Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Digest for usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com - 11 updates in 6 topics
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Osakue Omoera
Sep 5, 2016, 5:21:07 AM9/5/16
to usaafric...@googlegroups.com
The Waziri story is an amazing one. We need more of it to inspire our youths. Thank you Prof Farooq A Kperogi. May we all continue to support others to reach their fullest potentialities. Osakue S. Omoera
On Sun, Sep 4, 2016 at 11:52 PM, <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
- Ibrahim Waziri: From HND in Nigeria to PhD in America - 2 Updates
- Herdsmen attacks as man's inhumanity to man - by Emma Onwubiko [Fulani Terrorism and Colonizing Drive in Nigeria] - 1 Update
- Stop! - 3 Updates
- Zuckerberg, Facebook and Why Hausa is a “Unique” Language - 1 Update
- SV: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Naming a Dog and Buhari’s Emerging Democratic Tyranny - 3 Updates
- A Bright or Bleak Future for the Opposition? - 1 Update
"Farooq A. Kperogi" <farooq...@gmail.com>: Sep 04 12:58PM -0400
This first appeared in my "Notes from Atlanta" column in the Daily Trust on
Saturday. It was republished on my blog:
http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2016/09/ibrahim-waziri-from-hnd-in-nigeria-to.html
*What you will read below is the inspirational story of a 29-year-old
Nigerian from Bauchi who graduated with an HND in Electronics Engineering
from the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, in 2009 and wound up getting a PhD in
Information Security from Purdue University last month.*
*His journey started when he sent me an email in late 2009. He wanted to
know if his HND would qualify him to study for a master’s degree in the US.
I told him yes, and sent him links to two articles I wrote about studying
in the US. I also guided him on how to take the GRE and TOEFL, how to apply
to US universities, and how to get funding for his studies.*
*I didn’t think what I did would amount to anything. I have rendered
countless such mentorships to several people. But two years later, I got an
email from Ibrahim (now Dr. Waziri) that he was enrolled in a master’s
program at a university here in Georgia thanks entirely to my guidance,
which I frankly didn’t even remember until I searched my email archive. He
even visited me in my home.*
*A few years later, he was accepted to the prestigious Purdue University to
study for a Ph.D. He graduated a month ago with high honors and has
accepted a well-paying job in Washington DC. To say I am delighted and
proud of this energetic, passionate young man’s success is to understate
the incredibly overwhelming joy I feel.*
*I requested Dr. Waziri to write a short piece detailing his journey to
serve as an inspiration to many young people with HNDs who think their
educational journeys have ended. Enjoy it:*
<https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1jcCri6jLhU/V8pgLxcO7QI/AAAAAAAAFFc/U03nNWSMRYARnM5Z-18_rXxFSoIpMsjlACLcB/s1600/Dr%2BIbrahim%2BWaziri.jpg>
Dr. Ibrahim Waziri
Getting a Ph.D. from an American university has always been dream. But like
many HND graduates, I always wondered if I would be able to continue with
my studies in the US with a Nigerian HND. Would the HND be recognized as
the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree? I had no clue until I came across
Prof. Farooq Kperogi’s *Weekly Trust *column and blog.
In November 2009, I read Prof. Kperogi’s article titled “Studying in
America: What you need to know.”
<http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2011/11/studying-in-america-what-you-need-to.html>After
reading the article, and understanding how the process of getting accepted
into an American University was, I emailed him to inquire whether my HND
was equivalent to an American bachelor’s degree. He answered my questions,
provided in-depth guidance, and later published another article titled “HND
and American Universities,
<http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2009/12/hnd-and-american-universities.html>”
which provided a step-by-step guide on how an HND graduate can continue
studying in the US.
Following guidance from Prof. Kperogi’s article, I submitted my OND and
HND transcripts to the Word Education Services <http://www.wes.org/> (WES)
for evaluation. (WES is the largest international credential evaluation
service in America and Canada). The evaluation results said my HND was
equivalent to an American bachelor’s degree.
At the time my transcripts were under evaluation, I prepared for and took
my Graduate Records Exams (GRE) and benefitted from the resources Prof.
Kperogi generously shared with me. I got impressive scores. I applied for
the master’s program at Georgia Tech, Southern Poly State University, and
Georgia Southern University. I got accepted into Georgia Southern.
In August 2012, I started my Masters of Science degree in Applied
Engineering (with a focus in Information Technology) at Georgia Southern
University. It is at Georgia Southern that I met my mentor and amazing
professor by the name of Prof. Jordan Shropshire, who is now a Professor of
Computer Science at the University of South Alabama. I worked in Prof.
Shropshire’s lab as a Research and Teaching assistant were I learned how to
conduct research and mentor students. For my work, I got a tuition waiver
and a monthly stipend.
I worked on different projects relating to Network Security and Cloud
Computing, which resulted in my first academic publication. My performance
during my master’s program was really impressive to the point that I got
inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, the oldest and most
selective honor society in the US. This is what my mentor, Prof.
Shropshire, said about me:
*“**Ibrahim was my best graduate assistant at Georgia Southern University.
He is intelligent, professional, and responsive. He completes complicated
projects on time and under budget. A patient man, he excels at explaining
complex subjects to non-technical persons. Even under the most stressful
conditions I don't think I've ever seen him lose his cool. For these
reasons (and many others) I wouldn't hesitate to hire him again.**”*
– Source: Ibrahim Waziri’s LinkedIn profile.
In May 2014, I graduated with my master’s degree. Immediately after, in
August 2014, I started my Ph.D. in Information Security at Purdue
University, one of the best universities in the world
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purdue_University>. I worked extremely hard,
taking more classes than required per semester. Because of the rigor of the
research training I got from my master’s degree program, I was able to work
on my dissertation while doing my course work. This enabled me to complete
my 90 hours coursework and dissertation in 2 years. This is unusual. Ph.D.
education in US universities typically lasts a minimum of 4 years.
I graduated with my Ph.D. in August 2016. My research areas are Network
Security, Cloud Computing, and Virtualization Security. I have published
and presented papers relating to Firewalls, Phishing Attacks, Cyber
Forensics, etc.
While at Purdue University, I worked as a Cyber Anti-Fraud Analyst for RSA,
the Security Division of EMC. And I also interned as a Cyber Security
Analyst for the US Federal Government, working with USITC in Washington DC.
This is what Prof. Sam Liles, one of my professors during my Ph.D. program,
said about me:
*“Ibrahim showed exceptional understanding of how to analyze malware and
problem solve in a class he took with me. His work with volatile malware
samples and structured laboratory problems shows a lot of promise. If you
are looking for a savvy thinker and capable individual, he is the right
person. I enjoyed watching his thinking processes and following along as he
solved several complex problems. Almost always forgotten when recommending
somebody, but very important is that Ibrahim is simply a nice guy and easy
to get along with.”*
– Source: Ibrahim’s LinkedIn profile.
I currently work as a Security Research Engineer in Washington, DC. I still
consider myself a student and want to gain more in-depth hands-on
experience in the ever-changing Cyber Security field. But, ultimately, I
want to come back home (Nigeria) to help tackle the Cyber Security issues
Nigeria faces. You can look me up on LinkedIn or on my personal page at
iiwaziri.com <http://iiwaziri.com/>.
