The Nation Newspaper

Category: Friday

  • MUSWEN’s New President

    MUSWEN’s New President

    FEMI ABBAS

     

    Preamble

     

    Last Sunday, (November 22, 2020) was a unique day of glory and unprecedented equanimity, for the Muslim Ummah of South west Nigeria (MUSWEN. That was the day that a new President emerged for that Umbrella body of the entire Muslims in that region. The name of the new President, whose nomination was unanimously ratified by MUSWEN’s General Assembly, is Alhaji Rasaki Oladejo, an economist of international repute and a former President of Nawair-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria who was also the Chairman of Finance Committee of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA).

    By his emergence, as President of MUSWEN and the formal ratification of his nomination as Deputy President General of NSCIA, Alhaji Oladejo has become a successor to Dr. Sakariyau Olayiwola Babalola, OON, who demised in October 2019. Thus, he now is the third substantive President of MUSWEN and the third Deputy President General (South) of NSCIA.

    MUSWEN’s General Assembly also ratified the nomination of Alhaji Rafiu Ebiti, a Fellow of Chartered Accountant (FCA) and Chairman of MUSWEN’s Finance Committee, as the First Deputy President of MUSWEN.

    The ratification of Alhaji Oladejo’s nomination as Deputy President General of NSCIA was in response to NSCIA’s, official request for such nomination from MUSWEN, earlier this year.

     

    Who is Alhaji Rasaki Oladejo?

    Since this man’s emergence as President of MUSWEN and the unanimous ratification of his nomination as Deputy President General of NSCIA just last Sunday, many people have been calling yours sincerely to unveil his identity/profile for public assessment. But the space here is not enough to display such profile as requested. Many occasions are still lying ahead to warrant that, in the near future, in sha’Allah.

    However, if a prominent Muslim of that status has been qualified enough to represent Nigeria at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), as Deputy Director General of Nigeria’s Stock Exchange, and, he has successfully served as a two terms President of Nawair-ud-Deen Society of Nigeria as well as Chairman of Finance Committee of NSCIA, what further qualification can be needed for his public assessment? After all, he is the current Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Lagos Muslim Alumni Association.

     

    Suggestion

    Instead of displaying Alhaji Oldejo’s paper qualification here, why don’t we assess him (for now) through the contents of his  acceptance Speech, at MUSWEN’s General Assembly, where his nomination was ratified? That acceptance speech does not only speak volumes about his personality and focus, it also confirms who he really is intellectually and administratively. In other words, paper qualification is just like the hood which does not necessarily make the Monk. If you want to know some details about this man, please, read an excerpt from his acceptance speech of last Sunday, as presented below.

     

    His Acceptance Speech

    ”….In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful!

    After protocols were duly observed, the speech went thus:

    ”…….Please, let me start with expression of a profound gratitude to the Almighty Allah, the Omnipresent the Omnipotent who bears no child and was not born. Whenever He (Allah) wants something done, He only commands it to be and it automatically becomes. It is only by His inimitable grace that we are all gathered here today, to witness this great occasion. Without His grace, nothing can be possible in the life of man.

    Allah Akbar!

     

    Prologue

    Until a couple of weeks ago, when I received an invitation from MUSWEN to come and  serve Islam in a particular capacity, it was far beyond my dream or imagination, to stand before this unique Assembly of Muslim Who’s Who in the South West of Nigeria, in response to the ‘summon’ that brought me here today.  My plan, after retirement and attainment of septuagenarian age, some years ago, was

    to sit back, at home, with  subtle relaxation, and take a private retrospective view of my life’s odyssey, in the past 60 or 65 years, with a view to transforming the experience garnered during that period into a special school where today’s younger Muslims could

    learn the art of mounting the pyramid of life as a fortress for the Muslim generations of tomorrow.

    It was through a window on that pyramid, during my youthful days, in the 1950s/60s, that I was able to see the spiritual life style of our own generation, partly as a warning on the vanity of human wishes and partly as an encouragement for paving a thorough way for others in life. That was my planed agenda in retirement. But, as we all know, man only proposes while Allah disposes.

     

    Reminiscence

    Today’s Annual General Assembly is both a practical reminiscence and a vivid reminder of similar assemblies of highly foresighted and rightly guided Muslim elites at the beginning of the 20th century.

    Although those elites were very few in number and they grossly lacked the required facilities for building a  befitting modern Muslim Community of their desire, the  strong will and determination that propelled their excellent intention, at that time, was the impetus that gingered them to create a worthy legacy which eventually became a worthy heritage for us today.

    It was the strong foundation laid by those elites that made it possible for most of us here today, to be educated in the Western way without forcefully becoming Christians.

    Today, we can talk of ubiquitous Muslim schools and Muslim teachers with delight. We can attend Muslim Hospitals and consult Muslim Doctors/Nurses confidently without suspicion. Our children can attend Muslim Universities and be taught by Muslim Professors with trust. Young Muslim job seekers can apply and be employed in Muslim companies and be trained by Muslim Professionals. Male and female Muslim parents can be members of viable Muslim Organizations in which competent Muslim administrators can serve as their models. All these are now easily achieved with pride. Alhamdu liLlah!

     

    Potent Question

    However, without the above mentioned solid foundation laid by those highly dedicated earlier Muslim elites, which now serves as a template for our generation, how could we have attained the rightly guided prowess that makes us the qualitative Muslims that we are today, individually and collectively?

    The above narrated episode has come to form an indelible archive in the contemporary history of Islam in Nigeria with indelible impact on the present adherents of that divine religion. Alhamdu liLllah.

    That we are practicing Islam in Nigeria, today, without any fear of intimidation and any recourse to the mercy of non-Muslims is a clear evidence that our spiritual edifice is based on a formidable foundation. Alhamdu liLlah!

     

    Our Own Era

    Now, this is our own era in history. We met a solid foundation on ground and we built a befitting edifice on it. That is how to turn a worthy legacy into a worthy heritage. But, then, in our own life time, that same edifice, of which we are very proud, is fast becoming ramshackle while we keep basking vaingloriously in the euphoria of the past. At any time of human life, change is a major precursor of progress. Without change, any dream of progress may end up in a nightmare. Even the Almighty Allah emphasizes this in Chaper 13 Verse 11 of the Qur’an thus:

    “Allah does not change the situation of a community unless the people of such a Community change their abnormal attitude to life….”

     

    Formation of MUSWEN

    Just over a decade ago, some thoughtful Muslim Elites, in this same South West of Nigeria, came together as brothers and sisters, to further advance the vibrancy of the edifice built on the existing solid foundation, by firming together, the various flanks of that edifice, in the name of MUSWEN, for the purpose of unity of the Ummah. Thus, today, we have an unprecedented unification umbrella that gives the South West Muslims a national identity not only in name but also in action. Today, the role of MUSWEN in Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) is appreciably exemplary. Alhamdu liLllah!

     

    His Eminence

    With the current Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Dr. Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, as President General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), no genuine Muslim of worth in Nigeria or even abroad, today, can doubt the fact that we, indeed, have a great leader. At least, we, in the South West of Nigeria, could not have forgotten, so soon, the role which His Eminence played in planting the seed of a formidable Muslim unity in this region, at the inauguration of MUSWEN, here in Ibadan, in August, 2008. And ever since, His Eminence has not relented a bit, in encouraging the germination and nourishment of that seed into a gargantuan tree that MUSWEN has become today.

     

    Cooperation  

    Today, going by the trend of unity and its attendant growth of MUSWEN, it is doubtful that the Muslims in the South West of Nigeria would have achieved the formidable mutual cooperation with other regions, which we proudly enjoy today, by the grace of Allah, to the chagrin envy of those who are now evidently uncomfortable.  It is, therefore, the duty and responsibility of MUSWEN, to work assiduously, towards the solidification of the factors which brought that national Muslim unity about and may become a comfortable heritage for our children and other future generations. As a regional body, we have a major stake in the progressive greatness of the NSCIA as the common rope that binds  us together and strengthens us to jointly  hold the flag of Islam aloft in Nigeria, in spite of the sour song of ‘Islamization’ often chorused frivolously in certain quarters to distract the Muslims through the waves of Higerian media.

    As Muslims in Nigeria, in Africa or even in the entire world, we have a single body with a single mission which we cannot afford to betray at any moment, for any reason.

    Let us always pray for our leaders’ divine guidance without any iota of tribal or denominational instinct in mind. We should not forget that in Islam, actions are judged by intention. God bless our leaders with long lives and sound health that they may be able to resist any forceful distraction while forging ahead with their divinely guided intention.

     

    Salutations

    As a Muslim and an appreciative beneficiary of wisdom, courage, endurance and sacrifices of the leaders who laid foundation for us, upon which to build further growth and development for Islam, in this region, I hereby salute the doggedness of the indefatigable leaders of the past and those of the present who remain relentless in their dedicated service to the course of Islam without minding any visible or invisible odds surreptitiously erected on their ways. I, particularly, salute the Sultan of Sokoto and President General of NSCIA for piloting the affairs of Nigerian Muslim Ummah nationally and methodically despite the occasional missiles of  insults hauled at his highly venerable position, from certain uncultured quarters.

    I salute the late Professor Aliu Babatunde Fafunwa, a onetime Nigerian Minister of Education, who as the pioneer President of MUSWEN, laid a formidable foundation for that unprecedented edifice.

    I salute our highly principled father, Justice Tijani Bolarinwa Babalakin, who took the mantle of leadership from Professor Fafunwa, as acting President, but decided to step aside, along the line, in self honour and self dignity, due to health challenge.

    I salute the late Alhaji (Chief) S. O. Babalola, who worked vigorously to ensure that MUSWEN stands vertically as a reliable pillar for the stability of Islam in Nigeria.

    I salute the impeccable intention of our amiable father, Prince Abdul Jabar Bola Ajibola, who champions the custody of MUSWEN as a registered body that requires formidable pillars to uphold it.

    I salute, the late Aare Musulumi of Yoruba Land, Alhaji Abdul Azeez Arisekola Alao, the first Deputy President Ceneral (South) of NSCIA, whose stupendous pecuniary contribution to MUSWEN, as a nonesuch edifice, was a priority in the latter part of his life.

    I salute our inexhaustible father and erudite scholar, Professor D. O. S. Noibi, the Pioneer Executive Secretary of MUSWEN, who established the administrative prowess of the body’s secretariat and stabilized it firmly.

    I salute all other stake holders and touch bearers of this great umbrella body and pray the Almighty Allah to reward them as well as all of you here and those at homes abundantly in this world and the Hereafter. Amin!

     

    Our Women and Youths

    From the little experience I have been able to gather through intellectual and physical interactions with some successful movers and shakers of the society, I have come to realize that wealth is not as much about money as it is about people.

    Even recently, the United Nations emphasized that the future of Nigeria lies in the numerical strength of its youths and not oil wells.

    If, with their brains, people could invent money, own it and direct its movements in terms of income and expenditure, then, people, and not money, should be given priority in running the affairs of a body like MUSWEN. Our talents and potentials are diverse. And, we need the harmonization of these talents in propelling Islam and in adequately equipping those who will serve as agents of that propel-lance. It is for this reason that I want, with your express permission, to call on the management of MUSWEN to design a variety of programs that can entice our women and our youths to active participation in the activities of MUSWEN, especially at the State levels. That may serve as a way of utilizing the potentialities of our youths and the grooming of their potentials into experiences. I believe that mass participation of our women and youths can open the door for us to build our future leaders in advance.

