The Nation Newspaper

Category: Friday

  • The Lam Effect

    The Lam Effect

    The passing of Alhaji Lam Adesina, former governor of Oyo State, has created another gaping hole in the landscape of progressive leadership, not just in Oyo State, but in the country as a whole. That statement sounds humdrum, given the human penchant for hyperboles especially in the wake of events such as this. Appearance notwithstanding, I am persuaded of the veracity of the claim in this regard.

    At least three qualities are central to progressive political leadership. First is an empathetic understanding of the challenges that face the folks that they lead. This is a quality of mind and heart. Second is the ability to intelligently identify and execute policies that are designed to overcome those challenges. This is a quality of the intellect. Third is the manifestation of courage and boldness and determination to confront all obstacles in the chosen path to deal with those challenges. This is a quality of the spirit, what the Yoruba refer to as igboya. All these go together. Empathetic understanding without adequate policies is impotent. Policy sans empathetic understanding is blind.

    It is true, of course, that different individuals can lay claim to the possession of the qualities identified above. However, in a democratic system, in which ideas and policies compete for the support and acceptance of the public, birds of the same political feather must flock together. And a lone ranger in a crowd of antagonistic ideas and policy options may discover the inevitable choking of his ideas. This is why good men and women sometimes find themselves in politically incongruent circles and ultimately regret their inconsequentiality to effect change.

    Lam was a compassionate human being. We may attribute this to his background as a self-made man. Yet this would only be partially right. There are many with his background who later found themselves in position of authority where they could right wrongs and sooth human pains but chose otherwise. Lam was an intelligent man who brought the passion of an intellectual to governance. And if nothing else did, Lam’s unceasing political jabs at civilian and military dictators must earn him credit for courage and boldness.

    With those qualities as his driving force, he made a choice early in his life to align himself with like-minded patriots to promote an agenda of abundant life for all. He had an intellectual endowment that facilitated the move. His career in teaching, a profession that makes the development of the human person its mandate, revealed to him the imperative of political action for the right policies to empower the masses. Early on, he joined the foremost progressive political organisation of the day and never wavered even in the face of an atrocious recourse to the brutal use of power by opponents. From Action Group to UPN, to NADECO, then AD, and ACN, Lam fought valiantly in the trenches of progressive battles for better lives for the masses. As a “prisoner of war” in the military-declared political battle of 1994-1998, Lam had the scars of war to prove it.

    In 1999, after the cessation of hostilities and the defeat of militocracy, civil governance was ushered in, and who else could have merited the gubernatorial crown of the pace-setter state than the Great Lam, a title which his empathy, intellect, and courage earned him?

    He approached governance with a determination to enlarge the freedom of the people and make life more abundant for them. Following the populism of the old UPN, AD would provide education, health, employment and improve the conditions of rural life. The welfarist manifesto appealed to the people who never forgot the good times of the foremost welfarist. But times had changed. The federal system that made possible the magical achievements of the 50s and 60s was no more. The unitarists had ensured that states would be better served as appendages to the centre and would survive only on hand-outs from the Federal Government. This was bound to jeopardise the effective execution of any progressive agenda. Added to this was the heritage of a bloated bureaucracy.

    The dilemma of any progressive government is how to reconcile the existence of a run-away bureaucracy and its huge overhead with the provision of essential services for the rest of the citizens who are in the majority. On the one hand, labour is not only an essential part of the progressive coalition it is also a segment of the citizenry with needs that government has a responsibility to meet. On the other hand, in a state with meager internal and external resources, the more the resources that go to servicing a disproportional workforce, the less is available for every other need, including welfare programs. There was no doubt that Lam struggled with this dilemma, which confronted him immediately he assumed office, with a bitter labour dispute. It is not a dilemma that can be ignored and, though Lam is gone, as he would say, the search must continue for a workable resolution of this dilemma.

    The electoral hurricane of 2003 swept off Lam and his colleagues from government houses in the Southwest with the exception of Lagos. There are truckloads of blames to go round. What is important, however, is that to their credit, Lam and his colleagues never lost hope; neither did they waver in their commitment to progressivism. Outside of the power structure that they once controlled, and in the political desert that was Southwest for eight years, they fought on with the power of ideas. Without any skeleton in his cupboard, Lam was able to hold his head high, sneering at the godfathers of rigging and political chicanery. He assailed the deliberate impoverisation of the masses and served as a headhunter for candidates. To his credit, and the credit of the national leadership of his party, Oyo State and the Southwest are back in the column of progressives.

    This is the Lam effect and legacy. A peaceful rest is assured for him because he left the scene as an achiever and overcomer. He fought the right battles and secured victories for the people. But while it is over for him, it is just beginning for the rest of us, and especially for his former colleagues, every progressive, and particularly in the pace-setter state, his foremost political son, Governor Abiola Ajimobi. To paraphrase the late Senator Ted Kennedy, the work must go on, the cause must endure, the hope must live on, and the dream of empowering the people to excel must never die.

