Category: Femi Abbas

Monologue

This article is not new. It was first written and published in this column 13 years ago (2009). Yet, the situation that warranted its writing and publication at that time continues to linger as an implacable spectre threatening, days and nights, to devour the lives of ordinary Nigerians. Thus, a repeat of its publication here today, is considered a sine qua non at the request of readers who still remember its contents and consider it as a potent psychological respite for our country. After all, readers, like customers, are kings and queens in their own right.

 

Preamble

An excerpt from the first publication of the article goes thus:

“This world is a dramatic entity mysteriously coded in heterogeneous   parables. Every living thing therein sees that entity from the perspective of its own existence and relates to it as such. However, it takes history to decode it only after the actors in its coded drama might have left the stage.

Who are we as a people? Where are we coming from? And, for where are we heading from here? These are some of the questions which all rational human beings, anywhere in the world, should ask themselves from time to time if there is any hope for progress. Those questions are an indication of a planned progress that can be pursued through positive actions.

But, ironically, in Nigeria, such questions have been rendered irrelevant because the circumstances of life imposed on this retrogressive country have changed the priorities of her citizens. The only question now in vogue, which every privileged elite seems to concentrate upon is this: ‘what will I get for myself in this appointment?

That obnoxious question is the real drama that has permanently engaged the attention of overwhelming majority of the so-called Nigerian elites since the commencement of Nigeria’s fourth republic in 1999. It is the question that engendered corruption and crowns it as the despotic king that now rules Nigeria with aggrandized impunity. It is the question that fosters greed and impunity beyond imagination even as it fetters conscience to the stake of Satan. It is the question that presents mirage to Nigerian youths of today as the only substance that is worthy of pursuit.

Hmmm! We now live in a material world where immaterial   substances are taken or rather mistaken for value.

 

No Answer

Incidentally, however, no effort has ever been made to answer that all-time question even if to confirm the aberration in sticking to the evanescence of this world. If any such answer had been found and applied effectively, it   would have drastically reduced the current rate of crimes in Nigeria to the barest minimum. But alas, the opposite is the case.

 

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 Prophet Musas’ time, Nigerians have virtually become like Egyptian gypsies of yore who were wandering aimlessly without a definite destination and wallowing in abject poverty in the midst of abundance. Where are we going from here?

 

The Wasted 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. About two decades ago, over 77 million hectares of land was said to be arable in Nigeria over. Out of this, only about 34 million hectares were reportedly being cultivated for various agricultural activities, including animal husbandry. That was at about the time of writing this article in 2009. Today, this has further dwindled to less than 15 million hectares as vicious insecurity, especially in the farming areas of the country has now virtually put the control of those areas in the hands of Boko Haram terrorists and bandits.

 

Bountiful Blessings

As a people, we are blessed with an excellent climate that helps in maintaining our good health just as we are blessed with rains that water our plants from the sky and gives us the greeneries with which we graze our animals to satisfaction. We are endowed with a variety of nourishing food crops that are enough to feed our huge population without necessarily importing foreign crops for consumption. And, our population is large enough to form the needed market for the sales and consumption of our sundry products.

 

Qur’anic Attestation

The Qur’an vividly attests to the above assertion 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 pastures for you and for your cattle to delight in…” Q. 80:24-

 

Manpower

In addition to the aforementioned divine blessings, 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 in all fields of human endeavours to ensure the growth and development of our country.

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

 

Dearth of Leadership

If Nigerians have consistently suffered from anything, it is a dearth of responsible leadership that should ordinarily care about our foremost heritage which is agriculture. That food insecurity is now a major threat to Nigerians can only be attributed to sheer selfishness, greed and avarice on the part of the ruling class especially in the disastrous first 16 years of the so-called fourth republic, (1999 to 2015), when the rain of dollars was falling torrentially from the sky of oil.

That misfortune started when the first shot at the Presidency, in 1999, was entrusted to a parochial ‘prisoner’ who had completely lost contact with the actual reality of the modern time.

On his assumption of office in that year, some equally parochial but die hard optimists, saw him as a reincarnate of Prophet Yusuf (Joseph) of Egypt of yore who could rescue Nigeria from an impending economic scourge.

But no sooner had he completed his first four year tenure in office, as President, than those blind optimists realized that the man they classified as the modern day ‘Yusuf’ coming from the prison to transform Nigerian dream into reality was actually a ‘Mathew’ without any functional intuition.

As a farmer that he claimed to be, before his incarceration, this Mathew had been expected to act like Chairman Mao of China who started the revolution of his country with agricultural self-sufficiency in the 1960s and was expected to be emulated by the third world leaders. However, far from acting like Mao, Nigeria’s parochial ‘Mathew’ eventually confirmed that no man could give what he does not possess. Thus, with his crude style of governance, he proved that he was never tutored in any decency that could fetch any expected good governance. Yet, while running the course of his second tenure in office, he tried to smuggle a third term into Nigeria’s constitution to pave his way towards life presidency which is typical of African leaders.

Those who dragged him into the presidency from the prison eventually confessed their calamitous error and expressed a belated regret while licking poisonous blood from their bleeding fingers with internal agony. Today, Nigeria is worse than what she was before the turn of the century.

 

Compounded Tragedy

Most of the pioneer Governors of Nigeria’s fourth republic did not help the matter, as far as agriculture was concerned. Rather than focusing on agriculture which was the natural occupation with which their subjects were mostly endowed, those political gold diggers preferred to depend on oil boom largess coming to them from the federal government via the so-called revenue allocation. To them, such a quicker way of getting money illegally into their personal pockets was much more beneficial than investing in agriculture which could only yield results, perhaps years after they might have left office. The only seeming exception at that time was Lagos State where a foresighted erstwhile Senator held sway in commercial ventures despite the deprivation of that State of access to revenue allocation from the federal treasury.

 

Cost of Governance

In Nigeria, the cost of running government alone is enough to render the country bankrupt. By 1999, what was the federal government doing with about 40 federal ministers and scores of Presidential Senior or Special Advisers as well a retinue of Special Assistants when even America, with her huge economic resources, including technological wherewithal, had only about 25 ministers including the Vice President?

Besides, what is the country’s gain in the idea of immunity for those Governors and the so-called special security vote for them? Besides, should anything be called constituency allowances for the legislators at the Federal or State levels, which run into billions of naira, especially at a time when innocent citizens are crying for food and are wallowing in abject poverty?

