The Nation Newspaper

Category: Friday

  • Jerusalem: The world’s bitter harvest

    Jerusalem: The world’s bitter harvest

    “…And fear a calamity that may descend not only on those who caused it (but also on others who had no hands in its cause); and know that Allah’s retribution can be very severe”. Qur’an 8, Verse 25

    Preamble

    Foresight is a product of intuition. A person without intuition cannot be foresighted. And intuition is Allah’s special endowment for some rightly guided human beings.

     

    Admonition

    On Friday, January 20 2017, the day a new American President, Donald Trump, was sworn into office as successor to President Barak Obama, yours sincerely intuitively wrote an article published in this column. It was entitled “Welcoming A Trump of Sadism”. An excerpt from that article goes thus:

    “Like the hands of a clock, many democratic countries in the world swear in a new President every four or five years at the exit of an old one since that tenure of office is often renewable. Now, it is the turn of the United States of America to do that again. And the man to take charge as from today, for the next four years, all things being equal, is called Donald Trump, a man that most people including Americans, have seen as a wild bull surging into a china shop. Two weeks before the publication of that article, another article relating to the same subject had been published also by yours sincerely in this same column. It was entitled “Waiting for January 20, 2017”. In the latter article, yours sincerely cited the example of Adolf Hitler’s oath of office and his inaugural address of 1933 that culminated in history’s worst disaster called  World War II which started in 1939 and ended in 1945. The dramatic events within that period of 12 years were the dominating factors of the 20th century history. Here is the excerpt:

     

    Oath of Office

    “As from today January 20, 2017, Donald Trump’s oath of office will become the symbol of despotism for the seeming global anarchy ahead. His assumption of Office as the 46th American President, subsequent to that oath, will confirm the loss of America’s long time cherished glass house that has always been a proud heritage.

    From the look of things, a wild bull may be taking over in the world’s china shop most likely to confirm the contents of a popular 20th century Irish poem by W. B. Yeats published in 1921 by William Butler. (W. B. Yeats was the original author of “Things Fall Apart”).

    In that sadistic poem, Yeats really proved to be the drummer for certain future dragons that would dance sadistically on the surface of a tragic brook.  One of those dragons was Adolf Hitler of Austria who became the Fuhrer (the Leader) in Germany. Another is a 21st century American President named Donald Trump who the world is unlikely to watch with comfort. Incidentally, both ‘dragons’ cultivated their satanic pedigrees in Germany….”

     

    Yeats’ Poem

    “The Yeats’ poem that formed the drum to which Trump will dance with uncalculated steps starting from today is as follows:

    “Turning and turning round in the widening gyre, the falcon cannot hear the falconer;

    Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

    Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world;

    The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere, the ceremony of innocence is drowned;

    The best lack all convictions, while the worst are full of passionate intensity”. The Falcon in that poem is Donald Trump while the Falconer is the United States herself”.

     

    The meaning of Trump

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

     

    Illegal recognition

    On December 6, 2017, almost one year after assuming office, President Donald Trump of the United States addressed a Press Conference in at the White House in Washington in which he declared the whole of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The rumour about that illegal declaration had been dustily thick in the air before now. Although President Trump gave two reasons for his illegal declaration none had a realistic genuineness. The first reason, according to him, was fulfilment of his campaign promise to the American electorate. The second was what he called the reality on ground in the disputed Jerusalem territory. The real truth of the matter is that Trump is ambitious to be an American hero. Thus his short course to realizing that ambition is to call the illegal declaration his greatest achievement in one year when he celebrates one year in office in January 2018.  It must be recalled that in the UN resolution on the status of Jerusalem to which the US is a signatory, it was agreed that to ventilate the atmosphere for permanent peace in the Middle East, a two state solution should be adopted in the controversial land whereby Israel and Palestine would co-exist as two separate states sharing one capital city as a matter of expediency. That resolution had proposed West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine. But with Trump’s unilateral declaration of the whole of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel last week, without any consideration for the UN resolution and the plight of the Palestinians whose home land had been forcefully occupied in 1948 by the Zionists with the aid of Britain and the US, a declaration of another World War seems to have occurred.

     

    The grand design

    The Israeli/Palestinian crisis is not new and it did not start in 1948. The design for that crisis had been placed on a clandestine table about 115 years ago.

    That grand design was first expressed in 1902 by a British Prime Minister, Sir H. Campbell-Bannerman as follows:

    “There are people who control spacious territories teeming with manifest and hidden resources.  They dominate the intersections of world routes. Their lands were the cradles of human civilizations and religions. These people have one faith, one language and the same aspirations. No natural barriers can isolate them from one another….If, per chance, these people were to be unified into one state it would then take the fate of the world into its hands and separate Europe from the rest of the world. Taking these considerations seriously, a foreign body should be planted in the heart of this nation to prevent the convergence of its wings in such a way that it could exhaust its powers in never- ending wars. It could also serve as a spring board for the West to gain its coveted objects”.

     

    Follow Up

    Sir Bannerman’s observation was in further pursuit of an earlier demand by Theodor Herzl, a leader of the Zionist movement founded in 1879. Herzl, an Austrian Jewish lawyer and journalist demanded thus:

    “Let sovereignty be granted us (Jews) over a portion of the globe large enough to satisfy the rightful requirements of a nation; the rest, we shall manage for ourselves…”

     

    Balfour Declaration

    In response to Theodor Herzl’s clandestine demand, another British Prime Minister, James Arthur Balfour issued a devastating declaration that now bears his name which conceded a major part of Palestine to the Zionists as a home. That (Balfour) declaration has since put the Middle East in an incessant turmoil. It read thus in part: “His majesty’s Government views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people and will use its best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this objective…. The rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country shall not be prejudiced by the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people”. The original thought was to secure the Present Uganda, an African country for the settlement of the Jews which would be named Israel. But the remembrance of  Kenya’s Mau Mau uprising during that country’s struggle for independence from the British colonialists changed the thought as Palestine was found more suitable as Jewish settlement because of common traits among the Jews and the Arabs.

     

    Implementation

    To facilitate that objective effectively, some other Middle East countries had to be incapacitated economically and politically by excising from them, a juicy chunk of their lands. Thus, Lebanon was excised from Syria and Kuwait from Iraq to create a passage route for the Western countries to the East. The strategy was to cause a dissention among the citizens of those Arab countries with the intention of breaking the yoke of the Muslim unity which Bannerman had targeted in his infamous observation quoted above.

     

    Occupation strategy

    When the British colonialists that had ruled Palestine for decades wanted to leave that territory, they just suddenly did so without handing over authority to anybody. The strategy was to enable the Jews who had been secretly invited to the land and militarily equipped under the British rule to take over the land by using the weapons in their possession. And that was precisely what the Jews did to gain the control of the Palestinian land in 1948.

     

    Reactions

    Shortly after Trump’s catastrophic pronouncement, prominent people around the world started to condemn it as an illegal unilateral decision that would never be implemented. Among those people were the Secretary-General of the United Nations, The Pope, The President of France, The Chancellor of Germany, the Prime Minister of Britain, the Presidents  of Turkey, Egypt, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and a host of others. The Kings of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Qatar have also condemned Trump’s reckless pronouncement and described it as outrageously rude.  Even some scores of Israeli citizens including members of Knesset (Israeli Parliament) who know the implications of Trump’s illegal decision have staged (peaceful) demonstrations in front of American Embassy in Tel Aviv to express their objection to that unilateral and disastrous decision that could subject them to unnecessary insecurity. And in the US, quite a number of prominent people including top Republican party members and Senators have described Trump’s decision on the status of Jerusalem as an embarrassing major flaw that could entail dangerous backlash for America.

     

    UN’s Emergency Meeting

    Meanwhile, as a practical demonstration of its expressed condemnation, the United Nation’s Security Council quickly called an emergency meeting to assess the implications of Trump’s unilateral decision and to deliberate on the Council’s next stage of action as well as global way forward. When the matter was put to vating, 14 out of 15 members voted against Trump’s decision.

