The Nation Newspaper

Category: Friday

  • 8th NASS and the matter of legacy

    In normal times and decent climes, it is not unusual to describe the legislative branch in a republic as a club of responsible and patriotic men and women. It is abnormal to compare the representatives of the people to a cult of self-serving men and women whose fundamental approach to governance is to look out for loyalists to protect or promote and adversaries to punish or renounce.

    But a club of responsible men and women sometimes degenerates into a cult of sycophants, or worse, paranoid schemers whose singular objective is the elimination of the supposed outsider or disloyal insider and the protection and promotion of the team players within.

    The Senate is the upper house of our legislative branch and it is appropriate to focus on it as the eye of the National Assembly. The Senate of modern republics has a history that dates to the ancient Romans. But the modern senate cannot be more starkly different than its progenitor. First, while Roman senators were appointed by an elected official of the magistracy, many senates of the modern era are elected.

    Second, while there was a requirement of independent wealth for Roman republic senators, modern senators only need to satisfy the requirement of age, education, and sound health.  Roman senators were expected to be wealthy because they worked without pay and were also expected to spend their wealth for the good of the state. That is unrealistic for our modern senators who expect their membership of the senate to improve their economic status.

    Third, while Roman senators were required to be of impeccable moral character, and corruption was an impeachable offense, we are aware of the humanity of modern senators and so we do not appear to expect sainthood as their qualification.

    With sacrifice of wealth and time for the welfare of the state comes respect for the institution of senate and individual senators throughout the Roman republic. Even with this positive point, however, it should be obvious that the Roman senate was far from being a democratic institution. It was unelected, and it was only as powerful as the consuls, or later the emperor, allowed it to be.

    What interests me in the comparison is the moral fiber of one versus the ethical lapse of the other. How do I mean?

    The Roman senate was a club of morally conscious patricians who not only guided their integrity by enforcing the moral code of membership, it was also a collection of patriotic citizens working for the good of the state without focusing on their self-interest. The Roman senator sacrificed his material wealth for the promotion of the state with an eye on legacy and immortality. What legacy do our modern senators set their eyes to?

    As it ought to be in our world of 24/7 news coverage, the 8th National Assembly in general, and the Senate in particular, has been in the news since its inception for reasons noble and repugnant. Can we ever forget the infamous leadership intrigue that ushered in the new NASS in 2015?

    Since then, it has been one game of gotcha after another. Faced with judicial investigations, the Senate President has been subject of personal humiliation for which his supporters blame the executive branch, further souring the relationship between the two branches. For a pound of flesh, NASS has asserted its authority in various ways, including withholding its advice and consent power over appointments or budget approval. This political football has not been helpful in laying the foundation for legacy-enhancing legislations that could stand the test of time and enter the 8th NASS in the book of national glory.

    Now is the time to write its own history, which is what really matters for politicians with eyes on legacy. How might the 8th NASS leave an enduring legacy? This was the takeaway from the message so articulately and passionately delivered to the leadership of NASS some weeks ago by some national elders across the zones of the federation. The National Assembly must take up the mantle of leadership in the matter of restructuring.

    Our having devolution of power, the most that APC promised the electorate in 2015 in the matter of restructuring, depends on the pleasure of three institutions: the presidency, the National Assembly, and state legislatures. The first two are controlled wholly by the ruling party. The third, state legislatures, is controlled substantially by the ruling party given that 24 of 36 states are controlled by APC.

    The committee on restructuring set up by the ruling party has submitted its report recommending substantial devolution of powers from the federal to the states. It also recommended the establishment of state police.

    To date, it has been a Herculean task trying to ascertain the pleasure of the presidency in the matter of restructuring in general, and devolution in particular. Now it is becoming clearer that putting our faith in the presidency to lead that effort is a mistake. The president’s widely reported VOA Hausa Service interview from Washington DC is unambiguous. He does not think highly of state police on two grounds. First, in his judgment, the states, which cannot pay workers’ salaries cannot be trusted to afford state police. Second, the constitution does not support state police. Both concerns beg the question.

    First, devolving power to states means shedding some of the responsibilities of the federal government. This includes some of the responsibilities for internal security. With this must come the release of some of the resources from the federal to state governments. States also generate internal revenue.

    The second point is surprising for what it ignores. The thoughtful struggle of young and old patriots across the country for restructuring has been clearly focused on the inadequacy of the constitution. This is the reason the APC committee recommended, with proposed drafts, amendment to the constitution to accommodate its suggestions. Therefore, the argument that the constitution does not support state police or any other recommendation by the committee is question-begging.

    If for reasons best known to the presidency, even restructuring through devolution of power is unacceptable, the question remains, what is the pleasure of NASS?

    Normally, no one should be excited about frictions between the presidency and the National Assembly, especially when the same political party controls both branches. However, friction cannot be ruled out and it is not uncommon. They are also good for the polity when they are matters of importance to the future of the nation, such as the issue of its structure and continued stability.

    But between this NASS and this presidency, frictions have occurred in small matters that border on pettiness. Such is the matter of the sequence of general election. It is time we saw genuine concern for foundational matters fought out between one unwilling branch of government on the one hand and a willing branch. This is perhaps a wishful thinking on my part and it may border on presumptuousness. How can I be sure that the National Assembly is willing to pursue the important issue of restructuring? Well, I am not sure it is; however, I could see why it should be.

    Both the presidency and NASS have equal stakes in the Nigerian project. While the president was elected directly by majority of Nigerians, members of both houses of NASS were elected by their constituencies across the nation. NASS members represent the interests of their local constituencies. Three quarters of the zones of the nation have expressed support for restructuring in general and devolution in particular.

    After extensive consultations with the people across the six zones, a committee of the ruling party, to which a majority of the members of the National Assembly belong, recommended devolution of power. It goes without saying that the people who elected NASS members are in support of devolution.

    If NASS truly represents the people, it has no choice but to legislate in favor of devolution according to the recommendations of the committee. Therefore, notwithstanding the position of the presidency, NASS has a responsibility to champion the cause that the people demand. This will be its glorious legacy.

     

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  • The mirror of life

    “Do you not see how Allah has set forth a parable of a meaningful ‘WORD’ like a fruitful tree which roots are firmly planted in the earth while its branches sprout magnificently into the firmament of the sky, yielding delicious fruits every season by Allah’s grace? Allah gives parables to men (of reason) that they may ponder and be mindful…” (Q. 14: 24).

    Preamble

    It is rather ironic that even in this age of internet , many Africans (including ignorant Muslims) still perceive Islam as a mere dogma in which riddles, rituals and superstitions thrive. This is quite far from the reality. But it takes only people with functional eyes to perceive the light. Ignorance is a disease which knowledge alone can heal.

    Since the creation of Adam, man has continuously enjoyed the guidance of Allah in one form or another. Prophets have been sent to various societies. Books have been revealed through those Prophets. Parables have been used with references drawn from the past. And warnings as well as admonitions have been divinely issued in those Books. Practical lessons such as the great deluge, the cataclysm of Sodom and Gomorrah, the defeat of Jalut (Goliath) by Daud (David), the doom of the tyrannical Pharaoh, and most recently, the waterloo of Adolf Hitler of Germany have come to man as lessons through which he can re-assess himself.

    All these and many other occurrences have been used as allusion by Allah to remind man of human mortality and to see him through a successful life’s odyssey. But unfortunately, man has always been blind to genuine divine guidance. He has been deaf to warnings and resistant to reasoning as much as he is insensitive to thoughts and inflexible to ideas. In his choice to form freemasonry with Satan (the custodian of ruins and deception), man has ignorantly strayed into a quagmire of sorrow through the millennia. Taking Satan for his best friend, man refuses to use the long spoon with which he is provided by Allah to dine with the damned Lucifer. This was the situation until 610 CE when  Allah decided to chronicle the activities of man from the very beginning of human existence and make it an eternally concrete ‘MIRROR’ through which the descendants of Adam can continue to see life in its past, its present and its near and far future. This ‘MIRROR’ is the Qur’an, the anecdote that heals man’s blindness, the manure that fertilizes the brain and the greatest treasure in possession of mankind.

     

    Features of the Qur’an

    For the rightly guided minds, Qur’an is the eyes with which to see, the ears with which to hear and the sense with which to reason. It is the bridge across the valleys of life, the insurance against damnation, the passport for salvation and the only reliable redeemer of man.

    Qur’an leaves no aspect of life untouched. It leaves no privacy unprotected and no secret unexposed. Problems and solutions; history and lessons; crimes and penalties; justice and righteousness; discipline and courage; friendship and trust; governance and methodology; marriage and divorce; widowhood and orphanage; childhood and inheritance; poverty and wealth; politics and economy; opinion and reason; facts and figures; life and death; darkness and light; war and peace; leadership and power; angels and man; heavens and earth; all these and many other matters form subjects of discussion and guidance in the ‘Divine Diary of Life called ‘Al- Qur’an’.

    For people on the right path, therefore, life begins and ends with the Qur’an, Allah’s own tradition and the only authentic fountain from which man can draw wisdom with which to solve any problem. The sense that reasons with the Qur’an makes no mistake. The mind that thinks with it is never bedevilled. The eye that sees with it incurs no sore. The tongue that talks with it never stammers. The power that rules with it never falls. And the Almighty Allah warns in the Qur’an thus: “But whosoever deviates from My tradition, verily for him is life of subjugation and We shall raise him blind on the Day of Judgment” (Q. 20: 124).

     

     Proof of the Qur’anic revelations

    Charlatans who perceive Islam as a dogma continue to ask for the proof of the genuineness of Qur’anic revelation as if other revelations before the Qur’an do not require proof. In reason and logic, asking for the proof of the Qur’an is like asking the sun to prove its rays. Can anybody reasonably ask for the proof of the hair growing on his head? It is the nature and character of unbelievers to deny the truth and refute the manifest. But does it ever bother the sun in any way that a blind man denies its rays? Or can a brook be affected if a herd boycotts its water?

    To Muslims who deeply understand the tenets of Islam, all the genuine Prophets are from Allah and all the revealed ‘BOOKS’ are series of the same ‘MESSAGE’. This fact has been firmly established in the Qur’an and that is why Muslims are not known for maligning any Prophet or revealed ‘BOOK’.

