The Nation Newspaper

Category: Femi Abbas

  • Bye for now!

    Dear Ramadan,

    In the name of the Almighty Allah and with His mercy and blessings, which you brought to us, we salute you. For the past 27 days, you have been our guest. And in the next couple of days you shall remain in our midst serving as the forum through which Allah’s compassion is showered on us. With your visit, you have transformed our lives positively and rekindled our hopes spiritually.

    Before you first descended on this world about 1435 years ago, what we used to know of hospitality was the entertainment which the host offered his guest. But with your arrival, that tradition was reversed in a revolutionary manner. You became the only known guest in the world, who entertains his host to satisfaction. Yours is a hospitality that cannot be measured in quality or quantity. And, that is why the universal preparation for your arrival, every year is unequalled.

    Premium recompense

    With your awful and charismatic nature, you arrive in the world every year with a splendour that re-jigs the souls of mankind and reconditions their daily routine. History is yet to show us a guest like you who engages his hosts days and nights even as he places premium on their recompense. But for your annual visit, who could have dared waking us up from our tactless deep sleep for a whole period of 30 or 29 days and nights? Who could have been recalling us back from our stray into the wilderness of avarice and ostentation? Not even the day of Arafat in Hajj has any means of competing with you in whatever way. Arafat plays host to only a few millions of pilgrims in a single day. You engage the entire humanity for a whole month, days and nights in their domain except those who reject your offer.

    Even the unbelievers are forced to recognise your presence with veneration despite your invisibility. For instance, all the manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, all over the world prepare for your arrival if only to take advantage of your grandiose presence to do brisk business. Today, the greatest persecutors of Islam in Britain and the US are forced to pretend to be friends of that divine religion by hosting Muslims to Iftar in London and Washington. Yet, each time you come around, most of us receive you reluctantly. But, when it is time for you to go, we hardly want to part with you again.

    And when we are eventually forced to say bye for now according to the law that established our relationship, we do so only in tears.

    Timeliness

    No other time of the year injects into us, the vivid consciousness of our faith as you do. No other pillar of Islam instils in us the high level of discipline which you take us through for a whole month. We acknowledge the effect of your role in our lives and we pray the Almighty Allah to sustain that effect in us so that the door to AL-JANNAH which you evidently represent may not be locked against us when it is time to take our place in that everlasting home of bliss.

    With your coming once a year, we learn that life is never static.

    Neither are the things inside it. No man of reason and letters stays put at a particular spot. Human body system gets strong only by shifting positions and moving around. Meeting and parting with fellow human beings from time to time are what make life interesting.

    Interacting and intermingling with other elements of nature are the ingredients that fertilise the soil of harmony on our terrestrial planet.

    The sun would have been boring, despite its usefulness to mankind, if it does not rise in the east at dawn and set in the west at twilight.

    No water spring would have been drinkable if it had remained stagnant on a permanent basis. Had the arrow refused to part with the bow, it would not have been able to hit its target.  The regular exchange of baton between days and nights is what makes calendar possible for humanity.

    We came into the world as travellers in transit. Our travel from father’s port of semen to the confines of mother’s womb in form of foetus is a transit. Our transformation from stage to stage inside that womb as vividly described by the Qur’an is a transit. And, following our arrival in this world, we naturally embark on a pilgrimage from the unknown to the unknown. Thus, any stage or condition in which we find ourselves in life at any given time is a transit. Without such transit human life would have been monotonously valueless. Ditto other forces of nature, seen or unseen, animate or inanimate.

    Not by Fortuity

    Our world, the earth, did not come into existence by fortuity. Our ancestors, Adam and his wife, Hawa’u (Eve) were not created to take charge of the earth by fortuity. The divine law by which this world is governed was not coined to guide us by fortuity. And man’s peregrination in it, towards the world hereafter, is not by fortuity.

    All these are a ground design of a great revolution through which the meaning of the universe is to be understood. That design is the handiwork of the Supreme Being known to Muslims as ALLAH.

    The divine signature appended to that design is what came to be known as the Qur’an which you (Ramadan) facilitated through a single night inside you, that Allah described as “more beneficial than 1000 months.

    That signature (The Qur’an) is inimitable and unsurpassable not only in the grandeur of its diction and the splendour of its contents but also in its connotation, essence and profundity. Its summary is what is known to humanity as ‘REVOLUTION’.

    By implication, the Qur’an can be semantically called ‘THE GREAT REVOLUTION’ that transformed the world from the sphere of obscurity into that of unimaginable sophistication. Yet, it is through the great night inside you, called ‘LAYLATUL QADR’ that such a great revolution came to Prophet Muhammad (SAW). If only the Qur’an is what humanity is privileged to access through your motherly belly it would have been enough. And what is more, your contribution to the guidance of mankind transcends the Qur’an alone.

    A former American President, John F. Kennedy, did not know that he was describing the Qur’an when he once said: “We live in a hemisphere whose own revolution has given birth to the most powerful force of the modern age- the freedom and fulfilment of man”.

    Other Pillars of Islam

    In your absence, the other four pillars of Islam could presumably be engaged in an imaginary debate each claiming to be the key to paradise. Faith, for instance, might claim that without her, all other pillars could only exist in vain.

    To counter her claim, Salat might describe her five daily appearances in the life of a Muslim as the impetus that gives faith a deserved relevance. Zakah, on its own, may recount to the first two that whoever would be faithful enough to observe Salat ought to be married to Zakah either as a giver or as a receiver. And, at that point, Hajj might come in to contend that only a semblance of the ‘Hereafter’ (Yawmul Qiyamah), which she represents, can authenticate the spiritual visa with which humanity would ushered into paradise through the wagons of other pillars. She might claim that without her as an emancipator of rightly guided humanity from the shackles of Satan, no one would have had the slightest idea of what that Great Day would be.

    When you are around, dear Ramadan, all other pillars fall in line conceding leadership to you without any argument. You are not just the undeniable evidence of faith in man; you are also the most reliable witness of Salat, Zakah and Hajj.

    Prophet Muhammad (SAW) attested to this through one Hadith-ul-Qudsi when he quoted Allah as saying that “Fasting (in Ramadan) is mine and I am the one to give reward on it”.

    To fast while you are around, faith must not only be present, it must also be a formidable foundation. Salat must also convincingly increase the tempo of her spiritual vitality. Whoever is not dressed in the toga of faith and feather his hat of Salat will only be wasting his time if he claims to be fasting. And when you are about to return home according to your tradition, Zakah must appear before you to pay homage in the name of ‘Sadaqatul Fitr’. Even Hajj which, statutorily, should not meet you, must also send an envoy to pay homage to you in the name of Umrah (Lesser Hajj).

    By making this observation, one is not trying to crown you as the king of the pillars of Islam. But with the awful role you play every year, the position of a coordinator may be ascribed to you directly or indirectly.

    In the light of the aforementioned, we cannot persuade you to stay with us permanently since going and coming once every year adds to the legendary grandeur that makes us crave for you passionately on your arrival.

    We fervently pray the Almighty Allah to grant us further opportunities to benefit in the years ahead, from the unlimited bounties which you are privileged to bring to us every year. With tears flowing through our eyes, we bid you adieu for now hoping we shall meet again by the grace of Allah.

    Nostalgia

    Prior to your arrival, dear Ramadan, some people dreamt but never lived to realise their dreams. Some looked but never saw. It is only in the imagination of man that age or illness should be the cause of death. We shall all die at our scheduled time. Therefore, whoever was privileged to have passed through your endearing presence successfully this year should endeavour to add spiritual value to his or her life and not diminish in faith after your departure. We shall all account for that value before Allah.

    In about two days’ time, you will bid us bye by the grace of Allah.

    But we shall continue to look back with nostalgia to the good things we have done under your influence while you were around. For instance, we shall remember that in no other month of Hijrah calendar is the role of Muslim women more pronounced than whenever you are around.

    Like in other months, they often display the roles of wives, mothers as well as those of their husbands’ confidants. But more than in other months, they exhibit their religious dedication to your divine admiration.

    During your sacred presence this year, they fasted like their men counterparts. They prayed five times daily like men did. They also joined those men in observing Tarawih. Some of them even attended Tafsir and public lectures. Yet they engaged in their daily work just like their men counterparts either in the offices, shops, or farms.

    And they never relented in carrying out their matrimonial duties.

    Even as they assisted their husbands financially in maintaining the homes, they still took care of those husbands as well as the children and relatives domestically. At the time of the day when the husbands were knocked out by fatigue arising from fasting, the wives were still busy in the kitchen preparing Iftar for the household. At the time in the night when some husbands were engaged in Tahajjud, or were snoring in bed, the wives were already up in the kitchen preparing the Sahur for the family.

    Some of these women were carrying pregnancy. Some were suckling their children. Some of them were knowledgeable enough to do the Tilawah (recitation of the Qur’an) like their husbands. Some were even rich enough to finance the home fully or partially.

    And, in all these activities, they never felt tired. Where and when fatigue seemed to set in, they never showed it. If any month ever depicted the virtues of women and their activities during your visit, it is you Ramadan. Thus, for their activities in Ramadan alone, they deserve tenderness and dignified treatment in the hands of their husbands.

    Needs and wants

    It is in the month of Ramadan that Muslims reconfirm NEEDS rather than WANTS as the necessities required for the sustenance of their lives.

    Muslims, by their faith and orientation, are not, ordinarily, given to WANTS. They are more concerned about NEEDS than WANTS. The reason for this is not far-fetched. With NEEDS come contentment and satisfaction while WANTS are the cause of greed and avarice.

    Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, had provided the needs of every living creature even before its creation. But then, He knew that of all those creatures man alone would go beyond NEEDS into the realm of WANTS. That was perhaps what informed the negative role which Satan assumed in the life of man shortly after the creation of Adam.

    By introducing WANTS to man, what Satan did was to create a permanent job for himself in the life of man. Without WANTS the world would not have been what it is today. Blood would not have been shed. Money would not have been deified. Hatred would not have been known to man.

    And, man’s inhumanity to man would have been totally averted.

    The effect of WANTS first became known when Qabil (Cain), the first son of Adam preferred his brother’s wife to his. In the tantrum that ensued from that unfortunate episode, Qabil (Cain) killed his brother Habil (Abel) and combined the latter’s wife with his. Thus, greed and avarice became ingredients of man’s culture. And WANTS rather than NEEDS became the domineering factor in the life of man. This is one of the vices which you often come to correct in man.

    Summary of facts

    At no time in the life of man can the true nature of human existence be more manifest than in Ramadan. It is in that sacred month that Muslims reflect mostly on the purpose of their existence on earth.

    Some people fasted actively last year but were no more to witness this year. Some put their feet at the door step   of Ramadan this year but never entered it. Some felt by the way side along the line. Some fasted with absolute faith in Allah and confidence in making use of the lessons of Ramadan. Some joined the spiritual train with no idea of their destination in the month. Some sat on the fence with one leg here and the other there. However, none was hidden from Allah.

    Now, all is over. But we shall keep remembering those days with indelible nostalgia. We shall recall our anxiety while looking towards sighting the moon that would usher us into the glorious month. We shall not forget the compensating evenings of Tarawih and the marvellous nights of Thajjud and Sahur. We shall look back to the immaculate days of Tafsir and the exclusiveness of ‘Itikaf. Yes our minds will not be off the great expectations embedded in the majesty LAYLATUL QADR as well as the great pleasure in the payment of Zakatul Fitr. All these will surely enable us to take a retrospective look at your grandiose annual presence with nostalgia. Bye for now until we meet again.

  • Abuse of Ramadan

    Abuse of Ramadan

    It is rather ironic that today’s world takes Muslims for the mirror through which Islam is perceived when the opposite is actually the case. Just as it is wrong to measure knowledge in an institution of learning by the quantity or quality of structures available therein so it is wrong to use Muslims as the mirror through which to see Islam in its naked and avowed nature. On the contrary, Islam is the mirror through which Muslims are supposed to be seen. Not the other way round. No reasonable person will blame Nigerian constitution for the gross misconduct of some maleficent Nigerians abroad. Nigerian constitution is one thing the misconduct of Nigerians is another. The one is not and cannot be a corollary of the other.

    When this sacred religion was revealed to mankind through Prophet Muhammad (SAW) almost 1,500 years ago, it was with certain fundamental norms meant to guide humanity towards all that is virtuous. One of the

    most valuable embodiments of Islam is the month of Ramadan. With it, all genuine Muslims rein themselves against satanic recklessness.

    Qur’anic revelations

    Here is the sacred month in which the revelation of the Qur’an began in 610 C.E. It was in this divine month that the last divine constitution with which to liberate humanity from the shackles of Satan was revealed. The real spiritual essence of Ramadan is to show mankind the right path to Paradise by guiding them through the transit called the world.

    This symbolic month is like a school in which Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was both the pioneer student and the pioneer teacher. All other students who went through this school or are still going through it are heirs to the forerunners.

    The duty of those heirs is to serve as shepherds for the wandering flock of the universe. This duty confirms man as Allah’s vicegerent on earth. Anyone who is in a position to serve as a shepherd but does otherwise has surely kicked against the rules of his creator.

    Ironically, most of those we perceive as shepherd in our society are worse than the lost sheep they are supposed to guide. For those who know and appreciate it the opportunity of rebirth provided by this sacred month has no duplicate. It is like a ‘once in a while’ train which everyone should endeavour not to miss. Missing it is like missing a lifelong destiny. But will the recalcitrant ones heed the warning?

