The Nation Newspaper

Category: Columnists

  • WMN + WWW = WWM!

    Men should at least pretend that women are part of the human race and should not be beaten, scarred or raped

    I am sure you would like to know what that formula stands for, dear reader, but you will have to bear with me a little while I vent my anger and release it into space, or I might be forced to commit murder. On the other hand, I don’t want anything tampering with my housekeeping allowance. Indeed, I am so cross now my mouth is shut tight, my brows are in a deep scowl, and my eyes are so crossed they are literally looking at each other balefully. That is how mad I am about the spate of rapes weaving across the land: boys raping girls, men raping little girls, old men raping toddlers, young men raping old women, young men raping mad women, fathers raping daughters, fathers impregnating their daughters, fathers having multiple children by their daughters… Oh men, what is going on?! Why is it always the men?!

    Not too long ago, one of my readers, presumably a male, wrote in and asked me to say something on the rising wave of rape in the land. Then, it had not quite risen to the popularity it has since assumed in the country. I declined to because I felt rape is really best left to the police while we citizens concentrate on searching for money to purchase gari. Alas, my thoughts were misplaced, just like my hopes. The police are too busy with em, internal problems, to take much notice of rape. In short the police have failed in their duty to sufficiently frighten the men into totally submitting their libidinal will to reason. So, I have no choice but to pick up my pen, err, computer.

    True, there are natural expectations on both sides of the sex divide. Take the men; they expect their women to provide the 4Cs: cooking, cleaning, childbearing and companionship. They are What Men Need (WMN). As I always say, most men cannot boil water without burning it. And the woman who manages to burn food once in a year is taken to the cleaners. ‘Why is this food tasting burnt? Did you travel while you were cooking it? Do you know how much I worked to provide the money for it? You should go out and work and let me do the cooking.’ As Fela knew very well, ‘that na shakara’. Still, men take it for granted that women are taught these things in heaven before they descend to earth. That’s why they marry women who look like their mothers: they take the abilities in the chosen ones for granted because such women are primed to fulfil these needs for men. Who says cloning does not work? As soon as a female child is born, the father takes a good look at its arms to be sure they have sufficient crooks in them and the hips to be sure they are sufficiently wide enough and he nods to himself, ‘this one will fulfil her heavenly roles well.’ Obviously, men no longer see beyond their needs any more. Is this why some among them would even proceed to test their daughters’ role readiness by raping/sleeping with them? Haba! Please!

    In the interest of peace, and also to maintain world order, women go along and provide men’s needs, believing that men in turn know what women want and provide it. Women take it for granted also that men are primed from heaven to fulfil the wants of women. This is why the birthing women take a good look at the arms of the new born male to be sure they have enough strength in them to actualise some woman’s wants someday. They also check if his fingers can crook well enough to cock a gun some day. Tough world we are in, no? The difference is that women only stay at ensuring; they do not test. At least, we have not heard of a woman who sets out to have children by her male son. I have not said it does not happen; I only said we have not heard. As a father said to his son one day, ‘I have not said ‘don’t steal’; just don’t get caught.’ Seriously.

    The trouble is that, in spite of the strong arms and all, men still do not seem to know what women want. Once, men thought that if they dragged food home to the family, all would be right with the world. The women soon put them right there by dragging home sometimes bigger food. That’s why some women have come to now earn more than their husbands. Then the men thought if they built strong shelters for the family, keep out the wild elements and provide protection, all would be well. But the Cecilia Ibrus of this world soon set their minds at rest on that score. She and her ilk told them they could go hang with their shelters by procuring same in their hundreds. And I said ‘Tell ’em, sister!’ No, no, don’t get me wrong; I do not condone fraud but there’s just something about that spirit… So now, men are at a loss as to what exactly women want. And you know, when men are confused, they resort to… The story goes that the women had taken over the administration of a certain city and, to the consternation of the men, were even preparing to go to war for the city. The men simply got together to hatch a plan. They collectively got all the women pregnant and went their own merry way to fight their war themselves.

    Obviously now, there is an impasse: women know what men need (WMN) but men do not know what women want (WWW). To make up for their lack of knowledge and total confusion, men have been going around employing and displaying their strength in the market place. Imagine that. Good wine, they say, needs no bush. When a man begins to regard rape as an instrument of office and manhood, then he belongs in Jupiter where the people there do not ask questions, just like the early American settlers. Perhaps, that will mean evacuating all the men into outer space and have a world without men (WWM), who cares? If that is what we need to give the women what they want, then the price may be just right.

    So, what do women want really? Oh, wouldn’t I just like to know! One day, all a woman wants is to look delectable, have the means to look delectable, and be seen and appreciated by her chosen one to look delectable. Another day, when the fancy takes her, what she wants is to be appreciated for her brains. So she barges into boardrooms and causes a war or takes over, into corporate offices and becomes the boss, or wanders into some poor government official’s heart and takes over his job. Ask our politicians. Naturally, the men’s retaliatory weapon of hate is rape. When that happens, you just know it is a statement against all womankind. This is why the women are calling for the heads of the men in the formula: WMN + WWW = WWM (What Men Need + What Women Want = World Without Men). If the women cannot get that, let us try the next best thing.

    Let us try giving the female folk respect, from the littlest of them to the oldest. In this case, respect means consideration. Men should at least pretend that women are part of the human race and should not be beaten, scarred or raped. They should be treated with the utmost courtesy and nurtured carefully: i.e., given compliments, assistance, real love (not some pretentious thing) and companionship. After all, it is only wise to respect where one’s food comes from, especially if all one can do is burn water.

  • From the ‘Dikko affair’ to the Dikko committee

    From the ‘Dikko affair’ to the Dikko committee

    Nigeria’s younger generation may not know who the man, Alhaji Umaru Dikko is. Therefore, asking if they know what he represents (or at least used to represent) is superfluous. That is the tragedy of a nation whose many pupils do not know who the great sage, the late Chief Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo was. A report, a few years back, indicated that right in Chief Awolowo’s hometown, Ikenne, in Ogun State, the only Obafemi that pupils in a school know is Obafemi Martins! They claimed not to have heard anything about Chief Awolowo. But that is Nigeria’s dysfunctional educational system for you; it is that bad. “A prophet”, they say, “is not without honour but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house”.

    Anyway, this write-up is not about Chief Awolowo; it is about Alhaji Dikko, who came into prominence in the Second Republic during the tenure of President Shehu Shagari, his brother-in-law. Ordinarily, many of us had since forgotten about Alhaji Dikko and would have preferred never to be reminded of that dark era that the man represented, but for reports last week to the effect that the 77 year-old man of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) infamy has been exhumed from wherever he has been hibernating all these years, to head the ruling Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) national disciplinary committee! Did I hear you say ‘disciplinary committee’? Yes, you heard me right; disciplinary committee. Other members of the seven- member committee are; Obanema of Opume Kingdom, Bayelsa State and King A.J Turner as deputy chairman, publisher of Champion Newspaper and member, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the PDP, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, former deputy national chairman and BoT member, Alhaji Shuaibu Oyedokun, Hajiya Nana Aishat Kadiri, Barrister Hussaini Diraki and Senator Emmanuel Agboti.

    Those conversant with the story of Alhaji Dikko that we knew would readily say that with a man like him heading the ruling party’s disciplinary committee, then, the result is known even before the committee begins sitting. Unless of course the things the man used to do, he does them no more. I mean unless he has turned a new leaf, as they say.

    Just last week, I said something about the dearth of good people in the country. Well, some people will disagree with me and rather say that it is the failure of those in positions of authority to search for such people, or the reluctance of good people to make themselves available for public service because of the quality of people at the very top. What else could have made five governors run to Generals Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida, in search of solutions to democratic challenges if not for any of these aforementioned reasons? What our people versed in Pidgin English would dismiss simply as no more person. What I am saying is that there must be a dearth of people to enforce discipline in the ruling party for the mantle of chairman of a crucial committee as the disciplinary committee to fall on Alhaji Dikko. At least not the Alhaji Dikko that we knew.

    It is sad that the Jonathan government, apart from doing business as usual, is also suffocating us with the same spent forces that have had their time in leadership positions but made a mess of it. Alhaji Dikko belonged in that school.

