Wednesday 16 July 2014

Hadiza Bala Usman: Her Father’s Daughter

The initiator of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign in Abuja draws inspiration from her parents and the potential for a united Nigeria, writes Chika Oduah 
She’s the mother of two young boys, a wife to an economic analyst, and they all live together in a delightful home tucked away in one of Maitaima’s quiet, tree-lined streets near Ministers’ Hill. She works in her home office surrounded by a massive bookshelf with books organized into categories likes “development” and “autobiographies.” Rachel, the cook, manages the family’s meals. Juma, the nanny, watches the boys and the driver tends to the luxury cars parked out front. 
Everything in her life seemed relatively fine, routine and normal, until Boko Haram kidnapped almost 300 female students in Chibok in April.
Hadiza Bala Usman’s comfortable life was jolted.
“I couldn’t sleep,” Hadiza says. “I couldn’t sit back in my world to say it doesn’t affect me.” That’s when she contacted her older friend, the renowned barrister Mrs. Maryam Uwais, and together, they decided to start a chain of emails to mobilize others, mainly women, to get on the streets to pressurise the government to bring the girls back. She says she was shocked about how nothing had been done, weeks after the abduction and about how Abuja residents seemed to carry on with life as usual.
What began as a collection of emails has evolved into a street campaign taken around the world, empowered with a heavy social media presence – #BringBackOurGirls has been tweeted more than two million times. 
Hadiza says she chose red to embody the campaign, describing the colour as a sign for “alarm, danger, a warning.”
“This was just me randomly concerned, gathering other people,” she says.
But a closer look at Hadiza’s life reveals her concern is not as “random” as one may imagine. Hadiza’s concern reflects a larger perspective shared by many who call themselves active citizens, thinkers and activists. Born in Zaria in 1976 and raised on the campus of the supposedly left-winged Ahmadu Bello University with her three sisters and three brothers, Hadiza is the daughter of the late Dr. Yusuf Bala Usman, who was a passionate and respected lecturer of history at the university. She grew up surrounded by intellectuals and her father was especially inspiring.
“I grew up listening to my father challenging the government and questioning the status quo,” she remarks.
She remembers when her father was fired when she was about twelve years old. She says the government had become concerned about his public views. Her father took the case to court and he eventually got his job back.
The Emir of Kano is Hadiza’s grandmother’s brother and the Emir of Katsina is related to her father. Despite his royal lineage, Hadiza’s father regularly confronted realities that he disagreed with – poverty, corruption and weak leadership.
It’s these sorts of experiences, with an outspoken father and strong-willed mother and her life in Zaria, that defined Hadiza’s scope as a Nigerian. She says what is happening today, with terrorists rampaging uncontrollably in northeastern Nigeria and the government’s failure to return any of the abducted students, “exposes the intellectual deficit of the leadership in this country.”
And the activism runs through the family. Two of her sisters—a pharmacist and the other, an accountant—have joined #BringBackOurGirls. Her mother also marched to the National Assembly, participated in the night vigil and attended two of the sit-ins.
 “I would not be doing what I am doing without her,” Hadiza says of her mother, a prudent woman who Hadiza says maintained the family home with grace.
But the activism comes at a price. Hadiza says she is being followed by strange cars throughout the day and her phones – along with some of the other women of #BringBackOurGirls – are tapped.
“There is a lag time in my conversations on the phone and I see my text messages being directed to strange numbers.” But she says she is not intimidated.
Nor is she intimidated by the President’s disapproval of #BringBackOurGirls campaigners telling the government what to do. She disapproves of the President’s recommendation for Nigerians to direct their protests to Boko Haram and not to the government.
“When a thief comes to your house to steal something, you’re telling me I can’t go to the police, but I should go to the thief to get back what was stolen from me?” she asks incredulously.
She’s not alone in her questions. #BringBackOurGirls has gone viral. She believes it’s an ample opportunity for Nigerians to collectively rise for a single cause and with Hadiza and the other campaign organizers, Nigerians have united, irrespective of age, creed and ethnicity.
“Maybe the abduction of the Chibok girls is the beginning of an end,” Hadiza says. “We stand united.”
For breaking news out of Abuja, follow us on Twitter: @MetropoleMag

Japan Donates $.5 million to UNDP to Fight Terrorism in Nigeria

The Japanese government has donated $.5 million to Nigeria to support the country’s counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency war.
 
The Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Ryuichi Shoji, announced the donation yesterday at the launch of the Project in the National Defence College (NDC), Abuja. He expressed the willingness of the Japanese government to work with Nigeria to fight the reign of the terrorist organization, Boko Haram.  
Mr. Shoji said Japan has promised to strengthen cooperation with Nigeria in the defence sector, adding that the donation was aimed at strengthening the capacity of the West Africa’s Peace Support Operations (PSOs) in Nigeria.
“Japan firmly stands by the side of the Nigerian Government and people in their fight against terrorism,” he said.
“The Government of Japan is committed to Africa’s peace and stability, which is an indispensable element for the prosperity and economic transformation of Africa,” he added.
For breaking news out of Abuja, follow us on Twitter: @MetropoleMag

Wednesday 9 July 2014

Abuja Airport to be Shut Again

The runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, will again be closed this weekend for what aviation authorities have termed the second phase of the repair.
 
This was contained in a statement this afternoon by the head of media relations of aviation parastatals, Mr Yakubu Dati. He said the second phase of the repair of the runway would take place between 12 and 14 July.
 
“The runway rehabilitation is being done in two phases to minimize the inconvenience the runway closure would have on air passengers and aircraft operators if it was carried out at once,” Mr Dati said. “A NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) to this effect has already been sent to all aircraft pilots and other relevant stakeholders, informing them of the impending closure.
 
He regretted the inconvenience the closure would cause passengers and other stakeholders.
It would be recalled that the airport was first shut last weekend and reopened on Monday.
For breaking news out of Abuja, follow us on Twitter: @MetropoleMag

Monday 7 July 2014

The Untold Costs Of Insecurity In Abuja

I no dey carry anybody wey get bag and I no dey go all those Wuse side.” (*I don’t carry passengers with bags and I don’t ply Wuse) These are the exact words of an Abuja taxi driver.  Asked if he’d take us to Nyanya, his answer was very emphatic, ‘Argh! I no dey go Nyanya o. Nyanya? Go do wetin?’ (*I don’t go to Nyanya. Nyanya? To go and do what?) Two nights before, I had visited my favourite shawarma joint on Aminu Kano Crescent and immediately noticed something was missing. Within seconds, it dawned on me: the usual crowd that thronged the joint had become a handful of people. I often patronize the joint after midnight but unlike previous nights, I didn’t have to wait to be served because there was no queue. This was the fastest time it took the men in charge to serve my friend and me. Unlike times past, there was no crowd waiting to be called to come have their prepared shawarma. The numbers had taken a plunge!

My friend runs a human resource company in Abuja. She lost two staff members in a week. One of them got a call from her parents saying they needed her to leave Abuja for her safety, the other tendered her resignation to the boss because she no longer ‘felt safe’ in the city.

Clubs have seen their numbers reduce drastically and other points of leisure have suffered the same fate. Having explored the city over the last three nights, I can safely conclude that the terrorist attacks have taken a toll on the Federal Capital Territory. God forbid, another attack would amount to a fatal punch for small and medium scale businesses in Abuja.

As at three nights ago, the bombed EMAB Plaza had police presence and tapes, while the construction of what would be anti-bomb concrete columns seemed abandoned for the night. The columns themselves have now become a permanent feature of most government and private buildings in the city centre. One of the consequences of previous terrorist attacks.

An expatriate client required her staff members to close early days ago while also excusing them for the next two days. Everyone in the city expects a bomb to go off somewhere in the city. The fear is so palpable it is scary.

The cost of terrorism is a lot more than the billions of Naira that go into defence spending, it is much more about direct costs to the lives of citizens. Students that must change schools to avoid being kidnapped, their parents that now accommodate the reality of less turnovers because of reduced human traffic to the shops and business places.

Our authorities are doing their best but they must understand that that best can be better. If anything, Abuja cannot afford to be bombed again anytime soon. Citizens must help the authorities by reporting suspicious movements and persons. By now we must all know that our security is our collective responsibility.

The best time to know a city that works is after midnight because every city pretends to work in the day. That explains why this piece is not about what happens in the day. Needless to say, the cost of terrorism affects the day as much as the night but this is a war Nigeria can win and Nigeria, through its leaders must indeed defeat terrorism. We can win this war, first we must understand the cost of this war, pay attention to the effective distribution of resources and genuinely commit to making terrorism a thing of the past as soon as possible. Easier said than done. But it is not impossible.

For breaking news out of Abuja, follow us on Twitter: @MetropoleMag