The Nation Newspaper

Category: Friday

  • An implosion

    An implosion just occurred. The largest party in Africa has collapsed under the weight of its hubris-infested lead4ership. Before their very eyes, in the twilight of their ascendancy, the impregnable suddenly lost grip of the power to fix and it is music to the ears of the people, the true source of democratic power.

    The announcement on Tuesday, November 26, 2013, of the merger of New PDP with APC was the culmination of series of events, miscued by the leadership of the original PDP as simply a nuisance that was going to evaporate. Well, it didn’t, and that is enough evidence of an underlying ailment that continues to afflict our political class. The elite takes the people for granted, and in the process takes its kind for granted. We saw, in the case of the old PDP, a power struggle that has bedeviled the party since its inception.

    Power struggle is an intrinsic element of the political process and is not unique to the old PDP. However, there is something unique and damaging to the brand that PDP represents and portrays. As the party that controls the central government and the largest number of state governments, the old PDP sees itself as unbeatable and its will to dominate and to pervert as unbendable.

    The will to dominate is geared towards external victims and is, therefore, tolerable and indeed admirable to the internal brigade. The will to pervert is, however, an equal opportunity victimiser. It affects and impacts both external and internal victims. And that is the undoing of the brand. It was the final storm that shredded the open umbrella.

    As an organisation, the PDP considers itself unique in political party formation in Nigeria in the sense that it has no individual founder, just as the NPN before it bragged about not having a Baba, an indirect jab at the then UPN. However, this self-description is only partially true, and its partial falsity is demonstrated by fact that the collapse of the party is due to the appropriationby a few of the power of a non-existent founder. In other words, though there is no single founder with enormous powers, there are multiple innermost centres of power, which call the shot and dare those perceived as external others to leave.

    If there were no real founders, and every member came into the fold on his or her own, that is a good reason for the elected leaders to see themselves not as tin gods but as servant leaders. In the history of the PDP, that was never the case. In a party without a Baba, one was invented between 1999 and 2007. And a Mr. Fix-it has always lurked around Aso Rock to ensure that any viable competition for a position occupied by an incumbent is frustrated, even when the incumbent is a non-performer and an embarrassment to the party. On hindsight, it now appears that progressives were right back in 1998.

    Daring the unhappy folks to leave has worked well principally because of the potency of its will to pervert. With the party in the driving seat of the political economy of the country in the last fourteen years, the potency of its will to pervert the system is crystal clear: subsidy scandal, crude oil theft, Oduahgate, comatose refineries, and generalised corruption, despite EFCC. The will to pervert is consistent with the reluctance to flush out culprits of corruption from its rank. If you join the party with the motive of perverting the system to get the most for yourself, then your motive is not in conflict with the environment that the party sustains. Why would you want to leave? Even if you were outsmarted once, you would probably take the chance and wait for another day.

    Of course, overgeneralisation is an unforgiveable sin of logic. There are individuals in the rank and file and even at the leadership cadre of the old PDP who have suffered the pang of conscience silently and waited patiently over the years for a change in the direction of the party. And there comes a time when suffering and waiting is no longer an option. For some of the new PDP members, that time appears to have arrived. At least, that is my reading of their decision to escape from a sinking ship.It cannot be long before the veracity of my reading of the implosion of PDP is determined. And we just have to see.

    Meanwhile that implosion has spawned an explosion in the advance of APC. The leadership of this new party has not concealed its intentions and has in fact made it a foremost task to attract the G-7 Governors and the New PDP into its fold. Its hard work and persistence has finally paid off. There is something to be said for the strategic genius of its leadership and the feat it has accomplished in the last six months. First, it was the fight over registration, which was not going to be, precisely because of the fear in some quarters regarding what has just occurred. Then there comes this exponential increase in numbers. And if politics is in the final analysis a craft that relies on numbers, there’s good reason for excitement.

    It is also true, however, that prior to a final analysis, there is an intermediate one, and a preliminary one as well. While numbers matter in the final analysis, there are factors without which numbers don’t really count and may be counter-productive. First, there is the harmony of ideological orientation, especially among the leadership. One expects that this would have been at the top of the preliminary discussions and negotiations. For without a common agreement on the ideological focus of the party, there is no guarantee that the addition of the new numbers to the old will make a positive difference.

    Second, APC has its agenda based on its consultations with the rank and file of its members cutting across the original political parties and the various regional and local constituencies. This progressive agenda is based on certain fundament values and principles shared by all Nigerians: that all Nigerians are creatures of a good God who endows them with inherent dignity and respect; that progressive principles and practices are essential to good governance and the protection and promotion of the dignity and respect of Nigerians; and that congresses and communities of peoples with diverse backgrounds can and will embrace a common unity of purpose for the promotion of their common interests if and when an appropriate and desirable structure is put in place for the pursuit of those interests.

    Third, fidelity to those fundamental principles determines the method of approach of the party to governance, the evidence of which abounds in those states where APC has had the opportunity to govern. Education, employment and security are vital to the promotion of dignity and respect and APC governments at state level have made these three the centerpiece of their undertaking. It is the expectation of those who look up to the party that these will be its focus at the federal level.

    Fourth, it is true, however, that a true federal arrangement that devolves power adequately to the constituent units is key to good governance and prompt and excellent delivery of services to Nigerians. An APC central government must pursue with vigor and deliver a true federal structural arrangement through constitutional provisions.

    Finally, infrastructural development, including road, power generation and distribution, is an indispensable tool for the unleashing of the ingenuity and resourcefulness of Nigerians in all areas of the economy. APC must tackle with the concerted energy of all willing Nigerians the challenges of infrastructure that appear to have overwhelmed the present administration and those before it. Nigerians are resourceful people and their talents must be put to good use and they will once again command the respect of the world.

    It is hoped that these ideas and ideals are shared by the leadership and members, including the new arrivals into the fold. If so, it is time to get to work.

  • Echoes from Vienna

    Echoes from Vienna

    Turmoil, in any place and at any time, has a way of calming itself down. Religious turmoil is not an exception in this case. The global frequency of interfaith dialogues these days is an evident attestation to this assertion. Yours sincerely has been participating in series of such dialogues in recent times two of which took place in Abuja within the last two weeks alone. At such events, it became vividly noticeable that ignorance is, after all, the modern day bastion of religious disharmony. And, with meaningful dialogues, the possibility became clear that the world could return to its habitual habitat of peace in which it once sojourned with comfort.

    This new trend is rapidly spreading across the world and is amazingly rekindling humanity’s hope for the seemingly lost harmony. Last week Wednesday, a global interfaith conference began in Vienna, Austria, with over 600 religious leaders from all parts of the world in attendance. Yours sincerely was a participant in it. The conference which was sponsored by the Saudi Arabian King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Interfaith Dialogue Foundation was the 9th in series. ‘Religions for Peace’ was established in 1970 as a means of harmonizing the common traits of all religions and understanding the differences in global religions. Leading the Nigerian delegation to that extraordinary conference were His Eminence, Dr. Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, and His Eminence, John Cardinal Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, the Archbishop of Abuja, both of whom were elected as Presidents of the World Assembly of ‘Religions for Peace’. The duo had been jointly engaged in series of interfaith dialogues in recent times in Africa as well as the rest of the world.

    Coming closely on the heels of the Vienna conference was another of its type in London. The latter which commenced on 23rd November was organised by ‘Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC) a well known Muslim organisation with strong base in London. The Nigerian delegation to the London conference was also led by His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto who moved to London from Vienna to further champion the course of global peace.

    These unprecedented peace initiatives of the Sultan are a sharp reminder of a historic lecture he delivered in Harvard University on October 3, 2011. Some excerpts of that famous lecture were published in this column two years ago. But because of the ever relevance of the lecture, those excerpts are hereby brought again for the benefit of peace-loving readers of ‘The Message’.

    A Voice from Harvard

    On Monday, October 3, 2011, a voice echoed from the United States of America and reverberated throughout the intellectual spheres of many other countries across the world’s continents. The voice was that of His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA). He was the guest lecturer at Harvard University where he delivered ‘The Samuel L. and Elizabeth Jodidi annual Lecture at Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. He was invited by the authorities of that University. The theme of the lecture was: “ISLAM AND PEACE BUILDING IN WEST AFRICA”.

    In the preamble to the lecture, His Eminence briefly took a look into the various indices of contemporary religious developments and analyzed the merits and demerits of such developments vis-a-vis human cultural values. He started as follows:

    “Today, more than ever before, we stand on the threshold of great opportunities. Developments in various fields of human endeavor have made it easy to accumulate vast knowledge on peoples and cultures and to communicate this knowledge in ways never imagined before, with the real promise of bringing better understanding between us all. Scientific breakthroughs have also made it possible to achieve human development at an unprecedented scale and to enhance the welfare and wellbeing of each and every one of us…”

    “But these opportunities also come with great dangers – and these dangers have already begun to manifest themselves in ways that leave us with much to worry about. Bigotry and hatred are being elevated to a new pedestal and spread with relish and impunity. Protracted conflicts, threats of war and the rise of extremism and militancy, from all sides of the socio-religious divide, have become the reality of our daily lives in many parts of the world. Regrettably, a significant portion of the world’s population still wallows in abject poverty and neglect, thereby fuelling the vicious cycles of conflict, violence and instability that we are now all too familiar with”.