    His role in governance in the country dates back to 1967 when he was appointed commissioner in the then North Central State (now Kaduna State). He was later to be secretary of a committee set up by General Hassan Katsina to unite the northerners after a coup in 1966. In 1979, Alhaji Dikko was made Alhaji Shehu Shagari’s campaign manager for the NPN. He was Minister of Transport from 1979-1983; a position he held simultaneously with that of the head of the presidential task force on rice. Interestingly, it was in the latter, rather than the former, that he became a national issue. That rice had to attract presidential attention in that republic showed how terribly bad the country was run because the rice that Alhaji Dikko headed its task force was imported. Again, that is a matter for another day.

    Such was the diligence with which he served Nigeria then that General Muhammadu Buhari who became head of state after overthrowing the Shagari government on December 31, 1983, issued a list of former government officials accused of a variety of crimes on his second day in power. Alhaji Dikko, who topped the list, was accused of embezzling several million dollars in oil profits from the national treasury. Despite strenuous efforts to locate him, he simply vanished, leaving no trace of his whereabouts. He was eventually trailed to the United Kingdom where the Buhari government attempted to bring him back home in a crate with 1.2 x 1.2 x 1.5 meters dimension, in what was famously referred to as the ‘Dikko affair’. Thank God the mission failed; otherwise, Alhaji Dikko would have been brought back to Nigeria in a crate like some imported cargo! One had to go this far for our ill-fated younger generation to know that their beloved country has not just started to wobble and fumble; it has been like that for decades. The sad thing is that while many fellow backbenchers like us are finding their way out of the woods, we are getting more and more entrenched in it. Anyhow, fellow Nigerians, this is the man that our ruling party has thrust forward as chair of its national disciplinary committee!

    Without doubt, the PDP as it is is highly undisciplined. It therefore needs someone, a strict disciplinarian to knock some discipline into its members’ skulls. But one wonders where to start the discipline from, or what form of discipline the party is thinking of, especially when one considers the action of some of its leading lights, including President Goodluck Jonathan. Or, how else do you capture a president who hosted as winner, someone who lost an election conducted among only 35 people? How many good persons would want to serve in a government in which such illegality thrives? Maybe it is only the PDP that understands its concept of discipline that it wants instilled into its members, because there is discipline and there is discipline. The NPN that Alhaji Dikko was a prominent member of was everything but disciplined. A party that is disciplined would not claim to have landslide victory in an election which was visible even to the blind that it lost. Little wonder that the Shagari government’s ‘landslide’ victory eventually became what someone referrred to as ‘gunslide’, to the delight of millions of Nigerians who had watched with disbelief as the then NPN stole votes in broad daylight, the same way the PDP has done in some places.

    The multi-million naira question now is: can Alhaji Umaru Dikko give what he does not have? Unless the aphorism that one cannot give what one does not have is about to be proved wrong, or unless the kind of discipline the PDP envisages is the one associated with the NPN (for which the present ruling party itself has become notorious), then, the ruling party may be on the way to defining discipline in its own image, a thing that eventually led to the collapse of our inglorious Second Republic and ultimately, the ‘Dikko Affair’.

    All said, for good or for ill, my dear reader, join me in congratulating Alhaji Dikko over his new appointment and at the same time welcome him, once again, to national limelight, after many years in the cooler. I wish him and their PDP whatever they wish themselves.

  • For students’ sake

    For students’ sake

    The ongoing strike by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities ASUU is yet another sad development in the education sector of the country. In recent years, universities have suffered one crisis or the other that has resulted in the declining quality of graduates.

    Lack of adequate budget allocation and necessary facilities has turned many government universities to glorified secondary schools and it is no surprise that our institutions are not among the best even in the continent.

    Disruption of the academic calendar for one reason or the other has become so frequent that students are no longer sure when they will graduate. A four-year course in some instances now last for six years or more.

    Despite the increase in the numbers of private universities whose fees are not affordable by many parents, the federal and state universities have been unable to cope with the growing numbers of applicants. Some parents have resorted to sending their children to foreign universities abroad and neighbouring countries.

    University teachers and other stakeholders have always drawn attention to the worsening situation with successive governments promising to address the situation. Past ASUU strikes have always been called off based on agreements which unfortunately have not been honoured by the government.

    The current strike which the union claims is due to the non implementation of parts of the agreement signed in 2009 would have been avoided if the government had not reneged on its promise.

    As it is, it is uncertain when the strike would be called off considering the apparent breakdown in negotiations between the government and union officials. For once, ASUU seems determined to ensure that the government makes concrete commitment this time around and is not leaving anyone in doubt that its members will stay away from the classrooms for as long as necessary to ensure that their demands are met.

    For too long, the government has paid lip service to improving the education standards at all levels. Budgetary allocations at state and federal levels have been too low to match the needs of the sector which is very crucial to the overall development of the country.

    If indeed the issue at stake is the annual release of N400bn for three years as intervention fund for public universities in the country is what is at stake in the strike which commenced on July 1, the government has to find a way of honouring the agreement even if it cannot release the whole amount as earlier agreed.

    There is no doubt that the universities need the intervention funds to address a lot of various challenges that is making a mockery of the university education being offered in the country.

    The infrastructures, in many of the universities are not only inadequate; some have become obsolete for the kind of education students need to meet the required standard for employment and other endeavours.

    How do we justify the situation where some graduates cannot defend the certificates they supposedly acquired after years of study. The decline in standard of teaching and research in universities is alarming and something urgent has to be done to reverse the slide.

    However, for the sake of students who are the victims of the strike, ASUU must be a bit flexible in its negotiation. While insisting on its demands being met, it must be willing to shift grounds on some issues which may not be easily resolved in a hurry under the present situation.

    The strike must not be allowed to last longer than necessary if we are not to further disrupt the academic calendar for 2012/2013 which is already behind schedule and has greater consequence for especially final year students.

  • Siege economies and political  control

    Generally   and  historically,  it is during war that combatant nations lay siege on each  other’s territory  and borders. The  Trojan War in which the Greeks laid siege on   the ancient   city of Troy and  gained access eventually with the subterfuge  and    lure   of  a  wooden  horse,  with Greek soldiers hidden inside, is  the  best   historical example of a   successful siege.  Today,  however,  I am not interested in such military sieges whether ancient or modern. Instead I am  drawing inspiration from them to   talk of economic  sieges in modern times which have no territorial borders or  defined   locations. I  am saying loud and clear that in modern times and  in  today’s global economies, political and economic mismanagement  have  created  economies that have wittingly or unwittingly laid siege on the welfare and interests  of their electorates. In essence then,  siege economies have emerged in  which the electorate is like a prisoner in its own house; as   politicians try to keep the status quo while the electorate squirms and frets at first,  and later gets desperate  to throw out the yoke of  the bad joke of    imprisonment  in what it knows it is its   natural  habitation  by right. The  evolution of siege economies in modern times  and how political  leaders manipulate the  global and individual  political systems   to  maintain  the status quo at  all costs  while the electorate or the masses  struggle to throw off the shackles of imprisonment in their own house, is the topic of discussion today.

    The  Zimbabwean Elections  of last  Wednesday   which  the  PM  Mr.  Tsvirangai called  a farce  after ignoring the pre election charge of President Robert Mugabe to his supporters that the election was to be a do or die affair for them,  provides a good example of a siege economy  and the struggle  for political control. Also  the  registration of a new political party in Nigeria – the APC – by INEC, in  a nation in which the ruling party thinks it will forever win elections,  just  because of its size,  where oil  theft and mismanagement of the nation’s mono economy have turned its citizens into landlords of poverty in their country,  is another  good example of the  struggle for political control in a vintage siege economy  like Nigeria. In   addition, US  Secretary  of State John Kerry’s visit to Pakistan and his closed door meeting with Pakistan’s newly elected PM, Nawaz Sharif  on the Pakistani economy and the war on terrorism,  round up our examples for discussion today.