    Right from its very first day of revelation, the Qur’an has come with undeniable proof. But it takes only a divinely cleansed heart to acknowledge such proof. Qur’an itself is the proof of all other celestial messages that preceded it. It is the final divine revelation which has no human interference or human tampering. Neither Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who brought that ‘MESSAGE’ to mankind nor any of his associates and disciples had a say in it. This Book of the greatest divine message contains no chapters or verses according to anybody besides ALLAH.

     

    Doubting ‘Thomases’

    During the revelation of this Book, Allah had foreseen the reaction of doubting ‘Thomases’ across generations of races whose hymns of denial would come from the abyss of falsehood even as they would cling pathologically to the chord of ignorance. To such ‘Thomases’, the Qur’an owes neither explanation nor apology.

    Qur’an is like gold which everybody seeks directly or indirectly because of its immeasurable value but which only a few can recognize in its raw form. It takes geologists to identify the soil in which gold is buried. It takes miners to mine it out just as it takes smelters to smelt it before the goldsmith can transform it into a beautiful ornament. In the same manner, it takes categories of pious intellectuals to pursue the reading, understanding and interpretation of the Qur’an to a loftily appreciable level.

     

     Islam’s contribution to civilisation

    That the Qur’an is the only revealed ‘BOOK’ in the world today which retains the originality of its language and contents for over 1445 years is enough a testimony to the proof of its divine origin. That also confirms Arabic as one of the oldest languages in the world today.

    If the proof of the Qur’an is not seen in the social, economic and political context of its exegeses, it must be seen in its scientific hypotheses through which Europe came in contact with civilization. It is from those hypotheses that the modern world zoomed into technological advancement through the adoption of ‘Al-Jibrau (called Algebra), Al-Kaymiyau (called Chemistry), Al-Fisiyau (called Physics) as well as the introduction of ‘ZERO’ into numerals which led to the replacement of Roman figures in the 13th century, with Arabic numerals that brought about decimal system and paved way for scientific breakthrough in Human life. It should be recalled that the numerals used in schools today are called Arabic numerals as a mark of their origin.

    Before adopting the Arabic numerals, Europe had relied upon the clumsy system of Roman numerals which called for enormous expenditure of time and labour. For instance, while the Arabic numerals makes it easy for the world to write such date as 1948 in only four figures within a second, it requires eleven figures to write the same number in Roman numerals thus: MDCCCXLVIII. Even if  Islam has contributed nothing more than the decimal system to the modern civilization it has done much more than any other religion. And what is more, the idea of what is called UNIVERSITY today originated from that divine religion. The very first University in the world (University of Cordoba) was established by the Muslims in Spain in the late 9th century based on their Qur’anic guidance. And the three oldest existing Universities in the world today were established by Muslims in the 10th century. They are Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt; Qarawiyyin University in Fes, Morocco and Zaytuniyyah University in Tunis, Tunisia. Yet, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who brought that wonderful ‘MESSAGE’ to humanity was unlettered. However, despite his unlettered status he remains the greatest human being that ever lived throughout the history of man.

     

     Attestation

    It was in reference to this non-such Islamic contribution to human civilization that the renowned French historian of the 20th century, Gustav Le Bon wrote in his book: ‘The Civilization of the Arabs’ thus:

    “At an epoch when the rest of Europe was plunged in the darkest barbarism, Baghdad and Cordoba, the two great cities where Islam held sway, were centres of civilization which illumined the whole world with the light of their brilliance”.

     

     The Prophet’s biography

    Perhaps from the creation of Adam, the first human being till today, no man’s biography has been as much written and read as that of Muhammad (SAW) the Prophet of Islam. This man’s biography has been globally written from all perspectives by various men and women of diverse backgrounds in the past 1445 years or thereabout. And the biography is still being written and re-written authoritatively and un-authoritatively today in uncountable languages.

     

    The message and the messenger

    Through the writing of his biography, some people have zoomed into undreamed fame. Others have sunk into permanent oblivion. No other Prophet’s biography has attracted as many writers from believers and non-believers, from friends and foes alike as that of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Every aspect of his life including the dresses he wore, the food he ate, the way he spoke and the wives he married has come to form chapters in his biography. In short, next to the Qur’an, no book is as much read daily in the world today as the biography of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in one form or another.

    Why is the concentration so much on this unlettered Prophet from Arabia? The answer to this Question is not far-fetched. The world has never produced another personality like him and it will not. He is the seal of all Prophets and the epitome of human exemplariness. In him alone are found all traces of what a decent man should be. From him alone can the obedience to genuine law be learned from all conceivable angles.

     

    Evidence of greatness

    If  Prophet Muhammad had not been an orphan, he would not have been able to guide mankind on how orphans should be treated especially with regards to inheritance.  If   he had not been a husband, his marital life would not have been an example for sensible people to emulate and women’s rights would have been permanently over-sighted. If   he had not been trustworthy, the value of trust would have been lost totally on humanity. If   he had not been a father, the care for children by parents would have been totally relegated to the background.

    If this great man had not been an emigrant , the culture of hospitality universally imbibed today would not have been championed by Islam. If he had not been a warrior, the law of war, armistice and peaceful resolution would not have come into existence. If he had not been a conqueror, the word magnanimity would not have found a place in the dictionary of man. If he had not been a negotiator, perhaps there would never have been anything called diplomacy. If he had not been an arbiter, the virtue of justice would have probably been thrown to the winds and survival in all societies would have been for the fittest alone.

    If Prophet Muhammad (SAW) had not been a ruler, the relationship between the ruled and the rulers all over the world today would not have been different from that of slaves and their masters. If he had not been a democrat , dictatorship in governance would have known no bounds. If he had not been poor, the policy of social welfare adopted in civilized societies in the world today in favour of the poor would not have been possible. And, if, despite all these great qualities in him, he had not been humble and affable, arrogance would have dominated the characters of all privileged people.

     

     Challenge

    Who else can be compared to this man in history? In which other single person have all these qualities ever been combined in history? There can be little wonder then why the concentration is so much on the person of this extraordinary man especially by ordinary foes. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) alive and in death is like a living elephant surrounded by blind men. If every one of those blind men is to give a description of the elephant he would only be able to do so from the perspective of the part he is able to touch on the mammoth animal and not the whole of it. That is Prophet Muhammad (SAW) the like of whom the world had never seen before his arrival and can never see again after his departure. This writing contained a Ramadan lecture that yours sincerely once delivered in a foremost University in Nigeria sometime ago.  Judging by the contents of this article, what else could have served as The Mirror of Life for the wise?. RAMADAN KARIM!

  • The lamentations of a democracy devotee

    It is not supposed to be this complex,” Opalaba thundered, bypassing courtesies as he began a half-hour phone tirade. “Democracy rests on some foundational principles, principal among which is the acknowledgement of the people as the repository of power. From this are derived several others.”

    “The people are to determine the rules, procedures, and practices that will govern them directly or indirectly though their representatives. Where direct decision making is impossible, as in all modern democracies, the people must be trusted as capable of choosing their representatives without undue influence.

    “The representatives so chosen are, to the best of their ability, to represent the interests of their constituencies. While there is a debate about whether representatives should vote their conscience or ascertain the will of their constituencies in pending legislations, it is understood that they would not be representatives if their constituencies had any doubt that they were chosen for their promise to represent them. After all, the wearer knows best where the shoe pinches most. It is the reason that a democracy is rated by how effective the interests of the people are promoted by their representatives.

    “It is this crucial representation of people’s interests as they understand them that is missing in military dictatorships or monarchies and that therefore marks the difference between the various systems of governance. While the former two claim the right to ascertain the interest of the people without consulting them, interest of the people in a democracy is people-based and people-determined.

    “Devotees of democracy, of which I consider myself one, have long insisted that our republic, as a democratic republic, must recognize and respect this vital character of democracy: accord the people the right to determine their interests and elect their representatives based on this determination. Second, the people should have an unfettered right to vote out representatives who fail to represent their interests.

    “It is becoming clear, however, that for many of our politicians, this essence of democracy is unacceptable, clashing as it does, with their unfounded sense of entitlement to the most enduring aspect of individuals’ lives: figuring out what is their interest. But politicians would have no such audacity to impose their ideas of people’s interests on the people in the absence of an unwitting collaboration on the part of the people.

    “Yes, we have strong men and women with a great sense of dignity and integrity who do not compromise with evil. When the battlefront in the war against military oppression was red-hot, they did not flinch. And with pseudo democracy in place now, they are not war-weary. Unfortunately, they are outnumbered and outspent.

    “I know you want to ask why people collaborate with impostors who pretend they know the people’s interests better than the people.

    “The answer is simple. Keep the people impoverished and ignorant. Dole out crumbs from the overflowing table of national treasure which you have criminally appropriated. Make them believe that you are helping them meet their basic needs even when you are discharging the obligations of your office with the resources of the state.  Extract from them the gratitude that you know is undeserved.  Based on their traditional belief in appreciation of good deeds, the people are eternally in your debt.  Once they come to trust you, you could rely on their support even when the cause you advance is against their interest.

    “This has been the pattern of our political participation over the years. It’s been based on personalities and personal relationships rather than ideological beliefs. We sloganize without a grounding in the requirements of the doctrines. Progressive sounds great, so we create “progressive” parties with arch- conservatives as members. Democracy is a political winner, so we create “democratic” parties with rabid dictators as leaders. But they all thrive because people who are drawn to these parties are drawn to personalities and not to any foundational principles. That is why, even when the promises of party manifestos are breached, there are no consequences.

    “Surely, you could be a Puritan or a zealot for democracy and create a platform for genuine progressive democrats. But how far can you go against professionals with deep pockets and deceptively sweet tongues? How far did NCP go? Even with his well-documented record of achievement in the Old Western Region, how far did Awolowo’s UPN go in its quest for a united and progressive Nigeria?

    “But what is the foundation of our present predicament? What is it that makes a simple principle and its accompanying procedure become so complex in our republic? Money, as the old saying has it, is the root of evil. In this nation, it is a trite point to make, but political evil is nurtured by money and the greedy quest for the wealth that it creates. But the entire society, not just the professional political class, is the culprit.

