The Nation Newspaper

Category: Femi Abbas

  • Memo to legislators

    Dear Legislator,

    “Let there become of you a nation that shall call for righteousness, enjoin justice and forbid evil. Such men shall surely triumph”.

    Q. 3: 104.

    This is the second time in three years that a letter of this kind is coming to you from this column. The first was in 2008 barely nine months after some of you resumed in your respective legislative houses. Though the contents of both letters are hardly different the need to write again is informed by the fact that a genuine preacher should never be tired of repeating himself even where and when the addressee chooses to be deaf and dumb as in the case of some of you.

    “Conscience”, according to Sheikh Uthman Dan Fodio, “is an open wound which only the truth can heal”. But one can talk of healing a wounded conscience only where it has not become cancerous. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) told us in one Hadith that hypocrites are known by three signs: “When they talk they lie; when they promise they renege and when they are trusted they betray”. Most of you so much typify that Hadith as if the Prophet had Nigerian legislators in mind when he expressed that axiom.

    You will recall that when you started nursing the ambition to become legislators, whether at the federal or state level, or even as chairmen or councillors in local governments, your first announcement was that you wanted ‘to serve your people’. Based on that announcement, people rallied round you and embraced you as their representatives. That announcement was your first political covenant. It was not between you and the people in your constituency alone. Since it entailed your promise and the trust of the people, Allah’s hand was in it and He will surely hold you accountable for it because you made such promise voluntarily. It does not matter whether you were genuinely elected or rigged into office thereafter as usual.

    Deception

    Your original intention for making the announcement will be weighed against your action on getting to office. And you will be judged accordingly when you leave the office. That is quite different from the actual rigging that brought you into office (if you are part of that abominable gambit) after depriving your fellow human being of that position which rightfully belongs to him. Just as you will call on God for justice if you were in his shoes so he will take your case to God’s court. And the prayer of a cheated person, according to Prophet Muhammad (SAW), never suffers divine denial.

    You must remember that it is only God’s judgment that can neither be manipulated nor appealed. And no matter how long it may take, Allah’s judgment will be executed perhaps when you least expect. On that, you are left to your conscience if you have one.

    In Islam, two issues are exceptionally fundamental which Allah does not treat lightly. These are sacredness of life and justice. It is a great iniquity for any human being to engage in murder and injustice under any guise. Thus, anybody who kills fellow human beings extra-judicially in the name of religion is nothing but a pagan. In Islam, killing of a fellow human being deliberately is such a grievous sacrilege that cannot and should not occur without commensurate punishment.

    Besides paganism, nothing draws the wrath of Allah as fast as these two crimes which Satan may continue to ask you to ignore at your own peril. Murder is physical termination of the life of a fellow human being. Injustice is to kill a person mentally, psychologically and spiritually by denying him his right.

    In Islam, rule of law is the foundation of justice but legislation is the material with which that foundation is built. Those who voluntarily chose to legislate for others must see themselves as the foundation layers of justice who should not, deliberately or inadvertently, betray the course of justice. Can this be said of you?

    How honourable?

    Honourable legislators, you are addressed as honourable today neither because you are more qualified intellectually than those for whom you are legislating nor because you are wiser and more experienced than them. What makes most of you legislators is sheer expediency arising from queer inadequacies sadly fostered by our so-called political system which gives room for gerrymandering. If such opportunity comes your way illegally, let it not be mistaken for good luck. It may rather be a calamity waiting to strike in future. And when it strikes, no one except Allah can tell the extent of its effect. At least you can see how the consequences of the heartless annulment of June 12, 1993 Presidential election have become a draconian spectre chasing the ghost of Nigeria even after two decades of licking her wound.

    Due to lack of conscience, most of you may not have noticed, but you need to be hinted that shortly after you took oath of office, most of you started subverting the covenant you voluntarily reached with the people who elected you. That covenant is to serve them (the people). And those who serve are nothing but servants. But no sooner had you been sworn into office than you started calling yourselves leaders. That is why most of you often find it difficult to bend a little backwards and report to your constituencies on how you are serving them.

    The focus of some of you, as soon as you reach Abuja or your state capital or even the headquarters of your Local Governments automatically shifts from service to the people (which was your promise) to self service. And the betrayal is not of the electorate alone. It also affects your matrimonial homes.

    Surrogate spouses

    Since most of you are in those headquarters without your spouses, the first thing you do after settling down is to search for alternative but illegitimate sexual partners who act as surrogate your spouses. And the cost is borne by the same betrayed electorate. Not only that. You also began your primary duty of legislating by first fixing your own salaries and allowances against all norms of morality and at the expense of those who made it possible for you to become legislators. We have started hearing of the varying figures of amounts of money you are regularly sharing as inconvenience allowances even prior to the commencement of your legislative duty.

    You turn the privilege of legislating into a right and use it to intimidate the poor masses and ride roughshod over them. When you occasionally pretend to interact with those masses it is for the purpose of preparing their minds for the next election in which you hope to be returned, possibly, unopposed. And for this reason, you cunningly pay them pittances while making another fake promise to improve their well-being during your second or third term.

    Some of you have spent twelve or eight years in those legislative houses. Yet, there is no sign at all in your immediate constituencies that anybody is representing the people of those constituencies. You are satisfied with their milling around you for pittance even as you assume that they are satisfied with such pittance.

    Self aggrandisement

    When you travel abroad officially, at people’s expense, you are never alarmed by the way political or economic systems work in those countries. The primary concern of some of you is the latest cars plying the roads of those countries and the most magnificent mansions in their estates that you consider as befitting to your new status. Thus, when you return home, your next goal is acquisition of those elements of vanity. That is why every political office holder in Nigeria today is riding or eager to ride the newest jeep from the European, American or Japanese factories even as you own or want to own mansions in the choicest estates in Nigeria. Why won’t corruption be legislated into legitimacy?

    And now, Nigeria is held to a standstill because you must doctor the annual budget presented to you by the executive to your own favour so that the largess generated by the executive arm may be jointly shared in the spirit of ‘rub my back I rub yours’.

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

    Reminder

    Perhaps it is necessary to remind you that everything in this world is based on condition. The world itself did not come into existence without condition. Man was originally created to be Allah’s servant in the garden called the earth. And all other things in that garden were ordered to obey and serve man on condition that he (man) would also obey and serve Allah. That service was not an imposition. It was voluntary.

    Before putting man in charge of the world at all, Allah had consulted far and wide with all the stake holders concerned. Each of them declined responsibility except man who, out of greed and arrogance, volunteered to take charge and be responsible for it.

    Allah states this clearly in Q. 33 V. 72 thus: “We offered the ‘TRUST’ (of the world) to the heavens; to the earth and to the mountains; but they refused to bear it and were afraid of it. Man who undertook to bear it, has proved to be unjust, foolish”.

    By consulting so far and wide, Allah had elicited and got covenant from every creature. Those among them, that declined responsibility cannot and will not be asked to account for the occurrences therein. Accountability of the world solely rests on man’s shoulder according to the covenant he reached voluntarily with Allah.

    Covenant with Allah is the most fundamental law of existence. It is not one sided. As man has responsibilities to bear so does Allah has obligations to fulfil. It is from the covenant with Allah that all other covenants in the life of man, including those of marriage, trust and confidentiality, are derived. That covenant is what others call oath.

    Oath of office

    In Islam, oath, whether private or public, does not necessarily require Muslims to carry the Qur’an in one’s hand as done in Nigeria particularly at this time when oath of office has become a meaningless symbol. No oath is ever made without Allah being a witness to it. Besides, He has assigned two Angels (Raqib and ‘Atid) to every human being as secret police officers. The duty of these Angels is to record all utterances and secret actions of each person to whom they are assigned. The one records good deeds, the other records evil deeds. Their recordings are both in video and audio forms.

    This is fact contained in Q. 50: 16 where Allah states that: “We surely created man and ‘We’ know the promptings of his mind and are closer to him than his jugular vein. We assign two guardians to watch him, one on his right and the other on his left. No utterance (from him) or action shall escape the records of these vigilant guardians….”

    It is from the functions of these invisible police that researchers came about the idea of video, audio and other technological devices used especially for espionage.

    Blind trust

    With this scenario, you can see what damage some of you (legislators) are causing to the present and future generations of this country in a bid to display your illegally acquired loot through corruption. By interpretation, the problem of corruption engendered by gross indiscipline in Nigeria today is not with the youths alone. It is rather more with the parents, some of whom are in the legislative arm of government.

    Nigeria remains in darkness today after 50 years of independence because the priorities of those of you in government are permanently at variance with the country’s national priorities. For instance, one would have thought that rather than fighting corruption the way Obasanjo presumably started it, what a focused and sincere government should have done was to initiate a re-orientation revolution to enable all Nigerians know why corruption is evil. The Murtala Muhammad and Buhari/Idiagbon regimes experimented this successfully and Nigeria was briefly better for it.

    Fighting corruption haphazardly as Obasanjo did during his agonizing eight year tenure is like starting the building of a house from the roof. Nigeria wasted those eight years chasing shadow in the name of fighting corruption while the monster kept feeding fat on the blood of poor Nigerians using ‘BLIND TRUST’ as cloak. That method must change.

    Rare opportunity

    Legislating is a rare opportunity to serve one’s nation meritoriously. But some of you seem to have turned that opportunity into one of self-enrichment as well as that of securing the future of your own children at the expense of the lives of other children. All these are done at the expense of the wretched people around you whose role in democracy has been relegated to voting once in three or four years. You have forgotten that wealth is Allah’s endowment which cannot be inherited except by Allah’s will. Who inherited the expansive wealth and kingdom of King Solomon? Haven’t you ever seen some money bags of yester years wallowing in abject penury today? When will you learn your lesson?

    My dear honourable legislators; search your conscience and fear God. Remember that some people had legislated for this country in the past. There were even those who usurped the roles of the executive, the legislature and the judiciary together, in the name of military rule, made possible by coup d’état. Where are they today?

    Legislation, like governance, has its tenure. Four years may look endless, but for the wise, it is not more than a flash of lightening which only a fool may want to rely upon while walking his way through the darkness of the night.

    Peculiar factor

    You are in the house of legislation to make laws for today and tomorrow. Ordinarily, that duty should be on part time and not full time basis in a serious country where patriotism holds sway. But since everything in Nigeria has a peculiar factor, it has become a rule that those who are legislating for us must take the lion’s share of our national cake even through the budget. That is why you randomly roar to the total embarrassment of the country that the President or the Governor must be impeached. Such impeachment becomes a serious business only when your salaries, allowances or social welfare are not provided as at when due and as you want. It does not matter to you whether or not the entire workforce in Nigeria remains unpaid for years or all the Universities in the country close down completely and permanently. It is rather shameful and disappointing that even some of you (especially Muslim legislators) can participate in such evil charade despite your proclamation of Islam.

    Conscience, though invisible, has a mirror which only a few people know of. That mirror is shame. A person without shame is a person without conscience. And that is the main distinction between a genuine Muslim and a nominal one. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) admonished thus in respect of shame: “once you are bereft of shame, you can go ahead to do whatever you like”. This means that without shame you are a nonentity who can even strip naked in the market place. We can all see the example of this in a former President of this country.

     Service to humanity

    Honourable legislators, let it be kept permanently in your hearts that the only thing which keeps people alive in history even long after their demise is service to humanity. Prophets Isa (Jesus), and Muhammad (SAW), had neither bank accounts nor estates to bequeath to anybody. Their heritage is more than any material wealth for the entire world today. That heritage is service to humanity. What is your own planned heritage if only for posterity? That is a big question which only people with conscience can answer.

    Remember that you are in a ship already voyaging on the high sea towards the shore. At the shore are the customs officers waiting to check the contents of your cargo. Be always at alert. Remember that if you cultivate friendship with Satan he will favour your wish. But if he grants you one favour, he will take ten from you in return. Be Muslims by name, conduct and mannerism. Whatever you do as Muslims will affect the image of Islam in one way or the other. I hope you will return home as Muslims that you claim to be and not as renegades. Remember all this and adjust now that you may be able to raise your head aloft when others will be losing theirs.

  • To the drawing board

    Preamble

    In a deeply thoughtful poetic out stanza, an Arab poet coined some philosophical wordings that have since remained axiomatic by all standards for people who can reason and draw the best lesson from the advantages of their reasoning. The wordings partly go thus:

    “We persistently blame our era for the calamities afflicting us when the only blame ascribable to our era is actually our own misdemeanour…….”

