Shugaban Hukumar Hukunta 'Yan Fim ta Jihar Kano, Malam Abubakar Rabo, ya cika alkawarin sa na cewa sai ya d'aure daya daga cikin fitattun mawakan Kano, wato Malam Bashir Dandago. Domin kuwa a yau dai jami'an hukumar sun kama shi, sun gurfanar da shi a gaban kotun hukunta 'yan fim.
Haka kuma an kama wani matashi mai suna Kabir Maulana.
Laifin da ake tuhumar su da shi, shi ne: wai sun saki faifan wakar 'Tsangayar Kura' (mai dauke da wakar nan ta "Hasbunallahu" ) bayan hukuma ta hana sakin faifan a Kano.
A kotu, su Dandago sun ce, "Not guilty." To amma Alkali Mukhtar Ahmed, kamar yadda ya saba yi, ya hana belin su, ya tura su gidan yari. Ya ce a dawo ran Litinin a ci gaba da magana. Manufa ita ce, su ma dai sun yi zaman jarun.
Ga wadanda su ka saurari wakar "Hasbunallahu, " za su tuna da cewa akwai muryar Malam Bashir Dandago a ciki. To, da ma kaska ta na da haushin kifi.
Shi dai Dandago, ya yi fice ne a fagen wakokin yabon Manzon Allah (SAW), wato wakokin bege. A cikin 2009 ne aka ji muryar sa a wakar "Hasbunallahu, " wanda hakan ya kara wa wakar karfi da karsashi. A wata hira da ya yi da 'yan jarida kwanan baya, Dandago ya ce ya yi wakar ne domin ya taimaka wajen murkushe zaluncin da ake yi a Kano.
Kwanan nan kotun ta su "Asabe Murtala" ta daure jagaban wakar "Hasbunallahu, " wato Malam Aminuddeen Ladan Abubakar (ALA), a gidan yari. Za a ci gaba da shari'ar sa a makon gobe.
Majiya ta ce gurfanar da Rabo da 'yan fim su ka yi a ofishin 'yan sanda na Metro kwanan nan ya k'ara hayaka malamin, har ya sha alwashin yin ramuwa.
Majiyar ta ce don haka dai kwanan nan hukumar za ta kama wasu mata daga cikin 'yan fim, musamman mawakan da ke cikin su. Sannan majiyar ta ce ana nan ana hak'on wani dan fim, tare da shan alwashin cewa a gidan yari zai yi azumin Ramadan.
"Zalunci ba zai dore ba" - Maryam A. Baba, a wakar "Rabo, Rabo"
Thursday, 6 August 2009
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
Ba gyara Rabo ya zo yi ba
A gaskiya, ko kadan ba da nufin gyaran harkar fim Malam Abubakar Rabo ya zo ba. Ya dai zo yin gyaran gangar Abzinawa ne - wato kid'an ganga da lauje! Abin da ya sa na fadi haka shi ne, kusan dukkan muhimman matakan da Rabo ya dauka a kan wannan harkar, ya dauke su ne da nufin durkusar da harkar. Ga hujjoji na:
1. Tun daga ranar farko ta kama aikin sa, ya dukufa wajen b'ata sunan 'yan fim. Ba wai a yau ya fara ba.
2. Duk wasu shawarwari nagari da 'yan fim din da sauran jama'ar gari su ka ba shi na yin gyaran da ya dace, bai dauka ba.
3. Duk wani zaman shawara da 'yan fim su ka yi da shi, aka zartar da shawarwari, bai taba aiwatar da ko daya ba; sai ma ya rika yi masu yankan baya bayan an tashi daga zaman.
4. Rabo ya zagaya jihohin Arewa da dama inda ya bukaci magabatan jihohin da su zartar da kudirorin hana yin sana'ar fim.
5. A kan d'an k'aramin laifi, Rabo ba ya tausaya wa d'an fim, sai kurum ya sa a kulle shi ko kuma kotu ta yi masa babbar tara.
