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Tag: religious

  • How religious, ethnic interests marred review of Constitution

    How religious, ethnic interests marred review of Constitution

    Proponents of devolution of power, Land Use Act, state creation, boundary adjustment, indigenship and affirmative action in the ongoing constitution review have to wait for another opportunity. Assistant Editor ONYEDI OJIABOR, who followed the process from the outset, writes on what informed the senators’ voting pattern on core issues during the amendment.

    It is no longer news that core proposals slated for amendment in the ongoing constitution review were rejected by the National Assembly. What baffled many was the motive behind the lawmakers’ action.

    The lawmakers have come under scathing criticism for being selective with the amendment, which stakeholders described as self-serving and not in the general interest.

    The Nation learnt that overarching regional interest guided the amendments.

    Right from the conception of the idea for the fourth alteration of the 1999 Constitution, primordial interest wrapped around suspicion, mistrust and even pessimism about the whole process ran riot.

    It was a battle of wits from the outset. It was also obvious that some senators merely played along and waited for the auspicious time to frustrate the process.

    The voting pattern, especially on vital proposals poignantly depicted the true character of the National Assembly.

    All the items northern senators, led by senators Adamu Aliero and Danjuma Goje, kicked against during the clause by clause debate of the proposals, failed to pass the amendment tests.

    Aliero, a one-time governor of Kebbi State, did not hide his disdain for the proposed devolution of power to the states.

    The Kebbi Central Zone senator bellied his disapproval for the devolution of power in his insistence that devolution of power without first tinkering with the revenue allocation in favour of the states would be meaningless.

    Underneath his argument for allocation of more resources to the states was the fear of the unknown.

    The former Kebbi governor, it was discovered, was actually anxious not to endorse restructuring of the country under any other guise. It was ploy to buy time since reworking the revenue allocation formula was not on the card.

    Also, the northern senators opposed the removal of Land Use Act from the Constitution to free land for massive development including agriculture. The proposal crashed because the senators (from the north) felt that delisting Land Use Act from the constitution could be another way of endorsing resource control.

    The proposal for the devolution of power to the states that would have paved the way to rework the country for greater efficiency was opposed by the senators.

    State creation and boundary adjustments proposed to make for equity, equality and give a sense of belonging to the federating units also failed to scale the amendment hurdle as the clause was shot down by the northern senators.

    The indigeneship proposal to allow married women to choose either their state of birth or state of marriage for the purpose of appointment or election was rejected by the senators.

    They also opposed the proposal to institutionalise 35 per cent affirmative action for women aimed at creating more opportunities for women in appointments and elective positions.

    But less than a week after the contentious amendments, details of who did what have started unfolding.

    The leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives have invested a lot of hope in the nearly-aborted amendment.  Both chambers had promised to deliver a clean copy of the constitution long before the commencement of electioneering activities for the 2019 general elections.

    That promise informed why the constitution amendment formed a key issue in the legislative agenda of the Eight National Assembly.

    To achieve this, the leadership of Senate and House of Representatives were periodically briefing by Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and Deputy House of Representatives Speaker Yussuff Lasun on the progress made.

    An insider gave an account of how northern senators perfected their plot to ambush the process.

    The account said: “Last Monday, when all seemed set for the debate and voting for the 33 items on the agenda, a meeting of the joint leadership of the federal legislature held in the Maitama home of the chairman of the National Assembly, Abubakar Bukola Saraki.

    “The meeting, which went on till past midnight was for the purpose of dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s. At the meeting, it was agreed that the debate on the 33 items would hold on Tuesday while the voting would be done on Wednesday so that the process could be completed before the legislators commenced their annual recess which began at the weekend.

    “However, it dawned on the legislative leadership that early Tuesday morning when they were supposed to commence the debate on the floor, the Senate President, House of Representatives Speaker and Deputy Speaker were all expected to attend the 16th Commonwealth Speakers and Presiding Officers’ Conference at the ECOWAS secretariat in Abuja.

    “This would mean that nobody would preside at the plenary. The matter was resolved that the Senate President and Speaker would attend while their deputies should preside at the plenary. It was also agreed that since Nigerian parliamentarians are the organisers, they should ensure the event began on schedule by 9am and end within two hours.

    “Eventually, the need to get the conference opened by the Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo delayed the commencement of the event till 10.30am. However, by 11.30am, the opening was done with. Speaker Dogara, who was the presiding officer at the conference, had to stay back while the Senate President returned to the National Assembly complex.

    “However, on getting there, the Senate President met a tensed atmosphere. The northern senators having observed that their southern colleagues were enthusiastic about the constitution amendment voting process scheduled to begin that day were suspicious that something against the interest of the region might have been inserted into the constitution.

    “They further calculated that since Senator Ike Ekweremadu, a southerner with 11 years’ experience in the position with two previous experiences in constitution amendments, it was possible for him to sneak in a few things not in their interest.

