Femi Abbas – Latest Nigeria News, Nigerian Newspapers, Politics

Preamble

This world is a dramatic entity mysteriously coded in parables. Every living thing therein sees it and relates to it according to its own nature of existence. It takes history to decode it only after the actors might have left the stage. Who are we? Where are we coming from? And where are we going from here? Those are some of the questions which all rational human beings should ask themselves from time to time.

But, in Nigeria, such questions have been rendered irrelevant because the circumstances of life in this retrogressive country have changed the priorities of her citizens. The only question now in vogue, which everybody seems to concentrate upon is this:: ‘what am I getting from this?’ Hmmm! We live in a material world without any material substance.

That very question is the real drama that has permanently engaged the attention of Nigerians since the commencement of the fourth republic. It is the question that crowns money as the king of the world. It is the question that fosters greed and fetters humanity to the stake of Satan. It is the question that presents mirage to man as the only substance worthy of pursuit. Incidentally, however, no answer to that all-time question has ever proffered any solution to any human problem. Such an answer would rather confirm the ephemerality of this world.

Hope or Despair?

What can we say of a man who fixes his eyes on the sun but does not see it? Instead, he sees a chorus of flaming seraphim announcing a paroxysm of despair. That is the parable of the country called Nigeria. Like the Israelis of Moses’ time, Nigerians have become gypsies wandering aimlessly and wallowing in abject poverty in the midst of abundance. What else do we expect from Allah beyond the invaluable bounties with which He has blessed us?

What is Nigeria not blessed with? We have land in abundance, not in terms of size alone but also in terms of agrarian soil and rich vegetation. At least over 77 million hectares of land is said to be arable in Nigeria. Out of this, only about 34 million hectares was reportedly being cultivated for various agricultural activities including husbandry some years ago. This has even dwindled to less than 25 million square hectares as more and more rural youths keep migrating to cities and towns for imaginary greener pastures.

Bountiful Blessings

We are blessed with rainfalls that water our plants from the sky and graze our animals to satisfaction. We are endowed with variety of nourishing food crops enough to feed us from generation to generation without importing from anywhere. The Qur’an testifies to this in chapter 80 thus:

“Let man reflect on the food he eats; how ‘We’ pour down the rain in torrents and cleave the earth asunder; how ‘We’ bring forth the corn, the grapes, the fresh vegetables, the olive, the palm products, the thickets, the fruit-trees and the green pasture for you and for your cattle to delight in…” Allah’s favour is regular and incessant. We cannot deny it.

In addition to the aforementioned, we have energetic and dedicated work force that is married to the farm land in Nigeria despite all odds. We also have intellectual brains that are capable of engaging in research work days and nights to ensure agricultural improvement of our country.

Nigeria is not lacking in forest and savannah. She is rich in rivers and mountains all of which are great resources for people who are seeking reasonable comfort and are not self-deceptive.

Dearth of Leadership

What we have consistently lacked is a responsible government that should care about our foremost heritage which is agriculture. That food is becoming a threat to Nigerians today is purely due to naivety of the past governments especially in the disastrous past 16 years of the so-called democratic dispensation from 1999 to 2015. That misfortune started when the first shot at the Presidency in 1999 was entrusted to a parochial ‘prisoner’ who had lost contact with the actual reality of the modern life.

On his assumption of office in that year, some die hard Nigerian optimists saw him as a reincarnate of the Biblical Yusuf (Joseph) of the Egypt of yore who could rescue Nigeria from an impending economic scourge. But no sooner had he assumed office as President than Nigerians realized that the man who was thought to be a modern day Yusuf coming from the prison to transform the dream of Nigeria into reality was actually a Mathew without focus.

As a farmer that he claimed to be, before incarceration, he had been expected to act like Chairman Mao of China who started the revolution of that country with agricultural self-sufficiency. But this Mathew eventually confirmed that a man cannot give what he does not possess. Thus, with his style of governance, he proved that he was never tutored in good governance and decency. Those who imposed him on Nigeria have since openly confessed their calamitous error while expressing a belated regret even as are now liking their bleeding fingers with internal agony. Today, Nigeria is worse than what she was two decades ago.

Compounded Tragedy

The South West governors of that time and their South East counterparts also did not help the matter. Rather than focusing on agriculture which was the natural occupational endowment of their regions, those gold diggers preferred to depend on oil boom largess coming to them from the federal government through the so-called allocation revenue sharing. To them, such a quicker way of making money was more beneficial than investing in agriculture which could only yield results perhaps years after they might have left office.

In Nigeria, the cost of running government alone is enough to render the country bankrupt. What were we doing with about 40 federal ministers and scores of Presidential Senior Special Advisers as well a retinue of Special Assistants when even America with her huge economic resource, large but effective population and adequate financial wherewithal had only about a dozen ministers?

Besides, what informs the idea of the so-called constituency allowances for legislators running into billions of naira, at the federal and state levels, especially at a time when innocent women and children were crying for food which is a foremost necessity of life?

Evidence of Hunger

No one could think about two decades ago that artificial hunger would be added to the abysmal level of poverty in Nigeria despite the unprecedented rise in price of oil in the international market during those wasted years. However, with the lotus eaters in government, Nigeria became an artful trick adopted to bamboozle the populace into blind submission. The propaganda in the 1980s, spearheaded by a government agency called Mass Mobilization for Self Reliance, Social Justice and Economic Recovery (MAMSER), established by the self-styled military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, and headed by Professor Jerry Gana was almost hypnotizing. That Agency’s slogan of “Food and Shelter for All in the Year 2000” rented the air with wide reverberation but in the end, nothing came out of it. Rather, some new multi-millionaires suddenly emerged from the smart project. That slogan was to later change in the 1990s to: “Vision 2010” with loud brouhaha under the dark goggled dictatorship of Sani Abacha. And when year 2010 began to approach under the Presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo, the slogan again changed to: ‘Vision 202020 in which Nigeria was deceptively envisioned to become one of the 20 most buoyant economies in the world. Both of that vision and its initiators have now naturally and quietly fizzled out into hopelessness.

Game of Deception

It takes two to tangle. If the deceptive leaders of those years could pretend not to know that a game of deception was in place, was the deceived populace also pretending to play along? It takes a visionless populace to beget a deceptive government as the case in Nigeria. No country in history is ever known to have achieved economic vibrancy by magic and Nigeria could not have been an exception. But that was the portion of a self-glorified country that calls itself ‘the giant of Africa’. And, today, what is the result of that self-deception?

In a report of the Food and Agricultural Organization some years back, about 300 Nigerians were said to be dying of hunger daily. Only God knows what that figure has risen to become now. Yet, rather than reacting to that sad news practically by devising a policy of rescuing the downtrodden people from the scourge of poverty, our government turned deaf ear. Rather, it continued to assure the populace that Nigeria would soon become one of the biggest economies in the world even as the easy money accruing from our petroleum resources was being partly stolen brazenly and partly shared monthly among states and political cronies without any benefit to the masses.

Yar’Adua’s Tenure

By some actions taken during his tenure, President Musa Yar’Adua of the blessed memory remains commendable for showing the example of governance with human face and human heart. He regulated the importation of food items and suspended tariffs on importation of essencial food items to the relief of all and sundry. He also released grains from the national silos to check inflation and pumped N400 billion into the economy for the purpose of creating about 10 million jobs then. He also granted unconditional amnesty to the then South-South agitators and thereby opened way for negotiation with them in the interest of peace and harmony.

Although, such measures were far from being adequate for a country which was aspiring to become one of the biggest economies in 2020, the move was generally seen as a good beginning of a hopeful future. However, as soon as Yar’Adua died, all progressive steps were suspended and the national treasury was thrown open for audacious thieves to scoop upon with impunity.

The Jonathan Years

Now, it is evident that no miracle could have yielded any success based on a ramshackle foundation laid down for Nigerian economy by a Mathew (from the prison) who, as President, could hardly reason beyond the siege mentality of the prison yard from where he had emerged. If Goodluck Jonathan who succeeded Yar’Adua as President had sincerely meant well for Nigeria he would have known that the vessel which took this country’s Napoleon to the proverbial island of Elba was incapable of conveying Nigeria to the Cape of Good Hope.

Yusuf (Joseph), the son of Ya’qub (Jacob), did not know that he could have any solution to the then fundamental problem of Egypt. But the accident of history never ceases to play itself out. Without Yusuf, only Allah knows what the history of Egypt would have been today. And without a Pharaoh’s dream of drought, the story of Yusuf would have been totally different from what we now know of it.

Egypt of the 1970s

Yours sincerely was a student in Egypt in the 1970s when the hostility between that country and Israel was fierce. Egypt was then an ally of the (now defunct) Soviet Union while Israel was virtually a satellite of the United States. Not only did Egypt suffer isolation from NATO member countries but even the Soviet Union which was supposed to be the main ally of Egypt was not forthcoming with any meaningful assistance beyond the supply of light and medium range weapons. Thus, the Egyptian government had to buckle in firmly in other to fend for its people at that critical time.

Realizing the importance of food supply especially in a war situation, Egypt mobilized all her agricultural resources around the River Nile and forgot about any food importation. The result was tremendous as Egypt grew to become a food exporter rather than an importer that it had been for years.

Uganda for Instance

Less than three decades ago, Uganda, a sub-Sahara African country, found herself in the position of Egypt. A colossal drought broke out in that country killing thousands of people and virtually wiping out the entire cattle business in the country. No Pharaoh had any dreamed premonition and no Yusuf was in a prison to translate any dream into a solution.

What the Ugandan government did to find a solution was to reset the country’s agricultural focus. Rather than concentrating on tilling the already sapped land and rearing the cattle, which drought had eroded, a new focus was brought to bear. Uganda took to commercial ‘bee farming’ as a relieving alternative. The seriousness which the government of that country attached to the new focus was such that Uganda became a leading country in the production and exportation of honey and other bee products to Europe and the United States.

Nigeria’s Situation Today

Today, Nigeria is not afflicted by drought or famine. Neither is she engaged in any uncontrollable war. Yet, the fear in vogue is hunger compounded by insecurity. How this country arrived at such a deadly scourge is irrelevant for now. What is relevant is how to get out of it. Like Egypt of yore, Nigeria needed a ‘Yusuf’ to unravel the mystery surrounding the dream that brought this scourge about. With the emergence of Muhammadu Buhari as President, that ‘Yusuf’ seems to be here. It is only left to Nigerians to learn a lesson from the Egyptian example by cooperating with the current government as the Egyptians of yore did with Yusuf who eventually solved their problem. Chief Audu Ogbe is now the Minister of Agriculture. Will he be the long awaited Yusuf?

It is in the interest of those in government, especially the legislators who are most active in sharing public funds, to let the national wealth spread across board legitimately if only to avoid the current Lagos situation where every house has become a prison in which the occupants are self-jailed voluntarily. To ignore the rule of law and shun justice in a land blessed with milk and honey is to cultivate trouble with insecurity in all its ramifications.

Observation

Where people are well educated and conscious of their rights; where they perceive wealth as a divine privilege and not an exclusive right of any group; where they see themselves as qualified but denied their legitimate entitlements; nobody can consign them to ignominy indefinitely. They will react in no uncertain terms. That was what obtained in the recent past which paved way for insurgency. It must not be allowed to continue. Let Nigeria grow from a country into a nation that we may all be proud to be her citizens. “….God does not change the situation of a community until such a community is ready for change”…. Q. 13:11

The post In Search of a ‘Yusuf’ appeared first on The Nation Nigeria.

There are good men in every land; the tree of life has many branches and roots; let not the topmost twig presume to think that it alone has sprung from the mother earth; we did not choose our races by ourselves; Jews, Muslims, Christians, all alike are men; let me hope I have found in you a man”.

Preamble

Quite a number of ardent readers of ‘The Message’ must have anxiously waited for today’s article having been familiar with the writing style of this columnist. ‘The Message’ is well known for its currency, promptness and research especially on matters relating to justice and logical deductions. Thus, writing on the controversy surrounding the wearing of hijab in Osun State’s schools by Muslim female pupils cannot be strange at this time. The issue has generated so much of unwarranted heat that only a few people will wonder if decorum has any role to play in religion at all in this case. And the Press which is supposed to be the Fourth Estate of the Realm is not helping the matter as men and women of the pen profession have shamelessly turned themselves into the judiciary passing judgments on the pages of newspapers or radio and television stations.

As expected, this article is about the unnecessary hyperbolic brouhaha going on in Osun State over a court judgment on the baseless controversy surrounding the wearing of hijab by the State’s secondary school Muslim female pupils as ruled by the court of law. The brouhaha became ridiculously laughable when one looks at the caliber of people involved and the role they are playing in spite of their self-acclaimed education and religious leadership.

VP’s Comment

Nigeria’s Vice-President, Professor (Pastor) Yemi Osibajo SAN, was, as usual, eloquent, last Monday (June 20, 2016) while commenting at a conference held in Abuja on law and religious freedom in Nigeria. He said that law should not be enacted to hinder religious freedom. His Excellency was apparently speaking in reference to the controversial bill seeking to control the propagation of religions against provocation and fanaticism in Kaduna State.

By inference that comment can equally be applicable to the situation in Osun State where the State leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is taking the law into its own hands with crude impunity against the court judgment on the case. Instead of contesting the judgment in a higher court, if it finds it objectionable, as the Lagos Muslim Community did in a similar case two years ago, Osun State CAN decided to constitute itself into a counter court with little regard for decorum expected of religious leadership.

That situation has elicited many logical questions which would have been raised and answered in this article but a thorough and sincere stakeholder has relieved yours sincerely of that trouble in an article published by Premier Times of June 18, 2016. Excerpts from the article written by one Kikiowo Ileowo (a Christian) and entitled “Much Ado about Hijab Wearing to Schools In the State Of Osun” are presented verbatim here as follows:

“Much has been said in recent times about the wearing of Hijab and Church robes to school by pupils in public schools in the State of Osun. However, what has apparently been missing in the discussion is the availability of facts and logic, and for discussants to analyze the true situation of things before making their opinions public.

Before going to the crux of the matter, let me lay a background to the true situation of things with regard to the recent hullaballoo amongst organizations that purport to represent the interest of diverse religious groups in the State of Osun. We have Christians represented by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN); Muslims, represented by the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN); the government, led by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, and other interested parties in the case.

The religious conflict got to a crescendo last week when an Osun State High Court judge, Justice JideFalola, delivered a judgment in favour of a case instituted by the MSSN against the state government on the right of female Muslim students in state public schools to wear Hijab to their various classes. The judge declared the wearing of Hijab in public schools by female Muslim pupils as legal and appropriate.

Litigation

“The Muslims had dragged the state government headed by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola to court over the refusal of some ‘Christian’ public schools to allow their female students wear the Hijab. After the judgment, CAN Osun State Chapter instructed Christian pupils to wear church robes to school if the state government dared implement the judgment.

To cut the long story short, some five students, following the instruction of the CAN leaders, wore church robes to school this week. In fact, the CAN leaders followed the pupils to schools to make sure they weren’t turned back for wearing their church robes (never mind, they didn’t carry out the action over the failure of some Christian pupils in their examinations).

Interestingly, a similar suit by the Muslim group in Lagos failed as the judge, Justice Modupe Onyeabor, ruled that the prohibition of the wearing of Hijab over school uniforms within and outside the premises of public schools was not discriminatory. According to her, the ban does not violate Sections 38 and 42 of the 1999 Constitution as claimed by the plaintiffs. The Judge also said Section 10 of the Constitution made Nigeria a secular state and that government must maintain neutrality at all times. Justice Onyeabor held that the government had a duty to preserve the secular nature of the institutions concerned as argued by the then Lagos State Solicitor-General, Mr. Lawal Pedro (SAN). Muslims in Lagos have since proceeded to the Court of Appeal where it is yet to be determined. Why should the case of Osun CAN be different? Aren’t they supposed to be the salt and light of the earth? Aren’t they supposed to be leading by example? Rather than take the legal route, CAN in the state of Osun resorted to self-help, asking students to disobey school rules by wearing unapproved uniforms. The Christians based their argument on one point; the Muslims cannot be allowed to wear hijab in ‘Christian schools”.

Authority for Taking over Schools

“By Edict No. 14 of 1975, the then military government took over private/missionary schools because, according to available records, “the owners charged exorbitant fees and did not give quality education to students. School buildings were of substandard structures, unqualified teachers were employed, teaching and learning materials were inadequate, while classrooms were over-crowded.”

Muslims have been wearing Hijab to schools for a very long time. As a Christian, it doesn’t hinder my faith or ability to learn. If the CAN leadership has a problem with it, they should approach the law courts, rather than embark on actions that could cause disaffection amongst the peace loving people of Osun.

That was the summary of the situation of privately owned schools that prompted the takeover of all such schools in 1975. It should be mentioned here however that the findings of the Western State Government in 1975 was not at variance with, but a replica of one common feature of the reports of the various Educational Review Committees set up at different times in the old three main regions of Nigeria. These include the Oldman’s Report in the old North, Dike’s Report in the old East, and Banjo’s Report in the Western Region. The reports of the various committees intensely reflected the acute immobility that had characterised the inherited colonial system that involved prejudice, high handedness, religious discrimination in pupils’ enrolment, staff recruitment and the general administration of schools.

Validation Decree

“In fact, the “Takeover of schools Validation Decree” of 1977, which still remains in force, states that, “the hold of government on those schools has afforded the government to be able to provide sustained education to the mass majority of the Nigerian public at an affordable cost, without RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION AND BIAS”.

Connotation

What this means is that there are no Christian or Muslim schools in Osun. There are only PUBLIC schools. The government back in 1976 resolved to keep the names given by the missionaries. That is why you have public schools bearing names such as Ede Muslim Grammar School, Baptist High School, etc. The schools may bear religious names, but they belong to the government/public. It is being financed with public funds. Most of the schools now wear new looks, and have modern learning equipment paid for by ALL citizens of Osun, which include Christians, Muslims, Traditional Worshippers, Agnostics and Atheists alike.

Therefore, the schools Christians are laying claim to are government schools. They were acquired from diverse sources: religious bodies, individuals, communities, groups, etc in 1975. That was 41 years ago. But for the five students of Baptist High School, Adeeke, Iwo, many Christian pupils in Osun ignored the CAN leadership, toeing the path of decorum and civility. In truth, the schools compound where the orchestrated drama took place housed three schools with a combined population of about 3000 students and we saw no other student wear unapproved garments to school.

Thank God other citizens did not take the law into their own hands. Imagine if the traditional worshippers – many of whom are in abundance in Osun – decide to start wearing traditional robes such as Bante, Ifunpa, Ofi, etc. Or imagine, for a minute, adherents of Osun religion demanding the wearing of white uniforms only, with white beads to school? Or, children of Sango worshippers, in another instance, insisting on wearing red caps to school, with earrings in the ears of their boys?

Conclusion

“Muslims have been wearing Hijab to schools for a very long time. As a Christian, it doesn’t hinder my faith or ability to learn. If the CAN leadership has a problem with it, they should approach the law courts, rather than embark on actions that could cause disaffection amongst the peace loving people of Osun”.

Kikiowo Ileowo is the Chief Strategist at Revamp Media.

The post The Hijab saga in Osun State appeared first on The Nation Nigeria.

“The relationship of religion to Truth is like that of a menu to a meal. By describing the meal as best as it can, the menu points to something beyond itself. When we use the menu as a guide to the choice of our meal we do it the deserved honor. But when we mistake the menu for the meal, we do it and ourselves a grave injustice.”
By Reb Yerachmiel

Preamble

It was not the intention of yours sincerely to write about the Osun State hijab crisis again in this column today. But doing so became inevitable as a way of clarifying some issues shamelessly but deliberately muddled up by some Nigerian reporters/correspondents who have connived to throw the ethics of their profession to the winds seemingly for the sake of bread and butter.

In Retrospect

About three years ago, a supposed Nigerian journalist of Yoruba stock from the Lagos/Ibadan axis of Nigerian media (name withheld) boasted to yours sincerely. He said that “you veteran journalists only spent the most active part of your professional lives to work assiduously for the stability of journalism in Nigeria while we, the touting journalists of today are here to reap the fruit of your labour. Now, we do not labour much before riding in jeeps and living in mansions”. In response to that puzzling comment, I merely grinned in amazement.

Update

It was only last Tuesday, when Nigerian newspapers were awash with a glaring false news report of a press conference at which I was present that I came to grasp the esoteric meaning of the boasting comment of that unnamed pseudo journalist.

The syndicated falsehood was filed to the various print media houses by the members of Ibadan-based glorified correspondents’ chapel including their so-called Chairman (a Pastor in a foremost Pentecostal Church). Embarrassingly, that report was the direct opposite of the statement made at the press conference in which I, as a veteran journalist, was involved. It was a clear evidence of professional abuse for which some of those correspondents are well known.

The connotation here is that quackery has come to replace professionalism in Nigerian journalism. And, in truth, that much is very manifest in the current practice of what we used to proudly call ‘the noble profession’. The quality and dept of reportage these days serve as evidence of no thoroughness either in terms of proper training or those of professional ethics.

The Missing Dignity

In any modern society where normalcy holds sway, a journalist is seen like an arbiter who, through his reportorial, moderates fairly among conflicting parties without reflecting an iota of bias. If such an arbiter is the first to start a street brawl, how can he retain the dignity of an arbiter?

Today, neither the nobility of journalism profession nor the pride of its practitioners exists any longer. Thus, genuine journalism can be said to be dead in Nigeria with average reporter becoming like a vulture hanging anxiously around the corner to feast undeservedly on the carcass of a comatose prey. Professionally speaking, journalism in Nigeria has unprecedentedly reached its dead end. What remains of it in the real sense is the shameless ‘pick and chop’ game in which the half-baked, so called reporters/correspondents are actively but greedily engaged.

If the so-called ‘Fourth Estate of the realm’ could descent to such a notorious level within the same realm, one can imagine how much doomed has the realm itself become. With this crop of quacks parading themselves as journalists in Nigeria today, only a few patriotic parents would want to encourage their wards to become journalists anymore especially since journalism is fast becoming a symbol of falsehood. I may be one of such parents.

What Transpired at the Press Conference?

On Monday, June 27, 2016, most Ibadan-based media correspondents (about 27 of them) assembled at the grandiose Islamic Center situated on the famous Awolowo Road, (Housing Corporation Area), Bodija, Ibadan, on the invitation of the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN). The latter, being the umbrella body of all Muslims in the South West region including the State Muslim Councils of those States as well as the League of Imams Alfas of Yoruba land had planned a Press Conference at which to express its own reaction to the judgment given two weeks ago on the hijab case in Osun State.

Meanwhile, as the noise kept raging on that judgment and loudly echoed with unambiguous partiality, as usual, by Nigerian media, MUSWEN remained calm and cautious as it kept consulting with the Muslim stakeholders in the region before arriving at the decision to hold a Press Conference on the issue to explain its position to the world on behalf of the South West Muslims.

Presentation of Facts

Following the presentation of facts in an 11 page written statement read by the Executive Secretary of MUSWEN, Professor D. O. S. Noibi, OBE, DSc, FISN, FIAC, questions and comments were thrown open while the full text of the read statement was given to everyone of the correspondents present at the occasion.

As a veteran who is well familiar with the nitty-gritty of reportorial, yours sincerely seized the opportunity to counsel those correspondents on the professional implication of editorialization and cautioned them against it. However, despite that counseling, the usual short cut was adopted in writing, syndicating and filing falsehood to their various newspapers. It was a shame beclouding the right sense of judgment.

The Contents of the Press Statement

For the benefit of the fair-minded readers of this column and numerous others the especially Muslims of the South West who may have been deliberately misled by the by some fanatical reporters present at that conference, the full text of MUSWEN’s statement is re-presented here below. Please, read on:

“A judge can’t have any agenda, a judge can’t have any preferred outcome in any particular case and a judge certainly doesn’t have a client. The judge’s only obligation – and it’s a solemn obligation – is to the rule of law.”

Samuel Alito (US Supreme Court Justice)

Opening Remark

Gentlemen of the Press, on behalf of the leadership of the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN) and indeed all Muslims in the South West region of Nigeria, I want to warmly welcome you all to this all-important Press Conference.

As we are all aware, MUSWEN is the umbrella body for all Muslims, Muslim organizations and Muslim institutions domiciled in the South West region of Nigeria. The body aggregates the aspirations and interests of all Muslims in the region.

It is thus part of our primary obligations, not only to propagate Islam and defend the interests of Muslims, but also to promote the cause of peace and peaceful co-existence among the people, irrespective of their faith and ethnicity, in the region.

This press conference becomes imperative against some recent happenings with regard to the use of hijab in public primary and secondary schools in Osun State. We wish to state that this is not the first time that MUSWEN would be addressing the media on the issue of hijab in Osun State public schools. The first conference was held on 20th February, 2014 when the issue was at its infancy.

The Background

The Osun State Muslim Community and the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN) on February 14, 2013, dragged the Osun State Government to court seeking an order of the court to allow female Muslim students enjoy their fundamental right to use hijab in public primary and secondary schools in the State pursuant to Sections 38 and 42 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.