    Prompted by the news of another massacre last Sunday allegedly committed by the vandals called Boko Haram inside a Mosque in Kondoga, Borno State, where 44 civilians were reportedly killed in cold blood and yet another attack on the security forces in Bama leading to the death of 12 soldiers and seven policemen, this column, (The Message) quickly dusted its archive once again in search of facts about the wreath of thorns that littered our way to this stage of our common journey as a nation. And no document came more handy than a lecture delivered by His Eminence, Dr. Muhammad Sa‘ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto at Harvard University, the United States on October 3, 2011.

    The title of the 33-page lecture which had once been fully analysed in this column under the topic ‘A voice from Harvard’ was ‘Islam and Peace Building in West Africa’. In that lecture, His Eminence enumerated the causes and effects of violent crises in the West African sub region with particular reference to Nigeria. He blamed such crises on three major issues: (1) political struggle for supremacy between the elite and the poor masses (2) bad governance on the part of the ruling class and (3) primordial ethno-religious sentiments. The most prominent of these three issues according to him is bad governance which engenders corruption, joblessness, poverty, exploitation, suspicion and general bitterness in the land.

    Observation

    Looking at the situation of Nigeria as a nation abundantly blessed with enormous wealth, one will surely find a puzzling irony in the fact that some citizens of such a nation can be paid a paltry sum of N5000 by some agents of Satan to kill innocent people mercilessly and burn their property with impunity as in the case of Boko Haram. Also, the abysmal level of penury and squalor in the land seems to be a sharp contradiction of what Nigeria ought to be as against what she currently is vis a vis her wealth especially as the so-called ruling class lives in extravagant affluence while the masses live in abject poverty. There are many questions on this hopeless situation to which His Eminence’s lecture had proffered solution since 2011. The summary of the lecture is that no smoke can be found where there is no fire. However, while the Federal Government and its agencies focus on the effect of violence, His Eminence believes that it is only by tracing the root cause of our calamities that we can find a permanent solution to them.

    Excerpts from the lecture

    “….Many people (outside our country) consider Nigeria as a theatre of absurd conflicts and interminable crises. They may be justified in holding this view; with the Jos crises festering for years, with post-election violence and suicide – bombings, it is difficult to think otherwise. When we consider Nigeria’s population of about 150 million, half the population of West Africa; its over 250 ethnic and language groups; its regional and geo-political configurations; its landmass and its diversity in religion and culture; we may be constrained to reach a different conclusion. Nigeria may, after all, be a paragon of stability which, as God Almighty has willed, shall undergo all the trials allotted it early enough in its national history”.

    “But in all fairness, systemic ethno-political and religious crises, like the ones we have witnessed in recent years, do not have a long history in Nigeria. They all began in the late 1980s, following the intense competition for power and influence especially among the western educated elite; the Kafanchan crisis of 1987, in Southern Kaduna, was quickly followed by the Zangon Kataf and other crises; all in the same vicinity. The democratic dispensation, which began in 1999 also came with its set of problems, the most visible being the Shari’ah Crisis and the First Jos Crisis which led to the declaration of state of emergency in Plateau State”.

    But these crises, varied as they were, reveal the multi-dimensional nature of Nigeria as a political entity. We witness the primacy of politics in almost all these conflicts. In the struggle for power and political supremacy, politicians exercise no restraint in aggravating the socio-religious and ethnic cleavages, which characterize the geo-politics of the Nigerian state. It should not be forgotten that the Second Jos Crisis of November 2008 was also ignited by a botched Chairmanship election in Jos North Local Government”.

    Second Dimension

    “The second dimension to these crises, especially in Kaduna and Plateau States, is the indigene/settler dichotomy, which is yet to be addressed properly by the Nigerian State. Many ethnic groups in these conflict areas see the other ethnic groups as foreigners who should not enjoy the full rights of bona fide residents. Most of these disenfranchised Nigerians also happen to be Muslims. However, those who oppose this dichotomy argue that these so-called settlers had spent more than two hundred years in the areas they reside. Moreover, as Nigerian Citizens, they have the full right to reside wherever they wish and pursue their legitimate business without let or hindrance. After all, they cannot be settlers in their own country”.

    Third Dimension

    “The third dimension of Nigeria’s ethno-religious crises is their potential to become a systematic national crisis. When a person is killed in any of the areas of conflict, his co-religionists, especially in the cities react violently and begin to kill anyone they think is related to him. This often triggers further reprisals in other parts of the country where victims come from. It took a lot of efforts by the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council [NIREC] which I co-chair, and other state authorities, to treat each crisis independently and reduce the risk of systemic reprisals”.

    Fourth Dimension

    “The fourth dimension of Nigeria’s crises is poor leadership and the bad governance usually associated with its management. Many of those charged with authority in the states where these conflicts occur are also parties to the crises. They make feeble efforts to control the violence and do so only when much of the damage has been done…”

    Governance

    “….The issue of poor leadership and bad governance also explains how the Boko Haram movement has been able to transform itself from a small Hijrah group in Yobe State, escaping from the uncertainties and contradictions of the Nigerian State, to a militant movement able to wreak havoc and destruction once provoked. Those in authority were prepared to court the leaders of this group when it suited them and to trample on them like flies when they were no longer useful…However, the recent bombing of the United Nations Office in Abuja has introduced an international dimension to terrorist’s activities, a development, which is hitherto entirely new to Nigeria”.

    The promise of dialogue

    “….When I became the Sultan of Sokoto in November 2006, some of the major problems I found on ground were the after-effects of the Riots, especially in Kaduna, Jos and some parts of the North East as well as a disturbing atmosphere of mistrust, fear and hostility, especially between the leaderships of Nigeria’s two major religions: Islam and Christianity. To resolve these knotty issues we chose the path of positive engagement, which we thought would engender meaningful discourse, improve communication and understanding and change the dynamics of our operating environment to that of trust and confidence…”

    “….The Nigeria Inter-Religious Council [NIREC] provided the right platform for this engagement. The Council, itself a product of Nigeria’s ethno-religious crises, was composed of 25 members each from the two religions and co-chaired by myself, in my capacity as the President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria [CAN]. The approach of NIREC was simple and practical. Firstly, we affirmed the sanctity of human life, Muslim and Christian, and insisted that anybody who takes the law into his hands, regardless of the circumstances, must bear the full legal consequences of his action. You cannot believe it, but despite the frequency of these disturbances, only a few people have ever been punished for perpetrating any act of violence. The masterminds go scot-free. Secondly, while appreciating the fact that we are required to look after the interest of our co-religionists, we must pay attention to the other dimensions of our conflicts. As many were preparing to declare a religious war in Jos, for example, we laboured hard to draw attention to the other dimensions of the crisis. It was a conflict between Muslims and Christians quite alright, but it was not a conflict between Islam and Christianity. When Nigeria’s President called for a parley among stakeholders, we made bold to declare the Jos crisis a political crisis. Thirdly, we adopted a tactical approach to conflict resolution. Whenever, there is a break-out of violence, we work together to restore law and order and ask the quarrelsome questions later. We take this approach to minimise loss of life and to ensure that the crisis is contained in the primary area it occurred. Also, we devised a quarterly meeting schedule that took us to all parts of the country. It was heartening to many to see us working together and preaching peaceful co-existence and religious harmony even in areas, which never registered an ethno-religious conflict”.

    Duties of NIFAA

    “I must point out that it was also our view that inter-faith action should transcend conflict resolution. For it to be effective, it must affect the life of the common man. NIREC floated the Nigeria Inter-Faith Action Association [NIFAA] to take up this challenge and NIFAA has been very active in the control of the dreaded tropical disease: Malaria. We also find that we must act together to address issues related to electoral reform, good governance and anti-corruption. I am therefore glad to state that the goodwill and understanding which these activities were able to generate, have given impetus to the development of inter-faith dialogue to a new level. I always remember, with happiness, the seminar organized by the Christian Association of Nigeria [CAN] in April 2010, on ‘Knowing Your Muslim Neighbour’, where I presented a paper on the topic. The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs [NSCIA] gracefully reciprocated by inviting CAN members to its formal meeting in Kaduna, where the CAN representative gave a lecture on Islam in the Eyes of a Christian and both Muslim and Christian scholars, gave inspiring responses on the scriptural basis of mutual co-existence. Despite serious setbacks in recent months, many of us remain committed to this positive engagement and to the promise that dialogue offers the resolution to Nigeria’s ethno-religious crises”

    Looking ahead

    ‘’…Understanding the multifarious nature of Nigeria’s ethno-religious crises should strengthen our resolve and determination to deploy all the energies and resources at our disposal to see to their resolution. Our inability and reluctance to take meaningful action go to challenge not only our common humanity but also our self-worth. It is, therefore, important for us to appreciate, first and foremost, the importance of consensus building within the polity, with a view to ameliorating the current state of political polarization in it. The Nigerian political class must be able to speak and understand one another as well as to develop a minimum national agenda to chart the way forward. The political class must also be able to open dialogue on a variety of national issues, including the perennial problem of power rotation and willingly enter into agreements that they can honour with dignity….”

    “….Also, governance, at all levels, must translate into tangible benefits for all Nigerians, regardless of their ethnic and religious affiliation. Nigeria has the resources to make life more pleasant for its people. It is equally imperative to address the poverty problem as well as the needs of the youth population both in all the geo-political areas of the country. In a situation where over 50% of our population is jobless at less than 19 years of age, we are definitely sitting on a time bomb much deadlier than that of Boko Haram unless we take urgent action to defuse it….”

    “….Furthermore, there should be renewed determination to address both the Jos and Boko Haram sectarian crises. The Federal Government must take its security responsibilities seriously by effectively containing these crises. But beyond that, a genuine dialogue must be initiated, to begin healing festering wounds and to bring genuine understanding and reconciliation amongst the entire people of Plateau State and beyond. The social dimension of the Boko Haram cannot also be resolved by mere use of force. This is the reason why I have consistently suggested dialogue and education to counteract its message, especially those aspects dealing with modern education. Millions of Muslim pupils are already outside the school system. Millions more will definitely follow if urgent intervention is not undertaken to enlighten the younger generations. And the question I have always asked is What kind of society can we build in the 21st century when our youth turn their back on Science and Technology and are unable to produce the next generation of doctors, engineers and other specializations necessary for sustaining the socio-economic development of the society?….”

    Conclusion

    “….Finally, we should not neglect the impact of the International environment on Nigeria’s ethno-religious crises. Happenings in the US, Iraq, Afghanistan, Norway, Netherlands, the UK and France are as current and relevant as events in Jos, Maiduguri and Abuja. We must preach international tolerance and moderation. The fight against extremist groups should never be perverted to become a fight against Islam and its doctrines. We should all remember that in the final analysis, it is not what the perpetrators of violence do that really counts. It is the actions we take, individually and collectively, that would shape the fate of humanity….”

    Comment

    For those who can deeply comprehend the above excerpts from His Eminence’s lecture of 2011, there can be no better choice than returning to the drawing board for a permanent solution. In no part of the world has any wound inflicted by sectarian crisis been healed in the contemporary time through the barrels of guns. Nigeria cannot be an exception. The causes of our crises are much more fundamental than their effects. And addressing the effects alone to the exclusion of the cause may be an approach too far from the solution. God save Nigeria

  • Summary of facts

    At no time in the life of man can the true nature of human existence 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 spiritual train with no idea of their destination in the month.

    Segments of Ramadan

    At the beginning of this 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 it. That segment ended after 10 days paving way for the second segment that began the following day.

    During the 10 day period of the second segment, most fasting Muslims intensified worship (‘Ibadah) by spending their days and nights seeking Allah’s forgiveness and by chanting Istighfar. But such forgiveness was neither automatic nor free. Usually, conditions were attached to it. One of such conditions was for every fasting Muslim to admit his/her misdeeds and repent of them. The second was for such Muslim to voluntarily and genuinely seek forgiveness. And the third condition was to resolve never to return to such misdeeds again. To seek Allah’s forgiveness during the month of Ramadan, 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”. No one who abided by the above conditions and followed it scrupulously would ever be disappointed. Allah is both a promising and a fulfilling God. He never reneges on His promise. In Qur’an 2:186 He promises 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”

    Midway Ramadan

    Those second ten days were not just to consolidate on the blessings of the first ten days, they were also to prepare the fasting Muslims for the last ten days when they were expected to be fully liberated from the evil machinations of any Satanic forces.

