushcarts or working in construction sites and factories.

It was learnt that though the residents appeared to have accepted this lifestyle which they believe helps them to make ends meet, the development actually threatens the community with a plethora of problems.

“The inability of our children to attend school is a problem that should not be taken lightly because presently, we are facing a backlash from early marriage as most of our girls are suffering from Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF), and maternal and child mortality,” said Saleh, one of the few educated residents advocating for a school in the area.

He added that within five months, three women were officially reported to have died as a result of child-birth related complications not to mention other unreported cases.

“Many pregnant women here do not go to the hospital for antenatal care and their husbands don’t allow them even if they want to. The men just ask them to use herbs. Most of the couples don’t even know how to manage their marriages. This is all because of ignorance,” he said.

According to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), “across much of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, children born to mothers with no education are three times more likely to die before they are five than those born to mothers with a secondary education. And girls from the poorest households are twice as likely to marry as children than girls from the wealthiest households.”

Recently however, a light of fortune flickered on Shara Village when members of a Kano-based civil society organization, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), chose the community as one of the beneficiaries of a project, Mobilizing for Development (M4D), funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to encourage school enrolment in Kano.

It was learnt that in September last year, CITAD with support from M4D  conducted a campaign aimed at improving access to education through “strengthening community groups and informal institutions” in three rural local governments areas of Sumaila, Garun Malam and Dawakin Tofa.

According to a report by CITAD, four wards were selected for the project in each of the three local government councils and the choice of Sitti, where Shara community belongs, was made because of its extreme remoteness.

Although poor parents often lament the extra burdens education places on them such as buying books and uniforms for children apart from feeding them, our reporter learnt that residents of Shara welcomed the initiative to assist their community with a school, wholeheartedly.

An official of CITAD, Sagir Ado Abubakar, said that when the organization first entered the community, they took time to engage in vigorous house-to-house campaign on the importance of education before proposing to set up a school in the community where children can attend without difficulty.

“We were surprised that the people were so receptive to our advocacy that they readily volunteered a space that was formerly used as a mosque to set up a school for them. What we understood was that in the area of education, rural dwellers are not enlightened on the importance of community participation because they are usually thought to be ignorant and averse to change. This is wrong,” he said.

He said after a series of meeting with community leaders for some weeks, CITAD informed the state Ministry of Education as well as the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), who welcomed the idea and gave a green light for the takeoff of the community school.

On 19th of May this year, the community school came to life in Shara Village after an elaborate gathering of community members, CITAD and government officials who all pledged to ensure the success of the initiative.

Similarly, Saleh said following the inauguration of the school, residents convened a separate meeting where it was agreed that a large parcel of land should be provided for construction of a permanent primary school that can accommodate all the children in the area.

“We contributed money and bought a big farmland in an appropriate location to serve as the site for the construction of a permanent school in the area. We informed the government and they agreed to build the school,” he said.

But beneath the efforts and success of establishing a community school in Shara, Daily Trust on Saturday reports that dire challenges still lie as classes were being held in open space under a tree, with dust intermittently blown by women threshing millet nearby, which routinely interrupt classes.

Other ominous signs threatening the existence of the makeshift school range from absence of furniture and instructional materials, to the cold and dusty winds of harmattan which rob the school of pupils.

The head teacher, Malam Kabiru Umar, said that at inception, the school was recording a daily turnout of over 150 pupils, most of them girls, but “as a result of lack of classroom structure, that number is gradually shrinking.”

He warned that if a structure was not erected to protect the pupils from harsh weather and temperatures, the school might be suspended until a more convenient and tolerable season comes.

“This will not be good because each time lessons are suspended, children normally forget what they learned and have to be taught the same thing over and over again. This slows their progress in education,” he said.

For Shafa’atu, the arrival of the community school meant everything to her as it has brought her dream to acquire education right to her doorstep.

As her father Haruna, spoke passionately about the need to ensure the survival of the school, Shafa’atu, undeterred by the challenges being discussed, listened to her teacher with keen interest amidst her two siblings Binyamin 6 and Idi, 5.