The suit which was directly instituted against the State Government also had the State Commissioner for Education, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, among others, as respondents. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Osun State Chapter, its chairman and other interested Christians voluntarily joined as respondents.

The applicants told the court that female Muslim pupils/students were being harassed by the fourth and fifth respondents (Principal and Head teacher of a public secondary and public primary school respectively), insisting that such was a clear discrimination and infringement on their fundamental rights.

The applicants premised their argument on a decision of the Court of Appeal, Ilorin, in The Provost, Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin & 2 Ors vs Bashirat Saliu & Ors, which noted that female Catholics wear hijab, while Mary, the mother of Jesus was always depicted as wearing hijab on her head.

However, the respondents insisted that only beret and face cap were recognized and that students should abide by the government’s directives. They insisted that allowing students to wear hijab in schools where Churches are located was alien to their religion and thereby urged the court to dismiss the application of the applicants.

The Judgment

In his judgment on June 3, 2016, Justice Jide Falola of the Osun State High Court observed that religion was introduced to the case when the CAN and others joined the suit, noting that he decided to deliver the judgment after all pleas to settle the matter amicably had proved futile.

In a 51-page judgement, Justice Falola ruled that the use of hijab by female Muslims is their fundamental human right to freedom of religion, conscience and thought, and as such no female student should be molested or sent out of school for wearing it. Premising his judgment on Section 38 of the Nigeria Constitution and Article 8 of the 2004 policy published by the state Ministry of Education, Justice Falola held that female Muslim students were not exempted from the freedom of religion, conscience and thought.

He ordered that the respondents should be restrained from disallowing the use of hijab by female Muslim students, adding that the students who wear hijab should ensure that it is in the colour prescribed by the first to fifth respondents. He said since the respondents had failed to cite any relevant authority in their response, he would be bound by the decision of the Appellate court in Ilorin which the applicants had cited in their application.

Quoting copiously from Article 8 of the Guidelines on Administration and Discipline in Public Schools in Osun State which was issued by the State Government in 2004 which says “there are no mission school presently in Osun state as all schools have been taken over by government in 1975,” Justice Falola upheld all the prayers of the applicants and held that no student should be prevented from enjoying his or her right.

To be continued next Friday in sha’Allah.

The post Hijab: Nigeria’s Media Conspiracy appeared first on The Nation Nigeria.

So much for Objective Journalism! Don’t bother to look for it here—not under any byline I can think of. With the possible exception of things like box scores, race results, and stock market tabulations, there is no such thing as Objective Journalism. The phrase itself is a pompous contradiction in terms.”

By Hunter S. Thompson, (Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72)

Preamble

The above quotation is probably much more relevant to Nigeria than any other country in the world. Like any other thing that has to do with decency, journalism in Nigeria has become a mockery of itself. Its three fundamental norms of information, education and entertainment have been turned into misinformation, mis-education and distraction.

With the coinage of vocabularies like ‘maginalization’ and ‘Islamization’ (words that cannot be found in any English dictionary), Nigerian journalists have blindly and ignorantly polarized the country’s social strata along tribal and religious lines. And with this queer professional whim, they have tacitly drawn a visible battle line among existing ethnic groups on the one hand and religious groups on the other (a euphemism for a furnace of implacable enmity).

Thus, the prospect of a potentially great country becoming a nation has virtually been turned into a mere day dream that can hardly be linked to reality. If anything is antithetical to Nigeria’s cohesion as a country with potential greatness, it is the Nigerian media. And all these damages are being done in the name of press freedom.

Ember of Discord

In its usual act of beating the drum of war in the country, the Nigerian media recently started chorusing another sour song aimed at leaving another sour taste in the mouth of Nigerians. It has started classifying the recent appointments made by the current regime into that of North-South dichotomy. That is its new way of igniting a new war between the northern part of the country and the South. And, as usual, the drum beats are vividly coming from the south-west.

It is sometimes amazing what the real agenda of the south-west media is. In 1999, two main presidential candidates were presented to the country on the platform of two main political parties. The two candidates were from the South-West and they were Christians. One of them emerged as the country’s President with majority of Muslim votes and there were no grudges from the Muslims even as he completed his two terms of eight years.

Memory Lane

At least, it can still be remembered that the man (Bashorun MKO Abiola) who won the 1993 unprecedented Presidential election that was annulled by military fiat and was eventually killed in detention was a Muslim from the South-West. It can also be remembered that the man (Ernest Shonekan who was appointed by fiat to replace Abiola as an interim President was a Christian from the South-West. Yet, the Muslims did not complain then as they did not complain when a former Vice-President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan of the South-South succeeded the late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua (from the North) to complete the Northern slot of the Presidency. And he (Jonathan) later won another election with Muslim majority votes for a term of four years.

Now, with another President from the North in the saddle, the senseless brouhaha has started again at the instance of the South-West media despite the fact that the current Vice-President, Professor Yemi Osibajo (a Pastor) is from the South-West. What exactly do the South-West media want?

Reactions

In a swift reaction to the new furnace of political war emanating from the South-West media, Sen. Eta Enang, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on National Assembly Matters (who is of course a Christian), has said that the claim by some Nigerians of lopsided federal appointments in the country was untrue. He said that President Muhammadu Buhari followed strictly the principles of Federal Character in all federal appointments.

Enang went further to state that “He (Buhari) has given us (in the South-South) the Chief of Naval Staff, a very high ranking officer in the Federal Security Council. He has also given us the minister of Budget and then, my humble self as the Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters. He has also given us the minister of Niger Delta Affairs.

“In the entire South-South region, he went further to say that “he (Buhari) gave us Minister of Transportation in charge of about three ministries merged together. He also gave us the Minister of Petroleum and that of budget”.

He added that President Buhari had visited Cross River State, despite his very tight schedule, to inaugurate construction of the international super highway from Cross River to Cameroon and other countries in the West and Central Africa. Enang did not forget to recall that “President Buhari also provided N6 billion to dualize the road from Calabar to Itu, enroute Ikot Ekpene, to Aba in Abia State.

Further Reactions

Another South-South cabinet member of the PMB government, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita: the Head of Service of the Federation, also debunked the unfounded allegations of appointment lopsidedness being projected by the South-West media. She said that insinuations that the president unduly favoured a section of the country in appointments were wrong and concluded that the appointments so far made by the president were based on merit and competence. In her words: “President Buhari allows competence and merit to be brought to the fore in his appointments and we are very happy about that. This means that “a door way has been opened for appointments based on merit. If it could happen to me, it could equally happen to anyone else”.

Reaction from the South-West

If the above reactions from the people of the South-South are seen as a way of keeping their jobs, what can we say of that of an elected Senator from the South-West? In his own reaction to the mischievously damaging media propaganda from his region, a prominent Senator from the South-West, Professor Olusola Adeyeye had the following to say: “This rehash of the prominent positions held by Muslims in Nigeria is mischievous and quite unfortunate. It is the typical Nigerian game of chasing needless shadows rather than focusing on the arduous task of nation-building”.

He went further: “Until recently, some so-called Christians held commanding heights of the economic governance of our Republic. The Presidency, Headship of National Assembly, Secretary of Govt of the Federation, Head of Service, Ministry of Works, Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank, the NNPC, the Stock Exchange etc were headed by so-called Christians. Tragically, they reprobately superintended the profligate looting of our common patrimony. The lone voice of courageous warning belonged to a certified Muslim, Sanusi Lamido, who succeeded Soludo and was hounded for his courage to expose the cult of looters comprising so-called Christians”.

His Analysis

In his analysis, Senator Adeyeye stated as follows: “Yes, the metastasis of economic ruins in Nigeria was gestated by these Christians. They reduced Pentecostalism to a reprobate pente-rascality (sic) whereby the Dukes and knights of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria and the Christian Association of Nigeria became errand boys in the corridor of accursed political power. Their private jets were the conveyors of stolen money!”

“Tunde Fashola is a Muslim. He now heads what used to be three big ministries. Was he chosen because of his religion? He was chosen because of his track record!”

Prediction of Succour

“The dust will settle in Nigeria. Change will come despite predictable resistance from reactionary principalities and forces. Hackney references to issues that divide rather than unite us whether by Muslims or Christians, are age-long stumbling blocks to progress.

It really is a shame when well-educated Nigerians, whether Muslim or Christian, wobble themselves in religious intolerance. Unfortunately, the intolerance is nursed by some imams and pastors mouthing poorly considered facts. Even if seemingly compelling, facts degenerate into half-truths when they are placed, as is often the case, outside of proper context”.

“The toxicity of half-truths rarely emanates from the profligacy of falsehood but rather from the subtle distortion of truth! Blatant falsehood is intuitively obvious and as such easy to reject. By contrast, when truth is softly bent, it takes great discernment to perceive its toxicity.

The Constitution of Nigeria enshrines that every state must be represented in the Cabinet of the Federal Government. Even those of us who feel that this, by itself, creates a cabinet that is too unwieldy, must tolerate such a provision until our pluralistic, multi-ethnic and multi-religious republic evolves into organic nationhood. As such, whoever is the President of Nigeria must have a minimum of 36nMinisters”

Facts and Figures

Of the six ministers representing the Southwestern states, two

(Fashola from Lagos and Shittu from Oyo) are Muslims while four others (Adeosun from Ogun, Adewole from Osun, Fayemi from Ekiti and Daramola from Ondo) are Christians. All the five ministers from the Southeastern states are Christians as are all six ministers from the states of the south-south. In other words, of the 17 ministers from southern Nigeria, 15 are Christians while 2 are Muslims”.

Analysis on the North

According to Senator Adeyeye: “In the North-Central, Audu Ogbe from Benue, Solomon Dalong from Plateau, James Ocholi (now deceased) from Kogi are Christians. The remaining three ministers from that zone are Muslims. Even if all the ministers from Northeastern and Northwestern states are Muslims, we are left with a Federal cabinet comprising 18 Christians and 18 Muslims! We have a devout Muslim as President and a no less devout Christian as Vice President. The current composition of the Federal

Executive Council is one in which only liars will complain that Christians have been marginalized. When in the history of Nigeria has a traveling President transmitted power to the VICE PRESIDENT? That is what Buhari does each time he travels”.

The Legislature

Senator Adeyeye went further: “Now, let us move to the legislature. Of the 10 Principal Officers of the Nigerian Senate, only three (Saraki, Ndume and Na’alla) are Muslims! The remainder (Ekeremadu, Adeyeye, Alimikhena, Akpabio, Aduda, Bwacha and Olujimi) are Christians! Adeyeye and Bwacha are lay preachers. The House of Representatives is headed by a Christian. With such a composition, the Nigerian Legislature is not a place where

Christians can be said to be marginalized. In fact, few people realize that there are more Christians than Muslims in the Nigerian Senate”.

The Judiciary

And in his analysis of Nigerian Judiciary, Senator Adeyeye had this to say: “Now, let us go to the Judiciary. How many judges of the Supreme Court has Buhari appointed? The answer is Zero! Is it fair to blame him for appointments that predated his own election into office? The fear of God, the love of country and basic human decency dictate that we reject an amalgamation of intellectual sophistry with the dereliction of truth”.

“Unfortunately, it is quite easy for detractors to pick and choose their facts in a manner that allows malignant campaigns of calumny.

Professor Adeoye Adeniyi, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, was a deacon at Oritamefa Baptist Church Ibadan. He was the Chairman at my wedding. He was also our pediatrician. When he was leaving the University of Ibadan to head the College of Medicine at Ilorin in 1978/79, he handed Oluwatobi (our daughter) to a Moslem doctor in his Department. I asked him why he did not hand us to a Christian. Professor Adeniyi smiled and said, “you do not need a Baptist or for that matter a Christian doctor; you need a pediatrician who will respond even if you call after midnight! “May God guide our Muslim President aright as we wade through the fierce storms…”

The above facts and figures have spoken for themselves. What do the South-West media want?

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Osama is not a product of Pakistan or Afghanistan. He is a creation of America. Thanks to America, Osama is in every home (today). As a military man, I know you can never fight and win against someone who can shoot at you once and then run off and hide while you have to remain eternally on guard. You have to attack the source of your enemy’s strength. In America’s case, that’s not Osama or Saddam or anyone else. The enemy is ignorance. And the only way to defeat it is to build relationships with these people, to draw them into the modern world with education and business. Otherwise the fight will go on forever.” ¯ Greg Mortenson (Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace … One School at a Time)

Preamble

In about two months time, most Nigerian Journalists will begin, as usual, to mimic and chorus the voices of their Western ‘superior’ counterparts on the tragic occurrence of 9/11, 2001. Precisely, on the 11th day of the coming September, that event will be 15 years old. Ever since, so many statements and counter statements, disclosures and revelations as well as analyses and interpretations, have been advanced by people who are directly or indirectly connected to the incident. The thoughts and views of different people from different parts of the world on that incident have remained as diverse as the interests they represent.

Some (Nigerian non-Muslim) readers of ‘The Message’ column have queried the leaning of this columnist so much towards religion, particularly Islam. They have wondered why yours sincerely can hardly put pen to paper in this column without tilting towards Islam in one way or the other. That is like querying the snail on why it incessantly goes about with its inseparable shell.

Perhaps, it may be necessary to make a clarification here that there is no columnist in the world without a particular interest that he or she represents. Let the doubting readers of this column endeavour to verify this assertion and they will discover that every newspaper columnist or radio broadcaster represents an interest about which he or she is reflectively passionate. What matters in such cases is the necessary application of professionalism. After all, while this Islamic column called ‘The Message’ occupies only one page weekly in ‘The Nation’ newspaper to educate Nigerians about Islam, many other newspapers allocate about five pages or at least three pages to the propagation of Christianity and the Muslims are not complaining. That clearly shows where religious tolerance or intolerance lies.

Voice of the Voiceless

As a veteran Journalist and a devout Muslim, yours sincerely chose to represent (in Nigerian media) the voice of the voiceless majority who happens to be the Nigerian Muslims. And that is without any prejudice to the media activities of a retinue of non-Muslim professional colleagues who also represent the voices of the various religious denominations to which they belong in their faith. For any or some of such colleagues to want to intimidate or blackmail this columnist therefore is the height of professional absurdity. A pot must not tag a kettle black.

Nigerian Media’s Perception of Islam

In Nigeria, Islam is seen in the media from the perception of the non-Muslim Journalists who dominate the pen-pushing profession. Thus such Journalists see everything about Islam from their own biased perception as they often accuse the Muslims of practicing their religion against the expectations of the non-Muslims.

What most Nigerian Journalists refuse to understand is that Islam is neither a dogma like other religions nor a mundane ideology that can be manipulated at will. It is rather a divinely guided total way of life for all its committed adherents. Any misconduct of a Muslim therefore, does not equate Islam in any way. There are laws and there are law breakers everywhere in the world. To attribute the misconduct of certain Muslims to the fundamental norms of Islam is to deliberately exhibit mischief with impunity at its peak.

As an informed Muslim, I do not query the use of anybody’s column to defend or protect his or her interest, whatever that interest may be. And in the same token, I do not expect any civilized reader or fellow journalist to query my choice of interest. Doing so may not only connote irritating ignorance, it may also amount to implacable provocation or unwarranted aggression which in itself is a euphemism for fanatical intolerance.

You may not like my thoughts or views just as I may not like yours. But in as much as I do not accost you for holding your convinced views, you do not have any right to accost me for holding mine. That is the democratic norm to which every civilized modern person should adhere in a multi ethnic and multi religious society like Nigeria. It is the also the principle of fair play with which journalism should be practiced as a profession.

FBI’s Disclosure on 9/11

On Friday, June 10, 2016, the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released what can be termed as its concluding report on the 2001 disaster popularly known as 9/11. This can be found in Vol.52 Issue 22 of an American security journal called ‘The Onion’. Excerpts from the introduction to that report reads thus:

“…..After 15 years of broadly targeting the 3.3-million-member community and extensively monitoring its activities, the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) declared an end Friday to its surveillance of Muslim Americans, saying its exhaustive study of their beautiful culture was finally complete”.

Officials confirmed that the program was started in the fall of 2001 when federal agents, captivated by Islam’s complex history and rich spiritual traditions, redirected the full force of the bureau’s intelligence-gathering apparatus toward developing a more thoughtful, nuanced appreciation of the Muslim-American way of life. The Director of FBI, James B. Comey had the following to say recently when the latest report of the Bureau was about to be released:

“We’d always known Islam was one of the great world religions, but it wasn’t until we recruited a network of 15,000 informants and infiltrated mosques all over the country (US) that we came to understand just how magnificent and fascinating it truly is,” said FBI director James B. Comey, who noted that agents gained a valuable and eye-opening understanding of Islam—while also learning a lot about themselves and their own faith in the process—after entering the Muslim places of worship to collect as much information as they could on the intriguing personal beliefs of the religion’s followers. “After analyzing the transcripts of thousands of phone calls and intercepting the communications of prominent Muslim-American leaders and academics, we’ve really come to admire their vibrant culture.”

“The considerable amount of intel we’ve gathered and carefully pored over for the past 15 years has shown us that their faith and customs are really quite inspiring,” Comey added. “If there’s one thing we’ve taken away from all our surveillance, it’s what a glorious and enriching part of our world Islam is.”

Explanation

“According to sources within the bureau, the harvesting of internet data, widespread racial profiling, and the nationwide mapping of Muslim communities have allowed agents to closely observe the followers of Islam on an extremely personal level, thereby allowing them to develop a deep respect for the amazing ethnic and cultural diversity of the faith’s 1.6 billion believers, as well as the striking distinctions between the religion’s various sects, which, they stressed, went far beyond just Sunni and Shiite.

Remarking on all the information they had gathered, FBI officials emphasized that adherents of Islam speak dozens of beautiful languages—Arabic, but also Urdu, Pashto, Farsi, Bengali, Javanese, and many others—and noted that agents came to treasure this linguistic richness after installing recording devices throughout Muslim-American communities and then surreptitiously listening in on Qur’anic study groups, prayer sessions, and social events.

“Thanks to advances in video surveillance, we’ve been able to look inside Muslims’ homes and view some breathtaking calligraphy prints and hand-woven tapestries,” said former agent Casey Hanna, who fondly recalled assignments that allowed him to overhear moving recitations of the Hadith, which he was fascinated to learn come from an oral tradition and are considered to be the direct word of the Prophet Muhammad. “I went undercover in hundreds of Muslim-owned businesses and residences across the nation and was lucky enough to sample many variations on the aromatic stews and delectable desserts that serve as staples of halal cuisine—Arabian, North African, Indonesian. They were all delicious, and unlike anything I’d ever tasted.”

“I’ll never forget this one instance when I closely trailed a New York shop owner for three straight years—his coffee was just spectacular,” Hanna added. “Muslims were the first people to drink coffee, you know.”

Advanced Curiosity

“After realizing they could not fully nurture their curiosity by limiting their study to Muslims in the United States, the FBI reportedly enlisted the help of the NSA to find out more about the incredible religion. Between 2002 and 2008, the bureau is known to have monitored 7,485 email addresses around the globe in order to learn answers to their many questions about Muslims’ compelling lives and rituals, from why they don’t eat pork, to what Muslim holidays are like, to why some Muslim women wear garments that cover their heads while others don’t”.

Camey’s Revelation

The Director, J. B. Comey, told reporters that the FBI also received information from the CIA, whose enhanced interrogation techniques and clandestine intelligence-gathering methods yielded many interesting revelations from Muslim sources around the world, such as the fact that Arabs make up only 15 percent of the global Muslim population, and that through most of history, women in Islamic societies actually had more property rights than women in the West.

He said they thoroughly enjoyed studying “such a lovely people and such a lovely faith,” Comey explained that agents would often remove a Muslim citizen from their community and keep them detained for days, weeks, or even months on end to learn everything they could from them about Islam”.

“There’s no way I could remember the names of all the Muslim citizens that our agents brought in to discuss the beauty of Islam with one-on-one, but rest assured that with their help, the FBI has gained a deep and illuminating understanding of Islamic culture,” said Comey, who noted that by combing through thousands upon thousands of citizens’ banking records, agents discovered with astonishment how some observant Muslims set up special loan payment plans to avoid paying interest, as they consider it usury, which is forbidden under Sharia law”.

“It’s crazy to think about, but until little more than a decade ago, I had no idea there were Five Pillars of Islam that guided all Muslims’ spiritual lives. I also didn’t know anything about the multitude of Muslim contributions to mathematics and science that have been absolutely vital to the world. But that’s not to say they don’t value art, though. Poets like Rumi and Hafez drew upon mystical Sufist interpretations of the Qur’an to write verse that is every bit as sublime as, say, Keats or Coleridge. And don’t even get me started on the architecture.”

Comey’s Conclusion

In concluding the report of his team’s research and findings, FBI’s Director, James B. Comey told the American Muslims as follows:

“As this program sadly comes to an end, I just want to thank Muslim Americans from the bottom of my heart for teaching us all about your faith and your culture,” he continued. “We’ve learned so much about you over the years. More than you could possibly imagine.”

Observation

From the foregoing, it can be vividly deduced that contrary to general global belief, Muslim terrorism in the US is more hypothetical than real. In other words, it is more of media propaganda than physical disaster. Another vital report from an FBI data summarized the scenario as follows:

“Terrorism Is a Real Threat … But the Threat to the U.S. from Muslim Terrorists Has Been Exaggerated”

The above conclusion seems to have brought to an end the 20th century view of a British intellectual but deified poet, Rudyard Kipling who in one of his poems once stated as follows:

“…OH, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,“

Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;

But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth, When two strong men stand face to face, tho’ they come from the ends of the earth!” If that poem was sensible to the Europeans of the 20th century, it has surely become anachronistic to the Europeans of the 21st century. Today’s world is a global village in which no part can claim to be an island onto itself.

Conclusion

If it could take the well educated people of the United States a whole length of 15 years of rigorous research to understand Islam despite the involvement of experts in many areas of human endeavours, one can imagine the number of decades it will take half-educated Nigerians to even think of sitting down to study the divine religion called Islam. Nigerians are only good in copying from other countries either evil acts or satanic means of becoming rich as quickly as possible. The thought of emulating decency from other lands is alien to Nigerian so-called elite. But no matter how long it may take, reality will one day dawn on Nigerians about Islam as it is now beginning to dawn on Americans. Bitter as it may sound in the ears of Nigerian pessimistic bigots, America may soon become the voluntary haven of Islam with or without bigotry of the rest of the world, Nigeria inclusive.

The post 9/11: FBI’s Final Report appeared first on The Nation Nigeria.

Preamble

Voice of the Voiceless

Nigerian Media’s Perception of Islam

FBI’s Disclosure on 9/11

Explanation

Advanced Curiosity

Camey’s Revelation

Comey’s Conclusion

In concluding the report of his team’s research and findings, FBI’s Director, James B. Comey told the American Muslims as follows:

Observation

“Terrorism Is a Real Threat … But the Threat to the U.S. from Muslim Terrorists Has Been Exaggerated”

The above conclusion seems to have brought to an end the 20th century view of a British intellectual but deified poet, Rudyard Kipling who in one of his poems once stated as follows:

“…OH, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,“

Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;

Conclusion

The post 9/11: FBI’s Final Report appeared first on The Nation Nigeria.

Preamble

Experiences of life keep informing us of what people and institutions really are against what they are presumed to be. It is quite unfortunate that Africans especially Nigerians whose livelihood still depends heavily on the imitation of the misconduct of European colonialists without considering the implications of such imitation are the ones proclaiming civilisation in Nigeria’s contemporary times. The Yoruba elite of the Southwest of Nigeria are particularly guilty of this cultural bastardisation. They are the ones who believe that the ability to speak and write the colonial language called English is what constitutes civilisation. With the foreign languages permanently on their tongues, they have battered their African brains for European brains.

Unlike the Igbo people of Eastern Nigeria and the Hausa people of the North, the Yoruba elite have become a serious embarrassment to their cultural pedigree through the relegation of their linguistic heritage. To them, the legacy of their ancestral lineage is a primordial shame not worth to be called a modern heritage. Thus, in their homes as well as in their public and private discussions, the language of communication is invariably English. And whoever is incapable of speaking Queen’s English or writing Shakespearean prose is primitive and unfit to live in cities and towns. Watch out for an important occasion at the International Conference Centre of the University of Ibadan today and note the formal language of communication on that occasion.

It is, culturally, a laughable orientation attributable only to a tribe of black people who prefer to substitute their naturally endowed culture for that of the wild white people and thereby getting lost in the wilderness of cultural confusion. How can such people who are deeply engrossed in colonial mentality believe in the cultural emancipation of others? Today’s article is not meant for discussing the details of this fundamental aberration that chains a people to the apron of perpetual colonialism. Another day in the near future will do.

