Almajiri and the MDGs

There are ample indications that Nigeria may not meet up its Millennium Development Goals on Universal Primary Education. Besides the shortcomings of educational institutions regarding the provision of quality education needed, there is also the problem of the Almajiri

The word ‘Almajiri’ is a Hausa interpretation of the word ‘disciple.’ An Almajiri is a Koranic student who has chosen to dedicate his life to the study of the Holy Koran with the express aim of enhancing the growth and advancement of Islam. He is expected to distance himself from worldly things to avoid distractions from his primary divine responsibility. He must live a life of sacrifice

Parents are expected to offer their children for the cause. Thus a child as young as five leaves his parents and his immediate community to a Koranic school hundreds of kilometers away from his home.

Wealthy Moslems are expected to make donations to such Islamic schools to enable them carry out their activities. The schools unfortunately are often the subjects of neglect as such individuals often fail to live up to the divine call. The schools are, as a result, scenes of deprivation and squalor. Due to this, the Almajiri is pushed into the streets to beg in order to survive.

It is now becoming increasingly clear that parents who have in the past given their children for the noble cause are now giving out the kids for the return the children bring as a result of begging.

The Almajiri issue has become a constant source of embarrassment to the governments and the people especially in the north of the country. In an effort to overcome the problem, the governments of some northern states that include Zanmfara, Bauch Gombe, Kaduna and Kano started a programme aimed at integrating almajiri schools to the conventional schools. Following this noble initiative, the streets of the affected states are expected to be free of all Almajiris

Plateau State in central Nigeria is predominantly a Christian state and the Almajiri phenomenon has never been rare in the state. In the past four years however, there has been a sudden influx of Almajiris into Plateau State. You see them in the street of Jos, the capital of Plateau State. The kids with ages ranging from 5 to 11 years come from remote villages in Adamawa, Kano, Gombe, Bauchi and Yobe states. These are kids running away from the hybrid schools in their states

At the Jos Railway station where I met some of these kids, I asked them why they are not in traditional schools. Their answer was that they have not been sent to the schools by their parents. I then asked their opinion about such schools and all of them agreed that they would have preferred to be in those schools but since their parents having not sent them, they have been left with no options. I brought out my mobile phone to take pictures. The little ones ran away despite my promise to pay a token in return.

The Successes of PRTVC Under Yiljap Abraham

Yiljap Abraham

Pastor Yiljap Abraham was appointed the General Manger (GM) of the Plateau Radio and Television Corporation (PRTVC) two days after the administration of Governor Jonah David Jang was sworn in. The incumbent administration in Plateau State pride itself as a reformer. In a rare interview, the News Tower was privileged to have the GM unveiled the progress in the area of broadcasting.

Mr. Abraham has been among the pioneer staff of the corporation when it was founded and worked for about 14 years before living to take up a responsibility in the church. He says a lot has changed in his absence and on coming back he had to assess the situation to understand needy areas of the operations of the organization to enable him draw an action plan for reforms.

So far there has been improvement of working conditions. The offices have been made habitable to encourage heads of the different departments to stay around and oversee the activities of their subordinates. Though purchases of equipments have been made by past regimes of the corporation, a large portion of the equipments bought when the station was founded have been maintained with all their shortcomings as a result of wear and tear and the fact that the industry has moved on in terms of equipments needed for excellent broadcasting. Along this line, there has been a computerization of the operations of the organization. Manual and electric typewriters in administrative offices have also been replaced by computers. The issue of staff morale has also not been forgotten in addition to staff training to educate the staff on the operations of the new equipments. The GM says the greatest investment of his organization has been in the area of staff training since the personnel must also be trained in other areas of modern broadcasting. A total of 250 staff of the corporation have been trained in different areas broadcasting.

The corporation has reached a decision that it must have a niche to with it is dedicated. As a result the station has settled on news dissemination as a niche for which they intend to be known. This explains why news feature frequently now on the station whether on the radio or the TV side. This decision was not arbitrarily taken. The decision was actually informed by the fact that the people need to be informed and educated more so that the private stations in Jos are entertainment based.

The PRTVC is also involved in exchange programs with other media organizations to enable it benefit form the cross-breeding of ideas that such exchange offer.