     

    EU’s position

    On its own, the European Union as a conglomerate of major countries in Europe with common belief in matters of common interest has taken a position on the controversial issue. It will be recalled that for many years since the end of the World War II, EU has been in strong alliance with the US through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). And that military alliance has strengthened their economic ties with the Us inspite the random inadequacies of the latter. But  in recent times, the relationship between the two blocs has been deteriorating at the instance of President Trump whose unbridled arrogance has become an unmanageable embarrassment to EU. Just a couple of months ago, Trump suddenly pulled the US out of the global climate change group with total disregard for appeals against such decision. Now, with the current crisis created by his unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as Israeli capital, EU has started a tacit review of its political and economic relationship with the Cow Boy’s country called America. If that position is backed up by law, the US may shrink back into her pre-World War II Isolationism that may remove her from the position of the first role player in the world.

    This is an indication that if Americans do not act fast to checkmate this 46th US President called Donald Trump, he may become the final nemesis of the American Empire.

  • At the edge of hell

    Consider with me the following stories. First, a man sold his one-year old baby for N190,000. He also sold a neighbor’s son for N120,000. For what purpose? It was to raise funds to bury his mother-in-law. This is in 21st century Nigeria.

    Second, as The Nation reported recently, a father, alleged to have regularly defiled his daughter and threatened her with death if she ever revealed the secret, impregnated the 10-year old. The case was heard at a magistrate court in Lagos.

    There is a third case. A 31-year old man was docked for allegedly defiling two sisters whose parents were his neighbors. This happened when the girls’ mother was sick in hospital. The girls were 2 and 4. He first assaulted the 2-year old. It was when he assaulted the 4-year old a day later that he was apprehended.

    Are these true stories or are they fictitious?  Multiple media sources reported the first story. The second and third were reported by The Nation. All cases are presently being litigated in the judicial system. But as we know, however the legal outcome turns out to be, it cannot determine the moral perversion they represent. These cases are a striking reflection of the state of the nation’s moral abyss. We are at the edge of hell.

    Here, I focus on the first case. There is a Biblical account of something more sordid which occurred at the depth of the famine that occurred in Israel during the reign of Jehoram when Samaria was besieged by the King of Syria. In 2 King 6: 26-30, we read of two women who made a pact to eat their sons one after the other. They killed and ate the son of the first woman. But on the second day when the son of the second woman was to be killed, the mother backed out and hid her son. The first woman whose child had been eaten protested to the king. Upon hearing her complaint, the king tore his garment and covered himself with ash, a cultural sign of grief.

    Though time is hard for many people with high unemployment and poverty, Nigeria is not in a famine. And though, the case of baby selling is not as grievous as that of infanticide, it is ironically worse in view of the purpose for which it was allegedly carried out.

    Our fellow Nigerian sold his daughter and his neighbor’s child to fund the funeral of his mother-in-law. Not too long ago, this moral perversion was unthinkable. Traditionally, we value children more than gold. Omo laso (Children are irreplaceable outfits) is how the Yoruba verbalize it. One would sell one’s possessions to take good care of one’s children. Grandparents are sometimes even more invested in their grandchildren than the parents.

    How is it even imaginable that a child can be sold out for the funeral expenses of his grandmother? In what universe of values is this reprehensible act possible? Only in a universe devoid of values. That is where beloved country is right now. How did we get here? Where are the purveyors of national values? Where are the preachers? Where are the custodians of traditional values? Where are the political leaders?

    I start with political leaders. In the biblical story referenced above, Jehoram, the King of Israel tore his garment upon hearing the complaint because the case drove a sword through his heart. In the nation that he ruled over, it had come to that point when mothers resorted to infanticide and cannibalism because of famine. It broke his heart.

    Does the story of child kidnapping, abduction, and selling break the heart of any Nigerian political leader? Does it occur to any political leader how their policies and practices might contribute to such morally repugnant and callous actions on the part of their fellow compatriots? Do they bury their heads in shame or do they laugh it off as they wine and dine with their mistresses in their private clubs in Dubai or Paris?

    “How is this a matter of shame for political leaders?” you ask. The question is reasonable, but it shows a lack of familiarity with the constitution which each of them swore to defend and protect. Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution imposes certain duties and responsibilities on the state and thus on the leaders who voluntarily undertake to serve.

    As declared in the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, among others, those responsibilities include 1. “the security and welfare of the people” as the primary purpose of government; 2. furthering a social order in which (a) the sanctity of the human person is recognized, and human dignity is maintained and enhanced; and (b) “children, young persons, and the aged are protected against any exploitation whatsoever, and against moral and material neglect.”

    Surely, the security and welfare of the vulnerable among us, including children and the aged, is the constitutional and moral responsibility of the state and its leaders who ought to model decency, modesty, and dignity that followers emulate. While a few have been conscientious in the discharge of this responsibility, the majority have been the most despicable in its violation. They model ostentation and recklessness which followers struggle to copy. The result is the torpedo of ageless cultural values in pursuit of vainglory.

    Religious leaders, especially those in the Pentecostal Order of Prosperity, are in general, not better off. While they are supposed to serve as the conscience of the nation, calling out sinful leaders as John the Baptist and his predecessors did, not minding the sacrifice that it involves (Elijah, Elisha and John suffered immensely in the hands of hostile kings); their focus is on peripheral matters such as the scriptural status of tithing. Those genuinely called to the ministry are in the minority. Those for whom the ministry is an alternative career for money making are many. In the circumstance, it is hypocritical of them to preach against the immoralities they themselves indirectly embrace.

    On their part, traditional leaders, who are the custodians of the cultural values that are at the foundation of the nations that make up the country, find themselves at the crossroad of history. On the one hand, even if they are so inclined, they are no longer effectively in charge of their territories and so cannot evoke the authority of their ancient gods to sanction violators of tradition. On the other hand, however, many of them have been coopted into the club of modernity with emphasis on conspicuous consumption and possessive individualism. Therefore, they are not able to model modesty and integrity. Indeed, the partnership between traditional and political leaders have made matters worse for the values that make a nation great. How can traditional leaders serve as brake on the accelerator of political leaders when they depend on the latter for their own survival?

    What makes our sample case so morally egregious is its combination of two atrocities. First is child abduction, which is against the constitution as discussed above. Second is desecration of the dead. This needs explaining.

    To bury his mother-in-law, the suspect in our case sold his son and neighbor’s son. By so doing, he has tarnished the memory of his mother-in-law whose spirit must be turning in the grave that such an atrocious act was committed in her name and for her sake. We are not told how old the mother-in-law was. But I venture a guess that if she was properly taken care of in her life-time, she would probably still be alive. I further hazard a guess that the woman would have preferred to be laid down to rest without fanfare knowing the financial condition of her daughter and son-in-law.

    There is another angle to the story. Many human beings are worried more about their reputation among their peers than about the deceased when they are unable to meet their public expectations concerning the funeral of their loved ones. This is an irredeemably obnoxious aspect of the modern Nigerian culture which reasonable citizens concerned about the future of the nation and her people must condemn.

     

    Follow me on Twitter:

    @SegunGbadeg2002

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  • The JAMB revolution

    The JAMB revolution

    “You can never change things in a society by fighting the existing reality.
    To change something, you can only build a new model that can render the existing model obsolete’’.

    Preamble

    Readers of this column are implored to read the above quotation once again and they will better understand what the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is currently doing in Nigeria for Nigeria’s progress.

    The changes that had caused human progress in history were often never compatible with the existing perennial traditions of those humans because of the revolutionary tendencies of those changes. Whether in the primordial or contemporary time, revolution has effectively proved to be the main determinant of human progress as it occasionally becomes inevitable in human life. The only alternative to it is stagnation. A society without revolution, no matter how randomly it may be, will surely be stagnant.

     

    History of JAMB

    When the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) was established 40 years ago (1977), it came as a revolution which the then existing tradition of seeking university admission through concessional examination first tried to resist. At that time, only about six full-fledged universities were in existence in Nigeria. They were called ‘First Generation Universities’. The six Universities were Ahmadu Bello University, University of Benin, University of Ibadan, University of Ife, University of Lagos and University of Nigeria, Nsuka. Nevertheless, the first UTME conducted by JAMB took place in 1978.

    Before the establishment of JAMB, university admission seekers either gained admission directly through Advanced Level of General Certificate of Education (GCE A/L) or through concessional entrance examination which could qualified them for admission into Preliminary Level.

    However, with a sudden surge in the population of admission seekers, JAMB was established to ensure a uniform national standard of university education. It was meant to serve as a higher regulatory body for the conduct of Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) just as the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) served at the secondary school level. The Board was established during the regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo as Military Head of State.