     

    Conclusion

    Today, November 22, 2020, on your commanding ‘summon’, I am here, to declare, in the name of Allah, that I accept to serve Islam by the grace of Allah, as you have requested of me. But I must confess on this occasion that the duty and responsibility which are about to be entrusted to me and my deputies, through this service, cannot be fully carried out by us alone. They should be taken as a major venture which all of us must jointly handle with strong determination in spirit and in action without any room for doubt or regret. Naturally, I am a student. And as a student I am always eager to learn according to the counsel of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who said that “learning is from cradle to grave”. Our population, as Muslims, is our wealth. And, it is by pulling our resources together that we can successfully forge ahead today and pave a smooth way for a pleasant tomorrow. Finally, please, permit me to round off this speech with an excerpt from a poem of a famous American intellectual and Statesman,William Webster as follows:

    “If we work marble, it will perish; if we work upon brass, time will efface it; if we rear temples, they will crumble into dust; but if we work upon immortal minds, and instill in them just principles; we are then engraving that upon tablets which no time can efface, but will brighten to eternity”.

    Assalam alaykum wa rahmatu-Llah wa barakatuhu.

    Finally, please, permit to round off this speech with an excerpt from a poem of a famous American Intellectual and Statesman, William Webster, as follows:

    “If we work marble, it will perish; if we rear temples, they will crumble into dust, if we work upon brass, time will efface it; but if we work upon immortal minds and instil in them, just principles; we are then  engraving that upon tablets which no time can efface but will brighten into all eternity”. Once again, I thank you very much for allowing me to spend so much time. God bless you all!”

  • Thankfulness

    Thankfulness

    Segun Gbadegesin

     

    I HAD prepared for today a draft of a reply to two messages that I received on my reflections on “A nation divided” last week. But it now has to wait till next week because Opalaba called with a reminder that it is thanksgiving time. And my friend insisted that we must be thankful because, as he put it, esu gbe wa gbe wa, a o see gbe. He was going to impress me with his baritone but I resisted, having assured him that I am all in but must get to work.

    What not to be thankful for, especially in this year of the Lord Twenty-twenty? The elders teach us that to be thoughtful is to be thankful. But where does one really begin, since there is so much to be thankful for? We have to be thankful to God first and foremost. He is our beginning and our end and everything in between. Therefore, we begin with Him and we end with Him with our offerings of thanksgiving. For health, we thank God. For protection, we appreciate God. For provisions, we glorify God.

    Next, there is the family, and even here, God is implicated. The gift of a loving family that cares deeply for us is priceless. It is not a commodity that can be purchased. Indeed, we have a just and loving God. If a loving family is a commodity, none but the rich will have access to one. By His grace, we are what we are. I do not take mine for granted. Born into one that loved me and left me with the heritage of a good name, my wife and I are gifted with growing one that loves us unconditionally and continues to make us proud. In March, our children joined us to mark our 50th wedding anniversary. For my wife, my children and their spouses, and my grandchildren, I have uncountable reasons to be thankful.

    Not too far from the family is the community which is more or less an extension of the family and which is a willing partner in nurturing us. On many occasions on this page, I have paid homage to my community of Okeho, its traditional institutions and their capacity for molding young ones in the ethos of good life, with a view to making them genuine Omoluabi, the epitome of character.

    Cornered in the poverty enclave that some elders with a sense of humor used to hail as New Nigeria, the wealth of Okeho is in her capacity to bring the best out of her offspring. Occasionally, situations arise which demonstrate the veracity of this claim. This year, one such occurred when armed robbers targeted Okeho’s only financial institution and were effectively rebuffed by the youth. I am thankful for their bravery and moral courage. I am also thankful for the Onjo and his chiefs, the leadership of the community and stakeholders who continue to make her development and progress their mission.

    I must also be thankful for the government agencies that have shown more than a passing interest in attending to my community’s call for help. Okeho-Iseyin road is under construction, thanks to the intervention of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing under the leadership of Honorable Minister Babatunde Fashola (SAN). A promise keeper of extraordinary capacity for good deeds, he and his ministry have been God-sent in our hour of need. We appreciate them.

    By extension, and in compliance with scriptural injunction, I am thankful for our governments both here in the homeland and at home away. My scripture tells me that governments are instituted by God. Sometimes, however, I wonder why they do not all act in accordance with God’s will, which I understand to always be for the promotion of the wellbeing of His creatures. But I do not have the capacity for theological disputation. Therefore, I will only follow the injunction to offer my thanks to the One who instituted them. It is His responsibility to make them do His will.

    If it helps, there is a more attractive and appealing way to understand the injunction to be thankful for our governments. On this understanding, the injunction makes reference to the institution of government, which is necessary for the good of the people, rather than specific governments which may be oppressive or tyrannical. Without the institution of government, the likely alternative is anarchy, a Hobbesian state of nature, in which life is brutish, nasty, and short. Thankfully, we have government.

    We should be thankful for our friends, old and new, constant and fickle. They all make life meaningful. I must say that in my case, I have a special grace to be loved and cared for by great friends who in action and word truly define brotherhood. As we know, traditional wisdom tells us that it matters more what friends do in our absence than in our presence. My friends have gone to great lengths attending to my needs when I am not even there to witness their kindness and generosity of spirit. I cannot ask for more and I am thankful.

    I am thankful for this platform and those who make it possible for me to use it to express my views as I see fit on various issues. At the very beginning more than 12 years ago, I got a call from the publishers and management asking me to contribute a weekly back-page column. No questions asked, I accepted. Even when I accepted a position at my day job that added exponentially to my responsibilities there, I did not look back. I did not ask for compensation and wasn’t offered any over the years.

    I am contented that readers value my message and it has been my joy to add my voice to the many prominent voices here. I hope the feeling is mutual. I have not heard of any negative reports on my contributions, though I am not too naïve to think that they are always happy with what I write. Indeed, it is within the realm of possibility that without being direct, they may have been sending me signals in parables, what the elders refer to as aroko. But I am not very good at deciphering aroko. And the beat goes on until it stops.

    Let me say, however, as I make clear in All the Way: Serving with Conscience, that I have lived my life, in various situations, whether in leadership of cultural organizations or in professional career, with a heavy burden of conscience, which I have always tried to discharge consistent with its dictates. I don’t see myself abandoning that path at the dusk of life.

    I am thankful for my Church family, the Bible believing brothers and sisters of Alafia Baptist Church in my home away from home in Maryland. These men and women live in faith and by faith, spreading the love of God in their conduct to others inside and outside of the family of Christians. Founded in 1996 as a Yoruba congregation, the pioneer pastor is Reverend Joel Olusina Ojelade, who worked hard to place the church on the world map. Having announced his retirement, the church has welcomed Reverend Dr. Kayode Opadeji as her new pastor, and the Hosts of Heaven are in agreement. The church is moving on and the gate of hell cannot prevail.

    As I observed above, God is the beginning and the end of my thankful heart. This has been a year like no other in our lifetime. As far as I remember no leap year can compete with 2020 in terms of the doom and gloom that it has shown. Echoing the Psalmist, we can say of our surviving its lethal grip thus far, that we are like those that dream. It is only by the grace of our loving God. The devil has tried and failed.

    In the tradition that we established years ago, I called my friend back and with Yeye joining, we gave praises: A n jola Oluwa o/ A n jola Oluwa o/ Esu gbe wa, gbe wa, a o se e gbe, A n jola Oluwa.

     

     

    Happy Thanksgiving.

     

  • A nation divided

    A nation divided

    Segun Gbadegesin

     

    LET us grant that the aspiration of Nigeria’s founding fathers was to build a united nation. Our undeniable reality now is a virulent division. And between this reality of our being and the becoming of our aspiration, there is a yawning gulf that has refused to be bridged. The roots of our division are to be found in the length, width, and depth of this gulf. My interest today is to navigate this vast chasm between reality and aspiration.

    Many readers would agree with my summation of the matter above. But a lot of thoughtful people would also have good reasons to object. Presumably, both sides would have no problem with the reality of division as I express it here. Their grouse is likely about my statement of the aspiration to unity. If indeed, we have that aspiration for unity, why do we appear more divided now than we were sixty years ago?

    This question is at the heart of the various movements of discontent across the country in recent times. The reasoning seems to be that if unity is turning out to be a mirage, and we are each suffering in various ways for lack of it, we can go our separate ways. It is as if the unity that eludes us at the national level is waiting for us patiently to effortlessly grab at the sub-national levels. The hope, buoyed by this reasoning, is pretty satisfying and invigorating. It has been the motivating force for many who have been disappointed by the current state of the nation.

    The reasoning is not a 21st century invention as it has always been an integral part of our national experience. In the wake of the January 1966 military coup, the North felt betrayed and many voices were raised for secession. It was the rationale for the COR State movement. It was the reason for the Biafra secession and the civil war to stop it. In the wake of the annulment of June 1993 election, it was the motivation for the various Yoruba movements and the clamor for Odudua Republic.

    The point, then, is that there is a tendency, almost universal and natural, it may be argued, to want to find birds of your own feather when you are with birds of different variety that create a tense environment. And for a long time, Nigeria has been a tense environment for many human birds. Furthermore, however, many would argue, rightly I think, that you don’t even need to be in a tense environment to appreciate the desirability of flocking with birds of your own feather. There is something that is attractive and satisfying about it.

    I suggest, however, that the chasm between our reality of division and our aspirational unity can be accounted for by appeal to something more than our sub-national differences. I plead not to be misunderstood. I am not suggesting that sub-national differences have no role to play in our division. I am, however, arguing that its role is indirect and something or other things more fundamental are at stake and need to be understood.

    Let me put this more succinctly: difference is not division and sameness is not unity. Identity is neither good nor bad. It is value neutral. But it can be mismanaged when it is deployed and exploited for political advantage. This is what is morally repugnant and politically dangerous. Just as a mismanaged difference can engender an irreparable division, so a mismanaged sameness can jeopardize desirable unity. Without thoughtful management, nothing is guaranteed. Our story has been one of mismanagement of what many have come to decry as the artificial character of our national existence. If I am correct, the culprit is the mismanagement rather than the existential artificiality.

    The point of the previous paragraph can be made better with another illustration. On one hand, we have made much of kinship, language and culture as part of the defining character of nationality, and as such, they are useful building blocks for national unity. But it has not always worked out because there is hardly a completely homogeneous nationality.  On the other hand, our recent experience of youths across the country, paying no attention to language, religion, or kinship relations of others in the movement, chanting #EndSars in protest against police brutality, should tell us something about their understanding of the roots of national division.

    It is tempting to dismiss this observation. We might construe the illustrations as misleading because it compares apples and oranges. The youth agitation against an oppressive instrument of the state cannot be compared with a whole nationality agitating for a right to self-determination. Now, this must be conceded. A nationality can certainly assert a right to self-determination as an independent entity based on its perceived difference. It doesn’t have to defend such a struggle by appeal to any grievance. But there is a reason that the international community reserves a right to recognize such demands.