“We must work hard to nurture this school because it would serve as our children’s bridge to attain development. We have already grown up living a rural life but we don’t expect our children to experience the same. This is why the government should help us with a class structure,” Haruna said.

Similarly, the District Head of Sitti, Alhaji Saleh Yakubu, said that since residents of Shara have shown interest in educating their children by encouraging the establishment of a community school and even buying another land to build a large one, then the government should help build a decent school.

“We are begging the authorities concerned to consider our request for building a permanent modern school in Shara. Presently the children study outside in the cold and dust which threaten their health,” he said.

When contacted on phone, Idris Aliyu Rimi, the Education Secretary of the Local Education Authority (LEA) in Sumaila local government council, said the government has not forgotten about the Shara school project.

“You should tell the community members that we are aware of their plight. But as you know, education is a costly venture. There are no projects going on anywhere because there are no funds. So, let them allow their children to continue attending the community school since a teacher has been dispatched,” he said.

Rimi added however that a temporary structure would be erected immediately to provide shelter for the pupils during holiday in December.

But Umar S. Muhammad Kibiya, the Permanent Member 1 of SUBEB, who is familiar with the issue, told Daily Trust on Saturday that after locating Shara village with the help of CITAD, plans have already been concluded to build a classroom there in 2017.

“When we visited Shara about five months ago, we understood that the village has certain population of children that require a school. The village lacks a school because of a river or valley that prevents children from attending schools (elsewhere) especially during the rainy season.

“On our return, I reported the issue to the executive chairman and he directed the Director of Physical Planning and the Director, Planning and Statistics to include Shara village in our action plan for 2017 to build a classroom to accommodate the children. By 2017, Shara would enjoy a classroom by God’s grace,” he said.
Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/feature/shara-kano-community-without-school-gets-education-lifeline/174333.html

A Nigerian NGO, Centre for Information Technology and Development, CITAD, has taken a formal education to Shara, a rural community in Sumaila local government area of Kano state, northwest Nigeria, donating books and school uniform to pupils learning under a tree.

Prior to CITAD intervention, no child in Shara community has had formal education. Now, children in the community are being taught basic literacy skills by volunteer teachers.

“We are grateful to CITAD helping us get a school and for giving us uniforms, exercise books and learning materials,” Usman Sama’ila, a beneficiary, said.

The community inhabitants were opposed to western education, CITAD, and Sitti Forum, a community-based organization, consultation with the community led to advocacy that made the community accept formal education. Mr. Saidu Saleh Sitti, the chairman of Sitti Forum said.

CITAD works to improve education in the northeast Nigeria. In Kano, the NGO has done enormous work in Dawakin Tofa, Garun Mallam and Sumaila local government areas.

In communities where CITAD works, it introduces a community-driven initiative that enhances education. It says that the reason for the community driven initiative is that the government alone cannot handle education and community contribution is central to education sustainability in the community.

Part of the CITAD core focus is to improve school enrollment and retention. Mr. Sabo Aliyu, the Sumaila local government education secretary confirms, the local government authority will be complementing CITAD by building classrooms for the pupils and accommodation for the volunteer teachers.

Mr. Bakari Hussaini, the Special Adviser to Mr. Abdullahi Ganduje, the Kano state Governor on education, confirmed the state government will implement free and compulsory education policy at all level to ensure inclusive education in the state. This is primarily to sustain the work CITAD does in education.

CITAD, Takes Education To Rural Communities In Northern Nigeria

By Bashir Mohammed
Kano

Senior Programme Officer, Centre for Information Technology and Technology and Development (CITAD), Malam Isah Garba, has said that the centre had captured 653 hate speeches in the month of September, majority of which were made by youths via the social media.
Speaking at its monthly press briefing in Kano yesterday, Garba said allowing hate speech to continue online, the greater the danger its poses to the unity and existence of the nation especially when the contents of online hate speeches begun to manifest in physical and societal relations.
He said the continued exchange of hate speech on the social media by people who should be educated was a major source of concern, adding that the greater percentage of hate speeches was done by young people who should be the future mirror of the society.

