The Learner

Muhsin Ibrahim muhsin2008@gmail.com Jealousy is, to an extent, encouraged in marriage in Islam, and so it is in many religions and cultures around the world. While some are born jealous, others are made so. Yet, some defy the religious, cultural, even commonsensical precept and choose to be unenvious. They care not for their wives, daughters, wards, sisters, etc. I was told a story of a man, an ardent fan of Bollywood, the Indian films. He every day says to his wife while watching the movies that the most beautiful and sexiest women are in India. The wife doesn't like that, yet she keeps mum. It disturbs her a lot for obvious reasons. One day, the wife told the husband that even the most handsome men are in India. He was quickly aghast. He though repressed his infuriation but decided to never watch any Indian film henceforth. That's to avoid what he could have done to the wife should she repeat what she's just said. A professor at Bayero University, Kano...

Production :    Jammaje Productions Producer:       Abba El-Mustapha Executive Producer : Kabiru Musa Jammaje Cast :               Abba El-Mustapha, Nuhu Abdullahi, Sani Mu’azu, Bankaura and others Director :         Falalu A. Dorayi Release Date : N/A A well-known fact to virtually everyone who cares to follow, however marginally, the goings-on in the Hausa film industry aka Kannywood is that it is a haven for amateurish actors and actresses, incompetent directors, antiquated gadgets for production and post-production works, shoestring-budgeted films, trite and frivolous themes in films and many other deficiencies and unmentionable things. But that is neither always the case nor true. There are skilled, even certified actors and actresses, directors, producers, etc that are, nonetheless, largely eclipsed by the poor others...

Muhsin Ibrahim muhsin2008@gmail.com Kano politics is often amusing, another time bemusing and sometimes upsetting. While following the politics, I learn a lot about human character, particularly our fickleness when it comes to loyalty and love. It's a famous saying in politics that there is no permanent friend or permanent enemy. It is also said that betrayal is its hallmark. Hence many people see politics as murky water that can very quickly leave one stained once one moves into it. Kano politics typifies all this and more. I believe that Kano politics can be used as a microcosm of the world’s politics. Political scientists know better. Historically, no governor in Nigeria truly wants his deputy to succeed him for what eventually goes and comes. We are all witness to what happened in Zamfara state between Sen. Ahmed Yarima and his deputy, Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi (MAS). In Kano, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau's two deputies, Engr. Magaji Abdullahi and Engr. Tijjani Muhammad G...

Muhsin Ibrahim muhsin2008@gmail.com This is a short response to the letter written by Professor Dahiru Yahya, dated 22 February 2016, to the abovementioned commission of inquiry. A number of concerned Nigerians have reacted to the latter, mostly on the social media. However, not everything is said. There is always something more to say on everything. Thus, below is my succinct (or so I hope it is) commentary. I suppose you have read the Prof.’s letter, for this piece is a rebuttal to the major and more fallacious points he postulated. I welcome your own reaction to this rejoinder.  1) First of all, Prof. needs to realise the fact that WE ALL are concerned with the wellbeing and the future of this country. We do not have any other country to call ours except Nigeria. Thus, it is not only about one’s kith and kin, it is about all and sundry. Thus, we hope and pray to see peace reigning in all its nooks and crannies. 2) Nothing is hidden under the sun. Records do not ...

Muhsin Ibrahim @muhsin234 Director :         Ali Gumzak Producer :       Mukhtar Young Boy Story:               Yakubu M. Kumo Year :               2016 Company :      Kabugawa Productions Let me make it clear from the outset that this is not a regular film review. I am not writing this as an academic but as an ordinary film viewer. I just found the story of the above-titled film, its directorial work and thematic preoccupation worth writing on, hence this piece. It is challenging and rare to come across an enthralling Hausa film, especially these days, whose motifs and subject matter is that serious, bold and absorbing. Jamila is entitled after the leading character’s name, acted by A’isha Aliyu Tsamiya. Her mother, Hadiza Muhammad works as a housemaid in...

Muhsin Ibrahim muhsin2008@gmail.com @muhsin234 It is with a heavy heart and despair I write this article. I am now more than convinced that my earlier denunciation  ( Daily Trust , pg. 51; 6/01/2016) on the way the Kano state government (KNSG) handles the infamous sodomy case involving some boys at Hassan Ibrahim Gwarzo College, Kano fell on deaf and dumb ears. The resolution to finance their WAEC and NECO examinations was finalized and could not be reversed or even adjusted. I am not jealous nor unhappy with that; my concern is largely on the other multitude boys and girls literally abandoned by the same government to fend for themselves, while they require, in fact deserve, more assistance. Yet the government is still mute and unmoved by my and others diatribes. We cannot and will not, however, perhaps unknown to the government, relent. We demand for justice and fairness, and justice should be served. I was triggered once again to revisit this terrifying topic for s...

Muhsin Ibrahim muhsin2008@gmail.com @muhsin234 Some troubled parents in Kano, a few weeks ago, complained that their sons were sexually defiled by some unknown perverts at their boarding school, the famous Hassan Ibrahim Gwarzo College, Kano. The case soon became a sensation, for, among other reasons, that was least expected from a school known for its regimentation and Islamic teaching to its separated male and female students. The state government promptly ordered the closure of the (male) section and set up a committee to look into what exactly happened. Following an unsettling delay, the report was, last week, finally released. The delay was allegedly caused by some big shots in the state who did not want it released. No doubt what happened in the College is appalling and deserves the government's drastic action to unearth and punish whosoever is found wanting and guilty. The government was generally hailed for the way and manner it handled the case, though bef...