The Nation Newspaper

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  • The message in retrospect

    The message in retrospect

    Preamble

    The Ability to speak or write is a special gift from the AlmightyAllah. With time, such ability may become a hobby and eventually grow into a skill. Speaking, no matter how eloquently, cannot be as important as getting audience. So is the case with writing. A speaker can be classified as an orator only by his audience. Radio and television broadcasters as well as public motivational speakers can attest to this. Similarly, an author or a columnist can be celebrated or denigrated only by his readers. Any writer who takes his readers for granted, therefore, can only do so at his own peril. Such a writer may not be qualified for an author or a columnist.

    A Column by accident Memory lane

    Ever since yours sincerely started writing this column in The Nation newspaper, in September, 2006, no week has passed by without a barrage of reations reaching me even on some occasions when the column is not published for one reason or another.

    This is not just because I called the column a participatory one in its maiden edition but mostly because some readers who had long been familier with it since its inception in Concord newspaper, in 1982, acknowledge its quality and appreciate the methodology with which it is presented to showcase Islam to the world every Friday. For instance on a particular topic entitled: NO! MR. PRESIDENT, NO!, published in this column on February 2, 2007, when a onetime Army General from the Southwest, (Chief) Olusegun Okikiolakan Aremu Obasanjo was at the twilight of his second term of four years in office as Nigerian PresidentI, I received 189 phone calls, 107 text messages and 1143 written comments through the e-mail. That was about five months after the commencement of this column in The Nation newspaper. After I left Concord newspaper in 1989,  most readers of this column followed it to other Nigerian newspapers like Vanguard, The Monitor and The Nation. Some even followed it to some foreign magazines such as The Inquiry, Al-Afkar, Africa Now, At-Tawheed  and a host of others including some academic journals. Thus, questions, observations and comments kept coming consistently into this column from various parts of the world in form of reactions.

    Comment

    Now, 13 yeas after the column debut in The Nation newspaper, I consider it fair to refresh the memories of its original readers by recalling some of those reactions in retrospect if only to further confirm that readers, like customers, are kings and queens in their own rights, in the market of literacy. After all, it is only a novice writer that will close his ears or eyes to readers’ comments even if such comments are negative and bitterly reprobative. Ordinarily, as a columnist, I often feel psychologically elated when reactions to my column come in torrents from different conceivable angles, based on different perceptions.

    Some Published Reactions

    It should be noted that the few reactions received over some publications, over a decade ago, and published below were randomly selected from the piling chunk in my kitty at that time. Those reactions were, however, not necessarily more important than many others which were not published then. Meanwhile, in the spirit of participatoriness, some reactions to this column will, henceforeth, resume publication from time to time, as space may permit. This may strengthen the trust of the readers in the interactiveness of the column.

    While thanking all the readers of this 37 years old column, particularly those who have been reacting to it (home and abroad), since its inception, for their encouragement and well wish. I pray the Almighty Allah to appreciate their good intentions and encouraging actions as He (Allah) alone can reward them abundantly.

    First meeting with the Sultan

    It came as an undreamt surprise when my telephone rang at exactly 11.50 am on the first Sunday in February, 2007. My first reaction after pickimg the call was: “who is on the line, please?” especially when the call came without an identity. The caller simplay identified himself as SA’AD Abubakar. I immediately searched my brain for a possible familiarization with that identity. But while doing that, I did not know that I was repeating the name Sa’d Abubakar in a seeming soliloquy until His Eminence said: Ah!Don’t you know anybody bearing that name?. And in my reaction, I said the only person I can think of that bears that name is the new Sultan. It was then that His Eminence said: alright, this is the Sultan. At that moment, dumpfounded. The only clear words that I could utter were “Your Eminence!” before I went stammering. I was overwhelmed. In that telephone conversation,

    With a tone of commendation, His Eminence appreciated my writings and said that he had been reading my column since the now defunct Concord days. He counselled me never to relent especially in calling a spade a spade as I had been doing. And, as the Commander of the Muslim faithful, (Amirul Muminin), he showered royal prayers on me and promised to be calling again in future.

    That was one call that made, not just my day, but probably my year. It was one reaction that confirmed my observation once expressed in an article in this column about this new Sultan shortly after his instalation.

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    By that surprise call alone, the new Sultan added to the chain of “FIRSTS which I listed in the mentioned article. In my 25 years of experience in journalism, as at that time, I could not remember when any public figure of Sultan’s status ever made a similar call to any common journalist except when seeking a media favour.

    A Launch with his eminence

    About two weeks after the above narrated encounter with him on the telephone, His Eminence called again to invite me to Kaduna from Ibdan for a launch with him. And, at his palace in Kaduna, This great Sultan sat down with me on bare carpet where we took a special launch together. That was my first experience of royal conduct in Nigeria’s Sultanate.

    By his conduct and actions so far, since he came to the exhalted throne, Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, has shown, by all means, an exemplary leadership for other Nigerian leaders or aspiring leaders to emulate. With him, Nigerian Muslims are being reminded of the Caliphate time of Umar Bn Khattab and Umar Bn Abdul Aziz when it was established and entrenched that leadership is neither by vicious display of force nor by crude bully and animalistic brutality. May the Almighty Allah be merciful to Nigerian Muslim Ummah by preserving the life of this Sultan with divine guidance and protection for the good of this life and that of the Hereafter. We also pray that the glow of His Eminence’s crescent may be brazenly kindled for a long, long time to come without experiencing an eclipse. Amin.

     Some reders reactions

    Femi, EFCC is on the side of the poor that is why the thieves in high places want to destroy it. Someday, state power will become the oppressed and the oppressors will fall to rise no more”. Amos Ejimonye, Kaduna.

    “Mr. Femi Abbas, your write -up on EFCC made my day glorious. Tafa Balogun, former IGP, saw danger in the enormous power conferred on the youthful Ribadu. Ehinderos greed for power conspired with Ribadu to oust him. The same Obasanjo will consume both Ribadu and Ehindero after April polls. You have said it all. Keep watching. God bless you”. Afolabi, ACP, (rtd).

    “Salam alaikun,

    I read The Nation Newspaper published on February 2, 2007. In fact, I like the way you advised Mr. President. May Allah reward you abundantly. Keep it up, it is part of Jihad.

    May Allah SWT, continue to protect you as He may continue to enrich your thinking. Last Friday’s essay was prophetic”. A.A. Amoo, Ede .

    “Dear Brother, your write-up on Mr. Presidents inconsistencies last Friday was very superb. May Allah continue to increase your knowledge”. Owolabi Abdullah.

    “Your article: NO! Mr. President NO! is a great piece and a great voice of hope at a time of sickening sycophancy. God bless you for it”. Dele, Lagos .

    “Femi, your 02-02-07 article brought out tears from my eyes, I found it hard to eat. Seriously, I became sleepless. May God see us through this terrible mess? Segun Eleshin.

    “Salam!

    Good write-up in The Nation this morning. Please keep it up”. Lai Olurode, UNILAG.

    “Salam,

    Brother Abbas, thank you for your great contribution on Muslim family. What I read on The Nation newspaper last December 2006 concerning Muslim-Family was a good Article. I will be expecting more from you”. Abdul -Yekeen Mustapha. Owo Poly, H.N.D 2, BAM, Ondo State . Mas-salam.

    “Dear Femi Abbas, your article today on the atrocities of the current regime under the topic: NO! MR, PRESIDENT, NO! is an eye opener. It reminds me of your powerful column in the good old days of Concord newspaper.

    You are a special gift to Islam in Nigeria. I hope that one day you will be recognized by Nigerian Muslim community as the late Abul Ala Al- Maududi was recognized in India or Ahmad Deeda in South Africa. And, if not, may Allah recognize you and shower you with the rewards of the Prophets great scribe, Zayd bn Thabit. Jazakumu – Llah khayran”. Idris Mustapha, Zaria .

    “Brother Femi Abbas, I did not know that you write a column in The Nation newspaper until my attention was drawn to it this morning. The last time I read your article was in Vanguard and that was over five years ago. The analysis on the EFCC is fantastic as usual. I had always believed that the establishment of the EFCC was a good action based on a dirty intention.

     The recent developments in the country concerning that commission have vindicated my belief. And, your analysis tallied with my thought on the commission. I totally agree with you that the commission is a peculiar mess to Nigeria, created by the current peculiar ruling class to further oppress the populace in the name of fighting corruption. Now that I know of this column, The Nation automatically becomes my paper. God bless you”. Sherifah Abdullah, Lagos.

    “Femi, thank you for your brilliant Friday sermons, coming up in form of a column. Without a gun or sword, you have voluntarily chosen to be the people’s soldier defending us fiercely against the raging tsunami of the satanic forces who, unfortunately, happen to be our rulers today. I particularly enjoy your writing on Mr. President’s perception of national security and of course, the one on EFCC. If columnists like you were many, who can call a spade its real name, perhaps Nigeria would not have slipped into the hands of devils. Please fire on. Your pen is mightier than their missiles”. Bayo Jemitan, Ilorin .