6. Ya sa an kulle 'yan fim din da ba su aikata laifin komai ba, musamman Hamisu Iyan-Tama, don kurum ya fashe wani haushi nasa na son rai.
7. Har yau bai karbo wani agajin kudi daga gwamnati ya raba wa 'yan fim ba don inganta sana'ar su ko kuma ci gaba da yin sana'ar.
8. Ya dauki masu shawara tagari a matsayin abokan adawa ko ma abokan gaba, duk da yake su ba hakan su ka dauke shi ba.
9. Ba ya yarda ya tafi tare da masu ba shi shawara, sai 'yan kore wadanda ke gaya masa abin da kunnen sa ya ke so ya ji.
10. A kullum kokarin sa shi ne ya gano hanyar da zai bi ya nakasa 'yan fim da sana'ar su, ba hanyar da zai taimaka masu su ci gaba ba.
11. Duk wata bita da ya shirya da nufin wai gyaran fim, idan ka duba da kyau sai ka ga da biyu aka yi, ba wai an yi ba ne don gyara sana'ar. Domin ko su wadanda ake zaba su shiga bitar, sai an tsamo 'yan kore, 'yan a-bi-Yarima- a-sha-kida, sannan a yi da su.
12. Yau shekarar Rabo biyu a kan mulkin, me ya kulla na kawo gyara?
1. Tun daga ranar farko ta kama aikin sa, ya dukufa wajen b'ata sunan 'yan fim. Ba wai a yau ya fara ba.
2. Duk wasu shawarwari nagari da 'yan fim din da sauran jama'ar gari su ka ba shi na yin gyaran da ya dace, bai dauka ba.
3. Duk wani zaman shawara da 'yan fim su ka yi da shi, aka zartar da shawarwari, bai taba aiwatar da ko daya ba; sai ma ya rika yi masu yankan baya bayan an tashi daga zaman.
4. Rabo ya zagaya jihohin Arewa da dama inda ya bukaci magabatan jihohin da su zartar da kudirorin hana yin sana'ar fim.
5. A kan d'an k'aramin laifi, Rabo ba ya tausaya wa d'an fim, sai kurum ya sa a kulle shi ko kuma kotu ta yi masa babbar tara.
6. Ya sa an kulle 'yan fim din da ba su aikata laifin komai ba, musamman Hamisu Iyan-Tama, don kurum ya fashe wani haushi nasa na son rai.
7. Har yau bai karbo wani agajin kudi daga gwamnati ya raba wa 'yan fim ba don inganta sana'ar su ko kuma ci gaba da yin sana'ar.
8. Ya dauki masu shawara tagari a matsayin abokan adawa ko ma abokan gaba, duk da yake su ba hakan su ka dauke shi ba.
9. Ba ya yarda ya tafi tare da masu ba shi shawara, sai 'yan kore wadanda ke gaya masa abin da kunnen sa ya ke so ya ji.
10. A kullum kokarin sa shi ne ya gano hanyar da zai bi ya nakasa 'yan fim da sana'ar su, ba hanyar da zai taimaka masu su ci gaba ba.
11. Duk wata bita da ya shirya da nufin wai gyaran fim, idan ka duba da kyau sai ka ga da biyu aka yi, ba wai an yi ba ne don gyara sana'ar. Domin ko su wadanda ake zaba su shiga bitar, sai an tsamo 'yan kore, 'yan a-bi-Yarima- a-sha-kida, sannan a yi da su.
12. Yau shekarar Rabo biyu a kan mulkin, me ya kulla na kawo gyara?
Police Arrest Kano Censors Board DG
By Nasir Gwangwazo, Kano
Director-General of the Kano State Censorship Board, Malam Abubakar Rabo Abdulkareem, was yesterday arrested by the police over a complaint filed against him by the Kano State Filmmakers Association.
