Birthday?

By Mahdi Haliru

Today is a great day; It's 11th June, and It's my birthday. Amuzing it might be to some people - I DON'T CELEBRATE BIRTHDAYS! Well err... lets see why.

Birthday is an occassion where a person show appreciation, thankfulness, gratitude, recognition of excellence, remembers and/or celebrates the anniversary of their birth.

See eeh... Forget the long english. It simply mean a day out of the year will be a day to celebrate my BIRTH. But i was wondering what i did that was so great?! It was actually my mother that was facing the problems on that very day - so if any person here is entitled to any sort of celebration here will be my mom!

A man during the lifetime of Rasulullah (SAW) carried his mother on his back and went Tawaaf - circumbulating round the Ka'abah 7 times. He then came to Rasulullah (SAW) and asked:

"Have i fulfill my mother's rights on me?"

Rasulullah replied:

"No you have'nt - not even one birth pain."

Apart from giving me the precious gift of life, Umma also gave me tresured lessons that can guide me along my journeys even when she is no longer with me. When we (I and my brother) were about to leave home for the university in 2012, her words to us were "Be who you are; I'm watching over you." And she kept repeating these words everytime we get set to travel after spending holidays at home.

I later realised the extent of these words. I realised i'm now living in a new world;

a new environment,

a new home,

a new society,

with new people. Where no one will tell you the right thing to do;

no one will tell you to pray,

no one will tell you to read the Qur'an,

no one will give you food to eat,

no one will wake you up to go to school,

no one will tell you to read your books. The ability to make wise choices or descisions is at your own flexibility. So everytime I see my colleague-students misbehaving, i say Alhamdulillah for my mother. She has taught me a lot! the only thing she never did i guess is teaching me how to live without her.

Marian Wright Edelman once said: "To all mothers who are struggling with Teen-agers. I say, just be patient, even though it looks like you can do everything right for a number of years. Parents become more popular again when kids reach 20." I sometimes take Umma for granted. Just like the Hausa saying: you take for granted who you often see around you. "Ido wa ka raina? wanda na saba gani." To know the significance of having a mother around you... go ask the motherless.

Umma is exceptional! She was and still an overprotective mother ever since i was an Infant.

On this great day, i say a very big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you Umma!

Allah ya kara lafiya da kwanaki masu albarka ... Ameen!

The Good Old 'Crescent' Days

By Mahdi Haliru

Five years or so in Crescent Int'l school have been the most memorable in my life. I've had plenty of good times as well as just as many bad times. It does'nt always feels good to remember bad memories. The only thing i can say is that i learned and the most important thing is not just that i learned through the books, but i learned about life and the road ahead of me... as well as having much fun.

It all began in primary 5A, later JSS 1A, 2C, 3A, and then SS1A. Well err... i'm not being egocentric here, but the 'A' classes were always the best and most pleasant. The 5A form master - Mss Maimuna, was one of the best teachers in the world. She stood by and encouraged not only me, but all other students regarding issues mainly on our academic performance. She had this cardboard chart on the wall of the class beside the blackboard (there was no whiteboard then) on which she had the names of all the students in the class. Beside each student's name are tiny little boxes of which she (award) adhere tiny golden stars(stickers). These commendations were based on academic performance, decency, among others.

She was also the one who took us to our first ever school field trip to Dangote flour mills sharada - where we saw and learned how the company operates. There were actually little or no dull moments with Mss Maimuna... She was simply the best.

It was also that same academic year we had the Alliance Francais event. "Annual day" they call it, but i guess it never happened again ever after that same day. It was really a memorable event and we had lots of fun.

The good moments continued in the junior section. It was where i met the good, the bad and the bad... It was the era we had soo much fun that i sometimes forget my main purpose in school. We make our day bright by cracking corny jokes while teasing some of our classmates and even teachers and other staff. oh yeahh.....that was our hobby. We also like troubles. We don't 'look for trouble'.... we 'create troubles'.