    Human life is not measured by the time or manner of his or her death. In Islam, death is neither the consequence of sin nor the repercussion of ignorance. There are instances when the sinless dies and the sinful lives. There are also instances when the learned dies while the ignorant 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.

    Not even Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was spared of death or given a foreknowledge of it. Allah ordered him to say in the Q. 10:49 thus: “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”.

    This is a verse of the Qur’an which the ignorant ones have severally quoted and interpreted according to their whim. In their imagination, they want the Prophet to claim infallibility to enable them call him a liar.

    Nostalgia

    Some people dream but never live to realise their dreams. Some look but never see. It is only in the imagination of man that age should be a factor of death. We shall all die at our scheduled time. 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.

    In a few days time this year’s Ramadan will come to an end by the grace of Allah and we shall continue to look back with nostalgia to the good things we have done in the sacred month. For instance we shall remember that in no other month of Hijrah calendar is the role of Muslim women more pronounced than in Ramadan. Like in other months, they display the roles of wives, mothers as well as that of their husbands’ confidants. But more than in other months, they exhibit their religious dedication in Ramadan.

    In that sacred month they fast like their men counterparts. They pray five times daily like men do. They join those men in observing Tarawih. Some of them even attend Tafsir and public lectures. Yet they engage in their daily work just like their men counterparts either in the offices, shops, or farms. And they never relent in carrying out their matrimonial duties.

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

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

    And, in all these activities, they never feel tired. Where and when they feel tired, they never show it. If any month has ever depicted the virtues of women, it is Ramadan and the women activities in it. If for the reason of their activities in Ramadan alone, they deserve tenderness and dignified treatment in the hands of their husbands.

    We shall also remember the role of our children in the month and then endeavour to ensure the continuity of those rewarding activities.

    Allah’s greatest gift

    Children are Allah’ greatest gift to man. Their presence in a house is blessing. Their contribution is immense. Those are children for you. They can act as much of teachers just as they are of students. They learn fast, they teach fast. They are a major security for parents in any given environment.

    Children play both temporal and spiritual roles in a matrimonial life. And with such roles, they sometimes create hope for humanity and sometimes, they signal despair. They are the greatest asset in the possession of parents in time of peace. They are also the greatest weapon for them against the forces of Satan.

    Because of their innocence, they pave way for God’s forgiveness and quick acceptance of prayers. And, most importantly, children guarantee the continuity of man’s existence on earth. It is only with them that the fulfilment of today’s promise is possible tomorrow.

    In the Qur’an, children are mentioned many times and most often with reverence. They are treated in that glorious book as a major issue in the life of man. As orphans, they do not only have a role to play, they also compel some adults to play a role relating to them.

    As heirs to their parents, they have substantial shares in inheritance. Muslim children are like cubs. They follow the footstep of their parents or guardians a lot. They are often with their parents during the five daily prayers. They watch their parents as the latter give charity to the poor. They accompany them to public lectures and Islamic social gatherings.

    And, in Ramadan, children are part of the Muslims’ total spiritual package. They wake up with them at night. They fast with them in the day. They break the fast with them at sunset. They join their parents at Tafsir and night lectures. They participate in Laylatul Qadr and in giving Zakatul Fitr to the poor.

    In all these activities, they are supposed to be encouraged. At the tender age of seven, they should be guided to fast even if for half a day. And when they reach the age of 10 they should be strengthened in faith and in religious deeds. They should be provided with necessities of life both on the temporal and spiritual grounds. With these, they will grow up to become the fulfilment of their parents’ dreams.

    Most children grow up as good or bad Muslims by emulating their parents. A child is therefore what his parents make him. If advantage of Ramadan is not taken by parents to mould their children into good Muslims what other platform will be used? Your child is your sun. Make hey while it shines.

    Neighbours

    We shall also recall how we related to 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. According to Bukhari and Muslim, Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) was reported to have sworn by Allah three times saying: “he does not believe in Allah whoever creates fear in his neighbours atrociously”

    In another Hadith also reported by Bukhari and Muslim, the Prophet was quoted as saying that “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 to his neighbours, extending generosity to them and 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 consanguine relatives.

    It does not matter whether the neighbours are Muslims or non-Muslims. Neither does it matter whether they are tribesmen or non-natives. The Prophet did not discriminate in his Hadith when he was admonishing on neighbours. And that is the inalienable position of Islam on neighbours. Whoever, had quarrelled with his neighbours, therefore, let him go and settle the quarrel.

    Besides abstaining from foods, drinks and sex, in the month of Ramadan, a good Muslim must mind his relationship with people around him including neighbours. Fasting in the month of Ramadan cannot be taken in half measure. Whoever wants to receive full rewards for his religious activities in Ramadan let him treat his neighbours well. And, when Ramadan is over, the good deeds must be kept on. 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.

    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 argument which ensued, 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.

    Place of mosques

    One delightful thing in the sacred month was to note that Nigerian mosques were full of Muslim youths. By this, a silent Islamic renaissance seems to be going on especially in Nigerian society. It looks like a repeat of the situation that led to the formation of the Muslim Students’ Society (MSS) in 1954. With this development, two great possibilities are expected to sail Islam through the coast of good hope in the 21st century. One is the return of the mosque to its original objective. The other is the inalienable continuation of Islamic 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 agent of photosynthesis in this case is Islam. And, the fulfilment of this prophesy is gradually being confirmed today either by technology or science.

    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. 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 and a parliament. 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, Rio and Sydney. And, there is no difference between the mosque in Sokoto and the one in Rio de Janeiro .

    Generally, the mosque plays a central role in fortifying the unity of the Muslims wherever they are. But unfortunately, with time and crave for personal benefits, the mosque has been relegated to just a place for Salat alone. That is the real cause of the backwardness in which the Muslim Ummah is now wallowing. With the experience of the sacred month fasting Muslims have gained bounteously. Such bounties must not be lost. Today is the last Friday in this year’s Ramadan. It is our wish and prayer that we shall play active and positive roles during Ramadan in the years ahead in sha’Allah. Once again, ‘The Message’ column wishes its teeming readers, especially Muslims, Ramadan Karim and ‘Id Mubarak in advance.

     

  • Why not Hijrah holiday?

    It never rained but poured in November last year when Nigerian Press stirred up brouhaha over the declaration of one day Hijrah holiday in the State of Osun by Governor Rauf Aregbesola. A particular Southwest newspaper went completely off the track over the issue and exhibited untold ignorance in a manner of a king dancing naked in a market place by writing an editorial on the matter thereby subjecting itself to public ridicule. It was a display of blatant ignorance shamelessly celebrated by some other newspapers of the like.

    Shortly after that episode, another Governor of a Southeast state (Imo) declared six weeks holiday for Christmas against the constitutional tradition of two days that Nigerians are familiar with. And the same newspapers that earlier sparked brouhaha kept mute in what confirmed unbridled sectarian hypocrisy typical of shamelessness in Nigerian professional journalism. The connotation of their silence in the second case cited above is that the declaration of one day Hijrah holiday was wrong because it was not inherited from the colonialists whilst the six week Christmas holiday was right because it tallied with their religious interest even if it was unjust and contradicted the norm of conscience. That is the extent of slave mentality in Nigeria as often exhibited in the name of religious chauvinism.

    Succinct assessment

    Taking a retrospective assessment of the two above-mentioned scenarios after six months (last May), a well known Professor of Medical Biochemistry, Abdul Kareem Hussain, decided to chronicle the historical background of all the known calendars in the world as a way of tutoring some ignorant, self-arrogated Nigerian journalists on the essence of Hijrah holiday for mankind. Though a Medical Biochemist, Prof Hussain’s intellectual wellbeing has never restricted him to any straight jacket enclave of literacy because he knows the difference between literacy and knowledge. To him, literacy is merely a means of documentation of events and occurrences while knowledge is like a farm where all necessary crops must be planted and harvested for the assured survival of the farmer.

    Yours sincerely first had an encounter with this intellectual colossus in 1984 when he delivered a public lecture on Hijrah calendar at the Yoruba Tennis Club, Onikan, Lagos, where many Nigerians first got the idea of Hijrah calendar. In that lecture, he did such a thorough analysis of the subject that he thereafter became a reference point for most researchers on Hijrah and the use of calendar. The summary of what he said on that occasion, according to my records is as follows:

    Experienced narration

    After many millennia of incessant wandering in search of sanity and reason man was able to sight the crescent of civilisation. While he advanced along with his new crescent, he reflected on his past wanderings and thought of sharing the experience of this with his successors in order to leave a mark of guidance on the threshold of life. Civilisation, therefore, taught man to chronicle the experiences of his peregrination on earth by the means of calendar. And today, the chronology of events and the human evolutionary development are traceable only to the beginning of the use of calendar.

    By definition calendar is a system of reckoning time in which the beginning, the length and divisions of a year are arbitrarily defined. It is a table that shows the months, the weeks and the days available in one specific year. It is a schedule especially one arranged in chronological order as of the case on a court docket.

    Types of calendar

    Since the discovery and the use of calendar as an aid to historical records the world has journeyed through various stages of reckoning events through time and space. The use of calendar itself is a pointer to the earlier civilisation of the races or communities which made use of it. One of the earliest calendars which have helped in piloting human history through the millennia is the Chinese calendar which is supposed to have begun in 2379 B.C. In this Calendar, years are reckoned in cycles of 60, each year having a particular name that is a combination of two characters derived schematically from two series of signs, the celestial and the terrestrial. Months are also reckoned in cycles of 60 that are renewed every five years and each month consists of 28 to 30 days.

    There is also the Jewish calendar used by the Hebrews which engaged in the reckoning of time from the year of creation as based on a periodic cycle of 19 years with the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th and 19th year of each cycle designated leap years.

    This is followed by the Hindu calendar which began in about 400 CE. It is Lunar-solar in nature and the Hindus believe so much in it even till date. In this calendar, the solar year is divided into 12 months in accordance with the successive entrances of the sun into the signs of the Zodiac, the months varying from 29 to 32 days.

    Another calendar is the one called Roman calendar which is an ancient lunar calendar designating the days of the new moon as the ‘calends’ and the days of the full moon as the ‘ides’ while the 19th day before the ‘ides’ are designated as the ‘nones’. The original Roman calendar, introduced about the 7th century bc had 10 months with 304 days in a year that began with March. Two more months, January and February, were added later in the 7th century bc but because the months were only 29 or 30 days long, an extra month had to be intercalated approximately every second year. Thus, the days of the month were designated by the awkward method of counting backward from three dates: the calends, or first of the month; the ides, or middle of the month, falling on the 13th of some months and the 15th of others; and the nones, or 9th day before the ides. This rendered the Roman calendar hopelessly confused especially when officials to whom the addition of days and months was entrusted abused their authority to prolong their terms of office or to hasten or delay elections.

    Pagan origin of Roman calendar

    Most of the months in the Roman calendar were dedicated to various gods of the Romans. The calendar, though got the blessing of the Christian leadership and was refined by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 CE, as polytheistic token. For instance, January from ’Janus’ is the Roman god of doorways and beginnings. February from ‘Februs’ is the Roman god of purification. March from ‘Mars’ is the Roman god of war. May from ‘Maia’ is the Roman goddess of growth and spring season. April from ‘Aprilis’ is the month of the goddess of love and beauty. June from ‘Juno’ is the sister, the wife and coequal of Jupiter, the supreme Roman god. July named after Julius Caesar and August after Augustus Caesar. The months of September, October, November and December indicate 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th respectively in the old Roman calendar. These last four months are a misnomer in the order of numerals within the calendar. For 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th in numerals to represent 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th months in the calendar are incomprehensible. But they were retained for sectarian sentiment.