    To the matriarch of the Lam Adesina family, Alhaja Saratu Lam Adesina, and Dapo and his siblings, there is every reason to celebrate a life that was fulfilled in every respect. You cannot ask for a better inheritance. For all of us, in the memorable title of his brilliant column, the search continues.

  • Queen’s College admission: Letter of apology to my daughter

    “ — no one can even live in Samaria without being a liar, thief and bandit.” Hosea 7v1 (TLB)  

    My dear 10-year- old daughter, you may be wondering why I have taken our private matter to the pages of a national newspaper when we had discussed the matter at home ad nauseam and you have had to join your siblings in a private school in the neighbourhood? Well the answer is that, yes we have borne our pain and frustration with equanimity but the matter transcends us; it is deeper and of more import than you can understand now. More important, hundreds of other ten-year-old boys and girls like you may have suffered the same inequity and injustice which they have borne quietly as if these were our national ethos. Another reason daddy is speaking up in this manner is that it has gone on for too long that we not only glory in our iniquitous ways, we now make huge capital of it.

    When you sat for the National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE) early this year, you were quite optimistic that you would do well having studied very hard. You wanted so much to attend Queen’s College (QC) having heard so much about it and cherishing the idea of living in the boarding house. When the result was released and you scored 147 out of a possible 200 marks, it was not an excellent result but good enough, especially when we learnt that the cut off mark for your state, Imo, is 135.

    We were quite elated that you stood a good chance until we got to QC in Yaba, Lagos only to find out that the entire admission process is a well choreographed national racket. First shocker was the cut-off point per state pasted on the notice board (see table). I remember how your joy evaporated when you learnt that you did not stand any chance at all because you came from Imo State. At the vice principal’s office, an official addressed us with a hint of rebuff and mockery seeming to wonder why we were bothering them having scored such a (low) mark and coming from Imo. We were treated as if you failed the exam when you actually scored approximately 74%.

    You were crestfallen; your little mind must have gone into a weird jiu-jitsu, especially upon noticing that your fellow candidates from Yobe State who could have scored zero; yes absolute, stark naked zero could have a chance over you in Queens College, Lagos. Had you come from any state in the North of Nigeria, you would have been top of the class, a champion as the highest cut-off mark from there is 120 points (Kwara). The alien logic of a student with zero score getting admitted into any school and another with a very good grade getting shunted must have stunted your growth for days. You had many questions some of them swimming in your now welled-up eyes. Some of your questions almost made dad cry too because I could not answer them with much conviction.

    “Is it because we are Igbo that is why QC did not take me even though I passed?”

    “ Well, sort of my dear. More people from Anambra, Imo and Enugu States scored high marks so you needed to score a minimum of about 80% to have stood a chance.”

    “So why don’t they build more schools like QC so that they can admit all the pupils who passed?”

    To this question, I really did not have any coherent answer knowing that some of the so-called Unity schools where built by the British colonial government and knowing that no new secondary school has been built by the federal government in the last 20 years or more even as Nigeria’s population grew exponentially. What this has exposed is that government is winking in the dark as regard education, the single most important index of development. What this plainly shows is that government does not have the vital statistics concerning education; concerning school intakes of yesterday, today or tomorrow.

    And what mad scramble we have in the few ‘good’ schools available. “Daddy, is it true that you were asked to pay money for them to admit me in QC?” (she must have overheard her mother and I discussing this. One of those forlorn trips to QC, someone who claimed to be a teacher noticing my helplessness, had furnished me a phone number to call for help. When I had called days later, I was told that for a fee of N250,000.00 I could ‘buy’ a teacher’s admission quota.)

    I was to learn that apart from the quota system and federal character method of allocating the admissions, anyone who was desperate enough and had enough cash got his ward into any of the ‘Unity Schools’ especially after all the top notch government officials must have had their fill of the sordid porridge.

    My dear daughter, even I did not know that we had reached this low, this nadir where we keep chickens and pigeons in the same coop. I learnt that there are a minimum of 70 students per class in QC; one ‘united’ Nigerian classroom of the good, the bad and the very ugly yoked into one: a perfect picture of a crumbling collage of the Nigerian state writ large in Queen’s College classrooms. A soulless confederacy not spared even at infancy, of the extremely dull, the super bright, the graft-assisted and all, meshed with legitimized impunity in a salubrious girls’ college. What recipe for failure for a doggoned country?

    My dear little girl, this is where our country Nigeria is today. This is probably where we were over 50 years ago. It reminds me of what my respected senior colleague Malam Mohammed Haruna wrote in his column on the back page of this paper (24/10/2012). Responding to a point Chinua Achebe raised in his book, There was a Country, Haruna said, “… what Sardauna objected to was the timing (of Nigeria’s Independence) for the simple and understandable reason that for historical reasons the South had a huge head-start over his region in producing the skills required for running the government, and he needed time to do something about the gap.”