    More pertinent, the founding fathers of this nation thought wide and deep among their own peoples and in their various national constitutional conferences before they reached a consensus on coming together and agreeing to stand in brotherhood, despite the differences in tongue and tribe. That agreement was predicated on an expectation, the expectation of a relentless sustenance of the original purpose of a perpetual standing in brotherhood.

    Now, a common understanding of brotherhood or sisterhood is that it is a relationship between brothers/sisters or close friends. More significantly, it is a relationship characterized by a feeling of kinship. In other words, even absent an objective kinship relationship, there is a feeling of kinship. It is a relationship that the Yoruba refer to as ore bi omo iya—a friend like a maternal blood brother/sister. Such a friend, like a maternal blood brother/sister, indeed like spouses following their vows, see their partners as extensions of themselves. If you would not cheat yourself, you will not cheat your friend. If you would not self-oppress, you will not oppress your brother/sister. This was the mind of the founding fathers about the nation they assented to establish.

    The 1960 national anthem, though composed by a foreigner, spoke eloquently to this theme of justice and truth in each of its three stanzas. While the first stanza emphasized brotherhood, the second stanza referred to our flag as “a symbol that truth and justice reign”; honoring the flag “in peace and battle”, we count it as gain, “to hand on to our children a banner without stain”. The final stanza is a prayer that the God of creation will grant our request to “build a nation where no man is oppressed” so that “with peace and plenty Nigeria may be blessed.”

    During the struggle against the annulment of the June 12 1993 election, the World Congress of Free Nigerians, a coalition of prodemocracy movements, insisted on using this 1960 national anthem not just in defiance of the military but simply because it was more meaningful as a reminder of the hopes and aspirations of the founding fathers.

    We are divided now more than at any time in the history of the nation because we have abandoned the original purpose of building a nation where no man/woman is oppressed. We have failed to honor our flag which is no longer a symbol that truth and justice reign and has been serially stained with the blood of the innocent. No wonder peace and plenty have eluded us.

    What divides us is not our different identities whether that be of kinship or religion. We are divided by reason of wealth versus poverty, education versus ignorance, employment versus unemployment, health versus disease.

    We are divided because over the years, privileged citizens in various positions of authority at every level have used their positions to negate brotherhood/sisterhood. They politicize ethnicity. They are well-educated, but they promote ignorance. They are healthy, but they are responsible for the diseased states of fellow citizens. They are well-fed but they cause the hunger of millions. They negatively impact citizens across ethnic nationalities and religions.

    Give these victims their due and you can be assured of national unity.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • The Insect that heals

    The Insect that heals

    FEMI ABBAS

     

    Preamble

     

    IT is an undisputable axiom that two phenomenal substances in human life are unsurpassable. One is knowledge. The other is time. None of these two has a substitute. Since the creation of man’s primogenitor named Adam and his spouse (Hawa’u), no human generation has ever lived successfully without these two substances.  Knowledge is power and time is life. Any rightly guided person who is well familiar with the contents of the sacred Book called the Qur’an’ will surely know that that glorious Book contains 114 chapters. Out of these, six chapters are about the animal kingdom, three of which are specifically dedicated to insects. They are chapters 16, 27 and 29 which are dedicated to ‘The BEE’, ‘The ANT’ and ‘The SPIDER’ respectively. That is a confirmation that the revealed messages of Allah are not meant for human beings alone.

    The Referential Chapters

    Each of the referred chapters is particularly symbolic of the purpose for which it is dedicated. But it takes only those who are rightly guided and can reason in the atmosphere of knowledge to comprehend them. However, our immediate concern here is the insect called ‘BEE’ about which Qur’an 16, verse 68 is very explicit. Here is the verse:

    “And your Lord revealed to the bees thus: “Build your homes in the mountains, in the trees and in the hives which men shall make for you. Feed on every kind of fruits and follow the trodden path of your Lord’. “From its (bee’s) belly comes forth a substance of many hues that serves as healing fluid for mankind. Surely in this, there is a sign for those who can sensibly reason….”.

    The Parable of Honey

    Honey is like an environmental message. No one can gain access to it except through the messenger. And, the messenger, in this case, is the bee. To appreciate the value of honey and other bee products, it is necessary to know something about the life of the bee. Honey to the bee is like egg to the hen. No one knows which of them first came into existence. It is impossible for the bee to be alive without honey since honey is its food. And, it is impossible to get honey without the bee since honey is a major product of the bee. Thus their symbiotic existence is to the advantage of man.

    The Life of Bees

    Bees are social insects living a communal life under an organized and disciplined government headed by a Queen. Bees have male and female genders. Their males are called drones. Their females are known as workers. They all live together in an abode called hive. Such hive may be wild or manmade. Although people had been harvesting honey for thousands of years, it was not until 1851 that the idea of a definite man-made hive came into existence. In that year, an American apiarist, Lorenzo Langstroth, who discovered the principle of space, strictly maintained by the bees, came up with the idea of building homes for bees. It was the study of this principle, by Loren, zo Langstroth, that led to the design of a man-made hive to suit the need of the bees. The hive was named Langstroth, in commemoration of its designer. Thus, with Langstrogth’s discovery, bees became domesticated insects.

    Colony

    A colony, as far as the bees are concerned, is a hive that is effectively occupied, as a home, by the bees while a combination of hives is called an apiary. And, a bee farmer who keeps custody of haves is called an apiarist.

    Man-made Hives

    In contemporary times, man-made hives are of three types. These are Langstroth, Kenyan Top Bar and Tanzanian Top Bar. While Langsroth was designed in the United States in 1851, Kenyan and Tanzanian Top Bars, which look almost alike, were designed in Kenya and Tanzania in 1959 and 1962 respectively. Each of the Kenyan and Tanzanian hives can contain an average of 20 litres of honey produced and stored by the bees. The hive called Langstroth, on the other hand, can contain as much as between 38 and 40 litresof honey because of its rooming space of double chamber capacity.

     Government of the Bees

    Bees are governed by a female monarch called ‘the Queen’. To install a Queen, a group of Queen makers in the hive meet to select some fertilized eggs shortly before those eggs are hatched. The selected eggs are then incubated royally. After hatching, they automatically become princesses and are then fed with a special food called Royal Jelly to accelerate their growth and strengthen their immunity as a way of facilitating their longevity.

    After about 16 weeks, one of those princesses will emerge as the Queen apparent while the rest are either taken out into new hives to become Queens inside hives other than the one in which their eggs were hatched or they are left inside those original hive to slug it out among themselves in a royal battle for succession. In such a situation, whichever of them emerges as overall winner, will retain the crown and become the Queen of that particular hive. All other fertilized eggs that are not specially selected for the same purpose are left to grow naturally until they become worker bees.

    The Drones 

    Drones are the male bees produced from unfertilized eggs. They neither sting nor work. Their main duty, in the hive, is to mate with an emerged queen and that duty is performed only once in a lifetime because as soon as the mating is over, all the male bees that participate in it will automatically fall down and die.

    The queen also mates only once in a lifetime but she does not die as a result. Drones are very few in any hive since the unfertilized eggs that produce them are scantily laid by the Queen. The drones constitute less than one per cent of the bees in any hive. The other drones which do not participate in mating only loiter around in the hive and feed freely from the labour of the workers. The population of the drones in any hive is invariably determined by the Queen which lays very few big and unfertilized eggs from which the drones are produced.

    The Worker Bees

    The worker bees are female bees. They are produced from smaller but fertilized eggs. It is from among them that the queen bee emerges.

    As workers that feed the queen and maintain the sanity of the hive, the female bees have a way of sharing duties among themselves in a way otherwise called division of labour.

    The Queen Bee

    The queen bee has the biggest size in any beehive. Her size is about five times the size of an ordinary worker bee and she is the commander-in-chief of the hive in which she lives.  Only one Queen can be found in a hive at any given time. And she has no deputy. If two or more Queens should meet in the same hive, they will engage in a royal battle for survival, killing one another until only one (the strongest) eventually emerges as the victor and the reigning queen.

    Breeding New Bees

    To breed new bees, the Queen bee lays unfertilized eggs in the larger chambers of the bee comb while she lays fertilized ones in the smaller chambers of the comb. The eggs in the larger chambers are meant for the production of the drones while those in the smaller chambers are meant for the production of the workers. This is because

    the drones are naturally bigger, in size, than the workers. Both chambers are expertly designed in the honeycomb by the worker bees for the purpose of breeding. One of the mysteries of the beehives is the building of the honeycomb by the worker bees. Apiarists know that the bees use wax to build honeycomb but they are still puzzled by the natural skill with which those tiny insects do it. An attempt, at a time,  by researchers to manufacture similar honeycombs, as a means of assisting the bees, in reducing their workload, proved abortive as the bees shunned the use of such artificial comb for the storage of the honey they produced. Honeycomb is a mass of hexagonal cells built by the honeybees in their nest to contain their larvae and store honey as well as pollen.

    Division of Labour

    Worker bees are classified into groups for the purpose of carrying out specific duties assigned to them. Some go out every morning to scout for flower nectars with which to produce honey. Some are assigned to the duty of picking resin with which to produce propolis. Such resin is picked from certain specific trees at certain periods of the day. Some other workrs are charged with fetching water to be used in the hive. All of them travel out in groups of hundreds into the wild vegetations or plantations every morning to carry out their duties. And, for carrying out such duties, they are called foragers.

    Among the other multitudes remaining in or around the hive, some are responsible for security by guarding the hive against any foreign attack or aggression. Those are the security officers. Some are assigned to carrying out the conversion of nectars into honey from the flower nectars brought into the hive by the foragers. Those are the corporate cooks manning the kitchen in the hive. Some engage permanently in fanning the interior of the hive with their tiny wings to reduce the heat and neutralize the humidity therein. Those are called ventilators. Some specialize in converting the resin of trees, brought into the hive by the foragers, into propolis. Those are called pharmacists or apothecarists. Some are assigned to the Queen’s special kitchen as special cooks and they prepare royal jelly for the Queen as her exclusive food. Those are called the Queen’s royal chefs. Some are kept at the entrance of the hive for monitoring the environment and for passing any gathered information to the busy workers. Those are called informants. Some are put in charge of nursing the young bees into adults. They are called foster mothers. Some are assigned to the building and maintenance of the honeycomb. They are called colony architects and builders. Some are assigned to sterilizing the interior of the hive particularly to ceil any leakages therein as well as to embalm any predators that stray into the hive after such predators might have been stung to death as a way of preventing any outbreak of epidemic in the hive. Those are called sanitary inspectors. All of these duties are carried out by the female bees called worker bees.

    Scavenging Officers

    In the performance of their duties, some foragers do alert other worker bees about the discovery of new sources of raw materials like nectar, pollen and resin in the visited vegetations by doing a “waggle” dance, which explains the direction and distance of those raw materials. If the source is within the range of 100 meters from the hive, the bees dance in a circular shape. If it is farther away than 100 meters, they dance in figure 8 shape. Worker bees, by their nature, do travel very far in search of water or other raw materials needed to carry out their assigned duties in the hive. And they follow the principle of ‘esprit de corps’ in carrying out such duties.