     

    Stakeholders’ meeting

    About three weeks ago, November 15, JAMB called a national critical stakeholders’ meeting on Plans and Modalities for Sale and Registration of 2018 UTME application forms. The attendants of the meeting included some members of National Assembly, representatives of educational institutions, regulatory agencies, CBT Centres (public and private), parents otherwise known as NAPTAN, secondary school teachers otherwise known as ANCOPSS as well as students, the labour unions, Civil Societies and the Media.

     

    Review of 2017 UTME

    Before discussions on the plan for 2018 UTME began, a review of 2017 UTME was thoroughly done by the participants. It was a sort of public assessment of the 39th UTME conducted by JAMB since its establishment.

     

    Noted points

    In that assessment, the following points were pointed out and noted: ePINs were sold through Banks and partner Institutions JAMB implemented a central ePIN vending system Other channels employed for the same purpose included Switches like Remitta & Interswitch  Registration was essentially for a period of one month  (with additional two weeks which the House of Representative proposed and approved as extension).

     

    Observation

    During the deliberations, the following observations were made in respect of 2017 UTME:

    Extortion from candidates during profile/email creation at cyber cafes Illegal sale of eBrochure & eSyllabus CDs to candidates when those materials were meant to be free Illegal collection of gate fee at CBT Centres Illegal sale of Reading Text Usage of CBT centre emails & Telephone numbers for candidates CBT Extortion of candidates – charging fees above the approved rate Subletting Access Codes to cyber cafes Going outside the approved locations to register candidates, on & off line Duplicating biometric capturing to candidates and thereby encouraging Multiple Registration.

     

    The 2018 UTME procedure

    The following guidelines were unanimously adopted and approved by the stakeholders: Prospective candidates can start registration from their homes through the use of their cell phones to prevent extortion     www.jamb.gov.ng Prospective candidates are expected to have visited the JAMB website ahead of registration to study and understand the 2018 ebrochure.

     

    Registration process

    Prospective candidates may create their profiles by writing their Surnames, First Name and Middle Name in that order (where applicable). Such profile should not exceed 38 characters with two spaces between names to make 40 characters in all using the following code to 55019. And this should be sent to JAMB. In doing this, one cell number (mobile number) can be used by one candidate only Thereafter, a confirmation code of 10 characters will be received by the candidate on the same telephone number which will be used to procure the ePIN.

     

    Profile self help

    In case of mistake in or loss of data in the process of profiling, the following process should be followed to correct the error: To correct a mistake in candidate’s name, candidates should resend a text message (from the registered number) to “CORRECT the spelling of surname or middle name or first name. Such message should be sent to 55019.

    To retrieve a lost confirmation code, candidate should resend a text message (from the registered number)  to the same code (55019).

    JAMBS’ ePIN Selling Points and the details of the procedure for payment should be checked on JAMB’s Website.

     

    Comment

    At no time in the history of JAMB have stakeholders been involved in the process of UTME as it is now being done by the current administration in that Board. This is an indication that the real revolutionary motive of JAMB is becoming more manifest than ever before.

  • Neurosis in the political space

    Neurosis in the political space

    Psychiatrists define neurosis as a relatively mild mental disorder that affects only a part of the personality, whose symptoms include stress, anxiety, obsessive behavior. In what follows, I suggest that the national political space provides a credible ground for modeling neurosis. How we name it doesn’t matter: political neurosis, social neurosis, or national neurosis. The symptoms are eerily similar, and we may identify two variants.

    The first is an acute mental illness that affects a section of the national space, namely, the political class. It presents as irrational anxiety and obsessive behavior on the part of its victims. The second manifests the symptoms of individualized neurosis, including stress and irrational fear on the part of the general population in the political space. I start with the second.

    There is ample evidence that neurosis afflicts many of our fellow nationals, whether it is a personality trait developed over a period, or a temporary character adaptation to some specific situation, when such adaptation tends to negatively impact a long-term goal. In a social enclave that is stress-inducing at every turn, the condition is optimal for the manifestation of an underlying neurotic personality trait or a maladaptive response to the social dysfunction of the larger society.

    A diverse political space that is otherwise promising for prosperity and human fulfillment becomes a source of morbid fear and distrust when rationality takes flight from us and our collective effort at governance runs short. We emphasize individualism and the competitive spirit in place of cooperation and community, and then we (seriously?) hope that no one is left behind. But that is delusional because many are going to be left behind. Furthermore, a lot of those at the top of the ladder morbidly fear for their future and the generations of their offspring that they only feel obligated to plan for that family future even if it takes stealing from the public treasury, thus imperiling the present survival of many.

    The consequence of the collective path that we have taken is that individuals who are deprived of the legitimate means of well-being see each other as potential competitors in the strategies of survival. It creates the war of all against all that Hobbes theorized. Ego responds with fear of loss of glory when others are perceived as threats to its prospering. The failure of Hobbes is not that such a situation never exists. It does. His error is to aver that it is a natural phenomenon. It is not. In the mentality of possessive individualism created by the contrived reality of economic, social and political competition, anxiety, fear, and depression are co-travelers.

    Neurotic disorder in the masses of the population in our clime is largely generated by the realities of contemporary life with economic dysfunction, political corruption and social anomie, the totality of which creates a stressful environment. Those who are not equipped to effectively navigate the terrain of political quid pro quo, economic rat-race, and social disequilibrium so essential to success in that terrain are either condemned to fate or, in the worst-case scenario, social deviance.

    That many consider their plight of abject poverty and hopelessness their fate is what has kept the nation from boiling over and hanging delicately on the cliff without falling off. Fatalistic mentality is a way of channeling anger and despair so that aggression is controlled, and society avoids the violent revolution that its actions or inactions may otherwise engender. That mentality is however not necessarily innate. Society deliberately socializes its members to the thought system. Destiny and fatalism are social ideologies with a mission. In various ways our acclaimed religiosity from traditional to modern only reinforces these social ideologies.

    While many subscribe to the ideologies of destiny and fatalism and live by it, a few others choose the path of deviance in apparent protest of a life that they believe society forces on them. We should not be surprised about the emergence of cultism because it is reasonable to expect that a people alienated from the fabric of social life will find a haven for their kind. We must not be too idealistic to ignore the reality that comes with the social consequences of our public policies.

    Rational people will adopt what they consider the most effective means towards the ends that they seek. When they perceive that the cards are unfairly dealt against them in the lottery of life, and they escape the mental poisoning of fatalistic ideologies, they may withdraw and pursue non-social or anti-social ends in which they believe there is “fulfillment” even when everyone thinks otherwise. Cultism is the response of an individual or a group to a social condition that collective irrationality creates. To combat it effectively, we must deal with the collective irrationality that creates the condition for it in the first place.

    Of course, we may raise the question whether the cultists’ response to collective irrationality of society is itself not irrational. It is a valid question. But it elides a more fundamental issue of what rationality connotes. If it is the most effective means of achieving a desired end, the means of cut-throat competition that society chooses is devoid of rationality, if we assume that the end which society craves is social harmony and progress. For that choice only creates the condition of a war of all against all.

    On the part of the individual who chooses cultism, what is his or her end? If it is to rebel against society in any way, we can query the rationality of that end but not the means of getting there. And to query the rationality of the end without also querying the means that society chose is a partial approach to apportioning blame.

    What about kidnapping or armed robbery and the other social ills? How about ethnic and sectarian neurotics? They abound aplenty for similar reasons. Ethnic jingoists have a pathological fear of those unlike themselves for the same reason that “haves” fear “have-nots”. We have been unfortunately wired to the belief that there is a national cake that is baked fresh in the national oven and all there is needed is to share it. The question is “who or which section gets what size?” Like ducks on the lake of life with crumbs of bread thrown at them, we struggle to take our portion of the cake. How we might cooperate to make the cake bigger is a question that others may struggle with.

    Thus, the nation, with its economic and political realities, creates and nurtures the conditions for the manifestation of neurotic disorder in its space among its population. But while the general population is afflicted in this way with the escalation of poor-on-poor violence, including cultism, kidnapping, and armed robbery, the political class across the divides of ethnicity and religion manage to get along. Or don’t they?