    “Led by Senator Goje, the northern senators at an executive session of the Senate had requested for time to consult with their constituents. That was a delay tactic. Knowing that the Senate was due for recess in the next forty-eight hours, any further delay would put the amendment on hold till after the recess and by that time, the enthusiasm about constitution amendment would have died down.

    “Immediately the Senate President came in and was briefed about what transpired at the executive session in which the Senate seems divided on regional basis (North pitted against South), he immediately started persuading the northern senators that voting would be transparent. He also assured them that the rest of the country was waiting for the amendment as a way of dousing tension and agitations across the country. With his assurances to both sides, he moved from his holding office in the White House wing to the plenary to take charge of the proceedings from his deputy.

    “The controversial issues that created the division along regional lines are the removal of the Land Use Act from the constitution, the affirmative action in which at least 35 per cent of people in the executive council of states and Federal Government would be women and the devolution of more powers to the states.

    “The northerners see devolution of powers as indirect way of importing restructuring into the constitution and turning Nigeria into a confederal state with strong confederating states and a weak centre.

    “The Senate President assured all of them that the process would be transparent and give every lawmaker to fully himself. He then presented the various items as bills so that the issues can be voted upon separately. In that case, the rejection of one issue will not lead to the failure of all the issues as it had happened in the past when the issues were lumped together.

    “That was why voting were done separately on issues to be removed from the constitution, even though such issues came under the same bill. Thus, votes were taken separately on the issue of whether to remove the National Youth Service (NYSC) Decree, Public Complaints Commission and Land Use Act Decree from the constitution. While the first two passed, the latter one failed. And so, the former two would be passed.

    “Still in the early hours of Wednesday, the Northern Senators refused to go into the chamber without having a caucus meeting to articulate their positions on key issues.  They refused to allow northern senators who are members of the leadership to attend the meeting. Thus, Saraki, Ahmed Lawan and Bala Ibn N’Allah, were excluded from the meeting.

    “Eventually, the voting on the controversial issues like the devolution of powers to states, removal of Land Use Act from the constitution, Bills for women to claim either their state of origin or state of origin of their husband, 35 per cent affirmative action in the and federal and state’s executive councils reflected the division in Nigeria – the North versus the South.

    “The sharp division reflects the state of the country. The agitations for resource control in the Southsouth, the Biafran secession threat in the Southeast, the restructuring and true federalism campaign in the Southwest as well as the Fulani herdsmen/farmers clash in the Northcentral seem to have tainted the debate.

    “There is serious level of suspicion, mistrust, and pessimism about the purpose of the contentious issues. “It may be correct to say that the Senate President and other members of the leadership of the Senate were able to get the process through due to their political sagacity, maturity, confidence building ability, consensus building efforts and expanding the middle ground while rejecting extreme measures or positions.

    “In dealing with the issue, the Senate President recognised the need to allow members to express the wishes of their constituents. It is believed that no member could force the other to accept the positions that are contrary to the viewpoints of his or her constituent.”

    “Another factor that worked for the Senate in driving the constitution amendment process is the unity among members on the non-controversial issues and the huge respect for Saraki’s leadership”, the insider source said.

    But the hope of many Nigerians for a restructured may have been sacrificed on the altar ethno-religious interest. Some have described the failure of the National Assembly to pass the critical proposals as insensitivity to the aspiration of greater number of Nigerian.

    Nigerians, who desired and clamoured for true federalism are not the only the losers. The Eight National Assembly, which had an opportunity to writte its name in gold, is also a loser.

    It is obvious that even northern senators who blocked devolution of power to states know that over centralisation of virtually everything, including policing, education and health services, has not served the interest of the country well.

    However, constitution making is a work in progress as Saraki spoke of the possibility of the senators to revisit devolution of power.

    It is not over until it is over. The ayes can still have their way when the two chambers resume in September.

  • Ahmed seeks regulation of religious teaching

    Ahmed seeks regulation of religious teaching

    Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has advocated proper regulation of religious teachings to avoid inculcating religious extremism and intolerance in youths.

    He made the call at the weekend when he received the National Executives of the Jama’atul Izalatul Bidiah Wal Iqamatil Sunnah (JIBWIS), led by National Chairman Sheikh Abdullahi Bala-Lau, at the Government House in Ilorin.

    Ahmed said there is a need for religious groups to devise an acceptable and workable means of curtailing indoctrination of youths by religious extremists.

    According to him, there are misrepresentations and misconceptions on various Islamic teachings which must be addressed by relevant Islamic bodies to ensure the right information is disseminated to the public.

    He advised JIBWIS to partner similar religious bodies in ensuring that correct information and teachings, which will show the beauty and sweetness of Islam, is disseminated in Nigeria.

    His words: “As leaders of religious organisations, you have critical roles to play in redirecting the society to live a better God-guided life.”

    Ahmed advocated for acquisition of both western and Islamic education, by Muslim youths, to maximise opportunities and properly understand the dynamics of the modern world.