    This great division of labour is a daily routine which enables perfection to be attained in the hive. And all these activities are centrally co-ordinated by the Queen bee from her palatial chamber.

    Features of the Queen Bee

    The Queen bee lays an average of about 2,000 eggs per day. And she lives about 40 times longer than those other bees because of the exclusive diet of Royal Jelly which she takes every day. The average lifespan of an ordinary bee is six weeks. That of the Queen bee is two and a half years but she can live for as long as six years depending on the conduciveness of her royal environment.

    Character of Bees

    Bees have as much friendly stinging as they have hostile stinging. Their friendly stinging, which serves as vaccine, is for healing purposes. Their hostile stinging is like missiles reserved for attack on enemies. The natural sac in which their venom is kept at the tail end of their abdomen is called ‘ovipositor’.

    Species of Bees

    There are about 20,000 species of bees in the world. But the most prominent ones in relation to human life are seven. These are Bumble Bees; Carpenter Bees; Honey Bees; Killer Bees; Ground Bees and Yellow Jacket Bees. Some worker bees are stingless. But generally, the world of bees is a wonderful one. It takes those who know it to appreciate its value. Without bees, there will neither be crops nor farmers because it the bees that fertilize about 80% of the crops.

    Authenticity of the Qur’an

    No amount of narration here can expose all about the communal life of the bees. The story of the bees is inexhaustible.

    For many centuries, Professors and other intellectually inclined people have been studying the life of bees. Yet, it took the consciousness of an unlettered Prophet of Allah, from Arabia, to bring this mysterious knowledge to mankind through the Qur’anic revelation which he received from the Almighty Allah.

    Conclusion

    Looking at the communal life of the bees as well as the style of government in the beehive, no sensible person will disagree with an Arab poet who once coined a poetic couplet, part of which reads thus:

    “…..And in every creature, there is a natural sign confirming not only the true existence of Allah but also His indisputable oneness”.

    The truth will continue to thrive to eternity even if the unbelievers abhor it in their blatant ignorance. God bless the readers of ‘THE MESSAGE’.

     

  • Trump: The exit of a tyrant

    Trump: The exit of a tyrant

    By Femi Abbas

    “Say oh Allah! You are the Lord of all dominions; You give dominion to whoever You  wish and withdraw dominion from whoever You wish; Your power over everything is unquestionable….” Q. 3: 26-27.

    Monologue 

    This article is a reminder of an article written and published in this column by yours sincerely about four years ago. The precise date was Friday, January 20, 2017. In the article entitled ‘Welcoming a Trump of Sadism’, I predicted what would become of the United States of America (USA) at the instance of that country’s newly elected President, Donald Trump. Two weeks before the publication of that article, an earlier article was written and published, also by yours sincerely, in this same column. It was entitled ‘Waiting for January 20’ (2017). Venerable readers of ‘The Message’ column are hereby given the privilege of reading both articles once again through the excerpts quoted below as follows:

    First Excerpt

    “Like the hands of a clock, many democratic countries in the world do swear a new President into office every four or five years at the expiration of a previous tenure. Now, it is the turn of the United States of America again to do that. And, the man to take charge as from today, January 20, 2017, for the next four years, all things being equal, is called Donald Trump, a man that most people in the world, including Americans, who voted for him, have seen as a wild bull surging furiously into a china shop.

    Second Excerpt

    Below is also an excerpt from an earlier article entitled ‘Waiting for January 20’ and published on January 6, 2017, in this same column by yours sincerely. Its contents went thus in part: All eyes, across the world, are on the 20th day of January 2017.  That is the day that the newly elected American President, Donald John Trump, will be formally ushered into the ‘White House’ in Washington, with a swearing in ceremony. He will be the 45thAmerican President. That the entire world is waiting for this event is a confirmation of America’s undisputed leadership of the contemporary world. There is no doubt that this event will be historically electric, positively or negatively. A similar wait had taken place in February 1933, in Germany, when Adolf Hitler was sworn into office as the Chancellor of that country. The speech he delivered on that occasion was what eventually altered the destiny of Germany and reshaped the geography of the world in the 20th century.

    Incidentally, Donald Trump’s ancestral origin is Germany. Now, will Trump of the 21st century replay the posture of Hitler of the 20th century by dragging the world into another World War? That is a fundamental question that the unfolding events of the days ahead may have to answer fundamentally”.

    The meaning of Trump

    “The name Trump is a short form of trumpet, a musical instrument with which the decision of a despotic tyrant is often announced in a local cultural setting. Ever since this man was declared the winner of the American Presidential election of November 2016, he has been trumpeting his tyrannical plans to the world arrogantly. And, the jitters rolled out of that trumpet have started gripping the world with an imaginary icy hand. That an American President-elect has begun to overrule his still serving predecessor even before taking an oath of office is a clear indication of what the world should expect from the china shop in which a wild bull will start  to operate as from today.

    History as a Teacher

    History is a well known phenomenal teacher. It teaches the old and the young alike. Its students are always drawn from far and near. It examines those students from time to time and gives them examination results periodically. Its lessons are as much generational as they cut across races and cultures. Yet, it has no peculiar language of communication. But then, it faces a fundamental problem. That problem is not in the repetition that has characteristically become the culture of history but, rather, in getting mankind to understand its repeated teachings as well as in heeding its warnings.

    In virtually all celestial religions, history plays such a prominent role that gives it the permanent identity of a teacher. And, from its beneficial teachings, human beings build ladders of experiences with which they mount the pyramids of life”.

    Christianity and Islam

    “Despite the seeming brutal gangsterismbeing vaingloriously displayed by this goon called Donald Trump, however, the Muslim world should not   write him off completely as an agent of the Lucifer.

    In the histories of both Christianity and Islam, we are repeatedly told of certain arch antagonists of God’s divine message, who dramatically turned round to become voluntary Ambassadors of the same message to which they had been viciously antagonistic. One of such antagonists was Saul of Tarsus, an avowed anti-Christ who dramatically turned round to accept the message of Jesus after the latter had departed this world. Saul later adopted the name Paul as a symbol of his new apostolic faith. That was from the Christian narration.

    Another known antagonist of Allah’s divine Message was Umar Bn Khattab of Makkah who had plotted the murder of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) but dramatically turned round to embrace Islam on the day he was to implement his plot. Eventually, Umar rose to become the second Caliph in Islam and conscientiously spread Allah’s divine religion across continents even more than any other Caliph”.

    Jesus’ Wish

    “Jesus had wished that Saul, a well- educated person, accept his message while he was around. But that wish did not materialize until after his departure from the prophetic stage.

    If Saul had not eventually accepted Christianity when he did, perhaps, the situation of that religion would have been completely different today”.

    The case of Umar

    “In the case of Umar Bn Khattab, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) had prayed to Allah to enable one of the two famous personalities bearing Umar in Makkah, at that time, to accept Islam. Although the Prophet’s mind was on the other Umar, It however turned out that Umar Bn Khattab was the one favoured by Allah. And, his acceptance of Islam became so remarkable that the Prophet was reported to have once said of him as follows: “Were there to be a Prophet after me, Umar Bn Khattab would have been that Prophet”.

    Irony of Life

    “Today, another thorny bud seems to be wildly growing under the armpit of an American bitter tree in the 21st century. That proverbial human bud is an avowed racist and morbid hater of Islam that will assume office as President in that country on January 20, 2017. His open disposition and filthy utterances alone, have proved to be a vivid reminder of the unbridled atrocities of the originator of Nazism, Adolf Hitler, who brutally terrorised the entire continent of Europe with his tyrannical ambition.

    And, for the first time ever, majority of Americans who voted to choose Trump as President started to express fear of uncertainty about their choice even before his assumption of office. Thus, from the very beginning of his first four year presidential tenure, Trump has been perceived as an unpredictable incubated egg waiting to be hatched without a yoke of democracy. This means that the kind of chicken that would come out of that incubated egg is just a matter of guess. Nevertheless, such a perception at the beginning of  2017 may be be too early in the day for the eagerly agitated Americans. After all, the cited cases of Saul and Umar still remain very validly influential on contemporary history”.

    Factors of Influence

    “Like Adolf Hitler, Donald Trump must have been satanically influenced by the weird poems by two European racial poets of the 19th/20th century. One of them was  William Butler (WB) Yeats of Ireland, who coined a poem entitled ‘The Second Coming’, which served as the template for Nigeria’s Chinua Achebe’s famous book entitled ‘Things Fall Apart’. Here is the poem: “Turning and turning round in the widening gyre

    The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

    Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold….”

    Observation

    “If the above quoted stanza is seen as an impetus for Trump to behave like a typical restive dragon dancing on the surface of an ominous brook, another poem by Rudyard Kipling may have equally served as an intoxicant that could help to exacerbate the already dangerous situation of today’s world for which the new American President is ready to be the chief agent. Incidentally, both Yeats and Kipling were contemporary literary men of about the same age. They were both born in 1865 but died differently within a gap of about three years apart. Below is Kipling’s own further divisive poem that strengthened the unwarranted enmity between the West and the East of the world:

    “Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,

    Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat…”

    Coded Bile

    “Today’s the coded bile of history is ordinarily bitter, but whenever it plays its natural role in the body system of an individual or that of a nation, it automatically becomes clear that survival without it is impossible”.

    In Retrospect

    “Yes, it sounded odd in the centuries of yore, when speculations began to indicate that Greece and  Rome could adopt Christianity as State religion. It also sounded unbelievable that the whole of Arabia could adopt Islam as official religion. But reality eventually prevailed and, today, the rest remains a property of history.

    In the same vein, far from feigning prophesy, like some Nigerian fraudsters who are claiming to be clerics, I foresee a day in the future, when America will become the foremost home of Islam and give that genuine divine religion the Impeccable reality of life that it deserves. In reaction to this millennial prediction, as it happened in the Greek and Roman  Empires of yore, the doubting Thomases of this era may commence their repugnant arguments from here. But those who will engage in any argument on this assertive prediction should remember that the seeds of tomorrow’s gargantuan tree of peace are already being firmly planted in today’s fertile soil as those of today were planted centuries ago.

    Personal Comment

    Allah’s way of doing things is full of wonders. For Him, nothing is impossible to do. And, if the cause of American transformation is not dramatically realisable with a wild bull like Donald Trump today, it may surprisingly be realisable with a modern day ‘Umar’ of America tomorrow. What matters most is for Islam to fulfill its statutorily ordained mission by wonderfully transforming this wild world into one of serenity and equanimity as promised by Allah.

  • Losing a bragging right

    Losing a bragging right

    Segun Gbadegesin

     

    What is going on in the land of the free and the home of the brave? How has the party of Lincoln, the party of emancipation, become the party of authoritarians and narcissists against free and fair election? Am I in a really bad dream or is what I am seeing and hearing for real?”

    I cannot pretend to be clueless about where Opalaba was coming from. In the last four years, we have had on and off discussions over the twists and turns in the American democracy. We have both wondered what has become of the “oldest and greatest democracy” in modern history. But my friend has been the more passionate. For reasons that I cannot fathom, he has felt betrayed.

    “Old chum, aren’t you carrying this thing too far? How has your gba ran mi become the eleru in this matter?” I interjected at the earliest opportunity. “What is your business in this matter?”

