Columns
My binoculars: NUJ and the dangers of unleashing unexposed journalists on contemporary Nigeria
My binoculars: NUJ and the dangers of unleashing unexposed journalists on contemporary Nigeria
By: Bodunrin Kayode
Reading through a piece written by one Rev father Kelvin Ugwu, titled ” why I talk about election and politics” a lot of lessons can be fished out for the younger generation who believe so much in living the “false life” when it is election time making themselves easy tools by dangerous politicians. That literary false life which Professors Gambo and Pate warned in separate fora will not take us anywhere if we mean to carry out our roles as members of the fourth estate of the realm. There is so much I am yet to write about the recent training sessions on safety anchored by the new executive of the Borno State Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalist (NUJ) and the very strong pronouncements of Professor Danjuma Gambo, at the Dijuma hotel where one of the sessions were held.
Professor Gambo incidentally is one of the key pillars of the department of Mass communications of the University of Maiduguri in Borno state. As one of the speakers said during the 2 days training session, the erudite Prof has been called so many names including a “difficult man” by those who do not want to be educated but believe they are entitled to a certificate after four years. But you know what, the Prof is doing all these to move his products from where they think they have arrived to where they should be in terms of professional excellence. I will do the same thing even if you call me names in the typical Nigerian laissez-fair way of doing things. Even though he was not wearing the academic garb on that day Prof Gambo had a gift for everyone who calls himself a journalist in Nigeria. Very strong professional messages were passed down which to me were gifts for staying the course in the profession as we cruise towards the general election. Most of the younger ones heard stuffs they never picked in the classroom. Profs Danjuma Gambo and Umar Pate will surely have their mention days very soon inside my Binoculars
To Ugwu, if at 36 this young man of God can think proactively, it is a big lesson to young and unstable journalists anywhere. It is always better to aim high but the worse that can happen to a man is to build castles in the air. Take yourself to the clouds where evil thoughts abound and return to the reality on earth. This young Ugwu has been given so many powerful positions yet he remains focused and normal in his late thirties were many professionals are still very “unstable” and “non right thinking”. When one is given an opportunity like Ugwu and still floating in the air when removed from a place by circumstances created by nature, one is still supposed to remain normal. And not going about harassing young ones in that institution and refusing to come back to reality even when the political god father who brought you on board dies suddenly. These are some of the excesses we are supposed to purge ourselves of as journalists who wish to keep our professional reputations.
Composure of journalists during any form of elections period or year
A colleague once asked me why I stuck my head out for Chairman Dauda Ilya in the last elections. What if he fails? he asked smiling. How will you manage the disappointment? Don’t you think you are supposed to be discreet? I quickly responded. Comrade life itself is like a game. You win small and loose small. If my candidate looses I will remain myself. I will not go about trying to patch my reputation like an all knowing person who has no business loosing like I see among some young colleagues. This is because I have never seen elections anywhere as a do or die matter. I have lost so many material things and opportunities in this short life but have equally gained others so to me loosing is not a challenge. I lost my father at 57 in 1987 but life continued. I did not loose my self esteem when I was training without his support to become a journalist. I did menial jobs to survive. Now that I am involved in guiding younger journalists into the right paths I don’t have any reason to believe that my reputation will be poisoned for seeing quality in a particular candidate and standing openly with him instead of hiding behind the clouds. I will never allow any one to puncture my reputation especially if the person is a journalistic brat who has 30 more years to tread where I have dared to walk before now. Loosing an election does not mean that a man has reached his elastic limits so he must look for drugs or Marijuana to compensate his punctured self esteem. A journalist should be far stronger than that. In fact quoting from Professor Gambo it is good to try to be daring and safe during the course of doing the job. However, any professional who is not ready to “die” for doing the right thing is not ready to be a journalist.
The dangers of remaining certificated yet dangerously unexposed
Thank God my candidate won, I wish younger journalists will learn one lesson or two from the humility of Chairman Dauda Ilya. He is not infected with any form of sublime “inferiority complex” and will surely not use a bigger colleague to shine. He knows his strengths and weaknesses and will never deliberately outshine masters in the game. He is an obvious team player who has an on the spot perception of our problems. He understands that he cannot be the only tree in the forest which is why he learnt the ropes very fast.
He also reads widely and has tried to expose himself through books. Dauda Ilya is the chairman of nuj today but he will never go to another chat room to say I am the chair, you have no right to do this while I am the chair. Despotism is not in his character because he has taken his time to understand the power game of the NUJ. As young as he is in the game, he may be perceived as reticent but that is the haul mark of a well trained professional. Listening more than talking. He has learnt practical diplomacy from some of us he is never ashamed to associate with. If there is an issue to be sorted. Be prepared because he will call you directly to iron it out so that your persona is not injured in any way. That is the persona of a man who is ready for greater assignments beyond that of the state as chairman of the NUJ.
