Oddities from a columnist’s inbox
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- Category: Philosofaith
- Written by M. U. Ndagi
- Hits: 2293
Modern facilities of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have remarkably changed the face of media practice all over the world. The two-way traffic in the flow of information has turned contemporary media into a social network of critical minds and opinion builders. It is a good development in the print media that readers can freely react to opinions expressed by columnists and other contributors through e-mail messages, GSM text messages and telephone calls. A writer’s knowledge of the reactions expressed as views by the reading public promotes cross-fertilization of ideas. It similarly fosters better understanding of the economic and political issues that bind us (writers and readers) together as a nation.
Commendation is a common reaction from readers especially when an opinion expressed on a matter meets public expectations. When a columnist expresses a view that hurts some readers, he receives insults. These two forms of reactions, in my view, are normal since it is not conventional for a columnist to, all the time, say or write what would soothe the minds of readers. Reaction (or actions if un-preceded by any discourse) from readers would be considered strange or odd if the interactive privilege provided by the technology-driven media is turned in to a platform for perpetrating fraudulent, criminal or other corrupt practices. In any case, messages and rejoinders sent by readers give columnists a better understanding of their audience.In order to give readers an insight into “the bad and the ugly” messages received by this column, some messages would be reproduced and discussed. Taking into account the philosophical foundations of this column, the greater percentage of mails received are questions from readers seeking to know the fatwah (legal opinions) of scholars on specific socio-cultural or religious matters including matrimonial life, inheritance, divorce, etc. I treat this particular group of mails with a strict sense of confidentiality. There is also a group of unsolicited mails to which I naturally do not respond. This includes lottery promotions, breaking newsflash, and feast invitations. Most of these messages come through the column’s GSM phone number.
Now, let us come to the oddities. Some messages are requests for financial assistance or for GSM recharge cards. The following two SMSs which I have reproduced unedited, are examples: “Salam-alaikum sir, dis ibrahim 4rm makama area bida. sir, i want you to help me with my reg. money, I nyd ur help. I’ve sea ur number in one newspaper, pls sir 4 d sake of God & d amount is N11, 000 sir. Tanx” (from: 08138349190). The second SMS is: “Koda yake ban sanka ba baka sanni ba, ka taimakamin da rechert card don Allah fi sabilillah” (from: 08077347528). This second SMS that was written in Hausa is a request for a recharge card.
Some facts stand out clear from the two text messages reproduced above. Their authors who perhaps think of columnists as “rich” writers do not seem to be part of the reading public. They are simply of those who would casually stumble over a newspaper and glance through it in search of telephone numbers of individuals or addresses of organizations. The language of the first SMS portrays the author as a semi-literate northerner who is either a school drop-out or in school but hadn’t benefited from any worthwhile education. The two messages further depict the endemic poverty that irresponsible leadership has imposed on the northern part of the country over the years. A columnist’s inbox is actually a wrong destination for the two text messages under reference. If the request of eleven thousand naira in the first SMS is for NECO or WAEC registration fee, I really do not know which magic this candidate will perform (considering the “debris” he wrote as English language in the SMS) to obtain credits in five subjects including English in the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE).
A columnist’s inbox also has messages that sound fraudulent including some from senders who claim to be spiritual healers or prayer warriors. Most of such messages are in Hausa language. The author of one of such messages once introduced himself as a big Malam (scholar) resident in a north-eastern town of Nigeria; and thus requested me to call him for consultations after which he would tell me the sadaqah (alms) I was to give out in order to facilitate a big fortune that was coming my way. Of course, the message deserved no response. It was, I thought, an obtuse way of luring me into tsibbu (soothsaying). This group, like the previous one, is not of genuine column or newspaper readers but of those who pick newspapers to get phone numbers for specific motives.
A similar fraudulent SMS is this one reproduced as follows: “salam! Da fatan an wuni lafiya. Sunana Halimatu, ina Magana ne daga damaturu jihar yobe, kun buga labarin wani yaro a shafi na 12 na jaridar ku na Saturday February 11 2012, Kuma kun ce yaron yana zama a bakin office naku na media trust yana bara. Don Allah ka taimaka ka hada ni da yaron, inaso na taimaka fi sabilillahi….” (From: 07068571639). I forwarded this “unsuspecting” and repeatedly sent message to the Editor-in-Chief of Media Trust for further necessary actions. When I enquired few days later to know if the author of the message had been contacted and her “fi sabilillahi” received, I was told that she (author of the SMS) was rather asking Media Trust to give her money to treat the sick boy! If this exposes anything, it is the desperation by Nigerians to get rich or at least “survive” by hook or crook.
Another oddity in a columnist’s inbox is the group of messages that have no link at all with the opinions expressed in the column. Such messages are received on a regular basis from specific GSM telephone numbers. Two of such messages from a regular sender are hereunder reproduced: One: “As long as GEJ is in power, bombing by so-called Boko Haram (BH) will persist bcos Hausa/Fulani, the real BH, are bent on replacing Jonathan at any cost” (from: 08073724824). Two: “Hausa/ Fulani are professional parasites. These lazy, shameless people will never accept fiscal federalism bcos they are used to free money from Niger Delta” (from: 08073724824). As columnists, we shall never be daunted by this category of messages in our attempt to putting “round pegs in round holes”.
May Allah (SWT) strengthen earnest columnists in their abilities as He grants them large hearts to tolerate the excesses and inanity of some unenlightened “readers”, amin.
