The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Pray

  • School owners pray for 2015

    Some private school owners spent last Saturday praying for the progress of the education sector at a prayer summit organised by the Standard Mandate International (SMI) in Lagos.

    The seventh edition of the summit, which held at the Chapel of Christ the Light Alausa, Ikeja, featured prayer sessions for the country, parents, school proprietors, teachers and pupils as well as words of exhortation.

    The prayers were led by the Proprietress of MD School, Mrs Juliet Adedugbe and the proprietress of Dansol Schools, Mrs Adun Akinyemiju,  who also delivered the sermon.

    In her exhortation, Mrs Akinyemiju urged school owners to regard their vocation as a ministry to prepare young people to be God’s heritage.

    She said if ISIS could indoctrinate children as young as four to kill, young pupils can be influenced positively for God.

    “These children are not too young.  If ISIS can train four-year olds, then we can also train our own children to do good and serve God.  This is a ministry.  Pastors are not full-time ministers; we are the ones that are full-time ministers because we spend a lot of time with these children.  We need to take this as a calling,” she said.

    Senior Boarding House Mistress of The Apostolic Secondary School, Anthony, Mrs Veronica Akhaine, said she it was the third time she was attending the summit, which she described as useful in providing participants with new ideas on how to run their schools.

    “When we come here, we learn a lot.  They even invited officials from the Ministry of Education to discuss with us.  It shows we are all working together to fulfil a purpose,” she said.

    Another participant, Mrs Jane Olaolu, a first-time attendee, said she was glad to have been part of the prayer summit.

    On his part, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SMI, Pastor Nelson Ayodele said the aim of the summit was to provide a prayer cover for the New Year for school owners to operate in a favourable environment.

    He said private school owners deserve government support because they are rendering a social service.

    “There are some private schools set up in some communities that government cannot reach and they are there to provide education for the children, but because there is no government aid or fund for such projects they keep struggling with the little school fees that they collect,” he said.

     

  • The Nigeria I pray for

    In a country I so much loved and cherished, I came to this planet earth seeing myself placed in this wonderfully made country, a place where the best potential in me and other youths can be exhibited and improved. I have always prayed for a country where everybody will have the understanding of what national unity is all about and go for it. I was born in a country that preaches unity in diversity but all I see is terrorism in diversity. I have always prayed for a country where all economic segment and other sectors will move forward and bring about a swift development, a country where students can spend four to six years in tertiary institutions without witnessing strike or industrial actions of any kind. But all I see is the opposite.

    I love my country, Nigeria. I am proud to be a Nigerian. If every Nigerian will be proud of this country, corruption and terrorism will be reduced. Youths are now willing tools to mastermind crimes and execute terrors in the country. Gone are the days when only male youths are seen in the act. Now, the story has gone beyond that, in that female youths are now suicide bombers, doing worst things. Youths of this great country should have a re-think and do what is right. Let us not be used as a vehicle to achieve crimes. Always understand that the future of this great country lies in your hands.

    It is the bitter truth that needs be told to our youths. Let us not argue the fact that the future is in our hands. Let us not apportion blames to any other person because it is solely our responsibility. For Nigeria to be better, it all lies in my shoulder and yours, as youths. The perfect change we cry for has been overwhelmed by incessant bomb blasts.

    The Nigeria I pray for is not supposed to be a home that is bound with terrorists attacking the citizens every blessed day. I join the re-echoing voices to shout, where are our missing girls? Are they still alive? What does the future hold for them? They are youths like me and you. Most of them would have stood to be the future first ladies, great ministers, ambassadors and worthy leaders of this great country. But, where are their hopes? I pray for a better Nigeria, a country that we can stay in and say ‘home sweet home’. I’ve never prayed for a Nigeria that the citizens will be in Jeopardy.

