The Nation Newspaper

Category: Femi Abbas

  • Iran versus the West

    Iran versus the West

    No sensible educated person will ever limit his life to a permanent habitat; to keep moving and migrating from place to place is the secret of human progress”

    Going by the above quoted poem rendered by an Arab poet, ‘The Message’ today chooses to migrate from the insanity of Nigeria’s political and religious rigmarole to the global political tempest if only for a change. After all, elasticity has its own limit. And by so doing, some relief might come to readers of this column about the economic heat being heartlessly generated by the so-called rulers of this country. Recently, Al-Jazeera Television Cable Network throbbed with breaking news, saying that a United States military aircraft strayed into the airspace of Iran and the latter promptly responded by shooting it down. Iran announced another of the like just three days ago. This disturbing development has further aggravated the tension between both countries which started in 1979 with the Iranian revolution that uprooted the country’s imperial despotism which had caged the citizens for decades. In reaction, the US authorities explained that the destination of the shot aircraft was Afghanistan but its pilots lost control and strayed into Iranian territory. Shortly before that incident, Some Iranian students had besieged the British Embassy in Tehran protesting the meddling of David Cameron’s government in the internal affairs of Iran. And in retaliation, Britain quickly evacuated her diplomats in Iran and sent the latter’s diplomats in London packing despite Iran’s regret over those students’ action. To further complicate the matter, the French government also issued a 48 hour ultimatum to Iranian Embassy to quit France. This was done in solidarity with Britain in the spirit of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Things have since moved so fast that it now becomes difficult to predict what will happen next. Most diplomatic observers saw similarity between these developments and the unexpected occurrences of the early 20th century that precipitated both World War I and World War II. Their fear is a possible reoccurrence of those wars. Retrospectively, the genesis of the faceoff between the West and Iran took roots in the latter’s unexpected revolution of 1979 which shut the door against the West’s economic exploitation of her people. It was 33 years last February, since Iran jumped to the world stage with a surprising revolution. February 11, 1979 was the precise climax of a struggle, in that country, which began in 1963 between the oppressed people seeking independence from the shackles of imperialism and the implacable oppressors wanting to keep that country’s innocent peasants in perpetual subservience. The success of that revolution has since changed the grand design of the Western powers for the Muslim world.

    That grand design was first expressed in 1902 by a British Prime Minister, Sir H. Campbell-Bannerman when he observed as follows: “There are people who control spacious territories teeming with manifest and hidden resources. They dominate the intersections of world routes. Their lands were the cradles of human civilisations and religions. These people have one faith, one language and the same aspirations. No natural barriers can isolate them from one another….If, per chance, these people were to be unified into one state it would then take the fate of the world into its hands and separate Europe from the rest of the world. Taking these considerations seriously, a foreign body should be planted in the heart of this nation to prevent the convergence of its wings in such a way that it could exhaust its powers in never- ending wars. It could also serve as a spring board for the West to gain its coveted objects”. Sir Bannerman’s observation was in further pursuit of an earlier demand by Theodor Herzl, a leader of the Zionist movement founded in 1879. Herzl, an Austrian Jewish lawyer and journalist demanded thus: “Let sovereignty be granted us (Jews) over a portion of the globe large enough to satisfy the rightful requirements of a nation; the rest, we shall manage for ourselves…”In response to that clandestine demand, another British Prime Minister, James Arthur Balfour issued a devastating declaration that now bears his name conceded a major part of Palestine to the Zionists as a home has since put the Middle East in an incessant turmoil read thus in part: “His majesty’s Government views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people and will use its best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this objective…. The rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country shall not be prejudiced by the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people” To facilitate that objective effectively, some other Middle East countries had to be incapacitated economically and politically by excising from them, a juicy chunk of their lands. Thus, Lebanon was excised from Syria and Kuwait from Iraq. The strategy was to cause a dissention among the citizens of those Countries with the intention of breaking the yoke of the Muslim unity which Bannerman had targeted in his infamous observation quoted above. How does Iran come into this picture when she is not an Arab Country? That is the logical question anybody would who is not quite familiar with the Middle East and the intricacies of its political and economic set up would ask. Naturally, Iran is affected by three major factors: Politics, economy and culture. And by culture here, we mean ISLAM. Iran is a foremost Islamic Country even if her official language is not Arabic. And, as an Islamic Country, whatever affects other Muslim Countries must affect her. The case of Turkey is a good example. Turkey was though not an Arab country she was nevertheless the seat of the Islamic Caliphate until 1924 when a diabolical agent of the West came on stage as Head of State. His name was Mustafa Kemal Ataturk; a man who wanted to prove to the West that it was possible for a non-Catholic to be “Holier than the Pope” especially when it came to adopting the so-called Western Civilisation. On March 3, 1924, just one year after assuming office as the ruler of Turkey, Ataturk introduced a bill to the Turkish Parliament seeking to secularise his country by abolishing the office of the caliph without any consideration for the feelings and sensitivity of the people he ruled. Presenting the bill, Ataturk said: “Ottoman Empire was built and existed on the principle of Islam. Islam is Arabic in character and in concept. It shapes from birth to death, the lives of its adherents; it stifles hope and initiative. The Republic (of Turkey) is threatened by the continued existence of Islam in its midst….”With the passage of that bill, Turkey was recognised as a secular state. Politics was separated from religion and Islam was relegated to a personal matter rather than the state religion that it was before then. The caliphate was abolished and Islamic law was abrogated. Ataturk borrowed the new Turkish civil law from Switzerland, the criminal law from Italy and the international law of trade from Germany. The Muslim personal law was harmonised with the European civil law. Religious instruction in public schools was prohibited. Purdah system was abolished and declared illegal. Co-education was introduced to schools. The use of Arabic alphabets was prohibited and replaced by the Latin Script. Adhan (the call to prayer) was no longer to be made in Arabic but in Turkish language while the national costume was changed to that of the Europeans even as the wearing of hat was made compulsory. What Ataturk did not do was to abrogate the tenets of Islam completely. Thus, by one man’s whim, Turkey lost her values and heritage of centuries in a bid to adopt the so-called ‘modernity’ brought by ‘Western civilisation’. One can imagine what Islam would have become today if countries like Iran, Indonesia and Pakistan had adopted the same misfortune. It was this same situation that prompted the late Iranian spiritual leader, Ayatullah Ruhullah Mousavi Khomeini to embark on the liberation struggle in 1963 that culminated in a successful revolution in 1979. Unlike Ataturk, however, Imam Khomeini knew that the greatest virtue that could be lost in the life of man was culture. He knew that without a clear-cut culture man couldn’t be better than a beast. He knew that such values as law, education and religion, which guide man in his peregrinations on earth, are the attributes of culture. He knew that a nation, which surrenders its culture and adopts that of another nation, has enslaved herself permanently to the caprice of the latter nation. Thus, Khomeini saw Islam, (the culture of over one billion Muslims in the world at that time), as the target of the Western imperialists, which needed defence and protection. No one believed in 1979 that a mass protest which started like a small political billow, engendered by the country’s unarmed Mullahs could eventually grow into such a great magnitude of political ‘earthquake’. By the time the foggy dust finally settled, a new Iran had emerged from the debris of the old. Against the wish and expectation of the capitalist West, the secular, monarchical Iran became an Islamic republic. The drama was quite electric. Characteristic of the West, all hands were put on deck, at that time, to ensure that an Islamic republic did not succeed the tyrannical monarchy headed by the Shah Pahlavi, heavily backed up by the oppressive West. America was most active in that ambitious but vain effort. She would not easily allow the massive benefit she had been enjoying for decades in that oil-rich country, under the Shah regime, to slip out of her hands just like that. Thus, under the pretext of wanting to rescue her citizens from the siege laid by Iranian students on that country’s embassy, in Tehran, the US attempted an invasion of the country. The espionage activities by the American diplomats, inside that embassy, against the new Islamic government in Iran had warranted the siege. While a number of US F15 bomber jets were approaching Iran, President Jimmy Carter engaged his country’s press in a chart without giving any hint of the impending military operation in Iran. The tactics was to divert the attention of the press and that of the country from the illegal Pentagon’s military expedition. But no sane person can ever fault the contents of the Qur’an. More than 1,400 years before that incident, a verse of the Qur’an had been revealed to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) thus: “They (the unbelievers) schemed, and Allah schemed. Allah is the supreme schemer”. Q. 3:54. Jimmy Carter’s thought was that by the time he would be finishing his press address, the news would have reached him that America had successfully invaded Iran. He had therefore intended to announce the news of his ‘great’ successful scheme to the press as the epilogue of his address. And that would have served as his impetus for wining that year’s election for a second term in office. But, as Allah would have it, instead of the expected news, what he got was a shocker of his life. Two of the F15 fighters deployed for the operation miraculously collided in the air just at the point of entering Iran crashing with their contents, and consuming the lives of 16 top air force officers while the other jet fighters had to turn back having run into confusion. When this devastating news reached Carter, it was too much to hide and it quickly became a public knowledge. Thus, the mighty America failed woefully, with her technology, in circumstances she has never been able to analyze and explain convincingly. With that scheme, it became obvious that Jimmy Carter of the Democrat Party had dug his own political grave. Of course, he lost the election to the cowboy turned Politician, (Ronald Reagan) of the Republican Party. For about 444 days (well over a year), the 52 American hostages remained under the siege of the Iranian students. It took high-level diplomacy, through third party countries, to get them released. Yet, America was not done. She went ahead to freeze Iran’s foreign reserve of $80 billion in addition to imposition of economic sanctions with the intention of running that country’s economy aground. The only Iran’s offence in this case was to chart an independent political course that could liberate her citizens from the manacles of the Western imperialism. Ever since, the relationship between America and Iran has remained icy. That relationship however, further deteriorated recently when Iran started a nuclear project with which to prop up her economy. America responded with a threat saying the United States would not tolerate any nuclear project in Iran because she could not trust that Islamic nation. And of course, America’s voice was re-echoed by the United Nations, through the mouth of the latter’s Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon. Only a fool will not know that the UN, as presently constituted, is the greyhound of the US through which the latter barks randomly at the rest of the world. But for the recent Iraqi episode that became regrettable for the self-appointed policeman of the world, and of course, the North Korean case, which has become a cancerous sore on the head of the US, another Gulf war would have either ensued or been in plan by now. The secret of America’s military successes in various parts of the world is neither in technological advancement, nor military superiority per se. The failed rescue mission in Iran can confirm this. That secret is rather in her ability to cause schism among some other nations and races. Iran has never been a prey to America’s direct military aggression, even when the Shah Pahlavi was in power, because she has never played a fool dancing to the sour music of that predatory country in a seeming open market.Now, with the threat of invasion of Iran by Israel on the one hand and economic and political sanctions against her by the Western the NATO allies on the other, will history repeat itself? One fact has become clear about the US political trend ever since that country withdrew from her self-isolationism in 1945. Her internal politics has been regularly dictated by her foreign policy. Thus, many American Presidents have won or lost elections at home due to the foreign policy of the concerned President. Will this also repeat itself? The days ahead will answer this fundamental question as events continue to unfold even as the ongoing crisis between Israel and Palestine also remains a cog in the wheel of global peace. But with the objection by China and Russia to any economic sanctions against Iran, the US and her allies will have to watch their steps carefully especially with respect to any planned invasion of Iran before embarking on a military action. Iran is neither Iraq nor Afghanistan. The world cannot afford another World War now. No one should attempt to plunge it into one. A word is enough for the wise.

