Binani’s Victory Marks A Turning Point For Women In Politics- It Shows That What A Man Can Do A Woman Can Do It Even Better.
Written by A B Faniki
Kuyuk Times
July 2022
It’s not every day we witness defining moments in our lifetime. Defining moments are simply the de riguer moments that precede a great thing that is about to come and when this great thing comes it changes the way things are done. The intriguing thing about defining moment is that, it marks a turning point from that moment on ward. Here is an anecdote of a well-known defining moment in the life of Alhaji Aliyu Mai Borno, it marks a turning point in his career that led to his great achievement which became history in Nigerian, after the anecdote we will discuss the defining moment that just occurred recently in Adamawa State, Nigeria on June 2022- that history will forever remember in honor of Binani’s achievement.
Please by no means should this anecdote be misunderstood as pejorative, it is simply an anecdote about a well-known defining moment of one of the most celebrated figures in the history of Nigeria Alhaji Aliyu Mai Borno- his picture is on the 1000 Naira note. The anecdote goes like this- there was an incident that occurred in the staff room of General Murtala Mohammed College Yola; back then when it was known as Provincial Secondary School in the province of Gongola State, Nigeria. This incident was witnessed by both staff and students of the school it involved Alhaji Aliyu Mai Borno and Mr. Hogan, the Former was an indigenous English teacher at that time in the school, and due to his fluency in the English language, he was nicknamed “the Master of Phonetic and Vocabulary” while the later was also a teacher the same school who also happens to be an English man or a colonial master as they were called in that era. It was said that Alhaji Aliyu Mai Borno's proficiency in the English language was noteworthy to the point that it made him enviable to some of his colleagues even those who are native speakers of the language. One day an argument broke out in the staff room between Mr. Hogan and Alhaji Aliyu Mai Borno on grammar, the former in an out bust during the argument told the latter that granted he was fluent in the English language especially phonetics that he was still insignificant because he was an ordinary teacher and not a graduate. After the sting from Mr. Hogan's remark wore off Alhaji Aliyu Mai Borno picked that moment to redefine his career. Since being an excellent and fluent ordinary teacher is considered inconsequential by some people, then it was time he changes his station by coming an extraordinary man. For the next few years, Alhaji Aliyu Mai Borno works hard and secured admission to the London School of Economics he end up acquiring two degrees from the school and he later rose to become the first indigenous Central Bank Governor of Nigeria. When something bad usually happens to us two things occur, it either makes us or breaks us- in his case what made the whole sordid issue a bad experience was the insolence which was uncalled for {?}.
The defining moment that we just witness recently is the victory of Engr. Aishatu Dahiru Ahamed Binani on 27 May 2020. History was made when she became the first female gubernatorial standard bear of All Progressive Congress- in Adamawa State. What are the odds that she will end up being the gubernatorial candidate of a progressive party that is seemly like a jury box full of foxes in a hen’s case? The stars must be lining up for something great because the odds end up being in her favor with a surprisingly overwhelming vote and my Gosh! The caliber of aspirant she went up against; a lot of people thought she does not have a flicker of a chance of winning against them. A career politician that was once the senator and former governor of the state, a retired and renowned policeman that once headed one of the popular intelligence agency in the country, a brilliant Pharmacist turned politician, an influential business Mogul who also happened to be a Philanthropist, and a member of the house of representative that Chairs a committee all this aspirant she wipe the floor with them (If the vote of any two of them are put together it won’t supersede hers.).
The Venue for the APC primaries for the gubernatorial race was Lamido cinema it’s located in downtown Jimeta. If the opposition’s primaries was not marred with irregularity, then APC’s primaries was nothing if not credible and Transparent even with the cloud of vote buying still hanging on the country’s politics. At the venue one thousand and nine (1009) delegates were accredited for the polls before the vote casting began when the voting started it lasted throughout the night after the polls Aishatu Dahiru Ahamed Binani secured four hundred and thirty (430) votes, Nuhu Ribadu secured Two hundred and eighty eight (288) votes, Jibrila Bindow obtained one Hundred and three (103) votes, Abdlurazak Namdas obtained ninety four (94) votes, Umar Mustapha got thirty (39) votes, while Wafari Theman got twenty (21) votes- he is by the anointed candidate. Out of the one thousand and nine (1009) votes- nine hundred and seventy five (975) votes were registered as valid while thirty six (36) votes were registered as invalid votes. The result was announced by the Chairman of the APC Adamawa Electoral Committee, Garba Lawan on Friday.
Some people are born great, some have greatness thrust upon them, while some achieve greatness; Binani has achieved a great thing that no other woman has been able to achieve in the state, against all misogynists, misogamists, misologists, misoneists, and against all odds she won. Binani has become a beacon of hope for all the women out there who are working tirelessly to make a difference. It will be reasonable at this point if we acquaint ourselves with the words listed above which are derived from the prefix miso denoting a hater of something- so that we can better understand the hurdles she jumps to get there. A misogynist- is a person that hates women, a misoneist- is a hater of novelty, a misologist- is a person that hates knowledge, and a misogamist is a hater of marriage. For all the reasons that we may have for hating each other let us not forget that the one who is hated and the one who is doing hating are all humans. If you hate a person for being a woman then you are a misogynist, if you hate a person for their sense of reasoning (knowledge) then you are a misologist, if you hate a person because they represent something new or different (novelty) then you are misoneist, and finally, if you hate a person for being married then you are a misogamist. If we are to consider the role of Binani’s victory then we should consider it as a win for gender equality and for APC and for the entire delegate of the party for being progressive. The question now is that if given the vote can she prove that “what a man can do a woman can do it even better” the irony is that her victory has proven just that. The fact that her husband is an accomplished and successful public servant in the nation is a testament to the fact that behind every successful man is a strong woman. History shall always remember this defining moment and this great Amazonian from the North East who is an icon for feminism- even if some-folks will have love to deny her greatness.