    Experience

    “As a military officer and diplomatic representative, I have seen the devastation of war, not only in West Africa, but in Afghanistan, Iraq and other parts of the world. I have witnessed the desperate cries of widows and orphans and the exasperation of bewildered families desperately struggling to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives. As the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs; as well as the Co-Chair of the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council [NIREC], I have also seen the pain and suffering which ethnic polarization and religious misunderstanding could bring to a nation and its people; how ego and bigotry could conspire to deprive people of their rationality and good judgment and how religious leaders could set aside the teachings of their scriptures to lend a helping hand to these sectarian crises”.

    A world of difference

    “But during all these, I have also seen how people of goodwill could make a world of difference; how the right word at the appropriate time could heal an old wound; how a little help to those in distress could rekindle hope in our common humanity and how people of virtue, courage and determination could set aside their fears and misgivings to work together to re-establish and strengthen the bases of mutual co-existence within their diverse communities….It is in the context of these challenges and opportunities that I wish to talk to you on the issues of peace and religious harmony tonight. Since many people have talked and written about Religion and Conflict in our part of the world, it is only appropriate for me to address you on Islam and Peace-Building in West Africa, and particularly in my home country, Nigeria, with the real hope that in our individual and collective efforts, we can contribute our little quota towards the realization of the Jodidi vision of promoting “tolerance, understanding and goodwill among nations and the peace of the world…”

    Dan Fodio for instance

    Alluding to Sokoto Caliphate founded by Shaykh Uthman Dan Fodio in the early 19th century as a cultural and intellectual yardstick for measuring value in a meaningful society, His Eminence said: “The emergence of the Sokoto Caliphate in the early years of the nineteenth century, led by the erudite scholar, Shaykh Uthman Ibn Fodio, brought a drastic transformation of the Islamic scene in West Africa. The Sokoto Caliphate was a political as well as an intellectual revolution. Politically, it initiated an extensive process of state formation which spanned across several states in Western and Central Africa. Intellectually, the Caliphate also succeeded in putting scholars at the helm of public affairs. As true intellectuals, they had to argue their way through almost every major decision they took and had the time and foresight to record their thoughts, ideas and the justification of their actions for posterity. The Sokoto Triumvirate, namely Shaykh Uthman Ibn Fodio, Shaykh Abdullahi Ibn Fodio and Shaykh Muhammad Bello, authored over 300 books and pamphlets. Other Caliphate leaders were also prolific writers. Nana Asma’u alone wrote over 70 poems and tracts.

    Category of values

    But despite these impressive achievements, probably one of the Caliphate’s most enduring legacies had been in the area of values. Classifying value into five categories and justifying each by quoting relevant authorities, His Eminence ascertained as follows:

    The first category of values raised by the Sokoto Caliphate leaders was one associated with knowledge as the basis for effective leadership. Ignorance has no business with leadership and ignorant people should have no business in governance. In the emphatic words of Shaykh Uthman Ibn Fodio:

    “A man without learning is like a country without inhabitants. The finest [qualities] in a leader in particular and in people in general, are the love of learning, the desire to listen to it and holding the bearer of knowledge in great respect….. If a leader is devoid of learning, he follows his whims and leads his subjects astray, like a riding beast with no halter, wandering off the path and perhaps spoiling what it passes over…. [Bayan Wujub al-Hijra]

    “The second category of values which I wish to bring to your attention is the primacy of Justice as the basis of good governance. Shaykh Uthman Ibn Fodio, the leader of the Sokoto Caliphate, had always believed that “seeing to the welfare of the people is more effective than the use of force.” According to Shaykh Uthman, “the crown of the leader is his integrity, his strong-hold is his impartiality and his wealth is [the prosperity] of his people.” Shaykh Uthman Ibn Fodio was equally emphatic on how injustice compromises the integrity of governance and ultimately destroys the state”. He said:

    “One of the swiftest ways of destroying a state is to give preference to one particular group over another or to show favour to one group of people rather than another and draw near those who should be kept away and keep away those who should be drawn near…. Other practices destructive to sovereignty are arrogance and conceit which take away virtues. There are six qualities which cannot be tolerated in a leader: lying, envy, breach of promise, sharpness of temper, miserliness and cowardice. Another is the seclusion of the leader from his people, because when the oppressor is sure that the oppressed person will not have access to the ruler, he becomes more oppressive… A state can endure with unbelief but it cannot endure with injustice.” [Bayan Wujub al-Hijra]

    “The third category of values is that dealing with the fight against corruption especially in the management of public affairs. Shaykh Abdullahi Ibn Fodio puts the Caliphate’s position in clear and unambiguous terms:

    “A ruler is forbidden to touch property acquired unjustly, such as through bribes obtained for appointing a judge or any other officer. The use of such property is unanimously regarded as illegal. It corrupts the Religion and opens the door wide to abuses and oppression of the poor. For the officials may feel that since money was obtained from them as a reward for appointing them to office, they in turn must recover it from the common people….” [Diya’al-Hukkam]

    It is also the view of the Sokoto Caliphate leaders that those charged with authority must strive to shun corrupt practices and lead by example. In the words of Sultan Muhammad Bello:

    “Leaders are like a spring of water and officials are like water-wheels. If the spring is pure, the filth of the water-wheels cannot harm it. If, on the other hand, the spring is polluted, the purity of the water-wheel will have little effect [on the purity of the water].” [Usul al-Siyasa]

    The fourth category of values relates to the dignity of labor and indeed the responsibility of government to provide the enabling environment that would allow people to make a decent living. In the words of Sultan Muhammad Bello:

    “……Guard yourself against poverty by lawful earning, because every poor man is afflicted by three defects: religious weakness, feeble mindedness and loss of honor. Worse than this is the contempt in which he is held by people….There are two assets which, as long as you safeguard them, you will remain alright: Your earnings for your livelihood and your religion for your hereafter…..The recommendable earning is better than supererogatory worship, the benefit of which is confined to the worshipper alone, whereas the benefit of the recommended earnings extend to others.”[Ahkam al-Makasib]

    “The fifth and final category of values… is the uplifting of the status of women, especially through Education. The Sokoto Caliphate leaders, as erudite scholars, lived by the percepts they preached and ensured that their wives and daughters and all others associated with them were educated to the highest standards the society could offer. Many of these women, including Nana Asma’u, became leaders in their own right and played an active role in the political arena. Equally and importantly, Shaykh Uthman Ibn Fodio’s pronouncements, made in the very early part of the nineteenth century, could not be more categorical:

    “One of the great calamities which have afflicted Hausaland is the practice of many of its scholars in abandoning their wives, daughters and servants in a state of ignorance. They are left like animals without any effort to teach them….. This is a grave mistake and a prohibited innovation. They treat them like utensils which they put to use, but when broken, get thrown into the dustbin. What a strange behavior! How could they leave their wives, daughters and servants in the darkness of ignorance and astray, while educating their students morning and evening. This is just for their selfish interest and for show and ostentation….”

    Challenges of insecurity

    The Sultan who had earlier delivered similar lectures in Cambridge and Oxford did not stop there. He went further to trace and analyze the challenges of insecurity as well as causes of violence and terrorism in Nigeria and suggested some solutions to those societal vices. These analyses will be brought up in this column along with the report of Vienna Conference when I arrive in the country next week in sha’a Llah.

    Meanwhile, the details of what transpired at the Vienna conference; a brief history of ‘Religions for Peace’, how the Sultan and John Cardinal Onaiyekan emerged as world Presidents of that world’s largest international religious body; the declaration made at the end of that conference and the future expectations from the decisions taken at the conference will be published in this column next Friday in sha’Allah.

  • PDP- APC 2015 slugfest

    This is a season for seers, witch doctors and prophets (a friend pronounces it pro-fits). It is also an expansive time for pundits, pseudo-strategists and musclemen. Wow, o set tie le, the stage is set, to put it in the Igbo street parlance. What a large stage for intrigues, shenanigans, subterfuge and long knives? Mark my word, from now up until 2015, Nigeria will become one large, simmering cauldron of politics and bitter battles for the soul of the presidency and by extension, Nigeria. Everything else may have to wait: the budget, the economy, infrastructure, social welfare, nothing else but politics will matter; yet nobody will be able to fathom how it will play out – where are the futurologists?

