By Chidi Odinkalu

Despite manifest incongruities in the official story-line concerning Buhari’s decision to remove the Chief Justice of Nigeria in Jan 2019, I was willing to suspend my disbelief & wait for government to present evidence to support its claims of asset malfeasance in the Onnoghen trial

When it launched its fevered campaign against the Chief Justice before the Onnoghen trial in the month before #NigeriaDecides2019, the government claimed through its hired hands that he had money running into Billions in multiple bank accounts and over 55 houses

Hired amplifiers were procured to skewer a man who could not defend himself. In the media, he was a thief, a rogue and much worse.

Digital lynch mobs, many of them amplifier bots with transparent ends to serve created a mood music with a life of its own.

#OnnoghenTrial

Given the opportunity to back up its claims, the government’s case at the #OnnoghenTrial has turned out to be a despicable, venal fantasy.

There were no billions, no 55 houses, no fantasy FOREX in make-believe domiciliary accounts. A government decided to make up lies against an innocent man

By way of a useful comparison-based evidence from the #OnnoghenTrial, Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen, who has spent a lifetime in private legal practice and judicial public service, is much poorer than Yusuf Buhari who has just been “awarded” his NYSC discharge certificate.

If the Onnoghen trial showed that the Chief Justice had anything like the assets the government originally claimed, he’d surely have had a case to answer.

Now it’s clear that was all made up; the government has a burden to investigate and explain how it chose to mislead Nigerians and the world.

In the end, it’s difficult for the Buhari government to escape the perception that it conspired to orchestrate Onnoghen trial because of personal animus towards the man related to his origins and to factors that had nothing to do with his performance on his job.

Government should not do that!

The damage done by the Buhari administration in the manner that it  procured the Onnoghen trial will take more than a generation to address.

This is more than about one man and his fate. If a government can conspire to pervert institutions as it has done in this case, no one is safe!

Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, former Chairman of Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission is currently the senior team manager for the Africa Program of Open Society Justice Initiative.

The judge found the DA’s prosecutors “were acting as investigators searching for probable cause, as opposed to acting as prosecutors with probable cause preparing for prosecution. As such, at this time, prosecutorial immunity does not protect the actions.”

A former Texas district judge who was wrongfully convicted of nine felonies and later acquitted—because the allegations against her broke no Texas law—has moved a step closer to holding prosecutors accountable for alleged malicious prosecution.

Judge Amos Mazzant of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas ruled yesterday that the prosecutors who investigate and prosecuted former 380th District Judge Suzanne Wooten of Collin County cannot claim that prosecutorial immunity protects them because they acted as detectives, rather than just prosecutors.

“This was not a case where the police investigated a crime to find a suspect, but rather where the prosecutors investigated a suspect to find a crime,” wrote Mazzant in the March 27 opinion in Wooten v. Roach, which denied all but one argument in the defendants’ motions to dismiss Wooten’s lawsuit.

The defendants are Collin County, its former District Attorney John Roach Sr. and former Assistant District Attorney Christopher Milner, former Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott—he’s now Texas governor—and former Assistant Attorney General Harry White. White and Abbott’s press office didn’t respond to a request for comment. Matthews, Shiels, Knott, Eden, Davis & Beanland partner Bob Davis of Dallas, who represents Collin County, Roach and Milner, declined to comment.

Wooten’s lawyer, Scott H. Palmer, said she feels elated by the ruling.

“She understands there’s probably more to come,” said Palmer, president of Scott H. Palmer PC in Addison. “These guys did this on their own: They targeted her and took this on lock, stock and barrel, and investigated their own case. That’s not what prosecutors do normally. It sends a message to prosecutors across the state and the land: Don’t engage in this type of behavior, because if you do and it blows up in your face, you are going to get sued.”

Wrongful Conviction

The opinion explained the background of the case. In March 2008, Wooten defeated incumbent 380th District Judge Charles Sandoval in the Republican primary in Collin County. Sandoval filed a complaint against Wooten, alleging she cheated during the election. The DA’s office, headed by Roach at the time, investigated Wooten’s campaign without law enforcement’s help. Later, the AG’s Office joined the prosecution. The two-year investigation ended with Wooten indicted in October 2010, and re-indicted in July 2011.