    Nigerian students schooling and working abroad are tired of answering questions concerning negative reports from their country, just because of our reputation. But if you as a youth cannot change the mindset of the people around you towards your country, who will? It is your country; it’s my country and we can never run away from her. Let us join hands together by putting in our best in making this country a better place to live. Please, help to actualise the peaceful Nigeria I pray for. I’ve never prayed for a Nigeria where its citizens are denied visa to some countries, just at the mention of the name ‘Nigerian’ as a nationality. Let us reason together and know that our reputation matters a lot.

    Our elder statesmen are not left out in this cry for a better Nigeria. I never prayed for a Nigeria where petty politics and propaganda-driven politics have taken over. What do you want Nigeria to be like in the nearest future when you will not be here? A better place or worse than you left it? This is a question for our fathers and mothers who support the perpetrators of all these evil acts in our country.

    Like the saying that a school with a porous gate toils in vain to maintain security and discipline, so it is for a country. I pray for a Nigeria where the health fitness test on immigrants must be genuine before allowing them entrance into our country. I pray for a country where the health standard of the citizens should be the first point of worry of the government, because a healthy nation, they say, is a wealthy nation.

    I never prayed for a country where it takes much time to resolve the power tussle issue in our health sector. I never prayed for a Nigeria where we have doctors and other health practitioners striking while citizens keep dying because of lack of medical care. I never prayed for a Nigeria where the citizens are scared of a disease that penetrated the country through a foreigner like the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). If you are proud being a Nigerian like me, then let’s join hands together in making Nigeria a better place for all of us. I will always pray for a Nigeria where peace, unity and development will abound someday.

     

    Ekene, 200-Level Medicine and Surgery, IMSU

  • Children pray for release of Chibok girls

    Over 100 kids under the auspices of African Children of Peace Club (ACPC) drawn from across Lagos State last weekend interceded for the release of the over 200 abducted Chibok girls.

    The prayer marked with the mid-year children‘s intercessory prayer and valedictory service by ACPC, an arm of African Foundation for Peace and Love Initiatives in Egbeda, Lagos

    The session with the theme for the sake of our children we pray featured drama, song rendition and bible recitation, among others.

    One of the children at the intercession, Otimayin Naomi, said the Chibok girls’ abduction has “become a source of concern for us and we believe God that with our prayers, they will be released.”

    She explained: “We are children and we feel the pains, agony and trauma of our friends who have been held captive by the Boko Haram group.

    “We are praying that God will touch their heart and our friends will be released soon.”

    The founding president of APLI, Rev Titus Oyeyemi, said: “Our work is to intercede. Intercession will make the Almighty God, who has the power to release the Chibok girls, to arise.

    “We will ask God not to forget the sighing of these imprisoned girls.”

  • ‘Pray for abducted Chibok girls’

    ‘Pray for abducted Chibok girls’

    A Lagos-based humanitarian group, Bomarah Foundation, has urged Muslims to pray for the rescue of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls.

    It congratulated Muslims on completion of the Ramadan fast and the Eid-il-Fitri celebration.

    The foundation urged Muslims to continue with the spiritual exercise and other religious activities they performed throughout the fasting period, in other months.

    Bomarah Founder/President, Hajia Bola Muse, urged Nigerians to remember the abducted Chibok schoolgirls in their prayers.

    She said: “Remember, Ramadan is synonymous with kindness, compassion, generosity and other beneficial dispositions to all creatures of Allah. We should not forget the abducted schoolgirls in our prayers.”

    Hajia Muse, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Bomarah Group of Companies, expressed concerns over the security situation in the country.

    She said this had instilled fears and discomfort in the citizenry.

    The entrpreneur prayed for Allah’s intervention on Nigeria.

    “It is high time we turned to Allah through sincere devotion, which is the ideal meeting point for religious activities between Muslims and Christians. We should also pray for our beloved country against political turbulence and other calamitous experiences,” she said.

  • Pray for unity, group tells Nigerians

    Pray for unity, group tells Nigerians

    Founder and President of Fatimah Charity Organisation (FCF), Alhaja Fatimah Bintu Tinubu has urged Nigerians to pray for continuous unity of the country.