    “If the wealth of the country is harnessed judiciously, there is no reason why we cannot build the nation’s infrastructure to galvanize its economic and industrial development. And this will ultimately benefit everyone including the least endowed. But it appears that our cultural affinity is opposed to the basic tenets of equality of opportunity. We seem to relish a selfish appropriation of as much resources as possible without paying adequate attention to equal distribution. Consider the gap between the super filthy rich and the poor rats among us.

    “We love money and the wealth it creates. Wherever a Nigerian finds himself or herself on the economic ladder, whether as a professional, artisan, janitor, or clerk, he or she is preoccupied with what can be appropriated for self. It accounts for a reporter insisting on bribe for a story to air, a teacher demanding gratification in cash or kind for a passing grade, a police officer pumping bullets on a commercial driver who refuses to bribe him. It accounts for a Senate Committee demanding an upfront cut out of a department’s budget.  This is all in addition to the regular income of these workers.

    “Why do we need all these extras? We do because we have a culture that is obsessed with material accumulation, whether it be vehicles, houses, outfits, etc. Where an average working class American or British has his or her dignity intact with a pair of jeans and a shirt or blouse, doing his or her work and getting by with his or her salary, and holding his or her representatives accountable, an average Nigerian prefers to ingratiate himself or herself to her or his political representative for material gains. You cannot hold a political representative accountable when you depend on him or her for material resources which you crave but don’t need.

    “When our cravings direct us to night vigils with political bigwigs, and we receive an illicit share of the ill-gotten wealth, we are implicated in the ensuing blatant disregard for the people’s right to determine their interests. We are saying to them that the crumbs from their tables are good enough for us. We cannot honorably accuse them of failure to invest in our children’s education. Or in infrastructure. Indeed, how can we legitimately complain when they impose their wills on us by choosing our representatives for us? Or when, in intra-party tribal collaboration, they create loyal factions which they use to upend the majority’s political calculus, what recourse do we have if we have been compromised?

    “From the South-south to the Southeast, from the Northwest to the Northcentral, and from the Northeast to the Southwest, the story is the same. Intra-party crisis deriving from constraints on the people’s ability to choose for themselves is aggravating the stress on democratic structures and institutions.

    “Where are the leaders baked in the oven of democracy when its walls are collapsing around them? Where are the warriors of yesteryears against military oppression when civilian narcissism now holds sway? Where are comrades who initiated and sustained the fight against election rigging in the days of the locust when partisan allies are now the shameless riggers and thwarters of people’s will?”

    My friend never gave me a chance for a word.

     

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  • The Guest of all Swansons

    Preamble

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

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

     

     Guest in Islam

    In Islam, no guest is more venerable than Ramadan. Perhaps, it is more to it rather than to man that Prophet Muhammad referred when he said: “whoever believes in Allah and the ‘Last Day should venerate his guest”. Ramadan’s visiting time is not restricted to any particular season of the year or Gregorian month. Its arrival in the world may be in any season. It is therefore a guest of all seasons.

     

    Effect on Mankind

    With Ramadan as a guest, not only the Muslims but the entire mankind is consciously or unconsciously engaged in hospitable activities. Those who cannot fast in it do take advantage of its presence to  buy or sell some relevant needs and wants. There can be no indifference to the awful presence of Ramadan in any part of the world.

     

    The Coming of Ramadan

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

     

    Its Voyage

    No one except Allah knows Ra,madan’s port of embarkation. No one knows its destination. All we know of it is that of a guest that is so vividly present in human world and yet so invisible. That is RAMADAN for you, the month of forgiveness, liberation and blessings. Its coming every year is often heralded by a retinue of envoys. The months of ‘Rajab’ and ‘Sha’ban’ are the immediate escorts that alert humanity of its imminent arrival. Like the sun in the midst of stars, when Ramadan ascends the throne in full regalia all other months, lunar and solar, quickly take their bow in its honour.

    Call it the king where other months are chiefs and you will be quite right. Call it the doctor in a world of sick people and you will not be wrong. Call it the compass in the wilderness of straying humanity and you would have been precise in truth. Call it the reformer of human soul or  the sterilizer of human spirit or even the purifier of human body and you will not be wrong. In its entourage are equally invisible divine ministers such as piety, knowledge, truth, justice and peace, all of which usher it into the world with splendour.

     

    Meaning of Ramadan

    Having taken its name from a natural healing phenomenon, this ninth lunar month is truly baking in effect. The word:  Ramadan is derived from the Arabic word ramd (meaning to bake). The name emanated from the time before the Islamic calendar, when the month of Ramadan often came in summer. The month thus personifies a baking summer that immediately follows a clement spring. Its mission is to firm up all loose ends in the life of man. And it does that with a touch of perfection.

    For pious men and women, the entire month is spent in fasting from dawn to dusk. Such fasting is not about abstinence from foods and drinks alone. It is also about self restraint from all sinful acts that constitute grave iniquities. As a matter of fact, Ramadan is about repackaging of human  destinies through new and sincere resolutions.

    Figuratively, fasting during this sacred month is believed to be a burner of all sins.

     

    The Month of Revelation

    It was in this glorious month that the revelation of the Qur’an to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) first began.

    In this month, all gates of paradise, according to the Prophet, are open while those of hell are closed. The first ten days in it are pregnant with blessings galore for those of the Muslim Ummah who need blessings and seek them. The next ten days personify forgiveness for those who realize the gravity of their sinful acts, repent on them and resolve never to return to such acts again. The last ten days are meant for the liberation of mankind from the manacles of Satan. Whoever is so liberated automatically becomes like a new born baby arriving in a new world with a tabularasa (clean slate).

     

     The Month of Destiny

    In the last ten days is a particular night called Laylatul Qadr (the night of Power) in which the secret of human destiny is encapsulated. Meeting that night consciously and spiritually is like securing the master key to one’s own apartment in Paradise. But secure such key, one needs to remain awake throughout those nights to be fortunate to meet the great night of Power. Incidentally, Allah did not disclose even to Prophet Muhammad (SAW), which particular night it is. But by asking the Muslims to look for it in the odd nights of the last ten days, the Prophet has helped the global Muslim Ummah tremendously.

     

    Umrah and I‘tikaf

    During the last ten days of Ramadan, some willing Muslims, in accordance with the tradition of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), do go for Umrah (Lesser Hajj) in Makkah or take to I’tikaf (spiritual seclusion) locally, to reaffirm their total submission to Allah. Following this is a special session of charity made compulsory for all Muslims irrespective of age, gender and status. During that session, to give to the poor and the needy is not a matter of choice for those who have enough. This type of charity is called Zakatul Fitr or Sadaqatul Fitr. It is traditionally given in the very early morning of Ramadan Festival Day or the night before it to enable the poor and the needy celebrate the festival with the Ummah in a festive mood.

    The first day of the month after Ramadan (Shawwal) is spent in great celebrations and joy and it is observed as the ‘Festival of Breaking the Fast (Eidul Fitr).

    Where else can one find a guest like Ramadan? Where else can one meet a guest like Ramadan that hosts his host and heals him of ignorance and ailments? That is why Muslims often say in this unique month especially when the crescent is sighted: ‘RAMADAN KARIM’ which means ‘Venerable Ramadan’.

     

     Sighting the Crescent

    To start or end fasting in the month of Ramadan, sighting the crescent is just symbolic. Without sighting the crescent, the indices of recognizing the time to start or end the month are naturally vivid to those who care.

    It is not for fun that Ramadan is preceded by two glorious lunar months of Rajab and Sha’ban. The number of days in those two months is to enable any serious Muslim to know the time of arrival of Ramadan and prepare for it. In Hijrah calendar, no lunar month exceeds 30 days and none is less than 29 days.

    Crescent or no crescent, therefore, it is very possible and easy to know when to start Ramadan or end it every year. The confusion often engineered by some people through the sighting of the crescent is therefore unnecessary and avoidable. If Rajab is 30 or 29 days, no noise is made in looking for the crescent before starting Sha’ban. As soon as Rajab ends, Sha’ban starts.

     

    Dynamism of Islam

    Islam is such a dynamic religion in which things like sighting the crescent are not made rigid. Sighting the crescent is not the only condition for starting the great month. After all, the new crescent is not necessarily visible to all eyes at any given time in any locality. That is why a few people who may be privileged to sight it are implored to invite some others to witness it and then inform the recognized authorities who, in turn, announce the arrival of Ramadan to the Muslim community in the locality or region.

     

    Globalization of Ramadan

    Besides faith (Iman) and pilgrimage (Hajj) which are the first and last pillars of Islam, nothing else is really globally uniform in practical terms with regards to timing in Islam. The variation in geography has legitimized the variation of time in the observance of Salat, Sawm and Zakat. Iman is global because it resides permanently in the minds of the Muslims irrespective of their localities. Hajj is equally global in uniformity because it is performed in only one place at a particular time. In a world where a gap of about nine to eleven hours exists between one part of the world and another, talking of global uniformity in starting or ending Ramadan can only border on sheer ignorance. For instance, it is impossible for the Korean Muslims living in Korea and their English brethren residing in England to start Ramadan on the same day. Even within Nigeria, all Muslims can only start Ramadan on the same day, if they have equal opportunity to meteorological information and geographical atmospheres. And even with that, it is not possible for them all to start or end daily fasting at the same time. That is why the announcement or publication of Ramadan timing can only be according to the various localities.

     

     Geographical Variations

    That Ramadan fasting is prescribed as a universal obligation for all Muslims in a particular month is deliberate. Allah who did the prescription is not oblivious of the geographical variations in the world. Neither is He unaware of the possible invisibility of a new crescent to most eyes at particular times. The design is to allow for the reverberation of the effect of Ramadan across the world. And time variation in worship or celebration of festivals is not peculiar to Islam. Even in Christianity, neither Easter nor Christmas is globally celebrated in one day. And, there is no media noise about it in Nigeria. It is only when there is variation in starting of fast in Ramadan that Nigerian media becomes negatively active in its reportage. As a matter of fact, what is effectively global about Ramadan fasting is the month and not the time of starting or ending the fasting. The time of dawn and that of dusk vary from locality to locality. It is therefore possible for the Muslims in one part of the world to be breaking their daily fast at a time when their brethren in another part of the world are commencing theirs. The genuineness or otherwise of Ramadan fasting is not to be judged by man. That is why Allah is reported by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as saying in a sacred Hadith (Hadith ul Qudsi) thus: “Fasting is mine and I am the One to grant rewards on it.”