*Dr. Waziri can be reached at iiwa...@gmail.com <iiwa...@gmail.com>*
*Related Articles:*
*HND and American Universities
<http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2009/12/hnd-and-american-universities.html>*
*Studying in America: What You Need to Know
<http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2011/11/studying-in-america-what-you-need-to.html>*
*Funding Your American Education
<http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2011/11/funding-your-american-education.html>*
Farooq A. Kperogi, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Journalism & Emerging Media
School of Communication & Media
Social Science Building
Room 5092 MD 2207
402 Bartow Avenue
Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw, Georgia, USA 30144
Cell: (+1) 404-573-9697
Personal website: www.farooqkperogi.com
<http://www.farooqkperogi.blogspot.com>
Twitter: @farooqkperog <https://twitter.com/#%21/farooqkperogi>
Author of *Glocal English: The Changing Face and Forms of Nigerian English
in a Global World
<http://www.amazon.com/Glocal-English-Changing-Linguistics-Semiotics/dp/1433129264/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1436569864&sr=1-1>*
"The nice thing about pessimism is that you are constantly being either
proven right or pleasantly surprised." G. F. Will
"Bitrus Gwamna" <bgw...@gmail.com>: Sep 04 05:35PM -0500
Prof Kperogi: many thanks for this inspiring story, and for your mentorship of this brilliant individual. I am also grateful to you for your excellent essays on language.
Bitrus Gwamna
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Farooq A. Kperogi
Sent: Sunday, September 04, 2016 11:58 AM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Ibrahim Waziri: From HND in Nigeria to PhD in America
This first appeared in my "Notes from Atlanta" column in the Daily Trust on Saturday. It was republished on my blog: http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2016/09/ibrahim-waziri-from-hnd-in-nigeria-to.html
What you will read below is the inspirational story of a 29-year-old Nigerian from Bauchi who graduated with an HND in Electronics Engineering from the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, in 2009 and wound up getting a PhD in Information Security from Purdue University last month.
His journey started when he sent me an email in late 2009. He wanted to know if his HND would qualify him to study for a master’s degree in the US. I told him yes, and sent him links to two articles I wrote about studying in the US. I also guided him on how to take the GRE and TOEFL, how to apply to US universities, and how to get funding for his studies.
I didn’t think what I did would amount to anything. I have rendered countless such mentorships to several people. But two years later, I got an email from Ibrahim (now Dr. Waziri) that he was enrolled in a master’s program at a university here in Georgia thanks entirely to my guidance, which I frankly didn’t even remember until I searched my email archive. He even visited me in my home.
A few years later, he was accepted to the prestigious Purdue University to study for a Ph.D. He graduated a month ago with high honors and has accepted a well-paying job in Washington DC. To say I am delighted and proud of this energetic, passionate young man’s success is to understate the incredibly overwhelming joy I feel.
I requested Dr. Waziri to write a short piece detailing his journey to serve as an inspiration to many young people with HNDs who think their educational journeys have ended. Enjoy it:
<https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1jcCri6jLhU/V8pgLxcO7QI/AAAAAAAAFFc/U03nNWSMRYARnM5Z-18_rXxFSoIpMsjlACLcB/s1600/Dr%2BIbrahim%2BWaziri.jpg>
Dr. Ibrahim Waziri
Getting a Ph.D. from an American university has always been dream. But like many HND graduates, I always wondered if I would be able to continue with my studies in the US with a Nigerian HND. Would the HND be recognized as the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree? I had no clue until I came across Prof. Farooq Kperogi’s Weekly Trust column and blog.
In November 2009, I read Prof. Kperogi’s article titled “Studying in America: What you need to know.” <http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2011/11/studying-in-america-what-you-need-to.html> After reading the article, and understanding how the process of getting accepted into an American University was, I emailed him to inquire whether my HND was equivalent to an American bachelor’s degree. He answered my questions, provided in-depth guidance, and later published another article titled “HND and American Universities, <http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2009/12/hnd-and-american-universities.html> ” which provided a step-by-step guide on how an HND graduate can continue studying in the US.
Following guidance from Prof. Kperogi’s article, I submitted my OND and HND transcripts to the Word Education Services <http://www.wes.org/> (WES) for evaluation. (WES is the largest international credential evaluation service in America and Canada). The evaluation results said my HND was equivalent to an American bachelor’s degree.
At the time my transcripts were under evaluation, I prepared for and took my Graduate Records Exams (GRE) and benefitted from the resources Prof. Kperogi generously shared with me. I got impressive scores. I applied for the master’s program at Georgia Tech, Southern Poly State University, and Georgia Southern University. I got accepted into Georgia Southern.
In August 2012, I started my Masters of Science degree in Applied Engineering (with a focus in Information Technology) at Georgia Southern University. It is at Georgia Southern that I met my mentor and amazing professor by the name of Prof. Jordan Shropshire, who is now a Professor of Computer Science at the University of South Alabama. I worked in Prof. Shropshire’s lab as a Research and Teaching assistant were I learned how to conduct research and mentor students. For my work, I got a tuition waiver and a monthly stipend.
I worked on different projects relating to Network Security and Cloud Computing, which resulted in my first academic publication. My performance during my master’s program was really impressive to the point that I got inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, the oldest and most selective honor society in the US. This is what my mentor, Prof. Shropshire, said about me:
“Ibrahim was my best graduate assistant at Georgia Southern University. He is intelligent, professional, and responsive. He completes complicated projects on time and under budget. A patient man, he excels at explaining complex subjects to non-technical persons. Even under the most stressful conditions I don't think I've ever seen him lose his cool. For these reasons (and many others) I wouldn't hesitate to hire him again.”
– Source: Ibrahim Waziri’s LinkedIn profile.
In May 2014, I graduated with my master’s degree. Immediately after, in August 2014, I started my Ph.D. in Information Security at Purdue University, one of the best universities in the world <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purdue_University> . I worked extremely hard, taking more classes than required per semester. Because of the rigor of the research training I got from my master’s degree program, I was able to work on my dissertation while doing my course work. This enabled me to complete my 90 hours coursework and dissertation in 2 years. This is unusual. Ph.D. education in US universities typically lasts a minimum of 4 years.
I graduated with my Ph.D. in August 2016. My research areas are Network Security, Cloud Computing, and Virtualization Security. I have published and presented papers relating to Firewalls, Phishing Attacks, Cyber Forensics, etc.
While at Purdue University, I worked as a Cyber Anti-Fraud Analyst for RSA, the Security Division of EMC. And I also interned as a Cyber Security Analyst for the US Federal Government, working with USITC in Washington DC. This is what Prof. Sam Liles, one of my professors during my Ph.D. program, said about me:
“Ibrahim showed exceptional understanding of how to analyze malware and problem solve in a class he took with me. His work with volatile malware samples and structured laboratory problems shows a lot of promise. If you are looking for a savvy thinker and capable individual, he is the right person. I enjoyed watching his thinking processes and following along as he solved several complex problems. Almost always forgotten when recommending somebody, but very important is that Ibrahim is simply a nice guy and easy to get along with.”
– Source: Ibrahim’s LinkedIn profile.
I currently work as a Security Research Engineer in Washington, DC. I still consider myself a student and want to gain more in-depth hands-on experience in the ever-changing Cyber Security field. But, ultimately, I want to come back home (Nigeria) to help tackle the Cyber Security issues Nigeria faces. You can look me up on LinkedIn or on my personal page at <http://iiwaziri.com/> iiwaziri.com.
Dr. Waziri can be reached at iiwa...@gmail.com <mailto:iiwa...@gmail.com>
Related Articles:
HND and American <http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2009/12/hnd-and-american-universities.html> Universities
Studying in America: What You Need to Know <http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2011/11/studying-in-america-what-you-need-to.html>
Funding Your American Education <http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2011/11/funding-your-american-education.html>
Farooq A. Kperogi, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Journalism & Emerging Media
School of Communication & Media
Social Science Building
Room 5092 MD 2207
402 Bartow Avenue
Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw, Georgia, USA 30144
Cell: (+1) 404-573-9697
Personal website: www.farooqkperogi.com <http://www.farooqkperogi.blogspot.com>
Twitter: <https://twitter.com/#%21/farooqkperogi> @farooqkperog
Author of <http://www.amazon.com/Glocal-English-Changing-Linguistics-Semiotics/dp/1433129264/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1436569864&sr=1-1> Glocal English: The Changing Face and Forms of Nigerian English in a Global World
"The nice thing about pessimism is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised." G. F. Will
--
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Toyin Falola <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu>: Sep 04 02:00PM
Dear all:
To repeat, please don't insult anyone but make your arguments.