    “Hello! Femi, Reading your column every Friday is like drinking cold, fresh water after a long trek in a hot desert. I am not a Muslim, but I see your column as one for all good Nigerians and not Muslims alone. With your article: ‘NO! MR. PRESIDENT, NO!’ published on February 2, 2007, you have endeared me to The Nation Newspaper. If what you are doing in that column is what Muslims call Jihad then I am for it. Don’t rest on your oars. May God strengthen your fortress in all directions?” James Ahamisu, Asaba.

    “Thank you for reminding us of the late great leader, General Murtala Muhammed, in your article of last Friday titled-‘EFCC: LET THE TRUTH BE TOLD’. If anybody is qualified to be called the father of modern Nigeria it is General Muhammed and not the leopard called Obasanjo, now parading himself as such. Through your article, we still remember that great leader (Murtala Muhammaed)’ revolution, reformation and reorientation of Nigeria within six months of his governance. Murtala was an impartial creator and executor of ideas. He was an exemplary leader who started reformation of our society with himself. He surrendered his personal property to the state because he believed that he wrongly used his office to acquire it before he became Head of State. And, he never sold any state property to himself at give-away price. Neither did he flout the law of the land despite the fact that he was a military Head of State. That was a leader by all standards. He and not the current impostor, self-styled messiah (Obasanjo), should be called and recognized as the father of modern Nigeria” . Ademola Atolagbe, Owu, Abeokuta .

    “Hello! Femi, you are not alone in your opinion on President Obasanjo’s misconception of national security. Having moved from the prison to the Presidency without rehabilitation and reorientation, the man lost touch with modern reality and ruled with a prisoner’s vision. He has forgotten how Abacha started and ended. Such is the characteristic of African leaders. By the time he leaves the office very soon, and joins the league of former Presidents, God willing, his eyes will be open to the reality of what Nigeria is. Those who refuse to learn from history will surely bear the brunt of history”.

    Okey Ibeabuchi, Owerri.

    “Mr. Abbas, with your article published on December 1, 2006, entitled ‘- GOD! GIVE US A LEADER….’ You touched the hearts of most living Nigerians. That prayer was a precise summary of all prayers which most Nigerians have been offering especially about leadership. What remains for us is simply to say Amen. God bless you”. Daniel Akpan, Calabar.

    NB: Very soon, this column may begin a Jihad against two major scourges threatening to devour our dear country soul and body. One of the scourges is corruption. The other is religious hate speeches. The damages done to Nigeria by these two vices in the past three decades are better left to imagination. As a religious column, it becomes necessary to address these two vices for the sake of peaceful co-existence of the citizens in the present and in the future. In doing this, issues causing both scourges will be examined and assessed from all angles with a view to educating the populace on how to overcome them. Readers are expected to contribute to this Jihad if only to enable peace and prosperity reign in our country. And, by the grace of God, we shall not fail to succeed. Welcome on board. Meanwhile a second part of this article may be written in this column next week. Watch out for it.

  • The Message

    The Message

    Preamble

    ‘My service to my people is part of the discipline to which I subject myself in order to free my soul from the bonds of the flesh…For me the path of salvation leads through the unceasing tribulation in the service of my fellow countrymen and humanity’. Mahatma Ghandi (1869-1948)

    The above quoted statement by the late Indian Statesman and sage, Mahatma Ghandi, epitomizes patriotism in all its ramifications. However, it requires life, hope and sincerity of purpose to be so dedicatedly determined. Perhaps, if Ghandi had been a Nigerian he would not have made such a statement or if it was necessary, he would have made it with reservation and that is if circumstances of life would ever permit him to make it at all. This indicates that an Indian of Ghandi‘s status and intent might be an aberration in Nigerian environment. Detailed analysis on this may be left for another day.

    On May 22, 2013, the compulsory National service scheme in Nigeria generally known as National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) was 40 years old. It was another time for the federal government to roll out drums characteristically in celebration of the occasion with pump and pageantry. And the cost, as usual, was though not disclosed, must have run into billions of naira. From that jamboree, new millionaires or even billionaires must have emerged while bank accounts of some government officials must have swollen beyond imagination. Yet, we are fighting corruption tooth and nail.

    The Value of 40

    Forty years is universally acknowledged as the age of maturity. It is the age of mature reasoning when man is expected to handle matters with little supervision. It is the age at which the mistakes of the adolescent years and early adulthood are corrected. Incidentally it is the age at which every Prophet of Allah except Isa (Jesus) was commissioned to deliver Allah‘s message to mankind. Any man at that age who can still not think before acting is called ‘a fool at 40‘. Ditto a government or a nation.

    The establishment of the NYSC scheme by the military government under the leadership of General Yakubu Gowon was not fortuitous. With the promulgation of Decree 24 of 1973, the scheme was established on May 22 of the same year not only as a demonstration of the government‘s genuine intention to fulfil the regime‘s post civil war policy of ‘Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Reconciliation’ (otherwise called three ‘R’) but also to accelerate the country‘s socio-economic development as well as to foster national unity and integration.

    Purpose of NYSC

    The Scheme was charged with the responsibility of mobilizing, deploying and administering Nigerian Youths who must have graduated from tertiary institutions. Their duration of compulsory national service was scheduled to be one full year during which they are to be groomed for leadership. The objectives of the Scheme which compel the youth graduates to serve in States other than those of their origin are as follows:

    •To inculcate discipline in Nigerian youths by instilling in them a tradition of industry at work and of patriotic service to Nigeria in any situation they may find themselves

    •To raise the moral value of Nigerian youths by providing them with the opportunity to learn about higher ideals of national achievements as well as social and cultural improvement

    •To develop in the Nigerian youths, the attitudes of mind acquired through shared experience and suitable trading which will make them amenable to mobilization in the national interest •To enable Nigerian youths acquire the spirit of self reliance by encouraging them to develop skills for self employment

    •To contribute to the accelerated growth of the national economy

    •To develop common ties (among Nigeria youths) geared towards the promotion of National unity and integration

    •To remove prejudice, eliminate ignorance and confirm, at first hand, the many similarities among Nigerians of all ethnic groups and

    •To develop a sense of corporate existence and common destiny of Nigerian people

    The Cardinal Points

    There were four cardinal points upon which the scheme is based. These are Mobilization, Orientation/ Induction Course, Primary Assignment/Community Development Services (CDS) and Winding Up/Passing Out. Through these cardinal points the scheme mobilizes Nigerians below the age of 30 years who are graduates of Universities and Polytechnics (at a time, graduates of Colleges of Education were involved) for a one year national service in any part of the Country. Such qualified Nigerians are given an instrument of mobilization otherwise known as Call-Up letter which shows the state in which to serve and other particulars relating to the prospective Corps members.  Also, a three weeks training programme primarily designed to prepare corps members for the one year national service is provided and the training takes place in venues called Orientation Camps located in all the States of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    The orientation course provides a platform for interaction among Nigerian Youths of diverse backgrounds and inclinations. Then, at the end of the Orientation exercise, corps members are posted to serve in both the public and private sectors. During this period, they provide skilful assistance in meeting the much needed man-power in the rural and urban Communities.

    The corps members are distributed to all the communities which now make up the 774 Local Government Areas in the 36 states of the Federation plus the Federal Capital Territory.

    In addition, a Community Development Scheme was designed to be carried out by the Corps members along with their Primary Assignments. The CDS was planned to bring development to the host Communities through the activities of the Corps members for whom a day was set aside in a week to carry out Community Development initiative based on community need and to provide a platform for sustainable development in active cooperation of host communities. Finally, a winding up/passing out programme was designed to draw the curtain over the service year and bring the corps members together once again to enable them share their experiences during the service year and deliberate on their individual future agenda. This is an opportunity for most corps members to exchange contact addresses and thereby establish permanent relationships. Thus, from such relationships, intertribal marriages and business partnerships emerged. The scheme remains one of the greatest achievements of General Yakubu Gowon  as Nigeria‘s military Head of State.

    Policy Formulation

    At the time of formulating the NYSC policy, Nigeria was still a country plagued by a myriad of problems generally known with underdeveloped countries such as poverty, mass illiteracy, acute shortage of high skilled manpower (coupled with most uneven distribution of the skilled people that are available), inadequate socio-economic infrastructural facilities, terrible housing shortage, lack of water and sewage facilities, roads, healthcare services, and effective communication system.  Faced by these almost intractable problems, which were further compounded by the burden of reconstruction after the civil war, the government and people of Nigeria set for the country, fresh goals, and objectives aimed at establishing a new Nigeria from the debris of the old. The aim was to build a united, strong and self-reliant nation; a dynamic economy; as well as open opportunities for all citizens in a free and democratic society.

    It must be remembered that only six Universities existed in Nigeria by that time. These were the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; University of Ibadan,

    Ibadan; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; University of Lagos, Lagos, University of Ife, Ile Ife and University of Benin, Benin City. All these Universities, except University of Ibadan, (which was left behind by the colonialist as a national heritage) were forcefully acquired by the federal military government from their regional owners. And the inadequacy of needed manpower supplied by these Universities warranted the inclusion of graduates of Higher National Diploma (HND) from Polytechnics and later, the holders of National Certificate of Education (NCE). (The latter was however excluded with time following the establishment of more Universities and Polytechnics).