     RAMADAN KARIM!

  • Abuse of Ramadan

    IT is rather ironic that today’s world takes Muslims for the mirror through which Islam is perceived when the opposite is actually the case. Just as it is wrong to measure knowledge in an institution of learning by the quantity or quality of structures available therein so it is wrong to use Muslims as the mirror through which to see Islam in its naked and avowed nature. On the contrary, Islam is the mirror through which Muslims are supposed to be seen. Not the other way round. No reasonable person will blame Nigerian constitution for the gross misconduct of some maleficent Nigerians abroad. Nigerian constitution is one thing the misconduct of Nigerians is another. The one is not and cannot be a corollary of the other.

    When this sacred religion was revealed to mankind through Prophet Muhammad (SAW) almost 1,500 years ago, it was with certain fundamental norms meant to guide humanity towards all that is virtuous. One of the most valuable embodiments of Islam is the month of Ramadan. With it, all genuine Muslims rein themselves against satanic recklessness.

     

    Qur’anic revelations

    Here is the sacred month in which the revelation of the Qur’an began in 610 C.E. It was in this divine month that the last divine constitution with which to liberate humanity from the shackles of Satan was revealed. The real spiritual essence of Ramadan is to show mankind the right path to Paradise by guiding them through the transit called the world.

    This symbolic month is like a school in which Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was both the pioneer student and the pioneer teacher. All other students who went through this school or are still going through it are heirs to the forerunners.

    The duty of those heirs is to serve as shepherds for the wandering flock of the universe. This duty confirms man as Allah’s vicegerent on earth. Anyone who is in a position to serve as a shepherd but does otherwise has surely kicked against the rules of his creator.

    Ironically, most of those we perceive as shepherd in our society are worse than the lost sheep they are supposed to guide. For those who know and appreciate it the opportunity of rebirth provided by this sacred month has no duplicate. It is like a ‘once in a while’ train which everyone should endeavour not to miss. Missing it is like missing a lifelong destiny. But will the recalcitrant ones heed the warning?

     

    Season of jamboree

    With the arrival of Ramadan this year a scene of jamboree took over most radio and television stations as usual especially in the Southwest of Nigeria. Many pseudo Alfas who had become redundant will soon start dusting their gowns and turbans for the purpose of sharing from the annual largess which the sacred month comes with. Such pseudo Alfas who might have taken advantage of some ignorant Muslim money bags in the society by asking them to sponsor Ramadan preaching will begin to swarm on the airwaves like bees on a hive. With little or no knowledge at all, those pretenders will pose as learned scholars and start dishing out rubbish by arrogating to themselves the knowledge they do not possess.

    Clerics or charlatans

    One of the characteristics of such ‘Alfas’ is to spend the first 10 minutes or thereabout singing the praises of their sponsors and chanting some irrelevant slogans even as they tell primordial stories which have neither roots nor bearing with Islam. Their trade in stock is to seek relevance by showing their faces on television or by airing their voices on radio stations just to be recognised as Alfas. Such are people who have no knowledge and do not seek it. Rather than guiding ignorant Muslims, which is the primary duty of genuine Muslim clerics, they further mislead them.

    With this category of Alfas, all that matters is the money they want to make through deception as well as the cheap fame they want to gain.

    Thus, year in and out, this is their deed in the month of Ramadan. The impression they give is that Ramadan is an annual religion celebrated with fanfare only in the sacred month.

    The most embarrassing aspect of their action is the faulty recitation of the Qur’an and the shameless misinterpretation they give it. This on its own is not just an abuse of Ramadan but also a flagrant abuse of the Qur’an. Thus, they turn the sacred month into one of gross abuse of Islamic religion. What they do not understand is that the Qur’an in its original form is not just any book which any charlatan can dust up once in a year in order to fetch money for self.

    For the learned, reading any book at all has a purpose and a method. No good reader will ever read a book without taking note of its author, its publisher and its date of publication. And to read any new book, the very first point of call is its contents which tell you the topics and the subjects you will read about in it. Then, to have an idea of the entire book in its summary form, before reading it, a good reader goes straight not only to the introduction or preface to such a book but also to the foreword written on it. The combination of both will surely give the reader a pretty idea of what the book is all about. This is the shortest means of familiarising oneself with a new book before going through its chapters.

     

    Language of the Qur’an

    Most Muslim clerics read the Qur’an in its original language (Arabic) without understanding what they are reading because they do not speak that language.  Some read it as a means of solving their imaginary problems thus taking the Qur’an for a charm which must yield result if manipulated towards their whims. The Qur’an is not meant for that purpose. It is rather the manual of life for man by which he lives his daily life and conducts his daily affairs.

    The word Qur’an means continuous recitation and understanding. It is so called because of its inimitable origin which makes it a compelling daily reading throughout the world, across nations and ages. It is the unsurpassed word of Allah not only in the grandeur of its diction and splendour of its rendition but also in the depth of its meaning, substance and profundity.

     

    Profile of the Qur’an

    The revelation of this Book to mankind through an unlettered desert Arab, Muhammad son of Abdullah and Aminah, began in the month of Ramadan in year 610 CE. It lasted about 22 years (10 years in Makkah and12 years plus a few months in Madinah). The book contains 114 chapters and 6,246 verses (not 6,666 verses often announced by most Imams and Alfas). Any individual can verify this by checking the number of verses in each chapter and adding them together. It does not take more than one hour to do this.

    Of the 114 chapters contained in the Qur’an, 86 were revealed in Makkah and 28 in Madinah. But the 28 chapters revealed in Madinah constitute two thirds of the entire Book. And this is because the Makkah chapters are short and rhythmic while those of Madinah’s  are long and prose-like.

    Although the Qur’an was revealed orally, its writing began almost immediately the revelations started. The writing was however done on primitive materials like wood, animal hides, back of trees and other materials of the like which were then readily available. It was only much later, after the demise of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), that those writings were brought together and compiled into a book . And one of the wonders of recording the Qur’an in writing is the classification of those revelations into chapters and verses by the Prophet himself despite his illiteracy.

    The manner of presenting the Qur’anic revelations is simple and direct. It employs neither artifice nor conventional poses. Its main appeal is to man’s intellect, feelings and imagination. It does not only touch the anecdotes of the past Prophets in different ages and nations as well as the accounts of earlier revelations, it also covers the period from the beginning of creation to the very last Day of Judgment and beyond.

    Not only that, Al-Qur’an also gives insight into some natural phenomena like sphericity and revolution of the earth (Q. 39:5) the formation of rain (Q. 30:48); the fertilisation of the wind (Q. 15:22); the revolution of the sun, the moon and the planets in their fixed orbits (Q. 36:29-38); the aquatic origin of all creatures (Q. 21:30); the duality of the sex of plants and other creatures (Q. 36:35); the collective life of animals (Q.6:38); the mode of life of the bees (Q. 16:69) and the successive phases of the child in the mother’s womb (Q. 22:5 & 23:14). Yet, the purpose of this Book is not to teach history, astronomy, philosophy or sciences. The details of these will be spelt out fully after Ramadan under a theme to be called ‘ANATOMY OF THE QUR’AN’ in sha’Allah.

     

    Controversy

    Meanwhile, there is a raging controversy among Muslim scholars over the first and last revelations in the Qur’an. Much as this controversy is unwarranted, it may be necessary to clear the coast here (without laying any claim to authority) if only for the purpose of authenticating history.

    It is almost a consensus that the first revealed chapter in the Qur’an is Suratul ‘Alaq (Chapter of the Clot). But the very first revelation reaching   Prophet Muhammad (SAW) through Angel Jibril is ‘BASMALAH’

    (In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful) which precedes every chapter in the Qur’an except one (Suratut-Tawbah).

    As a Messenger of Allah to another Messenger of Allah, Angel Jubril couldn’t have commanded Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to read anything without doing so in the name of Allah who sent him with the message.

    Thus, Suratul ‘Alaq, as preceded by ‘BASMALAH’, could only have been the first revealed chapter but not the first revelation. And that is logical.

    As for the last revelation in the Qur’an majority of Nigerian Muslim scholars believe that it is chapter 5, verse 3 of the Qur’an which says: ‘’Today, I have perfected your religion for you and completed my favour on you. And, I am pleased with Islam for you as religion’’.

    That verse of the Qur’an that was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) at ‘Arafah while performing his farewell Hajj couldn’t have been the last revelation. It came 81 days before the demise of the Prophet (SAW). And there was another revelation, thereafter, which came about nine days before the Prophet fell sick and died. This can be found in Qur’an 2: 281 which says: “And fear the day when you shall all return to Allah; the day when every soul shall be requited according to its desert and none shall be wronged”.

     

    Clarification

    The earlier verse was an accentuation of Hajj as the last pillar of Islam. And that was why it came on Arafah Day. The latter is a reminder of man’s final destination and the account of his worldly activities. These and many more are what readers of the Qur’an should know inside out. But the big question is this: who will teach them when the supposed teachers have sold out to money and ignorance? To Muslims who are conscious of their spiritual affinity and retain their conscience for the day they will meet their Creator and account for their deeds on earth ‘The Message’ says RAMADAN KARIM!

     

     

  • While waiting for Ramadan

    AT a time like this when the sacred month of Ramadan is fast approaching as a special guest for mankind, all Nigerian Muslims have a way of preparing for it. But the preparation of most of them is invariably concentrated on mundane rather than spiritual aspects of life. While some Muslims are preparing by gathering food stuffs and house utensils, others only think of what they can benefit from it commercially.  In other words, the month of Ramadan, to many Nigerian Muslims, is a month of commerce in which they can materially become richer.