    Season of jamboree

    With the arrival of Ramadan this year a scene of jamboree took over most radio and television stations as usual especially in the Southwest of Nigeria. Many pseudo Alfas who had become redundant dusted their gowns and turbans for the purpose of sharing from the annual largess which the sacred month came with. Such pseudo Alfas who might have taken advantage of some ignorant Muslim money bags in the society by asking them to sponsor Ramadan preaching will begin to swarm on the airwaves like bees on a hive. With little or no knowledge at all, those pretenders will pose as learned scholars and start dishing out rubbish by arrogating to themselves the knowledge they do not possess.

    Clerics or charlatans

    One of the characteristics of such ‘Alfas’ is to spend the first 10 minutes or thereabout singing the praises of their sponsors and chanting some irrelevant slogans even as they tell primordial stories which have neither roots nor bearing with Islam. Their trade in stock is to seek relevance by showing their faces on television or by airing their voices on radio just to be recognised as Alfas. Such are people who have no knowledge and do not seek it. Rather than guiding ignorant Muslims, which is the primary duty of genuine Muslim clerics, they further mislead them.

    With this category of Alfas, all that matters is the money they want to make through deception as well as the cheap fame they want to gain.

    Thus, year in and out, this is their deed in the month of Ramadan. The impression they give is that Ramadan is an annual religion celebrated with fanfare only in the sacred month.

    The most embarrassing aspect of their action is the faulty recitation of the Qur’an and the shameless misinterpretation they give it. This on its own is not just an abuse of Ramadan but also a flagrant abuse of the Qur’an. Thus, they turn the sacred month into one of gross abuse of Islamic religion. What they do not understand is that the Qur’an in its original form is not just any book which any charlatan can dust up once in a year in order to fetch money for self.

    For the learned, reading any book at all has a purpose and a method.

    No good reader will ever read a book without taking note of its author, its publisher and its date of publication. And to read any new book, the very first point of call is its contents which tell you the topics and the subjects you will read about in it. Then, to have an idea of the entire book in its summary form, before reading it, a good reader goes straight not only to the introduction or preface to such a book but also to the foreword written on it. The combination of both will surely give the reader a pretty idea of what the book is all about. This is the shortest means of familiarising oneself with a new book before going through its chapters.

    Language of the Qur’an

    Most Muslim clerics read the Qur’an in its original language (Arabic) without understanding what they are reading because they do not speak that language.  Some read it as a means of solving their imaginary problems thus taking the Qur’an for a charm which must yield result if manipulated towards their whims. The Qur’an is not meant for that purpose. It is rather the manual of life for man by which he lives his daily life and conducts his daily affairs.

    The word Qur’an means continuous recitation and understanding. It is so called because of its inimitable origin which makes it a compelling daily reading throughout the world, across nations and ages. It is the unsurpassed word of Allah not only in the grandeur of its diction and splendour of its rendition but also in the depth of its meaning, substance and profundity.

    Profile of the Qur’an

    The revelation of this Book to mankind through an unlettered desert Arab, Muhammad son of Abdullah and Aminah, began in the month of Ramadan in year 610 CE. It lasted about 22 years (10 years in Makkah and12 years plus a few months in Madinah). The book contains 114 chapters and 6,246 verses (not 6,666 verses often announced by most Imams and Alfas). Any individual can verify this by checking the number of verses in each chapter and adding them together. It does not take more than one hour to do this.

    Of the 114 chapters contained in the Qur’an, 86 were revealed in Makkah and 28 in Madinah. But the 28 chapters revealed in Madinah constitute two thirds of the entire Book. And this is because the Makkah chapters are short and rhythmic while those of Madinah are long and prose-like.

    Although the Qur’an was revealed orally, its writing began almost immediately the revelations started. The writing was however done on primitive materials like wood, animal hides, back of trees and others of the like which were then readily available. It was only much later, after the demise of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), that those writings were brought together and rendered into a book form. And one of the wonders of recording the Qur’an in writing is the classification of those revelations into chapters and verses by the Prophet himself despite his illiteracy.

    The manner of presenting the Qur’anic revelations is simple and direct. It employs neither artifice nor conventional poses. Its main appeal is to man’s intellect, feelings and imagination. It does not only touch the anecdotes of the past Prophets in different ages and nations as well as the accounts of earlier revelations, it also covers the period from the beginning of creation to the very last Day of Judgment and beyond.

    Not only that, Al-Qur’an also gives insight into some natural phenomena like sphericity and revolution of the earth (Q. 39:5) the formation of rain (Q. 30:48); the fertilisation of the wind (Q. 15:22); the revolution of the sun, the moon and the planets in their fixed orbits (Q. 36:29-38); the aquatic origin of all creatures (Q. 21:30); the duality of the sex of plants and other creatures (Q. 36:35); the collective life of animals (Q.6:38); the mode of life of the bees (Q. 16:69) and the successive phases of the child in the mother’s womb (Q. 22:5 & 23:14). Yet, the purpose of this Book is not to teach history, astronomy, philosophy or sciences. The details of these will be spelt out fully after Ramadan under a theme to be called ‘ANATOMY OF THE QUR’AN’ in sha’Allah.

    Controversy

    Meanwhile, there is a raging controversy among Muslim scholars over the first and last revelations in the Qur’an. Much as this controversy is unwarranted, it may be necessary to clear the coast here (without laying any claim to authority) if only for the purpose of authenticating history.

    It is almost a consensus that the first revealed chapter in the Qur’an is Suratul ‘Alaq (Chapter of the Clot). But the very first revelation reaching   Prophet Muhammad (SAW) through Angel Jibril is ‘BASMALAH’

    (In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful) which precedes every chapter in the Qur’an except one (Suratut-Tawah) .

    As a Messenger of Allah to another Messenger of Allah, Angel Jubril couldn’t have commanded Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to read anything without doing so in the name of Allah who sent him with the message.

    Thus, Suratul ‘Alaq, as preceded by ‘BASMALAH’, could only have been the first revealed chapter but not the first revelation.  And that is logical.

    As for the last revelation in the Qur’an majority of Nigerian Muslim scholars believe that it is chapter 5, verse 3 of the Qur’an which says: ‘’Today, I have perfected your religion for you and completed my favour on you. And, I am pleased with Islam for you as religion’’.

    That verse of the Qur’an that was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) at ‘Arafah while performing his farewell Hajj couldn’t have been the last revelation. It came 81 days before the demise of the Prophet (SAW). And there was another revelation, thereafter, which came about nine days before the Prophet fell sick and died. This can be found in Qur’an 2: 281 which says: “And fear the day when you shall all return to Allah; the day when every soul shall be requited according to its desert and none shall be wronged”.

    Clarification

    The earlier verse was an accentuation of Hajj as the last pillar of Islam. And that was why it came on Arafah Day. The latter is a reminder of man’s final destination and the account of his worldly activities. These and many more are what readers of the Qur’an should know inside out. But the big question is this: who will teach them when the supposed teachers have sold out to money and ignorance? To Muslims who are conscious of their spiritual affinity and retain their conscience for the day they will meet their Creator and account for their deeds on earth ‘The Message’ says RAMADAN KARIM!

  • Reappraising Ramadan

    Reappraising Ramadan

    At no time in the life of man can the true nature of human existence

    be more manifest than in Ramadan. It is in that sacred month that Muslims reflect mostly on the purpose of their existence on earth. Some people fasted actively last year but are no more today. Some put their feet at the door step of Ramadan this year but never entered it. Some fell by the way side along the line. Some fasted with absolute faith in Allah and confidence in making use of the lessons of Ramadan. Some joined the train with no idea of their destination in the month.

    At the beginning of the sacred month, an analysis was done in this column classifying the 30 or 29 days of Ramadan into three segments.

    The first segment was said to contain the first ten days of the month during which the blessings of Allah came to the faithful Muslims freely and in abundance. Except for meeting that segment with faith and good intention, there was no working for blessings. That segment ended on July 8, 2014 paving way for the second segment that began the following day.

    With the commencement of this middle 10 days period, most sincere fasting Muslims began to intensify worship (‘Ibadah) by spending their days and nights seeking Allah’s forgiveness and by chanting Istighfar while observing Tarawih and Tahajjud in addition to the normal five daily obligatory Salawat. Most of them also engage vehemently in Tilawah, Tafsir and attendance of public lectures for better understanding of Islam. However, forgiveness in this circumstance is neither automatic nor free. Usually, conditions are attached to it.

    One of such conditions is for all fasting Muslims to admit his/her misdeeds and repent on them. The second is for such Muslims to voluntarily and genuinely seek forgiveness. And the third condition is to resolve never to return to such misdeeds again. To seek Allah’s forgiveness during this segment, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was reported to have said that “if you want to speak with Allah, make your request on prostration. And if you want Allah to speak to you recite the Qur’an”. And that was what Muslims of understanding are now doing.

    No one who abides by the above conditions and follows it scrupulously will ever be disappointed. Allah is both a promising and a fulfilling God. He never reneges on His promise. He promises in Qur’an 2:186 thus: “…when my servants ask you (Prophet Muhammad) about me, tell them that I am very close to them. I answer the prayers of whoever seeks my favour if he prays to me (without any intermediary). So, let them expect my favourable response and trust in me so that they may be rightly guided”. Money or material possession which constitutes vanity is not an evidence of acceptance of prayer in Islam.

     

    Second Segment

    This second segment of ten days is not just to consolidate on the blessings of the first ten days it is also to prepare the fasting Muslims for the last ten days when all genuine Muslims are expectedly ready to be fully liberated from the evil machinations of any Satanic forces. The last ten days which constitute the last segment are the most heavily pregnant in terms of spiritual activities. In that segment are such activities like I‘tikaf, Laylatul Qadr and Zakatul Fitr to be found. Zakatul Fitr can be called the climax of Ramadan while ‘Idul Fitr is its anti-climax. Whoever passes through that segment therefore without any blemish is qualified to profit here on earth and in the hereafter.

    However, gaining spiritual achievement is not as important as maintaining such achievement. It will be foolish of anybody to go through such a rigour for a whole month only to turn back and throw away the gains there from. That will seem like returning to one’s own vomit. If some people passed through the same rigour last year and did not see this year’s Ramadan it would be expected of those who are alive to learn a lesson from that. There is no automation in fasting every year. Only the grace of Allah can ensure that for some.

    Human life is not measured by the length of life or time and manner of   death. In Islam, death is neither the consequence of sin nor the repercussion of ignorance. There are instances when the sinless die and the sinful live. There are also instances when the learned one may die while the ignorant one lives. The schedule of life and death is not in the custody of any human being. Death is a debt which every living being owes and must pay.

     

    Jesus and Muhammad

    Not even Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was spared of death or given a foreknowledge of it. Allah told him in the Qur’an: “Say I have not the power to benefit or to harm myself except what Allah pleases. Unto every nation is a fixed term. When their terms expire, they cannot delay it by an hour nor can they bring it forth before its time”. Q.10:49. And more than six hundred years before Prophet Muhammad (SAW), another Prophet, Isa (Jesus) the son of Maryam (Mary) had made a similar statement thus: “By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me”. See John 5:30 and he expressed the same statement in another way in John 20:28 thus: “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on my own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught me”.  The statements by both Prophets though at different times, were made out of humility and exemplariness.

     

    Between dream and

    fulfilment

    Some people dream but never live to realize their dreams. Some look but never see. It is only in the imagination of man that age or accident or disease should be a cause of death. We shall all die at our scheduled time through the destined means. Therefore, whoever is privileged to pass through this year’s Ramadan successfully should endeavour to add spiritual value to his or her life and not diminish in faith after the sacred month. We shall all account for that value before Allah.

    Let men remember the role of their wives during the month and renew their love for those wives. Let women recall the intimacy which Ramadan rekindles between them and their husbands during the month and sustain such intimacy if only for the sake of the children. Let parents’ happiness be derived from the role of their children in the sacred month and further encourage such children to do good in order to curry the favour of Allah. Let everybody remember the tremendous improvement which the month of Ramadan has brought to our relationship during the month and strive to sustain such relationship irrespective of tribe, language or religion.

     

    Relationship

    We should also review our relationship with our neighbours especially the non-Muslims among them in that month. In Islam, neighbours are as important as the next of kin. And, Islam attaches so much respect to them that Bukhari and Muslim quoted Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as saying three times that: “he does not believe in Allah whoever creates fear in his/her neighbours”. And in another Hadith also reported by Bukhari and Muslim, the Prophet was quoted as saying: “Whoever believes in Allah and the last day let him be nice to his neighbours and respect his guests”

    In the month of Ramadan a good Muslim is expected to wear a new toga of sobriety and repentance. He doubles his good deeds towards his neighbours by extending generosity to them and by cultivating a new atmosphere of friendliness and trust with them. He genuinely gives them as much impression of love and brotherhood as he does with his con-sanguine relatives. It does not matter whether such neighbours are Muslims or non-Muslims. Neither does it matter whether they are fellow tribesmen or non-natives. The Prophet did not discriminate in his Hadith when he was admonishing his disciples on what relationship with neighbours should be. And that is the inalienable position of Islam on neighbours. Therefore, whoever, had quarreled with his neighbours, therefore Ramadan, let him go and settle the quarrel during Ramadan.