 

Evidence of Hunger

No one could have ever thought, about two decades ago, that artificial hunger could be added to the abysmal level of poverty in the this country despite the unprecedented rise in the price of oil in the international market during those wasted years. However, the lotus-eaters in government, at that time, fraudulently turned governance into an artful trick with which to regularly bamboozle the populace into blind submission. The memory of almost hypnotizing propaganda of the 1980s, spearheaded by a government agency called Mass Mobilization for Self Reliance, Social Justice and Economic Recovery (MAMSER), which was established by a self-styled military President, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, and headed by one Professor Jerry Gana, is not lost in us. That Agency’s slogan of “Food and Shelter for all in the Year 2000” which rented the air with a deafening reverberation remains unforgettable. But in the end, nothing came out of it. Rather, some new multi-millionaires suddenly emerged from the platform of that smart project to the gross disadvantage of the masses. That slogan was to be later changed, in the 1990s, to: “Vision 2010” with loud media propaganda that entailed no progressive change.

 

Vision 2020

And, when year 2010 was   approaching under the draconian Presidency of the mentioned visionless ‘Mathew’, the slogan changed again to: ‘Vision 2020, a year in which Nigerian government deceptively claimed to have envisioned making the country one of the 20 most buoyant economies in the world. Now, even in year 2022, where are the indications of the acclaimed visions?  And, now that the two deceptive visions and their initiators have politically fizzled out into perpetual oblivion, where is the place of Nigeria on the map of progress?

 

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, why was the deceived populace also pretending to play along? It takes a visionless populace to beget a deceptive government as the case has always been in Nigeria. No country in history is ever known to have achieved economic Eldorado by any magic wand and Nigeria could not have been an exception. But that was the portion of a self-glorified country that calls herself ‘the giant of Africa’. And, today, what is the result of that self-deception?

 

From FAO’s Report

In a report of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) some years ago, about 300 Nigerians were said to be dying of hunger daily. Only God knows what that figure might have risen to become now. That was the legacy of the past rulers which became the heritage of today’s government. Yet, ironically, the same layers of the foundation of destroyed economy in the past years are the most vocal critics of the county’s economy today. What a shame?

 

Yar’Adua’s Tenure

By some actions taken during his tenure, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua of blessed memory remains highly commendable for showing example of governance with human face and human heart. He did not only admit that the election which brought him into office was faulty, he also promised to correct that error even as he regulated the importation of food items and suspended tariffs on importation of essential food items to the relief of all and sundry. President Yar’Adua also released needed grains from the national silos, from time to time, to check inflation and, at a time, he pumped about N400 billion into the economy for the purpose of creating about 10 million jobs as at 2008. And, besides reducing the pomp price of fuel, as a relief to Nigerians, he also granted unconditional amnesty to the then South-South agitators 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 20 biggest economies in 2020, the move was generally seen as a good beginning of a hopeful future. No other Nigerian President has ever taken such steps in government.

However, as soon as Yar’Adua left the stage, courtesy of his demise, a change of gear was applied as all progressive steps which he had initiated when alive were obliterated and the doors of national treasury were widely thrown open for audacious looters to scoop on with impunity.

 

The Jonathan Years

When it became evident that no miracle could yield any economic success, based on a ramshackle foundation laid down for Nigerian economy by a visionless ‘Mathew’ (from the prison) who, as President, could hardly reason beyond the siege mentality of the prison yard from where he had emerged, the hope of Nigeria, as a country, was certified irredeemably dead. If Goodluck Jonathan, who succeeded Yar’Adua as President, had been well tutored in good governance, he would have known that the vessel which took this country’s ‘Napoleon’ to the proverbial ‘Waterloo’ was incapable of conveying his own government to the Cape of Good Hope. But the accident of history must never cease to play itself out especially in a situation where a hidden agenda is given a premium focus. But one indelible fact must never be forgotten.  Without a historic ‘Yusuf’ in Egypt of yore, only Allah knows what the history of Egypt would have been today. And, without a Pharaoh’s dream of drought, the role of ‘Yusuf’ in averting famine in Egypt would not have become a recurrent decimal in global history.

 

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 Union of Soviets Socialist Republics (USSR), while Israel was a satellite of the United States by proxy. 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 up firmly in order 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 she had been for years.

 

Nigeria’s Situation Today

Today, Nigeria is not afflicted by drought or famine. Neither is she engaged in any uncontrollable disease. 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 badly needs a ‘Yusuf’. But how to get one is a question that requires an urgent answer.

 

Epilogue

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 is what obtains now in the country which has given an unprecedented rise to insurgency and banditry to the amazement of all and sundry. These must not be allowed to further 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 (its misdemeanour)”…. Q. 13:11

Monologue

Promise is a debt. Whoever makes a promise and refuses to fulfill it is definitely a hypocrite. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) once gave a succinct definition of hypocrisy in a way that was never known in history before his time. He said: “A hypocrite is recognizable by three factors: when he talks, he lies; when he promises he reneges and when he is trusted, he betrays”.

Mindful of that axiomatic Hadith, as a Muslim, yours sincerely always tries to avoid a situation whereby my attention would be drawn to the above quoted Hadith as a reminder. I am always conscious that death can come at anytime and, to avoid falling into the dragnet of hypocrisy, I always stand out for truthfulness in words and in action.

Although, it is against the policy of ‘The Message’ column to serialize articles, nevertheless, continuation of an article under a different title is not antithetical to the norm of journalism as a profession, hence, the continuation of last week’s article, in this column, today, under another title is quite in order. Please, read on:

 

Preamble      

It must have been puzzling to many ardent African students of Islamic history that though, the three oldest Universities in the world today, (Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt; Qarawiyyin University in Fez, Morocco and Zaytuniuyyah University in Tunis, Tunisia), are based in Africa, this continent of the black people is still trailing far behind the rest of the world in education and civilization. Not only that, it is also puzzling that two of those three mentioned Universities were christened, either in direct connection with names of women, or that of their actions. Al-Azhar University, in Cairo, for instance, took its name from that of ‘Zahrah’ (meaning bright rose) which was the alternative name for the last daughter of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), called Fatimah. Qarawiyyin University, on the other hand, was directly founded, first, as a Mosque, between 857 and 859 CE, by a woman called Fatimah Al-Fihri, before it became a teaching Centre that eventually paved way for what was tagged the golden era of Islam in education and knowledge. Linking those institutions to women’s names and activities could not have been by accident. It was rather an affirmation of the global recognition accorded those primordial women for the roles they played in the educational upbringing of children especially at tender age. It is also an historical confirmation that certain African women had played leading roles in the field of education in the past and they deserved to be emulated. Thus, as it was in the past, so it is in the present.

 

Explanation

Perhaps naming those institutions after certain women because of their dignified pedigrees or in recognition of the educational roles they played may somehow explain why the unique Islamic Centre named ‘Ayisat Aweni Raji’, which was recently commissioned in Iseyin, is named after a woman.