    There is no doubt that the political class manages to avoid some of the most debilitating consequences of the social and political order that victimizes the general population and make neurotics of them. There are two reasons for this. First, members of the political class are responsible for the policies that define the economic, social and political order. With human nature in the saddle, they take good care of themselves. If you need convincing, just compare the well-flogged horse of the humongous emoluments of the members of the National Assembly with the plight of teachers who are expected to teach with empty stomachs.

    Second, with the resources at their disposal, and in some cases, the protective measures that come with their office, members of the political class and their business counterparts could take care of their security needs and avoid the threat of violence that the poor and working class are constantly subjected to.

    Nonetheless, the competitive nature of the political terrain creates its own political neurotics in the political class with presentations of anxiety and obsessive behavior. Absent any ideological differences, inter-party and intra-party clashes are driven by petty rivalries and anxieties, fueled by ethnic and religious animus. But sadly, even here, the ultimate victims are the dispossessed masses.

  • The art of political deception

    The art of political deception

    Since the beginning of recorded history, two notions of politics have endured. One suggests that politics is about the good of the community. The other argues that it is all about the self. Between the two, there is a consensus that politics is about “who gets what, when, and how?”

    For the first notion, the community decides the question of “who gets what when and how?” and that decision is almost always favorable to the entire community. For the second notion, the community has no independent existence because it is made up of individuals and what each person makes is what he or she gets. Community has no right to the assets of its members except for the purpose of securing them.

    Of course, this debate is an offshoot of democratic politics and therefore only makes sense therein. Monarchies care less about individuals who are not part of the divine inheritance. This ideological dichotomy between looking after the good of the community and the interest of individuals has driven the politics of the western world especially since the beginning of modern politics in the 18th century.

    In the beginning, both sides argued their cases without blushing, and in defiance of any public opprobrium. In the vanguard of the politics of self-interest are the libertarians, the most radical of whom was Ayn Rand whose glorification of selfishness has fueled the passion of generations of libertarians, especially in the US and Western Europe.

    Recently, however, while those who insist on the primacy of community have not felt embarrassed about their position, many politicians who would pass as defenders of self-interest now cover their core position with a deceptive facade of community interest. They argue, that is, that pursuing policies that promote the self ends up benefiting the general interest. Their position has two arguments with the same conclusion.

    First, promoting the interest of individuals, as they see it, is the right policy for a government to pursue because individuals are the components of the community. Second, even if pursuing individual interests is not morally defensible in its own right, it is justifiable as an ultimate means to the promotion of the interest of the community.

    While the first position is unapologetically a glorification of naked individualism, the second camouflages as anything but individualism. It is what I refer to as political deception. It has been elevated to the level of an art, and it has been the motivating force behind the politics of the last few centuries. With its center of gravity in the West, it has traveled wide to most corners of the world, including ours.

    The sad part of the politics of deception is that it often succeeds in recruiting its actual and potential victims as its most prominent and reliable advocates. Concrete examples to prove the veracity of this claim are not out of reach. Just as charity veritably begins at home, however, we may start our journey to the mindset of political deception with our clime, in which it is certainly not a stranger.

    The free education of every child has long been the passion of egalitarians like Chief Obafemi Awolowo. But in 1954 Awolowo faced the battle of his political life when his free primary education policy was the subject of opposition attack and blackmail in the federal elections of that year. Awolowo’s party, Action Group, had calculated almost to the penny what it would need for the policy to take off in January 1955. A special educational poll tax was imposed on each adult to raise funds for the new program. The opposition kicked and campaigned effectively against the ruling party.

    The attack line was that Awolowo was going to deprive the parents of the services of their children on the farm. It was a low blow coming from the educated elite who certainly knew better. But it worked. Action Group lost the federal election. But it did not lose its focus; it implemented the policy and, with its success, stole the heart of the masses. Because our people were quick to discern the benefits of free primary education to their families, political deception backfired against its creative artists.

    In other climes, including the most developed ones, the masses negatively impacted by its catastrophic grip have not been as quick in recognizing political deception.

    Very early on, the Obama administration saw the plight of many US citizens who had no access to health care because health insurance was beyond their reach. They carried diseases without knowing until it was too late because they could not afford regular medical checkups. Then the cost of late treatment bankrupted them. Obama and the Democrats proposed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) bill and got it approved by Congress. Obama signed it into law and the difference in the lives of many was immediately clear.

    But political deception fought back. Individual mandate, a key component of the law, was characterized as anti-freedom. This campaign rhetoric was sold hook, line, and sinker in the 2010 midterm elections. And many of the beneficiaries of the law bought the rhetoric. Republicans picked up enough seats to win back the majority in the House. Though Obama was re-elected in 2012, Senate was captured by Republicans and the repeal of the ACA was their major campaign issue. They passed repeal and replace bills multiple times but because of Obama’s veto power, none became law.

    Then entered President Trump with the House and Senate as co-travelers in the “repeal and replace” train. Suddenly, the eyes of the beneficiaries were opened as the prospect of a real repeal with no good replacement became clear. They jammed town halls in protest. And the masters of political deception retreated. A great lesson in the art of the protest!

    But political deception doesn’t give up easily. It comes back to fight again. If it is defeated by beneficiaries of Affordable Care Act, it comes back in the form of “a huge tax cut” for everyone. And so was born the Tax Reform Bill of 2017, which the CBO has determined will add $1.4 trillion to the deficit and make four million lose health insurance in 2019, and 13 million in 2027. While it is also determined that Corporate tax cuts will be permanent if the bill becomes law, many individuals especially in the middle and lower income group will have temporary gains in the short term but tax hikes in the long term when the life of the bill expires.

    The central aspect of the tax reform bill is its targeting the ACA, again! It will repeal the individual mandate, leading to many young people neglecting to buy health insurance once the prospect of penalty for not buying is removed. Along with this is the availability of the subsidy that those who neglect to buy health insurance are entitled to receive under ACA. Such subsidies, estimated to be in hundreds of billions, are now targeted by Republicans to fund extra tax cut for the wealthy.

    Sadly, some beneficiaries of the ACA are all for the repeal of the individual mandate. Note that these group will benefit the least from tax reform. But they are indoctrinated to believe that it is good for the economy, and therefore for them, and that the removal of individual mandate is only for the defense of their freedom of choice.

    No one can infallibly predict the trajectory of American politics in the next few days talk less of few months. Will the masses know better and turn against the party in power for its assault on their interests in affordable healthcare? Will the same electorates that gave Obama and his party a shellacking for passing the ACA into law now see the light and give the GOP a revenge shellacking for its unbending efforts to kill the law which they (masses) have now undoubtedly recognized to be for their interest?

    Time will tell. But one thing is sure. Political deception has a proven record of resilience. It will survive any temporary defeat provided its victims remain as gullible as they tend to be.

     

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  • Notable takeaways from Anambra governorship election

    Notable takeaways from Anambra governorship election

    The recently concluded governorship election in Anambra State presents us with a few notable lessons in this era of change, and the generally acknowledged successful conduct of the election should not prevent us from appreciating the lessons.

    First, consistent with the change mantra of the ruling party, there is a new reality of change in electoral politics. The second item on the highlights of APC’s 2015 election manifesto, next to the party’s promise to devolve power to states, is the strengthening of INEC to “reduce/eliminate electoral malpractices.” Many would have cynically brushed off this promise as another political gimmick. They would be wrong. For, there is a clearly observable presidential leadership of a new attitude to the conduct of free and fair elections. We must applaud the approach.

    The explanation for this attitude is not far-fetched. The president’s party has not shied away from trumpeting the integrity of the Commander-in-Chief as the Protagonist-in-Chief for electoral integrity. There is some substance in these cheer-leading efforts for Mr. President. Look at the success rate of APC, the ruling party, in the special and bye elections since 2015, and you will agree that the president has not considered those elections as a “do or die” battle, unlike at least one of his predecessors.

    Another explanation is, however, available. President Buhari himself was a three-time victim of what he and his supporters believed to be electoral malfeasance on the part of PDP, the then ruling party. In at least one instance, the PDP winner of the presidential election all but conceded the charge of rigging with his subsequent setting up of an electoral integrity committee from which nothing came out. It was partly because of this experience of impunity that ACN, one of the legacy parties that formed the APC, made electoral integrity its major assignment post-2007.