    The Julian calendar

    Also in 45 BC, Julius Caesar decided to use purely solar calendar on the advice of Sosigenes who flourished in the 1st century. This calendar, known as the Julian calendar, fixed the normal year at 365 days, and the leap year, every fourth year, at 366 days. Leap year is so named because the extra day causes any date after February in a leap year to “leap” over one day in the week and to occur two days later in the week than it did in the previous year, rather than just one day later as in a normal year. The Julian calendar also established the order of the months and the days of the week as they exist in present-day calendars. In 44 BC, Julius Caesar changed the name of the month Quintilis to Julius (July), after himself. The month Sextilis was renamed Augustus (August) in honour of the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus, who succeeded Julius Caesar. However, some authorities maintain that Augustus established the length of the months we use today. The Gregorian calendar which puts January as the first month of the year was adopted by England and America in 1752. It is the calendar now commonly used throughout most parts of the world.

    Other calendars

    Yet, there are other known calendars which include the Roman ecclesiastical calendar used by the Catholic sect, the French revolutionary calendar introduced by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1793, the Gregorian calendar introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 CE. But by far the most authentic of them all is Hijrah calendar because of its uniqueness and eventfulness as authenticated by its clear historical background. The idea of putting this calendar into use was suggested by Caliph Umar Bn Khattab in Madinah as a historic landmark for Islamic religion. And it has since been in use throughout the Muslim world especially in determining the beginnings and ends of every lunar month as well as Muslim festivals.

    Qur’anic source of Hijrah calendar

    Of all the calendars mentioned above, Hijrah alone, which is the Muslim divine calendar, is unique for its eventfulness and clear historical background. Its dating began on the 16th of July 622 CE a day after the migration of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) from Makkah to Yathrib (Al Madinah). After a non-such persecution and threats to his life by the Makkah pagans, the messiah of mankind had to migrate for the safety of his life and, by implication, for the rescue of humanity from the wildness of inchoation.

    Whereas every month of Hijrah calendar has spiritual importance apart from the universality of its blessings for mankind, its effect from 622 CE is only symbolic of modernity as it actually came into existence over 5,000,000 years ago when it was decreed and its months were christened by Allah Himself. The Qur‘an testifies to this as follows: “Surely, the number of months with Allah is twelve months in one year in Allah’s decree since the day when Allah created the Heavens and earth. Of these months four are sacred (Muharram, Rajab, Dhul- Qa‘dah and Dhul-Hijjah). This is the only straight and righteous path”. (Q. 9: 36). No other calendar can be so referenced in any revealed Book other than the Qur’an. The twelve months mentioned are Muharram, Safar, Rabi‘ul Awwal, Rabi‘uth-Thani, Jumadal ’Ula, Jumadath-Thaniyah, Rajab, Sha‘ban, Ramadan, Shawwal, Dhul Qa‘dah and Dhul Hijjah. Thus, the significance of Hijrah calendar is manifest not only in the eventfulness of its historical background but also in the divinity of its months. Unlike other calendars which were imposed for the purpose of worshipping material gods or to subject people to psychological subservience, Hijrah calendar is an evidential indication of human salvation. And besides, it has divine sanction. Nigeria is for us all and no one should think of creating an environment of subservience for a major chunk of the populace.

    Conclusive tutorial

    In his conclusive submission, Professor Abdul Kareem aims at educating Nigerian media to the effect that Hijrah was not peculiar to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as some other Prophets had preceded him in emigration. For instance Prophets like Nuh, Ibrahim, Lut, Ismail, Ishaq, Ya‘qub, Yusuf, Shu‘ayb and Musa, all emigrated from place to place before finally settling down. Of all these, only Prophet Muhammad’s Hijrah has a direct bearing on the practice of Islam. And since no Muslim has ever objected to the declaration of any public holiday for the adherents of other religions in Nigeria, it will be foolhardy for any responsible person to constitute himself into a cog in the wheel of Islam in any part of the country by opposing a declaration of Hijrah holiday constitutionally for Islam. In a sane society whatever is considered good for the goose must equally be good for the gander. But those who take their hatred for Islam as a hobby should know that no amount of barking even by millions of dogs can ever halt a surging train.

     

    Watch out

    As traditional of ‘The Message’ column, a daily column to be called RAMADAN GUIDE will be published for 30 or 29 days during the coming sacred month of Ramadan. It will contain a thorough exposition of some verses of the Qur’an as well as analyses of some Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) plus jurisprudential explanation of some hitherto ambiguous areas in all possible ramifications. Watch out! This may be your greatest means of becoming authentically familiar with Islam. And besides, it may provide an opportunity for pious Muslims to trade with Allah by sponsoring the 3×2 space earmarked for that purpose.

    Muslims hold conference on democracy

    The popular Premier Hotel, Ibadan, will be playing host to a conglomerate of Muslim clerics and laity from all parts of Nigeria between July 6 and 7, 2013. The conference will afford such people the opportunity to discuss Nigerian democracy as it affects them and their faith. The objective is to further examine the compatibility of democracy with Islam and be better informed about it. The conference will create a good avenue for participants to know the role expected of Muslims in it to enable them disseminate same to others. This is the first time a conference of this nature is being held in Ibadan. Abuja was its venue in the previous years. Attendance is strictly by invitation.

  • The Guantanamo irony

    The Guantanamo irony

    History is a well known phenomenal teacher. It teaches the old and the young alike. It examines its students from time to time and gives them examination results. Its lessons are generational across races and cultures. But then, it faces a fundamental problem. That problem is not in repeating itself perpetually but in getting mankind to understand its teachings and heed its warning.

    In virtually all celestial religions, history plays such a prominent role that gives it the permanent identity of a teacher. And from its beneficial teachings, human beings build experiences with which they keep life going. In both the Bible and the Qur’an, we are told of arch enemies of God’s message who dramatically turned round to become voluntary Ambassadors of the same message to which they had been antagonistic. One of such enemies was Saul, an avowed anti-Christ who dramatically accepted the message of Jesus after the latter’s ascension and adopted Paul for a name. The other is Umar Bn Khattab who had plotted the murder of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) but dramatically accepted Islam on the day he was to carry out his plot and eventually became a Caliph of Islam.

    Jesus had wished that Saul, a well educated person, accepted his message but that wish did not materialize until after Jesus had left the stage. If Saul had not accepted Christianity when he did, perhaps the situation of that religion would have been different today. In the case of Umar Bn Khattab, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) had prayed to Allah to enable one of the two famous persons bearing Umar in Makkah accept Islam. Although his mind was on the other Umar, it however turned out that Umar Bn Khattab was the one favoured by Allah. And Umar Bn Khattab’s acceptance of Islam became so remarkable that the Prophet said of as follows: “Were there to be another Prophet after me, Umar would have been”.

    Now, a similar fin of history has reached the United States of America where a morbid hater of Islam and torture agent of that country, dramatically embraced Islam recently. It is an indicator of a future shock for which the West must be prepared. Why was it that after the conversion of Saul, the Greek Empire and subsequently the Roman Empire adopted Christianity as an official religion? Why was it that after Umar Bn Khattab embraced Islam, the whole of Arabia formally accepted that Divine Faith as state religion? And by analogy, shouldn’t America be getting ready for a similar eventuality? The coded bile of history is ordinarily bitter but when it becomes a part of the body system, survival without it becomes impossible. It sounded odd when speculations began that Rome could adopt Christianity as state religion. It sounded unbelievable that Arabia could adopt Islam as official religion. But reality eventually prevailed and today, the rest remains a property of history. In the same token, I, far from prophesying, foresee a day when America will become the home base of Islam to give the genuine Divine religion an impeccable reality of life. As it happened in the past, the doubting Thomases may commence their repugnant arguments from here.

    Who is Terry Holdbrooks Jr.?

    He is an American and native of Huntsville in Alabama, United States. He grew up a troubled kid with junkie parents that dumped him at age 7 on his ex-hippy grandparents to be raised. By 18, he’d completed both high school and trade school which is suggestive of brilliance on his part. He indulged in drugs, illegal sex, rock-and-roll and tattoos through which his ink would eventually cover his arms from shoulder to wrist. His earlobes were stretched to a plug that a thumb could pass through.

    Thus, when he walked into an Army recruiter’s office in Arizona a year after 9/11 saying he wanted to join the Army, to be able to kill people and get paid for it, the recruiter looked up briefly and turned back to his computer saying “No, thank you”.

    It was only during his fourth visit to the recruitment office that he was allowed to take the military’s aptitude test (ASFAB) and the recruiter realised the potential in him. Then, Holdbrooks signed up for military police because it offered a bonus. And when his unit was transferred to Guantanamo, the sergeant detoured through New York to take them to Ground Zero where he told them to “remember what Muslims did to us and who you are supposed to protect”.

    So, Holdbrooks arrived at the hot, seared base expecting hulking killers in every cell. What he found were doctors, taxi drivers, professors. One scary “terrorist” was 12. Another was in his 70s and dying of tuberculosis. Holdbrooks identifies himself as antagonistic, questioning, independent person. He is naturally suspicious – and found his suspicions turning in a surprising direction.

    How Islam beckons

    The 29 year old Terry Holdbrooks Jr., enrolled in American Army in 2003/2004 and was posted to Guantanamo Bay (which is a detention camp for people pronounced as criminals) as a military Police officer. Part of his duties was not just to prevent those detainees from escaping but also to escort them to interrogation rooms and then return them to their cells. He knew the kind of stresses and tortures those detainees were undergoing in repeated questionings. He had dodged their thrown poop when anger ripped down the row of mesh wire cages. When detainees were punished with the “frequent flier program,” he’d moved men from one cell to another, every two hours, round the clock.

    All along, his perception and understanding of Islam was not dissimilar from those of his military colleagues in Iraq, Afghanistan or even Guantanamo Bay. However, the thought of accepting Islam as a rightfully guiding religion crossed his mind after several months of conversation with the Muslim detainees in that camp.

    Holdbrooks has since published a 164 page book on the episode of his journey to Islam but he verbally told the story especially his observations about the controversial detention camp to a congregation of 80 people at the Huntsville Islamic Centre in Huntsville on Saturday, May 25, 2013 in which he revealed that “most of those detainees have lost hope in life. They’ve decided it’s better to die as one of them is down to 70 pounds.”

    Before he became a Muslim, Holdbrooks was wearing the beard of a bald Amish guy, the tattoos of a punk kid and the twitchy alertness of a military policeman. Take him to a restaurant, and he’ll choose the chair with its back against the wall. Take his photograph and he’ll prefer to look away from the camera.

    Now, he is travelling around America with Khalil Meek, a co-founder and executive director of the Texas-based Muslim Legal Fund of America. They are raising money for that non-profit civil rights organisation, which helps pay legal fees to free American Muslims who have been accused of vague crimes or placed on no-fly lists and other restrictions under the increasingly broad “anti-terrorism” provisions.

    Even beyond raising money for legal defence, Holdbrooks said he wants to stir Americans to action through his book which is available for sale online at www.GtmoBook.com.

    To hear from the horse’s mouth here is what he said about the book: “I tell this story and I wrote the book so idiot-simple that anyone could read and understand that the existence of Guantanamo is something to be ashamed of. I just want to share information with people in depth and then let them make up their minds.”

    Constructive rumination

    At Guantanamo, Holdbrooks mulled over the information which the Army instructors had taught him along with others about Islam after watching the so-called terrorists, days after days. What he’d been told wasn’t lining up with what he observed. He noticed that the detainees read their Qur‘an. They kept their daily schedule of prayers and remained undiscouraged under horrendous pressure.

    “How can you wake up in Guantanamo and smile? How can you believe there’s a God who cares about you?” Holdbrooks asked amazingly. He quoted one of the Muslim detainees as saying: “I am happy to have spent time in Guantanamo. Allah was testing my ‘deen’ (faith). When else would I have had five years away from all responsibilities, when the only thing I had was my Quran, and I could read it and learn Arabic and mental discipline from it”.

    “Fortunately for us,” Holdbrooks said. “Most of them are bigger men than some of us would be.” As he got to know the detainees, and learned their stories during his long night shifts, he came to see them as individuals many of whom enjoyed talking about the same things he does: Ethics, philosophy, history and religion. Many others had let him know what they thought of the 9/11 attacks which they believed to have violated the teachings of Islam.

    In appreciating their endurance, patience and courage, Holdbrooks said: “Here, I had all the freedom in the world, and I was miserable while they had nothing, and they were happy. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that something’s going on.”

    During the time he had off from his escort and cleaning duties at the prison, Holdbrooks began to read more about Islam online. One prisoner he engaged in discussions most of the time, a former chef from England, gave him his own copy of the Quran.

