Let's talk with an Engineer: into Borno State!

From Sokoto in northwestern Nigeria where I had a conversation with Uchenna last month, this month I travel into Borno state in northeastern Nigeria to bring an amazing interview with one of the finest brains impacting change in the state as an engineering-trained journalist, advocate, and tech/social enthusiast.

Perhaps one amazing thing about my journey into Borno state is that, as a Kanuri man, I'm travelling home! haha

For close to a decade, Borno state, home to many indigenous and diasporic tribes, with a richness in its individual cultures, and richness in local cuisine, was going to be raided by one of the worst cases of terrorism we have encountered in Nigeria. Businesses stopped, schools ceased, places of worship shut down, and it seemed nothing was going to survive it. Indeed, only the bravest could dream of staying there.

Fast forward to a decade+ later, Borno state has reclaimed everything it had lost, and more. Once again, the streets are full; businesses have reopened; clergymen have welcomed people back; and the University of Maiduguri, of the biggest learning hubs in northern Nigeria, is graduating thousands of students each year.

With the return back home, almost everything has become new, and people are learning to live again.

That is what took me to Borno state, where I had a conversation with a social enthusiast who has been contributing in her own way, to rebuilding the state and getting people out of the ruins of the chaos.

Halima Yusuf Bawah

Halima Yusuf Bawah studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Maiduguri. Among other things, she is a fashion designer, a baker, and a techie.

Regarding her passion, Halima is a climate champion and innovator with a strong passion in climate education. She is a digital marketing facilitator and a climate educator.

Halima is also a journalist, a HumAngle Media Fellow, a Fati Abubakar Art Foundation Fellow, and a Paradigm Initiative Fellow.

Halima is a member of the Attaqwaa Charity Foundation. 

In my pre-interview chat with Halima, she said, "My hope for a better Nigeria pushed me into what I do because I believe that it is our individual responsibilities to contribute to the betterment of this country, and Alhamdulillah, I have been able to make a little impact."

Join me this month as I travel to Borno for a conversation with Halima, as she gives us a peek into the life of an all-in-one journalist, climate activist, tech enthusiast, and chemical engineer, especially in the aftermath of the terrorism that had defined the region in the past decade.

Keep your calendars checked; 25th September, 2023!

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