Mutallib

Published by Daily Reporters  https://dailyreporters.net/a-call-on-religious-leaders-to-remain-neutral-abdul-mutallib-muktar/ For many years in Nigeria, religious leaders have been the ones determining the direction of their followers in politics. This has to do with the immeasurable loyalty the followers have on religious leaders as a class of sacred people who light the way. But some people, particularly the intelligentsia have been raising a critical question as to whether the religious leaders' act of public endorsement or recommendation of political candidates to their followers yields positive result or not. In my own humble opinion which I am constitutionally entitled to, a time has come when religious leaders should, respectfully, retire from public endorsement and/or recommendation of political candidates to their followers. My reasons will be stated below as a real hen does not lay any egg without the sperm of a cock. First and foremost, Nigeria is a multi-cultural ...

In the first ten days of the month of Ramadan, 2012, an incident occurred in our community which left lingering rivers of tears on our faces. We broke our fast happily with keenness that normally accompany the beginning of the holy month. There was a light rain that day which slid to drizzling and a bit of coldness that is always found in Jos. After the Tarawee prayer around 08: 30pm, most of the people there returned to their various homes. Women prepared dishes for Suhur, the observance of fast at dawn. Who expected anything? Nobody! We slept so early that night alongside my two brothers. It came to me with so much surprise when our door was knocked by our father not so long after we fell asleep. In my subconscious state, I began to wonder the speed at which the night went. I thought it was the usual thing– brushing the teeth for Suhur. But it was so soon. The sleep was not enough. Before I take my phone to check time, our father spoke again with a bit of loudness and confusion. M...

Because her first contact with me was at the event of essay writing competition, so she always thought I was nothing but an essayist and that my future blinked nothing but light of letters. Subsequently, life continued until magnetic love came in; we became emotionally attached. Because of the rainstorm of romantic expressions that descended from my tongue into her ears, citing names of world celebrated lovers like Romeo and Juliet, Heloise and Abelard, she began to think that all my readings were on romantic books and essays. She saw me as nothing but a real lasting lover. While walking towards the outskirt of the city someday, a young man and a smoker passing by the way, intentionally blew his badly smelling cigarette to us that sent us coughing. I made a step backward like a bull and gave the smoker a harsh blow on his nose that was more of a chimney. Blood began to gush out until certain people came and settled the matter. Because of that, she thought I was really a fighter and ...

A group of blind men heard that a strange animal, called an elephant, had been brought to the town, but none of them was aware of its shape and form. Out of curiosity, they said: "We must inspect and know it by touch, of which we are capable". So, they sought it out, and when they found it they groped about it. In the case of the first person, whose hand landed on the trunk, said "This being is like a thick snake". For another one whose hand reached its ear, it seemed like a kind of fan. As for another person, whose hand was upon its leg, said, the elephant is a pillar like a tree-trunk. The blind man who placed his hand upon its side said, "elephant is a wall". Another who felt its tail, described it as a rope. The last felt its tusk, stating the elephant is that which is hard, smooth and like a spear. What a wonderfully didactic story! The story is enough to let an individual understand how people  analyse ideas and realities from the particular way t...

There is, of course, a clear difference between criticism and insult. However, to my greatest surprise, these two words are  interchangeably (misconceived?) used in Nigeria. I view this from two angles: either intentional or otherwise to score political goals. The Merriam Webster Dictionary gives the meaning of criticism as follows: noun: the act of expressing disapproval and of noting the problems or faults of a person or thing. Criticize (verb): to express disapproval of (someone/something): to talk about the problems  or  faults of (someone/something). On the other hand, same dictionary also states what insult is: noun: a rude or offensive act or statement: something that insults someone. Insult (verb): to do or say something that is offensive to (someone): to do or say something  that  shows a lack of  respect  for (someone). If you find it unconvincing or confusing to accept these meanings, check other dictionaries. The two words are not the ...

Long time ago when I was young, I used to go very far; at times, beyond the boundary of my own town, for hunting different sorts of animals and plucking a lot of juicy fruits. Any time I left home, I would go farther than I went last. I passed through countless villages where each village is culturally different from the other. One fateful day, I passed through dozens of villages until I arrived at one village where the characteristics of its people were quite astounding. With my bow and quiver of arrows hung on my back, a faded wool-woven side bag cross-hung on my shoulder, my tattered-looking clothes of hunters and rubber boots, my sword and tiger-looking dog, I saw a man yawning; he, without any iota of doubt, seemed famished and thirsty. When I asked him about the village I was about to step my legs into, he said that the village was first and only one of its kind in the whole Mafar kingdom. He told me of the king, his subjects and the villagers and the ruling of the village. I...