There is no point to call anyone a liar. Present your facts and counter opinions and let us all decide.
PLEASE!
Moderator
Sent from my iPhone
Cornelius Hamelberg <cornelius...@gmail.com>: Sep 04 08:17AM -0700
Sir,
It is not a session of the British House of Lords - or the House of Commons
where a constitutionally ordained speaker (somewhat akin to your
Moderator's function Sir) maintains forum decorum/ etiquette, but we admit
that expressions such as ”unmitigated stupidity” and the word liar
<https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj335Df0rHNAhUE3SwKHZ9MDooQPAgD#hl=en&q=liar>
is a pretty strong word with which to paint a friend, decorate an opponent
or tarnish an enemy - even if he/she merits the title - as the Rev. Ian
Paisley found out when he accused a fellow Hon. Gentleman in the British
House of Commons of being a liar - for which he paid dearly.
<https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj335Df0rHNAhUE3SwKHZ9MDooQPAgD#hl=en&q=Rev.+Ian+Paisley+suspended+for+calling+an+MP+a+liar>
Despite the predominance of the English Language as the vehicle of our
polite exchanges and not discounting whatever pretensions we may have about
Holy Westminster, we are aware that cultural considerations such as the
respect due to elders, should also be observed (reasonably) here in this
forum...
An uncertainty that gives no peace of mind : Could acceptable (accepted by
whom?) euphemisms and circumlocutions such as Churchill’s “terminological
inexactitude
<https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj335Df0rHNAhUE3SwKHZ9MDooQPAgD#hl=en&q=terminological+inexactitude>”
pass thine blue litmus test?
Yours Sincerely,
Cornelius
Stop <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIArmP6HcZk> (blues)
The end.
On Sunday, 4 September 2016 16:12:01 UTC+2, Toyin Falola wrote:
Cornelius Hamelberg <cornelius...@gmail.com>: Sep 04 11:02AM -0700
Sir,
Forum decorum / school discipline, at least within the school premises.
Reminds one of school days, the rascal, be patient; wait for him outside
when school is over...
One can only be grateful to be hanging out here in cyberspace, safe from
physical danger, because beyond the mere words that cannot break anyone's
bones, some of the tensions that have gathered around discussions about the
1966 coup, the history of Biafra, the war against corruption and now the
debates about whether or not it should be halal to name your okuru dog
after the president of Nigeria or any of his relatives that bear the same
surname – there's no guarantee that with passions getting out of control,
such palaver could not have occasionally erupted into an exchange of
physical blows, maybe, even gunfire. (You can take him out of the jungle
but you cannot shake the jungle out of him) as we can see often happens in
these places when emotions get the better of their masters…
<https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj335Df0rHNAhUE3SwKHZ9MDooQPAgD#hl=en&tbm=vid&q=Fighting+in+various+parliaments+and+assemblies>
On Sunday, 4 September 2016 16:12:01 UTC+2, Toyin Falola wrote:
"Farooq A. Kperogi" <farooq...@gmail.com>: Sep 04 12:43PM -0400
My "Politics of Grammar" column in today's Daily Trust on Sunday as
republished on my blog:
http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2016/09/zuckerberg-facebook-and-why-hausa-is.html
*By Farooq A. Kperogi, Ph.D.*
*Twitter: @farooqkperogi <https://twitter.com/farooqkperogi>*
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg sparked a raucous socio-linguistic debate
in Nigeria after he disclosed in Lagos that Facebook’s platform now
supports the Hausa language. But his words were quickly twisted to suggest
that he said Hausa was a “unique language.”
I looked everywhere on the Internet for the exact quote where he said Hausa
was a unique language. I didn’t find any. This is what Biztech Africa
quoted him
<http://www.biztechafrica.com/article/facebook-chief-restates-commitment-assisting-tech-/11707/#.V8oGh_krKM8>
to
have said. “I am proud of putting Hausa language on the platform. I know
with time more languages from Nigeria will also go live.” The News Agency
of Nigeria had a different quote. It quoted him
<http://punchng.com/facebook-embrace-nigerian-languages-says-zuckerberg/> to
have said, “I am glad we support Hausa and we are planning on supporting a
lot more languages soon.’’
So let’s be clear that Zuckerberg never said Hausa was a unique language.
Nor did he, as some Nigerian websites misquoted him as saying, proclaim
being “proud” of Hausa.
But even if Zuckerberg didn’t say Hausa was unique, it sure is a
fascinating language for these 5 reasons—and more.
<https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yyEoG7VLSNs/V8uM_Ag37yI/AAAAAAAAFFs/RAxZGk15OiQDGYzzUVq0SIy-BMz4IJURQCLcB/s1600/Mark%2BZuckerberg%2BFacebook%2BHausa.jpg>
*1. Hausa is far and away Nigeria’s, nay West Africa’s, most widely spoken
language.* According to several estimates, such as Encyclopedia Britannica
<https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hausa-language>, it is spoken by up to 50
million people both as a native language and as a non-native language. This
means it is outrivaled only by Swahili as the most widely spoken language
in Africa.
2. *Hausa is also emerging as Nigeria’s only non-ethnic language*, by which
I mean it is spoken as a lingua franca by millions of people who are not
ethnically Hausa. Although Yoruba, Igbo, Ijaw, Fulfulde, and other major
Nigerian languages have tens of millions of speakers, the speakers are, for
the most part, ethnically affiliated with the languages. For instance,
although Yoruba is also spoken in Benin Republic, Togo, and Cuba and many
other Caribbean nations, it is spoken mostly by people who ethnically
identify as Yoruba.
In Nigeria, Ghana, Niger, Cote d'Ivoire, Sudan, etc. Hausa is spoken by
millions of people who also speak their native languages. No West African
language is spoken as a second language by as many people as Hausa is.
There are more than 25 million non-native Hausa speakers, according to many
estimates, and the number is growing courtesy of the increasing reach and
popularity of the Hausa movie industry called Kannywood. That means there
are nearly as many people who speak Hausa as a native language as there are
who speak it as a non-native language. Like what has happened to the
English language, in the near future, there may be more non-native Hausa
speakers than native Hausa speakers.
It is now usual to distinguish between native- and non-native speaker
varieties of Hausa in terms of vocabulary and pronunciation. There is even
pidginized Hausa called *Barikanci*, which is spoken by non-native Hausa
speakers in military barracks.
Hausa is a lingua franca in 16 of northern Nigeria’s 19 states. The only
northern Nigerian states where Hausa isn’t widely spoken are Benue, Kogi
and Kwara.
*3. Hausa enjoys enormous language loyalty in ways no other Nigerian
language does*. First, most Hausa speakers who are educated in English are
also educated in Hausa. That is, they can write as proficiently in English
as they can in Hausa. You can’t say that of speakers of other Nigerian
languages.
Second, Hausa speakers don’t subordinate their language to English or even
Arabic. By contrast, the Igbo language has the distinction of being the
only endangered language that is spoken by millions of native speakers.
Typically, languages are endangered because of the numerical insignificance
of their native-speaker base, or because younger people refuse to speak
them. This fate is often suffered by minor languages with low social and
cultural prestige.
But Igbo isn’t just spoken by millions of people in Nigeria, it also enjoys
high social prestige. However, the preference for English and Nigerian
Pidgin English is endangering the language. That is why in 2012 UNESCO
predicted <http://sunnewsonline.com/unesco-and-endangered-igbo-language-1/>
that
if nothing is done to reverse the trend the Igbo language could disappear
from the world’s linguistic map by 2025. This is obviously overly alarmist,
but several Igbo scholars are taking this prediction seriously.