The prosecution’s theory was that a married couple, David and Stacy Cary, gave contributions to Wooten’s campaign through James Spencer, Wooten’s campaign consultant, who also did consultant work for the Carys. The central allegation was that the Carys funneled money through Spencer to Wooten’s campaign, in exchange for Wooten to file to run as a judge, campaign against Sandoval and issue favorable rulings in the Cary family law cases, Texas Lawyer reported.

The Carys and Spencer became co-defendants in Wooten’s case, and each was tried separately and convicted by juries. As for Wooten, she faced convictions for six counts of bribery, one count of engaging in organized criminal activity, one count of money laundering and one count of tampering with a government record, the opinion said.

Texas Lawyer previously reported that in the end, a jury convicted Wooten of the nine felonies in November 2011, and the state offered her 10 years of probation if she would resign and waive her right to appeal. She accepted but still pleaded not guilty and never waived her right to habeas corpus relief. She was sentenced to 10 years of probation and a $10,000 fine.

Mazzant wrote that Spencer took a plea deal. The Carys appealed their convictions, and eventually, those appeals wound up in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which in December 2016 acquitted the Carys of all counts, ruling the allegations against them weren’t a crime under Texas law.

Using that reasoning, Wooten filed for habeas corpus relief and won her acquittal in May 2017. She had been disbarred because of her conviction, but upon her acquittal, Wooten won back her law license.

Continue reading: https://www.law.com/texaslawyer/2019/03/28/wrongfully-convicted-ex-judge-wins-ruling-in-malicious-prosecution-lawsuit/

By Kirsten Okenwa

Living in Northern Nigeria has made me somewhat thick skinned to girl-child brides. I do not cringe anymore when I pass them on the streets, or in the markets or malls. I am sure many citizens are like me. We have grown callous to this evil, and often look the other way. I used to be very vocal about my displeasure in child marriage and the resultant health and psychological problems. Now, I just try.

Child marriage continues to be one of the greatest barriers that prevent girls from realising their full potentials. It curtails their education, exposes them and their children to increased risks in childbirth, and limits their opportunities for the future. 

Unlike some of us, many young people in Africa are at the forefront of ending this practice of child marriage. Below, is the remarkable mission of a young lady, Maryam from Northern Nigeria where only 4% of girls complete secondary education. She is campaigning to end child marriage and sexual abuse, and to ensure girls have access to education and reproductive rights. Writer, singer, reporter and leader, Maryam uses her voice to hold governments accountable.

Maryam from the Save the Children Foundation :

 “I am campaigning to end to child marriage and sexual abuse, and to ensure girls have access to education and reproductive rights. For the past four years, I have worked with various organisations and the media to promote the well-being of girls. I organise discussions with adolescent girls where they talk about issues they face.I use my voice to hold government accountable. I produce songs and speak at forums on girls health and education. I am a youth reporter and the leader of the Chibok girl’s ambassadors, where I organized marches demanding the release of the Chibok girls.

I would like my community to change the mindset about educating girls because educating and empowering girls is one of the best ways to eradicate poverty. I would also like my community to change their views on child marriage, because it leads to many health challenges for girls. 

I am calling on our leaders to include us when making decisions that affect our lives. I urge them to set up programs that will remove social barriers that limit us or hurt us, and to establish laws and policies that protect our rights. 

I will be 30 when the Sustainable Development Goals will end. This means my generation is responsible for holding leaders accountable for delivering these goals. By investing in my health, my education and my decision making capacity, the cycle of poverty can be broken and all of the sustainable development goals can be achieved simply by empowering me to reach my full potential.” 

By Lillian Okenwa

The call for Nigerian women to get more involved in science and technology was re-emphasised recently in Abuja when Girls Auto Squad (GAS), a Girl-Centred Mechanical Engineering Advocacy Project and Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers (NIMechE) inducted 30 young ladies as automobile mechanics.