    Again,  we start with Zimbabwe  where 89 year old President Robert Mugabe‘s party was on course  for a smooth victory in spite of all odds  and expectations of majority of Zimbabweans for a change of government from the Mugabe regime which  has been in  power for 33 years. Even though international observers have said the elections have been largely free and fair and AU Chairman of Observers  retired  Nigerian General Olusegun Obasanjo was quoted  as saying that the first impression was that the Zimbabwean polls have been  free,  one cannot ignore the anomalies  highlighted  by the opposition. The  first is that about 2m voters on the voters list were recorded as dead and as such could not vote for the simple reason that dead men don’t or cannot vote. The second is that about one million voters were disenfranchised for one reason or the other and could not vote . In  effect then Mugabe’s party  has won a costly electoral battle but cannot claim victory because it was  a pyrrhic victory  in terms of electoral breaches that denudes it of any legitimacy. This is a victory for 33 years of Mugabe’s rule that has ruined the Zimbabwean economy through EU sanctions and land seizures  that has crippled the nation’s  once buoyant  agricultural   sector and fast growing economy that was once the envy  of the nations of   southern  Africa and indeed the rest of Africa. As  for Mugabe’s truculent pre election violent jargon that the election would be a do or die affair,  I presume the old Zimbabwean  Patriotic Front  warrior must just have borrowed a leaf  from  the book of another warrior, a Nigerian now election observer at the Zimbabwean elections General Olusegun Obasanjo,  who used the same volatile vocabulary while campaigning for the late President  Yar Adua to succeed him at the 2007  elections. You  may call both of them birds  of the same feather and you could be right at least in terms of  usage of  combustible political vocabulary. But if you brand them as ‘experts’ at laying siege to their economies and manipulating its  control  through rigged elections like the 2007 elections that the ultimate beneficiary,  the  late President YarAdua  himself later  admitted was rigged;  as  well as  this  last Zimbabwean elections where living voters turned up at the polling booth to be listed dead and could  therefore   not  vote, then you have scored a bull’s eye indeed in that comparison.

    The  registration  of the APC  made up  of a merger of opposition parties in Nigeria’s bullish, winner takes all political terrain on July 31  ushers in another cycle of hope that   Nigeria’s  difficult   democracy and siege  economy   may not crash land sooner than expected. At  least  not like the high flying  train in Spain last week which took a corner at a speed of 192 mph while its driver was on record as having a telephone conversation  and killed about 80 innocent passengers. A  big wig in  the ruling PDP once said that the party will rule Nigeria for the next 60 years. Just  this week another PDP chieftain said the APC cannot be a threat because it is made up of strange bed fellows. I wonder which  political party on earth is not made  up of strange bed fellows. Especially as politics is a game of who gets what, when and how and that has to be discussed, and negotiated amongst people of various background and interests,  who come together to fight a common cause. Given the implosion in the PDP and its factional governors’ forum there  is little doubt that the ruling party is losing the concensus and common front that catapulted it to power which  it has tried to cling to by all means. The PDP  should therefore be indeed wary with the emergence of the PDP and the political stature of those behind the party especially Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu co author  of Financialism. This is   a brilliant book on how the financial system drains the economy. Financialism  could have helped the PDP leadership  a lot if it had been published by the time they took office in 1999 when the foundation of turning Nigeria into a siege economy  was  laid and cemented with the political control PDP has had ever since, through  successively   rigged elections .With  the emergence  of APC   then, the ball is   certainly  in the other court and not the PDP,   which obviously has run  out of ideas  to transform the Nigerian economy with the requisite knowledge  management base  to get the economy out of its rut and siege. What the APC needs to do is to be prepared   to fight rigging which the ruling party seem to have perfected to an exportable commodity for Zimbawe, to a stand still. For  the new APC  and indeed Nigeria as a whole –eternal vigilance is the price of liberty – especially at this point  in time,   for the APC to change the   pervading, sickening and repugnant  climate of economic siege and claim political control in   the coming   2015 elections.

    Lastly  I  take on   Pakistan   together  in the context  of today’s topic and  I will illustrate with  the two personalities  involved and the issues they  are facing. These are the US Secretary of State John Kerry,   and Pakistan’s PM Nawaz  Sharif. The two  have two  things   in common and  these  are   focus and   principle and  again I will elucidate.

    Before coming to Pakistan John Kerry had just kicked start the Middle East peace process. At  a press conference after both  sides  agreed to start talking, the Israeli peace negotiator doffed  her hat to the US Secretary of State for the firm way he told the Israeli  and Pakistani chief peace negotiators that failure was not an option in the renewed Middle East Peace Talks. In  Pakistan, Kerry will be visiting for the first time   since he took over from the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  He faced a newly elected PM Nawaz Sharif who has just  come to power and who has condemned the drone strikes which US  President Barak Obama asserts is a legitimate weapon   in the   war  against    terrorism, a   war in which  the US  and Pakistan are partners in fighting the Taliban, on the hilly borders between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The  war on terror has turned the Pakistani economy into a siege economy dependent on US largesse given the  Pakistani government to prosecute the war and fuel its economy as well. But the Pakistani army prosecutes the war and has done it half heartedly while the politicians  in power  cannot do much because of the fear of a coup from the military as the war is unpopular with the largely  Islamic population of Pakistan. Now Nawaz Sharif has spoken against the drone strike which the army and the other opposition could not do for fear of losing US funds and increasing the tension of a siege economy or losing political control  or relevance in the process  in Pakistan.

     Yet  I am sure that Mr. Kerry knows that Mr. Sharif  is man of honor and principle who has spoken on behalf of his nation and the US will respect his views  and concern on the drone strikes. Pakistan is lucky therefore in that it has a new leader that even the US  which oils its siege economy knows  as a man of principle in political    control who  should not be allowed to lose face in the   two nations partnership fight against terrorism. That  to me is mutual respect that is at first personal but which has a high convertible rate in sovereign and diplomatic relations and I think Pakistan was lucky this week that the leader  talking to John Kerry  was Nawaz Sharif and not anyone else  in Pakistan. That was a lesson on the rewards of leadership focus and principle  in   high  diplomacy, and it has my total   and  sincere  admiration.

  • Apc and the courage for change

    Apc and the courage for change

    A department of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) reportedly attempted to delay the registration of the newly formed APC. Ultimately, good sense, courage and Professor Attahiru Jega’s integrity prevailed and the APC became a legal and political reality. I therefore reproduce below a piece published in this column on June 22, 2013

    Look at the books which I have written, the lectures which I have given, and the many speeches and statements which I have made. You will find that there is no problem confronting or about to confront Nigeria to which I have not given thought and for which I have not proffered intelligent and reasoned solutions
    – Chief Obafemi Awolowo, 3rd of July, 1979

    The above assertion was certainly no empty boast by the great sage, Awo, as he assiduously sought the country’s presidency in 1979. Reading his vast collections of writings today, one is still amazed at the extent of his industry, the depth of his research, and the enduring relevance of his proposed remedies for the protracted maladies that have laid Nigeria prostrate for over five decades. That was a statesman, politician and leader avidly committed to transformational change and who made every possible sacrifice, even if ultimately futile, to help actualize his dreams for a country he loved passionately. I want to believe that the leaders and moving spirits behind the emergent new political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) have also given serious reflection to their decision to choose ‘change’ as the party’s slogan.

    This question is pertinent because the President Goodluck Jonathan presidency along with his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) apparently flippantly flung the phrase ‘transformation agenda’ before our too easily seduced eyes in the run up to the 2011 election. Having won a pan-Nigerian mandate, neither president nor party appears, two years after, to have any inkling what transformation is about. Thus, our existential realities only steadily worsen even as they trumpet their purported accomplishments from the roof tops. Things have clearly sunk to their lowest ebb in contemporary Nigeria. Despite the undeniable progress made in many states in the present dispensation, the centre that controls the bulk of the country’s resources remains largely rudderless and clueless. And even as poverty worsens, insecurity reigns and corruption struts our highways in majestic omnipotence, we have a presidency that is completely preoccupied with 2015 to the exclusion of almost all else. Yet, the darkest period of the night also marks the gradual transition to dawn. This may thus also be the beginning, fortuitously, of Nigeria’s march towards hermanifest destiny of greatness in spite, perhaps because of, the inexcusable ineptitude of the Jonathan presidency.

