Thursday, December 29, 2011
Reflections on Faith and Society
It would be insincere to hope that Nigerian Christians had a “merry Christmas” on Sunday December 25, 2011, the day having been “celebrated” with bomb attacks on St Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla near Suleija in which scores of innocent worshippers were killed, courtesy of “Boko Haram”. In Jos, the terrorist Islamic fundamentalist organisation which seeks implementation of Sharia all over Nigeria also attacked a Mountain of Fire and Miracles (MFM) Church with gunmen shooting at departing worshippers and detonating improvised explosive devices. Last Christmas Boko Haram exploded bombs at several Churches in Jos, and in 2009, Farouk Abdul Muttalab chose Christmas day to attempt to blow up a US airline.
I know the politically correct thing to say-that Boko Haram does not represent Islam; that this is not about religion or even politics, but unemployment and poverty. However as Boko Haram’s murderous campaign develops, those positions become less tenable. Boko Haram’s demand is for an Islamic state; all their attacks are directed against two institutions-the Nigerian secular government which it seeks to overthrow, including security agencies which sustain and protect the state; and Churches and Christians. As Senate President David Mark recently pointed out, the silence of Northern and Muslim leaders in the face of Islamist terror is deafening in its implications-either cowardice or complicity!!!
Faith, Society and the Law
I doubt if there is any legal system without roots in moral and/or religious principles. Most of the ideas that constituted the underpinnings of Western legal systems, which we inherited through British colonialism, have their foundations in Christian and Biblical moral principles and injunctions-the Ten Commandments (thou shall not kill; thou shall not steal; thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbour; thou shall not covet thy neighbour’s house etc). These principles were further developed in more detailed laws and injunctions in the Book of Leviticus. Western societies learnt, correctly in my view, of the necessity of codifying these principles into a secular body of law rather than rely directly on the Bible or Canon Law in other that the law may develop and cope with the complexity of modern society. The Islamic Sharia seeks total reliance on the Quran, Sunnah and other principles of their faith and practices of their Prophet, so Islamic law is explicitly religious law.
Traditional African society was governed on the basis of traditional religion. In Yoruba societies for instance, all the laws enforced by the Oba, his Chiefs, the Ogboni and other institutions of Yoruba society drew inspiration from Ifa. If there was doubt about how to proceed concerning any matter of state, the Oba and his Chiefs would summon an Ifa diviner to seek direction. When an adherent of Ifa such as Professor Wole Soyinka appears to support homosexual relations as a private matter between two adults, he may in fact not have support in Yoruba religion, history and culture. I have no doubt that if two men were found having anal sex in Yoruba society of old, their actions would have been regarded as an abomination and they may have been summarily executed!
Is it possible to have a legal system or society that abandons all moral and spiritual underpinnings? I don’t think so! As the West may already be finding out (without yet understanding or acknowledging it) what you’ll get is a dysfunctional society in which bankers bring down the global economy through greed and recklessness; where politics becomes dysfunctional (such as US Republicans and Democrats unable to agree on anything); where suicide rates rise as humans have no hope and no moral imperative to confront the challenges of life; where family life breaks down almost completely; and where British youths loot shops and supermarkets for sneakers and designer cloths! It is moral underpinnings that provide restraints on human behaviour. When you remove them, life itself and society-politics, economy and social relations will eventually become dysfunctional. Amoral societies are a slippery slope!!!
CAN and Its Adversaries
There was a report on internet news portals that Professor Jubril Aminu, a former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC); former university Vice Chancellor; former Minister for Education; former Minister for Petroleum Resources; former Ambassador; and until recently a Senator of the Federal Republic canvassed the banning of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) at the recent Northern Peace Conference in Kaduna! For some inexplicable reasons, this report did not show up in any of the mainstream media, possibly indicating that someone somewhere recognised the implication of the statement and tried to keep it out of circulation. I have waited for a denial from Aminu and/or the organisers of the conference, but none has been forthcoming so one must presume that he indeed made the comment. Which calls to question much about the quality of his thinking; his level of parochialism and prejudice; and is quite scary as it gives an uncomfortable peep into the mind of a man who occupied so many strategic positions in Nigeria.
It also confirms that CAN is doing something right!!! Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor appears to have brought some insight, vigour and courage into the leadership of Nigeria’s Christians and clearly some ethnic and religious hegemonists are now quite uncomfortable. All I can say to CAN and Pastor Oritsejafor is, be vigilant, but keep doing what you’re doing!!!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Religious Harmony
Religious Harmony
The Yorubas of Western Nigeria offer the world lessons in forging societal harmony in spite of being of different faiths. In virtually all Yoruba families you find Christians, Muslims and adherents of traditional and alternative (Grail, Eckankar, Rosicrucian etc) faiths. All my four grandparents were Muslims, indeed Alhajis and Alhajas. My parents were born Sikiru and Raliatu and only became Christians, thus Solomon and Margaret, as young persons, as the combination of Christian evangelism and education persuaded many to the Christian faith. Yet some of my parents’ brothers and sisters remained Muslims, so I have uncles, aunties, cousins, nieces and nephews who are Muslims. To the best of my knowledge, my grandparents never objected to their children’s adoption of Christianity, yet never wavered in commitment to their Islamic faith till their death.
I remember once observing my mother, herself now late, feeling quite unhappy. She, a committed Christian was apparently concerned that her mother who earnestly desired to, had not been able to observe the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. She was determined to remedy that situation, yet the cost of our education did not readily yield space for the expenses of the obligatory trip to Mecca! Well whatever sacrifice it would have required, the next year, my maternal grandparents went to Mecca, and we found the money to welcome them with an “Alhaji and Alhaja Kaabo” owambe party in typical Yoruba fashion! I may be known as Opeyemi Agbaje, but my grandparents duly gave me a Muslim name (which shall not be revealed in this column!) and indeed there were those who would only call me by that name!!!