When Dogs hunt for dog meat to eat
I remember my mentor Professor Ralph Akinfeleye used to say in class that when dog bites a man it’s no news but when a man decides to bite a dog it’s news. I actually saw it in an online flick recently making the rounds in which a puppy was tormenting a young lad. He simply picked the puppy and bit it and it scampered away screaming in pain. That is a big lesson for cub reporters to know that they should avoid the dog eat dog syndrome now that the nation is anticipating an election just around the corner. A bigger dog can always chew a smaller one and get away with it if the cub or puppy behaves silly. But when two big rottweilers start to bite themselves over superiority or space them there is fire on the mountain. Only the old dogs in our case, the veterans can come in to intervene.
READ ALSO: https://newsng.ng/nigeria-ingo-forum-expressed-concern-over-killing-of-aid-worker-reiterates-commitment-to-life-saving-in-borno/
Younger colleagues who go about using the reputation of older colleagues to oil their deflated egos after an election are surely suffering from “inferiority complex” or drugs induced fatigues. The drugs such members indulge in secretly will never allow them to know when they are digging their own graves for destruction. They are found in many other professions but we tend to ignore them when they get high within ours. I think we should begin to worry about them and look out for post traumatic stress disorder too.
The dangers of un-exposure
Mark you, this alarm is not about the sound of their certification or the former positions they held but their self induced backwardness in their calling which is affecting their relationships with people. They are generally unexposed and do not understand the relationship between certification and exposure which cannot be picked from an academic classroom.
If indeed you are a bigger dog, you will realize that there is no need to respond to some of their tirades. This is simply because it’s not worth it. We shall continue to pray for them not to die young from the drug induction which some of them have decided to hold on to at their own peril. When you read the admonition of the young Kelvin posted on top you will always see that those who the God’s want to destroy they first make mad. Be guided if you belong to the younger generation of journalists who take hard drugs and alcohol and rob it on your colleagues when you loose control. This is because the future ahead may be too complex for you to navigate without guidance. In fact it could be suicidal to do so.
My binoculars: NUJ and the dangers of unleashing unexposed journalists on contemporary Nigeria
Columns
Descendants of Yamtra-Wala: Surfing in the Comfort of the Bura Ethnic Tribe/Cultural Identity
Descendants of Yamtra-Wala: Surfing in the Comfort of the Bura Ethnic Tribe/Cultural Identity
By: Balami Lazarus
I have spoken and written articles on the Bura-Pabir, where I was called names with insults of convex images. I am here once again with nearly the same subject on ethnic tribe/cultural identity: the dilemma of the Pabir group of people who are standing poised between being Pabir or Babur.
The Bura people are an independent ethnic nation historically, geographically, and politically within the Biu territory long before Yamtra-Wala. Is it then wrong for anyone to think and say that the Pabir group of people are the same as the Bura from an ethnic-tribe/historically cultural perspective? What made them the same? How and when did they become the same? Are the Bura people descendants of Yamtra-Wala?
Historically, the Pabir are an extraction of Kanuri/Kanembu through the bloodline of a disgruntled prince, Abdulla, from the Kanem-Borno Empire, who, with his band of 70 men, founded the Biu kingdom and her royal dynasty in or about 1535.
In this work, I will write using Pabir, their original name given to them by the Bura people. I will also raise some thought-provoking questions with the uffti of truth in the space of ethnic tribe/cultural identity.
In history, I was taught to always take note of historical facts and figures and be objective in analyzing historical events/source materials with a sense of reasoning because many histories were falsified through irrational narratives/oral history from one generation to the other.
What is then the rationale behind the Pabir people addressing themselves as Babur? I believed answers to this are rooted in ethno-religious sentiments capped with an inferiority complex in the claws of
Babur. Why are they now forcing themselves on the Bura people’s cultural identity considering the recent development on the yearly Bura Cultural Festival at Marama? And this is the same ethnic tribe many Pabir scorned with contempt.
I was privileged to ask some few individuals from both divides, and what they said on this matter was the plain truth. “The Bura people are the first inhabitants of this territory, people with unique culture, traditions, and customs.” One individual said, “We have to be part of them (Bura) because we are a minority with no ethnic/cultural identity, nor are we an ethnic tribe/nation… They gave us the collective name “Pabir,” not “Babur,” as we are being called and addressed wrongly today.