Articles
Oddities from a columnist’s inbox
Category: Philosofaith Written by M. U. Ndagi Hits: 2293
Modern facilities of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have remarkably changed the face of media practice all over the world. The two-way traffic in the flow of information has turned contemporary media into a social network of critical minds and opinion builders. It is a good development in the print media that readers can freely react to opinions expressed by columnists and other contributors through e-mail messages, GSM text messages and telephone calls. A writer’s knowledge of the reactions expressed as views by the reading public promotes cross-fertilization of ideas. It similarly fosters better understanding of the economic and political issues that bind us (writers and readers) together as a nation.
Commendation is a common reaction from readers especially when an opinion expressed on a matter meets public expectations. When a columnist expresses a view that hurts some readers, he receives insults. These two forms of reactions, in my view, are normal since it is not conventional for a columnist to, all the time, say or write what would soothe the minds of readers. Reaction (or actions if un-preceded by any discourse) from readers would be considered strange or odd if the interactive privilege provided by the technology-driven media is turned in to a platform for perpetrating fraudulent, criminal or other corrupt practices. In any case, messages and rejoinders sent by readers give columnists a better understanding of their audience.In order to give readers an insight into “the bad and the ugly” messages received by this column, some messages would be reproduced and discussed. Taking into account the philosophical foundations of this column, the greater percentage of mails received are questions from readers seeking to know the fatwah (legal opinions) of scholars on specific socio-cultural or religious matters including matrimonial life, inheritance, divorce, etc. I treat this particular group of mails with a strict sense of confidentiality. There is also a group of unsolicited mails to which I naturally do not respond. This includes lottery promotions, breaking newsflash, and feast invitations. Most of these messages come through the column’s GSM phone number.
Now, let us come to the oddities. Some messages are requests for financial assistance or for GSM recharge cards. The following two SMSs which I have reproduced unedited, are examples: “Salam-alaikum sir, dis ibrahim 4rm makama area bida. sir, i want you to help me with my reg. money, I nyd ur help. I’ve sea ur number in one newspaper, pls sir 4 d sake of God & d amount is N11, 000 sir. Tanx” (from: 08138349190). The second SMS is: “Koda yake ban sanka ba baka sanni ba, ka taimakamin da rechert card don Allah fi sabilillah” (from: 08077347528). This second SMS that was written in Hausa is a request for a recharge card.
Some facts stand out clear from the two text messages reproduced above. Their authors who perhaps think of columnists as “rich” writers do not seem to be part of the reading public. They are simply of those who would casually stumble over a newspaper and glance through it in search of telephone numbers of individuals or addresses of organizations. The language of the first SMS portrays the author as a semi-literate northerner who is either a school drop-out or in school but hadn’t benefited from any worthwhile education. The two messages further depict the endemic poverty that irresponsible leadership has imposed on the northern part of the country over the years. A columnist’s inbox is actually a wrong destination for the two text messages under reference. If the request of eleven thousand naira in the first SMS is for NECO or WAEC registration fee, I really do not know which magic this candidate will perform (considering the “debris” he wrote as English language in the SMS) to obtain credits in five subjects including English in the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE).
A columnist’s inbox also has messages that sound fraudulent including some from senders who claim to be spiritual healers or prayer warriors. Most of such messages are in Hausa language. The author of one of such messages once introduced himself as a big Malam (scholar) resident in a north-eastern town of Nigeria; and thus requested me to call him for consultations after which he would tell me the sadaqah (alms) I was to give out in order to facilitate a big fortune that was coming my way. Of course, the message deserved no response. It was, I thought, an obtuse way of luring me into tsibbu (soothsaying). This group, like the previous one, is not of genuine column or newspaper readers but of those who pick newspapers to get phone numbers for specific motives.
A similar fraudulent SMS is this one reproduced as follows: “salam! Da fatan an wuni lafiya. Sunana Halimatu, ina Magana ne daga damaturu jihar yobe, kun buga labarin wani yaro a shafi na 12 na jaridar ku na Saturday February 11 2012, Kuma kun ce yaron yana zama a bakin office naku na media trust yana bara. Don Allah ka taimaka ka hada ni da yaron, inaso na taimaka fi sabilillahi….” (From: 07068571639). I forwarded this “unsuspecting” and repeatedly sent message to the Editor-in-Chief of Media Trust for further necessary actions. When I enquired few days later to know if the author of the message had been contacted and her “fi sabilillahi” received, I was told that she (author of the SMS) was rather asking Media Trust to give her money to treat the sick boy! If this exposes anything, it is the desperation by Nigerians to get rich or at least “survive” by hook or crook.
Another oddity in a columnist’s inbox is the group of messages that have no link at all with the opinions expressed in the column. Such messages are received on a regular basis from specific GSM telephone numbers. Two of such messages from a regular sender are hereunder reproduced: One: “As long as GEJ is in power, bombing by so-called Boko Haram (BH) will persist bcos Hausa/Fulani, the real BH, are bent on replacing Jonathan at any cost” (from: 08073724824). Two: “Hausa/ Fulani are professional parasites. These lazy, shameless people will never accept fiscal federalism bcos they are used to free money from Niger Delta” (from: 08073724824). As columnists, we shall never be daunted by this category of messages in our attempt to putting “round pegs in round holes”.
May Allah (SWT) strengthen earnest columnists in their abilities as He grants them large hearts to tolerate the excesses and inanity of some unenlightened “readers”, amin.