    That is an additional value to fasting in the sacred month.

     

    Needs and wants

    Fasting in the month of Ramadan cannot be taken in half measure. It is an act of ‘Ibadah that stands as a whole pillar of Islam. Whoever wants to receive full rewards for his religious activities in Ramadan let him continue to abide by the foregoing after the sacred month.

    Ramadan is not made a pillar of Islam by accident. Its purpose is to return man to the original state of purity into which he was created.

    That Allah entrusts the world to man is also not by accident. Allah consulted wide and far before entrusting this great responsibility to man having volunteered to bear it. This much is revealed in Qur’an 33:71 thus: “We offered the trust (of the world) to the heavens; the earth and the mountains they all turned it down and were afraid of it.

    Man undertook to bear it but he has proved to be insincere and deceitful”. For man to re-examine himself, repent his misdeeds and be redeemed, therefore, Allah brought Ramadan as a means of rescue.

    It is in the month of Ramadan that Muslims reconfirm NEEDS rather than WANTS as the necessities required for the sustenance of their lives.

    Muslims, by their faith and orientation, should not, ordinarily, akin to WANTS. They should rather be more concerned about NEEDS than WANTS.

    The reason for this is not far-fetched. With NEEDS come contentment and satisfaction while WANTS are the cause of greed and avarice.

    Allah, the creator and Sustainer of the universe, had provided the needs of every living creature even before its creation. But then, He knew ab initio that of all those creatures man alone would go beyond

    NEEDS into the realm of WANTS. That was perhaps what caused the negative role which Satan assumed in the life of man shortly after the creation of Adam and Hawa’u.

    By introducing WANTS to man, what Satan did was to create a permanent job for himself in the life of man. Without WANTS the world would not have been what it is today. Blood would not have been shed. Money would not have been deified. Hatred would not have been known to man.

    And, man’s inhumanity to man would have been totally averted.

     

    Renaissance

    It is however delightful to note in the sacred month that Nigerian Mosques are full of Muslim youths an indication that a silent Islamic renaissance is on course despite the satanic confusion in the land caused by manifest agents of Satan. With this development, two great possibilities are expected to see Islam through the coast of good hope in the 21st century. One is the return of the Mosque to its original objective without delving into violence as currently being done by some vandals claiming to be Muslims. The other is the inalienable continuation of Islamic intellectual dynamism in reshaping the destiny of mankind. The hope that these two possibilities are achievable in the hands of today’s teeming Muslim youths is in fulfilment of a fundamental prophesy about the signs of the last days.

    One of these signs is that ‘the sun will start rising where it used to set’. The reference here is not to the physical sun. The Prophet was referring to the spiritual photosynthesis of the souls of mankind for the ultimate metamorphosis of those souls from mortality to immortality. The photosynthesis in reference here is Islam. And the fulfilment of this prophesy is gradually being confirmed today not only by the rate at which the Westerners are embracing Islam in their thousands, despite the grand plan to blacklist that divine religion with implacable hatred, but also by technology and science.

     

    Functions of mosque

    When Prophet Muhammad (SAW) established the very first Mosque in Madinah (Masjid Al-Qubah) in 622 A.C, the purpose was more than just Salat. Thus, to the Muslims, the Mosque is not supposed to be just a house of worship. It should also be a school, a library, a hospital, a court, a media centre, a parliament and a place of work for some Muslims. Without the Mosque, the unity of the Muslims would have been impossible.

    Mosque is the meeting place for offering Salat five times a day. It is the centre of congregation for Jum’at prayer every Friday. It brings the Muslims together twice in a year for congregational observance of Eidul-Fitr and Eidul-Adha. Yet, the meeting place called ‘Arafah which is the climax of Hajj is a Mosque.

    The Mosques in Makkah, Madinah, and Quds (Jerusalem) serve the same purpose as those in Cairo, Jakarta, Islamabad and Sydney. And, in purpose and intent, there is no difference between the Mosque in Sokoto and the one in Vancouver.

    Generally, the Mosque plays a central role in fortifying the unity of the Muslims wherever they are. But unfortunately, for personal benefits, the Mosque has been relegated to just a place for Salat alone thereby becoming grossly underutilised. That is the real cause of the backwardness in which the Muslim Ummah is now wallowing. With the experience of the sacred month, every fasting Muslims has an opportunity to gain bounteously here on earth and in the hereafter.

    Such bounties must not be lost. This year’s month of Ramadan may be running fast to its end, its lessons will continue to live with us practically until they are renewed again next year with the return of this same month in sha’Allah. RAMADAN KARIM!

  • Stoning to death

    Laws are like spider’s webs. If anything small falls into them, they ensnare it. But large things break through and escape. By Solon, Athenian statesman and poet, (638-559 B.C.)

    Europeans who likened law to an ass may have generalised but not far from the truth after all. Laws generally are what human beings make them in the guise of interpretation. No law in any given society is naturally controversial. What brings about controversy is interpretation. All human laws, written or conventional, emanate from societal norms. Those norms only become laws when they are backed up by governing authorities.

    In Islam, the body of the laws that govern the lives of Muslims is called Sharia. This constitutes what is known as Islamic law or culture. It is derived from four main sources which are:

    •Qur’an, the direct words of Allah revealed to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) through the Arch-Angel Jubril

    •Hadith, the divinely guided but personal expressions of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), which give interpretations to the contents of the Qur’an.

    • Ijma’, the consensus of opinions of the learned Muslim scholars which must conform to the first two sources above.
    • Qiyas, a scholarly analogy deduced from the first three sources above.

    These sources are in sequence of authority. Qur’an is the first and foremost among them. No other source can supersede or equal the contents of the Qur’an. If any other source contradicts the Qur’an, that source automatically becomes null and void.

    Because the Qur’an was revealed in coded language, the need to decode it for the purpose of understanding necessitated the adoption of Hadith as the second source of Islamic law. No one was as competent to give accurate interpretation of the Qur’an as the Prophet who received its revelations from Allah through Arch-Angel Jibril. The Prophet himself acquired the knowledge of interpreting the Qur’an through informal interactions from Arch-Angel Jibril as well as the informal revelations he received while sleeping which are called ‘Hadith-ul-Qudsi’

    The third source is the consensus of opinion of highly informed Muslim scholars (Ijma’) based on the provisions of the Qur’an and Sunnah. It came into being as a result of scholarly understanding of the first two sources by credible Muslim clerics. This source became necessary to harmonise Islamic jurisprudence even if environments and circumstances would still leave room for variations in language and presentations.

    The fourth and last source is analogical deduction (Qiyas) which arose from peculiar situations in which clerics might find themselves at certain times and in certain places. This source allows for logical deductions that could be made from the first three sources without contradicting any.

    In sequence of authority, therefore, it becomes clear that only in the absence of Qur’anic provision can Hadith become the supreme legal authority in Islam. And, neither ‘Ijma’ nor ‘Qiyas’ can become point of reference where the Qur’an and Hadith are available. (Hadith is the collection of the divinely guided utterances of Prophet Muhammad while Sunnah is his exemplary conducts.)

    Classification of Shari‘Ah

    Like any other law, Shari‘ah is classifiable into civil and criminal aspects. As relevant here, adultery is within the criminal aspect of Sharia. In Islam, it is a crime which incurs a severe sanction. And the sanction is clearly prescribed in Qur’an 4 verse 2 as follows:

    “The woman and the man who are guilty of adultery, give each of them one hundred lashes of the cane. Let no compassion in their case prevent you from obedience to Allah, if you truly believe in Allah and the last day; and let their punishment be witnessed by a number of believers”.

    The above quoted verse is Allah’s prescribed punishment for adulterers and adulteresses as well as for fornicators (male and female). In Arabic language, there is no distinction between an adulterer and a fornicator. The word for illegitimate sexual intercourse generally is ‘zina’ which is a crime in Islam. An adulterer is called ‘zani’ while an adulteress is called ‘zaniyah’. And those are the precise words used for the two respectively in the Qur’an. The two words are equally used for fornicators.

    As is general with all laws, the interpretation of this verse of the Qur’an varies from scholar to scholar and from school of thought to school of thought. While some scholars believe that the quoted verse refers to unmarried people others contend that since the word zina applies to both fornication and adultery, the verse must be in reference to the two categories of people (married and unmarried).

    Proof of law

    As for stoning, no specific chapter or verse of the Qur’an can be cited as evidence for its application. In other words, the Qur’an is not categorical on stoning as punishment for adulterers and adulteresses as it is in prescribing flogging. But this does not mean that stoning, though controversial, may not be a punishment for illegal sex in Islam. Islamic law, as mentioned earlier, is a combination of sources. And we had been warned by Allah that:  “It is not for true believers, male or female, to have a choice (but to abide) when Allah and His Apostle decree on an issue. Whoever disobeys Allah and His Apostle has strayed far indeed”. (Q. 33, verse 36.)

    There are many narrated versions of how and when stoning as punishment for adulterers and adulteresses became a law. All the available evidences advanced in favour of this law are based on Hadith and Sunnah. But when did the Prophet’s expression or action authorise stoning vis a vis the Qur’anic revelation on flogging quoted above?

    Was it before or after the revelation? If it was after, could the Prophet have given a verdict that would contradict the contents of the Qur’an? If it was before, shouldn’t such Hadith or Sunnah be superseded by the Qur’anic revelation that came after it? Yet, there is the issue of homosexuality and lesbianism and the punishment prescribed for them by the Qur’an and Sunnah.

    With good knowledge of Islam and thorough understanding of Islamic jurisprudence, the issue of stoning as punishment for adulterers should not, ordinarily, generate any controversy. The position of the Qur’an on this issue, as revealed by Allah, is very clear. What brought controversy into it is the interpretation of that revelation as attributed to several Hadith relayed in various versions.

    Given the antecedence of the record of Hadith, any informed Muslim must be careful in using Hadith against the contents of the Qur’an especially as a legal code in Islam. Statutorily, Hadith is meant to complement the Qur’an and not vice versa. Where the former seems to conflict with the latter, the Qur’an prevails.

    If any of these two major sources of Islamic law was ever controversial it could only have been the Hadith and not the Qur’an.

    And, it was for this reason that Hadith was subjected to such serious scrutiny that led to scholastic separation of the wheat from the chaff in what came to be known as science of Hadith.

    Documentation of Hadith

    It must be remembered that the official compilation and documentation of Hadith did not take place until several decades after the demise of Prophet Muhammad. And what led to that exercise by great scholars like Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Maja, Abu Daud, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nisai and a host of others was the rampant fabrication of statements attributed to the Prophet by some mischievous elements.

    Unlike the Qur’anic revelations which were promptly documented officially as instructed by the Prophet himself, Hadith and Sunnah were not authorised for documentation by the Prophet. His (Prophet’s)

    position was that such documentation could lead to a conflict of Hadith with the contents of the Qur’an and therefore cause confusion among the Muslims. That fear was never fully allayed after all, despite the efforts of the mentioned scholars. And, today, we still have thousands of Hadith classified as ‘weak’, ‘unauthorised’ and ‘rejected’. Yet, they bear no names other than Hadith.

    In such a melee, it will be foolhardy                                                                                                                                to depend exclusively on Hadith in giving a verdict as fundamental as stoning to death especially when the Qur’an is silent on it. Though I am not a Mufti, I personally believe that if Allah had intended stoning as penalty for adultery, He wouldn’t have left its pronouncement to the Prophet since He (Allah) was categorical in respect of flogging for adulterers.

    Categories of adultery

    In Islam, adultery is not limited to married men and women alone. The acts of homosexuality (i.e. man to man sex) as well as lesbianism (i.e. woman to woman sex) are equally treated as adultery. And this is

    where the logic of stoning becomes questionable. It is through the Qur’an that we came to know of a whole city of the people of Prophet Lut (Lot) which Allah wiped out for committing homosexuality otherwise called ‘sodomy’. The Qur’an does not tell us of a similar punishment meted out to any group of adulterers in history. Yet, homosexuals and lesbians are still given the opportunity to repent with a promise of Allah’s forgiveness.

    This is how the Qur’an put it: “Against those of your women who commit adultery (lesbianism), call witnesses, four in number, from among yourselves; and if they bear witness, then keep the women in confinement until death release them or Allah shall make for them a way out of it. And if two (men) of you commit it (homosexuality), then punish them both; but if they repent and show remorse, leave them alone. Verily, Allah is forgiving, compassionate. Q. 4:15-16.

    Fabricated Hadith

    Many versions of Hadith were relayed in respect of stoning. One of them was that a married woman once reported herself to the Prophet confessing adultery. The Prophet pretended not to hear until the woman repeated herself three times, saying she had become pregnant as a result. The Prophet thereafter asked her to come and repeat the confession after delivery. It was thought that the woman would never come back having known the implication. But surprisingly, she came back after delivery and repeated the same confession three times.

    There and then, the Prophet was said to have ordered some of his disciples present to pelt her with stone. This act was carried out as the woman took to her heels. When those disciples returned to inform the Prophet that they had stoned the woman to death, he was alarmed and scolded them for carrying out such a dastardly act saying he did not send them to kill her.

