Less than 24 hours after the death of Tafida Abubakar, the emir of Rano in Kano State, another elder statesman and community leader has passed on.

Isa Hashim, a retired professor who held the title of Jarman Kano in the Kano emirate council, died on Sunday morning, according to a family member.

The 86-year-old died at his home, following a short illness, his daughter, Dija Hashim, told PREMIUM TIMES.

Details of his ailment were not immediately available but a family member said Mr Hashim’s health deteriorated following the deaths of some of his childhood friends in quick succession.

Mr Hashim was a retired professor of political science, administrator and author.

He enrolled into the then Kano Native Authority in 1948 as a first school leaver and rose to the position of a permanent secretary before he retired in 1979.

Upon his retirement, he joined Bayero University Kano (BUK) where he taught for many years.

Suspicious deaths continue

Mr Hashim’s death is the latest among increasing deaths of the elderly in Kano.

At least two independent studies conducted in the last two weeks established a surge in number of deaths in the densely populated metropolis.

In a BBC Hausa interview Friday evening, Nasir Gwarzo, who led a federal government medical intervention team to Kano, said his team suspects strong link between the increased deaths and coronavirus.

He said the pandemic has passed its two initial stages of transmission in the city and gone into the “scary stage of community transmission”.

My dad was killed by his best friend because of jealousy, he came to house and dropped the jazz which happened that my grand Mum crossed it too, they both died the same day in different motor accidents and this man still rushed took my dads corpse to the mortuary And told them to embalm the body, the next day someone came to tell us that my dad appeared to her in the dream and told her that when the accident happened he did not die but after sometime he wanted to return to his body was it was already not fit for him to return.

He promised to wipe away whoever killed him and Seeds away from the face of the earth, they went to the mortuary and indeed his body was embalmed. Some people said it was my Mum many turned against her. But she stood strong and kept on praying. Years later we received a message That our dads best friend has gone mad because he keeps shouting my father's name. He was not mad he was confessing, he was actually seeing my dad and my grandma in the room, no one was seeing anything, I think they were doing something to him he kept on shouting, he narrated how He has tried to kill my dad two times through higher killers and a different accident but they did not work so he went to a stronger juju man who gave gave him a powder to drop where my dad would pass.

How the juju was made for only my father but unfortunately my grandma also crossed it where he kept it in our house, he said a lot after all he died and was thrown away his people was so disgusted and refused to bury him.

A year later three of his children drowned in the stream.

The thing is my Mum kept warning my dad about him but he never listened, he thought my Mum was just being paranoid. Today makes it 20 years but these memories are still fresh in my memory, my Dad was a good person. His only crime was trusting his best friend and telling him of his plans to move out of the country with his family, my father died two weeks to living the country Keep resting in peace Livinus Eburuo Aka Abia father You will forever be missed 20 years ago but everything still feels like yesterday This is the first time i'm sharing this, because i've found courage to talk about it.

In view of the gradual easing of the COVID-19 lockdown both globally and in Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has resumed provision of foreign exchange to all commercial banks for onward sales to parents wishing to pay schools fees and SMEs wishing to make essential imports needed to revamp economic activities across the country. In particular, the CBN is resuming the provision of over US$100 million per week for both categories.

The CBN has also made complete arrangements to resume foreign exchange sales to the BDC segment of the market for business travels, personal travels, and other designated retail uses, as soon as international flights resume.

With these actions, the CBN wishes to reiterate that it is adequately meeting the needs of all legitimate users, and our continued capacity to do so should not be in doubt. There is therefore no need for panic by any end-user that could necessitate recourse to illegitimate sources and spike in foreign exchange rates.

Given this, the Bank has ramped up its surveillance of the foreign exchange markets for speculators, smugglers and other illegal users, and will take decisive actions against anyone/institutions involved in such nefarious activities

Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire says that the Italian man, the index case of Coronavirus in Nigeria, will be discharged soon.

The Minister disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja during a conference with the diplomatic community about measures taken by the Federal Government to tackle the spread of Covid-19 in Nigeria.