    These universities and other institutions of higher learning are normally expected to serve as training grounds for future leaders, besides being committed to the advancement of learning and knowledge as well as training of people for good citizenship. Perhaps the deviation experienced from this expectation  ab initio led to the accusation levied by members of the public against the products of those institutions of being too elitist in their outlook and of not identifying with the plight of the common man by appreciating the predicament of the vast majority of the citizenry who live in the rural areas.

    Besides the reasonable policy of emulating compulsory national service from some civilized countries, the year 1973 symbolized the foundation of many great thoughts that would have made Nigeria a great African nation. That was the year in which Nigeria could be said to have gained economic independence by changing the national currency from pounds and Shillings inherited from the colonial masters to Naira and Kobo. It was also the year in which Nigeria‘s oil boom began.

    Corps members were paid a monthly stipend of N100 which was only a little less than the new salary of a fresh University graduate at that time. That stipend was not to be increased until the 1980s when inflation began to force the corps members to agitate for more. And for most of the 1980s the stipend paid to corps members was not more than N200 per month. It was only in the 1990s that the stipend attracted some major reviews. And, besides the stipend paid by the federal government and private companies also paid some token to those deployed to them for service. That was in addition to accommodation provided. All these are no more as corps members are now deployed at their own expense. The idea is that they should bear all their expenses from the N19500 or thereabout paid to them monthly. As a matter of fact, the new policy just formulated and which will take effect in November 2014 is that every Youth Corps must pay the sum of N4000 to the federal government for accepting to serve the same government. The newly imposed amount may be reviewed upwards in the near future. That is an evidence of patriotism in Nigeria.

    Irony of Life

    Ironically, some so-called former militants of the South-South who are virtually illiterates without any skills and are not engaged in any job are paid N60000 per month for doing nothing other than laying down their weapons of vandalism. The implication of this is that any youth who wants to share in the federal government‘s largess can just carry arms and engage in vandalism and then be invited to negotiate with the government for a regular monthly salary in lieu of violence. Those who were being forced to serve their country for paltry monthly N19500 were University graduates. And those who were paid N60000 per month for doing nothing were stark illiterates not even qualified to aspire to future leadership. Yet after one year of compulsory service by those corps members, there is nothing for them in terms of job even while the ex-vandals will continue to enjoy their largess of N60000 per month. What an irony? What a country?

    Apart from preparing corps members for formal post graduation jobs and managerial administration in theory, NYSC is also supposed to serve as a major employer of labour by opening doors for many job seekers to be employed across different cadres. But is this the case now? There are hundreds of thousands of University graduates who have served their fatherland only to end up loitering around and riding motorbikes on commercial basis. Is this how to develop a nation? If University graduates are rendered so useless in a country where sheer mediocre are glorified what future is expected of such a country?

    The year 1973 in the history of Nigeria can be called the turnaround year. But how much of that turnaround was utilized for the benefit of the country is a different question.

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    During the celebration of the 20th anniversary of NYSC scheme in 1993, the need to reassess and upgrade the scheme arose. Thus, Decree 51 was promulgated on June 16, 1993 to replace Decree 24 of 1973 with which the scheme was originally established. The aim of the new Decree was to look beyond the immediate present and think of the future leadership of the country for which the corps members were being groomed. This was done with a view to giving them the proper guidance and orientation relevant to the needs of the country. But now, 51 years after the establishment of NYSC, what is the result?

    Deep down in the hearts of the formulators of the NYSC policy the scheme was primarily to inculcate in Nigerian Youths the spirit of selfless service to the community, and an emphasis on oneness and brotherhood of all Nigerians, irrespective of cultural, social or religious backgrounds. The history of our country since independence has clearly indicated the need for unity amongst all our citizens. And, looking at the scheme retrospectively, it is evident that its real effect is vivid not only in the understanding of the cultural settings of certain tribes by corps members from other tribes but also in the settlements of some of those corps members in some parts of the country which, hitherto, could never have been in their dreams.

    Pertinent Questions

    Now, over 50 years after the commencement of this visionary scheme how much of the country‘s objectives have been achieved? Does the scheme truly remain a national service that it was design to be or a servitude to a political clique called leaders? In its early days, NYSC was the pride not only of the serving corps members and undergraduates looking impatiently towards their turn to serve but also that of the nation. Does that still obtain today? Has corruption not derailed the original purpose of that laudable scheme? Are the genuine graduates of Universities and Polytechnics not being replaced by ghost graduates as characteristic of Nigerian system? Are graduates qualified for the service not being delayed for a year or two to enable corruption thrive by bringing in hoodlums and political thugs at the expense of the nation?

    Have factors like nepotism and tribalism not crept into the scheme today? Have stories of embezzlement and other financial scams not disorientated potential corps members and devastated the zeal in them to serve their nation? And what has become of hundreds of thousands who have served in the past many years? Are Nigerian graduates useful for Nigeria today as originally planned?

    Further Questions

    Is Nigeria really reaping the fruits of the NYSC scheme today? Should compulsory service to the nation be an end or a means to an end? And now that corps members are incessantly becoming sacrificial lambs either at the slaughter slabs of some barbaric elements in the north or in the dragnets of some brutal kidnappers in the East shouldn‘t there be a review of the law guarding that scheme if only to safeguard humanity and civility? Should parents continue to lose their children at that level to barbarism and unwarranted brutality in the name of non-existing national unity? Some people sat down to plan the establishment of this scheme. But besides planning to use the scheme as an instrument of embezzling money what plan does the current government have for sustaining it and safeguarding the lives of the youths being compelled to serve the nation? 

    Conclusion

    These and many other questions are begging for urgent answers from the current government while some elements in the government are getting richer by the day. If the pleasant past produced the agonizing present to the benefit of a clique of misfits let no one assume that the agonizing present will produce any hopeful future. The days of life are never the same in other countries. They cannot be the same in Nigeria.

    ‘Allah never changes the situation of a people (or a nation) until those people have sincerely repented and refrained from their iniquities’. Q. 13:11

  • Message to elders of Imo state – speak out!

    The macabre dance started in the early part of July 2011, soon after Rochas Anayo Ethelbert Okorocha became the governor of our beloved state: It was unfortunate! I say “unfortunate” because of the strange circumstances and the coalition of social forces that threw him up as the number one citizen of Imo State. To deceive the people with fake humility and open identification with the labouring poor in the state, Okorocha craftily and ingeniously arranged for press photographers to capture him eating ‘Akara’ (bean ball) on the streets of Owerri, our state capital. The photographs were deliberately and widely used in the media; the restless Owerri tabloids even used them on their front pages, in an attempt to depict the new governor as humble, pro-people and could be accessed easily by the ordinary man in the state. It was all photo trick, calculated to showcase Okorocha as “the man of the people”. And the unwary bought into the trick.

    When he finally settled down to governance proper, the real Rochas Okorocha began to emerge. His style, lack of decency and open disdain for bureaucratic procedures completely took over, along the line. Imo State became the new governor’s huge laboratory for all kinds of political experiments. And these experiments ranged from his collapsed Community Government Council, his three-day-a-week work formula that allows Imo civil servants to work on their farms for the remaining two work-days to what Okorocha called “Direct Labour in Contract Execution”. All kinds of experiments were introduced and mindlessly deployed to make Okorocha’s government look different, super, answerable and in tune with the popular wishes of the people. It was tragic, and before long, our governor was already running his government on flat tyres. Nothing was working, the notable legacies of his predecessors – Sam Mbakwe, Achike Udenwa and Ikedi Ohakim – were either dumped, ill-maintained or totally neglected to create the impression that he was his own man and pursuing his own vision. There was nothing specifically wrong with carving out his own niche, except that the overall impact was negative. The ordinary people, even the elite, began to grumble, complain and regret the day that Okorocha became our governor.

    Some of us began to write, grant interviews and spoke at seminars and workshops on what our state was rapidly becoming and we expected our elders, experienced and tested hands in administration, academia and political offices, to speak out and remind the young man now occupying Douglas House, the seat of government, to apply the brakes and re-organise his governance style and listen to genuine and sincere advice. Even the Catholic Archbishop of Owerri Diocese whose regrettable support for Okorocha helped him to win the controversial governorship elections in March 2011, may have been embarrassed by the new and awkward direction that Okorocha was driving the state. The prominent political elders whose voices carried weight and authority saw what was happening, but chose to be silent because of stomach infrastructure, political considerations or primordial sentiments. Yes, they refused to shout out or speak up. Men of God who command so much influence in the state and who have absolutely nothing to lose, preferred silence and refused to come out boldly to warn against consequences. Nothing like that happened and Rochas Okorocha continued to drive our dear state on flat tyres.