As a teenager, the best time to visit my beloved “Alhaja” (as my maternal grandmother became known), was during Ramadan when I could eat my cake, and have it! Alhaja would wake you up to break the fast with her (even though you had not really fasted!); you could then go back to sleep and wake up late morning to a “regular” breakfast; have a normal lunch with the non-fasting and/or Christian members of the large household; “break fast” again early evening; and again enjoy dinner within the nightly fast-breaking window. I recall also joining the local boys as they took “Ileya” rams for head-butting contests during the bigger Islamic festival season! In Yorubaland, there is no telling, except for insiders, who is a Christian or Muslim during religious ceremonies, as everyone joins in the gaiety and celebrations.
This multiple religious heritage accounts for why Yoruba society has been largely immune to religious politics and why the people remain by-and-large unaffected by religious differences. Any politician, who tries to import religion into politics in Yorubaland, is likely to receive a shocker as Christians, Muslims and even traditionalists are likely to turn against such a person. In this season of Ramadan, I commend this approach to people of faith all over the world.
A Call for a Second Dialogue Committee!!!
Last Friday evening, I posted the following comment on facebook-“Boko Haram has bombed the UN office in Abuja killing at least 18 people and injuring several others. I urge President Jonathan (as usual) to set up a committee to dialogue with Boko Haram. In the spirit of reconciliation, the members of the dialogue committee may include Tanko Yakasai, Ibrahim Babangida, Muhammadu Buhari, Adamu Ciroma, Abubakar Atiku and Nasir El-Rufai! Troubled Country!!!” The post attracted interest and comments from “my friends and I” and we unanimously adopted the suggestion as a “vigorous and robust” response to the “dastardly” bombing. Some important modifications came from my friend “T.O” (any educated Nigerian newspaper reader must know who that is!) who noted that the proposed membership did not reflect “federal character”. Accordingly he recommended that we include my friend Femi Fani-Kayode to represent the Yoruba Council of Elders!
T.O also highlighted the need for a committee spokesperson proposing either Kazeem Afegbua or Senator J. K. N Waku. I deemed Waku rather old for the “onerous assignment”, so I chose Afegbua who has adequately demonstrated the “vigour and robustness” required for this critical national responsibility! Another Facebook friend, Chigozie wondered why I had excluded the (in his words oh!) “Almighty Gusau” I agreed to redeem this omission, but the resourceful T.O pointed out again that Gusau would be a good fit for the position of “Coordinating Member of the Boko Haram Dialogue Committee”!!! One fellow suggested including Tunde Bakare in the committee. I am not sure this recommendation was accepted! On my part, I wondered which constituency Bakare would represent, not been from Borno or Bauchi States or anywhere in the precincts from which Boko Haram originated, and not been a known apostle of dialogue! We are undergoing “further consultations” on that particular nomination! Meanwhile in place of Bakare’s controversial nomination, I suggested Mallam Yahaya Kwande, which was unanimously accepted. Finally Benjamin nominated the Sultan of Sokoto, who we all agreed should serve as Chairman.
“My friends and I” agreed that “the perpetrators of this heinous act must be apprehended” in order that after their apprehension, we can explain the importance of dialogue and peaceful nation-building to them. We also disagreed with Christian Purefoy who claimed on CNN that “after this kind of thing, nothing gets done” noting that setting up a dialogue committee is not “nothing”.
The Yorubas of Western Nigeria offer the world lessons in forging societal harmony in spite of being of different faiths. In virtually all Yoruba families you find Christians, Muslims and adherents of traditional and alternative (Grail, Eckankar, Rosicrucian etc) faiths. All my four grandparents were Muslims, indeed Alhajis and Alhajas. My parents were born Sikiru and Raliatu and only became Christians, thus Solomon and Margaret, as young persons, as the combination of Christian evangelism and education persuaded many to the Christian faith. Yet some of my parents’ brothers and sisters remained Muslims, so I have uncles, aunties, cousins, nieces and nephews who are Muslims. To the best of my knowledge, my grandparents never objected to their children’s adoption of Christianity, yet never wavered in commitment to their Islamic faith till their death.
I remember once observing my mother, herself now late, feeling quite unhappy. She, a committed Christian was apparently concerned that her mother who earnestly desired to, had not been able to observe the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. She was determined to remedy that situation, yet the cost of our education did not readily yield space for the expenses of the obligatory trip to Mecca! Well whatever sacrifice it would have required, the next year, my maternal grandparents went to Mecca, and we found the money to welcome them with an “Alhaji and Alhaja Kaabo” owambe party in typical Yoruba fashion! I may be known as Opeyemi Agbaje, but my grandparents duly gave me a Muslim name (which shall not be revealed in this column!) and indeed there were those who would only call me by that name!!!
As a teenager, the best time to visit my beloved “Alhaja” (as my maternal grandmother became known), was during Ramadan when I could eat my cake, and have it! Alhaja would wake you up to break the fast with her (even though you had not really fasted!); you could then go back to sleep and wake up late morning to a “regular” breakfast; have a normal lunch with the non-fasting and/or Christian members of the large household; “break fast” again early evening; and again enjoy dinner within the nightly fast-breaking window. I recall also joining the local boys as they took “Ileya” rams for head-butting contests during the bigger Islamic festival season! In Yorubaland, there is no telling, except for insiders, who is a Christian or Muslim during religious ceremonies, as everyone joins in the gaiety and celebrations.
This multiple religious heritage accounts for why Yoruba society has been largely immune to religious politics and why the people remain by-and-large unaffected by religious differences. Any politician, who tries to import religion into politics in Yorubaland, is likely to receive a shocker as Christians, Muslims and even traditionalists are likely to turn against such a person. In this season of Ramadan, I commend this approach to people of faith all over the world.
A Call for a Second Dialogue Committee!!!
