The Nation Newspaper

Category: Friday

  • Posers from Ekiti 2014

    Posers from Ekiti 2014

    In a democracy, elections are the only means of choosing our leaders, and elections are about people’s preferences. Preferences, on their part, could be rational or irrational, self-regarding or other-regarding. It does not really matter because in a democracy, the electorate are the kingmakers. The analogy is apt. Just as kingmakers select the king and reserve the right to depose him in the days of old, so the electorate elect their governor or representative and reserve the right to vote him or her out in four or five years as the case may be. With the power of recall, they can even do so in less than four years. It’s the beauty of democracy.

    Since the return of democratic rule in 1999, Nigeria has had three general elections with varying degrees of success in the manner they reflected the true preferences of the electorate. In 2003, there was the routing of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) governors from the Southwest, except Lagos State, with rampant and credible allegations of rigging and violence. 2007 was worse, giving rise to successful challenges at election tribunals in the cases of Ekiti and Osun. That was how Governors Kayode Fayemi and Rauf Aregbesola retrieved their mandates. In 2011, cases of alleged rigging were few and far between and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and President Goodluck Jonathan were justly commended for allowing the people’s will to prevail. In the past year, Anambra State reminded us of the earlier days of an inept INEC.

    Ekiti 2014 has proved again that INEC is capable of shepherding our fragile democracy to a glorious destination and it should be commended by all citizens.

    Now, the just concluded governorship election in Ekiti presents some issues for democracy and these arise for me in the form of questions that have agitated my mind since the announcement.

    Does performance matter? If not, what does? What does the Ekiti election tell us about the electorate? They voted their preference. Is their preference for Fayose or against Fayemi? If their preference is for Fayose, what about him did they prefer? His person?  His programme? His party? If their preference is against Fayemi, what about him did they not prefer? His person? His programme? His party? Can preferences be wrong? Where preferences reflect interests, can interests be misinformed? What does the election tell us about the defeated candidate?

    I confess that I have no answers to these questions. But I cannot deny that they flow from a particular state of mind, one that is confused, indeed, disappointed about the outcome of the election, having given a glowing endorsement of the loser. How and why did Fayemi lose? You might justifiably respond that he lost because voters rejected him, preferred Fayose, and that is good enough. But while it is good enough, it is not deep enough. It answers the “how” and not the “why”. For a follow-up question is reasonable: why did they reject Fayemi and prefer Fayose?

    Did Ekiti voters reject Fayemi because of a lacklustre performance? Even his bitterest opponent, including the governor-elect and the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would not go the route of despising the performance of the outgoing governor. Besides giving him credit for his statesmanlike concession speech to the people, he has also been praised for the achievements he made in four years. So, if a serious and objectively-valid case cannot be made against Fayemi on account of his performance, why did he suffer such a crushing defeat by the people, including in his own local government? There must be something more than performance that is central to the voters’ idea of good governance than performance.

    The last sentence needs modification. I am almost sure that Ekiti voters did not reject performance as an important criterion of good governance. But it appears true that they want something more. For them, it has to be “performance plus X”, where various items are substituted for X, depending on the preferences of individuals or groups. For contractors, it is performance plus contract awards. For teachers, it is performance plus payment of not only salaries but also allowances for training, in addition to not being held accountable for students’ performances through continuous certification tests. For students, it is performance plus free tuition at the Ekiti State University (EKSU). For the jobless, it is performance plus job opportunities. For the hungry, it is performance plus bags of rice and gallons of cooking oil. The list is inexhaustible because preferences are elastic, while the resources available to a small state like Ekiti, without the benefit of 13 per cent derivation fund, are limited. Here is the tragedy of our clime and whoever will put himself up as a transforming agent.

    Fayemi has been accused of not being on ground, of not being a grassroots politician, and of not paying attention to what people want, instead of what they need, where want is prioritised above need. The last point is particularly troubling. No political office holder can hope to satisfy people’s wants especially in an environment of abject poverty. This is why developmental projects are targets for improving the lives of the citizens and the electorate. My information was that Fayemi made it a point of duty to solicit the input of Ekiti citizens in his budget priorities, prioritising what each locality claims as a need in the budget allocation for that locality. But apparently this wasn’t enough.

    It has also been alleged that Fayemi imported contractors from out of state to execute projects and this deprived Ekiti indigenes of the proverbial dividends of democracy. If this was the case, it was a grievous error on the part of the governor and his administration. What might be the reason? It is not unusual; indeed, it is the rule in many cases that politicians-turn-contractors see contracts as rewards for political activism. They take mobilisation fees and run. I do not suggest that this is the case with Ekiti State, but it has happened with other states and with the Federal Government. We know of contract for road work that gets unexecuted. To preserve a legacy of developmental projects, Fayemi may have been advised to go for reputable contractors in or out of state. Sadly, we now know that the politics of stomach infrastructure is strategically more effective at the polls than an idealistic focus on developmental infrastructure.

