The Nation Newspaper

Category: Femi Abbas

  • A premier’s limit of sanity

    A premier’s limit of sanity

    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”.     Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

     

    Preamble

    Once awhile, ‘The Message’ column does go panoramic, especially when confusion is about to set in through the deluge of issues and choice becomes a problem.

    This is one of such occasions. Only few people understand that Islam is the entire life of a Muslim and there is no separation between ‘what belongs to God and ‘what belongs to Caesar’.

    In Islam, both Caesar and whatever belongs to him are for God, the supreme Provider of all things.

     

    Decency and insanity

    In a decent environment sanity has no definition. It is insanity that rather requires definition because it comes in various hues and degrees.

    A lunatic who strips naked and dances in a market place to the applause of onlookers often sees himself as a hero.

    The extent of his lunacy only becomes known to him when he is publicly offered a decent dress to cover his nakedness or to replace the rags he wears.

    When such a lunatic is imbued with (legitimate or illegitimate) power he becomes a megalomaniac.

    That is the parable of a Southwest ‘Premier’ who is generally known for barking incessantly towards all directions like a rabid dog.

    His ceaseless menstruation through the mouth has publicly labeled him as a sarcastic entertainer in his lunatic theater. If as a father or rather, a grandfather, who, as an ‘Emperor’,  is supposed to be a model for his children and grand children, can behave like a rabid dog what should be expected of his children and grandchildren?

    Because of obvious insanity, this megalomaniac treated like a ‘Premier’ cannot think of the consequences or implications of his delirious actions. And unfortunately, no one among his associates seems to be courageous enough to call him to order.

     

    Pity for the sane

    The pity in this case is not as such for the megalomaniac but for the sane ones around him who accept his leadership and are clapping for him in his deteriorating delirium. Evidently, it is not everyone who wears dresses in public that is sane.

    By their utterances, actions and body languages, lunatics are known. For the past one year or thereabout, this delirious ‘Premier’ has continuously engaged in a lunatic drama somersaulting from furrow to furrow while enjoying the sarcastic ovation he gets from those who are unfortunately entertained by his delirious performance in house.

    Judging by this ‘Premier’s drama and the clapping of his sadistic lieutenants, one begins to wonder if the sane majority in his state have lost their traditional courage and will.

    As that state is rapidly being turned into a psychiatric asylum the need for the services of psychiatrists seems to have become a matter of sine qua non. Leaving a rabid dog to itself while it keeps harassing neighbours may not be a reasonable option after all. And if not checked in time, the rabid dog may turn against its owner as an untamable nuisance.

     

    Allegation of ‘Islamisation’

    We were told last week that President Muhammadu Buhari was planning to Islamise Nigeria. Evidence: he went to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah.

    The allegation came, as usual, from a shameless source that is attributable only to public self-ridicule. For ignorant people the only means of seeking relevance is to randomly roar to the public with blackmail or self-adulation typical of megalomaniacs.

    Let those who understand the language of this delirious ‘Premier’ tell him that Islam is a divine religion with five fundamental pillars.  The last of those pillars is called Hajj which is obligatory on any Muslim that can afford it once in a lifetime.

    A close affiliate of that pillar is called Umrah otherwise known as lesser Hajj. For Muslims, both are pilgrimages performed in divinely ordained sanctuaries at a place once known as Hijaz (but now called Saudi Arabia). While Hajj has a specifically ordained month in the year, Umrah can be performed as many times as allowed by law in a year. The official visa issued for both is that of pilgrimage and not tourism.

    It is therefore a religious right of any Muslim to perform Hajj or Umrah as the case may be without any fear of being barked at by any rabid dog. Thus, by performing Umrah recently, President Muhammad Buhari only exercised his legitimate/religious right without infringing on the right of any other person or that of his nation.

     

    Jonathan’s ‘Pilgrimage’

    President Buhari’s predecessor, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, travelled twice to Israel for the same purpose while he held sway as President.

    At that time no Nigerian Muslim was so reckless and so fanatical to allege Jonathan’s intended Christianisation of Nigeria. Therefore, alleging that President Buhari wanted to Islamise Nigeria, just because he performed Umrah, is a way of publicly exhibiting a symptom of delirium.

    Such a symptom urgently requires a psychiatric attention before the situation of the patient in question goes beyond cure. Politics is one thing. Religion is another. Each has a peculiar elasticity with its own limit. Anybody who aims at using the one as a means of achieving the other in Nigeria is surely a lunatic who should be domiciled in an asylum.

    Besides, the use of such words as ‘Islamisation’ and ‘maginalisation’ (which words are Nigerian coinage that cannot be found in English dictionary) either as a blackmail or a sectarian attack, has become as obsolete and anachronistic in Nigeria as the users.

    It is rather unfortunate that a state once venerated as a haven of knowledge can now wallow so helplessly under the leadership of a blatantly ignorant nonentity just because of the so-called ‘stomach infrastructure’ in the name of politics.

     

    The Role of ‘The Message’

    Ordinarily, ‘The Message’, as a religious column, does not concern itself with the murky water of Nigerian politics. But when some inconsequential ruffians want to swim in that murky water under the guise of religion to the detriment of peace and harmony in the society, it becomes the role of this column to rein in the bull, if only by raising alarm, before it enters the china shop.

    Islam is like a surging train which the barking of three trillion dogs cannot halt. In other words, this divine religion is the sun which randomly evaporates the excess water lodged in the earth to cause rain at the necessary time for the survival of all living organisms.

    Whenever the sun bulges out of its orbit, no star dares to come out in a show of presence. Thus, any denial of the existence of the sun by any blind person can only be at the personal peril of that person. It is characteristic of megalomaniacs to oversight the transiency of their power tenure and to assume that power is far too elastic to have a limit.

    As Muslims who understand Islam theoretically and practically, we neither hate any counterpart religion nor haul any hateful utterances to adherents of other faiths. We believe that anybody who lives in a glass house must not throw stones out of discipline preached by our religion.

    Some supposed leaders in the society who open their mouths anyhow to spark religious provocation are the clandestine originators of constant religious strife in the country. We hope the interpreters of the delirious governor will be able to convey this message meaningfully to their ailing boss. One fact is clear according to an Arab proverb however: “a serf will remain servitude even if he is crowned as a king”.

    Meanwhile, we thank God that President Buhari’s own reason for seizing the opportunity of his official visit to some Middle East countries, including Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah was to offer special prayer for his country and not for winning election for self. Whoever prays for Nigeria prays for the people of Nigeria. And whenever the people of Nigeria pray for such a person it will be automatically accepted by Allah.

     

    The sacked female lawyer

    Nigeria is typical cinema house where all types of films are watched. But the more you look, the less you see. The more you listen the less you hear. Those are the norms.

    Some years back, the typical lamentation was that about 70 per cent of reported news in Nigeria was sad. Today, there are no more lamentations because virtually all the reported news in Nigeria about Nigerians are invariably sad. And Nigerians seem to have grown very thick skins with which to cope with them.

    A few days ago, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Nasarawa State chapter, threatened to shut down the government . Why? A female worker in the Ministry of Justice, Miss Raqayyat Tijjani Usman (a lawyer), was allegedly sacked by the governor.

    She was said to have made a disparaging remark on Facebook on the governing style of Governor Umaru Tanko Almakura.

    When the governor was informed about the incident, he requested for a print out copy of the posting and got it. Thereafter, he reportedly sent for the young woman in her mid 20s whom he promised a sack letter in the presence of some of his commissioners and other top government officials.

    Ruqayyat, a daughter of a former commissioner in the state, had posted the following remark on Facebook: “I can see some political thugs protesting and not professionals; are we going down this way? I weep for my state.”

     

    Ruqayyat’s reaction

    That was her reaction to a seeming botched civil servants’ demonstration over the death of a staff who died of Lassa fever, which she (Ruqayyat) thought was not well handled by the government.

    The posting allegedly angered the governor so much that he summoned Ruqayyat to his office and ordered her sack with effect from February 25, 2016.

    The governor’s decisive action was sequel to the woman’s apology and that of her father. But the governor refused to look back.

    Well, it takes two to tango. As a civil servant, the young woman ought to have known that externalising any criticism against her employer could entail some unpalatable consequences.

    You cannot publicly criticise the policies in the formulation in which you play a role. She ought to have passed such a criticism to her immediate boss in a subtle, civil service language through an internal memo for onward submission to the governor if necessary.

    Nigeria is not yet such a mature nation where an employee can confront his or her boss in the civil service with such a blunt criticism, human rights or no human rights.

    Playing the ‘New School’ toga to the gallery may be taken for an audacious affront, especially when men of the old school are still in charge.

     

    The governor’s power wielding

    As for Governor Almakura, using a sledge hammer to kill an ant in this kind of case may be too much of power wielding amounting to highhandedness.

    The youth of today are quite different from those of the past decades. That is how they were brought up in the name of civilisation. At least, His Excellency knows how his children address him at home despite being the governor.

    That the young woman was sacked by such fiat without query, without warning, is like sitting in judgment on one’s own case, a euphemism for injustice.

    Employment at any level of the government is not a favour. It is a right for those who are qualified. His Excellency can imagine if Ruqayyat were to be his daughter and another governor gives her such a raw deal.

    The governor should note here that a state is not an empire and no governor should behave like an emperor in a democratic setting as we have now in Nigeria. Nothing can be taken for granted.

    Today’s sacked civil servant may become tomorrow’s governor at a time when today’s governor may have become powerless. The episode of how Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau became the governor of Kano is not yet lost on us.

    Governance must go along not only with human face but also with human heart. Our actions of today are stories of tomorrow. We need to tread softly.

     

    The Nasarawa’s NLC

    In a scenario like this, the role of the NLC in a state where there is a trade dispute affecting a worker or two, the first point of call for the NLC should not have been that of bellicosity.

    Sometimes, mediation strategy works faster and better than belligerence. Thus, the NLC will do well to restore the job of the young female lawyer by resolving the matter amicably rather than further provoking the governor by threatening ‘to shut down the state’.

    We should all work towards lifting the state and not collapsing it as no one can benefit from a collapsed state. God bless us all.

  • MUSWEN’s Foundation for Ibadan quintuplets

    MUSWEN’s Foundation for Ibadan quintuplets

    Is it they (human beings) who would share out the mercy of Allah (to others)? It is We (Allah) who share the possession of those bounties among them as their means of livelihood in this temporal world. And it is our duty to elevate some of them over others in ranks and in statuses. So that some of them can be masters while others are servants. Definitely, the blessings apportioned to you by your Lord are by far better than those which the ignorant ones are struggling to amass” Q.43:32   

     

    Preamble

    Human life in the midst of other creatures is a paradox. And the paradox is due to the reasoning faculty with which man is endowed.

    However, rather than using that exclusive grace to gratify Allah for honouring him with leadership and control of the environment, man seems to have turned that endowment into an instrument of competition with Allah.

    But for the undeniable reality of death as the main determiner of the limit of life, man would have proclaimed himself God.

    Unfortunately for him, however, death is not an attribute of God. Thus, it is impossible for anybody who might have tasted or can taste death to be God. No living organism, animate or inanimate, has ever escaped the dragnet of death and none can ever do. That shows one of the manifest distinctions between the Creator and the creatures. As humans, our passage through this ephemeral world is a mere transit just as our imagination of God is far from the reality of His being. We only live to die as against feature of God who neither sleeps nor dies.

     

    Breaking News

    On Monday, February 15, 2016, virtually all Nigerian local electronic media throbbed with the news of the birth of a set of quintuplets at the University of Ibadan College Hospital (UCH), the first of its type in Nigeria (Quintuplets are five children born at once by the same woman). Within a few hours, the news reverberated across the continents of the world through the cable network and newspapers.

    The mother of the bountiful gifts, Mrs. Shakirah Razaq Yusuf, a woman in purdah, is a 28-year-old wife of an Ibadan born Alfa by the name Abdur-Razaq Yusuf Ewenje. Both the wife and her husband are of very humble backgrounds who are forced to live an ascetic life by virtual penury. That confirms the promise of Allah in Qur’an 42 verse 50 thus:

    “To Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. He creates whatever He wills. He bestows female children upon whoever He wills and bestows male children upon whoever He wills. And He bestows both male and female children upon whoever He wills even as He renders whoever He wills a barren. Verily, Allah is all-knowing and capable of doing all things”

    Madam Shakirah and her husband had had two children before the birth of the quintuplets. Their immediate reaction to the birth of those unexpected quintuplets was one of dilemma and confusion.

    Yes, they prayed for safe birth of a healthy child or children from Allah, but they never dreamt of such unimaginable Allah’s blessing that came to be too much of a divine largess.

    Thus, the gift that would have ordinarily brought an aura of joy immediately turned into a mixture of threat and fear. How to settle the hospital bill and how to feed and clad the quintuplets as well as the older two children that became a foremost matter of concern for the couple.The children have since been named. The three boys are named Ahmad, Muhammad and Mustapha respectively. The girls were named Hamidah and Hamdalat.

     

    Other quintuplets

    In the olden days, bearing more than one child was perceived as a demonic aberration which some people considered as a taboo. Thus, children like twins, triplets and others were seen as a shame to the family which must be disposed of immediately.

    Such children were therefore secretly killed or openly offered as sacrifice to the then gods. This situation was not peculiar to Africa. It was global. With education and advancement of civilisation however, the world came to realise that birth of multiple children was rather a blessing than an aberration.

    In modern times, the first publicised quintuplets were reportedly born on April 29, 1896 in the United States of America. Called the Lyon quintuplets, they were the first American quintuplets born alive. The last survivor among them died on May 14, 1896 barely two weeks after birth.

    Later on, in 1934, another set of quintuplets was born in Ontario, Canada. The children were all girls and identical. Born to the family of Dionne, this set was known to be the first quintuplets to survive to adulthood.