    After 52 years, nothing seems to have been done about the ‘gap’. It has indeed remained more gaping today. Why would the gap close if the North has been enjoying what I call a delirious advantage over other parts of the country in the distribution of our commonwealth? As a State governor, I would loathe, in fact I would be utterly insulted should my State be allotted zero or a derogatory cut-off point in any national exam. Where is the challenge to compete or the will to excel if I can make do with zero score? Mediocrity will only breed mediocrity.

    This is our story my dear daughter; a country where an Haruna who scored zero per cent would get admission, federal jobs and all the other privileges and an Osuji who scored 74 per cent is denied and shooed away. Take heart my daughter but take note: don’t stop talking about it, don’t stop contesting it, don’t stop protesting it and indeed, fight over it if you must. Accept my apology for I failed you, but the ball is now in your court.

  • Six years so soon?

    Six years so soon?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

     

  • In our hands

    In our hands

    The United States presidential election of 2012 is now history. But it is one that leaves behind a lot of memories, not many of which are pleasant. The campaign was nerve-racking and torturous. For those candidates including former Governor Mitt Romney, who had to go through the primaries to secure the party nomination, it was an experience that they would not wish for their enemies. In one important respect, the Republican primary sealed the fate of the nominee as a general election loser. But more on this later.

    The general election was hijacked by money bags who took advantage of the Supreme Court decision in the landmark case of Citizen United to unload their green wares with a determination to make Barack Obama a one-term president. One individual contributed over $50 million to the Super PAC supporting Mitt Romney. There must be some intense gnashing of the teeth when Romney appeared at 12:55 am to concede defeat.

    The ad war was particularly fierce, especially in the battleground states. Through multiple media outlets—television, radio, Internet, Facebook—innocent citizens were inundated with attack ads. A five-year old got so upset that she broke down in profuse sobbing: I am tired of all these Obama, Romney, Obama, Romney! Leave me alone, she agonisingly pleaded, as if the ads were aimed at her. But it is the nature of the beast. It is the civil war model of democracy, the type that advocates of no-party democracy lament.

    The campaigns were particularly unsettling in the cruel insight they provided into the inner workings of human nature. They demonstrated the embarrassing reality that one may want something so badly that, in the quest for it, one really loses the soul that is supposed to be the beneficiary of the thing. But is it worth it? That is the question that ambition relegates to the back burner in the echo chamber of political brigandage where shamefaced lies, character assassination, hyperbolic narratives, and pettiness of mind rule the day.

    In the strategic positioning that is required to win the Republican primary, Governor Romney settled himself to the far right of the most conservative candidates in the pack. Forced to pander to the extreme right wing of his party and their rejection of the Affordable Health Care Act that they mocked as Obamacare, Romney denounced his own singular policy achievement as governor of Massachusetts and vowed to repeal Obamacare. One cannot appear more desperate. Independents and moderates watched in amazement.

    It got weirder. Romney defined his conservatism as “severe” and attacked Governor Perry of Texas for compassionately making in-state tuition available to children of undocumented immigrants. He also placed himself on record as an advocate of self-deportation, which translated to making life so unbearable for undocumented immigrants that they would just consider checking out on their own. Members of the Hispanic community, the fastest growing demographics in the United States, paid close attention and were not amused.

    Still making up to the Tea Party crowd who controlled the base of his party, the governor publicly opposed President Obama’s use of federal funds to bail out the auto industry. Even before the primaries began, Romney had authored an op-ed with the provocative title “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.” The auto industry is the economic equivalent of natural oxygen for the key battleground states of Michigan and Ohio where one in eight jobs is tied to the industry. Working class families in these states took notice.

    With his demonstration of loyalty to the cause of extreme conservatism, Romney’s posturing paid off big in the Republican primary as he clinched his party’s nomination. And with a publicised “etch a sketch” strategy, he was poised to wiping off any record of his primary positions in the general election campaign. It almost paid off as evidenced in the performance of President Obama in the first debate. Having prepared to debate Romney on his avowed severe conservatism, Obama was befuddled by Romney’s sudden affirmation of moderation and championing of middle class values. This would earn a democrat the title of flip-flopper-in-chief as John Kerry can attest. But Republicans are a different breed.

    The 1 percent supported Romney with all they had. Pro-Mitt Romney Super PACs spent more than $600 million in political ads. And while pro-Obama PACs did not match that figure, they also spent above $400 million. The Romney donor who gave over $50 million to the campaign was reported to be just a little “disappointed but not discouraged.” That is to suggest that a repeat performance next time around is not out of the question.

    It is this attitude of the one percent that may partly explain the outcome of the election. Majority of the electorate believed that Romney did not understand their situation and cannot represent their interests. If a big donor can shrug off the loss of a $50 million investment in a presidential campaign, and would lose no sleep over it, how can their candidate feel the pain and suffering of the ordinary folk? As they watched, ordinary voters resented what they saw and determined to take their destiny in their hands.