    There are great expectations and immense anticipation in the air. This is perhaps the most significant moment of political alignments and realignments in Nigeria’s post-colonial history. In sharp contrast to the perfunctory and half-hearted political alliances that failed woefully in the first and second republics, the opposition seems determined this time to forge a solid full scale merger to wrest power from the behemoth at the centre. Against all odds, the merging parties have come up with a common name, common logo, common slogan, agreeable constitution and are pacing premium on coming up with a national redemption programme rather than pursuing personal political ambitions. And the obsessive ambition of President Jonathan is turning out to be a blessing in disguise for the opposition. It has split the PDP down the middle bringing it to the point of implosion. It has ruptured the National Governors Forum and, very happily for the opposition, alienated many PDP governors who may work against their party in 2015 just as they bloodied a hubristic presidency’s nose in the May 24th, NGF election clearly won by the irrepressible Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State.

    But then, these are still early days yet. After all, 24 hours is a long period in politics. This is why the opposition leaders involved in the merger moves must be constantly challenged to reflect on their motives and incessantly interrogate their assumptions. This is exactly what my colleague, Mr.Olakunle Abimbola, did in his column of last Tuesday. He wanted the APC leadership to have a crystal clear idea in their minds on why exactly they want to ease the PDP out of power at the centre come 2015. If it is power for its own sake, he reasoned with characteristic incisiveness, the new party would not be much differentfrom the PDP it seeks to displace. For we all know the catchphrase of the ‘largest party in Africa’: PDP! POWER! It has monopolised power in the country since 1999 while increasing the powerlessness of Nigerians in the face of hunger, disease, ignorance, darkness and joblessness. I approach Abimbola’s concerns from a slightly different angle.

    What kind of change do the APC leaders have in mind when they advocate the need to lead the country in a different direction from the retrogressive one taken over the last 14 years? The ironic truth is that to bring about the kind of change that will fundamentally and qualitatively transform the country the way the PDP has completely failed to do, the new party at the centre must also place premium on ‘power’ a s a value. But then, I refer not to the arrogant, purposeless power associated with the PDP. No, I mean the power of self-discipline, the power of self-denial, the power of sacrifice and the power of selflessness. Let me explain.

    It will be all too tempting for a new party at the centre to want to maintain the current unhealthy asymmetrical relations between the federal and state governments. The government will be likely under the illusion that it will wield the immense powers at the centre more responsibly than the PDP has done. Nothing would be more false. Absolute power will always corrupt absolutely maybe it is the PDP in power or not. Fundamental decentralization of powers, resources and responsibilities from the centre to the states and regions is thus a necessary change that a post – PDP government must consider non-negotiable. Of course, such a federal government will take the lead in upholding the rule of law, transparency and judicial integrity to tame corruption and promote good governance.

    Again, if a post-PDP President emerges in 2015, he may be inclined to retain the dysfunctional, excessively expansive powers of the Nigerian presidency that has become a veritable albatross on the entire political system. Again, the outcome will be as disastrous as it has been under the PDP and positive change will remain pure fiction. All the nonsense of the President being the leader of a political party must go with the PDP. Critical national institutions must be relatively autonomous of the presidency. Party supremacy must hold everybody, no matter how highly placed in check while internal democracy must be the norm. To be fair to two prime movers of the APC, General Muhammed Buhari and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, they have demonstrated a remarkable willingness to forfeit selfish, personal ambition for the collective party and national interest. That is a commendable example of the power of sacrifice and self-denial.

    Furthermore, what will the APC do about the outrageous allowances, perks and salaries particularly of our law makers? That is one area where there must certainly be drastic change in the direction of greater probity and frugality. Let us heed the following words of Awo in this regard in the second republic. According to the sage on 27th January, 1980, “When the National Assembly expends so much time and energy in discussing the salaries of its members, while it does little about a reasonable minimum living wage or income for the working classes and peasants; when our parliamentarians conceive of something in the neighbourhood of N2,000.00 per month by way of salary and allowances each for themselves where the low-income group including policemen earn as low as N70.00 per month ( I don’t know how much the rank and file of the armed forces earn)…we can be sure that the end of democracy is in sight, even though, in our blinding self-seeking, we may not perceive it”. Surely, it is no easy task for the APC but the party can ill afford to dash the high hopes of Nigerians.

  • Good times for Eagles stars

    Good times for Eagles stars

    Why is soccer the king of sports in countries where it is like a religion?

    It is simple. The teeming fans’ passion, the players’ sublime skills, the enchanting ambience around the stadium before, during and after matches and the media blitz, which sends blue chip companies fighting for space for their products and services in the beautiful game. Soccer brings everything to a standstill wherever it is played.

    Such is the games’ immense followership that every new season brings forth expectations from the fans, who are eager to know how well their clubs will fare.

    Unimaginable figures fill the media as fees to lure big players to new clubs. Clubs that cannot splash the cash put their fans under pressure when new deals are struck in other teams. And with 2014 being a World Cup year, players are moving to clubs where they can get regular shirts. They want to play regularly to secure their national team’s shirts. No player worth his onions wants to sit at home from June, next year, watching his mates play on the big stage. The World Cup is the biggest platform for any player to rewrite his career.

    European managers will be in Brazil with their cheque books, seeking top performers ahead of the 2014/15 European season. So, who is the costliest player in the world after Christiano Ronaldo’s 80 million pounds sterling move from Manchester United to Real Madrid?

    Two players may break this record, given the way clubs are lurking around to strike, if one bid fails. In all the permutations before the European transfer windows shut down on August 3, Tottenham Hotspurs’ Gareth Bale is the most likely person to break the 80 million pounds sterling mark. Again, only, if Real Madrid of Spain live up to their tag as the Galaticos (big spenders on stars).

    A few pundits may place their bets on Liverpool’s Luis Suarez to beat the mark, in the event that Arsenal pulls out, now that the Reds are asking for 78 million pounds for the naughty but talented striker.

    It has been a festival of sorts for big players in Europe, with a sprinkling of South Americans and Africans being mentioned. So, where are Nigerian players in this transfer bazaar? Proudly, this writer can say that the trend this season has been our best, with Africa Cup of Nations’ best striker Emmanuel Emenike being the highest mover – if he accepts to join Fernebahce FC of Turkey.

    Reports from Turkey on Tuesday night suggested that Emenike’s club has agreed a fee of 13 million Euros, leaving the window open for Fernebahce to talk with the Eagles star. But there are moral issues on this deal, especially after Emenike has been accused falsely of being a match fixer. The court cleared Emenike, after a series of harassment on the Nigerian, everytime he stepped into Turkey. Will Emenike accept this offer, given what he went through? With such big cash on the table, you never can tell.

    Emenike should shun the offer and wait for bigger pies, in Europe, which would come with a superlative outing for Nigeria at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Cynics may argue: what if the Super Eagles do not qualify for the World Cup? It is far-fetched, given the way the team is playing. But the choice is Emenike’s to make.

    As I sat through Thursday night to write this column, word came in from France that Vincent Eneyama is Lille FC’s first choice goalkeeper. Good to hear that. Enyeama opted for a loan deal to Israel to regain his form, having been benched at Lille in the previous season. This confirmation is good for Nigeria’s quest for a fourth World Cup appearance in Brazil.

    I really don’t know who Godfrey Obaobona’s manager is. Oboabona’s bile at Arsene Wenger was ill-informed. If he is not careful, his uncouth utterance may sound his career’s death knell.

    Wenger is an institution. He is an international scout. Many managers respect him and compare notes with him. I wonder what he would say of Oboabona if his views are sought on the Sunshine FC of Akure defender. I wrote here in the past that Oboabona ought to have gone to Arsenal for trials, irrespective of what he achieved at the Africa Cup of Nations in January. I reckoned that if he trained with Arsenal – even if he didn’t make it – it would have been his meal ticket for life to brag his way into any European club.