    “You’ve got to realise the significance of that,” Holdbrooks said, his tough bravado breaking for a moment. “He’s been in this cage for 23 and a-half hours every day. If you lose your Qur‘an, you’re out of luck. That’s it. You’ve lost everything.”

    It took him three nights to read Glorious Book. As a restless seeker in his teens, he had studied Christianity, Buddhism and Judaism but never saw much sense in them. In the Quran, for the first time, he found a religious text that meets his logical criteria. And after reading it satisfactorily, he said; “It made sense from the beginning to the end. It doesn’t contradict itself. There’s no magic in it. It’s just a simple instruction manual for living.”

    And after three months of intensive study and conversation, Holdbrooks told the Muslim detainees one night that he wanted to become a Muslim. And in response, the detainees explained the implication of that to him. They said: “Converting to Islam means you would have to change your life style including your diet. You will quit drugs, drinking, profanity and tattoos. Then, be prepared for good relationship with everybody – wife, neighbours, the Army and the government”. Thus, little by little, Holdbrooks made the changes as he found a measure of health, discipline, family and peace of mind which he never had before.

    Return to happiness

    By the end of 2008, he had found himself wondering with the question: “When last was I happy?” And the answer, he realized, surprised him: When he was in Guantanamo – because there he was being a good Muslim.

    Holdbrooks has been clean-minded since 2009 – a victory he credits to following Muslim dietary codes, including daytime fasting several days every week, not just during Ramadan. Last fall, he returned to a decent family life by marrying a nurse he met at his Mosque. They had spent a year of careful acquaintance in accordance with Muslim guidelines and he has just finished a bachelor’s degree in sociology. Nowadays, he spends most weekends travelling with the Muslim Legal Fund of America to tell his story. Holdbrooks is, today, a part of a small, but growing, number of former Gitmo guards who are speaking out about conditions at the torture camp and are calling for the camp’s closure. Besides, he has a message for fellow Muslims thus:

    “If Prophet Muhammad (SAW) were to come back to Earth today, people would find the best examples of Islam in the United States. American Muslims have a responsibility to live their faith so that others can see a true example, not the perversions of the terrorists or the tyranny of corrupt governments. He concluded that: “For every little step I took toward Islam, Islam was taking more steps toward me”. Thus, the man who was employed to quench the glow of Islam became a propagator of Islam in America.

    Watch out for Ramadan guide

    In a few weeks time, Ramadan, the king of all months will be here again, In sha’Allah. What does it take to meet it? How can one thrive effectively in it? What are the activities therein? What are the preparations for it? What does it hold for couples? What becomes of one after it? These and many other relevant questions will be answered through RAMADAN GUIDE to be published daily as usual throughout the scared month. Watch out for it!

  • Tablet of knowledge

    If we work marble it will perish; if we work upon brass time will efface it; if we rear temples they will crumble into dust; but if we work upon immortal minds and instil in them just principles; we are then engraving that upon ‘TABLETS’ which no time can efface but will brighten to all eternity”. Daniel Webster (1782-1852)

    Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, the Governor of the State of Osun, being a black man from Africa, may not have many things in common with Daniel Webster, the white American author of the above quotation. But venturing into the inner rooms of both men’s minds individually, one is likely to discover a common signpost upon which a common indelible identity is inscribed. That identity is FORESIGHT which is the hallmark of statesmanship. Incidentally, both Webster and Aregbesola are statesmen in different lands and at different times but with similar goal. And, in their unified identity, both of these extraordinarily oratorical men will go down in history as statesmen with footprints on the sands of time.

    Daniel Webster is, today, globally remembered for his forthrightness and vocal championship of justice both of which have put his name in the history’s hall of fame. Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’s uniqueness in setting pace for African leaders in the realm of governance has conspicuously marked him out as a vertical political leader in the midst of horizontal others. If the phrase ‘Giant Stride’ bears the insignia of achievement, it must be synonymous to Rauf Aregbesola in connotation. Of all the elements of legacy that can be bequeathed to any human being, none is comparable to knowledge. It is only with knowledge that the continuity of human civilisation can be guaranteed across generations and times. This is an axiom upon which Ogbeni Aregbesola placed a premium for the certainty of today and the assurance of tomorrow.

    Going by the quoted poem above, any sensible person will confirm that in contemporary Nigerian system of governance only the ingenuous ‘Tablet of knowledge’ (Opon Imo) is qualified to be the mother of all legacies. The thought of it was right. Its design was right. Its environment is right. Its time is right. And since all it takes to be right in governance is to get things right no pleasant success of today can turn into a bitter failure tomorrow except by accident of negligence. With the ‘Tablet of Knowledge’ at hand for secondary school pupils in Osun State who says the time for renaissance is not here? While presenting the wonder ‘Tablet of Knowledge’ publicly penultimate Saturday, Ogbeni Aregbesola stated thus inter alia:

    “The idea of an electronic tablet is not our invention, and we make no such claim, for it would be patently false. But we have made something completely unique out of the existing idea. Hence, we make bold to say that Opon Imo is a tablet like no other on the face of the earth. As we speak, learning devices are usually e-readers that require internet connectivity to access their library resources. But Opon Imo stands alone. It is a complete library in a single computer tablet. It’s a complete and closed system that cannot interface or interconnect with any other system, because it does not need them to function. It was commended at Harvard University and by the Mayor of Pittsburgh who made no disguise of his admiration for the device.

    It is a first-of-its-kind standalone learning tablet in the world for self-paced study. It provides three major content categories vis-à-vis, e-library, virtual classroom, and an integrated test zone. The virtual classroom category contains 63 e-books covering 17 academic subjects for examinations conducted by WAEC, NECO and JAMB as well as non-academic life-enriching subjects such as History of The Yoruba, Sexuality Education, Civic Education, Ifa on ethics and morals, enterprise education, hints and tips on passing SSCE and ‘How to live a Healthy and Happy life’. This section also contains an average of 16 chapters per subject and 823 chapters in all, with about 900 minutes or 15 hours of audio voiceovers.

    In the integrated test zone of the device, there are more than 40,000 JAMB and WAEC practice questions and answers dating back to about 20 years. It also contains mock tests in more than 51 subject areas, which approximates to 1,220 chapters, with roughly 29,000 questions referencing about 825 images.

    From the foregoing, there can be little argument that Opon Imo is a veritable tablet of knowledge that levels the learning playing field for all students from different social backgrounds. It allows students to learn at their own pace, wherever and whenever they choose. It provides robust and uniform learning content for all students, and offers a feedback mechanism for monitoring their performance.

    Opon Imo also has the advantage of offering a highly interactive computer-based learning and testing environment. Opon Imo weighs 1.1kg. Its small size and light weight allows for flexibility in its use, which means a student armed with Opon Imo can learn walking, sitting or even lying down. With Opon Imo, learning becomes fun, easy and interesting. Because this tablet of knowledge is going to be distributed free to our students, it not only relieves their parents of the financial burden expended on learning materials, it likewise relieves the students of the burden of their book-laden backpacks. As the Mayor of Pittsburgh enthused, it also relieves students of ‘bad back’. His argument is that carrying a heavy backpack is bad for the back, therefore doing away with backpack is good for the back.

    Opon Imo has numerous other advantages. It can be solar-powered; it can record audio lessons; saves students the stress of copying notes and spares them more time to learn; facilitates early exposure of students to ICT; it has up to six hours of battery life; and its touch screen makes for easy use. To crown it all, this little device will greatly facilitate our free education policy by saving the state a lot of money that would have had to go into procuring text books on an annual basis. Indeed, the saving is humongous. Were the state to engage in the physical purchase of hard-copies of textbooks for the 17 subjects taught in our public schools, hard-copies of 51 audio tutorials, hard-copies of JAMB and WAEC past questions and answers for all subjects for a period of 10 years, it would (conservatively speaking) cost a whopping sum of N50.25billion.

    In addition, we do not have to buy books as long as the tablets are in use. We also cannot quantify the cost of the virtual classroom which does not even exist anywhere, except in Opon Imo.

    The introduction of Opon Imo is a precious high point in our comprehensive plan to totally remake the public school system in Osun. Our first concern after our inauguration was education. We discovered then, to our chagrin, that only three per cent of secondary school leavers in the state had the requisite pass for admission into tertiary institutions. We quickly held a summit of education stakeholders which looked into the state of education in the state and made far-reaching recommendations.

    In a world tilting inexorably towards ICT, Opon Imo is a bold statement of our determination to qualitatively redefine public education. With Opon Imo, we are certain to open the doors of good education to more of our students who would otherwise have been denied that priceless opportunity. Through education we are rescuing our children from possible misery. As Victor Hugo famously put it, “He who opens a school door, closes a prison’. Through Opon Imo we are opening more doors to more students to learn. By educating our youths we are also doing our society a world of good for an educated society will most likely be a better society. This is duly affirmed by Maya Angelou who pointed out that, ‘When you know better you do better”. With this milestone and those words of wisdom can anything else be called ‘FORESIGHT’? In a nutshell, the ‘SOURCE’ remains the ‘SOURCE’.

  • City key for ‘nomadic’ scholar

    City key for ‘nomadic’ scholar

    One good turn, according to an adage, deserves another. Perhaps nothing encourages good deed as much as appreciation. To show appreciation for good deed is to ask for more. This is what Ilorin indigenes did to the delight of all well-meaning people penultimate Sunday when they came together from all walks of life to treat an intellectual ‘settler’ to an appreciative reception. The occasion was a sort of gala night in royal regalia.

    It was a rare gathering of the crème de la crème of Ilorin indigenes who uniquely clustered the Kwara State Banquet Hall to clad one towering non-indigenous scholar in a historic wreath of honour. The cynosure of the august gathering was an international household personality whose contribution to the development of the city in the past two decades has remained non-such. Whether in Africa or even in the world academic circle, Professor Ishaq Olanrewaju Oloyede the immediate past Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin is like a golden fish which has no hiding place. But it takes only men of worth to recognise a vertical man of worth with special reverence.

    The relevant question here is not who and who attended the occasion but who and who were not there? Where you have colossal names like those of Governor Abdul Fattah Ahmed; former Governor Bukola Saraki; the Emir of Ilorin, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Sulu Gambari; the former Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Alfa Belgore; the former President of the Federal Court of Appeal, Justice Mustapha Akanbi who chaired the occasion; the former Special Adviser to the President on security matters, Major-General Muhammed Abdullah Adangba; an erstwhile Grand Khadi of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdul Kadiri Orire; the Immediate past Grand Khadi of the State, Justice Mutallib Ambali; the current Grand Khadi, Alhaji Harun Idris who was eminently represented by Justice S.O. Muhammad; the Kwara State’s Doyen of the Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), Alhaji Salman Alarape; the 2011 Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governorship candidate, Alhaji Dele Belgore (SAN); the current Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Professor Abdul Ganiy Ambali; the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Professor Shuaib Oba Abdul Raheem; the Vice-Chancellor of the Kwara State University, Professor Abdur-Rasheed Naala; the Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Saka Onimago who stood in for the Governor; Alhaji Saka Sa‘d a former Chairman of the University of Ilorin Council and coordinator of the reception; Prominent city indigenes like Alhaji Sa‘d Belgore; Justice (Mrs.) Raliatu Elelu-Habeeb; Alhaji Usman Ajidagba; Arch. Faworaja and Professors Kuranga. Of course, there several personal friends and associates of Professor Ishaq Oloyede such as Mallam Yusuf Olaolu Ali, Professor Yusuf Lanre Badmus, Professor Wahab Egbewole, Dr. Aliu Badmus, Alhaji Jamiu Ekungba and Alhaji Jamiu Afolayan were all there to grace the historic occasion. Besides, the rank and file of Ilorin Muslim Clergy including the Chief Imam of Ilorin, Alhaji Muhammad Bashir Al-Fulani, the Imam Gambari Alhaji Said Al-Gambari and Imam Imale, Alhaji Abdullah Abdul Hamid, as well as a retinue of other important personalities too many to mention here.

    Though, admission into the Banquet Hall was strictly by invitation, virtually all sectors of Ilorin society including the professional, the economic and political groups, the social and traditional communities, as well as the academic and religious bodies were proudly represented. In the citation of the honouree eloquently read by Professor Yusuf Lanre Badmus, Professor Oloyede was virtually described as a signpost of guidance beaming light to all directions of the environment to the benefit of all and sundry. The hallmark of his achievement is in the education sector where as a former Vice-Chancellor, he was generally acknowledged as an exemplar.