Appeal Court ruling in Lagos

Reactions of various colours and hues have been trailing last week’s ruling of the Appeal Court in Lagos State in respect of a litigation over hijab wearing in public schools by Muslim female pupils in that state. But every reaction seems to be an exhibition of antecedent and level of civility on the part of those who have been reacting to it. Last week’s ruling was not the first to be pronounced by a Nigerian court of competent jurisdiction concerning hijab wearing in public schools. It was preceded by a High Court ruling in the same state three years ago and we can still vividly remember the reactions that trailed it.

When a Lagos High Court ruling that prompted an appeal by the litigants in hijab case was pronounced in 2013, there were various reactions which have not lost on us. The affected Muslims, at that time, who got the wrong side of the judgment, did not bring fanaticism into it. They did not take the law into their hands by threatening fire and brimstone. Rather, they simply exhibited civility and adherence to the rule of law by appealing to a higher court. That is civilisation in all its ramifications.

Precedent

The unnecessary controversy over the right of wearing hijab in public schools by Muslim female pupils in those schools is not peculiar to Lagos State. A similar court pronouncement was made in an Osun State High Court recently and we know the reactions that trailed it. So we cannot be alarmed by any inflammatory reaction to last week’s ruling from any quarter since we are familiar with its trend as far as such quarters are concerned. The original aim of writing on this topic today is neither to celebrate any victory nor to vilify any recalcitrance. But to congratulate the Lagos State Muslims on their civilised behaviour throughout the period of the case and to further encourage them to stick to the upholding of the rule of law in all circumstances including one of unwarranted provocation.

Meanwhile, the outcome of that case has thrown open a fundamental question which had for long remained tacit. Who owns the public schools in Nigeria generally and in Lagos State in particular? This question becomes germane not because of last week’s ruling that was more about freedom of religion and dressing but because of the future of our children who may have cause to ask questions and want to get the relevant and appropriate answers. The fundamental question of ‘who owns the schools’ deserves a fundamental answer that may become a reference point for our children in future. Luckily, yours sincerely needed not labouring much before answering that question. A foremost Nigerian educationist of Yoruba extraction, Dr. Amiel M. Fagbulu (from Ilesa in Osun State) who incidentally happens to be a Christian has provided the right answer in his (unpublished) professorial book entitled ‘DEFINING THE FUTURE OF NIGERIAN EDUCATION’ which he wrote about November 2012. In chapter 2 of that book, Pa Fagbulu traced thoroughly the history of schools take-over in Nigeria. The chapter was titled ‘THE OWNERSHIP OF SCHOOLS IN NIGERIA’.

From the book

An excerpt from the book may be of useful reference to any intellectually endowed Nigerian who may be in need of such a reference now or in future. It goes thus:

“Certain events in recent days make it imperative to clarify the issue of who owns schools in Nigeria. This search is complicated by the antecedents that define the history and development of Western education in the country. It is useful therefore to open the search with a brief digression into the history of that type of education with the view of gaining an understanding of the forces that shaped their development from their inception till today.

It is pedestrian to repeat that Western-type education was an import of European missionaries and that the environment in which they propagated their type of education was entirely their personal or collective business, that is until government started meddling in the missionaries’ affairs. That movement started in England where some mainly rich do-gooders felt greatly concerned about the appalling conditions in which children of the poor worked and lived. Coupled with that was the horrendous imagery of the inhuman trade in slaves that filtered to these Christian countries to disturb the serenity of their conscience and awaken the humane elements in them that drove some to seek redemption in Christian deeds that included stopping the slave trade and making legal provisions to assist missionary schools at home and abroad. It must be acknowledged that saving the souls of those poor children was a professed and serious reason of those do-gooders who were so damn serious about that fixation that derived from the fervor of their religion.

Historical background

Education in England was not planned. Ordinances and education codes that were enacted as when needed were the main sources for policy formulation over a period of about 130 years from about 1820 to the time of Nigerian self-government. Some years after they were established and applied in England these bills, codes and ordinances found their way to the colonies where the colonial governments were obliged to adopt and apply them.

Concerned and interested missionary and other groups took the initiative to establish schools and government’s concern was that the purpose for which they were established should be fulfilled. This development implied that sufficient assistance needed to be given to the schools to ensure that they survive to fulfill their dual role of harboring those freed from slavery along the West Coast and providing skills that would serve more the needs of the missionaries than the provision of life skills for those who were lured to go to, and who stayed long enough at school. The children in these institutions provided the fodder for missionaries to use in order to benefit from the fiscal intervention of governments in the form of badly needed grants”.

Source of funds in public schools

“Whichever face one puts on it, the bottom line was that governments became the major sources of funds without which the missionaries would have to go begging at home or abroad. They never adopted the option of closing schools; they persevered and made do with whatever they had. Under those conditions ‘schools’ could sink to any depth of badness. It was to obviate that possibility that governments at home and in the colonies accepted responsibility for ensuring that what was offered to the children especially of the poor in England and the converted in Africa would at least be of some benefit to them. That was how government got dragged into the business of assisting schools.

The promise of grants-in-aid ensured that schools had reliable sources of funding if they attained defined standards. So the giving of grants was a crucial factor in the rate at which new schools were opened and old ones expanded or improved qualitatively. The fact that schools did desperate things to get listed for grants speaks the obvious that grants have always been the lifeline of almost all missionary schools.

We are lucky that the whole grants-in-aid saga is properly documented in the Phillipson Report. However, since that document is not widely available to the generality of people, I have taken the liberty to use some segment of my writings (Chapter 2 of my unpublished book DEFINING THE FUTURE OF NIGERIAN EDUCATION, November, 2012) here.

The Grants-in-aid Report

“This brief highlight is about the financial assistance that government gave to schools across West Africa as an instrument for improving the quality of instruction being offered to the children in those areas.

The first purely Nigerian Education Ordinance was enacted in 1887. The Board of Education that assumed prominence at this time was empowered to use certain criteria to give grants to different levels from infant, through primary and secondary, to industrial schools. The Board even had the discretion to offer the sum of £10 to poor students to further their education at the secondary level. This and most of what follows come from the Phillipson Report.

Phillipson Report

As early as 1890, the familiar problems arising from the use of untrained ‘teachers’ in schools had become pronounced and problematic. Not only did demand outstrip supply, but many areas that also wanted schools could not be serviced. The consequence was that government had to step in to fill some gaps by establishing its own schools in areas where missionary influence was negligible. By so doing those schools became ‘models’ for the fund-strapped mission schools to copy. (The Education Code of 1908)

There were therefore generically three types of schools; the government, the mission, and the assisted schools. Although the so-called government schools were government ‘owned’, the reality was that the local chiefs and Native Courts as appropriate were responsible for the buildings and their maintenance. In fact, the recurrent cost for which government was supposedly responsible was covered in part by public funds.

The 1916 Regulation abolished the ‘payment-by-result’ procedure of making grants to schools. That was replaced with a better one that took cognizance of the overall efficiency of schools. The immediate effect of this change was a rapid increase in the number of assisted schools. The carefully spelt-out conditions included visit(s) from inspectors. This in turn led to the increased and improved capability of the Department of Education to monitor the appalling and dubious quality of schools in the regions that the Governor-General had commented upon Important Information

What is of importance in this narrative is that from as long ago as 1887, public fund had gone into the running costs of assisted schools. Second, government had actually transferred some of its own schools to the missions in the mid-fifties of the 19th century as contained at p.24 of that very authoritative report. This information has been ignored or denied by the missions when government had cause to reverse this trend more than 80 years later when the grant-in-aid system was being grossly exploited and abused mainly by private proprietors.

After a thorough review of the grants-in-aid system which included one of the best documented and most authoritative writings on education for the period 1842 to 1946, Phillipson made his landmark and well received recommendations under the following heads (pp.93-98):

Division of the grants-in-aid vote
A national teaching profession
Separation scheme for non-Government certificated teachers
Staff and organisation of the Education Department in relation to the new grant-in-aid proposals
Procedure in connection with the report: implementation.

Documentation

He (Phillipson) then went out specifically to make the following recommendations (p.99):

That, in suitable areas and as an experiment, Native Administrations should be encouraged to introduce local education or school rates. (Paragraph 41 (b)).
That the Native Authority Ordinance, 1934, be amended so as to allow of local education or school rates being applied to the support of approved Voluntary Agency schools (Paragraph 41 (b)).

iii. That Grants-in-aid of the recurrent recognised expenses of schools and teacher training institutions under regulations 1 to 32 and 34 of the grant-in-aid regulation be classified as Nigerian expenditure and that grant-in-aid of capital and “special purposes” expenditure under regulation 33 should be classified as regional expenditure. (Paragraph 41(f)).

That, subject to further consideration in connection with the first allocations of revenue to the Regions due to take place in July next, the special vote ( E150,000 in the 1948-49) Estimates) for Northern Educational Development should also be classified as Nigerian expenditure.
That the provision in the Nigerian Estimates for grants-in-aid of recurrent recognised expenses of schools and teacher training institutions should constitute a division of the Nigeria Estimate under Head 32-Education, the arrangement being as proposed in Paragraph 48.
That the question of establishing national scales for certificated teachers, whether employed by the government, Native Administrations, Local Authorities or approved Voluntary Agencies, should be considered by the Director of Education in consultation with the authorities concerned.(paragraph 49)

vii. That the general procedure after the publication of this report should be as outlined in Paragraph 52

viii. That for the better administration of the scheme proposed, the Senior Service establishment of the Education Department should be strengthened, particularly at the Provincial level. (Paragraph 51)

That the method of payment of grants in aid of primary schools should be as outlined in paragraph 45 (n) and that action should be concerted accordingly between the Education Department and the Accountant-General’s Department as part of the work preparatory to bringing the regulations into effect on 1st January,1949.
That the Government should definitely accept liability for the retiring benefit of non-Government teachers under the proposed superannuation scheme. (Paragraph 50)

“The most relevant part of the Phillipson Report for the 1960s was that the question of establishing national scales for certificated teachers, whether employed by the government, Native Administrations, Local Authorities or approved Voluntary Agencies, should be considered by the Director of Education in consultation with the authorities concerned. (Paragraph 49).

Further details on the ownership of schools will be published in this column next Friday in sha’Allah.

The post Who owns the Schools? appeared first on The Nation Nigeria.

There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we (should) fail to protest (against injustice).” By Elie Wiesel

Preamble

This is one of the very rare occasions when this column, ‘The Message’, is compelled to serialise an article. The last time that such occurred was about seven years ago. That this article is being serialised now is a child of necessity. Ordinarily, professional Journalists who know their onions often strive to avoid serialisation of articles except if it becomes a necessity like on this occasion. Generally, serialisation of articles which often enables good readers to distinguish between professional journalists and mere writers has the tendency of leaving a sour taste in the mouth.

However, the seriousness of this article and the referential importance of its contents are the factors that necessitate its inevitable serialisation. Surely, some serious-minded readers of this column who are intellectually inclined will appreciate the assertion here especially when the implications of the Appeal court in Lagos on the related case vis a vis the provisions of Nigerian constitution is taken into consideration. The delicate case of hijab wearing by Muslim female pupils in public schools, whether in Lagos State or elsewhere, cannot be separated from the big but unnecessary question of who owns Nigerian public schools in the 21st century.

Problem of Diversity

One good thing about life generally is the ability of the phenomenon called environment to conveniently accommodate the positive angle of life along with the negative angle despite their seeming incompatibility. This means that diversity may not be an oddity after all. It may serve a more purposeful end than humanly perceived. Perhaps that is why the Almighty Allah created all living things in twins of males and females as well as in couples of colours and hues. Yet, despite their natural differences they manage to cohabit without any visible rancour.

Of all the creatures on earth, only human beings believe and emphasise the problem of incompatibility. At least we know that on a single farm land, all sorts of plants ranging from sugarcane to bitter leaf trees grow and cohabit without any visible rancour. And in the ecosystem, (forests or oceans) both the herbivours and carnivours coexist without threatening their habitats. It is only among human beings that the well fed rejoice in preventing the hungry ones from feeding even on remnants. With regard to this manifest situation, what is true of human beings in temporal life is equally true of them in spiritual life. Otherwise, how can some people who are claiming to be of faith insist on preventing others from covering their heads according to the tenets of their faith in a co-financed commonwealth affair when those of others do not prevent the half-naked ones from walking about in nudity despite the natural eyesore that the latter constitutes?

Genesis of schools takeover

According to Dr. Amiel M. Fagbulu (quoted copiously in the first leg of this article last Friday), “the take-over of schools has not been reported upon sufficiently for most people to understand the nefariousness and Machiavellian dimensions attached to it. To start with, it meant loss of income to some proprietors who were actually milking the people while pretending that they were magnanimously making sacrifices for them. Next is the falsehood that the governments did not pay compensation to proprietors. Another was that it was the federal government’s decree that made takeover final and legal. Last but not the least is that by retaining their names government had conceded that take-over was just in name alone. There are other false assumptions that will be dealt with as they are made”.

Fagbulu continues thus: “the takeover of schools was a final act of dissociation of former proprietors from ownership of their schools. The schools no longer belong to them. To talk of Muslim or Christian schools that are run with public funds is absolute nonsense. Any school that is run with public money is a public school. All others are private institutions at whatever level and by whatever name.”

The question of compensation

Also as a continuation of his expert treatise on education in Nigeria, Fagbulu further elucidated on the question of compensation for proprietors of old missionary and privately owned schools in Nigeria as follows: “the question of compensation was raised by the proprietors of most of the Christian- and Muslim-based schools. In the West (of Nigeria), the only bodies I clearly remember as handing over schools voluntarily and with no conditions attached were the Seventh Day Adventist group and Adeola Odutola who owned a fairly good secondary school at Ijebu-Ode. The noisiest ones were sole proprietors who individually owned schools. The discussions were preliminary and informal exchanges to advise both sides before the final decision was taken. The government of the Western State was glad to oblige but what silenced the demand were the conditions put to the proprietors based on government’s sense of fairness to the taxpayers whose funds had been utilised”. They were as follows:

“Proprietors would calculate their investment on all structures in the school including the land (x) which by the education laws of the time must be registered in perpetuity in the name of the school (at least in the West)
Proprietors would compute the total amount they had incurred in running the school from inception to date of takeover (y)
Proprietors would compile a list of the value of all gifts and donations the school had received (p)
Government would compile the value of all grants (general and special) that it had paid to the school up to the time of takeover (q).
Compensation to proprietors would be C = [(x + y) – (p + q)]”

Fagbulu’s personal comment

When the discerning proprietors among them did the Arithmetic and found out that they would be seriously indebted to government at the end of the exercise, they blinked and went silent. A funny footnote to the exercise was the demand of one or two proprietors who wanted to be paid for their ‘brand’ name. Government had no use for their names anyway and when they eventually lost, they pleaded with government to kindly retain those names, a demand which was graciously granted.”

His further comments

“Heritage has at least two dimensions. Your child can only make claims to what belongs to you. That is one form of heritage. The other like UNESCO’s heritage, relates to values. The pleasure derived from listening to Sonny Ade’s music or reading Achebe’s books are golden gems they have bequeathed to the world. Achebe collects his royalty forever, which means that it is a heritage of his children. We who acclaim and cherish the books are not beneficiaries of the pecuniary offerings. Similarly UNESCO helps preserve those monuments in Egypt say, but it is the Egyptian government and people that own the monuments. The government, when it took over schools took over the land, the structures on them, and the responsibility to continue to run schools. Those who are capitalising on Heritage can be assured that it is their’s to cherish and share with the world. They are free to do so.”

Analytical deduction

In his analytical deduction on the unwarranted controversy over the ownership of public schools in Nigeria, the Octogenarian education expert revealed an eye witness account as follows: “A few students imported the Dancing Club from the Higher College, Yaba to the University College, Ibadan. We started the Bug and later others started the original Cult that was not malevolent. They are part of the history of that institution. The good things keep going from generation to generation and those who cherish them regard them as part of things to be retained forever. Heritage in the sense people are talking about it will survive on its own if the generations want them. There is no law that new influences cannot add their own quota before they pass away. There is nothing stopping those being locked out today from leaving their imprints that will be cherished behind”.

He continued: “The form for the annual census of schools provides for three categories of ‘girls only’, ‘boys only’ and mixed schools. It is the responsibility of government to determine which of its public schools will be designated in any of the three categories. As a part of the process of development if it becomes necessary to alter the gender status of any school especially from a mixed to a single gender and vice-versa, it may be necessary to do some juggling of names. For instance a St. Agnes Girls’ School cannot become mixed and still retain its name. However it could become St. Agnes High School or something equally appropriate without much loss of identity. While the use of adjectives like Junior, Senior, Middle, High, and Primary are helpful indicators of level, those of gender like boy’s, girl’s, and mixed are pointless tautologies as names go. A St, Agnes should have no trouble ministering to both girls and boys, or doing whatever saints are supposed to do for both genders.”

Elderly advice

“Government should not exert any serious effort to take on the trivial exercise of changing the names of schools for the mere fun of it. There must however be rhyme and rhythm in naming schools. Changing the name of an institution will always generate some heat. University of Ife alumni protested to the heavens but UNIFE is today OAU and the heavens have not fallen. It should be possible to reconcile all views with no ulterior motives through dialogue.”

False claim

According to Pa Fagbulu, “the claim that the federal government enforced the takeover is false. Those who are old enough will remember that the exercise was not uniformly executed across the country. The Catholics put up a very tenacious resistance in the East and that slowed implementation. Some states only half-heartedly carried it out simply because Education has always been on the concurrent list and no central government could successfully enforce such a complex maneuver at a swoop even under the military. Decrees merely backed the intention of governments and the people who had spoken through Asabia.”

He went further thus: “One lingering and unfortunate consequence of the takeover of schools is the undeniable fact that standards of education have fallen over the years since the takeover. It is in no way a direct consequence of the proposal but one of implementation by government. In fact the takeover was to be a new beginning whereby the following would take place in the spirit of Adefarasin and Asabia (recommendations): “

All existing and new schools would be registered: that implied that the basic minimum requirements for providing good education would be provided in all schools irrespective of who was the proprietor. That would satisfy the demand of the NUT that all educational institutions should provide equal facilities for the children to learn and the teachers to teach
All schools would be bound by the same rules and treated equally when being assessed in respect of management, number and quality of staffing, and other areas that deal with the evaluation of the outcome of learning. I had the unpleasant duty of writing to the government of the Western State to give notice of closure in respect of the famous Government College, Ibadan of which I was by law the stand-in proprietor on behalf of the government, due to poor accommodation and general neglect. That decadence as it developed had shown that governments could default in providing fully for their schools and that any measure to avoid that unfortunate situation must be a corner-stone of any changes.
All schools would have properly constituted Boards of Governor to oversee the management of the schools as outlined in law. That body would be independent and good enough to get governments to act appropriately in funding schools.”

Naked truth

“At the primary school level in particular, the Local Education Authorities have been greatly handicapped to the extent that it is difficult to believe that they exist at all. The (naked) truth is that governments have increasingly been unable to fund education adequately and though the rates might have been perhaps slower, the rot would have set in anyway if even schools had not been taken over.”

Undeniable fact

Commenting on the recent hullaballoo over hijab and ownership of schools in Osun State, the sage observed as follows: “It is regrettable that a respected body like CAN can display so much ignorance in respect of education in Nigeria. To start with, the State of Osun like the rest of Nigeria cannot discriminate in the provision of educational facilities on the basis of gender or religion. Secondly CAN is operating from a false premise that some schools are Christian schools. All public schools belong to all the people irrespective of their religious beliefs.

“If we Christians want to have schools over which we will have full control, the constitution provides for that. Finally the history of the take-over of schools credited to Gowon is also false. The take-over of schools was a direct consequence of the Asabia Commission and I was the originator of the idea with my colleagues who served after me as advisers to that body.”

Reason for the brouhaha

“A main reason for that action was that the proprietors who received grants from government and fleeced parents through high fees made education very expensive. In spite of not investing their own money in education they failed to pay teachers on time if at all; they tyrannised teachers; they even went as far as not promoting teachers on merit especially if those teachers belonged to other denominations. CAN should please do its research and acknowledge that Adefarasin emancipated teachers and Asabia, its sub-committee recommended the procedures for achieving that end, If CAN needs being educated on this issue, I will oblige. In the meantime, it should stop spreading falsehood. Aregbesola may or may not be guilty of wanting to Islamise Osun; that is not my concern here. Accusing him of using education is however not true.”

Conclusion

Concluding, Dr. Fagbulu said: “it should be reiterated that public schools belong to the people and that government as the representative of the people has the responsibility to determine the future of education and the direction and shape schools take. There is no problem of education that cannot be solved through dialogue if those involved are sincere and have no hidden agenda. And for the sake of our children, let us take interest in education and make constructive inputs. Government should take the lead and we should walk and work with it all the way.”

The post Who owns the schools? II appeared first on The Nation Nigeria.

Preamble

This is the season of Hajj. It comes up in the month of Dhul Hijjah every year. Hajj means aspiration towards a higher pedestal in spirituality. It is, divinely, a pillar of Islam made obligatory by Allah for Muslims who can afford it once in a lifetime. Hajj is an ordained pilgrimage and not a mere tourism. Thus, the visa issued to Muslims who perform Hajj annually is that of pilgrimage and not one of tourism. Whilst pilgrimage is a spiritual exercise, tourism is a pleasurable journey.

Similitude of Hajj

The similitude of Hajj in the life of a Muslim is like that of pregnancy in the womb of an expectant mother. The experience may vary from woman to woman as the foetus in the womb undergoes various stages of development before it reaches the stage of delivery. By the time the child is finally delivered, the mother feels a relief of her life while the child assumes a tabula rasa (clean slate) that makes him absolutely innocent.

Spiritually, a pilgrim is like a newly born baby if he strictly performs Hajj as prescribed by Allah. But if he returns into the world of vanity after Hajj, he automatically becomes like a person in snow-white attire who finds himself in a palm oil market. Unless he spiritually guides his loins, he may immediately become a tainted person both in body and in soul.

Rigours of Hajj

Muslim pilgrims who are going on Hajj must be prepared to go through series of rigour both spiritually and physically. The rigour of getting the money with which to perform Hajj; the rigour of getting the travelling documents including visa; the rigour of taking care of the home front before embarking on the Holy journey; the rigour of boarding the plane with a sense of high risk; the rigour of going through the security checks at the embarkation point at the home of residence as well as the disembarkation point in Saudi Arabia; the rigour of performing the Tawaf and Sa’y; the rigour of moving from Makkah to Mina on the 8th day of Dhul-Hijjah, then to Arafah on the 9th day of Dhul-Hijjah, and back to Mina via Muzdalifah on the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah; the rigour of locating the tents at Arafah; the rigour of throwing the pebbles at the Jamrat in Mina on the three or four days known as Ayamu-t-Tashrik; The rigour of performing Tawaful Ifadah at the Sanctuary in Makkah after the first day of throwing the pebbles; the rigour of shaving the head (by men) and slaughtering the rams by all; the rigour of performing the farewell circumambulation otherwise known as Tawaful Wida‘i, all in the midst of millions of people can be too much to forget easily after Hajj.

Whoever is not bothered by the money spent on Hajj should at least be bothered by the various stages of the rigour involved including that of visiting Madinah. To lose all these to the forces of Satan after Hajj is like losing one’s travelling passport after obtaining visa. The prayer of every genuine pilgrim is to retain the validity of Hajj forever.

Conditions for Hajj performance

Performance of pilgrimage must be based on certain fundamental conditions. These include genuine intention and high spiritual standard. An intending pilgrim must have attained puberty. He must have been an ardent practitioner of the first four pillars of Islam: (Salat, Zakah, and Sawm) all of which are fervently based on faith (Iman). Hajj without these pre-requisites is like a tree without roots. Money is a major pre-requisite for Hajj but it is not absolute.

Hajj, the last pillar of Islam shows very vividly, the similitude of what mankind will experience on the Day of Judgment. Looking at the unique way in which pilgrims dress for Hajj and how they assemble at Arafat leaving their luggage behind in Makkah, one will realize how ephemeral this world is.

Purpose of Hajj

The various stages of preparation through which pilgrims pass before arriving at Arafat are symbolic of our peregrinations in life as human beings. Like the Day of Judgment, Arafat is the climax of Hajj performance. Anybody who misses Arafat misses Hajj. But Arafat is not by physical appearance alone. It takes a combination of factors to participate effectively in that great assembly which serves as the climax of Hajj.

For Hajj to serve its spiritual purpose in the life of a pilgrim, certain steps must be taken before leaving home. They are as follows:

Fine-tuning the first four pillars of

Islam very sincerely

Packaging the intention to perform Hajj
Ascertaining the security of the way
Providing adequately for the family and dependants at home
Paying all outstanding debts including promises
Ascertaining the condition of health
Perfecting immigration procedures
Undergoing all necessary medical ser vices including inoculation
Assuming a mood of humility like that

of a servant approaching his Master

Readiness to endure hardship and to

tolerate fellow pilgrims’ attitudes.