*4. Hausa has a rich written tradition that goes back to hundreds of
years.* For
instance, *Kano Chronicle*, a palace-centered monthly publication, was
first published in Hausa (and in Arabic) in 1503 and continued for many
years before it stopped publishing. It predated *Iwe Irohin fun awon Egba
ati Yoruba* (“newspaper for the Egba and Yoruba people”), which was first
published in 1859 by the Reverend Henry Townsend.
*5. Hausa has an extensive lexical repertoire.* Apart from its own rich
native vocabulary, it has borrowed liberally from Kanuri, Arabic, Fulfulde,
Tuareg, and, lately, English—the same way that English has borrowed, and
continues to borrow from Latin, Greek, Arabic and other languages.
Hausa is also perhaps the only Nigerian language that has grammatical
gender for noun distinction. Every Hausa noun is either masculine or
feminine.
*Clarifying the Misconceptions about Hausa’s Linguistic Superiority*
While Hausa is a rich, deep, structurally beautiful language, it isn’t
superior to any language. No language is. As Michael Stubbs points out in
his book, *Language, Schools and Classroom*, “It is accepted by linguists
that no language or dialect is intrinsically superior or inferior to any
other, and that all languages and dialects are suited to the needs of the
communities they serve” (p. 30).
That Hausa is a fascinating language doesn’t mean that it is superior to
any language— or that other languages are inferior to it. Here are popular
misconceptions about the Hausa language that I’ve decided to explode:
*1. Hausa is the first written language in Nigeria. That is not true. *Although
the *ajami* script (an improvised Arabic orthography) emerged in Hausaland
around the 1500s, it is not the first writing system in Nigeria. *Ajami* was
preceded by an indigenous writing system called *nsibidi* in what is now
Cross River and Akwai Ibom states by hundreds of years.
<https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X70hLHlZqB4/V8uN5ZWKnnI/AAAAAAAAFFw/_nzJMqhAreMGAlMF4RwmCc3lv1wMtld1ACLcB/s1600/Nsibidi.gif>
The earliest record of *nsibidi* dates back to more than 1000 years. It was
an ideographic alphabet that was written on pots, calabashes, stools,
walls, leaves, etc., which British colonialists initially derided as "a
kind of primitive secret writing," but which actually produced an elite
corps of literate people who used it to write court judgments and to
chronicle history.
In his article titled “Early Ceramics from Calabar, Nigeria: Towards a
History of Nsibidi,”
<http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/afar.2007.40.1.18#.V8o8tPkrKM8>
American
art historian Christopher Slogar quoted J.K. Macgregor to have said the
following about *nsibidi *in the 1900s: "The use of *nsibidi* is that of
ordinary writing. I have in my possession a copy of the record of a court
case from a town of Enion [Enyong] taken down in it, and every detail ...
is most graphically described."
It is worth mentioning that a kind of indigenous, *nsibidi*-like Hausa
alphabet that is neither Arabic-based nor Latin-based was discovered in
Maradi in southern Niger Republic in 2004. It was discovered by a Nigerien
Hausa by the name of Aboubacar Mahamane. But no one has determined when the
alphabet was invented. Did it predate *ajami *or did it come after *ajami*?
Dr. Donald Zhang Osborn, an American scholar who specializes in African
languages, brought this alphabet to the attention of the world
<http://www.bisharat.net/Demos/Hausa_alphabet.htm>.
<https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-snNfTC_AlA0/V8uOPlMlz2I/AAAAAAAAFF8/GWh8-526L4wHQs6iVDpiqwTFQRY1fX7owCLcB/s1600/Hausa%2BAlphabet.gif>
*2. Hausa speakers were widely literate before colonialism. This is a
common claim that has no basis in facts*. Although literacy in Arabic and
*ajami* existed in Hausaland before British colonialism, it was never
widespread at any point in history. Being merely able to read and write in
Arabic isn’t functional literacy. Like most northern Muslims, I can read
and write in Arabic, but I can’t claim to have functional literacy in the
language because I can’t communicate in it.
As Billy Dudley points out in his book, *Parties and Politics in Northern
Nigeria*
<https://books.google.com/books?id=HCoSuJMof9EC&pg=PA106&lpg=PA106&dq=literacy+rate+in+Hausa&source=bl&ots=J_IgiO_5eN&sig=cVi7_Ac8exYDRFsJx4ZR6n8fNqE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiowZn6jPLOAhXBRyYKHc2aAXoQ6AEIVTAJ#v=onepage&q=literacy%20rate%20in%20Hausa&f=false>,
according to the 1921 census, the literacy rate in the north (including
Arabic literacy) was a mere 1.9 percent. By 1952, the literacy rates in
Arabic were 10 percent in Zaria; 8 percent in Kano; 4.8 percent in Katsina;
4 percent in Niger; 2.2 percent in Plateau; 2 percent in Borno; 1 percent
in Benue (p. 106).
Like Latin in Medieval Europe, full functional Arabic literacy in northern
Nigeria was the exclusive preserve of a few clerical elite. It was never
democratized literacy.
3. Some commentators suggested that *Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg privileged
Hausa over other Nigerian languages because of Afro-Asiatic
solidarity.* Zuckerberg
is Jewish, and Hebrew, the ancestral language of Jews, belongs to the
Afro-Asiatic language family—in common with Hausa.
Well, while that is true, Zuckerberg’s immediate ancestors were Ashkenazi
Jews who spoke Yiddish, not Hebrew. Yiddish is a Germanic language,
although it has a sprinkling of Hebrew and Aramaic words in it.
*4. Modern Hausa people have always spoken Hausa. That is another
misconception*. First, according to the late Dr. Yusufu Bala Usman, “Hausa”
isn’t even a Hausa word; it’s derived from the ancient Songhai word for
“southerners,” which makes sense since Hausa people are located south of
the Zarma and Dendi people of Niger Republic (who are the modern
descendants of the Songhai people). The first known use of the term Hausa
(in English?) dates back to 1853, according to the Merriam-Webster
Dictionary.
Second, a landmark 2009 DNA study by Sarah A. Tishkoff and 21 other
researchers titled “The Genetic Structure and History of Africans and
African Americans” <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2947357/> shows
that most modern native Hausa speakers are actually Nilo-Saharans who share
genetic affinities with people from Borno, central Chad, Cameroun, and
South Sudan. They adopted the Hausa language through elite emulation
thousands of years ago. That’s why linguists are often careful not to use
language as a basis to make judgments on ethnic origins.
In my April 3, 2016 article titled “Nigerian Languages are More Closely
Related Than You Think
<http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2016/04/nigerian-languages-are-more-closely.html>,”
I pointed out that “linguistic similarity isn’t always evidence for common
ethnic or racial origin. For instance, although the Hausa people speak an
‘Afro-Asiatic’ language, they have little or no Eurasian element in their
genetic profile while the Fulani who speak a Niger-Congo language have
substantial Eurasian elements in their gene pool.”
