The Learner

Muhsin Ibrahim @muhsin234 First, I use the word “ideology” in its broader sense to include ‘non-ideological’ thoughts like agnosticism and atheism. These two are equally eerie on the rise among our people. It’s chilling, to say the least, reading a typical Hausa man denying the existence of, and cursing, Allah and His beloved Prophet. The case of one Mubarak Bala  has recently made headlines. Several others have yet to ‘come out of the closet’, or have not got the guts to declare their newfound ‘religion’ to the public. This is essentially, as I think, the failing of our Islamic scholars for not widening the scope of their preaching to the contemporary, and very troubling issues, such as atheism. They concentrate their efforts on Sunnah vs. Shi’an; or Sunnah vs. Dariqah (Sufism), or the like. Agnosticism and atheism pose a rather existentialist threat to all religions, not just Islam. The wars in Syria and Iraq, and the emergence of ISIS, Boko Haram and other bl...

By Abubakar Atiku Alkali pullozagga@yahoo.com It’s in the news that the IMF is pressurising Nigeria to further devalue its currency. It’s equally in the news that former CBN governor and HRH the Emir of Kano has advised the FGN to withdraw petroleum subsidy, devalue the Naira and raise VAT! With due reverence to the Emir, I personally find these pills unbearably bitter to swallow. I defer to the fact that he’s unquestionably sagacious in matters of finance and economics – I know nothing about either – thus, my arguments may be impressionistic, but I’m sure I know more than the Emir does, how agonisingly painful it would be for the ordinary Nigerian when such policies are implemented. Therefore, even if no one will ever read this, my conscience would have been satisfied that as a Nigerian – one of the potential bearers of the burden of these unfriendly policies, I have cried out. Concerning fuel subsidy removal, I still recall what the Emir said at a debate on this very topic ...

By Muhsin Ibrahim @muhsin234 A fact known to some of my readers is that: praise-singing of individuals, especially politicians of whatever party, is not what I do. Yes, it is still the same. Today’s article is no different; I actually see nothing extraordinarily admirable in the person of Rotimi Amaechi. He’s much like, below or a little above, his mates, such as Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (Kano), Malam Ibrahim Shekarau (Kano; to PDP), Aliyu Wamako (Sokoto), Kashim Shettima (Borno; from ANPP) and other PDP renegades. To me, and I don’t stand to be corrected, they all deserted their former party after a meticulous foresight that, among other things, they would not get what they wanted in the party, and that could cost them very dearly to the extent of losing relevance in the nation’s polity. Thus, to avoid anything of the sort, they renounced their loyalties and found a niche in the APC. Today, many people (supporters) think highly of Amaechi, as well as others. The recen...

Muhsin Ibrahim @muhsin234 Lives were lost; people were wounded; minds were, and are, troubled; all as a result of the just-concluded Hajj pilgrimage in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Nobody could undo what's already done. Nothing could be done. Those victims need prayers, and their loved ones require our compassion. No more, no less. Nonetheless, a fierce argument has been raging on since then. It began like a drama, instigated mainly by the Shi’ite-Iran, blaming the Sunni-Saudis for EVERYTHING. The argument has come to our doors now. Adamu Adamu is doubtlessly an intellectual, a writer par excellence. Dr Sani is incontrovertibly an intellectual and a scholar of the first order. They differ on this issue. The former, an unapologetic Shi'ite; the latter, a renowned Sunni scholar.

Muhsin Ibrahim @muhsin234 I have not been busier, more disturbed, or more unorganised for a very, very long time than I have been in the past few days. Life is often a trial, futile and temporal. Thanks to Allah for creating us the way we are: oxymoronically determined, forgetful and seldom ignorant of what is going on around us and beyond. It’s His mercy. Otherwise, life would be uninteresting, tiring, and perhaps worthless. The Trial We ‘celebrated’ this Eid-el-Kabir with literally empty pockets. Most of us thought the  September salaries would be paid on the 24th, the day it fell, when salaries are  typically   paid . It wasn’t. Moreover, it is known to all that wages are paid before the due date if the time coincides with any feast, such as Eid or Christmas. More so, being President Muhammadu Buhari is Muslim, some people thought, erroneously though, that he would ‘ favour’ his fellow faithful and pay the salaries. He didn’t. They (we, in fact) now wa...

Muhsin Ibrahim @muhsin234 I came back to Nigeria after a two-year stay in India. There has been so much to write about as so many things have happened, and more are happening since my return. Yet, procrastination wouldn’t allow me. I baulked at whether to write about this, that, and numerous other itching issues. I have also been so busy: getting settled, resuming work, and making frequent visits to and from family and friends. And above all, there’s no uninterrupted power supply, no reliable internet access, and much more that were readily available in India. I had never thought things would be that tough, let alone worse, before my return. Anyway, I heartily thank Allah for making me happy against all odds. I was contemplating which topic to focus on for my first blog post after a month-long break. They range from the accusation of some people that President Muhammadu Buhari is now “Baba Go Slow”, or that he’s a northern president, or his anti-corruption campaign, to the t...

Muhammad Muhsin Ibrahim muhsin2008@gmail.com This article first appeared on Prof. Farooq Kperogi’s column (his famous blog and the Daily Trust newspaper on Saturday) on 31st May, 2015. You may want to see it there:  Guest column: Incredible Indian English In both India and Nigeria , English is used as a second language. I couldn’t, however, resist being driven to write on Indian English— called Indianism or, more informally, “Hinglish”, which is a blend of Hindi and English—since my early days in the country some two years ago. As in other nations where English is spoken as a non-native language, English usage in both India and Nigeria differs from British and American varieties in phonetics, phonology, lexis, and structure. The distinctiveness of Indian English, though, is as incredible as the country itself. I am not here to disparage theirs and extol ours . I don’t subscribe to linguistic imperialism. But polishing our English to the level of intelligibility am...