For the information of thiose who care to know, ‘Ayisat Aweni Raji’ is the name of the mother of the provider of that Centre sited in Iseyin. Incidentally, however, the woman demised early last year (2021) while the project was rapidly progressing to advanced stage and, she could, therefore, not live to witness the commissioning of the Centre. Allah Akbar!

Who is the Provider of this Centre?

 

The visionary provider of ‘Ayisat Aweni Raji’ historic Islamic Centre is a Nigerian Lawyer with a unique mindset. His name is Ahmed Adeniyi Raji, a senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

He graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, and, was called to Nigerian Legal Bar at the Nigerian Law school, Lagos, in 1988. He later proceeded to Kings College of the University of London in the United Kingdom (UK), for a Master’s Degree in Law.

Barrister Raji practiced law in Shinkafi Kusamotu, Olojo and Co. Chambers for about 11 years including the one year of Nigerian Youth Service Corps (NYSC). During that time, he convincingly proved his mettle as a brilliant young man before he went ahead to   establish his own Law firm in 1999. That was the time he started alleviating poverty in Nigeria, in his own little way, by employing younger Lawyers for training and as partners in his Chambers. Today, that Chambers, which is vivid in Abuja, Lagos and Kano, has become a frontline model in the practice of Law in Nigeria.

 

Areas of Practice

His areas of Law practice include: Litigation; Arbitration; Mediation and Conciliation; Criminal Law; Banking and Corporate Finance; Election Matters; Capital Market; Administrative and Constitutional Matters; Maritime and Admiralty as well as Telecommunication and Debt Recovery.

Barrister Raji is not just a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, he is also a Fellow of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) and Certified Capital Market Solicitor.

 

Other Activities

Besides the practice of Law, Barrister Ahmed Raji also served the country as an appointed Resident Electoral Commissioner for eight years from 2003 to 2011, in five different States. His decision to    found an Islamic Centre is not just a way of showing gratitude to the Almighty Allah for endowing him with bountiful resources but also a confirmation that elevation of Islam to a lofty height in Nigeria has consistently been by the elite rather than the clerics. Virtually all the Muslim Organizations in Nigeria today were founded by elites and not by clerics.

 

Why Founding Islamic Centre?

One of the most probing questions that are likely to throb the minds of certain inquisitive people about ‘Ayisat Aweni Raji’ Islamic Centre is why did Raji opt for such a non-profit-making venture with such huge resources. The answer to that question is not far-fetched. In every well-meaning man or woman of substance, there is a combination of instinct and foresight which often culminates in a worthy legacy, if well managed. Barrister Ahmed Raji cannot be exempted from that class of people. With the establishment of a glorious Centre like ‘Ayisat Aweni Raji’, in Iseyin, he has wonderfully killed two birds with one stone. Not only has he lifted Iseyin, which is his city of birth, from national obscurity to international limelight, he has also illuminated the tunnel on the way of his mother’s journey to eternal life through her transit in the grave. There is a great lesson in this for all blessed children who are yearning for the mercy of Allah.

 

Iseyin Before and Now

Before now, Iseyin was only known, mostly in the South West region of Nigeria. But with the provision of this historic Centre, which is accorded a website that is reachable in all parts of the world, the expectation of a crescent graduating into a full blown, illuminating moon, has become an irreversible reality. And, with that, the insignia of the provider of that Centre is indelibly being assured on the rock of life. If a crescent of hope could grow into a full blown moon without experiencing an eclipse, who says the moon itself cannot flow beneficially in its orbit without encountering an eclipse? For those who are sincerely interested in this historic Centre and are ready to benefit from its global tentacle, the link of its website is as follows:

https://ayisatawenirajiorg/about/

Meanwhile, the grandiose photograph with which this article is illustrated is just a part of the wonderful project and not the whole of it. To ascertain its complete outlook for now, the Centre’s website is the right compass with which to find the way facts and figures.

 

Prayer

Let us pray the Almighty Allah to repose Mama’s soul in eternal bliss and grant his children and family the fortitude with which to surge ahead smoothly in life with His divine mercy. Amin!

Monologue

One of the most remarkable characteristics of history, which makes it an all-time teacher for mankind, is random repetition of facts and figures.

Without such repetition, man’s natural forgetfulness would have shown the way of permanent oblivion to history. It can therefore be concluded that history is not just a master teacher but also a nonesuch reminder of events and occurrences. Brilliant researchers and genuine seekers of knowledge can gracefully testify to this assertion.

 

Preamble

On Tuesday, the 16th of November, 2021, all roads led to Iseyin, in Oke Ogun area of Oyo State. That was the day on which a galaxy of foremost traditional rulers, notable Imams and Alfas, frontline professionals including justices of the various Courts in Nigeria as well as sundry prominent men and women of distinction from Yoruba land and other parts of Nigeria assembled in that city with an unprecedented  sense of history. The most vertical personality that conspicuously stood out of the pack, on that occasion, was the Sultan of Sokoto and President General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), His Eminence, Dr. Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni. He came all the way from Sokoto accompanied by a retinue of scholarly elite from all parts of Nigeria. And, the frontline traditional rulers of Nigeria’s South West region, led by the Alaafin of Oyo, His Royal Majesty, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Atanda Adeyemi III, were readily on hand to welcome His Eminence and his entourage to Iseyin city at a least expected time and, for an undreamt purpose.

 

Muswen’s Role

On the other hand, the President of the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN) who is also the Deputy President General (South) of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Rasaki Oladejo, FCS, also led a large group of South West Muslims to the occasion as part of His Eminence’s entourage. It was an elaborate carnival of a sort, never to be forgotten in Yoruba land.

 

The Purpose of the Occasion

The purpose of that unprecedented occasion was the rekindling of the glow of Islamic renaissance, in Iseyin, as facilitated by a ‘son of the soil’. The occasion was also meant for the commissioning of a unique Citadel of knowledge named ‘Ayisat Aweni Raji Memorial Islamic Centre’.                                                  Hosted by Iseyin city, that historic Citadel is a vivid reminder of the first Institution of Higher learning, in Islam, which was christened ‘Baytul Hikmah’ (House of Wisdom), and sited in the city of Baghdad, Iraq, about 200 years after the demise of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Just as Iseyin, in Oyo State of today’s Nigeria, is now aspiring to zoom into a global intellectual limelight, with this newly established Citadel, it was Baytul Hikmah that brought the name of the city of Baghdad into the archive of historic reckoning in intellectualism. Now, Iseyin is on the its way to making a similarly noticeable historic mark on the world map.

 

Reminiscence

Baytul Hikmah was founded in 830 CE by the seventh Abbasid Caliph, Abul ‘Abbas Ibn AbduLlah, popularly known as Caliph Al-Ma’mun, in Baghdad, during the golden era of Abbasid Dynasty. It was from the establishment of Baytul Hikmah that the idea of the first University in the world, the University of Cordoba, in Spain, germinated under the rule of the second Umayyad Dynasty, in the early 10th century.