*Related Articles:*
*Nigerian Languages are More Closely Related Than You Think
<http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2016/04/nigerian-languages-are-more-closely.html>*
*Anglophilia and Dying Nigerian Languages: A Personal Narrative
<http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2014/11/anglophilia-and-dying-nigerian.html>*
*Multilingual Illiteracy: What Nigeria Can Learn fro Algeria's Language
Crisis
<http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2013/07/multilingual-illiteracy-what-nigeria.html>*
*The Arabic Origins of Common Yoruba Words
<http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2012/05/arabic-origins-of-common-yoruba-words.html>*
*Of Yoruba, Arabic, and Origins of Nigerian Languages
<http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2012/08/of-yoruba-arabic-and-origins-of.html>*
*Top 10 Yoruba Names You Never Guessed Were Arabic Names
<http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2014/07/top-10-yoruba-names-you-never-guessed.html>*
*Ooni of Ife's Strange Theory of the Yoruba Origins of English
<http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2016/03/ooni-of-ifes-strange-theory-of-yoruba.html>*
*Politics of Grammar Column
<http://www.farooqkperogi.com/p/politics-of-grammar-column.html>*
Farooq A. Kperogi, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Journalism & Emerging Media
School of Communication & Media
Social Science Building
Room 5092 MD 2207
402 Bartow Avenue
Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw, Georgia, USA 30144
Cell: (+1) 404-573-9697
Personal website: www.farooqkperogi.com
<http://www.farooqkperogi.blogspot.com>
Twitter: @farooqkperog <https://twitter.com/#%21/farooqkperogi>
Author of *Glocal English: The Changing Face and Forms of Nigerian English
in a Global World
<http://www.amazon.com/Glocal-English-Changing-Linguistics-Semiotics/dp/1433129264/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1436569864&sr=1-1>*
"The nice thing about pessimism is that you are constantly being either
proven right or pleasantly surprised." G. F. Will
Salimonu Kadiri <ogunl...@hotmail.com>: Sep 04 12:52PM
Whenever a Yoruba person talks about WÈRÈ, Obi always assume that the Yoruba person is talking about OWERRI. Traditionally, Aba-Oba-Ku is an appointee of a newly crowned King of Ife (Ooni Ife) which is not a general practice in Yorubaland. Since, Johnson Thompson Aguiyi Ironsi was not Ooni of Ife, Lt. Colonel Francis Adekunle Fajuyi could not have been his Aba-Oba-Ku to which Obi Nwakanma would want to reduce Fajuyi's heroism to. The person that arrested Ironsi and Fajuyi was Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, whose substantive rank as at July 29, 1966 was Captain. Jeremiah Useni was an unknown military figure at that time and could not have been part of the decision makers concerning the fate of Ironsi and Fajuyi. Obi is very good in the art of crediting people with statements they have never made. Where and when did Jeremiah Useni said he was among those who decided that Fajuyi should suffer the same fate as Ironsi and what was his military rank then?
Obi Nwakanma is like a child, who often washes his stomach only and claims that he has bathed. He wrote, "If Salimonu wants education, he should come with little humility and be informed. I would recommend that he reads Sylvia Leith-Ross's *Notes of the Osu among the Ibo of the Owerri Province* in the April 1937 issue of the Journal of the International African Institute." Most liars, like Obi Nwakanma, have short memories which is why they easily get caught in the cobweb of self-contradiction. The self-acclaimed progressive nationalist, Obi, is recommending me to read what a foreign girl wrote about Osu, to educate myself. Inconsistency is a known threat to truth and common sense!! Obi is asking me to travel to Sókótó to search for what is inside the pocket of my sòkòtò (trousers). Why should I bother myself with the views of Sylvia Leith-Ross on Osu, when I have access to superior written records on the subject by Nigerians, and most especially Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. Hear him speak in the Eastern House of Assembly on March 20, 1956, while seconding the motion for the second reading of the Abolition of the Osu System Bill, "Mr Speaker, this Bill is a milestone in the long history of the struggle of African humanity for social equality on the continent of Africa. ....//... This Bill seeks to do three things: to abolish the Osu system and its allied practices including the Oru or Ohu System, to prescribe punishment for their continued practice, and to remove certain social disabilities caused by the enforcement of the Osu and its allied systems. The objects and reasons for the Bill are humanitarian and altruistic. They are a positive attempt on the part of your government ..... which found as a fact that certain persons suffered social disabilities and were stigmatized from the point of view of marriage simply because they were labelled as Osu or descendants of Osu, or Oru, or descendants of Oru.
What is the Osu system and why must it be abolished? ....//... According to this Bill, the Osu system includes any social way of living which implies that any person who is deemed to be an Osu or Oru or Ohu is subject to certain prescribed social disability and social stigma. An Osu may be a person who has been dedicated to a shrine or a deity and that person and its descendants are therefore regarded as social pariahs with no social rights which non-Oru are bound to respect. An Osu may be a person who is descended or can be proved to be descended from a slave and that person and his descendants are for ever proscribed as social pariahs......
Mr. Speaker, I call upon all nationalists on both sides of this House to disassociate themselves from a satanic practice which sentences our kith and kin to social degradation. ... Mr. Speaker, this Bill offers a challenge to the morality of Easterners. I submit that it is not morally consistent to condone the Osu or Oru or Ohu system. I submit that it is devilish and most uncharitable to brand any human being with a label of inferiority (slave)... (p. 91-93, ZIK: Selected Speeches of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe)" Obi as a historical revisionist is equating Osu to religious monk while Azikiwe who was seconding a motion to ban it in the Eastern House of Assembly in 1956 proclaimed it a satanic practice and vicious social system. Obi Nwakanma thinks we are blind and as such he lied to us that there was no salt in the soup and hoping foolishly that we were not going to taste it for verification. Dr. Thomas Ozodi Osuji once upbraided the type of Obi Nwakanma's historical inventions in an online media, Nigeria Village Square thus, "Their (Igbo) so-called intellectuals are currently writing pseudo history of them. Yet their pseudo intellectuals write fiction of what they think that their society was like two thousand years ago! This is made up history, make belief history, fiction and fantasy, imaginary stuff, wish for state of history, but not reality."
Obi Nwakanma wrote, "Awo's work was dedicated to creating an ethnic counter force to the anti-colonial nationalist movement. And he was clear about it. He wrote about it. He practised it. The records of the positions of the Egbe and the AG from 1947/48 when they were floated can be read in archived work of the party's newspaper, the Daily Express, many of which can be found in various libraries today." Obi Nwakanma is basing his claim that Awo's work was dedicated to creating an ethnic counterforce to the anti-colonial nationalist movement on what he, Obi, has read in the Daily Express about Egbe and AG from 1947/48. Yet he failed woefully to tell his readers what Awolowo exactly wrote, did or said that qualified him to be an ethnic counterforce to anti-colonial nationalist movement. Readers should just accept as the truth whatever Obi Nwakanma asserts about Awolowo and the AG without any substantial written evidence other than Obi's historical Decree and pronouncements. Obi goofed when he asserted that the records of when Egbe and AG were floated in 1947/48 could be read in the Daily Express because that newspaper never existed in 1947/48. Rather, there was Daily Service which was replaced by Daily Express towards independence.
When Nnamdi Azikiwe returned to Nigeria in 1937, he met established political parties, among which were Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) and Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM). Herbert Macaulay, the Secretary General of the NNDP had been in the forefront of anti-imperialism since 1922, with the colonial government jailing him several times and even imposing life-ban on him to visit Oyo province which was in force till his death in 1946. The Lagos Youth Movement founded in 1933 by Dr. J.C.Vaughan, Mr. Ernest Ikoli, and Samuel Akinsanya, had been demonstrating against the colonial government since its inception. The LYM was converted to Nigerian Youth Movement in 1937 when Henry Oladipo Davies became its General Secretary. In 1938, the NYM won all the three seats to the Legislative Council having defeated the NNDP that had won all elections to the Legislative Council in Lagos since 1923. After that election Azikiwe joined the NYM as a back-bencher together with Awolowo, Akintola, Tuyo, Subair, Ogugua-Arah, Sonibare and Duro Emamanuel under the leadership of Dr. Kofo Abayomi, Dr Akinola Maja and Jubril Martin. That Azikiwe joined the NYM only added more energy to the fire of Nationalism in Nigeria that had started long before his return to Nigeria from Ghana.