Admonition

While admonishing Muslims on spiritual journey including Hajj Prophet Muhammad once said: “Actions shall be judged according to intentions. Whoever embarks on a spiritual journey for the sake of Allah will be adjudged on that basis. And whoever bases his/her intention for pilgrimage on marriage or material gains should not expect any reward beyond that for which the intention is based”. The steps to follow in the performance of Hajj are as follows:

The Miqat

Miqat is the specified place for the wearing of Ihram dress. There are five of such places in all. But the one earmarked for pilgrims from Nigeria cannot be reached by pilgrims travelling by air. It is over-flown while crossing the Red Sea. What most Nigerians do therefore is to wear their Ihram dress in Jeddah which has now been adjudged right through a Fatwah. Thus, Nigerian pilgrims can now wear their Ihram dress on arrival at the pilgrims’ airport in Jeddah. However, pilgrims whose first destination in Saudi Arabia is Madinah have no problem with Miqat. Such pilgrims should just wear their Ihram dresses at the Miqat in Madinat.

Tawaful-Qudum

Tawaf means circumambulation of the Ka’bah. The very first Tawaf to be performed by any pilgrim on entering Makkah is called Tawaful Qudum (meaning welcoming circumambulation). It is performed before a pilgrim settles down in any residence. Tawaful Qudum is an obligatory Sunnah from which only residents of Makkah among pilgrims are exempted.

Residence in Makkah or Madinah

Most Nigerian pilgrims often seek their accommodations in Makkah or Madinah close to the Haram. This is to enable them to walk to from the Haram conveniently at the time of any Salat. To minimise pilgrims’ regular occurrence of missing their ways, they are provided with hand bands bearing the addresses of their residences. Pilgrims are therefore advised to wear such bands at all times to enable them show it to either the official Saudi Hajj guides or Saudi policemen when the road is missed. It is also important for pilgrims to always be with their identity cards provided by Nigerian Pilgrims’ Commission or private agents. This is to enable them to be identified in case of sickness, accident or even death.

Movement to Mina

Pilgrims’ statutory movement to Mina is on the 8th of Dhul Hijjah. Such pilgrims must spend the night of the 8th of Dhul-Hijjah in Mina where they must observe Salatus-Subhi of the 9th day of Dhul Hijjah which is Arafah Day before proceeding to the Plain of Arafah. Pilgrims must be ready to undergo some rigour in the process of moving to Mina from Makkah. The rigour which normally affects all pilgrims is engendered by limited time available for millions of pilgrims who must move to that spiritual camp before the sunset on the day preceding Arafah day. Such movement must commence from Makkah and after Tawaful Qudum. There is movement to Mina from Madinah since there is no Tawaf in Madinah.

The Day of Arafah

All pilgrims proceed to the Plain of Arafat are advised to stay under their tents and concentrate on the spiritual activities that take them to the place. They must reach Arafat not later than mid day when Salatu-d-Dhuhr and ‘Asr should be observed combined. Anybody who is not at Arafat by mid day is considered not to have taken part in the assembly and therefore missed Hajj.

Immediately after observing the combined Salatu-d-Dhuhr and ‘Asr the Imam who led the two Salat is expected to give a sermon. Listening to such sermon is as compulsory as giving it by the Imam. The great assembly of Arafat terminates shortly before sunset (Magrib) while the pilgrims return to Mina via Muzdalifah.

Muzdalifah

At Muzdalifah, pilgrims are expected to halt their journey to observe Magrib and ‘Ishai combined. They are also expected to pass the night there and observe the Salat-s-Subh of the following day before proceeding to Mina. Muzdalifah is adjacent to Mina and a walking distance to the Jamrat (the stonning place).

Jamrat

Stoning of the devils (Rajmu Jamrat) begins a day after Arafat and continues for the next three or four days that the pilgrims are supposed to spend at Mina. This exercise is obligatory and without it Hajj is considered incomplete except when and where a pilgrim is hindered by certain inevitable conditions. There are three points at which stones are to be thrown. Seven pebbles are to be thrown at each point on every one of the three or four days to be spent in Mina.

While going for the pebble-throwing exercise, pilgrims are advised to take their pebbles along with them. On the first day of stone throwing, only seven stones are thrown at only one spot. On the subsequent three or four days, pilgrims are required to throw twenty one pebbles each day with seven stones thrown at each of the three spots provided. These amout to 21 stones each day.

Picking such pebbles at the point of throwing them is forbidden. All pebbles must have been picked before leaving the tent for the ‘Jamrat’ or on the way to the ‘Jamrat’. For pilgrims who deside to spend three days in Mina, the total number of pebbles to be thrown is 49 (7 for the first day, 21 for the second day and 21 for the third day). For pilgrims who choose to spend four days, the total number of pebbles to be thrown is 70.

Majzarah (Abattoir)

Slaughtering of all sacrificial animals is done at the abattoir in Mina. Pilgrims do not need to bother themselves by going to the abattoir for the purpose of carrying out this compulsory obligation. They can simply buy the guaranteed ticket sold by designated Saudi agents. The ticket is the evidence that one has performed that duty. The slaughtering is done on behalves of the pilgrims by some authorised artisans who are paid by the Saudi Hajj authorities from the money paid for those animals. The animals to be slaughtered at Jamrat range from rams to camels. A pilgrim should slaughter one ram or more while seven pilgrims may combine to slaughter one camel or five of them may jointly slaughter on cow.

Tawaful Ifadah

For pilgrims who can afford to go to Makkah after throwing the first seven pebbles, it is good to perform Tawaf-ul-Ifadah. For those who cannot, the exercise can be deferred till the end of Tashrik. Pilgrims who have performed Tawaf-ul-Ifadah are free to shave their heads and change from their Ihram dress into civil or traditional dresses.

The only reason for any pilgrim to go to Makkah from Mina during the camping period is to perform Tawaf-ul-Ifadah. No pilgrim should break camping rule by going to Makkah without performing Tawaf-ul- Ifadah. And after performing Tawaful Ifadah, no pilgrim should remain in Makkah or elsewhere without returning to Mina before sunset.

With the completion of the camping days in Mina which is climaxed with Tawaful-Ifadah and the arrival of all the pilgrims in Makkah, Hajj has been completed except for Tawaf Wida‘i otherwise called farewell Tawaf. That Tawaf is also obligatory.

It is then left for pilgrims to decide whether or not to go to Madinah. Visiting the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah is not obligatory. But it will be spiritually odd for any pilgrim to choose not to visit the Prophet’s Mosque before or after performing Hajj in Makkah and its environs.

Conclusion

Throughout the Hajj exercise, what should be uppermost in the mind of a pilgrim is the spiritual benefit. Hajj is made compulsory only once in a life’s time for those who have the wherewithal to undergo it and can satisfy the conditions attached to its performance.

On arriving home finally, pilgrims are not expected to start organizing parties in celebration of a successful Hajj performance as ignorantly done by some Nigerians. Maintaining Hajj is a necessity for those who know the value of doing that. Whoever is privileged to perform Hajj once should forever be grateful to Allah as no one is sure of getting another chance.

The post Details of Hajj appeared first on The Nation Nigeria.

Preamble

Habits die hard. They come with human nature and grow with human nature. They are the symbolic traits with which human personalities are identified and labeled in any society. Great people are known, not by the mighty castles in which they live or the sizes of cars they ride on roads or even the power of oratory they possess. What rather makes some people great in the sight of their fellow human beings is the conduct by which they relate with others as well as the footprint they leave on the sands of time at the point of their departure. The true greatness of any human being is permanently encapsulated in the pearl of humility rather than in the cave of vanity. The one is indelible. The other is ephemeral.

Habits of great People

Philosophers believe that humble people are invariably characterised by certain distinct habits which are manifest in them. Some of such habits can be summarised as follows:

They are consciously aware of the situations around them.
They retain their relationships with others without minding the differences in their habits. •They make difficult decisions with ease and stand by them.
They put others first in their consideration. 5. They listen patiently but with rap attention when others are talking.
They exemplify endurance with maturity.
They talk only when necessary and give room for others to express their views.
They are far from domineering despite the giving hands with which they are endowed.
Above all, they radiate the fear of Allah in their judgments on issues and in their lifestyles.

Which of the above listed habits is not manifest in the newly elected Deputy President-General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, His Excellency, Alhaji (Dr) Sakariyau Olayiwola Babalola OON?

For those who know him closely, none of those habits can be faulted. His election to the second highest position in the apex Islamic body in Nigeria is a confirmation of the pure intention with which the Muslim Ummah of the South-west Nigeria (MUSWEN) was established a few years ago. Nothing can better depict Allah’s guidance in the choice of leadership in MUSWEN than the replacement of humility personified (Aare Arisekola) with humility personified (Dr. S. O. Babalola).

Clarification

By the way, it is necessary to clarify here once again that the election of the late Aare Abdul Azeez Arisekola-Alao as NSCIA Deputy President-General was not because he was Aare Musulumi of Yoruba Land. It was rather due to his unsurpassed role in the NSCIA for years as recognised by the apex Islamic body and his well known humility. The title of Aare Musulumi of Yoruba Land is regional and peculiar to the League of Imams and Alfas in the South-west Region which initiated it and appoints the conferee. On the other hand, the post of Deputy President-General is national and appoint-able only by the NSCIA without any recourse to the League of Imams and Alfas of South-west. In a nutshell, the one has no direct bearing with the other.

Happiness and Solidarity

To show happiness and solidarity with Dr Babalola as the new NSCIA Deputy President-General, many Muslims, men and women bombarded the ‘Message Column’ with a deluge of congratulatory messages and felicitations some of which could only be accommodated here today. Others will be published later. They are as follows:

Chairman, MUSWEN’s BOT

On behalf of the Muslim Ummah of South-West Nigeria (MUSWEN), I heartily congratulate the NSCIA President-General, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar and the entire Muslim Ummah of Nigeria on the laudable election of our amiable Chief S. O. Babalola as Deputy President-General of the apex Islamic body in Nigeria. I pray the Almighty Allah to make the great task easy for him.

Prince Bola Abdul-Jabbar Ajibola, Chairman, BOT, MUSWEN.

Lagos State FOMWAN

On behalf of all Muslim women in Lagos State, I wish to congratulate Alhaji Babalola on his appointment as NSCIA Deputy President-General. May Allah give him the strength and wisdom to carry out his duties in the new office. Congratulations Sir!

Dr Ajoke Sariyu Ashiru, Amirah, FOMWAN, Lagos State.

Osun State Muslim Community

The entire members of Osun State Muslim Community congratulates our father, Alhaji Babalola on your well deserved appointment at NSCIA General Assembly/NEC meeting in Benin, Edo State. Baba, we are proud to identify with you in your wonderful dedication to Islam and inspiring insight into the general well being of world-wide and Nigeria in particular. We wish you many more years of greater achievements.

Alhaji Mustafa Olawuyi, 1st Vice-President, Osun State Muslim Community.

Ondo State Muslim Community

The entire members of Ondo State NSCIA and my humble self congratulate Alhaji Babalola on his well deserved elevation. It is a round peg in a round hole. I pray Allah to give Baba long life with good health to lift Islam to higher pedestal.

Imam Habibullahi Akinpelu, Chairman, NSCIA, Ondo State.

FOMWAN, Ondo State

I hereby join others to in congratulating our Baba. May Allah see him through in playing a leading role in piloting the Muslim Ummah in Nigeria.

Alhaja Faosat Aliu, Amirah, FOMWAN, Ondo State.

Ekiti Muslim Community

The Ekiti Council of NSCIA felicitates with Alhaji Babalola on his election. The cap really fits the man who has demonstrated his love and commitment to Islam with his wealth, time, energy and experience. All of us in Ekiti State pray that Allah will grant him a successful tenure.

Alhaji Y. O. Sanni (President); Alhaji Tajudeen Adejumo (General Secretary)

Oyo State Muslim Community

The muslim Community of Oyo State (MUSCOYS) hereby felicitates with Dr. S. O. Babalola on his election as Deputy President-General of the NSCIA. May the Almighty Allah grant him wisdom and other wherewithal with which to guide and guard the Ummah as he has been doing on the path of glory.

Alhaji Ishaq Kunle Sanni, Chairman, Oyo State Muslim Community.

NACOMYO

The leadership of Southern Zone of NACOMYO congratulates Alhaji Babalola on his election. If his antecedent is anything to go by and his performance as MUSWEN President, he is no doubt a right choice for the new position. He together with other leaders can take the Ummah to the next level.

“And holdfast to the cord of Allah and do not be disunited…” (Q. 3: 103). We advise the new Deputy President-General to bring all groups together including youths.

Alhaji Mustapha Balogun, Chairman/NVP2 Southern Zone

UNIFEMGA

The Obafemi Awolowo University Muslim Graduates Association (UNIFEMGA) heartily congratulates Dr Babalola on his election. May Allah elongate his life and bless him with good health to be able to shoulder the responsibility. Engineer Abdul Waheed Olayimka, President, UNIFEMGA

MURIC

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) congratulates Alhaji Babalola. It is a well deserved post. We have no doubt that the Ummah will benefit from his wide experience and immense philanthropy.

Prof Ishaq Lakin Akintola

MUSWEN’s Finance Committee

We thank Allah for His favours and blessings on the Muslim Community in Nigeria. Congratulations to our indefatigable Baba S. O. Babalola on his election.

Alhaji Rafiu Ebiti, Chairman, Finance Committee, MUSWEN.

MUSWEN’s Shura Committee

My dear brothers and sisters, let us rally round Alhaji Babalola and give him our maximum support towards a successful tenure in this laudable assignment which Allah has just given him. May Allah grant him wisdom, patience and increase him in knowledge with which he canrun the office.

Imam Sulaiman Titilope, Chairman Shura Committee, MUSWEN

MUSWEN’s Education Committee

This is to heartily congratulate an inspirational leader, a great philanthropist and a devout Muslim, Alh Babalola on his election . Considering his antecedent and pedigree, you very well deserve this position. With you occupying the position, the Muslim Ummah is sure to witness peace and harmony in Nigeria. May Allah strengthen you to be able to achieve more for Islam in Nigeria.

Prof. Muhib Opeloye, Chairman, Education Committee, MUSWEN.

MUSWEN’s Health Committee

The election of Alhaji Babalola, the visionary President of MUSWEN is a well deserved honour. It is our belief that Alhaji Babalola will add value to the body. May Allah (SWT) reinforce his Iman and give him the wisdom, patience and good health to make a success of Allah’s grace on him.

Professor and Dr. Lateefah Durosinmi, Chairman, Health Committee of MUSWEN & former National Amirah of FOMWAN respectively. (Both are also members of MUSWEN’s CWC).

MUSWEN’s Planning & Strategy Committee

The entire members of Planning & Strategy Committee of MUSWEN congratulates our President, Alhaji Babalola . We equally congratulate His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of NSCIA for the gift of an able hand to assist him. May Allah (SWT) provide the duo and all members of NSCIA NEC the enablement to accomplish the task of propelling Islam to greater heights.

Aare Sulaiman Afolabi Ogunlayi, Chairman, Planing & Strategy Committee

IET

Alhmdu Lillah! The election of Alhaji Babalola is another welcome case of a round peg in a round hole in the Council’s recent appointments. His dedication to the Ummah is palpable and all he needs is the Dua’au of every member of the Ummah that Allah (SWT) grants him every success in the post.

Abullah Jibril Oyekan, former IET Director and member, CWC, MUSWEN

MMPN

On behalf of Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN), I hereby felicitate with our father, Dr Babalola on his new election. We in MMPN have seen you, through your pedigree, with listening ears who practices what he preaches as you have demonstrated as the President of MUSWEN. We herby assure you of our full cooperation and support in the discharge of your national duty as we pray Allah to continue to strengthen you in health and faith.

Alh. Abdur-Rahman Balogun, President, MMPN

TMC

It is not surprising that the nomination of Alhaji Babalola was met with overwhelming and resounding support from all Islamic organisations and eminent personalities at the recent NSCIA General Assembly/National Executive (NEC) meeting held in Benin, Edo State. No matter how big a crowd may be, Alhaji Babalola always stands out because of untiring charitable support service to Islam and humanity. You worked hard, you deserve it and you are unsolicited. Please, accept the felicitations of ‘The Muslim Congress (TMC) on this wonderful and well-deserved recognition to serve Allah and His course. May Allah strengthen and guide you always.

Dr. Luqman AbdurRaheem, Amir, TMC.

MSSN Lagos State Area Unit

We rejoice with Alhaji Babalola and wish him a successful tenure. We have no doubt that you would bring positive changes to the apex Islamic body in Nigeria.

It is our expectation that you would complement the efforts of your predecessor (the late Arisekola Alao) and that of the NSCIA Secretary-General, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede in ensuring the rights of Muslims are guaranteed and not trampled upon in South west.

We appeal to you to be a voice against oppression of Muslims in your region and Nigeria at large.

Saheed Ashafa, Amir MSSN Lagos State Area Unit

The post The NSCIA’s Deputy President-General appeared first on The Nation Nigeria.

Preamble

To some people, the number of years spent on earth matters much more than anything else. To some others, life is not much about longevity as it is about quality. Believers in the earlier concept ensure the yearly celebration of their birthdays even if there is no success accorded to it.

On the other hand, those who think more of qualitative and meaningful life often see celebration of birthdays as a mere social anathema signifying an unnecessary aristocracy of birth against the necessary aristocracy of intellect which they perceive as the propeller of human growth and development. Mostly, women belong to the earlier concept.

It was against the background of this analysis that Nigeria’s first President, the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe wrote in the introduction to his autobiography entitled ‘My Odyssey’ thus: “Man comes into the world and while he lives, he embarks upon a series of activities absorbing experience which enables him to formulate a philosophy of life and to chart his causes of actions. But then, he dies. Nevertheless, his biography remains a guide to those of the living who may need guidance either as a warning on the vanity of human wishes or as encouragement or both”. Human life is a pilgrimage from the unknown to the unknown. No one knows whence he emanated or whither he is bound. The greatest philosophy of life should be to live for the benefit of others as much as one lives for the benefit of self. And that is what philosophers call a footprint on the sands of time.

This article would have been published in this column last Friday. But yours sincerely was not available either in the country or at any settled place to be able to put pen to paper and add a voice to those of the pros or cons. However, since an occasion like this is a platform for history to which contribution can be made promptly or deferred, it can never be too late for ‘The Message’ to be a contributor to this golden honour hence this humble addition.

Not his birthday

A few days ago, precisely on August 24, 2016, Nigerian media were fully awash with greetings and congratulatory messages to His Eminence, Dr. Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA). The day was supposed to coincide with his 60th birthday. But unknown to most people who tried to help him celebrate the occasion, His Eminence would rather celebrate achievement than mere birth date. That is the school of thought to which he belongs. Though, he is of royal blood, his assumption of the exalted royal throne of the Sokoto Caliphate ten years ago (2006) at the age of 50 was not due to his birth per se but to the evident achievements of his intellectual being as an intellectual entity. And the impact of his fatherly royalty as well as his competent leadership of Nigerian Muslim Ummah in the past one decade has been unprecedentedly historic. This Sultan does not celebrate birthdays because he does not believe in the aristocracy of birth but that that of intellect. However, he does not deprive those who want to celebrate it for him of their right to do so.

Point of reference

When His Eminence was seven years on the throne in 2013, yours sincerely wrote an article about his leadership style in this column which remains as current today as it was then. Thus, the article is repeated here for the records. Please, read on:

“In every crowd of horizontal men, there is always one vertical man who deserves honour not much because of his vertical position but because of the significant difference which that position makes to the crowd. History and man are like Siamese twins or a pair of scissors. The one cannot do without the other. History makes man just as man makes history. And their symbiotic relationship ensures that reciprocal baton of substance continues to change hands between them for as long as they remain in existence”.

“Ten years ago, in Nigeria, an innocent human crescent lay hidden in the firmament of the orbit waiting to be sighted before prompting Nigerian Muslim Ummah into a united folk. That crescent is the towering personality generally known today as the SULTAN. The gentleman’s name did not ring any bell in Nigeria before he was named and crowned ‘THE SULTAN OF SOKOTO’ in November 2006.

Thus, the emergence of Brigadier General Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar (rtd.) as the successor to the exalted throne of the great Sokoto Empire without any controversy came as a surprise to many Nigerians. At 50 years of age then, many people thought that he was one of the youngest men to become the Sultan in many decades. But he disagreed with such a suggestion as he recalled that his own father, Sultan Abubakar Sadiq III who was demised in 1988 ascended the throne at the age of 37.

With a sound military background and a diplomatic pedigree facilitated by modern travelling exposure, since coming into office, this Sultan has consistently demonstrated a rare royal leadership depicting him as a millennial royal Captain divinely designated to pilot the affairs of Islam and the Muslim Ummah in Nigeria with great success. Some random peripheral but irrelevant noises about him and his office by certain relevance seekers do not make any difference in this case. After all, a trillion dogs may line up on a railway to bark at a surging train and that can never halt its surge.

Philosophers’ assertion

Philosophers who assert that every new century has a way of producing a great leader may be right after all. The example of Sultan Abubakar is a manifest attestation to that assertion. Ever since he assumed the exalted royal office about a decade ago, this gentleman has convincingly exemplified all the qualities of genuine leadership. Every statement he has made socially, religiously or politically and every action he has taken officially or privately has proved to be a school from which all well-meaning people have learnt one lesson or another.

As Chancellor

Five years after his assumption of office, the symbiotic relationship of history and man was reconfirmed in Zaria, on Wednesday, (November 23, 2011), where a galaxy of well-meaning men and women from all walks of life assembled to say “we are here to bear witness”. That was the day His Eminence was installed as the CHANCELLOR OF AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA. The occasion was just one of many laurels accruing to him since he assumed office as Sultan. Before then, he had been the Chancellor of the University of Benin. But none of these matters to him as much as his service to humanity. Besides building a very solid bridge across Nigeria in all strata, this Sultan has significantly reduced the once dominant tribal tendencies to the barest minimum.

Definition of leadership

A onetime American President, Harry S. Truman (1884-1972), once described a leader as “a man who has the ability to get other people to do what they don’t want to do and like it”. By his activities and functions so far, Sultan Abubakar has proved Truman right by demonstrating to Nigerian Muslim Ummah that the time has come for the reformation not only of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) but also the Sultanate.

When he assumed office in 2006, he hinted that the Sultanate would be put on the internet to enable all educated Muslims have access to their leader. And in this age of computer, can anyone meaningfully lay claim to any serious knowledge without adequate access to the internet? That is why he decided to start the reformation of the Sultanate through the instrumentality of the internet. And as an exemplary leader, he demonstrates his leadership prowess by possessing mastering fingers on the computer.

Islam’s first law

In Islam, education is the first law. It is only through it that man can understand life in all its ramifications. That was why Allah’s very first revelation to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) ordained education thus: “Read in the name of Allah who created; He created man from clots of congealed blood; Read! Your Lord is the Most Bountiful One, Who taught man by the pen; He taught man what he did not know…”Q. 96:1-4. To further emphasize the compelling need for education in Islam, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was reported to have said in one Hadith that “knowledge is a lost treasure. Muslims should look for it and pick it wherever they could find it”.

Without education there can be no information. And without information there can be no progress. That is why the Sultan started his reformation of the Sultanate from the premise of education. It is only with education that most problems in this world can be solved without much ado. Sultan Abubakar also believes that education without social harmony is like a virtue without value and that there can be no harmony in a society where people are overwhelmed by ignorance and penury as is the case in Nigeria. Thus, he has consistently focused on both. Perhaps that was why he initiated many educational programmes including the scholarships for female Muslim medical students in the South-West Nigeria being managed by the Muslim Ummah of that region (MUSWEN).

At his installation as the Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University five years ago, Sultan Abubakar told the crowd that the current socio-economic indices in Nigeria were a clear indication that the country had begun to drift. He lamented the nation’s unprecedented underdevelopment despite the enormous resources with which Nigeria was endowed. Today, the situation that warranted his lamentation has become more manifest.

About corruption

In His Eminence’s words: “Corruption has emasculated our progress even as poverty and unemployment have pushed Nigerian citizens to the brinks, fuelling and confounding social conflicts even as inter-communal crises have extracted heavy toll in both human lives and property”. He went further to say that: “Persistent insecurity has generated panic and anxiety; our social and physical infrastructures are far from meeting the needs of the nation; the country appears to be adrift and at the core of all these is moral decay engendered by ignorance and greed.”

Tertiary education

At the same occasion, His Eminence also noted that “the reform of the tertiary education sector could not be effective without putting in place, the progressive developments required in the basic and senior secondary education sectors. He insisted that “our state governments, especially those of the North, must begin to realize the enormity of the challenges facing the education sector and take urgent and necessary steps to address these challenges.” He lauded the founding fathers of ABU, especially, the late Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, and urged the authorities of the ABU to continue to abide by the cardinal principles on which the institution was founded.

That is the renascent Sultan for you, a man who is at the topmost echelon of the tree of comfort but feels so much concerned about the plight of the peasants who are deliberately consigned to the weeding of the shrubs without any hope in the official policies. He has never relented in his advocacy for good governance and denunciation of corruption and religious intolerance.

