Author: Abdulkadir Salaudeen

Yes! This government needs help. It is high time President Tinubu cried out for help, not for loans. A loan will not solve our problem. Already, the country is overwhelmingly indebted. We should shed that toga of giantism and face reality. The status of “Giant of Africa,” which Nigeria claimed, is now historical. Note that I said “claimed,” not “claims.” It will be wrong for Nigeria to claim to be the giant of Africa at the moment, except if the claim is about its size and population. But if it is about clout, influence, power, and prestige, I think it…

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Many people are fed up with religion of recent. Some have even concluded that religion is our problem in Nigeria more than ethnicity. It is used as a cover for corruption and bad governance. These people hinge their arguments on the lifestyle of some of these so-called men of God who, in alliance with politicians, make life difficult for the masses. The masses could not breathe. They are being whipped regularly by those who should cater for their needs after working hard and paying tax. When the masses cry, these “men of God” would insist it is wrong to cry…

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Award winning books are many. But no matter how rich and admiring some of these books are, we only read them, talk about them, and praise their authors for doing some great literary works. It is hard to find that people who admire these books commit them to memory out of admiration. Doing so would have been an earnest and honest show of admiration. Any author whose book is memorized by people (out of admiration) will naturally admire those who commit their book to memory. Could it be that I am not too conversant with history? Readers can help me…

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Nigerians are experiencing the extremest hunger of their life. It is not poverty anymore; it is hunger. It is now I realize there is a difference—a gulf one—between poverty and hunger. Though I belong to the post civil war generation, those who experienced the Nigerian civil war—especially those from the eastern part of the country—will definitely understand what hunger is and its pang. But in my over forty years of existence on Nigerian soil, I have never witnessed or heard of this kind of existential hunger in the land. It is a large scale hunger. It is overwhelmingly all-encompassing and…

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Fir’aun (Pharaoh), Haman, and Qarun (Korah) are the three most terribly corrupt and tyrannical people during the lifetime of Prophet Musa (Moses[AS]). Their tyrannies are classical. An Islamic cleric in Zaria Kaduna State recently likened Buhari and Tinubu to Pharaoh and Haman. Lamenting on the prevailing terrible situation in the country, Sheikh Auwal Sheriff asserted—in a cocksure manner—that in terms of inflicting hardship on the masses, description of Buhari and Tinubu perfectly dovetails with Pharaoh and Haman. Could this be just an emotional outburst out of sympathy for the masses? Indeed Nigerians are not warming up for hell; we are…

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It was the former First Lady Aisha Buhari who first raised the alarm some years ago, as an insider, that Aso Villa is not safe. But because she had the means, she packed her packable things and japa(ed) to Dubai for safety. I will run for my life too if I had the means. Thereafter, robbers allegedly attacked the Chief of Staff’s house and carted away some valuables. Then, I wrote an article titled “Your Excellency, Mrs. Aisha Buhari! So you are Right! Aso Villa Not Safe” to highlight the precariousness of our state of affairs. If we may ask,…

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From sex for grade to sex for food. Sex out of wedlock for anything is condemnable in the major religions practised in Nigeria. The fact that excuses are being made for this immoral act—even by clerics—shows that we are in a big trouble. Professor Ibrahim Ahmad Maqari recently stirred the hornets’ nest with his fatwa (religious legal opinion) that a woman can commit adultery to feed herself in a situation of severe hunger to avoid hunger-induced death. Maqari is one of the Imams of the National Mosque in Abuja. In his fatwa, he invokes the Islamic doctrine of necessity “Ad-Daruraat…

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“A mental illness in which somebody has a strong desire, which they cannot control, to steal things.” This is how Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines Kleptomania. But is stealing a mental illness? Could it also be spiritual? I should have read enough and life experience should have taught me to answer in the affirmative. Yes, stealing could be due to mental illness or some kind of spiritual attack form those chasing a thief right from their villages to Tinubu Government.    That said, I am not comfortable with Oxford’s definition given above. Perhaps the Oxford did not take Nigerian Government…

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Many ended last year and started the New Year badly. By “many” I mean majority of Nigerians. I don’t want to start my first article this year by adumbrating some of the calamities that are now mainstreamed as norms in our pitied existence as a nation and as humans. But as a passionate teacher, and for my admiration for scholarship, I find betrayal of scholarship, any where, too cringeful to ignore. Similarly, I consider those who aid and abet academic corruption as worst enemies of God and of our dear country (Nigeria). I always find it difficult to relate with…