Garba said hate speeches found fertile ground when social conditions were bad and competition for resources was extreme, stressing that the economic crisis in the country had led to increased impoverishment of the people and the collapse of local businesses.
He pointed out that monitoring without countering was counterproductive and that CITAD had alongside the monitors constantly took actions to counter hate speeches.
He affirmed that the effort was made by using strategies which included inoculation of individuals, public sensitisation, deployment of moral sanction and advocacy to enlist influential voices.
Garba called on religious and ethnic leaders to refrain from using inciting language and caution their followers against using hate speech to voice their grievances and to publicly condemn hate speech where it was made and take the task of enlightening the public against hate and dangerous speeches.

 

http://www.blueprint.ng/2016/10/05/citad-captured-653-hate-speeches-in-sept-official/

By Olga Tsafack-Koloko and Mallory Knodel for APCNews

06 October 2016

Every year since 2004, on the third Saturday in September, hundreds of events are organised in dozens of cities around the world to increase “awareness of Free Software and its virtues” and to encourage use of free/libre and open source software (FLOSS) in a global event called Software Freedom Day (SFD). Free, in this context, refers to free use and not “free of charge” (libre, not gratis, in Spanish, for example).

Since its establishment in 1990, The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) has been committed to using and raising awareness aboutFLOSS, most notably as one of seven themes in the APC Internet Rights Charter developed in 2001. We believe that “Working with FLOSS is empowering, it builds skills, is more sustainable and it encourages local innovation.” Out of our network of 50 organisations and 24 individuals, it is safe to say that all APC members use FLOSS and several members focus on FLOSS development and adoption.

One of those members is the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) in Lagos, Nigeria. CITAD “sees technology as tool to promote sustainable development, good government and peaceful coexistence. It uses ICT to empower youth and women through access to information, skills and online mentoring opportunities.” And they celebrated Software Freedom Day 2016 with a half-day agenda for 58 attendees. They shared event outcomes with the hashtag #CITADsoftwarefreedomday.

Nigeria is dominated by proprietary software and universities do not provide opportunities for students to learn about FLOSS. However, according to Yanusa Ya’u, co-founder and executive director of CITAD, “of course there are many who use and even market free and open source software.” The Open Source Foundation for Nigeria (OSFON) supports local FLOSS activists and developers. OSFON is a member of the Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa, a group founded in 1995 to “promote the use of free and open source software in Africa by bringing multi-stakeholder partners together for the development of African societies using open source software.”

CITAD’s theme for SFD 2016 was “Securing Your Freedom with FLOSS”. Like many SFD events, CITAD focused on practical, hands-on activities. Participants learned how to install Ubuntu, an operating system software that can substitute proprietary software like Windows or MacOS. They also devoted time to a “clinic” where FLOSS users could get help with questions, issues or problems from an expert in their community. Some presentations were geared to newcomers to FLOSS, such as “Understanding the Concept of FLOSS” and “An exploration into Open Source”.

Abdulaziz Yunusa is a final year student of computer science at Federal University Dutse and an intern at CITAD. When asked about FLOSSimproving the lives of Nigerians, he said, “Free software can be customised and can allow young people to develop local solutions for local problems, thus adding value to the software, creating products that are needed, saving cost for the country and the buyers and in the process creating jobs and wealth for the country. In this it will help to address the problem of unemployment and improve national wealth.”

For SFD 2016 there were 127 registered events on the official website, yet it is possible that there were many events like CITAD’s that were not featured on the map. According to another FLOSS expert in the APC community, Arun Madhavan from the India-based organisation the Society for Promotion of Alternative Computing and Employment, “The world is richer with free software today than it was two decades back.” It is thanks to efforts like these that free software communities continue to grow.

 

https://www.apc.org/en/news/promoting-use-free-software-nigerian-communities-b

By Yaro Daniel Onyiloyi,

The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), the key Nigerian NGO which has been monitoring and tracking the efforts to rehabilitate and resettle internally displaced persons (IDPs) as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency in north-eastern Nigeria has expressed horror against alleged corruption in the management of IDPs and what it called the culpable silence of governments at all levels on that. It alleged callousness in the treatment of IDPs, adding in a statement by its Executive Director, Mallam Yunusa Zakari Y’au in Bauchi that its partners in Maiduguri and in other locations had observed various ways in which food items meant for IDPs had been diverted by officials and taken to either markets for sale or misappropriated by these officials for their personal and private use. Coming on the heels of demonstrations on the streets last Thursday in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, by IDPs, the statement also made reference to stories of extortion in which officials demanded for money from IDPs to register to collect relief materials as well as sexual gratification from IDPs.