    On Monday, November 5, Obama made his final pitch in the last campaign of his political career. In Des Moines, Iowa, he wowed the crowd with his now familiar oratorical style. Then he told them that the outcome of the election was in their hands. It was the moment of truth. It brought to the fore the obvious truth that in a true democracy, voters have the final word. Money doesn’t vote. Advertisements don’t cast ballots. People do; and if they choose to ignore the torrent of negative or positive ads because they have a good idea of who is best to represent their interests, no matter the amount of money poured into the airwave, it wouldn’t matter.

    A bagful of special interest money couldn’t undo the self-inflicted harm that Romney’s “severely conservative” credential caused in the Republican primary. Exit polls showed that the majority of voters made up their minds on who would get their votes back in September even before the first debate. For the sophisticated ones, the debates must have revealed another unflattering side of the candidate when he bold-facedly presented himself as a severe moderate on all issues.

    The one percent lost the election. But they are not going out without a fight. And when they still hold the purse string of the economy, they cannot be written off in the harm they are capable of wrecking. The day after the election, with teeth clenched, they gave a hint. The stock market was down by more than 300. Ouch! That was our retirement portfolio taking a thumbing. Still it is in our hands.

  • Six years so soon?

    Six years so soon?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • A princely exit

    A princely exit

    Life has meaning. Life and death are intricately connected. Without life, there is no death. And as the sages may add, without death there is no life. The Master Sage once declared that His death must be recognised as the beginning of a new life. And our ancestors concur. For them, death is simply a transition from one mode of existence to another. With this connection between the two, we must conclude that if life has meaning, death must also have meaning. Yet, if this were the only connection, an important question would remain unanswered: why is one so deeply perceived as the stark opposite of the other?

    The meaning of life, its essence or the purpose it serves, is the good it promotes. That is the reason of existence, the creator’s objective. The meaning of death is the opportunity it affords the living for the lessons of life. In death, we have a powerful MRI of life in all its simplicity and complexity. Death shows us that life is as simple as the setting of the sun, the imagery that we adopt as its metaphor. But death also demonstrates to us that life is as complex as the riddle of the Sphinx. Walking on four legs in the morning, then on two in the afternoon, and on three in the evening, human life is as complex as it is conflicted.

    One—life—appears to be the stark opposite of the other—death—because the former seems to open doors of opportunity while the latter seems to close them up. As the Yoruba would say, ba o ku ise o tan. When there is life, there is hope, we gleefully remind ourselves. But death ends it all. Hence, poor humans, we dread death.

    The wise know better. They recognise the uncertainties and vicissitude of the duration of time between one mode of being (life) and the other (death), grab the opportunities that life affords them to serve the creator’s purpose, promoting as much good as they can, while they can; and when death knocks, they are ready for it. For them, the intensity of the suffering that life may throw at them at the end stage of existence does not disable their will to do as much good as possible. In their suffering, they reflect God’s purpose.

    Prince Oyemomilara Okunlola had a faith in his creator akin to Abraham’s. He was endowed with wisdom close to Solomon’s. His kinds don’t suffer destruction. Instead, they are transformed into greater realm of perfection where, face-to-face with their creator, they continue to promote the good.

    Bros. Oye, as he was fondly called, determined from the beginning of life’s journey to excel in the delivery of the message of his destiny, which was simply to do as much good as possible. To accomplish such a mission, he knew that he had to prepare himself. He knew that he had to remake himself. “I have been made, I have to remake myself” is the witty saying of the sage. Education is the key to remaking oneself, and Oye took a great advantage of the opportunities of sound education in the old West.

    Of course, as we know, limitations of heritage could place one at a disadvantage relative to others. In the days of his youth, Oke-Ogun had limited opportunities for educational advancement. At the end of primary education, one had to relocate to pursue further education, which was also mostly limited to secondary modern school education. It was not unusual that at 12, a young boy or girl must make that move. And after three years of secondary modern school, the next available opportunity was teacher training, a boot camp of sorts with its harsh discipline and character training. Bros Oye and generations of Oke-Ogun indigenes before and after him passed through this rigour of life. He and his friends once labeled Oke-Ogun as New Nigeria, partly in reference to the people’s innocence of spirit, and partly in the hope of a national mobilisation toward the discipline and moral rectitude that their beloved rural life forced on them.

    After receiving the Teachers’ Grade III and Grade II certificates in 1961 and 1965 respectively, Oye had to study for the General Certificate of Education to qualify for university admission. During this period, when he was still struggling for his own future, he was not deterred from helping others, including the younger ones who were fortunate to secure university admissions before him. My friends Adebisi and Oyediran were students at the University of Ibadan. I was then at the University of Ife. We all had summer jobs at Ibadan. While I stayed with Bros. Gbade Adejumo, Bisi and Diran stayed with Bros. Oye. This was the pattern in those days. We stood on the shoulders of those who cared to lend a hand. They did it without grudge. We are all the better for their generosity of spirit.