    Many other quintuplets have since been born in different parts of the world with various traits and characteristics. But the lack of records about them does not help their exposure through the mass media.

     

    Paradox of Life

    Of all treasures in the life of man, there is one that cannot be legitimately purchased with money. That treasure is children.

    Children are a special natural gift from Allah that cannot be replaced or exchanged with any commodity or chattel. Those who have the stupendous means of caring for children may not have the grace of bearing children.

    Those who have no means of nurturing children may be divinely favoured to bear them in abundance. The paradox is evident in the case of the Yusuf family that is now grappling with a dilemma and confusion over the upbringing of the quintuplets with which it is blessed.

    A Yoruba musician once succinctly captured this situation in a rhythmic and captivating song that vividly described the value of children thus:

    “No moneybag can legitimately purchase them; no royal fiat can fetch them legitimately without the will of Allah; which commodity on earth can be likened to children? Is there anything that is comparable to children in human life?

    “Children are the ultimate treasure whose value cannot be measured in terms of diamond, gold or silver; they (children) are like a sharp sword in the capable hand of a strong warrior; they (children) are owned at early age but they grow up into adulthood to own almost everything  that can be purchased….”

     

    MUSWEN @ UCH

    Moved by the milk of humanity and kindness, as usual, last Sunday, the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN) paid a purposeful visit of joy and glorification of Allah to UCH.

    The objective was to rejoice with the family of Alfa Yusuf Ewenje whose wife delivered a quintuplet penultimate Monday. Three of the children were males while two were females. All the children were said to be responding very well to medical care and pediatric nurture.

    The news of these Allah’s wonderful bounties had been in the media for some days as it was the first time that UCH, in its 59 years, of existence, was having an airy but joyful feeling of such a divine gesture.

    While holding its Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting in Ibadan last Sunday, MUSWEN decided to establish a foundation for the upkeep and education of the quintuplets to the University level. Thus, led by its President, His Excellency, Alhaji (Dr.) Sakariyau Olayiwola Babalola OON, a team of MUSWEN representatives broke out of the meeting to pay a visit to the quintuplets in appreciation of Allah’s bounties and in assuring the poor parents of the Ummah’s support and solidarity.

    After seeing the condition of the quintuplets and their parents, the President of MUSWEN announced a foundation in the name of MUSWEN to see the five children’s education through the University. This means that MUSWEN has taken up the finance of the children’s education from the primary school level to the University degree level.

    MUSWEN President also made an instant personal donation of a handsome amount to the couple and prayed for the survival of the children and Allah’s wherewithal to enable the couple take proper care of them.

    Alhaji Babalola then called on all goodhearted Nigerians to join hands with MUSWEN in maintaining the proposed foundation for the well-being of the quintuplets.

    Meanwhile,a special bank account has been earmarked for the foundation pending the inauguration of a committee of trusted people who will manage it. Those who are interested in lifting their brother’s load and tilling the holy land may request for the account details. God bless you all!

     

    Variety of motives

    Before MUSWEN’s visit, quite a number of individuals and groups (Muslims and non-Muslims), had rushed to see the quintuplets at UCH with different motives.

    Some had been there to adopt some of those children; some had cunningly attempted outright purchase of the children while some others had seen that divine gesture as an opportunity for undue evangelism.

    But as the umbrella body and ultimate mouthpiece for all Muslim individuals and Organisations in the South West, MUSWEN decided to act promptly not only to save the young couple of any embarrassment (financial or psychological) but also to give a sense of spiritual coverage to the concerned family.

    This further confirms the fatherly role imbibed by MUSWEN as a responsible umbrella of the Muslim Ummah in South West region. Bravo! God bless MUSWEN.

     

    UCH’s gesture

    Contrary to the general impression about UCH by members of the public, the famous teaching hospital displayed a unique gesture.

    Following the naming of the quintuplets at the children’s ward of the hospital last Monday (February 22, 2016), the authorities of the UCH announced a free medical and pediatric treatment for the mother.

    According to the announcement made by the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of UCH, Mr. Deji Bobade, the authorities of UCH decided write off the bill incurred by the poor couple as their own contribution to humanity.

    They thus returned the amount so far deposited for medical care and treatment of the children saying the outstanding balance would not be collected from the poor couple. Thus, the quintuplets would remain in the custody of the hospital at no cost until the children are mature enough to be discharged.

    This humanitarian gesture is highly appreciated and commended by Nigerian public who see it as a new dawn in UCH’s administration.

     

    Brief History of UCH

    The idea of establishing a teaching hospital for a proposed University in Nigeria was first nursed in 1943 by the colonial government which set up a commission headed by Sir Walter Elliot.

    The Commission consisted of 14 members three of whom represented the British West African colonies. They were Reverend I. O. Ransome-Kuti of Nigeria, K. A. Korsah of the Gold Coast (Ghana) and E. H. Taylor of Sierra Leone. Soon, another Commission of 11 members was set up to complement the one headed by Elliot and to determine the principles that would guide the proposed higher educational institutions in Nigeria. The latter Commission was led by Mr. Justice Cyril Asquith. Following the submission of reports by the two Commissions in 1945,

    The University College, Ibadan was established on November 17, 1948 with three founding faculties; Arts, Science and Medicine. Although the  construction of the four and a half million pound sterling (£4.5m) Teaching Hospital had not been completed in 1956 when Queen Elizabeth II visited Nigeria, she nevertheless commissioned it in anticipation of its completion in 1957. Thus, the UCH was officially opened on November 20, 1957 with its imposing architectural masterpiece to the delight of all and sundry.

     

    Today’s situation

    Today, however, while the UCH remains an intimidating architectural edifice, the needed services therein remain a sorry case due to lack of befitting maintenance. Most of the equipment have become antiquated even as the necessary modern facilities are not provided. It is unbelievable that the eight-storey structures in that hospital are without functioning lifts.

    On inquiry, yours sincerely learned that only two lifts are available for use in the entire complex of the 800-bed hospital out of which only one is functioning haphazardly.

    Even the only lift said to be functioning is worse than a bakery oven. A rechargeable table fan has to be put inside the lift not as a relief from a possible effect of suffocation but as a mere decoration to show the members of the public that ‘we care’.

    The implication of this is that patients who may be rushed to that hospital on emergency who need to be conveyed to upper floors for immediate medical attention may face terrible difficulty in reaching their destination within the complex.

    The appalling situation of UCH requires an urgent attention of the Federal Ministry of Health. This once great institution was one of the best four Teaching Hospitals in the Commonwealth. Today, it is probably the worst. In such an environment, it is even difficult for the medical personnel to function as expected. Nigeria deserves a better place to be called a Teaching Hospital for our country’s Premier University.

  • Where are the Muslims?

    Preamble

    This article is not new. It was first published in this column in 2008. Its repetition here is in response to demands made by many readers who heard of it but were never privileged to read it. The recurrence of its relevance must have influenced their demand.

    The situation that warranted its publication in the first instance was bad enough for contemporary Muslims but not as bad as that of today. Modern Muslims’ understanding of Islam and their attitude to that divine religion is not only appalling but also disastrous.

    Heresy has gradually crept into belief and the mode of worship of some of them and has thus badly coloured their conception of Islam. Readers should please note that the article is not exactly the same in contents as it was during its first publication. It had to be retouched to suit the current situation. Here we go:

     Genesis 

    In its 70th year of operation in 1992, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) throbbed with gladdening but disturbing news to the Muslim world. It disclosed that the global Muslim population had risen to 19% of the entire world population. Quoting the Catholic world authorities, the media outfit added that with that figure, Islam had overtaken Catholicism as a single religious denomination in the world. The population of the Muslims before then was 17% of that of the entire world. However, Muslims were still outnumbered by the combined Christian denominations even as Islam remained the fastest growing religion in the West.

    Reaction

    With the news quoted above, the first reaction of any serious Muslim should be a question: which Muslims are we talking about, the qualitative or the quantitative? Of what benefit is an ineffective Muslim population in a religion that is known for quality in all its ramifications? These questions become relevant when one remembers the great efforts made by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in laying the foundation of Islam as compared to the structure standing on that foundation today.

    It is better to imagine the sight of a snail without its shell than to actually perceive it. No normal person will prefer to live permanently in the night without an experience of the day. Water is said to be drinkable only if it comes from a flowing stream. Any water from a stagnant source will only be water in name and not as much in use. 

    The similitude of Islam and Muslims is like that of a snail and its shell. They share a common destiny and remain as inseparable as the sun and its beaming light. None can afford to part with the other without dire consequences. If, like a snail, Islam is left to wander about without a cover where are the Muslims?

    Islam without Muslims 

    Islam totally personifies the divine legal theory that sustains the magnificent grandeur of the universe. That theory is fully embodied in the divine Book called the Qur’an. Muslims, on the other hand, stand as the practical showcase of that theory. Without Islam, there would have been no Muslims. And without Muslims, Islam would have remained a permanent abstraction randomly tapping the imagination of mankind.

    Ironically, the world of Islam has turned a new phase at the instance of its adherents called ‘Muslims’. And with that new phase, the falconer seems to have been estranged by the falcons. Muslims, like the shell of snail, are found everywhere but without Islam. And the latter, as long prophesied by the Messenger of Allah (SAW), is rapidly becoming an orphan.

    Now, Islam is like a snail without its shell. If that great religion is vividly present in any part of the world today, it is in the West. And that confirms the fact that effective quality rather than idle quantity is what Islam needs to thrive. But where are such Muslims?

    Arabs’ Disunity 

    Today, there are about 23 Muslim/Arab countries in the world. Most of them are in the Middle East. Others are in North Africa. The combination of these countries controls one fifth of the entire wealth in the world because of the enormous natural resources with which they are endowed. But in their quest for security other than that of Allah, they entrust all the wealth at their disposal to those who are waging war against Islam. More than 75% of the Muslim Arab wealth is invested in the West or kept in Western bank accounts in the name of foreign reserves. Part of that money is not only used to fight Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Palestine, it is also given out as loan to poor African countries at throat-cutting interest rate in the name of London and Paris Clubs.

    Where are the Muslims?

    Today Muslim Arabs are so disunited, disorganised and islamically disoriented that they cannot even cooperate with one another in the face of common challenges let alone form a united, formidable Ummah as prescribed by Allah. Rather than coming together to solve common problem, some of them prefer to team up with their known antagonists to fight their fellow Muslim brothers.

    That is what happened during the Iranian revolution of 1979 when that country was fighting for emancipation from the shackles of Western imperialism which had been condoned for a long time by the Shah Pahlavi to impress the United States as his godfather. Rather than cooperating with Iran to rid the region of   imperialism, what Iraq did was to take advantage of the then prevailing situation to attack Iran on behalf of America using the weapon freely supplied to her by the latter. The devastating war which ensued from that attack lasted for eight sorrowful years before the aggressor eventually called for armistice having realised the impossibility of winning the war. In all these, here are the Muslims?

    Turkey and the Caliphate 

    In her own bid to imbibe the so-called Western civilisation, Turkey, the then Caliphate seat, decided to voluntarily fettered herself to stake of secularism, a notion imposed on her in the early 1920s by Mustapha Kamal Ataturk who fortuitously weaned the country from the ladle of Islam. That unfortunate notion which obliterated virtually all traces of Islam in Turkey was later entrenched in the country’s new constitution. It must be recalled that Turkey, with her 89% Muslim population was the last seat of Islamic Caliphate which Ataturk forcefully brought to an end in 1924. In all these, where are the Muslims?

    Nigerian Situation 

    Here in Nigeria, the situation is by far worse. Mosques, which Prophet Muhammad (SAW) established as the permanent axis around which all Muslim activities must rotate, have been totally reduced to the level of meeting for Salat alone. Unlike their non-Muslim counterparts, most of the people we call Imams are not trained for the office they occupy. They only claim to be Imams a few years after their graduation from local Madrasas.  Very few of the Mosques they lead have bank accounts. The Imam and members of the Mission Boards of most Mosques act as unofficial treasurers as the bulk of the money collected is instantly shared among them.

    Against the Prophet’s prescription, most of our Mosques are without libraries or study rooms where the young ones can take advantage of computer and internet to be thoroughly educated through researches. It does not bother our Imams whether or not those youths come to the Mosque. What bothers them is the absence of rich people who can donate pocket-able money to the Mosques. Where are the Muslims?

    The world’s oldest Universities  

    The three oldest Universities in the world today are situated in Arab countries. They are Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt; Qarawiyyin University in Fez, Morocco and Zaytuniyyah University in Tunis, Tunisia.

    All of them were established well over one thousand years ago and they started in the Mosques. Yet they were all preceded by the University of Cordoba which was the very first University ever established in the world. It was established by a second Umayyad Caliph, Abdur-Rahman III who ruled Spain from 912 to 961 CE.

    This further confirms that the idea of University education got to the West from the Muslims. Thus, while Islam is built on a solid foundation of knowledge, Muslims now choose to live in a ramshackle abode of ignorance. Today, only a few Muslim schools are good enough to compete with schools established by non-Muslims. But more embarrassing is the fact that overwhelming majority of about 10 million Nigerian children said to be out of school are Muslims. It can now be seen why most of the Western oriented Muslims in the South West of Nigeria see Islam as an anachronistic religion unbefitting to their social statuses as they cross over to other religions in droves. Yet, it is the minority in the class of such Muslims (especially those who are not privy to the knowledge of Arabic and Islamic studies) that lifted Islam in Nigeria to its present level. If this is the case and there is no improvement, where are the Muslims?

    The functions of the Mosque

    In Islam, Mosque is not for Salat alone neither is it to be headed by half-educated elements in the name of Imams. It is rather an all-encompassing centre for all aspects of Muslim lives. Thus, a Mosque should ordinarily, make provision for a school, a library, a hospital, a trade centre, a bank/treasury, a Parliament as well as a court of law.