    Alhaja Tinubu, the Iyalode of Lagos, made the appeal at a Ramadan lecture organised by the FCF at Ajegunle.

    According to her, “when we get home let us not forget to pray for Chibok girls, for God to touch the heart of their abductors to release them from wherever they are that they may be reunited with their parents.

    “This time last year they were all with their parents but now they are where only God knows and it is not the best experience for either them, their parents or even the country; let us pray that God who answers prayers in this month of Ramadan should touch the abductors’ heart to release the girls”, Alhaja Tinubu said.

    She urged Nigerians to pray against the myriad of problems bedeviling the country, particularly the security challenges.

    One of the speakers at the event, Imam Sulayman AbdAzeez Al-Gambari, reminded the gathering that God created man with love.

    Al-Gambari said: “Let us have the fear of God and love our neighbours. Ramadan teaches us to have compassion and pity on others especially the needy. We deny ourselves of sleep and food during Ramadan out of fear of God; hence, we should love one another.

    “Once you have the fear of God, you will want to assist and help your neighbours; where there is love; there is peace, success, security and progress. What kills people include hatred for your neighbour.”

    The second speaker, Sheikh Solihu Husain As-Samadani, warned the gathering to avoid being materialistic.

    Special prayers were said at the event for, Nigeria, Lagos state, Governor of Osun state, Rauf Aregbesola, Ajeromi Local Government, Fatimah Charity Foundation and the Alalubarika family.

  • Let’s pray against blood letting, says Olubadan

    The Olubadan of Ibadan land, Oba Samuel Odulana, has enjoined Muslims to pray against “ceaseless bloodletting” being witnessed daily from the destructive activities of religious extremists.

    The monarch, in a statement in Ibadan yesterday, congratulated all Muslims for witnessing another month of fasting  “at a trying time the country is passing through serious security challenges.”

    Oba Odulana enjoined Muslims to pray for peace.

    The monarch admonished the faithful “to radiate the virtues of love, compassion, self-discipline, obedience, peaceful co-existence and religious tolerance during and after the Ramadan period as enjoined by the Qur’an and teachings of Prophet Muhammad.”

    He also urged all Nigerians to pray for unity of the country and refrain from acts that could lead to break down of law and order.

  • Buhari, Atiku, others pray for Tinubu’s mother

    Buhari, Atiku, others pray for Tinubu’s mother

    Eminent Nigerians and thousands of Lagos residents gathered yesterday at the Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos to pray for the late Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, mother of All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

    Alhaja Mogaji died a year ago.

    At the Fidau were former Head of State Gen. Muhammadu Buhari; former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar; former APC Interim National Chairman Chief Bisi Akande; Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola; Senator Gbenga Ashafa and the Asoju Oba of Lagos, Sir Molade Okoya Thomas, among others.

    Many of the attendees were dressed in a pink branded attire.

    Market women defied the rain, singing, dancing and thanking God for the late Alhaja Mogaji’s life.

    Sheikh Tijani Gbajabiamila, who stood in for the Chief Imam of Lagos, Sheikh Garuba Akinola Ibrahim, led the recitation of the Holy Quran.

    Special Assistant to the Lagos State governor on Islam Sheik Shakirudeen AbdulGafar, popularly called Mofeshaye, urged political leaders to re-dedicate themselves to the service of humanity.

    He said: “I am asking you all – former leaders and present office holders –, was there not a time when you were not known by anyone? Where were you 50 years ago? You were nothing. You started from nothing. You are something today but you are still coming back to be nothing.

    “You started from being a drop of water in a woman’s womb and God turned it into something else. Allah gave you an opportunity to exist for a period of time. What will you achieve during your sojourn on earth? God gave you opportunities to benefit humanity, despite the fact that you are not the best in the various circles you emerged from.”

    Sheik Mofesaye urged leaders to touch lives positively like the late Dr. Mogagi did.

    He warned them against the temptation to steal public funds and amass wealth, which he said amounts to vanity, adding that death is “the ultimate end for all mortals”.