Last Friday evening, I posted the following comment on facebook-“Boko Haram has bombed the UN office in Abuja killing at least 18 people and injuring several others. I urge President Jonathan (as usual) to set up a committee to dialogue with Boko Haram. In the spirit of reconciliation, the members of the dialogue committee may include Tanko Yakasai, Ibrahim Babangida, Muhammadu Buhari, Adamu Ciroma, Abubakar Atiku and Nasir El-Rufai! Troubled Country!!!” The post attracted interest and comments from “my friends and I” and we unanimously adopted the suggestion as a “vigorous and robust” response to the “dastardly” bombing. Some important modifications came from my friend “T.O” (any educated Nigerian newspaper reader must know who that is!) who noted that the proposed membership did not reflect “federal character”. Accordingly he recommended that we include my friend Femi Fani-Kayode to represent the Yoruba Council of Elders!
T.O also highlighted the need for a committee spokesperson proposing either Kazeem Afegbua or Senator J. K. N Waku. I deemed Waku rather old for the “onerous assignment”, so I chose Afegbua who has adequately demonstrated the “vigour and robustness” required for this critical national responsibility! Another Facebook friend, Chigozie wondered why I had excluded the (in his words oh!) “Almighty Gusau” I agreed to redeem this omission, but the resourceful T.O pointed out again that Gusau would be a good fit for the position of “Coordinating Member of the Boko Haram Dialogue Committee”!!! One fellow suggested including Tunde Bakare in the committee. I am not sure this recommendation was accepted! On my part, I wondered which constituency Bakare would represent, not been from Borno or Bauchi States or anywhere in the precincts from which Boko Haram originated, and not been a known apostle of dialogue! We are undergoing “further consultations” on that particular nomination! Meanwhile in place of Bakare’s controversial nomination, I suggested Mallam Yahaya Kwande, which was unanimously accepted. Finally Benjamin nominated the Sultan of Sokoto, who we all agreed should serve as Chairman.
“My friends and I” agreed that “the perpetrators of this heinous act must be apprehended” in order that after their apprehension, we can explain the importance of dialogue and peaceful nation-building to them. We also disagreed with Christian Purefoy who claimed on CNN that “after this kind of thing, nothing gets done” noting that setting up a dialogue committee is not “nothing”.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Women, Sex and Power
There is an epidemic of sex scandals consuming men of power around the world. The roll call appears to be a “who is who” in global politics, sports and finance! Tiger Woods kicked off the parade; Since then a variety of names have followed-Chelsea and England football captain, John Terry; former California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger; respected Manchester and Welsh footballer, Ryan Giggs; The most recent “victims” are the biggest-International Monetary Fund Managing Director, Dominique Straus-Khan (DSK) and US Congressman, Anthony Weiner. DSK, who a few months ago was one of the most powerful men in the world, seemingly destined to be the next President of France, was in the twinkle of a lustful hotel-room eye transformed into a common New York criminal, in handcuffs and detained in a notorious prison. Today he stays in more luxurious surroundings in a Manhattan apartment paid for by his loyal wife, but it’s a prison all the same!
What is it that makes men (whoever is without sin, should cast the first stone!!!) endanger everything-reputation, family, wealth and career etc. when faced with a beautiful (or sometimes not-so-beautiful) woman and the prospect of illicit sex? Why would recently-married Congressman Weiner, a popular New York Congressman whose pregnant spouse is aide to US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and widely considered a future Mayor of New York, send compromising pictures on Twitter to women he had never met? Why was he willing to take that risk? Why would former New York Governor, Elliot Spitzer, knowing he had made powerful enemies fighting organised crime, securities fraudsters, big multinationals who abused the environment, mortgage lenders etc endanger his political career by dealing with a prostitution service? What was he thinking? Was he thinking? Do men lose capacity for thinking when such actions are taken? Is this a case of temporary insanity?
Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Austrian-American former body-builder, model, actor, celebrity, businessman and politician who was Mr Universe at 20 in 1967 and Mr Olympia seven times; a Hollywood icon; Republican Governor of California married for over twenty-five years to Maria Shriver, niece of ex-President John. F Kennedy has just being discovered to have fathered a child fourteen years ago with the family’s Guatemalan housekeeper, and kept this from his wife until very recently. Is it just our nature as men? John Terry caused uproar in Chelsea and England when it emerged that he had dated the girlfriend of his teammate in both club and country, Wayne Bridge causing England manager, Frank Capello to strip him of the England captaincy for a while. Ryan Giggs case(s) are more scandalous, apparently! The fellow had apparently maintained an eight-year affair with his brother’s girlfriend and later wife!!! Giggs has also made an inadvertent contribution to British law with his now subverted “super-injunction” preventing revelation of another affair with Imogen Thomas.
David Blunkett lost his place as Home Secretary under Tony Blair because of an affair with Kimberly Fortier, an American Publisher who later decided to return to her husband; Tiger Woods lost his reputation and marriage (and a lot of money!) because of revelations about his sex life; President Bill Clinton was almost impeached because of his affair with Monica Lewinsky; David Beckham had his turn in the scandal tabloids; and even the dreaded General Abacha’s death is rumoured to have a connection with Indian “apples”!!! Who will save the male race from this affliction of testosterone??? The problem seems to go back to the end (actually beginning) of time as anyone familiar with the Bible can attest. Maybe Adam would not have eaten the “forbidden fruit” but for Eve’s prodding; King David paid a high price for the attractions of Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba; Samson met his waterloo in Delilah; Abraham had his time with the maidservant with serious, generational and historical consequences; and Jacob had to work for fourteen years just to get married to Rachael!!! Perhaps the matter is spiritual? Certainly it seems to be the surest route (as all the Biblical and current examples suggest) through which destinies are altered or destroyed! Ask Dominique Strauss-Khan whose hopes of becoming French President can only be resurrected by God Almighty himself!!!
