News
Isa Gusau: A part of me is gone
Isa Gusau: A part of me is gone
By: Yakubu Ahmed BK
Innalillahi Wa’inna Ilaihirrajiun. Death – the ultimate leveler has knocked on the door (as it will on ours) of Malam Isa Gusau, the Special Adviser, Media and Strategy to the Borno state Governor Professor Babagana Umara Zulum.
Isa was a complete gentleman, a professional and a loyal friend who gave his all to what he so much loved. Years my junior but almost at par with those who began before him.
Our paths crossed in Maiduguri early 2000 or thereabout and we clicked almost immediately, because we shared many attributes. He was Daily Trust’s Correspondent in Borno and I was Concord Press Correspondent there too, after I had spent 10 years as a Reporter and later a News Editor with Borno Radio Television Corporation BRTV. If you work in Borno, you just have to be at your best. Borno has a way it builds your confidence and sharpens you into a courageous person – and of course into a go getter. He was courageous, and one thing nobody can take away from him was his professionalism – one hell of a writer if you would.
It was not for nothing that he meritoriously served former Borno state Governor (now Nigeria’s Vice President) Kashim Shettima as SA Media for eight solid years from 2011. It was not for nothing again that Kashim Shettima’s successor Babagana Umara Zulum inherited him – and was glad to have done that. Isa was somewhat irreplaceable, no carbon copy of him, take it or leave it.
We spoke last some two weeks ago and believe me even though we were close, he never uttered a word about what he was going through healthwise other than the general knowledge even amongst his closest friends that he had some challenges which we all thought he had dealt with since his surgery at a hospital in India a year ago. It was he who called and as usual, he had some professional suggestions on how I should handle certain PR issues of my Principal in my position as the Commissioner for Information and Culture Kebbi state. We have become used to checking on one another on the professional realm. Each time either of us called, it must be about what either he or I thought should be done to advance the frontiers of image making for our respective bosses.
Since my appointment as Information Commissioner some five months ago, he became restless for me to hit the ground running and to make “that first impression.” The advises we offered to each other were mutual, but I must confess that I drew much more from his fountain of knowledge than he did from mine. That was obvious because he has image managed and PR consulted much earlier than myself and had done it more successfully. The fact that he achieved that much in a state that was not his attested to his capacity and ability in the area he had chosen for himself.
A part of me is gone and I just can’t decipher where to run to when I hit that point of creative slowdown. Of course, we drew from each other but my sense of loss was made worse by the reality that I must dig out with bare hands since one of the shovels is gone. Allah ya jikan Isa Gusau.
Yakubu Ahmed BK is Commissioner for Information and Culture, Kebbi state.
Isa Gusau: A part of me is gone
News
Bandit kill police operative, cart away service weapon in Bukuyum in Zamfara
Bandit kill police operative, cart away service weapon in Bukuyum in Zamfara
By: Zagazola Makama
A mobile police operative attached to Operation Restore Peace has been killed in an ambush by armed bandits in Adabka village, Bukkuyum Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
Zagazola Makama gathered that the incident occurred on Tuesday at about 11:44 a.m. when the officer, deployed from Mopol 15, Ilorin, left his duty location in Adabka en route to Tibis village to purchase essential supplies.
Security sources in Bukkuyum told Zagazola that the operative was attacked at the outskirts of Adabka by armed bandits concealed in the surrounding bushes.
The attackers reportedly opened fire on the officer, killing him instantly before carting away his service riot gun.
“Field teams deployed to the scene recovered the body of the fallen operative, which was evacuated to Adabka Primary Health Care Centre for documentation,” the source said.
Sources said that the mode of attack aligns with operational tactics used by bandit factions linked to the Dan-Karama Gwaska and Dansadau networks, known for precision ambushes and rapid withdrawal.
Bandit kill police operative, cart away service weapon in Bukuyum in Zamfara
News
GSU’s Public Administration Dept hosts maiden int’l conference
GSU’s Public Administration Dept hosts maiden int’l conference
Stakeholders comprising academics, policymakers, security experts and public-sector practitioners have deliberated ways of tackling insecurity in the country through a multi-faceted approach that includes economic empowerment, improved governance, and enhanced security cooperation.
They made the submission during the maiden International Conference organised by the Department of Public Administration, Gombe State University (GSU).