    To limit the function of Mosque to prayer alone therefore, is to subject it to a great disservice to Islam. Mosque is more of a congregation than an ordinary building. Muslims who worship regularly in the Mosque must have something to gain economically, socially, politically or perhaps medically besides the rewards accruing to them from the observance of Salat. Coming for congregational prayers five times every day without any temporal gain does not help the course of Islam. This divine religion is about temporal and spiritual lives and not the latter alone.  The Mosque ought to have endowments for widows and scholarship programmes for orphans and indigent pupils. It also ought to have empowerment programmes for the jobless. And those who are employed as Imams and other officials in the Mosque ought to be well treated in terms of training, remunerations and social welfare if only to encourage them in shunning corruption and redundancy. If these are not in place, where are the Muslims?

    Islam and Christianity in Nigeria

    Islam preceded Christianity in reaching the shores of Nigeria by about 500 years. The one came in the 11th century. The other came in the 16th century. Yet the gap, in terms of education and development between both, is as wide today as that between the rise and the set of the sun. If this is blamed on colonial rule and Western conspiracy, on what should failure of Islamic education be blamed? The Qur’an which embodies the language of Islamic worship is known to have been translated into only few Nigerian languages (Hausa, Yoruba and a few others). And this is the best that has been done so far, in about 1000 years, to make that sacred book understandable to millions of Nigerian Muslims. Now that can be compared to the translation of the Bible to dozens of Nigerian languages by Nigerian Christians. If majority of the adherents of a religion like Islam are tied to the apron of illiteracy and ignorance, how can such a religion be understood? The Bible which came to Nigeria 500 years after the arrival of Islam has been translated into at least about more than 40 Nigerian languages and further efforts are being made to do more. Where are the Muslims?

    Tertiary Education

    Now, with the liberalisation of University education in Nigeria which throws the door open for private Universities, compared to those of their counterparts, how many of those Universities have been established by the Muslims to cater for the growing population of their children in an environment where it may be very difficult for most of those children to get opportunity of University education without getting converted? And the few Universities established by committed and courageous Muslims are boycotted by fellow Muslims who hand over the nurturing of their children to non-Muslims. In such a situation, where then are the Muslims?

    Islam and the Media

    Islam is a corporate mission that requires a corporate means to propagate. The only means of propagating anything successfully in the world today is the media. If Islam must thrive effectively as a viable religion the means of propagating it must also be viable. Now, where are the Muslim media after the demise of Bashorun MKO Abiola and the dysfunction of his Concord as well as ‘The Monitor’ owned by the late Aare Abdul Azeez Arisekola Alao? Is any other newspaper available especially in the Southwest of Nigeria today owned by a Muslim individual or group?

    If there is any hope for the future of Islam, the focus should be towards the West. And that is in confirmation of Prophet Muhammad’s prophecy of over 1400 years ago when he said that one of the signs of recognising the nearness of the ‘Last Day’ was for the sun to start rising from the West. The sun which the Prophet meant at that time was not the physical one. That sun is ISLAM. And we have started to see its rays coming from the West where the divine religion is growing geometrically and is seen as the fastest growing religion in that part of the world today. It could not have been otherwise. Islam is a religion of knowledge. It takes only the knowledgeable to recognise it as such. The West today is the home of knowledge and not mere literacy. That is why it takes a religion of knowledge to be fast spreading among the people of knowledge. If this is not the case in Nigeria, where are the Muslims?

    An Arab Poem

    Despite all their weaknesses, the Arabs are not lacking in language and intellectualism. Their oratory prowess is legendary. Today’s topic in this column reminds yours sincerely of the Arab proficiency in language as contained in the following couplet:

    “We often blame our deficiency on the particularity of an era; when actually, there is no innate deficiency elsewhere other than in us;

    We often condemn an era for our misdemeanour even when the era is not to blame; were the era endowed with mouth to talk, it would have condemned us too (in an irreversible manner); After all, no hyena eats the flesh of another hyena as some humans eat the flesh of their fellow humans”. We are our own enemies and that is food for thought.

    Conclusion 

    For those of us who are so much concerned about the situation of Islam especially in Nigeria today, there is a reluctant consolation. That consolation is from Allah, the real author of that divine religion. He said in Qur’an 15 Verse 9 thus: “It was surely’We’ (Allah) who revealed the Message (Qur’an) and it is ‘We’ who will certainly preserve it”.

    We pray the Almighty Allah to wake up the Nigerian Muslim Ummah from its slumber so that in the future, our great grand children will have no cause to repeat the question: “Where are the Muslims?”

    Erratum

    While tracing the emergence and history of some Muslim organisations in the South West of Nigeria in this column penultimate Friday, in an article entitled ‘Muswen’s Visit to MARKAZ’, yours sincerely inadvertently named Alhaji Ishaq Kunle Sanni as the first President of National Council of Muslim Youth Organisations (NACOMYO).

    My attention has since been drawn to the fact that Brother Adamu Abdullah of Sokoto (now a lecturer at Usman Dan Fodio University) was actually the first President of that Council. Any embarrassment caused by that error is regretted.

  • MUSWEN’s visit to MARKAZ

    MUSWEN’s visit to MARKAZ

    Preamble

    It couldn’t have been an idle talk when Prophet Muhammad (SAW) expressed an axiom of all ages and generations. After all, the Almighty Allah had told us in Qur’an 53 verse 3 that this greatest man that ever lived “never talked out of sheer whim; any utterance he made at all must have come from divine inspiration”.

    One of such utterances was about visits. He said while counseling Muslims: “Visit (associates) randomly to enhance love and harmony (in the society).

     

    Courtesy visit

    In the spirit of love, unity and togetherness, the leadership of the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN) paid a courtesy visit to the Institute of Arabic and Islamic Centre popularly called Markaz, Agege, Lagos State, last Friday.

    The powerful visitation team led by the President of MUSWEN, His Excellency Chief (Dr.) Sakariyau Olayiwola Babalola CON, FFP, DSC (honoris causa), who is generally known as Chief SOB, consisted of such eminent personalities as the Secretary-General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Prof Ishaq Olanrewaju Oloyede OFR, FNAL; the Executive Secretary of MUSWEN, Prof DOS Noibi OBE, FIAC, FISN as well as the guru of the Islamic Education Trust (IET), Dr. Abdullah Jubril Oyekan.

    Others in the team included the President of Rahmatu Islamiyyah Organisation, Dr. Abdullah O. Awelenje; the Chairman of MUSWEN’s Finance and Business Committee, Alhaji Abdul Rafiu Ebiti, FCA; the Chairman, Ikeja Division of Muslim Community of Lagos State, Alhaji (Chief) Akande; the Chairman, Youth and Social Committee of Lagos State Muslim Community, Alhaji T. A. B. Osho; MUSWEN’s Taskforce Committee, Barr. YKO Abdul Kareem; the Secretary of MUSWEN’s Taskforce Committee, Prof. Abdul Ganiyyi Raji of the University of Ibadan and the Personal Assistant to His Excellence, Chief (Dr.) S. O. Babalola, Alhaji Hafis Timehin.

    Also in the team were the Secretary of Lagos State Muslim Community, Alhaji S. O. Giwa; the National Secretary of ‘The Companion’, Alhaji Musbau Sanusi; Dr. Misbau Junaid of the University of Lagos;Alhaji Ya’kub Ola Aje of Lagos State NACOMYO and Alhaji Raji Adelowo of The Companion.

    Still in the intimidating team were other members of The Companion such as Barr. Abdulsalam Oyetunde Abbas; Alhaji Abdul Gani Abdul Majeed; Alhaji Sikiru Alimi; Hassan Fajinmite and Alh. Rafiu Alabi, The Companion’s Executive Secretary.

    Yet, among the members of MUSWEN’s Taskforce Committee in that team were Dr. Wole Abbas of the University of Ibadan; Alh. Kamor Dairo; Alhaji Tajudeen Alabede and Alhaji Abdul Ganiyy Oyekunle as well as yours sincerely

     

    Purpose of the visit

    MUSWEN leadership paid last Friday’s courtesy visit to MARKAZ in fulfillment of Prophet Muhammad’s Hadith which counsels Muslims to visit one another randomly in order to enhance love and harmony. The visit was the second of its type to top members of the League of Imams and Alfas of the South West in recent times.

    A similar team, also led by His Excellency Chief (Dr.) S.O. Babalola as the President of MUSWEN, paid a courtesy visit to the President-General of the League of Imams and Alfas, Sheikh Jamiu Kewulere Bello at Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State in August 2015.

    The Secretary-General of the League of Imams and Alfas, Sheikh Ahmad Aladesawe who is also the Chief Imam of Owo, Ondo State as well as the Chairman of MUSWEN’s Education Committee, Prof Muheeb Opeloye of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, along with a number of other Muslim personalities from Ondo and Osun states including the Secretary of Osun State’s Muslim Community, Alhaji Hahim Olapade, were parts of that glorious occasion.

    The joint emphasis in the speeches made on the occasion was on unity and cooperation of the Muslim Ummah especially in the Southwest.

    It is for the purpose of such unity and cooperation, based on trust, that the President-General as well as the Secretary-General of the League of Imams and Alfas were made members of Central Working Committee (CWC) of MUSWEN.  (MUSWEN’s CWC is the highest decision-making organ of the umbrella body).

     

    The choice of a Friday

    The choice of a Friday to visit MARKAZ was to enable the visiting team to join the observance of Salatul Jum’at and benefit from the usual scholarly sermon weekly delivered by the Rector (MUDIR) of that non-such citadel of knowledge.

    In his welcome address, the Rector of MARKAZ, who is also the publicity Secretary of the League of Imams and Alfas, Sheikh Habibullah Adam Abdullah Al-Ilory, OON, laid emphasis on unity and cooperation even as he solicited for effective function of division of labour within the region’s Muslim Ummah.

    He described the role of the League as spiritual and that of MUSWEN as economic and administrative.

    He said with mutual respect and mutual trust, the two bodies could rightly pilot the affairs of the South-West Muslim Ummah without any rancour.

    He praised the relentless activities of MUSWEN and commended the progressive leadership of that apex body concluding that with sincere cooperation between the League and MUSWEN, Islam would thrive successfully in the Southwest .

     

    About MUSWEN

    For those who did not know, Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN) is the umbrella body for all Muslim organisations, institutions and groups in the Southwest of Nigeria. This is the area comprising the present Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo states.

    MUSWEN is the counterpart of Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) which serves as the umbrella body for all Muslim organisations in northern Nigeria. Together, both bodies are like a dove of peace flying actively towards success with two positive wings.

    In the Southwest, MUSWEN is like a gargantuan tree with strong roots firmly planted in the belly of the earth upon which grows a towering stem and lively foliages sprouting joyously into the firmaments of the orbit.

    The League of Imams and Alfas serves as the roots supplying the tree with spiritual food and water while MUSWEN stands out as the stem and foliages supplying the society with wood, nectar and fruits.

    Thus, MUSWEN has become a vivid reminder of the Qur’an Chapter 14 Verse 24 in which the Almighty Allah says:”Have you not seen how Allah has presented the parable of good deed like that of a fruitful tree which roots are firmly planted in the earth while its foliages sprout gorgeously into the firmaments of the sky, yielding (edible) fruits every season by Allah’s grace? Allah addresses humans in parables that they may be mindful (of their deeds)”.

     

    Formation of MUSWEN

    The idea that led to the formation of MUSWEN as the umbrella body for all the Southwest Muslims started in March 2004 at the instance of ‘The Companion’, a Lagos based organisation of Muslim business and professional youth elite.

    That idea emanated from a thoughtful intention of correcting the mistake of the past which had made the Muslim Ummah in the region an easy ride for certain non-Muslims on matters of their legitimate rights.

    It will be recalled that when the European colonialists introduced government’s education grant in 1887 only Christian Missionaries could benefit from it because the Muslims had no single school for acquisition of Western education and the colonial government was not ready to fund Madrasah.

    It took the strong determination of a young man, Idris Akinola Ode Animashaun to change that situation through personal efforts. The ideological rifts between the two main faction in existence in Lagos at that time conspicuously deprived the Lagos Muslim Ummah of the advantage of its population and rights.

    It took  Animashaun (1835-1918) to turn round the screw of indifference in favour of Muslim progress. It was this man who arrived in Lagos from Ile-Ife in 1862 and later became a learned scholar in Islam that first acquired Western education privately and even became the first Muslim Principal of a government school.

    That laudable precedent later encouraged Muslim parents to enroll their wards in schools. And when the colonial government established a conventional school for Muslim children in 1896, Sheikh Idris Animashaun volunteered to serve there as a teacher to ensure that those children were taught (Islam) their parents’ religion and he was made the Principal.

    (For details of this story, please, read Professor H. O. Danmole’s biography of Sheikh Idris Akinola Ode Animasaun. The book is entitled ‘A Protagonist of Western and Islamic Education in Colonial Lagos’) It was published in 2011.

     

    Emergence of Muslim Organisations

    Several years thereafter, some Muslim organisations began to spring up in Lagos. The first of them was Ahmadiyyah Muslim Mission that reached Nigeria in early 1900s. That Mission later broke up into two main faction from which several other organisations such as Jam’atu Islamiyyah; Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria; Nawair-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria; Zumratul-Islamiyyah and a number of others sprang.

    Each of those organisations was operating independently with little consideration for the unity of the Ummah. The advantage of proliferation of organisations at that time however, was the keen competition among them particularly in the realm of Western education.

     

    Formation of MSSN

    The above trend dragged on until 1954 when a group of secondary school pupils in Lagos came together to establish Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN) with the late Dr. Lateef Adegbite as its first and longest serving President.