    Wenger loves African players. Those who didn’t meet his marks at Arsenal he recommended to other European clubs. That is the window I thought Oboabona would have exploited. But he listened to his dumb advisers and parroted their tunnel vision thoughts in the international media. I wish Oboabona luck, but he should know that if things go awry, he doesn’t need to blame anyone but himself. Who is Obaobona in the catalogue of players to join issues so disparagingly with Wenger? Obaobona still has a chance to deny the Wenger blast to save his career. He should.

    Indeed, it is heart-warming that Uwa Echiejile is being chased by at least three clubs. Equally pleasing is the fact that Besiktas is seeking to woo him through a former player, Eagles Assistant Coach Daniel Amokachi. Besiktas has signed another Nigerian, Michael Eneramo for the equivalent of N511 million, although after initial fears about his health.

    The most sought after defender in the Eagles is Ambrose Efe. Three years ago, Efe was ruled out of football due to a heart ailment. He underwent corrective surgery. It is pleasing that he opted to remain at Celtic FC in Scotland than being involved in the nomadic seasonal movement. Good decision, especially as his club is in the champions League.

    This week has been one of favour for Nigerian internationals, the last being the working permit granted to Eagles defender Kenneth Omeruo to return to England and compete for shirts at Chelsea. I pray that Jose Mourinho looks in his direction quickly; otherwise, he should sit with the wily manager and ask for a loan move out of Chelsea to a club where he can play regularly.

    For this writer, it is celebration time. Victor Moses and John Mikel Obi will jostle for shirts at Chelsea under Mourninho. I had canvassed here the need for the duo to look elsewhere for greener pastures. But they have chosen to take their destiny in their hands and I hope that they can prove their mettle when the chips are down. Good luck folks, but remember to hop out if you feel your chances are slim when the transfer window opens again in January 2014.

    Pictures of Eagles midfielder Joel Obi training with Inter Milan in Italy lift one’s heart at a time when Mikel is regaining his form as an attacking midfielder. Joel Obi will fit perfectly as the defensive midfielder for Mikel to get a free role in the team. Indeed, Oduamadi’s move from AC Milan to Brescia is his wisest. There is nothing like playing regularly – for a soccer star. It is not just earning the big bucks. And with Oduamadi’s superb outing for the Eagles at the 2013 Confederations Cup held in Brazil, it will be survival of the fittest in the Eagles when the players assemble for any game. Don’t forget, the home-based lads anchored by Sunday Mba are lurking around to give the Europe lads a run for their shirts.

    Ahmed Musa is back, scoring goals. Did I hear you hiss? Musa is an asset to the Eagles. He has this uncanny trait of scoring goals for the Eagles in key matches. He may be wasteful with chances, yet the team needs his speed upfront to destroy teams with slow runners. Now that Emenike is back and we are expecting Shola Ameobi to join them, some of Musa’s crosses would be converted into goals. The most important thing is that our players are fit and ready for the 2013/14 season. It couldn’t have come at a better time. Victor Anichebe and a legion of Nigerian players in the Diaspora would want to use the platform of the 2014 World Cup to fight for shirts in the team. Good times, indeed.

  • LASG’s human ‘waste’ crisis and other tales

    Straight away, it’s a faux pas, a very embarrassing policy misjudgment that one believes the Lagos State Government must be giving a serious rethink right now. Something must have been amiss somewhere as one cannot imagine an enlightened cabinet as Governor Raji Fashola’s voting to ship ‘alien’ destitute and derelicts to the nearest bus stops away from Lagos, it’s an ill-digested novelty. And if we may remind, what this calls to mind is that governance (everywhere) need be more rigorous in its work, it must take especial pains to SOLVE problems not throw them into shredding machines and government must at all times, strive for the greater good of humanity for that is its raison d’etre. Having said that here are some points to ponder on the ‘deportation’ of the homeless 70 saga:

    ONE: People of Onitsha woke up last week to find a small crowd of hapless souls near the head bridge by Upper Iweka flyover. They had been dumped there in the dead of night by officials of the Lagos State Government, (LASG) they claimed and recounted a tale of woes. Officials of the LASG initially denied but when their denial would not stick, they told the ‘true’ story. Yes, it’s routine practice that had started for sometime, they are homeless destitute picked off the streets of Lagos and having rehabilitated them for a while, must send them back to their home states. LASG cannot possibly manage the influx of the dregs of the society into its burgeoning city. They were not dumped in Onitsha, they were reunited with their people, besides there is no ethnic undertone as the same method had been adopted for destitute from Oyo, Ogun and the north of Nigeria.

    TWO: The fact that LASG had to carry out the ‘operation’ in the dead of night then lied about it initially means that it must be aware that it is doing something wrong; something heartless and inhuman. Whether the ‘dumping’ had gone on for a decade or that the destitute are routinely and democratically dispersed into the four winds of Nigeria does not make the action right. It simply means that no rigour was applied to solving a social problem.

    THREE: LASG must learn to take the bitter with the sweet. A big city cannot be too picky about the people it wants within its borders. All the able-bodied, law-abiding, hardworking and creative ones are welcome; those who can generate taxes, and help build the city can stay while their wretched siblings must stay away? And to venture into the ethnic hue of the matter, you will not normally associate Igbo with destitution so if out of say one million, a hundred or two are banana cases the city should be able to accommodate that. It is called the law of averages which evens things out. Let’s also remember that every city of the world has destitution challenges – London, Paris, New York – the dirt poor and homeless are a part of the human race after all. There are Nigerians in some of these cities in fact, over two decades ago, Newswatch magazine reported on Nigeria’s destitute community in London.

    FOUR: It is true that Lagos State is a special case and deserves to enjoy some special status in the federation as has been canvassed by many for sometime now but regardless LASG must be upfront and paradigmatic in managing most of its challenges because they will only grow with the city. For instance destitution is likely to increase and not reduce in years to come so long term solutions are required. The Ministry of Social Welfare sure has a department in charge of derelicts, castaways and the wretched of the society; if this lowliest class in our midst has become such major challenge to the government, what thoughts have been put into the problem? What new grounds have been broken? Why can’t we have model camps and settlements in different locations for these dregs where they can be afforded proper rehabilitation? Why can’t we have a Destitute Fund like the Security Fund which individuals, other states and international bodies could contribute to with proper conceptualization and promptings? What is the public awareness and sensitization strategy for tackling this problem? How have other mega cities managed their own citizens of the streets? Who says Lagos City cannot create a universal model for managing this class of people? True, Lagos may have a case, its method is most baleful even to the city as we have seen from the backlash arising from the action so far.

    FIVE: With pervasive poor governance across the land and with the local government system effectively moribund in Nigeria today, social crises like destitution will assail us at a scale we have not known before. Since we cannot put these people into a compactor and tip them into the Lagos lagoon or the River Niger as the case may be, we must recourse to thinking better and working smarter.

    POPE FRANCIS AND ARCHBISHOP TUTU’S TAKES ON GAY MARRIAGE

    The gay war of attrition gains more grounds and big followership by the day and we the ‘victimized’ majority are taking a serious whacking. First it was the respected Archbishop Desmond Tutu who weighed in in favour of gay marriage when he declared that he will not serve a homophobic god. Now ‘homophobes’ is the ‘ugly’ name for those of us who think it is wrong for two men or women to engage in conjugal relationship not to talk of solemnizing matrimony. Gee, what a terrible name; it’s even worse than homosexual.

    If you thought you couldn’t begin to argue matters of faith with an archbishop, what do you do when the pontiff now makes a declaration on a matter of the kingdom? Nothing really one can add but what is sure is: there will be dire consequences when most of the world goes gay and secondly, God, through the bible condemns homosexuality in clear terms and that must be the standpoint and shield of the ‘homophobes’.

    THE RETURN OF UMARU DIKKO

    You must remember Alhaji Umaru Dikko, the doughty politician of the Second Republic who fled to self-exile to Britain after his party, National party of Nigeria (NPN) brought that era to perdition. Remember the episode of his being crated for repatriation by the Muhammadu Buhari administration for trial for his role in that highly corrupt era. All that is history now. He was pardoned long ago and he has been living quietly since until now. The Peoples Democratic Party has made him a member of the National Disciplinary Committee of the party. All the kakistocrats in the land are regrouping aren’t they? The auguries are not bright are they?