    Sheikh Habeebulahi Adam urged Tinubu to be wary of his advisers and careful in making decisions, saying he cannot afford to disappoint Nigerians.

    Other Muslim clerics led prayers for the repose of the soul of the late Iyaloja-General, who they said was a mother to many people.

    Tinubu’s wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu (Lagos Central District), said: “The large crowd here attests to her kind-heartedness, humility and caring attitude. She was accommodating and prayed a lot.”

  • Muslim women pray for abducted girls in Lagos

    Muslim women pray for abducted girls in Lagos

    Members of The Criterion (Association of Muslim Women in Business and Profession) prayed  yesterday for the release of the schoolgirls abducted in Chibok, Borno State, over a month ago by the Boko Haram sect.

    The professional group, led by its National Naibatul Amirah (Vice-President), Alhaja Fatimat Oyefeso, was joined by the Secretary to the Lagos State Government (SSG), Dr Idiat Oluranti Adebule.

    The three-hour prayer featured recitation of the Holy Qur’an and special prayers for the safe return of the girls.

    Addressing reporters after the prayers, Alhaja Oyefeso said the hearts of the group’s members, being mothers, bled for the continued captivity of the children.

    The women’s leader prayed Allah to soften the hearts of the insurgents to release the girls unhurt.

    She frowned at the inability of President Goodluck Jonathan to visit the villages where the abduction occurred.

    Dr Jonathan’s visit, Alhaja Oyefeso  said, would have enlivened the spirit of the girls’ parents and given them hope of reuniting with their children.

    She said: “I believe it is unfortunate for our President to say that his visit would not resolve the crisis in Chibok. He needs to go there and feel the pains of parenthood. It will also afford him  the opportunity of seeing the level of devastation and the sorry security situation in the area.”

    Dr Adebule described Boko Haram as Nigeria’s big headache.

    The insurgents’ activities, she said, were crimes against the Nigerian state, adding that all hands must be on deck to deal with the problem.

    She said: “We must collectively create awareness against the operations of Boko Haram. Their operations are clearly against the dictates of Islam. Allah forbids compulsory conversion of people to another religion, not to talk of forcing girls to marry against their will.”

    The SSG urged Nigerians to unite in the fight against insurgency.

    The Companion National Amir (President), Alhaji Musibau Oyefeso, noted that the extension of the state of emergency in the Northeast would  destroy the economy, political activities and social life of the affected states.

    The Federal Government, he said, had failed Nigerians and should not use the state of emergency as its face-saving tactics.

    The Muslim leader said the government should instead think of more practical approach to end insurgency  in the land.

    Lagos District Amir Najeem Jimoh said Nigeria needed to strengthen its security operatives so that there would be no need to seek external help to curb insurgency.

    He said:”America has its only interest to protect anywhere it goes. It only gets into issues when its interest is at stake. I want to believe there is a genuine intention of America coming to Nigeria. As soon as the insurgents are defeated, let Americans return to their country and not create chaos in our country.”

  • Day thousands of Muslims stormed iconic square to pray for country

    Day thousands of Muslims stormed iconic square to pray for country

    Muslims from no fewer than 100 Islamic organisations, under the aegis of the Joint Muslims Forum (JMF), converged on the main bowl of the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), Onikan, Lagos Island to pray for the nation. TAJUDEEN ADEBANJO reports

    The adjoining roads leading to the iconic Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) venue of Nigeria’s independence from Britain back on October 1, 1960 were busy with all kinds of vehicles, heading towards the square.

    From passenger buses to private cars, many streamed in to attend an event some believe was a ‘once in a life time opportunity.’

    Tagged ‘Prayer for the Nation,’ it was first of its kind to attract well over 100 Islamic organisations coming together for a common cause – Prayer for the nation.

    The nearest to this kind of event was the special Jumat service held at the Freedom Park, Ojota during the protest against removal of fuel subsidy in January 2012.

    Penultimate Saturday, event was big in all ramifications.

