Columns
Re: The craze for easy money in Nigeria and the Hanifa story, by Prof M. K. Othman

Re: The craze for easy money in Nigeria and the Hanifa story, by Prof M. K. Othman
Deep Thought with Othman
Again, it is time to allow the esteemed readers of this Column to air their views. There were varieties of views on almost every topic I presented in this Column. Today, I am presenting some edited views on the topic “The Craze for Easy Money in Nigeria and The Hanifa Story”.
The Hanifa saga continues to hunt our psyche until justice is done and preventive measures taken against repeat and replication of the saga in our society. Happy reading:
Prof, your article speaks volumes of the moral decay in our society. The safe school initiative of the Government has a lot to contribute in controlling the excesses of these criminals masquerading as Proprietors. Government must continue to seek means of revamping our educational institutions to make these private schools dysfunctional, as they have become avenues and catalysts for crimes. While these may be isolated cases, the regulatory institutions must be up and doing and appropriate the right sanctions to erring institutions.
The roles of parents in the upbringings of their wards need not be overemphasized; Hanifa was too young to be entrusted to go to school all by herself. She should have been under the care of her parents or guardians when she was not in class. This lacuna is what was responsible for this dastardly act and gave the criminal in the name of Proprietor to find her a soft target.
Thank you Sir for sharing with me, once again your various interventions through the pen are making modest contributions to our society.
Musa Aliu, Zaria.
Fantastic, Prof, may your pen ever be flowing with the ink of wisdom, amen. Nigeria is a nation where nobody or government questions the source of your wealth, the use of BVN is just existing without being used for verification, where underage are swimming in resources not worked for, where law enforcement agents share the proceeds of crime with criminals, where people celebrate rich people with untraceable sources, where intelligent and hard work are no longer celebrated, where the good name of the family is no longer preserved and cherished, where all manner of things can be done for money. It is only God of genuine revival that can cure this nation.
Prof Olakojo Samuel Adelow, Ibadan.
My Prof. You have said it all. But I fear that, if this barbarism continues to spread like a great cyclone as it is doing now in Nigeria without any security upsurge, we will soon go back to the age of troglodyte. We made laws, which only work on the poverty-stricken individuals while the criminals that have amazed Haram’s wealth are celebrated across the country. Thus, only Allah can save us from this serious schizophrenia.
Well done my Prof. You continue to ring the golden bell of alarms, but I don’t know whether the listeners are sleeping or are just political sycophants? My Prof, I suggest that the death of Hanifa should be used as a deterrent to the others by executing her culprit in a market square of Kano.
Yakubu Yunusa Sakpe, Bida.
When people with ill-gotten wealth are praised and given red carpet treatment in society. The craze to get rich quickly by feeble-minded members of society will take a calamitous dimension. Only God will help us out of this ugly trend. Many thanks for this educative piece, sir.
Jonah Attah, Abuja.
May Almighty Allah protect us from the hands of the evil ones. And may we be contented with what we are destined to have.
Your write-up is very educative, Sir.
Aliyu Yakubu, Kaduna.
Great piece Prof. More wisdom Sir. It is a painful and unbearable tragedy to Hanifah’s family and the world at large. We hope that justice should be served. A similar case was Soffiyah’s case in Abeokuta who was beheaded by her boyfriend.
Dr Adams Tijjani Zaria.
Innalillahiwainnailaihiraji’un. Ya Allah continues to protect us from known and unknown evils planned or unplanned by Shaytan, humans, jinns, and their accomplices. This is indeed a sad part of our national history which if allowed to continue can lead to complete lawlessness in society.
What could be the possible causes of this craze for easy money? In my opinion, it may be a result of corruption and corrupt tendencies in all our basic institutions of school, family, religion, government, and economy. Admission into our institutions of learning was considered on merit. That merit was defined by the number of credits or combination of subjects provided by the various regulatory bodies such as JAMB. To meet these basic paper qualifications, parents, students, school administrators strive to get results from WAEC or NECO by all means. This effort led to the proliferation of magic centres that are well known across the country. The authorities are doing nothing or governing bodies to deter the creation of those centres due to interests and corruption. The students end up in higher institutions with little basic knowledge of the requirements for higher education. All they are after is the certificate; hence all forms of malpractice, buying of grades with money or through sexual gratification are done to pass exams. This is the basis for corruption in Nigeria.
I remember in our secondary school when we were writing exams, black Maria used to be stationed by the side waiting for an exams malpractice case. Everyone was careful not to be involved. The craze for certificate and the corrupt ways through which it was obtained drive the people to the craze for money from their investment. Any window of opportunity, the result is beyond imagination. The cases of security operatives aiding the corrupt practices and compromising are well documented. Check roadblocks along the highways, the cases of Magu and Kyari, etc all in the name of quick money-making.
This corruption has also depleted our economy, as the government can no longer afford to provide those free education, basic health care, employment, security, etc. Parents can no longer afford to provide basic needs of their families. Children drop out of school to be engaged in menial jobs. Some end up in the company of bad friends that introduce them to crimes and related activities.