     

  • Just me…being self righteous

    Death will be that undiscovered country that we shall all visit. In that country, everybody shall be stripped of titles and accumulated wealth. Nobody shall be referred to as “Your Excellency,” “OON, CON, GCON” “Africa’s richest billionaire” and so on. In that country, the truth of our follies and the septic belly of our idiocies shall become even more pronounced and visible to all. Those of us, the billionaires particularly, who send so-called “prayerfully powerful” Alfas on holy pilgrimage to Mecca to seek for Allah’s forgiveness and infinite mercies on their behalf shall realize that they had simply been foolish. No amount of prayers-by-proxy, sacrifices and so on, shall move Almighty Allah to forgive them and grant them eternal peace and paradise if their handiwork is tantamount to evil.

    They shall all die eventually. It wouldn’t matter if they are buried in Victoria Court Cemetery or Atan Cemetery; it wouldn’t matter if their remains are unrecoverable in the event of their demise in a ghastly accident or assassination. Immediately they pass on, they shall begin to pay for their handiwork like the rest of us. They shan’t escape the trials of the grave.

    No priest, highfaluting ceremony of absolution from ‘original sin,” redemption and so on shall ennoble the Christians among us with the “infinite grace” of Almighty God if they remain evil at heart. If they like, let them build as many gigantic Churches and temples as they like, let their offerings and tithe tower beyond the rafters and sky-high, it shall never make them pious before God. May it not make them pious before God.

    No priest or Alfa can intercede with God on our behalf. We shall all die: President, governor, first lady, special advisers, ministers, accountant, journalist, activist, dibias, babalawos and so on. And even our tiniest depravity shall be summoned to witness against us.

    Those who profess to be godly live like they answer to some blind, stupid, and partial god. Almighty Allah is not stupid, silly or blind. Jehovah is neither partial nor handicapped by greed for worship houses, outlandish sacrifices and exaggerated humility. Chineke, Eledumare is surely no perverted wimp that we could corrupt by wile and insincere tokens of sacrifice and worship.

    May he judge us all according to our handiwork; He shall judge us all according to our handiwork. In the face of such imminent reality, it’s amusing me to see the ruling class administer our lives like they are answerable to no one. It’s even more bizarre to see many of us, the youth particularly, lend themselves as willing tools to the antics and designs of the ruling class. Many a self-styled professor of truth and champion of the masses’ rights have turned into junkyard dogs and dung dogs for the same ruling class they used to criticize.

    Talk is cheap really and Nigerians love to talk a good game. That is why everyone: literate, semi-literate and illiterate, display flawless capacities to decipher and summarize the political and socio-economic problems afflicting Nigeria, just for the fun of it or the benefit of applause.

    Besides a few good men and real heroes who have staked their lives and personal comfort to protest the gross ineptitude and bestiality of the ruling class and the society at large, most of us have accepted to remain acquiescent; when we are criticized for being unacceptably docile, we respond that there is infinite wisdom in choosing our battles wisely and keeping our mouth shut.

    Nonetheless, we continue to mount the soapbox in our living rooms, around our dinner tables and in the ubiquitous ‘beer parlours’ criticizing our leaders, casting blames and justifying our pathetic and apologetic existence.

    The tragedy subsists in our customary lamentation about the state of the Nigerian nation; every time our conscience is roused with a damning report, as it is still customary of us, more racist politicians and activists suggest that we split and go our separate ways touting it as the only solution to our league of extraordinary problems.

    There is no wisdom in secession unless it serves to eliminate the same bogeys that make Nigeria a living hell for us. Secession, I maintain, is the fruit of ‘reason’ that we need to be wary of and I will continue to say this hoping every prospective muscle – that is, the youth – by which the separatists hope to achieve their dreams of dissolution, would listen and learn to let the secessionists risk their skins and their lineages to actualize their platitudes.

    Let every political godfather, public office hopeful and so on send their sons and wives and daughters on to the streets to wield cutlasses, guns and bombs. Let the ruling class recall their children from their Ivy League schools and exclusive mansions abroad to march on the streets and hack to death perceived oppositions to their political ambitions. Let every youth from humble background and the breadlines mobilize instead to collectively seek an end to the ruling class’ reign of terror.

    Violence and bloodshed is never the answer; secession is never the answer to our woes.

    The biggest misconception about separation, insurgence, self-determination or whatever the separatists choose to call it is that it could be peaceful and that the end result would be a conscientious and citizenry-centred dispensation.

    It’s all dirty, greedy politics; the separatists want the youth to fly the flags of their dream nations, they want everybody to brandish a bumper sticker that bellows, “Death to the Federal Republic of Nigeria!” They call anyone that’s anti-war and anti-secession, “pacifist,” “traitor” or whatever colourful adjective suits their rage. Then they promise the youth a prosperous future and better fate under their dream nation. Consequently, youth that ought to know better buy into such farce and they all begin to dream and talk of the great uprising that would set them free from the living hell Nigeria has become.

    Even when we see through the promises of the separatists, we choose to ignore it for the love of paltry inducements and instant gratification. It’s about time the Nigerian youth started postponing immediate gratification and endure hard sacrifices spurred by conviction that the future can be better than the past.

    But we face a far more difficult problem at our moment in history. What do you promise youth who have been told they can have anything they want, who are repeatedly urged to seek the best of all possible circumstances without shedding sweat for it? How do you tell them that “the good times,” as they have known them or heard of them, will definitely come back?

    The Nigerian youth needs a new vision to help them deal with reality, a promising story of the future that helps them let go of the pains and disappointments of the past. We need a grand vision of possibilities that Nigerians may pursue and dream on: the country’s rich socio-cultural and political tradition, the right of all citizens to larger lives. Such dreams should never be about getting richer than the guy next door or accumulating obscene wealth for applause and to show off but the right to live life more fully and engage more expansively the elemental possibilities of human existence.

     

    • To be continued…

  • Summary of facts

    At no time in the life of man can the true nature of human existence more manifest than in Ramadan. It is in that sacred month that Muslims reflect mostly on the purpose of their existence on earth. Some people fasted actively last year but are no more today. Some put their feet at the door step of Ramadan this year but never entered it. Some fell by the way side along the line. Some fasted with absolute faith in Allah and confidence in making use of the lessons of Ramadan. Some joined the spiritual train with no idea of their destination in the month.

    Segments of Ramadan

    At the beginning of this sacred month, an analysis was done in this column classifying the 30 or 29 days of Ramadan into three segments. The first segment was said to contain the first ten days of the month during which the blessings of Allah came to the faithful Muslims freely and in abundance. Except for meeting that segment with faith and good intention, there was no working for it. That segment ended after 10 days paving way for the second segment that began the following day.

    During the 10 day period of the second segment, most fasting Muslims intensified worship (‘Ibadah) by spending their days and nights seeking Allah’s forgiveness and by chanting Istighfar. But such forgiveness was neither automatic nor free. Usually, conditions were attached to it. One of such conditions was for every fasting Muslim to admit his/her misdeeds and repent of them. The second was for such Muslim to voluntarily and genuinely seek forgiveness. And the third condition was to resolve never to return to such misdeeds again. To seek Allah’s forgiveness during the month of Ramadan, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was reported to have said that “if you want to speak with Allah, make your request on prostration. And if you want Allah to speak to you recite the Qur’an”. No one who abided by the above conditions and followed it scrupulously would ever be disappointed. Allah is both a promising and a fulfilling God. He never reneges on His promise. In Qur’an 2:186 He promises thus: “…when my servants ask you (Prophet Muhammad) about me, tell them that I am very close to them. I answer the prayers of whoever seeks my favour if he prays to me (without any intermediary). So, let them expect my favourable response and trust in me so that they may be rightly guided”

    Midway Ramadan

    Those second ten days were not just to consolidate on the blessings of the first ten days, they were also to prepare the fasting Muslims for the last ten days when they were expected to be fully liberated from the evil machinations of any Satanic forces.