    Muslims from all nooks and crannies of the Centre of Excellence came out to be counted. There were others from outside Lagos. It was indeed a field day for petty traders and commercial tricycle drivers. Many who came for the event were surprised with the state of the art stage and the settings of the main bowl of TBS. The surging crowd nearly stretched the square to its limit.

    Different organisations came in their colourful association’s attires. They include Ansar-ud-Deen Society of Nigeria (ADS); The Muslim Congress (TMC); Al-Mu’minaat; The Companion; The Criterion; Nasrul-lahi-li Faith Society of Nigeria (NASFAT); Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN); Movement for Islamic Culture and Awareness (MICA); Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN); Council of Alasalatu; Imams and Alfas in Lagos.

    Many of the leading clerics shone in Arabian attire – Jalabia, turban and Alukinba. Some wore their Alukinba on flowing traditional agbada.

    The event was anchored by the Coordinator of Conference of Islamic Organisations (CIO) Lagos Chapter, Imam Abdullahi Shuaib and Missioner of Fatiu-Quareeb Society of Nigeria, Sheikh Sulayman Adangba. The duo’s fluency in Arabic, Yoruba, Hausa and English languages went a long way in keeping thousands of the audience glued to their seats.

    However, the absence of veteran broadcaster cum presenter of Eji sari programme on NTA Channel 10, Alhaji Rasak Aremu Gawat was felt.

    Alhaji Gawat’s versatility and emotional attachment to his waka (songs) by the Muslim ummah were missing on that great day.

    The event began with opening prayer before a mass Asalat was conducted. The coordinator of the programme and ADS Chief Missioner, Sheikh Abdurrahman Ahmad, said the situation in the country requires prayers.

    “We gather to pray to Allah to guide our leaders to govern well and be just to the people. We are on the verge of extinction in this country. There are lots of acrimony, open letters and close letters, oppression, injustice, therefore we need God’s assistance,” he said.

    The revered cleric lamented the marginalisation of Muslims in the country: “We want our rights. Nobody can usurp the rights of others in the state. We are for peace. No country can move forward without justice to every segment. We gathered because we feel a sense of duty to work together to make our country great. Allah should guide our leaders to be just. In spite of our anger, we bear no grudge against anyone.”

    Sheikh Ahmad cautioned political leaders to stop polarising and causing confusion in the polity.

    “We pray Allah to let them (politicians) bury their inordinate ambitions and to let us choose right. Unless our politicians stop their divisive ways, they will have no country to govern. We want peace but we are also demanding for our rights. The country with its diverse nature needs peaceful co-existence among the people. We pray to Allah for peace to reign in this country,” he said.

    In his welcome address, Senator HAB Fasinro, an elder statesman, said the prayer was part of the Muslims’ contribution and duty to their country “regardless of the fact that we being are discriminated against.”

    “We, therefore, urge our leaders to stop marginalising the Muslims,” he added.

    Fasinro called on Muslims to unite against oppressions but shun violence.

    Secretary- General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Prof Ishaq Oloyede while speaking on the theme, “Leadership and prayer in nation building”, submitted that Nigeria leaders have failed to live up to masses’ expectations.

    “Our country”, Oloyede said, “needs visionary, purposeful and resourceful leaders to chart a good way and proffer solutions to the problems facing this nation. This country has Muslims who can provide quality leadership to chart a new course. This is known through the history of Muslims in all ages. Leaders should see their positions as a trust and not a personal property. Leadership without consultation with people is zero. We need Allah to save our country. Our people are sacrificing honour at the altar of wealth. There are political oppression, rigging, corruptions which have to be stopped for the nation to move forward.”

    While enjoining Muslims to fight for their rights, Oloyede said:  ”We frown at the continued marginalisation of the Muslims across the country and in Lagos; Muslims’ voice in Lagos has to be heard. There are issues of Hijab, Hijrah public holiday, Coroner law which have to be resolved in the interest of the people. Shariah issue has to be resolved too. Lagos is full of non-Islamic symbols all over the streets, why can’t we have Islamic symbols too in all places? I urge the religious leaders not to sell their conscience. They must speak out against injustice being meted out to the Muslims.”

