Tuesday 14 October 2008

Hira da ni a VOA





A ziyarar da na kawo Amurka, an tattauna da ni a Sashen Hausa na VOA kan yadda tabarbarewar arzikin duniya ya shafi Afrika. A nan, ni ne tare da Malam Umar Sa'id Tudun Wada mu ke hirar a Washington, DC.

My VOA Interview

During my stay in Wasghington, DC, I was interviewed two days ago by Voice of Amrica's Howard Lesser for "Daybreak in Africa" programme. The interview was posted on the VOA's web site at

http://voanews.com/english/Africa/2008-10-13-voa3.cfm

It goes as follows:

Crisis Underscores Potential World Lending Institution Role as Africa's Safety Guarantor

By Howard Lesser
Washington, DC
13 October 2008

Nigerian Journalist Ibrahim Sheme - Download (MP3)
Nigerian Journalist Ibrahim Sheme - Listen (MP3)
Nigerian Journalist Ibrahim Sheme - Download (Real)
Nigerian Journalist Ibrahim Sheme - Listen (Real)



The heads of the World Bank and IMF have reassured finance officials from developing countries that they would not let the spiraling global financial crisis curtail efforts to foster economic gains for the world's most needy peoples. Addressing a Sunday Washington news conference after a meeting of the two institutions' Development Committee, World Bank head Robert Zoellick said that recently won pledges of aid for desperately needy populations would not be laid aside due to the sudden tightening of credit or a sustained global slowdown.

Zoellick's IMF counterpart, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, pointed out that crisis-plagued impoverished countries, through no fault of their own, were in danger of being penalized doubly by the crisis as they find it harder to get foreign funding, while their exports lose value as highly strapped world demand for their goods continues to plummet due to the global decline.

In light of the international uncertainty, how are African nations facing prospects of diminishing returns on foreign pledges of aid to reverse rising food and fuel costs and fulfill wide-ranging commitments reached at Gleneagles, Scotland three years ago to lift developing economies? Ibrahim Sheme is editor of the daily paper Leadership, published in Nigeria's capital, Abuja. In Washington to cover this month's preliminary and official World Bank and IMF meetings of top financial leaders, he says that African finance experts here take the institutional heads at their word and look optimistically toward continued progress, despite diminished expectations from the crisis.

"From the discussions that have taken place so far, there are clear indications that the World Bank and the IMF are not going to abandon poor nations. Already, there is a $1.2 billion facility which the Bank is putting together in order to assist developing countries as far as this economic problem is concerned," he said.

This year's annual October IMF-World Bank meeting in the US capital has been overshadowed by last Friday's G7 ministerial summit in Washington, which was attended by US President George W. Bush and by a major summit of European leaders on Sunday in Paris. Both meetings vowed to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to shore up their faltering banks and financial systems.

The 185-member IMF and the World Bank have been tasked with putting their stamp of approval on the country group and regional initiatives, while continuing to advocate the safety net to rescue impoverished countries threatened by rising food costs and escalating energy prices. Journalist Sheme says that despite their awareness that tumbling stock values, limited credit, and curtailed investment are likely to impair the recovery efforts of developing countries, African ministers at the Washington meeting remain optimistic that moves toward revitalization of their ailing economies will continue to have an impact.

"Even though the facilities may not be adequate, they will still continue to trickle in. So that's why I pointed out that African countries need to network among themselves. They must look inward and find ways to help themselves. They cannot afford to depend solely on donor nations," he said.

In addition, the Nigerian journalist says that Africa's more prosperous nations, like his own oil-producing giant, and mineral-rich, resource-endowed countries like South Africa and Ghana, have an additional obligation to extend their own foreign assistance across borders to less fortunate African neighbors. This, he says, is a matter of self interest, as well as an acceptance of regional responsibility.


"Major African countries like Nigeria and South Africa have the responsibility of looking at the problems of weaker countries in their respective regions, so that the problems will not spill into their own countries. They will not abandon countries like Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and the rest. I think they need to wake up to their responsibilities," he said.

Ibrahim Sheme says he has no reason to doubt the commitment of the World Bank and IMF to stand behind the mounting needs of the world's poorest countries. But he says the near future's prospects for a shattering of confidence in financial institutions leaves little doubt that "the facilities that are being proposed may not be adequate to care for our people in Africa."

BASHIR KARAYE PRIZE IN HAUSA LITERATURE 2008

ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIAN AUTHORS (ANA, ABUJA BRANCH

PRESS STATEMENT

We are happy to announce the shortlist of the 2nd edition (2008) of ANA ABUJA/ ENGINEER MOHAMMED BASHIR KARAYE PRIZE IN HAUSA LITERATURE. The shortlists are as follows in alphabetical orders (of the authors’ first names).