     

  • Readers’ comments

    Readers’ comments

    Communication among humans is a two-way track. It may be oral or written. If it is oral, there must be a listener (or listeners) while the speech is on. If it is written, a reader (or readers) must have read the written thoughts of the writer before reacting. This logical process is generally recognised as the etiquette of communication. A one-way communication is either a sign of despotism or no communication at all. And such can only at best create a situation for soliloquy or monologue.

    As a participatory column the only means of confirming that ‘The Message’ is globally read is to get reactions from its readers which may be randomly published in this column. For each weekly outing of ‘The Message’ there are scores of reactions from various sectors of the society home and abroad. Such reactions are a proof that preaching is like mud bitten with a stick. When it splashes to all directions, not even the preacher will be spared. Below is a cluster of examples especially in respect of last Friday’s article in this column.

    The contents of last week’s article in ‘The Message’ about Hijrah holiday (as constitutionally declared by Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola) was precipitated by the obvious mediocrity displayed in the editorial comment of a self acclaimed ‘most widely read newspaper in Nigeria’ based in the Southwest of the country. It will be recalled that the points marshalled to counter that editorial in this column were meant to put the falsehood arrogantly exhibited in the said editorial to shame while letting Nigerians know that some elements in our local media are like rolling stones that gather no substance.

    A newspaper is worth the quality of its editorial. If the editorial of a supposed foremost newspaper in Nigeria could be what was published in that paper on November 20, 2012, one can then imagine the real weight of such a paper and that of the forces behind it in concrete terms. In the intellectual realm, monopoly of knowledge is surely an anathema to which only an ignoramus can condescend. Journalism is a major segment of that realm. It is only a nonentity that will rubbish intellectualism in that realm by not conceding facts to where or who facts belong. Professional charlatans are known not only by their naivety but also by their insistence on ignorance even where and when knowledge has been evidently established. This was the case with the pedestrian editorial written to draw the public into unwarranted controversy.

    Religion, as we all know is perhaps the most volatile issue to handle in the media. That is why a renowned poet came up with the following relevant stanza:

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

    It may be necessary here to recall the genesis of the ongoing media campaign by a fanatical newspaper against Osun State Governor if only as a reminder. In his holiday declaration speech, Governor Aregbesola stated inter alia thus:

    “When we gathered here last year, the Muslim Community requested for three things: that the Islamic lunar year should be officially recognized. We did not give immediate response to this request. We only said if God so permits, we would assist Muslims in the state to celebrate the New Lunar Year. We are grateful to God that He grants us the opportunity to make it. This is beyond human capacity. I am glad that as a Muslim, God used me to make this day.

    There is a difference between how days are counted in Islam as against the way it is done outside Islam. A fresh day commences after sunset. A day ends after Maghreb (early evening) prayers. Many Muslims do not know this. In Islam, a fresh day commences after sunset. The scholars will explain this further….

    “So, we have been having this celebration for Muslims to also know that they have their own way of taking counts of periods of day, days of the month and months of the year.

    I therefore rejoice with Muslims of the world. We thank God for granting us the opportunity to witness this new lunar year. May God make it a blessed year for us all. Amin!….

    It is pertinent to state that whatever affects the eyes, gets to the nose. The turmoil currently being recorded in the northern parts of the country is affecting both ends of the North and other parts of the country. Those who take eggs to the North for commerce now feel the effect. They have nowhere to take them to; just as those who buy goods from there no longer have that opportunity. These are the consequences of instability. That is why we need to pray that God grants us peace, stability and tranquility. We should pray that He gives us the grace to live in harmony.

    The world has changed from the trend of brazen and crude imposition; hence we need to ask God to grant us the grace to relate with one another peacefully.

    Let us ask ourselves; what does Islam require of us? Does Islam preach hooliganism or violence? The little knowledge I have concerning the religion is not as much as many of the scholars here today. However, the little I know of the religion tells me that a high sense of decency is required of every Muslim. Islam preaches such virtues as due respect for all creations, humility, tolerance and obedience to God and all properly constituted authorities. This must be practiced by whoever professes the faith. Allah states in (Quran, Chapter 3 verse 110) that Muslims are the group he created to enjoin goodness among people and forbid evil. If this is what Allah says of us; should any Muslim be nefarious? A Muslim that engages in bad act contravenes God’s injunction….

    As a demonstration of the impact of this celebration, I enjoin all Muslims of the world; starting from those in Osun, to move away from vices. Let us move away from hypocrisy and other bad lifestyles. Let us be good examples in every sense. It is best that we stand out as good examples for people around us always. A school established by a Muslim should be the best in terms of administration, dissemination of knowledge, and character building. Also in commerce, a Muslim trader should be a best exemplar of his trade; so that people would say if you want to have good bargain, go and get it from ‘“Iya Sikirah”’. In addition, as civil servants, Muslims should take the lead in diligence at work. Every Muslim should be a good exemplar.

    “…..Every Muslim here today and those that would be listening to me elsewhere should be reminded that this year’s celebration is a re- awakening. For us to admit that we are really celebrating, we should get back to our various homes and say to ourselves “I relinquish my bad ways no matter how little. I want to be God’s representative on earth in good deed”. May God make it easy and possible for us to accomplish. Amin. Secondly, do not relent in supplicating to God. Our state requires prayer; just as we personally do. Every living soul requires supplications to God.

    I would like to urge us all according to what God says in Suratul-An Nissai (Quran Chapter 4). He enjoins that we be fair to everybody; not to Muslims alone, even if it is against our interest. We get this injunction in Nisaa (chapter 4 verse 135), yes. He says we should do justice even if it hurts our parents, our loved ones, self etc….I would not go further than this. As we are happy and celebrating our New Year now; we should take cognizance that there are some others who desire to have their own festivals that government has not so far given recognition. If we do so don’t be hurt. We would only be following God’s injunction to be just….”

    Despite this self-explanatory address by the Governor, the zealot newspaper in question ignorantly but arrogantly engineered a media brouhaha over the issue with the aim of causing religious hostility among the people who have all along lived together in harmony. It was in reaction to that unwarranted fanatical provocation that ‘The Message’, as usual, came out to put the records straight in this column last Friday.

    Even the Osun State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) issued a statement rejecting any alleged religious hostility in the State. According to him, “the celebration of Hijrah in the state does not disturb us as Christians and we don’t have anything against it. There was no Christian that calls to show any displeasure to it or complaint from any quarters because we believe that it is promoting Islam. I as the Chairman of CAN in the state I sent congratulatory message to Sheikh Mustapha Ajisafe and Governor Rauf Aregbesola on the celebration to wish them well”. Aladeseye who admonished all to tolerate one another, maintained that the nation could only develop where there was peace and stability emphasising that there was peace in the state and calling on residents of the state to give the current administration maximum support to succeed.

    He also disclosed that most religious issues were resolved at National Religious Council (NAREC) meeting in the state adding that the controversy surrounding the use of hijab in public schools had been resolved amicably at the meeting. According to him, “Governor Rauf advised us to go and resolve the matter at the NAREC meeting where agreement was reached that it should not be enforced at the Christian Public Schools across the state and one year after, there has been evidence that the matter had been put to rest.

    In its own comment on this issue, the Muslim Association of Nigeria congratulated the Governor and good people of Osun “for this unique performance in recognizing the yearnings of the Muslim Community and their right with a declaration of Hijrah holiday. To us this will foster unity among various religious groups in the state and usher in peace and economic development. This is a state to watch for good things in years to come in Nigeria. Alhaji Yusuf Sulaiman, President of MAN.

    Also in a lengthy comment digging deep into the archive of Islam in Nigeria, a veteran journalist and former, manager of programmes, North Africa and Overseas service in Voice of Nigeria (VON) who was also the National Missioner, Muslim Association of Nigeria (MAN), Sheikh Najmudden Binuyo stated in part as follows:

    “The people of Osun, especially Christians in the state, who are well aware that the Governor has good intentions, are certainly not complaining. The state chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Evangelist Abraham Aladeseye confirmed this during a chat with journalists on the matter. The venerable man of God stated that Christians in the state are not against the declaration of the Hijrah holiday. “I even sent congratulatory messages to Governor Aregbesola and the chairman of the League of Imams and Alfas. We Christians don’t have anything against it,” he said. So, why is this particular newspaper crying more than the bereaved?