    Sheikh Bala-Lau called on Nigerian leaders to always give a sense of direction to the youths, particularly through skill acquisition programmes.

    He advised Muslims to follow the real teachings of Islam and laws of the land to ensure peace and harmony in the country.

    The cleric said the organisation, with over 40 years of propagating Islam, had rendered humanitarian services to Nigerians across religious divide.

  • VC advises students on tolerance,religious harmony

    The University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Benjamin Ozumba has urged students to be tolerant and refrain from divisive religious conducts.

    He said students’good conducts and message of unity could help in overcoming ethno-religious problem plaguing the country.

    Ozumba spoke at a party organised by the UNN chapter of the Muslim Students’ Association of Nigeria (MSSN) to mark its Week.

    The VC praised members of the association for their commitment to religious harmony on the campus, urging them to fight teachings that could lead to disagreement with other faiths.

    He said efforts were being made by his administration to eradicate religious discrimination and ethnicity in the university to promote peace.

    Ozumba said the institution would continue to engage both Christian and Islamic groups to make the campus peaceful, pledging the school’s support for the completion of the UNN Central Mosque before end of his administration.

    Speaking on the theme: General misconceptions about Islam: Redirecting the public perceptions for a symbiotic relationship, Alhaji Abu Sufiyan Ridwanullan Sulaiman, the guest lecturer from Osun State, dismissed the notion that Islam is violent, noting that the religion should not be judged by immoral conducts of a few Muslims.

    Abu Sufiyan said Islam promotes peaceful coexistence among Muslims and adherents of other faiths, adding that the religion detests forced conversion and baseless killing of innocents.

    On marriage, he said Islam permit a capable man to marry two or more wives but that he must be fair to all of them. He said men that are not capable of taking care of two women should not marry two wives.

    Chief Imam of Nsukka Central Mosque, Sheikh Adam Abdullahi Idoko, harped on tolerance, noting that religious leaders must speak up against religious discrimination and injustice. This, he said, would promote harmony.

    Highpoint was the presentation of an award to Imam Idoko for his commitment to religious harmony in the state.

    Other activities marking the MSSN Week included members’visit to the Nigerian Prisons Service in Nsukka, and orphanage. The students also held sanitation and prayer for the nation.

  • ‘Nigeria’s problem is economic, not religious or ethnic’

    ‘Nigeria’s problem is economic, not religious or ethnic’

    Inside the expansive building that houses his fully equipped library and office, former Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, shares with Dorcas Egede, his knack for record keeping and preserving memories, foray into politics and sundry issues. Excerpts 

    You’re an engineer who was doing well in his chosen career, why did you venture into politics?

    Politics is generally believed to be for people who want to “make it” or people who have not been able to do well in other areas and think that politics will provide them an avenue. That is the general belief, no doubt. But, I guess for some other people, it may not be so. It is indeed for genuine service. Some of us see ourselves as change agents. We look at the problem in the polity and we feel it is not as difficult as it’s been made to look like. We believe we have the capacity to make things work, that’s why some of us decided to serve.

    A tour of your library tells me you have a knack for record keeping. How was this born and how far back have you been keeping records of your activities?

    As a young man, even though I studied engineering, I was always interested in knowledge. I strongly believed and still believe that no knowledge is lost. So, I read a lot. Again, in my secondary school, I used to represent my school in debates and quiz competitions. I remember my quizmaster, the late Mr. Oyelakin, who used to say to us that if we are involved in quiz competitions, we must be able to answer questions from anywhere, underground, surface of the earth and even in space. He made it clear that if you must be, as it were, Mr-Know-All, you have to read voraciously. Therefore, as a young man, I had always done a lot of reading and still do.

    You have had six years since leaving office; I take it you’ve had time to do some retrospective and introspective assessment; given the opportunity to serve again, what are some of the things you may likely change or correct?

    The biggest problem for our people is probably linked to the first question you asked. What is the whole essence of governance? It does appear we do not know what it is, or put it this way, 95% of the people who participate in governance don’t really know what it’s all about. They see it as another means of survival, and for as long as that is where we are coming from, we have many challenges on our hands. I think governance and the process of governance should be more of service in the real sense of the word, and I therefore believe that the biggest problem that we have is that over the years people have come to appreciate governance from different perspectives. For a participant, it is a no win situation. If you don’t do what your friends expect you to do, you become a bad person. If you try to do things to satisfy their appetite, you may end up stealing or doing untoward things. And if you get framed and charged, nobody is there for you. It is a dicey situation in all respects. Therefore, I think the biggest problem we have in the polity is to change the psyche of our people to appreciate that governance is about giving to the society. It is about service and not about opportunities for personal enrichment.

    Today, politics is synonymous to manipulation or lie telling and the people who are able to manipulate correctly are the people who are hailed as being successful politicians. What society applauds is the ability of a politician to manipulate or outwit people, despite the fact that he or she knows that he is only manipulating. Again, the other side is that the people who are being manipulated are also naive and are easily carried away; then after they take a decision, like the Roman mob, they start regretting what they have done. This is why I was toying with the idea of a Political Academy. It is to create an opportunity for people to be more enlightened. Therefore, if there is anything I am going to put a lot of energy into, it is going to be an enlightenment process. Moreover, nothing is too much for one to do in enlightening the people.