    Then came the year 2015: Those who knew that Imo State was headed in the wrong direction and needed to be pulled back from the brink thought that sincere-minded politicians would easily form a political coalition or partnership that would rescue the state from the grip of one man. Before this time, Okorocha had effortlessly removed his Deputy, Jude Agbaso, whom he accused of all sorts of crimes, not minding that Jude was donated to the Okorocha ticket by Jude’s elder brother, Martin Agbaso, whose political shortsightedness and miscalculation often prevent him from getting his political permutations right. Having humiliated his Deputy, Jude, out of office and ensured that the coast was now clear for him to do as he liked, Okorocha began to consolidate his grip on a state that he inherited a few years before from Ikedi Ohakim that had a vibrant and resilient economy, energy-filled civil service, good infrastructure of maintained roads, clean and green environment, running taps in, at least, the state capital, and an Imo State that recorded low crime rates as a result of deliberate security networking put in place by the Ohakim administration.

    The failure of the political elite in Imo State to construct a viable partnership that ensures that Okorocha was defeated in 2015 gave room for more amazing excesses that now characterise the administration. Yet, no strong words have come from our elders to advise on consequences or to collectively mobilise the people to stop him. Not too long after his re-election, his penchant for turning the state into a family business grew, and he continued to engage one accelerator gear after the other, and was gaining terrific speed. His two sisters were given sensitive appointments where state revenues are streaming from, then the appointment of his younger sister as our Commissioner for Happiness, a new ministry that distinguishes our state from others. He re-appointed his other sister as Chairperson of government organs in-charge of revenue from all markets in the state, then allocated three government ministries to his wife to  supervise; shifted more duties, and therefore more powers, to his son-in-law in Government House. But when he recklessly started positioning the young man to be his successor as his second term began to thin down, Ndi-Imo began to resist. While these excesses and greed were going on, plus Okorocha’s poor governance style and known disdain for procedures and processes, all having their toll on the once peaceful and vibrant state, our elders who should have spoken out and call our governor to order again preferred to keep quiet as the state sank deeper and deeper into something infinitely more difficult to describe. The Okorocha administration began to be called, openly, by Ndi-Imo as “Familiacracy” – a government of a family, by a family and for a family.

    Nor did any of our prominent traditional rulers, to my knowledge, speak out against the direction our governor was taking the state to. If our respectable chiefs and clergymen had protested the way the state was being governed, we would not have found Imo State at this awkward trajectory. And I remind myself that no strong voice in the state protested the abandonment of the popular Imo Equity Formula which our more dedicated second generation elders/leaders (after our first set of Mbakwes, Okparas, Mbadiwes, Njokus, etc) carefully put together at Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu’s Glass House office in Owerri in 1999. If Okigwe zone had not been denied the space to complete its full eight years, the spirit of the Imo Charter of Equity, otherwise called Imo Equity Formula, would not have been so grossly violated or seriously offended. That violation has brought us where the state has found itself today.

    It is still not too late to correct the mistakes that have been made and chart a new direction. Our elders need to urgently – even today – admit that a serious error has occurred in our political arrangement and recognise the need to put things right. The elders must realise that their silence has not been too golden and that the injustices of today may haunt us tomorrow. They now need to help put Imo State on the track. And this election period, and with the governorship election some few days away, is perhaps the appropriate time to pass information around, as a first step, directing and instructing our people on the critical issues at stake, and what must be done to reconstruct our society and chart a new way forward, usher in a new era of trust, better understanding and respect for the feelings and fears of our people in the three senatorial zones of the state. And finally, our people need to know that because of what Imo State has passed through these past difficult years, our next governor should, and must, be someone who possesses the experience, the vision for a totally raped state, and who can hit the ground running from Day One. Let’s re-start the re-construction of Imo State whose development and cohesion was interrupted by social forces who do not fully understand and appreciate out values and collective worth.

    • Esinulo was a Senior Media Aide to General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu in exile in The Ivory Coast

     

  • Deconstructing a message

    Deconstructing a message

    Nigeria is truly blessed. Beside her many ethnos and cultures, religions and sects, there is also an enviable diversity of individual talents and skills in various walks of life including military strategists and tacticians, analytical and speculative intellectuals, smart accountants, gifted prophets and clerics, learned lawyers and judges, skillful physicians and compassionate nurses. Add to these the long list of master artisans from home builders to motor mechanics and service providers from drivers to nannies. With such an impressive demographic, this country should be a socio-economic powerhouse.

    Unfortunately, Nigeria is only a potential socio-economic powerhouse. For that potential to become a reality, all the pluralities of ethnos, cultures, religions and diversity of skills and talents need to be thoughtfully harnessed and skillfully deployed. This is the task of the institution of politics,which, following Aristotle, is a practical science concerned with the happiness of the citizens. As such, politics is the master or authoritative science because the ends of other sciences serve as means to its ends. Politics is for the human good. And whatever their immediate ends, ultimately, all other sciences must aim at human good, which is the immediate and ultimate end of politics.

    If Aristotle is right, Nigeria has not been able to fully realize its potential as a socio-economic powerhouse because her politics has not succeeded in thoughtfully harnessing and skillfully deploying the multiplicity of ethnos, cultures, religions, and its diversity of skills and talents. Why? This is a question that begs for an answer.

    Furthermore, however, if Aristotle is right, and politics is the authoritative science, it is strange that, unlike other sciences which require a period of apprenticeship, politics appears to be an open theater for everyone. Political science does not aim at training politicians. It is an empirical or scientific approach to politics. Political philosophy doesn’t pretend to train politicians either. It is a normative approach to study of politics. For this reason, it is not unusual for citizens trained in other theoretical and practical sciences-intellectuals, lawyers, and yes, soldiers– to be drawn to politics as the master science.

    Of all those drawn to politics from other fields, soldiers are probably the most impatient and the most presumptuous. Perhaps due to their training in leadership, they are impatient when the ship of state is steered into troubled waters. And perhaps because they are tasked with responsibility for the external security of the nation, they presume to have answers to all the challenges facing the nation at any time. Nigeria, like many other African countries, has had its share of the tragedy of the know-all mentality of its warrior class.

    When in 1998, we thought that we had laid the ghost of militocracy, it resurfaced in a civilianized form when our democracy had to march to the orders of a General who could care less about the niceties of democratic norms. From strongman interference with the internal leadership decisions of National Assembly to the brazen intervention in the sacred work of electoral umpires, and the thwarting of people’s mandates in several states through orchestrated impeachment proceedings and abuse of emergency declarations, the nation was a victim of autocratic democracy.

    We were told that for the sake of continuity of programs and policies, the strongman’s choice of a successor was inevitable. And he did, even though against all democratic norms. But how did that end? And when he picked another successor, what was the outcome? Is the strongman not armed with a crystal ball?

    And now, are we being asked to join a popular political movement? Led by whom? Caveat emptor! Here are real concerns.

    First, Dr. Obasanjo argued that neither APC nor PDP is “a worthy horse to ride to lead Nigeria at this crucial and critical time.” Then, second, he floated “Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM)”as the alternative because “we cannot just sit down lamenting and wringing our hands desperately and hopelessly.” Third, he describes CNM as “a coalition for democracy, good governance, social and economic well-being and progress. Coalition to salvage and redeem our country.” What does this mean?

    Is the Coalition a political party? No, the erudite doctor responds. It is only a Movement for now. However, nothing “should stop such a Movement from satisfying conditions for fielding candidates for elections.” Indeed, this is simply deception at the most disgusting level. It is using a kobo coin to hide a Naira note.

    In the first place, though a political movement can have several issues as its focus, it is more effective the fewer the issues. Recall NADECO with its goal of dislodging the military and restoring democracy. Or the Nationalist Movement before it. Here, there is nothing outside of the orbit of CNM. Its objects are the run-of-the-mill campaign issues. If an organism quacks like a duck it is probably a duck. Why the deception?

    In the second place, Chief Obasanjo has dismissed the two major political parties as contenders for 2019. They are both to be discarded. Therefore, if CNM is only a Movement now, it is  only reasonable to expect it to be up and running as a party by the time that INEC declares open campaign for 2019.

    In the third place, anyone that believes that this is a brand-new Movement that only occurred to Dr. Obasanjo in the last three weeks is hopelessly ignorant of Ebora Owu as the tactician-in-chief. The former AD Governors, most of whom are co-founders of APC, know better. The idea for the new Movement germinated in the conspiratorial crevices of the tactician’s mind as soon as Buhari took the oath of office in May 2015. OBJ assembled his loyalists and encouraged them to work on mobilizing others to form a new political party. The meetings went on around the country since then, with the initiator looking for the best opportunity for outing. The southern resentment against the December fuel crisis, continuing herdsmen attacks, and lopsided federal appointments only provided the desired opening.

    On February 1, at the Ogun State launching of CNM, the former president provided more details about the Movement. He argued that the “instruments we have used so far in our nation-building and governance since independence have not served us well, it is imperative that we should rethink and retool.” To which I ask: what instruments have we used?