    On its own, the National Council of Muslim Youth Organisations (NACOMYO) views with serious concern controversial editorial of Tuesday, November 20, 2012 (p.18) in a Southwest based newspaper. But we were not surprised that the newspaper in question viewed the decision Governor Aregbesola on declaration of holiday for Muharram 1 (Islamic New Year) as “odd and totally uncalled for”. The newspaper proceeded from a perverted logic when it asserted that “many predominantly Muslim states do not even have public holidays for hejira” (sic).

    For avoidance of doubt, Hijrah is remarkably significant to Islam both in form and in content as it represents for Muslims an epoch-making event that culminated in the rapid growth of Islam from Madinah. Hijrah, in fact, exemplifies the basis of the mutual understanding between the Muslim global community and the people of other beliefs, especially the Christians and the Jews.

    It (Hijrah) symbolises for Muslims, movement from dehumanising oppression to liberty, escape from danger to security, exodus from ignorance to knowledge, abstinence from corruption, adoption of accountability, eradication of infanticide and disentanglement of women from the bestiality of the ignorant past (Jahiliyyah) as well as general transformation of humanity from all traits of evil to the illuminating light of Islam. These and many others which are hardly found in other religions are the causes of envy that might have led a section of Nigerian media to grow so wild.

    Nevertheless, despite any unwarranted provocation, we, as Muslims in the Southwest, will continue to discuss our differences, in good faith as we have always done, to avoid any recourse to actions that may threaten our peaceful co-existence, as brothers and sisters, in a just and united Nigeria. By Mustapha Balogun

    Chairman, NACOMYO, Southern Zone

     

  • Hijrah and Nigerian media

    Hijrah and Nigerian media

    Information is power. It can make or mar. An informer must be informed. He must know what information to disseminate. He must know, not only when and where to disseminate such information but also why and how to do it. These are the qualities that make trained journalists professionals in their calling.

    Journalism as a profession is not about news gathering and news reporting alone. It is also about education dissemination as well as entertainment all of which require common sense. That is why a journalist is perceived as a professional who knows or should know something about everything.

    To be a thorough professional, a journalist must be familiar with virtually all the temporal and spiritual spheres of life. He cannot report space exploration without some scientific knowledge of astronomy. He cannot report agriculture without some knowledge of soil, plants, rainfall, aquatics and even husbandry. Neither can he report war without some knowledge of weaponry and the geography of the war areas as well as the sociological and political history of the involved warring groups. No journalist of worth can report a religious festival or service without knowing some terms relating to the norms and regulations of the religion in question. That is why media establishments often earmark certain beats for effective coverage.

    And, of course, in the process of filing his/her reports, a journalist must be conscious of the technical sequence to be followed. This is generally known in the profession as the ‘five W’s plus H’. The coded cliché here is interpreted as follows: “Who (does) what? Where? When? Why? And How?” Without practical knowledge of that sequence, a journalist cannot be worth his professional status.

    From whatever angle journalism is viewed, knowledge remains the main axis around which journalists’ activities rotate. No ignorant person should have any business with that noble profession to which yours sincerely fortunately and proudly belongs.

    It is, however, unfortunate, these days, that the conduct of some Nigerian media practitioners constitutes an embarrassing nuisance to the well informed Nigerian public as much as it does to those practitioners themselves. Most Nigerian journalists of the present generation seem to be more preoccupied by pecuniary gain than the value of their profession, an indication that journalism has seriously deteriorated in Nigeria. And this seems to be a justification for the notion of ‘BROWN ENVELOPE’ often attributed to Nigerian journalists by the public. A typical example is last Tuesday’s editorial opinion of a supposed front line newspaper in the Southwest of Nigeria, which expectedly exhibited blatant ignorance about Hijrah calendar even perhaps to the embarrassment of the publishers of that newspaper.

    In its rambling official opinion called editorial, the paper threw knowledge and decency to the winds as it shamelessly promoted religious bigotry to the front burner. And in its attempt to vilify the Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, for declaring a public holiday for Hijrah in his State, albeit constitutionally, the so-called editorial displayed so much ignorance that it could not even spell the words Hijrah and Muhammad correctly as it kept repeating ‘Hejira’ and ‘Muhammed’ which came to remind us of the anachronistic media style of deliberately denigrating Islam during the colonial era. In the glorious days of journalism in Nigeria, misspelling a person’s name or that of a place in the course of reporting was enough reason to sack a journalist. But this is no longer the case as journalism has virtually become a matter of cash and carry.

    While basking in the usual euphoria of ignorance and fanaticism, the paper forgot that the world is now a global village where no charlatan can take the public for a ride any longer by dishing out obsolete garbage in the name of information and expect such garbage to be swallowed hook, line and sinker . The Nigerian reading public has outgrown that stage and has become much more informed about the happenings around the world than any parochial journalist or newspaper would vaingloriously want them to believe. The claim in that grossly uninformed and parochial editorial that countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar and Turkey do not declare public holiday for Hijrah is not only a shameless lie but also a glaring evidence of blatant ignorance on the part of the paper as well as its employed journalists. On the contrary, all of those mentioned countries do not only declare public holiday for Hijrah with reverence as a religious tradition, they also celebrate it with fanfare. This may be verified on the internet or through their embassies in Nigeria.

    And even if those countries do not declare any holiday at all for Hijrah celebration is that a logical justification for the fanatical newspaper to write a garbage in the name of editorial as a way of preventing Nigerian Muslims from getting justice which had long been denied to them? Who says the yardstick for practising Islam in Nigeria is domiciled in Saudi Arabia or Turkey?

    And in a bid to justify its vilification of Ogbeni Aregbesola, the newspaper rhetorically cited the example of the late Ziaul Haqqi of Pakistan who it accused of turning secular Pakistan into an Islamic State. But rather than going that far to cite an example of a perceived religious lopsidedness, one would have expected an informed newspaper to cite a closer and more relevant Nigerian example of when General Yakubau Gowon (a Christian), as Head of State, unilaterally declared Saturday as national public holiday in 1972 on the demand of a Christian denomination (the Seventh Day Adventists), without any protest from the Muslims. After all, before that time, Nigeria was a six working day country though Saturday was half work day.

    For 99 years of the colonial rule (1861 to 1960) Nigerian Muslims, especially those of the south, were never granted any holiday for any festival be it Eidul Fitr or Eidul Adha. It was the late Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa who, after becoming the Prime Minister, declared a national public holiday for both Muslim festivals and gave Nigerian Muslims a sense of justice for the first time. Today, while Nigerian Christians enjoy a minimum of 108 days (Saturdays and Sundays) of public holiday in the 54 weeks of the year, the Muslims enjoy nothing and they are not complaining. Yet, the only time that public holiday is being granted them for Hijrah as a matter of right in a state, a section of Nigerian media is characteristically but fanatically challenging it in a way of adding to religious tension in the land through unnecessary media bullying and intimidation.

    One conspicuous fact about religion in Nigeria which Nigerian media have deliberately and consistently refused to acknowledge is that Nigerian Muslims neither make frivolous religious demands nor unnecessarily oppose the demand of their Christian counterparts. If anything is responsible for religious tension in Nigeria it is provocation (as championed by Nigerian media) and not intolerance often hypocritically claimed by the same Nigerian media. This is the time to let it be known that an unjust status quo cannot be maintained indefinitely. That was the spirit behind fighting for Nigerian independence. And that same spirit cannot be killed in other matters of injustice.

    In journalism, the general norm is that ‘when you are in doubt (on an issue), leave out’. This is to save the practitioners any embarrassment which public exhibition of ignorance may cause for them. In writing its deceptive editorial, the concerned paper did not consider that ethical norm. The ‘Message’ hereby challenges the newspaper in reference to show evidence of its claim on the cited examples in its misinforming editorial. Yours sincerely studied and lived in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia just as I traversed the entire Arab countries (23 of them) plus Iran, Pakistan and Turkey in series of journeys until I became familiar with their traditions as well as their systems of governance, especially as I speak Arabic language. And I do not know anyone of those countries that does not celebrate Hijrah year with public holiday. So, where did the paper get its published fabrication?

    As far back as over 1,000 years ago, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) had foreseen the likelihood of this kind of misinformation and deliberate falsification of facts which was why he recommended the permanent notion of seeking knowledge to the Muslims by saying: “Seek knowledge even if you will have to travel to China”. At that time, China was known to be the farthest place from Arabia where the Prophet resided. Nothing in the life of man is comparable to knowledge. As a matter of fact, life can only be deemed worthwhile if it is based on knowledge.

    Perhaps that was why the message of Islam through the revelation of the Qur’an started on the premise of knowledge. The very first chapter of that Sacred Book commenced thus: “Read in the name of your Lord who created; He created man from clots of congealed blood. Read! Your Lord is the Most Bountiful One, who taught by the pen. He taught man what he (man) did not know…” And, to further emphasise this, the Prophet said that “knowledge is missing, Muslims should search for it and pick it wherever they can find it”. He did not restrict such knowledge to religion neither did he exclude religion in it.

    In the same editorial, a pointed question was raised about the person of Aregbesola vis a vis the declared holiday thus: “what is the interest of Aregbesola? The newspaper may wish to know that the same interest which prompted General Yakubu Gowon in 1972, to declare Saturday a national public holiday with fiat in favour of a Christian denomination is that of Aregbesola in 2012. That interest may be justice which has all along been denied to Nigerian Muslims.

    For the information of the uniformed writer of that controversial editorial and any other Nigerian journalist, the new Islamic year begins on the first day of the month of Muharram which is the first of the 12 months in the Islamic calendar. The other months are: Safar; Rabi‘ul Awwal; Rabi‘ut-Thani; Jumadal ‘Ula; Jumadat-Thaniyah; Rajab; Sha‘aban; Ramadan; Shawwal; Dhul Qa‘adah; and Dhul Hijjah. Each of these months contains either 30 or 29 days.