Why do these issues seem positively correlated with men of exceptional strength (sportsmen), power (politicians and Kings) and riches? On the other hand, accounts of divorce proceedings in our customary courts suggest that similar scandals reach into the lower classes of society, except that you are not likely to sell many newspapers reporting the affair between an unknown bricklayer and his colleague’s street hawker wife!!! Cases like that of DSK illustrate the complexity of sexual relationships. Was there consent? What is consent? How is consent communicated-explicitly, implicitly or a blend of both? Does consent have social or cultural contexts or is it an objective verifiable transaction? Can consent first given (or assumed to be given) be withdrawn (or claimed to be withdrawn)? Would DSK have been arrested for his “crime” in France, Italy or Nigeria? Is there a political dimension to these things? Is sex emerging as the ultimate weapon of political competition? Can you discount targeting by political opponents from the cases of DSK, Weiner, Clinton and Abacha?
And then the role of technology-with Face book, Twitter, YouTube, Camera Phones and DNA, the scope and consequences of “temporary insanity” appears gravely elevated. Hmmm.....
What is it that makes men (whoever is without sin, should cast the first stone!!!) endanger everything-reputation, family, wealth and career etc. when faced with a beautiful (or sometimes not-so-beautiful) woman and the prospect of illicit sex? Why would recently-married Congressman Weiner, a popular New York Congressman whose pregnant spouse is aide to US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and widely considered a future Mayor of New York, send compromising pictures on Twitter to women he had never met? Why was he willing to take that risk? Why would former New York Governor, Elliot Spitzer, knowing he had made powerful enemies fighting organised crime, securities fraudsters, big multinationals who abused the environment, mortgage lenders etc endanger his political career by dealing with a prostitution service? What was he thinking? Was he thinking? Do men lose capacity for thinking when such actions are taken? Is this a case of temporary insanity?
Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Austrian-American former body-builder, model, actor, celebrity, businessman and politician who was Mr Universe at 20 in 1967 and Mr Olympia seven times; a Hollywood icon; Republican Governor of California married for over twenty-five years to Maria Shriver, niece of ex-President John. F Kennedy has just being discovered to have fathered a child fourteen years ago with the family’s Guatemalan housekeeper, and kept this from his wife until very recently. Is it just our nature as men? John Terry caused uproar in Chelsea and England when it emerged that he had dated the girlfriend of his teammate in both club and country, Wayne Bridge causing England manager, Frank Capello to strip him of the England captaincy for a while. Ryan Giggs case(s) are more scandalous, apparently! The fellow had apparently maintained an eight-year affair with his brother’s girlfriend and later wife!!! Giggs has also made an inadvertent contribution to British law with his now subverted “super-injunction” preventing revelation of another affair with Imogen Thomas.
David Blunkett lost his place as Home Secretary under Tony Blair because of an affair with Kimberly Fortier, an American Publisher who later decided to return to her husband; Tiger Woods lost his reputation and marriage (and a lot of money!) because of revelations about his sex life; President Bill Clinton was almost impeached because of his affair with Monica Lewinsky; David Beckham had his turn in the scandal tabloids; and even the dreaded General Abacha’s death is rumoured to have a connection with Indian “apples”!!! Who will save the male race from this affliction of testosterone??? The problem seems to go back to the end (actually beginning) of time as anyone familiar with the Bible can attest. Maybe Adam would not have eaten the “forbidden fruit” but for Eve’s prodding; King David paid a high price for the attractions of Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba; Samson met his waterloo in Delilah; Abraham had his time with the maidservant with serious, generational and historical consequences; and Jacob had to work for fourteen years just to get married to Rachael!!! Perhaps the matter is spiritual? Certainly it seems to be the surest route (as all the Biblical and current examples suggest) through which destinies are altered or destroyed! Ask Dominique Strauss-Khan whose hopes of becoming French President can only be resurrected by God Almighty himself!!!
Why do these issues seem positively correlated with men of exceptional strength (sportsmen), power (politicians and Kings) and riches? On the other hand, accounts of divorce proceedings in our customary courts suggest that similar scandals reach into the lower classes of society, except that you are not likely to sell many newspapers reporting the affair between an unknown bricklayer and his colleague’s street hawker wife!!! Cases like that of DSK illustrate the complexity of sexual relationships. Was there consent? What is consent? How is consent communicated-explicitly, implicitly or a blend of both? Does consent have social or cultural contexts or is it an objective verifiable transaction? Can consent first given (or assumed to be given) be withdrawn (or claimed to be withdrawn)? Would DSK have been arrested for his “crime” in France, Italy or Nigeria? Is there a political dimension to these things? Is sex emerging as the ultimate weapon of political competition? Can you discount targeting by political opponents from the cases of DSK, Weiner, Clinton and Abacha?
And then the role of technology-with Face book, Twitter, YouTube, Camera Phones and DNA, the scope and consequences of “temporary insanity” appears gravely elevated. Hmmm.....
Innocent Blood at Easter
Human life is sacrosanct being created by God in his own image. Even animal life is not meant to be capriciously dispensed with, except to preserve or provide nourishment for humans or as a form of religious offering. Most cultures and religions venerate blood, even of animals. Native Yorubas may sacrifice the blood of a chicken or goat as religious propitiation. For elevated matters, they may use a cow, or seven cows! They may even use humans for weighty sacrifices such as when it involved an Oba or communal good! Most Nigerian, African and traditional religions acted similarly. In Islam, we are familiar with the account of Prophet Ibrahim, the Biblical Abraham and God’s instruction to sacrifice Isaac, but God replaced Isaac with a ram just in time. To this day, Moslems in imitation of Ibrahim offer a ram in probably the most important Islamic festival.
Amongst Jews, blood was similarly critical to religious observance, sacrifice, recompensing sin, trespass, or making peace offerings. In Biblical Israel, God instructed the Jews to mark their doorposts with blood of sacrificial lambs, so he could “pass over” them. Solomon’s fantastic offering of 1,000 bulls was a famous example of the power of such sacrifices in moving the hand of God. The Jews believed that “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission”. Thus the High Priest would enter the Tabernacle on the annual Day of Atonement, and offer a sacrifice to obtain mercy from God for Israel. If the High priest was himself unclean, he would sometimes die in the Holy of Holies! The Israelites were of course certain to sin again and the annual atonement would become a hollow ritual. The essence of the death and resurrection of Christ was God’s purpose to create an eternal and enduring sacrifice for mankind. Given the scale of the mission, only the blood of his own son, Jesus would do!