Baytul Hikmah was not just a Centre for theoretical learning. It was also an intellectual institution where literacy was practically transformed into effective education for the purpose of ushering civilization into the world, based on Islamic ethos. Built on the campus of that Institution was a functional library that later became the biggest library in the world and served as the main reservoir of references in knowledge. Even, as at that time (the 9th century), that library contained about 400,000 books, most of which were translated into Arabic from other languages of Hellenic and Assyrian sources. In fact, there was no field of discipline in sciences, arts, philosophy, theocracy and social sciences that could not be richly found in those books as references. And, it was due to the establishment of that Institution that the exigesis (Tafsir) of the Qur’an became sophisticatedly boosted for thorough human understanding. In summary, the University of Cordoba, which happened to be the very first University ever established in the world, was an offshoot of Baytul-Hikmah. University of Cordoba itself was established by the Muslims of Umayyad dynasty, in Spain in about the early 10th century.

 

Genesis of Baytul Hikmah

For quite some time, before the founding of Baytul Hikmah, there was a very strong intellectual competition between two cities of Basrah and Kufah, in Iraq, which later paved way for the thought of establishing a citadel that came to be named ‘Baytul Hikmah’. The leader of Basrah group was Abu Bishr Amr Bn Uthman Bn Qanbar Al-Basri who was popularly known as Sibawayh. And, the leader of the Kufah group was Abul- Hassan Ali Ibn Hamzah Ibn Abdullah, Ibn

‘Uthman, who was popularly known as Al-Kisai. The latter was one of the seven reputable memorizers and readers of the Qur’an and he was a frontline seeker of permanent solution to the complexity of the exposition (Tafsir) of the Qur’an. While the Basrah group specialized in the syntax (Nahw) aspect of Arabic grammar, the Kufah group specialized in the morphology (Sarf) aspect of the same Arabic grammar. The two scholarly groups constituted themselves into two separate schools that were always at intellectual loggerhead. In every seeming problem there must be a divinely blessed way out.

The fierce intellectual rivalry between the two schools in Basrah and Kufah was what gave the world tertiary level of knowledge acquisition that became known as University. And, the formation of grammar for Arabic language was the foundation of that feat to the benefit of the Quran and its exegesis.

It must be remembered that the revelation of the Qur’an did not come with grammar because Arabic language, which was the language of Qur’anic revelation, had no grammar prior to the revelation of the Qur’an. It was the revelation of that sacred Book that led to the formation of Arabic grammar championed by Sibawayh and Al-Kisai.

From this historical background, therefore, it can be inferred that the intellectual rivalry between two renowned  grammarians (Sibawyh and Al-Kisai), which strengthened the Umayyad and Abbasid Dynasties intellectually and culminated in Europe’s eventual renaissance, that led that Caucasian continent to industrialization that introduced technology into the contemporary world.

 

Comment

Today, we can read or talk about ‘Baytul Hikmah’ as a point of intellectual reference because there was a Caliph Al-Ma’amun who valued intellectualism and had an appropriate foresight to back it up with the intent of establishing the citadel called Baytul Hikmah for posterity.

Here in Nigeria, especially, in Yoruba land, there is cause for the Muslims of today and those of tomorrow to say Alhamdu liLlah for gaining free access to a citadel like ‘Ayisat Aweni Raji Memorial Centre’ in Iseyin, at the instance of a single person whose way of thanking Allah for His merciful bounties is to provide a citadel named after his demised mother for the benefit of today’s Muslim generations and those of the future.

 

The Centre

‘Ayisat Aweni Raji Islamic Memorial Centre’ is an institution that tacitly speaks volumes in intellectual language to those who understand the language of knowledge and can sensibly interpret that language to suit the purpose of this ephemeral life and

that of the life hereafter.

While most Yoruba Muslims unnecessarily keep arguing and boasting on the precedence of their cities or towns in gaining access to Islam, Iseyin indigenes simply kept quiet while thinking of exhibiting genuine Islamic faith and practical adherence to it without any verbal boasting. That is a way of confirming, in practical terms, that only empty barrels make the loudest noise.

Meanwhile, rather than inviting fellow indigenes to join hands together in providing a unique citadel that can propel Islam practically aloft to make Iseyin a special template, the provider of ‘Ayisat Aweni Raji’ citadel just decided to hold the bull by the horn, all alone. This is because he knows that embarking on such a spiritual venture by a group or groups of people may take decades if not a century. To invest in such a gargantuan, non-materially profitable venture, in today’s material world, therefore, is a glaring exhibition of absolute faith in the Almighty Allah, the reward of which can come only from that same Allah alone.

 

The Provided Facilities

The facilities provided in that citadel are obviously legendry. Which of those facilities is not positively lamentable? Is it the Mosque that looks like a mini Haram of Makkah or the Shariah Court complex that favourably competes with most of the modern day model courts which form the wings of pride for most advanced countries in the world?

Like in Baytul Hikmah of Baghdad of yore, a historically distinguished library is provided in ‘Ayisat Aweni Raji Memorial Centre’ to cater for the needs of all strata of knowledge seekers, irrespective of age, gender, tribe or religion. The books stored in that library may not have attained the lofty height of figures in thousands, but the few available therein, have no exclusion in fields of learning. Interestingly, there are as many books in that library for professionals, academic scholars and even students of secondary schools, as anyone can imagine. And, the big, two storey building, which harbours that unique library in that Centre, is so well equipped with effective computers that the only question that an unbiased visitor is likely to be “what else is not here”.

If there was anything provided for enhancement of knowledge in Baytul Hikamah, which qualified it for a vintage position of reference in the archive of history, ‘Ayisat Aweni Raji’ citadel has surely surpassed that. This is not only in terms of computer but also in terms of website and internet facilities that makes that Centre a global outfit for knowledge and dissemination of correct information with easy online accessibility. Besides the grandiose Mosque that is gorgeously decorated therein, the Shariah Court and the library, in that Centre are also modern by all standards. And, to give that Centre a befitting comfort of intellectual requirement, a superb hotel is also provided for accommodation within its premises of as a way of making it comfortable for visitors and other travelers to Iseyin. The proviso, however, is that every provision therein is that of Halal alone.

 

Irony of Events

In the primordial time, when Baytul Hikmah was provided for knowledge seekers, there were scanty facilities with which to access knowledge. Today, when the facilities are available in abundance, the world is confronted by the dearth of readers. It is, however, hoped that Nigerian Muslims will wake up from their reading slumber and brace up for an effective utilization of the great opportunity provided, free of charge, in that historic Centre, by a unique philanthropist.