    In the final analysis, however, what really matters is that Ekiti voters have spoken with their ballot papers.  Their preference is for Fayose and against Fayemi. The task of governance must proceed. Fayose will have to prudently combine his grassroots charm with the task of effective governance. He has been there before and he knows that the people that shout “hosanna” today are the same folks that will demand “crucifixion” tomorrow. The people may prioritise stomach infrastructure at the moment, but that does not mean they will reject developmental infrastructure. A governor that finds a way to combine both and more is a winner. Of course, that is a tough call in an environment of scarcity.

    I should end with a note of concern, especially for the Southwest political and economic development. Elections are about people’s will. If and when they have registered their will, politicians of all affiliations and tendencies ought to respect that will and work for another day. That was what Fayemi has been commended for and must be justly proud of. That frame of mind recommends itself to all, especially because in the spirit of the development of the Southwest and the commitment to DAWN, no state can be or should be left out. My greatest concern is that this election should have no negative impact on the spirit of DAWN, which Governor Fayemi has so effectively spearheaded. Governor-elect Fayose should be given every reason to know that he is an integral part of the success of DAWN moving forward. No matter the party affiliation, the work of developing the Southwest as a model zone is for all to embrace.

  • Stoning to death

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Classification of Shari‘Ah

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

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

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

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

    Proof of law

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Documentation of Hadith

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

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

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

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

    Categories of adultery

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

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

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

    Fabricated Hadith

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

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

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

    (Q. 33: 21).

    Relevant questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Essence of punishment

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

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

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

  • See Brazil and die

    Kick off the fun! The month-long world’s fiesta of football is on. It is said that religion is the opium of the masses but was that in the past?  Football may well be the emerging religion of the world’s people today. And the World Cup (WC) tournament, also known as the mundial which takes place every four years, must be the revival service. It is yet another season when men (and many women too) dream football, think football, talk football and would rather eat football. Football, the round leather object and game, also called soccer, is here to keep the world spellbound and a little quiet for a while. Football, especially the World cup, has become so transcendental that even those dark fiends who are in the business of holding the world hostage are sure to take a breather. Yes, we mean professional terrorists, warlords and even armed robbers would hold their fire while the WC lasts. This is especially so in the 32 participating countries.

    The festival holds in Brasil, the South American combo of a nation where it all started in 1930 and which has over the years become the world’s basilica of the game. She last hosted the game in 1950 but has been the most successful in this queer art of kicking a round leather object around a field, winning five trophies. It has also given the world a football god – Arantes do Nacimento, better known as Pele of Brasil. There are other big Brazilian football cult heroes like Garincha, Zico and Ronaldo to name just a few.

    Welcome to Samba country:Though football has its home in England, its soul is in Brazil. The rumbustious tropical rainforest country of South America seems tailor-made for football and football made for it. Not because it has the largest football stadium, the Maracana; not even because it covers almost half of the vast South American continent, no. Brazil, with a population of about 250 million people and an economy larger than that of all her regional peers put together, epitomises the best, the worst, the most beautiful and the ugly too. A vastly rich country with a modern economy, it also boasts some of the poorest peoples symbolised by some of the worst slums (favelas) to be found anywhere. It is from the cauldron of these favelas that Brazil serves the world a thick broth of gangsterism, drugs, rape and football artistry. Brazil also boasts of great beaches, perhaps the best carnival and absolutely the most voluptuous black women to be found anywhere (you may read my lips!). It is also a rich cultural environment, a rainbow country of Caucasians, Blacks, Hispanics and a beautiful mixture of all. Brazil, the samba country, looks to me like the picture of our future.

     Every four years, the tournament gets bigger, better and more riveting. FIFA, the world body in charge of football also gets bigger and grows in importance as if it would form a world government someday. Such is the intriguing power of football which the numerous scandals in the world house of soccer have not diminished. In fact, it is feared that someday, countries may be rated by the number of World Cup silverware in their kitty. Countries not part of the four-yearly fireworks feel left out of the world community and great players not in the tournament walk with slouched shoulders throughout the show.

      Eagles flying on a wing and a prayer:Nigeria is represented by the Super Eagles in this contest, her fifth in the history of the tournament. Her first outing in USA 1994 was a glorious one and her best so far, having reached the second round of the competition and losing on penalties shootout to the finalist, Italy. Since then, it has been tales of woe with group stage ousting each time. That seems to be the last golden era in terms of soccer talents in the senior team. It was the time of Nigerian legends like Rashidi Yekini, Sunday Oliseh, Emmanuel Amunike and Stephen Keshi, to name a few. The only other time the Nigerian team had such array of talents was in the early 80s class, which had Christian Chukwu, Segun Odegbami and Adokiye Amasiemeka, among others. Though the current Eagles are African champions, the team led by Joseph Yobo has not shown character and style, the hallmark of champions. The team which has notable stars like goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, Chelsea FC stars, Mikel Obi and Victor Moses is flying to the World Cup on a wing and a prayer. Most Nigerians can only hope that they will escape from their group, which comprises soccer super power, Argentina and minnows; Iran and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

    Coach Stephen Keshi has selected the best players available, which include three players from the home league. We hope for sweet soccer, we pray for good fortune for our Eagles. But most important, we hope to enjoy an exposition of one of the greatest genius of humanity; perhaps the greatest unifier of the peoples of the world.