     

    Ramadan activities

    Of the many spiritual activities that make up the sacred month of Ramadan, only a few are meaningful to most Nigerian Muslims. Many of them have become so much addicted to ephemeral life that the real value of Ramadan is of little concern to them.

    One of the prominent activities in the month of Ramadan is Tafsir. From the beginning of that sacred month, every year, Muslims congregate in various Mosques or learning centres where Tafsir (exposition of the Qur’an) is rendered by scholars. This is in accordance with the Prophetic tradition which encourages better understanding of the Qur’an.

     

    The meaning of Tafsir

    Linguistically, Tafsir means exposition. But technically, it means the comprehensive interpretation and analysis of the Qur’an through elucidation of facts and figures. In other words, Tafsir is the exposition of the contents of the Qur’an, as usually done comprehensively by Islamic scholars during the month of Ramadan throughout the Muslim world.

     

     Qur’an’s coded language

    Because of the coded language of the Qur’anic revelation, it became necessary for the verses of that sacred Book to be decoded for the purpose of thorough understanding by the Muslim Ummah. This confirms that the revelations of the Qur’an were the immediate cause of intellectual research in Islam. For instance, Arabic, the original language of the Qur’an, had no grammar prior to the revelations of the divine message. The grammar of that language evolved only from the contents of the Qur’an.

     

    Challenge

    At the incption of Islam, the challenge which the Qur’an threw to humanity in all spheres of life led to serious intellectual competition among Muslim scholars of the time. Thus, each time a revelation came, the companions of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) wanted to know why and how of every what. And this led to their closer interaction with the Prophet who paved their way towards intellectual research.

     

    Formal study

    Although a formal study of Tafsir as an independent discipline did not begin until some years after the demise of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), he (the Prophet) nevertheless started its process. He did not only givethe exoteric and esoteric meanings of the revealed verses of the Qur’an, he also explained their applications to the daily life of an average Muslim.  For instance, it was the Prophet who decoded most of the coded areas of the Qur’an for proper understanding of the Muslims. Through his utterances and actions which came to be known as Hadith and Sunnah respectively, the contents of the Qur’an became more and more comprehensible to the Muslims.

    Thus, with time, after the prophet’s demise, Hadith and Sunnah jointly became an independent subject of research. And these helped, in no small measure, in expanding the scope of Tafsir. From that, all new discoveries and new frontiers in knowledge were adapted to the study of Tafsir until Tafsir became an estuary through which every stream of knowledge was passed to mankind.

    Ever since, Tafsir has become a unique field of study in which research into all spheres of knowledge has increasingly advanced with resultant development of man. It is through such research that man zoomed into the firmament of science which brought about the current gargantuan civilization wrought by technology.

     

    Impact

    If there are such famous institutions like Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt; Qarawiyyin University in Fez, Morocco and Zaytuniyyah University in Tunis, Tunisia, which are the oldest Universities in the world today it is as a result of the research developed to advance the course of Tafsir.

     

    Philosophical implications

    However, it is understandable that most of the Tafsir books available in the world today are written in Arabic language and the language of the Qur’anic revelation is Arabic. Most of the companions of Prophet Muhammad (PBOH) who interacted closely with him and werprivileged to knowing through him, the interpretation of the Qur’an were Arabs.

    Arabic itself is exceptionally rich linguistically and literarily. And for centuries after the revelation of the Qur’an it was mostly the Arabs who assumed authority on its interpretation. Others like the Persians (Iranians), Indians and Turks who tried to compete with the Arabs in that field, could only do so in Arabic language which they first had to learn.

    Thus, from the beginning, Arabic had been the authoritative language of Tafsir. Whoever wanted to attain scholarship in the field of Tafsir ought to first master Arabic. But the anomaly in that becomes very conspicuous when one remembers that over three quarters of the world’s Muslim population today are non-Arabic speakers. This anomaly seems to be creating some hurdles for humanity in understanding the practical meaning of the Qur’an and in appreciating its real essence.

    There is nothing like being literate in one’s own mother tongue. The Arabs have demonstrated this abundantly through Tafsir. But since Tafsir of the Qur’an is not meant for the Arabs alone, shouldn’t there be a means of making it available to majority of Muslims in the languages understandable to them?

    That is one major question which the global Muslim leadership has not been able to answer for over 1,300 years. The Qur’an is begging for understanding. Overwhelming majority of Muslims is looking for a means of understanding it. There must be a meeting point.

     

    Tafsir in Nigeria today

    The situation of Tafsir in Nigeria today is the same as it is in virtually all the Muslim countries outside the Arab world. That situation does not help the spread of Islam as it does not assist Islamic scholarship.

    Worshiping in the original language of the Qur’an is unique in sustaining the unity of the Ummah and the uniformity of their faith. It also encourages the spirit of brotherhood by almost 1.7 billion Muslims around the world, who are faithful to it. And since the only means of understanding it is Tafsir, language should not be allowed to constitute  barrier.

     

    Valuable gold

    Qur’an is like gold. Making a variety of ornaments from it does not debase it in any form. Neither does such alter its quality in any form. On the contrary, it enhances its appreciation and value. In this computer age, the world needs the Qur’an more than ever before. And it is only Tafsir that can justify that need. Muslims and non-Muslims alike should be able to read the interpretations of the Qur’an in languages they understand. That is a challenge to Islamic scholars of this age. It is also a challenge to Muslim philanthropists around the world who want to give a little back to Allah from the bounties they have received from Him.

     

     Literacy Implications

    Besides the aforesaid, one of the aiding instruments of Tafsir is literacy. The more literate the Muslims are in the relevant language, the more they are likely to understand the Qur’an through Tafsir. That is why the people of the West are embracing Islam in droved due to their understanding of the contents of the Qur’an. And no one who thoroughly understands Tafsir will be ignorant about Islam.

    Muslims who are deeply schooled through the Western system of education will discover that virtually all the sciences, social sciences and arts, originated from the study of Tafsir. Even some scientific terminologies like ‘Al-jibrau’ (Algebra), ‘Al-kaimiyau’ (Chemistry), ‘Al-fisiyau’ (Physics) confirm this. It therefore takes real scholars, not just reciters of the Qur’an or speakers of Arabic language, to be exponents of Tafsir. This is a rare factor in Nigeria.

     

    Translation and interpretation

    There is a sharp difference between translating the contents of the Qur’an and interpreting them expositorily. The one is shallow. The other is deep. Tafsir, during the life time of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was not an annual Ramadan affair. It was a daily practice for scholars who were ardent in it. And that is what it should be to eternity.

    Although Tafsir gains more popularity in the month of Ramadan because every true Muslim wants to get closer to Allah through familiarization with the Qur’an, it is not limited to that sacred month and it should not be seen as such.

     

     Tafsir tutors

    Going by the limit of their knowledge and the extent of their unwillingness to seek more knowledge, only a few Islamic scholars in Nigeria are qualified to tutor the populace in Tafsir. Most of the so-called Nigerian Alfas have turned Tafsir into an annual commercial jamboree which fetches them what they regard as Ramadan booty. Their motive of engaging in Tafsir is more pecuniary than religious. What such Alfas dish out in the name of knowledge is mere of unsubstantiated hearsay than anything else. And that is why most of Nigerian Muslim audiences at Tafsir centres can hardly benefit meaninfully from what they hear in those centres.

     

    Scholars of Tafsir

    Tafsir as a special field of discipline is meant only for research-oriented scholars. But unfortunately, it is one area of study which has very few institutions of learning in Nigeria. Because of this problem, the Qur’an has been translated into only two Nigerian languages so far. These are Hausa and Yoruba. The former was championed by the late Sheikh Muhammad Mahmud Gumi, a leader of Izalah Muslim Organization. The latter was led by the late Sheikh Adam Abdullah Al-Ilory, the founder of the Arabic and Islamic Centre (Markaz), Agege. Both scholars are now demised.

    Today, copies of the vernacular Qur’an so translated can hardly be found on book shelves and they are virtually out of reprint. With this situation, how can Nigerian Muslim populace understand the Qur’an? This is a great challenge to truthful Muslims who are blessed by Allah. They can pull resources together and jointly finance the reprinting of reviewed copies of these Tafsir Books in appreciation of Allah’s special favour on them.

     

    Muslims’ View of Ramadan

    Meanwhile, Muslims in most parts of the world always view Ramadan from economic, social, moral and spiritual perspectives. What they don’t know is that the practical lessons of this divine month are far beyond this scope. Science is in a state of continuous evolution and new discoveries follow one another’s heels. There is a large flow of information coming like a spring from symposia, encyclopaedias and science journals which always put us on our toes for further knowledge.

     

    Biological Implication

    Biologically, human beings grow old and eventually die. Very few people ponder over this occurrence even when they witness it on a daily basis. We have all accepted it as a natural phenomenon which we must willingly or unwillingly abide by. Apart from old age, most people die not because they are naturally ripe for death but because the blood flowing through their coronary arteries clots sometimes prematurely. These arteries must have become hard and rusty as a result of improper diet and other defective factors in our biological set-ups.

    In medical terms, this process is called Atheroma, and many theories have been advanced to explain its mechanism as that of the rustiness of the blood vessels. This is one major area in which Ramadan is quite relevant. Fasting increases the power of the blood to dissolve blood clots whether the clots are in the coronary arteries of the heart that cause heart attack or in the cerebral arteries that cause stroke.

    Fasting, therefore, does not only lower blood pressure and alleviate angina pectoris; it also prevents arteriosclerosis (an arterial disease occurring especially in the elderly, characterized by elasticity and thickening of the blood flow). Not only that. Fasting also reduces the mortality rate of myocardial infarction.

     

    Blood Sugar

    The blood sugar is maintained at a steady level during fasting, the glucose being formed from glycogen and natural fat which have been mobilized to dispose tissue. If, however, there is any tendency of hypoglycaemia (a decreased sugar level in the blood), the adrenal medulla immediately secrets increased amount of catecholamine: adrenaline and non-adrenaline which prepare the body for either or both.

    Ramadan brings about an increase in secretion of growth hormone by the pituitary and which causes an increase in human weight and acceleration of linear growth with widening epiphysis in young animals. Thus, with Ramadan, many human health problems are easily solved. Those who have experienced it can testify to this assertion.