Unfortunately this Easter, the enduring memory would be the innocent lives needlessly shed in Northern Nigeria in the wake of President Jonathan’s victory in the April 16, 2011 presidential elections. At the very least, indirect (if not direct) responsibility for the carnage points towards General Muhammadu Buhari, Mr Tunde Bakare, members of their party the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and certain elements of the so-called Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF). On September 17, 2010, Adamu Ciroma threatened “a series of events, the scope and magnitude of which we can neither proximate nor contain”; on October 5, 2010, Lawal Kaita threatened “to make the country ungovernable for President Jonathan or any other Southerner” elected president; on December 15, 2010, Atiku Abubakar warned of “violent change” and a certain Atiku Support Group added that “Boko Haram will be a child’s play compared with the action our members can take”.
Buhari and CPC campaigns were characterised by violence and riotous behaviour with drivers and passers-by compelled to chant “Sai Buhari”; Jonathan’s billboards were pulled down, his campaign office was destroyed in Gombe and he was pelted with stones in Nasarawa; Buhari issued a public instruction to his already volatile supporters to “lynch any body that tries to tinker with your votes” and his running-mate Tunde Bakare threatened a “wild, wild North” if their expected victory did not materialise. Early on polling day, Buhari complained of rigging and aeroplanes carrying thumb-printed ballot papers even before most voters had voted, and his party made allegations of computer fraud and rigging once results not favouring the party began to emerge. Interestingly so far, the only established “systematic rigging” of the presidential election has been intimidation of electoral officers and pervasive under-aged voting in Northern Nigeria, mostly for the CPC candidate. The “dying declaration” of youth corper Ikechukwu Ukeoma on Facebook, subsequently murdered in Bauchi, who declared “This CPC supporters would have killed me yesterday…Even after forcing under-aged voters on me, they wanted me to give them the remaining ballot papers to thumbprint. Thank God for the Police…” and CNN and local media evidence of child voting across the North is indisputable.
In the event, the calls for violence and “lynching” were obeyed in Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Kaduna, Yola, Sokoto, Minna and elsewhere in Northern Nigeria as CPC supporters shouting support for Buhari burnt Churches, homes of PDP supporters and killed Southerners and Youth Corpers, in what are arguably crimes against humanity! It does seem that the orchestrated violence was designed for political purposes-to dissuade INEC and Government from announcing the rest of the results (as demanded by CPC Chairman Tony Momoh) as victory tilted irrevocably towards Jonathan; to force a political stalemate; or precipitate a national crisis that would have rendered the elections redundant! Whatever political calculations, the outcome is that innocent blood has been shed. It is particularly noteworthy that Bakare, who claims a Christian ministry, may be deemed complicit in the burning of Churches and killings of Christians!
Perhaps innocent blood has been shed in sacrifice for a new Nigeria? Perhaps President Jonathan and/or the international community will ensure that this time innocent blood is not shed in vain? Perhaps there would be truth, accountability and justice concerning responsibility for these needless deaths? What is certain is that God will demand an account of the blood of his children! May their souls rest in peace!!! Amen.
Amongst Jews, blood was similarly critical to religious observance, sacrifice, recompensing sin, trespass, or making peace offerings. In Biblical Israel, God instructed the Jews to mark their doorposts with blood of sacrificial lambs, so he could “pass over” them. Solomon’s fantastic offering of 1,000 bulls was a famous example of the power of such sacrifices in moving the hand of God. The Jews believed that “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission”. Thus the High Priest would enter the Tabernacle on the annual Day of Atonement, and offer a sacrifice to obtain mercy from God for Israel. If the High priest was himself unclean, he would sometimes die in the Holy of Holies! The Israelites were of course certain to sin again and the annual atonement would become a hollow ritual. The essence of the death and resurrection of Christ was God’s purpose to create an eternal and enduring sacrifice for mankind. Given the scale of the mission, only the blood of his own son, Jesus would do!
Unfortunately this Easter, the enduring memory would be the innocent lives needlessly shed in Northern Nigeria in the wake of President Jonathan’s victory in the April 16, 2011 presidential elections. At the very least, indirect (if not direct) responsibility for the carnage points towards General Muhammadu Buhari, Mr Tunde Bakare, members of their party the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and certain elements of the so-called Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF). On September 17, 2010, Adamu Ciroma threatened “a series of events, the scope and magnitude of which we can neither proximate nor contain”; on October 5, 2010, Lawal Kaita threatened “to make the country ungovernable for President Jonathan or any other Southerner” elected president; on December 15, 2010, Atiku Abubakar warned of “violent change” and a certain Atiku Support Group added that “Boko Haram will be a child’s play compared with the action our members can take”.
Buhari and CPC campaigns were characterised by violence and riotous behaviour with drivers and passers-by compelled to chant “Sai Buhari”; Jonathan’s billboards were pulled down, his campaign office was destroyed in Gombe and he was pelted with stones in Nasarawa; Buhari issued a public instruction to his already volatile supporters to “lynch any body that tries to tinker with your votes” and his running-mate Tunde Bakare threatened a “wild, wild North” if their expected victory did not materialise. Early on polling day, Buhari complained of rigging and aeroplanes carrying thumb-printed ballot papers even before most voters had voted, and his party made allegations of computer fraud and rigging once results not favouring the party began to emerge. Interestingly so far, the only established “systematic rigging” of the presidential election has been intimidation of electoral officers and pervasive under-aged voting in Northern Nigeria, mostly for the CPC candidate. The “dying declaration” of youth corper Ikechukwu Ukeoma on Facebook, subsequently murdered in Bauchi, who declared “This CPC supporters would have killed me yesterday…Even after forcing under-aged voters on me, they wanted me to give them the remaining ballot papers to thumbprint. Thank God for the Police…” and CNN and local media evidence of child voting across the North is indisputable.