    THE NEW APC CHALLENGE: The fledgling All Progressives Congress, APC, the result of a merger of a few parties in Nigeria had what may be described as a breakthrough last Tuesday when five rebel state governors from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP decamped to join APC thereby giving it an almost equal numerical strength with the PDP. Though the move seemed to have been long in coming, the reality of it carries an impetus that most pundits had not calculated. The import is that first, two major political parties (the one progressive and the other conservative, so to speak) have become a reality in Nigeria today; two, depending on the groundswell of activities leading to the 2015 elections, the two parties have 50-50 chances of winning the number one spot (the presidency) in that election; three, this new development has the potential make Nigeria’s democracy for good (and even Nigeria the country) or mar it and of course, both the negative and positive consequences of this new development will be at a grand scale.

    To elaborate on the last point, if for instance the two parties are guided by democratic ethos and they agree to play by the rules; if they play politics of principles and purpose, politics without rancor and bitterness and allow the people choose their leaders at the poll, Nigeria would have found the path to growth, development and modernity. If on the other hand, they engage in bitter and rancorous politicking which may eventually lead to crisis and implosion, perhaps there may no longer be an entity known as Nigeria post 2015. These two possibilities are real and latent.

    PDP PROGNOSIS: How would PDP handle its current diminution and seeming unraveling? Since it came to power in 1999, it had never tire to boast that it was the biggest party in black Africa and after its last electoral victory in 2011, the refrain from not a few members was that it would be in power for another 60 years. How they worked out the arithmetic is a mystery but their cockiness was infectious especially among their members. But no action of members of this behemoth suggested that they were at work on their talk. Telltale signs to buttress this fact are numerous. PDP cannot complete its headquarters and in fact, the abandoned, half-built crudity is today a sorry site somewhere in the heart of the capital city. It stands as a metaphor to the soulless giant that is PDP.

    PDP’s internal crisis is legendary as it is historical. Its first president, Olusegun Obasanjo, a former general turned politician had little understanding of democratic ethos. As president, he was a megalomaniac who coveted power as much as he abused it. In just a few months, he routed the party that brought him to power rendering the founding fathers impotent and inconsequential. Deploying his enormous presidential powers he eventually put the party under his acrid armpit; creating the nebulous position of president as party leader and party chairman and subordinate and indeed an ‘appointee’ of the president. He effectively damaged the possible emergence of a Nigerian mega-party in the mould of an Africa National Congress (ANC).

    It could be argued that Obasanjo’s shortsightedness and power-mongering nature ruined PDP. For the eight years of his reign he was content to have the party in his leash, arresting its development, allowing it no quality administrative structure, no proper office and worse no institutional memory. By the time Obasanjo left office, PDP was no better than a department in the Presidency with him as the leader-deity. In his narrow-mindedness, he even changed the rules of the party to pave way for him to become the chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) shortly after his tenure as president. He resigned in a huff recently when it dawned on him he could not eat his cake and have it. He forgot he ceded the position to the presidency once upon a time.

    This long prognosis is to make the point that PDP today is Goodluck Jonathan and vice-versa. Members defer to the president to think for the party and to direct the party. They read his lips and watch his body language. Much of what happened in the last three years and what might happen in the years leading to 2015 will depend on the capacity of Jonathan to drive the party. That is a tough call.

    THE 2015 INCUBUS: But because he already has a mindset to get a second term in office in 2015, nothing else will matter but 2015 presidency. It will be the same mindset with everyone else who claims to be a PDP member. It will be a zero sum game: second term or nothing. Nobody would think about the party or strategy or long-term; indeed as far as they are concerned: no presidency, no PDP. And it is a point to note that if PDP loses power at the centre, it is sure to become disarrayed and perhaps die. But since its object is to return to power in 2015, it will fight and fight dirty to hold power. Yet even if it wins 2015, it is still only a question of time… PDP is a mere contraption, an unsustainable entity at best, never an institution: a victim of its historical contradictions.

    THE APC CONUNDRUM: The APC (still-in-formation) is actually a tougher political proposition than the PDP except that it has the peculiar opportunity of hindsight. If they think strategic and beyond 2015 (without necessarily giving up on 2015) they will have a better date with history but do they have the requisite competences and the patience of a marathoner. Let say APC is yet a running story…

    LAST MUG: the drivers’ licence miasma

    It is failure, a blundering failure of a monumental scale. Why have the simple tasks of issuing drivers licences and number plates become some kind of space science in Lagos? The combined team of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the Lagos State Government (LASG) have been bungling through these chores and making life difficult for Lagosians for nearly two years now yet there is no end in sight. People pay all sorts of fees yet they do not get the documents for months. To rub salt on the injury, Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) and FRSC officials waylay people and extort them. Who will rescue us from our governments?

  • Ndubuisi Kanu at 70: An officer and an activist

    Save for a full page advert in a national newspaper signed by the Lagos State governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola on November 3rd, the exact day he turned 70, one did not notice any other sign that Rear Admiral (retired) Godwin Ndubuisi Kanu had reached that landmark age. We have increasingly become a people who do not know how to celebrate, or to put it better, we celebrate too much but with our stomach. Therefore, we celebrate the wrong things and for warped reasons. We celebrate people we ought to be stoning having lost a sense of authenticity. We have grown acutely bubble-headed, undiscerning and un-historied, living only moment by hunger-induced moment. These days, almost always, our media are filled with a celebration of all the wrong people we erroneously call leaders.

    Such was it that only a brief tribute from Governor Fashola ushered one of the finest naval officers and democrat of this age into the septuagenarian league. “Today we celebrate a preeminent elder statesman, a proponent of true federalism and a champion of democracy,” the advert speaks of Kanu. You may say that the man was once an administrator of Lagos State thus such a commemoration was not out of place but he was first a military administrator in Imo and I do not remember any such recognition from that quarter. Not from the Nigerian Navy which he served remarkably in nearly all units and of course not from Ohaneze Ndigbo where he has been a member of its ime-obi for quite sometime.

    It is not that the taciturn general is in dire need of tributes and recognitions for apart from the fact that he may have piled up enough accolades which come from personal achievements to last him a life time, he is not one to worry about or hanker after such vain-gloriousness. To think that all these years he was not bestowed with any national honours, the medals which have become as common as the fake jewelry you find hanging around the neck of every man and woman by the street corners. Twice he was in the apex military ruling body in Nigeria. First he was a member of the Supreme Military Council, (SMC), 1975 – 1978 under General Olusegun Obasanjo and the Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC), 1985 – 1989 under General Ibrahim Babangida.

    Other key political exposures were his tour of duties in Imo and Lagos States in the complex post-civil war years of Nigeria’s mid-70s. But in his military career in the Nigerian Navy, Kanu proved to be an intelligent and thoroughbred officer. Enlisting in 1962 after his secondary school education at Metropolitan College, Onitsha, he trained at the National Defence Academy, Kharakvasla and Naval Engineering and Electrical College both in India. He was the best all-round cadet in India in 1965. Also at the Newport War College, Rhodes Island, USA he came out top of his class as the best graduating student as well as the best midshipman (1st class). He traversed nearly all commands of the navy rising to the position of Rear-Admiral in his 28-year career before he retired in 1990.

    But unlike most of his colleagues who march straight into oblivion after a long, regimented military life, Kanu has remained relevant in the polity in a manner not known of military officers. He has led quite fearlessly, the life of an activist and democrat. Participating most robustly in national discourses he even mounted the barricades and led protests with civil right groups in Lagos. The Ovim, Abia State indigene has shown what one may describe as an uncanny zest in the socio-political affair of the nation since the 90s. Many consider it an extreme act of courage if not fatalistic of him to have joined and become a staunch member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) which was almost single-handedly responsible for kicking out Nigeria’s military junta from power. Most of the military brass tacks that Kanu now faced from the other side of the divide were his contemporaries. The consequences could have been dire to him, his family and businesses. Apparently, his love for Nigeria seemed a paramount and over-riding consideration.

    Way back in 1993 he had written a book: The Way Forward: Sovereign National Conference, which could be a veritable blueprint for the advocates of another national conference of today. The retired officer also wrote: The Military, Politics and Human rights and the Economy. As a mark of the people’s champion and mobiliser he is, his office on Victoria Island Lagos has served as the meeting point and secretariat of Ndigbo Lagos for nearly two decades.

    Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu has turned out to be a true statesman, a patriot, a soldier and a social scientist of note. Most remarkably, he is an activist not for the limelight or the popularity most people crave from it for he is a very self-effacing man. A proof of that is that while most of his contemporaries haul bag-loads of titles and honorary degrees, he seems not to care about such inanities, such medallions of vacuous men.

    In this prime age of 70, it is hoped that the navigator will continue to give fillip and provide fuel for the firing of the ship of state. More important, many would wish he could direct some thought and attention to the issues of socio-political and rights activism in the southeast, a phenomenon that is almost as cold as yesterday’s porridge in that side of the country.

    LAST MUG: Ha ha, thinks refineries

    Is it not funny that our oil minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke only speaks with the foreign media these days about matters concerning us denizens of Nigeria? The other day in London, she told Bloomberg Television that Nigeria’s four refineries would be sold by the first quarter of 2014. But she knows it’s all empty talk with no iota of substance. She told us nearly two years ago that four Greenfield refineries will be built but no sod has been turned anywhere till now.