    Professor Oloyede is not the only non-indigenous scholar of international repute resident in Ilorin. But his selfless service to humanity in that city without thinking of the factor of indigene-ship stands him out of the crowded pack. In recognition of his unique service and in acknowledgement of his indelible legacy therefore, this Professor of Islamic Studies whose ambition of becoming a fellow of African Academy of Science was recently fulfilled has added a further step to his footprint.

    Socially, Ilorin is a highly civilised city with a fertile soil of profound knowledge on which towering intellectuals in various fields of leaning grow uninhibitedly. A realm of oriental and occidental diffusion though, Ilorin still maintains her cultural and traditional trait. These are manifest in the people’s marital life style, extended family affairs, economic and moral conduct, maintenance of cultural chastity and veneration for the Emir, the Galadimas and other elders.

    Intermarriage and tribal interaction through urbanisation has shown the old city as a typical example of an isogloss. And today, it may be very difficult to know by conduct or by appearance who is not a true son of the soil.

    All the people irrespective of their tribes, tongues and creed automatically acclimatize and acculturate in the perennially peaceful environment created by the ancestors of the city. Hospitality, chauvinism and radiation of ecstasy, are entrenched in the culture of Ilorin inhabitants. However, an average Ilorin son is allegedly trained to be crafty and this earns the inhabitants the appellation ‘’Ilorin mesu jamba’’ meaning Ilorin the custodian of craftiness.

    Religiously, people see Ilorin through the spectacle of Islam. This is hardly disputable since more than 80 per cent of the in habitants are Muslims. One can attribute the overwhelming beam of Islam on the city to the early romance by courtesy between Alimi and Afonja in which the earlier converted the latter to a Muslim. More may be said about Ilorin in this column in future. By virtue of the key to the city offered him by the assembly of indigenes, Professor Oloyede can genuinely claim to be an indigene of Ilorin. That is the fruit of education. Or what else can one say?

  • This mysterious world

    Ordinarily, today’s article would have focused on two historic events that came up early this week both of which deserve readers’ attention. One of those events took place in Ilorin the capital city of Kwara State where a nomadic settler was honourably given the key to the city by the indigenes. The other occurred in Osogbo, the capital city of the State of Osun where for the first time after Prophet Musa (Moses) a tablet of knowledge was distributed to each of over 150,000 Senior Secondary School pupils as a takeoff of a gargantuan educational project. Yours sincerely was a witness to the one and just heard news about the other. But since both would be better taken together, the need to get the details of the one not witnessed has compelled the deferment of writing on both as hitherto planned, hence today’s topic. As often mentioned in this column, the problem of any genuine newspaper columnist is not a dearth of ideas but a deluge of them. Thus, choosing a theme from those ideas alone out of the many that are throwing themselves to you (as a columnist) vigorously and competitively is enough a problem. By the grace of Allah, ‘The Message’ will vividly bring the happenings in those two events to the readers in the very near future. Meanwhile, today’s article is equally very important. Please, come along:

    Strange Episode

    Our world is mysterious. And the more we make efforts to demystify it the more complex it becomes. Not even humanity’s greatest footprint (science and technology) has succeeded in demystifying the phenomenal web we call ‘the world’. While browsing through the internet recently, yours sincerely stumbled on a strangely amazing episode. A young man of about 28 years was reported missing for some days by his parents in Thailand. By the time his dead body was found somewhere in a bush, journalists in that country were jumping up to write an exclusive story. Bruises of snake bite were found all over his body. And, surprisingly, a monstrous python was also found lying lifelessly by his side. Examining the python, the police also discovered human bites all over its body. The conclusion then was that perhaps a furious duel between man and reptile had led to mutual death. But the story did not end there. The young man was also found to be pants down with a dangling condom firmly fixed to his manhood. This suggested the possibility of a sex attempt. Could he have attempted to rape the python? That was a mysterious question begging for a mysterious answer.

    On a personal reflection, yours sincerely guessed that the man might have lured a young, beautiful damsel into a hideout perhaps for a marathon sexual orgy. But on getting to the point of action, the damsel decided to show her true self by turning into a python, and a duel ensued. Or why would a young man wear condom and remain half naked in such a circumstance with such a brutal reptile? This story quickly reminded me of a topic I wrote in this column some years ago which was entitled ‘THE WORLD OF JINN’. Linking that topic to the episode just relayed above may provide a possible clue to the mystery surrounding the death of a man and a python almost arm in arm. I therefore decided to recall the article if only for the benefit of those who did not read it when it was first published. Please read on:

    The Terrestrial World

    “We live in a world of mystery. A world in which things don’t look what they seem. Yet we base our daily lives on mere assumption. How we sleep, how we wake, how we escape dangers around us, all these are known to Allah alone. The forces of this terrestrial world are numerous and mysterious. Some are visible, some are hidden. The planet inhabited by man is a garden not meant for man alone. There are kingdoms of other creatures: the animals, the birds, the reptiles, the plants, the insects, the worms and the aquatic creatures all of which exist interdependently. And through their coexistence, the ecosystem gains its harmony. For each of the above creatures there are races and tribes which in technical language are called species. Yet there are other creatures that cannot be seen by the naked eyes of man without the aid of technology. Some of these include the viruses and the bacteria. Unknown to man, every one of these creatures has its way of glorifying Allah. And, if asked to describe the features of Allah, a vivid description of itself will be given. This shows that every creature perceives God in its own image. Allah Akbar!

    The World of Jinn

    The world of Jinn is another world entirely. It is a world wrapped completely in mystery. The details of how man and Jinn came to share the planet called the earth are known only to Allah. But who actually, are the Jinn? Jinn are beings created by Allah from the flames of fire and given free will. They live on earth in a world parallel to that of man. But they are invisible to human eyes in their natural form. The Arabic word “Jinn” is from the verb “Jannah” which means to hide. Some other words from the same verb root are given names such as Janin and Janan which mean embryo and heart respectively to reflect their hidden nature. Jinn, like human beings, are in races and tribes. Their activities are elicited by their various cultures and traditions. Some of them are called fairy. Some are called demons and some are called devils depending on their roles in the lives of human beings. In Islam, the unbelievers among Jinn are called Shaytan (Satan) the plural of which is Shayatin and their paramount king is called Iblis. We first heard of Iblis in some verses revealed to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) by Allah in the Qur’an.

    Shortly after the creation of Adam, Allah asked the Angels, with Iblis in their midst, to prostrate to him (Adam). They did but Iblis refused. And, when asked why he refused to obey the command of Allah, he said he (Iblis), created from the flame of fire was superior to whatever was created from the soil. That was the beginning of hostility between man and Jinn as declared by Iblis on the premise of envy. Noting this hostility, Allah warned Adam and Hawau (Eve) to steer clear of the antics of Iblis and his disciples in order not to be lured to perdition. But with cunning and intrigue, Iblis succeeded in demoting the first human couple. The rest is history.

    Types of Jinn

    Jinn are of various heights, sizes and colours just like humans. They also have different languages and cultures depending on the race or tribe to which they belong. But one unique feature with which they are commonly endowed and, which man lacks, is the ability to change into anything they want at will. Jinn are believed to have lived on earth for millions of years before the creation of man. It was from the experience of their lawlessness and bloody existence while they held sway on earth that the Angels got the idea which informed their initial objection to the creation of man. Without such experience the Angels would not have attempted to advise Allah “not to put on earth again those who would vandalize it and shed blood therein” as contained in Q. 2, Verse 31. Neither would they have known what is called blood.

    Jinn are everywhere in the world today. They are in every home, community, country and continent. Jinn live in people’s homes as much as they live in people’s hearts and wombs. It is possible to marry jinn as a wife or as a husband without knowing. It may sound odd but the truth is that most people keep jinn in their homes in the name of children. There are Jinn in the schools, in the markets, in the industries, in the offices, as well as in the Mosques and Churches.

    The Jinn in Human Environment

    The constant human tampering with the ecosystem has compelled the Jinn to change their style of living. Hitherto, they lived in the forests, in the mountains, in rivers, in trees and in certain animals. But as towns and cities emerge from the ravages of the forests and mountains the Jinn take to human homes as abodes thereby sharing from man’s immediate environment in all aspects. Today, Jinn do not only live in human houses, farms and offices, they also live inside their hearts, brains and blood. If there is anything called colonisation in the real sense, it is the occupation of human space and time by the Jinn. That human marriages which were once sacred do not last any longer and societal harmony, once taken for granted, has become a luxury are a sign of Jinn’s demonic grip on earth. Most people in authority who we call Presidents, Kings, Queens, Governors, Ministers and law makers have significant traits of Jinn which have transformed into humans. Politicians particularly fit very accurately a Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) which described a hypocrite as a person who lies while speaking and reneges on promise and betrays trust. Here in Africa, only a few Heads of States do not show the traits of Jinn, judging by their utterances and actions. And that is why decisions of those so-called leaders were based on ‘a do or die’ affair as in the case of Nigeria and Zimbabwe in recent times.

    In Arabic language, a person is said to be demonised (majnun) when his/her conduct is devoid of human feeling. To be demonized is to act deliriously especially where human touch is expected to take the front burner. It is not a surprise, therefore, that some people in authority reflect some traits of megalomania in their bid to display power. Such people are, no doubt, from the yoke of Satan. However, Jinn, as special creatures, do not represent all that is bad. There are good ones among them. Some of them are even more pious than human beings. In Islam, the good Jinn are said to be the disciples of Ifrit.

    Jinn in the Qur’an

    In the Qur’an, Jinn are mentioned about 35 times in relation to their activities and good or bad nature. A whole chapter of the Qur’an (chapter 72) is dedicated to the Jinn especially the good ones among them. It is about this category of Jinn that Allah revealed to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) thus: “Say it is revealed to me that a group of Jinn listened to Allah’s revelation and said: “We have heard a wonderful revelation (The Qur’an) giving guidance to the right path. We believe in it and shall henceforth serve none besides our Lord. Exalted is His glory. He has taken no wife neither has He begotten any child. The ignorant ones amongst us have uttered wanton falsehood against Allah even though no man or Jinn is supposed to tell what is untrue of Him…” Q.72, Verses 1-7. Just as good people are scarce so are good Jinn. The latter associate only with good people and relate to them as comrades in faith. In the same vein, the evil Jinn relate to evil people in the spirit of give and take. No evil Jinn can be so friendly with any human being as not to demand 10 advantages in return for only one he has offered. Men who cultivate friendship with Jinn for the purpose of getting rich quick usually and invariably pay dearly for such. When you hear of mysterious death of a wife or that of a husband or even that of a child, watch out, a Jinn is at work somewhere around. Such Jinn are not known for serving man for free. They see us as permanent rivals who must be dealt with for displacing them on earth. And their active way of dealing with human beings is to offer carrot which they know that evil men will not reject. To them, carrot is not a free offer. It must be followed by stick. It is not by accident that children are born these days with two heads, four legs and at times without faces. The workings of Jinn are more effective in the dead nights or in the day when the sun is at its peak. Pregnant women who wander about at these odd times are likely to have encounters with the evil Jinn. And, in such a situation, the Jinn easily supplant the foetus in them leading to the bearing of strange monsters in the name of children.

    Cohabiting with the Jinn

    While good Jinn live or mill around Mosques and cemeteries with the intention of cleansing those environments, the evil Jinn live in the toilets, refuse bins and the like. That is why Muslims are not supposed to talk inside the toilet except for emergency. And they should not stay a second longer than necessary therein. Most people do not know the danger inherent in leaving the toilet doors of their homes ajar especially when such toilets are un-kept. It is an ignorant way of providing abode for evil Jinn who fuel matrimonial crises from time to time and use reptiles and insects like spiders and wall echoes to harass the inhabitants. The situation of the world today is such that human beings are the ones living in the midst of Jinn and not vice versa.