    Human life is not measured by the time or manner of his or her death. In Islam, death is neither the consequence of sin nor the repercussion of ignorance. There are instances when the sinless dies and the sinful lives. There are also instances when the learned dies while the ignorant lives. The schedule of life and death is not in the custody of any human being. Death is a debt which every living being owes and must pay.

    Not even Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was spared of death or given a foreknowledge of it. Allah ordered him to say in the Q. 10:49 thus: “Say I have not the power to benefit or to harm myself except what Allah pleases. Unto every nation is a fixed term. When their terms expire, they cannot delay it by an hour nor can they bring it forth before its time”.

    This is a verse of the Qur’an which the ignorant ones have severally quoted and interpreted according to their whim. In their imagination, they want the Prophet to claim infallibility to enable them call him a liar.

    Nostalgia

    Some people dream but never live to realise their dreams. Some look but never see. It is only in the imagination of man that age should be a factor of death. We shall all die at our scheduled time. Therefore, whoever is privileged to pass through this year’s Ramadan successfully should endeavour to add spiritual value to his or her life and not diminish in faith after the sacred month. We shall all account for that value before Allah.

    In a few days time this year’s Ramadan will come to an end by the grace of Allah and we shall continue to look back with nostalgia to the good things we have done in the sacred month. For instance we shall remember that in no other month of Hijrah calendar is the role of Muslim women more pronounced than in Ramadan. Like in other months, they display the roles of wives, mothers as well as that of their husbands’ confidants. But more than in other months, they exhibit their religious dedication in Ramadan.

    In that sacred month they fast like their men counterparts. They pray five times daily like men do. They join those men in observing Tarawih. Some of them even attend Tafsir and public lectures. Yet they engage in their daily work just like their men counterparts either in the offices, shops, or farms. And they never relent in carrying out their matrimonial duties.

    Even as they assist their husbands financially in maintaining the homes, they still take care of those husbands as well as the children and relatives domestically. At the time of the day when the husbands are knocked out by fatigue arising from fasting, the wives are still busy in the kitchen preparing Iftar for the household. At the time in the night when some husbands are engaged in Tahajjud, or are snoring in bed, the wives are already up in the kitchen preparing the Sahur for the family.

    Some of these women are carrying pregnancy. Some are suckling their children. Some of them are knowledgeable enough to do the Tilawah (recitation of the Qur’an) like their husbands. Some are even rich enough to finance the home fully or partially.

    And, in all these activities, they never feel tired. Where and when they feel tired, they never show it. If any month has ever depicted the virtues of women, it is Ramadan and the women activities in it. If for the reason of their activities in Ramadan alone, they deserve tenderness and dignified treatment in the hands of their husbands.

    We shall also remember the role of our children in the month and then endeavour to ensure the continuity of those rewarding activities.

    Allah’s greatest gift

    Children are Allah’ greatest gift to man. Their presence in a house is blessing. Their contribution is immense. Those are children for you. They can act as much of teachers just as they are of students. They learn fast, they teach fast. They are a major security for parents in any given environment.

    Children play both temporal and spiritual roles in a matrimonial life. And with such roles, they sometimes create hope for humanity and sometimes, they signal despair. They are the greatest asset in the possession of parents in time of peace. They are also the greatest weapon for them against the forces of Satan.

    Because of their innocence, they pave way for God’s forgiveness and quick acceptance of prayers. And, most importantly, children guarantee the continuity of man’s existence on earth. It is only with them that the fulfilment of today’s promise is possible tomorrow.

    In the Qur’an, children are mentioned many times and most often with reverence. They are treated in that glorious book as a major issue in the life of man. As orphans, they do not only have a role to play, they also compel some adults to play a role relating to them.

    As heirs to their parents, they have substantial shares in inheritance. Muslim children are like cubs. They follow the footstep of their parents or guardians a lot. They are often with their parents during the five daily prayers. They watch their parents as the latter give charity to the poor. They accompany them to public lectures and Islamic social gatherings.

    And, in Ramadan, children are part of the Muslims’ total spiritual package. They wake up with them at night. They fast with them in the day. They break the fast with them at sunset. They join their parents at Tafsir and night lectures. They participate in Laylatul Qadr and in giving Zakatul Fitr to the poor.

    In all these activities, they are supposed to be encouraged. At the tender age of seven, they should be guided to fast even if for half a day. And when they reach the age of 10 they should be strengthened in faith and in religious deeds. They should be provided with necessities of life both on the temporal and spiritual grounds. With these, they will grow up to become the fulfilment of their parents’ dreams.

    Most children grow up as good or bad Muslims by emulating their parents. A child is therefore what his parents make him. If advantage of Ramadan is not taken by parents to mould their children into good Muslims what other platform will be used? Your child is your sun. Make hey while it shines.

    Neighbours

    We shall also recall how we related to our neighbours, especially the non-Muslims among them in that month. In Islam, neighbours are as important as the next of kin. And, Islam attaches so much respect to them. According to Bukhari and Muslim, Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) was reported to have sworn by Allah three times saying: “he does not believe in Allah whoever creates fear in his neighbours atrociously”

    In another Hadith also reported by Bukhari and Muslim, the Prophet was quoted as saying that “Whoever believes in Allah and the last day let him be nice to his neighbours and respect his guests”

    In the month of Ramadan a good Muslim is expected to wear a new toga of sobriety and repentance. He doubles his good deeds to his neighbours, extending generosity to them and cultivating a new atmosphere of friendliness and trust with them. He genuinely gives them as much impression of love and brotherhood as he does with his consanguine relatives.

    It does not matter whether the neighbours are Muslims or non-Muslims. Neither does it matter whether they are tribesmen or non-natives. The Prophet did not discriminate in his Hadith when he was admonishing on neighbours. And that is the inalienable position of Islam on neighbours. Whoever, had quarrelled with his neighbours, therefore, let him go and settle the quarrel.

    Besides abstaining from foods, drinks and sex, in the month of Ramadan, a good Muslim must mind his relationship with people around him including neighbours. Fasting in the month of Ramadan cannot be taken in half measure. Whoever wants to receive full rewards for his religious activities in Ramadan let him treat his neighbours well. And, when Ramadan is over, the good deeds must be kept on. Ramadan is not made a pillar of Islam by accident. Its purpose is to return man to the original state of purity into which he was created. That Allah entrusts the world to man is also not by accident. Allah consulted wide and far before entrusting this great responsibility to man having volunteered to bear it. This much is revealed in Qur’an 33:71 thus: “We offered the trust (of the world) to the heavens; the earth and the mountains they all turned it down and were afraid of it. Man undertook to bear it but he has proved to be insincere and deceitful”. For man to re-examine himself, repent his misdeeds and be redeemed, therefore, Allah brought Ramadan as a means of rescue.

    Needs and wants

    It is in the month of Ramadan that Muslims reconfirm NEEDS rather than WANTS as the necessities required for the sustenance of their lives. Muslims, by their faith and orientation, are not, ordinarily, given to WANTS. They are more concerned about NEEDS than WANTS. The reason for this is not far-fetched. With NEEDS come contentment and satisfaction while WANTS are the cause of greed and avarice.

    Allah, the creator and Sustainer of the universe, had provided the needs of every living creature even before its creation. But then, He knew that of all those creatures man alone would go beyond NEEDS into the realm of WANTS. That was perhaps what informed the negative role which Satan assumed in the life of man shortly after the creation of Adam.

    By introducing WANTS to man, what Satan did was to create a permanent job for himself in the life of man. Without WANTS the world would not have been what it is today. Blood would not have been shed. Money would not have been deified. Hatred would not have been known to man. And, man’s inhumanity to man would have been totally averted.

    The effect of WANTS first became known when Qabil (Cain), the first son of Adam preferred his brother’s wife to his. In the argument which ensued, Qabil (Cain) killed his brother Habil (Abel) and combined the latter’s wife with his. Thus, greed and avarice became ingredients of man’s culture. And WANTS rather than NEEDS became the domineering factor in the life of man.