    She will never be able to get anything done even if she stays in that position for 20 years. She is a failure. She is very comfortable with a fraud-ridden system that ships out 60,000 barrels of crude daily to fictitious refining plants; a dark subsidy regime that sucks nearly N2 trillion from the treasury yearly. She has left a legacy of graft that may never be surpassed in the annals of our oil sector. No redeeming value whatsoever is in sight.

     

  • Season of interfaith dialogues

    Turmoil, in any place and at any time, has a way of calming itself down. Religious turmoil is not an exception in this case. The global frequency of interfaith dialogues these days is an evident attestation to this assertion. Yours sincerely has been participating in series of such dialogues in recent times two of which took place in Abuja last week alone. At such events, it is vividly noticeable that ignorance is, after all, the modern day bastion of religious disharmony and with meaningful dialogues it is quite possible for the world to return to the permanent habitat of peace in which it once sojourned.

    This new trend is rapidly spreading across the world and rekindling humanity’s hope for the seemingly lost harmony. Last Wednesday, a global interfaith conference began in Vienna, Austria, with over 700 religious leaders from all parts of the world. Yours sincerely is a participant. The conference sponsored by the Saudi Arabian King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Interfaith Dialogue Foundation is the 9th in the series. And leading the Nigerian delegation to that extraordinary conference are His Eminence, Dr. Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, and His Eminence, John Cardinal Olorunfemi Onaiyekan both of whom have been jointly engaged in series of interfaith dialogues in recent times.

    Coming closely on the heels of the Vienna conference is another of its type in London. The latter which will commence on 23rd November is organised by ‘Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC) a well known Muslim organisation with strong base in London. The Nigerian delegation to the London conference will also be led by His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto who will move to London from Vienna to further champion the course of global peace.

    These unprecedented activities of the Sultan are a sharp reminder of a historic lecture he delivered in Harvard University on October 3, 2011. Some excerpts of that famous lecture were published in this column two years ago. But because of the ever relevance of the lecture, its excerpts are hereby published again for the benefit of peace-loving readers of ‘The Message’. Here we go:

    A voice from Harvard

    On Monday, October 3, 2011), a voice echoed from the United States of America and reverberated throughout the intellectual spheres of many other countries across the world’s continents. The voice was that of His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar the Sultan of Sokoto and President General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA). He was the guest lecturer at Harvard University where he delivered ‘The Samuel L. and Elizabeth Jodidi annual Lecture at Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. He was invited by the authorities of that University.

    The theme of the lecture was: “ISLAM AND PEACE BUILDING IN WEST AFRICA”.

    In the preamble to the lecture, His Eminence briefly took a look into the various indices of contemporary religious developments and analyzed the merits and demerits of such developments vis-a-vis human cultural values. He started as follows:

    “Today, more than ever before, we stand on the threshold of great opportunities. Developments in various fields of human endeavor have made it easy to accumulate vast knowledge on peoples and cultures and to communicate this knowledge in ways never imagined before, with the real promise of bringing better understanding between us all. Scientific breakthroughs have also made it possible to achieve human development at an unprecedented scale and to enhance the welfare and wellbeing of each and every one of us…”

    “But these opportunities also come with great dangers – and these dangers have already begun to manifest themselves in ways that leave us with much to worry about. Bigotry and hatred are being elevated to a new pedestal and spread with relish and impunity. Protracted conflicts, threats of war and the rise of extremism and militancy, from all sides of the socio-religious divide, have become the reality of our daily lives in many parts of the world. Regrettably, a significant portion of the world’s population still wallows in abject poverty and neglect, thereby fuelling the vicious cycles of conflict, violence and instability that we are now all too familiar with”.

    Experience

    “As a military officer and diplomatic representative, I have seen the devastation of war, not only in West Africa, but in Afghanistan, Iraq and other parts of the world. I have witnessed the desperate cries of widows and orphans and the exasperation of bewildered families desperately struggling to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives. As the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs; as well as the Co-Chair of the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council [NIREC], I have also seen the pain and suffering which ethnic polarization and religious misunderstanding could bring to a nation and its people; how ego and bigotry could conspire to deprive people of their rationality and good judgment and how religious leaders could set aside the teachings of their scriptures to lend a helping hand to these sectarian crises”.

     

    A world of difference

    “But during all these, I have also seen how people of goodwill could make a world of difference; how the right word at the appropriate time could heal an old wound; how a little help to those in distress could rekindle hope in our common humanity and how people of virtue, courage and determination could set aside their fears and misgivings to work together to re-establish and strengthen the bases of mutual co-existence within their diverse communities….It is in the context of these challenges and opportunities that I wish to talk to you on the issues of peace and religious harmony tonight. Since many people have talked and written about Religion and Conflict in our part of the world, it is only appropriate for me to address you on Islam and Peace-Building in West Africa, and particularly in my home country, Nigeria, with the real hope that in our individual and collective efforts, we can contribute our little quota towards the realization of the Jodidi vision of promoting “tolerance, understanding and goodwill among nations and the peace of the world…”

    Dan Fodio for instance

    Alluding to Sokoto Caliphate founded by Shaykh Uthman Dan Fodio in the early 19th century as a cultural and intellectual yardstick for measuring value in a meaningful society, His Eminence said: “The emergence of the Sokoto Caliphate in the early years of the nineteenth century, led by the erudite scholar, Shaykh Uthman Ibn Fodio, brought a drastic transformation of the Islamic scene in West Africa. The Sokoto Caliphate was a political as well as an intellectual revolution. Politically, it initiated an extensive process of state formation which spanned across several states in Western and Central Africa. Intellectually, the Caliphate also succeeded in putting scholars at the helm of public affairs. As true intellectuals, they had to argue their way through almost every major decision they took and had the time and foresight to record their thoughts, ideas and the justification of their actions for posterity. The Sokoto Triumvirate, namely Shaykh Uthman Ibn Fodio, Shaykh Abdullahi Ibn Fodio and Shaykh Muhammad Bello, authored over 300 books and pamphlets. Other Caliphate leaders were also prolific writers. Nana Asma’u alone wrote over 70 poems and tracts.

    Category of values

    But despite these impressive achievements, probably one of the Caliphate’s most enduring legacies had been in the area of values. Classifying value into five categories and justifying each by quoting relevant authorities, His Eminence ascertained as follows:

    The first category of values raised by the Sokoto Caliphate leaders was one associated with knowledge as the basis for effective leadership. Ignorance has no business with leadership and ignorant people should have no business in governance. In the emphatic words of Shaykh Uthman Ibn Fodio:

    “A man without learning is like a country without inhabitants. The finest [qualities] in a leader in particular and in people in general, are the love of learning, the desire to listen to it and holding the bearer of knowledge in great respect….. If a leader is devoid of learning, he follows his whims and leads his subjects astray, like a riding beast with no halter, wandering off the path and perhaps spoiling what it passes over…. [Bayan Wujub al-Hijra]

    “The second category of values which I wish to bring to your attention is the primacy of Justice as the basis of good governance. Shaykh Uthman Ibn Fodio, the leader of the Sokoto Caliphate, had always believed that “seeing to the welfare of the people is more effective than the use of force.” According to Shaykh Uthman, “the crown of the leader is his integrity, his strong-hold is his impartiality and his wealth is [the prosperity] of his people.” Shaykh Uthman Ibn Fodio was equally emphatic on how injustice compromises the integrity of governance and ultimately destroys the state”. He said:

    “One of the swiftest ways of destroying a state is to give preference to one particular group over another or to show favour to one group of people rather than another and draw near those who should be kept away and keep away those who should be drawn near…. Other practices destructive to sovereignty are arrogance and conceit which take away virtues. There are six qualities which cannot be tolerated in a leader: lying, envy, breach of promise, sharpness of temper, miserliness and cowardice. Another is the seclusion of the leader from his people, because when the oppressor is sure that the oppressed person will not have access to the ruler, he becomes more oppressive… A state can endure with unbelief but it cannot endure with injustice.” [Bayan Wujub al-Hijra]

    “The third category of values is that dealing with the fight against corruption especially in the management of public affairs. Shaykh Abdullahi Ibn Fodio puts the Caliphate’s position in clear and unambiguous terms:

    “A ruler is forbidden to touch property acquired unjustly, such as through bribes obtained for appointing a judge or any other officer. The use of such property is unanimously regarded as illegal. It corrupts the Religion and opens the door wide to abuses and oppression of the poor. For the officials may feel that since money was obtained from them as a reward for appointing them to office, they in turn must recover it from the common people….” [Diya’al-Hukkam]

    It is also the view of the Sokoto Caliphate leaders that those charged with authority must strive to shun corrupt practices and lead by example. In the words of Sultan Muhammad Bello:

    “Leaders are like a spring of water and officials are like water-wheels. If the spring is pure, the filth of the water-wheels cannot harm it. If, on the other hand, the spring is polluted, the purity of the water-wheel will have little effect [on the purity of the water].” [Usul al-Siyasa]