“We in the north east are happy that the military has been recording successes in liberating a number of areas formerly controlled by the insurgents but we are now extremely worried and alarmed that our brothers sisters, uncles, grandparents and children are dying of starvation due do callousness of these government officials who government entrusted the welfare and wellbeing of IDPs to”, the statement added.

CITAD argued that this is not the first time that these Nigerians had to complain about the systematic starvation that they have been subjected to by people whose responsibility it is to care for them and that many people, especially children, are already dead from hunger and malnutrition, development which it said had been reported in the media. CITAD further claimed that on several occasions, both state and federal governments have been alerted to this but they have often either dismissed it or simply make some symbolic noises and let the matter to continue unabated. The lack of action from government to take concrete measures to stop this haemorrhage of resources meant for IDPs, it said, is resulting in a situation in which government is, by its own inaction, aiding the mass murder of people who have earlier on been traumatized by the Boko Haram insurgents. As such, surviving Boko Haram tend to become only a stop gap for them to be killed by hunger engineered by relied officials, the statement point out.

Situating diversion of relief materials and corruption in lack of proper instrument, institution or national policy to deal with IDPs as a result of Nigeria not having domesticated the African Convention on the Protection of IDPs, otherwise known as the Kampala Declaration, the NGO insists that the country has been relying on adhoc structures. It, therefore, sees this as the time for an immediate enactment of such instrument by the government.

It called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately launch a serious investigation into the diversion of relief materials meant for various IDP camps across the region while also demanding both state and federal governments to take immediate steps to ensure that relief materials, especially food items, are delivered promptly to those unfortunate to have been victims of Boko Haram insurgency. It said anti-corruption war must transcend mere official declaration to the realm of openness, transparency, asking governments to demand accountability from its officials and agents. This, it pointed out, is the minimum expectation form a government that has made a promise to rid the country of corruption.

By Patience Michael, Bauchi

 

The Executive Director, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Ya’u Zakari Ya’u, has said that women were marginalized with less access to education and use of Internet.

The director, who was speaking at a workshop in Bauchi tagged, “Research Findings on Women and Use of Internet in the North,’’ said aspects of marginalization including the very few in decision-making process like those in the state and national legislatures.

His words: “So if they have less access to education, they would continue to be excluded in economic life, political life and in every other spheres of life, and as the saying goes, educate a man you educate one person, and educate a women you educate the whole nation”.

Zakari stressed the need for taking all necessary measures to ensure that women have access to internet and the skills to use it.

He said however that there were many other categories of people that were left behind including people with disabilities who do not have access to our educational processes because we are not able to make the necessary investment for the provision of their required learning tools.

“Even older people are also excluded, but they are excluded because perhaps they have become static in their own learning process and is so difficult now to learn new skills, new knowledge,” he said.

According to Zakari, internet is being used for research, learning, access to knowledge and communication adding, “And now we have seen examinations are gradually migrating online, JAMB examination is now computer base and increasingly more and more examinations will migrate online.”

Accordingly, he said that a person who lacks the internet skills would be left out in the pursuit of education, stressing that internet is also a tool for personal empowerment.

“If education is a right and internet is the major tool, then access to internet should also be a right to everybody.

Zakari explained that a lot of people earn their living on internet either as squatted creators, data miners, and people who promote business or uses internet as a platform to conduct businesses.

According to him, no business one can today do without accessing the internet as even the crack sellers realize that with internet they create greater market.

“As a communication tool we know that it is a platform for participation. Democracy itself is about participation, ability to contribute in decision making process, about our lives, society and about how our society is govern or how we elect our representatives,” he said.

Zakari noted that for us to live meaningful, productive and politically engaged life, we need to have access to internet, hence internet gives universal access to men and women, young and old that no one should be left behind.