In early 1941, Ernest Ikoli had become the President of NYM after Dr. Kofo Abayomi that had departed to London for specialist course in ophthalmology and whose Legislative Council seat was declared vacant. Thus a by-election was to be conducted to fill his position that year. The President, Earnest Ikoli declared his interest to contest the by-election as well as the Vice President, Oba Samuel Akinsanya, and Dr. Akinola Maja. When the Executive Committee of the NYM met it decided in favour of Ernest Ikoli on the ground that it was the convention in NYM that when the President expressed interest to contest any election, he should automatically be selected. Dr. Abayomi had enjoyed that convention and it should be extended to his successor, Earnest Ikoli. Oba Akinsanya rejected the decision of the Executive Committee and contested against Ikoli with the open support of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe while Awolowo supported Ernest Ikoli. When the result of the by-election of March 5, 1941 came out, Ikoli won. Thereafter, Azikiwe and Akinsanya left NYM. It is remarkable that Awolowo could choose to support Earnest Ikoli, an Ijaw- man against not only a Yorubaman but an Ijebu man like himself. However, NYM was weakened by the crisis and consequently, NNDP began to win all elections to the Legislative Council from 1943. That same year, Nnamdi Azikiwe founded the Ibo Federal Union and installed himself as the President. He was immediately imitated by Eyo Ita who also founded Ibibio Federal Union. In 1948, Ibo Federal Union name was changed to Ibo State Union to become a central or pan-tribal organisation which unites a multitude of voluntary associations formed to foster civic welfare in the local communities of Ibo-land and in the Ibo settler communities of new urban areas throughout Nigeria. It is noteworthy that the founder of Zikist Movement, Nwafor Orizu joined the Ibo State Union in 1948. That same year, Ibibio Federal Union changed its name to Ibibio State Union. In 1948, Awolowo was in far away Ibadan when Egbe Omo Oduduwa was formed in Lagos by Adeyemo Alakija, Akinola Maja, Kofo Abayomi, Bode Thomas, Hezekiah Oladipo Davies, Akanni Doherty and others which Awolowo later joined and opened a branch in Ibadan. In his Presidential address to the Ibo State Assembly at Enugu on 15 December 1950, Nnamdi Azikiwe said, "In the Western Region, the Egbe Omo Oduduwa has been very active in seeing to it that only nationalist should enter the Western House of Assembly." I leave the rest to readers to judge who introduced tribalism into politics in Nigeria.
Obi Nwakanma wrote, "....... reactionary groups funded essentially by the British and their local interests, like Awolowo, made certain that the nationalists did not come to power." Who were the nationalists Britain did not allow to come to power in Nigeria? In fact they were Awolowo, Enahoro, Ikoku, Dr. Tunji Otegbeye, Aminu Kano, Mokwugo Okoye, Ajuluchukwu, Michael Imodu, etc. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe had always been in power in Nigeria, directly or indirectly depending on his foxy and selfish calculations. The first federal elections of 1954, produced the following results: NPC 84 seats, NCNC 63 seats, Action Group 20 seats, KNC 6 seats, UNIP 5 seats, Idoma State Union 2 seats, Middle Belt Peoples' Party 2 seats, Igbira Tribal Union 1 seat, and Nigerian Commoners Liberal Party 1 seat. None of the political parties had a majority to form the government and a very important factor was that NPC was considered to be a party of feudalists and autocrats. However, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe while addressing the NCNC Federal Parliamentary Party and National Executive Committee on January 8, 1955, said, "I believe that the NCNC and the Northern Peoples Congress can work a government by agreement in which the former (NCNC) dominates the executive and the latter (NPC) controls the legislature..." The reason why Azikiwe wanted a federal government dominated by the NCNC with the NPC was because he viewed Northerners as educationally inferior. In his Presidential Address to Ibo State Union at Enugu on December 15, 1950, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe spoke about the North thus, "In the North, the feudal autocrats and their minions have spared no time in making it easier for non-English ciphers and illiterate dummies to flood the Northern House of Assembly." In 1955, Azikiwe was prepared to dominate a federal government where non-English ciphers and illiterate dummies flooded the legislatures to rubber stamp and thumb-print his executive dictums. About a year before the 1959 Federal elections which was to choose the government that would usher Nigerian into independence, Azikiwe paid a courtesy visit, on 14 June 1958, to the Premier of Northern Region, Ahmadu Bello. After the visit Azikiwe said that he was in a position to say that his appraisal of the Action Group was shared by the God-fearing compatriots who constitute the majority among the inhabitants of the North. Earlier, on February 17, 1958, Yoruba members of the NCNC had formed Egbe Yoruba Parapo (Yoruba State Union). Its President was Alhaji N.B. Soule, Vice-Presidents, H.O. Davies, Mr. Alex Joaquim, and Chief J.A. Oshibogun; General Secretary - Alhaji Adegoke Adelabu; Treasurer - Chief P.A. Afolabi; Legal Adviser - Chief Kola Balogun; and Auditor - Mr. G.B. Akinyede. Although they claimed to be loyal to the NCNC, they were determined to co-operate with other ethnic groups in the NCNC only on the terms of absolute equality. At that time the domination of the NCNC by the Ibo State Union was no longer latent which Adelabu and companies were prepared to challenge.
The final results of the December 1959 Federal Elections showed that NPC won 148 seats, NCNC and its ally, NEPU won 89 seats and AG and its ally UMBC won75 seats. Since NCNC, AG and their allies together had 164 seats as against 148 for the NPC, Awolowo proposed a national government led by Nnamdi Azikiwe as he, Awolowo, would not serve in a national government led by a feudalist. In spite of the protest of the ally of NCNC in the North (NEPU), Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe announced on Sunday, 20 December 1959 a coalition agreement between the NPC and the NCNC, in which the post of Prime Minister was ceded to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa of the NPC. It did not matter if Hausa man was the head of government as the saying went at that time: Hausa man wey e no sabi book, na we e go de rule. Awolowo chose to be leader of opposition while as Chinua Achebe confirm it, the Igbo led the nation in virtually every sector - politics, education, commerce, and the arts (There Was a Country, p 66-67). Whatever hatred we may harbour for the British colonialism, it would amount to historical falsification for anyone to accuse them of handing over federal government's power in Nigeria to the NPC when, in reality, it was Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe that ceded the head of government to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. In 1948 and 1950, Azikiwe disowned the Zikist Movement to save his own skin from the whip of the colonial power. On September 7, 1968, he led a delegate of Biafrans, comprising of Dr. Michael Okpara, Dr. Kenneth Dike and Francis Nwokedi and others to Paris to negotiate Arms for Biafra which had been reduced to a small enclave. The French realizing the hopelessness of the military situation refused to pour in more arms. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe exploited the occasion to forsake Biafra. Later, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe publicly accused Ojukwu of confiscating his poem, The Land of a Rising Sun, and adapting it into Biafran National Anthem, without his consent or approval. That was the history not of a nationalist, progressive or revolutionary, but of a fair-weather and chop-chop politician.
S. Kadiri
________________________________
Från: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> för Rex Marinus <rexma...@hotmail.com>
Skickat: den 2 september 2016 05:49
Till: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Ämne: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Naming a Dog and Buhari’s Emerging Democratic Tyranny
"Chief Obafemi Awolowo led the Action Group political Party that was officially inaugurated on April 28, 1951. The motto of the Action Group was FREEDOM FOR ALL, LIFE MORE ABUNDANT. They declared their belief that the people of Nigeria in general would have life more abundant when they enjoy - (i) Freedom from British rule; (ii) Freedom from ignorance; (iii) Freedom from disease; and (iv) Freedom from want. The basic principles that brought members of the ActionSalimonu Kadiri <ogunl...@hotmail.com>: Sep 04 01:08PM
In the UK, under section 5 of its Public Order Act (POA), one Harry Taylor, an atheist who placed drawings, satirizing Christianity and Islam in an airport prayer room, was convicted in April 2010 and given a six-month prison sentence. There is no freedom of, speech, action and expression anywhere in the world without absolute limit.