    Place of mosques

    One delightful thing in the sacred month was to note that Nigerian mosques were full of Muslim youths. By this, a silent Islamic renaissance seems to be going on especially in Nigerian society. It looks like a repeat of the situation that led to the formation of the Muslim Students’ Society (MSS) in 1954. With this development, two great possibilities are expected to sail Islam through the coast of good hope in the 21st century. One is the return of the mosque to its original objective. The other is the inalienable continuation of Islamic dynamism in reshaping the destiny of mankind. The hope that these two possibilities are achievable in the hands of today’s teeming Muslim youths is in fulfilment of a fundamental prophesy about the signs of the last days. One of these signs is that ‘the sun will start rising where it used to set’. The reference here is not to the physical sun. The Prophet was referring to the spiritual photosynthesis of the souls of mankind for the ultimate metamorphosis of those souls from mortality to immortality. The agent of photosynthesis in this case is Islam. And, the fulfilment of this prophesy is gradually being confirmed today either by technology or science.

    When Prophet Muhammad (SAW) established the very first Mosque in Madinah (Masjid Al-Qubah) in 622 A.C, the purpose was more than just Salat. To the Muslims the mosque is not supposed to be just a house of worship. It should also be a school, a library, a hospital, a court, a media centre and a parliament. Without the mosque, the unity of the Muslims would have been impossible.

    Mosque is the meeting place for offering Salat five times a day. It is the centre of congregation for Jum’at prayer every Friday. It brings the Muslims together twice in a year for congregational observance of Eidul-Fitr and Eidul-Adha. Yet, the meeting place called ‘Arafah which is the climax of Hajj is a mosque.

    The mosques in Makkah, Madinah, and Quds (Jerusalem) serve the same purpose as those in Cairo, Jakarta, Rio and Sydney. And, there is no difference between the mosque in Sokoto and the one in Rio de Janeiro .

    Generally, the mosque plays a central role in fortifying the unity of the Muslims wherever they are. But unfortunately, with time and crave for personal benefits, the mosque has been relegated to just a place for Salat alone. That is the real cause of the backwardness in which the Muslim Ummah is now wallowing. With the experience of the sacred month fasting Muslims have gained bounteously. Such bounties must not be lost. Today is the last Friday in this year’s Ramadan. It is our wish and prayer that we shall play active and positive roles during Ramadan in the years ahead in sha’Allah. Once again, ‘The Message’ column wishes its teeming readers, especially Muslims, Ramadan Karim and ‘Id Mubarak in advance.

     

  • A big deal

    A big deal

    It’s a small step for a party, but a big step for democracy.”

    “Let me go further. It’s a small step for a man, but a big step for a nation.”

    “Progressives finally have a fighting chance; they are moving from the margin of political existence to the centre of legislative and executive decision-making. In the twinkle of an eye, with the courage of an agency of government, progressivism has gotten rid of scaremongers. It’s a good day for progressives.”

    Opalaba went on and on as I feigned complete ignorance of what he was talking about.

    Of course, earlier in the day I had received a call from an excited Sunday Dare: “Good morning, Sir” and before I could answer, Sunday went on, as if he had borrowed a leaf from Opalaba’s playbook:

    “Oga is very excited, Sir. APC has been registered!”

    “Wow” I answered. That’s great. But isn’t the meeting supposed to be on Thursday? I asked, wondering if someone was trying to play a trick on us and make a fool of us.”

    “Yes, Sir” Sunday responded, “but for reasons best known to INEC, the meeting had been held earlier today (Wednesday) and Asiwaju has been on the phone with the leadership.”

    “Wonderful; Excellent; Oh, that’s so great. Now democracy is on course, I went on in my own excitement, forgetting for a moment that I was in my office.”

    Later in the night, we gathered together in my living room, with the Jagaban himself, who in fifteen years, has evolved and transformed himself, with palpable acts of courage and foresight to become the most acknowledged political strategist that Nigeria has ever produced. Bola Tinubu’s political enemies are still in political wilderness, and are not likely to vacate that space of irrelevance because they have failed to acknowledge his political wizardry. Simply put, the fact that Asiwaju has been able to pull this merger through, even if nothing more comes out of it, is a testament to his political skills.

    Fifteen years earlier in August 1998 in the same living room that we gathered to celebrate this merger on Wednesday night, we had agonised over the prospects of the participation of progressives in the Abdulsalami transition programme. It was a post-Egbe Omo Yoruba Convention reception in my house. With Baba Adesanya leading the discussion, the pros and cons were laid down and hotly debated. One view was that we needed to demand a national conference to discuss the way forward for the country and we must insist on constitutional provisions for a true federal system prior to any elections. Another view was that we must secure a territorial space from which we can advance our proposals for a true federal system. The meeting decided to give participation a chance so as not to cede our political space to the military backed politicians whose motives we knew.

    Progressives have always been purists, and that has been the nemesis of mainstreaming a progressive political agenda. After that decision and participation was endorsed, we moved from one political group to another because we didn’t want to have anything to do with some individuals who had collaborated with the military in one shape or form. I must confess that I have been one of the purists. But that is why I am not a politician. Bill Clinton, the American counterpart of Asiwaju Tinubu in the important task of political strategising once famously pronounced that politics is arithmetic. It’s a game of numbers. For a long time, we have failed the test of numbers largely because of our puritan tendencies.

    I was in deep thought about all these when Opalaba’s call came in and I pretended as if I knew nothing. He went on.

    “Why are you so quiet?” I expect some excitement from your end. This is why I am always worried about you egg-heads. When there is cause for jubilation, you turn inwards as if you have no emotion. Is it all about mind? Is reflection all there is to life? Get a life, my friend. Break the Champagne, right now and I’d propose the toast to the birth of a new baby: Ayo abara tintin!”

    “Wait a minute, my friend. Since when have you become so enthralled about politics? I am beginning to fear that old age is having its toll.”

    “You are right about that. This is probably my “Nunc Dimittis” moment. I have waited so long for progressives to have a real shot at the centre. Despite his genuine efforts and outstanding service to the masses, and his truthfulness to a progressive agenda, Chief Obafemi Awolowo wasn’t able to form a credible alternative to the reactionary clique that controlled the center in the first and second republics. Perception has always been the superior of reality in our political history. Now change is coming. Old alliances are broken and new ones taking effect because of the political sensitivity of one man and his ability to persuade like-minded folks. Progressives must doff their hats to Asiwaju Tinubu,” Opalaba concluded his beatitudes.

    “So you are actually ready to go now?” I asked my friend. “Remember now that shortly after he sang the song, Simeon, the author of Nunc Dimittis simply gave up the ghost! He just passed on because he had seen the glory of the Lord. Now that you have seen the glory of progressive politics, are you done? Should we start the arrangements?”

    “Of course, I knew that you would pounce on that. That’s the kind of friend you are. But it’s just the beginning, and the end is most definitely important. My only hope is that this beginning is not thwarted; that the leadership of the new party learns from experience; that internal democracy is their watchword; that they are sensitive to the presentation of a uniquely democratic alternative to the electorate because in the final analysis, it is what matters most. It’s a game of numbers.”

    “Surely, my friend, and I am one with you on these observations. What is particularly important is that All Progressives Congress (APC) is seen by all as a party of progressives with a progressive agenda focusing on the welfare of the people and a true federal arrangement. “

    When a former southwest governor queried the authenticity of the progressive label, I marveled at the misrepresentation of issues. On the part of that governor, the tie that binds the disparate entities of Nigeria together is oil. If wealth from oil gone, he suggests, Nigeria is no more. Yet it is true that oil wealth has not always been there and in those days of agricultural wealth, we observed how Nigeria held together through investment in human talents.

    The seat that that former governor occupied was the seat that Chief Obafemi Awolowo governed from. It is public record that Chief Obafemi Awolowo once defied the central government when he was given an unacceptable condition for the acceptance of federal subsidy. Awolowo told the central government to keep its funds because he could not sacrifice the educational agenda he had for the people on the altar of a federal promise that would scuttle that agenda. He successfully sourced internal revenue for his programme. That is what progressivism is about.

    It is not a coincidence that Asiwaju Tinubu famously resisted Obasanjo’s Federal Government intrusion into the affairs of Lagos State between 2003 and 2007 leading to the withholding of the states’ funds. And Lagos State did not collapse. That is what progressivism is about. There is a record for APC to emulate. Let’s get on with it.