    That new development was a technical revolution that enabled Muslim school pupils to assemble from time to time on matters of Islam and other common interest just as it created a rare opportunity for them to choose matrimonial partners among themselves.

    Within a very short time, MSSN became a national Muslim organisation for school pupils who would not, ordinarily, have been privileged to join any adult organisational group.

    Unfortunately with time, however, MSSN also broke into factions as members who had graduated from tertiary institutions refused to vacate managerial offices for those who were still students if only to groom them for competent leadership.

    Today, MSSN is a mere matter of nomenclature.The present situation of Muslims in which youths are still largely not educated at a benefiting level is quite unfortunate and intolerable.

    It was one of the means of ending this gloomy situation and igniting a glow of hope that gingered MUSWEN into coming to life as a formidable platform for the Muslims of the South West to prove their mettle.

     

    NACOMYO, FOMWAN, NASFAT and Others

    Forced by political expedience in 1980, some religiously persecuted young working class Muslim men and women   in Ibadan decided to establish another youth organisation into which thousands of MSSN alumni could graduate after leaving the school.

    This new thoughtful organisation adopted various names at state level until it finally settled for National Council of Muslim Youth Organisations (NACOMYO).

    Its first President was Alhaji Ishaq Adekunle Sanni (popularly known as Kunle Sanni). And in 1984, another organisation called the Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN), which is exclusive to Nigerian female Muslims.

    Its first national President was Hajiya Aisha Lemu. Yet, a few years thereafter, an un-assuming Muslim organisation stormed Nigerian Islamic orbit like a colossus. Its name is Nasrullah Al-fath Society of Nigeria (NASFAT).

    Its formation in the 1980s was as revolutionary as that of MSSN of the 1950s. And its rising profile, like that of FOMWAN remains unimaginable. Each of these organisations is like a crescent in its own right, signaling the direction of the future movements of Nigerian Muslim youths.

     

    The Missing Link

    Despite their vibrancy and progressive paces, all the aforementioned organisations have no common forum at which they can deliberate together and take common decisions on vital issues when necessary.

    It is this link that MUSWEN came to fill. Thus, MUSWEN can be called the Parliament of Nigeria’s Southwest Muslims. That is why, in the constitution of MUSWEN, all Chairmen and Secretaries of State Muslim Communities as well as those of independent organizations and certain individual stakeholders are classified as members of MUSWEN’s Central Working Committee (CWC) which is the highest decision making organ of MUSWEN.

     

    MUSWEN’s Vision

    MUSWEN’s vision is of a united and effective voice for Muslims in the South West Nigeria under a strong, veritable and collective leadership. This had eluded the region for a very long time due to ideological differences and unnecessary variations in interpretations of the Qur’an and Sunnah.

    The overall aim is not just to raise the profile of the Muslims in this part of the country but also to imbue the Muslim youth of the region with the necessary Islamic ethics with which to enable them to live a true Islamic life as ordained by Allah through the Qur’an and Sunnah.

    The body was inaugurated in Ibadan on August 10, 2008 with the attendance of virtually all the front line Muslim Obas, Chieftains and other stakeholders in the region.

    His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto was the Special Guest of Honour on that occasion where all Muslim organisations in the Southwest were duly represented not as guests but as full members. Their presence indicated their commitments.

    With MUSWEN the hope of better days ahead is quite bright.

  • Ahmadu Bello’s Christmas message

    Preamble

    This article was scheduled for Friday, January 15, 2016 to coincide with the 50th year remembrance of Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello’s assassination in Nigeria’s first military coup d’etat. However, since man only proposes while Allah disposes, the plan to publish it that day had to change due to an exigency that required an urgent attention. Nevertheless, despite the two weeks delay, it is hoped that the respected regular readers of this column will still find it as fresh as it would have been a fortnight ago. This is one of the memorable stories of life that often leave a sour taste in the mouth but never get stale in history. We are still in January and the story of Nigeria’s first coup remains inexhaustible.

     

    Death of an icon

    One of the foremost political icons in Nigeria’s first republic and the patriarch of the political party called Northern People’s Congress (NPC), was Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello, the first and only Premier of Northern Nigeria. He became Premier of Northern Nigeria in 1954 through a popular election and was killed as Premier in January 1966 in a tribal/religious military coup plotted mainly by soldiers of Igbo extraction and led by one Major Patrick Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. The plotters had killed this icon in cold blood before looking for reasons to justify their heinous crime. The three reasons they later gave were corruption, tribalism and religious bigotry. It was a matter of calling a dog a bad name in order to hang it.

    Among the four Premiers in Nigeria at that time, only Ahmadu Bello could not in any way be evidently linked to corruption. Unlike others who lived opulently, Ahmadu Bello was an ascetic personality who served his people as patriotically. He left only a small residential bungalow in Sokoto at the time of his death. He could also not be singularly accused of tribalism because tribalism was the basis of all the existing political parties of the time. No Premier from 1954 to 1966 could be exonerated from tribalism. They were all guilty of it.

    It can be recalled that such organisations as Ibiobio State Union, Ibo Federal Union, Egbe Omo Oduduwa and ‘Jam’iyyar Al-Ummar Nigeriya ta Arewa’ which translated to Northern Elements Progressive Association which later transformed into Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) were all socio-cultural organisations that metamorphosed into political parties. All those parties preceded ‘jamiyyar Mutane Arewa’ meaning Northern People’s Congress (NPC) to which Ahmadu Bello belonged. Many other ethnic-based political parties later emerged to broaden tribalism in Nigerian politics.

     

    His 1959 Christmas Message

    Of the four Premiers in Nigeria’s first republic, only Ahmadu Bello was bold and sincere enough to allay the fear of the minority groups in Northern Nigeria by making a public policy statement about his government’s stand concerning tribalism and religious bigotry. Here is what he said:

    “We are people of many different races, tribes and religions, who are knit together by common history, common interests and common ideals. Our diversity may be great but the things that unite us are stronger than the things that divide us. On an occasion like this, I always remind people about our firmly rooted policy on religious tolerance. Families of all creeds and colour can rely on these assurances. We have no intention of favouring one religion at the expense of another. Subject to overriding need to preserve law and order, it is our determination that everyone should have absolute liberty to practice his belief. It is befitting on this momentous day, on behalf of my ministers and myself, to send a special word of gratitude to all Christian missions.

    Let me conclude this with a personal message. I extend my greetings to all our people who are Christians on this great feast day. Let us forget the difference in our religion and remember the common brotherhood before God, by dedicating ourselves afresh to the great tasks which lie before us.”

    Thus, to accuse such a person of tribalism and religious bigotry is like searching for a new crescent in a deep well.

     

     His Fabricated ‘Speech’

    However, years after Ahmadu Bello’s unjustifiable assassination, some evil elements in the media, in collaboration with certain political demagogues went to fabricate another statement attributed to the Premier as a justification for his killing. The concocted statement was credited to a publication in an unknown newspaper called ‘The Parrot’. Here is the fabricated statement:

    “The new nation called Nigeria should be an estate of our great grandfather Othman Dan Fodio. We must ruthlessly prevent a change of power. We use the minorities in the north as willing tools and the south as a conquered territory and never allow them to rule over us and never allow them to have control over their future.” The statement was said to have been made on October 12, 1960.

     

    Truth and Falsehood

    Now, looking at both statements very carefully, any sensible person should be able to see clearly, a distinction between truth and falsehood. The Premier’s Christmas message quoted above was made on Thursday, December 24, 1959 through a radio broadcast which was published by all newspapers in the country including the vociferous ‘West African Pilot’ owned by Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, the boisterous ‘Tribune’ owned by Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the clamorous ‘Daily Times’ jointly owned privately by certain prominent individuals at that time as well as many other smaller newspapers in Nigeria. All those newspapers are identifiable in the Nigeria’s media history even though most of them are now defunct. On the other hand, the place and occasion of the second statement attributed to Ahmadu Bello was neither indicated nor can be traced in Nigeria’s newspaper history.

    The first time any genuinely existing newspaper ever made reference to that second statement was on November 13, 2002 (42 years after it was purportedly made. And the reference by ‘The Tribune’ newspaper that published it was to an article published online a few weeks earlier (October 24, 2002) by a Yoruba journalist and columnist (name withheld) and entitled ‘the northern Agenda’. It can therefore be deduced that the statement was actually fabricated not in the 1960s but in October 2002, by the columnist who credited it to a newspaper that never existed, to give it undeserving credibility. What a country! What a people! This is a typical case of an obvious mischief by heartless mischief makers just to fetch ephemeral fame and illegal income.

    The belief was that once such a fabricated article appears on the internet and is   ignorantly quoted by some inconsequential writers, it would automatically become a document of facts. That is Nigeria for you.

     

    The Coup Episode

    January 15, 1966 was a Saturday like no other one in the history of Nigeria. That day laid the bitter seed which germinated and grew into the thorny tree that now feeds Nigerians with unpalatable political fruits of today. It marked the beginning of an agonising voyage of destiny on which Nigerians embarked without a compass. Coming up in the sacred month of Ramadan, the day actually came to confirm the axiomatic thought of an Arab poet who once asserted in a couplet that: “Nights are heavily pregnant; they give birth to wonders in the days….”

     

    The preceding Friday

    The preceding Friday (January 14, 1966) had been quite eventful for the then Premier of Northern Nigeria, Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello who was extraordinarily busy from morning to night. He had planned to travel to Sokoto with the then Ghana High Commissioner, Mr. Yakubu Tally, who had come to spend the weekend with him in appreciation of his role in ensuring the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) through the merger of the Monrovia and Casablanca groups that had been mutually antagonistic on certain ideological grounds.

    On that Friday, Sir Ahmadu Bello, as usual, observed the Jum’at Prayer in company of a retinue of his Ministers and government officials. He hosted the Premier of Western Nigeria, Chief Samuael Ladoke Akintola, (his political ally) in the newly formed Nigerian National Alliance (NNA). The latter had come to alert his colleague of a premonition hovering over Nigeria through an impending bloody coup d’etat that could clear the existing political stable wheat and chaff. His alert was not however strange to Sir Ahmadu Bello who had earlier got the same security report.

    The duo jointly reviewed the then volatile political situation in the country but failed to reach a conclusion on how to forestall the impending calamity.

     

    Akintola’s Effort

    Chief S. L. Akintola, pleaded with his host to persuade the then Prime Minister, Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, to act promptly to curb the impending disaster that was swinging restlessly like a pendulum over Nigeria before it could devour them all. But Sir Ahmadu Bello was reluctant. He believed that only the will of Allah could prevail in any given circumstance. His fear was that in the sacred month of Ramadan, it would be better to be martyred than to be an assassin. To him, any attempt to foil such a virtually mature coup would be so bloody that even the country would have nothing left to bleed with. By that belief, hardly did Sir Ahmadu Bello realise the implications of paving the way for a ruinous destiny to take its course.

    The whole scenario was like a valedictory drama of fate in which the actors were blind to the denouement which the viewers had vividly perceived. And when it was time for the two Premiers to part, it became apparent that they were meeting perhaps for the last time alive. In a sobre but sorrowful tone, the host bided his guest “buy for now,” and the guest, whose feet were already on the staircase of his aircraft on his way back to Ibadan replied: “if we ever get to see again”.

    Thus, both spoke in coded language in the presence of their entourages who could not decode their language. By the time when cities started to return to life, in the wee hours of the following morning, the die had been cast as the picture had become clear that the night had tragically discharged the contents of its cargo to the amazement of the entire world. A bloody coup in Nigeria had swept the country’s democracy away with the rulers as casualties. It confirmed the maxim of the above quoted poem and the rest has since become history.

     

    The major Casualties

    The heartless rascals in Nigerian military who struck in the January 1966 coup to terminate a democratically elected government must have foreclosed the consequences of their criminal action. They had killed virtually all the major key players in the then Nigerian politics except those of Igbo extraction and of course, some non-Igbo people who were then in prisons. The Prime Minister, Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and the Minister of Finance, Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh were killed in Lagos. The Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, was killed with his wife and some other people in Kaduna, the then Headquarters of Northern Nigeria. The Premier of Western Nigeria, Chief Samuel Akintola was killed in Ibadan, the then Headquarters of the South Western Nigeria while some military top brass of non-Igbo extraction were killed in different military barracks across the country.

    Except for Lt. Col. Arthur Unegbe who was killed for being too close to Maimalari and could not be trusted, no other Igbo man of note, politician or military, was killed in that coup. As a matter of fact, if there was any feeling of the coup in the Eastern Nigeria at all, it was that of victory and heroism. The top military officers who were killed included: Brig. S. A. Ademulegun (South West); Brig. Zakari Maimalari (North); Col. Kur Mohammed (North); Lt. Col. J. Y. Pam (North); Col. S. A. Shodeinde (South West); Lt. Col. Largema (North); Lt. Col. A. G. Unegbe (North); S/Ltd. James Odu (South West) and a host of others.

     

    The Allegations

    It became evident that virtually all the leaders of that coup as well as its executioners were of Igbo extraction. Thus, the other ethnic groups who were severely affected saw the coup as a tribal one. But much more than that, the Muslims in the country saw it as a religious coup that could not be justified in any way, the killing of Chiefs Akintola and Okotie-Eboh notwithstanding. This was because the then Governor of Eastern Nigeria, Sir Francis Akanu Ibiam was as deeply religious as Sir Ahmadu Bello. The one was a Vice-President of the World Council of Churches. The other was the Vice-President of the Muslim World League. If religion was therefore the reason for the coup, the two of them ought to have been killed. But history entails a variety of interpretations.