 

http://nigerianewsflight.com/article/women-are-marginalized-education-internet-use-%E2%80%93-ciad

Patience Ogbodo-Iwuagwu

Bauchi – Over 60 percent of educated women in the northern part of the country do not have access to the Internet, claims Ya’u Zakari Ya’u, the Executive Director, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD).

Zakari Ya’u stated this on Monday during a stakeholders’ meeting on the report of research on Women and Use of Internet in Northern Nigeria, held at Professor Iya Abubakar Community Resource Centre (CRC), Bauchi.

He said the research recently carried out by the centre showed that the number of women does not access Internet thereby making them technologically and socially disadvantaged compared to their male counterparts.

Zakari Ya’u explained that the survey conducted in Bauchi and Kano states enumerated the factors hindering northern women from using the Internet to include inadequate infrastructure, computer illiteracy, bad perception about the Internet as well as religious and cultural concerns, among others.

He said some clerics and husbands discourage women in the region from browsing the Internet and joining the social networks chat rooms for fearing that their wives may lose privacy, get exposed to undue sexual harassment or visit unwholesome sites that could corrupt them.

Zakari Ya’u assured that CITAD would soon embark on awareness campaigns in the area on the significance of the Internet and its enormous benefits to bridge the gap.

Also speaking, Hon. Maryam Garba Bagel, the only female member of the Bauchi State House of Assembly who served as chairperson of the occasion said, “It is not a taboo for housewives to use Internet or social media because they could get useful information and knowledge that would add value to their lives,” adding that women might even learn how to cook certain foods on the Internet.

She promised to present proposal to the state government through the Ministry of Women Affairs to establish computer training centres in parts of the state to teach women the basic knowledge of computer operations to enable them access the Internet like their counterparts in advanced nations.

A recent study has shown that over 60 percent of educated women in the northern part of the country do not have access to the internet.

The study was conducted by the ‘Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) on the use of internet by women in the north.

CITAD Executive Director. Ya’u Zakari Ya’u, disclosed this over the weekend at a workshop tagged ‘Research Findings on Women and Use of Internet in the North’ held in Bauchi.‎

He said that the survey, which was conducted in Bauchi and Kano state has indicated that women who have no access to the Internet have been rendered technologically and socially disadvantaged compared to their male counterparts in the region.

According to him, the factors hindering northern women from using the Internet include: inadequate infrastructures, computer illiteracy, bad perception about the internet as well as religious and cultural factors among others.

Ya’u lamented that some clerics and husbands discourage women in the region from browsing through the Internet and social networks due to the fear that their wives may lose privacy, get exposed to sexual harassment or visit bad sites that could corrupt them.

He, however, promised that CITAD would soon embark on awareness campaigns in the area on the significance of the internet and its benefits so as to bridge the gap.

Speaking, a female member of the Bauchi state House of Assembly, Maryam Garba Bagel, asserted that it is not a taboo for housewives to use internet or social media because they could get useful information and knowledge that would add value to their lives.

Bagel, who served as chairperson of the occassion promised to present  a proposal to the state government through the ministry of women affairs to establish computer training centres in all parts of the state to teach women the basic knowledge of computer operations.

She said that Computer knowledge will enable women access the internet like their counterparts in advanced nations.

 

http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/over-60-of-women-in-the-north-lack-access-to-the-internet-study/163902.html

By Hamza Ibrahim Chinade

Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the immediate past governor of Kano state and presently  the senator representing Kano central at the Senate, is by some measures the most outstanding governor in terms of recording tangible achievements that are of immense benefit to the people of Kano, the entire north and somewhat to the country at large. That is so, taking into cognizance the different sectors he heavily invested in: education, health, engineering, agriculture, science and technology, human development, societal reorientation, women and youth empowerment, trade and commerce etc. From whichever angle you take a look at his legacies you must surely be amazed and probably start thinking about what informed his foresight especially at a time when most political leaders have less concern for long term projects and investments.
No doubt, that in just four years Senator Kwankwaso has succeeded in swiftly transforming the ancient and commercial hub of West Africa into a modern day glittering and flashy city, giving it a new look that nobody anticipated will happen in such a near future. Kano has now become a tourists’ destination for northerners and other Nigerians who have never seen flashy flyovers and underpasses, pedestrian bridges that reduce accidents and ease traffic flow.