    You talked about wanting to retire and people not allowing you do so. Do you really have intention to retire or are you bidding more time to return to the political scene in a bigger way?

    I have been told that politicians do not retire. That is what I have been told, but my own way of looking at it is slightly different, and I have said it on so many instances that as a people, leadership, governance and positioning appears to be usually an act of God. You can do a lot of manipulation and all of that, if God does not want you there, that is it.

    Part of the achievement of your government was that you were able to create jobs; but you were faced with the problem of unpaid salaries, and we still have that problem in many states. What can be done to enable state governments generate their revenues internally, so as to meet financial obligations, especially to workers?

    In all of my eight years as governor, there was no instance of unpaid salaries for civil servants, just for the records. When I took over the reins of government, we had accumulation of pensions and gratuities, and of course, we paid what we inherited. By the time we were leaving, we also had some pensions and gratuity that we were not able to offset. However, as far as salaries were concerned, we paid salaries as at when due until the last day. I think the only instance where some salaries were not paid were the tertiary institutions, and I’ve explained that under the administration we ran, tertiary institutions were autonomous. We paid them an agreed amount every month, like a subsidy, and the onus lied on the institution, based on their priorities, to decide what they wanted to do with the subsidy plus the IGR they generate.  We paid the subsidies, in the core civil service however, we didn’t have any arrears of salaries. Now, we had the economic meltdown in 2008, and that was actually why we had the pensions problem, otherwise we would not even have left any unpaid gratuity, but because of economic meltdown, we had those challenges. I think it is just a question of priorities.

    How can we have a well-structured IGR that can help state governments have good financial standing?

    Unfortunately, the understanding of IGR by many of our governments is to continue to make life difficult for the citizens. They say they are doing proper taxation. It is common knowledge today that the salary the average worker gets is not even enough for him to do anything, and when you now begin to overtax people because you’re looking to generate revenue, then it is counterproductive.

    The PDP has had more than its fair share of crises, and many believe it won’t survive all the problems rocking it. Why have you stayed on? Is the party indeed dead? Is there a flicker of hope for its survival?

    Well, all power belongs to God, that’s for sure, and there is nothing that is impossible in the hands of God. Nevertheless, PDP has challenges, and part of the challenge is because of our value system; because like I said at the beginning, a number of people that are into politics don’t really know why they are there, and when they do know it, they are doing it for the wrong reasons. When we have people who have turned politics into a business venture, they have a big challenge, and it’s only God that can help the situation. I haven’t moved because moving shouldn’t be for moving sake; sometimes it’s better to siddon look. There is nothing that is happening in PDP that we didn’t predict or warn about. All the people who didn’t listen to us have got their fingers burnt and it’s still going to continue like that. Therefore, my own attitude today is that things are still evolving, let’s keep our fingers crossed and watch.

    It seems to me we have a rather weak political party system, which encourages a lot of cross carpeting. How can we ensure strong party allegiance and a definitive lift for political parties?

    For as long as people see government as everything and there are no principles in government, we are going to have people migrating to the ruling party, because it is where the action is. What I see, whether the ruling party is doing well or not, you’re going to see a lot of gravitation towards it, because for a lot of people, it’s all about their survival. I have a case of someone who came to me in 2011; she was a senator. That year there was a change of government, the person came to me and said, “Your Excellency, I’ve had a good relationship with you, but another party has taken over government, I have to go there, because my people will not be able to survive if they are not in government. So, please understand, it’s not as if I have any issues with you, it’s just that I have to go to the ruling party.” She was very honest enough to tell me that. However, between you and me, that is the driving force for most people; it is the quest for survival. Moreover, as long as it remains that there’s nothing you can do in this country without the involvement of government (there is government hand in 80-90% of what we do) you have people migrating to the ruling party.

    I usually tell people that if you go to our colonial master’s country, Great Britain, you don’t need to know who the Prime Minister of Great Britain is to run your business. You don’t need to have any business with Queen of England to run your business.

    Ethnic militias’ unending rivalry, herdsmen attack, Boko Haram scourge, these are some of the many challenges that currently besiege the nation. What do you think the government can do to tackle these problems headlong?

    In my opinion, most of the problems are economic. Yes, there are ethnic and religious considerations, but most of the problems, I believe, are economic. The reason I said this is very simple. I read recently the story of a suicide bomber, who was given N200 to detonate a bomb and kill herself. It’s like a tale from the moonlight, but it’s true. This therefore signifies that the problem is more economic than religious or ethnic. Yes, there are, consequent upon the level of illiteracy, religious and ethnic considerations, but 90% of the problem is economic. Look at what is going on, if the economy can be arranged in such a way that people are guaranteed employment and they can see fairness in the society, the incidence of those things we are talking about will become minimal.