    Overwhelming majority of the ring leaders of that coup as well as the executioners were of Igbo extraction. The chief beneficiary of the coup (Major-General Johnson Aguiyi Ironsi) was of Igbo extraction. Almost all the military appointments after the coup were for men of Igbo extraction and none of these, except Hassan Katsina and Muhammadu Shuwa was a Muslim. How else could a coup be tribal and religious in nature?

     

    Nigeria’s Founding Fathers

    In semblance of the above, the great fathers of Nigeria’s independence left a legacy that can be called a footprint on the sands of time. By whatever standard they are measured today, the late Sardauna of Sokoto, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello; Nigeria’s first and only Prime Minister, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa; the first Premier of Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his counterpart of the Eastern Region, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe as well as Mallam Aminu Kano and Chief SL Akintola and Chief Denis Osadebay were all exemplary in their styles of life given the circumstances of their governance, their personal weaknesses notwithstanding.

    Their legacy is a fortune which amazingly turned into misfortune in the hands of their successors. Thus, the great hope which those fathers had embedded into our destiny became colonised and turned into personal property by their political heirs. Were those great fathers to wake up from their graves today and see what has become of their sweat, they would just shake their heads in sorrow and return quietly into their graves without comments.

     

    Qualities of Leaders

    Looking at the phenomena of human life critically, one may conclude that human world is depreciating geometrically. The men of primordial years were greater by far than those of the contemporary time. Their lives were more qualitative. Their thoughts were richer. Their intentions were purer. Their gazes were more visionary. Their dispositions were more human. It is upon the foundation of their thoughts and deeds that today’s technological pyramid is firmly built. Yet, they did not allow their reasoning to be driven by the material life of their time.

     

    Exemplary Hadith

    Fearing for their hereafter, some companions of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) once asked him a probing question about the quality of their lifestyle saying in a quivering voice thus:

    “Dear Prophet! The wealthy ones amongst us seem to have gone to the world beyond with all the existing rewards. They worshiped Allah as we are worshiping Him. They fasted as we are fasting today. Yet they were giving in charity, huge amounts of resources to the poor and the needy according to the sizes of their wealth. What is then left for us, if the paradise will be determined by the amount of our rewards…….?” The similitude of the lesson in that Hadith is the situation of Nigeria yesterday and today in terms of leadership quality. Will any lesson be learnt?

  • Re – Hijab: Muslims against Muslims

    Preamble

    An article entitled ‘Hijab: “Muslims against Muslims” which appeared in this column penultimate Friday drew an unprecedented array of reactions from readers. A follow up to that article last Friday in this same column also attracted torrential reactions. Apparently, both articles struck the touchy parts of readers differently. And their simultaneous reactions, accordingly confirmed that assertion.

    As mortal beings, we jointly live in a world of diverse ideas and experiences. It is not always that we see what we look. Some see without looking. Some look without seeing. But in the end, we all return to the natural fallibility that confirms our mortality. As a columnist, I take responsibility for whatever storm or calm that greeted both articles. And at the same time, I thank all who reacted to them positively or negatively. Allah knows best. Here we go:

     

    Reactions

    “….NACOMYO has made it categorically clear that hijab can never be separated from believing women, so banning hijab is banning the practice of Islam. The claim by the writer that the “the experience in the countries such as Niger Republic, Chad and Cameroon where the spate of mass murder by bomb blasts concealed in Islamic dress in those countries went down tremendously, following the ban on certain types of hijab” cannot be substantiated because the gendarmerie in these countries are well equipped, up to the task and are up-and-doing to contain the insurgency. The role played by the Chadian armed forces in dealing Boko Haram in Nigeria, before President Muhammadu Buhari took over, a deadly blow, cannot be over-emphasized. On January 12, Boko Haram still struck in northern Cameroon where 13 Muslim faithfuls were brutally killed by a man suicide bomber in a Mosque!

    NACOMYO has strong belief in the sincerity of the incumbent government to eradicate Boko Haram without banning hijab and we have seen the handwriting on the wall already. All what the government needs is our full support and vigorous prayers for its success in bringing the insurgency to a quick end, fighting corruption to a standstill as well as rejuvenation of Nigerian economy. Mallam Garba Shehu, the President’s Spokesman has officially denied the hijab ban, what’s more?

    Finally, NACOMYO advises the columnist, and his likes, to always use their pens to promote, defend, propagate Islam and educate non-Muslims about Islam rather than compromising the religion at any slight provocation. They should learn from the action of the only woman on the panel who successfully boxed the President to a tight corner on the issue of hijab. Her action seemed propelled by religious interest rather than by professional zeal…”

    Binyamin Yusuf, Secretary-General NACOMYO

     

    My dear brother Femi Abbas, after carefully going through your write up titled ‘Hijab: Muslims against Muslims’ and the barrage of reactions that awashed (sic) the social media from our Muslim brothers, I felt pity for you. Your follow up article titled: ‘The Message and ‘The Messenger’ however came as a relief and a justification for my caution against reacting in a hurry. What some of those reactions intended to do was to give you a public ridicule and disgrace. And that perhaps forced you to throw your background open, a thing you had never done in your 33 years of writing the same column. That shows that the motive was beyond the article they reacted to. But thank God, you have proved your intellectual worth and restored the confidence of your genuine readers by delivering the goods as expected of you. However, without those tendentious reactions most of your readers would not have known anything about your background and professional antecedent. Now, I am more strongly confident in ‘The ‘Message’ column. Please, ride on. God bless you.

    Jelili Adebare, Shaki, Oyo State

     

    Alhaji Femi Abbas, have you ever heard the story of the lion and the lamb? Both animals met at a stream where they went to drink water. On sighting the lamb, the lion greedily accosted her by alleging that the lamb was polluting the stream. The lamb said “it is not possible since I am drinking at the lower part of the stream and you (lion) are at the upper side”. The lion then said you want to abuse me again as you did here this time last year? The lamb replied that I had not been born this time last year. Then, the lion said if it wasn’t you, it must have been your mother. The wild cat thereafter pounced on the innocent lamb and made a meal of it. That is the parable of our brothers’ provocative reactions to your article even after you had effected correction. But I am not surprised as that is characteristic of new school Muslims in Nigeria today. Femi, just stand by Allah and He will stand by you always.

    Abdullah Musa Zubair. Kaduna

     

    Mallam Femi, reading through your article captioned ‘The Message’ and the Messenger’ last Friday, one could feel that you were worried. I don’t think there is anything to worry about. The duty of people who have little or nothing to offer the society is to disturb those who have societal value. You are not a local columnist and cannot be rubbished by local nuisance. With Allah’s tremendous endowment for you, such envious reactions ought to have been expected from time to time. Every success has a cost. Yours cannot be an exception. You should rejoice that the unwarranted attacks on you in the social media over your article on Hijab has turned out to be a booster and not a diminisher (sic) of your enviable image. Alhamdulillah. Please, throw the past behind you and continue your good work as usual. Allah will continue to guide and protect you.

    Suleiman Guruje, Abuja

     

    Alhaji Femi Abbas, the interruption brought into your column by the bitter critics of your article on hijab was not against you but against those of us who are regular readers of that column. Most of those who reacted did not read the article in question. Some of them called me to ask for your telephone number and email address both of which are constantly present in the head mast of your column. You will also notice that most of them could not even spell your name (Abbas) correctly. That will confirm to you the type of people you are dealing with. Ironically, most of those people who can be called new school in Islam had not been born by the time you started writing a column. I appeal to you to please concentrate on the wheat of your profession while you leave the chaff for the goats. Your quality will never diminish. Assalam alaikun.

    Salihu Fazazi, Auchi, Edo State

     

    Mallam Abbas, I have never met you in person, neither have I seen your photograph anywhere. But I want you to look at the appearance of the modern day propagators of Islam. When I read your article titled ‘The Message’ and ‘The Messenger’ my mind just quickly went to the young Muslim brothers who claim to be engaged in da’wah. Should any propagator of Islam be shabby? How can a shabby person win souls for Islam? Please, whenever you meet them take a second look at them. I am disgusted. These are the people who want us to see them as scholars. Does scholarship take away decency from a scholar? Islam is becoming something else in the hands of modern day Muslim scholars. We must do something about it. Please, lead us. God will give you all you need to lead.

    Shakirullah M. Haruna, Brinin-Kebbi, Kebbi State

     

    Ustadh Femi Abbas, I have followed very keenly the arguments for and against the ban on the use of Hijab or Burqah between you and some of your readers in your column. As usual, your detailed analysis of the origin and genesis of hijab is highly appreciated and by that analysis we are better educated. Those who are denying your claim and calling you names have not told us their own version of the history of that Islamic dress. We thank Allah that you inform and educate with your column without necessarily claiming to be a scholar. That is a mark of humility. May God increase your knowledge and your wisdom.

    Salim A. Abubakar, Dutse, Jigawa State   

     

    Mr. Femi Abbas, Reading your last Friday article was quite interesting. I had to quickly look for the one of the Friday before which warranted the writing of the second. My conclusion after reading both was that Nigerians generally acknowledge good work only posthumously. You know what that means? How many of those emergency critics are capable of writing Islamic columns of your standard? Ordinarily, there is nothing bad in calling your attention to an error. But when a handshake goes beyond the elbow, it becomes suspicious. Intention matters a lot. From the reactions I have read in the social media so far, it seems that most of the critics had been looking for an opportunity to attack you on something else which they have not yet disclosed. But don’t be bothered. It is all part of experience. We shall intensify our prayers to Allah to continue to provide you with long life and formidable protection and give us more men of your type. Remain blessed!

    Mubarak Ahmad Mubarak, Jos, Plateau State

     

    Alhaji Abbas, those who seized the opportunity of your error in the article on hijab to say you are rather a nonentity than a scholar, have their hidden agenda. Through what I read in their reactions, I discovered that they have redefined scholarship. To them, only people who know Hadith and Islamic history are qualified to be called scholars. They have made Hadith the primary source of Islamic Law. Even where the contents of the Qur’an evidently contradict their quoted Hadith, they stick to the latter. So, with Hadith, they can easily pronounce Hell in judgment over their victims. Other learned people, irrespective of the depth of their knowledge, cannot be scholars.

    That is why a person like you cannot be qualified for a scholar. It is a matter of blackmail. But if you join them today, you will automatically be recognised as a scholar. We are talking of the modern day diabolical scholars who must be seen as such to be able to exploit the Muslim Ummah. Rather than lifting Islam, these people have relegated the divine religion through dogmatism rather than dynamism which Islam stands for. Hijab is not the problem but those who are campaign for it. We must cooperate to rescue the situation. We cannot continue like this. God bless you.

    Adam Olajide Ojengbede, Ile-Ife, Osun State

     

    Ustadh Femi Abbas, for many years, we, the permanent readers of your column have benefited tremendously from the fountain of your knowledge and we are not idiots. We can easily distinguish between the wheat and the chaff. No emergency/extremist tutors can confuse us at this stage with strange tutelage like the one that bred Boko Haram insurgents. We know that life is sacred in Islam and anything that can lead to deliberate termination of lives unjustifiably must be avoided. Islam is neither a bloody religion nor a religion of nudism. Hijab is an ordained costume for Muslim women but it does not necessarily have to be Burqah or Khimar. That is the point you were making and we understand it very well. We are quite familiar with your writings and logic. Anybody can make a mistake. Your clarification in the second article should be reasonably comprehensible to any responsible Muslim who has no ulterior motive. We are satisfied. Let those who see religion as an instrument of mass murder separate their mode of worship from that of conventional Islam. No one can lure us into blind fanaticism.

    Bamidele Ibrahim, Ikare, Ondo State

     

    Assalam alaikum, you are always an enjoyable columnist and preacher of Islamic issues. May I advise you to compile your articles of about 33 years into a book form for the benefit of Muslims and to serve as a further means of reference. On issues of hijab, your explanation is well understood and should be acceptable to all. Ma salam.

    Hon. ADEYINKA Corsim, Osodi, Lagos

     

    I sincerely appreciate respected Alhaji Femi Abbas to have written this article; ‘The Message’ and ‘The Messenger’.  May Allah overlook our shortcomings.  I think we should all see it as a reminder that perfection and absoluteness are only for ALLAH especially as it clarifies his mistake by showing the missing link in the article which according to him, he had inadvertently omitted.

    “Banning Burqah rather than Hijab is not the same as banning Islam” was said to be the original draft and not “Banning Hijab is not the same as banning Islam”

    I implore all Muslims that we write a rejoinder to him appreciating his courage to accept his mistakes and show him genuine and increase love and concern. For me, I take your clarification as true and I apologise for any denial and or castigation you may have received on behalf my Muslim brothers and sisters. Regards.

    Akinfenwa Omolaja Akeem

     

    Ustadh Femi, We have problem. The issue here is not about hijab per se. We know hijab as a divinely ordained dress for Muslim women. Wearing it is not negotiable. But Islam, in our society today, is passing through a new trend that may be bigger and more dangerous than Boko Haram. Are you aware that our female children are now being waylaid by some modern day self-acclaimed scholars? These heretical scholars who evidently toe the line of the Taliban, ISIS and Al-Shabbab are out to destroy the lives of our female children. They do not only persuade them to withdraw from their University courses, they also marry them out through match making without the consents of their parents. They convince the innocent girls that once they attain the age of 18, they do not need their parents’ consents again to take decisions on issues including marriage. They then ask such girls to send some tins of condensed milk to their mothers as a replacement for the milk they had sucked from those mothers’ breasts at infancy.

    By the ‘Salafi’ philosophy of these ‘satanic scholars’, women are not supposed to work outside the confines of their matrimonial homes and therefore, they do not need any certificate. They also try to convince some young Muslim graduates to do away with their University degrees or forget about Al-Janna (Paradise). Some of such ‘scholars have even created special camps at which they indoctrinate their captives after hypnotising them.