    “Of course, you are right” Opalaba replied. “I am more than six thousand miles from the United States. I live in the heartland of Africa, the cradle of civilization, the center of humanity, the homeland of civility and respect for the dignity of human beings. I should not have to worry about the debasement of humanity elsewhere. So, forgive my intervention. But I recall that you have always being a champion of the American democracy. You have always called your readers’ attention to what democracy means using the American model. I still recall your essay on “Where democracy works” a few years ago. You called our attention to the age-old norms of transfer of power, the gracious concession speech of a loser and the inspiring acceptance speech of the winner. So, I ask you, where is that bragging right now?”

    My friend continued: “I am reminded of that old folk song of our elders when they confront a messy situation which, in their wisdom, they had warned about: Mo da, mo da, bi yio ti ri naa ko yi, mo da, mo da. (I am good, I am fine. Is this how it has turned out?) Is this how the best democracy has turned out to be? Is this all there is to American exceptionalism? How can we now challenge our leaders here at home to do better?

    Opalaba was going to continue but knowing that I couldn’t win the argument, I quickly intervened.

    “You are right, my friend, and I didn’t mean to demean your passion about democratic norms. I have always been an incurable admirer of the American system of democratic republic. But I have always recognized the tendency for abuse in any human institution. It is worth noting, however, that while Americans have never created a perfect system, the world has, rightly or wrongly, looked up to what they have as a model to aspire to.”

    Last week, this column’s focus was on the story of America’s journey of democracy, a journey that ostensibly prioritizes the creation of a “more perfect union.” That journey, sometimes sincere, often deceptive, has frequently come up against serious setbacks, not least of which is the deliberate efforts to deny to millions of citizens the right to participate in the democratic process. We saw that the system which we have come to recognize, respect, and applaud as the oldest democracy in modern history has always had a very dark unenviable side.

    In fairness, the United States has always prioritized the creation, building, and strengthening of institutions, systems of rules and practices, which are expected to be strong enough to withstand any roguish attempts, including those aimed at sabotaging the pursuit of a more perfect union. Among these are the checks and balances provided by the three branches of government-presidency, congress, and the judiciary, the semi-autonomous and interdependent relations among the states and the central government, as well as a strong private sector, an economic tail that often wags the political dog.

    The narrative that we are familiar with about America is that even when there is fierce political competition between political parties, liberty or freedom is the ideology common to all. It is the value that they are ready to defend to death. The second is the sanctity of the rule of law which respects no person and those who would dare to test the resolve of the nation to uphold the sacredness of the rule of law, no matter how highly placed they might be, have been known to regret it. President Nixon may be the most remembered of the villains, but he is hardly alone.

    Since 2016, however, it appears that the American story has changed. For the better part of her existence, institutions have withstood the rise of strong men or women. Now, it appears that those same institutions are collapsing to the demagoguery of a strong man with a loyal base. A populist with diabolical intent has taken over and democracy and the rule of law are losing out. How can America brag about having the best democratic system when it is not respecting the will of the people at the polls?

    Isn’t it tragic that at a time we should be celebrating the triumph of democracy in a free and fair election and honoring Joe Biden, the winner, while not despising the loser, we are now forced to wondering what has become of our bragging right?

    Surely, there has always been recognized the right of a losing candidate to challenge the result of an election by asking for a recount or litigating perceived fraud. After Al Gore conceded in 2000, there were many complaints of ballot problems in Florida. He withdrew his concession and asked for a recount. The Supreme Court halted the recount and Gore conceded.

    What we are experiencing now, however, is totally different. Here we have a candidate who has never hidden his intention to accept the result of any election only if he wins. During the Republican primaries in February 2016, Candidate Trump declared about the Iowa results: “Based on the fraud committed by Senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa Caucus, either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified.” In his contest with Hillary Clinton in 2016, he infamously declined to commit to accepting the result. “We’ll have to see”, he insisted.

    Fast forward to 2020, he is on record saying “I am not a good loser. I don’t like to lose.” This declaration should send a warning signal to his allies to ready themselves for the defence of democracy. If someone tells you that he is not a good loser, you have a responsibility to the system to counsel him and provide whatever emotional support he needs so that he doesn’t burn down the system.

    But Trump didn’t stop at that declaration. He continued with a series of claims that were meant to cast doubt on the integrity of the election. Even though Republican States like Utah have been using mail-in ballot system over the years, Trump declared on August 2, that “there is no way you can go through a mail-in vote without massive cheating.” He himself, his family members and staff, have voted by mail over the years.

    On August 17, Trump asserted that “the only way we’re going to lose this election is if the election is rigged.” On August 24, he railed: “The only way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged election.” And on September 13: “The Democrats are trying to rig this election because that’s the only way they’re going to win. In all these rantings, nobody asked him “well, in that case, why do we need an election in the first place? Shouldn’t you just be crowned as the Imperial Majesty?

    In all these, Republican leaders didn’t ring the alarm bell.  And now, they are all in with the conspiracy against democracy. They are counting on the conservative Supreme Court majority to take away the victory from Joe Biden. We have come full circle to Third World Democracy.

    What a way to lose a bragging right! We are all human after all!

     

  • Background to America’s Decision 2020

    Background to America’s Decision 2020

    Segun Gbadegesin

     

    It’s a quadrennial ritual that has become a symbol of the beauty of democracy as defined by one of its consequential admirers, Abraham Lincoln. Hailed as the government of the people, by the people, and for the people, in the land of the free and the home of the brave, it has been anything but.

    In its purest form sold to the world, which was fascinating to Alexis de Tocqueville, its foremost chronicler, the pillars of American democracy include the protection of individual freedom, the rule of law, and free and fair elections. They are the reasons the founding fathers of the American Revolution preferred democracy to aristocracy or monarchy. However, over the centuries since Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address, the American presidential election in particular, and “democratic” elections in general, have spiraled through twists and turns, with remarkable shifts in fortune, leading to the nightmarish experience of 2020.

    America has presented herself to the world as the beacon of hope, the citadel of freedom. Her history and contemporary experience tells a different story. For the morally conscious among her leaders, that story could be an embarrassment. To escape the burden of conscience, they hide behind the idea of moving to create a “more perfect union”, an acknowledgement of the gross imperfection of the reality of a system that fails to recognize the humanity of a huge chunk of its members.

    The creation of that perfect union is sure taking forever because whenever it appears to move one step towards progress, the demons within just decide to step on the brake or hit the reverse gear. It has happened again and again, the latest formal effort being the 2013 Supreme Court gutting of the Voting Rights Act, a 1965 Act that barred states with a history of voter suppression based on race from implementing such policies and practices.  The ink had not dried from the pages of the 5-4 majority decision when those states bared their fangs. On the day of the court ruling, the Governor of Texas signed into law a stricter voter identification law. North Carolina followed a few months later. More Republican controlled states followed in quick succession.

    This is nothing new. It is simply a return to the past for which many conservative politicians have feelings of nostalgia. A one-time Senate Majority Leader was forced to resign some years ago for expressing a favorite stance on the late Senator Thurmond’s bid for the presidency on a platform of segregation. Specifically Senator Lott had observed that if Thurmond had succeeded, the nation “wouldn’t have had all these problems over the years.” The serial efforts to suppress the votes of minorities in general and African Americans in particular appear to have been focused on conserving those values of the past so that the nation can avoid having “all these problems”.

    It would not be an issue if those values of the past were consistent with the enthusiasm and pride with which the nation embraced the democratic form of governance and the desire expressed by Lincoln on behalf of the people that it would not perish from the face of the earth. Clearly they are not consistent, and one must give.

    If you embraced democracy, you cannot let states decide who can vote. But that was how the United States began its democracy adventure—with states limiting the vote to white property owners until the 1870 15th Amendment to the Constitution ensured that race was not a barrier to voting. But of course, this did not prevent southern states from instituting barriers such as literacy tests and poll taxes to voting by Black people.  Nationally, women did not have the vote until the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920 and Native Americans, the indisputable original owners of the land, did not get equal citizenship and voting rights until 1924.

    Of course, the amendments were just paper weights in the mighty hands of the states which found various ways to continue their suppression of votes as they willed. At the same time, the struggle for civil rights by African Americans took on the proverbial Goliath because when one is driven to the wall of existence, that’s what reason dictates. So the early and mid-sixties saw the escalation of the struggle which included the fight for the right to vote and, in 1965, the Voting Rights Act was passed and signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson. His often cited prophetic declaration of the consequence of the law, namely that southern states would abandon the Democratic Party was indicative of the depth of the value crisis that America has yet to overcome. That his prophesy came true is even more damning.

    That the 1965 Voting Right Act was the right thing for a nation that claims to be the land of the free is a no brainer. That it was opposed by a significant portion of the population was a moral outrage. But not only was it opposed then, every stumbling block possible has been created to prevent its full implementation. The last straw was the 2013 decision of the Supreme Court to gut it.

    Fast forward to 2020 and we see the most daring assault on whatever remains of the effectiveness of the law. The hate and prideful bigotry that Senator John McCain referenced disapprovingly in his most gracious 2008 concession speech is still a driving force. Cheered on by the highest political office in the land, hate groups fanned across the states, counties, and precincts to intimidate voters. Viral videos are released showing caches of weapons in military style armories ready to go. In a particularly scary case, the subject declared that there will be a civil war in case his candidate lost. A young man was captured by a surveillance camera while burning a drop-off ballot box.

    Beside the obnoxious conduct of individuals and groups, however, states assemblies and county election officials have alarmed democracy activists by how much they were willing to compromise on the requirements of free and fair elections. As a candidate, President Trump himself has not hidden his disdain for these requirements, including the need to make it as easy as possible for voters to cast their ballots especially under the precarious circumstances of coronavirus and to ensure that all votes are counted.

    You cannot rail against mail-in voting in 2020 and think that you are respecting people’s right to vote without endangering their lives. States after states have approached the courts to oppose efforts to ease voter’s discomfort. Texas Governor ordered the limiting of drop-off boxes to one per county. So, voters in a county with a population of more than four million had just one drop-off box. The Republican party of Texas went from State Court to Federal Court with a suit to throw out 127,000 ballots cast in drive-through locations. It lost the case in every court.

    Thankfully, the people are undaunted. Indeed, it appears that the efforts to disenfranchise them have only emboldened and encouraged them. 2020 has been a dreadful year. People just want to end it well and get this election over with, and nothing would stand in their way. Therefore, turnout has been through the roof in early voting including mail-in ballots, absentee votes and in-person voting, surpassing in many counties the total turnout for 2016.

    While Trump’s election slogan is to make America great again, Biden wants to build back better and return decency and civility to governance. Most pundits have believed all along in this election cycle that it is a referendum on the incumbent President especially on his handling of the pandemic which has killed almost 240,000 Americans of all races and gender.

    What is America’s verdict? As at the time this piece is being sent to my editor, the election is still too close to call. Votes are still being counted in battleground states. While one candidate has called for patience, the other has demanded that counting must stop and threatened court action to get his desired outcome. If counting stops, millions of voters will be disenfranchised. But it would not be out of national character.