Women in Nigeria and other parts of Africa have been most disadvantaged in educational and career opportunities related to the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) field. Girls are often encouraged to take courses regarded as easier and more flexible to being a wife and a mother

This year’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science theme: “Invest in Women and Girls in Science for Inclusive Green Growth,” highlights the fact that science and gender are both vital for the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Addressing the inductees who had been trained in Auto Diagnostics Quick Services, Dr. Amina Sambo Magaji, National Coordinator, Office of the ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIIE) Abuja, a first class degree holder in computer science and a Doctorate in Artificial Intelligence posited that academic success is more about how learning benefits the larger society.

She counselled that more girls should be encouraged at early years to develop interest in technology oriented subjects. This she said could be explored using different approaches including games and stories that would awaken their interest in science and technology.

Magaji at the event organized in collaboration with Nenis Auto Care and AutoLady Synergy Coy Ltd, advocated that women in technical fields should project themselves more and tell their stories to help build other girls’ confidence and careers. Insisting that they should make themselves more visible for people to know what they are doing and what they have done, she told the inductees to take themselves and their work seriously, otherwise, nobody else would.

Earlier, President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Engr. Adekunle O. Mokuolu gave an opening charge. “It is what you do, that can create an enviable living standards for you as obtained in the developed countries. We must begin to align head knowledge with competencies and economic development.”

Likewise, Keynote Speaker, Mr. Jelani Aliyu, Director General, National Automotive Design & Development Council (NADDC) Abuja cautioned that the earlier youths are empowered with the requisite knowledge, the earlier we set our society right with young energies creatively employed and engaged. He disclosed that in all his 20 years at GM Motors, nobody ever asked to see his degrees or any certificate for that matter. They were more concerned about what he could do; what he had to offer.

According to Joyce Daser Adams, one of the initiators of GAS, the initiative was conceived as an advocacy and empowerment programme for disadvantaged girls, especially internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Nigeria’s most prominent urban centers, particularly in the Northern areas.

It is a direct response to the myriads of challenges facing young girls in urban centers vis-à-vis absence of educational support, extreme poverty, and social vices. It was the position of the initiator that except positive action is taken at individual, groups and governmental levels, these challenges will never go away. This ideal birthed the initiative.

GAS aside improving the educational status of disadvantaged girls to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), primarily targets the change of the living conditions of these girls through automotive education fused with capacity building, entrepreneurship development and start-up funding to create a holistic programme that empower the beneficiaries mentally, socially and economically thus helping them to contribute their own quota to social development.

The programme in its first phase will reach 500 beneficiaries in Lagos and Abuja and see the girls acquiring the rudiments and intricate knowledge of running a mobile maintenance enterprise over the course of one year. They would receive ongoing mentorship and business management assistance to ensure that their enterprises are not only profitable but successful and sustainable.

GAS is positioned as a lifeline for beneficiaries and a chance to change the conversation on women empowerment and opportunity creation in sectors that exhibit high gender disparity, like the automobile sector in Nigeria.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report shows that Female talent remains one of the most under-utilized business resources, either squandered through lack of progression or untapped from the onset.

The effect of this gap has led to gender inequality, reduction in economic growth, social injustice, lower class value, lack of productive opportunities borne by women, and poor remuneration for women.

Adams said that: “To address this in a meaningful way that shows impact, we seek to implement Girls Auto Squad: A social project determined to empower girls and women with very little resources through an Entrepreneurship, Technical and Vocational Education Training (ETVET) programme in other to make them mobile Auto Diagnostics and Quick Service Technicians.

“Girls Auto Squad (GAS) is targeted as Nigeria’s premier advance technical, vocational, entrepreneurial and life skills learning programme that will create a generation of self-sustained and employable female youths. The programme will provide a viable pipeline of skilled female technicians to establish their own entrepreneurial ventures. By so doing, the employment landscape will become more competitive and creative, thus, reducing the level of unemployed and unemployable females in Nigeria.