    The fourth category of values relates to the dignity of labor and indeed the responsibility of government to provide the enabling environment that would allow people to make a decent living. In the words of Sultan Muhammad Bello:

    “……Guard yourself against poverty by lawful earning, because every poor man is afflicted by three defects: religious weakness, feeble mindedness and loss of honor. Worse than this is the contempt in which he is held by people….There are two assets which, as long as you safeguard them, you will remain alright: Your earnings for your livelihood and your religion for your hereafter…..The recommendable earning is better than supererogatory worship, the benefit of which is confined to the worshipper alone, whereas the benefit of the recommended earnings extend to others.”[Ahkam al-Makasib]

    “The fifth and final category of values… is the uplifting of the status of women, especially through Education. The Sokoto Caliphate leaders, as erudite scholars, lived by the percepts they preached and ensured that their wives and daughters and all others associated with them were educated to the highest standards the society could offer. Many of these women, including Nana Asma’u, became leaders in their own right and played an active role in the political arena. Equally and importantly, Shaykh Uthman Ibn Fodio’s pronouncements, made in the very early part of the nineteenth century, could not be more categorical:

    “One of the great calamities which have afflicted Hausaland is the practice of many of its scholars in abandoning their wives, daughters and servants in a state of ignorance. They are left like animals without any effort to teach them….. This is a grave mistake and a prohibited innovation. They treat them like utensils which they put to use, but when broken, get thrown into the dustbin. What a strange behavior! How could they leave their wives, daughters and servants in the darkness of ignorance and astray, while educating their students morning and evening. This is just for their selfish interest and for show and ostentation….”

    Challenges of insecurity

    The Sultan who had earlier delivered similar lectures in Cambridge and Oxford did not stop there. He went further to trace and analyse the challenges of insecurity as well as causes of violence and terrorism in Nigeria and suggested some solutions to those societal vices. These analyses will be brought up in this column along with the report of Vienna Conference when I arrive in the country next week in sha’a Llah.

    Meanwhile, it is the pleasure of ‘The Message’ to say thank you to the numerous readers of this column who reacted positively or negatively to its seven years anniversary published last Friday. All the comments are well noted and some publishable ones among them will be published soon. God bless you all!

  • Soyinka Of Africa

    Soyinka Of Africa

    He is a pride of Africa and he wrote Of Africa, a magisterial text that has captured the imagination of young and old across the continent and the Diaspora, including my College of Arts and Sciences students at Howard University. And on penultimate Tuesday, they and the university community welcomed the Nobel Laureate to the Mecca of Africana scholarship. And it was vintage WS. Soyinka never disappoints and he didn’t disappoint his audience.

    It was not Soyinka’s first visit to Howard. But it was his first on the basis of his book being chosen as the common text of the year, and it was electric. Of course, it wasn’t difficult for anyone to identify him with his signature hair style as an identity marker. Students accosted him on the yard even before the programme, wanting photo sessions or autographs. For all the sessions, including student presentations on the book, it was standing room only. He gave his main lecture in the ballroom which seats at least 400, but it was streamed live to an auditorium that sits 1,000 more. As they say, it is in his home that the prophet has no honor.

    My college chose Of Africa as the Common Text for First Year Students this year. In recommending the text, the committee noted that “Of Africa is, at once, readily accessible to students and artistically imaginative, conceptually complex, and improvisational in ways that distinguish it from other academic texts, especially with regard to raising issues of continuity and change among populations in the African world. It is one of the most imaginative combinations of concepts from Africa and its Diaspora to appear in recent memory. Of Africa also builds on Howard’s commitment to help students assign equal status for Africa and global Africans as agents of cultural and political acts of recovery and takes this consideration one step further, calling for a consideration of what Soyinka calls the proper valuation of the “dynamic commodity” of African ways of knowing and being in the world. This conversation has the potential to trigger countless conversations on what it means to be African anywhere in the world.”

    The attraction of the book is simple. Howard University is conscious of its origin and its mission. Back in 1927,President Mordecai Wyatt Johnson pressed the point that “along with the training of the individual to render specific professional service, it is absolutely necessary that there shall go studies to fit a man (or woman) sympathetically to understand the kind of country that he (or she) is living in, the progress that the countryhas made, the direction in which it is moving, the nature of the institutions with which he (or she) has to deal, and the relations and possibilities of his own people to his (her) government and to the progress of his (her) country.The ultimate goal is to endeavor to develop a country that shall have a deep sense of community and of brotherly cooperation.”

    In the same inaugural address, while drawing attention to the subordination of Africa to European powers, Johnson raised the question whether “the United States is going to follow this European practice, or whether there is going to arise in this place a country so deeply convinced of the possibilities of humanity that it is willing to keep its self-control, while having no relations with even the weakest of peoples except such as it can justify in the light of its deepest conscience, and while committed to none but a purely open and aboveboard practice of brotherliness to all men and to all countries of the earth.”This emphasis on “the possibilities of humanity” has been the driving force of Howard as an institution of higher learning.

    In the opening paragraph of the text, Soyinka poses the question that focuses his attention throughout the book: What does the continent known as Africa possess that the rest—or a greater part—of the globe does not have already in superabundance? As a guide to an adequate answer, he suggests that we not limit ourselves to “material or inert possessions—such as mineral resources, tourist landscapes, (and) strategic locations..” For we also have “dynamic possessions—ways of perceiving, responding, adapting, or simply doing that vary from people to people, including structures of human relationships.”

    But, of course, we have not been silent over these positive attributes of motherland, and certainly our diaspora brethren have been in the forefront of proclaiming the ancient glory of Africa as well as its future potentials even in these dreadful times. If only we can get rid of the human vampires that continue to suck its blood and the political raccoons that vandalise and drain it of resources that it drastically needs for development and redemption. So, yes, we cannot ignore the negatives: the unpredictable and irrational violence that engulfs the continent every now and then, and feeds the insatiable appetite of the world media outlets for sorry stories from and of Africa.

    “Ultimately, however,” Soyinka urges, “it is its humanity, the quality and valuation of its own existence, and modes of managing its environment—both physical and intangible (which includes spiritual)—that remain the primary, incontestable assets to which any society can lay claim or offer as unique contributions to the attainments of the world.”This is the theme of the book; it is what Soyinka interrogates with copious references to African spiritual heritage.

    Africa’s original humanity has never been in doubt. It is the subject of treatises and sometimes an overblown embellishment bordering on unjustifiable romanticism. Yet it cannot be denied that there was/is a certain sense of community that serves traditional societies well with individual members having a sense of purpose and sharing a common meaning of what it was/is to be a human being in the community.

    The harmonious coexistence in such traditional and (contemporary rural) communities still strikes us as alien in our present circumstance of ego-driven and material-obsessed existence. It is therefore no surprise, but nonetheless ironic, that having identified Africa’s humanity as its asset, the symbols of the inhumanity that has plagued Africa in the last few decades, including Rwanda, Darfur, and of course, Boko Haram, feature prominently in Soyinka’s text.Indeed, Rwanda, as paradigm for a continent was the topic of his lecture. There is truly “a chameleonic” identity to Africa, to paraphrase Soyinka’s apt description.

    The transition from an original humanity to the current inhumanity must have an enabler, if not a causal agent. One of my student presenters posed the question to Soyinka: where did the rain start beating us? In other words, where did we veer off the road of humanity? How can we explain the irrational violence in the name of religion when our folks have always coexisted in multiple religion households, exchanging gifts and partaking in communal feats during different religious festivals? And how does difference about political ideas and ideals concerning the welfare of the people and development of the community end up in violence when communities have always had their process of identifying and appointing their rulers and settling issues by consensus?

    Of course, the answer is simple and Soyinka zeroed in on it: we veered off path of humanity the moment we accepted the superiority of other people’s ways of life over and above our own and we went on to become their champions. Gbee ru mii wa deleru (“We were requested to help lift a luggage off the ground; but we took over the burden of carrying it.) In the process, we abandon our values. That explains Boko Haram. It explains Darfur. And that was Rwanda, to where WS flew after his lecture.

  • ANAMBRA ELECTION: It’s a two-horse race

    It is too close to call. It may even go to the wire. That is how difficult it is to predict who wins the governorship election in Anambra State come Saturday, November 16, 2013. Ask any two Anambrarians and they are likely to mention one of two names: Willie Obiano or Chris Ngige. As many samples as you take and as many times as you pop the question, these two names come up alternately. Obiano is the candidate of the ruling party, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Ngige is of the All Peoples Congress (APC).

    There is of course Ifeanyi Ubah of Labour Party, a noisome upstart who has managed to stand out in a crowded field and Tony Nwoye, the inconsequential candidate of the beleaguered Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP). There are a handful of other pretenders but there exertions will not count for anything at the end of the day.