     

  • Lesson from History

    FEMI ABBAS

     

    Monologue 

    Time is an abstract phenomenon that cruises uninterruptedly along the line of destiny. Time is the natural abode in which history resides permanently.

    The history of the past years is what forms the archive from which today’s generation is gathering the experience with which to build the archive of tomorrow. In a nutshell, there can be no history without time. But, ironically, time, itself, has no history.

    Warning

    “…Beware of a calamity that may afflict, not only the perpetrators of injustice amongst you, (but also, some innocent ones who may have no hands in the cause of that calamity) and, be warned that Allah’s retribution can be very severe….”

    1. 8:25.

    Preamble

    The admonishing verse of the Qur’an quoted above had been repeatedly quoted in this column as a sound of warning. However, that warning has been consistently ignored by the successive rulers of Nigeria and those of some other African countries, most of who see no lesson to learn from the records of history. Incidentally, the nonchalant attitude to highly sensitive issues that can negatively affect the lives of the citizenry is not peculiar to Nigerian rulers. Just recently, a queer array of massive protests began to rent the air in some dozens of countries across global regions and became amazement for the governments of those countries. Among the countries so overwhelmed, for various reasons, were Guinea, Ivory Coast, Belarus, Chile, Hong Kong, Thailand, Haiti Lebanon, the United States of America, France, Iraq and a host of others. The whole scenario was like a voyage with any precise destination. Yet, the precise destination of that undefined voyage remains a matter of guess for the entire world.

    History as a Teacher

    History is an invisible teacher. It teaches the experience of the past to the inexperienced people of the present with a view to guarding them towards a safe future port by using the yacht of experience.

    However, while some people perceive history as the best teacher because of its frequent warning against the vanity of human wishes and its encouragement for emulation of impeccable exemplariness, some others see it a bad teacher because it does not practically prevent people from falling into the quagmire of life.

    From whatever angle it is observed, however, history remains the undisputable teacher of all teachers, which can be described anyhow, by anybody, depending on the side of the divide to which each observer belongs. Thus, for as long as human beings remain in existence, passing   through the coast of history will never cease to serve as a   lesson for man.

    Reminiscence

    About a   decade ago, Libya stood out as a special chimney from which a strange suffocating smoke of history began to ooz out into the firmaments of African and Middle East orbits. Citizens suddenly trooped out onto the streets for a spontaneous protest that was named ‘Arab Spring’. When it began, the immediate thought of most observers around the world was that such a fortuitous occurrence could quickly become a lesson from which other rulers would learn the act of constructive governance.

    Of all the North African and Middle East countries engulfed in that turmoil perhaps the least expected to join the fray was Libya. And, that assertion would have automatically become an axiom if Muammar Gaddafi, the then 69 year old ruler of that country, had heeded the warning of an obvious premonition coming from the neighbouring Tunisia.

    Misconception

    Meanwhile, there had been a general but erroneous belief about the trend of the foraging revolts in the Arab world, which culminated in sweeping the leadership across the core Arab countries and reduced those countries into mere rubles.

    Contrary to sketchy media reports about the landmark tsunami that started just about a decade ago, what came to be known as ‘Arab Spring’ actually started in Egypt as far back as 1977. In that year, a sudden revolt broke out in Cairo, which was called ‘Egyptian Bread Riot’.

    The two-day riot of January 18 and 19, 1977 was a spontaneous reaction, by hundreds of thousands of Egyptian peasants, to a mandate given to Egyptian government. That mandate, recommended by the World Bank and IMF,  was to remove all subsidies on foodstuffs. And, based on that mandate, the then President, Anwar Sadat first reduced subsidy on all food stuffs starting with bread which price was increased by just one Piaster (an equivalence of one Nigerian Kobo) as a first step. That decision was generally received as the height of insensitivity, to the penurious plight of the masses of that time. Thus, within the twinkling of an eye, the city of Cairo was on fire. And, before the government could gather itself together to address the issue, that fire had turned into a furnace that required triple effort to quench.

    By the time the dust finally settled, about 79 people had been shrouded for burial while over 800 others had become emergency patients in the casualty sections of many hospitals in the country. Eventually, the fortuitous riot came to an end only after the government officially announced the reversal of the obnoxious policy and the restoration of the removed subsidies. That unexpected incident only came to aggravate the general discontent in the land which had been engendered by the evident class dichotomy that finally led to the assassination of President Sadat three years later (1980).

    From thence, the Egyptians became so conscious of their supposed role in governance that they could only conclude that the only language understandable to their government was violent revolt.

    Another Riot

    In 1986, barely six years after the death of Sadat and Hosni Mubarak’s assumption of office as President, another major riot broke out in Cairo.

    On February 25, 1986, about 17,000 Egyptian conscripts of the Central Security Forces (CSF), otherwise known as Egyptian Para-military Force, staged a violent protest in and around Cairo city, properties, including two major Hotels, belonging to the government as well as the upper and the middle classes were torched indiscriminately. The riot which was allegedly caused by a apiral rumour that the government had decided to increase the then two-year compulsory national service to three years without any commensurate remuneration lasted only three days. But the official fatality figure that followed it was put at 107 while over 2,000 people were said to be terribly injured and hospitalised.

    However, unlike Sadat who quickly reversed his foodstuff subsidy policy, the only lesson that Hosni Mubarak could learn from that experience was the use of force against the protesters. And, the result was unpalatable. Ever since, Egypt has become a delicate gun powder waiting to be ignited at anytime. The Egyptian revolution that later abruptly ended Mubarak’s 32-year old regime did not, therefore, come as a surprise to  people who had been well familiar with that country’s political trend, since the 1970s. With the Egyptian experience, therefore, one would have expected other African and Middle East rulers to have learnt a lesson. But as a Yoruba adage goes,” a dog that would die in perdition will never respond to the guiding whistle of the hunter”.

    Tunisian experience

    In Tunisia, the protests leading to the flight of President Zainu l-Abidin Ben Ali to Saudi Arabia in January 2011 were instigated by the gruesomely symbolic suicide of one young man called Mohammed Bouazizi. The incident occurred on December 17, 2010. The 25-year-old University

    Graduate had used his  degree certificate as a collateral for obtaining a bank loan with which to venture into retailing some farm products. He decided to obtain the loan after realizing the futility of looking for white collar job in a country where about 14 per cent of the populace was painfully unemployed.

    After obtaining the loan he quickly commenced his planned private retailing job. But less than a week after the commencement, his consignment of farm products was confiscated by government officials who claimed that he did not obtain official permit for selling farm products. The young man then concluded that his country didn’t need him anymore and, he decided to commit suicide by setting himself ablaze and died on his way to the hospital.

    People’s immediate reaction to that incident   was unimaginably spontaneous.

    Violence erupted immediately across cities and towns as already aggrieved youths trooped to the streets and started burning whatever could be burnt and maiming whoever was suspected to be partly responsible. The government became so confused that the only option left was how to quench the furnace of violence.

    By that time, the President tried to address some of the issues against which complaints were made. But then, it had become too late for such efforts to yield any sensible result. When the coming signals were no longer positive, President Zainul Abiden Bn Ali knew that the die had been cast and decided to flee the country thereby ending his 24-year-old regime with historic ignominy.

    The case of the young man,  Bouazizi, who set himself ablaze and was nationally pronounced a martyr as well as the father of the revolution was just an atom in the complex story of  long term discontent in Tunisia.

    There were many other cases of the like but three main factors can be said to be the immediate precipitates of the Tunisian revolution:

    1. Open day, audacious corruption
    2. Massive unemployment and
    3. Insensitive exhibition of affluence, with impunity, by government officials. Now, which of these is not being experienced in Nigeria of today?

    Gaddafi’s reaction

    While demonstrations were going on in Tunisia and Egypt, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s impression was that the Presidents of both countries were mere jellies with little political experience. It was far from his imagination that the surging political tsunami in those two Arab countries could come near Libya let alone consume him and his regime. Thus,  after 42 years of unbridled despotism, Gaddafi reopened the film of Pharaoh’s history for the world to behold. Thus, like Saddam Hussein before him, he lost all that he had built for his country and for himself including his family.

    The stories of the Tunisian, the Egyptian, and the Libyan revolutions, cannot be fully told in a one page weekly newspaper column like ‘The Message’. The vivid signal sent by those stories was that similar occurrences could subsequently be reenacted in some black African countries. But that signal was not seen.

    Analysis

    In virtually all the Arab countries, education is free from the primary school to the university. There is no problem of electricity, water, roads, rail system, and housing. The only two areas in which the people of those countries had problem with their governments were those of unemployment that was causing hunger and lack of constitutional privilege to partake freely in the  governance of their countries.  And, for those two reasons, a political tsunami of an unimaginable measure ensued to sweep the length and breadth of North Africa and a part of the Middle East like a hurricane.

    Morocco and Algeria

    The Moroccan monarch and Algerian President were only lucky to have heeded the warning of that sweeping tsunami in time, thereby escaping its squeezing   consequences. The lesson that the leaders of those two countries  learned from the experiences of their colleagues was what quickly served them in good stead. Otherwise, they would have ended up like Sadam Hussein of Iraq or Muammar Gaddafi of Libya or Hosni Mubarak of Egypt.

    The Nigerian Example

    Here in Nigeria, where none of the above mentioned infrastructures is available despite the enormous material resources with which the country is naturally endowed, the rulers’ trade in stock since 1999 has been to ferry the scarce resources of the country illegally to some foreign countries either under the guise of searching for foreign investors or that of arms purchase. Rather than utilizing those resources to boost the general standard of living and thereby uplift the economic status of the country, the priority of our government officials has consistently been to squeeze the citizenry dry through the claim of a fictitious fuel subsidy and callous imposition of frivolous increase on the tariff of electricity even when it is evident that Nigeria has no stable electricity despite the so-called privatization of the power sector. For decades, children have been dropping out of schools; widows have shedding tears ceaselessly days and nights over self-survival; retired men and women have been fully rendered penurious at old age even as many of them have died unsung; farmers have been subjected to unwarranted siege for lack of roads through which to convey their farm products to markets. And, yet, even right now, despite the tense situation in the country, some Governors are trying to empty their State treasuries on building white elephant airports for themselves and their families. Or how many citizens in those States can afford to travel by air?

    Comparison

    While the Tunisians became restive over 14 per cent unemployment figure about a decade ago, Nigerians are sadly grappling with about 62per cent  of unemployment rate today even as the government keeps drumming the deceptive tune of becoming one of the 20 most economically viable countries in the world before 2030.

    The warning here is for the doubting ‘Thomases’ who are still in the dream land in Nigeria and the rest of Africa to open their eyes and clearly see the vanity of human wishes in the cited Arab nations. Such tendentious talks as: “political tsunami can’t happen here in Nigeria” only belongs to parochial people who are still living in the primordial time.

    To avoid becoming like flies drinking and dying in a bottle of wine, men of reason who are privileged to be in government had better learn from the experiences of others before some others begin to learn from their own experiences. The recent ‘ENDSARS’ saga is a signal that must serve as a warning for the wise.