    The first day of Muharram is celebrated every Hijrah year by all Muslims throughout the world not only as a commemoration of the great success of Islamic religion but also as a token of rejuvenation of faith, peaceful co-existence, love and humility to which all Muslims are expected to sincerely adhere.

    It must be recalled that this calendar came into existence in commemoration of the inspired bravery and humility of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who, under the guidance of Allah, brought a revolution called Islam into the world at a time when the world was adrift almost uncontrollably with ungodly human activities. The Prophet’s emigration from the evil machinations of Makkah to the spiritual serenity of Madinah in 622 C. E was the catalyst for the success of Islam as a revolution. That historic adventure thus marked the beginning of Islamic calendar which now serves as a good reminder of what the religion of Islam demands from an average Muslim.

    Basically Hijrah institutionalised three important aspects of Muslim life: social, economic and political in addition to spirituality. In the social sphere, when the first revelation came to the Prophet (SAW) a period of twelve (12) years was devoted by him to inculcating religion in the minds of individuals while no pattern of a collective life based on true religious concepts could yet be presented to the world. The status of the Muslim individuals in Makkah thus gave rise to the general misconception that Islam was only a personal affair which pertained to the hereafter and had nothing to do with any collective life here on earth.

    It was only after Hijrah that people began to see clearly that Islam was a total way of life which pays attention to and reforms every facet of human existence as it began to give directions regarding virtually every moment of one’s conscious time. Hijrah also enabled the Arabs in particular, to see what a Muslim house-hold should be in a Muslim society. Hence, it was only after this great event that the world could see the aspect of social decency and decorum encapsulated in Islam.

    The second reason for the importance of Hijrah is its economic aspect. The economic effects were due to the permanent emigration to Madinah by the earliest Muslims. The matchless hospitality of the people of Madinah towards the Muslims immigrants did not only provide a new peaceful home for the newcomers, but also showed the hosts’ passionate self-sacrifice. And with Hijrah, the immigrants vividly came in contact with agriculture and artisan-ship resulting in an economic revolution for the place. Thus, it was only after Hijrah that agriculture, industry and trade freely helped the Muslims to bring about an integrated, balanced and unfettered economy for the Ummah. And, as a result, every one of them adopted legitimate means of righteous earning without having to depend on anybody again.

    The third reason which made Hijrah a very important event is the political freedom for the Muslims. Before Hijrah the Muslims had no say in any matter, internal or external. They were considered a minority against whom the hearts of the majority were full of enmity as they (the Muslims) were an insignificant part of a set of dominating unbelievers in Makkah. It was Hijrah that made the Muslims Masters of their internal affairs, external relations and matters relating to war and peace. There was great understanding among the Muslims. For instance, in the case of any difference that might occur between them and non-Muslims the final decision was to be made by the Prophet. This showed an autonomous set up of a Muslim Ummah just emerging. And this was the beginning of a city-state which, within ten years during the life time of Prophet Muhammad expanded to the entire Arabian Peninsula and from there to the rest of the world. Today, with a population of about 1.7 billion Muslims in the world, Islam has come to stay despite the wreath of thorns being frequently put on its way.

     

  • Six years so soon?

    Six years so soon?

    In every crowd of horizontal men there is always one vertical man who deserves honour not much because of his vertical position but because of the significant difference which that position makes to the crowd”

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

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

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

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

    There is something mysterious about name which humanity is yet to comprehend fully. A puzzling secret seems to exist in the vocabulary of life which sticks to every man like a second skin. That secret, pearled in the yoke of name, is an effective evidence of destiny in man. Our names are the light that glows at night to lighten up our ways through the threshold of life. And when the dawn comes to render the glowing light ineffective, the bearer bows out into the recluse of death leaving behind an indemnified signature on the sands of time. This was the case with Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the greatest man who ever lived on the surface of the earth. Even as an unlettered son of Arabia who was born in an era of blatant ignorance, he introduced into the world, an unprecedented civilisation that opened the eyes of humanity to everlasting guidance. In recognition of his exemplariness, Allah said in Q 33: 21: “You have a good example in Allah’s Apostle for anyone who looks to Allah and the Last Day and remembers Him always”. The name Muhammad which means ‘Praiseworthy’ was never known to have been borne by anybody in Arabia before the birth of the Prophet. And no other person was known for bearing that unique name in Makkah and its environs until after his call to the office of Prophet-hood when Muslim parents started naming their children after him in appreciation of his greatness and in emulation of his exemplary character. Today, at the mention of Prophet Muhammad anywhere in the world, everybody around responds with thunderous traditional chanting of ‘Salla Llahu alayhi wa sallama’ meaning: ‘Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him’. This is even sometimes chanted unconsciously by some non-Muslims. Sultan’s first name is Muhammad which he bears in emulation of the Prophet. His second name is Sa’ad meaning ‘Good ‘Luck’ which makes him a name-sake of one of the Prophet’s disciples (Sa’d bn Abi Waqqas) who was a great Army General of Islam. And his (Sultan’s) surname is Abubakar which means ‘father of youths’, a name which he shares with the first Caliph in Islam (Abubakr Siddiq). In every one of these names is a profound meaning with profound influence on the personality and conduct of the Sultan. As an Army General, like Sa’d bn Abi Waqqas, Sultan is demonstrating the courage of a brave leader. As the father of the youths, like Abu Bakr, he bridges the gap between leadership and follower-ship by breathing a breeze of hope into Nigerian Muslim youths. A leader is known, neither by the office he occupies, nor by the enormity of the power he wields but by the magnanimity with which he exercises the power entrusted to him and the humility he demonstrates in his interaction with the people. This is the lesson which Prophet Muhammad taught Muslim rulers in his Hadith when he said: “A powerful person is not the one who can suppress others (with the instrumentality of office) but the one who can resist the temptation to use such power”.

    Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III seems to have fully imbibed this prophetic teaching as a Muslim ruler and a faithful one for that matter. And through his humble interaction with all Muslims in Nigeria irrespective of tribal or geographical boundaries, he is the first Sultan to have created a strong feeling of a united Muslim Ummah in Nigeria under a competent leadership. At his instance, the Abuja National Mosque has been reorganised in such a way that no Muslim part of the country feels neglected again. Today, the Friday sermon in that Mosque is not only delivered in the three major languages (Hausa, Ibo and Yoruba) in addition to Arabic and English, three deputy Imams have also been appointed to join the Chief Imam in leading the Jum‘at Salat in rotation. These Deputy Imams are from the North, the Southwest and the Southeast respectively. Besides, a number of committees have been set up to take charge of certain necessities concerning the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and the National Mosque. And by speaking out incessantly against policies which may seem to deliberately impoverish ordinary Nigerians, irrespective of tribes or religions, Sultan Abubakar III has brought a lucky era to this country and the Muslims are the luckiest for it. Such a leadership deserves absolute allegiance, loyalty and regular prayer from the followers.

    The itinerary of his Eminence’s exemplariness is not limited to Nigeria. He has severally been invited as guest lecturers on interfaith and conflict resolution as well as peace management in many international fora including Harvard University in the United States and Oxford University in Britain. And in all these, he has proved to be a worthy leader. Today, he is on the list of the 50 most influential Muslims in the world and as a matter of fact he ranks 16th on that list.

    It thus becomes obvious that with a very solid military background combined with a unique diplomatic experience and a global modern travelling exposure, this Sultan has become a millennial royal Captain divinely designated to pilot the affairs of Islam and the Muslim Ummah in Nigeria.

    Philosophers who assert that every new century has a way of producing a great leader may be right after all. The example of His Eminence, Dr. Muhammad Sa‘ad Abubakar III, CFR, is a manifest attestation to that assertion. Ever since he assumed the exalted royal office six years ago, this great man has convincingly exemplified all the qualities of genuine leadership. Every statement he has made socially, religiously or politically and every action he has taken privately or publicly has proved to be a school from which all well-meaning people have learnt one lesson or another. An American President, Harry S. Truman (1884-1972), once described a true leader as “a man who has the ability to get other people to do what they don’t want to do and like it”. Through his activities and functions so far, Sultan Abubakar III has proved Truman right by demonstrating to Nigerian Muslim Ummah that the time has come for the reformation of the Sultanate and the unification of the Ummah. When he first assumed office in 2006, he hinted that the Sultanate would be put on the internet to enable all educated Muslims have access to their leader. And in this age of computer, can anyone lay claim to any serious information or knowledge without adequate access to the internet? That is why he decided to start the reformation of the Sultanate through the instrumentality of the internet. And as an exemplary leader, he demonstrates his intellectual prowess with mastering fingers on the computer.

    In Islam, education is the first law. That was why the very first Qur’anic revelation to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) ordained education thus: “Read in the name of Allah who created; He created man from clots of congealed blood; Read! Your Lord is the Most Bountiful One, Who taught man by the pen; He taught him what man did not know…”Q. 96:1-4. And to further emphasise the compelling need for education in Islam, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said “knowledge is a lost treasure. Muslims should look for it and pick it wherever they can find it”.

    Without education there can be no information. And without information there can be no knowledge. And without knowledge, there can be no progress. That is why the Sultan started his reformation of the Sultanate from the premise of education. It is only with education that most problems in this world can be solved without much ado. The Sultan also believes that education without social harmony is like a virtue without value and that there can be no harmony in a society where people are overwhelmed by ignorance and penury as is the case with Nigeria. Thus, he has consistently championed the campaign for both. At his installation as the Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University last November, His Eminence told the crowd that the current socio-economic indices in Nigeria were a clear indication that the country had begun to drift. He lamented the dwindling standard of education and the growing rate of poverty in the land despite the nation’s unprecedented wealth which he said had failed to aid national development.