As a guest of CAN

When he was invited in January 2010 as a Special Guest of Honour to a religious seminar organized by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) with the theme: ‘Knowing Your Muslim Neighbour’, Sultan Abubakar delivered an historic speech that reverberated meaningfully across the entire world. And in May, same year, he also invited the leadership of CAN to a special conference of the NSCIA held in Kaduna. The theme of that conference was: ‘Islam in the Eyes of the Christians’. He is the first Nigerian first class Monarch ever to engage in such an interfaith affair at the national level and his speech on that occasion was also electrifying. Please read an excerpt from that speech as presented below:

“….we initiated, as we had done for the JNI, a thorough review of the activities of the NSCIA and an extensive reform of its structures. It is our firm belief that these reforms are not only desirable but necessary, to reposition the Council to play its strategic role as the apex Islamic body in the country and to respond, effectively and meaningfully, to the challenges facing the Muslim Ummah in a multi-cultural and multi-religious society.

NSCIA’s reform agenda

We have had extensive consultations over the last one year and have received very useful inputs on the reform agenda from all the constituent bodies of the Council. Our strategic objectives in this exercise had been and shall remain: firstly, the promotion of Muslim Unity and Solidarity, to accord the Ummah the ability to speak with one voice and to act and work together for the advancement of Islam.

Secondly, the development of Education and Economic Enterprise, to enable the Muslim Ummah play an active role in the socio-economic life of Nigeria is a sine qua non.

Thirdly, the promotion of peace and religious harmony both within the Muslim Communities and between the adherents of Islam and those of Christianity is a joint effort that cannot be handled with levity.

Fourthly, the establishment of effective linkage with Government, at local, state and federal levels, to safeguard the interest of the Ummah and to build consensus on those vital issues that bind us together as a nation must be pursued and sustained.

It is therefore our hope that as we bring this reform process to its logical conclusion, we will receive the support and patronage of the entire Muslim Ummah as well as the co-operation of all stakeholders including State Governments and indeed the Government of the Federation”.

The task of governing

“On that occasion, His Eminence laid emphasis on “the task of overcoming Nigeria’s problems and he called for sacrifice, dialogue and understanding. He said all national stakeholders must overcome the myopia of greed and self-centeredness to move this great nation forward and safeguard its strategic interests….we must begin to look into the future with hope and confidence and to ensure, first and foremost, that we shore up the foundations of our political system. The National Assembly, and indeed all tiers of Government, should not relent in their current efforts at Electoral Reform and in ensuring that Nigerians have a genuine electoral process that guarantees free and fair elections. Unless and until we do that, our nation will continue to be haunted by the unholy alliance between fraudulent elections and illegitimate electoral outcomes, the consequences of which we all know too well. We must break away from this vicious circle and confer on Nigerians the power and indeed the ability to decide, freely and willingly, who leads them at all levels of governance”.

Conception of leadership

Talking about leadership, His Eminence said “there is also the urgent need for us to re-evaluate our conception of leadership as a nation…. needless to add, that there is no way we can make genuine progress as a nation when a significant number of our populace wallows in abject poverty unable to secure the requisite means for their sustenance and to cater for the health and educational needs of their families. Democracy must build a humane society capable of looking after legitimate needs of its citizenry. For it to be truly successful, it must be able to bring real progress to all sectors of our diverse society. He concluded that “finally we must all work hard to limit the influence of wealth in our society and to support those values that promote social responsibility, excellence and hard work”.

That is Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, a leader who knows the problems of his followers and associates with them in solving those problems. Through his humble interaction with all Muslims in Nigeria irrespective of tribal or geographical boundaries, he has become the first Sultan to create a strong feeling of a united Muslim Ummah under a competent and considerate leadership. And by speaking out incessantly against policies which seem to deliberately impoverish ordinary Nigerians across board, this Sultan has brought a rare hope to Nigeria and the Muslims are the luckiest for it. Such a leadership deserves allegiance, loyalty and regular prayer from the Ummah and not just celebration of birthday and congratulatory messages to mark the occasion.

We pray for the elongation of his life with very sound physical health, exemplary wisdom and Allah’s constant guidance. Amin

The post A decade of royalty and faith appeared first on The Nation Nigeria.

Preamble

This article was meant for publication in this column last Friday. It was meant to prepare the minds of Nigerian Muslims for last Monday’s Eid-il-Adha. But due to problem of contact especially since yours sincerely was not in Nigeria, it could not be published as scheduled. However, because of its relevance, I decided to publish today for the benefit of readers. Here it goes:

Monday, September 12, Muslims all over the world celebrated ‘IdulAdha subsequent to Arafah day which will come up on Sunday, September 11. But unlike their brothers and sisters in other parts of the world, overwhelming majority of Nigerian Muslims will celebrate that festival without any festivity. At the instance of injustice based on avarice and unbridled aggrandisement on the past the past rulers, the ingredients of festivityhad been banished in this country. Thus, many worshippers will spend the festival season in hunger and nostalgia for the good old days.

This iron period in which the present government is forced to repeatedly promise emancipation of the masses from the scourge of hunger is an indicator of a tough time ahead that must train the citizenry to become tough in their determination to survive in order to be able to keep going while the going gets tougher.

Egypt for Instance

Egypt has never been a member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). She was not an oil producing country until recently. The main stay of her economy was agriculture which was well facilitated by her River Nile endowment.

This North African Arab country was in economic mess in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Her war with Israel had reduced her to a virtual beggar nation. Not only did her macro economy plummet, her micro economy also dwindled to the lowest ebb. No job for the rising army of highly skillful people and no income for the majority of the citizenry. Thus, the country looked like a famine-stricken one as most vehicles on Cairo and Alexandra roads were terribly rickety.

It took an ingenuous management by President Gamal Abdul Nasir and that of his successor, President Anwar Sadat, to device a means of bailing out the country from what could have amounted to self-genocide. With the meagre amount of money accruing to that country from agriculture and manpower export at that time, the government was able to set up a food distribution centre in each ward where every family in the ward was registered.

All varieties of foods, including meat, milk and eggs, were supplied to each family every week. And no family got less than what could suffice for one full week. The cost of those highly subsidised food were deducted from the salaries of those working while others were supplied free foods for survival. And to ensure that only the citizens benefited from the wonderful largess, the use of national identity card to qualify for supply was made compulsory.

Security and patriotism

This welfare business strategy did not only create a high sense of security in the citizenry, it also spurred them to become die-hard patriots. With that strategy, Egypt was able to weather the economic storm of that time even as the war with Israel continued.

What could have been a major problem for the ordinary Egyptians at that time was the education of their children. But President’s Nasir’s government had taken proper care of that since inception. A fundamental policy of the Egyptian government introduced by President Nasir was free education at all levels. That policy which Chief Obafemi Awolowo copied for primary education in western Nigeria had put Egypt far ahead of all African and Arab countries. The policy became profitable for Egyptian government when the going became tough.

The country began to supply all other Arab countries their needed man power such as teachers, doctors, accountants, pharmacists, engineers, nurses, and administrators, agriculturists, journalists, name it. Those experts were officially deployed to those other Arab countries on three years renewable contracts. And each deployed expert was made to remit about 35 per cent of his/her income to the government of Egypt monthly. Such remittances were not difficult to make since those expert were well paid. The remittances were made directly by the employers who deducted the agreed amount from the salaries of their employees based on official agreements. Thus, in those days, manpower generated from planned education was more profitable than today’s oil wells as diaspora became Egypt’s major source of income. Yet, countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Libya and others that benefited from the programme found the arrangements convenient because they did not need to employ interpreters separately as would have been the case if they had employed Americans or Europeans for the same purpose. As their language and culture were almost the same.

Social welfare

With the provision of social welfare for the people, Egyptian government of the 1970s, led by President Anwar Sadat, was able to solve the problem of the three necessities of life: food, shelter and clothing. Not only that, the government was also very much aware that an idle hand was the devil’s workshop. It therefore provided soft loans for many university graduates to embark on small scale businesses that could boost the nation’s economy at the micro level.

With this, it became possible for most of those fresh graduates to be self-employed while aiming high to mount the economic ladder of life to the very top. Today, some of those businesses have grown into gigantic industries exporting their products to many countries, including Nigeria.

If Egypt is not one of Africa’s poor countries today, it is because her government managed that nation’s economy to the benefit of her ordinary citizens, despite several decades of war with Israel. Compared to the industrialised nations, Egypt may not be called a rich country now, but her preparation for the future seems to be assuring her of a frontline economic position soon. Her unsurpassable investment in manpower through education is a confirmation of that.

Industrialisation

What obtains in Egypt equally obtains in most other Arab countries, especially those of the gulf region. For instance, Saudi Arabia has always known that oil would not flow forever in her wells. Thus as far back as the late 4970s, that country had diversified her economy by establishing two industrial cities of Yambu’ and Jubail, a project which the United states described as the most ambitious ever in the industrial history of mankind.

Much more have since been put in place for the benefit of the future generations. And, travellers who have visited countries like Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Libya, Yunisia, Morroco, and Algeria will confirm that the future of global wealth will definitely be in the Middle East courtesy of the above mentioned countries. But the greatest assets of those countries are manpower which their free education programme is providing from primary schools through the Universities with impeccable foresight.

The example of Japan

Despite her limited natural resources, Japan has shown that no material wealth can equal education. And, the Arabs had learnt that lesson after centuries of derivation from what used to be the greatest Islamic heritage bequeathed to mankind.

With the recent bulk-passing between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on remittance of the crude oil money and the ceaseless rampancy of oil theft at the highest government level can Nigeria ever learn any lesson from the above narration? Economic growth is neither by dreaming nor by empty promises as did by the immediate past bovernment.

Nostalgia

Generally, there is nostalgia in Nigeria today, not only for the days of oil boom when life was relatively comfortable for all and sundry but also for the era of abundant farm crops when the thought of feeding was taken for granted by most citizens. Nigerian Muslims and non-Muslims alike are today yearning for the return of those days when wives could confidently ask their husbands for festival gifts and children could demand for new dresses, shoes and wrist watches from their parents. Those were the days when festival seasons were really festive and the graph of marriage carried some indices of value. Those were the days of friendliness among neighbours, good wishes among colleagues, mutual confidence among spouses as well as general peace and tranquility in the society.

Now, those days seem to have gone forever. Today, we have found ourselves in a situation against which we had long been warned in a couplet rendered by an Arab poet quoting two disciples of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) i. e. Ubayyi bn Ka’b and Abdullah bn Mas’ud. The couplet goes thus:

“This is the period against which we had been warned in the admonitions of Ubayyi bn Ka’b and Abdullah bn Mas’ud; A period in which truth would be rejected in its totality while falsehood, corruption and betrayal of trust would be held aloft; should this period further linger with its woes and tribulations, the world, might soon assume a situation where no one will rejoice over the birth of a new baby or grieve over the demise of a dear relative”.

Observation

Nigeria is not lacking in forest and arable savannah. She is rich in seasons, vegetations, rivers and mountains all of which are great resources for people who are seeking reasonable comfort and are not self-deceptive. What she had consistently lacked was a responsible and patriotic government that could sincerely highlight its priorities according to the yearnings of the ordinary people. That food is becoming a threat to Nigerians today is an irony emanating from selfishness, naivety and massive corruption of our past governments enspecially from 1999 when the current democracy commenced to 2015 when a change of gear became compelling.

Cost of governance

In Nigeria today, the cost of running the government alone is enough to render the country bankrupt. The retinue of ministers and a galaxy of Presidential Advisers are major causes of poverty in the country. Even America with her huge economic resources, large population and financial muscle does not have more than ten ministers? Why must we retain an obnoxious immunity clause in our constitution which facilitates monumental corruption for the serving Governors who are hypocritically chased around but never caught for trial on the allegation of embezzlement after they might have left office?

Besides, what informs the idea of the so-called constituency allowances for legislators, which run into billions of naira without anything to show for it at a time when innocent women and children are crying for food? No one would have thought in 1999 that artificial hunger could be added to the abysmal level of poverty in Nigeria despite the increasing rise in price of oil in the international market. The ubiquity of beggars and lunatics in our cities and towns is a confirmation of this assertion.

Until now, governance in Nigeria had ‘become an artful trick adopted by a cabal to bamboozle the populace into blind submission. The propaganda in the 1980s was almost hypnotizing: ‘food and shelter for all in year 2000!’ That slogan was changed in the 1990s to: ‘Vision 2010!’ And when year 2010 was approaching, the slogan again changed to: ‘Vision 2020!’

Self-deception

Even as recently as 2014, without roads, without electricity, without functional rail transportation system for the masses, without jobs for majority of the able-bodied citizens and even without food on our tables, we were still being cajoled into believing in the illusion that Nigeria, a country without coins, would become one of the 20 biggest economies in the world in year 2020. Isn’t that a deliberate and callous deception? No country in history has ever been known to have achieved economic vibrancy by magic wand. Nigeria cannot be an exception.

An FAO report in 2008 revealed that about 300 Nigerians were dying of hunger daily in their own country. Only God knows what that figure might have become now. Given its seeming seriousness and sincerity of purpose, the current total cooperation of the people to enable it rebuild this country once and for all. A fire brigade approach to food crisis in a country like Nigeria is a shameful reaction to an avoidable melancholy.

Irony of life

It is ironic that people who live by the river bank can’t get water to drink when those living in the desert can find a reliable oasis to combat any drought. Given all the resources with which we are endowed, Nigerians should have no business with material poverty let alone food crisis.

Capitalism, which was once an economic ideology propelling mercantilism, has moved a step ahead, especially in Nigeria where official theft has become a profession. Capitalism is now a religion through which its adherents worship money. To such adherents, accountability is a mere riddle which only the poor may wish to unravel.

It is only in the interest of those in government, especially those in the executive and legislative arms who are most active in sharing public funds, to let the national wealth spread across board legitimately if only to avoid the current Nigerian elite situation where every house has become a prison in which the occupants are voluntarily jailed. To ignore the rule of law and shun justice in a land blessed with milk and honey is to cultivate trouble with insecurity in all its ramifications.

Conclusion

Nigeria needs to learn a lesson from the Egyptian example and find a solution to her overwhelming problem as did the Egyptians at their time of difficulty. Problems are meant to be solved. And there is no problem without solution. But people who always want to eat their cakes and still have them can never overcome their problem. Defending corruption in the guise of ethnicity or religion cannot see Nigeria through the Cape of Good Hope. Let the thieves of this country return the loot and face the consequences of their evil acts. The alternative if for Nigeria to remain as it is forever.

The post A festival in despair appeared first on The Nation Nigeria.

Preamble

History is an invisible object with two wings flying across generations in time and in space. One wing is positive, the other is negative. With history, the present becomes the heritage of the past even as the future awaits the baton of continuity from the present. No living nation or tribe or even individual can dream of a realizable future without a viable present based on the experience of the past. The web of life is like a magnet which no iron element can bypass on its way to ornamental glory.

Fabric of uncertainty

Against what ought to be her heritage, Nigeria is, today, passing through a fabric of uncertainty as she rolls back the fibres of the future into those of the present and weaves both into the vestiges of the past. Such is a sign of a dead nation waiting to be interned. What war is not ravaging Nigeria today in spite of Allah’s abundant bounties? The forces of the present seem to have connived with those of the past in planning to wrestle the future aground thereby depriving the generations yet unborn of any hope of existence. From all indications, Nigerians live in a country where the ruled are evidently enslaved to their rulers.

For decades, this country had been forced by her so-called rulers to fight wars ranging from political to economic to social and to ethnic without winning any. Now, a religious war with political bayonet is being added. Religion is likened to an opium in human beings because of its seeming addictive effect on an average believer. Literally, opium means a brownish gummy extract from unripe seed of the opium poppy that contains highly addictive narcotic alkaloid substances like morphine and codeine. When such a substance is mixed with an unstable powdery matter, it turns it into a disadvantageous hardened substance.

A Land of curses

Thus, like a billow vigorously storming around at the instance of an invisible tempest, a melee of religious hullabaloo engendered by a vicious political Pandora has virtually turned Nigeria into a land of curses.

Ordinarily, by its design and intent, religion is supposed to be not only a panacea for all human psychological ailments but also a soothing balm for any spiritual ache. But ironically, it has been turned into a poison in our society which seemingly has no provision for an antidote. And through our attitudes, we seem to be bent on swallowing the pill of that poison without minding its consequences.

Factors of opium

The factors that culminated in what we now variously call religious militancy, extremism, fanaticism and terrorism emanated only from the yoke of injustice audaciously engendered by bad governance. And could anything have influenced bad governance as much as ignorance? Yet ignorance would not have had a role to play in our religious or political lives if we had demonstrated the will to genuinely follow the tenets of our religions and learned from the lessons of history without banking on mere assumption and rumour. History as a teacher always has a lesson to teach those who are ready to learn. But unfortunately, most human beings especially Nigerians refuse to learn any lesson from history and the price is what we are paying today.

From the archive

In 1962, Nigeria’s Governor General, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe (who later became Nigeria’s first President), paid a three day official courtesy visit to the Premier of Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello in Kaduna. He was accompanied by his wife, Flora. The host Premier mobilized all the paraphernalia of office in honour of his guests whom he gave an unprecedented hospitality. The visit enabled their wives to become so familiar with each other that Flora also invited the Bellos to the East on a similar visit. By the end of the visit, Dr. Azikiwe had become so much impressed that at the point of departure he held Ahmadu Bello’s hands and gently told him to “Let us forget our differences”.

In response to that emotional but infatuating gesture however, Sir Ahmadu Bello said in an equally gentle but emotional baritone voice: “No sir! Rather than forgetting our differences, let us understand them. I am a Muslim from the Northerner and you are a Christian and a South. It is only by recognizing and understanding those differences that our friendliness can truly endure”. There and then, Dr. Azikiwe nodded in agreement with his host’s logic and accepted the fact that one could not forget what is not understood.

Lesson to learn

The lesson to learn from this experience is that of mutual understanding without pretentiously sweeping anything under the carpet. That is the principle upon which the marriage of political strange fellows who find themselves in the same political party is often based in Nigeria. It is also the principle upon which the partnership of many Nigerian businessmen and women is based despite their cultural diversity and incompatibility of interests.

Effect of ignorance

For thousands of years, peoples of all races and tribes across the world thrived vaingloriously on cultural ignorance attributing their calamities to mysterious forces and blaming such mysteries on what they called witchcraft. Here in Nigeria, millions of children were forced to die in infancy as designed by their own parents out of sheer ignorance while the same parents turned round to blame on what the Yoruba called ‘ABIKU and the Igbo called OGBANJE’ and the Hausa called MUTIETENDA for the mass infanticide. With time, however, education and knowledge of science brought about the invention of various vaccines with which children are now immunized against all diseases thereby acquiring the mechanism for survival. And this has enabled us to know today that the mystery once called ‘ABIKU or OGBANJE’ was a euphemism for ignorance in the days of yore.

But now that the days of cultural ignorance seem to be over, Nigerians have devised another means of restiveness by shifting to religious ignorance which enables them to replace the infanticide of the yore with modern day genocide in the name of religion. It is however hoped that one day, knowledge will also help us to overcome the spectre of religious ignorance and enable tomorrow’s generations to tell the story of ignorance as we are telling the story of ‘ABIKU or OGBANJE’ today.

Allah’s design

If it had pleased the Almighty Allah to make all human beings one single race with one colour, one tongue and one religion, He would have done so without receiving any query from anybody. But as the Omnipresent and Omnipotent, His decision to diversify His creatures cannot be faulted as it is from that diversity that all creatures have consistently derived benefits. In the world today, there are different races and tribes of human beings with different colours, languages and cultures each functioning as predestined and yet they all interact positively with one another to the benefit of all and sundry. This is in accordance with the words of Allah in Chapter 49 verse 13 of the Qur’an thus: “Oh mankind! We have created you from a male and a female and classified you into races and tribes that you may interact with one another (and thereby draw from the advantages therein). Verily, the most honourable of you before Allah is the most pious among you. Allah is All-knowing and He is most acquainted with all things”.

Parable of an arable land

What is true of human beings here is equally true of other creatures. For instance we can all see that on a single arable plot of land, a variety of plants may grow to form an orchard but each with different foliages and fruits. Some of those fruits may be sweet, some may be bitter and some may be sour. Some plants may be fruitful and some may be fruitless. On that same plot of land some plants may grow to become trees of gargantuan posture while others may not grow beyond ordinary shrubs and legumes. Yet they are all fed by the same soil, watered by the same rain and photosynthesized by the same sun. Their different foliages, sizes, heights and tastes notwithstanding, they all function effectively and advantageously according to the purpose for which they are created.

Similitude of ecosystem

In the ecosystem, no tree in an orchard will ever accuse another of bearing fruits different from its own and no animal will blame another for carrying a different feature or wearing a different colour. Neither will a whale denigrate even a fingerling in the ocean for sharing the same water with it. Ditto the world of birds and that of insects. Even as plants, animals, aquatics, birds or insects they all know that for everything Allah creates there is a purpose which may not be known to them as creatures. It is only among human beings that discrimination and segregation exist based on ignorance.

In Islam, all revealed religions are believed to be like an embassy established by a nation in another nation to strengthen her relationship with the host country. The Ambassadors appointed to manage such embassy, may be changed from time to time just like the foreign policy which guides those ambassadors. But the embassy remains intact barring any unforeseen circumstances. So is the case with the Prophets of Allah. They might have come at different times, and from different lands and tribes. They might have brought different books and spoken different languages but their mission was one and the same.

Muslims believe that all the Prophets and Messengers who have come into the world to guide mankind were from one and the same God who created the universe. Thus, Prophets Ibrahim (Abraham), Ismail (Ishmael) Ishaq (Isaac), Musa (Moses), Daud (David), Isa (Jesus) and Muhammad (SAW) as well as others who preceded them or came in-between them brought the same message of monotheism through which mankind was counseled to worship one God and be upright in conduct.

Apostles of Allah

As a Muslim, you cannot believe in one of those Apostles and disbelieve in others. Neither can you believe in one of the revealed Books while disbelieving in others. That is why no true adherent of Islam will ever express foul language against the person of Jesus or that of any other Apostle of Allah for that matter. Though the modalities for worshipping may differ from faith to faith and from sanctuary to sanctuary this does not change the course of their faith in only one God. Thus, the rivalry between Muslims and Christians especially in Nigeria over who is spiritually right or wrong is a product of ignorance which opium feasts upon.

Similarities

As taught by Christianity and Islam through their respective revealed Books, the areas of life that need the cooperation of their respective adherents are by far more comprehensive than those in which they differ. For instance, both the Bible and the Qur’an counsel humanity to worship one God. They preach good relationship with other fellow human beings in public and in private irrespective of religious lineage. They advocate good care of our parents, our children, the aged ones amongst us and the handicapped. They urge kindness to our wives and leniency with our adversaries. They admonish us against cheating and any form of corruption. They forbid theft, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism and above all the killing of fellow human beings extra-judicially for whatever reason. They also warn us against provocation, aggression, exploitation and transgression even as they emphasize the ephemerality of this world and the eventuality of the hereafter. In all these, Muslims and Christians have a common affinity to jointly dwell temporally and spiritually.

Dissimilarities

The few areas in which they differ are abstract and quite personal. They are not areas in which human beings are given the power to pass judgment. Only the Almighty God can judge on them. Such are the areas which we believe will pave our ways towards the Paradise. But since paradise is a matter of choice for individuals and groups why are we fighting each other? After all, no one can tell with precision those who will go to Paradise or go to Hell. Such is the prerogative of God which He has not assigned to any human being and which no human being can and should arrogate to himself or herself except one who wants to play God.

As an adherent of a religion, you can only perceive your God according to your faith and that should not cause any rancour between you and adherents of any other religion. As Nigerians, we dwell in the same country, eat the same foods, drink the same water, wear the same dresses, trade in the same markets and spend the same money. Our children attend the same schools, write the same examinations and obtain the same certificates. We intermarry across tribes and ethnicities as well as religions. All these form a stronger bond that ought to unite us much more than the abstract ones which often threaten to divide us. In a situation where the factors of life that unite us grossly surpass those that divide us will it not be stupid to sacrifice unity and embrace disunity?

Conclusion

This is the time for change. We cannot wait any longer. Let the Christians in Nigeria engage in Crusade and the Muslims in Jihad against all vices in the society which their two revealed Books (Bible and Qur’an) abhor. Let all of us jointly work towards upholding the values of life as contained in the Bible and the Qur’an that we may find ourselves in a new world of peace and harmony as from now. It is only by so doing that we can progress rather than retrogress.

The post Opium of a nation appeared first on The Nation Nigeria.

Preamble

This is supposed to be a letter of appeal coming to Nigerian politicians from the pulpit of ‘The Message’ column. A similar letter was written in this column about four years ago to this same group of people. Letters of this type seldom come to the arena of politics where conscience is banished and everything in life is based whim even as self aggrandizement is considered to be the ultimate goal. Coming up at this precarious period of political labyrinth in Nigeria, this letter is necessitated by the current frightening political tension that is fast becoming a bubble which may bust anytime from now unless the Almighty Allah decides to save our country by His special Grace.