    In a nutshell, Ramadan is a healing month as much as it is an ailment preventive phenomenon. Who wants to live in sickness?

  • On intra-party democracy

    On a representative democracy, political parties are the vehicles for ascertaining and representing people’s interests, and free election is the last hope of citizens to have a say in their government. This thesis is well-established and needs no defense. Dictatorships do not pretend to recognize or respect the people’ s right to have a say in their government. But a representative democracy that recognizes that right must concretize it through periodic elections open to all eligible citizens.

    The issue that has always posed a dilemma for political parties in their role as vehicles for ascertaining and representing the interest of their members is this: are parties also subject to the norms of democracy? If not, why not? If yes, how might they discharge this responsibility and remain free and competitive?

    In what may be described as the distinctive contribution of our political system to democratic practice, we have come up with two answers to this question. But we really appear to have pitched our tent with just one of them. First, to give every party member the right to choose or be chosen as candidates of the party for a local, state, or federal election, we subscribe to the democratic norm which opens the field to every member interested in a political office to canvass for the party’s nomination. Our unique name for this is “direct primary”. Many democrats defend this option for its openness. It is also the practice in advanced democracies.

    Second, however, for several reasons that we have identified to fault direct primary, we devise a different practice toward the same end. In this second practice, candidates for party nomination are elected by party delegates who are themselves either elected through an electoral college system or are selected in virtue of their positions as party executives at various levels, ward, local government, and state.

    One of the reasons we adduce for our aversion to direct primary is that there is a great danger of it creating rancor and bitterness within the party, a self-inflicted wound which may not heal before the general election. Second is the fear of the use of big money during direct primary, a situation that may favor the filthy rich whose purpose is to buy election to serve his or her personal interest without any loyalty to the party’s ideology. Third, even when money politics is reined in, and party members are well-disciplined and capable of making their preference felt though direct primary, the choice they make may be limited by their understanding of the issues. And such popular choices may fail to deliver on party programs.

    For those concerned about the foregoing issues with direct primary, indirect primary is the answer. Notice, however, that each of the two variants of indirect primary solves only one or more problems that have been attributed to direct primary. The system of electoral college does not really solve the problem of the abuse of money in politics. The filthy rich and/or their supporters may still buy the votes of delegates at the various levels. A presidential candidate can use surrogates from ward to state levels to elect his or her preferred delegates to the national convention. This appears more often than we care to admit in our current system. Furthermore, just like in direct primary, there is no guarantee that a candidate elected through an electoral college will be more in tune with party principles and ideology than one elected directly by all eligible party members.

    From the foregoing, it appears that neither direct primary nor electoral college primary can guarantee an outcome that is consistent with the principles and ideals that a party stands for and which it prefers to have exemplified by its candidate. In that case, party leaders may prefer an alternative indirect primary in which they constitute themselves as the delegates for the election or selection of its candidates. After all, the leaders know best where the party shoe pinches. They may therefore use that sacred knowledge to pick “consensus” candidates.

    Beside the assurance that this option avoids electing a candidate who is not in tune with party ideology, it is also presented as one that avoids irresolvable internal conflicts which may jeopardize the interest of the party in a general election. The fear of post-primary conflicts may not be unfounded where electoral malpractice is suspected, or where there are sore losers. While the former can be remedied, the later cannot. What is unclear is how pervasive the phenomenon of sore losers is.

    We may now ask of the alternative of leadership selection by consensus: what recommends it and what is its weakness? It should also be noted that this approach has been used regularly by all political parties in our system since 1999. A second point to note is that in almost all cases where it has been adopted, it does not appear that the leaders see it from any other prism than that it is a second best which is warranted by the circumstance of our immature democracy and the economic deprivation of the populace. Party leaders therefore play the role of benevolent seers who know best the interest of the party and its members.

    A look at one feature of this approach which is usually referenced as its appeal will make the foregoing point clearer. Democracy is adored as a system that respects equality because it affords the people (demos) the opportunity of choosing their leaders. On the other hand, equality without efficiency is an empty rhetoric because a system that protects equality but jeopardizes efficiency cannot deliver the needs of the people. Therefore, democracy must also worry about efficient functioning of the system.

    However, while the masses will benefit from an efficient system, they may not be adept in making the choices that promote efficiency. Therefore, a compromise is needed. Party leaders who have the insight into the quality of candidates offering themselves for its nomination, and who understand the importance of the party’s principles and ideals as well as the requirement of efficiency, should be burdened with the choice of party candidates. Then, in a general election, the masses have a choice between the candidate of one or the other party.

    Obviously, the reconciliation of equality and efficiency on behalf of the masses is a good thing. However, there is no guarantee that this is the motivation of every party leader who embraces the consensus approach. There are selfless leaders and there are selfish leaders. As the skin that covers the stomach prevents us from knowing the innermost part of an evil doer, so we are unable to determine the motive of a party leader who supports candidate selection by consensus.

    Some leaders have effectively used the approach to the benefit of their people and state by identifying and supporting good candidates who turn out to work hard for the people. In other cases, however, the self-serving motive of party leaders has done nothing but hurt the people and the party. Therefore, selection by consensus cannot legitimately be our default position.

    More to the point, however, the argument that direct primary leads to internal conflict is at best tenuous. For if it is not well-managed by a charismatic leader who is trusted by the people, a consensus arrangement is also prone to internal conflict aggravated by the resentment of imposition. Again, we have experienced variants of such crises in our body politic in recent years.

    What then is the best approach? It depends on what our goal is. If our goal is to deepen democracy, then the earlier we started getting our people in the mood, and engaging in serious political education, the better. We cannot continually underrate our readiness for tested democratic practices, without undermining our chance of political maturing. If, on the other hand, we are not worried about democracy but are more concerned about efficiency, then we are likely to grow political leaders who will benefit the masses without giving them the chance to a free choice of their representatives. But, as we know, a tool that is not utilized will soon degenerate.

     

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  • A case for devolution before election

    In a democracy, periodic elections serve several purposes. First, elections ensure that citizens grant their consent to be governed. Second, elections afford individuals the opportunity to choose their candidates for office based on promises made. Third, election is a referendum on the performance of incumbents and on their fidelity to their promises. Therefore, voters must ask, and candidates and political parties must answer, a fundamental question: How faithful have you been to your promises to us?

    While electorates have ample time to ponder who to vote for in the forthcoming elections, political parties and candidates, especially those to whom voters gave their mandate four years ago, must race against time to deliver on their promises.

    Voters can easily evaluate and rate party and candidate performance in the light of the promises contained in their election manifestos. And for political parties and candidates that are still performance-oriented, all they need is remind themselves of where they are in the fulfillment of their promises. The party in power at the center has the most challenging responsibility in this regard. What did it promise and what has it achieved?

    All Progressives Congress (APC) promised heaven on earth. However, many voters knew that it cannot fulfill many of its promises, especially on the economy in four years because of the reality of our economy and its dependence on one product. Surely, much more could have been done if the administration had fully engaged in the first few months of its inauguration.

    Voters also knew that Nigerian corruption is hydra-headed, and it would fiercely resist even the most virulent attack, talk less of a half-hearted one that appears to be sabotaged at every turn from inside. Therefore, even with Mr. Integrity at the head of the battle, corruption has demonstrated remarkable resilience.

    In the matter of security, it has been a case of two steps forward one step backward. Like corruption, despite some great strides in the war against Boko Haram, the terrorists have persisted. Dapchi was a rude shock that the administration and the party had no device to absorb. With the herdsmen-farmer clashes that have left scores dead, a high score on security is a lost hope.

    So, there are failings, some of which are forgivable because of the reality on the ground at the inception of the administration, and others because it is well understood that both party and candidate meant well but were overwhelmed by the challenges that welcomed them to office.

    However, there is a promise whose fulfillment voters unequivocally expected and the breaking of which they will not forgive. This is because, unlike other promises, voters believe that this one is within the power of the new administration and the ruling party. It is also a promise that the party and candidate voluntarily made without duress.

    Prominent on the list of actionable promises highlighted on the website of APC is devolution of power from the center to the states. The party will immediately upon taking power move to amend the constitution to devolve power to states. This was the closest it acceded to the demand for restructuring, a vocal demand of many sections of the country before and during the election of 2015.

    Several months after taking over power, the party set up a restructuring committee. The committee made some recommendations which were applauded by many stakeholders as a first step. APC leadership promised to share the recommendations with the administration and to have a buy-in from Nigerians. Many citizens looked forward to progress on the matter. They have patiently waited for some months and are now wondering if the party and the government intend to deliver.

     

    APC has no good reason to renege on its promise of devolution. The party has control of both the executive and legislative branches at the center. It also controls at least 24 states of the federation the legislative branches of which will be involved in the constitutional amendment legislation. Furthermore, many legislative chambers outside the control of APC are expected to support the amendment. The question is whether the party itself and its leadership are genuinely in favor of devolution in particular and restructuring in general.

    This last point goes to the heart of the problem. Is APC as a party committed to the fulfillment of its promise to devolve power from the center to states? Does the leadership of APC favor a balanced federation that serves the interests of all? Or is the party leadership only paying lip service to devolution as a vote-getting gimmick?

    In 2014, when, after five years in power, the Jonathan administration succumbed to political pressure and organized the National Conference on Restructuring, many of us were genuinely skeptical of the belated move. We thought it was a ruse. APC was at the forefront of the skepticism, deciding not to participate. Then, in its manifesto for the 2015 general election, the party made restructuring central to its platform with a promise to begin the process of constitutional amendment as soon as it took over power. That promise galvanized the electorate, especially in the southwest.

    Three years on, a committee of the party submitted a report recommending devolution. I assume that there have been behind-the-scene debates and deliberations on what to do with the recommendations. The party and its leadership must now know that they cannot continue to take the electorate for granted in this matter. The word of the party must be its bond and must be the basis for the electorates’ decision to support or withdraw support at the next election.