The broadcaster said that foreign radio stations don’t threaten the PRTVC. Rather the PRTVC is challenged by the excellent quality of broadcasting of the stations. According to the GM, the fact that the foreign stations cannot permeate the nooks and crannies of our own locality means that somebody must take up this responsibility. While the foreign media are ahead in global coverage, stations like the PRTVC are ahead in sourcing and diffusion of information about our own locality.

There are a lot of people who felt the PRTVC would have been able to counter the biased reportage of the latest episode of the Jos crisis by the foreign media who so it as a piece of propaganda material. The GM said that no matter what you do, there will always be two sides to a coin. Furthermore, PRTVC operates under the ambits of National Broadcasting Commission’s code which granted a license that gives the corporation the liberty to transmit only within the frontiers of Plateau State. They are thus expected not to use transmitters that go beyond this range. Nevertheless the corporation played a significant role in the restoration of peace and is still doing it through the airing of peace jingles even midway in the course of news programs.

The head of the corporation also underscored the role of presenters in the operation of the corporation. According to him, the presenter is the last man in the production chain. He takes what has been produced and relays it to the rest of the world. He is the salesman of the corporation. If you take a program that has been properly packaged and give it to a lousy presenter, he says, he completely messes it. On the other hand, even if the conception, scripting, production and post-production are not that good, an excellent presenter transforms it into something that is a delight to listen to or watch depending on the arm of the media involved.

In view of the imperativeness of presenters in quality broadcasting, it becomes necessary for them to get regular training. They are also expected to, on their own, work hard to improve their presentation by watching or listening to good presenters in addition to reading widely.

Pastor Abraham agrees that is it normal that when one ages, his manner of doing things also changes. In the case of presenters, people can perceive this in the minor changes that go with their presentation. There however, a limit to such changes the corporation can tolerate, says the GM.

On the issue of program content ownership, Abraham said that presenters could be staff or non-staff. The first category of non-staff are those that present sponsored programs. When they come they do so with the authority and label of the sponsor. The ownership of the program content thus belongs to the sponsor. The second category of non-staff that forms the majority of the presenters in PRTVC do not present packaged programs. They are paid the amount that has been agreed upon in the contract of their engagement for every presentation. The glory of any good presentation by these set of presenters go to the corporation. Where there is a problem, the corporation takes full responsibility and as such the ownership of the content of their presentations belong to the corporation. In that sense, it amounts to an unprofessional conduct for such a presenter to go to another broadcast media to present a program that has become part of the identity of a previous organization. The corporation with be legally justified to challenge such a move.

The GM also gave reasons why 24-hour service will not be possible in the foreseeable future. This is because erratic power situation demands that power generators be used. Though the state government has purchased brand new generators for the corporation, it cost a lot of money to fuel this generators. The fragile equipments will also be overstretched. Though there is a provision for the purchase of new equipments in the 2009 budget, it is not the reason why the corporation should promise 24-hour service. Everything, according to him is driven by principles. The fact that we don’t live the 24-hour culture means that it will make no sense for the corporation to operate anything outside the current eight hours on TV and eighteen hours on radio everyday.

Brief History of Tarok People

Origin of Tarok

As is common with most African cultures, available data on the origin and the history of the people is hinged on oral tradition and its attendant controversies. The Tarok race is no exception to this dilemma. The absence of any written record has thus left this subject open to the fertile imagination of historiographers who subsequently struggle to recreate or unravel the conundrum.

One tradition has it that the Tarok people originated form central and southern parts of the continent of Africa and are Bantoid. The other has even a Middle Eastern origin (Yemen/Egypt). As a result, a western and eastern migration routes thus developed. Further still, scholars have postulated linguistic evidence linking the Tarok to a western migration route and at the same time emphasizing a Niger-Benue confluence origin and a Benue Congo Language, thus challenging any Eastern and Chadic connections.

The Southern African, Niger-Benue confluence origins and migration routes might be controversial and intriguing but it is generally agreed, without any iota of doubt about the common rendezvous of the Tarok race at Tal in the present location in Langtang North and south.