If you politicians think that you can escape any calamitous consequence of your ongoing political machination which you are tendentiously weaving around Nigeria you may be day-dreaming. Those who engaged in similar machinations before you in the 1960s, 1980s and 1990s never survived its consequences.

The function of conscience

“Conscience”, according to Sheikh Uthman Dan Fodio, “is an open wound which only the truth can heal”. But one can talk of healing a wounded conscience only where and when it has not become cancerous.

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) once gave a vivid description of the signs by which hypocrites can be identified.

He said “hypocrites are known by three signs: When they talk they lie; when they promise they renege and when they are trusted they betray”.

Most of you (Nigerian politicians) so much typify this Hadith that one wonders if the Prophet had Nigerians in mind when he was expressing that axiom.

Deceptive motive

It will be recalled that when most of you started agitating for a return to democracy in the late 1990s while a despotic military demagogue held sway, your seeming focus was on liberation of the Nigerian citizenry from the crushing claw of military despotism. And you did that in the name of freedom fighters or human rights advocates. But hardly had you succeeded in leading the masses to drive away the military boys than some of you began to agitate for your selfish interest by claiming to want ‘to serve your people’.

Thus, based on that claim, your godfathers or godmothers warmly embraced you not minding your hidden agenda especially when such agenda did not contradict theirs. That claim, which turned out to be the bait with which you deceptively lured ordinary Nigerians into the struggle that ended up in raising your own political pedestal to the height upon which you stand today was a covenant. And that covenant was not just between you and the people you claimed to want to serve but also between you and the Almighty Allah who knows every manifest and hidden agenda. And He will surely hold you accountable for it.

To you, it does not matter whether you were genuinely elected or surreptitiously smuggled through the back door by depriving others who were more qualified than you of their legitimate rights.

Your original claim before you were smuggled into whatever position you occupy today will be weighed against your action or inaction in that position or after you might have left the stage. And you will be judged accordingly.

Just as you will call on God for justice if you were in the shoes of the deprived ones so they will take your case to God’s court in quest of justice. And the prayer of a cheated person, according to Prophet Muhammad (SAW), never suffers a divine denial.

Remember

As you shamelessly graded figure 16 higher than figure 19 sometime ago and audaciously classified theft as a lesser crime than corruption all in the name of politics, you must remember that God’s judgment can neither be manipulated nor appealed. And no matter how long it may take, Allah’s judgment will be executed perhaps when you least expect.

As fathers and mothers who politically arrogate the nation’s leadership to yourselves without thinking of the lessons that the younger ones can learn from your conduct on their way to the top you have evidently demonstrated that you are unqualified to bequeath any sensible legacy to the future generations.

If anything, your thoughtless public utterances, your shameless public actions and counter actions as well as your devilish body language are more destructive to Nigeria’s future than ever imagined. In fact, you can be called anything but patriotic gentlemen of honour which you call yourselves and as such you are unprecedentedly a disgrace not only to Nigeria as a country but also to Africa as a continent. But since you seem to have permanently enlisted immorality as a vital

instrument of politics without thinking of its consequences and thus behaving like intoxicated horses without reins, you are left to your conscience if you have any.

Life without justice

In Islam, two issues are fundamentally sacrosanct both of which Allah does not take lightly. These are sacredness of life and dispensation of justice. It is a great iniquity for any human being to engage in murder and injustice under any guise. Thus, anybody who kills fellow human beings extra-judicially in the name of religion or politics is nothing but an unbeliever of a sadistic nature. In Islam, killing a fellow human being deliberately under whatever guise, without passing through a due process of law, is such a grievous sacrilege that cannot and should not be perpetrated without commensurate penalty, if not here on earth, definitely in the hereafter.

Besides paganism, nothing draws the wrath of Allah as fast as these two crimes which Satan may continue to ask you to ignore at your own peril. Murder is physical termination of the life of a fellow human being. Injustice is killing a person mentally, psychologically, politically or spiritually by denying him his legitimate right. Now, which of these has not occurred officially and severally in the course of your political sojourn? How will you explain it to God?

Legislative duty

In Islam, rule of law is the foundation of justice but legislation is the material with which that foundation is built. Those of you who voluntarily chose to legislate for the rest of us hardly see yourselves as the foundation layers of justice who should not betray the course of justice. As legislators, you are looked upon by most Nigerians as honourable leaders neither because you are more qualified intellectually than those for whom you are legislating nor because you are wiser and more experienced than them. What makes most of you legislators in the lower or upper chambers of the legislative arm of government is sheer expediency arising from queer inadequacies sadly fostered by our so-called political system which gives room for gerrymandering and manipulation. If such opportunity comes your way illegally, let it not be mistaken for good luck. It may rather be a calamity waiting to strike in future.

And when it strikes, no one except Allah can tell the extent of its effect. At least you can see how the consequences of the heartless annulment of June 12, 1993 Presidential election have become a draconian spectre chasing the ghost of every Nigerian even after almost two decades of licking our political wound.

Subversion

Due to lack of conscience, most of you may have forgotten, but you need to be reminded that shortly after you took oath of office either in 1999 or 2003 or 2007 or even 2011, you started subverting the covenant into which you voluntarily entered with the people who elected or nominated you directly or indirectly. That covenant is to serve them (the people). And those who serve are nothing but servants.

But no sooner had you been sworn into office than you started calling yourselves leaders and not servants again. By implication, you have so dangerously promoted desperation and impunity to the front burner of Nigerian politics that whoever thinks of serving the country, today, through any public office is seen as a devil that must be kept at an arm’s length. From your public conduct, any right-thinking person can vividly see the types of families you are breeding for the nation.

Executive duty

As members of the Executive arm when you travel abroad officially, at people’s expense, you are never alarmed by the way the systems work in those countries. You never bother to ask questions about the effective functions of electricity, the smoothness of roads, the flow of portable water and the excellent of educational system that promotes probity and decorum in those countries. Rather, your primary concerns are the personal ephemeral gains accruable to you at the expense of the present and the future. For the past 16 years of Nigeria’s fourth republic you have been at the saddle of government without being able to show in concrete terms what value has that length of time added to the lives of ordinary Nigerians. Your emphasis is power rather than governance and you often go about it in such a manner that gives the impression that government is much more about destruction than construction.

Nigeria as OPEC member

You do not even feel ashamed that Nigeria is the only OPEC country that imports refined petroleum products for domestic consumption simply because you are beneficiaries of the corrupt device which you deliberately put in place in the name of subsidy. Even if Nigeria never had electricity before and wanted to start one to boost her economy, is a period of 16 years not enough to provide a functional one especially given the enormous amount of wealth with which she is endowed? In modern time, no technological device provides as much opportunity for jobs and economic growth as electricity. Yet, it is that major device that you deliberately hold down to deprive the populace of the wherewithal to rise mentally and intellectually so that you can turn them into perpetual slaves to be ruled forever. In such a situation, why wouldn’t corruption be unconscientiously legislated into legitimacy? And now, Nigeria is held to a standstill because every one of you must personally have a chip of any juicy future now without caring about what may become of your own children in future.

Most of you as fathers and mothers will want your children to grow up as responsible men and women, yet, you have nothing in you that can serve as good examples for those children. You tell lies with relish.

Yet you want your children to be truthful. From where do you expect them to inherit truthfulness? You steal public funds with unbridled audacity. Yet you do not want your children to called thieves. What other names should the children of thieves bear other than thieves?

Sermon

The Message hereby implores you Nigerian politicians to search your conscience and fear God. Remember that some people had governed this country in the past. Among them were those who tried to combine the roles of the executive, the legislature and the judiciary together, in the name of military rule, made possible by coup d’état. Where are they today?

Governance has its tenure. Four years may look endless, but for the wise, it is not more than a flash of lightening which only a fool will rely upon to walk his way through the darkness of the night. You are in government today. But remember that you will soon become former this or former that just like those before you.

Duties of public servants

Ordinarily, your duty as government officials, whether in the executive, legislative or judicial wing, is to serve your country in such a way that you can create a historical window for yourselves through which the future generations can retrospectively peep into your lives with reverence. But since everything in Nigeria has been peculiarly monetised (courtesy of Obasanjo regime), it has become a rule that those who hold sway in government, in whatever capacity, must take the lion’s share of our national cake through our lean annual budget. That is why you randomly but embarrassingly throw some damaging pebbles into our political brook to cause unnecessary ripples in the serenity of that brook to the total disadvantage of today and tomorrow.

Political vendetta

Some of you think or talk of impeachment only when your salaries, allowances or extra budgetary largess suffers a reduction or delay. It does not matter to you whether or not the entire workforce in Nigeria remains unpaid for years. Once you are able to amass whatever comes your way legally or illegally the rest of the populace can go on hunger strike forever. It is rather shameful and disappointing that even some of you who claim to be Muslims are participating in such an evil charade despite your proclamation of Islam.

Conscience, though invisible, has a mirror which only a few people know of. That mirror is shame. A person without shame is a person without conscience. And that is the main distinction between a genuine Muslim and a nominal one.

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) admonished the Muslims thus in respect of shame: “once you are bereft of shame, you can go ahead to do whatever you like”. This means that without shame you are a nonentity who can even strip naked in the market place. We can all see the example of this in a former President of this country who is now menstruating through his mouth at any public place.

Admonition

Dear Nigerian politicians, let it be kept permanently in your brain that the only thing which keeps people alive in history even long after their demise is service to humanity. Prophets Isa (Jesus), and Muhammad (SAW), had neither bank accounts nor estates to bequeath to anybody. Their heritage is more than any material wealth for the entire world today. That heritage is service to humanity. What is your own planned heritage if only for posterity? That is a big question which only people with conscience can answer. And, as Muslims or Christians, you should be able to answer it if you truly follow the right guidance of those noble men of impeccable character.

Conclusion

Remember that you are in a ship already voyaging on the high sea towards the shore. And at that shore are fierce customs officers waiting to check the contents of your cargo. Be always at alert.

Remember that if you cultivate friendship with Satan he will favour your wish. But if he grants you one favour, he will take ten from you in return. Be Muslims by name, conduct and mannerism. Whatever you do as Muslims will affect the image of Islam in one way or the other. I hope you will return home as Muslims that you claim to be and not as renegades. Remember all this and adjust now that you may be able to raise your head aloft when tomorrow comes.

The post When tomorrow comes appeared first on The Nation Nigeria.

Several Nigerian Muslim families wore melancholic looks around this time, last year. The sad experience was occasioned by the twin tragedies recorded in the holy city of Mecca, almost in quick succession. Consequently, there was a sudden increase in the number of widows, widowers, orphans and others with various dimensions of bereavement among Muslims across the world and Nigeria was not an exception. One of the two tragedies was the crane crash recorded in the open prayer ground of the Grand Mosque known as the Holy Ka’bah while the other concerns the numerous fatalities of the pebble casting rite at the Jamaraat.

There were both name-calling and blame-apportioning and the Saudi Hajj authorities were brazen and horrendous in “enlightening” the world about the “true story” of the tragedies. Notwithstanding, the two incidents of fatalities and almost irreparable casualties continued to earn the Saudi Hajj authorities pen-bashing and tongue-lacerations for a long time thereafter. It may be stated for the record that the present writer did not equivocate in interrogating the Saudi stance as he lent his voice to the international discourse generated in that regard by contributing several articles published in some of the leading outlets in Nigeria and overseas.

Almost instantaneously, the Saudi Hajj authorities remorsefully began to address the various issues emerging from the comments and debates attracted by the accidents. Today, the 2016 hajj rites have reached their climax and there has not been a recurrence of the last year’s tragedy at the Jamaraat. It behoves a critical mind to ask, what were the measures involved? Four main measures may be enumerated among several others minor ones. One of such measures was strict implementation by the Saudi authorities of the departmentalization of the hi-tech Jamaraat Bridge into six levels to ensure smooth flow of pilgrims for the pebble-casting rite, in a manner that has no potential to facilitate overcrowding or stampedes.

The strength of this measure lies in the dispersal of several thousands of pilgrims at various levels of the Jamaraat Bridge for the purpose of connecting them to the roads and streets that lead easily to their destinations, after the performance of the rite. This arrangement is not really a new measure. Effective implementation was rather the missing link in previous hajj operations. Another measure was the enhanced level of monitoring involved in the scheduling for movement to Jamaraat. Again, the measure is not new altogether. Rather, the degree of efficacy offered by the measure this year was essentially an instrumentality of the enhanced quality in the performance of the Saudi Hajj coordinators technically called “mutawwifun”. The heart of the argument here is that there had always been some degree of non-challance in the handling of the Jamaraat schedule by both the Saudi Hajj coordinators and state hajj officials from various countries, even though there also had always been some exceptions.

Three, and most importantly, the elaborate re-engineering of hajj operations by the Saudi authorities in a fashion that altered the landscape of rites especially with regard to the status of each ritual performed at specific sanctuaries. This is where Saudi Arabia recently did the most impressive job and offered the most creative interventions in consonance with the available body of Islamic jurisprudential provisions.

In some of my earlier interventions, I had thought it appropriate to provide information concerning what I know of the Saudi Arabian Government attitude to issues bordering on the safety and security of the pilgrims while in the Holy Lands. It may be relevant to reiterate that one of the factors that put me in a good stead to contribute to this discourse is that I relate closely with the Saudi Hajj authorities in the capacity of an Accredited Translator/Interpreter, have had access to documents on Saudi rules and regulations on Hajj safety and security through my services to the Establishment for the Coordinators of Pilgrims from Non-Arabic Speaking African Countries, and can therefore attest to the fact that Saudi Arabia is neither negligent over nor insensitive to the plight of the pilgrims. It should be pointed out however, that this position does not claim that there could not have been some deficiencies or inadequacies in the Saudi official preparations for Hajj. It may be a bitter truth that I cannot claim not to have noticed one or two shortcomings during my association with Hajj authorities, even though some of such inadequacies are not of safety orientation.

Against this background I argued during the 2015 hajj operations that “the bitter truth is that, the Saudi Hajj authorities erred in 2015, and even in few earlier instances (2008 to 2014) that did not record such a huge number of fatalities”. Why? The answer, to my own mind, as earlier argued by me: No pilgrims’ movement from Makkah to Muna can materialize unless it is facilitated by Saudi Hajj authorities. Similarly, no pilgrims’ movement from Muna to ‘Arafah can materialize unless it is effected by the Saudi Hajj authorities who are also actively involved in pilgrims’ transportation to Muzdalifah from where any individual or group of pilgrims can decide to do whatever he likes and move to anywhere he wishes either to return to Muna or advance directly to Jamaraat without any regard for any official schedule, grouping, or time-tabling. So, the Saudi authorities seem to relax their operations at the Jamaraat until when a major calamity is recorded and they wake quickly from their slumber. This pattern could be noticed in 1991, 1992, and 1993 as well as 1995, 1996, and 1997 (as far as Jamaraat was concerned) and 1999, 2000/2001 accident-free at the Jamaraat. The impact of the 2006 tragedies spurred the Hajj authorities into massive, comprehensive and all-encompassing safety measures that proved efficacious before diminishing returns set in. By 2014, it had become a mantra on the lips of men and women that Hajj had become much safer than it used to be. That was when Jamaraat Safety measures attained their peak, reached their zenith or full capacity and therefore necessitated a renewal, rejuvenation, enhancement, or improvement especially with regard to how and when pilgrims can enter and exit the Jamaraat.

Today pilgrims perform hajj rites in comfort at the Holy Ka’bah and the Jamaraat both of which witnessed last year’s tragedy. It is only fair to underscore the high sense of responsibility demonstrated by the Saudi hajj coordinators in this connection. As regards the Holy Ka’bah, it is interesting to note that the expansionist project is a product of the need for more space for the accommodation of the increasing number of worshippers at the Holy House. Such a long-felt need occasioned the intervention of the Custodian of the Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bn Abdul-Azeez Al-Sa’ud who decisively took up the challenge of bringing about the desired expansion for the purpose of ensuring easy observance of rituals at the mosque whose current carrying capacity for the circumambulation section is far above the earlier estimated 48,000 worshippers.

In an audio-visual release from the Saudi Arabian Hajj Ministry, the expansionist project was described as having being scheduled for execution in three phases in keeping with the First and Second Saudi Arabian Development Plan. In specific terms, the ground floor now attracts a 30% additional capacity and the first floor, 75% while the repositioning of pillars has now brought about a total carrying capacity of additional 44%.

As regards the Jamaraat-related safety and security measures taken by the Saudi Hajj authorities, it should be noted that that really where Saudi Arabia deserves plaudits for performing up to global expectations. The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has embarked on an aggressive campaign of various orientations and directed its organs such as the Establishments for Hajj Coordination to implement fully all the measures targeted at facilitating an accident-free pebble casting at the Jamaraat. The present writer has the honour of being charged with the responsibility of translating from Arabic to English some of the highly sophisticated instruments developed for that purpose. The outcome of this year’s hajj operations, with regard to Saudi performance, may arguably be a testimony to the efficacy of such instruments. Having been so critical of the perceived deficiencies in the Saudi performance in the year that witnessed huge fatalities, the present writer deems it fair enough to expose some of the strengths that have now supplanted the weaknesses of the recent past. Hence the rationale for what follows.

Saudi Hajj authorities hold that Islam is committed to the elimination of discomfort from human life. They argue that that explains why it seeks to protect the human soul against destruction and prevent the occurrence of anything capable of ruining it. They maintain that It is pursuant to such a rationale that Allah permits eating from a lifeless animal in the absence of food, given that such an exigency permits the prohibited so that the forbidden becomes permissible, owing to the constraint involved.

The Saudi Hajj authorities believe that the ever increasing population of pilgrims on an annual basis has culminated in the stampeded nature of Muna during the pebble casting rite on the ‘Id day (10th of Dhul-Hijjah) and the following three days of the same month, noting that this experience has led to injuries and fatalities.

They rationalize that there is an urgent need to embrace discomfort-eliminating provisions of Islam with regard to the rites involved. This necessitates an arrangement for a stay at Muzdalifa till midnight, as prescribed by the Holy Prophet Muhammad, before advancing to Muna for pebble casting. They argue that this provision has the potential to prevent stampede and exposure of pilgrims to excessive heat especially in the face of high temperature. As for those who remain in Muzdalifa till daybreak, they are advised to return to their tents in Muna, in order to avoid a stampede, and thereafter leave to for pebble casting in consonance with the schedule carefully and painstakingly prepared by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, in the interest of pilgrims.

Concerning pebble casting during the three days that follow the day of ‘Id, they observe that road and human congestion is normally occasioned by the insistence of most pilgrims to perform this rite immediately after mid day especially on the 12th of Dhul-Hijjah owing to most pilgrims’ wander-lust to perform the rite early in order to disperse before sunset. The Saudi Hajj coordinators find no strain in identifying this as one of the factors instrumental to several injuries and fatalities, as well as unbearable discomfort.

They are of the opinion that the Islamic Law does not favour the hurting and inconveniencing of mankind especially during acts of worship. This, they believe, makes mandatory the articulation of Shari’a provisions in that regard for the purpose of enlightening the pilgrims about such provisions in order to facilitate a gentle and tranquil observance of Hajj rites.

They rely on the fact that the Holy Prophet and all the prophets before him emphasized the virtue of protecting human soul against discomfort and destruction and the fact that the Almighty Allah enjoined this in the Qur’an where He says “Do not expose yourselves to destruction by your own hands”. The implication of this, in their estimation, is that any act or action contravening the protection of human soul is reprehensible.

Along this line, the Holy Prophet was reported as casting his pebbles after mid day, even though he did not prevent the observance of the rite at an earlier time of the day nor did he stipulate a terminal time for the rite. This accounts for the divergent nature of opinions in stipulating the timing for pebble casting, among jurists and leaders of Islamic theological thoughts. In specific terms, the Saudi Hajj authorities rely on Islamic jurisprudential provisions articulated below.

Imam Baqir favours pebble casting after sunrise while Atta’ and Tawuus whose opinion was favoured by Rafi’iyy and Isnawiyy among the Shafi’ites, permit its performance before mid day. Ibn Al-Jawziyy and Ibn ‘Aqeel, both of Hambalite orientation, favour the same position. However, Imam Abu Hanifah maintains that the time of pebble casting starts shortly before mid day and continues till dawn even though he has a second opinion to the effect that it is permissible to observe it before mid day. To Imam Shafi’iyy, the timing starts from mid day and extends till the sunset of the 13th of Dhul-Hijjah.

Given that the lives of pilgrims are a trust to Hajj coordinators, Saudi authorities enjoin them to equip pilgrims and their guides with these Shari’a provision in order to facilitate pilgrims’ comfort. It is instructive to note that is not the best to be closed-minded in the articulation of Hajj rules to pilgrims in a fashion capable of exposing them to danger, which is why it is permissible to embrace the most convenient of all the opinions offered in that connection. A superior argument is determined by the circumstances surrounding the experience involved. So, Muslims are enjoined to be promoters of glad-tidings and do not make Islam inconsiderable. The Holy Prophet was known for his practice of embracing the most convenient of all issues.

Accordingly, the Saudi Hajj authorities promoted the fact that it is not mandatory to cast the pebble immediately after mid day especially when the path is crowded and mammoth. They also argue that it is rather permissible to delay the performance of the rite to evening or after sunset and infact to the late hours of the following day and even after sunrise till the sunset of the 13th day of Dhul-Hijjah, as stipulated by the Shafi’ite School.

The foregoing is in consonance with the prophetic practice remaining in Muna till the 13th day. However, whoever wishes to hasten departure on the 12th may embrace the view that permits the performance of the rite before mid day and therefore cast his pebble early in order to leave. They also made known the fact that whoever wishes to perform the rite after mid day, is permitted by Imam Abu Hanifa whose timing for pebble casting extends to dawn. As for those who choose to perform the rite after in the evening or after the ‘Isha’ prayer and thereafter leave Muna, the Saudi Hajj authorities posit that their decision is justified and they needn’t wait to pass the night or perform the rite for the 13th.

It should also be noted that whoever is incapable to go for pebble casting such as the sick, the infirm or aged, he is allowed to assign the performance of the rite to another individual. As regards the main circumambulation rite known as tawaf al-ifaada, pilgrims are enjoined to delay it to a later time when they can perform the rite conveniently rather than join a heavy congestion. Afterall, there is a long and wide latitude in timing, with regard to this particular ritual which is not restricted to the next three days after ‘Id.

Consequently, the Saudi Hajj authorities enjoin Hajj coordinators and religious guides to enlighten pilgrims about this and enjoin them to keep to the schedule provided by the Ministry of Hajj and ‘Umrah, for their comfort and easy performance of their hajj rites.

The enlightenment provided in this connection proved highly rewarding to both the pilgrims and their coordinators in the 2016 hajj operations. That explains why the arrangement put in place to achieve such a laudable Hajj experience should be applauded. If there had been a recurrence or even a minor replication of the tragedies of last year, this year, there would have been vituperations upon and condemnation of the Saudi Hajj authorities, from various quarters. And now that the reverse is the case and the outcome, impressive, it is only fair that the Hajj thinkers and operators whose services have been engaged by the Hajj authorities, be associated with reverence and plaudits. Bravo, Saudi Arabia, for Hajj 2016!

Saheed Ahmad Rufai,

Ag. Dean, Faculty of Education,

Sokoto State University, Sokoto.

The post How Saudi prevented Hajj fatalities appeared first on The Nation Nigeria.

Preamble

It was a trip by deputation penultimate Friday and Saturday. His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar CFR, mni, the Sultan of Sokoto and President General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) had been scheduled to visit Ondo and Ekiti States on those two days. But due to some unforeseen circumstances, he could not undertake the journey in person. He however delegated his Southern Deputy at the NSCIA, His Excellency Alhaji (Dr.) S. O. Babalola, OON, to represent him (Chief (Dr. S. O. Babalola became NSCIA’s Deputy President-General for Southern Nigeria in August 2016).

He, also being the President of the Muslim Ummah of Southwest Nigeria (MUSWEN), was accompanied by a retinue of Muslim leaders in the Southwest including Dr. Jibril Oyekan, Alhaji Kunle Sanni, Dr. Wole Abbas, Alhaji Mustafa Olawuyi, Alhaji Kola Uzamo, Barr. Yakubu Sanni, Alhaji Sulaiman Afolabi Ogunlayi, Alh. Tajudeen Alabede, Alh. Hafeez Timehin and yours sincerely, on the trip. The Oba of Ayede Ekiti, Alhaji Abdul Mumini Adebayo Orisagbemi Abolokefa IV otherwise known as Attah of Ayede had invited His Eminence to the celebration of his ten year anniversary on the throne with the laying of the foundation of his new palace and a Mosque. Part of the trip was to pay a courtesy visit to the Deji of Akure, Oba Ogunlade Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, Odundun II and join the Muslim Community of Ondo State in observing the Jum’at prayer.

