The Learner

Muhsin Ibrahim @muhsin234 This is a Herculean job. I have read and listened to several political commentators saying that Donald Trump’s triumph is a logic-defying, demystifying puzzle and a record-breaking event in the political history of not only the US but the world in general. For those not very familiar with this character, Trump is a bigot, a racist, a protectionist, a misogynist, an Islamaphobic, and, above all, a very ignorant billionaire businessman. That is why, perhaps, almost all pre-election opinion polls indicated that his opponent, Hillary Clinton, would win, yet he did. A particularly disgruntled analyst, Tom Freeman, has gone to extremes in his quest to understand the meaning of Trump’s victory.  He wrote an article that contains only one word throughout:  F**k .  The writer couldn’t be more descriptive and rational, for this is just it. Yet, curses, yells, despair, etc., cannot change the reality that Trump is the president-elect of the worl...

Muhsin Ibrahim @muhsin234 I was at the renowned Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, for a 7-day internship in Radio and TV Production from 25th September to 1st October 2016. As a budding writer, critic, and public commentator, I have seen and observed many things sufficient to write a book on. I have already chronicled some of these on my Facebook page. This article consists of at least two such status updates. Here you go. On Self-Reliance There is a centre under the Department of Theatre and Performing Arts of the University called the Centre of Excellence. A lady sells snacks, soda and other fast foodstuffs at the entrance. She dresses well, smiles at her customers and other passers-by who care to say hi. I often did that, and she friendlily responded. However, I doubt if anyone among us, both the staff and the students, had ever bought anything from her, and that was where most of the internship lectures were conducted, as it houses the non-broadcast TV studio f...