I was quite surprised the first time I saw him because he was busy talking to himself. I thought he needed to be taken to an asylum for he, from look of things, was suffering from a mental problem. But not long afterwards, I understood that he was making sense and not just a mere noise. The sections, sub-sections, paragraphs etc. that he kept mentioning every now and then made his talking so rhythmic and fascinating as if he was producing some sort of song in a musical studio. The second time I saw him, I thought he was a fantastic creative storyteller far better than the Soyinkas and the Achebes of this world. The stories he narrated had names of characters whose roles were always to act in disputes. As the stories kept unfolding, the place and the time within which the events happened were aslo mentioned. When I attentively listened to every word of his story, I came to understand that all those stories were factual and not fictional; they were superb narrated decided cases flowi...

Published by Daily Reporters https://dailyreporters.net/how-individualism-takes-over-the-spirit-of-togetherness/ Our dear parents are losing it nowadays in terms of moulding the family and the community together. They are gradually losing the moral responsibility of uniting their own children. This immensely adds to the growing individualism in our society. I don't know of other societies, but I grew up seeing grandparents and parents forcing their children to do virtually everything together, particularly eating food. I recall it with nostalgia how my late grandfather used to eat with my uncles, and whenever I visited them, he would force me to eat together with them. My father also planted such culture in the family. No matter how a child would cry in denial, his plate could never be different. It used to be the practice that whatever a child brought home, he/she could never eat/drink that alone, it had to be shared with the rest no matter how little it was. My father use...

It is in view and scrutiny of the socio-political happenings in Nigerian democracy that I deem it pertinent to come up with a piece of writing bearing this title. In the state of nature, human beings lived in a condition clearly described by Thomas Hobbes as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short". Human beings were endowed with certain inalienable rights, but in the state of nature where there was no political order, the rich exerted force against the poor and the strong against the weak. As population and struggle increased, human society was formed. The people thought that their rights were in danger and they had to be protected. Thus, they sat down, chose certain group of people and made agreements primarily to protect the people's rights. Those group of people chosen became the government while the terms of the agreement became the constitution. In a situation whereby the government failed to enforce the contracts, particularly the enforcible terms, the peopl...

Nigeria celebrates Democracy Day on this very day i.e. 29th May. The day is celebrated as a result of the country's escape from military junta in 1999. Congratulations, fellow Nigerians! Whenever I hear or read the word 'democracy', my mind reflects the origin, meaning, aims and objectives of a democratic system. Abraham Lincoln had theoretically put forward the definition of democracy as the government of the people by the people and for the people. As crystal clear as the definition sounds, it is so shocking that I have been always getting confused whenever I read it. Yes, I fail to understand, and I have realised that I am not the only one. Thus, this seriously invites the question why folks like me are confused despite the lucidity of the definition. Is it because what I see, hear and perceive as democracy in my country is a different version of Lincoln's definition? If that's so, then my [our] confusion is not a result of academic dullness but wrongness on...

Though I wanted to remain silent concerning the visit of Kwankwaso to Femi Fani Kayode. However, the litany of write ups I have been reading on the issue prompted the breaking of my silence. Apology to those who have written against the Kwankwaso's visit; in every perceived political miscalculation, there is always a silent calculation. I am not writing to defend Kwankwaso perhaps as people may think. One of the fundamental reasons why the northerners condemned Kwankwaso for the visit is because Femi Fani Kayode blindly hates the northerners and he always attaches darkness to them. Yes, I have no contention to that. Kwankwaso's visit, be it political, personal or whatsoever, will change the perception of FFK about northerners. The man has been thinking that the entire northerners, particularly Hausa/Fulani hate his people in totality. But as Kwankwaso visited him, he and his like-minded people will desist from keeping and believing the single story of Hausa/Fulani of bei...