In Deji’s palace

At the palace of Deji where the delegation was rousingly received, Chief S. O Babalola delivered the following speech on behalf of His Eminence, the Sultan:

Your Royal Majesty, today’s visit to your palace is historic. Ordinarily, I would have accompanied the President General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni to this palace on this occasion. But due to circumstantial development, he had to delegate me to represent him being his deputy here in Southern Nigeria.

I therefore wish to express his regret and unreserved apology for not being able to be here in person as earlier planned. Man only proposes. It is God that disposes. We hope that another chance will come to warrant His Eminence’s presence on this kind of occasion in the near future.

Nigerian situation

Your Royal Majesty, this occasion is a confirmation of a well known fact about Nigerian situation. Of the major existing institutions in Nigeria today only that of the traditional rulers is solidly stable. It is evident that there are incessant ripples in other major institutions including the executive wing, the legislative wing and the judiciary wing mostly to the discomfort of the nation. This is because the traditional institution anywhere in the world is permanent and unshaken except where there is an accident of history.

The current cooperation among the royal fathers in the Southwest region and that of the entire nation is highly appreciated by all, and sundry. And the role of His Eminence in this is conspicuously notable. Since he ascended the Caliphate throne ten years ago, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has paid his royal colleagues in the Southern parts of the country unprecedented courtesy visits thereby laying a solid foundation for royal friendliness and cooperation among the traditional rulers in the country. He is generally known today as a national bridge builder.

A national bridge builder

Your Royal Majesty, there is no State in the Southwest or any other Southern region for that matter that His Eminence has not visited with open hands of friendliness and brotherhood. This is an indication that contrary to what is daily published in Nigerian media, there are people who still believe in the unity of our country and are working hard to ensure that unity.

Your Royal Majesty, your readiness to receive His Eminence in your palace and the evident preparation for that reception is also a confirmation of the unity of this country at the royal level. If this good example is emulated by the political class, the usual tension in the political arena would have been less and the polity would have been more conducive. Therefore, the traditional institution is hereby implored to further strengthen its unity as a model for all other institutions in the country.

Constitutional role for traditional rulers

Meanwhile, I want to call on the legislative arm of the government to revisit the constitution with a view to giving the traditional rulers in the country a more prominent role to play in the governance of the country. If such a prominent role had been facilitated in the constitution, the spate of violence that we witness across the country on a daily basis would have been reduced to barest minimum. There is no gain saying the fact that no other institution is as close to the people and as much respected in Nigeria than the traditional institution.

Comparison

Looking at the political situation in Nigeria today, vis-a-vis that of the traditional institution, one will discover that the difference is very clear. While ripples continue in the political waters, the institution of traditional rulers is calm and clement. There is a reason for this. Traditional rulership has no definitive tenure that can easily be challenged by any rival. It is rather an institution that operates on era basis. And the dignity accorded to it is not temporary. In other words, a king is a king as long as he is alive and on the throne. Even after his demise, history still treats him with reverence as a onetime king.

Your Royal Majesty, we thank God for your life, your health and your royal dignity and we pray the Almighty to continue to endow you with the needed wisdom, courage and equanimity with which to govern your kingdom for a long time. Long live the Deji of Akure! Long live the Sultanate of Sokoto! Long live the traditional institution in the country! Long live Nigeria!

In Ayede Ekiti

At the palace of Attah Ayede in Ekiti, His Excellency Chief S. O. Babalola delivered a speech entitled ‘The Place of the Mosque in Islam on behalf of His Eminence the Sultan as follows:

“…..Your Royal Majesty, the Attah of Ayede Ekiti, the Attah in Council and all indigenes and residents of Ayede Ekiti, let me greet you in the well known Islamic tradition by saying, Assalam alaykum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu”.

“History is being made here today not just because I am here to lay the foundation of a Mosque in a palace but also because this is the first time that a Muslim Oba is on the throne and on ground in this city of Muslim minority to receive and play host to the leader of the Nigerian Muslim Ummah”.

“Today, in the name of Allah, we are laying the foundation of a palace Mosque here in Ayede Ekiti in emulation of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who laid the foundation of the first Mosque in Islam called the Mosque of Quba in Madinah in 622 CE. Whereas a palace in the life of a Muslim is temporal and ephemeral, a Mosque is spiritual and everlasting”.

Functions of the Mosque

From the inception of Islam, the Mosque has always been like the foundation of a house. Without foundation, no house can stand and serve its purpose as an abode for rest, peace and tranquillity. The main source of the Muslim civilization is the MOSQUE which is the origin of all achievements and glory in Islam.

It was from the Mosque that all intellectual, spiritual and temporal successes of Islam emanated. Mosque is not for SALAT alone. It also serves as the centre for all activities of the Muslim community, whether temporal or spiritual. Mosque should serve as a school, as a library, as a court of justice, as a treasury, as a clinic, as a parliament and as a chamber of commerce. This makes the Mosque like a beehive for Muslims, male and female, old and young. Let the Mosque be properly and fully utilized for the purpose of its existence.

The Mosque and the Imam

The Mosque and the Imam are like the message and the messenger. There can hardly be any access to the one without going through the other. No one can seriously talk about the Mosque without making a fundamental reference to the Imam and the congregation that he leads. Actually, nothing is called Mosque without the Muslim congregation and the Imam.

When Prophet Muhammad (SAW) described learned scholars as the heirs to the Prophets, he was referring to Imams. This is because no genuine Muslim is supposed to be an Imam without first being a learned scholar. However, there is a sharp difference between a scholar and a learned scholar. The one can be self-arrogated. The other is intellectually evident.

Training for Muslim clerics

We shall notice that Lawyers are trained in the Law School after graduating from the Universities just as Doctors undergo Houseman-ship after their admission into the medical Profession. Other professions have also devised means of training their upcoming members through what they now call industrial training. In the same way, our Imams should also be encouraged to undergo clerical training that can assist them in guiding the affairs of their congregations. The absence of such training in the Mosque is adversely affecting the propagation of Islam in our society. I therefore call on all State Muslim communities as well as Muslim Organizations in Nigeria to give the training of Imams a priority through periodic seminars, workshops and conferences. This is not a suggestion. It is a major prescription by Islam for anybody who may aspire to become an Imam.

The issue Muslim minority

Since the inception of Islam, Muslims have always lived as minorities in any new environment they found themselves. It is only after they might have settled down and established themselves that, by the leave of Allah, their display of unity and their positive contributions to the development of their community, they may become majority.

At the initial stage of Islam, when Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and his companions were forced to migrate from Makkah to Madinah for safety from the persecution of the pagan majority in Makkah, they were in the minority. And when they reached Madinah, they remained a minority despite the support given to them by some good people of that city who invited them there.

They were also in the minority when they established the world’s first Islamic democratic government headed by the Prophet in the city of Madinah. They were in the minority when they entered Spain as mere migrants in the 8th century and turned that country into the global haven of civilization. And if we look critically at the world today, we shall discover that the most active Muslim population is the West where Muslims are in the minority. This further confirms that people in the minority are more active because they enjoy unity and cooperation in the face of threat.

I, therefore, want to urge the Muslims of this great city to remain good ambassadors of Islam and act as patriotic members of the community. You have your share of the responsibility to take this city and indeed Ekiti State to greater heights.

I congratulate His Royal Majesty, the Attah of Ayede Ekiti and the entire people of this city for today’s historic event and successful outing in the way of Allah. I wish Your Majesty long life with sound health and continuous Allah’s guidance in conducting the affairs of your kingdom. I also implore the people of Ayede Ekiti to further cooperate with His Royal Majesty in facilitating peace and harmony in this clement city.

“Let there arise from you a nation that calls for righteousness, enjoins justice, and forbids evil. Such men shall surely triumph”. Q3:103. The strength of any group of human beings anywhere in the world is unity and not disunity. The Muslim Ummah in Nigeria cannot be an exception. God bless you all.

The foundation of the Mosque was laid by His Excellency, Chief S. O. Babalola on behalf of the Sultan.

The post Ekiti: A visit by deputation appeared first on The Nation Nigeria.

Preamble

All roads, national and international, led to Sokoto last Wednesday. The Caliphate city became like a Makkah of sort as thousands of people from near and far trooped into it. The occasion was to mark the 10th anniversary of Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar on the Caliphate throne.

How time flies. It has been ten years since His Eminence, Dr. Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni ascended the Sokoto royal throne as the 20th Sultan. The historic date was November 6, 2006. Until then, the lofty man’s name did not ring any bell in Nigeria. And he was probably not conscious of the royal blood in him. If he was ever conscious of that at all, his humble nature did not reflect it. But the thinking of man is quite different from the will of Allah. And when the thinking of man clashes with the will of Allah, the latter automatically prevails.

Ascension to the Throne

For Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, ascending the throne of the great Sokoto Empire was like the rise of the sun anon meridian. When it beams its rejuvenating ray over the world, all the stars in the galaxy take their bow.

History and man are like Siamese twins. The one cannot do without the other. History makes man just as man makes history. And the reciprocal baton continues to change hands between them as long as they mutually remain in existence.

Thus, the sudden emergence of the 50- year-old Brigadier General Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar as the successor to the exalted throne of the great Sokoto Empire without controversy came as a surprise to many Nigerians. His own father, Sultan Sadiq Abubkar ascended the same throne at the age of 37. Surely, the name ‘Muhammad Sa’ad’ played a significant role in the emergence of its bearer as Sultan.

The Mystery in Name

There is something mysterious about name which humanity is yet to comprehend fully. A puzzling secret seems to exist in the vocabulary of life which sticks to every man like a second skin. That secret, pearled in the yoke of name, is an effective evidence of destiny in man. Our names are the light that glows at night to lighten up our ways in the glares days through the threshold of life. And when the dawn comes to render the glowing light ineffective, the bearer bows out into the recluse of death leaving behind an indemnified signature on the sands of time.

This was the case with Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the greatest man that ever lived on the surface of the earth. Even as an unlettered son of Arabia who was born in an era of blatant ignorance, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) introduced into the world, an unprecedented civilization that opened the eyes of humanity to everlasting guidance. In recognition of his human exemplariness, the Almighty Allah said of him in Q 33: 21 thus: “You have a good example in Allah’s Apostle for anyone who looks to Allah and the Last Day and remembers Him always”.

Peculiarities in Name

Sultan’s first name is Muhammad which he bears in emulation of the Prophet. His second name is Sa’ad meaning ‘Good ‘Luck’ which makes him a name-sake of one of the Prophet Muhammad’s companions (Sa’d BnAbi Waqqas) who was a great Army General of Islam. And his (Sultan’s) surname is Abubakar which means ‘father of youths’, an inherited name which he shares with the first Caliph in Islam (Abubakr Siddiq). In every one of these names is a profound meaning with profound influence on the personality and conduct of the current Sultan.

As an Army General, like Sa’d Bn Abi Waqqas, Sultan is demonstrating the courage of a brave leader. As the father of the youths, like Abu Bakr, he is bridging the gap between leadership and follower-ship by breathing a breeze of hope into Nigerian Muslim youths from time to time.

Identity of a Leader

A leader is known, neither by the aura of the office he occupies, nor by the enormity of the power wielded in that office. Rather, a leader is known by the magnanimity with which he exercises the power entrusted to him and the humility he demonstrates in his interaction with the people. This is the lesson that Prophet Muhammad’s leadership taught Muslim rulers in one of his Hadith when he said: “A powerful person is not the one who can suppress others (with the instrumentality of office) but the one who can resist the temptation to use such power”.

Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar seems to have exemplified this prophetic teaching as a Muslim ruler and a faithful one for that matter. And through his humble interaction with all Muslims in Nigeria irrespective of tribal or geographical boundaries, he has become the first Sultan to create a strong feeling of a united Muslim Ummah in Nigeria under a competent leadership.

An evidence of such unity is the powerful delegation of the entire Southern Muslim Ummah led by the Deputy President General (South) of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Dr. S. O. Babalola, OON, to the tenth anniversary of His Eminence’s coronation in Sokoto last Wednesday. Members of that delegation which included the Aare Musulumi of Yoruba Land, Alhaji Dawud Makanjuola Abdul Salam Akinola and the President General of the League of Imams and Alfas of Yoruba Land were drawn from all the geographical zones in Southern Nigeria including the Southwest, the Southeast and the South-South.

Philosophers’ Theory

Philosophers who assert that every new century has a way of producing a great leader may be right after all. The example of His Eminence, Dr. Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, is a manifestation of that assertion. Ever since he assumed the exalted royal office ten years ago, this great man has convincingly exhibited all the qualities of genuine leadership by all standards. Every statement he has made socially, religiously or politically and every action he has taken privately or publicly has proved to be a school from which all well-meaning people of Nigeria have learnt one lesson or another.

Reformation of NSCIA

At the instance of His Eminence, a forward looking reformation has been going on. A number of committees have been set up to take charge of certain necessities concerning the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and the National Mosque. These have given the Nigerian Muslim Ummah the needed comfort with which to surge ahead as a single body of believers.

Besides, the Abuja National Mosque has also been reformed in such a way that no Muslim part of the country feels neglected again. Thus, today, the Friday sermon in that Mosque is not only delivered in the three major languages (Hausa, Ibo and Yoruba) in addition to Arabic and English, three deputy Imams have also been appointed to assist the Chief Imam in rendering the Jum’at sermon in rotation every Friday. These Deputy Imams were from the North, the Southwest and the Middle Belt respectively.

As Chancellor of ABU

At his first convocation as the 6th Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University in November 2010, His Eminence told the crowd that the current socio-economic indices in Nigeria were a clear indication that the country had begun to drift. He lamented the dwindling standard of education and the growing rate of poverty in the land despite the nation’s unprecedented wealth which he said had failed to aid national development.

In his words: “…Corruption has emasculated our progress even as poverty and unemployment have pushed citizens to the brinks thereby fuelling social conflicts and inter-communal crises which have extracted heavy toll in both human lives and property…. ”He went further by saying: “Persistent insecurity has generated panic and anxiety; our social and physical infrastructures are far from meeting the needs of the nation; the country appears to be adrift and at the core of all these is moral decay engendered by ignorance and greed.”

His Emphasis on Education

To further emphasize his fervent belief in education, he also noted that the reform of the tertiary education sector in Nigeria could not be effective without putting in place the required progressive developments at the basic and senior secondary education levels. He insisted that: “our state governments, especially those of the North, must begin to realize the enormity of the challenges facing the education sector and take urgent and necessary steps to address these challenges.”

That is a renascent Sultan for you, a man who is at the topmost echelon of the tree of comfort but feels so much concerned about the condition of the peasants who feel deliberately consigned to the weeding of shrubs at the bottom of that tree by the system in place.

At home in Nigeria, he has never relented in his advocacy for good governance and denunciation of corruption and religious intolerance just as he has consistently campaigned for religious peaceful coexistence at the international forums.

His Royal Agenda

In what looked like his royal agenda in respect of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, His Eminence rolled out at that conference certain fundamental programmes to the utter delight of all Nigerian Muslims. Please read an excerpt from his speech at the above mentioned Interfaith Conference as presented below:

“….we initiated, as we had done for the Jama’atu Nasril-Islam (JNI), a thorough review of the activities of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs [NSCIA] and an extensive reform of its structures”.

“It is our firm belief that these reforms are not only desirable but necessary to reposition the Council to play its strategic role as the apex Islamic body in the country and to respond, effectively and meaningfully, to the challenges facing the Muslim Ummah in a multi-cultural and multi-religious society. We have had extensive consultations over the last one year and have received very useful inputs on the reform agenda from all the constituent bodies of the Council. Our strategic objectives in this exercise had been and shall remain the following:

The promotion of Muslim Unity and Solidarity to accord the Ummah the ability to speak with one voice and to act and work together for the advancement of Islam.
The development of Education and Economic Enterprise, to enable the Muslim Ummah play an active role in the socio-economic life of Nigeria.
Promotion of peace and religious harmony both within the Muslim Communities and between the adherents of Islam and Christianity.
Establishment of effective linkage with Government, at local, state and federal levels, to safeguard the interest of the Ummah and to build consensus on those vital issues that bind us together as a nation….”

“It is therefore our hope that as we bring this reform process to its logical conclusion, we will receive the support and patronage of the entire Muslim Ummah as well as the co-operation of all stakeholders, including state governments and indeed the Government of the Federation”.

“Finally we must all work hard to limit the influence of wealth in our society and to support those values that promote social responsibility, excellence and hard work”.

Conclusion

That is Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, a leader who knows the problems of his followers and associates with them in solving those problems. Without a leader like this, the Nigerian Muslim Ummah would have gone asunder.

This column, ‘The Message’ and its teeming readers hereby join millions of other Nigerians home and abroad in saying CONGRATULATIONS to His Eminence on his tenth anniversary on the throne of the great Sokoto Empire. We pray the Allah to continue to guide him aright in his life’s odyssey.

Long live the Sultan! Long live the NSCIA! Long live Nigeria

The post Without a Leader like Him…? appeared first on The Nation Nigeria.

Preamble

“Nights are pregnant. They give birth to wonders in the days. What we look is not what we see. Thus, our focus becomes dimmer and dimmer as the days and nights of life roll out spirally but gradually into permanent oblivion. And the living man is pronounced dead.”

The results of America’s presidential election last Wednesday have confirmed the assertion in the above Arab poem. We live in a world that is both dynamic and ephemeral. Nothing is predictable with precision.

Effect of language

Yoruba language may have no plural or gender in its structural syntax. It may be poor in vocabulary and clumsy in grammar. But it is surely not lacking in proverbs and mythology. The speakers of that Kwa language can hardly express a sentence without enriching it with two or three proverbs. One of its famous proverbs has become an axiom in theory and practice. And many other languages have borrowed it for a token of experience. It goes thus: “A toddler who insists on preventing his mother from sleeping will surely not enjoy the serenity of the night rest”. This subtle axiom has its equivalence in English language. “A drastic problem requires a drastic solution”.

Language and culture

Language is the root of all human cultures. It is the means of communicating thoughts, ideas and experiences. A people without language can be said to be without culture. Take a man out of his culture and he will immediately become like a fish out of water. His next action will be to rebel against the new but strange environment. That is the kind of situation that is cloaking the world in form of terrorism today.

From time immemorial, language has been like a double edged sword. At a time it is used to attack. At another, it becomes an instrument of defence. Concord and conflict as well as love and hatred emanate from the use of language. Without language, there can be no marriage or divorce. Neither can there be business or even government. As a matter of fact, no tribe or nation can lay claim to civilisation in the absence of language.

Language in Islam

In Islam, language is everything human, including life and death. That is why a stammering prophet like Musa (Moses) would need an interpreter like Harun (Aaron) in his mission. Buddhists, Hindus, Judaists, Christians and Muslims, all proclaim Holy Books in one form or another, through their endowed languages. Not only must a prophet possess the power of language, he must also be eloquent in it. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) recognised the enormous power naturally embedded in language and warned the Muslims thus: ‘Tongue is like sword, if you fail to hold it, it may hold you down”.

A person’s first language is called mother tongue while a standardised dialect within a tribal language is said to be ‘received’. If there is one aspect of culture that is not substitutable, it is language. The greatest havoc ever done to any group of people in history, especially through slave trade and colonialism, is language substitution. Nothing is more enslaving than substitution of language. Once language is renounced or substituted, nothing else is left of culture with another language. The black citizens of the world, outside Africa, otherwise classified as Diaspora, are victims of this indelible psychological trauma.

English speaking countries

There are only four countries in the world today with English language as their mother tongue. These are Britain, the United States, Australia and Ireland. What would have been the fifth country is only partially English speaking. And that is Canada where other languages such as French and Spanish are spoken. All other countries that speak English as lingua franca today only adopted it. Believing English to be the language of modern civilisation, the rest of the world have tacitly adopted it either as a lingua franca or as language of business. Yet the natural speakers of the language don’t seem to be satisfied with this development.

Evil axis

With the role which America played in bringing an end to slavery in the 19th century, the world had expected the self-styled ‘God’s own Country’ to be the messiah of the modern age. But that expectation has turned forlorn. Rather than championing the course of peace and tranquility, America has replaced Germany of the 1930s/40s as the greatest threat to humanity in the 21st century. And she has found an inseparable ally in Britain to form an ‘Evil Axis’ of untamable aggressors.

Both English speaking countries had jointly piloted the modern world into a technological civilisation culminating in what is now known as global village. But they have used the same technology to turn themselves into ‘policemen of the world’.

There is no part of the world today in which a suffocating effect of their presence is not felt. Like a pair of scissors, both countries have jointly subjected many nations and races to untold terror and humiliation thereby forcing countries to disintegrate and compelling friendly tribes to become foes all to further the course of their capitalist interest. Thus, they have planted the seed of terrorism in all corners of the world either in the name of capitalism or in the disguise of democracy.

In the process of doing this, they have drawn the wrath of many nations, groups and individuals who now tend to react with venomous reprisal. If the militant liberators in Ireland or the patriotic defenders of motherland in Falkland are quiet today, it is not because they have been placated. The fact is that they have not got the power with which to demand for their rights. When they do, the situation may change.

Propaganda

Now, using their propaganda machinery to bully on the rest of the world, the US and Britain have almost succeeded in branding any revengeful reaction to their brigandage as religious terrorism. What was the religious connection in Britain’s claim of the Falkland Island far away in Argentina in the early 1980s? What is religious in America’s capturing of the ruling President Noriega of Panama in his country and taking him for trial in the US where he was jailed and had to languish in prison for years? What is religious in forcing monolingual countries like Korea and Cambodia to break into North and South? What is religious in invading Iraq even after it became evident that the poor country was not harbouring any deadly weapons as alleged? What actually qualifies the US, Britain and other Western countries to be nuclear powered and disqualify others?

Even if a country chooses to use religion as her guide in governance as in the case of Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran how does that affect Britain and the US thousands of miles away? Is Northern Ireland not a Christian country like Britain? Why the aggression against that country? And is Britain not using religion as an instrument of governance? Why does the Queen of England combine the two designations of Head of State and Head of the Church of England?

If the truth must be told, the real problem of the world today is the greedy willingness of Britain and America to dominate the economy of other countries in a manner of brigandage. And that has led the duo to adopt military might as a means of cowing down some countries while subjecting others to imperial terror.

Brunt bearers

It is rather unfortunate that those who are bearing the brunt of these evil actions are innocent people who are going about their businesses legitimately. Otherwise, neither America nor Britain would have deserved any sympathy for the various terrorist attacks on certain targets in the two countries. Their plight would have been taken for merely reaping the fruits of their labour.

Religion is being used as a scapegoat in the world today, not by Afghanistan or Ireland, but by Britain and the US because that is their most convenient alibi for unbridled aggression against weaker countries. No sooner had Donald Trump emerged as the new American President than Israel announced that with the new leadership in America the world should forget any thought of a Palestinian State. That statement was made subsequent to Trump’s disclosure that over 12 million people, especially Muslims might be expelled from the US.

Who wants to die?

No one loves to die deliberately in Palestine or in Iraq or in Afghanistan or in Ireland. But when you are forced to live without essence, the tendency is to ask yourself the need to live at all. And, to answer such a question some people might desperately conclude that if they must not live, those who are forcing them to die must also not live. “Man is not innately wicked, but when an attempt is made to consign him to the scrap-heap he shows resentment in no uncertain terms”. Terrorism begets terrorism. But what is one nation’s terrorism is another nation’s heroism.

Allah warns against corruption and the acts of brigandage in chapter 8:25 of the Qur’an thus: “And guard against calamity that may afflict not only the wrong doers (but even the innocent ones among you). Know that Allah’s punishment can be very severe”.

Solution

How can we change this evil trend? This, perhaps, is the new reality which dawned on a former British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, when he was about to exchange baton with his predecessor, Tony Blair, some years ago.

In a chat with Labour Party members in Manchester shortly before he assumed office as Prime Minister, Brown said he recognised the fact that global extremism could never be defeated by military force alone. His words:

“Our foreign policy in the years ahead will reflect the truth that to isolate and defeat terrorist extremism now involves more than military force….it (terrorism) is a struggle of ideas and ideals that in the coming years will be waged and won for the hearts and minds here at home and around the world”. Many well-meaning, foresighted Nigerians have drummed the same warning to the ears of Nigerian government. But a government that is wiser than its subjects will never heed such a warning.

When he was making the above statement, Brown never thought that Britain would soon come under a new terrorist attack. But just a few days after that famous speech, Glasgow Airport became a target of terrorist attack. And that was on the very day he formally assumed office as Prime Minister. What became clearer especially with September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, was that no country is actually immune to terrorist attack. History has not cited a single example of terrorism which was conquered on the battle field. Thus, since no power on earth can claim to have monopoly of terror peace would better be achieved by sharing the wisdom of others through dialogue in ending terrorism.

Reality

That is the reality to which the West, especially Britain and the US, had deliberately been blind. If that reality had become the spectacle with which the West viewed the world before now peace would have returned to its rightful place as the reigning force of human universe and the idea of manufacturing and supplying weapons to some people against others would have stopped permanently. Now, with the emergence of a new ‘Fuhrer’ in the US, hat reality seems to have become daydream.