    The real problem is economic and bad governance, and one way the various governments bamboozle the followers is to make you look at it as if religion and ethnicity is the problem.

    You have said that many people go into politics to take care of themselves. Isn’t it possible for us to have people coming into government with the genuine desire to serve?

    Some people have done that, but unfortunately, the record in the Nigerian political space is not particularly good. Because some of the people who have genuinely tried to change the society have always been crucified and persecuted. We can start from Chief Awolowo whose praise we all are singing today. When he was alive, he was persecuted and jailed for doing good. That is the tragedy of our country and clearly the tragedy of homo sapiens.

    Can we possibly have a system that makes politicians and public office holders accountable?

    I think that some countries have achieved this largely because of the way they have fought and are still fighting corruption. That is what we should be heading for. Nigeria is now making efforts, but unfortunately, like most things that are Nigerian, the general feeling out there is that the fight against corruption is lopsided. When you actually look at it statistically and otherwise, you see that there is a little bit of lopsidedness and sometimes to the extent of witch-hunting. This is really the problem.

    Usually, a government in power undertakes many projects, which more often than not, is unable to complete before the expiration of its tenure. Now, his successor, most times does not continue with his legacies, especially if they are from different political parties. This results in huge wastes. What do you think can be done to correct this ill?

    I can only talk about myself, because when I took over power in 2003, I took over from another political party. However, part of what I did was to ensure that I completed all the projects that I met on ground, and settled all the liabilities I inherited. I have done my own bit and I’m proud of that. I think it also has to do with the kind of politics we play and the perception of people about politics. It’s also part of what I spoke about manipulating people. Unfortunately, people can be sometimes naive; we are not able to read between the lines that someone is just trying to play games and manipulating the psyche of the people. But basically, the responsibility is on government to see that when they take over, they look at what is on ground and the ones that they think are done in the interest of the people should be completed.

    Against our sprawling resources, what in your opinion does Nigeria have to show for its 18 years of participatory democracy?

    The only thing we can say is that we have been able to manage to keep the fragile pieces together, if that is an achievement. Beyond that, I think we could have done a lot more than we’ve done. It is a sad story that neighbouring countries like Ghana have been able to resolve their power challenges and we are yet able to do that. It is unfortunate that most of the roads again are yet unconstructed. What’s the reason for this? We have always said that until we allow Nigerians to do what they have to do in terms of their development, we’re wasting time. Until we keep our money in Nigeria and let Nigerians do what they have to do, we are wasting time.

  • Activist to sue political, religious leaders

    Activist to sue political, religious leaders

    An octogenarian author, activist and social critic, Mrs. Adaobi Whyte, said she will sue political leaders at the International Court in the Hague for allegedly mismanaging the economy.

    Whyte, who spoke while presenting a paper at the inaugural meeting of a non-government organisation (NGO), “Voice of African Organisation” (VAO), in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, said she would also sue pastors and imams for their alleged mental, spiritual and physical exploitation of worshippers through seed sowing, tithe and offering.

    She decried wrong teachings, false religious indoctrination, among others, alleging they turned people to terrorists, who destroyed communities.

    The author, who has written six social, cultural and story books, including the latest, “How Africans vandalise Africa, focusing on Nigeria”, said security agencies and their heads, both serving and retired, would be sued for their alleged roles in promoting insecurity and extrajudicial killings of innocent people.

    She urged individuals, civil society groups, organisations and international bodies to fight the rot and restore sanity.

  • Addressing ethnic, religious and sectional manipulation

    One of the very important values accepted by most people and nations in the world today is the equality of all men. The idea presupposes that everyone is born equal and should be treated as such regardless of racial, ethnic, religious and cultural differences. The Nigerian Constitution, the Charters of the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Organisation (UNO) support this value. In fact, equality of persons is one of the very essential principles of democracy. Any government that respects democracy must highlight equality of all men in its Constitution.

    But despite constitutional provision for equality in our country, we are confronted with dangerous tendency of mutual distrust and manipulation of what divide us by powerful political and religious cum ethnic mongers. In truth, socio-economic cum political inequality is a reality in Nigeria. But in spite of various efforts to eradicate the problem as evidenced in the creation and proliferation of States, ethnic “arithmetic”, ethnic balancing, federal character, NYSC scheme, Federal Unity Colleges, various formulas for revenue allocation, the policy of WAZOBIA, relocation of federal capital, official and unofficial exhortations for national unity and interethnic tolerance and inter-faith groups, the problem still haunts us.

    It is important to understand that governments, leaders, or groups who manipulate the people have a reason for doing so. The reason is simple. Manipulators have something to hide. They want to cover the fact that they exist by exploiting and oppressing the people. So they pretend to be friends of some people. They pretend to be protecting the interests of groups to which they belong by race, ethnicity or religion while, in actual fact, they are only taking care of their selfish interests. By this manipulation, such governments and leaders want to break the unity of the entire people. They want to weaken the consciousness and opposition of the entire people to their bad government and bad leadership.