    Where you have people who are educated enough to know their rights; where you have people who are conscious of their common affinity; where you have people who believe in God and His capability to bring justice to an unjust nation, let no one think that such people can be exploited indefinitely. Those in power in Nigeria today who may still be thinking that they can live perpetually on injustice should remember that the likes of Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi and Hosni Mubarak never thought that nemesis could afflict their imperial offices one day. Their episodes are now part of archival history with which the fortress of the future can be formidably   built.

    Nigeria for instance

    The current situation in Nigeria is by far worse than the relayed episodes in the Arab country a decade ago. Here is a country where corruption has graduated from a crime into a pride, and, both conscience and shame have taken a permanent flight thereby decimating the future for the generations yet unborn. Here is a country where all types of vices are tied to the aprons of ethnicity and religion while ministers and some criminal political merchants (masquerading in the cloak of religion) are audaciously stealing public funds and ferrying them to other countries for keep without expectation of any possible consequences. Here is a country where well known unremorseful criminals are shamelessly granted state pardon and rewarded with national honours at the expense of conscience and shame. Here is a country where the so-called privatization policy is being formulated not for the growth of national economy but for the benefit of the formulators who see themselves as the inheritors of the nation’s wealth. Here is a country where pseudo-clerics serve as suppliers of arms and ammunition even as brigands enjoy patronage of the Federal and State governments in their perpetration of atrocities. Here is a country where official insurgency against the citizenry is a political instrument for silencing voices of dissent and for self-perpetration in public offices.

    When such vices as mentioned above are perpetrated in a society, religion is often seen as the last bastion of hope to which the populace  look for solution. But when religion itself is portrayed as the haven of crimes what else remains as hope for the innocent few in that society?

    To think that such crimes can be committed without nemesis is to live in a fool’s paradise. Therefore, let those in Nigeria who refuse to learn from ancient history try to learn from the recent one. To avert a combination of the wrath of the people with that of Allah, a change in the style of governance is now a sine qua non.  To be forewarned is to be forearmed. God bless Nigeria!

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • History’s greatest man

    History’s greatest man

    Femi Abbas

     

    Monologue

     

    THIS   is one of the periods in which newspaper or newsmagazine columnists find themselves in a dilemma. Such dilemma is not on whether to write or not. Rather, it is on the right issue that can be the subject of writing at a particular time. Ordinarily, the problem of a worthy columnist is not a dearth of ideas but a deluge of them.

    For an average columnist, thinking of a subject to write about is like placing a magnet at a strategic centre to attract many iron elements around. As a columnist thinks of a subject to write about, many other subjects get magnetised, and throw themselves torrentially to him for choice. And, in his search for a choice to be given priority, he becomes entangled in a proverbial cobweb of dilemma.  That is the situation in which yours sincerely is now ensnared psychologically.

    Today, the original issue planned to be addressed in this column is the recent ‘ENDSARS’ national mass protest and Nigerian governing style.

    But while ruminating and researching on the presentation of  that issue, the global media waves reverberatingly throbbed with breaking news on another equally crucial issue which promptly diverted my attention from the protest and its aftermath implications.

    That new issue is about a satanic cartoon that sparked off a new religious brouhaha, in France, last weekend. The cartoon, as usual, was meant to denigrate Islam and malign the personality of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the greatest man that ever lived.

     Preamble

    Time flies. The year 2002 was like yesterday. That was the year in which wild religious riots broke out fortuitously in Kaduna State. The immediate precipitate of those riots was an event of Miss World beauty pageant which was scheduled to take place in Nigeria in November/December that year. Incidentally, the time earmarked for that event coincided with that year’s sacred month of Ramadan in which all Muslims around the world were heartily engaged in statutory fast. The event was the 52nd edition of that global beauty contest. And, it was to be held, for the first time, in Nigeria.

    Sensing the possible clash of that event with spiritual interest of Islam, the Muslims hinted the organizers of Miss World pageant, as well as the government, about the insensitivity of holding that event in the sacred month. But, characteristic of Nigerian government’s attitude to anything Islam, and the pathological audacity of certain Nigerian non-Muslims to ride roughshod over the divine religion of Allah, the precautionary hint was ignored with its entailed security implications and warning. At that time, Chief Olusugun Obasanjo (a Chritian) was the President of Nigeria and, the grand finale of the event was scheduled to take place in Abuja, the country’s federal capital.

    Although, it was not the government that organized that event, nevertheless, the Muslims expected the government to play an unbiased role by cautioning those organizers if only for security reason.

    However, the warning was not heeded in the usual irrational belief that freedom of speech and actions was guaranteed in Nigerian constitution.

    It took a violent riot to break out which unnecessarily consumed scores of lives before they all realized that elasticity, especially in matters of freedom, has its limit. By the time the dust of those riots settled, the die had been cast regrettably as over 100 human lives had become human corpses.

    Two particular incidents helped tremendously to ignite that carnage. One was the insistence of the organizers which included Silverbird Communication as a partner, ongoing ahead with the event despite the warning. The other was an article written in ThisDay newspaper by a female columnist, Isioma Daniel, who wrote in the blasphemous article that “if Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was alive, he would not only approve the Nigeria’s hosting of the event, but also choose one of those beauty contestants as a wife”.

    Eventually, that event did not hold in Nigeria. It was taken to the United Kingdom where it rightly belonged.

    Also, about eight years ago, 2012, an amateurish film of sarcasm was acted in the United of States of America to ridicule Islam and, to characteristically, mock Prophet Muhammad (SAW). That was in November that year. By the time the noice over that devilish film was dying down, two weeks later, a satanic cartoon emerged in France to ridicule the same Prophet Muhammad.

    That was a confirmation of the existence of a lunatic market in the West, where all delirious people go to strip naked in order to engage in a brawl of incurable insanity.

    The West’s Capitalist Orientation

    From time immemorial, denigration of the personality of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and Islam has been a peculiar hobby, a lunatic terrain with which the Muslim world has become well familiar. Therefore, that President Emmanuel Macron of France renewed that lunacy last weekend did not come as a surprise. After all, a dog that would die in perdition would never heed the warning a hunter. Right now, many Muslims countries have announced the boycott of products from France.

    For many centuries, the so-called Orientalists had adopted defamation of the Prophet’s character and denigration of Islam as a strategy with which to gain cheap fame and to make easy money. And, since their main objective, according to their capitalist orientation, was only to make money for the acquisition of the vanity of this ephemeral world. But, if we view the matter from another angle, the obnoxious action of those infidels can become understandable.

    For instance, who else in the history of mankind, could have provided the type of elastic market that those lotus eaters manipulate to get the money they need for their vainglorious lives? Thus, for centuries, they had written all sorts of blasphemous fables in books, pamphlets, magazines and newspapers as a way of making illegal money from those writings without thinking of the feelings of billions of Muslims in the world.

    That was how many Westerners emerged as Professors of Islamic History or Theology or Jurisprudence in the London School of Oriental Studies (SOAS). In reality, if the name of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is removed from the literary projects of the West today what else will remain for them to make cheap fame and make cheap money?

    Unique discipline

    The discipline imparted by Islam in its adherents is such that no Muslim of worth would ever go to the extent of writing any rubbish about any other religion and audaciously claim authority on it. As a matter of fact, no true Muslim will ever malign the personality of Jesus verbally let alone in writing and go scot free. He/she would immediately be reprimanded or sanctioned by fellow Muslims, not only because Jesus, like Muhammad (SAW), was a Prophet of Allah, but also because Islam, as a divine religion abhors indiscipline in all its ramifications. Besides, both the Qur’an and the Bible strongly admonish against such blasphemous utterances and writings even as they treat them as sacrilegious acts against any Prophet of Allah. Qur’an 61 Verse 7-8 says:   “Who does greater wrong than one who invents falsehood against Allah, even while being invited to Islam? Allah does not guide those who deliberately do wrong. Their intention is to extinguish Allah´s Light with the wind of their mouths: But (unknown to them) Allah has perfected His Light, even if the Unbelievers detest it”.

    And, in the Bible, the following can be found: “Whoever speaks a word against the son of man will be forgiven. But whoever speaks a word against the Holly Spirit will not be forgiven in this age or in the one to come”. Mathew 12: 32

    Islamic Norm

    In Islam, the general norm is that people who live in glass house do not throw stones. But despite the blasphemous books of yesteryears and the nefarious films and cartoons of today, Muslims should rather remain calm and emulate the equanimity of the noble Prophet who Allah described as a unique exemplar for mankind. After all, most of the same Western Orientalists whose major hobby is to malign Prophet M uhammad (SAW), have had cause to reverse themselves in many of their publications after being confronted with impeccable facts.

    Michael Hart’s Book

    At a time in the 1970s when the Western Orientalists were busy basking in the euphoria of vanity and vainglory, as the echoes of their hostility to Islam was reverberating to all parts of the world, a Jewish American Astrophysicist suddenly came up with a book that shook the Western world to the marrows. The man’s name is Michael H. Hart. He was born on April 28, 1932 at a time when Adolf Hitler was just beginning to cook his Nazi party which eventually catapulted him onto the chair of dictatorship in Germany.

    Until Michael Hart’s book entitled ‘The 100: A Ranking of the most Influential Persons in History’ stormed the market in 1978, it was

    unimaginable that such a book could ever come from the West. Within weeks of its publication, over 500000 copies of the book were sold mostly in Europe and America.

    Some people bought the book out of curiosity. Others bought it to know the other side of the story which the West had touted viciously for centuries about Islam and its great Prophet.

    The most spectacular point in that book was the naming of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), out of the 100 personalities listed in the book, as the greatest man that ever lived. If the book had been written by an Arab or an African or an Asian it would not have come as a surprise to an average European or American. But the fact that such a book was written by a Jewish American and marketed in the West, immediately removed any toga of doubt about its authenticity even as it lifted the veil of blatant ignorance from the face of the antagonists of Islam.

    What prompted Michael Hart to write the book at that time remains a puzzle. But, ever since its publication, Europe and America have not been the same again especially in their attitude towards Islam. After reading the book, most Westerners came to realize how ignorant they had been not just about the person of Muhammad (SAW) as a Prophet, but also about Islam as a divine religion. Their further search for knowledge in religious sphere has since altered their old perception of Islam considerably. And, that was why they stopped calling Islam ‘Muhammedanism’ in the contemporary time.

    Although, the book attracted some particles of criticism from some diehard Christian bigots who disagreed with Michael Hart’s choice, (especially his ranking of Muhammad vis a vis Jesus), no one of them has genuinely been able to fault that choice on the basis of any facts superior to those of the author. And, from thence, Islam has confidently carved out a special niche for itself in the West. The rest is left to history.

    In a nutshell, Michael Hart’s book has succeeded in achieving two main objectives hitherto undreamt of in those dark worlds.

    One of those objectives is the exposure of many Westerners to Islam. The other is the rapid growth of that religion in Europe and America despite the suffocating environment forged for its adherents. Today, Washington and London officially champion the adoption of the tradition of hosting the Muslims at fast-breaking (Iftar) in the month of Ramadan while the call to prayer (Adhan) now sounds much louder through the minarets in European and American cities and towns.

    Reason for Writing the Book

    As to ‘why Michael Hart wrote that book, it is better to hear from the horse’s mouth. Here is what he said about the listed personalities and the choice of Prophet Muhammad as the greatest man that ever lived:

    “My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world’s most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels. Of humble origins, Muhammad founded and promulgated one of the world’s great religions, and became an immensely effective political leader”.