“At a time when the Federal Government is focused on the diversification of the economy and industries are requiring specific skills from potential employees, Girls Auto Squad is poised to lead the charge in the provision of access to basic, non-formal/formal skills. Developed by a crop of sterling professionals with a broad spectrum of experience in the Automotive engineering, vocational, human management and entrepreneurship sectors, the programme will unveil a new approach in skills education in Nigeria.

“Why we are doing it? Empowering adolescent girls’ matters to us because, it is her right. Career has no gender. Empowered girls mean healthier families. Empowered girls are key to breaking the cycle of poverty for families around the world. Empowered girls strengthen economies.

“This project includes different activities. These are participant selection, Girls Auto Squad flag off/induction ceremony, training program, setting up of mobile enterprises for the girls, and alumni network engagement and mentorship. Girls Auto Squad is designed for girls that fall under the listed category: Ages 16-30, out of school girls, disadvantaged girls, domestic workers, young mothers, nomadic girls, internally displaced girls.

“Going forward, in our 24 months of operations we will develop an online training platform for our technicians, this will ensure that individuals from across the nation can benefit from the programme without incurring high logistics cost. The only mandatory aspect that requires the trainee to be present will be for certain practical and competency tests.

“The importance of the computer has been widely recognized as a means to improve efficiency in business, government and formal education, but its application in vocational training is not fully appreciated. Rates of learning on computer are four to ten times faster than they are in a classroom setting and learning retention is likely to be much higher. This is true for academic as well as vocational and skill-based subjects.”

…as many wonder how Delta State govt. spends its allocations

By Lillian Okenwa

Indeed the cane don tire and what a delight some way to retire it. Hers is one of those few stories that have happy endings. But, beyond the goodwill, scholarships, promises, cash donations, invitation to the Presidential villa as well as the drama and all that has trailed that gripping viral video, the question is – what about the several other kids like Success Adegor? What about them? Several who have been sent home. Several who were perhaps, angrier and much more bitter but not fortunate enough to have someone film and make it viral. Many who have not had the good fortune of having their stories told.

Then again, is it not most ridiculous that it took that video to expose the state of primary school education in government schools in Delta state; a government that prides itself on infrastructural development?

At what point would government at all levels in Nigeria begin to take education seriously? What about the economy? Success’s parents in oil rich Sapele in Delta state are obviously poor. That, however, is the story of many Nigerians today. They live below poverty line. Else, why should their little girl be embarrassed on account of N800 examination levy? The girl’s stance and attitude in the clip showed she was used to being sent home for owing fees. Notwithstanding, she was extremely upset. Thankfully, her prophesy has been fulfilled, the cane don tire! Her life has been changed forever.

For any parent to send his or her ward to a school as hideous as Okotie Eboh Primary School 1, Sapele, means they have no alternative. This equally means that beyond the diverse support Success is presently enjoying, our institutions need to be strengthened.

Swiftly, the State Government has commenced face-lift at the school. Delta State Commissioner for Education, Barr. Chiedu Ebie acknowledged that they are yet to fix all the schools, but was quick to state that the Okowa led administration since assumption of office has built and reconstructed over 4,000 classroom blocks and provided furniture, learning and instructional materials to public schools in the state with a view to making them conducive and competitive with the private schools. Well said, but what a time to reel out a curriculum vitae.

Distressed by the incident, renowned economist, Dr. Pat Utomi in a statement said: “You would expect shame to overcome the machinery of government in Delta for being incompetent to manage the school system as exposed by Success. But not the Delta State Government; they had become numb to shame or unable to understand the implication of the face-off Success had come to symbolise.”

Ozioma Izuora, a legal practitioner put it this way: “But shame on our government! That it should take the humiliation of a minor for a school building to be getting refurbished! In my time as a teacher there used to be inspectors going around to monitor what goes on in the schools. An illegal fee is something they should have been able to pick up on monitoring….