    THE NGIGE CHALLENGE

    A true Igbo character: First on Ngige for the only reason that the letter ‘N’ comes before ‘O’ and not for any particular bias for any of the two candidates under review. The greatest thing going for Dr. Chris Nwabueze Ngige ironically is his true Igbo character which is also the chief campaign point against him. His platform APC is being touted by his opponents as a south west party, while his comments during the Igbo ‘deportation’ from Lagos snafu is being tied around his neck like lead. But Ngige, discerning Igbo people will tell you, is the truest Igbo leader alive today. He understands perfectly, the Igbo situation in the Nigerian equation and he knows exactly what is to be done.

    It was in his quest to liberate Anambra and by extension, Ndigbo that he entered into an unholy alliance with Chris Uba and the PDP cabal during his first coming as governor. The result of that adventure is still being enjoyed in the state. He is today referred to as The Liberator of Anambra State. Anyone who has encountered Ngige knows that he has the wiles, the wisdom, the courage and hardihood that define a true Igbo man. Though brief of stature, when it comes to Igbo cause, Ngige would stand taller than any in the political arena today.

    A populist and a man of action: When Ngige was Government House Awka between 2003 to 2006, he showed what a thinking and smart governor can do in a short space of time and win the heart of his people. Where his predecessors built up excuses why they failed, he built roads and public utilities in the way Anambra people had not experienced since the First Republic. He instantly won their confidence and admiration.

    Other little matters: The 61-year-old medical doctor is well educated, tested, experienced and will need no further tutoring. He will hit the ground running and is more likely to come with no godfather encumbrances. On little snag though may be that he is given to over excitement, that disease of most men of power in Nigeria. Can he muster that level of sobriety and reflection required to deliver optimal benefits to a land still much disheveled and unstable.

    WILLIE ‘WHO’ AND THE INCUMBENT

    A tough team to beat: The best thing going for Chief Willie Obiano is the incumbency factor of Governor Peter Obi. Among his contemporaries, Obi has shown the most comportment in high office; he has also delivered some modest performance adopting an integrated development strategy that has impacted every corner of the state. His commonsensical approach to governance has also ensured some stability in a virile and difficult to manage entity. He has shown over the years that he is not the typical Nigerian do-or-die politician. On the other hand, his civil, unexcitable and austere ways have confounded his opponents and won him many followers in a land where swashbuckling in a winning virtue.

    Having created a candidate in his own likeness, all these pluses will work for Obiano who looks cast in the mold of Obi. Like obi, he has a business background; he is an accountant and a thoroughbred professional who rose through the ranks to the position of an executive director in a bank. Some solid track record of work counts for something no doubt. The continuity of the steady development of the state as initiated by Governor Obi is also a big plus.

    The APGA, Ojukwu and zoning factors: Apart from coming under the halo of incumbency, not to be ignored is the APGA- as- Igbo- party factor. As this election approached, APGA, perhaps the most fractious party in the land made up most magically, mustered a candidate and rallied behind him. Chief Victor Umeh, the hitherto embattled party chairman has never looked so happy. He has been the chief of campaign for Obiano and knows the terrains a bit. They sell APGA as Ndigbo’s and Ndigbo to APGA. At every stop, they throw in the well loved name of late APGA leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu as some kind of talisman.

    There is also the zoning factor. Governor Obi had determined that Anambra north which had never produced a governor ought to be given a chance. It makes sense but many questioned and even faulted his motive with some insinuating that he was merely working to his own answer. But the gain in it is that an entire Anambra north senatorial zone may already be in the bag for APGA.

    Other little matters: Like Ngige, Obiano is well educated but unlike him, he has no political experience whatsoever. He also seems like a man who may be hamstrung by godfathers; one who may not possess a mind of his own.

    Finally, it promises to be an interesting election and another huge test for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the federal government and security agencies. Can they manage to render a free, fair election?

    This column will neither call nor endorse for that is the prerogative of Anambra people; both Ngige and Obiano are in my view passable candidates and either of them will expectedly, do well for Anambra people. Let the people step out tomorrow and make their choice.

  • The Message @ 7

    The Message @ 7

    Time flies. It was like a dream five years ago when this column named ‘THE MESSAGE’ began in the great newspaper called The Nation.

    This columnist had, by then, written Islamic and sundry other columns for 24 years in various Nigerian and foreign daily newspapers as well as weekly magazines including the National Concord, Tehran Times, Vanguard, The Inquiry, Africa Today and a host of others. Naming the column ‘THE MESSAGE’ in The Nation was deliberate.

    Perhaps, no other name accurately matches the divine religion called Islam as much as ‘THE MESSGE’ being the greatest mission to mankind from the Almighty Allah through His greatest Messenger (Muhammad).

    First outing

    In the preamble to the very first article published in this column seven years ago, yours sincerely stated as follows:

    “Here is an Islamic column entitled THE MESSAGE. It is starting today in the name of the almighty Allah, the compassionate the merciful. It will come up on this page henceforth, every Friday Insha’ Allah. This column will be meaningful, both in title and in contents, to the Muslim Ummah, home and abroad as well as to others”.

    Starting at a time when technology has reduced the world into a village and paring with the visionary title of this great newspaper called The Nation, this column promises to deliver THE (great) MESSAGE of Islam to all those who are ready to receive it with genuine intention”.

    Central Focus

    “The central focus of ‘THE MESSAGE’ will be the Man. And the word ‘Man’ here does not refer to Male gender alone. It refers to the most important creature of Allah on earth around whom all issues in the world rotate”.

    “It is only with Man that all other creatures in the world can be relevant. And, Man, whether in the primordial or contemporary sense, is a product of family. There can be no talking of over six billion citizens of the world today, therefore, without a fundamental reference to the family”.

    The family angle

    “Every clan, tribe or nation starts with a family. Thus, ‘THE MESSAGE’ shall be addressed first and foremost, to the family”.

    “And, since there can be no survival for any family without business, it becomes necessary for ‘THE MESSAGE’ to view the family from the premise of the business in which it is engaged”.

    “Arguably, the peace or otherwise of this world depends on those two matters: family and business. Each of these will form a major chapter in ‘THE MESSAGE’. The rest shall be like stars supporting the moon in a celestial entourage. This column will be interesting not only because of the depth of its research but also because it will be participatory in function”.

    The right of reader’s response shall be treated as sacrosanct. And, there will be no discrimination. Welcome on board of ‘THE MESSAGE’ being delivered to ‘THE NATION’ through The Nation….”

    And, when the column was one year old in 2007, an article meant to celebrate the occasion was written in this column. It was entitled:

    ‘A child at one’

    As a reminder, I decided to recall that article here for the purpose of gratifying the Almighty Allah who piloted us to this day through that odyssey. It went thus:

    “The young shall grow. With his brain, teeth and limbs, he shall evolve into a dependent adolescent. And, through the various circumstances of life, he shall grow into an independent adult. In the process, he must have learnt how to suck, how to eat, how to sit, how to crawl, how to walk and how to run. Thereafter, like a competent Cadet, he shall rise through the ranks to become an army General one day. Like a prince, he shall struggle through thick and thin to become a king one day. Like a student, he shall study days and nights to become a professor one day. Like a servant, he shall serve and serve loyally until he becomes a master one day. Then, he shall ask himself the vital question: “how did I reach this stage?”

    “It is not by leading battalions of army to war or by conquering an avowed enemy that a General of worth is said to emerge. What makes a worthy General is the ability to care for the rear as much as he ravages the war arena”.

    “For most Nigerian Muslim readers of newspapers, especially The Nation, this column is a ‘General’ in its own right. And, to be worthy of the name, it becomes a sine qua none to look back, at this point, and see if the archers are still there with their bows and arrows”.

    The arc

    “Today, ‘THE MESSAGE’ as a column, is one year old. It was all like yesterday when it started cruising, like the Arc of Noah, across oceans and seas, some of which are ‘Atlantic’ while others are ‘Pacific’.

    “On board of that ‘Arc’ were a number of issues revolving around Islamic religion. But like any newly christened child, only a few people were aware of the existence of this column until a few months ago”.

    “Today, however, the story is different. In virtually all corners of Nigeria and even some countries abroad, ‘THE MESSAGE’ is now a house hold name just like The Nation.

    “Readers of the column are not from amongst the Muslims alone. They are not from amongst Nigerians alone. They cut across religions, tribes, races, genders, ideologies and interests. Their reactions confirm this”.

    Original design

    “The column was designed from inception, to serve the purpose of a weekly Friday sermon in a written form. Thus, like any informed sermon, it discusses, comprehensively, all issues affecting the lives of Muslims vis a vis the fundamental principles of their religion”. It ascertains all perceivable problems and proffers Islamic solutions to them where necessary according to its intellectual ability”.

    “Going by its title, this column is not a message to the Muslims alone. It is a message to all civilised people who want to know the reason for the existence of Islam and the extent of its workings. It is a means of harmonising the similarities and dichotomising the dissimilarities between it and other revealed religions that preceded it”.