     

    Siege on media: if we be the problem…

    If routine seizure of some
    national newspapers and
    their circulation vans by the military will help the now intractable fight against Boko Haram terrorists and also help free the Chibok girls perchance, please let us give them all the papers and vans they want.

    If the seizure of some national newspapers and their circulation vans by the military will help gather preemptive intelligence about the financiers, finances, heavy arms shipments and training grounds of the terrorists, please let us give them all the papers and vans in the world.

    If the seizure of some national newspapers and their circulation vans by the military will help the presidency wake up to some of the problems bedeviling our country, we will gladly move to banish newspapers for the sake of our dear country. Yes, we will gladly pay the ultimate prize for dear country if we be the problem of Nigeria. Yes, if we could, we will gladly morph into Boko Haram, just to grant the military instant victory… if we be Nigeria’s problem.

    (An ode to the Federal Government of Nigeria which through the instrumentality of the military has been breaching newspaper operations in Nigeria since early June.)

     

    Good bye Dora…

     

    Good bye Dora (Akun
    yili) our brief candle
    that burned with bright, beautiful flames. In your laughter, in your eyes, in your verve, you shined forth so beautifully, the colours of hope…

    Goodbye Dora, the oriental queen who proved that it could be done. We can still hear the clack of your stilettos in the moldy corridors of bureaucracy; and where there were cobwebs, you hung bright pearls…

    Goodbye Dora, though we will miss you sore, we draw from your well still…

  • Politicising (in)security

    Politicising (in)security

    Whoever is in doubt about the self-regarding interest behind the opposition of the federal government, the party in power at the centre, and their agents to the decentralisation of policing and the establishment of state and local police by the 36 states of the country even after the events of the last two weeks is either naive, mischievous or in total denial.

    The major argument against the establishment of state police has been the untenable one that governors and parties in control of the states will abuse their authorities and exploit the police for their political advantage against their opponents. The second argument, which is not quite different from the first, is that our democracy is not mature enough to recommend the decentralisation of the system of policing the state.

    It doesn’t matter to the proponents of these arguments that since the return of democratic rule in 1979, when the federal civilian government took control of the police, we have witnessed an increasing abuse of authority on the part of the centre. It is common knowledge that in the Second Republic, the Nigerian Police was a potent instrument of oppression and harassment of opposition governors by the federal government. The Inspector General at the time was very clear about whose agent he was and whose interest he served.

    The various military regimes need not come into this discussion because of the nature of the military unified command system. Needless to add, however, such a system is an anomaly in a civilian regime. But that is exactly what our milito-politicians have decided to embrace because it benefits them. Reasonable citizens should be concerned and alarmed. There are multiple levels of the alarm system that ought to sound off now: First, when you embrace the unified command system of law enforcement, and you embrace the military as part of that scheme in a civil regime, aren’t you sending them the wrong signal? Second, when you present your civilian regime as incapable of maintaining internal law and order without the involvement of the military, what message are you sending to the military? Third, when the centre exploits its authority with the use of law enforcement against the opposition, with a view to making peaceful change impossible, what kind of change is it encouraging?

    From Friday, June 6, till Sunday, June 8, our armed forces staged a comeback to their old game of intimidation and harassment. They laid siege on the media, disrupting the free flow of information. As widely reported by all the major media houses, the army placed soldiers in strategic locations throughout the country, especially in Abuja, Ibadan, Lagos, Benin, Jos  and other northern cities, detained newspaper distribution vans and their drivers, and confiscated the newspapers they were to deliver. Apart from costing the publishers and distributors enormous losses, the exercise also caused many vendors and distributors legitimate means of livelihood.

    What was the excuse of the soldiers and the presidency? On the part of the soldiers, it was not difficult to figure out that they were acting on orders. The reason for the order had to do with security. Of course, the army is concerned about security and if and whenever it has intelligence reports about the activities of a segment of the public with a great potential for causing harm to the country, it must take action. So the story goes. And it is not a new one. We heard it before during the era of brutal dictatorship. That we are hearing it now reminds us of those days when media houses were forcefully searched and editors and journalists were brutalised. Do we need to be reminded of those days that ought to be conveyed to historical infamy?

    What about the presidency? Never short of excuses presidential spokespersons quickly tried to parry the allegation of dirty tricks against the presidency. They reminded us that President Jonathan signed the Freedom of Information Act. How can a President who was so magnanimous with such a gift to journalists now turn around to scuttle the free flow of information? The President had nothing to do with the action of the military. But as Commander-in-Chief, he supports the action if it was the result of intelligence. This is double-speak at its worst: The president does not support the obstruction of information. The president supports military intelligence-based action against the free flow of information.