    We started with a genuine federal and parliamentary system. It did not fail us. But the military did not allow it to prove effective. They introduced a unitary and presidential system which has failed us since 1979. What re-thinking and retooling does CNM offer? We are told that it is “proposed as the new direction to mobilize our population to unity, cooperation, development, rule of law, employment, law and order, justice, integration, peace, security, stability, welfare and well-being”, a highfalutin account with no attention to specifics. Look in the manifesto of APC and PDP and you will not be disappointed that they both echo the language of CNM.

    When specifics such as nation-building and insurgency and violence are identified, these are not missing from the proclamations of APC and PDP. So, it could be that the difference we are promised is in leadership of the new movement. “Among many other things that CNM will do is to raise standards of political leadership and governance.”

    Excellent. But who are the leaders being presented to us now? They are dissenters from APC and PDP. We were shown this script before.Remember? It was in 2014 when APC emerged as the party of change which drew its leadership core for PDP, CPC, ACN and ANPP. With the announcement of 12 governors from the existing parties having declared interest in CNM, what different standards of leadership can we expect than what they are bringing from their various party bases?

    A popular political movement does not by itself transform a nation. More ominous, such movements quickly degenerate into dictatorships because of the tendency to identify popular with unanimity. Indeed, several known world dictators started as organizers of popular political movements. There was one in Zaire led by Mobutu. There is one in Cameroon.

     

    • Follow me on Twitter:

    @SegunGbadeg2002

    @HarvestDayPubs

     

  • Don’t shoot down the message

    To people in government, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s epistle which was like the State of the Nation address under the All Progressives Congress -led government is full of bile and toxic.  Hate or love him, the wily old fox and Owu warlord as a predator, knows when to prime his guns.  He carefully chooses his targets when they are most weak and vulnerable and never miss his chances.  His poisoned pen and caustic tongue do not spare anybody; he speaks truth to power even though he himself thoroughly abused power when it was entrusted on him.  When General Sani Abacha was behaving like a deranged tiger, Obasanjo was one of those that challenged him and he almost paid with his life when he was roped in on a phantom coup.

    Obasanjo may not be the moral compass of the nation but his measured epistle eloquently mirrors and echoes the feelings of a broad spectrum of the Nigerian society.  Chief Obasanjo is self opinionated and cocky but the recent epistle addressed apparently to his old comrade, General Buhari was patriotic and could not have come at a better time.  To the extent that it addressed germane national issues in the face of erosion of confidence in the government, it cannot be self-serving.   The country is sliding into irredeemable rot that it required honest expose even though it comes from someone perceived as morally bankrupt.

    The APC-led government is driven on the locomotive of propaganda and they have failed to realise that they are in government and in power.  If anyone therefore were to go and give them gratuitous advice in secret, they would thoroughly smear the person with patches of lie and odium.  No comment, letter or criticism of any other Nigerian dead or living would have elicited the same effect as Obasanjo’s.  I think the important thing is to ask ourselves whether the issues raised in the so-called letter were of honest concern to Nigerians; if the answer is in the affirmative, then we should not kill the message.

    Talking about his Third Force, we may not bother ourselves with his prognosis since he himself has had the chance many times over to overhaul our political space but failed; after all he virtually hoisted late Umaru Yar’Adua and Jonathan on the nation.  We should be talking about a democratic alternative and a departure from the political locust of APC and PDP refrains.  Obasanjo and his minions in PDP and APC are political spent force which Nigeria must cut off from if we are to make progress as a nation.  We do not need an Obasanjo or any of these politicians scheming for relevance and making laws for political expediency to be able to reposition themselves to continue the rape of the country.

    The so-called beautiful brides in the rank of the leading political parties being positioned to secure power are not different in material particular because what a snake sires would not resemble a lion.  If we are to rescue Nigeria, there must be a clean departure from the past.  Young or old, we need Nigerians who would feel at heart passionately as Nigerians first.  If for instance, an Aminu Tambuwal or any relatively unknown politician having the face of a youth should have the political credential, then he should come out from the pack, organise and build a party that will have a pan Nigerian outlook.   The current French President, Emmanuel Macron rebelled against orthodoxy and formed his own party distancing himself from the two mainstream parties and in less than two years, he won the presidency.  His ascendency was a product of conception of clear political road map for a New France.

    For me, Nigeria truly needs a firm, fair and just leader not an apostle of compromise or someone who would be feeding on the crest of ethnicity and religion.   I do not wish to proselyte for Obasanjo, but he has always been detached from religion and tribal considerations as a leader while his successors embrace same as their strongest points to power lever.

    The APC is an amalgam of strange bed-fellows and they needed one person with some measure of credibility and integrity and they found one in Buhari.   The party is not driven by any ideological persuasion and it lacks any intellectual base through which they can mobilize the nation.  This is the reason why they are so fixated that there is no alternative to Buhari whom they have exposed his vulnerability and weakness that he is becoming increasingly of little electoral value.

    Groups rightly or wrongly feel marginalized because government tends to tilt to cleavages that do not serve the interest of the entire country.  This is the reason why people agitate for rotation of power to different groups and regions of the country and fight dirty to get it.  When elections are lost and won, a leader should see the entire country as his constituency.  You do not need one hundred percent vote across the divides before you accept everybody as your supporter; that would not be democracy.  A leader who relates to people and group according to the number of votes cast for him during election is an incurable irredentist and the people should stop such character from further plaguing our country.  Our quandary now is that we do not have high hope in the mainstream parties, the APC and PDP.   Unfortunately, the other parties exist only in name and are mere appendages of these parties.  These nominal parties are owned by money bags that use them as spare tyres for those who lost out in getting nomination from their parties.

    This is the reason why we must interrogate the Third Force of Obasanjo and embrace a fresh new organization or party to be financed and run by the people themselves.  People should resist going to queue behind these desperate politicians who are in politics for the wrong reasons instead of serving the people.  We are losing it as a nation; look around you, there is no security, no job, and unemployment is climbing and spreading like a malignant cancer.  Our infrastructures have virtually collapsed.  All these are indications that we are relapsing into a failed state.

    You may not accept the messenger, you may indeed hate him, but you cannot dispute and fault the validity of Obasanjo’s letter.   This is the only reason why the echoes the epistle is reverberating.  So, let us not shoot or kill the message.

     

    • Kebonkwu Esq is an Abuja-based attorney.

  • PMB’s audio message and national language question

    SIR: Since the release of President Muhammadu Buhari’s audio message in which he addressed Nigerians in Hausa, there have been angry reactions from every nook and cranny of the society. Understandably, the people were provoked with the address in Hausa language.

    In a nation where ethnic sentiments and bigotries have beclouded intellectual judgment, it is no surprise that his message was more likely to generate controversies and provoke reactions. These angry reactions and condemnations should as a matter of exigency, necessitate a call to revisit the national language question.

    One of the problems we are having as a nation is the lack of true identity. Otherwise, the message should not have generated controversies. Indeed, the wild criticism of the audio message in his mother tongue is an evidence of a nation that lacks true identity. Ethnic colouration had been added to his message even though the President may have made it out of innocence and good intentions to Nigerians.

    This wild condemnation brings forth these questions:  Is English language the true identity of Nigeria as a nation? What then is the pride of our nation if we elevate English which is our second language above indigenous languages in the country?

    We should know that Nigeria is not the only heterogeneous country in the world and therefore must not hide under the guise of linguistic diversity to promote English language at the expense of indigenous languages. Presently, English language is acting in the capacity of our national language because, for ethno-sentimental reasons, we have failed to reach a compromise to select indigenous languages as our national language(s).

    Switzerland today is one of the most developed countries in the world, yet they have four official languages. They made three of their four national languages official languages. Nigeria should follow in that step by making Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo official languages in Nigeria alongside English language.

     

    • Temitope Ogundeji,

    Akure, Ondo State.

  • Presidency releases Buhari’s voice message

    Presidency releases Buhari’s voice message

    The Presidency has released President Muhammadu Buhari’s voice message to Nigerians to debunk reports that he is suffering from speech impairment.

    There have been reports in the social media claiming that the President is suffering from speech impairment and memory loss.

    However, in the recording, aired yesterday  by some radio stations, including the BBC, the President was heard felicitating with Nigerians on the occasion of Eid-el Fitr.

    Buhari thanked them for their consistent prayers for his well-being.

    The President urged all citizens, irrespective of their socio-political affiliations, to always avoid hate speech and divisive tendencies capable of causing disaffection among them.

    He also prayed for good harvest for farmers following the coming of the rains.

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Malam Garba Shehu had on Saturday in a statement issued a similar message.

    A presidential source on Saturday had earlier confirmed that “the President is getting better and “will return to Nigeria very soon”.

    Buhari left Abuja for London on May 7 to see his doctors.

  • Sensitisation message towards Ramadan

    All praise is due to Almighty Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful and the Disposer of all affairs. May His peace and benediction be showered on the soul our exemplary prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), his household members, his faithful companions and this blessed gathering, amin.