    If the APC and President Buhari want the support of electorates across the country, they should conduct a polling to determine what are the priorities of electorates from different zones. For the South in general and the Southwest in particular, and, to a large extent, the Middle Belt, we know that restructuring is the foremost concern of the public, from the privileged to the wretched.

    But beside what their priorities are, the electorate have a right to hold political parties and their candidates to account and to demand they promote justice. While there are various ways of understanding justice, I find Thomas Hobbes’ definition especially attractive for my purpose. For him, justice is keeping a promise voluntarily made. Conversely, to be unjust is to break a promise voluntarily made. No electorate coerced APC into the promise of constitutional amendment for devolution of power. Though, it is far less than the restructuring that citizens have clamored for in the last thirty years; devolution is what the party promised and why people voted for it. it must deliver on that promise to have any credibility to ask for their vote again. It is simple commonsense.

    Now I anticipate a response. We made other promises beside devolution: to fight corruption, to defeat terrorism, to revive and reform the economy, and we have made progress in the fulfillment of those promises. But while progress is being made on these promises, and while voters understand and appreciate the constraints on the path of government, it is hard for them to understand why the one promise which should be the easiest to fulfill has been left hanging for three years. Indeed, for many citizens, if the government and the party had chosen to make restructuring its priority three years ago, perhaps, they would have made better progress in the furtherance of other priorities.

    For President Buhari and APC, the sun is still up with sufficient drying power if they have the political will to fulfill their promise to devolve power. Otherwise, any new promise by the party will be a hard sell in the south. What might be the promise this time? It cannot be “Change” because that would play into the hand of the opposition. And if it is “Sustaining Change”, the party must be able to itemize the changes that it has succeeded in making which need to be sustained. If it cannot point to devolution as the fundamental change that needs to be sustained, I do not know what might be its raison d’etre.

     

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  • Religion: The price of ignorance

    Preamble

    This article is not new. It was first published in 2012. But it is being repeated here today because of passionate demand for it by many readers who feel it is very relevant to the current Nigerian situation in which religion has become the biggest commercial venture and some so called religious leaders are provocatively dishing out hate speeches in torrents from their pulpits as a form of advertisement to their ignorant congregations.

    Definition of History

    History is an invisible object with two invisible wings flying across generations in time and space. One wing is positive, the other is negative. With history, the present becomes the heritage of the past even as the future awaits the baton of continuity or otherwise from the present. No living nation or tribe or even individual can dream of a realizable future without a veritable present based on the experience of the past. The web of life is like a magnet which no iron element can bypass on its way to ornamental glory.

    Against what ought to be a valuable heritage, Nigeria is, today, passing through a fabric of uncertainty as she rolls back the fibres of the future into those of the present and weaves both into the vestiges of the past. Such is a sign of a dead nation waiting to be interned. What war is not ravaging Nigeria today in spite of Allah’s abundant bounties? The forces of the present seem to have connived with those of the past to wrestle down the future with a determination to deprive the generations yet unborn of any hope of decent existence. From all indications, Nigerians live in a country that is evidently enslaved to her so-called leaders who are politicians.

    For decades, Nigeria had been forced by those so-called leaders to fight wars ranging from political to economic, to social and to ethnic conflicts without winning any. Now, a religious dimension is being added.

    Like a billow vigorously storming around at the instance of an invisible tempest, a melee of religious hullabaloo engendered by a vicious political Pandora has virtually turned Nigeria into a land of curses.

    Youths for peace  

    To avoid the scourge of such a melee or prevent its spread and intensity in Nigeria, some foresighted Nigerian youths (Muslims and Christians) of Yoruba descent bravely took the bull by the horn in 2012. Those youths, led by a versatile Journalist, Adewale Adeoye (a Christian) and a brilliant Lawyer, Shenge Abdur-Rahman (a Muslim) formed an organization named ‘Yoruba Muslim-Christian Dialogue Group’ and organized an interfaith in Lagos on February 23, 2012. The core objective of the group was to foster a stronger peaceful co-existence between the Muslims and the Christians in Nigeria with a view to precluding the growth and spread of Boko Haram carnage in Nigeria.

    The summit which attracted a number of Muslim and Christian organizations as well as some prominent individuals made the gathering to look expressly meaningful. Yours sincerely was one of the guest speakers invited to that occasion. Below is an excerpt from the speech I delivered:

    Purpose of religion

    “….By its design and intent, religion is supposed to be not only a panacea for all human psychological ailments but also a soothing balm for any spiritual ache. Ironically, however, it has been turned into a poison in our society which seemingly has no provision for any antidote. And through our attitudes, we seem to be bent on swallowing the pill of that poison without minding its consequences.

    The factors that culminated in what we now variously call religious militancy, extremism, fanaticism and terrorism emanated only from the yoke of ignorance which bad governance has come to incubate. And could anything have influenced bad governance as much as ignorance? Yet ignorance would not have had a role to play in our religious or political lives if we had demonstrated the will to genuinely follow the tenets of our religions and learn from the lessons of history without banking on mere assumption and rumour.

    History as a teacher

    History as a teacher always has a lesson to teach those who are ready to learn. But unfortunately, most human beings especially Nigerians refuse to learn any lesson from history and the price is what we are paying today.

    In 1962, Nigeria’s Governor General, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe (who later became Nigeria’s first President), paid a three day official courtesy visit to the Premier of Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello in Kaduna. Dr Azikiwe was accompanied by his wife, Flora. The host Premier mobilized all the paraphernalia of office in honour of his guests whom he gave an unprecedentedly flamboyant hospitality. The visit enabled their wives to become so familiar with each other that Flora also invited the Bellos to the East on a similar visit. By the end of the visit, Dr. Azikiwe had become so much impressed that at the point of departure he held Ahmadu Bello’s hands and gently told him to “Let us forget our differences”.

    In response to that emotional but infatuating gesture, Sir Ahmadu Bello said in an equally gentle but emotional baritone voice: “No sir! Rather than forgetting our differences, let us understand them. I am a Muslim and a Northerner. You are a Christian and a Southerner. It is only by identifying and understanding those differences that our friendliness can truly endure”. There and then, Dr. Azikiwe nodded in agreement with his host’s logic accepting the fact that one could not forget what has not been identified. The lesson to learn from this experience is that of mutual understanding without pretentiously sweeping anything under the carpet. That is the principle upon which the marriage of political strange fellows who find themselves in the same political party is often based in Nigeria. It is also the principle upon which the partnership of many Nigerian businessmen and women is based despite their cultural incompatibility.But that principle is not applied to Religion in Nigeria because of the dubious access to cheap Wealth by the so called religious leaders.

    Ignorance from primordial times

    For thousands of years, peoples of all races and tribes across the world thrived vaingloriously on cultural ignorance attributing their calamities to mysterious forces and blaming such mysteries on what they called witchcraft. In the past, here in Africa, millions of children were forced to die in infancy by their own parents out of sheer ignorance while the same parents turned round to blame what they called ‘ABIKU’ or ‘OGBANJE’ for the mass infanticide. With time, however, education and knowledge of science brought about the invention of various vaccines with which children are now immunized against all diseases thereby giving them the opportunity to survive. And this has enabled us to know today that the mystery once called ‘ABIKU’ or ‘OGBANJE’ is a euphemism for ignorance in African mythology of those days.

    Now that the days of cultural ignorance seem to be over, Nigerians have devised another means of restiveness by shifting to religious ignorance which enables them to replace the infanticide of the yore with modern day genocide and this in the name of religion. It is hoped that one day,   knowledge will also help us to overcome the spectre of religious ignorance by the grace of Allah.

    If it had pleased the Almighty Allah to make all human beings one single race with one colour, one tongue and one religion, He would have done so without receiving any query from anybody. But as the Omnipresent and Omnipotent, His decision to diversify His creatures cannot be faulted as it is from that diversity that all creatures have consistently derived benefits. In the world today, there are different races and tribes of human beings with different colours, languages and cultures each functioning as predestined and yet they all interact positively with one another to the benefit of all and sundry.  This is in accordance with the words of Allah in Chapter 49 verse 13 of the Qur’an thus: “Oh mankind! We have created you from a male and a female and classified you into races and tribes that you may interact with one another (and thereby draw from the advantages therein). Verily, the most honourable of you before Allah is the most pious among you. Allah is All-knower and most acquainted with all things”.

    Nature of creatures

    What is true of human beings here is equally true of other creatures. For instance we can all see that on a single arable plot of land, a variety of plants may grow to form an orchard but each with different foliages and fruits. Some of those fruits may be sweet, some may be bitter and some may be sour. Some may be fruitful, some may be fruitless. Some may be trees of gargantuan posture while others may be ordinary legumes. Yet they are all fed by the same soil, watered by the same rain and photosynthesized by the same sun. Their different foliages, sizes, heights and tastes notwithstanding, they all function effectively and advantageously according to the purpose for which they are created. In the ecosystem, no tree in an orchard will ever accuse another of bearing fruits different from its own and no animal will blame another for carrying a different feature or wearing a different colour. Neither will a whale denigrate even a fingerling in the ocean for sharing the same water with it. Ditto the world of birds, reptiles, and that of insects.  Even as plants, animals, aquatics, birds and insects, they know that for everything Allah does He has a purpose which may not be known to them as creatures. It is only among human beings that discrimination and segregation exist based on ignorance.

    Parable of religion

    We can also compare the above analogy to a situation inside a football stadium where there is a variety of sections such as State Box for the upper class, State Box Extension for the Middle Class and popular side for the lower class. At the entrance of the stadium, each person obtains a ticket according to his or her financial ability. And that qualifies him for a seat in any of those sections according to the status of the ticket obtained. Without prejudice to the categories of the tickets they obtain, all the spectators in the stadium are authorised to watch the match for which they have paid. If at the end of the match however, a spectator who was privileged to sit in the State Box turns round to say that another who sat at the popular side of the stadium did not watch the match others around them will sarcastically conclude that something might have gone wrong with the psyche of the accuser. The positions from which those spectators watched the match might be different but the fact remains that they all watched the same match. That is the parable of religion in the lives of individual human beings.

