For those of you that were not fortunate to receive comprehensive social studies education in primary school, it is important to clarify that what you see is not Arabic, it is called Ajami. Ajami is a writing system that uses Arabic script to write African languages such as Hausa, Fulfulde, and Kanuri.
It has been historically used across northern Nigeria and the Sahel for administration, education, trade, and religious documentation.
It appeared in major official government documents, including the 2006 National Population Census form distributed by the Federal Ministry of Information under Minister Frank Nweke Jr. This was not accidental; it was a deliberate recognition of the linguistic and cultural history of millions of Nigerians.
I was the youngest member of the design team for that census, an intern at the time working in collaboration with the United Nations and under the supervision of the late Mrs. Kindin Yola, a director in the ministry of information heading the UNFPA unit based at the Radio House in Abuja.
The 2006 census was the second national census conducted after the 1991 exercise under the IBB administration, considering that the 1963 and 1973 censuses were officially canceled due to credibility issues.
My area of responsibility was the Ajami input section, which I successfully delivered with the guidance of renowned linguistic professors from Bayero University Kano (BUK) and Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto. My advanced computing skills were the reason I was selected, as I was one of the very few individuals at the time capable of accurately inputting Ajami fonts into official forms using CorelDRAW X3 (version 13).
The entire project was significantly supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and we consistently held expert meetings with the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) to ensure that Nigeria’s census aligned with globally accepted international standards for population and housing data.
Now, let us return to the main point of this discussion. When European colonialists (commonly referred to as “white people”) arrived in this region of the world long before they coined the name Nigeria, many of our northern ancestors were already literate, organized, and economically advanced.
They could read and write in Ajami and were actively conducting trade and administrative functions using a structured monetary system, not merely cowries or barter trade.
Unlike some regions of what later became Nigeria, where communities were still in basic subsistence modes of living in some cases Adamand Eve mode with cutlasses LOL.
The core northern territories had established systems of governance, taxation, record keeping, and even international diplomacy.
The core North had a standing Army, which was later absorbed into what is today the Nigerian Army. It also used recognized currencies for trade across the Sahara and beyond.
When the British arrived, cowries were discarded and thrown into lagoons inthe other side of Nigeria (south) because the colonial authorities acknowledged that the northern monetary and administrative systems were already more advanced, centrally organized, and globally compatible.
As a result, while the cultural artifacts and traditions of the southern regions were often collected and displayed in museums as historical exhibits, the northern models of military organization, financial systems, and administrative structures were directly integrated into the political and institutional foundation of modern Nigeria.
Somy dear friends, Ajami is not just a script; it is a symbol of advanced pre-colonial civilization in West Africa.
It is evidence that structured systems of governance, education, commerce, and record keeping existed here long before colonial intervention, and many of those systems were adapted to form what is known today as the Nigerian state.
For the Naira notes, if your question is genuine, then the answer is not Arabic but Hausa, written in Arabic script (Ajami). Hausa has been written in Arabic letters for centuries, long before the Latin alphabet came with colonization.
Egyptian Committee in the Gaza Strip arranges free transport for displaced people from Khan Younis, Al-Qarara, and Deir Al-Balah to Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip:
Nasir El Rufai’s case is that Tinubu wanted to humiliate him. DSS excuse was just that, EXCUSE!
Even if DSS had found him wanting, with the National Assembly deeply In Tinubu’s pocket, he could have commanded to confirm him.
Also , even after the National Assembly had refused to confirm him, Tinubu could have either given him an appointment that didn’t need confirmation from National Assembly or made him a strong ally like that Buhari’s nephew Mamman Daura. He didn’t. He left him out in the cold.
Tinubu wants El Rufai to be politically irrelevant and El Rufai needs to have Tinubu removed from office in 2027 to regain his political credibility.
In all of it, na dem dem!
Every girl kept out of school is a stolen future.
Every girl forced into marriage is a denial of her right to choose.
This injustice must end NOW.
May Beijing+30 be the moment we keep our promise: the right of every girl to learn, to thrive, to choose her future in peace.
#DayOfTheGirl
Democracy is a precondition for lasting peace. However, we live in a world where democracy is in retreat, where more and more authoritarian regimes are challenging norms and resorting to violence.
Maria Corina Machado – awarded the 2025 #NobelPeacePrize – has spent years working for the freedom of the Venezuelan people. The Venezuelan regime’s rigid hold on power and its repression of the population are not unique in the world. We see the same trends globally: rule of law abused by those in control, free media silenced, critics imprisoned, and societies pushed towards authoritarian rule and militarisation. In 2024, more elections were held than ever before, but fewer and fewer are free and fair.
#NobelPrize
The World Bank and IMF are the Witches and Wizards who will tell you to remove subsidies and float your currency in the ocean and expect the miracle of wealth and prosperity,and when the results turns out to be poverty and misery,they blame you for taking the wrong dosage.
My good brother @Sh4Zk who i met during our struggle for the freedom of Sheikh Zakzaky and the rights of Shia Muslims in Nigeria is a great political commentator. In this article, he dissects the brutal political landscape of Nigeria. Please read. https://t.co/A6aOGBhnGT
"Enough is enough! The youth must take back their country."
-Omoyele Sowore
Let the youth rise not in rage, but in purpose-to build a just tomorrow where all generations can thrive.
-Ahmad Shuaibu Isa
@sowore@SoworeM#FutureIsNow#PeopleFirst#Africa#nigeriayouth
Israeli naval forces unlawfully intercepted and boarded the Madleen bringing humanitarian aid. Sign the petition and demand an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza starting with lifting its illegal blockade. https://t.co/rntX2haIee
US and other foreign donor cutbacks in humanitarian aid have worsened the education crisis for school-age children in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Donors should support the Rohingya community’s efforts to prevent a lost generation of students.
https://t.co/CNu91IbCgR
Israeli naval forces unlawfully intercepted and boarded the Madleen bringing humanitarian aid. Sign the petition and demand an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza starting with lifting its illegal blockade. https://t.co/wA2b7HNtNr