“Our education has gone to the dogs! In modern educational thought, supervision is a phase of administration with particular emphasis on the products of teaching and learning activities. Educational administration and supervision are regarded as the total processes inclusive of all responsibilities and functions necessary for running a school.”

Similarly, ,Chinedu Anarado, Project Manager at eHealth Africa said: “It is sad that every time you encounter Nigeria’s system, you are convinced that we will continue to play catch up to serious economic and innovation blocs of the world. It seems we will continue to feed off their progress, at great disadvantage to our own growth and development. Our efforts have never been about innovations or leveraging modern technology, but deepening the out dated models we have been used to while delinquently squandering the resources we could have deployed for innovative growth.”

Eulogising the social media for this feat, another attorney, Ogechi Abu noted that this is a most potent means to expose people in authority who exploit their privileged positions.

Some insist that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has broken the jinx of underdevelopment. They insist there is no local government in the state which is not experiencing one form of development or the other and that over 296 roads have been constructed in all parts of the state. Yet, Delta, one of the richest states in Nigeria, is among the most undeveloped. Its cities including Sapele and Warri despite the presence of multinational oil companies are nothing close to modern. The squalor, unemployment and huge waste of human capital is alarming. One begins to wonder, what happens to all those monthly allocations?

Delta State, carved out of the former Bendel State on August 27, 1991 has for many years, and alternating with Akwa Ibom and Rivers, received the most allocation based on the 13 percent derivation. This implies that Delta state with a little over four million population receives more money than Lagos and Kano with their nine million population (2006 Census figures). This also indicates that under the right circumstance, the average Delta person should have double the money a Lagosian or someone from Kano ought to from the revenue sharing. Link that to the fact that the state plays host to several oil companies who actually have a budget to develop their host communities; an enormous budget, as well as the fact that its soil has nourished Nigeria by growing timber and rubber. Then you will want to know why Delta state is not competing with Dubai.

Data obtained from a series of reports from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), disclosed that oil-producing states in Nigeria received N7.006 trillion as payments under the 13 per cent Derivation principle over the last 18 years, from 1999 to 2016. The oil producing states are Akwa-Ibom, Rivers, Delta, Cross River, Edo, Bayelsa, Abia, Ondo, Imo, Anambra, and of recent, Lagos State.

In first quarter of 2018, Niger Delta states shared N593.1b. Four South South states were the highest earners from the Federation Account, according to the breakdown of the monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) report for the first quarter of the year. The oil producing states of Akwa Ibom (N50.880b), Delta (N49.430b) Rivers N42.740) and Bayelsa (N38.890b) earned the highest.

For the past 28 years Delta has received all manner of monetary allocations but not in any way close to Lagos, least of all Dubai in terms of advancement. From a backward fishing town, it took the discovery of oil in in 1966 and a deliberate desire for positive change to transform Dubai to what it is today.

In the 1990’s the famous Sheikh Rashid highway had been introduced. Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) was inaugurated in 2002 following spur of other investments like Media City, Internet City and so on. By year 2000, it had carved a name for itself for being known for its successful building projects. Within this period, Delta (created in 1991) had received allocations running into billions of naira for about nine years; enough to make it a city befitting of its oil production and revenue received.

Despite its huge allocations which overshadowed both Lagos and Kano’s, rivalled only by Akwa Ibom and Rivers, there is nothing admirable or visible about development in Delta state. Roads and other public utility infrastructure are in dreadful conditions. Abandoned projects and an unrelenting culture of mismanagement and misappropriation of public funds persist.

This is a position Dr. Utomi identifies with as he has often said the state had more than enough revenues to give qualitative education, health and infrastructure to the people and to power agriculture endowment value chains and alleviate poverty.

To sum up, here are more of his words: “That all is not well with how Delta is governed has become clear with the Success resistance video; that story of the little girl who bravely said no more, with a steely determination.”

It all started with the video of eight years old Success prefering to be caned to missing school. She was sent home for her parent’s inability to pay a N900 examination fee.

A public outcry followed.