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Every year is unique in some ways. Year 2023 is unique in many ways in Nigeria. Before now, many did not understand what it means to jump out of the frying pan into the fire. No doubt, many Nigerians who could not make sense of that proverbial depiction of hardship must have witnessed its literal reality. The question is not about who suffered and who did not, it is about who suffered most. Our melancholic state of affairs shows that there is no end in sight to our suffer-a-thon as a people.   Year 2023 will be remembered for the thoughtless…

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I just don’t understand why a son would kill his parents. It is like a passenger who do not know how to drive a car and has not learnt to do so but, while in wilderness, kills their driver for insulting them. This world, in which we owe our existence to our parents, is like a stopover in the wilderness. To survive in this wilderness, a reliable driver who can brave the challenges is utmostly needed. The world is just a beginning of another long journey. Our parents are our drivers to this world of trial and uncertainty. We owe…

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My last week column titled ““Mistakenly” Killed or Killed For Amusement?” was a reaction to the massive killing of some worshippers in Tudun Biri in Kaduna State. In that article, I lamented the terrible condition of Nigerians in Nigeria. Explaining the worthlessness of Nigerians at the lower rungs of the societal ladder who represent the absolute majority of the population, I argued that life of mosquito is dignified than life of a common Nigerian. Not only that, “life of Mosquito”, I argued “is sacred.” My intention was to draw the attention of our ruling class to the fact that common…

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In a country where everything goes, citizens, in their hundreds, can be mistakenly killed and heads will not roll. If “mistake” could react, like a living creature, to the recent mass killing of Muslim celebrants in Kaduna State, the killers in uniform should be saying their last prayers by now. But in Nigeria, “investigation” is another victim. This word “investigation” has been victimized. I mean, it has been overly misused such that many of us get confused about what the word actually means. When the authority says it has set up (or will set up) an investigation panel to thoroughly…

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Tinubu’s critics would have soft-pedalled their criticism of him if they had paid attention to some of his subtle achievements. I agree achievement is relative. What constitutes achievement to some isn’t worth its name to others. Notwithstanding, achievement is achievement. Also, what critics would itemize as Tinubu’s achievements would definitely be different from what praise singers and boot lickers would. The rich and the poor might also hold different views. My attention was drawn to what I consider Tinubu’s greatest achievement so far. And I believe he has all the time to achieve more as we continue to wish him…

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How do I even start? Should I say once upon a time? This will sound as if I am about to narrate an ancient tale. That is not what I intend to do. What I intend to do is to narrate a recent but amazing story which people call true life story. It is about a marriage proposal, allegedly from President Buhari to a food seller in Minna, Niger State. Of all people in Nigeria, why a food seller? This will naturally be the first thought. If President Buhari must add another wife to the “OZA” room, she should expectedly…

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Recently, the media was awash with the news of a young man who burnt his certificates because he considered them worthless and useless. According to him, he graduated over thirteen years ago and had not, for once, worked with his certificates. It is not that he did not want to work with his certificates but because he could not find a work—befitting or not befitting—to do with them. He has, he explained, been dragging (competing for) jobs with illiterate who did not go to school for the past thirteen years after his graduation. All the jobs he has been doing…

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We have reached this point in Nigeria where people hold this notorious belief that hardworkingness in achieving academic success is a waste of time. While this belief is ridiculous and objectionable in any sane society, it is well embraced today in Nigeria. This is why many of our elected rulers in Nigeria are enmeshed, from time to time, in certificate racketeering and forgery. It is not uncommon to see people laughing at anyone who chooses to be a hardworking student. Such student will be asked; “Why should you burn midnight candle when you can sleep comfortably, keep your candle, and…

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The recent supplementary budget sent to the National Assembly which was passed within the twinkling of an eye has generated a lot of noise. The noise is not out of place. The breakdown of the budget shows it lacks human face. As if it was deliberately drawn up to spite the masses and smite their nose. One would expect the legislative arm of government to subject the supplementary budget to rigorous debate in order to sieve it and put a human face on it. But it was passed with a speed of lightning. I am not surprised and no one…

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Wonder shall never end. This new regime which started on the 29th of May 2023 is like a big functional and ever busy cinema in which movie producers compete to have their movies shown. It is interesting that those of us who are not fans of entertainment produced in the Nigerian film and movie industry—due to its immoral content—have found a new way of entertaining ourselves. Regular viewers of what plays out on the Nigerian political scene would not struggle to conclude that Nigeria has become a big movie theatre. We expect good governance but we end up having excellent…

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Recently, I have been trying to figure out the difference between what people call public schools and playgrounds. The focus here is not on our higher institutions which are becoming citadel of academic stagnation; though I will tangentially talk about them. My concern is our so-called public primary and secondary schools. Children in Nigeria, especially those from poor background whose parents cannot afford to send them to private schools, spend twelve years (after their first six years) in both primary and secondary schools to learn nothing. The exceptions are very few. This does not imply something tangible is being taught…