    Please, Femi, use your powerful column to correct this terrible anomaly and educate Nigerian public about it before it is too late. Some parents who have fallen victim to this evil are still gnawing their teeth. Others must not become their victims again. And if you have female children especially in higher institutions please, monitor them very well. You have intellectually used your popular column for Nigerian Muslim Ummah in the past 33 years. Allah will reward you abundantly. But this is not the time to relent. Allah will help you as you are helping others. We need more information and education through your column.

    Sulaiman Olaoye Jubril, Lokoja, Kogi State.

  • The Message and the messenger

    The Message and the messenger

    Prologue

    The title of this article is quite symbolic. Islam is the most worthy message that requires a worthy messenger to propagate. And the messenger in this case is any worthy Muslim who is supposed to propagate that divine message in a worthy manner. Invariably, the quality of the message is often vividly reflected in the capability of the messenger.

     

    Clarification

    ‘The Message’ column has noted the venomous reactions of some Nigerian Muslim brothers and sisters to the article on hijab which appeared in this column last Friday. Expectedly, some of the respondents to that article had hardly read it before hurriedly passing their usual heretical FATWA by declaring this columnist a ‘KAFIR’ (renegade).

    Nevertheless, the concern of some of the brothers and sisters about the contents of the article is understandable. The writer’s conclusion in that article was seen as capable of fuelling disturbing implications especially in Nigerian terrain where religion is virtually taken for a tacit war of attrition.

    I must admit that the conclusion of that article was as puzzling to this columnist as it must have been to many readers. Definitely, there was an error. But the particular clause in the controversial conclusion of that article which caused a loud brouhaha last Friday is not strange in journalism. What is strange in that case was the implacable attitude of some brothers who were trying to set the house ablaze in an attempt to chase out a lizard.

    This column is not a monopoly and the columnist is not a perfectionist. Despite being an alumnus of the great institution called MARKAZ, Agege, Lagos State, and despite studying in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, I have never claimed to be a scholar, out of modesty. Even when I am called a scholar I do not acknowledge it. Thus, the idea of labeling yours sincerely as an arrogant person is a figment of imagination of some people based on sheer ignorance.

     

    Consultation

    Ordinarily, I do not write this column without consulting some trusted learned scholars directly or indirectly. For instance, some highly respected scholars, not less than five, are given the privilege of reading through this column every week before it is sent for publication. If, like me, none of those scholars could sight the faulty clause in the article before it went for publication why should I be taken for an Angel now being turned into a ‘devil’ to be pestered with verbal and written missiles through the apathy of some Islamic enthusiasts? Incidentally, only nine out of 91 people who reacted to the article in question were able to decipher the clumsiness of the controversial clause and four of them were from foreign countries.

     

    The foreign angle

    The very first person to raise a question on the article was a brother from Belgium who had closely monitored my blog for some years and had got familiar with my style. His alert was followed by some others from Ireland, Turkey and Comoro Island. The four noticed the missing link in the conclusion of that article and promptly drew my attention to it in a responsible manner. But then, the die had been cast as the alerts came after the publication.

    Brother Tariq of Turkey was particularly exceptional in pinpointing the missing link when I became confused. He identified the problem as being between my claim to “strongly believe in the use of Hijab” and the sudden advocacy for support of its ban albeit conditionally. He then advised me to go back to the original draft of the article and fish out the printer’s devil. It was only then that I realised having become a victim of that abominable cliché called the printer’s devil.

     

    The Nigerian angle

    Here in Nigeria, about 37 brothers, five of whom are from the academic sector, also hinted me of a possible mistake in the article but none of them could actually pinpoint its place. Delightedly, all those brothers practically demonstrated the difference between education and sheer literacy as much as they exhibited the genuine spirit of Islam. Theirs was a display of thorough understanding and high level of maturity. They are qualified to be called reliable readers and worthy Messengers. God bless them.

     

    Personal angle

    On my own, I also discovered another major error on which some respondents have deliberately preyed to score critical points. That is in the paragraph where I referred to Nigerian female cultural dress consisting of ‘buba’ and ‘Iro’ without mentioning Ibori (big scarf) which is the real equivalence of hijab in Nigeria.

    With such conspicuous omission, I expected some of the respondent brothers who had known me very well for a long time, to understand that as an informed Muslim of Yoruba extraction, I could not have deliberately referred to ‘Buba’ and ‘Iro’ as hijab. But that wasn’t the case.

     

    Purpose of Errata

    Making a sensitive mistake in public communication is not peculiar to Femi Abbas as a columnist. For the same reason of printer’s devil, many print media houses have had to withdraw thousands of copies of their publications from circulation. I can still recall that this once happened when I was in Concord. It also happened once when I was in Vanguard and the world did not crumble. Where such withdrawal became impossible, they simply followed up with the publication of errata.

    To correct any erroneous publication in a newspaper is not a big deal. The writer can easily effect such correction through the same medium by publishing erratum/errata any other day. It is only emotional readers that would want to make a mountain out of a mole hill in such error by treating it as if the world is coming to an end. Most of our brothers are known for such exaggerated reaction.

     

    The original draft

    In the original draft of that article, I discovered that in the process of my final proofreading, while crossing the T(s) and dotting the I(s), I inadvertently removed three words which included ‘BURQAH’, ‘RATHER’ and ‘THAN’.  And that changed the entire concept and intention of the whole article. Unfortunately, this   happened in the most sensitive part of that article. Here was the missing link:

    “Banning Burqah rather than Hijab is not the same as banning Islam”. What appeared in the published edition was: “Banning hijab is not the same as banning Islam”. Anybody who is literate enough can clearly see the missing link which was not deliberate. That I did not notice the error until I got a hard copy of The Nation , shortly before Salatul Jum’at last Friday, was also not strange. A writer can read his own script many times without discovering a mistake in it. If the error in this column last Friday was perceived as a sin, therefore, it must have been committed against Allah. And if there is need to apologise and seek forgiveness, it must be from Allah the ultimate Forgiver of sins. Therefore, those who were calling for apology in their reactions were only arrogantly playing God.

     

    ‘The Message’ Column

    From its inception in The Nation newspaper 10 years ago when it was renamed ‘The Message’, this column has been designed to be a participatory one in which its readers are entitled to reactions which deserve publication. But where such reactions lack decorum and are full of unprintable insults rather than meaningful corrections the columnist reserves the right not to publish. That happens to be the fate of many reactions to last week’s article.

     

    Reflection

    That after 33 years of writing an Islamic column in various newspapers and magazines locally, nationally and internationally, Femi Abbas is now being castigated as a failure and an ‘Islamic outcast’ did not come as a surprise. Even the heretical verdict of excommunication passed by some self-appointed judges was not surprising. It only further confirms the level of those who portend to be propagators of the worthy Message called Islam.

    I, however, take solace in the words of Cat Stevens, a British musician who adopted the name Yusuf Islam after embracing the rightly guided religion (Islam) in 1978. He said: “I thank God that I knew Islam before I knew Muslims”.

    In the same vein, I also thank Allah that I knew Islam by information, education and knowledge before I started interacting with Nigerian Muslims at various strata of life.

     

    Memory Lane

    That I became a journalist and a columnist 33 years ago was not just by fortuity a hard decision that amounted to a great sacrifice. As a fresh graduate in my national service year in 1982/83, I had already secured three jobs before the late Bashorun MKO Abiola personally approached and passionately appealed to me to stay in Concord. One of the secured jobs was in Mobil Oil Company which came because of my Arabic language background. Another was in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which was due to the grade I obtained in my first degree as well as my proficiency in Arabic language. And the third was in the Lagos State Ministry of Education because of my previous years of teaching experience before I travelled abroad in pursuit of a University degree.

    I resolved to accept Abiola’s offer not because it fetched better opportunities or higher income than the other jobs but because of two fundamental reasons that I kept to myself until now. One of those reasons was my covenant with Allah during my madrasa days. As a very young boy then, without the privilege of a formal secondary school education, I was determined to acquire the so-called Western education because I knew it would become a necessary tool for me in future. I then prayed fervently to Allah to make my life a little staff upon which   many Muslims could rest with confidence in future.

     

    The pledge

    Thus, In the process of pursuing that ambition, I decided to make a pledge to Allah that if He could assist me to succeed in my yearning for Western education I would use it to serve Him throughout my life. The other reason was that if a personality like MKO Abiola, despite his enormous wealth, could endeavor to still want to serve Allah by opening an Islamic column in a national newspaper at a time when such was not fashionable, who was I not to join his spiritual train to convey multitudes of Nigerian Muslims to the cape of Good Hope?

    Ever since, the column debut in 1983, it has remained a mouthpiece for Nigerian Muslims especially in turbulent moments, such as the hullabaloo over Nigeria’s admission into the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC); the King Faisal International Award won by the late Sheikh Abubakar Gumi; the dangerous  Maitatsine crises; the volatile Zango Kataf religious duel; the Islam in Africa saga tagged by non-Muslims as Islamisation Project and the recent declaration of Hijrah Holiday in Osun State.

     

    Comment

    Throughout those turbulent years that I stood firmly as a front line soldier for Islam and Nigerian Muslims in the media, there was never a time when Muslim readers reacted to the contents of my column as they did on this occasion.

    At least, I have consistently championed the media campaign for the wearing of hijab and the declaration of Hijrah holiday in Nigeria since 1984 and throughout my professional odyssey, I never received a ‘brown envelope’ (often attributed to Nigerian journalists), from anybody. I challenge anybody who disagrees with this assertion to come out with facts or conceal such facts and face the wrath of Allah.

    Now, with a single major error in over three decades of service in the trenches of an undeclared religious war, my Muslim brothers are coming up with a verdict of crucifixion without trial. What an irony of life? It is a case of throwing away the baby with the bathwater, a situation that is aimed at turning Femi Abbas into a dormant lion to be taught by some proverbial dogs and puppies how to prey on victims in a familiar games forest.                                              I accept my fate of being called names including “an arrogant columnist, “an ignorant nonentity”, “a rusting gold” and “a sell out and betrayer of trust”. Who am I to reject such fate? After all, even Prophet Muhammad, the greatest man that ever lived was called names.

    The lesson in this situation is well learnt. Genuine friends are like stars. You may not see them always but when the need to see them arises, they resurface to say “we are always there for you”. God bless such friends.

     

    NOTE:

    1 Some publishable rejoinders came yesterday (Thursday) after this article had been sent in for publication. I had to inform the office to add this note.

    1. Reactions will be published next Friday in sha’Allah.
  • Hijab: Muslims against Muslims

    Hijab: Muslims against Muslims

    Preamble

    Controversy is a Nigerian. It occupies a delicate but vintage position in the hearts of most citizens and revolves incessantly around trivial matters often to the detriment of serious and meaningful issues. In no other country of the world does controversy thrive as much as it does in Nigeria. Nigerians take pride in the vainglory offishing out controversy even where it serves no purpose. When public controversy in Nigeria is not about politics, it may be about tribe or religion or gender. If this country is most qualified for any adorable medal it is in the realm of controversy.

    Through such controversies certain peculiar vocabulary such as tribalism, nepotism, marginalisation, ‘islamisation’and annulment often surface.

     

    The current controversy

    Currently, another controversy is raging in the country.It is about an allegedly proposed ban on the Muslim women attire called Hijab.

    Incidentally, this controversy is between the Nigerian Muslim community and the Federal Government on the one hand and within the Muslim community on the other. Some Muslims are alleging that the Federal Government is planning to ban the wearing of hijab by Muslim women and are therefore calling on President Muhammadu Buhari not to dare it as such action may entail serious implications.

    Ironically, some other Muslims believe that the gross abuse to which hijab is subjected(especially by Boko Haram vandals) as well as the embarrassment which such abuse constitutes to Islam has long warranted the ban on hijab.

    In the melee, a fierce controversy has ensued between both sides.Thus,some Muslim groups and individuals have taken to the internet to sensitise the Nigerian Muslim Ummah on the need to counter the alleged proposal with a view to preempting the Federal Government from turning such allegation into a reality.

     

    Proposal to ban Hijab

    What most Nigerians, especially Muslim agitators, do not seem to know is that the proposal to ban hijab did not emanate from the Federal Government of Nigeria. Rather,it came out of a security meeting held by the Presidents of West African countries otherwise called ECOWAS. And the reason for resorting to such a proposal is the well-known rampant and continuous mass killing of innocent people with bomb blasts by some devilish elements who callously use such dress to conceal the bombs.

    The proposal came up subsequent to the experience in countries such as Niger Republic, Chad and Cameroon where the spate of mass murder by bomb blasts concealed in Islamic dress in those countries went down tremendously, following the ban on certain types of hijab.

    This experience came to confirm that the abuse of those female Muslim garments by some devilish elements in the society who are bent on decimating Islam by all means. It is the main cause of mass killing adopted by Boko Haram devils.

    However, despite the ban on those types of hijab, Muslim women in those countries still cover their heads as well as their bodies but not in the types of robe that can aid concealment of bombs. Besides, the three governors of the frontline states in the Boko Haram war (Adamawa, Bornu and Yobe) have also proposed the banning of the dress for the purpose of peace.

     

    What is Hijab?

    Linguistically, the Arabic word hijab means rein which is a kind of strap with which a domestic animal, such as horse, is cautioned against dangerous surge or unbridled aggression.

    Derivatively, hijab is a kind of scarf adopted in Islam for Muslim women to cover their heads as well as to protect the sensitive parts of their bodies against immoral or sensual exposure. This is to prevent any possible harassment or abuse to which immoral dressing easily subjects women in the society.

    By Islamic prescription, hijab is mostly meant for women who have attained the age of puberty. But younger women may wear it as a rehearsal in preparation for their attainment of puberty.