I can still remember when the Kofar Nasarawa flyover was launched it almost became a tourists center for attracting jubilating fellows who pose to take pictures of all kinds, courtesy of Kwankwaso.
Kwankwaso has succeeded in decongesting the boring hold-ups of Kano by creating numerous alternatives such as flyovers, underpasses, and other roads. Having established the Northwest University, sponsored hundreds of Kano indigenes to pursue their Master’s and Doctorate degrees in science and technology, engineering, medicine, etc abroad, and rehabilitated thousands of youths and employed them in various government initiatives and programmes, Kwankwaso now stands unbeatable in Kano and northern polity, his thousands of landmark achievements will remain indelible in the eyes and minds of ‘Kanawa’, no matter what!
When search for his successor was ongoing, there have been skepticisms, doubts and uncertainties as to who the cap best fits, and eventually his then deputy Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, emerged amidst series of concerns about his capability with some questioning his boldness, foresight, and endurance but Kwankwaso altruistically put hope and confidence in the man that now wants to play the betrayal game. For whatever reason Ganduje chose to crackdown on his boss, the Hausas have an adage that says ‘Yaro bar murna karen ka ya kama zaki….’ roughly translated as “boy, stop celebrating your challenge that your dog has captured a lion”, so much still lies ahead.

The recent dramatic decision of the Kano State House of Assembly ordering that all Kwankwaso’s capital projects carrying inscription of ‘Kwankwasiyya’ be erased shows an obvious derailment from important legislative duties, to a rather partisan sycophancy aimed at pleasing the very authority, that ordinarily should be policed by them. The danger here is, pleasing as the action may sound to the government and its friends, but every sensible person knows that the state legislature is fueling and supporting the Kano state government to crackdown on an icon who laid the foundation and structures that the government now enjoys. While Senator Kwankwaso maintains his statesmanship and humility by saying nothing even as sometimes condition warrants that he does so, Governor Ganduje has on various occasions publicly accused the past administration of certain wrongdoings, a stance which many public commentators deem as a poor judgment or rather shooting himself in the foot.
Rename or erase the word ‘Kwankwasiyya’ on hundreds of public structures or not, in hundred years to come people will still remember and testify that Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is a legend that must be cherished and emulated. Funny enough as the drama goes, Kwankwaso in his humanitarian and selfless service to the society assisted hundred men and women with all the necessary logistics to get married, but, when the wedding ceremony was scheduled, Kano state government stopped the ceremony from holding, I still wonder what the motive of this silly decision might be.
I find it outrageous that a government which claims to be serving people will stop a donation that will rid the society of its problems. Ordinarily it should warmly embrace and support all kinds of interventions from generous and well meaning individuals such as Kwankwaso. Perhaps Kano state government or the police wouldn’t have stopped Dangote, Isiyaka Rabiu or Shekarau if they attempted doing what Kwankwaso had wanted to do, then why Kwankwaso? A stream that crosses a path cannot be stopped (Ashanti Proverb), a word is enough for the wise.

Chinade is of the Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) Kano, hamza4ib@gmail.com 08039467382.

 

http://www.blueprint.ng/2016/09/16/kwankwasos-legacies-are-indelible/

By Hamza Ibrahim Chinade

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the body empowered by law in Nigeria to license and oversee telecommunication companies operations may be in danger of losing the confidence of especially cell phone users and data subscribers in Nigeria for its “failure” to protect their rights from the hungry-ingrate telecommunication companies who heartlessly continue to exploit their helpless customers.

There have been thousands of complaints about unfair treatments from these telecommunication companies ranging from regular unsolicited calls placed by the telecoms to customers, forceful subscription of customers to certain unimportant and unwanted services etc, but NCC is yet to demonstrate its capability to tackle these unending disgusting experiences of customers.