The distant and recent events have not been in favor of the Bura people. Proponents of the Babur conspiracy theory presumably thought that by being addressed as Babur, they would be given ethnic tribe and cultural identity garments. But has it?
In the context of history, if and when one is speaking or writing for the purpose of ethnic tribe/cultural identity of the Bura people, I believe that such
Submissions shall probably be in favor of the Bura as an independent ethnic nation, unlike the Pabir, who are direct descendants (Yamara-Wala) of Prince Abdulla from Birni Ngarzargamu in the Kanem-Borno Empire.
“I am a Pabir man. Can you point at any cultural source material or genre tied to us as our cultural heritage? And neither are we of common ancestry or lineage with the Bura.”
Let us rewind back, taking into consideration the name Yamtra-Wala, the founder of the royal dynasty of Biu. In the Bura dialect, it is pronounced and spelled as “Yamta Ola.” However, you may wish to know that it has its roots in the Arabic language.
But in an attempt to improvise and starve the term “Pabir,” choking it with “Babur” has further perpetuated historical miscarriage, a clear distortion of history.
What was the position of the Pabir in the ethnic/cultural unity of the Bura people of the Biu territory? Where were they when they had the Bura Almanac of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s titled Bura Community in the following towns and cities like Kaduna, Lagos, Kano, Jos, Enugu, Ibadan, Zaria, and other locations within Nigeria? It is on record that there was absolutely no mention of Pabir in unity with Bura combined as a united community in such places. How then did Pabir get into the ethnic tribe/cultural identity of the Bura people, considering the recent development on the yearly Bura Cultural Festival? Note that these are the same people the Pabir scorned with sentiments of “mission.” However, it still remains the healthy stock where many have reached the sun.
Be as it may, probably they are afraid to be left out individually or collectively in the ethnic identity provided by the Bura people. And to also bask in the comfort of Bura cultural identity and heritage.
Historically, before 1535, there was no such group of people in the Biu territory. Therefore, the band of the 70 led by Prince Abdullah of Birni Ngazargamu in Kanem-Borno does not add up to give the Yamtra descendants the permit to claim ethnic tribe and cultural identity of the Bura people. Archaeological sources around the greater Biu territory like the ancient abandoned settlement sites such as Kumba in old Bwala village. Ghenchabiri in Kwajaffa, among many others in the Hawul Local Government Area, is evidence of the presence of the Bura people before c.1535.
I hereby tie myself with roots of history to say that the Pabir people, who are the descendants of Yamtra-Wala, will find it difficult to disengage and/or isolate themselves from the beautiful Bura ethnic tribe and cultural identity despite sentiments of “mission” because Yamtra-Wala came without cultural identity. For this reason, Pabir or Babur are offshoots of the Bura ethnic tribe and cultural identity because they have an identity of their own.
Similarly, the Bura are the lighthouse of the Biu territory because they are found all over, contributing their quota to nation-building. They also made up the greater part of the Biu territory’s population.
Balami, Publisher/Columnist 08036779290
Descendants of Yamtra-Wala: Surfing in the Comfort of the Bura Ethnic Tribe/Cultural Identity
Columns
IBUAM: 5 Years Comprehensive Academic and Practical Training For Borno Indigenes Courtesy of Babagana Zulum’s Administration
IBUAM: 5 Years Comprehensive Academic and Practical Training For Borno Indigenes Courtesy of Babagana Zulum’s Administration
By: Balami Lazarus
Let me use this space and opportunity to make it clear that News Net Global Limited (NEWSng) Abuja and I are not media consultants to Isaac Balami University of Aeronautics and Management, Lagos (IBUAM). I have to bring this to the fore because some persons are presenting us as her media officers.
I was in Maiduguri recently on assignment for my firm, and during the course of the assignment, I decided to make time to do some independent investigations on the ₦12.9 billion scholarship offered to 54 students, indigenes of Borno State, courtesy of the state government, under the leadership of Governor Babagana Zulum, who believed in the progress and future of Borno State through Isaac Balami University of Aeronautics and Management, Oshodi-Lagos (IBUAM).
The scholarship is meant to educate and empower young students of Borno who meet the necessary requirements to study and be trained both intellectually and practically at IBUAM in various fields of aeronautics engineering and management as future pilots, aircraft/aerospace engineers, and aviation management experts to become future global leaders in the international aviation space (industry) equipped with comprehensive knowledge in modern aviation arts and techniques for the growth and development of Nigeria.