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

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

    That the a renascent Sultan for you, a man who is at the topmost echelon of the tree of comfort but feels so much concerned about the condition of the peasants who feel deliberately consigned to the weeding of shrubs at the bottom of that tree by the system in place. At home in Nigeria, he has never relented in his advocacy for good governance and denunciation of corruption and religious intolerance just as he has consistently campaigned for religious peaceful coexistence at the international fora.When he was invited in January 2010 as a Special Guest of Honour to a religious seminar organized by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) with the theme: ‘Knowing Your Muslim Neighbour’, Sultan Abubakar delivered an historic speech that reverberated meaningfully across the entire world. And in May, same year, he also invited the leadership of CAN to a special conference of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) held in Kaduna. The theme of that conference was: ‘Islam in the Eyes of the Christians’. He is the first Nigerian first class Monarch ever to engage in such an interfaith affair at the national level and his speech on that occasion was also electrifying. Please read an excerpt from that speech as presented below:”….we initiated, as we had done for the Jama‘atu Nasril-Islam (JNI), a thorough review of the activities of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs [NSCIA] and an extensive reform of its structures. It is our firm belief that these reforms are not only desirable but necessary to reposition the Council to play its strategic role as the apex Islamic body in the country and to respond, effectively and meaningfully, to the challenges facing the Muslim Ummah in a multi-cultural and multi-religious society. We have had extensive consultations over the last one year and have received very useful inputs on the reform agenda from all the constituent bodies of the Council. Our strategic objectives in this exercise had been and shall remain:

    First is the promotion of Muslim Unity and Solidarity to accord the Ummah the ability to speak with one voice and to act and work together for the advancement of Islam. Second is the development of Education and Economic Enterprise, to enable the Muslim Ummah play an active role in the socio-economic life of Nigeria. Third is to promote peace and religious harmony both within the Muslim Communities and between the adherents of Islam and Christianity. Fourth is to establish effective linkage with Government, at local, state and federal levels, to safeguard the interest of the Ummah and to build consensus on those vital issues that bind us together as a nation….It is therefore our hope that as we bring this reform process to its logical conclusion, we will receive the support and patronage of the entire Muslim Ummah as well as the co-operation of all stakeholders including State Governments and indeed the Government of the Federation”.”….the task of overcoming Nigeria’s problems calls for sacrifice, dialogue and understanding; and all national stakeholders must overcome the myopia of greed and self-centredness to move this great nation forward and safeguard its strategic interests….we must begin to look into the future with hope and confidence and to ensure, first and foremost, that we shore up the foundations of our political system. The National Assembly and indeed all tiers of Government should not relent in their current efforts at Electoral Reform and in ensuring that Nigerians have a genuine electoral process that guarantees free and fair elections. Unless and until we do that our nation will continue to be haunted by unholy alliance between fraudulent elections and illegitimate electoral outcomes the consequences of which we all know very well. We must break away from this vicious circle and confer on Nigerians the power and indeed the ability to decide, freely and willingly, who leads them at all levels of governance. “….there is also the urgent need for us to re-evaluate our conception of leadership as a nation…. needless to add, that there is no way we can make genuine progress as a nation when a significant number of our populace wallow in abject poverty unable to secure the requisite means for their sustenance and to cater for the health and educational needs of their families. Democracy must build a humane society capable of looking after the legitimate needs of its citizenry. For it to be truly successful, it must be able to bring real progress for all sectors of our diverse society. “Finally we must all work hard to limit the influence of wealth in our society and to support those values that promote social responsibility, excellence and hard work”.That is Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III a leader who knows the problems of his followers and associates with them in solving those problems. Through his humble interaction with all Muslims in Nigeria, irrespective of tribal or geographical boundaries, he has become the first Sultan to create a strong feeling of a united Ummah under a competent and kind leadership. And by speaking out incessantly against policies which seem to deliberately impoverish ordinary Nigerians irrespective of religions, this Sultan has brought a rare hope to Nigeria and the Muslim Ummah is the luckiest for it. Such a leadership deserves not only allegiance and loyalty but also regular prayers from the Ummah.‘The Message’ hereby joins millions of other Nigerians home and abroad in saying CONGRATULATIONS to His Eminence on his sixth anniversary of his royal regale on the throne praying for Allah’s continuous guidance to accompany him in his life’s odyssey. Long live the Sultan! Long live the NSCIA! Long live Nigeria

     

  • Six years so soon?

    Six years so soon?

    “In every crowd of horizontal men there is always one vertical man who deserves honour not much because of his vertical position but because of the significant difference which that position makes to the crowd”

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

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

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

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

    There is something mysterious about name which humanity is yet to comprehend fully. A puzzling secret seems to exist in the vocabulary of life which sticks to every man like a second skin. That secret, pearled in the yoke of name, is an effective evidence of destiny in man. Our names are the light that glows at night to lighten up our ways through the threshold of life. And when the dawn comes to render the glowing light ineffective, the bearer bows out into the recluse of death leaving behind an indemnified signature on the sands of time. This was the case with Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the greatest man who ever lived on the surface of the earth. Even as an unlettered son of Arabia who was born in an era of blatant ignorance, he introduced into the world, an unprecedented civilisation that opened the eyes of humanity to everlasting guidance. In recognition of his exemplariness, Allah said in Q 33: 21: “You have a good example in Allah’s Apostle for anyone who looks to Allah and the Last Day and remembers Him always”. The name Muhammad which means ‘Praiseworthy’ was never known to have been borne by anybody in Arabia before the birth of the Prophet. And no other person was known for bearing that unique name in Makkah and its environs until after his call to the office of Prophet-hood when Muslim parents started naming their children after him in appreciation of his greatness and in emulation of his exemplary character. Today, at the mention of Prophet Muhammad anywhere in the world, everybody around responds with thunderous traditional chanting of ‘Salla Llahu alayhi wa sallama’ meaning: ‘Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him’. This is even sometimes chanted unconsciously by some non-Muslims. Sultan’s first name is Muhammad which he bears in emulation of the Prophet. His second name is Sa’ad meaning ‘Good ‘Luck’ which makes him a name-sake of one of the Prophet’s disciples (Sa’d bn Abi Waqqas) who was a great Army General of Islam. And his (Sultan’s) surname is Abubakar which means ‘father of youths’, a name which he shares with the first Caliph in Islam (Abubakr Siddiq). In every one of these names is a profound meaning with profound influence on the personality and conduct of the Sultan. As an Army General, like Sa’d bn Abi Waqqas, Sultan is demonstrating the courage of a brave leader. As the father of the youths, like Abu Bakr, he bridges the gap between leadership and follower-ship by breathing a breeze of hope into Nigerian Muslim youths. A leader is known, neither by the office he occupies, nor by the enormity of the power he wields but by the magnanimity with which he exercises the power entrusted to him and the humility he demonstrates in his interaction with the people. This is the lesson which Prophet Muhammad taught Muslim rulers in his Hadith when he said: “A powerful person is not the one who can suppress others (with the instrumentality of office) but the one who can resist the temptation to use such power”.

    Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III seems to have fully imbibed this prophetic teaching as a Muslim ruler and a faithful one for that matter. And through his humble interaction with all Muslims in Nigeria irrespective of tribal or geographical boundaries, he is the first Sultan to have created a strong feeling of a united Muslim Ummah in Nigeria under a competent leadership. At his instance, the Abuja National Mosque has been reorganised in such a way that no Muslim part of the country feels neglected again. Today, the Friday sermon in that Mosque is not only delivered in the three major languages (Hausa, Ibo and Yoruba) in addition to Arabic and English, three deputy Imams have also been appointed to join the Chief Imam in leading the Jum‘at Salat in rotation. These Deputy Imams are from the North, the Southwest and the Southeast respectively. Besides, a number of committees have been set up to take charge of certain necessities concerning the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and the National Mosque. And by speaking out incessantly against policies which may seem to deliberately impoverish ordinary Nigerians, irrespective of tribes or religions, Sultan Abubakar III has brought a lucky era to this country and the Muslims are the luckiest for it. Such a leadership deserves absolute allegiance, loyalty and regular prayer from the followers.

    The itinerary of his Eminence’s exemplariness is not limited to Nigeria. He has severally been invited as guest lecturers on interfaith and conflict resolution as well as peace management in many international fora including Harvard University in the United States and Oxford University in Britain. And in all these, he has proved to be a worthy leader. Today, he is on the list of the 50 most influential Muslims in the world and as a matter of fact he ranks 16th on that list.

    It thus becomes obvious that with a very solid military background combined with a unique diplomatic experience and a global modern travelling exposure, this Sultan has become a millennial royal Captain divinely designated to pilot the affairs of Islam and the Muslim Ummah in Nigeria.

    Philosophers who assert that every new century has a way of producing a great leader may be right after all. The example of His Eminence, Dr. Muhammad Sa‘ad Abubakar III, CFR, is a manifest attestation to that assertion. Ever since he assumed the exalted royal office six years ago, this great man has convincingly exemplified all the qualities of genuine leadership. Every statement he has made socially, religiously or politically and every action he has taken privately or publicly has proved to be a school from which all well-meaning people have learnt one lesson or another. An American President, Harry S. Truman (1884-1972), once described a true leader as “a man who has the ability to get other people to do what they don’t want to do and like it”. Through his activities and functions so far, Sultan Abubakar III has proved Truman right by demonstrating to Nigerian Muslim Ummah that the time has come for the reformation of the Sultanate and the unification of the Ummah. When he first assumed office in 2006, he hinted that the Sultanate would be put on the internet to enable all educated Muslims have access to their leader. And in this age of computer, can anyone lay claim to any serious information or knowledge without adequate access to the internet? That is why he decided to start the reformation of the Sultanate through the instrumentality of the internet. And as an exemplary leader, he demonstrates his intellectual prowess with mastering fingers on the computer.

    In Islam, education is the first law. That was why the very first Qur’anic revelation to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) ordained education thus: “Read in the name of Allah who created; He created man from clots of congealed blood; Read! Your Lord is the Most Bountiful One, Who taught man by the pen; He taught him what man did not know…”Q. 96:1-4. And to further emphasise the compelling need for education in Islam, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said “knowledge is a lost treasure. Muslims should look for it and pick it wherever they can find it”.