    Bros Oye was an undergraduate at the University of Ibadan from 1972 to 1975 at the end of which he received the B. Sc. (Hons.) in Economic, Second Class Upper Division. He later obtained the Advanced Diploma in Project Analysis and Management from the University of Connecticut and an Advanced Diploma in Public Administration from Obafemi Awolowo University.

    After a stint in the private sector, Prince Okunlola joined the Oyo State Public Service in January 1977. This was where he made an indelible mark, leaving a legacy of hard work and integrity. Public service could be privately rewarding in the sense that it enables one to serve the public and thereby promote the most good. From the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to the Office of the Governor dealing with Chieftaincy and Parastatals, there was plenty of good to share, and many wrongs to right. He was always on top of his league. He capped his civil service years with service as the Administrative Secretary of the National Electoral Commission (NEC) in Oyo state until his retirement on 1994. And because of his meritorious service in that capacity, in retirement he was tapped to serve as the Chairman of the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) from January 2004 to 2008.

    Outside of government, Prince Okunlola was a foremost community leader and advocate for the people, serving in various capacities and initiating many development projects for the communities. He was National President of Okeho Development Association, Secretary of Okeho Socio-Economic Club, President, Iwajowa Union of Okeho, President, Ifeoluwa Society of Agodi Baptist Church, Secretary, Council of Oke-Ogun Indigenes (COIN), President Emeritus of Oyo Club 79, Former Oyo State Chairman, Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria (PPFN), among others.

    If promotion of the most good is the meaning of life and the purpose of existence, I can reasonably assert that Prince Okunlola lived a meaningful life. But there is another lesson of life that he taught us. Recall that in suffering and in death, the meaning of life is revealed to us. And in the suffering that he endured before his final passing, Prince Okunlola demonstrated to us that nothing can separate him from the love of his God. I mentioned earlier that he was endowed with wisdom close to Solomon’s; he also had a spirit of perseverance and trust that almost rivaled Job’s. In his suffering, he never cursed God. Indeed, many recall that he was always praising God and praying for others even as he lay in bed. He was an unusual human being; one that was sent here to teach us how to live, how to love and how to suffer with dignity.

    Grace, a loyal and dutiful wife to the end demonstrated the true meaning of the marriage vow—for better or for worse—in her devotion and tender care of her husband. Bros Oye could not have wished for a more sympathetic and understanding companion. Children, brothers and, friends, including Chief Bayande Ayanlowo, did their best and all must now take consolation in the knowledge that the Prince is with the King and that son and father are in eternal bliss. For the anointed never dies, the anointed never sees destruction; the anointed only transits to Itunla; itunla is the home of the anointed.

    So long, Bros. Oye.

  • South-south in government, North in power, yet…

    Arising from last Sunday’s suicide bombing of St. Rita’s Catholic Church, Kaduna, the seeming Christians bating and unmitigated bloodletting in the North of Nigeria, many readers of this column urged that the piece below, first published last week, be re-run. Some readers also express shock that some highly placed leaders of the North are even suspected of masterminding and funding this incremental destruction of Nigeria. Below is the article of last week:

    If anyone needed evidence that President Goodluck Jonathan panders unduly to the North, the recent sale of the Nigeria’s power plants is sufficient proof. While one may not begrudge them their ‘good fortune’, what galls most other Nigerians is that some of the people from the North would still not be appeased. If bombs are not going off, uniformed security personnel and innocent people are being gunned down at will, for no just cause. If it is not senators of the Federal Republic being accused of aiding and abetting this senseless carnage, it is former governors or other members of the privileged elite. Perhaps the only condition for peace is for the rest of us to scurry across the border into the hills of the Cameroons, and the hinterlands of Benin and Togo? Almost everything we have in Nigeria has been conceded to the North yet it won’t be appeased.

    First, the recent sale of Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) shorn of the technical details and the little devils inherent in them, one must say that the broad ground norms required for fair and equitable bidding process are flawed. If we are privatizing, let it be truly private and competent companies (not transferring from federal to state governments); no private company should get more than one facility (they should build more in the future if they are so capable); no former head of state should be allowed to buy utilities they were instrumental to their failure.

    But what did BPE do? It allowed state governments to throw in all sorts of bids by proxy; thus while some states won, some did not win. That is bound to breed rancor. Second, it allowed a company chaired by former Head of State, General Abdulsalam Abubakar (rtd) to bid. Now Abubakar’s firm, Integrated Distribution Marketing a Company (IDMC) did not only bid, it got the three biggest facilities in the North, East and West. This is utterly unacceptable. The North will never accept this inequitable arrangement. Even the gentleman governor of Anambra State well known for pandering to the dictates of the Presidency raised his voice saying the action was ‘shocking’. Says Obi: “It was more shocking because Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Bayelsa succeeded, but the South-Eastern states totally lost out.”