A reliable source told LEADERSHIP last night that Rabo had been dragged to a Sharia Court in Sabon Gari, Kano, by members of the association over an allegation credited to him, in which he was said to have described movie makers as a bunch of homosexuals and lesbians during an interview he granted Radio Kano recently.
In the interview, a copy of which was made available to LEADERSHIP, Rabo stated that he had proof that many of the filmmakers were gay, saying his intervention in the industry had helped sanitise the situation.
The statement incensed the filmmakers, and they wrote him a letter demanding a retraction and an apology within 48 hours.
But at a follow-up press conference recently in Kano, the director-general repeated his claim, warning that he would publish more damning reports about the alleged immorality in the industry if pressed further.
The association went ahead with its threat, suing him before the Sharia court, which was said to have advised the association to report the matter to the police first.
According to a member of the association and the immediate former chairman of the state chapter of Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Malam Ado Ahmad Gidan Dabino, Rabo was picked up yesterday by two plain-clothes policemen at about 4pm and taken to the Metro police station located on Bank Road in the city, following a complaint by the filmmakers.
At the police station, three leaders of the moviemaking association - Nura Hussain, Ahmad Alkanawy and Isma’ila Afakalla - endorsed the association's formal complaint, which Rabo reportedly denied.
According to Gidan Dabino, the case is due for hearing at the Sharia Court, Fagge, today.
When our correspondent contacted Rabo on phone last night, however, he denied knowledge of the issue, saying he was in a meeting and promptly switched off.
Published in LEADERSHIP today
Director-General of the Kano State Censorship Board, Malam Abubakar Rabo Abdulkareem, was yesterday arrested by the police over a complaint filed against him by the Kano State Filmmakers Association.
A reliable source told LEADERSHIP last night that Rabo had been dragged to a Sharia Court in Sabon Gari, Kano, by members of the association over an allegation credited to him, in which he was said to have described movie makers as a bunch of homosexuals and lesbians during an interview he granted Radio Kano recently.
In the interview, a copy of which was made available to LEADERSHIP, Rabo stated that he had proof that many of the filmmakers were gay, saying his intervention in the industry had helped sanitise the situation.
The statement incensed the filmmakers, and they wrote him a letter demanding a retraction and an apology within 48 hours.
But at a follow-up press conference recently in Kano, the director-general repeated his claim, warning that he would publish more damning reports about the alleged immorality in the industry if pressed further.
The association went ahead with its threat, suing him before the Sharia court, which was said to have advised the association to report the matter to the police first.
According to a member of the association and the immediate former chairman of the state chapter of Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Malam Ado Ahmad Gidan Dabino, Rabo was picked up yesterday by two plain-clothes policemen at about 4pm and taken to the Metro police station located on Bank Road in the city, following a complaint by the filmmakers.
At the police station, three leaders of the moviemaking association - Nura Hussain, Ahmad Alkanawy and Isma’ila Afakalla - endorsed the association's formal complaint, which Rabo reportedly denied.
According to Gidan Dabino, the case is due for hearing at the Sharia Court, Fagge, today.
When our correspondent contacted Rabo on phone last night, however, he denied knowledge of the issue, saying he was in a meeting and promptly switched off.
Published in LEADERSHIP today
Friday, 31 July 2009
Taliban Leader Mohammed Yusuf - Portrait
By Ibrahim Sheme
The leader of the Boko Haram sect, Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf, was born on January 29, 1970 in Girgir village, Jakusko Local Government Area of Yobe State.
Not much is known about his educational pursuit.
In 2002, the 39-year-old self-proclaimed Islamic scholar founded the group that would eventually become known as Boko Haram, meaning "Western education is sinful" in the Hausa language; the group operated from its Maiduguri base under various sobriquets. It consistently showed aversion to 'boko' or western education.
Yusuf made a name for himself preaching against western education and consistently argued that the current system in Nigeria, symbolised by government, needed to be overthrown and replaced with an extreme version of Islamic law. Yusuf was also averse to other Muslims who disagreed with his methods and beliefs. He was soon regarded as an oddity by the rest of Muslims.