The conference was declared open on Tuesday by Prof. Sani Ahmed Yauta, the Vice Chancellor of the institution who stated that any engagement aimed at proffering solutions to the security challenges of the country was an engagement borne out of the need to fast-track national development and stability.
Represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration) Prof. Danladi Umar, Yauta urged participants to leverage the conference to contribute to ongoing efforts at addressing security challenges so as to enhance peace and development in the country.
In his keynote address, Prof. Ibrahim Abubakar Njodi, Secretary to the Gombe State Government, linked good governance to enhanced security and national development.
Njodi stressed that good governance remained a critical tool to earning citizens’ trust needed to maintain peace and to strengthen development across the country.
He stated that discourse around Nigeria’s governance had become imperative in view of the current security challenges confronting the nation and threatening national development.
He stressed the need for subnational governments to drive national development, adding that they have massive roles to play in determining Nigeria’s progress.
“It is the aggregation of subnational experiences—state successes and failures—that ultimately determines Nigeria’s trajectory.”
Njodi cited the Gombe State governance model and how it had contributed to improvement in human capital development as well as the development of the state and therefore resulting in the peaceful status that the state had enjoyed under Gov Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State’s leadership.
“The state’s development trajectory under Gov. Yahaya offers a practical demonstration of how visionary leadership, institutional innovation and participatory governance can transform a subnational entity within Nigeria’s federal system.
Speaking earlier, the Head of Public Administration Department, Prof. Matthew Funsho Bello, described the event as historic for both the department and the university.
Bello said that the conference’s theme, “Governance, Insecurity and National Development in Nigeria: Issues and Challenges,” was timely given the complexities of the nation’s socio-economic and security challenges.
“This gathering of distinguished scholars, public-sector experts, policymakers and practitioners from across the country marks a major milestone in our collective quest to address the vexing issues affecting our national life,” he said.
According to him, the theme reflects “the urgent need for academia, security agencies and public-sector experts to engage in constructive dialogue on how addressing insecurity and governance can drive sustainable development in Nigeria.
Security experts amongst other professionals made their presentations during the conference which are expected to form part of the recommendations at the end of the two-day event.
Dr Lawal Abdullahi Oladimeji, the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee of the Conference, lauded all participants and invited guests for the success of the maiden event.
Oladimeji said that recommendations from the conference would be given to relevant stakeholders towards enhancing national security and development.
GSU’s Public Administration Dept hosts maiden int’l conference
News
21 villagers abducted in kano communities as Security forces intensify search operation
21 villagers abducted in kano communities as Security forces intensify search operation
By: Zagazola Makama
Twenty-one persons have been abducted by suspected bandits in three villages of Tsanyawa Local Government Area of Kano State.
Zagazola Makama learnt that the coordinated attacks occurred in Sundu, Biresawa and Masaurari villages.
According to community members, two women were taken from Sundu, while five women and two children were abducted at Biresawa.
In Masaurari, nine men and one woman were reportedly seized, bringing the total number of abducted persons to 21 comprising nine men, eight women and two children.
The Police Command in Kano confirmed the attack noting that efforts had been intensified to rescue all victims unhurt.
The sources added that additional operatives had been deployed to the affected axis, while the area was being combed in collaboration with local vigilance groups and other security agencies.
The command assured residents of its commitment to restoring peace and urged the public to provide credible information that could aid ongoing operations.
21 villagers abducted in kano communities as Security forces intensify search operation
-
News2 years agoRoger Federer’s Shock as DNA Results Reveal Myla and Charlene Are Not His Biological Children
-
Opinions4 years agoTHE PLIGHT OF FARIDA
-
Opinions4 years agoPOLICE CHARGE ROOMS, A MINTING PRESS
-
News2 years agoEYN: Rev. Billi, Distortion of History, and The Living Tamarind Tree
-
News7 months agoFAILED COUP IN BURKINA FASO: HOW TRAORÉ NARROWLY ESCAPED ASSASSINATION PLOT AMID FOREIGN INTERFERENCE CLAIMS
-
ACADEMICS2 years agoA History of Biu” (2015) and The Lingering Bura-Pabir Question (1)
-
Columns2 years agoArmy University Biu: There is certain interest, but certainly not from Borno.
-
Opinions2 years agoTinubu,Shettima: The epidemic of economic, insecurity in Nigeria