    But what intelligence could be behind such harassment?  Credible reports suggested, we were told, that newspaper distribution vans were being used to smuggle and distribute arms in the country! Incredible! Assume that this is the case. The military (not the police) swung into action. What should be the objective? Search suspicious vehicles for arms. Release them if nothing incriminating is found. Let them go about their legitimate business. But that was not what happened. All media reports suggested that vans were detained. Distribution centres were raided. Drivers were detained. What was the reason for detention of those vehicles and their drivers if nothing was found on them? What was the reason for the siege on distribution centres and vendors? Were distribution centres also implicated in the intelligence report?

    The Nigerian Police is not left out. Kano has a new Emir and the sky is still blue. There has been no earthquake. HRH Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the Emir of Kano, received his instrument of office from the Kano State Governor. The kingmakers who included him on top of the list of three nominees for the governor paid him the traditional homage. The princes and princesses paid their obeisance. But the Emir cannot enter his palace because a contingent of the federal police has laid siege on the place since Sunday. What is the excuse? It is to protect the Emir. But why does the Emir need protection and protection from whom? The presidency is unhappy. How can a person removed from office by the President be liked by his people to such an extent that they make him their Emir?

    The President ought to have known better. He should have known that this is not something he can control. Political naivety brings unhappy consequences. We are still a federation. Traditional institutions are still local. The President doesn’t control the state government and given the relationship between him and the Kano State Governor, he shouldn’t have expected anything different. It stands to reason that what Jonathan hates, Kwankwaso would like. If Jonathan didn’t want Sanusi to be Emir of Kano, a more revered position than the CBN governor, the President should have left him to complete his term. What to do now? It is clear that Sanusi is the ultimate winner. The President must count his losses, lift the siege on the palace and let the Emir be. Ranka de de, Your Royal Highness!

    On Sunday, June 8, Ado-Ekiti was the scene of another in the familiar episode of federal security agents run amok. Since the days of its ACN precursor, APC has consistently engaged in a funny but symbolic act of sweeping off the footprints of opposition parties, especially PDP after the rallies organised by the latter in states controlled by the APC. That was what happened in Ado-Ekiti after the PDP rally on Saturday, June 7. APC masses assembled at the stadium with their brooms. But the Mobile Police detachment would have none of that effrontery. The Vice President was still in town and an opposition had organised a rally to sweep off his feet from the soils of Ado-Ekiti? How can any authoritarian regime allow that?

    That is the root of our challenge as a democracy. We are not mature to have any other state security system because no one must challenge the authority of the President and his party. The Mobile Police actually disarmed a unit of the Nigeria Police that was assigned to Governor Fayemi. That was to demonstrate the superiority of the Vice President over the Governor.The circle will remain unbroken when a new party takes over in the centre. It will have its own authority to protect because the constitution that we have embraced since 1979 ensures that this vicious circle will be unbroken.

  • Guest of integrity

    Guest of integrity

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Its journey

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

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

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

    Its mission

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

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

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

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

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

    Its anchor leg

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

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

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

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

    Anticlimax

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

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

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

    Preparation

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

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

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

    Dynamism

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

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

    Geographical factor

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

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

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

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

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

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

     RAMADAN KARIM IN ADVANCE!

  • Only three democrats in this land!

    Three are chosen?: What is a democracy without democrats operating the system in deed and in spirit? Well a mere civil rule at best. But if we want an honest answer, what we have had in the last 15 years in the guise of democracy has really been a hiatus; a vacuum waiting to be filled. This is why one is deeply disturbed by the excitement and theatrics over what we call a 15-year stretch of democratic rule in Nigeria. To celebrate democracy and reel out achievements in bricks and mortar is one of those laughable things we do around here.

    Democracy cannot equate some resurfaced roads or official vehicles ‘given’ to civil servants. Democracy is that fine art and science of governing a people in a manner that brings out the maximum potentials derivable. It is a conscious effort, it is something you have to internalize and practice. It is often spear-headed by leader-democrats who build solid institutions and inspire mass followership. Aung Kyi, the iconic Burmese activist surmised it thus:  “Development requires democracy, the genuine empowerment of the people.”

    But where are the Nigerian democrats? Hardly any; we talk democracy but just a few pursue it. In fact, through this period, this column can identify only three Nigerians who may be said to have furthered the cause of democracy in Nigeria.

    Bola Tinubu’s tireless struggle:  To properly understand and situate the depth of his roles in nurturing Nigeria’s democracy through this period, it would be best to consider how the last 15 years would have played out without his input. Coming from a life-threatening role in the National Democratic Coalition’s (NADECO) campaign which ousted the military, Tinubu went ahead to co-initiate the political party, Alliance for Democracy (AD), which swept the polls in the Southwest of Nigerian in 1999.

    He has held out since then even when his peers from the zone floundered, leading that party to metamorphose into the All Progressives Congress (APC), the major alternative to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). It has been 15 years of impassioned political activism and relentless propagation of progressive democratic ethos. He has engineered the Southwest of Nigeria into the democratic showpiece of Nigeria, providing an alternative to an obdurate conservative ruling clique. With the APC, democracy has deepened; Nigerians have a viable choice while quality changes would willy-nilly be forced in the PDP.

    Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will no doubt get a pride of place when the history of this democracy is written. He is a man who bucked the trend; he chose to act when he could have taken the path of reclined comfort and good life like most of his peers.

    Buhari, the unlikely democrat: not a few Nigerians would consider it anathema to associate General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) with democracy but that is what the erstwhile military officer and dictator has morphed into in the last 15 years. True many Nigerians still consider him ultra-conservative and lacking in democratic salubrity but that may be because he has remained true to his cause over these years. Three times he has contested presidential election, three times he has failed and thrice he had followed his quests legally right up to the apex courts.

    As a former general (and one without a deep pocket), he joined political parties and remained a faithful party man at every step. He grew into a party leader commanding large followership over his area of influence. When he was betrayed by his former party, he founded one in his image which became an instant success. It is his formidable Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) that merged with Tinubu’s ACN to become APC. This episode is perhaps the single most important footnote in our current democratic narrative.

    Yet he has remained his starchy, soldier self over these years instead of the classic politician; he has also made some conflagrant statements in his journey. Notwithstanding, he has furthered the cause of democracy more than all of his soldiers-turned politicians of this age. Yes, even more than Olusegun Obasanjo.

    Peter Obi, star of the east: The immediate past governor of Anambra State proved to be an icon of this fledgling democracy in a very peculiar way. Coming from a place where that old, Grecian ideal might well be a fancy article of trade in Ochanja market. Ndigbo (though not unlike other tribes of the land but more peculiarly so) have long discountenanced democracy. Since 1999, governance had been by the powerful, of the powerful and for the powerful in Igboland. And during elections, only cash counts, votes don’t.

    Thus since 1999, hardly any elective office was won by vote count. Peter Obi bucked this trend in the Anambra governorship race of 2003. A businessman, he was moved to join politics after the disastrous outing of Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju. His state was like a jungle where the treasury was booty for party pimps. A man of some means, he could have joined the PDP, gotten in the mix and awaited his turn and share of the booty. But he had a mission to engage governance in the proper, democratic way.

    He won the election with his puny APGA but the PDP cabal snatched his mandate and for over three years he fought doggedly through the courts of the land to reclaim it. His ordeal in the hands of a visceral corps of power mongers in the state is a story for an epic political literature. Suffice it to say that Obi proved that votes can truly count and a non-ruling party could win fair and square. All through his tenure as governor, he showed that power, especially on a democratic platform, is not an end in itself. Lastly he proved not to be a prisoner to power like most of his peers who are so power- hungry they shop for positions and offices even after two terms as governor.

    The trio of Tinubu, Buhari and Obi represent the bright lights of this age. They sacrificed and braved odds to make an impact. It’s not all doom and gloom after all.

    Honorable mentions: Of course this is not an absolute shortlists, there must be numerous other leaders at all level holding out and holding forth on behalf of democracy. Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State is one and INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega is another.

    LAST MUG: Fani wonder: It was Fani Power those days but today we are ‘blessed’ to have a chip of an old block: let’s call him Fani Wonder or wander if you please. He has done it again – a multiple back flip that landed him back in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) fold. We speak of the now migrant politician Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode (FFK!) who jumped from PDP to ACN/APC and now back to PDP. Fani Wander is a story for another day but let’s say that we are no longer a wasted generation, we are actually a wondrous one: no qualms, no scruples, no compunctions; absolutely hollow and vain.

  • Fayemi deserves a second term

    Fayemi deserves a second term

    On the eve of the rerun of the Ekiti State governorship election in April 2009, I made a bold prediction in my “Give us this moment” that Dr. Kayode Fayemi will come out on top. My prediction was based firstly, on my assessment of Fayemi’s background and his 10-point agenda for the development of the state, and secondly on my understanding and appreciation of the demographics of the state as the Land of Honor and the home of a people with an unquenchable appetite for knowledge.

    We all witnessed the rerun election and its discontents which prompted my “Ekiti wonder” the following week, followed by my “Weapons of mass deception.”  Those were the days of the locust. I am hopeful that we have all learned from that sordid experience with its ugly stain on our young democracy and can now look forward to the upcoming election with renewed confidence in the system.

    Fayemi had to wait for another year before his mandate was restored by the Appeals Court. His patience was tried. His resolve was tested. His humanity was challenged. In the end, he came out triumphant. His triumph was not just because his mandate was restored, but especially because with the ultimate result he proved that (i) the people’s voice and action will not be ignored and (ii) the hope and aspirations of the people will not be disappointed.

    I do not live in the country and in my short-term visits since 2010 I have not been privileged to visit Ekiti. I have only seen Governor Fayemi two or three times at events in Lagos in the last three and a half years. Though, he visits Washington metro area every now and then, our paths don’t cross. I mention this to make an important point. I evaluate him on the basis of (a) his fidelity to his campaign promise based on credible reports of independent observers and (b) the integrity that he brought to governance. Outside of these, nothing else matters to me. I have heard a lot of complaints: Fayemi doesn’t give recognition to party leaders. He doesn’t reward party members. He is being advised by a few, etc. This is all hogwash. We need to go beyond personality politics and a “me-too mentality” and embrace the ideal of governance.