    One would wonder why the Prophet who was so compassionate and cautious about anything life would rush to give such a verdict without investigating the matter conclusively. For instance, nothing in the referred Hadith tells us anything concerning the woman’s sexual partner (i.e. the man who impregnated her) before the judgment was allegedly given. That is not the exemplary Prophet described by Allah in the Qur’an thus: “you have a good example in Allah’s Apostle for anyone who looks to Allah and the last day and remembers Allah always”

    (Q. 33: 21).

    Relevant questions

    Some questions can be raised in respect of the process of applying the penalty for adultery. Some of the questions are as follows: when can a man or a woman be pronounced an adulterer or adulteress? How can such a person be tried? Who should pass judgment on him or her?

    To ascertain that a man or a woman has committed adultery, there must be convincing evidence. One such evidence is for the married woman to be pregnant outside the wedlock. Another is for the woman or the man to voluntarily confess to adultery. However, the sexual partner must also voluntarily admit that adultery was actually committed between both of them. The third is for other people to prove catching them in action. Anybody who came up with such allegation without proof must bring four male witnesses or eight female witnesses. Each of the witnesses must have seen the accused duo in action. This means they must have all seen the physical insertion of the male organ into the female organ. And they must be made to swear to on oath that they actually saw the act. This is to avoid any possibility of conspiracy.

    Anything less than that should be considered mere suspicion which cannot warrant any penalty because adultery is not committed in the open.

    If, through open evidence (like pregnancy outside wedlock) or voluntary self-confession by both sexual partners, a man or a woman is found guilty of adultery, the next step is prosecution in a Shari‘ah court. In the absence of an official Shari‘ah court the accused person should be tried by a judicial committee of a Mosque headed by a Mufti.

    Such an accused person must have at tained puberty, he or she must be sane and the act must have been committed with his or consent.

    In the case of the woman becoming pregnant, the court or the Mosque must allow her to deliver the child before any judgment is executed.

    And if she alleges rape, she is automatically free if her claim is found to be true. But the best is to defer the judgment till after delivery to avoid any psychological complication that may affect the child in her womb. Such deferment will also allow for thorough investigation before judgment is given.

    As for the male partner, the penalty may be carried out as soon as the judgment is delivered, if enough evidence is established against him.

    That penalty as prescribed in the Qur’an is flogging which should be done publicly and witnessed by members of the community in order to serve as a deterrent to others.

    However, banishment from the community for one year after flogging may be waived, according to Imam Hanafi, if the culprit repents sincerely and promises never to repeat the crime, depending on the discretion of the judge or the Mufti.

    Essence of punishment

    The essence of any punishment in Islam is to enable people repent and desist from evil deeds. But what is amazing about the application of Islamic punishment for adultery is that only the lowly people in the society are caught and punished for it even when it is obvious that adultery is more rampant among the makers and shakers of the society especially the law givers. Why is it that no single highly placed person has ever been caught and punished for adultery either in Nigeria or elsewhere?

    Besides ‘shirk’ (associating something with Allah), no act is more annoying to Allah than miscarriage of justice, especially against the helpless people. Adultery is a very grievous crime in Islam and no true Muslim will solicit for adulterers or adulteresses. But, in applying the law against this monstrous crime, due process must be followed without any discrimination. Justice is the hallmark of Islam.

    Let those who administer justice fear Allah.  Like many other Hadith fabricated and credited to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) for authenticity, the commonly quoted Hadith about stoning sounds very much fabricated because it contradicts logic and misrepresents the just personality of Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

  • Guest of integrity

    Guest of integrity

    Guests, everywhere in the world, are of different types. Some are of honour and treated with integrity because of their acknowledged dignity. Some are bereft of honour but merely tolerated for their nuisance value. Each time we talk of guests, people invariably think only of humans in the erroneous belief that no other creature could be qualified for that title. What they don’t seem to know is that humans are just a fraction of Allah’s creatures. There are millions of others not often noticed by man. One of such creatures is environment of which season is a part. The phenomenon called season comes in different forms with different intensity and at different times of the year.

    Seasons are like the tides of an ocean. They roll out spirally in quick succession and reshape the world’s environment from time to time as they come in multiple of months. No one measures a season in the absence of months as there can be no seasons without months.

    Europeans have so much respect for seasons that when they have an important guest they call him an ‘August visitor’. The month of August is the peak of summer season and the most comfortable month of hospitality for the Caucasian race of Europe hence the term.

    In Islam, the most venerable guest is Ramadan. Its visiting time is not restricted to any particular season or Gregorian month. Its arrival in the world may coincide with that of any season. It is therefore a guest of all seasons.

    With Ramadan as a guest, not only the Muslims but the entire humanity is consciously or unconsciously engaged in hospitable activities.

    Those who cannot fast in it do take advantage of its presence to sell or buy some relevant needs and wants. Thus, there can be no indifference to the awful presence of Ramadan in any part of the world.

    I recall the vivid description given this sacred month in ‘THE MESSAGE’ column sometime ago which is still as relevant now as it was then. It went thus:

    Once every year, something creeps into the world like the early morning light. It moves kaleidoscopically into an arena where the centre becomes its stool. It lifts its veil and beams a focus on the world with an arresting attention in the days. It envelops the nights in a shroud of covenant linking the dream of man with his fulfilment.

    Its journey

    No one knows Ramadan’s port of embarkation. No one knows its destination. All we know of it is that of a guest that is so vividly present in our world and yet so invisible. RAMADAN is the name by which it is divinely christened. Its coming is often heralded by a retinue of envoys. The months of ‘Rajab’ and ‘Sha’ban’ are the immediate escorts that alert us of its imminent arrival. Like the sun in the midst of stars, Ramadan ascends the throne in full regalia and all other months, (lunar and solar) quickly take their bow.

    Call it the king where other months are chiefs and you will be dead right. Call it the doctor in a world of sick people and you will not be wrong. Call it the compass in the wilderness of straying humanity and you would have spoken the truth. Call it the reformer of human soul; the steriliser of human spirit as well as the purifier of human body and you will not be disputed. In its entourage are equally invisible ministers like piety, knowledge, truth, justice and peace all of which usher it into the world with splendour.

    Deriving its name from a natural healing phenomenon, this ninth lunar month is truly baking in effect. The word:  Ramadan is derived from the Arabic word ramd (meaning baking). The name had been in existence before the advent of Islamic calendar. It was coined from a baking summer that immediately followed a freezing winter. Ever since, Ramadan’s mission has been to firm up all loose ends in the life of man. And it does that with a touch of perfection.

    Its mission

    The entire month of 30 or 29 days is spent fasting from dawn to dusk.

    Such fasting is not about abstinence from foods and drinks alone. It

    is also about self restraint from all sinful acts. It is about repackaging one’s destiny through a new but sincere resolution.

    Fasting during this month is believed to figuratively burn away all sins. It was in this glorious month that the revelation of the Qur’an to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) first began.

    In this month, all gates of paradise, according to the Prophet, are open while those of hell are closed. The first ten days in it are blessings galore for those of the Muslim Ummah who need blessings and seek for them. The next ten days personify forgiveness for those who realise the gravity of their sinful acts, repent on them and resolve never to return to such acts again. Thus, Ramadan is far beyond a month. It is a season.

    Its anchor leg

    The last ten days form the anchor leg of Ramadan which is meant for the liberation of mankind from the manacles of Satan. Whoever is so liberated automatically becomes like a new born baby arriving in a new world with a tabula rasa (clean slate).

    In these last ten days is a particular night (Laylatul Qadr) in which the secret of human destiny is encapsulated. It is otherwise known as the ‘Night of power’. Meeting that night consciously and spiritually is like securing the key to one’s own apartment in Paradise. But one needs to remain awake throughout those nights to be fortunate to meet the D night.

    Allah did not disclose even to Prophet Muhammad (SAW), which particular night it is. But by asking the Muslims to look for it in the odd nights of the last ten days, the Prophet has helped us tremendously. However, who can be so sure of the odd nights when the issue of sighting the crescent before starting Ramadan remains controversial?

    Also, during the last ten days of Ramadan, some willing Muslims, in accordance with the tradition of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), do go for Umrah in Makkah or take to I’tikaf (spiritual seclusion) locally, to reaffirm their total submission to Allah. Following this is a session of charity made compulsory for all Muslims irrespective of age, gender and status, to give to the poor and the needy. This is called Zakatul Fitr or Sadaqatul Fitr. It is given in the very early morning of Ramadan Festival Day or the night before it to enable the poor and the needy celebrate the festival with the Ummah in a festive mood.

    Anticlimax

    The first day of the month of Shawwal immediately after Ramadan is the anticlimax traditionally spent in great celebrations with rejoice and observed as the ‘Festival of fast breaking the (Eidul Fitr).

    Where else can one find a guest like Ramadan? Where else can one meet a guest that hosts his host and heals him of ignorance and diseases?

    It was probably more to Ramadan than to man that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) referred when he said: “whoever believes in Allah and the ‘Last Day’ should venerate his guest” That guest is Ramadan. That is why Muslims often say in this unique month: ‘RAMADAN KARIM’ which means ‘Venerable Ramadan’.

    Preparation

    To start or end fasting in Ramadan, sighting of the crescent is just symbolic. The indices of recognising when to start or end the month are naturally vivid to those who care.

    Ramadan is preceded by two glorious lunar months of Rajab and Sha’ban for fun. The number of days in those two months is to enable any serious Muslim know the time of arrival of Ramadan and prepare for it.

    No lunar month exceeds 30 days and none is less than 29 days. Crescent or no crescent, it is very possible and easy to know when to start Ramadan every year. The confusion often created by the sighting of the crescent is therefore avoidable. If Rajab is 30 or 29 days, no one looks for the crescent before starting Sha’ban. As soon as Rajab ends, Sha’ban starts.

    Dynamism

    Islam is a dynamic religion and nothing should be rigid about the sighting of the crescent before starting Ramadan. Sighting the crescent is not the only condition for starting the great month. After all, the new crescent is not necessarily visible to all eyes at any given time in any locality. That is why a few who may be privileged to sight it are implored to invite some others to witness it and then inform the recognised authorities who will in turn, announce the arrival of Ramadan to the Muslim community in the locality or region.

    Besides Faith (Iman) and Hajj (which are the first and last pillars of Islam), nothing else is really globally uniform in practical terms with regards to timing. The variation in the geography of the earth has legitimised the variation of time in the observance of Salat, Sawm and Zakat. Iman is global because it resides permanently in the hearts of the believers, irrespective of their localities. Hajj is equally global because it is performed in only one place at a particular time.

    Geographical factor

    Where a gap of about nine to eleven hours exists between one part of the world and another, talking of global uniformity in starting or ending Ramadan can only border on sheer ignorance. For instance it is impossible for the Australian Muslims living in Australia and their South American brethren residing in Brazil or Argentina to start Ramadan on the same day. Even within Nigeria, all Muslims can start Ramadan on the same day, only if they have equal access to information. And even with that, it is not possible for them all to start or end daily fasting at the same time of the day. That is why the announcement or publication of Ramadan timing according to the various localities is necessary.

    That Ramadan fasting is prescribed as a universal obligation for all Muslims in a particular month is deliberate. Allah who did the prescription is not oblivious of the geographical variations in the world. Neither is He unaware of the possible invisibility of a new crescent to most eyes. The design is to allow for the reverberation of the effect of Ramadan across the world. And time variation in worship or celebration of festivals is not peculiar to Islam. Even in Christianity, neither Easter nor Christmas is globally celebrated in one day. And, there is no media noise about it.

    What is global about Ramadan fasting is the month and not the time.

    Dawn and dusk vary from locality to locality. It is therefore possible for the Muslims in one part of the world to be breaking their daily fast at a time when their brethren in another part are commencing theirs. Thus, the genuineness or otherwise of Ramadan fasting is not to be judged by man. That is why Allah is reported by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as saying in a sacred Hadith (Hadithul Qudsi) that: “Fasting is mine and I am the One to grant rewards on it.”

    Welcome to the coast of Ramadan. This sacred ‘ship’ must not leave the coast without you on board. Ramadan is like an institution of learning. A good Muslim must not just pass through it he must also allow it to pass through him. Who knows when the last time to witness the month will be?

    While waiting for Ramadan perch like an eagle, we still remember one of us who created a special clout for himself under the aegis of Ramadan. His sudden, unexplainable disappearance at the advent of Ramadan in 2012 remains indelible in our memories. But Allah knows best. We continue to pray for him and his family even while awaiting Allah’s justice.

     RAMADAN KARIM IN ADVANCE!

  • Beyond Boko Haram

    Beyond Boko Haram

    Preamble

    Today’s article had once been published in this column. It is however being brought back because of the popular demand for it by readers of ‘The Message’. And since readers are, like customer, kings in their own rights, who is yours sincerely not to oblige? Here is the article again. Please read on: In the life of every nation, like that of every individual human being there must be a time of tribulation. Such a tribulation is a test of faith and that of steadfastness. For an individual, passing or failing it depends very much on the strength of his faith and for a nation, the competence or otherwise of the leadership at the helm of affairs.

    Nigeria, as a country, cannot be an exception in this case.

    For the past few years, Nigerians have been forced to grapple with the intensity of an unprecedented carnage of bomb blasts killing and maiming human lives in their scores continually but devastatingly.