Dr Ehanire stressed that there are only two confirmed cases in Nigeria as of now.

This according to him includes the index case and the second who was a primary contact of the index case.

The 44-year-old Italian citizen was confirmed to have the COVID-19 after series of tests were carried out by the Virology Laboratory of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital in February.

The Commissioner of Health in Lagos, Professor Akin Abayomi had earlier disclosed that the health of the Coronavirus patient was improving.

He said this on February 29 while addressing journalists and giving an update on the patient who was being managed at the Mainland Hospital in Yaba, Lagos,

Professor Abayomi urged the residents not to panic and assured them that the government was putting necessary measures in place to curb the spread of the virus.

Covid-19: A Pandemic

Coronavirus outbreak has become a global threat with the World Health Organisation (WHO) describing it as a pandemic.

WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva on Wednesday that the spread of the coronavirus is frightening.

“COVID-19 can be characterised as a pandemic. We have never before seen a pandemic sparked by a coronavirus.

“The spread and severity of the deadly new coronavirus, which has infected more than 110,000 people and killed more than 4,000, is alarming,” Ghebreyesus said.

EXCLUSIVE: Sanusi ‘living like a prisoner’ as police, NSCDC deny visitors access

Muhammad Sanusi II, deposed emir of Kano, has been living like a prisoner since he was taken to Awe local government area of Nasarawa state, TheCable can report.

According to residents, some visitors have been denied access to Sanusi, who was taken away from Kano on Monday evening.

On Wednesday, TheCable counted at least 30 police officers and officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) guarding the exile home of the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

For most of the day, three to five police stood at the gate, preventing people aside a few of the former emir’s family and officials of the government from going in to see Sanusi.

The rest of the police officers in the vicinity were at different corners — spotting unsuspecting persons taking pictures or videos of the house and their colleagues.

During prayer times, only one or two policemen man the gate, while the rest go to pray at a nearby Mosque.

TheCable spoke to four police officers at different times, seeking entry into the house, but they all said they had “strict orders” not to let anyone in.

The first police officer, wielding an AK-47 rifle, said: “No matter how far you have travelled, I’m sure my colleagues will not allow you in”.

One of the supporters of Sanusi who was denied access to him but tried taking pictures of the house, was caught by the police officers, who seized his phones, asked him to hold his ears, and undergo the punishment better known as “frog jumps”.

Residents who spoke to TheCable said they have seen Sanusi only a few times, but that they only stood outside the gate, as they were denied entrance.

“Since he came here, he has not stepped outside. Even when we pray at the mosque beside the house, he does not come out to join us in prayers, and many people here would like that,” Ibrahim Akilu, a resident, told TheCable.
“When he came here with heavy security, he was received by emirs and chiefs around here, including the emir of Awe.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8DDnqH4a8o

“He is just living like a prisoner; most of the people coming are not allowed to see him. His family came to see him, some see him and go, a few of them are still around.”

A teacher in one of the government schools in Awe, who asked not to be named for fear of victimisation, said they heard that Sanusi “will not be allowed to leave the house for three months”.

“Sanusi is alone in the house; the family members come and go. I do not think they are allowed to live with him. We don’t know how long he will be here, it’s only the government that can tell. But the rumours are that he will be here for three months,” he said, confirming what another resident had earlier told TheCable.

“His coming has not changed anything positively here — but let us give it time.”
Ibrahim Muktar, attorney-general of Kano, had said the state government did not banish the ex-emir from the state — contradicting what kind of treatment Sanusi has been receiving.

“If you listen to the secretary to the state government when he was addressing the press on the issue of the removal of the emir from office, there was nowhere he stated that the emir was banished from Kano state,” he had said on Wednesday.

“So, the decision of the government when the emir was removed on Monday was that he was removed from office and a new one appointed.

The issue of banishment was not part of the decision of the Kano state government.”

Sanusi’s lawyers had asked for the release of the former emir, saying his forced relocation to Nasarawa is illegal and unconstitutional.