The Zulum administration has thought it wise to give young citizens of Borno State origin these golden opportunities through the State Scholarship Board.
This initiative, however, did not go well with some indigenes of Borno. Reliable sources based on my findings revealed that some members of the state executive council, Borno elders’ forum, among others, were not happy with the scholarship program meant for the 54 IBAUM students of Borno. In fact, before now it was a tug of war that generated a storm of bitter sentiments in a teacup greater than a mug.
In a brief chat with Engr. Isaac Balami, he informed this writer that he appreciates with gratitude the Borno State Government under the able leadership of Governor Babagana Zulum for believing in IBAUM to train its indigenes in the fields of aeronautics engineering and aviation management for the growth and development of the aviation industry in Nigeria and beyond. “IBUAM and I are grateful to my governor, Engr. Babagana Zulum, and those that have contributed to the realization of the scholarship program.”
Let me also state here categorically that scholarship programs are always provided under terms and conditions that are formulated by the offerer, like the case in question. But some individuals in government and other bodies are cogs in the wheel of such progress.
Are you aware that there are characteristics and physical differences between Engr. Isaac David Balami, an individual, and Isaac Balami University of Aeronautics and Management (IBUAM)? In a nutshell, herein are two entities—individual and institutional. But here are some citizens poised and wrapped in ignorance, raising eyebrows on collective future benefits.
The $12.9 billion doled out by the Borno State Government was not given to Engr. Isaac David Balami and shall never be his personal money from this day forward. I believed if and when anyone were to ask about the said money, that individual should go and ask IBUAM, not Engr. Isaac David Balami.
Balami, Publisher/Columnist. 08036779390
IBUAM: 5 Years Comprehensive Academic and Practical Training For Borno Indigenes Courtesy of Babagana Zulum’s Administration
IBUAM: Redefining the Nigerian Aerospace and Systems Through Aeronautics Disciplines
By: Balami Lazarus
The Wright brothers invented and flew the first airplane in 1903. They never knew that they had set the growth, development, and progress of the aviation industry with their invention.
Following the establishment of Isaac Balami University of Aeronautics and Management (IBUAM), Nigerians are optimistic that it will redefine with sophistication the aerospace systems, giving a new definition of the aviation through her academic courses by the quality of graduates that shall come on board sooner or later with made-in-Nigeria aircraft, their parts, and other related inventions.
I remembered one of my bright students whom I taught some years past, who has clamped and insulated her mind and interest to studying aeronautics engineering; my encouragements for her were endless.
And here we are, with a university that will give every candidate equal opportunities in his or her course of study, where future global stars are going to be trained to rule the aviation industry and her economy—national and international—through IBUAM academic disciplines.
The emergence of specialized universities in Nigeria was a big reality in the realm of our educational systems. These universities are no doubt making progress towards improving specialization by their trained professionals in various fields of studies for economic growth and industrialization, like what IBUAM is intended to do through one of her courses rarely taught in some Nigerian universities.
IBUAM is here to cater to the near-starved aviation needs of human capital and material resources through aeronautics engineering systems/management.
All courses at IBUAM are important for our nation’s development and in the aviation sector. Interestingly, IBUAM has state-of-the-art facilities to enhance teaching and learning—hangers, special workshops, tools, materials, and equipment. Her classrooms/lecture halls are also equipped with modern/standard facilities meant for effective and qualitative academic teaching and practical lessons for excellent performance of her students in their various courses. Therefore, IBUAM is doing the right thing in our education space and time.
Before I started this work, I was focused, mind made up on one fundamental course offered at IBUAM, and by all standards, that will automatically change the foundation and structure of the aerospace, which will provide Nigeria with aircraft and parts through the Aerospace Engineering course (B. Aerospace Engineering). This academic discipline is where students are expected to be trained in the science and skills of aerospace engineering “meant for designing, building, aircraft maintenance, and spacecraft systems.”
Therefore, this course of study and its related associates (metaphorically) will redefine the aviation aerospace and its science of engineering arts/skills, provided IBAUM academic teaching and learning are capped with practicals.
Engr. Isaac David Balami
whose passion for education and aeronautics is rooted in IBUAM, said that courses of study are all in the womb of JAMB requirements for candidates seeking admission in IBUAM: “For better and further understanding of our admission requirements and equal opportunities, I refer intended candidates to go through the JAMB prospectus.”
With no iota of doubt in my mind, this university will put Nigeria on the international aviation map of progress and value.
Balami, Publisher/Columnist. 08036779290
IBUAM: Redefining the Nigerian Aerospace and Systems Through Aeronautics Disciplines
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