    This carnage engendered by economic, political, ethnic and religious tendencies first began in 2006 with a major threat to the existence of Nigeria by some war mongering Southsouth youths. It has now come to climax the decades of crises in the country thereby putting everybody on the edge. And since the crises have constantly been engineered by government’s insensitive policies, it is instructive that the attitude of the same government towards those crises cannot be suggestive of any serious readiness to proffer a permanent and sincere solution to them. The language that rents the air this time is ‘Boko Haram’. That language has virtually become a spectre compelling both the government and the people to be on the run as it gives them a fierce chase of their lives.

    Observation

    From whichever angle it may be perceived, Boko Haram is now a huge balloon of smoke oozing out of a protruding chimney and destructively polluting the air which everybody in Nigeria today is forced to inhale willingly or unwillingly. But unfortunately, rather than finding out the fireplace beneath the chimney that gives vent to the oozing smoke, the government just insists on dispelling the smoke even as the fire keeps burning. Granted that Boko Haram was inherited by the current regime just as the menace of the Southsouth insurgency was inherited by Yar’Adua regime that preceded this, nevertheless, the late

    President YarÁdua did not allow it to overwhelm Nigerians before finding a solution to it.

    The current government’s idea of Boko Haram seems to be quite different from what that disturbing body really is. Boko Haram has become like a huge elephant surrounded by thousands of blind men. Each one can only describe the part he is able to touch on the body of the mammoth animal and not the whole of it. Without diagnosis, only a quack doctor will proceed to prescribe medicine for an ailing patient.

    And that is what the Federal Government continues to do in respect of the Boko Haram’s carnage in Nigeria.

    However, some serious-minded and sincere individuals who are convinced that the problem posed by Boko Haram is beyond any surface scratching have begun to dig deep into the tap roots of those hardened insurgents. One of such individuals is Jean Herskovits a female Professor of History at the State University of New York, USA. She has been writing on Nigerian politics since 1970. The other is a well known and highly respected Nigerian Catholic Priest, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto Diocese. But since both of them hold similar opinions on the issue, ‘The Message’ decided to bring the latter’s opinion because of Nigerians’ familiarity with his person.

    Below is the verbatim text of his public address on Boko Haram which was entitled ‘AN APPEAL TO NIGERIANS’.  This address was published in The Guardian of January 17, 2012. It goes thus:

    Reflections

    “On the occasion of the Carol of Nine Lessons organised by NTA and Radio Nigeria on December 10th last year, I was invited to deliver the message. I chose to speak on the theme, Do Not Be Afraid as a means of encouraging our people against the backdrop of fear and frustration that was mounting at the time. Since then, it would seem that things have gotten progressively worse in our country.

    In the course of my reflections, I sought to encourage my fellow citizens not to be frightened by the events of the time. I insisted that despite these tragic and sad events and the situation of our country, we needed to conquer fear. I argued that the message of Christmas was a message about the good news of the birth of the Prince of Peace, Emmanuel, (God with us) and the Saviour of the world.

    Against the backdrop of other developments in the country at that time, I concluded by calling on the Federal Government not to carry through its plans for the removal of fuel subsidy.

    Since then, things have gradually snowballed well beyond what one had either feared or hoped. On Christmas day, a bomb exploded at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla, in Niger State, killing over thirty people and wounding a significant number of other innocent citizens who had come to worship their God as the first part of their Christmas celebrations. Barely two days later, we heard of the tragic and mindless killings within a community in Ebonyi State in which over sixty people lost their lives with properties worth millions of naira destroyed and hundreds of families displaced. In the midst of all this, on New Year’s Day, the President announced the withdrawal of fuel subsidy and threw an already angry and frustrated nation into convulsion.

    Right now, I feel that perhaps like the friends of Job (Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar), who came to visit their sick friend and found the burden beyond comprehension, we find ourselves in the same situation.

    For, as we know, when they came and found Job in his condition, they spent seven days and seven nights, and uttered not a word (Job 2:13).

    Right now, no one can claim a full understanding of the state we are in. However, even if we cannot understand the issues of the moment, our faith compels us to understand that God’s hand is in all this. The challenge is for us to have the patience to let His will be done.

    The Madalla Tragedy

    The tragedy in Madalla was seen as a direct attack on Christians. When Boko Haram claimed responsibility, this line of argument seemed persuasive to those who believed that these merchants of death could be linked to the religion of Islam. Happily, prominent Muslims rose in unison to condemn this evil act and denounced both the perpetrators and their acts as being un-Islamic. All of this should cause us to pause and ponder about the nature of the force of evil that is in our midst and to appreciate the fact that contrary to popular thinking, we are not faced with a crisis or conflict between Christians and Muslims. Rather, like the friends of Job, we need to humbly appreciate the limits of our human understanding.

    In the last few years, with the deepening crises in parts of Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, and Plateau states, thanks to the international and national media, it has become fanciful to argue that we have crises between Christians and Muslims. Sadly, the kneejerk reaction of some very uninformed religious leaders has lent credence to this false belief. To complicate matters, some of these religious leaders have continued to rally their members to defend themselves in a religious war. This has fed the propaganda of the notorious Boko Haram and hides the fact that this evil has crossed religious barriers. Let us take a few examples which, though still under investigation across the country, should call for restraint on our part.

    Complicity

    Some time last year, a Christian woman went to her own parish Church in Bauchi and tried to set it ablaze. Again, recently, a man alleged to be a Christian, dressed as a Muslim, went to burn down a Church in Bayelsa. In Plateau State, a man purported to be a Christian was arrested while trying to bomb a Church. Armed men gunned down a group of Christians meeting in a Church and now it turned out that those who have been arrested and are under interrogation are in fact not Muslims and that the story is more of an internal crisis. In Zamfara State, 19 Muslims were killed. After investigation it was discovered that those who killed them were not Christians. Other similar incidents have occurred across the country.

    Clearly, these are very troubled times for our country. But they are also very promising times. I say so because amidst this confusing debris of hate, anger and frustration, we have had some very interesting dimensions. Nigeria is changing because Nigerians are taking back their country from the grip of marauders. These stories, few as they may be, are the beginning of our song of freedom.

    Christians are now publicly crossing the artificial lines created by falsehood and bigotry. Let us take a few examples of events in the last week alone:

    In Kano, amidst fears and threats of further attacks on Christians, a group of Muslims gathered round to protect Christians as they worshipped. In Minna and recently, in Lagos, the same thing repeated itself as Christians joined hands to protect Muslims as they prayed.

    In the last week, Christians and Muslims together in solidarity are protesting against bad governance and corruption beyond the falsehood of religion. Once freed from the grip of these dark forces, religion will be able to play its role as a force for harmony, truth and the common good.

    Clearly, drawing from our experiences as Christians, we must note that God has a message for us in all this. To elicit what I consider to be the message, I will make reference to three lessons and I know there are far more.

    Prayer and Solidarity

    These times call for prayer. At the height of our confusion during the Abacha years, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria composed two sets of prayers; one, Against Bribery and Corruption and second, for Nigeria in Distress. Millions of Catholics have continued to recite these prayers and we must remain relentless in the belief that God hears our prayers and that God’s ways are not our ways. We know that our Muslim brethren and millions of other non-Christians feel the same and are also praying in a similar way for our country. These times call for solidarity of all people of faith. We are a nation of very strong believers and despite what anyone else may say, millions of our Christians and Muslims do take their religion very seriously. However, you might ask, if that is true, why do we have so many killings in the name of God and of religion? My answer is that we have such killings because we live in an environment of a severely weak architecture of state which allows evil to triumph. It is this poverty that produces jealousy and hatred which leads to violence.

    We live in a state of ineffective law enforcement and tragic social conditions. Corruption has destroyed the fabric of our society. Its corrosive effect can be seen in the ruination of our lives and the decay in our society. The inability of the state to punish criminals as criminals has created the illusion that there is a conflict between Christians and Muslims. In fact, it would seem that many elements today are going to great extremes to pitch Christians against Muslims, and vice versa, so that our attention is taken away from the true source of our woes: corruption. As Nigerians, Christians and Muslims, we must stand together to ensure that our resources are well utilised for the common good. This is why, despite the hardships we must endure as a result of the strike, the Fuel Subsidy debate must be seen as the real dividend of democracy.

    Role of Religious Leaders

    Religious leaders across the faiths must indeed stand up together and face the challenge of the times by offering a leadership that focuses on our common humanity and common good rather than the insignificant issues that divide us. We therefore condemn in very strong terms the tendency by some religious leaders to play politics with the issues of our collective survival. Rather than rallying our people, some of our religious leaders have resorted to divisive utterances, wild allegations and insinuations against adherents of other religions. In the last five or so days, text messages have been circulating across the country appealing to some of our worst demons. We are told that many senior clerics either believed or encouraged the circulation of these divisive and false text messages. We must condemn this for what it is; a grand design by enemies within our folds who are determined to destroy our country. Whatever they may call themselves, they are neither true Christians nor Muslims.

    For those Christians who have reacted in fear, they require conversion. If we wait for these evil men or women to decide when we shall stand for Christ, then we have surrendered our soul to the devil. If we fear to stand up for Christ now, let us remember that He has already said: Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will acknowledge before my father in Heaven, Whoever denies me before others, I will deny him before my father in Heaven(Mt 10: 32). Again, Jesus warns that rather than fear at times of uncertainty, adversity or upheavals, we should be confident. He said: When these things begin to take place, stand erect; hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand (Lk. 21: 28). Furthermore, St Paul has assured us that; If we die with Him, we shall live with Him. If we endure with Him, we shall reign with him (2 Tim 2: 11-12). Surely, those who are asking us to go under our beds, to flee in the face of persecution must be reading a different Bible.

    Difficult Times

    These are difficult times but they are also times of promise. Our country has turned its back on all forms of dictatorships. Our hands are on the plough and we are resolutely committed to democracy. Like a Catholic marriage, we may not be happy but we cannot contemplate a divorce. God does not make mistakes.

    Although the freedom and growth promised by democracy are not here yet, we must remind ourselves that a better tomorrow is possible, a more united and peaceful Nigeria is possible. The challenges of the last few days have shown the resilience of our people and their commitment to democracy and a better life. We believe this is possible. The government must strive to earn the trust of our people.

    All sides must take lessons from the demonstrations and resolve to build a better and stronger nation. Let us hold on to the words of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, when he told the President, religious, traditional rulers and people of the Republic of Benin in the Presidential Palace on the 19th of November: Do not cut off your peoples from their future by mutilating their present….There are too many scandals and injustices, too much corruption and greed, too many errors and lies, too much violence. All peoples desire to understand the political and economic choices which are made in their name; they wish to participate in good governance. No economic regime is ideal and no economic choice is neutral. But these must always serve the common good”.

    •Address by Rev. Father Mathew Hassah Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese

  • The Boko Haram conundrum

    Preamble

    It was an all stars affair last Sunday at Abuja National Mosque where an intimidating group of Muslim Scholars and clerics, Muslim traditional rulers, governors and ministers, Muslim leaders and elite as well as Muslim Professionals and students from all parts of the country clustered like a galaxy in the milky way. The motive was to offer an appealing congregational prayer to the Almighty Allah for peace and security in Nigeria. The prayer was organised by Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) under the leadership of the Council’s President-General and Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa‘ad Abubakar who initiated the idea. It was moderated by the Secretary-General of Council, Professor Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede and led by the Chief Imam of Abuja National Mosque, Ustaz Musa Muhammad. The Vice-President, Muhammad Namadi Sambo, was in attendance along with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, governors, ministers, legislators and government officials. And yours sincerely was there as a participant.

    Prior to last Sunday’s prayer, the Sultan, in his capacity as the President-General of the NSCIA, had requested all Mosques in Nigeria to recite Al-Qunut, Ayatul Qursiyy and Suratul Quraysh several times on a daily basis not just for peace to reign but also for the perpetrators of the so-called Boko Haram atrocities and their godfathers to be exposed and apprehended. Besides, the Federation of Muslim Women Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN) had also organised a similar prayer penultimate Sunday at the same venue invoking the mercy of Allah to descend on Nigeria and wipe out all forces of evil. Thus, last Sunday’s outing was to reinforce the prayer believed to have been continually but generally offered across the country in torrents by the Muslim faithful.

    Conundrum

    In what looks like a conundrum, insecurity in Nigeria has become like mysterious sphinx in Greek mythology as contained in Sophocles’ epi-tragic drama entitled Oedipus Rex. The setting of the drama was in a city called Thebes where all living things were subjected to a devilish siege of the sphinx. What the Thebesians of that time did to overcome their un-foretold tribulation should be a case study for Nigerians of today.

    There is something strange about human secrecy which makes people feel that they can be invisible while hiding behind one finger to perpetrate evil. It seems that the story of human secrecy is about back entrances and side doors as it is about evil elevators and clandestine ways of getting to the ‘top’ while avoiding being caught in the act. But in the end, the dangling noose of suicide anxiously awaits any evil perpetrator who wears the mask of secrecy. The hypothetical name of that noose is NEMESIS.

    Perhaps nothing typifies social conundrum in Nigeria like today’s evil perpetrations by series of groups commonly known as Boko Haram. The conundrum is such that the evil phenomenon called Boko Haram can no longer be specifically identified with any particular group as it has become a mysterious cloak under which all evil elements in the country now masquerade.

    Osun’s Boko Haram coinage

    For instance, how does one classify a case in Osun State two weeks ago in which some Church members of a remote town (Ikonifin) under Olaoluwa Local Government (near Iwo) of the state were arrested and now under investigation for attempting to create a scaring scene by giving the impression that Boko Haram had arrived in Osun State.