However, the viral video on Success, her clear innocence and desire for education above the temporary pain from the whip, has made her an instant success with many falling over themselves to spnsor her education.

But it has also put the Delta State government in a tight spot as another viral video has shown apparent neglect of the Okotie Eboh Primary School 1, Sapele, where Success schools.

The video is a tale of unconscionable abandonment of hundreds of pupils by a government that prides itself in infrastructural development.

Swiftly, however, the State Government has commenced renovation work on the school as fingers are pointing in the direction of civil servants for the neglect, and heads are beginning to roll.

The head-teacher is on suspension for charging illegal examination fees, though many suspect she is a scape-goat for the fresh video, that scandalises the state government. She acted as guide to a young lady who filmed the school, interviewed teachers, pupils, and staff.Video Player

Continue reading: https://everyday.ng/2019/03/20/scandalous-video-on-success-school-govt-sacks-head-teacher-as-girl-gets-help/

It has been considered a myth to assume that because twins are identical they will be the same weight and length at birth. They’re also said not to have identical fingerprints and that they get sick differently. Well, the Sani sisters, Ameena and Hadiza have defied all that and more!!! They are alike in everything including fingerprints!

By Harrison Arubu

Abuja-based Hajia Ameena Hassana Sani and Hajia Hadiza Hussaina are identical twin sisters with a difference.

They look so remarkably alike that telling them apart has been one big task for everyone, who comes across, including their parents, since they were born more than 50 years ago.

According to experts, identical twins represent a real torture test for biometrics. This holds true in the lives of the two sisters, whose fingerprints have also confused data capture machines over the years.

As if that is not enough, they exhibit certain physiological and personality traits that sometimes make them seem like two computer monitors connected to one central processing unit.

For instance, one would start a sentence and the other would finish it, or both would start the same sentence at the same time with the same choice of words and all the mannerisms and gestures that follow.

“This thing is in the psyche,’’ Ameena said, “even we can’t explain it. I may be thinking of asking her a question regarding what I am thinking, and she will just give me the answer before I let it out.

The Sani Sisters: Ameenat and Hadiza: people who come across find it difficult to distinguish the two

“And I would yell `stop entering my brain, you know, stop reading my mind. These are the things that happen to us,’’ she said. “It is telepathic!’’ Hadiza added.

Sharing their amazing story, the Sani twins recalled how, on a particular day, they confounded their foster mother when they inadvertently dressed exactly the same way at different locations.

Hadiza narrated: “There was this time I was here in Abuja and my sister was in Lagos. We were to go to Kaduna.

“So, that Friday morning I left Abuja, and arrived in Kaduna by road, while my sister boarded her flight from Lagos. I met Mama in her living room and after the usual greetings; she said she needed to make salad, but that she forgot to buy a certain vegetable.

“I said no problem, I would go, and then I left. About 30 minutes later, my sister arrived home from the airport and met mama in the living room.

“The old woman started ranting, `what is wrong with you?! It is almost time to serve the salad, and you have not gone to buy the vegetable. What are you waiting for?’

“My sister said, `hellooo, excuse me mama, what vegetables?’ The woman looked at her with surprise and said, `are you going senile at your early age? You and I just finished talking about buying vegetable for salad. What are you waiting for? Go and buy it!

“She said, `mama, I am just coming in from the airport’. The old woman exclaimed, `La illah, illah lah!’

“Mama stepped back, and looking more closely she said, `What! Do you know your sister is dressed exactly the same way, up to earrings?! It was amazing.’’ Both mom and daughter burst out laughing.

Till date, the twins cannot explain why they both have crooked baby fingers pointing in the same direction, or why they unconsciously interlock their fingers while walking.

Another surprise: they share and swap illnesses. While Ameena is prone to stomach upsets, her twin sister is often down with backaches.

“At some point, we interchange the ailments. And my sister would say `give me back my backache and take your stomach upset’.

“We started wondering why. Up till now, we don’t know why,’’ Ameena said.

During the interview for this article, the writer observed that Hadiza, the younger twin by minutes, is taller than her sister.