     

    Types of Hijab

    Although the general name by which this attire is known is hijab, there are other names according to the types designed draped and worn by various Muslim women in various countries and Muslim societies of the world. There are several types of this attire. For instance, in most Arab countries, it is either called Abayah (loose and flowing outer garment that covers the entire body from head to feet excluding the face) or Al-Amirah (which consists of a close fitting cap, usually made from cotton or polyester in form of an accompanying tube-like scarf) or Burqah (a complete cloak-like garment that covers the entire body including the head and the face) or Khimar (which is almost same as Burqah except for its exclusion of Niqab).

    Niqab is the special substance meant to cover the nose of a Burqah wearing woman. In short, the name depends on the pattern of sewing and the community in which it is worn.

    Meanwhile, the type of attire which the Boko Haram heretic group forces some women to conceal bomb in and which most Nigerians generally call hijab is either Burqah or Khimar or Abayah. These are the types banned in Niger, Chad and Cameroon which are also being proposed for banning in the entire West African region.

     

    Why do Muslim Women wear Hijab?

    Hijab is a dress of decency divinely prescribed for Muslim women to preserve their chastity and to ward off any indecent attraction that may cause public harassment for them or subject them to sexual abuse.See Quran 33 verse 59 which states thus in respect of hijab:

    “O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the wives of Muslim believers to clad themselves in their outer garments;that is more dignifying for them to be identified with so that they will not be harassed; Allah is most forgiving, Merciful”.

     

    Genesis of Hijab

    Long before the advent of Islam, hijab had been in use by women of various religions, including Jews, Hindus, Zoroastrians, Christians and Buddhists though it was called different names.

    Head cover (hijab) was globally regarded as a spiritual dress of dignity as women who wore it were accorded high level of respect. Today, as in the days of yore, each community has a name for it in consonance with its religion and language. For instance, it is called Chardon in Iran just as it is called Dupatta in Pakistan and Mukena or Selendang in Indonesia. In Malaysia, it is called Tudung or Kerudung. But Islam came to statutorily adopt it in the early 7th century as a peculiar identity for Muslim women in some countries in Asia and the Middle East, including Arabia.

    Hijab is not necessarily a combination of long garment plus scarf as designed in the mentioned countries. And Islam did not limit it to any particular design or colour. Other dignifying dresses like the type of “up and down” (Buba and Iro) type of attire worn decently by Nigerian Muslim women in the Northern and South Western parts of the country which do not expose their bodies in any way is equally qualified to be called hijab.

    It is rather unfortunate that some satanic forces have now turned the protective dress generally called hijab into an instrument of death by violence. But this is not quite strange since virtually every beneficial substance anywhere in the world today is satanically abused.

     

    History of Hijab

    Hijab reached the Arabian Peninsula from India via Persia (now Iran) several centuries before the advent of Islam. It was originally meant for the upper class people, such as princesses and wives of monarchs. But it later became a dress for all willing women when it was adopted by Islam not as a dress of class but as a respectable dress of chastity. Islam is not a religion of class. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was divinely mandated to preach the religion of peace to all and sundry. Thus, hijab as an adopted dress for Muslim women could not have been discriminatory as it used to be before the advent of Islam.

    Despite its adoption as an Islamic dress, the type of hijab designed and worn in some Muslim countries is not necessarily mandatory on all Muslim women. What is mandatory is decent dressing that keeps chastity and maintains fidelity. Every nation has its language and culture. Islam does not reject a particular language or culture except it contradicts any of its fundamental tenets. That is why Muslim women who wear either Burqah or Khimar are in the minority worldwide. A woman who does not wear Burqah or Khimar cannot be declared persona-non grata in Islam. As far as dressing in Islam is concerned, decency is the general norm.

     

    Implications of Banning Hijab

    Hijab, like any other decent dress is a matter of human right which no government can unilaterally ban. But if anything in Islam constitutes danger to human lives and constitutes threat to peace in a society, such a thing could be banned or suspended for the purpose of peace. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) showed a good example of this when he sacrificed a whole pillar of Islam (Hajj) for the purpose of peace in 628 CE. Six years after he was forced to migrate from Makkah to Madinah in 622 CE, he decided to go on pilgrimage in Makkah following inspiration to perform Hajj that year.

     

    The Prophet’s Example

    Thus, accompanied by 1400 Muslim men and women who were fully dressed in Hajj regalia, the Prophet set out on pilgrimage in March 628 CE. The congregation had taken along with them all their needs including the rams they would slaughter. He had thought that the Meccans would respect the sacredness of the month and honour pilgrimage as customary in Makkah. But that assumption did not work.

    On getting information about the Prophet’s trip to Makkah for pilgrimage, the Meccans quickly assembled and sent a delegation to meet the him and his entourage on their way to Makkah to tell them that they would not be allowed to enter the city.

    Most of the Prophet’s companions were infuriated by that message from the Meccans and urged the Prophet to promptly declare a war. But the Prophet turned down such a request and rather asked the Meccans to come up for a treaty that would facilitate peace. Thus, each side set up a peace committee and they jointly resolved to put the treaty into writing.

    In the process of writing the treaty, the Meccans objected to any reference to the name of Muhammad (SAW) as a‘Prophetof Allah’. The Prophet’s Companions countered the objection and insisted on preceding Muhammad’s name with the word Prophet. But again, the Prophet calmed down his companions and agreed to the demand of the Meccans.

     

    The Clauses of the Treaty

    The contents of the treaty signed by the leaders were as follows:

    1. Both parties would cease hostilities for a period of ten years.
    2. The parties would not interfere with the free movement of one another.
    3. The Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah upon him) would return that year, but the Muslims would be permitted to enter Makkah the following year.
    4. Any Muslim man coming from the Quraysh to join the Muslims would be sent back, but any man going from the Muslims to Quraysh would not be sent back.
    5. Any tribes other than the Quraysh that wished to enter an alliance with Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah upon him) were free to do so, and any that wished to enter an alliance with the Quraysh were free to do so.

    By the contents of that treaty, the Muslims were prevented from performing that year’s Hajj which was to be the Prophet’s first Hajj. That showed the value of peace in Islam.But eventually, the treaty turned out to be a victory for Islam as it became an unprecedented catalyst for the propagation the religion.

     

    Conclusion

    If Prophet Muhammad (SAW) could go so far to ventilate the atmosphere for peace why can’t the Muslims of today follow suit?

    I am a Muslim who believes strongly in the use of Hijab by Muslim women. But considering the thousands of lives so far lost in Nigeria through the abuse of Islamic dress by some devilish elements one would think that Nigerian Muslims should show understanding and co-operate with the authorities on any reasonable measure that will stem the spate of killings without disrupting their mode of worship. Banning hijab is not the same as banning the practice of Islam. Life is sacred. And to worship, one needs to be alive. God bless Nigeria.

  • An orphan’s legacy

    Preamble

    This is a season which some Muslims celebrate as a festival. They call it Eidul Mawlid (meaning festival of birth). Their intention is to celebrate the birth of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). This, in Islam, does not anyway enhance the great Prophet’s achievements. If anything, it trivialises such achievements.

    No man in history is as great as Prophet Muhammad (SAW). He is, no doubt, the indisputable greatest man who ever lived. His legacy is the solid foundation upon which the contemporary civilisation is built. But despite the vivid visibility of that legacy it remains invisible to many eyes that are alien to the light of Islam. Thus, the Prophet’s legacy is like the beaming sun which no blind person can see and no seeing eyes can perceive in its natural nakedness. Yet, both the blind and the seeing feel the burning effect of the sun ‘willy nilly’ even as it photosynthesises the plants around them.

    This article is not meant to celebrate the birth of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) for which last Thursday was declared a public holiday in Nigeria.

    As far as ‘The Message’ is concerned, what is to be celebrated about this great Prophet is by far beyond his birthday. His achievements clearly transcend his birth. Thus, there is no need wasting time on celebrating his birthday.

     

    The Prophet’s biography

    From the creation of Adam, the first human being, till date, no man’s biography has been so much written and read as that of Muhammad (SAW) the son of Abdullah and Aminah. This man’s biography has been written from all perspectives, positive and negative, by various men and women of diverse races, tribes, ideologies and religions in the past 1437 years or there about. And the biography is still being written and re-written authoritatively and un-authoritatively, today, in uncountable languages.

    Through the writings of this Prophet’s biography, some people have zoomed into un-dreamt fame. Others have sunk into the abyss of permanent oblivion. But virtually all the writers have benefitted from their writings directly or indirectly in coins and in kind. No other Prophet’s biography has attracted as many writers from believers and non-believers, from friends and foes alike as that of Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

    Every aspect of this Prophet’s life including the dresses he wore, the food he ate, the way he spoke, the wives he married, the children he bore, and the wars he fought, has formed the basis of his biography. In short, next to the Qur’an, no book is as much read daily in the world today as the biography of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in one form or another.

    Question

    But there is a vital question: why is the global focus so much on this unlettered Prophet from Arabia? The answer to this question is not far-fetched. The world has not produced any other personality like him and it will not. He is the seal of all Prophets and the epitome of human exemplariness. In him alone are found all the traits of what a perfect gentleman should be in all ramifications.

    If Prophet Muhammad had not been an orphan, he would not have been able to guide humanity on how orphans should be treated, especially with regards to inheritance. If he had not been a husband, his marital life would not have been an excellent example for others to emulate and women’s rights would have been permanently ignored. If he had not been a widower the world would not have realised the plight of widows and learnt how to provide for them. If he had not been a father, the proper care for children by parents would have been relegated to the background in Islamic doctrine. If he had not been trustworthy, the value of trust would have been totally lost on mankind.

    His migration from Makkah to Madinah paved way for the culture of hospitality universally imbibed today and the wars he was forced to fight engendered the law of war, armistice and peace. Without his conquests in some wars, the word magnanimity would not have found a place in the dictionary of man and if he had not suffered defeat in war, the vanquished would not have learnt the act of gallantry. If the Prophet had not been a judge, the virtue of justice would have been globally thrown to the winds and survival in all societies would have been for the fittest.

    If he had not been a democratic ruler, the relationship between the ruled and their rulers, all over the world, today, would not have been dissimilar from that of slaves and their masters and dictatorship in governance would have known no bounds. If Prophet had not been poor despite being a Head of State, the policy of social welfare adopted in civilised societies today in favour of the poor, would not have been possible. If he had not been an illiterate, the world would not have known the difference between literacy and education. And, if, despite all these qualities in him, he had not been humble and affable, arrogance would have been the main character of all privileged people in the world today.

    His qualities

    Who else can be compared to this man called Muhammad (SAW) in history? And, in which anyone else could all the aforementioned qualities have been found in history? There can be little wonder then why so much focus was and is still being beamed on the personality of this extra-ordinary human being. That is Prophet Muhammad (SAW) for you, the like of whom the world has never seen and will never see again. If this man is celebrated anytime, anywhere, in the world, it is definitely not because he was born. His achievements transcend his birth and to concentrate on the celebration of his birth is to trivialise his achievements.

    But for him, the world would have remained in the dungeon of ignorance and primitivism, while humanity would have remained at the level of crude beasts. It was he who brought back the manual of life to mankind after it had been lost in the search for sheer vanity. Manual of life is the divine instruction which came gradually from Allah to mankind according to the growth rate of human intellect. But such manual is not peculiar to man alone. All other organisms have their own instructions from Allah which in a way constitute their own manuals of life.

    The path and the pathfinder

    However, due to the intellectual superiority of man, the various divine instructions to other organisms were incorporated into man’s own manual of life. This is to enable man understand the complexity of his environment vis a vis the essence of his own existence and thereby act effectively as Allah’s vicegerent on earth. Although because of the differences in times and methods, Allah’s message is perceived differently, the fact remains that the message is only one coming from only one and the same God. This message is the ‘RIGHT PATH’ to salvation which came to mankind after several millennia of wandering in the wilderness of ignorance and vainglory. And the man, Muhammad (SAW), through whom that Message reached us is the ‘PATHFINDER’. Thus, the quality of the message is vividly manifest in the personality of the Messenger. There are many attestations to this.

    Attestations

    For instance, after many years of scientific experiments, a German-born American physicist of Jewish ancesary and Nobel Laureate, Albert Einstein, the inventor of atomic bomb who is generally known as the 20th century creator of special and general theory of relativity, compared his works with the contents of the Qur’an and concluded as follows: “Science without religion is lame and religion without science is blind”. He then called on fellow scientists to endeavour to read the Qur’an without bias in order to know the true origin of science in human life.

    And as if responding to Einstein’s call, Professor Tagatat Tajasen, Chairman of the Department of Anatomy at Chiang Mai University in Thailand accepted Islam on the strength of just one scientific sign accurately mentioned in the Qur’an. He had spent a great amount of his time, as a professor, in search of pain receptor. When his attention was drawn to the Qur’an, he did not believe initially that such a highly sophisticated aspect of science could have been mentioned over 1,400 years ago. But when he confirmed it by himself in the translation of the Qur’an, he became so much impressed that he purposely attended the 8th Saudi Medical Conference held in Riyadh where he publicly embraced Islam.

    Further attestations

    Another leading scientist, Professor Marshall Johnson, the Head of the Department of Anatomy, a Director of Daniel Institute at the Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, USA, was asked to comment on the verses of the Qur’an dealing with embryology. In response, he said it was probable that for Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to have given such vivid description of foetus, he must have had a powerful microscope. But when he was reminded that the Qur’an was revealed over 1400 years ago and that the invention of microscope took place only a couple of centuries ago, Professor Johnson laughed and made the following remark: “I see nothing here in conflict with the concept that divine intervention was involved when Muhammad recited the Qur’an….”.

    Yet another Embryologist, Professor Keith Moore of the Department of Anatomy, University of Toronto, Canada, after carefully examining the translation of the Qur’anic verses presented to him admitted thus: “most of the information concerning embryology mentioned in the Qur’an is in perfect conformity with modern discoveries in the field of embryology and does not conflict with them in any way”.