    Without education there can be no information. And without information there can be no knowledge. And without knowledge, there can be no progress. That is why the Sultan started his reformation of the Sultanate from the premise of education. It is only with education that most problems in this world can be solved without much ado. The Sultan also believes that education without social harmony is like a virtue without value and that there can be no harmony in a society where people are overwhelmed by ignorance and penury as is the case with Nigeria. Thus, he has consistently championed the campaign for both. At his installation as the Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University last November, His Eminence told the crowd that the current socio-economic indices in Nigeria were a clear indication that the country had begun to drift. He lamented the dwindling standard of education and the growing rate of poverty in the land despite the nation’s unprecedented wealth which he said had failed to aid national development.

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

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

    That the a renascent Sultan for you, a man who is at the topmost echelon of the tree of comfort but feels so much concerned about the condition of the peasants who feel deliberately consigned to the weeding of shrubs at the bottom of that tree by the system in place. At home in Nigeria, he has never relented in his advocacy for good governance and denunciation of corruption and religious intolerance just as he has consistently campaigned for religious peaceful coexistence at the international fora.When he was invited in January 2010 as a Special Guest of Honour to a religious seminar organized by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) with the theme: ‘Knowing Your Muslim Neighbour’, Sultan Abubakar delivered an historic speech that reverberated meaningfully across the entire world. And in May, same year, he also invited the leadership of CAN to a special conference of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) held in Kaduna. The theme of that conference was: ‘Islam in the Eyes of the Christians’. He is the first Nigerian first class Monarch ever to engage in such an interfaith affair at the national level and his speech on that occasion was also electrifying. Please read an excerpt from that speech as presented below:”….we initiated, as we had done for the Jama‘atu Nasril-Islam (JNI), a thorough review of the activities of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs [NSCIA] and an extensive reform of its structures. It is our firm belief that these reforms are not only desirable but necessary to reposition the Council to play its strategic role as the apex Islamic body in the country and to respond, effectively and meaningfully, to the challenges facing the Muslim Ummah in a multi-cultural and multi-religious society. We have had extensive consultations over the last one year and have received very useful inputs on the reform agenda from all the constituent bodies of the Council. Our strategic objectives in this exercise had been and shall remain:

    First is the promotion of Muslim Unity and Solidarity to accord the Ummah the ability to speak with one voice and to act and work together for the advancement of Islam. Second is the development of Education and Economic Enterprise, to enable the Muslim Ummah play an active role in the socio-economic life of Nigeria. Third is to promote peace and religious harmony both within the Muslim Communities and between the adherents of Islam and Christianity. Fourth is to establish effective linkage with Government, at local, state and federal levels, to safeguard the interest of the Ummah and to build consensus on those vital issues that bind us together as a nation….It is therefore our hope that as we bring this reform process to its logical conclusion, we will receive the support and patronage of the entire Muslim Ummah as well as the co-operation of all stakeholders including State Governments and indeed the Government of the Federation”.”….the task of overcoming Nigeria’s problems calls for sacrifice, dialogue and understanding; and all national stakeholders must overcome the myopia of greed and self-centredness to move this great nation forward and safeguard its strategic interests….we must begin to look into the future with hope and confidence and to ensure, first and foremost, that we shore up the foundations of our political system. The National Assembly and indeed all tiers of Government should not relent in their current efforts at Electoral Reform and in ensuring that Nigerians have a genuine electoral process that guarantees free and fair elections. Unless and until we do that our nation will continue to be haunted by unholy alliance between fraudulent elections and illegitimate electoral outcomes the consequences of which we all know very well. We must break away from this vicious circle and confer on Nigerians the power and indeed the ability to decide, freely and willingly, who leads them at all levels of governance. “….there is also the urgent need for us to re-evaluate our conception of leadership as a nation…. needless to add, that there is no way we can make genuine progress as a nation when a significant number of our populace wallow in abject poverty unable to secure the requisite means for their sustenance and to cater for the health and educational needs of their families. Democracy must build a humane society capable of looking after the legitimate needs of its citizenry. For it to be truly successful, it must be able to bring real progress for all sectors of our diverse society. “Finally we must all work hard to limit the influence of wealth in our society and to support those values that promote social responsibility, excellence and hard work”.That is Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III a leader who knows the problems of his followers and associates with them in solving those problems. Through his humble interaction with all Muslims in Nigeria, irrespective of tribal or geographical boundaries, he has become the first Sultan to create a strong feeling of a united Ummah under a competent and kind leadership. And by speaking out incessantly against policies which seem to deliberately impoverish ordinary Nigerians irrespective of religions, this Sultan has brought a rare hope to Nigeria and the Muslim Ummah is the luckiest for it. Such a leadership deserves not only allegiance and loyalty but also regular prayers from the Ummah.‘The Message’ hereby joins millions of other Nigerians home and abroad in saying CONGRATULATIONS to His Eminence on his sixth anniversary of his royal regale on the throne praying for Allah’s continuous guidance to accompany him in his life’s odyssey. Long live the Sultan! Long live the NSCIA! Long live Nigeria

  • Muslims and use of water

    Muslims and use of water

    This is the season of rains when water is everywhere but none for drinking. This is the season in which the sky opens up its generous bowl to pour down water in abundance. But the earth has no room to accommodate the gesture. This is a period when plants and animals feel that their needs for survival have been grossly exceeded. The world is said to be flooded with water everywhere and humanity becomes restive. The bounties of Allah seem to be too much for the need of man. In Europe, Asia, Africa and America, the story is one and the same. The world is grappling with a deluge.

    When this happens, the tendency is for the scientists to lay blame at the door on what they will call global warming. They will give many reasons including the depletion of the Ozone Layer as the cause. But Muslims have no choice but to thank Allah and request for a moderation of His largess. This is the time to realise that moderation rather than excess of anything is the best in man’s life. In Islam, there is no cause or effect of a matter that is not known or cannot be controlled by Allah. Whatever happens in the life of man is by His permission.

    The world is like a queue. You enter it at a point and come out of it at another point. This is one major lesson which every Muslim has come to learn through the observance of daily prayers (Salat). In Salat alone where queues are essential, a lot of lessons are there to learn.

    The very basic lesson to learn in Salat is hygiene. If you newly embrace Islam, you have to undergo a ritual bath called Ghuslu-s-Shahadah or Ghuslu-d-dukhul fil Islam. It is performed with water. When you want to observe any Salat, be it obligatory or supererogatory, you must perform ablution with water. This is called Wudu. If there is no water, you take to Tayammam (dry ablution). As a Muslim, after an intercourse with your spouse, you must perform a ritual bath called Ghuslul Janabah before you can observe any Salat. When a Muslim woman completes her monthly menstrual period she must perform a ritual bath called Ghuslul Haydah before she can resume observance of Salat. A Muslim woman who has just completed her blood-dripping period following child delivery must perform a ritual bath called Ghuslu-n-Nifas before she can resume observance of Salat. A newly born baby in Islam must be taken through a mandatory bath called Ghuslul Wiladah which is also done with water.

    Muslim pilgrims must commence their Hajj or Umrah activities with a ritual bath called Ghuslul Hajj or Umrah at their respective Miqat before they enter the condition of Ihram. When a Muslim, male or female is dead, a ritual bath is performed on his or her body. This bath is called Ghuslul Janazah. Anybody who carries out a bath on a dead body must also undergo a ritual bath of purification called Ghuslu-t-Taharah mina-n-Najasah (bath for purifying self from filth). This is because a dead body in Islam is like a filth which must be disposed of as soon as possible before it starts to decompose and thereby constitute health hazard for the living. Whoever touches such filth has had a share of it and must therefore cleanse up before observing any Salat. Such a person cannot participate even in Salatul-Janazah on the body of the deceased person which he has just cleaned up until he has taken the purification bath.

    Muslims are expected to clean up with water through ablution at least five times a day. And, as a prophetic tradition prescribes, they are also expected to perform ritual bath on Fridays in preparation for Salatul Jum’ah though such bath is Sunnah (optional) rather than Fard (obligation). Naturally, women, especially Muslim women utilise water much more than men. They are the ones who take care of the children and, in the process; they clean up for them many times a day. Besides, women are the ones who must clean up for menses every month. They are the ones who must clean up ritually after 40 days, following child delivery. They are the ones in charge of matrimonial kitchens where they use water day and night. Thus, when the demography of women in any society is compared to that of men one can imagine the quantity of water consumed daily or weekly by women.

    Given the fact that water plays a central role in the life of a Muslim therefore, two important conclusions can be reached. One is the fact that Islam is absolutely a religion of purity. And that is why Prophet Muhammad was reported to have said that “Allah is pure and He will not accept anything impure.” The second is that Muslims are the greatest consumers of domestic water in the world. This is because, besides using water socially, commercially or domestically like other human beings, an average Muslim uses additional one third of total water used by any non-Muslim on a daily basis.

    It is therefore understandable why Muslims feel more worried when there is dryness and water cannot be easily accessed. This is what led to the idea of a special prayer called ‘Salatul Istisqai’ (rain-seeking prayer). This prayer randomly observed by Muslims when shortage of water becomes acute cannot be observed with water ablution. It is a way of reconfirming to Allah that the main purpose of our existence on earth is to worship Him just as the purpose of keeping domestic animals is to serve man. Salatul Istisqai which is usually followed by heavy rainfalls is a major evidence of an existing covenant between Allah and His faithful servants. The wonderful effect of that Salat contradicts any scientific theory. Non-Muslim meteorologists have always wondered how possible it is for rain to fall at an impossible time, following a congregational prayer by some Muslim faithful in a locality or region. But to their amazement, they have regularly seen the potency of such prayer in bringing rain not only for Muslims but for all and sundry. The question is: ‘can any other religious group do same to the advantage of mankind? This one trillion Naira question is still begging for answer even almost one and a half millennia after the introduction of Salatul Istisqai as a bringer of rain.

    That Salatul Istisqai actually brings rain even in a severely dry season remains a puzzle to unbelievers especially in the West who see everything, including God, as a product of science.