    Using wealth, women and wine as fetters, Satan seems to have conquered the world from the orient to the occident by gild-washing evils and trivialising good even as his agents are active in furthering his course on all fronts. Today, there are men everywhere but no husbands are available. Women are as numerous as the sands of the desert but only a few of them can be called wives in the Islamic or African cultural sense. Today, parents are scorned by their children. Students treat their teachers with disdain. Teachers take undue advantage of their students before letting them cross the huddles of examinations. Doctors and nurses who were once seen as good Samaritans are now the merchants of death and sellers of foetus and human parts. People who are designated judges are the custodians and incubators of injustice. Religious sanctuaries have been turned into satanic shrines where men and women are duped or satanically hypnotised daily. Those we once venerated as clergy have audaciously become Lucifer reincarnate. Fathers impregnate their daughters. Mothers seduce their sons into abominable sex and gays are consecrated as Bishops.

    Allies of Jinn

    All the abominations against which we were warned in the Qur’an and the Bible have now been turned into ‘profitable’ trades and professions. And the yardstick for measuring which crime should be punished and which should not is the social status of the criminal. If, for instance, you are not a legislator, a minister, a Governor or a chief executive of a bank or a politician of note, do not pilfer. If you do and are caught, you will liable to the full wrath of the law. And on the other hand, you can only be said to have embezzled and not stolen if you are one of those wielding power in the country. In other words, embezzlement is for the upper class while theft is for the pedestrian masses. And the one deserves official forgiveness while the other must forced to pass through the whole length of law process. The law of the land has no meaning to the satanic forces governing the country. Once you belong to the right cult you are above the law. As a result of this, Nigeria, a country of natural boom is now a nation of satanic doom.

    The Big Question

    Who will rescue this land from the scourge of demons? Prophet Muhammad (SAW) had proffered solution to all these evil forces when he asked the Muslims to listen to the words of Allah by reading the Qur’an and speak with Him (Allah) by prostrating in prayer. Those are two things that the evil Jinn do not want to see or hear of. They flee from where the Qur’an is constantly recited and from where human beings often prostrate to Allah. As Muslims, which of these can you not do to save the future from the bondage of the present?

  • Islam’s charter with Christianity

    In this column last week, I promised to recall an article consisting the charter which Prophet Muhammad (SAW) led the Muslims to sign with the Christian leadership in 628 CE. Promise is a debt which a gentleman must fulfil. Please, read on:

    “In the introduction to his autobiography entitled ‘My Odyssey’, Nigeria’s first democratic President, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe wrote:

    “Man comes into the world and while he lives, he embarks upon a series of activities absorbing experience which enables him to formulate a philosophy of life and to chart his courses of action. But then, he dies. Nevertheless, his biography remains a guide to those of the living who may need guidance either as a warning on the vanity of human wishes or as encouragement or both”.

    The above philosophical quote serves as a reminder of what the divinely appointed Apostles of God represented in the lives of their followers. Those Apostles were men who came into the world as Ambassadors of one and the only God. Yes, they came at different times, from different lands and with different tongues nevertheless, their message was only one and the same. That message is like a nation’s diplomatic mission abroad. Any qualified person could be appointed as an Ambassador to manage the mission. And from time to time the Ambassador could be changed but the mission remains the same as much as the nation which they represent remains a nation. Some of those Ambassadors could though be empowered as plenipotentiary it is unimaginable that any of them would deviate from the diplomatic policy that makes him an Ambassador for his country.

    Thus, from Adam, the great ancestor of man to Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the last of all Apostles of God, the message of God was one and the same because those Apostles were all sent by only one and the same God. If any difference is perceived in their mission, it could only be attributable to human ignorance through interpretations or misinterpretations in time and space.

    Each time I hear of killing, maiming or resorting to terrorism in the name of religion I feel scandalised. This is not just because I belong to a religion and I am involved in its propagation but also because I know the value of life and the vice in terminating it extra-judicially. Personally, I see those who kill people of other religions for the simple reason of difference in faith as brutal vandal waging war not just against humanity but also against God. Anybody who kills or maims or indulges in terrorism may claim to be an adherent of a religion but cannot genuinely claim to be acting for that religion. No divine religion prescribes killing or maiming as an act of worship. Religion may be used surreptitiously as a cover for such heinous acts but the real motive is far from religion.

     

    Conversation

     

    In a fortuitous casual conversation sometime ago over Nigeria’s disturbing political situation, a top Christian cleric enthusiastically told this columnist that Nigerians were the most religious people in the world. Yours sincerely did not agree with his assertion but to avoid any argument relating to religion I decided to keep mute. However, not comfortable with my silence, my interlocutor asked for my reaction to his statement. And when I asked him for the evidence of his alleged religiousness in Nigerians, he cited the ubiquity of Churches and Mosques as well as the length of time people spend worshiping in those sanctuaries as evidence. He added that even Muslims worship on Sundays nowadays citing examples of NASFAT, FATH QUAREEB and other ‘Assalatu’ groups.

    In response, I grinned amusedly and shook my head in disagreement. I then told him that in Islam, worshiping does not necessarily take any lengthy time as the number of times to worship per day is divinely specified and no daily Salat takes more than ten minutes on the maximum. I said as for the ubiquity of Churches and Mosques in Nigeria, it is not only an evidence of disunity among the so-called worshippers but also an indication of deification of ‘MONEY’. And while insisting that religion is the biggest business in Nigeria’s private sector today, I concluded that most Nigerians would rather sweat for the purpose of money than for the love of God citing the shameless preaching of prosperity and atrocious style of accumulating wealth by the so-called religious leaders as examples.

    I then challenged the Reverend gentleman to imagine removing money from Churches and Mosques in Nigeria today and see what would remain of them. I also went further to correct his misconception that Muslims now worship on Sundays by pointing out to him that Muslims only resorted to congregating on Sundays for prayers when Thursdays and Fridays which served as their cultural weekend days before Nigeria’s colonisation were forcefully turned into Saturdays and Sundays for them by the colonialists. After a long time of silence the Clergy man nodded in agreement with my analytical observation and confessed that until then he never gave any thought to the atrocious role which money plays in Nigeria’s religious activities.

     

    Evidence of Ignorance

     

    What most Nigerian leaders of Islamic and Christian religions do not seem to know is that the refusal of the adherents of both religions to study and understand the doctrines which guide those religions is the main cause of religious disharmony in the country today. This is however, not peculiar to Nigeria. It is global. Both Christians and Muslims jointly constitute more than half of the world’s population. And, it is from their common pond that the spiritual ripples which consistently make the world restive emanate. If the adherents of both religions had endeavoured to mutually study and understand the doctrines that guide their ways in life, the world would not have come under religious spell as we have today.

    How many Christian or Muslim leaders know, for instance, that in recognition of Jesus Christ as his predecessor and fellow Apostle, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) signed a charter with some Christian leaders in the year 628 CE and the charter remains valid till today? In that year (628 CE), a Christian delegation from St. Catherine’s Monastery went to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to seek the protection of the Islamic government under his command. The objective was to elicit the support of the Islamic government in ensuring their security against the aggression of the Persian Empire. (St. Catherine’s Monastery is the world’s oldest Monastery located at the foot of Mt. Sinai which has a huge collection of Christian manuscripts second only to those of the Vatican and is known as a world heritage site). Prior to that event, many verses of the Qur’an had been revealed to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) acknowledging the divine mission of all the Prophets preceding him (Muhammad (SAW) including that of Jesus Christ. And because of those revelations, no Muslim can claim to be a true believer in Islam without accepting Jesus the son of Mary as a Prophet of God. One of those revelations states as follows:

    “The Apostle of Allah (Muhammad SAW) believes in what was revealed to him and so do the entire Muslim faithful. Every one of them believes in Allah, His Angels, His Books and His Apostles. We do not discriminate against any of His Apostles. They say “we hear and obey (the laws brought by those Apostles). Grant us your forgiveness Oh Lord! To you we shall all return….” (Q. 2: 285).

    Another verse of the Qur’an states: “There is no compulsion in religion. True guidance has become distinct from stray. Whoever renounces evil and believes fully in God has grasped the most reliable chord that never breaks. God is all-hearing, all knowing” (Q. 2: 256).

     

    The Charter

     

    In response to the request of the Christian representatives cited above, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) granted them a written charter of rights as follows: “This is a message from Muhammad the son of Abdullah serving as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far that we (Muslims) are with them. Verily, I and all the servants of God, as well as the helpers of Islam hereby make promise to defend Christians because they are my citizens and by God! I hold out against anything that displeases them. No compulsion is to be on them (concerning their way of worship). Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries. No one should destroy a house of their religion or damage it or loot it. Whoever violates this has breached God’s charter and disobeyed His Apostle. Verily, Christians are my allies and have my secure charter against all they hate. No one should force them to fight for a course in which they have no belief or compel them to migrate against their wish. Neither is the sacredness of their covenant to be violated nor their Churches to be disrespected. And if any damage should happen to their Churches, they must not be prevented from repairing them. No Muslim should disobey this covenant till the Last Day (end of the world)”. For details, see www.aljazeera.com and check Aljazeera Magazine under Middle East Online. By this charter, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) asserted that Muslims and Christians were brethren in faith and no one of them should fight against the other on the basis of religion. And by validating the charter till the great Day of Judgment, the Prophet had precluded any future attempt to revoke the privileges contained in that charter by any nation, group or individuals. By implication, those privileges are inalienable. Besides, one remarkable aspect of the charter is that it did not stipulate any condition for Christians to enjoy the privileges.

     

    Reciprocation

     

    Believing that being followers of Jesus Christ was enough a condition to enjoy those privileges, the Prophet assumed that the Christians, would be civilised enough to reciprocate that unprecedented gesture wherever they coexist with Muslims not only by tolerating the latter’s mode of worship and way of life but also by refraining from any naked or avowed act of provocation against them which could precipitate a religious rancour. Another noticeable aspect of the charter is the Prophet’s silence on any payment by the protectorate Christians which was the general practice among nations in those days. Thus, that ‘Charter of Rights’ was a free gift. And from it the reason becomes clear why the Islamic State under the command of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) or any of his rightly guided disciples who became Caliphs never crossed swords with any Christian group or nation throughout their regimes. If any wars like those of the crusades ever broke out subsequently between Christians and Muslims it was centuries after the demise of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and the Caliphs and that could not be attributed to Islam as a religion. Such could have happened due to a deliberate breach by either or both sides on the basis of human whim.

    And in upholding that charter, the second Caliph, Umar Bn Khattab, refused to observe Salat inside the Church of Jerusalem when he visited the area following the liberation of that region by the Islamic State from the Persian Empire in which Zoroastrianism (worshiping of fire) was the religion. The Church of Jerusalem had been cleared by Muslim soldiers for the observance of Salat which Umar, as Head of State, was to lead. But when he was invited to lead the Salat, he simply ordered the soldiers to find another place for Salat and keep the Church intact for the Christians saying he would not do that which the Prophet prohibited. He then warned the Muslims who accompanied him never to convert Churches into Mosques for that would amount to bad precedent capable of breaching the Prophet’s charter with Christians.

    Prior to the Prophet’s migration from Makkah to Madinah, a prophetic revelation came into the Qur’an in 616 CE which confirmed the brotherhood of Islam and Christianity. That revelation which formed a whole chapter in the Qur’an was entitled ‘The Chapter of Rome ’. It started thus: “Rome, (the nation of the Christian Greeks) has been defeated in a neighbouring land. But after their defeat, they shall (themselves) gain victory within a few years. Allah is the Supreme Commander before and after. On that day (when they become victorious), the believers (Muslims and Christians) will rejoice in Allah’s help. Allah gives victory to whoever He wills. He is the Mighty One, the Merciful. That is Allah’s promise; He never reneges on His promise” (Q. 30: 1-5).

    And true to that prophecy, the Roman Empire surprisingly defeated the Persian Empire to the ecstasy of the Muslims just nine years after that revelation and thereby paved way for Christianity to be off the manacle of the pagan Persian Empire and to thrive once again side by side with Islam. Besides, the name of Jesus Christ is mentioned about 37 times in the Glorious Qur’an giving more details about his birth and disappearance than can be found even in the Bible. Also a whole chapter of the Qur’an is dedicated to Mary the mother of Jesus confirming her chastity and the miracle of the birth of Jesus. That chapter is called ‘The Chapter of Maryam (Mary).