    Although the principal perpetrators of that act were claiming to be acting a drama, the real motive, as usual, was to smear Islam as a religion and subject the Muslims in the State of Osun to blackmail, ridicule and intimidation just to enable those perpetrators to ‘win new souls’ and thereby gain more tithes in a seeming dangerous religious trade.

    About five perpetrators of that evil act are now in police custody at the Special Investigation Department (SID), Osogbo, where they are being ‘investigated’ so to say. The case was about to be swept under the carpet through the usual religious power play before the Osun State Muslim Community stepped in with a petition alerting the authorities of the danger inherent in the backlash of treating the case with ‘glove kit’. Nigerians are waiting for the outcome of that investigation. And unlike in past, it will be followed to a conclusive end.

    The case of alleged Boko Haram coinage in Osun State cannot be strange to anybody who has been following the trend of satanic religious propaganda in Nigeria recently with the obvious conspiracy of the press. It will be recalled that sometime in February 2012, eight able-bodied men were arrested in Bauchi for similar evil act when they were trying to bomb a Church in the name of Boko Haram.

    Witnesses said the men, (all Christians) who lived around the area, came with sophisticated weapons and explosive devices with which they tried to set them off in the COCIN Church but were overpowered by local people and handed them over to soldiers, who took the suspects to Bauchi for further investigations. The report of the investigations is yet to be released two and a half years after.

    The suspects, who were said to be members of the church located at Unguwar Rimi along Bauchi-Jos road. They had been seriously beaten by a mob before some policemen from the Toro Divisional Police Office came to their rescue by transferring them to the state police command in Bauchi where they were detained for investigation. The outcome of that investigation is yet to be made public.

    The Lagos State angle

    Meanwhile, another pastor in Lagos called Pastor Jehovah Sharp-Sharp has alerted the public that Boko Haram had already arrived in Lagos State. He said the group was rehearsing its terror act in a particular Mosque which he was not ready to for disclose now.  He added that the some top government officials were behind the group but he was not ready to name them as he had passed the information to the security personnel. It is quite interesting that a Church pastor could discover what the security men could not discover. The outcome of this is also being awaited.  And just a couple of days ago, breaking news revealed that somebody was arrested in Jos while trying to plant a bomb. The security agents said they were not ready to disclose the identity of the person yet. We are waiting to know his identity.

    The arrested suspected bombers above in Bauchi in 2012 are: (1) Lamba Goma, (2) Filibus Danasa, (3) Joshua Ali, (4)Danjuma Sabo, (5) Joseph Audu, (6) Simon Gabriel, (7) Bulus Haruna, (8) Yohanna Ishaya and Daniel Ayuba (who was the immediate past secretary of a political party at Tilden Fulani Ward, Toro LGA, Bauchi State).

    Shortly before the Bauchi incident, a COCIN church in Jos was rocked by an explosion which claimed 3 lives (including that of the bomber) and injured 38 others on a Sunday morning. Jos has since been embroiled in seeming  attritional ethno-religious clashes that haveclaimed hundreds of lives.

    On Friday, January 13, 2012, ThisDay newspaper ( page 6) reported a story it culled from the BBC in which a Britain-based arms dealer, Gary Hyde was being prosecuted in a London court for unlawfully arranging the shipment of about 80000 guns and 32 million rounds of ammunition in 2007 from China to Nigeria. The question which was neither asked nor answered in that case was about the recipients of such a huge cache. If the recipients were the Boko Haram members why was the supply by a Christian? If the consignment was meant for non-Boko Haram members what was the motive?

    On March 28, 2012, Daily Trust reported a case of two Nigerians (Sunday Eze from Anambra State and Samuel Taiwo from Ogun State) who were arrested in Ghana for trying to smuggle large ammunition into Nigeria. From their names and their States of origin, it was obvious that the two men were Southerners and non-Muslims. One may then ask if they were running errands for Boko Haram or just trading with the latter. And if they were on their own in business it then becomes necessary to ask: for which terror group were they trying to import the cache or were they preparing for a premeditated civil war. On Tuesday, April 10, 2012 a 38-year- old man named Monday Dayou was arrested while planting a timed bomb at Makera weekly market in Riyom Local Government of Plateau State. His intention was to commit mass murder believing that such act would only be blamed on Boko Haram. If Monday Dayou had succeeded in his devilish mission, someone would have posted Boko Haram’s admission of that crime on the internet and that would have provided an opportunity for ‘a reprisal’.

    On February 20, 2012, Daily Sun newspaper (page 12) reported the arrest of five armed men led by one Evangelist Wale Adelu of an old generation Church in Akure. The men were said to have been holding meetings in the Parish of the Evangelist to perfect their plans.

    Although the Police said they were armed robbers, but the question is if such men had offer to commit terrorism for money wouldn’t they do it?

    Also, on March 10, 2012, Saturday Sun (page 10) reported an illegal importation from South Africa of a consignment of arms and ammunition intercepted by the Nigerian Customs Servicemen at the Murtala Muhammad Airport, Ikeja, Lagos. The consignments, according to reports, were meant for a company named Miero Marble Granite in Kaduna State which was represented by Mr. Michael Awara Ernest who was present to collect the explosives at the cargo terminal of the airport. The Customs Area Comptroller at that time, Mr. Charles Eporwei Edike in his comment while parading the suspect said: “If these items were released to him they could have been used to cause mayhem. We are going to hand him and the items to the Police for further investigations. Till today, the outcome of those investigations remains a matter of silence.

    On February 22, 2012, The Leadership newspaper (page 10) reported that the Police Public Relations Officer,  Alaribe Ejike said four persons (all men) were arrested while trying to detonate explosives at the St. Theresa Catholic Parish in Makurdi, Benue State and added that “the arrested men were Christians and not Boko Haram members as speculated by members. It remains one thing and as soon as we find it out we shall inform you accordingly. More than 30 months after, that information is yet to be released.

    It will be recalled that Rev. Father Mathew Hassan Kukah, the Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese had mentioned in January 2012, the case of Christians disguising as Muslims to burn Churches in some parts of the North (see The Guardian  of  January 17, 2012, page 45). Also, Prof. Jean Herskovits of the State University of New York who has been writing on Nigerian politics since 1970 earlier sounded a similar note of caution in the New York Times. This was reported in The Nation of January6, 2012, page 43.

    The Muslim Ummah of the Southwest Nigeria (MUSWEN) alluded to most of these facts in its Press press Advertisement published in The Nation of March 6, 2012 where it alerted the nation of a clandestine ground plan by some non-Muslims in Nigeria to cause religious war by all means in the name of Boko Haram. MUSWEN in that advert entitled ‘FACTS ARE SACRED’ called on the Federal Government to pay serious attention to the issue of insecurity in the country without any bias.

    JNI versus CAN

    Earlier on February 17, 2012, the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) which is the Muslim umbrella body in the North issued a communiqué following a three-day retreat on peace and security in Nigeria held in Kaduna. The communique was published on Page 59 of The Nation.

    In the communiqué, the JNI charged the security agencies in the country to investigate an act on allegations that some Christians were disguising as Muslims to burn down Churches in the northern parts of the country.

    But in a sharp reaction the northern chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) accused JNI not only of standing the truth on its head but also of fanning the ember of discoed in the northern region.

    Denying the involvement of any Christian in terrorism in the name of Boko Haram CAN concluded that “if the Sultan of Sokoto, through the JNI is accusing Christians of terrorism and Pastor Oritsejafor, through CAN, is condemning attacks on Churches, who is heating the

    polity?”

    Warning

    Now with the above loaded undeniable facts and figures above who can actually be called Boko Haram with definite identity in Nigeria? We do not want the spread of Boko Haram terrorist activities in Southern Nigeria. Those who are clandestinely weaving its web should watch their steps very well. From all indications, it seems that Boko Haram is a religious business in Nigeria in which some religious merchants are thriving. Such merchants should however know that If any fire of terrorism is ignited in the Southern part of the country its inventors will not be able to escape its furnace. The value of peace is never realised until there is a war. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

  • Bodija: A centre like a grandeur

    Bodija: A centre like a grandeur

    Mosques are surely Allah’s (sanctuary). Do not therefore desecrate them by associating anything with Allah” Q. 72:18  Today, Friday, May 23, 2014 is a day of history in Ibadan, Oyo State.

    In that Africa’s second largest city, all roads lead to Bodija Estate where His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, (NSCIA) will commission an historic Islamic Centre for the Muslim residents of the estates and its environs. The construction of the strategically sighted Centre began in 1996 four years after the establishment of the Muslim Community in the area.

    The idea of establishing a Muslim community in Bodija germinated like a potent seed in 1992 when the late Professor Ismail Ayinla Babatunde (IAB) Balogun, who had then just retired from the University of Ilorin, returned to his house in Ibadan for permanent residence. He went round the houses of other Muslims who were resident in Bodija Estates and Environs and invited them for observance of the year’s Ramadan Tarawih at his residence. Before his arrival in Ibadan, some Muslim faithful had been observing Tarawih in Alhaji G.A.O. Oladimeji’s residence. However, following Professor Balogun’s appeal, in 1992, most of the Muslims in the area came together to observe that year’s Tarawih in his residence as he requested.

    Rallying Point

    Impressed by this laudable move, some notable Muslim leaders, including Aare Abdul – Azeez Arisekola Alao and Alhaji (Omooba) Rasheed Adesokan, rallied round the group and gave their support to the conceptualisation and formation of the Community. There and then Omooba Adesokan promised to be hosting the Community’s Laylatul Qadr every year. And he did this until the Islamic Centre became ready for public use. The initial meetings of the Community were also hosted by him for the first couple of years until September, 1994 when some other members requested to host it. And this continued in rotational form until the Islamic Centre assumed a good enough shape for functional use.

    Although the process for incorporating the Community by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) commenced as soon as the Community was established in 1992, the certificate of incorporation was not ready until year 2000. Today, the Community, having been formally issued with registered Certificate No. 12,859 dated 28th April, 2000, has a total registered membership of 342 made up of men and women. And the number of children using the Centre for religious and social activities, including Madrasah almost doubles that of the adult.

    The Centre

    The main building of the Centre is the Mosque which consists of three floors. Its architectural, structural and electrical/mechanical drawings were done gratis by Architect M.A.T. Mogaji from Lagos, N.G.B. Fashola, Lagos and Tafa Salami of Ibadan respectively. The two storey edifice may not be as gargantuan as that of Ijebu Ayepe, Ogun State. But it proudly has the following facilities:

    1.Ground Floor which conveniently accommodates about 1000 worshipers with provision for ablution and parking space

    2.First Floor which accommodates about 500 female worshipers and ablution area

    3. Second Floor which harbours a library, a sick bay and a multipurpose hall meant for public functions such as weddings and conferences.

    A unique hallmark feature of the building is the taste of the Makkah Sanctuary with which it is garlanded in a special grandeur. That taste is in form of the external extraordinarily beautiful marble of the sanctuary. The Centre is simply a cynosure for all its beholders.

    Commissioning

    To commission the Centre today is Nigeria’s foremost bridge builder, His Eminence Alhaji Muhammad Sa‘ad Abubakar CFR; mni, the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs despite his very tight schedule. His presence and function in Ibadan today is the third of the like in the past one month in the Southwest region alone. He has consistently confirmed his able leadership as well as his nontribal inclination. And to be with his Eminence are the Governors of Lagos, Ogun and Osun states while that of Oyo will be the Chief Host. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Rt Honourable Aminu Waziri Tambuwal will also be present. It is indeed a day to last in the memory of well-meaning Muslims.

    Executive Committees

    Since its inception, the Community has had eight sets of Executive Committees each headed and administered by a Chairman who held office for a maximum period of three years if so re-elected on an annual basis at the Community’s Annual General Meeting. Thus, eight distinguished members have held the post of Chairman of the Community at different periods and thereby contributed immensely to the growth and achievements of the Community over the past 22 years. They are Professor Mohammed A. Badamas, an I.T. Specialist/Lecturer; Engineer M.A.B. Amao; Alhaji (Chief) L.B. Giwa, a Lawyer, late Alhaji A.R.O. Dele, an Accountant; Alhaji Jimo Alihu, a Pharmacist; Alhaji (Chief) R.S. Aruna, a Lawyer; Alhaji G.A.O. Oladimeji, an Educationist/Lecturer; and Alhaji K.T. Giwa, a Medical Laboratory Scientist and current Chairman of the Community.

    Board of Trustees

    The highly venerable Trustees of the Community so far are: Alhaji Abdul – Azeez Arisekola Alao (Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland), Alhaji (Omooba) Rasheed Adesokan (Baale of Bodija), Professor Lateef A. Salako, Late Prof. Rauf Sobulo, and Barrister (Chief) L.B. Giwa.