When in September 2015 NCC put out a public notice in national dailies asking whether or not customers are being treated fairly, or have been experiencing hiccups in services provided by different network providers and then introduced the western style of toll free ‘622’ number for victims to find succor, most of us drew a sigh of relief, thinking that finally the redress mechanism has arrived. But, to date that mechanism has only been a toll free and not able to function as expected. Worried with the unsolicited messages and calls, I publicized the 622 on social media in order to help other people such as myself.

My first encounter with calling the 622 center was hopeful, as I was asked all the necessary information about myself and was told the conversation was being recorded, I was finally instructed to hung up and jot down the numbers that I receive the unsolicited messages and calls from and then call back. After jotting the numbers down I called back and reported, my curiosity couldn’t let me end the call without asking what to expect after giving the numbers, and the enquiry revealed that the numbers will be sent to the network providers and they will deactivate me. Fine was my response. Unfortunately no deactivation took place even after several months, so network providers kept flooding my phone with variety of useless messages.

Again, when NCC ordered that Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) set up the shortcode of 2442 for subscribers to opt-in to the “Do Not Disturb” (DND) database restricting unsolicited marketing messages and by June 30th this year all MNOs must stop sending unsolicited messages and placing calls to customers or risk N5 million fine and N500,000 everyday, I thought the second mechanism will tame the menace but neither did it reduce the frequency nor did it stop the unsolicited messages and calls. Now, most touch-screen phones users receive pop ups on their screens with just two options ‘ok’ or ‘cancel’ of these deceptive messages, should you mistakenly press ‘ok’ then compulsory deductions follow with no option of opt-out. NCC must swiftly act and save consumers from this high-tech ‘robbery’.

Despite the unsatisfactory outcome so far from the mechanism of the Nigerian Communications Commission, I still want to urge that the commission either come up with other measures to deal with non-compliant Mobile Network Operators or allow the customers to seek their rights from these MNOs, eg for every unsolicited message or call a consumer receives a certain financial penalty (say N200 per message or call) can be claimed by the victim from their respective service provider, that will serve as a deterrent as well as compensation to the consumers who have suffered long enough.
Hamza Ibrahim Chinade is of the Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) Kano, +2348039467382 hamza4ib@gmail.com

 

OPINION-June 30th Deadline, Telecoms & Unsolicited Messages

By Rita Michael, Bauchi

A non-governmental organisation, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate diversion of relief materials meant for Infernally Displaced camps in the Northeast.
The CITAD Executive Director, Ya’u Zakari Ya’u, made the appeal in a statement made available to newsmen in Bauchi yesterday.
He said that both the states in the Northeast and the Federal governments must ensure that relief materials especially food items are promptly delivered to the displaced persons.
Ya’u said, “We like to reiterate that corruption cannot be corruption by mere official declaration. It can only be fought when government embraces openness, transparency and demand accountability from its officials and agents.”
The CITAD director explained that it was only when government embraces openness, transparency and accountability that Nigerians could view the promise it made of ridding the country of endemic corruption.
He wondered why the Federal government lacks proper instrument or institution to deal with issues of IDPs which he attributed to failure of the government to domesticate the African Convention on the Protection of IDPs, otherwise known as the Kampala Declaration.
According to him, “Without such, government has been relying on adhoc structure and diversion of relief materials and corruption is the results. This therefore is the time that government must put in place a proper IDPs policy”.
He recalled that on several occasions both the states and federal governments have been alerted on the issue of relief material diversion, but they often either dismissed or make noises and let the matter to continue unabated.
According to Ya’u, “This is not the way a government elected on the basis of its promise to stem out corruption in the country should respond to the unscrupulous acts of corruption.
“The lack of action from the government to take concrete measures to stop this hemorrhage of resources meant for the IDPs is resulting in a situation in which the government by its own inaction is aiding the mass murder of people who have earlier on been traumatized by Boko Haram insurgents, and have seen their loved ones killed.”
Ya’u said that it would appear to the IDPs that surviving Boko Haram is the only stop gap for them to be killed by hunger engineered by relied officials, describing the action as a major crime against humanity.
He further explained that CITAD is horrified by the callous way IDPs are being treated and the culpable silence of governments at all levels, saying various ways in which food item meant for the displaced persons have been diverted by officials and taken to markets for sale or misappropriated by those officials for their personal use.
“There are also many stories of extortion in which officials demand for money from the IDPs to register to collect relief materials, as well as other abuses such as demanding for sexual gratification from the IDPs”, he said.
As a result of these negative tendencies, he said, many people especially children have died of hunger and malnutrition, as has been reported by the media.
He recalled that the August 25, 2016 demonstration by thousands of impoverished internally displaced persons on the streets of Maiduguri that they have not been fed for days is an attestation of the systematic starvation the IDPs have been subjected to by the people who have been saddled with the responsibility to care for them.
He expressed delight that people in the Northeast are happy that the military has been recording successes in liberating a number of areas hitherto controlled by the insurgents, but are worried that their brothers, sisters, uncles, grandparents and children are dying of starvation due to callousness of officials who government entrusted the welfare and well-being of the IDPs.