In the event, the calls for violence and “lynching” were obeyed in Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Kaduna, Yola, Sokoto, Minna and elsewhere in Northern Nigeria as CPC supporters shouting support for Buhari burnt Churches, homes of PDP supporters and killed Southerners and Youth Corpers, in what are arguably crimes against humanity! It does seem that the orchestrated violence was designed for political purposes-to dissuade INEC and Government from announcing the rest of the results (as demanded by CPC Chairman Tony Momoh) as victory tilted irrevocably towards Jonathan; to force a political stalemate; or precipitate a national crisis that would have rendered the elections redundant! Whatever political calculations, the outcome is that innocent blood has been shed. It is particularly noteworthy that Bakare, who claims a Christian ministry, may be deemed complicit in the burning of Churches and killings of Christians!
Perhaps innocent blood has been shed in sacrifice for a new Nigeria? Perhaps President Jonathan and/or the international community will ensure that this time innocent blood is not shed in vain? Perhaps there would be truth, accountability and justice concerning responsibility for these needless deaths? What is certain is that God will demand an account of the blood of his children! May their souls rest in peace!!! Amen.
The Rise of Arab Democracy
Until the protests in Tunisia and Egypt, it was safe to surmise that there was some incompatibility between Arab (and perhaps) Islamic societies and democracy. With few exceptions (Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq), Arab countries were either monarchies, military or one-man dictatorships. Those three exceptions actually re-enforced the argument-Iraqi democracy was imposed by US neo-conservatives and remains unstable; democracy was forced on the Palestinians by the Arab-Israeli peace process; and Lebanon is hardly an example of how democracy is supposed to work. In all three, democracy carries a very high price tag-chaos, instability, political assassinations, the presence of an Islamic movement that threatened to overthrow or undermine the democratic system etc.
Until Tunisia! Tunisia is not yet a democracy, but its people have chased erstwhile President Ben Ali into exile. The ancien regime struggled to hijack the revolution, but the people have stayed steadfast, insisting that the former president’s entourage leave the incipient cabinet. What I found striking is that the whole Arab/Islamic revolutionary democratic wave was sparked by the actions of one desperate Tunisian, Muhammad Bouazizi who, fed up with unemployment, poverty and capricious government , set himself on fire! I do not support suicide in any form, even as an incitement to revolution or as a form of political protest, but his action proves one point-change cannot come except people are willing to pay the price. On international broadcast channels on Sunday February 20, I saw a man who had lost a son in the Bahraini crisis declare he was willing to sacrifice not just that son, but himself and four others for change and reform in his country!
I have called attention in the past to the Nigerian contrast which Fela sang about-“I no wan die, papa dey for house, mama dey for house, I wan build house, I wan buy car…” Like Fela also sang, our people fear those things they see, and even those they don’t see! And the prospect of popular revolution in Nigeria may be short-circuited by any hint of ethnic or religious colouration or agenda to the revolt or its leadership. But back to the Arabs whose turn it is to capture global imagination by their courage and desire for reform. I must confess I did not think Hosni Mubarak could be toppled by the protesters, until after the crowds continued to increase in Tahrir Square in Cairo after more than two weeks of the revolt. No analysis of Egyptian politics or history could have predicted the turn of events, precisely because it was a revolutionary and unprecedented moment! All templates for projecting scenarios in Egypt and indeed the Arab world were rendered redundant because this was a new, uncharted Egypt!
In spite of the distance I shared the pride and sense of accomplishment of many ordinary Egyptians who spoke to CNN, BBC, Al Jazeerah and other global media and sensed as they did that indeed, Egypt and the whole of Arabia may have changed for ever! But it is not over! The old order is giving way, but the new is yet to be defined. Western, Israeli and democratic activists’ fears that the revolution may be hijacked by elements of the departing regimes, the military or Islamists for instance are not completely unfounded. Some analysts have noted that the popular revolution against the Shah of Iran was taken over by the clerics and essentially today’s Iran is as undemocratic as pre-revolutionary Iran. It was ironic observing Iranian ambiguous response to the Egyptian crisis-on the one hand, they may have been happy to see Mubarak’s back and to increase pressure on Israel; on the other hand, revolutionary ferment was rising in Iran itself and the demonstrations in Cairo were likely to be repeated in Teheran!
Now the call for democracy and change is being heard across other Arab societies-Yemen; Bahrain; Morocco; Libya; Algeria; and Jordan. Most surprisingly the loudest noises are in Libya where one may have felt the strongman Ghaddafi had successfully silenced all opposition; and Bahrain where living standards were high and the country’s monarchy would have been considered safe. The protesters who were crushed in post-election demonstrations in Iran last time are also stirring again having received encouragement. Clearly the model of the strongman appears to be expiring in Arabia and the regimes will have to look to non-Arab Islamic examples like Turkey, Indonesia and Malaysia which have prospered as democratic societies whether of the secular model (Turkey) or more sectarian options (Indonesia and Malaysia). Hopefully they would not evolve into dysfunctional democracies ala Pakistan!
Beyond the current centres of agitation, the effects of the current wave will be felt elsewhere-Kuwait like Bahrain and other Arab monarchies will have to move towards becoming constitutional monarchies; Iraq and Afghanistan will have more incentive to proceed as democracies rather than follow the Taliban option; the strongmen in Syria and Sudan will in due course receive their own pressure; and Israel will have to quickly resolve the Palestine question or else it will have a potentially explosive and defining “Intifada” on its hands! One day the wave of reform and democracy will spread to Saudi Arabia! Newly democratic Arab countries may become more enterprising and vibrant and should secure a greater voice in global politics and economics. The conclusion from all of these is clear-Freedom is universal and even China may have to make some decisions!