    Yes, the South-East seems to always lose out in everything especially in this dispensation. South-East has the worst power facilities in the land. What about road network, federal presence, not to mention the vexatious state and local government allotment deliberately skewed to eternally hurt the South-East. But we digress.

    What the BPE led by Mr. Atedo Peterside has done in doling out all the key power distribution companies to Gen. Abubakar, we dare say, is an extension of the appeasement of the North which has gone on so rather nauseatingly under the Jonathan Presidency. The result is that while Jonathan is in government, the power and influence in all arms of government are firmly secured in the North. The South-East and the West are the sorry losers.

    Let us take a quick roll call: barring the president himself, the next five positions down the pecking order of protocol in our federation today is held by the North viz; vice president, senate president, speaker of the House of Representatives, chief justice of the federation and attorney-general of the federation. It must be put on record that this is unprecedented in the history of Nigeria. Thus apart from having a leg in the Presidency, they control the National Assembly and the judiciary effectively. It is particularly overwhelming in the judiciary as the North also heads the Court of Appeal, the High Court and indeed all other positions down the judiciary chain.

    The North also dominates most of the strategic positions in the land. In defence, it holds the defence minister’s slot, the Chief of Defence Staff, the National Security Adviser and the inspector-General of Police; three most important position in the security and defence of any nation. These are complemented with headship of the Customs, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Other key positions held by our brothers from the North include governor of the Central bank of Nigeria,(CBN), headship of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC), and chairmanship of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, (FIRS), Petroleum Trust Development Fund, (PTDF), Nigerian Ports Authority, (NPA) and the Pensions Commission, (PENCOM). There are so many other no less important positions like headship of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Education Trust Fund (ETF), the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), among others.

    We must state it clearly that there is no prejudice whatsoever towards the various gentlemen and ladies occupying these important positions; most of them are well qualified for the positions they occupy and most important, some of the positions are elective and hierarchical. As has been noted earlier, there is no grudge towards the North over what can be considered their good fortune; what we say is that they must appreciate that they have the upper hand in the polity today, they must do a lot more to contain the raging violence in their part of the country. They must also remember that when their fortunes change tomorrow and the pendulum swings to other parts of the country, they should show equal magnanimity and the desired equanimity. They must remember that equity and justice are the bases of peace in any society.

    LAST MUG(S): why is NASS hounding Oteh? The story of the delectable Ms Arunma Oteh, the director-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is well known to enlightened Nigerians. After exposing the corruption of members of the Committee of the House of Representatives who deigned to be probing her activities at SEC, the members of the National Assembly would not give her a breathing space. The fact that the lawmakers probing her office compromised themselves, they have lost the moral ground to insist that she must be dismissed. Sounds like sour grapes. The fact that they could not establish any solid case of corruption against her and the fact that the Presidency which appointed her still finds her worthy of that seat, the wise thing for our law makers to do is to back off for the moment. Well, they are allowed to have their searchlight quietly trained on her if they insist on their vendetta by all means. They should look for something better to do and allow the executive do its job.

    Gov. Fashola’s mishandling of the Okada riders: does the Lagos State Government know the number of commercial motorcycle riders in Lagos state? Is there any unit or department of government managing this huge block of an economic unit? Did anyone do a thorough analysis of the cost of taking this group off the Lagos roads? Apart from the huge opportunity to be tapped from this horde of hapless city transporters if we looked carefully, it is disheartening that the LASG is growing into the habit of throwing ill-digested laws at the people; laws seemingly motivated by anger and intent to punish are often flawed laws. Laws should not destabilize, frustrate and damage people, it should on the other hand, support the populace, cooperate with them and enrich their lives. What callousness informed the crushing of the property, the basic livelihood of the lowliest class? What manner of law permits us to confiscate and crush other people’s property? We must rethink such a law. LASG must show more rigour and humanness in managing a social ferment manifesting as okada.

  • Southsouth in government, North in power, yet…

    If anyone needed evidence that President Goodluck Jonathan panders unduly to the North, the recent sale of the Nigeria’s power plants is sufficient proof. While one may not begrudge them their ‘good fortune’, what galls most other Nigerians is that some of the people from the North would still not be appeased. If bombs are not going off, uniformed security personnel and innocent people are being gunned down at will, for no just cause. If it is not senators of the Federal Republic being accused of aiding and abetting this senseless carnage, it is former governors or other members of the privileged elite. Perhaps the only condition for peace is for the rest of us to scurry across the border into the hills of the Cameroons, and the hinterlands of Benin and Togo? Almost everything we have in Nigeria has been conceded to the North yet it won’t be appeased.