When the classroom is quiet, we act the funnily drama to make everyone laugh which causes noise. Though we sometimes get caught - often by the 'friendly, outgoing and easygoing' P.H.E teacher. Although he's friendly, but the truth of the matter really is Mr. Bada is also very bad! He had this cane... very short and tiny, but brutal which he stroke severely on the buttocks.

The crew then in JSS 3A were the back benchers (dont wanna mention names). In every 'activity' we do, we always have teamwork and this made us closer. If we become really out of ideas, we ask anyone nearby and we just rephrase it or get ideas from their ideas. We look smart when we do that.

Day by day we do the same thing. Annoy the teachers with crazy, yet funny things we do. I was never short of stories. Our driver had this tape of Malan Lawan Kalarawi - a religious funnily preacher. So he plays it in the car on our way to school and back. Humorous i was then, i picked many funny quotes and often share them with the back benchers. It was the period i was nicknamed Kalarawi.

We carried along the trend to senior school - the only difference was i was better equipped with criminals. We were in the art class. There was a teacher who took us the 'fine art' n subject and was also a strict displinarian... Mr Vitalis. He severely punished us at the expense of any irregularity; detention, sweeping classrooms after school hours... name them. This same man was a native of Jos - Plateau state and often travelled during holidays. So this time came within a day or two in the first week of resumption and Mr. Vitalis was yet to resume. There were series of violence that erupted in the city of Jos as at that time which left many people feared dead... on a fateful morning the next day, we met (with my crew of course). We hoped Vitalis was dead... killed in the crisis. Infact we planned to burst into laughter the moment Mr. James will break the sad news on the assembly ground. We sometimes tend to be evil huh?? I just hope he'll read this piece so he'll be less harsh on subsequent students.

There are actually a lot of memories - it'll be very hard to narrate all. Another highlight was 'we' cheating in government classwork/test. It's no new fact that Crescent sufficiently overwork its students to make them feel they have come to the greatest school in the world. Government material was much which required a lot of reading and readingeverything was a great challenge. In efforts to scale through, we summarise key points in tiny fonts in-between lines of the previous classwork/test we wrote so that when ideas turned off, we flip to the previous pages to get the solutions. Perhaps in cases when we get caught, there were "Kururu Kerere" arrangements with Mr. Solomon... I don't even know what that means.

The sad moments began after my sad exit from Crescent. I start to miss my close friends a few days after. Although it was temporary, we still met outside-school activities. But i did missed them terribly - the network of friends, the atmosphere, the sight and sound and smell, the hustle and flow, the appetising and moreish expository essay, the never-ending jokes, the signing of eachothers shirt on the last fay of school and many more... i could go on and on.

Everyday, i hope and pray that eachone of us is alive in great health and wealth. The agony of not knowing someone is living or dead is a daily torture, the uncertainty of life's future relationships hangs in limbo. Hopes rides roller coaster - yet each day must be lived. I just hope and pray that we meet again sometime in the near future.

Before i go, i will like to pray for the reposed soul of 'Goggo Zubaida'.... May Allah grant her eternal mercy... Ameen

#OkBye

Late Justice Haliru: Remembering a True Hero

By Mahdi Haliru

The sad moments began in the early hours of sunday, 23rd september 2012. I was fast asleep after the quotidian subh prayers when an intense knock woke me up - "Wake up! Wake up!! Abba is seriously ill" First, i thought i was in a dream because i've never ever imagined to witness in my life a 'seriously ill Abba'. In consternation; startling and frightened at the same time valorous, i swiftly reached to him. I, along with my brothers then quickly rushed him to the hospital(AKTH). Arriving AKTH was when i received the greatest shock of my life... "i'm very sorry but doctors are currently on strike" a dude in front of the emergency unit said to me. This actually meant the patient is likely not to be attended to. But gladly, he was later admitted after some forces within intervened. I often hurt my feelings each time i remember these sad moments. To cut the long story short, Abba later died three days after. (May his soul continue to rest in peace.. Ameen)

When someone you love passes away, there is a strong temptation to remember him perhaps a little too well. Misdeeds are forgotten - offences are forgiven. Only the most shining characteristics of the loved one stick to us when he depart. Except for Abba, he offended no one - infact we owe him! I owe him particularly; I owe him 'loads' of which i cannot repay but only with prayers - though i sometimes feel my feeble prayers will do less justice to the Late Justice.