    Since independence, various selfish leaders have manipulated our people by placing emphasis on our artificial differences. For example, some have based their political campaigns on ethnicity, regionalism and religion. Today, religion has become a strong weapon used by selfish leaders to manipulate and divide the people. Their misuse of religion has led to riots and loss of lives and property. But while in office, their performances, ways of life and style of living belied their religious claims as they are more corrupt and perverted than Satan.

    This devilish manipulation of our people through ethnic, religious and sectional differences has caused a lot of harm to our nation. It breaks the unity of the people and turns their attention away from the urgent and real matters of public interest. Consequently, terrible leaders easily get away with their various acts of impunity. Furthermore, internal disunity caused by manipulation prevents the people from playing a more prominent role in the development of the country.

    It is time we recognized that the old saying, “unity is strength” remains valid. It is only in unity that we can win the war for economic development, social progress and political emancipation. It is when we are united that the war against insurgency and what actually prompted it can be successfully fought and won. Trading of blames by various leaders, to further deepen our division, is counter-productive.

    The Nigerian people must know that the poverty, ignorance and disease which oppress the working masses today, do not recognize ethnic, language, religious or regional differences. Hunger does not discern your ethnicity. So, whether you are Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Urhobo, Itsekiri, Longuda, Birom, Ogoja, Tiv, Gbagyi, Efik, Kanuri, Chip, Annang, Izon, Nupe, etc means nothing to poverty. Likewise, disease does not care about your religious affiliation. Neither does ignorance. Poverty, disease and ignorance attack primarily the masses. Therefore, the masses need to shun all artificial and counter- productive divisive tendencies. They would lead us to nowhere.

    The people should protect national unity and rise up against leaders who want to perpetually manipulate them for selfish gains. This is the time for our people to use religion and ethnic frontiers to promote national development and stability. The people should be educated about the importance of forming and joining popular associations, such as occupational and trade unions and clubs which cut across ethnic, language, religious and regional boundaries, so as to strengthen national identity and unity. We should not allow any exploiter, foreign or indigenous, to break this unity of experience and purpose.

    This is the time for individuals and organisations with influence and means to educate the masses on the imperative for national unity, harmony and cohesion. Of what use is a poor Fulani herdsman killing a poor Hausa/Yoruba/Igbo/Tiv farmer? Irrespective of how herculean it is, it is better today for leaders to agree on all areas that need restructuring in our polity before we approach another electioneering year. We have been fooled for too long. Now is the time to ‘shine’ our eyes and refused to be fooled again.

    As previously stated, irrespective of religion, ethnic and other such parochial divides, what every Nigerian wants is good governance that provides the basic needs of life. We don’t need all these unnecessary agitations over elemental differences that serve only the interests of our oppressors. For us to move forward as a nation, the masses need to realize that the political elite’s chief preoccupation is the advancement of parochial interests. It is only when such interests are being threatened that they resort to using the masses as canon fodders in their mischievous ploy to corner the commonwealth. The earlier the masses realize and reject this scheme, the better for our nation.

    • Musbau is of the Features Unit, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja.
  • Religious Nigeria, divine mandates

    Religious Nigeria, divine mandates

    IT is no exaggeration that Nigerians see themselves as a deeply religious people, at least in the manner they outwardly profess their religions. It is, therefore not surprising that whether they are winning or losing, they see the divine hand in their affairs. And whether they are even cheating others or are being cheated, they also see the divine hand. Politicians are the greatest proponents of this mentality. Once elected, they see their victory as divine; threatened, they see their enemies as enemies of God. In short, God has become indistinguishable from the Nigerian politician and leader, or his servant.
    Embattled Abia State governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, fighting to keep his seat against the challenger Uche Ugah, vigorously asserted that his mandate was authored by God. “It is not a battle against me;” said the governor of his sack by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, “it is a battle against the Office of the Governor of Abia State, which I occupy by the grace of God.” Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State also speaks of divine mandates. Responding to the protests led by the All Progressives Congress (APC) against his government, in particular asking him to step down, the governor anchored his election and stay in office on God. “It is only if it was not God that brought me here that will make them (protesters) to succeed. It was God that made me governor…You can hold your protest for the next months, they will only continue to ridicule themselves because Ekiti people have given me their mandate. Those fighting me are fighting God.”
    But it is not only elected officials and politicians that keep seeing the divine hand. Even militants and agitators, such as the pro-Biafra groups that have become very active in recent months, also see the divine hand. Reacting to President Muhammadu Buhari’s declaration last week that Nigeria’s unity was non-negotiable, and in particular his constant references to apparently pro-secessionist movements, the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) also declared that God was involved in their cause and success was guaranteed. Making allusions to the biblical account of how the Egyptian Pharaoh met his doom, the MASSOB spokesman Uchenna Madu asserted: “No man born of a woman can crush Biafra because God, history and humanity are on our side.”
    Flowing from these statements and arguments, it is not just obvious that Nigeria is a deeply religious society, it is clear it is also a superstitious one. By what conceivable means, for instance, could Mr Fayose invoke the name of God to defend his mandate exclusive of the atrocities he has committed with the mandate? There may be questions as to the legality and morality of the APC and the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) wanting to unseat the Ekiti governor before the next polls, but there can be no question whatsoever that given the general understanding of who God is, it is indeed foolish to bring Him into the messy and thieving situation cynically and malevolently conjured by Mr Fayose. Perhaps it is high time Nigerians, especially politicians, began to take to heart the admonition to separate state and religion. Instead of anchoring their base desires on divine approbation, it is time everyone took responsibility for their actions.