The religious institutions were also not spared by corruption; we see cases of diversion and personalization of funds by the leaders, buying private jets, luxury apartments, and Ferraris with the sweat of their followers. Therefore, all that we think about the craze for quick money is deeply rooted in our basic institutions. We have to look back and reflect on this for a lasting solution.
Dr SaniIsiaku, Zaria.
Unfortunately, the new generations of leaders are not helping. The previous leaders were more visionary, less materialistic, self-sacrificing, not greedy, valued human lives, unlike today direct opposite. It’s worrisome and to me, the future seems bleak, especially for the majority of youths that are left stranded with no proper education, involvement in reasonable ventures or connection to society is already an indication of bitterness, inequalities in terms of social welfare, etc.
Good morning my amiable Prof. I am impressed with the cutting-edge articles that touch the ills of our society especially as it affects the youths.
Dr Anlade Yakubu, Aliero.
Salam Prof. Thanks for the concluding part of your article on the unfortunate circumstances, in which children find themselves nowadays, of being abducted and killed by their supposed protectors even after ransom payment. The craze for easy money is the root cause of all these kinds of vices.
Prof Abdulhameed Y. Umar, Kano.
Prof Othman writes from NAERLS, ABU Zaria and can be reached via email: mkothman@gmail.com.
Columns
Osama, For Good Governance and Social Justice Through the Radio

Osama, For Good Governance and Social Justice Through the Radio
By: Balami Lazarus
Osama. Does it ring a bell? Yes, it does on the Plateau. The Osama I am writing about is that individual who is known for his good works for humanity on the radio and outside the studio. Osama is a gentleman but is outspoken and has a mind of his own.
My Osama in this context is a personality, a brand, and a trademark. Osama is a broadcaster, radio presenter, and popular comedian on stage and in the entertainment industry in Jos-Plateau and beyond. Since the writing is sailing, I will later reveal the identity of who this young man is and why he is so passionate about good governance.
The fights for human rights, social justice, and good governance have been the cries and topic of discourse of so many Nigerians, especially good governance. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and human rights activists are the leaders in these struggles, whereby their roles cannot be overemphasized. The quantum of spoken words, public lectures/enlightenment programs, workshops, seminars, etc., has not brought many changes in our systems because there was little or no action by you and me as Nigerians.
I remembered when I was very active in the struggle for human rights and social justice. As Deputy Secretary General (DSG) of Democratic Alternative (DA), we were much concerned with democratic alternative processes and social justice with a whiff of good governance, and this has been the case for some NGOs, as I know.
I came to understand from my experiences that, as a country, we have good public-oriented programs, but our major challenges are implementation and follow-up that come with too many talks but no individual action or collective responsibility because many Nigerians are fearful, and this has made me a one-man advocate/crusader for human rights and social justice. Like the subject of this work.
Now back to the subject. Osama is a brand package, fearless advocate, and mouthpiece for good governance on the Plateau through Town Hall, a popular radio program aired by JFM 101.9 FM. Jos is widely listened to. He was born as Ehis Akugnonu. But Osama has overtaken his certified name. Therefore, my continued use of Osama is justified in this work because I realized that many times your other name (also known as) tends to dominate and overshadow your real name.
Osama is redefining the fight for good governance by personal efforts through follow-up and speaking on them, putting the government on their feet to improve and do better. ‘I am for good governance, and I will continue to speak on this matter.’ He is purposefully driven by his passion for good quality and better systems to have an enabling environment where the systems are working for progress and development.
Balami, a publisher/columnist 08036779290
Osama, For Good Governance and Social Justice Through the Radio
Columns
In Marriage Nest, Spouses Are Dying Ignoring Red Flags and The Panacea (2)

In Marriage Nest, Spouses Are Dying Ignoring Red Flags and The Panacea (2)
By: Balami Lazarus
I saw it coming. As a writer, my works and I have been verbally attacked several times. I raised an eyebrow at how some readers react by using bad language on issues, opinions, and views. Well, that is their way of expression when they are displeased, but I feel it is grotty.
And here is the conclusion of the “controversial piece,” as one caller puts it. For me, there is nothing controversial about this discourse but the truth of the grotesque happenings in married homes. And the way out, as I earlier wrote, is divorce.
Recently there has been an inflation of brutal murders in marriages; those killed are mostly women and children, and fewer men. What justification does one have to continue in a marriage where there are threats, violence, and unhappiness generated by the presence of either the husband or the wife? And unknowingly one becomes prey hunted by an in-house predator.
Sharks areamong the most intelligent aquatic animals. Their sense of smell is very sharp; they can smell and detect blood or any red object in water from a far distance and come for it at near the speed of light. Therefore, women’s body chemistry is like that of sharks; they sense and notice things easily. But what is wrong with many of them in marriage that they are unable to detect landmines or red flags early in their marriages? Where there is a threat to life with the intention to hurt, harm, and/or cause grievous injury or death, that is when they realize they are living in gross bondage if they are lucky to come out of it alive.