    We elect leaders to lead in accordance with the promises that they make. If they succeed in fulfilling the majority of those promises, and they make a good-faith effort to fulfil the rest, then it is only fair that they be given a second term to carry out the rest. When a leader fails abjectly because he has no clue about what he got into in the first place, then no matter how gentle or loving or friendly he may be, to “reward” cluelessness with a second term is to mortgage the lives of millions of people.

    Secondly, while everyone has a right to present him-or herself for the position of a governor, I feel strongly that, as a matter of political morality, members of the same political party who originally gave the incumbent the mandate to lead, have a heavy burden of moral responsibility to support him for a second term as long as he delivers on his promises and the party’s manifesto.  This is on the understanding that there is always going to be future opportunities for other aspirants within the party.These are important issues for our political development in this country. The splintering of political parties on the basis of nothing more serious than a “me-too can be governor”doesn’t help our cause.

    Now, what has Fayemi accomplished to deserve a second term in office? I will attempt to answer this question based on a candid comparison of my 2009 election eve optimistic assessment of what a Fayemi administration will do and what the Fayemi administration has actually done.

    In “Give us this moment” I maintained that I was sure that Ekiti people will give Fayemi their mandate because as a people fired up for knowledge and honor, they knew best who can deliver their dream Ekitiland. After almost four years, I am sure that the people can now say that the Land of Honor has reclaimed its glory. Decency has returned to governance.  Assume that there has been no material improvement, which is certainly not the case; this return of decency to governance would still be a big deal. Who want to be associated with rascality and hooliganism?

    Secondly, I observed in 2009 that “Ekiti indigenes know which candidate in this election has an agenda for their welfare needs.” I ca now boldly assert that Fayemi has fulfilled his promise to look after the aged and the needy. The N5000 monthly social security benefit for the elderly citizens of the state is a gesture that lets them know that their years of productive services to the state are greatly appreciated.  In the same category are the free health program and the free health mission that the State government embarked upon as soon as Fayemi took over. More than two-thirds of the state population in need of these services have benefitted from the programs.

    Thirdly, in 2009 I based my prediction that Ekiti will elect Fayemi as their Governor on his agenda for education. I observed then that the “Fountain of Knowledge” will make education its foremost industry again by improving access to quality education towards creating a knowledge economy…Computer education will be prioritized in the spirit of the 21st century advances.”  I cannot overemphasize the significance of good education for our country and our region, and for me, it is this particular aspect of his campaign promise that attracted my attention.

    In view of the fact that years of the locust have had a debilitating effect on our educational system, it will take more than four years in office to make an appreciable impact. But Governor Fayemi has started well with bold plans and strategic thinking. The renovation of schools has been a top priority for him. He has provided laptops for students. He has inaugurated the Committee on Ekiti State Integrated Science and Technology Education Transformation Framework and Roadmap with a view to positioning the economy of the state and converting its “intellectual capital to prosperity for the people of Ekiti.” As I also observed five years ago, “a progressive politician measures success by how many citizens he or she lifts from the depth of poverty onto the pinnacle of knowledge and wealth.” I think Fayemi has opened the path for the desirable uplift of Ekiti citizens.

    If education is the key, then those who have the responsibility to provide sound education for the children must also have sound knowledge and the temperament to educate for success. I have been an educationist all my life with the exception of a couple of off-years. As a proud recipient of the Teachers’ Grade III and Teachers’ Grade II certificates, I take teaching seriously and I have tried to give my students the best.

    I am disheartened about the current state of the education of our teachers. I am even more disappointed about our approach to further training. I believe that this was the context in which Governor Fayemi proposed the further training and testing of teachers. That proposal was politicized but there was a good intention behind it and I expect that teachers would see beyond the unprincipled politics of others who try to put a wedge between them and Fayemi.

    I observed in 2009 that Fayemi promised the infrastructural development of the state. In the three and a half years that he has been in the saddle, he has transformed the state with the building of roads, linking major towns in the state, successfully accessing development funds from international agencies such as the World Bank. We have reports of rural electrification projects and construction of water-works across the state.

    Finally, citizens of Ekiti know Fayemi as a compassionate leader who has demonstrated his democratic credentials. They will again give us this moment to savor and cherish when they elect him for a second term in office on June 21, 2014.

  • Beyond Boko Haram

    Beyond Boko Haram

    Preamble

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

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

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

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

    Observation

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Reflections

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    The Madalla Tragedy

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

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

    Complicity

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Prayer and Solidarity

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

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

    Role of Religious Leaders

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

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

    Difficult Times

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

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

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

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

  • Denial and the blame game

    Denial and the blame game

    We are still in denial. When we don’t bury our ostrich heads in the sand, pretending that nothing is amiss, we play the blame game. I use the first person plural here because although, it is the Jonathan administration that is neck-deep in this shamelessness, we are all implicated. This is our government. This is the president that we voted into office. This is the president that we invested our hope in and lavished our goodwill upon. His challenges, whether self-imposed or other-generated, is our challenge. At any rate, we are the victims.