Until Tunisia! Tunisia is not yet a democracy, but its people have chased erstwhile President Ben Ali into exile. The ancien regime struggled to hijack the revolution, but the people have stayed steadfast, insisting that the former president’s entourage leave the incipient cabinet. What I found striking is that the whole Arab/Islamic revolutionary democratic wave was sparked by the actions of one desperate Tunisian, Muhammad Bouazizi who, fed up with unemployment, poverty and capricious government , set himself on fire! I do not support suicide in any form, even as an incitement to revolution or as a form of political protest, but his action proves one point-change cannot come except people are willing to pay the price. On international broadcast channels on Sunday February 20, I saw a man who had lost a son in the Bahraini crisis declare he was willing to sacrifice not just that son, but himself and four others for change and reform in his country!
I have called attention in the past to the Nigerian contrast which Fela sang about-“I no wan die, papa dey for house, mama dey for house, I wan build house, I wan buy car…” Like Fela also sang, our people fear those things they see, and even those they don’t see! And the prospect of popular revolution in Nigeria may be short-circuited by any hint of ethnic or religious colouration or agenda to the revolt or its leadership. But back to the Arabs whose turn it is to capture global imagination by their courage and desire for reform. I must confess I did not think Hosni Mubarak could be toppled by the protesters, until after the crowds continued to increase in Tahrir Square in Cairo after more than two weeks of the revolt. No analysis of Egyptian politics or history could have predicted the turn of events, precisely because it was a revolutionary and unprecedented moment! All templates for projecting scenarios in Egypt and indeed the Arab world were rendered redundant because this was a new, uncharted Egypt!
In spite of the distance I shared the pride and sense of accomplishment of many ordinary Egyptians who spoke to CNN, BBC, Al Jazeerah and other global media and sensed as they did that indeed, Egypt and the whole of Arabia may have changed for ever! But it is not over! The old order is giving way, but the new is yet to be defined. Western, Israeli and democratic activists’ fears that the revolution may be hijacked by elements of the departing regimes, the military or Islamists for instance are not completely unfounded. Some analysts have noted that the popular revolution against the Shah of Iran was taken over by the clerics and essentially today’s Iran is as undemocratic as pre-revolutionary Iran. It was ironic observing Iranian ambiguous response to the Egyptian crisis-on the one hand, they may have been happy to see Mubarak’s back and to increase pressure on Israel; on the other hand, revolutionary ferment was rising in Iran itself and the demonstrations in Cairo were likely to be repeated in Teheran!
Now the call for democracy and change is being heard across other Arab societies-Yemen; Bahrain; Morocco; Libya; Algeria; and Jordan. Most surprisingly the loudest noises are in Libya where one may have felt the strongman Ghaddafi had successfully silenced all opposition; and Bahrain where living standards were high and the country’s monarchy would have been considered safe. The protesters who were crushed in post-election demonstrations in Iran last time are also stirring again having received encouragement. Clearly the model of the strongman appears to be expiring in Arabia and the regimes will have to look to non-Arab Islamic examples like Turkey, Indonesia and Malaysia which have prospered as democratic societies whether of the secular model (Turkey) or more sectarian options (Indonesia and Malaysia). Hopefully they would not evolve into dysfunctional democracies ala Pakistan!
Beyond the current centres of agitation, the effects of the current wave will be felt elsewhere-Kuwait like Bahrain and other Arab monarchies will have to move towards becoming constitutional monarchies; Iraq and Afghanistan will have more incentive to proceed as democracies rather than follow the Taliban option; the strongmen in Syria and Sudan will in due course receive their own pressure; and Israel will have to quickly resolve the Palestine question or else it will have a potentially explosive and defining “Intifada” on its hands! One day the wave of reform and democracy will spread to Saudi Arabia! Newly democratic Arab countries may become more enterprising and vibrant and should secure a greater voice in global politics and economics. The conclusion from all of these is clear-Freedom is universal and even China may have to make some decisions!
The Leadership Calling
“There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler: Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth….Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through the idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.” Ecclesiastes 10: 5-7 & 16-18. KJV.
That is the story of Nigeria! The New International Version Bible says “…Fools are put in many high positions…Woe to you, O land whose king was a servant and whose princes feast in the morning. Blessed are you, O land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat at a proper time-for strength and not for drunkenness.” We do not understand that leadership is a calling and have elevated many who lack the nobility to serve and to lead into positions they are scarcely prepared for. For some time now I have reflected on this tragedy of our nation. There are some positions which are fundamental to a nation’s future-its leaders, teachers, doctors and healthcare workers, priests and judges. The more I reflected on these positions and their critical role in a nation’s destiny, the more it was clear to me that all of these positions are positions to which men are called.
The problem in Nigeria is that we have despised virtually all of them and elevated people into them with neither inner desire nor anointing for these offices. So many are promoted into priestly positions as routine postings and appointments; graduates who can’t get other positions become teachers a position they positively hate and visit their grievance and anger on their unfortunate students who embody our future; our medical workers are poorly treated and are always on strike, evidence that when they are not on strike, they do the work with disdain and unhappiness; and corruption has crept or perhaps strolled boldly into the honourable sanctuaries of justice. The price we pay for these evils under the sun of our nation is the state our nation is in today!
Of course the greatest error is in terms of those we have allowed to become leaders over us. Or in fact that might well be the foundational error i.e. perhaps the reason we are building dysfunctional education, administrative, judicial, medical and religious systems is because we have allowed misfits become our leaders. Our leaders have been servants, soldiers, customs officers, police officers, dishonourable men and women, cheats and fraudsters, thieves, street fighters and thugs. Essentially a coalition of all the wrong people lead while honourable people occupy lowly positions. When we see a gentleman who seeks leadership and/or who leads with consideration and humanness, we begin to despise him. Like the woman who prefers the man who ill treats her to one who respects and honours her, we are masochists who assume that only brigands and “chieftains” are good enough for leadership in Nigeria.