    O brethren! Here comes another golden opportunity for the seekers of Allah’s pleasure and the Garden of al-Rayyan to make strategic preparation to receive and relate with this blessed month of Ramadan. Wise and conscientious Muslims would consider preparation for Ramadan important, but ignorant folks among us will foot drag and refuse to make preparation for this precious annual visitor. Allah urges believers to make preparation thus:

    “And take provisions, but the best provision is At-Taqwa (piety, righteousness). So fear Me, O men of understanding!” Q2:197

    Ibn Kathir commented on the Hadith collected by Al-Bukhari and Abu Dawud as narrated by Abdullahi Ibn ‘Abbas that, “The people of Yemen used to go to Hajj without making enough preparation in terms of basic supplies with them for pilgrimage. They used to say, ‘We are those who have Tawakkul (reliance on Allah).’ Allah thus revealed the above Ayah instructing: And take provisions (with you) for the journey, but the best provision is righteousness.

    Before discussing further, let us look at the virtues of Ramadan.

    On the virtues of Ramadan, Abu Huraira (RA) narrated that Allah’s Messenger said: “When the month of Ramadan starts, the Gates of the Heaven are opened and the Gates of Hells are closed and the Devils are chained” (Al-Bukhari). This statement is an indication that Allah provides enabling environment for believers to maximise the bountiful rewards of Ramadan, thus attaining the desired level of Taqwa.

    In another narration Abu Huraira (RA) reported that: The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: ‘’Whoever observed salat (supererogatory prayer) on the night of Qadr (in Ramadan) with sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven; and whoever observe sawm (fasting) in the month of Ramadan with sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven” (Al-Bukhari). This narration underscores the importance of Ramadan as the month of forgiveness and compensation.

    Another virtue of Ramadan is acceptance of supplications. Let us therefore supplicate to witness this blessed month. Mu’alla bn al-Fadhl said: “Our predecessor used to supplicate for six months that Allah spares their lives to witness another Ramadan, and supplicate for another six months that all their efforts therein be accepted as meritorious deeds.”

    Yahya bn Kathir said: among their prayer is: “O Allah, spare my life to witness Ramadan, and enable us to be righteous therein and accept it from us’’.

    Further on the virtues, Allah says:

    The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong). So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadan, i.e., is present at his home), he must observe fasting that month, and whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number of days which one did not observe fasting must be made up from other days. Allah intends for you ease and He does not want to make things difficult for you. (He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days), and that you must magnify Allah for having guided you so that you may be grateful to Him.  Q2:185

    Lastly, Allah honoured Ramadan by revealing the Glorious Qur’an therein, just as He did for all other Divine Books revealed to some Prophets (Peace and blessing of Allah be upon them). The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said: “The Suhuf of Ibrahim was revealed during the first night of Ramadan. The Torah was revealed during the sixth night of Ramadan. The Injil was revealed during the thirteenth night of Ramadan. Allah revealed the Qur’an on the twenty-fourth night of Ramadan” (Imam Ahmad)

    How prepared are you? There are several aspects of preparation for Ramadan. These include:

    1. Spiritual preparation: Muslims, as fathers, mothers, matured boys and girls are implored to prepare themselves proactively before the blessed month approaches. Spiritual preparation entails cleansing ourselves from past sins, misdeeds, wrongdoings and iniquities by seeking swift repentance (Tawbah). The prevalent sins and excesses in human society especially Nigeria include adultery, alcoholism, drug addiction, peddling narcotics, fornication, gambling, fraudulent sales, dirty businesses, and dishonesty by artisans, rigging election, imposition of imbeciles as political leaders, counterfeiting, harmful businessmen and corruption by public servants. Other aspects of spiritual preparation include: constant and regular Salat, charity and Zakat, modest in dressing, shunning tribalism, envy, jealousy, backbiting, rumour-mongering, gangsters and frivolities.
    2. Physical preparation: Physical preparation entails a cursory examination by every Muslim of his/her state of health in readiness for 29 or 30 days of spiritual retreat and fasting. It is also a deliberate move to seek the advice of a honest Muslim medical doctor on fitness to fast especially by the sick, aged and those suffering from ailments such as diabetes, high blood pressure, fever et cetera. On this, we recommend malaria test, ulcer counseling, high-blood pressure test et cetera. A strong Muslim is better than a weak one.

    3.Organisational preparation: Islamic organisations, masajid, business organisations, NGOs, Charity-based association and Muslim Communities are all requested to have well-designed programmes and projects for implementation in the Month of Ramadan. Organisational preparation include setting up committee on Moon Sighting for Ramadan, engaging in Mosque rehabilitation/decoration, environmental sanitation, printing of pamphlets/leaflets for awareness, sponsorship of lectures on Radio/TV, establishing Fund Raising activities for public Lectures, Laylatul Qadr, Eidul-Fitri Get-together, Zakat-ul-Fitri collection, sensitization on Zakat assessment, collection and distribution. On the preparation to monitor the crescent of Ramadan, which unfortunately is one of the causes of disunity in Nigeria, we recommend the counsel of the Prophet (Peace be upon him): He said: “Do not begin fasting until you sight the moon, and do not break your fast (for ‘Eid) until you have sighted it.” (Bukhari Muslim).

    “Count well the crescent of Sha’aban because of Ramadan” (al-Tirmidhiy).

    “Start to observe fasting when you see it (crescent of Ramadan) and give up observing fasting when you see it (crescent of Shawwal) and if the sky is overcast (and you cannot see it, complete the counting of Sha’aban to be thirty” (Bukhari and Muslim)

    1. Financial preparation (Budgeting): As individuals, groups, masajid and organisations adequate financial preparation is imperative and non-negotiable. Budgeting has been defined as a financial plan embodying an estimate of proposed expenditures for a given period and the proposed means of financing them.  Financial preparation through budgeting therefore entails making adequate estimates of proposed spending in Ramadan (on programmes and projects) and how to raise the required funds would be sourced from halal channels. Allah says:

    “O mankind! Verily Allah is pure; He will not accept nothing but the pure. And verily Allah commanded the believers with the same command issued to the messengers saying: O messenger, eat from what is pure and work righteously” (Imam Ahmad)

    1. Intellectual preparation: Intellectual preparation entails readiness of Imams, Islamic scholars, Radio/Television preachers and students to acquaint themselves with knowledge, rules, regulations and jurisprudential verdicts on fasting (Sawm) and related religious issues. This is required to provide the needed guidance to Muslims. Ramadan is month on unquantifiable blessings, which can be optimised only if adequate intellectual preparation is made by the learned and learners. Allah says: “O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may acquire Taqwa. Fast for a fixed number of days, but if any of you is ill or on a journey, the same number (should be made up) from other days. And as for those who can fast with difficulty, they have a choice either to fast or to feed a poor person for every day. But whoever does good of his own accord, it is better for him. And that you fast is better for you if only you know.” Q2: 183 – 184.

    In conclusion, The Congress urges all Muslims to use this 1438 AH Ramadan, as an opportunity to sensitise the public against all the attacks and tantrums directed at Islam and Muslims in Nigeria especially issues like Hijab, Terrorism, Feminism and demonisation of Sha’riah. This is a divine responsibility that all Muslims must discharge within the scope of our knowledge. Let us also pray for our dear President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “We affirm that there is nothing strange in having a president who is sick or recovering from sickness. What matters is the handling. We urge the Federal Government (FG) not to allow mischief makers and corruption-friendly opposition parties to capitalize on the situation” (Professor Is-haq Akintola). May Allah grant President Muhammadu Buhari the required strength and sound health to be able fight corruption, terrorism, bad governance and other socio-economic ills that have captured Nigerians as hostages for years.

    O Messenger! Proclaim which has been sent down to you from your Lord. And if you do not, then you have not conveyed His Message. Allah will protect you from mankind. (Q5:67)

    Abul ‘Ala Maududi had long ago lamented our refusal to proclaim the beautiful message we have. He said: “We are surrounded by treasures, but how do we treat them? We play with them in the same way as that ignorant child who, surrounded by diamonds, regards them as stones. My heart bleeds when I see us frittering away such tremendous wealth and power through ignorance and foolishness”.

    I wish all Muslims a blessed Ramadan.

     

    • Dr AbdurRaheem is Amir of The Muslim Congress (TMC) and Senior Lecturer & Professional Trainer, Centre for Entrepreneurship Development, Yaba College of Technology Lagos (YABATECH).
  • Ahmadu Bello’s Christmas message

    Ahmadu Bello’s Christmas message

    “The truth has come and falsehood has vamoosed; surely, falsehood is meant to vamoose (in the presence of the truth)”.  Q. 17: 81  

    Here is a season in which recalling certain aspects of Nigerian history if only to put the records straight. History is a living phenomenon that is common to all people around it in time and in space. Whether or not it is interpreted and relayed positively or negatively, the fact remains that history is not anybody’s personal property and cannot be anybody’s monopoly.

    This article contains one of the most memorable aspects of Nigerian history which have consistently left a sour taste in the mouths of some of its actors. But despite the sour taste it can never get stale.