    His experience as a victim of electoral malpractice must have sensitized President Buhari to the need for true independence for INEC, the electoral umpire. Did the president give INEC a marching order to ensure perceptible fairness in its work? If he did not explicitly, his body language must have spoken volumes. While it is what we must expect in a decent society, we cannot quickly forget the impunity of the recent past. We must appreciate and commend the efforts to reorient the nation in a positive direction.

    Second, we may, with good reason, affirm that the incumbency factor is a big deal and it worked in favor of Governor Obiano. The impact of four years on the seat is not to be taken lightly. Of course, four years without performance won’t really matter and may have backfired against him. That the Anambra electorates saw him fit for re-election is a credit on the part of the governor. Furthermore, it is significant that Peter Obi’s abandonment of his former protege did not affect the electoral fortunes of the governor. These are interesting times.

    In one sense, it appears clear that without his name on the ballot, Obi was one of the greatest losers of the election. He campaigned intensely against Obiano and for Obaze. Anambra voters refused his entreaties and voted to reelect their governor. Two reasons may be adduced here. First, Anambrans may be nursing a grudge against Obi for jumping the ship of Nkemba’s APGA, the party that gave him a shot at fame for two terms as governor of the state. Second, PDP, his new-found love, has nothing to offer the people of Anambra at a time that it is also struggling to survive as a party. So much for mainstream politics.

    Third, while we may not fully understand what their motivations are, we can agree that the electorates are in control. Whatever reason they have for backing Obiano, it seems clear that the electorates are in charge as they should be. Sure, there are complaints of money changing hands. If it is true, it is a sad reflection of the reality of our poverty-driven politics. But if only money from candidate to voters played a role in Obiano’s victory, it still shows that we have moved from the fraudulent and undemocratic use of security agencies to rig elections and thwart the preference of the voters.

    My conclusion in the last paragraph is not in any way a support for the ugly influence of money in politics. There is still a crying need for the education of the electorate. They ought to know that voting for a crook who offered them one thousand naira amounts to selling their political birthright for a plate of porridge. But if they opened their eyes wide and have their senses operating optimally, and they still prefer a rogue with billions to spread around, then they are surely going to pay for it with their forsaken welfare. Abe Lincoln was right: “Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.”

    The fact remains, however, that APGA’s Obiano won and APC’s Nwoye lost.  It is a stretch to attribute this to the influence of money. If it were true that money played a lot of influence, we should expect that the candidate of the ruling party would have more access to free-flowing money as it used to be. It is too soon to forget, in view of the ongoing investigation and litigation, that a former ruling party all but emptied the treasury and bank vaults in its bid to attract votes and remain in power.

    Fourth, in all of this, we cannot but recognize an ominous note of warning to the ruling party. After the 2015 presidential elections, I expressed delight and hope that the country was getting into an era of a strong two-party system in which electorates have a choice between two competing ideological platforms. The results of the elections since 2015 do not clearly show that we are there. However, the fact that the ruling party has lost elections in areas where it performed well in 2015, including the Southwest, suggests either that the voters are not wholly satisfied with its performance or that the ruling party has some internal issues to resolve. Either way, the party’s performance in special and bye-elections thus far calls for soul searching if it is not going to be embarrassed in 2019.

    In the case of Anambra elections, Governor Okorocha, who as the Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum is well-placed to know what the challenges are, offered his advice to the ruling party to get its house in order. In his congratulatory message to Obiano, Okorocha advised other candidates to accept the results of the election and suggested that in-fighting within the camp of APC may have cost the party the election.

    Finally, it appears to me that the most important political takeaway from the election is the collapse of IPOB’s threat. The large turnout of voters in the urban and rural areas of the state was a huge morale booster for the political leaders of the Southeast zone who had placed their political capital on the line, canvassing for Ndigbo’s mass participation in the election against the demand of IPOB for total boycott. Between those establishment leaders and IPOB leaders, the people’s choice was clear on election day.

    The huge turnout for the election was also a lesson for the central government to manage crisis effectively without overreaction to raucous agitation led by itinerant leaders. Surely, Ndigbo, like other nationalities, have genuine grievances against the system, and it is in the interest of the Federal Government to take seriously these complaints with a view to resolving them.

    President Buhari did the right thing by visiting the Southeast shortly before Anambra governorship election and reassuring them of the readiness of the Federal Government to work with the zone on the issues of concern to them. But what just happened with the turnout suggests powerfully that the Igbo are as desirous as other nationalities to resolve issues politically and within the territorial boundaries of Nigeria.

  • Another national summit on education

    Another national summit on education

    Nigeria has just held another summit on education. No, it is not just another summit. This is a presidential summit, initiated, attended, and addressed by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Therefore, it must be different than the others.

    First, as a presidential initiative, there is hope that government is serious about fixing the collapsing edifice of our educational system. Second, it represents another down payment by the administration on its campaign promise of change in our approach to development. Third, and perhaps, most important, stakeholders can rest assured that the recommendations that come out of this summit will receive prompt attention at the highest level of government.

    It is noteworthy that the president gave the Ministry of Education the directive to organize the summit in his address to the convocation ceremony of the University of Ilorin barely a month earlier.

    At that forum, the president explained that the reason for the summit was to tackle major problems facing the education sector in order to “restore education to its lead role of human development game-changer.” He also vowed that his “government will not allow the country to miss the globally agreed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) train, the driving force of which is education.” Thinking aloud, and rightly too, Buhari noted that “any success recorded in education will have a ripple effect on every other sector of our life.”

    The Ministry of Education acted promptly on the president’s directive and the November 13 summit was the outcome. Hope is kept alive! Except that nothing is new under the sun that shines on this land of wonders. For starters, this is not the first presidential summit on education. There was one in 2010, another in 2012, and yet another in 2015, at the instance of the Jonathan administration.

    In its news of the 2015 conference in December 2014, Daily Independent reported that “the Federal Government has concluded plans to organise another National Education Summit, where it hopes to review progress and challenges still militating against the sector” (my emphasis). It added that “the Federal Government, under President Goodluck Jonathan, convened the last education summit in 2012 where most stakeholders reeled out various challenges bedeviling the sector since the attainment of independence in 1960 and came up with far reaching recommendations that could salvage the system” (my emphasis).

    Why the emphases? First, the Jonathan administration summit proposed for 2015 was not the first education summit. Indeed, the same administration had held two previous summits on education. However, it could be argued, in the light of our traditional beliefs, that where a problem persists, we must assiduously seek for solutions. After all, an unceasing infestation of body lice condemns the fingernails to constant blood stain.

    Second, however, the 2012 summit was supposed to have provided “far reaching recommendations that could salvage the system.” Obviously, those recommendations fell short; hence the need for 2015, and then, 2017, if we just limit ourselves to presidential initiatives.

    There were of course stakeholders’ summits, state summits, and zonal summits on the Nigerian educational crisis. Sadly, the crisis appears to have only deepened, one manifestation of which is the recent decision of the Kaduna State government to fire almost 22,000 teachers for failing a competency test. That such a large number of primary school teachers failed a test designed for their students is a great embarrassment to the system and a grave sign of system collapse.

    But Kaduna State is not an outlier and similar or worse ailment afflicts other states. There are teachers with serious challenges in the use of English language. There are parents and teachers helping their wards cheat in examinations. When stakeholders pressed school systems on the high rate of failure in WAEC and NECO, many teachers and principals, including officials of state education boards and others in high places, respond with corner cutting.

    The result is that students pass external examinations, but they are neither employable nor admissible to higher institutions. Those who secure admission through an odious patronage system may buy their ways through the same means, but almost always end up as liabilities to themselves, their parents, and the community. When you input garbage, you get garbage as output.

    A rotten educational system does not just hurt individuals; it is a national disaster. No sensible person will doubt that without the natural endowment of oil reserves, which we have apparently managed to turn to a curse, an outstanding system of education can take the nation to the highest level of development. Look at Israel and other resource-challenged nations.

    What those nations have, that we lack, is a political system that creates strong institutions and throws up leaders with the right mix of skills, foresight and charisma, which enables them to identify development goals, thoughtfully plan and selflessly pursue their implementation with vigor, while combating challenges in their path. How else could a region implement free primary education with no oil revenue? And why, after enormous oil revenue since the early seventies, have we failed to move from free primary education to free university education? Why are we now contemplating charging fees for secondary education?