Legacy of Development
Written By A B Faniki
Kuyuk Times
April 2022
“Rome was not built in a single day” This adage means it takes time to do something; one example of such things that takes time to do is developing a city or state? It could hardly be done in a single year or during four years tenure of an elected governor or president. From its legendary founding in 753BC Rome, Rome has grown steadily from a tiny city-state ruled by kings to a powerful republic because it has always adjusted to changes both natural and unnatural events until it has become a vast empire that controls the known western world. So vast was Rome’s domination and so powerful was its influence that until the late eighteen century, Rome was the exemplar of power and wealth, one that the nations of 21 century could only dream of equaling. It took the Romans over a thousand years to achieve what is now known as the last largest great civilization. During its glory years, Rome has seen many regimes and rulers like Julius Caesar, Augustus, Diocletian, and Marcus Aurelius. All these rulers share one common trait: they all left a legacy of development. Some built bridges, temples, and forums.
In comparison, others have built libraries, roads, and Coliseum. An example of such a legacy left behind is the pantheon, made under the emperor Hadrian; it’s the oldest standing doom structure in the world. In A.D. 248, Romans celebrated the one-thousand anniversary of the founding of their city. That is how long this last great civilization lived, which is why its impact is still resonating today. According to Suetonius, Emperor Augustus’ biographer, the emperor boasted he found Rome a city of brick and left it a city of marble. Indeed emperor Augustus certainly influenced the direction of the city’s architecture.
Adamawa, a state in Nigeria-west Africa with a landmass of 39,940 km² and a Population of 4,248,400 people, is at a crucial moment of making a significant history since its creation. The current project in the state, the flyover bridge, is a development akin to that of the old Roman’s Empire to the people of the state, and the construction is been done during the political tenure of His Excellency Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri. He awarded the construction of two state flyovers: one at Total Junction and the other at Police Roundabout. These two projects will each cost the state N3,043,853,469.59 and N5,089,580,087.69 respectively [https://bizwatchnigeria.ng]
Adamawa State - this Topographically mountainous land with many rivers across its land mass and a Population Density of 106.4/km² is getting a facelift in the form of a monumental project in the Northeast region of the country, and it is the topic of discussion in many homes, pubs, markets place and streets of the state. To some people, the amount involved is staggering and a waste of time and resources, while to others, a bridge on dry land where they could see its pillars rise above the ground is by itself a thing of beauty; after all, it is the land of beauty not only the mountains and mansion in the land should be above the ground level but also the roads too. The estimated annual population change in the state will be 2.9%. Indeed this has pointed out that more and more flyovers will be built over the next few years—a tip of the hate to the governor for being a trendsetter. Whatever opinion one holds on this project, the flyover it’s just that an opinion and opinion are like an anus; everyone has one and their full of shit. What counts in every discussion are the facts? What is a flyover, and what are its use and importance?
Junctions sometimes becomes congested, interrupting traffic flow; when this happens, it is vital to decongest it, and the best way to do that is by building flyover on these busy roads. A flyover is a bridge that carries one road or railway line above one another with or without subsidiary roads for communication between the two roads; it’s also an elevated road on a junction. When built, it lessens the traffic jam allowing people and goods to move more quickly and faster, and when people and goods move faster, it will raise the standard of living in the area hence the economic importance of the flyover. Apart from reducing traffic jams, it also reduces horizontal curvature and the risk of off-road crashes. Traffic decongestion saves time and fuel. It calculated that 35% of the total traffic change direction to the flyover, which reduces about 32 % in the entire emission generation and loss of fuel for combustion. The associated cost resulting from waiting for the signals to change are also estimated, and these are significantly more, especially when it rains; no doubt it will be easy to travel by the flyover.
An indigene of the state, Mr. John, whom I interviewed while the construction of the flyover was going on, said, “During the late nineties, I never thought that some of these dual carriage roads across the state, especially the one in front of Capital Primary School would be so congested that in 2020 it will be reconstructed. I remember how huge this road looks to me as a kid back then I thought it was a waste of government resources and I was also scared of crossing it by myself too. I used to run so hard when crossing it at that time that I ran out of breath and ended up breathing very hard. When I made it across the other side, I was always relief. But now, as an adult, I realize that those that built the road took cognizant of the future population expansion. Since the creation of the state, it has taken us more than two decades to get here- were the road is small for us; I think it is about time we do something like this in the state, so we don’t have to wait for things to get worse before we act on it. His Excellency is thinking in the right direction. We should praise him so that he will keep up the good job.”
Motorists and people now realize that the traffic congestion in the flyover places is gone. We genuinely need these flyovers. As mentioned above, the movement of good and people in the state has been made easy, and it is a national monument—the architect of this project, The His Excellency R.T. Hon. Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri most have dreamt of leaving a remarkable development legacy. He could boast that he found Jimeta; a city made of tar roads, and left it a city of flyovers and underground tunnels.