    In her goodwill message, Prof. Fatimah AbdulKareem urges Muslim women to fight for their rights.

    Prof. AbdulKareem, the Head of Morbid Anatomy and Molecular Biology Department at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos/Lagos University Teaching Hospital (CMUL-LUTH) rejected widespread notion that Muslim women are oppressed.

    “We are not oppressed. Hijab is our choice. Modesty is our pride. As Muslim women, let us do our duties to our society. Let us speak with one voice,” she told the gathering.

    Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) Director and Head of Arabic and Islamic Department, Lagos State University (LASU), Prof. Ishaq Akintola in his contribution said: “History is being made in Lagos as Muslims gather to demand what has been eluding them for years. Hijab issue is not political; we are not fighting Governor Babatunde Fashola but just to get what is our due. Hijab is the right of female Muslims, the present school uniform was designed by the Colonial masters and it is a Christian uniform. We want our female students to dress to school with their Hijab. It is their right”.

    The chairman of Oyo State Muslims Council, Alhaji Kunle Sanni wants the Muslims from the Southwest to stand up for their rights.

    He said: “Muslims are not violent. We are not antagonists to the government, but to get what is due to the Muslims. This prayer for the nation is welcome not only in Lagos but in Oyo State too. We have a lot of challenges facing the Muslims in Oyo State; with our coming together we will be able to surmount the problems facing us.”

    In his closing remark, the former Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Alhaji Musiliu Smith called for more of such prayer in all Southwest states.

    ”We need prayers for the challenges facing the nation. Let people be encouraged to join politics to right the wrongs in the country,” he said.

    He urged Muslim lecturers to be exemplary and instil right attitude in the mind of students.

    Aside speeches, revered clerics one after another made special prayers for unity, progress and peace in the country.

    Among the clerics were Mufti of Conference of Islamic Organisations (CIO), Sheikh Dhikrullahi Shafi’I; Missioner of Nawair-ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Sheikh AbdulMajeed Ayinla; Skeikh Muhammad Olatunji; Ustadh Zikrullahi Hassan; Sheikh Sulaiman Faruq Onikijipa and Sheikh Moshood Jubreel Ramadan.

     

  • Fire on the Mountain, pray, pray, pray!

    Today, the shine has gone from what is left of the fire engines in our
    nation’s fire stations. Most of them just sit out their days on display only.

    Some weeks back, I watched absolutely horrified as a sudden power surge provoked a fluorescent bulb in my sitting room and set it alight right before my very eyes. My mate, an untrained fireman, quickly sprang to action to attack the flames. Me, I did the most natural thing in the world: I jumped on a chair and began to scream, flapping my arms in absolute horror like a demented fish seller while intermittently pointing at the offending flames as if it was invisible to everyone else but me. I like to think that the fire respected my screams but I suspect it responded more to the pragmatic measures taken by the emergency ‘fireman’ who went at the flames with much more respectable vigour and implements. I shudder when I think that that could easily have happened when no one was home, or if I was home alone.

    The statistics of fire disasters that happen in this incredibly easy way is simply unimaginable. The other day, a friend’s house burned completely to the ground from a fire that was said to have sparked off from ‘the top of a wardrobe’ – i.e. an electrical spark. Many homes in Nigeria have gone up in flames because of one freak accident or the other. True, a few of those fires may have broken out while the cook was consulting her cookery book and trying to decide whether one teaspoon of oil might not be better than one tablespoon owing to the spots on her face! That usually happened to new wives.

    Most neighbourhoods have learnt to rely on other measures such as gathering their own buckets of water. I learnt from experience that the fire brigade is every wise Nigerian’s last resort. When an unoccupied house across my street caught fire sometime ago, I dialled 199 before finding out that no one respects that number, least of all the police. And to invite the state to respond to any emergency in your vicinity, you have to know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows their secret, unlisted number! I have no social connections to speak of.

