Author: Hassan Gimba

LOCALLY known as Dr Madu in his youth and later more commonly addressed as Dr Mamman, Dr Madu was an Iroko tree of a man, full of compassion and a burning desire to spread health wherever he found himself. His six-foot-three-inch height and athletic build — which a champion heavyweight boxer would envy — would melt whenever a situation requiring compassion arose. Perhaps this was because he was sired by two noble people from the two most illustrious professions — that of the nobility and that of the clergy — who cared for the welfare of both body and soul.…

I HAVE a confession. Vice President Kashim Shettima has never been my man. I have never quite taken to him. Not that I hate the man some want to see as the Cicero of our time. But it is also not that I exactly dig the man others prefer to see as overly ambitious. Despite his good performances, especially in delivering speeches and jibes, I have always viewed him with caution. Jibes. Hmmmmn! Perhaps I never saw his jibes, especially those aimed at prominent leaders, as funny—except for the ones about Ahmad Lawan as a tomato seller or Osinbajo as…

THERE are these two half-brothers I opened my eyes to find yapping at each other, like two Rottweiler puppies tearing at each other for the fattest bone around. I came into this world and met them at it; I am sure I will exit it and return to my Creator, leaving them still at it. I would not have written about them, or even minded their sibling rivalries, if not for the fact that they have sucked the rest of the world into their feud, so much so that we now see our world through their lens. Their fight has…

WHOEVER tells you prayers don’t work does not know nothing! Kai, this speaking like a Yankee wannabe has pushed me off my regular lane. By the way, who has even observed that – because of this fixation with wanting to get an American-branded new wife and parents-in-law, which will lead to American kids, has made me write this using American spellings rather than the British ones I’ve been a stickler for? But I should be done with America and face prayers, prayers that can do almost everything, including giving me my dream of an American family, from parents’ in-laws down…

CONTEMPLATE this: I am someone born in Kaduna just after Nigeria was born, cut my teeth in the undulating plains of Fika, ran around on the cloud-caressing plateaux of Gembu where I started my primary education but was raised in the serene, motherly town of Maiduguri, even though I was told my ancestors came from Yemen, the pride of all freedom fighters who love justice and fairness. Since then, I have travelled around Nigeria, interacting with Nigerians from diverse backgrounds. Many have become great friends, while others will remain so forever. Growing up as a young man surveying and savouring…

I HAVE been under the weather for the past six weeks, a period during which I have not gone to my office. Though being visible almost always online may suggest otherwise, I do mean it in the literal sense. And ironically, what dipped me under the weather is the weather itself. There was a period when Abuja went rainless for about two weeks. Of course, it became a serious issue of concern to many, especially farmers and students of climate change. However, when the rains returned, it was not only to refill the emptiness its absence caused, but to overspill…

ABOUT two weeks ago, Nigeria lost one of its finest police officers who rose to the peak of its Police Force. Solomon Arase died at a relatively young age for an elite. With improved nutrition, general welfare, and medical health services, 69 is a youthful age for Nigeria’s elite class. The well-educated Arase earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University. He went on to get a Law degree from the University of Benin and a master’s degree from the University of Lagos. He also holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Studies and was a Fellow of…

THE over 100-year history of the Nigerian railway system, which pioneered the rapid opening of the country, is a mixed bag. There was an upward curvature amidst stability, before the cankerworm of corruption stagnated its growth, reversed its fortunes and virtually killed it. The first railroad was constructed by the British colonial government in 1898 with the construction of the 193-kilometre first rail line from Lagos to Ibadan between 1898 and 1901. With the amalgamation of the Lagos Government Railway and the Baro-Kano Railway on October 3, 1912 and the completion of the 640-kilometre Kano – Maiduguri rail line, then…

GENERAL Christopher Musa, the Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff, recently urged us to learn combat skills to protect ourselves when faced with danger. He made this point as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today. He likened the acquisition of martial arts such as Karate, Taekwondo, and Judo to driving, swimming, and other essential survival skills. He even suggested that, were it not for the fact that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has been “watered down to three weeks,” the programme should train Nigerian graduates in unarmed combat skills for daily survival against evil men. He said: “I think…

BUT in reality, they do not know who they are, having become vessels for the new indolence that has deprived them of self-awareness and natural knowledge. Their goals converge on nothing more than the hurry to ‘outrich’ Dangote, Isiyaku Rabiu and Otedola combined. The patience to nurture a life following natural curvature is not a part of their makeup. You see, just like we are open-eyed, being led into the entrapment of Genetically Modified Foods (GMOs) in the name of modernisation or civilisation growing artificial foods full of implications for our health, wealth, and sovereignty we are raising a future…