     

    Death of an icon

    One of the foremost political icons in Nigeria’s first republic and a patriarch of the political party called Northern People’s Congress (NPC), was Alhaji (Sir) Ahmadu Bello, the first and only Premier of Northern Nigeria. He became Premier of Northern Nigeria in 1954 through a popular election and was killed as Premier in January 1966 in a tribal/religious military coup plotted mainly by soldiers of Igbo extraction and led by one Major Patrick Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. The plotters had killed this icon in cold blood before looking for reasons to justify their heinous crime. The three reasons they later gave were corruption, tribalism and religious bigotry. It was a matter of calling a dog a bad name in order to hang it.

     

    The Premiers’ flanks

    Among the four Premiers in Nigeria at that time, only Ahmadu Bello could not in any way be evidently linked to corruption. Unlike others who lived opulently, Ahmadu Bello was an ascetic personality who served his people patriotically without any blemish. He left only a small residential bungalow in his home town of Sokoto at the time of his death. Who else left such a flank? Sir Ahmadu Bello could also not be singularly accused of tribalism because tribalism was the basis of all the existing political parties of the time. No Premier from 1954 to 1966 could be exonerated from tribalism directly or indirectly. They were all guilty of it.

    It can be recalled that certain tribal groups such as Ibiobio State Union (IBU), Ibo Federal Union (IFU) Egbe Omo Oduduwa (EOO) and ‘Jam’iyyar Al-Ummar Nigeriya ta Arewa’ translated as Northern Elements Progressive Association (NEPA) which later transformed into Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) were all socio-cultural organizations that metamorphosed into political parties. All those parties preceded ‘Jam’iyyar Mutane Arewa’ meaning Northern People’s Congress (NPC) to which Ahmadu Bello belonged. Many other ethnic-based political parties later emerged to broaden tribalism in Nigerian politics. If anything, Ahmadu Bello was the least tribally inclined Premier of his time. Why did his killers link him alone to tribalism?

     

    His 1959 Christmas message

    Of the four Premiers in Nigeria’s first republic, only Ahmadu Bello was bold and sincere enough to allay the fear of the minority groups in Northern Nigeria by making a public policy statement about his government’s stand concerning tribalism and religious bigotry. Here is an excerpt of what he said while sending a Christmas message to northern Christians in 1959:

    “…We are people of many different races, tribes and religions, who are knit together by common history, common interests and common ideals. Our diversity may be great but the things that unite us are stronger than the things that divide us. On an occasion like this, I always remind people about our firmly rooted policy on religious tolerance. Families of all creeds and colour can rely on these assurances. We have no intention of favouring one religion at the expense of another. Subject to overriding need to preserve law and order, it is our determination that everyone should have absolute liberty to practice his belief. It is befitting on this momentous day, on behalf of my ministers and myself, to send a special word of gratitude to all Christian missions”.

    “Let me conclude this with a personal message. I extend my greetings to all our people who are Christians on this great feast day. Let us forget the difference in our religion and remember the common brotherhood before God, by dedicating ourselves afresh to the great tasks which lie before us….”

     

    The fabricated version

    Years after Ahmadu Bello’s unjustifiable assassination, some evil elements in the media, in active conspiracy with certain political demagogues went to fabricate another statement and credited it to the late Premier as a justification for killing him. The concocted statement was culled from an unknown newspaper called ‘The Parrot’. Here is the fabricated statement:

    “The new nation called Nigeria should be an estate of our great grandfather Othman Dan Fodio. We must ruthlessly prevent a change of power. We use the minorities in the north as willing tools and the south as a conquered territory and never allow them to rule over us and never allow them to have control over their future.” The statement was said to have been made on October 12, 1960. The question is this: how can a Christmas message in Nigeria be sent in October? But liars never think of the implications of their lies.

     

    Truth and falsehood

    Now, looking at both statements very carefully, any sensible person should be able to see clearly, a distinction between truth and falsehood. The Premier’s Christmas message quoted above was made on Thursday, December 24, 1959 through a radio broadcast and it was published by all newspapers in the country including the vociferous ‘West African Pilot’ owned by Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, the boisterous ‘Tribune’ owned by Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the clamorous ‘Daily Times’ jointly owned privately by certain prominent individuals at that time. It was equally published by many other smaller newspapers in Nigeria. All those newspapers are identifiable in Nigeria’s media history even though most of them are now defunct. On the other hand, the place and occasion of the fabricated statement credited to Ahmadu Bello was not indicated and cannot be traced in Nigeria’s newspaper history.

     

    Evidence of fabrication

    The first time any genuinely existing newspaper ever made reference to that fabricated statement was on November 13, 2002 (42 years after it was purportedly made. And ‘The Tribune’ newspaper that published it only claimed to have culled it from an online column published on October 24 2002 by a purported Yoruba Journalist (name withheld) who entitled it ‘the northern Agenda’. It can therefore be deduced that the statement was actually fabricated not in the 1960s but in October 2002, by the so-called columnist who credited it to a newspaper that never existed. The objective was to give it an undeserving credibility. What a country! What a people! What a shame! This is a typical case of an obvious mischief by heartless mischief makers just to fetch ephemeral fame and illegal income.

    The belief was that once such a fabricated article appears on the internet and is ignorantly quoted by some inconsequential writers, it would automatically become a document of facts. That is Nigeria for you.

     

    The Coup episode

    January 15, 1966 was a Saturday like no other one in the history of Nigeria. It was on that day that the bitter seed which germinated and grew into the thorny tree that now feeds Nigerians with unpalatable political fruits was planted. The evil planting marked the beginning of an agonizing voyage of destiny on which Nigerians embarked without a compass. Coming up in the sacred month of Ramadan, the day actually came to confirm the axiomatic thought of an Arab poet who once asserted in a couplet that: “Nights are heavily pregnant; they give birth to wonders in the days….”

     

    The preceding Friday

    The preceding Friday (January 14, 1966) had been quite eventful for the then Premier of Northern Nigeria, Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello who was extraordinarily busy from morning to night. He had planned to travel to Sokoto with the then Ghana High Commissioner, Mr. Yakubu Tally, who had come to spend the weekend with him in appreciation of his role in ensuring the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) through the merger of the Monrovia and Casablanca groups that had been mutually antagonistic on certain ideological grounds.

    On that Friday, Sir Ahmadu Bello, as usual, observed the Jum’at Prayer in company of a retinue of his Ministers and government officials. He hosted the Premier of Western Nigeria, Chief Samuael Ladoke Akintola, (his political ally) in the newly formed Nigerian National Alliance (NNA). The latter had come to alert his colleague of a premonition hovering over Nigeria through an impending bloody coup d’etat that could clear the existing political stable wheat and chaff. His alert was not however strange to Sir Ahmadu Bello who had earlier got the same security hint.

    The duo jointly reviewed the then volatile political situation in the country but failed to reach a conclusion on how to forestall the impending calamity.

    Akintola’s effort

    Chief S. L. Akintola, pleaded with his host to persuade the then Prime Minister, Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, to act promptly to curb the impending disaster that was swinging restlessly like a pendulum over Nigeria before it could devour them all. But Sir Ahmadu Bello was reluctant. He believed that only the will of Allah could prevail in any given circumstance. His fear was that in the sacred month of Ramadan, it would be better to be martyred than to be an assassin. To him, any attempt to foil such a virtually mature coup would be so bloody that even the country would have nothing left to bleed with. By that belief, hardly did Sir Ahmadu Bello realise the implications of paving the way for a ruinous destiny to take its course.

    The whole scenario was like a valedictory drama of fate in which the actors were blind to the denouement which the viewers had vividly perceived. And when it was time for the two Premiers to part, it became apparent that they were meeting perhaps for the last time alive. In a sober but sorrowful tone, the host bided his guest “bye for now,” and the guest, whose feet were already on the staircase of his aircraft on his way back to Ibadan replied: “if we ever get to see again”.

    Thus, both spoke in coded language in the presence of their entourages who could not decode their language. By the time when cities started to return to life, in the wee hours of the following morning, the die had been cast as the picture had become clear that the night had tragically discharged the contents of its cargo to the amazement of the entire world. A bloody coup in Nigeria had swept the country’s democracy away with the rulers as casualties. It confirmed the maxim of the above quoted poem and the rest has since become history.

     

    The major casualties

    The heartless rascals in Nigerian military who struck in the January 1966 coup to terminate a democratically elected government must have foreclosed the consequences of their criminal action. They killed virtually all the major key players in the then Nigerian politics except those of Igbo extraction and of course, some non-Igbo people who were then in prisons. The Prime Minister, Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and the Minister of Finance, Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh were killed in Lagos. The Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, was killed with his wife and some other people in Kaduna, the then Headquarters of Northern Nigeria. The Premier of Western Nigeria, Chief Samuel Akintola was killed in Ibadan, the then Headquarters of the South Western Nigeria while some military top brass of non-Igbo extraction were killed in different military barracks across the country.