Abba left behind a big family who loved him dearly. He was an overprotective father. Specifically to me; in cases for example when i fell sick, Abba stays awake all night and all day just to see me sleep well. He encouraged me to 'shake it off' when he knew i was'nt in dire physical pain. He provided me with a never ending sense of physical safety and emotional security. He taught me the significance of humility and the remarkable power of emotional and financial generosity. Abba never lied to me and always speak to me the ultimate truth no matter how unpleasant! It's being said "All work without play makes Jack a dull boy" Abba encouraged me to play lots of football, sometimes in the neighbourhood. He taught me the importance of health and excercise.

Like every loving father, he crack jokes when the atmosphere becomes intense and was also a strict displinarian - there are actually no grey areas for him. I often desperately want to impress him and any acknowkedged appreciation from him of my weak efforts to impress him give me lots of joy. His recommendations were always 'work hard; study hard and pray hard - the sky is your limit' which i vowed to stick to. Abba was indeed a true hero; a great teacher and an extraordinary father. A pious man who had full wisdom and excellent islamic knowledge as well as the islamic teachings, Abba's solution to every problem was supplication to Allah.

Ordinary folks remember him as a role model they look up to. His fellow jurists described him as an upright honest and intelligent man who is fearlessly and tirelessly committed to delivery of the appropriate services; a man of principle who possessed enviable talents.

Allahummaghfir lahu Allahumma thabbithu

Kano: Reviving The Agricultural Sector

By Mahdi Haliru

Socioeconomic development should be treated with a lot of economic sense and common sense because progressive governments priortises social and capital development projects.

Part of the first duty of his excellency the executive governor of Kano state - Dr. Ganduje - was he vowed to by and by design the master plan for the beautification of the state. I think his administration should give downstream agricultural sector more priority over urbanisation. This is mainly because the poor constitute a very large proportion of Kano population and predominant in the rural areas where farming culture is mainly practised.

Kano is heavily endowed with fertile farmland and water (dams and rivers); but unfortunately, neglect and mismanagement of these resources have made the farming under developed in the state. Small and medium farmers often recomend the irrigation farming period as the best period for having best result of farming outputs partly because the amount of water for the plantation is measurable. In this regard, the construction of more irrigation channels and revitalisation of the good old 'KADAWA' will greatly enhance and boost farming in the state.

Furthermore, farm inputs (fertiliser, improved seedlings and improved farm equipments precisely) should also be provided to small and medium farmers at subsidised rates - this will vastly boost agricultural production. One major headache to these farmers is the high cost of fertilizer, impoved seedlings and modern machinery. In this regard, the good old 'KASCO' should be resuscitated pronto as well as supplying the farmers with improved seedlings and modern machinery at subsidised rates.

Engr. Kwankwaso in 2011 said "Za'a bada tractaah! a bada patalyzaah! patalyzaah dan KASCO ba patalyzaah dan kasar waje wanda ake hehehehehe..." Gladly his administration started and these farmers appreciated the subsidy a lot and had excellent output because as they say, the home fertilizer is more effective and efficient than the foreign one. But unfortunately, it later stopped.

Again, the IPP idea is really remarkable. Besides attracting foreign investors, it will greatly impart to efficiency of irrigation lines and storage facilities for farm outputs. These storage facilities will preserve the farm outputs for the near future use. Bad condition of link roads should also be addressed.

The idea of investing heavily in the agricultural sector is to provide raw materials for industries and cause positive production and consumption effects. By production effect, the higher-cost import of agricultural products will be replaced with the lower-cost domestic production of these agricultural produce. By consumption effect, the consumption of the higher-cost imported produce will be replaced with the consumption of the lower cost domestic produce. More often than not there'll be increased export and by increased export, there'll be a hyper level of economic growth, employment and balance of payment.