    I first took part in the observance of Salatul Istisqai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as a student in that country, in 1976. The two rakat prayer had hardly been concluded when rain started in torrents. It rained for nine hours continuously in that desert country and flooded the entire Emirates like the deluge incurred by Prophet Nuh (Noah) as contained in history. It took more than a week before normal social and commercial activities could fully resume. I have since participated in the same exercise twice thereafter in Nigeria and in Saudi Arabia. The effect of Salatul Istisqai is not necessarily immediate. At times, it may take a week or more before rain starts pouring. And, if, after some time, following the observance of Salatul Istisqai, rain does not come, the Salat can be repeated. Allah has a design for everything. He knows when rainfall will best serve the need of man. And in seeking such a favour, Muslims must not try to jump the gun.

    During Hajj in 2007, when the weather became too dry to bear, the Saudi authorities called on all Muslim residents and pilgrims to rise up and cry to Allah for heavenly water through Salatul Istisqai. Thus in cities like Madinah, Riyadh, Dammam, Dhahran, Yambu’, Jubail, Abha, Asir Taif and the likes, millions of Muslims, residents and pilgrims alike, queued up before the Almighty Allah, crying for water to come from heavens. The prayer was led from the great sanctuary of Makkah (Al- Haram) and I was a participant.

    In the observance of Salatul Istisqai, any Imam who leads it is expected to recite Suratul Fatihah as often done in any other Salat. He follows it up with any other chapter or verses in the Qur’an but it is preferable that rain or water-related chapters or verses are recited. These recitations are done aloud. And they are followed by emotional supplications made passionately to Allah while pleading for rainfall.

    Any participant in such prayer is expected to be in a sober mood and be absolutely confident that the prayer would be accepted. The essence of raising one’s hands to Allah in prayer is to further confirm that there is no intermediary between man and Allah in worship and in prayer. Allah Himself emphasises this in the Qur’an by saying to Prophet Muhammad thus: “When my servants ask you about Me, tell them that I am very close to them. I accept the prayers of those who seek from Me but let such seekers expect the giving from Me alone; let them be confident in My ability to accept prayer so that they may be guided aright”. However, there is need to correct the wrong notion being spread around that dresses must be worn inside out by those who will partake in Salatul Istisqai. There is nothing like that in Islam.

    The effect of Salatul Istisqai in bringing rains is just symbolic of all other prayers by Muslims. No genuine Muslim prayer is ever turned down by Allah. Acceptance of prayer may not be exactly in accordance with human expectation, it may not be as promptly as man wants it but eventually, a Muslim will realise that his prayer has been accepted by Allah without an intermediary. Right now, about three million Muslims are performing Hajj in the Holy Land each of them using an average of 10 litres of water for Salat alone daily. And each will spend an average of one month in the Holy Land. This is happening in desert cities like Makkah and Madinah where no visible rivers flow. Yet, water is abundantly available for everyone even at the height of over 110 floors in sky scraper buildings. How else can one feel the mercy of Allah?

    Unknown to the non-Islamic world, performance of Hajj every year is a great blessing to humanity rather than just a mere act of worship by Muslims. Hajj is the biggest congregation of human beings on earth. Allah loves and respects congregations of pious people who praise Him and pray to Him for the needs of the world. That congregation is essential for the continuity of human existence. There is no country in the world today without Muslim pilgrims joining their brethren from other parts of the world in requesting Allah to save the world from perishing. And each year, as such prayers are accepted, the world is confirmed saved despite the evil moves of Yajuj and Ma’juj (Gog and Magog) as well as their agents who are ignorantly pursuing their own destruction every minute. Thus, like Salatul Istisqai which brings water to everybody and not Muslims alone, Hajj is to the benefit of mankind and not Muslims alone. Thus, its preservation must be ensured by everybody in the interest of continued human existence.

    Without water, it will be difficult to observe Salat or to fast in Ramadan or to give Zakat or to perform Hajj. Without water, it will be impossible to bear children and bring them up, or to keep farms and sustain them. Water is life. But this is not for Muslims alone. The difference is that Muslims use part of the water to show gratitude to Allah by worshipping Him. Others use it for mundane life alone which is sheer vanity.

    Knowledge is like water which softens the earth for seeds to germinate and for plants to be nourished to fruition. Knowledge in Islam is much more important than worship. No one can validly worship Allah without knowledge. And if for this reason alone, it should behove the entire Muslim Ummah of the world to join and cooperate in using water to worship Allah. That is the essence of knowledge. It cannot be trivialised.

    As this year’s Idul Adha comes up today, ‘The Message’ hereby congratulates our numerous readers for witnessing another festival wishing them many pleasant returns of it. But ‘The Message’ will be shirking its responsibility if it fails to comment on a fabricated Hadith now making the rounds. The so-called Hadith is quoted as saying that observance of Salatul Jum’at is not obligatory on whoever observes ‘Idul Adha on a Friday. This fabricated Hadith cannot be reasonably attributable to Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Salatul Adha is optional while Salatul Jum’ah is obligatory. It will therefore be unreasonable to quote Prophet Muhammad as expressing such an obnoxious Hadith. ‘Id Mubarak! Kullu ‘Amin wa antum bilkhayr.

  • About Hajj

    About Hajj

    This article is not new. It was published in this column during Hajj period last year. It is being repeated here today with some alterations in response to readers’ popular demand. Here it goes:

    Hajj in the life of a Muslim is like pregnancy in the womb of an expectant mother. The experience varies from woman to woman. The foetus in the womb undergoes various stages before reaching the stage of delivery. But by the time the child is finally delivered the mother feels a relief of her life. And the child assumes a tabula rasa (clean slate) that makes him absolutely innocent.

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

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

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

    Performance of pilgrimage must be based on genuine intention and high spiritual standard. An intending pilgrim must have attained puberty. He must have been an ardent practitioner of the first four pillars of Islam: (Salat, Zakah, and Sawm) all of which are fervently based on faith (Iman). Hajj without these pre-requisites is like a tree without roots.

    Money is a major pre-requisite for Hajj but it is not absolute.

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

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

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

    • Fine-tuning the first four pillars of Islam very sincerely

    • Packaging the intention to perform Hajj

    • Ensuring the security of the way

    • Providing for the family and dependants at home

    • Paying all the outstanding debts including promises

    • Ascertaining the condition of health

    • Perfecting immigration procedures and undergoing all necessary medical services including inoculation

    • Assuming a mood of humility like that of a servant approaching his master.

    • Readiness to endure hardship and to tolerate fellow pilgrims’ attitudes.

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

    The Miqat

    Miqat is the specified place for the wearing of Ihram dress. There are five of such places in all. But the one earmarked for pilgrims from Nigeria cannot be reached by pilgrims travelling by air. It is over-flown while crossing the Red Sea. What most Nigerians do therefore is to wear their Ihram dress in Jeddah which has now been adjudged right through a Fatwah. Thus, Nigerian pilgrims can now wear their Ihram dress on arrival at the pilgrims’ airport in Jeddah.

    Tawaful Qudum

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

    Residence in Makkah or Madinah

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

    Movement to Mina

    Pilgrims must be ready to undergo some rigour in the process of moving to Mina from Makkah. The rigour which normally affects all pilgrims is engendered by limited time available for millions of pilgrims who must move to that spiritual camp before the sunset on the day preceding Arafah day.

    Arafah

    At the Plain of Arafat, pilgrims are advised to stay under their tents and concentrate on the spiritual activities that take them to the place.

    They must reach Arafat by mid day when Salatu-d-Dhuhr and ‘Asr should be observed combined. Anybody who is not at Arafat by mid day is considered not to have taken part in the assembly and therefore missed Hajj. Immediately after observing the combined Salatu-d-Dhuhr and ‘Asr the Imam who leds the two Salat is expected to give a sermon. Listening to such sermon is as compulsory as giving it.

    The great assembly of Arafat terminates shortly before sunset (Magrib) and the pilgrims return to Mina via Muzdalifah.

    Muzdalifah

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

    Jamrat

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

    While going for the pebble-throwing exercise, pilgrims are advised to take their pebbles along with them. Except for the first day when seven pebbles are supposed to be thrown at only one spot, pilgrims are required to throw twenty one pebbles each day the three spots provided while they remain in Mina.

    Picking such pebbles at the point of throwing them is forbidden. All pebbles must have been picked before leaving the tent for the ‘Jamrat’ or on the way.

    Majzarah (Abattoir)

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

    Tawaful Ifadah

    For pilgrims who can afford to go to Makkah after throwing the first seven pebbles, it is good to perform Tawaf-ul-Ifadah. For those who cannot, the exercise can be deferred till the end of Tashrik.

    Pilgrims who have performed Tawaf-ul-Ifadah are free to shave their heads and change from their Ihram dress into civil or traditional dresses.

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

    With the completion of the camping days in Mina and the arrival of all the pilgrims in Makkah, Hajj has been completed except for Tawaf Wida‘i otherwise called farewell Tawaf. That Tawaf is compulsory.

    It is then left for pilgrims to decide whether or not to go to Madinah. Going to Madinah is not compulsory. It can neither validate nor invalidate Hajj. But it will be spiritually odd for any pilgrim to choose not to visit the Prophet’s Mosque.

    Throughout the Hajj exercise, what should be uppermost in the mind of a pilgrim is the spiritual benefit.

    Hajj is made compulsory only once in a life’s time for those who have the wherewithal to undergo it and can satisfy the conditions attached to its performance.

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

     

  • Letter to CBN Governor

    Letter to CBN Governor

    Whoever amongst you sees something abhorrent let him change it physically; but if he is incapable, then, let him change it verbally; and if he is still incapable to do so then let him change it wishfully; however the last option is an evidence of a very weak faith”. Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

    Dear Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Ordinarily, this open letter would not have been necessary if some other avenues were available for public servants like you to rob minds with the ordinary citizens of Nigeria. Similar letters had been written in the recent past through this column to some other prominent public servants in Nigeria including Mr. President. Though you are being surreptitiously labelled unjustifiably by the Press as the most controversial CBN Governor ever in Nigeria, it is a matter of delight for reasonable Nigerians who follow your focused direction that you are calmly weathering the storm despite unwarranted heat being maliciously generated from certain quarters to ensure your failure.