    The reason the blame game has been particularly sad and unproductive is that it is unclear why it has to be the recourse for anyone. Why indulge in the ineffective practice of blaming when you can roll up your sleeves and find solution? President Jonathan played down the idea of negotiation because he didn’t see any successful outcome from negotiating with faceless characters. Boko Haram is a mirage, we were counseled. If you can’t identify them, how can you negotiate with them? That was before we knew that in fact there had been some attempt to negotiate years ago by the former President Obasanjo. That had to be called off because President Jonathan did not accept the conditions. Then recently, in the matter of the Chibok girls, we now know that a negotiated settlement was in process when President Jonathan again called it off.

    Now it stands to reason that if you find it repulsive to negotiate with terrorists, then the option of using what only a government can muster is the next and only available option. Government has an absolute monopoly of the use of coercion. If negotiation is out, it is reasonable, indeed imperative to demand that force be applied. If we cannot identify who they are, we cannot feign ignorance about their operational targets. We know where they have hit over and over. We have declared a state of emergency over the entire North-East so that JTF may have a free rein. What has been the outcome?

    It turned out that Governor Shettima was right. We can’t match the terrorists in the quality and quantity of the arsenal at their disposal. And if as the government insists, that is not the case, then the alternative explanation for why we are helpless victims is that we do not have an armed force with the motivation and determination to effectively engage the terrorists in battle. There have been citizen reports of the army fleeing into hiding at the approach of the terrorists. Sadly, we have been in denial in respect of each of these possibilities. It is sad because if we don’t have a handle on the correct diagnosis of our ailment as a nation, we are doomed.

    Our national pastime, which the president has effectively symbolised in this crisis, is the blame game. Thus, President Jonathan complained recently that the goal of the insurgency is to bring down his government. By inference, terrorists are nothing to worry about if we can get at their sponsors. Therefore the focus has to be on those who are behind the obnoxious goal. This of course leads to the all-important question: Who is behind the insurgency? Are they politicians? Or is it the opposition? Is it the Cleric or Labour? Is it ASUU or students? How about market women? Or is it all of the above? But if this is how our mind has been working, can we possibly deal with or even start to seriously deal with the insurgency without an answer to the all-important question?

    It is important to note that the Boko Haram insurgency predated the Jonathan presidency. Therefore its original motivation could not have been to bring down the government of Jonathan. Furthermore, we should recall that when it first appeared, Boko Haram was treated as a criminal and misguided gang for which police action was appropriate. Indeed, its leader was killed in police custody. No one suspected or looked for political sponsors until Jonathan assumed presidency when it suddenly dawned on us that Boko Haram was an evil ploy of the North to get back by force what it lost through the ballot box. It didn’t matter that emirs were targeted. It didn’t matter that northern politicians have been victims. Inadvertently we gave terrorists the time they needed to master their plan. We lost precious time.

    Now, we have had three and a half years to answer the all-important question of who are behind the insurgency. Do we have an answer? Of course not; because there can be no answer to a wrong-headed question. Imagine if the United States engaged in the politicisation of terrorist threat post-9/11. Bin Laden would still be hiding in Pakistan and uploading YouTube videos. President Obama didn’t blame political opponents. He pursued and funded Intelligence until Bin Laden is history. A criminal terrorist has thumped our national nose for more than four years and we are blaming others and passing the buck.

    A more shameless reaction occurred recently. In response to the outpouring of emotion on the part of traumatised citizens protesting to their President to “Bring Back Our Girls”, a delegation of the President’s aides met the protesters and suggested to them to take their protest to Boko Haram and its leaders. Consider an analogy. An ancient town under the authority of a king is under attack by invaders. The town dwellers cry to the king in protest. Does the king tell them to take their case to the invaders? Certainly not! In addition to what else he might plan to do in consultation with his chiefs and priests, he reassures his subjects and mobilises them to defend their town. But this is the era of party politics where every move is perceived in partisan terms.

    The outcome of the presidential response to the protesters is the inauguration of a rival group, the “Grand Coalition Against Terrorism”, with a message to Boko Haram: “Release Our Girls Now.” After all what is the meaning of the message to the President and his government to “Bring Back Our Girls” as if he has the capacity to do so? Why not send your message to the terrorists who are holding the girls to release them?  But the terrorists are in the bush, aren’t they? So why are the members of the “Grand Coalition Against Terrorism” protesting in Abuja and not on their way to Sambisa forest to deliver their placards to Shekau?

    What ought to be a common approach to our security challenge has been shamelessly politicised, no thanks to a presidency that perceives politics in everything. God save us from ourselves!