Migration from Tal to Tarok Land

Oral tradition and anthropological notes indicate that by the middle of the century the Tarok race had already migrated from Tal to the present day Tarok land. The migration was in three phases: Zinni clan went to Dutse (Gazum), Namurang went to what is now Kanam country and Gunnu brought Ce (Langtang), Bwarat and Sa to the general area known today as plain Tarok. This Plain Tarok later on migrated to Wase. Oral tradition and anthropological notes (Capt. T A Izard) indicate that the Tarok of Sa, Dangal, Chuwi and Singha had already spread to the plain before 1760. When the Tarok left Tal and arrived at Langtang, Gunnu established himself at the South-west end of Langtang hill, while Bwarat went north-east and settled below.

As mentioned earlier, Tarok land is traditionally divided into hill and plains Tarok. The Hill Tarok (O’Tarok ga Barn) refer to the plains Tarok as O’Tarok ga Byan, but this nomenclature today refers to the Tarok in Langtang South and Wase generally.

Tarok mythology had earlier predicted the arrival of the white men (Ngol: gat Nyalang) and that they will not bring any harm but progress. No wonder when the white men came and were rejected by neighboring communities, the Tarok accepted them whole-heartedly and assisted in building his accommodation and the first church in Plateau. Since then, the relationship between Tarok and western civilization has been growing from strength to strength. Little wonder that Tarok sons and daughters have made great exploits in the local, state, national and international arena.

Economy

The Tarok people are mainly farmers producing both food and cash crops such as guinea corn, maize, millet, yams, rice, cassava, beans, groundnuts, cotton, beneseed, etc. other economic activities of the Tarok people include blacksmithing, carving, fishing, hunting, and mining of local salt using indigenous technologies. The traditional pomade known as miko, produced from the mahogany tree also abound in Tarok land. Local textile is also popular with the Tarok man such as Le. Gba, nyante, agodo etc

Senator Gyang Dalyop Dantong at Fifty

Senator Gyang Dalyop Dantong is the senator representing Plateau North at the National Assembly. He turned 50 on February 20th. The celebration came belatedly on the April 5th. Staying alive for half a century is indeed a milestone. It became necessary for Dantong to tale stock of his life. Thus the celebration was marked by the lunch of a magazine called, the Land Mark. It chronicles events of his endeavor during these years.

Dantong was educated at the University of Jos as a Medical Doctor. From the Landmark magazine, one could gather that the Senator is one who lived up to the ideals of the medical practice. People go into the medical practice to help mankind. The knowledge of this fact leaves people wandering why the nation suffers brain drain that is particularly grim in the area of the medical practice in Nigeria with medical doctors preferring to practice in foreign nations where they find 'better working conditions.’ Perhaps Dantong’s upbringing as the son of a pastor ensured he grew up to develop an observable sense of humility. He chose to practice at the Vom Christian Hospital in the heart of the Berom Land. He says one of his greatest challenges at the Vom Christian Hospital was to work without basic tools and enough support manpower. There was a period when he was the only Medical Doctor at the hospital for six months, at times doing two shifts and with no salary all through the period. This gives the impression of one who actually wanted to serve his people.

As Dantong grew, politics also grew with him. His political life dates back to his time in secondary school and on campus where he held leadership positions in the area of students politics and also within religious associations on campus. In the mid 1990s, the peak of the political struggle against the military in Nigeria, his name was mentioned in connection with the tussle for the chairmanship of his local council of Riyom. The fame of Senator Dantong however started when he won elections to represent Riyom/Barkin Ladi at the House of Representatives under the All Nigeria’s People Party, ANPP in 2003.

Nigerian political parties are not founded on foundations of ideologies. As sad as this may be, it has made it possible for politicians to change from one political party to the other. While Dantong’s political momentum was building up, it appeared a certain arrangement within the ANPP made it impossible for him to run for a second tenure. Determined to maintain this momentum, Dantong switched over to the People’s Democratic Party, the PDP and successfully contested for the northern senatorial seat in April 2007.

Nigerian politicians have been the subject of criticism for perpetual betrayal of the nation due to nothing other than selfishness. There is no denying the fact that a large majority of Nigerian leaders have a distorted understanding of what success is and what it is not. There are however, pockets of acceptable leadership here and there. It is obvious that Dantong’s new political role has given him a bigger opportunity to demonstrate his belief that there is no sense in life that is stationary or one in which more steps are taken backward than they are taken forward. He says he “sees politics as a game people should venture into in a bid to render service to others and not as a money making enterprise.” There seems to be a general consensus that he has lived up to his principles.