    You would have probably noticed that ‘The Message’ as a column takes a special interest in your office. This is not because you are a Muslim and in charge of money but because your courageous and patriotic performance so far deserves public cooperation and support. And, by winning the World Banker of the year 2011 award, you have put the malicious sceptics to shame. Ever since you became the CBN Governor in 2010, this column has followed your track record very keenly and has randomly commended or admonished you as the situation warranted. Yet, we have never met one on one.

    By and large, as the 10th Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria you have wonderfully proved your mettle by showing that administrative prowess is surely a property of intellect with which only the Almighty Allah endows whoever He wishes. The very quantum of your impeccable achievements in that exalted office in the past two years conspicuously stand you out of the pack. In a sane country the citizenry should be proud of you.

    However, there are moments in the life of a leader when it may become necessary to look over his shoulder and see if the foot soldiers are still there to man the rear effectively. Perhaps for you this is one of such moments.

    Going down the memory lane, you will recall that though the British Colonialists first brought monetary coins and currency notes to Nigeria in 1892 such monies were not in public circulation until 1912 when the West African Currency Board was established to issue currency notes for the sub-region. Nevertheless, the history of Nigeria’s Central Bank did not take root until 1952 when the report of an enquiry into banking practice in Nigeria was submitted. That enquiry led by G. D. Paton a Briton appointed by the Colonial Administration paved the way for the first Banking Ordinance designed to ensure orderly commercial banking and to prevent any establishment of unviable banks that year. Subsequently, a draft legislation for the establishment of Central Bank for Nigeria was presented to the House of Representatives in March 1958 which became fully implemented on July 1, 1959 when the CBN officially came into existence.

    Since then, the Central Bank Act, 1958 (as amended) and the Banking Decree 1969 (as amended) have constituted the legal framework within which the CBN operates and regulates banks. Also, the wide range of economic liberalization and deregulation measures which began in 1986 with the adoption of a Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) resulted in the emergence of more private banks and other financial intermediaries. The Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BOFI) Decrees 24 and 25 of 1991, which repealed the Banking Decree 1969 and all its amendments were, therefore, enacted to strengthen and extend the powers of CBN to cover the new institutions in order to enhance the effectiveness of monetary policy, regulation and supervision of banks as well as non-banking financial institutions. Unfortunately in 1997, the General Sani Abacha led Federal Government enacted a new CBN (Amendment Decree No. 3 and BOFI (Amended) Decree No. 4 to remove completely the limited autonomy which the Bank had enjoyed since 1991.

    Thus, the 1997 amendments brought the CBN back under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance an opportunity that opened the gate for reckless looting of the national treasury. The Decree made CBN directly responsible to the Minister of Finance with respect to the supervision and control of banks and other financial institutions, while extending the supervisory role of the bank to other specialised Banks and Financial Institutions. That amendment placed enormous powers on the Ministry of Finance while leaving the CBN with a subjugated role in the monitoring of the financial institutions with little room for the Bank to exercise discretionary powers. In 1998, another CBN (Amendment) Decree No. 37 which repealed the CBN (Amended) Decree No. 3 of 1997 was enacted. The Decree provided a measure of operational autonomy for the CBN to carry out certain traditional functions which enhanced its versatility.

    However, the current legal framework within which the CBN operates is the CBN Act of 2007 which repealed the CBN Act of 1991 and all its amendments. The Act provides that the CBN shall be a fully autonomous body in the discharge of its functions under the Act and the Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BOFI) Act with the objective of promoting stability and continuity in economic management. In line with this, the Act has widened the objects of the CBN to include ensuring monetary and price stability as well as rendering economic advice to the Federal Government.

    Besides, the regulatory powers of the CBN were strengthened by the Banks and other Financial Institutions (Amendment) Decree No. 38 of 1998 which repealed BOFI (Amendments) Decree No. 4 of 1997. By this Decree, the CBN’s powers on banks, especially those relating to withdrawal of licenses of distressed banks and appointment of liquidators of such banks, including the NDIC was restored. Through those amendments, the CBN may vary or revoke any condition subject to which a license was granted or may impose fresh or additional condition to the granting of a license to transact banking business in the country. This is the Act that gives you as the CBN Governor the enormous powers which you now wield within the banking sector albeit to the great advantage of Nigeria and Nigerians.

    Now that we have a controversy at hand over the desirability or otherwise of introducing a new denomination of Nigerian currency it may become pertinent to also look if briefly at the history of Nigerian currency from colonial times. You will remember that the West African Currency Board was initially responsible for issuing currency notes in Nigeria from 1912 to 1959. Hitherto, the various tribes in Nigeria had used various forms of money including cowries and manilas.

    But on July 1, 1959, the Central Bank of Nigeria issued the first Nigerian currency notes and coins thereby forcing the West African Currency Board to withdraw its notes and coins from circulation in the country. It was, however, not until July 1, 1962 that legal tender status was changed to reflect the country’s new status. The notes were again changed in 1968 as a war strategy following the misuse of the country’s currency notes in certain circumstances.

    And on March 31, 1971, the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon announced that Nigeria would change to decimal currency on January 1, 1973 in line with the modern monetary policy in the world. He said the major currency unit to be called Naira would be equivalent to ten shillings of the British currency of Pound Sterling while the minor unit would be called kobo 100 of which would make one Naira. The decision to change to decimal currency followed the recommendations of the Decimal Currency Committee set up in 1962 which submitted its report in 1964. But for the January 1966 military coup that led to a civil war, the Nigerian decimal currency would have been in use since 1966.

    The change that took place in January, 1973 was a major one which involved both currency notes and coins. The major unit of currency which used to be one Pound (£1) ceased to exist and the one Naira which was equivalent to ten Shillings (10/-) became the major unit. Yet on February 11, 1977 a new banknote denomination of 20 Naira value was issued as the highest denomination. This was special in two respects. Its issuance became necessary not only as a result of the growth of incomes in the country but also as a preference for cash transactions and the need for convenience. Thus, N20 note became the first currency note in Nigeria to bear the Portrait of a Nigerian citizen, in this case, the late Head of State, General Murtala  Ramat Muhammed (1938-1976) who was killed in a February 13 1976 military coup attempt.  He was declared a national hero on the 1st of October, 1978. The note was issued on the 1st Anniversary of his assassination as a befitting tribute to a most illustrious son of Nigeria.

    Again, on July 2, 1979, new currency notes of three denominations: N1, N5 and N10 were introduced. These notes were of the same size: 151 x 78 mm as the N20 note issued in 1977. In order to facilitate identification however, distinctive colours similar to those of the current various banknotes were used. The notes bore the portraits of three other eminent Nigerians who had been declared national heroes on October 1, 1978. These were Herbert Macaulay; Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Chief Alvan Ikoku. The back of each of these notes was engraved in such a way as to reflect the cultural traits of the country. But by 1991, when the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), had terribly battered the value of the Naira rendering it almost valueless, both the 50k and N1 Notes were reduced to coins. Later, in response to the expansion in economic activities and to facilitate an efficient payments system, the N100, N200, N500, N1000 were introduced respectively in December 1999, November 2000, April 2001 and October, 2005. And on February 28, 2007, N50, N20, N10, and N5 banknotes as well as N1 and 50K coins were reissued with new designs, while a new N2 coin was introduced.

    Since 1991 when SAP rendered the Naira almost valueless, the coined denominations of Nigerian Naira has become moribund having been rejected by the populace thereby turning Nigeria into a country without coins. Despite this however, Nigerians had never queried any need for introducing new currency denomination as they are now doing in respect of N5000 note.

    Now, many questions are begging for answers:

    1.   At a time when corruption is virtually at its crescendo in the country and you as the CBN Governor are calling for a cashless economy what informs the introduction of the highest currency denomination note of N5000?

    2.   Is there no contradiction in advocating for a cashless economy with one side of the mouth and campaigning for introduction of N5000 with the other side as you are now doing?

    3. What is the logic in introducing N5000 note at a time when Nigerians have not been convinced on the need to return to the use of coins which you are now trying to reintroduce?

    4. Why is such a delicate and highly controversial action being unilaterally taken with neither the involvement of the legislature nor the consent of the populace through a referendum?

    5. In a democracy, who should have the way on a vital national policy as new currency? Is it the majority or the minority? Are you aware that an imposition of such a policy by you the CBN Governor, the Presidency and the pseudo politicians called business group may boomerang especially when the same group is seemingly responsible for the current national economic doldrums?

    6. How economically reasonable is it to spend about N40 billion to mint new currency only to gain N7 billion as being claimed by your spokesmen?

    Perhaps you need to be hinted that the general impression in the country about this new monetary policy and which is probably responsible for the overwhelming opposition to it is the suspicion that you may be inadvertently colluding with some corrupt politicians to ditch Nigeria economically.  This impression is a direct opposite of the high esteem in which you were held before now by most Nigerians because of your marvellous performance in the banking sector. In the past one year, two Nigerian public officials have positively rendered the populace nonplussed by their wonderful actions. These are your esteemed self and the Inspector General of Police Muhammad Dikko Abubakar.

    Mr. CBN Governor, you have done well so far. Please, do not allow these chameleonic politicians to use you for their own purpose because they will eventually dump you characteristically and turn back to laugh at you. A leader is known not by the power he wields but by his application of magnanimity in the use of such power. You are already considered by the populace to be a national economic hero. Do not allow any political charlatan to reduce you into a villain. Politicians are best known for doing that. You are not one yet but you know them. A word is enough for the wise. We shall meet again in a foreseeable future to exchange notes God willing.

    •Historical facts in this article were culled from the internet.