  • ‘Blame religious leaders for corruption in Nigeria’

    Professors of Islamic and Arabic Studies, Lanre Badmus and Hamzat Abdulraheem have blamed religious leaders  for not discouraging corrupt public holders by allegedly accepting gifts from them.

    The duo told The Nation in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital at the sideline of a Ramadan lecture organized by Managing Partner of Abdulrauf Jimoh and Co, Alhaji Muideen Obanimomo.

    Prof Badmus, who is the Dean of Post Graduate School, University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), said that “religious leaders have not helped matters. They know the source of corruption. If corrupt people are coming with gifts and our religious leaders can be courageous to reject them, this will minimize corruption among the leaders we have in the society. So we appeal to our religious leaders to demonstrate courage and call a spade by its name and not to parry with the leaders that are devastating the people under them.”

    He went on: “In Nigeria today, there is no doubt that we are facing the twin problems of corruption as well as poverty. Both problems have defied solution. The government has been trying the very best, but the more the government tries the more biting the two problems are. All over the place people are complaining of one thing or the other.

    “The only thing we can do is to try to mobilize ourselves and look at the Islamic provisions on how to eliminate poverty; on how to curb corruption. Every human has corruption tendency in him. But in the spirit of Ramadan, we are being taught to have self-control over our urge, our inordinate ambition and over our desire to appropriate or misappropriate what is supposed to be in our care for public good.

    “What is causing the rising wave corruption is lack of patriotism and lack of God’s consciousness on the part of the Nigerian people. Forget about the differences in religions; that is Christianity and Islam. There is no religion that encourages corruption and injustice, but we perpetrate the two in Nigeria.

    “We are more godly when we are inside the churches and mosques, but when get to the public glare we tend to keep God away from our lives. And we seem to have the feeling, although wrongly, that we are independent and that we can do and undo; as if God is not watching every one of us. As we are not going to die; people are amassing wealth when they die that is the end of it.”

    Prof Abdulraheem who teaches at the Kwara state University (KWASU) said that “I cannot say that they have played serious role; though they preach but some of them don’t really follow what that they say. What is expected from religious leaders is for them to have the courage to tell the truth to whoever is involved in any type of corruption.

    “My advice to government is to let social justice prevail. People should feel well treated and catered for. Poverty should be wiped off, because as long as we have poverty in the society it will be difficult to fight corruption. Poverty is a major source of corruption. If people have fear of the unknown they tend to enrich themselves illegitimately. If there is provision for everybody and everybody gets what is due to him, I think through that way corruption would be eliminated.”

  • Vice President urges religious tolerance

    Vice President urges religious tolerance

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has appealed to Nigerians to co-exist in peace and understanding.

    He spoke yesterday in Abuja while he was being honoured with an award by the Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria (MULAN) at the Sheraton Hotels and Towers.

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Political Matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu who represented Prof. Osinbajo at the event, also urged Nigerians to be patient with the administration.

    Ojudu said the task of rebuilding the country transcends religion, pointing out that it’s instructive enough to see the Vice President who is a Pastor being recognised and honoured by Muslim Lawyers Association.

    Also honoured at the event were the Governors Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State and Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State.

    The National President of MULAN, Dr. Kamal Alhaj Dawud, urged Nigerians to emulate the qualities of the award recipients.

    According to him, the recipients were carefully chosen for their proven integrity and their commitment to service above self.

  • El-Rufai’s religious preaching bill

    Much as Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State tries to explain the rationale behind the bill to check the activities of preachers, it would appear the controversy generated by it will continue to linger for a longtime to come. For, there are grey areas in that executive bill that raise suspicion on the capacity of its implementers when passed into law, to be fair to all the religions.

    Titled “A bill for a law to substitute the Kaduna state Religious Preaching law 1984”, it seeks among others, the establishment of two committees, one from the Jama’atu Nasir Islam (JNI) for Moslems and the other from the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) for Christians. It also proposes the setting up of an inter-faith ministerial committee to exercise supervisory control over the JNI and CAN committee.

    Both the JNI and CAN committees are to issue licences to preachers as approved by the inter-faith ministerial committee and renewable after one year. Other key aspects of the bill relate to restricting the playing of cassettes, CDs, flash drive or any other communication gadgets containing religious recordings from accredited preachers to one’s house, inside the church, Mosque, or any other designated place of worship.