 

The Facilitator

Ever since the commissioning of ‘Ayisat Aweni Raji Centre’, tongues have been wagging just as inquisitions have been surging in a bid to know who provided such a Centre for the sake of Allah. For the information of those who want to know, this column, ‘The Message’, will unmask the provider of that historic Centre next Friday, in sha’Allah, and give the details of the personality of that provider. Pease, be on the lookout for it. God bless you.

Most people who have been privileged to see ‘Ayisat Aweni Raji’ memorial Centre

Physically, have been wondering about who the facilitator of such a such ,

The facilitator of that unique glory is Barrister Ahmed Raji.

Monologue

At a gloomy time like this, when an invisible virus called ‘Corona Virus’ and codenamed COVID-19 turns itself into a merciless biological ‘hurricane’ foraging the lives of humans and threatening those lives with death, famine and poverty while turning hope into forlorn, a recourse to Prophet Muhammad’s medicament should become a matter of prioritized necessity. Now that the global focus is mostly on COVID-19 with its attritional variants, we can jointly seize the opportunity of the current global helplessness to share thoughts and ideas, through this forum, about the causes and effects of ailments generally as well as their possible prevention and cure.

 

Ailments and Medicaments

It is a fact, universally acknowledged, that without ailments there would have been no need for medicaments. Incidentally, however, it is the combination of both   ailments and medicaments that prompted the idea of establishing certain healing institutions, in the primordial time, that came to be named hospitals in the contemporary time.

 

Origin of Hospital

The word hospital itself is a mediaeval English coinage that originated from the Latin word ‘hospes’ or ‘hospice’ (meaning guest) while the word ‘patient’, used to describe a health seeker which  also came from the Latin word ‘Patior’ meaning suffering. Thus, philologically, hospital means a place where suffering guests are given proper care for normal comfort of body system.

Ironically, today, however, despite the ubiquity of hospitals in all nations and communities around the world, global pandemics like COVID-19 still randomly perch on earth to stubbornly resist the efficacy of any synthetic antidote while rendering those hospitals helpless. Thus, humanity grows incredibly restive with no cute assurance for rescue. In such a bewildering situation where this virus has become like a stormy rain showering the entire world with acidic water, will it not be effectively meaningful and rewarding to seek a permanent solution than to keep scampering for temporary  cover? That is what motivated yours sincerely to write this article for the benefit of today’s generation and that of tomorrow.

 

Classification of Medicaments

Whether in the olden days or modern time, medicaments have had to be classified into natural and artificial segments. But because of the sophistication of the modern time, the one is said to be conventional while the other is known as synthetic. However, none of them enjoys the permanency of time and space in the absence of knowledge. It is with knowledge that ailments are diagnosed. It is also with knowledge that medicaments for their prevention or cure are prescribed. In other words, ailments of any type can gain access to man only in the absence of knowledge.

 

Prophetic Medicament

Incidentally, the most potent medicaments of all times, for all ailments, including contagious pandemics like COVID- 19, are the ones prescribed by the unlettered Prophet from Arabia, Muhammad (SAW), the son of Abdullah and Aminah almost 1500 years ago. And those medicaments remain as validly potent today as they were when theywere prescribed in the 7th century AD. And, they will continue to be as much potent throughout the remaining period of human existence on earth because they are unalterably backed up by divine authority.

 

From Adam to Muhammad

Prophet Muhammad’s prescription of medicament for ailments was a confirmation of the coded remedy primordially prescribed by the first human being called Adam.

That primogenitor of mankind was the first human being divinely designated as a Prophet. From the Qur’anic historical record, Muslims came to learn that Adam was hardly one hour old as a creature when he started prescribing medicaments with which to heal ailments. He was commanded by Allah to teach the Angels the names of all creatures, which the Angels had confessed not to know when Allah asked them to name those creatures. Thus, by teaching the Angels those names, Prophet Adam became, not only the teacher of Angels, but also their Doctor and this was to spark off a fierce controversy, later in life, among intellectuals and certain professionals on what should be called the first human profession. While some scholars regard teaching as the very first profession of man, some professionals, especially those in the Information/Communication sector called journalists, believe that what Adam actually did by teaching the Angels the names of all creatures, which they (the Angels) did not know, was more of information dissemination through communication than actual teaching. And, in fairness to the proponents of that argument, there can be no effective teaching without adequate information disseminated through communication. That is why nobody can claim to be a teacher or even a Doctor without strong ability to communicate effectively.

 

Prophet Adam as a Doctor

By teaching the Angels the names of all creatures through the guidance of Allah, what Prophet Adam really did was to cure the worst disease (ignorance) in those Angels. If Adam had not taught the Angels the names of all things on earth, by the grace of Allah, those Angels would have remained permanently ignorant. And if he (Adam) had not healed the Angels of the disease called ignorance, Allah’s subsequent messages to mankind, through His appointed Messengers and Prophets, would not have come to mankind through them.

 

Natural and Artificial Medicaments

In ordinary man’s view, medicament is the substance required to cure or prevent an ailment. Such substance may be natural or artificial. It may also be as crude as raw herbs or as sophisticated as surgery. Meanwhile, it is generally believed that a person does not need medication unless he is ill. That is why the Western conventional medicine of the cotemporary time is rather curative than preventive. As a norm, physical human illness resides in human body just as an abstract illness like ignorance makes man’s mind its abode. Today, in most cases, people neither go to the hospitals nor take medicine unless they fall sick or feel ill.

 

Prophetic Foresight

Although unlettered, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) had known, by divine intuition, the different types of ailments and their required medicaments before he diagnosed two basic general ailments and prescribed two fundamental medicaments for them. The first of those ailments is ignorance for which he prescribed thorough understanding of the Qur’an and obedience to the rules and regulations therein in one’s own interest. The second ailment is poverty. And, poverty in this sense, is not lack of material wealth alone as many people erroneously believe. It is also lack of many things including health and conscience. Many people are victims of one of these ailments. Many more are victims of both.

 

Prophetic Medicament

As an antidote for the ailment of the mind which is ignorance, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) prescribed constant recitation and   thorough understanding of Allah’s rules and regulations for mankind which are contained in the Qur’an. And, for body ailments, he (Prophet Muhammad) prescribed two different medicaments. One is ‘Han’ (ie: honey) which is a product of an insect called ‘Bee’. The other is ‘Habbatu-s-Sauda’u’ otherwise known as Black Seed of a plant called ‘Nigella Sativa’. Honey is just one of the seven products of the Bee. But it is the most popular of them all. Black Seed, on the other hand, is a wonderful natural seed of a plant that is native to the Middle East, South Western Asia, North Africa   and some parts of Eastern Europe. This seed can come in three different forms: raw seed, powder and liquid.