    First, the recent sale of Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) shorn of the technical details and the little devils inherent in them, one must say that the broad ground norms required for fair and equitable bidding process are flawed. If we are privatizing, let it be truly private and competent companies (not transferring from federal to state governments); no private company should get more than one facility(they should build more in the future if they are so capable); no former head of state should be allowed to buy utilities they were instrumental to their failure.

    But what did BPE do? It allowed state governments to throw in all sorts of bids by proxy; thus while some states won, some did not win. That is bound to breed rancor. Second, it allowed a company chaired by former Head of State, General Abdulsalam Abubakar (rtd) to bid. Now Abubakar’s firm, Integrated Distribution Marketing a Company (IDMC) did not only bid, it got the three biggest facilities in the North, East and West. This is utterly unacceptable. The North will never accept this inequitable arrangement. Even the gentleman governor of Anambra State well known for pandering to the dictates of the Presidency raised his voice saying the action was ‘shocking’. Says Obi: “It was more shocking because Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Bayelsa succeeded, but the South-Eastern states totally lost out.”

    Yes, the South-East seems to always lose out in everything especially in this dispensation. South-East has the worst power facilities in the land. What about road network, federal presence, not to mention the vexatious state and local government allotment deliberately skewed to eternally hurt the South-East. But we digress.

    What the BPE led by Mr. Atedo Peterside has done in doling out all the key power distribution companies to Gen. Abubakar, we dare say, is an extension of the appeasement of the North which has gone on so rather nauseatingly under the Jonathan Presidency. The result is that while Jonathan is in government, the power and influence in all arms of government are firmly secured in the North. The South-East and the West are the sorry losers.

    Let us take a quick roll call: barring the president himself, the next five positions down the pecking order of protocol in our federation today is held by the North viz; vice president, senate president, speaker of the House of Representatives, chief justice of the federation, attorney-general of the federation. It must be put on record that this is unprecedented in the history of Nigeria. Thus apart from having a leg in the Presidency, they control the National Assembly and the judiciary effectively. It is particularly overwhelming in judiciary as the North also heads the Court of Appeal, the High Court and indeed all other positions down the judiciary chain.

    The North also dominates most of the strategic positions in the land. In defence, it holds the defence minister’s slot, the Chief of Defence Staff, the National Security Adviser and the inspector-General of Police; three most important position in the security and defence of any nation. These are complemented with headship of the Customs, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Other key positions held by our brothers from the North include governor of the Central bank of Nigeria,(CBN), headship of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC), and chairmanship of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, (FIRS), Petroleum Trust Development Fund, (PTDF), Nigerian Ports Authority, (NPA) and the Pensions Commission, (PENCOM). There are so many other no less important positions like headship of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Education Trust Fund (ETF), the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), among others.

    We must state it clearly that there is no prejudice whatsoever towards the various gentlemen and ladies occupying these important positions; most of them are well qualified for the positions they occupy and most important, some of the positions are elective and hierarchical. In fact there is no grudge towards the North over what can be considered their good fortune; what we say is that they must appreciate that they have the upper hand in the polity today, they must do a lot more to contain the raging violence in their part of the country. They must also remember that when the fortunes change tomorrow and the pendulum swings to other parts of the country, they should show equal magnanimity and the desired equanimity. They must remember that equity and justice are the bases of peace in any society.

    LAST MUG(S): why is NASS hounding Oteh? The story of the delectable Ms Arunma Oteh, the director-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is well known to enlightened Nigerians. After exposing the corruption of members of the Committee of the House of Representatives who deigned to be probing her activities at SEC, the members of the National Assembly would not give her a breathing space. The fact that the lawmakers probing her office compromised themselves, insisting that she must be dismissed sounds like sour grapes. The fact that they could not establish any solid case of corruption against her and the fact that the Presidency which appointed her still finds her worthy of that seat, the wise thing for our law makers to do is to back off for the moment. Well, they are allowed to have their searchlight quietly trained on her if they insist on their vendetta by all means. They should look for something better to do and allow the executive do its job.

    Gov. Fashola’s mishandling of the Okada riders: does the Lagos State Government know the number of commercial motorcycle riders in Lagos state? Is there any unit or department of government managing this huge block of an economic unit? Did anyone do a thorough analysis of the cost of taking this group off the Lagos roads? Apart from the huge opportunity to be tapped from this horde of hapless city transporters if we looked carefully, it is disheartening that the LASG is growing into the habit of throwing ill-digested laws at the people; laws motivated by anger and intent to punish punishment are often flawed laws. Laws should not distabilise, frustrate and damage people, it should on the other hand, support the populace, cooperate with them and enrich their lives. What callousness informed the crushing of the property, the basic livelihood of the lowliest class? What manner of law permits us to confiscate and crush other people’s property? We must rethink such a law. LASG must show more rigour and humanness in managing a social ferment manifesting as okada.