Dantong believes that so much has been learnt in the nine years of democracy so far and had military rule not interrupted the steady progress of the Nigerian political life, the nation would have learned far more that we have learnt. He says that in as much as we can learn from the mistake of others, people should not be comparing the Nigerian democracies with some of the oldest in the world.

According to the Senator, people always come to politicians to ask for money and that is unfortunate. He however believes that the people will eventually come to understand why this isn’t right.

Senator Dantong is married to Hannatu with whom he has four children.

Timaya and the Niger Delta Problem

Timaya the Bayelsa born Nigerian afro-ragga musician is not among the multitudes of artistes that have remained behind the veil. He is one of the spectacular colors in the spectrum of the Nigerian musicians. His second album, gift and grace, has consolidated this.

 

Musicians use certain tokens to become conspicuous and relevant. For Timaya these qualities have become more evident in gift and grace. The album reveals the complete maturity and confidence of the artiste. The greatest revelation of the album for which the artiste remains the sole beneficiary however, is that Timaya can now be regarded as the greatest Lyricists in Nigeria. If the rating of the lyrics of a song can be done on a scale of five stars, his lyrics by Nigerian standard could be said to be excellent. Good lyrics should not be there for the sheer sake of filling the space but should have meaning, evoke thought and be sensational and entertaining. By the current album, the artiste can boast of these.

 

Political leaders, particularly in Nigeria, often have little or no business at all with musicians. While they see themselves at one end of the social range, they see musicians at the far side. Musicians however, can change the course of history. Prominent musicians anywhere, constitute strong voices that can sway the opinion of the people in favor or against constituted authorities.

The Niger Delta is the home of militants that have been fighting for self determination. Bayelsa state is the most turbulent of all states in the region. The people of Bayelsa fortunately, see Timaya as a hero that has made them proud.

Gift and grace turned out to be that album that opened the heart of the artiste regarding his side on the topic of the Niger Delta struggle. This could be heard in the song if to say which means ‘if I were..’ The relevant lines in the song went thus: if to say a be country, I go become Nigeria. Nigeria na my country, Bayelsa na my state. If to say a be Vice President I go become Goodluck Jonathan. If to say a be freedom fighter I go become Asari Dokubo. If to say I be militant I go become…. (blank). If to say a be NLC President I go become Adam Oshiomole.

On the basis of that song alone, the opinion of the loudest voice from the Niger Delta regarding the future of the region is now clear: Nigeria is his country and Bayelsa is his state. If he were to be a Vice President, he would have preferred to be Goodluck Jonathan the current Vice President who supports a united Nigeria. If he were a freedom fighter, he would have preferred to be Asari Dokubo, the first major militant leader from the Niger delta who gave the nation serious headache but who later reconciled with the nation and now advises other militants to do same. It is up to the Nigerian Government to know how to take advantage of Timaya and have an edge over the militants

In Search of Lasting Peace and Development in Plateau State

Bulus Dabit

Introduction

Peace is the socio-economic condition that provides the right environment for the development of any nation, state, local government or community. It is therefore not surprising that the state government in fashioning its 10-point agenda, places peace and security as the 1st agenda

The priority given to peace and security can be better appreciated when viewed against the backdrop of disturbing the peace in the recent past (i.e. 2001—1-2004 and 2008) crisis. These sporadic violent have been over reported, and this gives Plateau State a bad name. Indeed no reporter who writes on conflicts and crises in Nigeria will avoid the few cases in the state. The over emphasis on the crises by the mass media tend to over shadow our basic character as a peaceful people and the tremendous development we are witnessing through the effort of the government at all levels.

The campaign shall therefore redirect our minds and the mass media to the positive development on the Plateau. It is against this background and the urgent need to achieve sustainable peace and security in the state that the agency in line with its statutory functions is embarking on a state wide campaign using interface sessions with stakeholders and motorized campaign in all the 17 LGAs of the state to preach the social gospel of peace and love. One of the chief means of preaching this gospel is to showcase the peace that is inherent in our culture and tradition, finding expressions in our accommodating and hospitable nature.

In this tour therefore, the state directorate will remind the Plateau people that Plateau State earned the accolade of Home of Peace and Tourism given the imperative of her peaceful and hospitable disposition. Available records and the testimonies of Nigerians leaving in Plateau State have confirmed that her people and groups are peaceful, accommodating and hospitable. This accommodating and hospitable culture needs to be sustained especially in a democratic dispensation with a government that is desperately making efforts to deliver the dividends of democracy to the electorate across the state.