The religious world was once peaceful until America renounced her policy of isolationism in 1945. It took that country to join Britain in using the Press to invent labelling names and acronyms to derogate certain religions (particularly Islam) and to demoralise their adherents. One major fact which the world is yet to realise is that every religion is built on the foundation of culture.

No religion can be attacked to the exclusion of its culture. And nothing in the life of man is called civilisation outside culture. That is why some people are ready to die when their religion comes under a violent attack from those who are ignorant of it.

The Greeks, the Romans, the Assyrians and the Persians of the ancient world did not fight wars because of religion. Their motives were material but today they have all gone into irreversible oblivion. Today’s people who are bent on exhibition of power will eventually follow their way. Materialism is nothing but vanity which is invariably ephemeral. That is why Prophet Muhammad (SAW) or any of his disciples never crossed swords with Christians when they were alive.

The very first international wars fought for religious reason which by necessity pitched Muslims against Christians were the Crusade Wars. And these were caused by sheer miscarriage of information. Yet, about one thousand years after those unwarranted wars, their scar still remains indelible in the world today.

Conclusion

Violence on the basis of religion can terminate lives. It can destroy properties and ruin cities and towns as well as cause dislocations and relocations of people and settlements. But it can never win hearts nor change conviction. Truth is bitter and thus repugnant to people of falsehood.

But despite all these, oppressed Muslims are ready to join other oppressed people of the world in welcoming a new initiative from the West with a view to forging peace for all and sundry. Donald Trump’s America must tread softly to ensure a peaceful continuity of the modern world.

The post The seed of terror appeared first on The Nation Nigeria.

The title of today’s article in this column is not the coinage of yours sincerely. It is rather an adaptation of the title of a book recently published by the University of Lagos. The book was jointly written by some Muslim scholars and edited by Professor M. A. Bidmos (the Chief Imam of the University of Lagos Mosque) and Dr. I. A. Musa. Both editors are renowned scholars and contributing experts to the contents of the book.

What actually motivated the writing of the book is the concern in many quarters about the methodology of managing the Mosque especially by Nigerian Imams and the effect of such methodology on the contemporary Muslim congregations. In its determination to put round pegs in right holes the University of Lagos decided to establish a special course through which prospective Imams could be properly trained on leadership and management of the Mosque. It is the very first of its type in Nigeria.

Definition of Mosque

The word Mosque is the corrupt English pronunciation of the Arabic word ‘MASJID’ (otherwise called ‘MASGID’ in Egyptian dialect) which literarily means a place of prostration. Contrary to the general misconception here in Nigeria, Mosque is not meant for SALAT alone. Therefore leading Salat alone does not really make a Muslim an Imam. Any Muslim who can recite Suratul Fatihah and some other Surahs or Verses very well can lead Salat. The Mosque, on the other hand, serves many purposes each of which has a fundamental significance. For instance the very first Mosque established by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in Madinah was a multipurpose one. That Mosque named the ‘Mosque of Qubah’ did not serve as a place of worship alone. It also served as a school, a library, a bank, a clinic, a court of law and even a parliament for the Muslim community. Whoever will manage such a vital institution, therefore, must be adequately trained for it.

Mosque as a source of

knowledge and civilisation

The very first University in the world, (University of Cordoba), established in the 8th century CE by the Muslims in Spain, started as a Mosque. And, it will be recalled that even the three oldest Universities in the world today: Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt; Qarawiyyin University in Fez, Morocco and Zaytuniyyah University in Tunis, Tunisia, (each of which is well over 1000 years old) started as Mosques. Thus, it becomes clear that one cannot seriously talk about human civilization without a fundamental reference to the Mosque as well as the Imams who happen to be its managers. Actually, nothing is called Mosque in the absence of Muslim congregations and their Imams.

The Mosque and the Imam

Mosque and Imam are like the message and the messenger. There can hardly be any access to one without going through the other. And if the one is afflicted by any disenchantment the other will surely feel the pain. In Islamic doctrine, the functions of a Mosque are both spiritual and temporal. For Muslims, none of these can be taken for granted or handled with levity.

Imamate by Scholarship

When Prophet Muhammad (SAW) described learned scholars as the heirs to the Prophets he was referring to Imams. This is because no genuine Muslim can statutorily be an Imam without first being a learned scholar. However, there is a sharp difference between a scholar and a learned scholar. The one can be self-arrogated. The other is intellectually evident.

Becoming an Imam, if due process is followed, is like becoming a judge after a period of certified experience acquired subsequent to graduating from the Law School. It is not enough to graduate from a Qur’anic school and teach in a Madrasah for a few years to be qualified as Imam. Neither should attainment of Imamate be by heritage through a consanguine lineage. Lawyers do attend the Law School after graduating from the Universities and even practise in law chambers for a number of years before they become qualified for appointment as judges.

Doctors undergo Houseman-ship after their graduation from medical colleges before they are formally admitted into the medical Profession. Other professionals also undergo practical industrial training in their respective fields of discipline before they can be qualified as practising professionals. Now, apart from graduating from Madrasah, where do our Imams undergo training to be statutorily qualified as Imams? This question indicates that a glaring vacuum exists in the methodology of Mosque management which Nigerian Muslim Ummah is yet to fill.

Problem of Appointing Imams

One of the first problems arising from appointing Imams in Nigeria is lack of leadership training. People are made Imam or assume the office of Imam only on the basis of what they learned from the Qur’anic schools. Besides the preliminary general Islamic knowledge which most Muslim clerics often claim to have acquired what else can be said to make a Muslim an Imam? In reality, the aspect of dealing with the complexity of human nature and the competent management of that aspect is the quality that is supposed to make a person an Imam. But incidentally, that is the real aspect that is missing in Nigerian Mosques today.

Even after coming into office as Imam, no special training is ever organized to enable the Imam know the enormity of his duty and map out the strategy with which to handle it. It is a well known fact that no written documents are ever handed over to the new Imam to show where the last Imam stopped and where the new one should commence from. In other words, no records of activities or achievements are available in our Mosques except by oral transmission. How can there be progress?

The need for training

Whereas the intellectual sophistication of Imamate is such that requires periodic workshops, seminars, conferences and trainings, none of these is ever arranged to update our Imams and improve their quality. Thus, our Imams remain ignorantly static in the belief that they have reached the peak of Islamic knowledge having become Imams. This is not the case with the Christian counterparts who as a matter of obligation must undergo tutelage in Christian doctrines and Church management at specialized seminaries before becoming qualified as Pastors or Bishops. In the case of Imams, there is no such training and thus, imamate is seen as a meal ticket which provides the Imam an opportunity to cheapen the title and abuse the office. Perhaps that is why most Nigerian Imams shun self esteem as they struggle for crumbs under the tables of moneybags in the society. With such a degrading status, how can the leadership of an Imam be respected and his supposed guidance be followed?

The Prophet’s recommendation

Whereas Prophet Muhammad’s recommendation for Imamate is that one should only become an Imam when legitimately chosen and appointed as such, based on intellectual capability and exemplary mannerism, the situation in Nigeria today is the direct opposite of that recommendation. In the cause of appointing an Imam, factions of Muslim groups often gang up against one another just as families pick quarrels and hostilities against families having turned Imamate into an inheritable title within a clan. Yet, the claim is that they want to serve Allah. Must Allah be served desperately with ignorance and degradation?

Implications of Imamate

If those fighting to become Imams knew the implication of serving in that office and reporting back to Allah in the Hereafter, they would never have presented themselves for the post. An Imam is the spiritual guarantor of his congregation. He takes responsibility for any spiritual misdemeanour of that congregation before Allah.

But like any other Nigerian public office, Imamate has been so grossly commercialized that the process of putting people in that office has been seriously corrupted. That is why most of our Imams are half-baked intellectually and even bankrupt morally.

Though, the Prophet’s recommendation is for dedicated Muslims to compete for the office of the Muadhdhin (one who calls people to Salat and practically manages the Mosque), Nigerian Muslims prefer to slog it out with one another over the office of Imam just because of the pecuniary benefit accruing from that office.

The objective of the training course

It is in order to correct the anomaly in appointing Imams in Nigerian Mosques and to forestall the entailed danger embedded in that anomaly that the authorities of UNILAG came up with the idea of a training course for Nigerian Imams and invited experts to write the concise book entitled ‘MOSQUE LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT’ for the course. The book is both a curriculum for the training and a compendium of factors of knowledge and dignity in leadership and management.

The Book

The 165 page book consists of eight parts with each part classified into chapters. There are 21 chapters in all. Every Part in the book serves is a reference point for the tutorials to be provided in the classrooms at the end of which each enrolled Imam will be awarded a Diploma Certificate if successful. The eight parts are as follows:

Part One: Imams and Imamate Responsibilities. Under this part are chapters such as: An Imam and Self Esteem; Qualifications and Qualities of an Imam; The Duties of Imam in the Light of ‘Maqasid Al-Sharia’ah. Under this part are chapters like:

Part Two: Arabic Grammar for Khutbah Writing and Delivery. Under this Part are chapters like: The Importance of Arabic to Imam; Essential Nahw Concepts in Khutbah Writing and Delivery.

Part Three: Noon of Islam. Under this part are the following chapters: An Overview of Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates; Appraising the Golden and Silver periods of Abbasid Era; Towards Restoration of Spirituality and Morality of Education.

Part Four: Qur’an and Hadith Texts. Under this parts are the following chapters to be found: Ethics and Mechanism of flawless Reading of the Qur’an; Selections from the Sihahus-Sittah and other Collections of Hadith on Imamate.

Part Five: Communication Skills in English. Under this part are chapters such as: Nature and Relationship between Language and Literature; Time and Tense in English; Essentials of Public Speaking; Guidelines for Essay Writing.

Part Six: Approaches and Ethics of Da’wah. Under this Part are the following chapters: Approaches to Islamic Propagation; Conditions and Ethics of Da’wah Practice.

Part Seven: Conducting Tafsir. Under this Part are chapters like: Qualities of the Mufassir and Types of Tafsir; Model Tafsir.

Part Eight: Conducting Islamic Ceremonies. Under this part are to chapters such as: Overview and Methods of Conducting Nikah, ‘Aqiqah & Janazah Ceremonies to be found.

It is necessary to hint here that getting a copy of the book and reading it inside out does not make a Muslim cleric a qualified Imam. There is much more to learn in the classroom than the book contains. The hood does not make the Monk. There is no short cut to knowledge.

About the course

For the first time in Nigeria, a University course for training Muslim clerics in the art of leadership and management of the Mosque debut at the University of Lagos. The course which is designed for a period of six months and hold every Saturday within the period commenced sometime in 2015. It is strictly meant for graduates of Higher Madrasah who possess at least Thanawiyyah/Senior Secondary School Certificates as well as University graduates who aspire to become qualified Imams. The cost of the course is N120000 and the cover price of the book is N1000. This course is a great opportunity for serious Muslim Organizations with Mosques to train their Imams or prospective Imams.

The resource persons

Most of the resource persons for this programme who are also co-authors of the book in question are not just renowned scholars they are also men of dignity and impeccable character. They are as follows:

Professor M. A. Bidmos (Coordinator); Professor T. G. O. Gbadamosi; Alhaji M. O.Junaid; Dr. I. A. Musa; Dr. Nurain Alimi; Dr. Tajudeen Yusuf; Dr. Abdul Hakeem Adekunle; Alhaji Bashir Abdur-Rahim; Imam Abdullah Akinbode and Imam Zakariya Muhmmad Thanni.

The first graduating set

The first set of aspiring qualified Imams enrolled for the course as pioneering students in 2015 and graduated on Saturday, October 22, 2016. They were 20 in number. Every participant in that set who graduated last October has now become a qualified Imam with high sense of pride.

Similitude of the Mosque

The similitude of the Mosque is like that of a beehive. It ventilates the activities of the Muslims to solve their spiritual and temporal problems through interactions with their fellow brothers and sisters and through the guidance of their Imams if such Imams are well educated and do not constitute liabilities to their congregations.

That our Mosques have not lived up to expectations in this sphere even in the 21st century is however, not the end of the story. Righting the wrong is one of the foremost characteristics of Islam. It is better to be late in doing the right thing than not to do the right thing at all. We can still start to put things right as from today by ventilating our Mosque atmospheres for social welfare; for education; for health care; for conflict resolution; for Zakah management; for spiritual guidance and counselling; for economic growth and skill building; as well as for information and publicity. It is only by doing these that our Imams and clerics can rightly claim to be engaged in sensible Da’awah.

Conclusion

As a Muslim community, we have lived with a system for hundreds of years without achieving the necessary objective of our religious mission. In the process, we have lost most of our best brains to the other side of the bridge. We cannot afford to surge ahead with an unprofitable venture at this twilight of the world. We must change the system! The Muslim Ummah must be made to see why they need the Mosque as much as why the Mosque needs them. Experimenting with a new system will not only put a stop to basking in the euphoria of the past, it will also engender a durable legacy for the current generation of Muslims. While congratulating the University of Lagos for this historic initiative ‘The Message’ column hereby implores all forward-looking Muslim Organizations in Nigeria to take advantage of this programme to lay a solid foundation for good management of the Mosque in Nigeria. Our Imams must meet the required standards by becoming qualified.

“We have not left anything untouched in the Book (Qur’an). Then unto their Lord shall all be reassembled” Q. 6:38.

PREAMBLE

The Allah’s last revelation to mankind called the Qur’an is the ultimate cornerstone which the ignorant ones continue to subject to undue controversy in the building of their ultimate homes. This Book is like the beaming Sun the existence of which some blind people continue to query. Whether they see it or not, the Sun remains scorching in its effect and magnanimous in its photosynthesis. Yet, the denial of its existence cannot stop the blindness in the blind. The Qur’an is the mother of all encyclopaedias without which the existence of humanity will be a mere anathema.

Reviewing the esoteric connotation of the above quoted verse of the Qur’an with divine guidance any thoughtful and sincere human being will nod his/head in absolute agreement. Nothing is left untouched by Allah in the Glorious Qur’an.

Meteorological explanation

From its very inception, Islam has been very explicit on the issue of environment and meteorology. This further confirms the fact that this divine religion is not for a particular time or people. It is a religion of knowledge for all times and all races. The meteorological explanation rendered by Islam is not meant for this column today. It will be brought in full in the very near future In sha’ Allah. But at a recent international conference on global warming an Islamic scholar gave some Qur’anic insight into the causes and effects of global warming thus:

“One of the issues that give the world a concern currently is global warming. Experts around the world have been warning about this for decades and have been urging governments to act faster in slowing down the rate of global warming. They warn that there is a 75% risk that global temperatures will rise a further two to three degrees in the next 50 years. The consequence of this would be dramatic. In fact a rise of just one degree would melt the Greenland ice sheet and drown the Maldives, but a three degree increase would kill the Amazon rainforest, wipe out nearly half of all species facing extinction and wreak havoc with crop yields due to weather changes”.

Whilst the global climate goes through hot and cold cycles, what is worrying about the current phase is the pace of change that could send humanity first into a final spin. Although man has certainly benefited from technological advancements that have given us plastics, air travel and cheap food – what is important is to maintain a balance so that excessive consumerism does not ride roughshod over nature’s harmony.

The role of man

In Islam man is given the role of trusteeship over the earth, which is a huge responsibility. In the past, man had to be careful how he treated his local environment since excessive grazing or agriculture could bring ruin to his livelihood. His knowledge was also limited but in the event of a disaster either through ignorance or abuse, he could at least resort to moving elsewhere and start all over again. Now we should have no excuse for ignorance and we should have learnt from our past to avoid misuse. But what is worrying is that the impacts of our behaviour are not just local anymore, they are global. If we fail to act in a responsible manner then we cannot simply relocate because there will be nowhere to go. It is therefore vital that as producers, manufacturers and consumers, we ensure that we give due consideration to the impact of our actions. Such a responsibility is not just that of the east or the west but a responsibility for all across nations and continents.

Qur’anic teaching

Islam teaches us that God has continued and will continue to provide us with ample resources for all time. But through man’s misuse, this balance may change. It is this personal greed of man that makes them squander these resources and deprive others who may need those resources. The Holy Qur’an warns mankind in Chapter 7, verse 32 “O children of Adam! Eat and drink but exceed not the bounds; surely He (Allah) does not love those who exceed the bounds”

The overall message of Islam is that it promotes harmony by advising moderation. It accepts that we need to use resources for our progress but this should be done wisely and in a sustainable manner, so that a satisfactory medium is found. Allah alluded to this in Chapter 25, verse 68 where He made reference to: “those who, when they spend are neither extravagant nor niggardly but moderate between the two”.

Thus, as individuals, we should act on the Qur’anic injunction that promotes balance and prohibits excess even as nations need to be more willing to share knowledge for the sake of the planet rather than for profit and take collective action in line with their collective responsibility. By doing so we shall be able to win the pleasure of God and honour our trusteeship of the earth for the benefit of the present and the future generations”.

Conference of world scientists

A few years ago, a top scientist conference in Britain raised the stakes for the dangers of global warming, with concerned scientists outlining a timeframe for the massive horrors awaiting the globe unless swift actions were taken at the right time. The findings in that conference were not in any way different from the position of Islam on the subject over 1430 years ago.

The three-day conference held in the south western British city of Exeter focused on scientists’ latest assessment of the global warming problem, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The conference was bluntly told that global warming would boost outbreaks of infectious diseases, worsen shortages of water and food in vulnerable countries and create an army of climate refugees fleeing uninhabitable regions.

Scientists even gave a detailed timetable of the destruction and distress that global warming was likely to cause to the world, according to the British daily ‘The Independent’.

Impacts of Environmental Degradation

The scale of these impacts varies according to the speed and degree with which fossil fuel pollution is tackled as well the growth rate of the world’s population and how well countries can adapt to climate shift.

Whole species of animals from frogs to leopards, living in vulnerable areas and with nowhere else to go, face extinction due to global warming, they said, according to the daily.

“The study pulls together for the first time the projected impacts on ecosystems and wildlife, food production, water resources and economies across the earth, for given rises in global temperature expected during the next hundred years.

“The resultant picture gives the most wide-ranging impression yet of the bewildering array of destructive effects that climate change is expected to exert on different regions, from the mountains of Europe and the rainforests of the Amazon to the coral reefs of the tropics.”

What out for Year 2050

According to a study quoted by Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of the UN’s top scientific authority on climate change, by 2050 as many as 150 million “environmental refugees” may have fled coastlines vulnerable to rising sea levels, storms or floods, or agricultural land that may become too arid to cultivate, AFP said.

In India alone, there could be 30 million people displaced by persistent flooding, while a sixth of Bangladesh could be permanently lost to sea level rise and land subsidence, according to the study.

The Independent newspaper revealed that the conference was called personally by the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair as part of Britain’s attempts to move the climate change issue up the agenda during the UK presidency of the G8 group of rich nations, and the European Union.

Disturbing warnings

There were already disturbing warnings from the latest climate research, including the revelation from the British Antarctic Survey that the massive West Antarctic ice sheet might be disintegrating – an event which would raise sea levels around the world by 16ft (4.9 metres) per daily if it really happened.

“Hare’s timetable shows the impacts of climate change multiplying rapidly as average global temperature goes up, towards 1C above levels before the industrial revolution, then to 2C, and then 3C.

“It is when the temperature moves up to 2C above the pre-industrial level, expected in the middle of this century – within the lifetime of many people alive today – that serious effects start to come thick and fast, studies suggest.”

In the second half of the century

According to the paper, when the temperature moves up to the 3C level, expected in the early part of the second half of the century, these effects will become critical. There is likely to be irreversible damage to the Amazon rainforest, leading to its collapse, and the complete destruction of coral reefs is likely to be widespread.

The conference, however, ended up on a positive note, with the forum showing how far the argument for carbon sequestration has come, with a series of experts insisting it could be transformed from fiction to fact. Whole species of animals from frogs to leopards, living in vulnerable areas and with nowhere else to go, face extinction due to global warming, they said, according to the daily.

“The study pulled together for the first time the projected impacts on ecosystems and wildlife, food production, water resources and economies across the earth, for possible rises in global temperature expected during the next hundred years.

Historical evidence of global warming

“The resultant picture gave the most wide-ranging impression yet of the bewildering array of destructive effects that climate change was expected to exert on different regions, from the mountains of Europe and the rainforests of the Amazon to the coral reefs of the tropics.”

The Earth’s climate has changed throughout history. Just in the last 650,000 years there have been seven cycles of glacial advance and retreat, with the abrupt end of the last ice age about 7,000 years ago marking the beginning of the modern climate era – and of human civilization. Most of these climate changes are attributed to very small variations in Earth’s orbit that change the amount of solar energy our planet receives.

The current trend

Through advanced researches, scientists have come to realize that the current warming trend is of particular significance because most of it is very likely human-induced and proceeding at a rate that is unprecedented in the past 1300 years.1

Earth-orbiting satellites and other technological advances have enabled scientists to see the big picture, collecting many different types of information about our planet and its climate on a global scale. This body of data, collected over many years, reveals the signals of a changing climate.

The heat-trapping nature of carbon dioxide and other gases was demonstrated in the mid-19th century.2 Their ability to affect the transfer of infrared energy through the atmosphere is the scientific basis of many instruments flown by NASA. There is no question that increased levels of greenhouse gases must cause the Earth to warm in response.

Ice cores drawn from Greenland, Antarctica, and Tropical Mountain glaciers show that the Earth’s climate responds to changes in greenhouse gas levels. They also show that in the past, large changes in climate have happened very quickly, geologically-speaking: in tens of years, not in millions or even thousands.

The rise in global sea level

Global sea level, according to scientific research rose by about 17 centimetres (6.7 inches) in the last century. The rate in the last decade, however, is nearly double that of the last century.

All three major global surface temperature reconstructions show that Earth has warmed since 1880. Most of the warming occurred in the past 35 years, with 15 of the 16 warmest years on record occurring since 2001. The year 2015 was the first time the global average temperatures were 1 degree Celsius or more above the 1880-1899 average. Even though the 2000s witnessed a solar output decline resulting in an unusually deep solar minimum in 2007-2009, surface temperatures continue to increase.

The oceans have absorbed much of this increased heat, with the top 700 meters (about 2,300 feet) of ocean showing warming of 0.302 degrees Fahrenheit since 1969.

Shrinking ice sheets

The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass. Data from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment have shown that the Greenland lost 150 to 250 cubic kilometers (36 to 60 cubic miles) of ice per year between 2002 and 2006, while Antarctica lost about 152 cubic kilometres (36 cubic miles) of ice between 2002 and 2005.

Both the extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice has declined rapidly over the last several decades. Glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world – including in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska and Africa. If by year 2050 nothing significant is done to save this situation what will become of human existence? That is a food for thought.

New Chief Imam for Folawiyo Mosque

all is set for the decoration of Alhaji Imam Alli Olukayode Atanda with the turban as the Chief Imam of Abdul Wahab Folawiyo, Surulere (New Lagos) Central Mosque.

The event will hold today at the mosque’s premises in Surulere.

Imam Atanda will succeed the late Sheikh Abdul Quadri Moyosore.

He was until his appointment the Imam of Oluwatoyin Mosque, one of the twelve Ratibi Mosques that are registered owners of the Abdul Wahab Folawiyo, Surulere (New Lagos) Central Mosque.

Muslim Media holds lecture on good governance

Good governance, among others, will dominate the 11th annual lecture of Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN) Abuja chapter on Monday in Abuja.

A statement by its chairman Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Balogun said the lecture, entitled “the Islamic position on good governance’’ will hold at National Mosque Conference Hall, Abuja.

It would be delivered by the Chief Imam of the Nigerian Navy, Shaykh Taofiq Miqdad Gidado and chaired by Director-General, National Orientation Agency (NOA) Dr Garba Abari. Other guests expected include Voice of Nigeria (VON) former Director-General Alhaji Abubakar Jijiwa, FCT Minister Alhaji Muhammad Bello and Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) Secretary-General Prof. Is-haq Oloyede.

10, 000 to attend Aqsa Day

No fewer than 10,000 people are expected for this year’s Aqsa Day.

The event, organised by the Muslim Awareness International (MAI), will hold on Monday at the National Stadium Surulere, Lagos.

Federal Government yesterday declared Monday December 12 as public holiday.

Alhaji AbdurRazaq AbdusSalam, a Deputy Director at Voice of Nigeria (VON) and Dr Odukoya Adelaja Odutola, a Senior Lecturer from the Department of Political Science, University of Lagos and institution’s Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Chairman are the guest speakers.

MAI Director Luqman Balogun said the programme will also feature exhibitions as well as drama and ballad presentations which will centre on the unity of the Muslims as the panacea to Palestinian problems.

He decried the occupation of Palestinian land by Israeli government.

“The state of Israel was created on the basis of lies and deceit and has continued to struggle to sustain a half-century occupation over the land of the Palestinians in the face of universal opposition and condemnation,” he said.

Balogun accused Israel and her allies of employing varying “ludicrous narratives and deplorable actions to defend their illegal activities in the occupied settlements.

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