    The answer is simple. With our oil revenue, we created a monstrous system of patronage that has turned public service into a private enrichment system. Awolowo had no security vote. He and his colleagues had no special allowance for personal constituency projects. They certainly had no luxury of personal emoluments that surpassed those of the most developed nations of their time. They invested their regional resources in the development of their regions and the nation at large was the beneficiary.

    Almost all our present leaders from local government to state and federal levels are beneficiaries of the system that prioritized the education of citizens. Our educational system would not be in the dunghill now if every one of them had followed the example of those leaders who made it possible for their generation to step into their shoes.

    The Minister of Education is right on point: “Nobody has the moral and resource capacity to intervene promptly, substantially and sustainably in all areas of education provisioning better than government.” So much for the copout of “government cannot do it alone.”

    If there is will, the way is doubtless clear. The Minister pointed out that “from 1999 to date, the annual budgetary allocation to education has always been between 4% and 10%.” The recommendation of the United Nations for financing education is at least 26% of a country’s budget. As the Minister added, “none of the E9 and D8 countries other than Nigeria allocates less than 20% of its annual budget to education.” For 2018, Mr. President’s education budget is 7%. So, we know what the problem is.

    But we are told that the funds are not there. Civil servants are owed months of salary and pensioners are starving. However, the sacrifices are not shared equally, and it is unfair. If justice is the first order of social life, every member must bear an equitable share of the social burden, from the president down to the littlest citizen.

    For a start then, if education is understood as the means to a good life and a great society, its funding must be assured by society. We have an Education Trust Fund which is made possible by the sacrifice of corporate citizens. The political class also needs to make its contribution to that pool. This can be done by committing all security votes and all constituency project allowances to the rejuvenation of the education sector to get us to at least 20% of budget for the sector.

    Surely, money is not the cause of every problem in the sector. Traditional values have broken down and parental neglect is the foremost symptom. Bringing children into the world and abandoning them to the vagaries of social life is highly irresponsible. So is using them as income generators at a tender age when they should be in school. The more than 8 million out-of-school kids in Nigeria is a national shame. We are already paying the price in various ways.

  • Amid it all, community still matters

    Amid it all, community still matters

    I have just returned to base from a long, memorable visit to the homeland, the first long visit in more than twenty-five years. Yeye and I looked forward to it with excitement, with plans for each of the forty days we had scheduled for the visit. It was going to be capped with the community celebration of Okeho, the historic land of my forebears.

    Of course, we were not unaware of the ageless dictum that man proposes but God disposes. We knew that we were mere mortals with no means of competing with God’s design for us. Yet, we prayed and hoped for the best, counting on the cooperation of the Master of the Universe.

    A few days into our arrival, tragedy chose October 1 to strike. Death snatched Kola, my younger cousin. He was full of life, and of hope. Anytime he called me on the phone, his prayers were as moving as they could be, meant to underscore the sincerity of his motives: Brother mi, bi mo ti fe ko ri fun un yin, Olorun je ko ri bee fun mi. Bi mo ba n wo iwaju, ki n maa rii yin, bi e ba n wo ehin, ki e maa ri mi. Nwon ko ni ru oku yin wale. E ko ni ba sare emi naa nile. (My brother, I want my life to be a replica of what I wish for you. When I look forward, I pray to see you. When you turn back, I pray you see me. They will not bring back your corpse home from abroad. You will not come back to be shown my grave site).

    Then Kola died, and though tradition did not allow me to be confronted with his grave site, the reality of what just struck the family did not escape me. He was the one with the proverbial legs. He ran errands across towns and villages on behalf of the extended family.

    Kola looked after the young and old. It was his lot to convey home the remains of young family members who died while trying to make it in Lagos. When his turn came, he was driven home alive by his son and as he alighted from his car, he collapsed and died. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was then in London while Yeye and I were in Lagos as his guests. I did not tell him of Kola’s passing, but he heard through his aides. He called and offered his emotional and material support.

    Kola was a community man and the community, starting from the Alapinni extended family across Oyo and Okeogun, to Okeho at home and abroad, was wonderful in its expression of sympathy and support for the family. The truth of the dictum, eniyan laso mi (I am because we are) loudly rang through. To lose a loved one is sad. To mourn in solitude is doubly tragic. It is therefore priceless to be a member of a community which is supportive in times of grief.

    At the same time, however, a community that is supportive of its members in joy and sorrow, also gets celebrated and appreciated. Indeed, the main purpose of our long visit was to celebrate Okeho community on the centenary of its relocation to its original site in 1917. As readers of this column may recall, I shared excerpts of my book, Okeho in history, on this page over a three-week period.

    For nine days, from October 20 to 28, Okeho community had a program of events that excited and inspired. The centerpiece of those events was the historic visit to Okeho Ahoro, a serene and awe-inspiring place with magnificent landscape of hills, valleys and caves that provided security for its residents during the most unsettling period of warfare and slave raids in the 17th and 18th centuries.

    Okeho indigenes were out in thousands to celebrate their heritage. The unity was palpable. The love was infectious. For once, politicians of various hues, who had barely seen eye to eye, dropped the animosities that had motivated their politics, for the common cause of lifting the community. Thus, when traditional drummers displayed an individualistic ethos that angered the community, they were soundly condemned by young and old. The drummers quickly retraced their steps.

    The social media was put to good use by the technologically savvy. WhatsApp platforms were created and effectively deployed for the exchange of ideas and fundraising for community projects. The youth were fully engaged in various activities, including a centenary soccer league competition which drew mammoth crowd of spectators. Lectures, seminars and a major symposium were organized on various issues ranging from education to agriculture and drug abuse. Chieftaincy titles and merit awards were given out by the monarch and the community respectively to deserving indigenes and residents.

    The grand finale was the public presentation of the book, Okeho in history, with Asiwaju Tinubu as the chief launcher. Okeho indigenes couldn’t be prouder of themselves and their community. The sense of belonging was heightened with the recognition of the original eleven villages that merged to form the town and each projecting their cultural contributions to the uniqueness of the town. Invited guests were many, from Obas to intellectuals, politicians, media giants, and business titans. Those who were unable to make it in person did not fail to send their support. Iku Baba Yeye, Alaafin of Oyo was well represented. So was Oba of Lagos, HRM Oba Akiolu.

    Though he was not able to personally attend due to a conflict in schedule, Asiwaju Tinubu fulfilled his promise by sending a delegation of three led by Alhaji Hakeem Fahm to represent him with a generous donation to the causes the community identified as its priorities.

    For someone so generous with his time and resources, we have always prayed for enormous blessings in return. Certainly, we did not expect a tragic occurrence to befall him. But we are all puns in the hands of fate and the gods. We are the helpless grass while they are the wild wind. They toss us around at will as we are no match for their smartness, wit, and what our human understanding counts as their capacity for mischief.

    Sadly, on the first day of November, tragedy struck again. Jide, the first son of Asiwaju Tinubu was snatched by the cold hands of death in the middle of the night. Shocked and traumatized, words took a flight from our shuttered mouths. How does a loving father come to terms with a spontaneous emotion of grief over dashed hopes? How is a loving wife to express her fear of the future that suddenly appears cloudy? Or how are three brilliant boys to cope with a loss that they probably still do not understand.

    Yet amid it all, two entities have remained constant.  First is our faith in the author of existence who alone knows best and who alone gives and takes. Tinubu clearly understands this. Expressing his abiding faith in the Almighty, he has not allowed himself to break down in despair or bitterness. As he thoughtfully puts it, “mortality comes upon us all. We have no choice in that; but we do have a choice whether we shall be good or bad, just or unjust. Let us all strive toward the best in ourselves.” It is the mark of leadership.

    Second is the community. Across the six zones of the federation, communities stood by Asiwaju in his time of need for comfort. Hundreds of sympathizers thronged his Bourdillon residence even after he had travelled to London to be with his grandchildren and daughter-in-law. Sympathizers also flew to London, showing sincere fellow feeling. That Tinubu did not mourn in solitude is a testament to the importance of community in human lives.

    In joy and sadness, community endures. We must therefore strengthen the spirit of community. However, a desirable strong community spirit is threatened by the hopelessness that characterizes our local communities. We must therefore work for their educational and infrastructural development. For, as our local communities develop, the nation will reap quantum benefits.