1. Aliya Z. Mainasara (for HALIN RAYUWA)
2. Abdurrashid Sani Isa Nigeria (Comrade) (for KOWA YA BI)
3. Dala’illu Bobboji (for BAKIN ABI MAGANA)
4. Ibrahim Birniwa (for GARIN MU DA NISA)
5. Muhammad Lawal Barista (for BAKIN KISHI)
6. Nazir Adam (for MURMUSHIN ALKAWALI)

A total of 15 (fifteen) entries were received for this year’s competition. We note that entries have improved despite the short notice that the maiden edition (2008) will, like the maiden edition, centre only on prose writing in Hausa Language as against prose, poetry and drama in alternative order.

The entries is indeed very encouraging as it points to the wider acceptance ob both the Prize itself and the confidence in the final judgment of the literary judges, Mallam Kabir Dan Asabe of the FCT College of Education, Zuba, Abuja and Alhaji Ibrahim Dachia, General Manager, Yobe State Television, Damaturu, Yobe State.

It could be recalled that a year ago, the Secretary of the Federal Judicial service Commission, Abuja, Hajiya Bilkisu Abdulmalik Bashir, instituted what has now come to be known as The Karaye Prize (short for Engineer Mohammed Bashir Karaye Prize in Hausa Literature) in memory and in honour of her late husband, the late Engineer Mohammed Bashir Karaye of blessed memory, with the aim of encouraging creative writing in indigenous language. You may recall that winners were rewarded at a colorful ceremony at Abuja in October, 2007.

The Winner of this edition will take home the sum of N150, 000.00 (One Hundred and fifty thousand naira) while the first and second runners ups will collect the sum of N100, 000.00 (one hundred thousand naira) and N50, 000.00 (fifty thousand naira) respectively.

All arrangements for the award ceremony have been concluded by the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Abuja Branch in collaboration with the Engineer Mohammed Bashir Karaye Foundation, promoters of the Karaye Prize.

The date for the Award ceremony is Thursday, 23rd October, 2008. The venue is Shehu Musa Yar’ardua Centre, Abuja and the kick off time is 3:30pm.

The Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) on behalf of all its members hereby uses this medium to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the widow of the late Engineer Mohammed Bashir Karaye for this great boost to Nigerian literature. We also call on Federal and State governments and all Nigerians of goodwill to give literature and writers moral and financial support for National integration and development.

Thank you and God bless.

Patrick Tagbo Oguejiofor
SECRETARY
Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Abuja Branch

Dan Arewa A Washington


A ranar Laraba da ta wuce Allah ya kawo ni kasar Amurka a karo na farko. Na je wurare da dama (irin su White House da VOA), kuma na hadu da mutane daban-daban, musamman 'yan Nijeriya da ke Sashen Hausa na Muryar Amurka. Na hadu da su Malam Oumaten Attah da abokin sa Mal. Adamu Muhammad, wadanda 'yan Nijar ne. Ina jin ba zan iya ba da dukkan labarin balaguro na din ba sai na zauna na natsu, musamman bayan na koma Nijeriya.

Abin da kawai zan fada shi ne: mun zo taron shekara shkara na Bankin Duniya da IMF ne a birnin Washington, DC.

Zan tsakuro abubuwan da zan iya tsakurowa don sakawa a wannan taskar tawa har zuwa lokacin da Allah zai nufe ni da yin cikakken bayani.

Ga hoto na nan a gaban fadar Shugaban Kasar Amurka, wato White House, wadda na ziyarta shekaranjiya.

Sunday 5 October 2008

GASAR RUBUTU DON TUNAWA DA BASHIR KARAYE

Malamai,

Tare da sallama. Ga wata gajeriyar sanarwa kan bikin gasar rubutun Hausa don tunawa da marigayi Injiniya Bashir Karaye, kashi na biyu.

Za a yi bikin fidda gwani na gasar ta bana a ranar 22 ga wannan watan na Oktoba, 2008a birnin tarayya, Abuja.

Majiya ta shaida mani cewa kwanan nan za a bayyana sunayen zakaru uku da su ka kai matakin karshe a gasar inda daga cikin su za a fidda gwani na gwanaye da bi masa/mata da kuma na uku.

Idan kun tuna, a bara, gogan naku ne ya zo na daya da littafin sa mai suna "'Yartsana," yayin da Balaraba Ramat Yakubu ta zo ta biyu, sannan Maje El-Hajeej Hotoro ya zo na uku.

Majiyar ta kara shaida mani cewa Dakta Ibrahim Malumfashi na Jami'ar Usmanu Danfodio shi ne Alkalin Alkalan gasar ta bana, wadda ita ma littattafan hikaya ne su ka shiga.

Idan ba a mance ba, maidakin marigayi Injiniya Karaye, wato Mrs Bilkisu A. Bashir, ita ce ta dauki nauyin gudanar da gasar.

Duk littafin da ya zo na daya za a ba shi N150,000; na biyu kuma N100,000, sannan na uku N50,000.

To, Allah Ya ba mai rabo sa'a.

To, kaka tsara kaka!! In ta bi ta daga-daga, na kurya ka sha kashi! Allah Ya nuna mana ranar, amin.