IN the past year or so, I have become a sad man. I feel sorry for myself, as I cannot do much to stem the tide. I also feel sad for our youth, who are daily ensnared by the ravaging trend. But I am more distressed for Nigeria, my country, for breeding such youth. We are mortgaging our country’s future by sacrificing our youth’s intellectual growth to Artificial Intelligence, AI. I recall our growing days with nostalgia. I started reading my senior sisters’ novels, the Mills and Boon series, and those by Agatha Christie at age nine. At the same…

“If your plan is for one year, plant rice; if your plan is for ten years, plant trees; if your plan is for one hundred years, educate children” – Guan Yiwu. THIS quote from Guan Yiwu, an earlier statesman and thinker who lived from about 720 BC to 645 BC, is often wrongly attributed to Confucius. The original quote roughly translates to: “The best ten-year plan is to plant trees; the best plan for the rest of your life is to plant people.” When taken further, the allusion to planting rice represents the short term; tree planting symbolises long-term investments…

YES, indeed, the late Muhammadu Buhari was perhaps the best politician of the Fourth Republic. He knew what he was doing when he spoke of Sharia in Sokoto, which caused him problems with the South and Northern Christians. But that solidified his Northern Muslim base and assured him of a solid 12 million votes. His kare jini, biri jini mantra further caused more schisms that made him the ultimate “champion” at home to be projected and defended at all costs. But perhaps the single most incredible view of himself that he deliberately courted and promoted, which made him “vulnerable” and…

THE late General Buhari was a man who, on two occasions, was welcomed into office by Nigerians who dared to hope for a better country. The first was in December 1983, and the second was 32 years later, in 2015. I do not want to include 2019, because it was a defining moment when those Nigerians who were believed to be honest proved themselves wrong. Unlike President Goodluck Jonathan, who had four years earlier told the nation that his ambition was not worth the blood of a single Nigerian and conceded defeat, these self-styled men of integrity held on to…

“The days of life pass away like clouds, so do good while you are alive.” – Imam Ali (AS) MANY people may expect me to write about the late President Muhammadu Buhari, a retired Nigerian Army Major General who was many things to many people and different things to different people. Alive, to a multitude of people, he was a man who could do no wrong. Dead, his wrongs must be interred with him. He was often excused; it was always the fault of others for every misstep of the government, though he was its numero uno. It was either…

There is a Pain behind that Smile. Just do your bit (https://neptuneprime.com.ng/there-is-pain-behind-that-smile-just-do-your-bit-by-hassan-gimba/) We shall continue doing our best, in sha Allah. May their souls rest in peace, ameen. Governor Buni *** Dear Dr Hasan Gimba Your write-up touched me and shook the inner core of my conscience. All the characters mentioned as examples (human – your late wife and your late colleague, and animals – flies and mosquitoes) demonstrate the fleeting motion of life, and the ephemerality of mortal existence. Moral of the matter: Let’s not take life for granted and let’s be the best we can be while we…

ONE learns every day. Anyway, a man is supposed to learn from cradle to grave, as said by the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (SAW). And so, I have learnt a great deal about people throughout my life. I have come to understand that life is fleeting, and our perceived years on earth are but a fleeting moment, passing at the speed of light. It is also true that behind every smile, we may see multiple pains that surface the moment the smile is wiped away, just as screensavers disappear at the touch of a finger. Therefore, always do your bit…

OF course, one must ask that question because everyone, especially those accusing Iran of inching towards acquiring the nuclear bomb, knew it was not so. After all, the country spent a whole year implementing the JCPOA agreement, even after Trump unilaterally tore up the deal reached after exhaustive negotiations lasting eighteen months. Iran waited, giving the USA a chance to return, before continuing with the enrichment of uranium, only to be accused of violating an agreement that the US had already abandoned. How Janus-faced! For the past 41 years, Israel – often with Netanyahu as Prime Minister – has been…

IT is a new” word, huh? Hypocrity. Well, it is not a word in usage. But come, you must have seen its closeness to hypocrisy. OK, hypocrisy is the act of pretending to have virtues, beliefs, or feelings that one does not possess, especially when those pretended beliefs contradict one’s actions. Now, interchange it with hypocrity. You get it. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), established in 1957, is an autonomous international organisation within the United Nations system. It carries out programmes to maximise the contribution of nuclear technology to society while verifying its peaceful use. Related to this is…

Victory is with patience. Success is with endurance. And war is a matter of turns. – Imam Ali, Nahj al Balagha, saying 189. Gaza. A four-letter word sounding like the tasty gizzard. But Gaza is nowhere as palatable as the gizzard. Gaza is now the symbol of all that is bad with apartheid and racism. It brings to the world the sights, sounds and fury of the Holocaust. Gaza is not a place that can be tasty at all. Well, except for hunger. Diseases. Deprivation. And death. Gaza City, a hot semi-arid climate with Mediterranean characteristics, was the most populous…