  • Letter to Nigerian Imams

    Letter to Nigerian Imams

    Preamble

    Dear Nigerian Imams, in the name of Allah, The compassionate, The Merciful, with humility and due respect in the spirit of Islam, I hereby forward this open letter to you as a way of rubbing minds and comparing notes with you on matters of common interest. In terms of age, knowledge, experience of life and charisma, I may not be qualified to tutor you on Islam. And this letter is not meant to do that. But the dynamism of this divine religion of ours is such that no one has any monopoly of either knowledge or piety, no matter his age or experience. And no one can evidently claim to possess purer soul and conduct than those of his fellow Muslims. Only Allah knows and can identify His true servants and reward them accordingly. This is manifest in Qur’an 49 verse 13 where He says: “We have created you (human beings) as males and females. And ‘We have’ classified you into nations and tribes that you may interact with one another. Surely, the most dignified among you before Allah are those who are most pious”.

     

    The Message

    ‘THE MESSAGE’ column as a reminder on Islamic matters does not ascribe any authority to itself. But in the process of comparing notes we may jointly find a clue to the problem we want to diagnose here. Two major issues jointly form the subject matter of this letter. One is the Qur’anic schools in Nigeria. The other is the Mosque affairs. The two are closely interrelated.

    You will recall Sirs, that Islam first reached some parts of what is now call Nigeria in the 11th century CE. That was over 1000 years ago when no one could have dreamt of a country to be called Nigeria. Even the colonialists who caused the emergence of Nigeria as a country were, at that time, still wallowing in blatant ignorance as they foraged wildly and aimlessly in the darkness of life. It took 500 years after the arrival of Islam before Christianity came to Nigeria in the 16th century. Today, if the two religions are compared in terms of education and material progress in this country, one will be found obviously ahead of the other by far. As a matter of fact, it will seem as if Christianity preceded Islam in Nigeria by 500 years. There is a fundamental question here not yet asked let alone answered. Where did things begin to go wrong for the Nigerian Muslims?

    It is only logical that a question like this is asked at this stage before any answer can be provided. From a Yoruba adage we learn that “when a kid falls he looks forward to someone who will lift him up. But when an adult falls, he looks backwards to see the cause of his fall”. After over 1000 years in Nigeria, Islam is eminently qualified to be called an adult. Thus we can jointly look back to see where things started going wrong if we sincerely adhere to Islam as we often claim.

    If the past generations of Nigerian Muslims did not ask the above question, it wasn’t because they lacked intellect or foresight. Even if they had asked such question, their hindrance would have been lack of wherewithal to answer it effectively. They could therefore be pardoned. The circumstances in which they embraced Islam and practiced it were quite different from those of today. That they even stood firmly by Islam in those days at all, despite the implacable persecutions and segregation they faced was an impeccable testimony to their steadfastness in faith.

    Unlike Christianity which was escorted down by its European propagators and strengthened by the colonialists after assuming power, Islam only migrated to Nigeria unaccompanied. That it emerged a force to be reckoned with was only due to the grace of Allah through the 18th century great Jihad of Usman Dan Fodio. Nothing encouraged that great scholar to embark on the Jihad more than education. It should be remembered that both Usman Dan Fodio and his son (Muhammad Bello) made such complex linguistic, theological, scientific and legal studies that the one had 93 books to his credit while the other had 97.

     

    Intellectual encounter

    It is also on record that Hugh Clapper-ton, a British colonial agent, once had an interesting intellectual encounter with Sultan Muhammad Bello, in 1824. After the encounter, Clapper-ton had to admit thus: “He (Muhammad Bello) continued to ask me several other theological questions, until I was obliged to confess myself not sufficiently versed in religious subtleties to resolve these knotty points”.

    And when Clapper-ton returned to Sokoto two years later (1826) and presented Bello with a complete copy of Arabic Euclid he was shocked to learn that his host already possessed one. (Euclid is an ancient geometry book of 13 volumes named after its Greek originator).

     

    Literacy in Nigeria

    When the Europeans first came to this territory in the 16th century the north was the only part of what is now called Nigeria that was literate. And that was because Islam had reached that part of the country since the 11th century with its Arabic literacy. The English colonialists confirmed this on their arrival in Nigeria in the 19th century. And that was why they were much more cautious in their dealings with the northerners than they were with the southerners.

    That the colonialists did not retain Arabic literacy in the north was due to the fact that they did not understand that language and could not communicate with it. If they had not ignored Arabic literacy, the north would not have been perceived as backward literarily today by the south. At least by 1919 when the south was just beginning to embrace literacy, the north already had about 25000 schools where students were taught various subjects in Arabic language.

     

    Education in Nigeria today

    Today, however, almost 70% of Nigerian Christians are conveniently lettered either in English which is the official language of Christianity in this country or in their vernacular languages through the Roman alphabets. That has enabled them to translate the Bible into over 20 Nigerian languages.

    But on the contrary, less than 10% of Nigerian Muslims can be said to be competently familiar with Arabic literacy. And without adequate literacy in Arabic language, there can be no thorough understanding of Islam which is the total way of life for any serious Muslim. Today, despite the age of Islam in Nigeria and the population of the Muslims, the Qur’an has just been translated into less than ten Nigerian languages. Even that was only possible because the initiators of those translations were well educated in the language of the Qur’an.

    Many Muslims who passed through the Qur’anic schools in Nigeria and claim to have graduated (through celebration of Walimah) end up being serious embarrassments to Islam.

     

    Problem of Qur’anic Schools

    The problem of Qur’anic schools in Nigeria is not just about faulty curriculum but also about primordial teaching methodology.

    In the Western conventional schools, children are not only first taught the language of learning, they are also encouraged to stay and learn in those schools even as friendly environments are created for them. They are encouraged to wear neat and attractive school uniforms. They are provided with toys and other play materials which can endear them to learning in those schools. The teachers do not only advise parents to feed their wards before coming to schools or give them food to eat in school but also encourage the pupils to maintain good hygiene while eating. Thus, the pupils always want to be in schools. And whatever they are taught becomes the gospel truth which no one else can easily alter in them. Most of those pupils grow up in life to become greater than their teachers because the foundation of their learning is very solid and formidable.

    This is not the case with Qur’anic schools which children of nowadays find abhorrent. Parents whose children attend both conventional and Qur’anic schools may ask those children to compare and contrast. If Muslim children could tolerate the inadequacies of the Qur’anic schools in the past it was simply because they had no alternative. The same cannot be said of now. That is why the population of children in Qur’anic schools has dwindled so tremendously.

     

    Role of Language in Education

    Language has a prima facie factor of any culture is a sine qua non in education. A culture not entrenched in a language is only bidding its time. Islam is a foremost culture with a foremost language. But with due apology, the attitude of some of you (Imams) and the clerics you appoint as custodians of the Qur’anic schools have virtually changed the colour and the taste of Islam as a culture in Nigeria. Rather than being an attractive place of learning, Qur’anic schools have been turned into scaring centres for our children. And only a very few of those children will willingly want to attend Qur’anic schools. The result is that no seriousness is attached to those schools in our society any longer. We all know the long term repercussion of this.

    Ironically, the method of teaching introduced in Nigeria by the colonialists was copied from the Muslims who standardized education in the world. The only addition made to that method by the Westerners is monetization of knowledge through emphasis on certification of education.

     

    Qur’anic Teaching Methodology

    It is rather inconceivable that the so-called Qur’anic teachers would cultivate a short cut to Islamic education by teaching the children from the peak. This is generally influenced by the pecuniary gain accruing to those clerics from Walimah.

    Qur’an is the epic literature in Arabic language. It is the encyclopedia of Islam. It is not meant for recitation alone. It is the final source of researches in all fields of learning for those who know its value. To be able to recite or use Qur’an for any research, one needs to understand the language in which it is written which is Arabic. No one can meaningfully read and comprehend the Encyclopedia Britannica without understanding English language.

    Perhaps the point needs to be made clear here that it is not compulsory that all Muslims should understand Arabic before they can recite the Qur’an. But anybody who wants to claim authority in Islamic knowledge must, of necessity, be able to read, write and comprehend Arabic language very well.

     

    Translation

    There can never be any true translation of a language to another language without sacrificing some elements of the originality of the mother language. This is where the error lies in the current methodology of teaching the Qur’an to Nigerian children by Nigerian clerics. Children’s brain is like a rock upon which a mark is made. Return to that rock many centuries later and you will still find the mark intact.