Nonetheless, he was able to attract huge numbers of followers from among the youths in many states of northern Nigeria, including Yobe, Bauchi, Kano, Katsina and Kaduna.
Contrary to the widely-held belief that Yusuf did not believe in Prophet Muhammad (SAW), he demonstrated that belief in his preaching, where he quoted from the sayings of the prophet to support his points.
And contrary to the thinking that he was a university graduate or drop-out, Mohammed Yusuf admitted, during a 2006 canonical debate with a Bauchi-based cleric and university lecturer, Malam Isah Aliyu Fantami, that he had never attended a western-type school.
In the debate, a DVD of which I obtained yesterday, the late Yusuf defended his group's position hotly, citing sources from Islamic history and jurisprudence, as well as from western science, making reference to the theory of evolution and giving off-hand examples from the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
But it was obvious from the debate that his theories were faulty and easily debunked by his opponent.
En-route Brazil on a state visit early this week, President Umaru Yar'Adua revealed, to the surprise of many, that the Nigerian security agencies had been tracking the Boko Haram sect for several years, describing its members as a "potentially dangerous group" who have been gathering weapons and intelligence to try to force their views on Nigerians.
On November 13, 2008, Yusuf and some of his followers were arrested by the police for public incitement through preaching and were brought to Abuja for trial. A High Court judge in the federal capital granted them bail on January 20, this year, after they were handed over to the police for prosecution.
The stage, it seemed, was set for a showdown between Yusuf's group and security forces, especially on June 11, when police officers in Maiduguri fired on a funeral procession by Boko Haram, shooting 17. Yusuf, denouncing the shootings, vowed to take revenge.
During a joint press conference in Abuja yesterday, defence spokesman Colonel Mohammed Yarima described the Boko Haram leader as a motivational character who had four wives and 12 children.
He said the operation to catch Yusuf was already well under way. "We have his picture, we have his details and the long arm of the law will catch up with him," he vowed.
That promise was fulfilled last night when security forces captured and killed Mohammed Yusuf in Maiduguri, thus ending an era in the short but bloody history of the sect he commanded.
Published in LEADERSHIP today
Thursday, 30 July 2009
Mohammed Yusuf - Nigerian Taliban Leader
This is a photograph of Mohammed Yusuf, leader of the pro-Taliban group called Boko Haram, based in Maiduguri, Nigeria. Yusuf, 39, was killed today by Nigerian security forces after days of bloodshed. I got it from a video of a debate between Yusuf and another cleric on the pros and cons of western-type education, which Yusuf opposed.
Expect a profile of Yusuf later.
Expect a profile of Yusuf later.
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Nigeria needs radical action to bring its oil crisis to an end-FT
Written by William Wallis
Wednesday, 29 July 2009 08:24
Militants in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger delta have been tapping pipelines and illegally exporting crude for the best part of a decade. Their activities have grown into a multi-billion dollar racket with tentacles reaching far into state institutions and criminal connections that stretch from Abidjan to Odessa.
Now, inhabitants of the delta have started processing crude. In small, modular refineries they are producing kerosene and other fuel and selling to the local market from so-called mushroom enterprises in the creeks and swamps.
In the context of an industry in precipitous decline, beset by a campaign of sabotage and a crisis in funding, this might seem a detail. It is indicative, however, of fast eroding state authority and the failure of government to regain control of a resource on which the nation's development depends.
It is not quite business as usual in Nigeria. Far from leading an African economic renaissance, the country from which one in five black Africans hail is hovering close to the brink. Nigerians have lost faith in the ability of President Umaru Yar'Adua's government to govern in their interests.
One manifestation of this has emerged this week in the north of the country where security forces are battling followers of an Islamist sect that has thrived on poverty and despair. Another is the slump in oil production.