When this was pointed out to them, Ameena said anatomical variation is something they also constantly swap between them. It is either one gets taller today and shorter tomorrow or they level up.

Perhaps, the weirdest thing about the Sani twins is their fingerprints, which seem to be identical as well.

Indications to this effect emerged during their biometric capturing for voter registration in 2011; the National Identity Number (NIN), and the Bank Verification Number (BVN). On each occasion, Ameena’s registration failed, while her sister’s sailed through.

Hadiza said: “The first time we were captured was in 2011 during voter registration. Since we were both in Kaduna, we decided to register there. We went for capturing and when the list came out, my name was there in our ward, but hers was missing.

“We made enquiries and eventually got someone to inform Attahiru Jega (then Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC) that there seemed to be a problem with the capturing of twins, particularly identical twins. I think they didn’t take us seriously. We thought the belief then in INEC was that no two people could have similar fingerprints.

“Then we both came to Abuja to capture for the National Identity Number. We both did it at Radio House; I sat in front of one system, she sat in front of another. We were captured and given our slips. The list came out, but only mine was there.’’

Ameena added: “I think it was due to the alphabets. Her name starts with H, mine A. So, the first alphabet that comes in gets knocked off. We then started making enquiries and making a case not just in voter registration but also in National ID.

“Then we also experienced a similar problem with BVN (Bank Verification Number). We operate in the same bank, but different accounts. It was a tug of war. Each time we went to the bank they would say problem with our BVN.

“So, finally we said we wanted to speak to the person in charge at CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria. We had to explain to the lady that we were two persons, not one. Eventually, our bank had to make a case to CBN that we were a peculiar set of twins. That eventually got that sorted. These are some of the strange things we experience.’’

Born in Sokoto to a Hausa-Fulani father and a Yoruba mother, Ameena and Hadiza who have been inseparable since birth, attended the same primary, secondary and tertiary institutions.

It was difficult for their parents to separate them due to a combination of the fear of losing them and the traditional superstitions about twins.

They were born on 1st September 1965, into a family with a history of non-survival of twins. Considering their traditional backgrounds, their parents and relatives believed there were some rituals that had to be done to make them survive.

“And then they noticed something: if one ran temperature, say around noon on a day, by evening the other will also run temperature.

“That strengthened their belief that twins had some spiritual powers, and those things guided the way they treated us, and the decision to keep us together,’’ Hadiza explained.

Keeping them together came with the big challenge of identifying them. Even their parents couldn’t tell them apart. As a way out, they had to be tagged with wrist bands in different colours (blue for Ameena and red for Hadiza).

Hadiza recalled some instances where she took advantage of the confusion to escape punishment for offences committed both at home and in secondary school where they were initially placed in the same class.

“While in secondary school (FGC Sokoto), I used to be like a tomboy, very brazen, I didn’t have a lot of fears. I got into a lot of fights with boys. I fought a boy, the teacher came and broke it up, but the boy decided to report to the principal, who sent for me.

“I went and narrated my version. He warned me against fighting next time. I left thinking up how to get back at the guy for reporting me. So, I put some dead insects in his plate, including one that was not quite dead, because he had phobia for insects.

“The boy knew it was me, so he came and attacked me. I fought him, fell him to the ground and he went to report me again. From that point on I had made up my mind that the principal and I would not see again.

“The principal kept asking for me and finally he went to Ameena and threatened to punish her. But my sister started crying, insisting she didn’t know what the man was talking about. The teacher intervened and said it was possible because we were identical twins, and that it could be that my twin was responsible.

“I decided that if I was caught and sent to the principal’s office, my only saving grace would be to also cry and deny it. So, when I was eventually presented to the principal I denied it in tears. In order not to punish the wrong person, since he couldn’t get either of us to admit, he let us go with a warning.’’

Thereafter the sisters were split and placed in different classes – Hadiza remained in Form 1A, while Ameena was taken to Form 1B.