In 2016, 2017 and even this year, APC, especially the loyalists of the president have been seriously asserting that National Assembly is the bottleneck of the APC's administration largely because of the 'Sak' voting in 2015. It was alleged that whoever supported Buhari genuinely or otherwise, was voted. At that time, the notable measure of a man's 'integrity' was his loyalty to the then GMB. This was because of the immeasurable love for Buhari. In 2016, and in what many people are saying, the National Assembly began to politically misbehave: delaying passage of budget, padding, delay and refusal of ratifying bills and appointments etc. Those people realised their mistake in 2015; they heavily blamed 'Sak' voting because it prevented them from meritocratic voting. They voted every Tom, Dick and Harry in hurry to get their worry down. But as I write this piece, I foresee same mistake going to be repeated. I have observed that such immeasurable love of...

I was travelling in a train for a special deal when I met two gentlemen making a conversation. Because it was a long journey, I felt annoyed and and somewhat unlucky sitting close to those men who had been disturbing me with their chattering. I was about changing to another seat when my impatient ears captured some sense from their conversation. The first man who dressed in dark blue suit and seemed younger than his age, was a civil servant from The Republic of Janta. The second man, looking confused and older than his age, dressed in a faded but pressed white shirt and a green trouser, was also a civil servant from The Federal Republic of Dasnia. These two men conversed on the state of labour in their respective countries. Coincidentally, being civil servants of the same grade, they received the same amount of salary–N20,000. The first man was shocked to hear the second man complaining about the salary. He said that in The Republic of Janta, that amount of salary is enough for ...

Published by Daily Trust Newspaper https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/on-the-sara-suka-menace.html It gave me a great pleasure having seen certain number of concerned youths talking about the menace of sara-suka around the city of Jos. This came as a result of the escalation of the menace, particularly how a number of youths recently lost their lives. I heard and read from many people proffering solutions and suggestions to the issue; rising from arresting the sara-suka thugs, shooting them at sight to punishing them proportionately. Well, all are good suggestions. But are we suggesting a permanent or temporary solution(s)? If we are for the former, then we must go back to the root causes of sara-suka, those things that support it, and proffer solutions suitable to the kind of environment we found ourselves. First and foremost, the Hausa communities in Jos are blessed with children and youths so energetic and vigorous. These young people seemed not to be properly up-brought. What hap...

By Abdul Mutallib Muktar Nigeria happened to be a plural society that is composed of different ethnic groups, conflicting traditions, religions and beliefs. Historically, this  came about as a result of the colonial amalgamation of different entities and polities in the region that is today called Nigeria. Though one can vehemently argue that such amalgamation was a forced marriage by the colonial lords, and that any forced marriage ends up in persistent quarrelling that eventually leads to break-off. As hot as the argument sounds, one can also opine that the amalgamation was artificial and contrary to what nature laid down. But an indisputable fact is that the amalgamation has become a Nigeria's fate which should now be wisely seen as ordainment of God. Whatever the argument may be, the issue of amalgamation had been resting in the archive of history since 1914. What has passed is by-gone and should be ignored, the future is what matters. It is an irrefutable belief that fo...

Despite the fact that Ateeka was dark in complexion, she still remained a gorgeously young-looking and robust lady. Her hair of great lustre descended to her back like a mango tree blessed with evergreen leaves. Ateeka behaved and dressed decently. People, particularly her teachers in school liked her piety and chastity. She was one of the few ladies who were not negatively influenced by the so-called modern civilization of the West. Her parents were always heavily praised and admired because of their disciplinary measures, strictness, firmness etc. in the family. A lot of good and bad friends went to Ateeka to impose certain influences on her. Bad friends had tried fruitlessly to maladjust her. Some cheats called teachers in her school too had tried to misguide and mislead her but but all in vain. Ateeka became a lioness whose appearance attracted attention but created fear in the minds of those trying to approach her for a relationship. Nevertheless, she still had some number of g...

As far back as 1975, a beautifully bouncing baby girl descended from the womb of her mother in the village of Hazo. A tumultuous crowd could be seen in the house of Mato celebrating the arrival of his baby that afternoon. The birth of the baby miraculously opened the floodgate of wealth to her two parent. Mato and his wife had sorrowfully spent about three years without any child but finally got one; their tears were wiped out by the arrival of their daughter. Because of the fortune of wealth the baby brought to the family, the parent decided to name her 'Attajira'. Few years after the birth of Attajira, her caring and loving mother fell sick which lasted for about five years. All sort of medications in Hazo and the neighboring villages had been tried but the situation deteriorated and never improved. She finally passed away and left rivers of tears on the faces of Mato and his only daughter. Her demise had, undoubtedly, left an incurable wound in their hearts. Life could ...