    Functions

    The functions of the Mosque adequately tally with the principal aims and objectives of the Community at inception. These include:

    1.Propagation and spread of Islam in the Bodija Estates and Environs and Ibadan in general;

    2.Construction and maintenance of a befitting Mosque and Islamic Centre for its activities;

    3.Motivation of Muslim youths through attractive social activities and lectures on Islam;

    4.Congregational prayers and lectures for good and healthy interaction of Muslims;

    5.Organising Islamic Education for both the adult and youth members through modern methods, including the use of computer.

    hallenges

    Being like a lily by the mossy stone, the establishment of the Bodija Estates and Environs Muslim Community was not an easy task. Initially, the two Bodija Estates (old and new) had five places designated as official sanctuaries of worship but all of them were allocated to churches. Thereafter, 45 other unapproved Churches emerged through conversion of residential buildings in the two estates. Yet, when Bodija Muslim Community applied to the Oyo State Housing Corporation for a space to build one and the only Mosque in the area, the reply was that the spaces available had already been allocated to some other religious bodies (all of which were denominations of Christian religion) and that no land was available any longer to meet such a request from the Muslims. Thus for a very long time, successive regimes in the Oyo State Housing Corporation did not see any reason why the Muslims should have a place of worship.

    And when it pleased the Almighty Allah to pave way for securing a plot of land for building a Mosque in the vicinity, some non-Muslims in the Estates quickly went to court to challenge the right of the Muslims to build a Mosque. By that time, there were about 50 legal and illegal Churches in the two estates and no single Mosque. However, when it dawned on the challengers that they were going to lose judging by the trend of the case, they tactically opted for settlement out of court thanks to the high professional prowess of Barrister Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) who defended the Muslim Community without asking for one kobo.

    Thus, today, the only Mosque in Bodija stands out conspicuous at the choicest place in the estate facing the famous Independence Square like the rock of Gibraltar. Alhamdu Lillah!

    Mosque and Imam

    Mosque and Imam are like message and messenger. There can hardly be any access to one without going through the other. In Islamic doctrine, the functions of a Mosque are both spiritual and temporal.

    For Muslims, none of these can be taken for granted. The word Mosque is the corrupt English pronunciation of  the Arabic word ‘MASJID’ (called ‘Masgid’ in Egyptian dialect) which means a place of prostration.

    Contrary to the general misconception here in Nigeria, Mosque is not meant for SALAT alone. It serves many other purposes each of which has a fundamental significance. For instance the very first Mosque established in Islam by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in Madinah was a multipurpose one. It was established in 622 C.E. That Mosque named the ‘Mosque of Qubah’ did not serve as a place of worship alone, it also served as a school, a library, a clinic, a court of law and even a parliament for the Muslim community.

    That was why the very first University in the world, (University of Cordoba), established in 967 CE by the Muslims in Spain, started as a Mosque. And, it will be recalled that even the three oldest Universities in the world today: Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt; Qarawiyyin University in Fez, Morocco and Zaytuniyyah University in Tunis, Tunisia, (each of which is well over 1000 years old) started as a Mosque.

    One cannot seriously talk about Mosque without fundamental reference to Imams and the congregations they lead. Actually, nothing is called Mosque without the congregations and their Imams.

    The First Mosque in Islam

    When the Prophet established the Mosque of Qubah, he did not design itfor Salat alone. He knew that Muslims would seek knowledge and therefore attached school and library to it. He knew that Muslim women and children would need thorough education about Islam and therefore provided for their learning. He knew that by the nature of Islam, Muslims would always need to clean up before offering Salat. He therefore attached toilets and baths to the Mosque. He knew that members of his congregation would disagree on certain issues and seek resolution or redress. He therefore attached court to the Mosque. He knew that some Muslims would fall sick and require medical care. He therefore attached clinic to the Mosque. He knew that there would be need to plan strategy for propagating Islam and for protecting Muslim interest against internal or external aggression. He therefore attached a deliberation forum to the Mosque in the name of parliament.

    He knew that his congregation would need a secure place to keep their money and other valuables and therefore attached a bank called ‘Baytul Mal’ to the Mosque. Thus, the Mosque is the centre of all Islamic activities, including legitimate business transactions. That is why Islam is the total way of a Muslim’s life rather than a mere dogmatic religion in which secularism is confusedly proclaimed based on the theory of separation of state from faith.

    Today, most Islamic activities have virtually been severed from our Mosques and that is why Nigerian Muslims are contented with just a small space to build a small Mosque where they can offer Salat and disperse. Even in doing this no thought is ever given to any possible future increase in the population of the congregation. The result is that most of our Mosques have no space for anything other than Salat.

    Imams are appointed as leaders not just because they lead their congregations in Salat but much more because they are charged with the responsibility of guiding the Ummah aright and admonishing them against wrongdoings. They are supposed to be typically what Prophet Muhammad (SAW) called shepherds. And their congregations are supposed to be their herds.

    That our Mosques have not lived up to expectation is not the end of the story. Righting the wrong is one of the foremost characteristics of Islam. It is better to be late in doing the right thing than not doing the right thing at all. We can still start to put things right as from today.

    As a special elite Muslim Community, Bodija and Environs Islamic Centre must be different from the general perception of Muslim Communities in Nigeria. It must stand out of the pack. It may start this by taking the census of its congregation with a view to knowing the worshipers more closely. It must ensure the setting up committees such as for social welfare; for education; for health; for conflict resolution; for Zakah; for guidance and counseling; for economic growth and skill building; as well as for information and publicity.

    Each of these committees should have experts in the listed areas as their chairmen while competent persons should be put in charge of those committees and direct them as to what to do and how to do it.

    And as a matter of trust and sincere commitment to the service of Allah, this Centre should not operate without an economic blueprint that can enhance the economic wherewithal of its members.

    As a Muslim community, we have lived with a system for hundreds of years without achieving the necessary objective. In the process, we have lost most of our best hands and even our best brains to the other side of the bridge. We cannot afford to surge ahead with an unprofitable venture. We must change the system! The Muslim Ummah must be made to see why they need the Mosque as much as why the Mosque needs them. Experimenting with a new system will not only put a stop to basking in the euphoria of the past, it will also engender a durable legacy for the current generation of Nigerian Muslims. Those who want progress for Islam must adhere strictly to the guiding norms of Mosques as prescribed by Islam.

     

  • Readers’ reactions

    It has been quite some time since readers’ reactions were published in this column. This is because most readers of this column do not care anymore about grammar and the use of English language. And since it is easier to write a fresh article than to edit badly written ones, yours sincerely chose to concentrate on the writing of the column.

    Nigerians, especially the youths of today, seem to have lost touch completely with the use of language for the purpose of communication as they just write all sorts of garbage while leaving the correction to the columnist.

    Ordinarily, the readers should possess the ‘red fingers’ (i.e. they should act as the examiners not in terms of grammar but in terms of facts, ideas and observations while the columnist should be like a student writing an examination). But the irony is that the case is the other way round. If every reaction were to be published as written by most readers the columnist would spend days and nights every week marking the junk submitted to his column in the name of reaction. This further confirms the extent of intellectual deterioration in Nigeria where communication is no longer a matter of understanding but one of guessing. When intellectualism was genuinely pursued by virtually every well-meaning Nigerian because of its value, writing a column was just a privilege as there were better writers among the readers who had no access to such privilege. The case is different today.

    Since this busy columnist has little time for marking most readers’ comments on a weekly basis it becomes necessary to avoid any cumbersome intellectual comment that is capable of compounding his busy schedule. However, there are occasions when looking back briefly may become necessary if only to give the interest of readers a priority. This is one of such occasions. The article entitled ‘Letter to Nigerian Youths’ which was published in this column last Friday attracted so many reactions that it became almost impossible to resist the publication of some of them. Thus, a few correctable ones among those reactions were selected for publication here today. Please, read on:

    “Dear Mr Abbas,

    Good Morning! Your above piece which appeared on page 42 of the Friday, May 9 edition of The Nation is timely, cogent and poignant.

    I always relish perusing your articles despite the fact that I am not a Moslem (sic). But the salient issues raised in your piece are worrisome and symptomatic of the magnitude of degeneration, loss of focus, lasciviousness and all sorts characterising Nigerian youths these days. Given the penchant of our media for the burlesque, outlandishness and the inanity,  I am not surprised that your very salient issue didn’t generate the kind of attention it should have generated.

    I am really worried at the state of the nation and the future of this country (i.e when you have youths that have discountenanced the essence of scholarship, tenacity, hard work, progression and decency). Look around you everywhere and all you see is gloom and comatose (sic). All we see are young musicians and comedians singing and talking gibberish and nonsense, winning fake awards and we are clapping that all is well. No! Nothing is well. The future of Nigeria lies not in these folks! We want youths that can stand up for the nation; youths that can be counted on to move the nation forward; youths that have socio-economic, scientific, intellectual, moral, conscientious, technological and political edge and strides!

    This has been the object of my focus for some years now as I have tried to highlight some of these issues to Nigerian youths, but the message is just not sinking. I am highly demoralised when you see youth graduates who can’t read, who don’t even know what is happening anywhere, who can’t analyse simple issues and don’t even have any iota of ideals, ideas and ideology! When majority of youths start to venerate musicians, idolise scammers, revere corruption and celebrate men of questionable characters and opprobrious antecedents, then something is fundamentally and critically wrong. When majority of our youths readily accept what is morally questionable, socially wrong, economically immoral and politically aberrant (sic), then what hope is there for the nation? In those days, we used to look up to people like Obafemi Awolowo, Tai Solarin, Sekou Toure, Bala Usman, Balarabe Musa, Julius Nyerere, Adekunle Ajasin, Ayodele Awojobi, Mokwugo Okoye, Nguyen Gyap, Marcus Garvey, Agustino Neto, Patrice Lumumba, Kwame Nkrumah, Thomas Sankara etc as role models. But now its so disturbing and distressing that youths of today view footballers, Hollywood actors and actresses and political fraudsters as role models.

    It just reaffirms what a popular Professor of Sociology espoused about 20 years ago that ‘Nigeria is dying gradually, because if youths are really the future of the country, the I am telling you that Nigeria is virtually on life support. Just what is the way out of this impending

    morass? What is the solution to this abyss or nadir that we have inexplicably found ourselves today? The other day I was speaking to some youths on the essence of hard work and industry and some of these boys were openly deriding and jeering at me! I just shook my head in pity not at them but their future and the future of the nation. I need answers, what can be done? we need something practical, something pragmatic lest we are doomed!

    Once again, thank you and God bless”. Adekunle Theophilius

    Alhaji Femi Abbas,

    It is my pleasure to write a few lines here as a reaction to your column of May 9, 2014 entitled ‘Letter to Nigerian Youths’. I hope you will find time to read it. As one of the youths to whom your open letter was addressed, I felt the heat while reading it. My first reaction was that you old people are now turning the heat on us after ruining our lives. But going through the article again and comparing it to what my father had told me some years back, I totally agree with your analysis about today’s youths. All that you wrote about us are very correct and I respect your sense of presenting the article particularly your conclusion in which you alluded to the fact that your own children too are today’s youths.

    What baffles me most about today’s youths in Nigeria is their imitation attitude which reflects no sense of reasoning at all. Can you imagine our boys plaiting their hairs and wearing ear rings shamelessly like lunatics just because some criminal prisoners are doing same in Europe and America? Can you imagine the wearing of trouser jeans by our youthful girls of today who virtually leave their breasts and buttocks bare all in the name of civilisation? Even the music they play and their driving pattern speak volume about their character.  Can you imagine the extent of desperation and eagerness to be rich by today’s youths which is pushing them to all criminal acts?

    The truth is that most of us (today’s youths) have completely deviated from the norms which once constituted the values dearly cherished by our parents. The wind of capitalism seems to have so much overwhelmed us that we can hardly believe that we have parents whose lifestyles are completely different from ours. And unfortunately, we do not care to ask why this is so.

    On the other hand, however, the elders will still share a major part of the blame. They are responsible for formulation of policies and their implementation; they are responsible for enactment of laws and their execution. They are also responsible for beaching those laws with impunity in the very presence of their children. They paved the way for corruption through manipulation of figures and through election rigging. They openly called white black and abuse justice on the platter of ethnicity and nepotism. They introduced hooliganism into local politics and openly aided and abetted corruption in all shades. Yet they do not their children to be like them.

    Sir, I have been privileged to travel to many countries. But I have never seen a country where leaders trample on the law of the land like Nigeria. And this is shamelessly done with impunity. Have you ever seen a Nigerian resigning from a public office no matter the gravity of his/her official crime? Here is a country where innocence is heavily punished while criminality is officially extolled. Examples of ministers, legislators, judges and chief executives of banks and other private companies abound who are pushed out of office not by their employers but by the press. Even most of the so-called religious leaders who are loudest in preaching against corruption are the biggest beneficiaries of the massive corruption in the land. That is why the possession of executive jets has now become a matter of competition among them.

    Sir, the youths are merely used as instruments for perpetrating all these crimes and in the process they end up surpassing their teachers.

    Sir, do you know that more than half of the approved budgets in virtually all the federal ministries are shared among the civil servants and their ministers? Do you know that even some messengers and gatemen in those ministries own many houses and cars in Abuja today? How much salary do they earn? Sir, Nigeria is doomed more at the instance of the so-called leaders rather than the followers and the only seeming panacea is REVOLUTION. That is what whipped Ghana into the line of sanity. There can be no alternative in the case of Nigeria. Alhaji Abbas, you always sound factual in your writings. I hope you will have the courage to publish this ‘bleeding’ reaction of mine? God save Nigeria.

    Isaac Bello-Osagie, Gwagwalada.

    Thank you, Dr. Femi Abbas, for providing us with a new spectacle to see our youths more vividly. The problem is multidimensional. Parents do not know their children any longer because of the pursuit of money.