     

    Orientalists’ Antics

     

    However, despite all the indisputable facts mentioned above, the Western Orientalists and others who seek to foster discord between Christianity and Islam continue to focus and disseminate the differences between both religions with the intent of causing permanent conflict among their adherents. Those are the people who want the world to believe that this same Prophet Muhammad (SAW) held the Qur’an in one hand and the sword in another forcing people to accept Islam or be ready to die. The depth of their ignorance does not even reflect the illogicality of such blatant lie as the Qur’an was not compiled into a book when the Prophet was alive. And if one man had such a power to intimidate multitude enemies would he be forced to migrate?

     

    Conclusion

     

    The doctrine of one God one mission purportedly shared in the world today by three religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) cannot be from the same perception. Each of these religions has its own revealed Book and the adherents practice their faiths according to the doctrines contained in those Books. It will therefore be wrong of adherents of one particular religion to adjudge those of others as deviants or infidels who must be exterminated.

    Religion is like an examination. Those who sit down to write it using blue ink pen must not turn themselves into examiners using red ink pen to mark it. Paradise is Allah’s own domain. He admits whoever He wishes into it. And this is done not necessarily by sheer mortal’s recommendation. Only the Almighty Allah who chose our parents for us without our knowledge before we came into this world and who knows where each of us would finally be buried has the final say on everybody’s destination.

    If the truth must be told, the real cause of religious conflicts in Nigeria is not intolerance as often hypocritically claimed by some people but provocation under the guise of religion. Nigerian press is particularly guilty of this by fueling such provocation. It is wrong to expect tolerance to thrive in a society where provocation and injustice refuse to abate. Propagating a religion by denigrating another is an act of provocation. And those who want peace to prevail in Nigeria must desist from such intolerable act.

    Nigerian Church and Mosque leaders must refrain from negative sentiments and hypocrisy by dissuading their followers from interpreting the misbehaviour of some miscreants to mean the prescription of the religion they proclaim.

  • Summit for peace

    Summit for peace

    In every moment of frenzy there must be a pacific indication of tranquility. Such indication came to the fore twice in the past one week in Nigeria. One took place in Abuja on Thursday, May 16, 2013. The other surfaced in Ibadan on Sunday, May 19, 2013. Yours sincerely was a witness to both. At Abuja, an international conference was organised to further the course of peace by an international Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) called Global Peace Foundation (GPF). The objective was to douse any prevalent religious tension in Nigeria by ventilating conducive atmosphere for peaceful coexistence of all and sundry. Thus, the leadership of the two Nigerian prominent religions (Islam and Christianity) were invited as the horse’s mouth from which the multitude Nigerian adherent of both religions could hear the sacred rhyme of interfaith.

    Among the prominent personalities invited to the conference were His Eminence, Dr. Muhammad Sa‘ad Abubakar III, who is the President General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) as well as the Sultan of Sokoto and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor. Both are co-Chairmen of Nigerian Inter-religious Council (NIREC). The facilitator was Bishop Sunday Onuoha. Some other important personalities present at the occasion include the first Governor of Rivers State(1967-1975), King Alfred Diete Spiff, the Amanyanabo of Twon Brass; a one-time Governor of Imo State, Major-General Ike Umaru Sanda Nwachukwu; the Prelate of Methodist Church, Bishop Olu Makinde; the former Chairman of EFCC, Alhaji Nuhu Ribadu; a former Minister of State for Education, Hajia Aisha Duku; the former Director of Nigerian Arabic Village, Professor Tijani Almiskeen, a frontline member of the Nigerian Council of Ulamai, Barrister Muzammil Hanga; a onetime Editor of New Nigeria newspaper, Hajia Bilkisu Yusuf and a host of others including yours sincerely. The venue of the consultative summit was Abuja Sheraton Hotel.

    His Eminence, the Sultan, could not personally attend but was ably represented by a brilliant and very articulate traditional ruler, His Royal Highness the Andoma of Ndoma, Nasarawa State, who captivated the audience with his unsurpassed eloquence while marshalling facts with figures. His submission was greeted with a very thunderous applause and overwhelming ovation. The opening remark he gave on behalf of His Eminence the Sultan became the main axis around which other speeches were weaved. Each of the speakers emphasised the need to de-politicise religion and tribal differences especially in Nigeria.

    Global Peace Foundation (GPF) is an international non-profit making organisation intended to promote world peace and cooperation with the motto “One Family under God.” Established in 2007 by Hyun Jin Preston Moon, a son of the South Korean founder of Unification Church, Sun Myung Moon, the Foundation was originally called the Global Peace Festival and later changed to Global Peace Festival Foundation before it finally assumed the name Global Peace Foundation (GPF). The International President of the Foundation is Mr. James P. Flynn who, in his welcome address, called the attention of the audience to the modern technological advancement which he said has turned the entire world into a global village but is unfortunately helpless in promoting global peace and tranquility among races of mankind.

    While admitting that the current challenges of insecurity are not peculiar to Nigeria, Mr. Flynn asserted that Nigeria could however surmount those challenges if such vices as corruption, drug and human trafficking as well as tribal and religious conflicts could be effectively curbed through the utilisation of the modern technology for peace building. According to him, no nation can correctly claim to be educated and civilised through political or economic means to the detriment of peace building and he concluded that only identification and respect for individual uniqueness can facilitate an identity of common humanity with one family under God.

    The summit was a vivid reminder of a historic pact which Prophet Muhammad (SAW) signed on behalf of Islam with Christian leaders from St. Catherine’s Monastery in 628 CE to facilitate peaceful coexistence of adherents of the two religions. The details of that pact were published in this column on March 12, 2010. But since they still remain very relevant the article may be recalled very soon.

     

    New exco for Oyo Muslim community

    In Ibadan, Oyo State, all roads led to the multibillion naira residence of Alhaji Abdul Azeez Arisekola Alao, the Aare Musulumi of Yoruba land last Sunday. Leaders of Islamic faith consisting of men, women and youth trooped into Aare’s residence from all parts of the state for a unique meeting at which a new foundation was laid for rebuilding the state’s Muslim Community. Present at the occasion were the Chief Imam of Ibadan land, Sheikh Busari Shuara Haruna III; the Chairman of Ibadan Muslim Community who is also the Chairman of Central Council of Ibadan Indigines (CCII), Alhaji (Chief) Mustapha Adebayo Oyero; the Iya Adini of Yoruba land, Alhaja Sekinat Aderoju Adekola; the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) who is also the outgoing Chairman of Oyo State Muslim Community, Alhaji Abdul Waheed Akin Olajide; the Ibadan Imamate in Council; the National Council of Muslim Youth Organisations (NACOMYO); the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN), the Federation of Muslim Women Associations of Nigeria (FOMWAN) the collective body of Muslim Professionals; and a galaxy of other invitees from Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti and Lagos states.

    The occasion was meant for the inauguration of a new Executive Council for Oyo State Muslim Community. Prior to that occasion, an electoral college (Majlisu Shura) headed by Dr. Daud Amoo (Alaga) was appointed to elect a new Executive Council following the completion of the tenure of the former Executive Council led by Alhaji Akin Olajide. The new Executive Council as announced by the Chairman of Majlisu Shura is being led by Alhaji Ishaq Kunle Sanni the erstwhile National President of NACOMYO while the new Secretary is Alhaji Murziq Bidemi Siyanbade who replaces the outgoing Secretary, Alhaji Abdul Wahab Gbadeyanka.

    The occasion was unique not only because of the seeming vibrancy in the formidable leadership of the new Council but also because of the Ummah’s great expectations from it. Alhaji Kunle Sanni is nationally known for his relentless Islamic activities and his unflinching dedication to the course of Islam innately and outwardly. He is the first national President of NACOMYO which he had jointly nourished to the national level with some other brothers and sisters in Oyo State. NACOMYO started locally as Council of Muslim Youth Organisation of COMYO which he (Kunle Sanni) lifted to the national level. He has since been in the frontline of Islamic activism both at the regional and national levels.

    Today, as the Chairman of Muslim Community of Oyo State, Kunle has assumed a new posture that may create a new hope and engender new and higher expectations in the State’s Muslim Ummah. And he seems to be very much aware of this and he showed preparedness for it in his acceptance speech. In that speech, he remembered the occasion which brought Abubakr Siddiq to the Caliphate after his election by a shura following the demise of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). He therefore started his acceptance speech using the same words that Caliph Abubakar used in accepting his choice as the new Chairman thus: “My dear people, you have made me your leader though I am not the best of you; If you find me doing well, please, support and encourage me; But I make mistake do not hesitate in correcting me for I am neither perfect nor infallible….”. He then went ahead to make certain promises with which to allay the fear of the Ummah by stating that with the new Executive Council, a revolution was in the making for the administration of the Community during his tenure. “I can assure you with the support of our fathers, the Imams and the Muslim elders in the State that in sha’Allah this tenure will be a success story. We shall use our Mosques effectively as it is being done in other parts of the world Madrasah, Hospitals and Marriage Counselling and settlement of communal or interpersonal rifts within the Community”. The new Chairman of the called for the cooperation of Muslim professionals and thanked all and sundry particularly Aare Arisekola Alao whose incessant support has become a permanent pillar of reliability.

    The new secretary is also like the new Chairman in dedication and commitment to service. His nomination, like that of the Chairman did not meet any opposition. The duo have thus become like a pair of scissors sometimes dwelling differently but firmly tied together naturally to jointly operate effectively. More than ever before, this is the time that the Muslim Community of Oyo State needs every one’s cooperation to remain afloat.

    The Message wishes the new Executive Council of Oyo State Muslim Community a very successful tenure and spiritual strength to carry out the assignment ahead of it with Allah’s guidance and support.

     

    Nature’s voice

     

    An adage in Yoruba language becomes axiomatic when the above narrations about peace conference in Abuja and inauguration of a new Executive Council for Oyo State Muslim Community are compared to the natural disaster last Monday in the United States. That adage states that though vulture and the monkey dwell in the same forest, their ailments are dissimilar and their cure remain dissimilar. While the vulture is bald on the head, the monkey is bald in the bottom.

    It was another thunderous day of rage last Monday in Oklahoma, United States. A terrible tornado jumped onto the stage of human existence and launched a devastating protest that put technology to shame. Residential houses, office buildings, factories, school buildings, animals, vehicles and even human beings were forcefully squeezed together into sheer rubbles thereby leaving human civilization in tartars. It was a disaster of no comparison. No one knew what the tornado was protesting against. But the frequency of its protest at that particular area of the country is an indication that nature is speaking a language which man is yet to understand or able to interpret correctly.

    Moore, a suburban town of about 56,000 inhabitants in the vicinity of Oklahma city felt the effect of the rage most. The first memorable time a tornado of that magnitude voiced out nature’s anger was in 1925 when over 600 people weathered the storm with their lives. It has since repeated itself almost in like manners. But the most recent ones before last Monday were those of 1999 and 2003 both of which forced the governments of the area to begin again. The voice of last Monday’s tornado might not be loud enough to heard in all parts of the world but the impact of its 45 minutes action in Oklahoma area alone was louder than the combined noise that all European and American atomic and nuclear arsenal could make at once. With the occurrences of tornado, hurricane, typhoon, cyclone, earthquake and tsunami in different parts of the world, man is being frequently reminded that without serenity of nature mankind is incapable of causing or quelling any trouble.

    At a Press Conference last Tuesday in Oklahoma, the Governor of the State, Mary Fallin said it was one of the “most horrific storms and disasters that this state has ever faced.” Based on the medical report available at that time, she put the casualty figure at about 24 but added that the figure could rise as over 230 people were said to be injured while about 100 others were safely rescued from the rubbles. But at the point of sending this article last Wednesday, the casualty figure had risen to 92 while many hundreds of people were still missing. No technology could stop the horrifying tornado from travelling at a speed of 320 kilometres per hour while covering an area of about two miles in its merciless surge. It is a confirmation that nature also has a way of putting man in check and re-shaping his destiny in a way.

    For African countries like Nigeria which have no such experience, there is a lesson to learn. If God endows you with the kind of clement weather you enjoy, why must you subject yourselves to the wicked artificial deaths you are inflict on others through terrorism and other vices? Can clemency be compared to disaster? Life, even to nature, is sacred. For nature, taking it by any means is only a matter of inevitability. Whoever claims to be killing fellow human being in the name of Islam without passing through a legal means is surely an agent of Satan who must be condemned by all genuine Muslims. The true picture of Islam was demonstrated in the pact which Prophet Muhammad (SAW) signed with the leadership of Christianity in 628 CE. Please, read that fully in this column next Friday.