    Except for Lt. Col. Arthur Unegbe who was killed for being too close to Maimalari and could not be trusted, no other Igbo man of note, politician or military, was killed in that coup. As a matter of fact, if there was any feeling of the coup in the Eastern Nigeria at all, it was that of victory and heroism. The top military officers who were killed in the senseless coup included: Brig. S. A. Ademulegun (South West); Brig. Zakari Maimalari (North East); Col. Kur Mohammed (North West); Lt. Col. J. Y. Pam (North Central); Col. S. A. Shodeinde (South West); Lt. Col. Largema (North Central); Lt. Col. A. G. Unegbe (South East); S/Lt. James Odu (Mid West) and a host of others.

    The false allegations

    After the dust had settled, it became evident that virtually all the planners of that coup as well as its executors were of Igbo extraction. Thus, the other ethnic groups who were severely affected saw the coup as a tribal one. But much more than that, the Muslims in the country saw it as a religious coup that could not be sensibly justified or defended, the killing of Chiefs Akintola and Okotie-Eboh notwithstanding. This was because the then Governor of Eastern Nigeria, Sir Francis Akanu Ibiam was as deeply involved in religious matters as Sir Ahmadu Bello. The one was a Vice-President of the World Council of Churches. The other was the Vice-President of the Muslim World League. If religion was therefore the reason for the coup, the two of them ought to have been killed for bigotry. But history entails a variety of interpretations especially in a society where conscience hardly plays a role.

     

    Coup planners and executors

    That overwhelming majority of the planners of that coup as well as its executors were of Igbo extraction could not have been a mere coincidence. It is particularly notable that the chief beneficiary of the coup (Major-General Johnson Aguiyi Ironsi) was also of Igbo extraction. Almost all the military appointments after the coup were for men of Igbo extraction and none of these, except Hassan Katsina and Muhammadu Shuwa was a Muslim. How else could a coup be tribal and religious in? After all, as far back as 1953, a frontline Igbo politician had set such agenda for his tribe’s men when he quoted as saying that “Ibos’ domination of Nigeria is a matter of time”.

     

    Nigeria’s founding fathers

    Despite all said above, the great fathers of Nigeria’s independence left a legacy that can be called a footprint on the sands of time. By whatever standard they are measured today, the late Sardauna of Sokoto, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello; Nigeria’s first and only Prime Minister, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa; the first Premier of Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo,  Nigeria’s first President, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe as well as Mallam Aminu Kano, Chief SL Akintola and Chief Denis Osadebey were all exemplary in their styles of life given the circumstances of their governance, their personal weaknesses notwithstanding.

    No matter what those weaknesses might be, their legacy was a fortune which amazingly turned into misfortune in the hands of their successors. Thus, the great hope which those fathers had embedded into our destiny as a people became colonized and turned into personal property by their political heirs. Were those great fathers to wake up from their graves today and see what has become of their sweat, they would just shake their heads in sorrow and return quietly into their graves without comments. Yet, the situation remains unchanged today as tribalism and religion take the front burner of Nigerian politics. Where can we go from here?

  • An unambiguous message

    An unambiguous message

    Opalaba’s call woke me up on Wednesday morning. “What just happened?” he queried. I knew that his question was about the result of the United States presidential election. But the true answer was that I didn’t know. Of course he was furious.

    I explained to my friend that I did not follow the result because I retired to bed at 9:30 pm after a few results trickled in. For a while, Clinton and Trump appeared to be in a game of seesaw in Ohio and Florida. My blood pressure was rising. I decided it was enough and retired upstairs. Yeye also did. But she decided to watch more. So I moved to another bedroom and slept peacefully in ignorance until the phone rang.

    “Well, you lost!” my friend announced. “What do you mean I lost? I didn’t contest any election!” I angrily responded. Of course, my head spun and my heart took a beating. “Relax!” I told myself. Opalaba sensed my distress and wisely hung up.

    I ran to Yeye: “So Hillary lost?” “Yeah, it wasn’t even close”, my wife responded. She decided not to wake me up when the election was called for Trump because it was not worth it. “Oh, well. It’s alright. It’s not the end of the world”, I intoned.

    Hoping that the shock would have subsided, Opalaba called back a few minutes later. “But what happened?” “Now, I know who won and who lost. But I don’t know how it happened,” I replied. “I am sure that the pundits and the pollsters will have some explanation why they were all so wrong with their forecasts and predictions.”

    Not willing to let go, Opalaba volunteered his own ideas, none of which I found persuasive because they all fed on conspiracy theories.

    My friend suggested that pollsters got it all wrong for two reasons. First, they substituted their own judgments for the opinions of their subjects, thus misrepresenting the position of the respondents. I found this ridiculous because it suggested that those professionals were fake. That was an unfair pronouncement on people who devote their lives to making accurate predictions and who had been successful at it in previous elections.

    The other reason my friend gave for the failure of the pollsters was that the subjects outsmarted them by telling them what they wanted to hear or simply hiding from them their true views. Why would this be so? Opalaba theorised that, given the negative media image of Trump, many educated whites, including suburban women, were ashamed to declare their support for him in face-to-face or phone interviews by pollsters. This was probably why the only major poll that predicted accurately a Trump victory was the one by USC/Los Angeles Times, which was conducted on the Internet.

    On this last point, Opalaba was probably hitting on something that pollsters will have to examine in the days and weeks to come. But I am not sure that it is true. America is a free country and the idea that educated citizens would hide their preference to avoid shame is ridiculous. Thousands of people flock to Trump rallies with bravado. What may have happened was that many of them were left out in the various surveys, thus skewing the outcome.

    At any rate, despite my friend’s Monday Quarterbacking regarding what might have been with accurate polling, I reminded him that it was needless to cry over spilled milk.

    Of course, that was just the beginning. Opalaba was not done.

    “It’s alright. We will leave polling to pollsters. Now the real question is what message did America just send to the world? I believe that the result reflects an unflattering image of a nation that is still very sexist”, he suggested. “America is simply not ready for a female president.” “Look at it this way”, my friend continued. “Hillary Clinton has been described as the best prepared candidate in a pool of candidates since 1992 to lead the country as its president. Yet she was rejected at the polls in favour of Donald Trump who has no political or military experience.”

    To this, I had a simple answer to Opalaba. Women still constitute a majority of the voting bloc in general election in America. If they all rallied to the candidacy of one of their own, Hillary would be president without a doubt. But if they didn’t, can one accuse them of sexism? Perhaps some of them preferred Trump for reasons other than that he is a man. For instance, the fact that he has campaigned on the basis of change and to make America great again, is a factor that many may have considered.

    Of course, that answer just fired the imagination of Opalaba in another direction. “Well, then, the change they wanted was to a country that predated the gains of the 60s through the 90s which the Obama presidency has improved upon considerably. So if it was not sexism, it could be bigotry and racism.”

    “That’s ridiculous”, I responded. “Obama was not on the ticket. It was White Hillary versus White Donald. What has racism got to do with that? And you must remember that one of the promising features of the new America that pollsters and political activists on the progressive side have been hoping to exploit is the growing browning of America. Minority populations have increased in major battleground states and have been a strong pillar of the Democratic Party. Indeed, one of the fears of Republican leaders prior to the election was that Trump was relying too much on white support which they thought cannot win the presidency.”

    “My fear”, I continued, “was that minorities, including Blacks and Latinos, did not turn out to vote in this election in as large numbers as would have made the difference in favour of Hillary. This was especially true of battleground states, such as Florida and Pennsylvania. This is in spite of President and Mrs. Obama’s efforts on the campaign trail.”

    My last point only heightened the temperature of Opalaba as he moved to another conspiracy theory. “Well, then, it must have been the hatred of the Obamas and the determination of his foes to deny him a legacy. Recall that they wanted to make him a one-term president. They failed on that mission. But they must have been appalled by the idea of a third term for him under Hillary.”

    I conceded that Opalaba had a point here. But it must also be put in context. With the exception of the transition from Reagan to Bush Senior, there has not been a repeat of one party having three terms in the White House in the last 20 years. Therefore, this is just a continuation of the trend.

    “But you forgot that Reagan’s high approval rating gave Bush Senior the edge in 1988. Why can’t Obama’s popularity rating give Hillary Clinton an edge this year?” To this, I reminded my friend that Bill Clinton had a higher approval rating in 2000 but that did not help Gore to win the presidency.

    With this, I stopped Opalaba from further theorising while I offered my own ten cents.

    Simply put, there are two issues going on. First, the majority of American voters have a strong feeling that their government’s embrace of the world and its globalising force has left them behind. Many blue collar workers were hit by the 2008 recession and have yet to recover from it. Trade pacts have not had an empowering effect that they needed. Trump spoke to these concerns and they embraced his message of change. The change they desire is for the return of manufacturing jobs that have disappeared from America’s Rust Belt. Trump promised them just that. Now he has to deliver.

    Second, immigration has been the headache of administrations since Ronald Reagan’s compassionate embrace of immigrants and granting amnesty to millions. In the wake of that compassionate conservatism, which George W. Bush made effort to expand, conservatives resisted and blue collar workers across party divide joined them. Trump tapped into this with the promise of a wall along the southern border. Now Trump, in whom they trust, must deliver.