 

Qur’an’s Medical Role

The Qur’an is the encyclopedia of life which embodies and personifies knowledge in all its ramifications. There is nothing spiritual or mundane about knowledge that is not contained in the Qur’an either in coded or decoded form. Thus, by recommending the Qur’an as the medicament for ignorance, the Prophet simply provided a permanent cure for the ailment of the mind. And, by prescribing Honey and Black Seed as antidotes for body ailments, he encouraged longevity through the strengthening of human immune system. It is, therefore, not by accident that Suratu-n-Nahl chapter 16 of the Qur’an, is named after the insect called ‘Bee’ which heals human ailments with its products. The contents of Verse 68 in that chapter of the Qur’an are explicit as follows:

“And, your Lord revealed to the Bee thus: Build your homes in the mountains, in the trees and in the hives which men shall make for you. Feed on every kind of fruit and follow the trodden path of your Lord’. From its belly comes forth a fluid of many hues as a healing substance for mankind. Surely in this, there is a sign for those who can reason….”. That Qur’anic verse confirms that the Qur’an is not for humans alone. It is also for all living organisms depending on how those organisms relate to it.

 

Other Products of the Bee

Contrary to general belief in people, honey is not the only product of the Bee. There are six others so far known to man. These are: Propolis; Pollen; Royal Jelly; Bees wax; Bee Venom and Bee Bread. More can still be discovered by man as research continues along this line in accordance with the Qur’anic challenge. Each of these products has specific functions in sanitizing and immunizing the human hormone system. And, each of them has tremendous health maintenance value in the life of man. But there is neither time nor space here to discuss them in full details now. A better chance may come in the near future.

 

Composition of Honey

Genuine honey in its raw form contains about 80 different substances that are most important for human nutrition. Besides glucose and fructose, honey contains all of the B-complex minerals and vitamins such as A, C, D, E and K as well as trace elements such as magnesium, sulphur, phosphorus, iron, calcium, chlorine, potassium, iodine, sodium, copper and manganese. The enzyme content of honey is one of the highest of all existing foods on earth. Honey also contains an antimicrobial, as well as antiviral and antibacterial factors.

Other ailments for which honey may be found appropriate as an antidote include staphylococcus, respiration, constipation, whitlow, burns and wounds.

 

Comment

After many centuries of disputing the above facts ignorantly, conventional Doctors of the West finally came to realize that no medicine is as effective in sealing up surgical wounds and healing sores as honey.

Today, at the instance of the World Health Organization (WHO), honey is globally used for these purposes in most public hospitals in various parts of the world, Nigeria inclusive.

 

Types of Black Seed

Ordinarily, there are three ways in which Black Seed can be put to use for effective cure or prevention. One way is the chewing of raw Black Seed. Another is grinding it (Black Seed) into powder while the third is turning it into a lotion. But the three are not dissimilar in potency or efficacy. They are all the same.

 

Governor Seyi Makinde’s Rescue

Sometime in 2020, while the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, who tested positive to COVID-19, was still writhing hopelessly in untold agony at the intensive care unit of a London hospital, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Nigeria was easily rescued from the claw of Corona Virus in Ibadan after about nine days in the isolation gulag of that deadly virus. It was a Muslim brother, Dr. Muyideen Olatunji that was said to have introduced the Prophetic medicament to him at that precarious moment of his life after almost one and a half millennium that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) had prescribed Honey and Black Seed as potent medicaments.

But, in fairness to Governor Makinde, he 0penly confessed to that effect and gave a public testimony in appreciation of that unique gesture. That is one of the contributions of Islam to the continuity of human existence and the civilization of mankind.

 

Conclusion

That Prophet Muhammad (SAW) knew that much even as an unlettered person at a time when the world was evidently assailed by blatant ignorance and primitivism is a further confirmation of Michael Hart’s classification of him (Prophet Muhammad) as the greatest human being that ever lived. What else will Nigerian charlatans who are parochially claiming to be prophets say to counter this axiomatic fact? God bless the readers of this column.

 

 

 

 

Monologue

Unlike a wild horse that is conspicuously visible in its rage, desperation is an invisible vehicle that often runs berserk and throws its rider into a dungeon of oblivion. No individual or corporate entity that adopts desperation as a conveying vehicle can ever escape the consequence of running berserk.

 

Preamble

History, on the one hand, is resplendent with lessons for people whose steps in life are in tandem with Allah’s guidance. On the other hand, it is also a repetitive teacher for the recalcitrant ones who see this ephemeral life as their ultimate destination.

In Islam, there is no life’s odyssey without a divine warning. Heeding or shunning such a warning is however a matter of choice. And, the consequences or otherwise of such a choice will eventually become the heritage of the concerned persons, groups or nations.

As a reckless vehicle, desperation has no reign. But, in the contemporary time, virtually all its riders refuse to care about the role which reign plays in the movement of a reckless vehicle. To them, recklessness is key in business transactions.

 

Business Transactions

Business transactions in the time of the Prophet might not involve high technology or the sophistication of transportation as we have today, but the norms which guided business transactions in those days are still as vital today as they were then. Not even the introduction of mundane economic ideologies like capitalism, socialism, and communism has altered those norms. That is a further confirmation of the authenticity of the Qur’an.

So far, the source of the wealth of the world has not changed from what it was in the past millennia. That source is the earth from which every atom of human wealth emanates. Even the materials used to manufacture satellites or space shuttle aircraft are from the earth.

 

Economic ideologies

Ordinarily, in any society where sincerity of purpose has effective meaning, contentment must have a pivotal role to play in the lives of the citizens. That was why an unlettered personality like Prophet Muhammad (SAW) did not need to formulate any mundane economic or political ideology to run a great Islamic government. During the ten years he spent in Madinah as a Prophet and Head of State, he never had to borrow a dime to administer the Islamic government.

 

Qur’an as Employer of Labour

If only one billion people, around the world, are gainfully employed, directly or indirectly, by working under the shadow of the Qur’an alone, today’s growing world economy must have been remarkably sustained by that sacred Book. Yet, apart from the Qur’an, millions of people are also engaged in various businesses relating to the Prophetic Tradition, (Hadith); Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh); Islamic History (Tarikh); Islamic Theology (Tawhid) and Islamic Culture (Thaqafah) among others. All such specialized learning forums which emanated from the Qur’an itself were advanced to compliment the sacred Book of Allah. Meanwhile, the desperation of some Muslims to opt for a ‘rich quick’ syndrome at the expense of Allah’s guidance is one major reason for wrong perception of Islam by most unbelievers.