S. Kadiri
________________________________
Från: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> för Obododimma Oha <obod...@gmail.com>
Skickat: den 3 september 2016 21:29
Till: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Ämne: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Naming a Dog and Buhari’s Emerging Democratic Tyranny
Thanks to Chinakwe (who started it all) and, of course, Farooq the
analyst given to rigour, I went clawing and digging and sniffing, and,
bow-wow, I came upon Jim Dratfield's book, Dogography, which features
interesting illustrations and quotes in doglore! Here are some great
sayings featured: "Dogs are us, only innocent" (Cynthia Heimel); "All
knowledge, the totality of all questions and all answers, is contained
in a dog" (Franz Kafka). Wonderful! Thanks, Chinakwe, for opening a
door.
-- Obododimma.
> My column in today's Daily Trust:
> *By Farooq A. Kperogi, Ph.D.*
> *Twitter:@farooqkperogi <https://twitter.com/farooqkperogi>*
[https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/427942164287328256/oL3zORsh_400x400.jpeg]<https://twitter.com/farooqkperogi>
Farooq Kperogi, Ph.D (@farooqkperogi) | Twitter<https://twitter.com/farooqkperogi>
twitter.com
The latest Tweets from Farooq Kperogi, Ph.D (@farooqkperogi). Associate Professor of Journalism & Emerging Media @Kennesaw State University, @Daily_Trust columnist ...
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B.A.,First Class Honours (English & Literary Studies);
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University of Ibadan.
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Kenneth Harrow <har...@msu.edu>: Sep 04 10:03AM -0500
All freedoms/rights are limited by others. No one in human rights theory disputes that. I bet, however, your example, salimonu, is incomplete. Was it for mocking the religions that this person was convicted. I bet you, without my even looking into it, that there is more to explain the conviction.
I’d go further.
No one should be barred from mocking anything in religion on the ground that religious beliefs or images are sacrosanct.
That’s how I would interpret freedom of expression.
On the other hand…and there is always another hand… the circumstances of the mockery might constitute a provocation that would directly lead to violence. I would want to adjust freedom to mock by taking circumstances into account.
Complicated stuff. Salimonu perhaps your comment simplifies it too much, implicitly claiming the crime had to do simply w mocking religion.
For instance, if you defile an image of Mohamed on a mosque, would it be the damage done to the building or to the faith of people that would ground the law?
Without knowing the circumstances of your example, I am willing to bet it is closer to the former than the latter, in the u.k.
ken
Kenneth Harrow
Dept of English and Film Studies
Michigan State University
619 Red Cedar Rd
East Lansing, MI 48824
517-803-8839
har...@msu.edu
http://www.english.msu.edu/people/faculty/kenneth-harrow/
From: usaafricadialogue <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Salimonu Kadiri <ogunl...@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: usaafricadialogue <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Date: Sunday 4 September 2016 at 08:08
To: usaafricadialogue <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: SV: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Naming a Dog and Buhari’s Emerging Democratic Tyranny
In the UK, under section 5 of its Public Order Act (POA), one Harry Taylor, an atheist who placed drawings, satirizing Christianity and Islam in an airport prayer room, was convicted in April 2010 and given a six-month prison sentence. There is no freedom of, speech, action and expression anywhere in the world without absolute limit.
S. Kadiri
Från: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> för Obododimma Oha <obod...@gmail.com>
Skickat: den 3 september 2016 21:29
Till: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Ämne: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Naming a Dog and Buhari’s Emerging Democratic Tyranny
Thanks to Chinakwe (who started it all) and, of course, Farooq the
analyst given to rigour, I went clawing and digging and sniffing, and,
bow-wow, I came upon Jim Dratfield's book, Dogography, which features
interesting illustrations and quotes in doglore! Here are some great
sayings featured: "Dogs are us, only innocent" (Cynthia Heimel); "All
knowledge, the totality of all questions and all answers, is contained
in a dog" (Franz Kafka). Wonderful! Thanks, Chinakwe, for opening a
door.
-- Obododimma.
> My column in today's Daily Trust:
> *By Farooq A. Kperogi, Ph.D.*
> *Twitter:@farooqkperogi <https://twitter.com/farooqkperogi>*
Farooq Kperogi, Ph.D (@farooqkperogi) | Twitter
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B.A.,First Class Honours (English & Literary Studies);
M.A., Ph.D. (English Language);
M.Sc. (Legal, Criminological & Security Psychology);
Professor of Cultural Semiotics & Stylistics,
Department of English,
University of Ibadan.
Fellow,
Centre for Peace & Conflict Studies,
University of Ibadan.
COORDINATES:
Phone (Mobile):
+234 8033331330;
+234 9033333555;
+234 8022208008;
+234 8073270008.
Skype: obododimma.oha
Twitter: @mmanwu
Personal Blog: http://udude.wordpress.com/
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Chambi Chachage <cham...@yahoo.com>: Sep 04 02:02AM
Subject: [UDADISI] A Bright or Bleak Future for the Opposition?
ABright or Bleak Future for the Opposition in Tanzania?
ChambiChachage
“Indeedall dictatorships are basically weak; because the means they apply ingovernance make them inherently unstable” – Mwalimu Julius Nyerere
Tanzaniansappear united about the positive outcomes of thepostponement of nationwide marches that were slated for September 1st. Itdiffused thepolitical tension that reached its peak with arrests of some politicians. However,we seem divided on its implication on the future of opposition politics in ourcountry. First, thereare those who believe that the ‘Party of Democracy and Development’ (CHADEMA)bluffed and got discredited by failing to go ahead with the protest. Its ‘United Front for Protesting Dictatorshipin Tanzania (UKUTA)’, they think, crumbled. Ironically, this acronym is aKiswahili word that stands for ‘The Wall’.
Postponingto October 1st, such critics feel, is another game of bluff. The wall hasfallen. And the little credibility left is lost. Gone is CHADEMA’s goldenchance to redeem itself after discrediting its anti-corruption credentials bynominating, as its presidential candidate, someone it had aptly branded ‘theface of corruption’. CHADEMA’sally in the ‘Coalition of the People’s Constitution’ (UKAWA), Civic UnitedFront (CUF), is also facing a crisis of legitimacy. Its former chairperson,Professor Ibrahim Lipumba wants to be reinstated. Ironically, he resigned in2015 after these opposition parties nominated a former Prime Minister, EdwardLowassa, whohad defected from the ruling party, Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM).
JuliusMtatiro, CUF’s interim chairperson, has publiclyaccused a relatively new party known as Alliance for Change andTransparency (ACT-Wazalendo) for colluding with Professor Lipumba and the“system” to destabilize it. Evasively, the co-founder of ACT-Wazalendo, ProfessorKitila Mkumbo, has dismissed the allegations byarguing that “the first step insolving a problem is to attribute its cause internally” but once you start“attributing it externally you're close to failing to solving it” as “you haveabsolutely no control of the external forces”. UKAWA is in shambles. No wonder it hardly supported CHADEMA’s UKUTA. As wehave noted elsewhere, we had beenthere before. The rise and fall of leading opposition parties in Tanzaniais almost cyclic. There was a time the National Convention for Construction andReform (NCCR-Mageuzi) led the pack, now it is a shadow of its past glories.Then CUF came up. Now CHADEMA is on the brink. One wonders whether this is now the moment for ACT-Wazalendo to seizethe day. Curiously, on August 3rd, its leader, Zitto Kabwe, penned an articleentitled: Willthe real Opposition emerge under Magufuli’s repressive CCM? “The author and his colleagues, like theformer CHADEMA Secretary General, Wilbrod Slaa,” he reminisces therein, “usedthe parliament to legitimise opposition politics by raisingcorruption scandals and holding the government to account.” He then reiteratesthat the “opposition in general and CHADEMA in particular lost the platformduring the 2015 elections and literally handed it to the CCM candidate.”