As students at Pluto College Sharam in Kanke-Plateau State, we were told and made to understand as boys to treat our girl students with love and care and be there for them when the need arises. That was one of the lessons that came from the late Dr. Sumaila Ndayako (Rector), as he was known and called. As boys, we dared not humiliate, insult, or threaten them in any way; rather, we were to take them as our sisters by extension. This has taught me to respect and care for the opposite sex.
Moreover, my association, membership, and experience with some human rights organizations have enlightened me with rights, liberties, and freedom garnished by respect for individual differences, rights and privileges, consent, and action. With this knowledge put together, I consider marriage never a do-or-die affair but a privilege with consent to be a husband to a woman who also has rights/consent to be a wife and live in matrimony. Why then humiliation, abuses, and domestic violence?
I have observed in my experience as a married man that if you take away some women from their husbands, they will die, and vice versa. Despite the domestic violence and abuses inflicted on either party, he/she is willing and prefers to die in such gothic marriage situations because one among them has a deep spiritual attachment to the marriage. This is common in Christendom, where “till death do us part.” My question here is, what kind of death? Intentional, accidental, or natural? This created injunction clause does not hold water in life-threatening marriages.
Living in a shark-jaws marriage, I always blamed women who had seen the red flags but refused to leave such marriages and the house-husband (husband). I further came to understand that patience and the pretext that all is well have caused damage to both spouses in terms of emotional and traumatic agonies and some to their graves.
Therefore, spouses that are trapped in this valley of death with its quagmire should know that marriage is a thing of choice. Likewise, divorce is permissible as a panacea for both to be alive to breathe freely.
Balami, a publisher/columnist, 0803677929
In Marriage Nest, Spouses Are Dying Ignoring Red Flags and The Panacea (2)
Columns
In Marriage Nest, Spouses Are Dying, Ignoring Red Flags, and The Panacea (1)

In Marriage Nest, Spouses Are Dying, Ignoring Red Flags, and The Panacea (1)
By: Balami Lazarus
In the quite beautiful town of Zhimbutu, where men held sway, lording over their wives, some with brutality, few with love,
care and romance others in different ways. While some women are also lords over their husbands with impunity. Fear of getting married gripped young ladies seeing the ways their mothers were being treated and relegated to the background in the affairs of their homes as married women.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Kwanchinkwalo Xhosa is full of regrets, anger, and bitterness, where Mrs. Xhosa has been treated as an object in the marriage partnership. The red spots were obviously fermented with bubbles ready for brewing.
Similarly, some good number of marriage homes are full of regrets where love, peace, and understanding
and harmony are strangers rejected and kept in a labyrinth of doom where one of the parties is placed in a perpetual tan of unhappiness surrounded by fear in the thickness of smoke, a forced resident.
Long before, now as a young man, a legitimate product of marriage. I took marriage as a mere secular social contract of partnership bounded in love and understanding where two have agreed to live together as husband and wife in matrimony.
However, I have never taken marriage to be a do-or-die affair, which has been the stock of some persons, even when and if the two—husband and wife—can no longer live together, having exhausted reasonable avenues to no avail. Here I am.
for outright divorce as a panacea for the final dissolution of the marriage.
To this day, I have been asking myself, why did I even get married in the first place? For sex, procreation, companionship, norms, tradition, or obligation? While marriage to a larger extent has deprived me and many others of some air of freedom and liberties to do or not to do at any space of time, I suppose. Moreover, the enterprise called marriage has taken away the ‘who’ in many men and
women and made them something else. It has further forcefully taken the lives of many spouses who ignored the red flags and fear of divorce. And besides, many have taken upon themselves to live or die in an unhappy/venomous venture of marriage that is infested with ‘dysentery’ and ‘cholera,’ where death is lurking because husbands or wives lack the guts, will , ability, and/or capacity to invoke the dead-end solution.
Let me now punctuate the work with some questions: Were you forced into it? Was it under duress? Was it at gunpoint? I believed the answers were all no. What will then prevent an individual from liquidating his unprofitable marital interest in such an intense business called marriage to be free from wahala that may likely result in crime?
In such a situation, I advocate for divorce as the only and final panacea, which has a comfortable place as a clause in my dictionary of marriage. Divorce is rarely used in some quarters, no matter what. While my wife and I have sincerely agreed in the course of our marriage journey that at any point in time, with or without any reason/cause, either party can quietly and peacefully walk out of the marriage to avoid who knows what?
In the history of failed marriages and crime findings, it has been shown that one of the parties is forcing his/herself on the other spouse because one of them has a profound and compounded emotional or spiritual attachment to the marriage. The case of the late Mrs. Osinachi Nwachukwu (2023), the gospel singer, was a classical example. Patience and excessive spiritual attachment led to her being killed by her husband, one Mr. Nwachukwu. The same is also applicable to men who fall victim in the hands of their wives. This situation has created two prime suspected killers living in a marriage cocoon.
Balami, a publisher/columnist. 08036779290
In Marriage Nest, Spouses Are Dying, Ignoring Red Flags, and The Panacea (1)
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