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When a job is very lucrative and every Tom, Dick, and Harry has the minimum qualifications for it, it should not come as a surprise when rats and cats show up for the job. This is what is playing out right now in Nigeria. The bar of governance has been so low that everyone thinks he can govern Nigeria. The task involves in governing Nigeria, as it is now, is not to do anything. You are only required to take the title and be addressed as President. That is why nothing functions in Nigeria. To prove that you exist as…

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My last week column on the tafseer of Mallama Zainab Ja’far Mahmud Adam elicited some reactions. I cannot address all. However, some observed that there seems to be more to be said than what I penned. This is true. You cannot address such contentious issue in just a column or two. I will therefore build on my previous argument that criticisms against women mufassiraat (exegetes) is cultural; not Islamic. It is to be noted that Islamic scholars who littered their writings with many unkind and terrible remarks about women were those whose thoughts were conditioned by the general cultural prejudices…

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The month of Ramadan is the month of Qur’an. It is conventional to see tafseer (Qur’an exegesis/explanation) being held in mosques, open spaces or any designated venues. In the South of Nigeria, these tafaaseer (plural) are attended by both males and females. In the North, females do attend too but only in some cases. This may be connected with the fact that most mosques in the North do not have provision for female worshippers. This is bad! Not in line with the Sunnah. And because many of these tafaaseer take place in the mosques, females, are by default, not attendees.…

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The homily delivered by Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah on the occasion of 2022 Easter celebration threw a jab at President Buhari’s lackluster administration. This angered the spokespersons to the President and sparked reactions from them. This should be expected—that is what they are paid for. Bishop Kukah is well known within government circle (past and present). His role in the National Peace Committee which was majorly formed for smooth transition of power from former President Jonathan to the current President is well acknowledged and appreciated. Ordinarily, that singular action should qualify him as an emblem of peace. Being a clergyman,…

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The month of Ramadan is known for worship. Lazy Muslims and worshippers, like this writer, try their utmost to make up for what they had failed to do of worship in the previous months of the year. Lackadaisical Muslims endeavor to devout their precious time to worship in this once-in-a-year month to establish an affinity between themselves and their Creator (Allah). Miserly Muslims discomfort themselves to be generous by virtue of this noble month. Bad neighbors pretend to be good due to Ramadan, for Ramadan frowns at bad temperament. It was reported that the Prophet—himself an epitome of generosity—intensifies his…

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There are different categories of Muslims. There are Muslims by birth who can only be known as Muslims when they say they are Muslims. One cannot find any trace of Islam on them, even by their names, because they do not bear their Muslim names. This is common among the Yoruba where you see someone who bears Lanre Ishola and he is a Muslim. You hardly know he is a Muslim but in Ramadan. You know what I mean! There are also Muslims by name. These are found almost everywhere. For instance, in the north, you find someone whose name…

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It did not come to me as a shock. You shouldn’t expect less when you speak the uncomfortable truth to a corruption ridden government, to a government that does not govern, to a government that only exists in name. I always ask myself if those elected to govern Nigeria are the ones actually ruling us or the gun-wielding-teen-bandits. This mess is unprecedented. What did Sheikh Khalid say to deserve suspension? Is he not doing his work as a cleric? If the truth cannot be said through the pulpit in the mosque, where else should it be said? If the Ulama…

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The Abuja-Kaduna train bombing is yet another grotesque episode in the series of seemingly unabated attacks. It is apt to conclude that, in Nigeria, “government exists but does not live or lives but does not exist.” However, it is sad that there still exists in Nigeria those who believe government exists and is up to its statutory obligation. These simpletons are quick to libel the sad news of train bombing as fake news. They insisted that no soul was lost and no one was injured because their parents, wives, and children were lucky not to be victims. Nothing aggravates the…

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Examination mal-practice is dangerous to the survival of a nation. It needs no definition since we all know it. Only a moron, who is also afflicted with acute insanity, can claim not to know what constitutes examination mal-practice. Do you know why it is natural to know that examination mal-practice is a cheat? It is because our Creator did not only create us, He programmed us in such a way that we can distinguish right from wrong, right from left, and good from bad. Examination mal-practice distances us from our creator. Whoever makes it a habit is already on a…

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The widely circulated memo issued by the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) has stirred more than the hornet’s nest. It has been a hotly debated topic not only among the Nigerian Muslims, but also among the Pentecostal and non-Pentecostal Christians. The Muslims argue that they have been vindicated. Their allegation of Christianization agenda is now proven beyond doubt. While some Christians continue to defend the memo, many others are of the opinion that the Church shouldn’t have had anything to do with politics. They argue that Nigeria is a secular state and thus there should be a separation of…

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