  • Making religion work for peace

    Making religion work for peace

    It  Sallah time, when the total submission of a man to the will of his maker is recognised and celebrated, it is appropriate to reflect on religion and the potentials it has for peace and prosperity. The paradox of our contemporary life is that an institution that originated in the desire for peaceful co-existence has been turned into a veritable agent of war and destruction. Certainly, the various objects of human religious devotion couldn’t have been pleased with this turn of events.

    Religion speaks to the heart with a message of love; and to the soul, with a promise of redemption and salvation. The major religions understand the fallen nature of humans and the need for divine favor to overcome sin and. This is what gives one inner peace—knowing that one is in tune with the Almighty.

    No believer, whatever his or her faith, fails to make this his or her ultimate goal. Of course, there are other purposes, including the materialistic hope of miraculous prosperity. I dey serve my God, e dey do am for me. And sometimes when the latter overwhelms the former, we have cases of unfulfilled expectations, leading to frustration and psychosis.

    I am sure that I am not alone in being perplexed when believers of all faiths fail to translate the pursuit of inner peace that their religion affords to the pursuit of social peace. If each person is at peace with God because of his or her belief in the divine will of God, why is it so difficult to be at peace with others who are equally at peace with the divine will of God?

    In the matter of social peace, it is interpersonal relations that matter, and while the various religions promote inner peace of adherents, they have not been very successful in the matter of promoting interpersonal relations. I want to believe that it is not intrinsic to the religions that they neglect interpersonal relations that promote social peace. Rather, I think there is something in human nature that prevents the message of inner peace from being translated effected into a pursuit of social peace. If it is not in the nature of religion but just in the nature of humans, perhaps there is hope of transcending the aspect of human nature that makes it difficult for religious believers to promote social peace.

    There is a powerful argument against what I just proposed. It goes as follows. While there is nothing inherently opposed to social peace in each religion, a pluralism of religions in a common space is not likely to promote peaceful coexistence among adherents. But we know that there is hardly a society without a multiplicity of religions or at least sects of the same religion. Therefore the argument is that if not by nature, then by circumstance of modern life, which brings people of different faiths and sects into a common nationspace, it is naïve to expect religion to be an agent of peace. Why not?

    Looking at the injunctions of each of the major religions, it is hard to defend the foregoing position. Christianity is a religion of peace, with its injunction to believers to be peacemakers so they can be blessed. One of the major commandments, summed up in the teachings of Christ is to love one’s neighbours as oneself. Indeed, Christ himself is the truest symbol of love for laying down his life for the sake of others. If love of others is a precondition for social peace, then Christianity should be considered a foremost promoter of social peace.

    The Islamic faith is based on the teachings of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH). Like other major religions, Islam preaches peace and the social obligations of believers derive from and reinforce their religious duties. They are enjoined to maintain peace and love their fellow human beings. Leaders are instructed to be righteous and it is the religious duty of believers to take care of the poor and wretched.

    Traditional African religions of all shades cannot be ignored in the context of our society. Dwindling in numbers, they are still in reckoning in communities across the nation. And it cannot be overemphasised that these religions are integral to the communal foundations of traditional African societies with emphasis on the community and its well-being. In a sense, then, they have a mission to preserve and promote the peace of the community. More than the two Abrahamic faiths, traditional religions demonstrate a capacity to enforce their injunctions regarding the promotion of social peace.

    Given the position of each of these religions on the important issue of peaceful coexistence, while would anyone suggest that religious pluralism is antithetical to the promotion of social peace? The answer is that it is not just the injunction of each religion in the matter of peace that counts, the tragedy of our time is the fact of the politicisation of religion. The messages of Christ and Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) have been politicised beyond reason. In the service of self-interest, later day prophets have turned these messages on their heads and have sown seeds of hatred and war. In the circumstance, it is naïve to expect that adherents who listen to the messages churned out by religious leaders today are going to be moved to promote peace among people of different faiths.

    This history of Christianity and Islam cannot be complete without reference to the crusaders and jihadists and the ensuing intolerance in their wake. These are motivated by the proselytising injunction fundamental to each religion. Yet, both Prophets Muhammed and Christ could not have intended their injunctions to evangelise to result in conflict and violence. You could evangelise and preach the gospel without instigating violence. There is religious violence and conflict because the various devotees are intolerant of the views of rivals.

    Religious intolerance is deep and troubling and it can be explained in terms of the distorted understanding of devotees concerning their roles in spreading the good news of their faiths. On the part of leaders, there appears to be an instrumental conception of religion in terms of the material gain it affords. The more the adherents, the greater the good things of earthly existence and religion have been turned into an irresistible source of wealth and primitive accumulation by many religious leaders.

    If religion is to contribute to the promotion of social peace and refrain from being an instrument of conflict and violence, religious leaders must come to terms with their social responsibilities and enjoin their followers to be tolerant of other people’s religious beliefs. In the final analysis, the social enterprise is more important because it makes the religious structures thrive. If the nation is in turmoil, the practice of religion is in grave danger. Happy Sallah!

  • Muslims and use of water

    Muslims and use of water

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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