    In Islam, Qur’an is the Glass House in which the Muslims’ minds reside. The foundation of that house is Arabic language. Without understanding Arabic it is impossible to comprehend any literature written in Arabic, be it the Qur’an or Hadith. The best that can be achieved in such a circumstance is to memorize some parts of the Qur’an and base it understanding on hearsay or translated documents.

     

    Summary

    The summary here is that no education can be correctly imparted to any school child with the teaching of encyclopedia as a first course. As a matter of fact, a good teacher does not need to teach his or her pupils the contents of an encyclopedia. Just teach those pupils the language in which the encyclopedia is written and they will do the rest on their own at the appropriate time. That is what prompted the late Sheikh Adam Abdullah Al-Ilory to establish the famous institute of Arabic and Islamic education (Agege) called MARKAZ in 1952. The indefatigable sage had also gone through the old system which he later found to be a cog in the wheel of Islamic education in Nigeria. He therefore traveled to Egypt for proper Islamic education and methodology of teaching despite his meager resources then. His intention was to pave way for millions of Nigerians and other Africans who might genuinely aspire to become Islamic scholars. Today, this columnist, being an alumnus of that great institute, is one of the beneficiaries of that blessed effort.  The full story of MARKAZ will be published in this column in the near future ‘in sha’A llah’.

     

    Review of Qur’anic education

    To endure in Nigeria, Qur’anic education will need a serious review by no other forum than yours (Nigerian Imams). The children attending Qur’anic schools must be made to see its value. The environment of learning must be made conducive for those children. The teachers in charge must be humane in conduct and in thought. The methodology of teaching must be made attractive to the learning pupils. Emphasis must be laid on language at the initial stage to enable the pupils know the meaning of what they are learning. Reading and writing assignments must be given to those pupils constantly. The idea of Walimah is not bad but it must be de-emphasized to reduce the impression that Qur’anic schools are mostly about Walimah for the benefit of Qur’anic teachers. Instead, premium must be placed on building total Muslims rather than just Qur’an readers.

     

    Memorisation of the Qur’an

    Memorization of the Qur’an is very laudable but knowing the meaning and the Islamic application of what is memorized should be giving priority. There must be close and lively interaction between the teachers and the pupils. A good arrangement must be made for teachers of Qur’anic schools to be reasonably remunerated. Periodic excursions to places of Islamic interest should be arranged for the pupils to boost their orientation and to expose them islamically. There should be inter-Qur’anic schools’ quiz competitions, debates and sports. Children of Qur’anic schools must look neat and decent in appearance.

    By the time all these measures are effectively taken the dwindling population of pupils in Qur’anic schools in Nigeria would have evidently become a part of history. And the fading interest in Qur’anic education would have been adequately rekindled. As for the Mosque affair which is the second leg of this letter, please watch out for it in this column in the near future God willing.

  • In all things, be thou thankful

    In all things, be thou thankful

    A good place to start this discourse is to give some thought to the significance of thanksgiving. Every human creature has a moral duty of gratitude, the duty to express appreciation for favor received, for undeserved gift or honor bestowed, for superior service rendered by others, for unmerited grace from God, and even for what human beings or the world around us may consider to be a setback in our journey of life.

    A favor, by definition, is a benefit that is bestowed without a corresponding service on the part of the recipient. It is an unusual act of kindness which is not extended in exchange for an immediate return. For this reason, moralists and spiritualists of different faiths suggest that gratitude is due to the moral agent who extended the favor in the first place.

    As an act of kindness, favor may be extended in various ways and by various means. It may come in the form of a gift to the needy, not because the recipient has a right to it, but because the giver is inclined to give.

    We receive such acts of kindness on a daily basis from the ultimate gift giver, the Almighty God. It is what we understand as grace, an unmerited favor. Notice the difference. The favor we receive from human beings like us may be based on the individual’s evaluation of our standing. It may be an expression of approval of our conduct. However, the grace of God is bestowed on human beings despite their inadequacies.

    Finally, an unanticipated outstanding service deserves a heart of gratitude. Sometimes, and in some climes, the expression of gratitude is so ingrained in the culture that any positive act of service is taken as a favor and as an object of gratitude or appreciation. Thus, a professional hair dresser or barber may render a regular service for which he or she is paid what is due. But he or she not only gets a tip for the job, but also a thank you from the customer.

    On what ground do we have a moral duty of gratitude, appreciation, or thanksgiving? What creates the duty? What is the basis of the obligation? Why do we need to offer thanks for a kind act? This question is not out of place. Expression of thanks is not inborn. That is why we teach our toddlers to say, “thank you” to those who favor them with gifts.

    From our faith-based understandings of life and its vicissitude, we thank our benefactors because it is divinely ordained. Every religion preaches the importance of gratitude. In the Christian faith, the story of the ten lepers whom Christ healed is a divine lesson on the importance of gratitude.

    After the ten lepers approached him with their passionate plea for healing, Jesus instructed them to show their skins to the clergy. They did. However, out of the ten, only one, a foreigner, returned to offer thanks to his healer. To which Jesus made his famous remark: ten were cleansed; where are the remaining nine? If God commands thanksgiving as a practice, then, we must obey the command.

    But there is more to the matter of thanksgiving than God’s command. After all, it stands to reason that God commands it because it is good to give thanks. But what makes it good in the first place? Thanksgiving is a moral duty, not simply because it is a commandment of God but because it is right and proper to give thanks. The question is “what makes it proper?”

    In our various traditional value systems, gratitude and thanksgiving feature prominently. There is no equivocation in the Yoruba insistence that “bi a ba se ni lore, ope laa du” (gratitude or thankfulness is a requirement when a favor is received). The statement expressed here does not appear to have a religious connotation. Thanksgiving for kindness is simply understood as good-in-itself.

    For those who would seek a firmer grounding, however, our sages have a deeper insight. They provide a useful analogy to describe a case of unappreciated kindness. It is considered not too dissimilar to a situation of an armed robber who attacked a person on the highway, robbing him of all his belongings. In other words, an ungrateful person might as well be an armed robber.

    While the analogy depicts ingratitude as armed robbery, an evil act, it does not really tell us what makes gratitude good. If ingratitude is bad because it is analogous to armed robbery, what makes gratitude good?

    We must commend the Yoruba for their pragmatic moral reasoning. For in their understanding of human life and human affairs, whatever is attributed to the divine also has a worldly character. So, it is with the virtue of thankfulness or gratitude. Thankfulness is good for its benefits. if we are thankful for a favor received, we stand a good chance of receiving more favor in the future. Bi a ba dupe ore ana, a tun ri omiran gba. Or eni yin ni yin ni, keni se omiran. Be appreciative of favor received so that the one so praised may be motivated to do more.

    Now, so much for the motivation to thankfulness because of favor received. But people of faith also know that the command of God regarding gratitude does not relate to just occasions when we are the recipients of benefits.

    Even in our moment of anguish and sadness, when it appears that God has not been good to us, or that the fortunes of life have passed us by, we are enjoined to be grateful. All Abrahamic faiths, including Islam and Judaism, share this belief in the importance of gratitude despite life’s trials and challenges. After all, God knows best.

    “In all things, be ye thankful” is the religious injunction. Why? Part of the reason has to do with the acknowledged shallowness of our human understanding vis-à-vis God’s wisdom. Sometimes, we try very hard impersonating God and pretending that we are wiser than the creator. At such times, we may be confident that we know the future and it is all shining brightly. Our aim is to capture it.

    But the divine’s plan for our life may conflict with our human understanding. Therefore, when we encounter an unexpected event, and our human understanding jumps in, it is human nature to tend to see the worst. But given the depth of his wisdom and his beneficence, it must be that God sees a different and positive ultimate outcome.

    At such moments, we are better served by putting our hands in God’s hand, thanking him for his unfailing love, and focusing on the unseen blessings even amidst the uncertainties of life that have just appeared to set us back. This was the lesson of Job who went from riches to rags and back up to riches such that his end was by far better than his beginning.

    “When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed/ When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost/ Count your many blessings/ Name them one by one/ And it will surprise you what the Lord has done/ Count your blessings/ Name them one by one. Count your blessings/ See what God hath done/ Count your blessings/ Name them one by one. Count your many blessings/ See what God hath done.”

    Indeed, there is reason to be thankful, despite our limited understanding of what may appear as a cruel hand of fate. Our creator knows best.