 

Reminder

The case of rampant desperation of today’s youths reminds yours sincerely of a fortuitous encounter with a desperate supposed Muslim scholar, as far back as 1981, who sacrificed the guidance of Allah in him for acquisition of wealth through a rage. The remembrance of that unfortunate encounter keeps my heart quivering even till today. I had once relayed the ugly encounter in this column through an article entitled ‘Business made in Prison’. However, its repetition here today is not just because of the current situation of uncertainty into which desperation has plunged Nigeria but also because it is an experience from which young Nigerian Muslim men and women of today, who are seemingly desperate in their search for wealth, can draw a lesson from.

 

Reminiscence

In 1981, a Nigerian youth of about 30 years of age, whose name was Akram, did not have anything like poultry business in his dream when he was going into Saudi Arabian prison as a convict. His only prayer, at that time, was for Allah to influence the minds of the Saudi Authorities to temper anger with mercy for him by granting him amnesty after two or three years in prison. His prison term at that time was 15 years. He earned the sentence through drug trafficking out of blind ambition to be quickly rich by desperation.

Akram (not real name) was a quiet, easy-going young man from one of the Southwest Nigerian cities. He had graduated, in 1979, from the Islamic University of Madinah, in Saudi Arabia, where he read (Islamic Law (Sharia’ah). I first met him in 1978 when I travelled from Egypt to Saudi Arabia in search of scholarship with which to pursue a first degree at King’s University, Jeddah. Akram left Saudi Arabia after graduating, in 1979, and decided to settle down to private business in Nigeria. His ambition was to be a big merchant of automobile and electronics. However, since there was no ready-made capital with which to start such a business, he decided to take a short cut, typical of what is termed ‘Nigerian factor’. Ironically, however, it was Saudi Arabia, the country that funded his University education, with rich scholarship, that he found most suitable for such a dirty business. Thus, he embarked on his first illicit ‘business trip’ to the country of his Alma Mata in 1981.

 

Accidental Meeting

It was on my way back to school from a summer holiday of that year that I accidentally met Akram at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, after we had parted in 1979. After embracing warmly and exchanging pleasantries, we decided to sit together in the aircraft (of the then Nigerian Airways) in order to have a chat on the good old days and on our expected future. Thus, from Lagos to Jeddah (a journey of five and a half hours), we really chatted to our fill. It was as if we had not spent one hour in the air when we arrived at King Abdul Aziz Airport in Jeddah.

 

Issues of Interest

Among the issues of interest that we discussed while on board of the aircraft was Nigeria’s micro economy and the role of small and middle scale businesses in our country compared to those of other countries with similar status, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil, Singapore, India, Pakistan and Egypt. And, without gazing through any crystal ball, we concluded that with no middle class in place, our cou try might have no hope except through an accidental miracle, which could be a mere dream ending up in a definitive nightmare. On that premise, we also concluded that oil in Nigeria was a blessing from Allah which the country’s ruling class turned into a curse. But we were not experienced enough to suggest any tangible solution which even if we did, would not have received any positive hearing.

 

Point of Departure

On arrival at the King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah, my friend quickly dashed into the toilet leaving his luggage for me to take care of while we queued up in the arrival hall for immigration checking. He promised to join me on that long queue, shortly after, for immigration procedure.

It was almost my turn for security check before an instinct gingered me into consciousness. When it was about my turn for luggage checking, something just told me to abandon his baggage and I promptly did. My own baggage was checked and I went out of the arrival hall to wait for Akram at the taxi terminus. After about one hour of waiting and Akram did not surface, I decided to proceed to my hostel where he was to pass the night in my room as we had earlier agreed.

 

Breaking News

While still expecting him in my hostel after many hours, the electronic media waves throbbed with frightening breaking news. The Saudi Television reported the arrest of a Nigerian who smuggled illicit drugs into the Holy Land. His name was mentioned as ‘Akram’. That was at 9.00pm Saudi local time. About one hour after the breaking news, my friend was brought to the glare of the nation, live, through the electronic tube and he was paraded on the Saudi national television as the culprit in the reported drug trafficking. That was one of the most frightening moments of my life. Akram wanted to be rich quickly by all means and I was picked to be the payer of the cost of that abominable anticipated richness.

 

Rumination

What would have happened if I had not heeded the warning of my instinct? Who could have believed me if I had been caught with Akram’s baggage that was stuffed with illicit drug?

 

Who was Akram?

Akram, an introvert, handsome young man, with a seeming posture of a complete gentleman in both appearance and disposition that could be taken for a human Angel. If the incident had occurred in Nigeria, and Akram was paraded on TV as a drug trafficker, relating him to such a criminal venture would have, generated a fierce argument among television viewers. In that circumstance, anyone can now imagine what could have happen if I had been caught with his baggage. What explanation could I have given to exonerate myself? That was a question that ran through me like milk through water for quite some years thereafter and changed my mind about sentimental friendship with people, no matter how innocent such people might look.

It was that fortuitous incident that forced me to decide never to assist anybody again in carrying luggage while on a journey.

 

Court Trial

After about three months of court trial, Akram was sentenced to fifteen years in jail. He was lucky that drug trafficking, at that time, in Saudi Arabia, had not attracted death as penalty. If that incident had occurred this time, or just a few years ago, the penalty would have been death sentence by beheading. I was also lucky that at that time the Saudi immigration authorities had not adopted the use of secret camera otherwise called CCTV, to monitor the passengers’ movements and activities at the airport vicinity.

 

The Saudi Prison System

One good thing about Saudi Arabia as a country or some other Islamic countries, for that matter, is the concept of reformation which imprisonment entails. In those countries, imprisonment was not just a punishment for crimes but also a means of preparing inmates for a better post-prison life and re-orientation for better world outlook.

Besides, prisoners are paid a specific amount of money daily for their labour in prison. And, that gives them hope of reintegration into the society after leaving the prison. Such money is kept in a special bank account opened for the prisoners. The total amount is paid to each inmate after completing his or her prison term.

Thus, when Akram left the prison in 1996, the 15 year prison token paid to him by Saudi government became the capital with which to establish a business of his own.

 

Guiding Analysis

Most of the young men and women of today do not seem to believe in crawling before walking. To them, what matters most in their lives is how to quickly get rich and not how such richness would come about. The slogan of this era, among those youths, is the Machiavellian principle of power grabbing: “The end justifies the means”. That is the main cause of the high rate of crimes, such as terrorism, banditry and illicit drug peddling witnessed ubiquitously in Nigeria today and the short life span which those criminal tendencies entail for those youths.

 

Admonition

In Islam, desperation for accumulation of wealth is prohibited because it encourages a focus on the end result rather than the means just as it discourages adherence to morality. In the past decades, Nigeria had sunk so deep into the quagmire of corruption that no one cared to ask about the source of any wealth even as corruption became the taproot of Nigeria’s tree of existence. Now, with parents, teachers, professionals, legislators and even Judges getting so desperate to become rich what type of future can be said to be waiting for Nigeria and Nigerians? That is a food for thought with which the essence of constructive admonition can be conveniently digested by serious minded people in a hopeless country like Nigeria.