But for him, there was an ‘outlier’ in theopposition – his party. “Other parties like ACT Wazalendo”, he asserts, “had amore clear agenda on anti-corruption but its voice wasn’t heard in the campaigndominated by two candidates.” Noting that “many people have started to writeobituaries for the opposition”, he calls “for the rise of real oppositionpolitics.” By this, he means: “One-agenda politics must pave way forissues-based politics.” In other words, CHADEMA is thus no longer, or not (yet),‘real’. Why? Because his “real opposition will have to engage in providing acritical analysis of the regime and offer an alternative policy.” As if the main opposition party was notengaging in issues-based politics before we are told that: “Issues like budgetmanagement will be critical as signs are out there that the fifth phasegovernment will have more adverse audit opinion than any other before.” Anotherissue is “Tax revenues”, which he alleges, “are still at the levels of theprevious administration.” One is left wondering what then were thosealternative budget speeches by the shadow minister for finance all about?
Lest I put words on one’s mouth let’s revisitthese concluding remarks of his that have galvanized our pragmatic ‘twiterati’:“These are the issues the opposition must bring up. Well-articulated issuesbacked by expert evidence. Critical analysis of data and of government actionsand reactions. The era of scandal-raising politics is over; the regime hasco-opted it. Only politics of solutions can support the opposition now. Thesteady slide towards repression must be fought vehemently. But if theopposition does not articulate issues affecting the day-to-day lives of people,the repression will be supported by people. A coalition of likeminded peoplewho have credentials to fight against corruption and articulate developmentalpolitics must emerge and take up the ideological bankruptcy existing in thecountry now. Lack of issues and business as usual weaken the opposition anddiscredit most of our moves, including the recent UKUTA operation.” As we havenoted, he wrote this way before September 1st. When our inquisitive mind queried whetherthese remarks are “Analogous to the call for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)to be 'service delivery' CSOs and not of 'Advocacy' CSOs?” Rakesh Rajani (@rakeshrajani) twitted: “@Udadisi I don't read @zittokabwe as saying either/or, butthat scandal mongering will not help people achieve aspirations #IdeasKwanza.” Forhim, “critique and exposure are necessary, but insufficient”, so, “practicalideas for change [are] needed too.”
Rakesh Rajani is clearly speaking from hisvantage point as a leading proponent of the ‘Theory of Change’, a ‘toolkit’ heattempted to apply in Tanzania while founding and heading the now famous CSOsknown as Twaweza. One cannot help butnotice that the key opposition party that has his like-minded people isACT-Wazalendo. After all, both Professor Kitila Mkumbo and Honorable ZittoKabwe have consulted for Twaweza as thelatter’s public declaration of wealth attest. Moreover, Rakesh Rajani who is now based atthe Ford Foundation in New York was also instrumentalin organizing Zitto Kabwe’s discussions on political issues with Tanzaniansin the United States of America. This is a trip that also saw the icon ofACT-Wazalendo spendsome time at the Harvard Kenned School (HKS) of governance. One can also geta glimpse of what he was learning in the ‘Executive Education’ program on ‘RethinkingFinancial Inclusion (RFI): Smart Design for Policy and Practice’ by skimmingthe books on Portfolios of the Poor andPoor Economics that he attached in thistweet: “Offering solutions to Risk Question posed by top notch researchersof the world. #SocialSecurity#Harvard #RFI.” Such is the context that enables one to seehow technocratic approaches to politics are shaped. It is not by accident thatwe are seeing the meeting of the minds between those who started as activistsand shifted to being pragmatists. Now, for them, change primarily comes throughroundtables and not the streets. Yes, in the Open Government Partnership (OGP) withKigoma Municipal Council under ACT-Wazalendo’s leadership that recently saw theExecutive Director of Twaweza, AidanEyakuze (who is also a SteeringCommittee Member of OGP), come together withthe Member of Parliament for Kigoma Urban, Zitto Kabwe, alongside the ever versatileProfessor Kitila Mkumbo and others stakeholders to develop an action plan forimplementing OGP’s pilot program in the municipality. Noteveryone is ready to openly look at all these ‘interlocking’ engagements akinto ‘interlocking directorates’ and unpack their pros and cons. But if we setaside our vested interests, we can fathom why, in these times of UKUTA, aleader of an opposition party that appearas the ‘new kid on the block’ would be bold enough to state that: “Once our modus operandi changes and we start tacklingissues and articulate them, the real opposition will emerge, stronger and readyto govern.” Governing, not marching, seems to be the buzzword for the new opposition.Little wonder Zitto Kabwe informsus elsewhere that: “The opposition governs more than 20 local governmentauthorities [LGAs] in the country. Service delivery to the people in these LGAs[is] CRITICAL.” Tellingly, Edward Lowassa is also onthe record claiming that their CHADEMA has graduated from being an activist party to one organizing to be governing. The governance prize they are all aiming for, of course, is the verystate they are all complaining is ‘undoing’ democracy. Even our leading critic of the neoliberal discourse of ‘good governance’vis-à-vis ‘good leadership’, Issa Shivji (@IssaShivji) seems mesmerized by ournew breed of pragmatic politicians. “Politics”, heaffirms, must prioritize and strategize as it “embrace/articulate burningconcerns of the masses”. Whither his ‘organize’, ‘mobilize’ and ‘agitate’? Or ‘populism’can now hand ‘power’ on a silver platter?
I am still convinced that the activist politics of protest andwhistleblowing are still very crucial, not least because the state apparatuseswant to dictate the war against corruption, that is, make all of us fight orcheer it in their own terms. We have seen it recently with the agile move to stop prosecuting three CCM’s Members of Parliament. It is visible in the handlingof the Lugumi scandal that is purported to be as sensitive to matters of‘national security’ as that of Meremeta. When one of the repressive stateapparatuses ‘asks’ @JamiiForumsto give it names of anonymous whistleblowers, we should know 'scandalmongering' still matters. Hence it is premature, if not irresponsible, to affirm that “the era of scandal-raising politics is over”just because “the regime has co-optedit.” Why would any opposition anywhere in the world be ready to dance to apopulist tune of the regime’s orchestra conductor while it is well known that the‘powers that be’ even if ‘progressive’ do or cover almost anything to protect a‘ruler’ from falling? Like ‘Castle Black’ in the ‘Game of Thrones’, CHADEMA’s wall might havebeen breached. But this should not be a sufficient reason to radically changeits own modus operandi that has shaken thebuilding blocks for ‘dictatorship’. In a way, the anticipatedshow of force byrepressive state apparatuses and recurring counterstatements from ideologicalstate apparatuses are indicators of how responsive our ‘governors’ are tocriticism. When they feel its pinch they listen. Quantifying the number of democratic ideals that have been preservedthis way could help us see why it is still imperative to appeal to the innercore of the good-hearted‘leaders’ of our country. Their conscience cannot let them sleep at nightwithout looking at the mirror to see whether what the opposition is protestingin them is indeed true. So, there are ‘changes’ to be achieved the UKAWA way.And as 'crazy' as UKUTA may appear to the ‘pragmatic’ in us, there aredemocratic ‘spaces’ we owe it for 'safeguarding' even if we just take democracyfor granted. Democracy, as MwalimuNyerere would remind us, “is an attitude of the mind” worth keeping.
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Osakue S. Omoera, CMIM
Department of Theatre and Media Arts
Faculty of Arts, Ambrose Alli University
Ekpoma, Edo State, Nigeria
Email:omo...@yahoo.com
Alternative emails:osakue...@aauekpoma.edu.org, osakue...@gmail.com
Mobile:+2348035714679, +2348059997573
The secret to having everything you want out of life is the realization that you really don't want most of the things you think you want. (Bo Bennett)
Department of Theatre and Media Arts
Faculty of Arts, Ambrose Alli University
Ekpoma, Edo State, Nigeria
Email:omo...@yahoo.com
Alternative emails:osakue...@aauekpoma.edu.org, osakue...@gmail.com
Mobile:+2348035714679, +2348059997573
The secret to having everything you want out of life is the realization that you really don't want most of the things you think you want. (Bo Bennett)
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