The similarity also reflects in their career choice, which has led them both to the media world. While Ameena currently heads the multi-media unit of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Hadiza is with the Voice of Nigeria (VON), both parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture.

It all started at Model Primary School, Sokoto, where they were both in the debate club. Endowed with tellingly sharp tongues and quick minds, the girls were always found arguing about issues and driving home their points.

Their late uncle, who was then working at a television station, decided it was time to take it to the next level. The station had just started a children’s debate on television.

“ We went for the first session and the production was wow’’, Hadiza said. “A lot of people started asking for more. At the end of the day it became a routine thing.

“As we grew older, it stuck. Our father wanted us to study what was termed more serious arts like Law, Political Science, Public Administration, but we insisted we wanted to study performing arts, and got our way.’’

That dream took them to the University of Ilorin where they secured admission to study performing arts. Also faced with the challenge of telling them apart, the department later placed them in different units: Ameena in Music and Hadiza in Drama, the twins recalled.

But before then, they had got married after secondary school, with kids: Ameena has three, while Hadiza is blessed with two.

For the Sani twins, breaking up to get married to different men was like taking fish out of water. The bond between them was obviously much stronger than that of marriage.

So, when Ameena’s husband came for her hand in marriage, expectedly Hadiza did not like either the man or the idea of her sister leaving her.

“But I had decided I was OK with him”, the older twin said. “Initially, my sister was like, ‘ it’s ok, take her away. You want to go with him? Ok, fine leave me and go with him’.

“As soon as she also got married, it kind of doused that a bit. But new things came up. We discovered we preferred each other’s company to other persons’.

“My husband found it odd that I wanted to spend more time with my sister. It goes beyond what we could explain.”

Hadiza was also more drawn to her twin sister. Thus it was not difficult for them to divorce their husbands just to be together.

Divorce also provided the needed space for them to return to school. Ameena said, “In our society then, when you finished secondary school that was the highest level of education that was expected of women.

“Although, there were exceptions, about married women who had first degrees and even above at that time too, they were very few and far between.

“But gradually the society embraced girl-child education to whatever level. Some of us had to fight the battle too.

“We decided that since the kids were already there and growing, we needed to further our education. We took that decision and went.”

Interestingly, the Sani twins quarrel a lot, yet they refuse to be separated. They said the quarrels were usually over mundane and petty things as siblings would naturally do, but theirs were even more petty.

“The fight does not last for more than 15 seconds. We might be quarrelling now, and then something happens like breaking news on TV, and the next second we are jumping up and hugging.

“As kids if we had an open fight nobody would want to interfere because there was the tendency for the fight to turn from us to you coming to make peace. It was quite interesting,” Ameena said.

Yet another surprise about the twin sisters are their looks, which offer no clue to their age. At over 50 with 17 grandchildren between them (Ameena has 11, and Hadiza has six, all boys), they look thirtyish in their slim, petite frames.

They attributed the physique to a combination of early child bearing and contentment.

“Contentment makes you young,” Hadiza said. “Early child bearing is another factor,” suggested Ameena. “When you close the chapter of child bearing before 25, I think you retain that structure of youth for the rest of your life.”

Talking about contentment, the sisters said they loved their job to the extent that some persons started seeing them as married to the profession.

According to them, the foundation was laid at the university where they were taught by some of the best academic minds in performing arts, including the late playwright and dramatist Zulu Sofola, who was their Head of Department.

Added to the that was the mentorship they received from veteran broadcasters such as Bode Alalade, Julie Coker, Ruth Benamaisia Opia, among others they described as the creme de la creme of broadcasting at the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), where they did their youth service and later worked for some time.

“A lot of them helped to shape our dedication and willingness to sacrifice for the work, and things like that,” said Ameena.

“And that’s why we did not remarry,” added Hadiza. “The rigours of what we had to do in the office, the children at home and the responsibilities of wife, sister in-law, daughter in-law, can be quite daunting.

“Choose your battle, they say, and so we chose the one we could win.” That was how marriage became the opportunity cost. (NAN)

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