As already stated, no meaningful development can take place in an atmosphere of insecurity and violence. The lack of peace and security as occasion by the sectarian crisis witnessed in the state between 2001 and 2008 did not only thwart and retard development but also reversed previous development achievements, setting the state probably 20 years backward. Ours is a classical case of how the lack of peace can erase any achievements that had been made in the past.

Our experience during this crisis shows that when one part of the state is hurting because of the crisis, the other parts of the state share in the experience. So no part of the state is safe from the adverse consequences of violent conflicts in any part of the country. Violent conflicts in the recent past have affected our tourism, commerce and industry, the provision of social infrastructures, capacity utilization, leaving us with an ugly scar that can only be removed by love and resolve for peaceful coexistence.

The governor’s ten-point agenda, the president’s 7-point agenda as well as all government policies and programmes cannot be achieved in an atmosphere of chaos. It is important to stress that peace is not what the government provide for a people. Peaceful coexistence through tolerance, love, accommodation and hospitality is the product of a social contract between the people and the government.

In this campaign, the National Orientation Agency believes that we are where we are because some people discarded our cherished virtues which made us the natural Home of Peace and Tourism. Today some of us disrespect constituted authorities, traditional institutions and break public laws at will in the process of acquiring material things and positions. Such people have become so intolerant of the perceived differences amongst us so much that they pick up arms against each other at the slightest provocation.

Indeed, peace is an essential ingredient of development, and can only be achieved and sustained through attitudinal change. Unless there is a resolve by our people to live in peace with each other and promote peace amongst them, peace will continue to elude us. This resolved is the most essential attitudinal change that would transform this state and indeed this nation into an advanced society. With increased attitudinal changes towards positive values, we can reduce poverty and hunger, illiteracy and ignorance, moral decadence and corruption, discrimination and the politics of exclusion, as well as wastes in the economy. Violent conflicts and bad attitude make us suspicious of one another. We now live in fear of one another and can no longer trust each other. The present segregation settlement pattern in our urban centres is a case in point. Violent conflicts have left many of our loved ones death. Where is our Jos Main Market? Where are our beautiful houses? It is time we rethink our attitudes and actions. It is time we learn to live together.

Peace and attitudinal change remains a panacea to development on the Plateau. We shall make more progress than we are making at the moment if and when we decide to live together. No one can progress in isolation; we have to do it together. Development after all is all about people. Development does not know religion, ethnicity, political party, social status and other primordial sentiments, politics should therefore be about developing the people, and hence it is a must that we live in peace.

Our people are as diverse as the land. With about 54 ethnic groups and varied terrain, we can tap this diversity to build our dear state. After all, diversity is instituted by God. This evidence abounds in nature. Therefore ethnicity, religion and political parties should not tear us apart in the 21st century when the world is globalizing. Homogeneity is out of place, the norm is pluralism. Let us all work towards a harmonious society. Democracy is a participatory government; everyone has a role to play. In democracy you have rights and obligation of supporting them to succeed. We must therefore learn to live, work, do business together and build the Plateau of our dream as one people under one God with one destiny.

The History of the Gbong Gwon Stool

According to the history and tradition of the Beroms, late Da Dachung Gyang was the first Gbong Gwon Berom and ruled from 1935 to 1952. The traditional stool was in the present day Riyom Local Government Area where he presided over 79 traditional rulers as the first Chairman of the traditional council.

The 79 traditional rulers came from the then Jos Division that eventually evolved into six local government areas including Jos North, Jos South, Bassa, Riyom, Barkin Ladi and Jos East.

From 1952 the stool remained dormant until it was restored in 1974 when late Rwang Pam became the first elected Gbong Gwom Jos and died in July 1979 after 22 years on the throne.

In 1970 the second Gbong Gwom, late Dr. Fom Bot ascended the throne, ruled for 32 years and died 1st December 2002.

After two years, Da Victor Dung Pam emerged as the fourth Gbong Gwom Jos and died in March 2009. He was immediately succeeded by former Comptroller General of the Federation, Elder Jacob Gyang Buba who currently sits on the throne.