    Anyway, I finally knew someone who knew someone who knew the fire station’s number and when I called, the voice that responded assured me the fire brigade would come in a short while from then. In the meantime, could I and others around me attack the flames with whatever came in hand? I said we would try since water was scarce and all we had were a few buckets, so could they hurry? He said they would. When the smouldering flames grew in intensity to a near conflagration consuming the ceiling and the roof, I panicked and called the fire station again. The cool voice contrasted sharply with my shrill one as he assured me they were still coming. At the third ‘We’re still coming’, I remembered that the linguistic behaviour of Nigerians compels them to say they are coming when they are going in the opposite direction to your voice. So, I gave up expecting them and those of us around the burning house just concentrated our energy on making sure the fire did not spread to our turfs. Luckily, providence relieved us of our anxiety; it soon began to rain, and the fire died from natural causes.

    I remember very well how the fire engines in the Oyingbo-Lagos station used to attract more than a passing glance from passersby, back in those days. And it wasn’t just sitting pretty either. Its clanging tones rang frequently in response to distress calls from new wives in new kitchens, with the firemen springing and swinging artistically into action in ways that brought stinging tears into our eyes in appreciation. They even had a training school which, I am sure, attracted many who joined out of admiration for the engines. Today, the shine has gone from what is left of those fire engines in our nation’s fire stations. Most of them just sit out their days on display only.

    Traversing the high street in my city takes one past its only fire station. Though visible to all as it sits on a knoll, there is, indeed, less to the building than meets the eye for all the impact it has on our lives. I have never heard it ring its emergency bells, nor have I ever seen it race to the rescue of anyone. That means I have never been asked to give way to its vehicle while in traffic; rather my car has been frequently shoved aside on the road for some bullion van or governor or some other fellow not necessarily in a hurry but who is hurrying through traffic just for the fun of shoving me aside.

    I asked around if anyone had ever known the firemen respond to any emergency call in this city. Someone said yeah, well, once in his school days but they turned up only after the fire had died – at the children’s hands. It happened in a students’ hostel. The students went at the fire in indignation because it ate up all their provision boxes, and no one, but no one, is allowed to eat up students’ provisions but students: not thieves, not any fire. Clearly, motivation is the guiding principle for many an emergency ‘fire fighter’ now. Just as you provide other amenities for yourself in this country, you not only also make your own fire, you get to put it out yourself.

    I read a news report many months back about a fire that broke out somewhere in one of the states in the western part of the country and the fire brigade was summoned. Quite unlike my own story, the firemen did turn up, but in a taxi. A disbelieving crowd asked them what they had come to do. They replied that they had been sent to come and assess the fire, then they would know if it warranted their bringing their engine or not. Someone in the crowd said, ‘don’t mind them; their problem is that they have no engine to bring.’ The reason was that the same station had been summoned to an emergency previously somewhere else in the town and the firemen had had to hitch a ride from the complainant. At that, the report said, the crowd forgot the fire and concentrated their energy on lynching the firemen.

    What has brought our fire stations to such a sorry pass can only be conjectured. In the first place is the excruciating neglect of the fire services. In many states, the governor’s car polish has a higher budget than the fire stations. Now, that’s corruption. Combine this problem with the water shortage that besets many parts of the country all the year round, it translates to the fact that we cannot get round to borrowing a few litres of water from the Atlantic Ocean, or any other river, sitting at our backyard to recycle for our daily fire-quenching needs. Then of course, there is the problem of indifference to duty, a disease of epidemic proportions, attacking most Nigerians…

    The last resort of course is still prayers. Most emergency fire situations seem to have been fought with that weapon anyway since independence in Nigeria. And, owing to the efficacy of this strong implement, I have come to believe that there is a fire station up above looking out for Nigerians’ distressed voices. So whenever you next hear children at the game of ‘Fire on the mountain!’ just teach them to end it with ‘Pray, Pray, Pray, Pray!’ It is good for them to learn early.

    This article was first published in 2006 by New Age.