    It also makes it an offence for any person to preach without licence, play a religious cassette or use a louder speaker for religious purposes after 8pm in public places. An offender shall on conviction be liable to a term of imprisonment not exceeding two years or a fine of N200, 000 or both.

    The Catholic Bishop of Kaduna, Most Rev. Dr. Matthew Man-OSO Ndagoso, is of the opinion that the bill is unnecessary as our laws can handle issues it seeks to tackle.

    For the chairman of the JNI in the state, Alhaji Ja’faru Makafi, the bill is nothing new as preaching activities have had a long history of regulation in the state. He said it was for this reason that the regime of Ahmed Makafi had to drop similar idea when he was reminded that there were existing laws regulating preaching.

    Thus, the bill appears an avoidable duplication of existing laws guiding the practice of religion and therefore patently unnecessary. Apart from this, there are aspects of it that are largely vague and suspicions are that in their implementation, the Kaduna State government may likely come out in its true colours.

    The first has to do with the setting up of the two committees for JNI and CAN that are to be supervised by an inter-faith ministerial committee. The bill should have gone further to specify the composition of the inter-faith committee. This is especially so because given the very sensitive nature of religion on these shores, there is every reason to expect some friction when it comes to the composition and chairmanship of the committee. The direction it tilts will be a mirror to what may follow thereafter.

    There will be friction over the propriety of the inter-faith committee to determine which preachers to issue licences and which of them should not be accredited to propagate their faith. Such issues are very hard to regulate. Moreover, the criteria for the issuance of such licences have not been spelt out. Is it going to be based on large followership, popularity, record or rigorous religious training?  Or is it going to be biased in favour of well established faith organizations? What future is there for the budding ones?

    And where is it written that these criteria are all there is for purposeful and effective evangelical work?  It would seem the inter-faith committee is ab initio handicapped in the assignment the bill seeks to carve out for it. It will also amount to serious intrusion into the activities of the two religions by the government. There must be a point beyond which the government cannot intrude in religious affairs. Setting up an inter-faith committee to regulate what Christians and Moslems do would amount to an action taken too far.

    There are also serious issues with the proposed trial of preachers without licences in the sharia and customary courts. The controversy that will arise from this may make nonsense of anything to be achieved by that piece of legislation.

    If at all, preaching should be regulated in the manner being proposed in the bill, it ought to be left for the two religious bodies.  But it is not all religious sects that belong to CAN and JNI. And that further constrains the attempt to regulate. You can neither regulate nor issue licences to faith based organizations that fall outside the ambit of these two religious bodies.

    But then, there is the more fundamental flaw in the reasoning that the cause of religion is better served when preachers are armed with a licence from the government. Its corollary is that issuing licences to preachers constitutes both the necessary and sufficient conditions for peaceful co-existence among members of the two dominant religious groups. There are no facts to support this thinking.

    Moreover, some of the preachers who command large following today and have performed well in their missionary work are neither known to have undergone formal training in their missionary work nor certified by such bodies as JNI or CAN before they commenced preaching. So the contention by El -Rufai that the bill “seeks to ensure that those that preach religion are qualified, trained and certified by their peers to do so” cannot be stretched too far.

    In fact, if such regulation had been in force, many of the religious denominations that abound today would not have been allowed to spring up. That is the simple fact and that is why the feeling is strong that the bill is meant to limit religious freedom.

    There are also issues with limiting the playing of cassettes, CDs and flash drive to one’s homes and inside the churches and mosques. The inevitable impression is that much of the religious disharmonies we have had in that state derive in the main, from unrestrained spreading of religious messages through these medium. This cannot be supported by the genesis of the various religion-induced riots that had in the past, led to the destruction of lives and property of inestimable value not only in that state but other states in the north. It cannot also be achieved by making it an offence for any person to preach without licence or limiting the use of loud speakers for religious purposes in public places after 8pm.

    Such regulation will no doubt, come into conflict with the mode of evangelization of most Christian dominations. The issue is not as much with the playing of religious cassettes or spreading religious messages after a certain period of time. It has not got much to do with what preachers do during their public outings.

    We need to look beyond these if we really seek the right handle to the cycle of religious violence that has been the sad lot of some states in the north. The Maitatsine riots of the 80’s; the series of religious violence of the past and the Boko Haram insurgency have little to do with some of the issues the bill seeks to regulate. Neither is the bill designed to check the future emergence of weird fundamentalist ideology nor the selfish manipulation of the down-trodden by the elite that give rise to such riots. Such indoctrination is implanted within the four walls of these religious bodies rather than outside of it.

    El-Rufai should drop that superfluous piece of legislation and channel his energy to improving the material conditions of the people of that state. With improved education and material conditions of living, the ease with which politicians manipulate the masses for self-serving ends in the guise of religion, will wane very considerably. And that is the real issue.