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
Troops arrest 22 suspected terrorist logistics suppliers in Mafa, seize smoked fish consignment
Troops arrest 22 suspected terrorist logistics suppliers in Mafa, seize smoked fish consignment
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops of the Joint Task Force (JTF), North-East Operation Hadin Kai, have arrested a suspected terrorist logistics supplier and 21 accomplices transporting large quantities of smoked fish believed to be linked to insurgent financing in Borno State.
Sources told Zagazola Makama that the suspects were apprehended at about 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday by troops of 112 Task Force Battalion, under 24 Task Force Brigade, deployed at Checkpoint 2 in Mafa Local Government Area.
The main suspect, identified as 40-year-old Ibrahim Bukar, was intercepted alongside others while conveying 59 cartons and 28 sacks of smoked fish in two Isuzu trucks.
“Preliminary interrogation revealed that the smoked fish was handed over to them in Laje village by terrorists,” the report said.
Sources added that the main suspect confessed to having supplied various items to terrorists over time, and was positively identified by hybrid forces who confirmed he once served as their supplier while in the bush.
All suspects and the recovered items have been taken into custody for further investigation.
Troops arrest 22 suspected terrorist logistics suppliers in Mafa, seize smoked fish consignment
Troops neutralise terrorist, recover rifle in Dalwa clearance operation in Borno
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops of the Joint Task Force (JTF), North-East Operation Hadin Kai, have neutralised a terrorist and recovered arms and ammunition during a fighting patrol around Delwa and Tojiri villages in Borno State.
Zagazola gathered that the operation was conducted on Wednesday by the troops, working in conjunction with hunters and members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF).
Sources said that the troops, deployed to Delwa village, advanced towards Tojiri at about 9:00 a.m. and came under fire from terrorists.
“The troops engaged the terrorists with heavy volume of fire, neutralising one of them while others fled in disarray.
“During exploitation of the general area, troops recovered one FN rifle, two FN magazines containing 28 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition, two Tecno phones and three sachets of drugs,” the report said.
The sources added that no casualty was recorded on the side of the troops.
End
Troops repel kidnapping attempt on Makurdi–Kura road, driver killed in crossfire
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops have repelled an attempted kidnapping along the Makurdi–Kura road in Benue State, but a driver was killed during a crossfire between soldiers and suspected bandits on Wednesday evening.
Zagazola gathered that the incident occurred at about 6:30 p.m. when a group of engineers travelling from Kura to Makurdi encountered armed men who had blocked the road, intending to abduct passengers in a bus ahead of them.
According to a local source, soldiers on routine patrol were behind the engineers’ vehicle and immediately engaged the attackers in a gun duel, forcing the assailants to flee into the bush.
During the exchange of fire, Ochoche Otokolo Ekwu, the driver of the engineers’ vehicle, was hit by a stray bullet and died on the spot.
The source said the Divisional Police Officer of ‘D’ Division mobilised a patrol team alongside tactical units to the scene, where the corpse was evacuated and deposited at a mortuary in Makurdi.
The source added that security operatives are currently combing nearby bushes to track the fleeing suspects and prevent further attacks along the route.
Troops repel kidnapping attempt on Makurdi–Kura road, driver killed in crossfire
Troops arrest 22 suspected terrorist logistics suppliers in Mafa, seize smoked fish consignment
Troops neutralise terrorist, recover rifle in Dalwa clearance operation in Borno
Troops repel kidnapping attempt on Makurdi–Kura road, driver killed in crossfire
Roger Federer’s Shock as DNA Results Reveal Myla and Charlene Are Not His Biological Children
THE PLIGHT OF FARIDA
POLICE CHARGE ROOMS, A MINTING PRESS
-
News2 years agoRoger Federer’s Shock as DNA Results Reveal Myla and Charlene Are Not His Biological Children
-
Opinions4 years ago
THE PLIGHT OF FARIDA
-
Opinions4 years ago
POLICE 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