  • Akpabio’s theatre of the absurd

    Akpabio’s theatre of the absurd

    Comedy of no errors: If he wasn’t a governor, he would probably have made good, and in a grand way too, as a stand-up comedian. His gait, his body language, his raucous visage, especially when prodded with a microphone, would set you reeling with laughter even before he has opened his mouth. I speak of Governor Godswill Akpabio, the ebullient helmsman running the affairs of Akwa Ibom State in the last seven years. But the matter at hand here today is not funny in the manner of joyous, throaty peals of laughter. It is about something absurd, something that would come off grim and unpalatable to any right thinking man.

    Let me state upfront that though Akpabio is regarded in Nigeria as among the few up and doing governors today, I admit upfront that I have never been impressed by what I know and see concerning his achievements in office. But many are quick to testify that he is not only the best thing that happened to Akwa Ibom since its creation, but that he is the best among his peers today. It is actually as a result of this ‘popularity’ of his that one has restrained from commenting on his stewardship a number of times when occasion demanded for it, lest one be accused of being  unduly sour. Akpabio’s much touted achievements must, however, be matched against the revenue available to him in order to arrive at a valid conclusion. The state is allocated an average of N15 billion monthly, add the local government funds which is controlled by the state and internally generated revenues and that would be a huge pile. It is also one of the most highly leveraged states in terms of debt totaling about N150 billion. This nature of revenue would be enough to run even a country well. This is why I have always remained skeptical about Governor Akpabio’s much vaunted achievement but a thorough review of his term, temperament and politics will follow in the course of the year.

    The billionaire retiree: However, a bill just passed into law by the Akwa Ibom House of Assembly which grants a disproportionate and outlandish pensions package to former elected governors and their deputies has presented an opportunity for one to take a quick glance at Akpabio’s time in office. A major highlight of the law is the proposal of a N100 million annual medical bill payout to former governors and N30 million for the deputies. Other provisions include a new official car and utility vehicle once every four years;  the provision of a personal aide and adequate security for his person during his lifetime; the provision of funds to employ a cook, chauffeurs and security guards for the governor at a sum not exceeding N5 million or an equivalent of $50,000 per month.

    Other provisions of the law include a befitting house, not below a five-bedroom maisonette in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja or in Akwa Ibom State, for the governor; a furniture allowance of 300 per cent of annual basic salary once in every four years; a yearly maintenance and fuelling of vehicle allowance of 300 per cent of annual basic salary and severance gratuity of 300 per cent of annual basic salary. These are not all; there would be yearly utility allowance of 100 per cent of annual basic salary; entertainment allowance which is also 100 per cent of annual basic salary; the state shall bear full cost of burial for the beneficiary and pay a condolence allowance of a sum equivalent to the annual basic salary of the incumbent to his next of kin. There are other sundry benefits but this will suffice to prove that an ex-governor of this state will simply retire into a billionaire status and opulence.

    ‘The Graft Law’: Let us note that Akwa Ibom is not the first place in the land where this sort of absurdity has been enacted. Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State had earlier pushed a similar grotesque joke through his state’s parliament; same former Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara State when he left office in 2011. This megalomaniac sense of benefit and entitlement has no basis in performance or achievement in office. In other words, when just any man who goes by the title ‘governor’ was done looting and wrecking his state, he is rewarded with a billion naira benefits to boot? This law and any other like it anywhere in the country is best described as ‘the graft law’.

     It is a greedy person’s proposition, sanctioned by the greedy and for the greedy. In a country still ravaged by extreme poverty (that some of these fellows cannot totally absolve themselves from), why would a few rich and affluent continue to wantonly arrogate more of state’s resources to themselves. Minimum wage remains meagre and unsustainable and pensions are hardly paid when due yet a former governor (who must have helped himself well enough to last him many lifetimes anyway) still appropriates a huge chunk of the state’s treasury for himself for life. Suppose he were fifty and lives another fifty years?

    There cannot be any justification to this beyond licentious greed and abuse of power. No House of Assembly worth its name should pass a law such as this but it was passed all the same – post haste. It is a mischievous piece of legislation that must also be revoked post haste in the near future so that commonsense may prevail. We fear that viruses like this spread faster and one hopes that many other states do not catch it. It is obscene indeed.

    Ndigbo and Boko Haram

    There is no doubt that Ndigbo are enjoying the highest number of casualties in this Boko Haram madness. It may not be entirely true to say they are particularly being targeted all the time but by virtue of their ubiquity across the country and their mercantile nature, you are liable to find more of them in any large centre of commerce. When, therefore, such places are bombed, Ndigbo suffer high collateral damage. That may be understandable but what beggars explanation is always the rush to tip all bodies into mass graves without giving people the opportunity to identify their dead.

    It happened in the Kano motor park blast and recently in Jos. Attempts by Igbo groups to identify and retrieve their members’ bodies were rebuffed. All the bodies were hurriedly interred in a mass grave. As if to cover some evidence. This is not acceptable and it is, indeed, doubly traumatic. It is unconscionable to discard identifiable corpses in a mass grave. Family members of terror victims must be given the leeway to retrieve bodies for proper burial. Once again, we call on governments across the Southeast to set up committees to track and support terror victims. Ndigbo are bearing the brunt of this madness.