    Reminiscence

    “Today, thirteen centuries after his death, his influence is still powerful and pervasive. The majority of the persons in this book had the advantage of being born and raised in centres of civilization, highly cultured or politically pivotal nations. Muhammad, however, was born in the year 570, in the city of Mecca, in southern Arabia, at that time, a backward area of the world, far from the centres of trade, art, and learning. Orphaned at age six, he was reared in modest surroundings. Islamic tradition tells us that he was an illiterate…

    His economic position improved when, at age twenty-five, he married a wealthy widow. Nevertheless, as he approached forty, there was little outward indication that he was a remarkable person……”

    Arab Situation

    “Most Arabs at that time were pagans, who believed in many gods. There were, however, in Mecca, a small number of Jews and Christians; it was from them, no doubt, that Muhammad first learned of a single, omnipotent God who ruled the entire universe. When he was forty years old, Muhammad became convinced that this one true God (Allah) was speaking to him, and had chosen him to spread the true faith. For three years, Muhammad preached only to close friends and associates. Then, about 613, he began preaching in public. As he slowly gained converts, the Meccan authorities came to consider him a dangerous nuisance”.

    Emigration

    “In 622 CE, fearing for his safety, Muhammad fled to Medina (a city some 200 miles north of Mecca), where he had been offered a position of considerable political power. This flight, called the Hegira, was the turning point of the Prophet’s life. In Mecca, he had had few followers. In Medina, he had many more, and he soon acquired an influence that made him a virtual dictator. During the next few years, while Muhammad’s following grew rapidly, a series of battles were fought between Medina and Mecca. This was ended in 630 with Muhammad’s triumphant return to Mecca as conqueror. The remaining two and one-half years of his life witnessed the rapid conversion of the Arab tribes to the new religion”.

    After His Demise

    When Muhammad died, in 632, he was the effective ruler of all of southern Arabia. The Bedouin tribesmen of Arabia had a reputation as fierce warriors. But their number was small; and plagued by disunity and internecine warfare, they had been no match for the larger armies of the kingdoms in the settled agricultural areas to the north. However, unified by Muhammad for the first time in history, and inspired by their fervent belief in the one true God, these small Arab armies now embarked upon one of the most astonishing series of conquests in human history.

    To the northeast of Arabia lay the large Neo-Persian Empire of the Sassanids; to the northwest lay the Byzantine, or Eastern Roman Empire, centred in Constantinople. Numerically, the Arabs were no match for their opponents. On the field of battle, though, the inspired Arabs rapidly conquered all of Mesopotamia, Syria, and Palestine. By 642, Egypt had been wrested from the Byzantine Empire, while the Persian armies had been crushed at the key battles of Qadisiya in 637, and Nehavend in 642. But even these enormous conquests, which were made under the leadership of Muhammad’s close friends and immediate successors, Ali, Abu Bakr, Uthman and ‘Umar Bn al-Khattab, did not mark the end of the Arab advance”.

    Further Spread of Islam

    “By 711, the Arab armies had swept completely across North Africa to the Atlantic Ocean. There, they turned north and, crossing the Strait of Gibraltar, overwhelmed the Visigothic kingdom in Spain.

    How, then, is one to assess the overall impact of Muhammad on human history? Like all religions, Islam exerts an enormous influence upon the lives of its followers. It is for this reason that the founders of the world’s great religions all figure prominently in this book. Since there are roughly twice as many Christians as Moslems in the world, it may initially seem strange that Muhammad has been ranked higher than Jesus. There are two principal reasons for that decision. First, Muhammad played a far more important role in the development of Islam than Jesus did in the development of Christianity. … It is this unparalleled combination of secular and religious influence which I feel entitles Muhammad to be considered the most influential single figure in human history”.

    Summary

    The summary of Michael Hart’s analytical justification for his choice of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as the greatest human being that ever lived has not been faulted and can never be faulted. He, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was the greatest man alive and he remains the greatest of all the dead even 1400 years after his demise. And that greatness continues to wax stronger as the population of the Muslims increases geometrically across the world despite the implacable hostility from the West.

    Revision

    When Michael Hart revised and reprinted the book in 1992, he dropped some names and retained most of those who made the original list with their rankings. Some of those he dropped included Vladimir Lenin of Russia who established the Unon of Soviet Socialist Republic in 1917 and Mao Zedong who was tagged the father. The reason that Hart gave for dropping them was that communist empires which qualified them for that list, in the first instance, had collapsed. He however listed some new names which included Mikhail Gorbachev and Williams Shakespeare.

    Epilogue

    What is yet to be clear to the Westerners about Islam is that Prophet Muhammad is like the sun in the midst of stars, whenever it rises, all those starts will bow in reverence. And it does not bother the Sun if all the blind men and women of this world, including Emanuel Macron of France, deny its existence. The sun will always be the sun and, the scorching effect of its beaming rays will always punish any naked eye that wants to see it in action.

  • A matrix of misfortunes

    A matrix of misfortunes

    Segun Gbadegesin

     

    OPALABA is troubled. My friend is on the verge of psychological collapse. As I listened to the heart-rending tone of his voice over the phone, it occurred to me that we have a lost cause on our hands. I felt a gush of melancholy through my being.

    “They told us that Nigeria is divinely ordained. But why has it been pleasing to the Divine Being to make his ordained nation a matrix of misfortunes?” my friend asked in a tellingly miserable voice.  With some intimate knowledge of Opalaba’s steely heart and the stubborn masculinity of his persona, it was clear to me that what he had gone through was a heart-melting experience.

    “Is it that bad?” was my faint response, making sure that I didn’t provoke my friend’s well-known quick temper.

    “It is more than worse, pal. I witnessed wet-e first hand. That was a child’s play compared to this senseless wasting of young lives and massive destruction of property. In the whole of Yorubaland, I never saw anything close to this even during the civil war. Who cursed us?”

    I appealed to my friend to avoid going into the easy route of the occult. “No one cursed us. We are responsible for whatever happened or failed to happen to us. What is important now is to identify what we did or didn’t do that got us into the deep hole in which we find ourselves. We can then determine to make amends and move on. Or not. It will be our prerogative. We are familiar with our story and with the story of our peer nations, where we are and where they are. It’s up to us to change our story.”

    Opalaba agreed with me. “This was what I appreciate in the initial approach of the youth. Having borne the brunt of the burden of police brutality over the decades, they sought to change our national story. With their skills in communication technology, they mounted an effective campaign that moved from the national to the global scene. From Washington to Paris, from London to The Hague, from reputable media houses to modern social media, from Nollywood to Hollywood, #EndSARS became the viral buzzword. Political operatives from Governors’ offices to the National Assembly complex joined the chorus. And for the first time in a long time, the youth became a national symbol of a long-sought unity of purpose. And they made us all proud.

    “The federal government didn’t have any good reason to ignore them. They were insistent on their demands but not disruptive. They were leaderless but well-organized. They had good evidence for the reasonableness of their demands. The Vice President was the first national officer to express solidarity with the protests. He had been there before. Back in 2018, he had expressed horror at the apparent impunity of SARS agents and had promised a total reform. It is therefore understandable that he threw his support behind the demand to end SARS.

    “Government agreed to meet the demand and promptly issued a statement that scrapped SARS. In addition, it convened a meeting of stakeholders that included civil society organizations and prominent members of the EndSARS movement. A communique of that meeting disclosed that government agreed to the other five demands of the movement which included release of arrested protestors, justice for deceased victims of police brutality and compensation for families, judicial investigation of all cases of police misconduct within ten days, psychological evaluation and retraining of disbanded SARS officers before redeployment, and an increase in compensation for the police. State governments, starting with Lagos State, followed promptly with the inauguration of Judicial Panels of Inquiry. The EndSARS movement, though leaderless, was on course to achieve a first in terms of an unprecedented rush of government action on its demands.

    “But it was not to happen. The depth of the mistrust and distrust is enormous. Promises made in the past were never kept by governments over the years. The latest was in 2018. Protesters were unwilling to be fooled again. So, they continued street protests. It was a patriotic motive on the part of a corps of idealistic young professionals with global experience of best practices in governance, determined to correct all societal ills and lift their nation up towards a state of perfection.

    “Perhaps this noble motive would have achieved great results. But there were two predictable interruptions.  First, the motive and the persistence ran into conflict with the mindset of a political establishment that is too sensitive with regard to its standing and paranoid about any perception of weakness. For how long can it tolerate indefinite peaceful protests without risking its degeneration into calls for a violent revolution? From our past experience, even if there wasn’t any such threat, the reality of such a mindset was enough to trigger the reaction that we saw on October 21, 2020. Nigerian governments have never disappointed.

    “Second, however, the nobility of the motive of EndSARS movement and the acclaimed standing of its members plus their decision to have a leaderless movement, also ran into conflict with the motivation of a different and opposing group. They are also youthful and vibrant. And they also have their grievances which are not less legitimate. They are skill-less and hopeless. Of the 60 percent youth population that Nigeria boasts of, more than 40 percent belong to this group. These are the neglected and abandoned members of our urban and rural enclaves.

    “It is this second group of youths that many irresponsible politicians engage during elections only to abandon them thereafter. They are the so-called hoodlums, touts, urchins, gang members, and cultists. Always looking for what to do, wherever and whenever they see “action” they jump in without being invited. You could argue that with the EndSARS action, they didn’t need any invitation. It is their cause too. It just isn’t this second group’s perception of action that the initiators of the movement had in mind.

    “It is probably true that the government would have moved against the movement anyway. But the various interventions, including imposition of curfews, were justified by appeal to the destructive approach of the second group. As it became clear, however, it was the peaceful group, the one with the best motive and the noblest of intentions that received the heaviest end of the state cudgel. It was the one that bore the sharpest edge of the state sword. Think of Lekki Toll Plaza.

    “A conspiracy theory has it that that outcome wasn’t a mistake, that the hoodlums were state-sponsored, and therefore, despite their attacks on innocent citizens, they couldn’t have been the target of state security attack. The truth value of this conspiracy theory need not be positive. What is clear is that hoodlums took a much greater advantage of the military intervention to wreck extraordinary havoc on the populace, targeting both public and private assets. Without the presence of police or other security agents, it was a field day for thugs and gang members. Hell broke loose!

    “Is that the end of the movement to end police brutality? Has one youth group upended the nobility of the other group’s intention? Does the baby of prospective good governance get thrown out with the birth water of reckless hooliganism? This my worry. Will I live to see the Nigeria of my dream that the youth have made their priority project?”

    As I listened attentively to Opalaba, I was moved to tears. It isn’t just his dream. It is mine too, and I think I can speak for my generation as well. It takes the generation of my grandchildren to have a real chance to remake Nigeria and now it appears that they have been silenced.

    “But there is hope my friend”, I assured Opalaba. The youths haven’t given up. They have just retreated to refocus. If the recent notice of a national youth conference is authentic, I am sure we haven’t seen the end of this matter. With what we have come to know about their generation, their foundational knowledge skills, their sheer determination to shame nay-sayers, more is yet to come. We keep hope alive.