 

http://nigerianewsflight.com/article/investigate-diversion-idps%E2%80%99-relief-materials-ngo-advises-efcc

The Centre for Information Technology and Development, CITAD, an NGO which has been monitoring efforts to rehabilitate and resettle IDPs affected by the Boko Haram insurgency in northern Nigeria has said it was “horrified by the callous way the IDPs were treated” as well as “the culpable silence of governments” calling on the Nigerian government to investigate the issue.

“We at CITAD are calling on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately launch a serious investigation into the diversion of relief materials meant for various IDP camps across the region,” said the statement. “Governments must take immediate steps to ensure that relief materials, especially food items are delivered promptly to these needy and unfortunate Nigerians whose only crime is been victim of Boko Haram insurgents.”

CITAD decried the fact that food items meant for the displaced were being diverted and sold in the market or misappropriated by aid officials for their private use, adding that there were many stories of extortion of IDPs including demands for sexual gratification from the IDPs by government officials.

“On several occasions, both state and federal governments have been alerted to this, but they have often either dismissed it or simply make some symbolic noises and let the matter to continue unabated. We feel that this is not the way a government elected on the basis of its promise to stem out corruption in our country should respond to these unscrupulous acts of corruption,” added the statement.

It added that Nigeria was yet to “wake up” to the fact that it had no proper instrument or institution to deal with IDPs including a national policy on IDPs adding that the country had failed to domesticate the African Convention on the Protection of IDPs.

“We like to reiterate a point we have make in several times that corruption cannot be corruption by mere official declaration, it can only be fought when government embrace openness, transparency and demand accountability from its officials and agents: that is the minimum we expect form a government that has made a promise to rid the country of corruption,” it concluded.

 

CITAD urges probe of relief distribution in northeastern Nigeria

From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

An Nongovernmental Organisation, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to seriously investigate diversion of relief materials meant for various IDPs camps across the Northeast sub-region of the country.
The Centre Executive Director, Ya’u Zakari Ya’u said in a statement made available to newsmen at weekend in Bauchi, that those needy and unfortunate Nigerians referred to as IDPs are victims of Boko Haram insurgents.
“We like to reiterate that corruption cannot be corruption by mere official declaration, it can only be fought when government embrace openness, transparency and demand accountability from its officials and agents,” Ya’u said.
The CITAD director explained that it is only when government embrace openness, transparency and accountability that Nigerians could view the promise it made of ridding the country of endemic corruption.
Ya’u therefore wondered why the federal government lacks proper instrument or institution to deal with issues of IDPs which he attributed to failure of the government to domesticate the African Convention on the Protection of IDPs, otherwise known as the Kampala Declaration.
“Without such, government has been relying on adhoc structure and diversion of relief materials and corruption is the results. This therefore is the time that government must put in place a proper IDPs policy”.
He recalled that on several occasions both the states and federal governments have been alerted on the issue of relief material diversion, but they often either dismissed or make noises and let the matter to continue unabated.
According to the centre, this is not the way a government elected on the basis of its promise to stem out corruption in the country should respond to the unscrupulous acts of corruption.

 

Probe diversion of IDPs relief materials, CITAD urges EFCC