    “It is also a mode of interaction between the Muslims and non-Muslims over some issues hitherto considered knotty and unresolved. And by making the column a participatory one whereby readers are privileged to express their opinions and observations in reaction to its contents, a better understanding is coming to the fore”.

    “This is gradually reducing the mutual suspicion which had existed for years particularly between the adherents of Islam and those of Christianity in Nigeria”.

    Peace and no rancour

    “Now, by understanding that religion, in any society, is like a university where various faculties exist and admission seekers can enroll in any faculty without one looking down on another, readers of this column are beginning to see religion as an instrument of peace rather than that of rancour”.

    “Now, it is becoming clearer that religion is by personal conviction which should not be offensive to others who may yet be convinced. Neither should it be by coercion. And if, in the process of practicing what is believed, some elements of bigotry are reflected, let that be attributed to the messenger rather than the message”.

    Not all ambassadors are worth their mission. There is no sphere of life without bigots. Fanatics are not restricted to religion alone. They are found in politics, business, professions, cultures and even sports. Human nature must be separated from the precepts of religions.

    Major vices

    “Here in Nigeria, two major vices are abhorrent to Islam and Christianity on the ground of morality and justice. These are corruption and religious violence both of which are dangerous for Nigeria or any country”.

    ‘THE MESSAGE’ took up these two vices as part of its contents declaring jihad on both and exposing as well as condemning them wherever and whenever they surface.

    It is also noteworthy that this column does not overlook any wrong doing in the society, be it political, social, economic or religious. And credit is given to whoever deserves it without any discrimination on the basis of religion, tribe or politics.

    However, what ‘THE MESSAGE’ will not tolerate, is blackmail especially by political zealots and who think that politics is their own monopoly and a no go area for religionists. These are people elected to represent the populace in governance but on getting to office, turn themselves into masters using the people’s mandate to exploit the same people who put them in office. They steal public funds with unbridled audacity and expect no one to raise voice on it.

    “They use politics to intimidate and even invade the rights of professionals and private practitioners in other spheres of life without looking back. When seeking political offices, these self-centred politicians can go to Churches and Mosques to canvass for votes as well as spiritual support. But when they commit political or social atrocities in office and get condemned by Pastors and Imams, they quickly resort to blackmail, warning clergy men not to dabble into politics”.

    Sphere

    In Islam, there is no barrier between one sphere of life and another. The life of a Muslim is totally governed by the tenets of their religion. And those tenets cut across all spheres of life without any demarcation.

    Just as it will be improper and irrational for those in the economic or business sector to scare away politicians from economy so it is for politicians who want to prevent religionists from commenting on politics.

    That is an intolerable aggression which ‘THE MESSAGE’ as a pulpit in form of a column will not condone. Those who don’t want religion to be mixed with politics should not ask for votes in Churches and Mosques. As Muslims, we shall not allow anybody to use our political mandate to devastate our lives and still gag us.

    In this sphere, the Nigerian media men are like politicians. Under the cloak of religion or politics, they easily paint white in black colour and give blackmail a preference. It is they who coin such words as ‘marginalisation and Islamisation both of which cannot be found in any English dictionary. Like politicians and religious fanatics, Nigerian journalists are in their very best at displaying ingenuity when it comes to evil disposition. They are the primary inventors of political and religious conflicts in Nigeria. Yet, they behave like an ostrich that buries its head in the sand while its huge body remains exposed. They are a dangerous species to be wary of in the country as they impede all avenues of peace and harmony.

    Regardless of the evil antics of Nigerian politicians, journalists and religious bigots, as before, this column will continue to commend good deed and condemn evil actions in all spheres of life no matter whose ox may be gored. Islam is an international religion. It has no barriers in terms of nations, races and tribes. A Muslim in New Zealand is a brother to another in Alaska or Helsinki.

    Wherever and whenever they meet, the usual greeting is ‘Salam alaykun’ (peace be onto you). They pray together in the same language and Mosques; they face the same direction of the Ka‘abah in Makkah; they recite the same Qur’an in its original language; they fast together in the same sacred month of Ramadan and they come together once every year in an unprecedented assembly to perform Hajj in the vicinity of Makkah and Madinah.

    Thus, they are like a flock of sheep. If one of them is afflicted, the rest cannot be in peace. Thus, the problem of Muslims in any part of the world must be the concern of all other Muslims in the rest parts of the world.

    That is why ‘THE MESSAGE’ must comment on Muslim activities around the world if only to inform its local Muslim readers about the affairs of their brothers and sisters elsewhere in the world.

    Most of these had been part of this column in the past one year. They will continue to be. One other thing added to the column along the line is the resume on Islamic health through the use of bee products especially honey. This is considered an added value from which great advantage can be derived by readers who can appreciate the benefit of ‘apitherapy’ (the use of bee products to heal ailments in modern day health care. This will also be continued.

    Also to be chronicled in this column, from time to time, are some prominent Schools of Arabic and Islamic Studies, and other higher institutions as well as the great scholars behind them. All these are being packaged for a column which has some of the best intellectuals of this country as its readers.

    As the formidable ship of ‘THE MESSAGE’ is ready to cruise on the high sea, all those who are heading for the ‘cape of good hope’ are welcome on board. Congratulations for being alive to witness one year of this ship on its life’s odyssey’’.

    Comment

    The above article was published on August 31, 2007 partly as a review of one year performance and partly as a promise for improvement.

    Today, seven years after the commencement of this column in The Nation and six years after the quoted self-assessment, venerable readers can take the baton of comments from here.

    Has ‘THE MESSAGE’ lived up to expectation as an Islamic column? Has it fulfilled its promises in full or in part? What are the minuses expected to be rectified? What new frontiers should this column forage? Readers are free to critique, criticise, advise, make observations and even score this column in its seven years of existence.

    This columnist is not apathetic to criticism since there can be no growth without criticism. But a poisoned food is not worth the name of a meal. Besides, only reactions that are standard in language and reason will be published in this column. ‘The Message’ has transcended the pedestrian level of dirty politics and religious bigotry.

    Meanwhile, I wish to express a profound gratitude to genuine readers of this column. Their readership is the impetus propelling the spirit behind the ideas and thoughts appearing in this column every Friday. Without readers, there can be no columnists. Thus, readers are greater than writers. I am proud of you all.

    I pray Allah to safeguard our well illuminated path from getting blocked by the forces of darkness. Assalam alaykum!

     

  • ODIMEGWU: The courage of his convictions

  • Happy New Year

    Happy New Year

    The title of this article may sound strange to most readers since this is not January. In Nigeria, like in most other African countries, the idea of New Year is ignorantly believed to be peculiar to January which is the first month of Gregorian calendar. That is the effect of European colonialism in our continent. From whichever angle it is viewed, European colonialism has a Christian coloration that still paints African culture in the rainbow of colonial tradition.

    Islam has its own calendar. And, like other calendars of the world, there is a beginning and an end for every Hijrah year. Unlike other calendars which are manmade however, Islamic calendar, otherwise known as Hijrah calendar, is divinely ordained. This is confirmed in chapter 9, verse 36 of the Qur’an as follows:

    “Surely, the number of months ordained by Allah when He created the heavens and the earth is twelve. Therefore, do not wrong yourselves in them….”

    The twelve months are: Muharram; Safar; Rabiul Awwal; Rabiu-th-Thani; Jumadal Ula; Jumada-th-Thaniyah; Rajab; Shaban; Ramadan; Shawwal; Dhul Qadah; and Dhul Hijjah.

    The four months specifically designated as sacred are Ramadan, Shawwal, Dhul Qa’dah and Dhul Hijjah. Some of these months have 30 days. Others have 29. No more, no less.

    Last Tuesday (November 5, 2013) was the first day of the Hijrah year 1435. It followed the last day of Dhul Hijjah which is the last month of Hijrah calendar.

    Hijrah calendar took its name from Prophet Muhammad’s emigration from Makkah to Madinah in 622 C.E. The use of Hijrah calendar began when Umar Bn Khattab, the second Caliph, suggested that Islam should have its own distinctive calendar saying Hijrah, the Prophet’s emigration, was so much a significant landmark in Islam that it could not be overlooked. As a matter of fact, it is one of the three main factors responsible for the survival of the religion of Islam. The other two were the victory of the Muslims in the battle of Badr which was waged by Makkah pagans against the Muslims in Madinah shortly after the Prophet’s emigration. And the third is Allah’s great promise that became an everlasting fulfilment. That promise is contained in Chapter 15 verse 9 of the Qur’an thus:

    “It was ‘We’ (Allah) who revealed the Qur’an and We will preserve it…’ and who can doubt the Almighty Allah who created the entire universe and preserves it”. With Allah, all things are possible. But for these three fundamental factors, perhaps Islam or the Qur’an would have joined the legion of defunct religions.

    In Islam, the first day of (Muharram) the first month of Hijrah calendar is more significant than Mawlidun- Nabiyyi (the birth day of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)). The Prophet had existed for 40 years before ‘The Message’ came to him and nobody celebrated his birthday. Thus without ‘The great Message of Islam’ he would have had no cause to emigrate. If he had lived for 40 years without being known in history before he became a Prophet, why should his birth now take precedence over ‘The Great Message’ that made him the greatest man that ever lived?