    A famous German dramatist and critic Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781) once made a related axiomatic statement in a stanza thus:

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

     The mission of religion

    In Islam, revealed religions are like an embassy established by a nation in another nation to strengthen her relationship with the host country. The Ambassadors appointed to manage such embassy, can be changed from time to time just like the foreign policy which guides those ambassadors but the embassy remains intact barring any unforeseen circumstances. So is the case with the Prophets of Allah. They might have come at different times and from different lands and tribes. They might have brought different books and spoken different languages but their mission was one and the same. Muslims believe that all the Prophets and Messengers who have come into the world to guide mankind were from one and the same God who created the universe. Thus, Prophets Ibrahim (Abraham), Ismail (Ishmael) Ishaq (Isaac), Musa (Moses), Daud (David), Isa (Jesus) and Muhammad (SAW) as well as others who preceded them or came in-between them brought the same message of monotheism through which mankind was counselled to worship one God and be upright in conduct.

    In Qur’an Chapter 2 verse 285, Allah admonishes Muslims against discriminating among His Apostles thus: “The Apostle of Allah, Muhammad, (SAW) believes in what has been revealed to him by his Lord, and so do the (Muslim) faithful. They all believe in Allah and His Angels, His Books as well as His Apostles. We do not discriminate against any of His Apostles. They say ‘We hear and obey. Grant us your forgiveness oh Lord! To you we shall all return”.

    Religious rivalry

    As a Muslim, you cannot believe one of those Apostles and disbelieve others. Neither can you believe in one of the revealed Books while disbelieving in others. That is why no true adherent of Islam will ever express foul language against the person of Jesus or blame the misdemeanour of a Christian on Christianity as some Nigerian Christians do against the person of Prophet Muhammed(SAW) and Islam as a religion. Were Nigerian Muslims also to bring such a disgruntled rivalry into religion, the country called Nigeria would have long been forgotten especially in their preachings.

    Unity of God

    Though the modalities for worship may differ from faith to faith and from sanctuary to sanctuary this does not change the course of their faith in only one God. Thus, the rivalry between Muslims and Christians especially in Nigeria over who is spiritually right or wrong is a product of ignorance.

    As taught by Christianity and Islam through their respective revealed Books, the areas of life that need our cooperation are by far more comprehensive than those in which we differ. For instance, both the Bible and the Qur’an counsel humanity to worship one God. They preach good deeds to neighbours and other fellow human beings publicly and privately irrespective of religious lineage. They advocate good care of our parents, our children, the aged ones amongst us and the handicapped. They urge kindness to our wives and leniency with our adversaries. They admonish us against cheating and any form of corruption. They forbid theft, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism and above all the killing of fellow human beings extra-judicially for whatever reason. They also warn us against provocation, aggression, exploitation and transgression even as they emphasize the ephemerality of this world and the eventuality of the hereafter. In all these, we have a common affinity to jointly guard.

    The few areas in which we differ are abstract and quite personal. They are not areas in which human beings are given the power to pass judgement. Only the Almighty God can judge on them. Such are the areas which we believe will pave our ways into Paradise. But since paradise is for individuals and not for religious blocks why are we fighting each other? After all, the journey to Paradise or Hell is a matter of choice for every individual. And no one can tell with precision who will go to Paradise or go to Hell. Such is the prerogative of God which He has not assigned to any human being and which no human being can and should arrogate to himself or herself except one who wants to play God.

    As an adherent of a religion, you can only perceive your God according to your faith and that should not cause any rancour between you and adherents of any other religion. As Nigerians, we dwell in the same country, eat the same foods, drink the same water, wear similar dresses, trade in the same markets and spend the same money. Our children attend the same schools, write the same examinations and obtain the same certificates. We intermarry across tribes and ethnicities as well as religions. All these form a stronger bond that ought to unite us much more than the abstract ones which often threaten to divide us. In a situation where the factors of life that unite us grossly surpass those that divide us will it not be stupid to sacrifice unity and cooperation?

    Conclusion

    With the formation of this interfaith group (Yoruba Muslim-Christian Youth Dialogue Group), I am beginning to see a future of harmony in Nigeria not only in the sphere of religion but also in the social and political spheres as well. This is the time for change. We cannot wait any longer. Let the Christians amongst you engage in Crusade and the Muslims in Jihad against all vices in the society which the two revealed Books (Bible and Qur’an) abhor. Let all of you jointly cooperate in upholding the values of life as contained in the Bible and the Qur’an. And with this, in the very near future, we shall find ourselves in a new world of peace and harmony.

    God bless you all”.

  • Buhari and the head wind ahead

    President Buhari has finally declared publicly what, based on his body language, most Nigerians have speculated for months.  He is running for a second term in 2019 in response to the clamor by Nigerians.

    The announcement before the National Executive Committee (NEC) of APC was without fanfare, made off the script of his prepared statement which was subsequently released to the public by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity. Nonetheless, it reverberated across the political landscape at home and abroad. Reactions were swift from friends and foes alike.

    The president’s declaration has changed the subject of interest from the question whether he should run. As we know, several citizens had raised that question from both friendly and unfriendly motives. On the friendly side, many are genuinely concerned about the president’s health and would rather he take care of himself after the experience of the past year. For some of these concerned individuals, there is no need to pay the supreme sacrifice for your country in a period of peace if it can be avoided. But beside his health, another concern of those in those group is about the president’s age on the suspicion that the presidency will pose a serious challenge even to a robustly healthy 75-year old.

    While we cannot doubt the genuineness of those concerns, it is also fair that only Buhari knows how he feels health-wise. And we can assume that a rational human being will not deliberately and deliberatively put his life in jeopardy just so he or she may serve as president. And since this is a voluntary decision on his part, we may assume that he has thought through it and has concluded that he could run a campaign and, if elected, serve as president for another term without negatively impacting his health. Presumably also, he has had a discussion with his physicians.

    The matter of age, while important, is also not decisive for a person to decide on running. By itself, chronological age may be trumped by a good mental age marked by sharp memory, mental alertness, and capacity for quick thinking. If these are lacking, then age ought to be a decisive factor because the capacity for effective governance may be quite weak.

    On the unfriendly side are those who question the effectiveness of Buhari’s first term. For these group, the promise of economic growth has not been fulfilled. Even when they admit that the president inherited an economic mess and had to deal with the combined effects of oil glut and militant activities in the oil producing areas, they faulted his slow response, which in their view, worsened the economic situation.

    The president’s foes have also latched on to the incessant challenges of insecurity in view of his campaign promise to put security at the front burner of his priorities in office. They concede that Boko Haram has been denied a claim to space; but they point to the new wave of abductions as evidence of the failure of the war against terror. Furthermore, they argue that the intensity and frequency of the herdsmen-farmer clashes in the last three years and the apparent inability of the government to find a solution thus far does no credit to the administration’s claim to unparalleled expertise on security, a selling point of the president in 2015.

    Then, there are the more disturbing accusations. Buhari was presented as the foremost anti-corruption czar in 2015 and many still applaud him for his austere personal life. He has also shown how disciplined the first family should be as a national role model. Yet, the president has been accused of waging a partisan anti-corruption battle which targets only members of the opposition. While a few members of the ruling party have been targets of investigation by the EFCC, none appears to have been convicted. But this is also the case with many of the corruption cases handled by EFCC. Three years in, while announcements are made from time to time about voluntary forfeitures of assets acquired through corruption, hardly have convictions been secured against any of the accused.

    The most serious of the allegations against the president, in view of the demographic reality of the country, is nepotism. Former President Obasanjo made a strong case of this with a focus on appointments into national security positions, which now appears to have a preponderance of incumbents from one part of the country. The presidency has denied any nepotistic intent and the president himself has promised to review those appointments.

    In view of the foregoing, it is necessary to address the question: how strong and damaging is the head wind facing the president in 2019 and how prepared is he and his party to face them?

    Now this question assumes that the president will be nominated by his party. I think this is a reasonable assumption. Without approaching the hubris of the president’s adviser comparing potential contestants to dwarfs, it is not likely that any serious candidate will compete with the president for the nomination of the APC. Therefore, the head wind that we are concerned about applies to the general election when he is sure to have formidable candidates from other parties including PDP and SDP, which is looking like the preferred umbrella for other opposition parties.

    But before he confronts the head wind, Buhari must also deal with pockets of turbulence, the fiercest of which is internal party dissent. To pursue the flight analogy further, a pilot must have his aircraft in good shape and his co-pilot and crew members on the same strategic page with him to be able to steadily navigate a head wind. A weak engine or an uncooperative crew is a potential disaster in the making.

    Can Buhari count on his party to confront the head wind ahead? A leader of the National Assembly recently expressed to me his concern. According to him, the greatest threat to APC is internal to it. He discountenanced the opposition as weak and disorganized. But he believes that APC would lose a general election if it was held today because of the serious crises of confidence across the various constituencies: national party leadership versus political office holders, National Assembly versus Presidency, governors versus ministers, governors versus state party leaderships, and local government leaders versus governors.

    The president himself has been fingered as a witting or an unwitting contributor to these party crises with his hands-off leadership style which allows an organizational wound to fester almost beyond healing before acting. Can he now heal this wound effectively enough to deal with the strong head wind sure to intensify with strategic fanning by the opposition?

    The president’s team may characterize the opposition as desperate. What is certain is that it is determined to deny Buhari a second term. For the president, a consolation is that each opposition party is also disorganized. But if they unite their forces against APC, and they attract some dissenting forces from the rank of APC leadership as the latter did in 2015, then they are capable of another historic upset. This could be the strongest potential head wind.

    The president is vulnerable to some specific gusts of oncoming wind and he better be prepared to confront them. How will he address the charge of nepotism? Or of presiding over a slow economic recovery? Or alleged insensitivity to victims of insecurity from Boko Haram to Herdsmen atrocities? Or the greatest threat to national unity since the civil war under his watch?

    While it must be conceded that the interest of the opposition is well served by bringing up charges of incompetence against an incumbent, we must remember that the same strategy served the president and his party well in 2015. What they need now is a response that is sincere and effective. It will not do to dwell on name-calling or passing the buck. As the head of the ruling party and the government that it represents, the buck stops at the desk of the Number 1 citizen. Is he sufficiently strong to confront the head wind coming at him?

     

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