Nigeria should be producing upwards of 3m barrels a day, contributing to global energy security and using its gas reserves to power an industrial revolution at home. Instead, it is Angola, with a third of the reserves, that has taken over as Africa's leading oil producer.
Nigeria's oil industry has been crippled by a campaign of theft conducted by militants demanding, and increasingly taking, a greater share of oil wealth. Amidst uncertainty over broader policy, fresh exploration has ground to a halt.
Not since the late 1960s has onshore output fallen so low. Nigeria is exporting less than half the crude it did in 2008 by some estimates and selling at about half the price. Moreover, most production is now offshore where the state has far less lucrative terms.
There is one school of thought that sees Nigeria consistently muddling through such crises. Its political leaders often approach the brink but step back to close ranks when under sufficient pressure. But Nigeria's ability to muddle through has depended to a great extent on oil and on the patronage system it spawned and which has glued elites together.
That system has long since reached its sell-by date. It is matched now by parallel criminal networks, such as those exporting oil illegally, which are eating away at the state.
With oil production in decline, the funds with which government could create a system in which power stations and refineries function, businesses thrive and services are delivered, are in dwindling supply.
Mr Yar'Adua has two plans on the table to bring them back. The first is legislation - in parliament this week - which promises transformation of the oil business. This would break up the corrupt state company into commercial ventures able to raise funding on the market, open transactions up to public scrutiny and deliver better terms for the state through contract renegotiation.
The western oil majors don't like the change because it would make operating in Nigeria more expensive and foster competition from China.
Furthermore, inhabitants of the Niger delta are not impressed and are threatening to scupper the president's second plan: an amnesty for delta militants with daily stipends to persuade them to lay down their arms. This might bring a pause in the violence. But a far more ambitious approach is needed if the Niger delta is to be persuaded of the federal government's good intentions.
One way would be to devote a percentage of any oil output recovered from current lows into a fund for the development of the region. This would give its long-suffering inhabitants a stake in the renaissance of the oil industry. Radical plans, although needed, are unlikely to fly. A few, powerful Nigerians profit from the status quo. Even as it becomes less and less viable, they are clinging on.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Wednesday, 29 July 2009 08:24
Militants in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger delta have been tapping pipelines and illegally exporting crude for the best part of a decade. Their activities have grown into a multi-billion dollar racket with tentacles reaching far into state institutions and criminal connections that stretch from Abidjan to Odessa.
Now, inhabitants of the delta have started processing crude. In small, modular refineries they are producing kerosene and other fuel and selling to the local market from so-called mushroom enterprises in the creeks and swamps.
In the context of an industry in precipitous decline, beset by a campaign of sabotage and a crisis in funding, this might seem a detail. It is indicative, however, of fast eroding state authority and the failure of government to regain control of a resource on which the nation's development depends.
It is not quite business as usual in Nigeria. Far from leading an African economic renaissance, the country from which one in five black Africans hail is hovering close to the brink. Nigerians have lost faith in the ability of President Umaru Yar'Adua's government to govern in their interests.
One manifestation of this has emerged this week in the north of the country where security forces are battling followers of an Islamist sect that has thrived on poverty and despair. Another is the slump in oil production.
Nigeria should be producing upwards of 3m barrels a day, contributing to global energy security and using its gas reserves to power an industrial revolution at home. Instead, it is Angola, with a third of the reserves, that has taken over as Africa's leading oil producer.
Nigeria's oil industry has been crippled by a campaign of theft conducted by militants demanding, and increasingly taking, a greater share of oil wealth. Amidst uncertainty over broader policy, fresh exploration has ground to a halt.
Not since the late 1960s has onshore output fallen so low. Nigeria is exporting less than half the crude it did in 2008 by some estimates and selling at about half the price. Moreover, most production is now offshore where the state has far less lucrative terms.