    Basically Hijrah institutionalised three important aspects of life: social, economic and political.

    In the social aspect when the first revelation was made to the Prophet (SAW) a period of twelve (12) years was devoted by him to inculcate religion in the minds of individuals while no pattern of a collective life based on true religious concepts could be presented to the world. The status of the Muslim individuals in Makkah gave rise to the misconception that Islam, or believing in the prophet was one’s personal affair; it pertained only to the hereafter and had nothing to do with collective life.

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

    A second reason for the importance of Hijrah is its economic aspect. The economic effects were due to the permanent earliest Muslim emigration to Madinah led by Prophet Muhammad (SAW). The matchless hospitality of the people of Madinah towards the Muslims immigrants did not only provide a new peaceful home for the newcomers, but also showed the hosts’ passionate self-sacrifice. And with Hijrah, the immigrants vividly came in contact with advanced agricultural acumen and ingenuous artisanship never experienced before. These resulted in an unprecedented economic revolution for the place. Since the hosts shared virtually everything with the immigrants on the latter’s arrival, a lesson was learnt by the immigrants not to continue to be a burden on their brotherly hosts. Thus, every one of them adopted legitimate ways of earning righteously.

    Initially, the immigrants worked as labourers in the fields, gardens and construction works. Later they, being traders, started small trading activities which brought them into an economic competition with the Jews of Madinah. One aspect of the economic revolution was that the trader immigrants paid the right price to the growers for their produce since the Prophet had forbidden the practice of acquiring products on reduced prices in return for loans given to the artisans or to the cultivators.

    Thus, it was only after Hijrah that agriculture, industry and trade freely helped the Muslims to bring about an integrated, balanced and unfettered economy for the Ummah.

    The third reason which made Hijrah a very important event is the political freedom for the Muslims. Before Hijrah the Muslims had no say in any matter, internal or external. They were a minority against whom the hearts of the majority were full of enmity – the Muslims were an insignificant part of a set of dominating unbelievers in Makkah.

    Hijrah made the Muslims masters of their internal affairs, external relations and matters relating to war and peace. There was great understanding among the Muslims, for instance, in case a difference occurred between the Muslims and non-Muslims, the final decision was to be made by the Prophet. This showed an autonomous set up of a Muslim Ummah coming into existence. And this was a beginning of a city-state which, within the life-time of the Prophet or within a period of ten (10) years, expanded which encompassed the entire Arabian peninsula. It is thus evident that the event of Hijrah turned a few hundred persons into a highly successful society.

    If the Nigerian Muslim leaders were adequately informed, Islamically, at the time they were negotiating religious holidays for Nigerian Muslim Ummah, they would have asked for Hijrah rather than Mawlidun-Nabiyyi. Apart from coming into the world through birth like any other human being, there is nothing the birth of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) contributed to Islam. And, the Prophet himself did not believe in the aristocracy of birth. That was why he never celebrated his own birthday the way some Muslims do on his behalf today. What is more, the Prophet’s birthday is never celebrated in Saudi Arabia where he was born. What is rather celebrated in that country is Hijrah day. Whereas Mawlidun-Nabiyyi is about the life of Prophet Muhammad alone, Hijrah day is about Islam, its survival and the entire Muslim Ummah.

    While celebrating Mawlidun-Nabiyyi, you can only praise the Prophet and nothing more. But when celebrating the Hijrah day, you are celebrating not only the Prophet’s migration but the success of Islam as the everlasting password of the Universe. That is why we exchange pleasantries by congratulating one another and by chanting the slogan HAPPY NEW YEAR!

    Compared to Hijrah calendar the Gregorian calendar is not only artificial but alien to Christianity. It was only adopted some centuries ago as a way of distinguishing the religion of Christ from whatever preceded or succeeded it. While writing about how Gregorian calendar came into existence, a British writer and newspaper columnist, Ben Snowden said in a descriptive article entitled ‘The Curious History of Gregorian Calendar thus:

    “September 2, 1752, was a great day in the history of sleep.

    That Wednesday evening, millions of British subjects in England and the colonies went peacefully to sleep and did not wake up until twelve days later. Behind this feat of narcoleptic prowess was not just some revolutionary hypnotic technique or miraculous pharmaceutical discovered in the West Indies. It was, rather, the British Calendar Act of 1751, which declared the day after Wednesday the second day of that month to be Thursday the fourteenth day of the same month.

    Prior to that cataleptic September evening, the official British calendar differed from that of continental Europe by eleven days—that is, September 2 in London was September 13 in Paris, Lisbon, and Berlin. The discrepancy had sprung from Britain’s continued use of the Julian calendar, which had been the official calendar of Europe since its invention by Julius Caesar (after whom it was named) in 45 B.C.

    Caesar’s calendar, which consisted of eleven months of 30 or 31 days and a 28-day February (extended to 29 days every fourth year), was actually quite accurate: it erred from the real solar calendar by only 11½ minutes a year. By the sixteenth century, it had put the Julian calendar behind the solar one by 10 days.

    In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered the advancement of the calendar by 10 days and introduced a new corrective device to curb further error: century years such as 1700 or 1800 would no longer be counted as leap years, unless they were (like 1600 or 2000) divisible by 400.

    If somewhat inelegant, this system is undeniably effective, and is still in official use in the United States. The Gregorian calendar year differs from the solar year by only 26 seconds—accurate enough for most mortals, since this only adds up to one day’s difference every 3,323 years.

    Despite the prudence of Pope Gregory’s correction, many Protestant countries, including England, ignored the papal bull. Germany and the Netherlands agreed to adopt the Gregorian calendar in 1698; Russia only accepted it after the revolution of 1918 and Greece waited until 1923 to follow suit. And currently many Orthodox churches still follow the Julian calendar, which now lags 13 days behind the Gregorian.

    Since their invention, calendars have been used to reckon time in advance, and to fix the occurrence of events like harvests or religious festivals. Ancient peoples tied their calendars to whatever recurring natural phenomena they could most easily observe. In areas with pronounced seasons, annual weather changes usually fixed the calendar; in warmer climates such as Southern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, the moon was used to mark time.

    Unfortunately, the cycles of the sun and moon do not synchronise well. A lunar year (consisting of 12 lunar cycles, or lunation, each 29½ days long) is only 354 days, 8 hours long; a solar year lasts about 365¼ days. After three years, a strict lunar calendar would have diverged from the solar calendar by 33 days, or more than one lunation.

    The Muslim calendar is hence the only purely lunar calendar in widespread use today. Its months have no permanent connection to the seasons— Muslim religious celebrations, such as Ramadan, may thus occur at any date of the Gregorian calendar.

    The phases of the moon have nonetheless remained a popular way to divide the solar year, if only because a 365¼-day year doesn’t exactly lend itself to equal subdivision (the 71¼-day month has yet to find favor among monologists). To compensate for the difference in the solar and lunar year, calendar makers introduced the practice of intercalation—the addition of extra days or months to the calendar to make it more accurate. The semi lunar Hebrew calendar, consisting of twelve 29- and 30-day months, adds an intercalary month seven times every 19 years (which explains the sometimes confusing drift of Passover—and consequently Easter— through April and March).

    Despite its widespread use, the Gregorian calendar has a number of weaknesses. It cannot be divided into equal halves or quarters; the number of days per month is haphazard; and months or even years may begin on any day of the week. Holidays pegged to specific dates may also fall on any day of the week, and vanishingly few Americans can predict when Thanksgiving will occur next year.

    Since the time of Pope Gregory XIII, many other proposals for calendar reform have been made. In the 1840s, philosopher Auguste Comte suggested that the 365th day of each year be a holiday not assigned to a day of the week. The generic “Year Day” would allow January 1 to fall on a Sunday every year. Needless to say, this clever solution was not widely embraced.

    The French Revolution also made an attempt to introduce a new calendar. On October 5, 1793, the revolutionary convention decreed that the year (starting on September 22, 1792—the autumnal equinox, and the day after the proclamation of the new republic) would be divided into 12 months of 30 days, named after corresponding seasonal phenomena (e.g. seed, blossom, harvest).

    The remaining five days of the year, called sans-culottides, were feast days. In leap years, the extra day, Revolution Day, was to be added to the end of the year. The Revolutionary calendar had no week; each month was divided into three decades, with every tenth day to be a day of rest. This straightforward calendar, however, perished with the Republic”.

    Of all the existing calendars, only Hijrah has been generally acknowledged as unique in effect and in workability. In commemoration of the great occasion of Prophet Muhammad’s (SAW) emigration from Makkah to Madinah in 622 CE, both the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and the Muslim Ummah of Southwest Nigeria (MUSWEN) have sent messages of felicitations to Nigerian Muslim Ummah just as ‘The Message’ column also says HAPPY NEW YEAR!