Monologue

The world is rapidly changing. And its rapid change is affecting everything including weather. No one can contest this as the world in which we live today is not the same as the world we lived even shortly before the turn of the 20th century, in year 2000. Tomorrow is unpredictable.

 

Preamble

It is a common expression of all times that necessity is the mother of invention. Since that seemingly axiomatic expression became a norm, no generation or circumstance has been able to prove it wrong. The invention of fire and that of money, some millennia ago, are good examples of this assertion, which no situation can alter in a foreseeable future.

Today, it is difficult to remember the inventor of fire or that of money. But the usefulness and benefit of both to mankind, keep whispering to history that those two material elements in human life came into existence through the the intuition and foresight of some people.

 

Reminiscence

About half a millennium ago, a French man named Michel de Nostredame whose name was Latinized to become Michael Nostradamus zoomed into the topmost chapters of the history of his era. He was an astrologer and a physician. But he took a passionate interest in foretelling the future, and that became the real hobby by which he was globally reputed. He wrote a book entitled ‘Les Propheties’ in which he published 942 poetic quatrains through which he allegedly predicted a number of future events. The contents of that book, which was first published in 1555, later became an instigator of interpretations or misinterpretations of the subsequent events that came to change the world, partially in letters and substances.

 

Reflection

Although, Nostradamus, who was born on December 14, 1503, eventually died on July 2, 1566, nevertheless, his gifted intuition which led to the appellation of ‘The Man who saw Tomorrow’ as attributed to him by those who believed in what they called his prophetic prowess, continue to play an effective role in the lifestyle of humanity.

 

Recent Development

As recently as 1981, some parts of his predictions were turned into a drama which was first staged in some amphitheaters in Europe and America and directed by a literary man called Robert Guenette who authored that drama.

As an astrologer and a Physician, it was not expected of Nostradamus, a Catholic man by faith, to be a theologian before becoming a prophet that his followers tagged him. But, even,  today, as in some past centuries, many readers of Nosradamus’ history still believe, rightly or wrongly, that he changed the contemporary world with his visionary predictions as they continue to link those predictions to many occurrences of today’s world, including the invention of electricity, technological developments as well as World Wars and atomic bomb.

It may be true that most of the interpretations given to Nostradamus’ predictions, after his death, were far, far away from what he actually meant by making those predictions, there is no doubt that some of those predictions might have opened avenues for researches and further intellectual ruminations about the future, which are capable of helping the course of changes in the life of man.

 

How does JAMB come into all these?

Intuition is the father of foresight just as foresight stands out as the mother of vision. Thus, the combination of both can be called the foundation of greatness. No individual, group or even nation has ever attained greatness without employing the services of either intuition or foresight. Greatness has rather consistently been a matter of universal acclamation which cannot be denied in time and in space. On the other hand, a mere proclamation by certain individuals or  countries, without attestation may end up busting like an empty baloon.

 

Nigeria’s Main Problem 

Today, Nigeria, as a foremost African country in terms of population, has a fundamental problem which the government and the citizens of this country have persistently discountenanced

to their own peril. That problem is what most Nigerians deceptively call education. To an average Nigerian of today, education is the ability to speak, write and read English language. In reality, it seems that education has no semantic meaning in the dictionary of Nigeria.

Whereas, education is the effective application of meaningful knowledge, Nigeria is yet to be attuned to that definition. Literacy without meaningfully beneficial knowledge is nothing beyond a ‘work and eat’ system. With her claim of education, what does Nigeria use such education to produce or achieve to the benefit of her citizens today or tomorrow?

 

The Difference

Ordinarily, there is a wide difference between education and literacy. The one is about beneficial knowledge. The other is about ability to read and write as backed up by mere certificate which is only a meal ticket. Most of those who are claiming to be educated today, just because they can read and write in one language or another, cannot showcase any evidence of education outside of what they might have learnt from the unlettered personalies who preceded them in existence.

 

Comparison

Just as Nostradamus was compelled by a necessity to start foretelling the future happenings in his days, so does the current Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede, is being pushed by necessity of utilizing literacy to acquire proper education for the benefit tomorrow. In his observation, the madding rush for certificate, by many Nigerian parents, at all costs, today, has the tendency to destroy the future of this country or rather of their children. Prof. Oloyede does not believe in the deceptive justification of brilliance of Nigerian University graduates often being cited by certain dubious Nigerians who use such citation as a template of standard education in Nigeria.

As far as he is concerned, given the situation of gaining admission into Nigerian Higher Institutions by alla means, he rather believs that acquisition of certificates through the back door cannot and should not serve as the yardstick for measuring proper education in most Nigerian graduates. That was the notion that gave him the intuition which led to his introduction of Computer Based Tests (CBT) that has now become the means of gaining admissions into the University of Ilorin when he was the Vice-Chancellor of that University.

It was the sanity which that notion brought into the admission system in Nigeria that encouraged him to advance it at the Jamb level.

Today, the whole world has restored confidence in Nigeria’s system admission into the Universities and other Higher Institutions. And, the body language of most educationally conscious countries in the world are now  attesting to that.

 

Evidence of Education

As an African country that became independent in less than three decades ago, South Africa now has various economic investments in Nigeria. These investments cut across commerce, agriculture, technology and banking, here in Nigeria. Now, apart from serving as a mere market for the products of other countries, what can Nigeria claim to be her products in other countries?

If a vertical man of letters and undeniable intellect like Professor Oloyede can champion the eradication of corruption at the JAMB level who does not know that the future of this country can be guaranteed with if well encouraged and duly emulated?

Just last week, a meeting of topmost stakeholders of JAMB was called in Abuja. The meeting was attended by who is who in the education sector in Nigeria including some former Ministers of Education, Some former and serving Commissioners of education as well as former and serving Vice-Chancellors, NUC Secretaries, Chairmen of Governing Boards of Higher Institutions, name them. It was at thet meeting that some vital decisions were takgen, which will further enhance the transparent performance of JAMB and pave the way for Nigeria’s standard education in future. Also disclosed at that meeting was the idea of introducing two new subjects at JAMB, that may be voluntarily chosen in the exams by candidates who may be interested in them. One of the subjects is Computer Science while the other is Physical and Health Education.

The two newly introduced subjects are parts of the foresight with which to prepare for Nigeria’s future in terms of practical education.

As of today, the role of mere literacy has not helped Nigeria in moving forward in the education sector and there is no indication that it be of significant use in future. Thus, all hands should continue to be on deck that the future may serve as a destination of succor for all Nigerians. More will follow later.