    Professor Moore had no prior knowledge of anything leech-like about embryo until he read chapter 96 of the Qur’an where Allah says “Read! In the name of your Lord who created. He created man out of a leech-like clot…” He then went to verify this fact in an embryo under a powerful microscope and compared his observation with a diagram of a leech. He was astonished at the resemblance of the two. That prompted him to go fully into studying the Qur’an and Hadith to acquire more knowledge until he was able to answer about 80 hitherto unanswered questions in that field.

    His discoveries thus, influenced the correction of the contents of his book ‘The Developing Human’ which he published earlier and re-published in 1982. It was with that revised edition that he became the recipient of an award for the best medical book written by a single author in the 20th century. That book has been translated into many major languages of the world and is mostly used as textbook of embryology today in the first year of medical studies in various Universities in the world.

    Sciences and signs

    Yet, despite talking about all sciences, the Qur’an is not a book of Sciences but that of ‘Signs’. Those ‘Signs’ invite man to realise the purpose of his existence on earth and live in harmony with nature.

    Judging the above verses of the Qur’an revealed over 1400 years ago with the wonderful reality of scientific civilisation of today, what further proof does anybody need of the genuineness of the Qur’an? And who else can give better guidance than the Supreme Creator Himself? And who else can be better called the ‘PATHFINDER’ than Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who showed humanity the way to that all time guidance?

    Perhaps, this was why Michael Hart, a Jewish American Astrophysicist, named Prophet Muhammad the greatest man that ever lived in his famous book entitled ‘The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History’.

    Further testimonies

    If all the descriptions given above about Prophet Muhammad (SAW) sound exaggerated because they are given by Femi Abbas, a Muslim and an ardent follower of that Prophet, and if Michael Hart is seen as crazy in his judgment, let us read the views and impressions of some other non-Muslims about this great Prophet. One of them (Alphonse de Lamartine of France) had the following to say in his book ‘Histoire de la Torque’:

    “Never has a man set for himself, voluntarily or involuntarily, a more sublime aim since this aim was superhuman; to subvert superstitions which had been interposed between man and his Creator; to render God unto man and man unto God; to restore rational and sacred idea of divinity amidst the chaos of the material and disfigured gods of idolatry, then existing.

    Never has a man undertaken a work so far beyond human power with so feeble means, for he (Muhammad) had in the conception as well as in the execution of such a great design, no other instrument than himself, and no other, except a handful of men living in a corner of a desert…. If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astounding results are the three criteria of human genius, who could dare to compare any great man in modern history with Muhammad? The most famous men created arms, laws and empires only. They founded, if anything at all, no more than material powers which often crumbled before their very eyes. This man moved not only armies, legislations, empires, peoples and dynasties, but millions of men in one-third of the then inhabited world; and more than that, he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and the souls. On the basis of a book, every letter of which has become law, he created a spiritual nationality which blended together peoples of every tongue and of every race…..As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man in human history greater than Muhammad?”

    On his own, Napoleon Bonaparte, the great 18th century French conqueror of Europe was so much amazed by the traits of Islam which he saw in Egypt during his military expeditions that he made the following historic statement about that divine religion and its great Prophet:

    “Muhammad, in reality, was a great leader of mankind. He preached UNITY among Arabs who were, till then, torn asunder due to internecine quarrels, sometimes resulting in bloody war fares. He brought them out of the obscure world in a short time and the discipline which they maintained under his leadership was simply marvelous, and so was their bravery, courage and devotion to the cause which they loved and cherished. This, coupled with the contempt for death, as taught by their leader, made them great soldiers and fighters like of whom history rarely produces. I simply marvel at the achievements of this great ‘Son of the Desert’ within a mere period of less than 15 years; a thing which Moses and Christ could not do in 15 centuries. I salute this great man; I salute his qualities of Head and Heart….”

    George Bernard Shaw

    And, in corroboration of the above statements, variously made by renowned men of letters and intellect, another foremost Orientalist, playwright and dramatist, George Bernard Shaw, had the following to say about Islam and Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in his book ‘The genuine Islam’ (vol. 1 No 8 of 1936):

    “The Christians and their missionaries have presented a horrible picture of Islam. Not only that, they also carried out an organized and planned propaganda against the personality of Prophet Mohammad and the religion he preached. I have carefully studied Islam and the life of its Prophet. I have done so both as a student of history and as a critic. And I have come to the conclusion that Mohammad was indeed a great man and a deliverer and benefactor of mankind which was till then writhing under a most agonizing pain. I have always held Islam in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing face of existence which can make it appealing to every age. I have studied him-the wonderful man and in my opinion, far from being an anti-Christ, he must be called the saviour of humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness.

    I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today”.

    For confirmation of Bernard Shaw’s remark quoted above, see ‘The Genuine Islam, vol. 1, No. 8, 1936.

    Conclusion

    These are just some of the facts that make an unlettered orphan like Prophet, Muhammad (SAW), the greatest man that ever lived on earth. None of the attestations above made any reference to his birth or birthday because they knew that his birth had no contribution to his achievements. If non-Muslims could go as far as shown above to benefit from the greatness of Prophet Muhammad’s mission on earth what is expected of Muslims for whom that mission is primarily meant should not be mere celebration of his birthday.

  • Arisekola-Alao’s twin brother

    Arisekola-Alao’s twin brother

    Very few people knew that the late Aare Abdul Azeez Arisekola-Alao had a twin brother. Those who knew that fact either took it for granted or did not duly acknowledge it. Like most human beings, the colossus was not born all alone. He was accompanied by another child who twinned with him into this mortal world. That other child was HUMILITY which Aare personified throughout his life.

    In his lifetime, Arisekola-Alao was like the sun. Whenever it bulged out of the orbit with the magnificence of its rays, no star could dare attempt to rise. And when he eventually demised the entire world chorused the lamentations of a rare eclipse.

     

    A colossus

    This article ought to have been entitled ‘In Memory of a Colossus’. But the expediency of the moment would rather prefer a more befitting title as found here. Aare was not the only moneybag in the Southwest while alive. What clearly distinguished him from all others was his second twin (humility) which never parted with him even in his grave. Like a famous actor, Arisekola-Alao left the stage when the ovation was loudest but he did not forget to leave behind a legacy that cannot be inherited by any fair weather charlatan. Anybody may aspire to be like Aare Arisekola-Alao or gain his God’s endowed fame but nobody can ever wear his obviously oversized shoes. He was as great in death as he was alive. At least, his humility ensured that. We pray the Almighty Allah to repose his soul in perfect, eternal bliss.

     

    Tribute

    At his demise, ‘The Message column published a tribute about him that will for long remain a tribute in the memory of his family and those of his associates. It was entitled ‘Sunset @ Noon’. An excerpt from that tribute went thus:

    “…..The echoes of his death reverberated through the length and breadth of the world confirming the fallibility of man… What immediately became shocking in those echoes was not the announced death per se but the consequence of that fortuitous death for hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries of his incessant largess across tribal, religious and ideological divide.

     

    Tripod of fortune

    Before now, there were three great Muslim philanthropists in the Southwest of Nigeria who were jointly called ‘a tripod of fortune’. Each of them had a national tentacle that formed a formidable fortress against the poisonous arrows of poverty in the land. But with time, they started leaving the stage one by one. First to go was Bashorun Moshood Kasimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, the Baba Adini of Yoruba land, a man often described as ‘larger than life’. He was followed by the quiet, easy going but kind-hearted Chief (Dr.) Wahab Iyanda Folawiyo, CON, the Baba Adini ‘of Nigeria’. Both of them left behind a very big vacuum that kept most Muslims wondering if there could be any replacement for them.

    But surprisingly, Aare Arisekola-Alao the third but anchor leg of the tripod took up the challenge and courageously combined the vacuums left behind by the duo of Abiola and Folawiyo with that of his own. He extended his philanthropic tentacles to areas hitherto covered by his two former colleagues so much that most people hardly remembered that there was once a tripod.

     

    Philanthropy

    Like Abiola and Folawiyo, Aare was a stupendous philanthropist with an ever open hand that knew no boundaries of tribe, age, gender or creed. His generosity was legendry and unlimited. And he was never tired of giving the same individuals or groups of people repeatedly. At least, his fervent belief in the Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) which says that “an upper hand is far more reward-able than the lower hand” guaranteed the philanthropy in him. Which area of his largess can one really recount with precision? The story of Arisekola-Alao’s generosity can never be fully told either by individuals, groups or institutions in volumes of books.

     

    Attestation

    A versatile American poet who came up with the following axiomatic poem could not have imagined that his thoughts might germinate in Africa and nurtured to fruition by an African. Here is how he put it:

    “Who shares his life’s pure pleasure and works the honest road; who trades with heaping measure and lifts his brother’s load; who turns the wrong down bluntly and lends the right a hand; he dwells in God’s own country and tills the Holy Land”.  We are all witnesses.

     

    Comment

    Perhaps no contemporary Nigerian is as fitting to the above quoted poem as Alhaji Abdul Azeez Arisekola-Alao, CON, the erstwhile Aare Musulumi of Yoruba land and Deputy President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), who lived like a sun photosynthesising all the ‘living plants’ around and giving all of them the fulfilled dreams of their lives.

    However, like a falcon that suddenly took a flight leaving the surrounding falconers to wonder, this man’s sun fortuitously set at noon when its rays was most needed by the needy. He lived like an era in the epoch of human history and died like an era at the climax of its function.

    The similitude of Aare Arisekola-Alao among the sundry elite and masses of Yoruba people of the Southwest in particular and other people of tribal and religious diversities in general is like that of the Queen in a bee hive. Take it out and the rest of the bees in the hive will automatically become stranded.

     

    A case study

    Aare Arisekola-Alao’s life is a case study for all well-meaning intellectuals and people of wherewithal. He was a unique colossus whose life and death should serve as a lesson from which to learn the conduct of life. He was political without being a politician. He was religious without being a cleric. He was sociable without being a socialist. He was traditional without being a traditionalist. Yet, he fitted perfectly into each of these segments of life like a scepter in the hand of a king. Aare was a man of peculiar lifestyle with a peculiar focus. He lived for service to humanity just as service craved his penchant for philanthropy. It may take Nigeria another century to produce the like of this impeccable colossus.

     

    Zooming into limelight

    As a young man in the early 1970s, this man zoomed into limelight like a crescent of hope despite his limited educational background and subsequently grew into a full blown moon brightening the lives of multitudes that would have remained in rigmarole through the darkness of life. His Midas touch was like an antidote against any potential pecuniary poison.

    Arisekola-Alao’s death reminds us of a potent question which some companions of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) posed to him out of fear of the unknown. They said: “Oh Prophet, the men of wealth seem to have gone with all the virtues; they worshipped as we are now worshipping; they fasted as we are now fasting and they competed actively among themselves in the realm of philanthropy. And in response, the Prophet pointed out to them that Allah had equally endowed them with a variety of philanthropic means saying that glorification of Allah was an act of philanthropy, so was gratification of Allah and the like. That dialogue has since become a credible Hadith due to its entailed spiritual wisdom.

     

    Solace

    There is solace for Muslims in that Hadith which can see them through the ‘Cape of Good Hope’. As a community, they had perennially relied too much on certain endowed individuals in their midst without thinking of what would become of the community should anything happen to those individuals. Now, the reality seems to be dawning on them. Still, the die is not yet cast. Those who have just prominently departed this world amongst us were men of monetary wherewithal. There are still thousands of others whose wealth was not monetary but who need to be studied and emulated in preparation for their possible departure. Some of such people are of wisdom and intellectualism while others are of truthfulness, contentment and integrity. Without adequate preparation for their exit, the shock awaiting the Ummah may be more devastating than that arising from the death of the wealthy few.

     

    Memory Lane

    Nigeria’s first President, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, did not take cognizance of the lifestyle of Arisekola-Alaos of this world when he alluded to it in the introduction to his autobiography published in 1970 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 action. 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”.

     

    Aftermath

    There was similarity in the aftermath situation of the death of the trio of Abiola, Folawiyo and Alao which no era before theirs had witnessed in Nigeria. The funeral of each of these great men was either physically attended by everybody that matters including President, governors, ministers, high caliber legislators, topmost personalities of the judiciary and chief executives of the business world as well as politicians and intellectual gurus.

    In the case of Arisekola-Alao which is the most recent, it is almost impossible to enumerate the caliber of people who were present to say ‘we are here to condole’. Of all the comments notably made, no one was more precinct than that of Senator Abiola Ajimobi, the Governor of Oyo State who described Aare’s death as ‘the end of an era’. But His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa‘ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto perfected that comment during his condolence visit to the house of the deceased when he said that “if the title AARE is reversed, it would become ERA”. In other words, Aare simply means an era.

     

    Conclusion

    From all conceivable angles, Aare Arisekola-Alao seemed to have studied and imbibed the thoughtful philosophy of another American of notable fame, William Webster, who once coined the following poem to the benefit of mankind:

    “If we work marble it will perish; if we work upon brass time will efface it. If we rear temples they will crumble into dust. But if we work upon immortal minds and instill in them just principles; we are then engraving that upon a tablet which no time can efface but will brighten into all eternity”.

    As the Deputy President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and a strong pillar and member of the Muslim Ummah of Southwest Nigeria (MUSWEN) as well as a patron of over 100 Muslim organisations, the entire Nigerian Muslim Community bids you farewell and pray for the repose of your soul in eternal bliss. We also pray Allah to grant your immediate and remote family members as well as your close associates the fortitude to bear the agony of your departure. We shall keep remembering you.

    Rest in peace Aare Arisekola-Alao, as GOD blesses your soul!