    They believe that with money those children are already being taken care of. By the time they realise how wild the children have grown it would have become too late to rectify. I sincerely believe that the plight of today’s youth was wrought by the parents who once gullibly fed their children with cow milk instead of human milk from mothers’ breasts. When those children grew up with the character of cows it became a problem.

    Look at today’s youth very closely and you will discover that the reasoning faculty is conspicuously missing in them. With the exception of human features in them they are virtually cows that only pursue  food and water. As a mother, I know what a child should be, given the right situation. Today’s youths had been deprived the milk of kindness at infancy. They cannot be expected to be kind either to their parents or anyone else. And when a child is deprived of the milk of kindness he is automatically deprived of shame. That is why our male youths dress like females and the females dress like male. Unfortunately the blood of animal can only produce animals. Therefore, for some generations to come we can only have animals in the frames of humans. The die is already cast.

    Another angle to it is the reckless freedom of allowing foreign films to influence the lives of our children. More than 90% of the crimes committed by Nigerian youths are copied from foreign films. And our local artist have started copying those films without thinking of the implications on our youths. The arrival of the unregulated internet has now worsened the situation. We cannot endorse absolute freedom for our children and expect discipline from the same children. The rot is from the very top. When the home leaks the society must bleed. That is the case with Nigeria today.

    In my opinion, some major areas of our public life must be refocused.

    These are the civil service, the police, the political class the business class and the theatre artists. Unless these areas of our society are properly addressed discipline wise, Nigeria will remain a rotten society with inescapable calamity. If you notice very well, you will discover that those we call rulers like president and governors are mere captives in the hands of certain hidden hawks who actually wield the power on their behalves. Look at the so-called First Ladies.

    Look at the professional politicians. Look at the security agencies. When you remove the menaces of all these from the governance of the country you will discover that sanity will prevail.

    Our youths are watching all these on a daily basis and they are aspiring to share in the illegal largess. If today’s youths are used to measure tomorrow’s leadership the conclusion will surely be that there is no tomorrow for Nigeria. The quality of today’s leadership (i. e. that of work and eat) does not provide for Nigeria’s tomorrow.

    Most of today’s so-called leaders are only occupying positions for which they were never trained. How can they train others? We are in danger. With this kind of situation who will now put things in proper perspective? That is the big question waiting for a big answer. Once again, thank you very much my brother. I have been reading your column for quite some time. I admire your style and consistency though I am not a Muslim. Your contribution to Nigerian progress through your column is not mean. Please keep it up. Posterity will vindicate the righteous ones. God bless you.

    Mrs. H. A. B. Dangana, Bida

    Hello Mr. Abbas! I do not miss your weekly column (The Message) because of its unique quality. There is always something new to learn from it. And your language competently carries the weight of your thoughts. It is only through your column that I became a strong Muslim that I am today. Most of the well researched issues you discuss in your column are never addressed in Friday sermons in our Mosques. Your vast knowledge of the West, the East and global current affairs has enriched my understanding of Islam tremendously. It has also confirmed that Islam is truly a complete way of life rather than a mere dogmatic religion. Please, train some younger ones who will continue the good work and do not relent in your efforts. God bless you.

    The case of today’s Nigerian youths is like that of a plant. You can only reap the fruit of any seed you plant and not your wish. No nation wants to degenerate but the factors of degeneration always dictate the extent of a nation’s retrogression.

    Any nation that deifies money is surely on the road to perdition. That is the plight of Nigeria where the emphasis is overwhelmingly on money. Everything including mere greetings is tied to money. The role of politicians in this does not help the matter. They publicly give the impression that money and only money is the issue in the country.

    This has forced the youths to become desperate especially when there are no available jobs for most of them. It is rather pathetic that we expect our youth to be cultured when those who are supposed to be their role models are uncultured. By not serving as good examples for the youths we are ruining the future of our country. These youths are already wild. They need to be tamed. But the instruments with which to tame them are not there. All of us and not government alone must do something urgently. Otherwise, we are doomed as a nation. Thank you.

    Sefinat B. Owoseni (Mrs.), Sango Otta.

  • Letter to Nigerian youths

    Dear Nigerian youths,

    This letter being addressed to you through this medium (The Message)is not by design but by accident. Nigerians of my age and beyond (60+) never had an opportunity to be so addressed. Let it be known to you that except life and sound health, none of Allah’s bounties to man is as treasure-able as youthfulness. The definition of youth varies from place to place and from faith to faith. But generally, youthfulness spans from the age of puberty (at 16) to that of reasoning (at 40).

    That is the second stage of human life as it follows that of adolescence. It can be said therefore that the juiciest part of human life is what people call youth. And whoever is blessed with it is blessed with all hopes of life.

    Youth is the spur of ambition and risk. It is the period of determination and resolution. It encourages attraction between genders and engenders association across boundaries. All efforts in human life that yield results in old age are made at youthful age. To an average youth anywhere in the world, the sky is never the limit. There are still many other firmaments beyond the sky. Youth is the stage of hard work. It is the stage of planning. It is the stage of vision and mission. That is why the youths of any nation are seen as the bone marrow of such a nation and the beacons of the future. And fortunately, youths invariably constitute majority of the existing people at any given time in any given nation.

    Youths before now

    In the years past when life had meaning and culture had value, youths were seen as the pride of the nation. They were the natural arrows fixed to the parental bows which were often shot through the iron gate of life. This was the case in Nigeria before and during the colonial era. And after the country’s independence, the youths constituted the glory and hope of their parents. Their role in the family encouraged the bearing of many children as they partnered their fathers in tilling the farm land and harvesting the crops. In short, they formed the live wire of their families.

    When a father was said to be rich in those days, it was only because he had many children (male and female) who constituted the workforce of the family. The father’s pride then was not just the number of children he had but the volume of contribution made by those children to his wealth. Thus, children were considered as wealth.

    In those days, youths were not just helpers of their parents on the farms or in   their trades they also assisted them in training the younger ones. Yet, they had the highest esteem for those parents in their utterances and in their conduct. The level of discipline in those days was such that boys were handled by their fathers while girls were mostly handled by their mothers. And the mothers dared not utter a word while any child was being subjected to discipline by the father. In a nutshell the upbringing of a child was the main key to societal serenity.

    Change of trend

    Today, Nigeria is a different story altogether. The youths of yesteryears have become the elders of today. They have left the chord of discipline that escorted them into the world of decency to the new train of indecency. And that chord is no longer suitable for either today or tomorrow as the trend has changed dramatically. The current trend began in January 1966 when some uncultured youths in military uniform, spurred by blind ambition, threw the value of age and experience to the winds and killed the then leaders of the Nigerian nation in what was called a military coup d’état. By that unfortunate act they plunged the nation into a precipitate civil war that rendered the youth wild and eroded the value of youthfulness.

    For 13 years thereafter, the vagabonds remained in power using whim in place of experience. And when a brief civilian interlude came on board in 1979 for only four years, the vagabonds perched on the governance again and like hungry vultures, they fed on the carcass of democracy to their fill. Through that unbridled usurpation of power, the so-called Nigerian military weaned themselves from the ladle of integrity and destroyed whatever was left of their nomenclature.

    Here we are today, looking desperately like a starved hawk and hanging restlessly in the balance like a gagged hyena. Virtually every Nigerian has forgotten the real cause of our calamity. The cry everywhere is now about the effect of that calamity on the nation. No one endeavours to look back and see where the downfall started from.

    And without looking back, there can never be any correction as to how to rise again. A Yoruba adage states axiomatically that when a toddler falls down he looks forward (to see if there is any adult around to lift him up). But when an adult falls he looks backwards (to see the cause of his fall). That is the difference between experience and potential.

    Banking on potential to govern a nation that requires experience as did the eaglet Nigerian military can never bring any meaningful result. Both potential and experience have their role and chance in any society. But neither can take the place of the other.

    The difference

    You the youths of today are different from those of yesteryears in many ways and the differences are clear. The youths of the past were very hardworking and dedicated. They served their parents diligently and stood by them in all circumstances. They sought their parents’ advice and learned from the latter’s experiences. You the youths of today are very lazy, slothful, time wasting and lackadaisical in your attitude to life even as you are served by your parents from infancy to old age. Yet you despise those parents and treat them with disdain like nonentities. You believe that those parents had worked on your behalves and that you are only in the world to enjoy the fruits of their labour.

    The youths of the past were patient contended and full of respect for the elders. They were humble, obedient, always eager to know as they queued up to learn.  You the youths of today are very inpatient, greedily ambitious and you see yourselves as masters of knowledge when in actual fact you are slaves of ignorance. Unlike the youths of the past, you the youths of today are mostly empty-headed, very arrogant, highly materialistic and hastily avaricious.

    You always want to start your lives from the peak of your parents’ achievements without asking about what those parents had gone through before reaching the peak.

    You spend money lavishly without working for it and you never think of bearing any responsibility either in the homes or in the society. You are generally characterised by all the conducts that were classified as shame in the past. To you shame has its price. And as long as you can pay that price in coins by whatever means, you are important in your own estimation. Thus, shame, as far as you are concerned, is a vital aspect of culture which has no negative effect on your lifestyle. As a matter of fact you have taken shame for pride.

    If a few youths of the past can be described as a bunch of problems for their society, due to their misbehaviour, majority of you today’s youths are the real cogs in the societal wheel of progress. To you, life has no meaning except it is heavily coded in money.

    Your slogan that “long life is irrelevant in the absence of money” is a testimony to this assertion. That life span in Nigeria has dropped so drastically is due to your disappointing lifestyle which often creates hypertension for your parents and leads to their early death. Few parents talk of heirs nowadays because those of you who are supposed to be their heirs have long thrown away the toga of worthy heirs. In the past, mothers were not known for staying with their daughters in the latter’s matrimonial homes while leaving their husbands behind without care. This strange but new trend that has almost become a part of Nigerian culture arose because of the incompetence of today’s young women, even after many years of training, is questionable. Thus, despite the ubiquity of young men and women, there is scarcity of husbands and wives just as there is dirge of fathers and mothers.

    Virtually everything that matters to you today’s youths is devoid of our known core value. By your measure, the value of life can be found only in the volume of naira.

    Causes of generational change

    Whenever there is cause to review the generational trend with the intention of righting the wrong, you the youths of today are often quick in pointing accusing fingers mischievously at the generations ahead of you saying they caused the debacle. But while pinching the back of the elders you often forget that sooner or later you may become elders whose back will be pinched by the youths who succeed your own generation. You have forgotten that most of the scientific discoveries and technological advancement of your age which lured you into roguery were not available for the past youths. There were no such things as hard drugs, cyber crimes, armed robbery, sophisticated fraud through manipulation of figures and forgery of signatures. There were no cases of rape, child trafficking, audacious prostitution and day light murder with impunity as are rampant among you today.

    To you, all these crimes are either professions or callings in which you   actively engage. Thus, you do not believe in the existence of any demarcation between decency and indecency an indication that ‘family name’ which was highly valued in the past has no meaning to you. Unlike most youths of the past, you were sent to school but your goal was mere certificate rather than knowledge. And what you acquired in those schools in the name of education is hardly worth the paper on which your certificates are printed. For most of the years you spent in school, your preoccupation was either cultism or other frivolous activities that have no bearing with education. That is why most of you turn out to be unemployable University or Polytechnic graduates. A few of you who secured public employments have been discovered to be sheer misfits on those jobs as your competence remains questionable.

    Implications

    The implications of all these are many. While most of you are not quite useful to the present you are also not hopeful about the future.

    There is hardly any major crime in Nigeria today that is not principally committed by you today’s youths all in the quest for money. It seems that the only language you understand is money and only those who can speak the language of money command your respect.

    Many centuries before our time, an Arab poet intuitively came up with a sonnet fits perfectly into today’s Nigerian situation. He said: “Here is the era against which we had been warned through the admonitions of Ubayy Bn Ka‘ab and that of Abdullah Bn Mas‘ud; an era in which truth would be totally rejected while falsehood and insurgence would be glorified and held aloft; Should this era linger without any change (of attitude) neither cry at a funeral nor smile on the announcement of a new birth would be experienced”.

    Which of the situation expressed in the above poem is not applicable to Nigeria today. What impact does religion have on the society again?

    We used to know of motor spare parts. Today, spare parts are no more of motor but of human beings. And the most active merchants of this queer business are you the youths of today. When we talk of illegal oil bunkering, it is the business of the youths. When we talk of kidnapping, it is the business of today’s youths. When we talk of suicide bombing and terrorism, it is the business of today’s youths.

    And all these are for money and nothing else. Where is Nigeria going from here?

    Conclusion

    The aim of this expository article is not to malign or denigrate the youths of today. All the children of this columnist are today’s youths who do not constitute a separate island. But preaching is like a mud surrounded by men and women in immaculate regalia. No one of them will be spared if the mud is splashed. As a onetime youth and now a father qualified to be called an elder, it is not expected of my type to start throwing stones while residing in a glass house. But truth knows no boundary. It cruises on like a surging train without minding whose ox is gored. To rekindle Nigeria’s old hope or create a new one for the future, the youths of today must return to the established values of the past. It was through those values that the tranquility of the world was solidly upheld. And it was through deviation from it that the world became as restive as it is today. If tranquility must return as wished by many, you the youths of today must change your loins. And that is the only atonement that the world requires to return to tranquility.