There is one school of thought that sees Nigeria consistently muddling through such crises. Its political leaders often approach the brink but step back to close ranks when under sufficient pressure. But Nigeria's ability to muddle through has depended to a great extent on oil and on the patronage system it spawned and which has glued elites together.
That system has long since reached its sell-by date. It is matched now by parallel criminal networks, such as those exporting oil illegally, which are eating away at the state.
With oil production in decline, the funds with which government could create a system in which power stations and refineries function, businesses thrive and services are delivered, are in dwindling supply.
Mr Yar'Adua has two plans on the table to bring them back. The first is legislation - in parliament this week - which promises transformation of the oil business. This would break up the corrupt state company into commercial ventures able to raise funding on the market, open transactions up to public scrutiny and deliver better terms for the state through contract renegotiation.
The western oil majors don't like the change because it would make operating in Nigeria more expensive and foster competition from China.
Furthermore, inhabitants of the Niger delta are not impressed and are threatening to scupper the president's second plan: an amnesty for delta militants with daily stipends to persuade them to lay down their arms. This might bring a pause in the violence. But a far more ambitious approach is needed if the Niger delta is to be persuaded of the federal government's good intentions.
One way would be to devote a percentage of any oil output recovered from current lows into a fund for the development of the region. This would give its long-suffering inhabitants a stake in the renaissance of the oil industry. Radical plans, although needed, are unlikely to fly. A few, powerful Nigerians profit from the status quo. Even as it becomes less and less viable, they are clinging on.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
Nollywood Sans Kannywood
I think when the world (or even Nigerian federal officials) talk about Nollywood, they are not thinking about the Hausa film industry, a.k.a. Kannywood. Nollywood is simply the Nigerian movie industry WITHOUT its Hausa component. Surprisingly, Nollywood includes the Igbo and Yoruba productions. The question is: why are Hausa movies not included? In my view, it has to do with the fact that federal officials working in the culture sector - Ministry of Information and its parastatals such as the National Film and Videos Censors Board and the Nigerian Film Corporation - hardly remember Kannywood when they are designing policies. Until in recent years, they scarcely included Kannywood stakeholders in their programmes.
Of course, things have been changing in recent years. Kannywood stakeholders have been making an in-road into the federal culture sector - participating in film festivals, awards and meetings. Nevertheless, there is still a long way to go before we get THERE, largely due to the dominance of non-Northerners in the sector and in the mainstream mass media. If you take a look at the entertainment pages of Nigerian newspapers where news and gossip about the Nigerian movie world are told, you will hardly see anything being said about Kannywood. That is, with the exception of northern papers like Leadership, Trust, New Nigerian and Triumph.
The senseless attacks on Kannywood operators by officials of the Kano State Censorship Board in the bogus name of sanitising the industry appears to have taken Kannywood back in reckoning. That's the actual target of the censors. But theirs is a futile exercise because only a dimwit will presuppose that a censorship regime can destroy the progress of the new information technologies, of which movies are a significant part.
This is more so in a democracy, which has a preset tenure. As the Hausa say, "Zalunci ba ya karewa!"
Of course, things have been changing in recent years. Kannywood stakeholders have been making an in-road into the federal culture sector - participating in film festivals, awards and meetings. Nevertheless, there is still a long way to go before we get THERE, largely due to the dominance of non-Northerners in the sector and in the mainstream mass media. If you take a look at the entertainment pages of Nigerian newspapers where news and gossip about the Nigerian movie world are told, you will hardly see anything being said about Kannywood. That is, with the exception of northern papers like Leadership, Trust, New Nigerian and Triumph.
The senseless attacks on Kannywood operators by officials of the Kano State Censorship Board in the bogus name of sanitising the industry appears to have taken Kannywood back in reckoning. That's the actual target of the censors. But theirs is a futile exercise because only a dimwit will presuppose that a censorship regime can destroy the progress of the new information technologies, of which movies are a significant part.
This is more so in a democracy, which has a preset tenure. As the Hausa say, "Zalunci ba ya karewa!"
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