Unfortunately leadership is a calling and when servants rule, there is woe in the land, and the nation decays. When God would choose a first king for the Jews, he sent Samuel specifically to Saul and asked him to anoint him king over Israel. When God would replace Saul with David, he sent Samuel this time to the house of Jesse and told him to “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man look on outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” In Nigeria, worse than looking at the intimidating features of the chieftains we like as leaders, we look carefully at the size of their wallet and how free they are with its contents. In effect the more corrupt you are, or are perceived to be, the more your appeal in the politics of twenty-first century Nigeria!
As we step into 2011, we need to re-consider the qualifications for leadership in this country. We do not want scoundrels and men that lack integrity as our leaders. Why can’t that principled and honest school teacher be the local government councillor? Why can’t we encourage the kind doctor who established a hospital in the community and oftentimes treats poor people free-of-charge to be the local government chairman? Why can’t that virtuous lady who serves as usher in the church or mosque be a member of the House of Assembly? Why can’t the local Bar or Medical Association Chair or the Company Accountant be a federal legislator? What is wrong with the Dean or Professor in the University becoming a Senator? Why must we assume that these types are not “rough” enough to be leaders? Why can’t an intellectual or university lecturer be a President? Why must the servants ride on horses while noble men walk as servants?
That is the story of Nigeria! The New International Version Bible says “…Fools are put in many high positions…Woe to you, O land whose king was a servant and whose princes feast in the morning. Blessed are you, O land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat at a proper time-for strength and not for drunkenness.” We do not understand that leadership is a calling and have elevated many who lack the nobility to serve and to lead into positions they are scarcely prepared for. For some time now I have reflected on this tragedy of our nation. There are some positions which are fundamental to a nation’s future-its leaders, teachers, doctors and healthcare workers, priests and judges. The more I reflected on these positions and their critical role in a nation’s destiny, the more it was clear to me that all of these positions are positions to which men are called.
The problem in Nigeria is that we have despised virtually all of them and elevated people into them with neither inner desire nor anointing for these offices. So many are promoted into priestly positions as routine postings and appointments; graduates who can’t get other positions become teachers a position they positively hate and visit their grievance and anger on their unfortunate students who embody our future; our medical workers are poorly treated and are always on strike, evidence that when they are not on strike, they do the work with disdain and unhappiness; and corruption has crept or perhaps strolled boldly into the honourable sanctuaries of justice. The price we pay for these evils under the sun of our nation is the state our nation is in today!
Of course the greatest error is in terms of those we have allowed to become leaders over us. Or in fact that might well be the foundational error i.e. perhaps the reason we are building dysfunctional education, administrative, judicial, medical and religious systems is because we have allowed misfits become our leaders. Our leaders have been servants, soldiers, customs officers, police officers, dishonourable men and women, cheats and fraudsters, thieves, street fighters and thugs. Essentially a coalition of all the wrong people lead while honourable people occupy lowly positions. When we see a gentleman who seeks leadership and/or who leads with consideration and humanness, we begin to despise him. Like the woman who prefers the man who ill treats her to one who respects and honours her, we are masochists who assume that only brigands and “chieftains” are good enough for leadership in Nigeria.
Unfortunately leadership is a calling and when servants rule, there is woe in the land, and the nation decays. When God would choose a first king for the Jews, he sent Samuel specifically to Saul and asked him to anoint him king over Israel. When God would replace Saul with David, he sent Samuel this time to the house of Jesse and told him to “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man look on outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” In Nigeria, worse than looking at the intimidating features of the chieftains we like as leaders, we look carefully at the size of their wallet and how free they are with its contents. In effect the more corrupt you are, or are perceived to be, the more your appeal in the politics of twenty-first century Nigeria!
As we step into 2011, we need to re-consider the qualifications for leadership in this country. We do not want scoundrels and men that lack integrity as our leaders. Why can’t that principled and honest school teacher be the local government councillor? Why can’t we encourage the kind doctor who established a hospital in the community and oftentimes treats poor people free-of-charge to be the local government chairman? Why can’t that virtuous lady who serves as usher in the church or mosque be a member of the House of Assembly? Why can’t the local Bar or Medical Association Chair or the Company Accountant be a federal legislator? What is wrong with the Dean or Professor in the University becoming a Senator? Why must we assume that these types are not “rough” enough to be leaders? Why can’t an intellectual or university lecturer be a President? Why must the servants ride on horses while noble men walk as servants?
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Innocent Blood at Easter
Human life is sacrosanct being created by God in his own image. Even animal life is not meant to be capriciously dispensed with, except to preserve or provide nourishment for humans or as a form of religious offering. Most cultures and religions venerate blood, even of animals. Native Yorubas may sacrifice the blood of a chicken or goat as religious propitiation. For elevated matters, they may use a cow, or seven cows! They may even use humans for weighty sacrifices such as when it involved an Oba or communal good! Most Nigerian, African and traditional religions acted similarly. In Islam, we are familiar with the account of Prophet Ibrahim, the Biblical Abraham and God’s instruction to sacrifice Isaac, but God replaced Isaac with a ram just in time. To this day, Moslems in imitation of Ibrahim offer a ram in probably the most important Islamic festival.
Amongst Jews, blood was similarly critical to religious observance, sacrifice, recompensing sin, trespass, or making peace offerings. In Biblical Israel, God instructed the Jews to mark their doorposts with blood of sacrificial lambs, so he could “pass over” them. Solomon’s fantastic offering of 1,000 bulls was a famous example of the power of such sacrifices in moving the hand of God. The Jews believed that “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission”. Thus the High Priest would enter the Tabernacle on the annual Day of Atonement, and offer a sacrifice to obtain mercy from God for Israel. If the High priest was himself unclean, he would sometimes die in the Holy of Holies! The Israelites were of course certain to sin again and the annual atonement would become a hollow ritual. The essence of the death and resurrection of Christ was God’s purpose to create an eternal and enduring sacrifice for mankind. Given the scale of the mission, only the blood of his own son, Jesus would do!
Unfortunately this Easter, the enduring memory would be the innocent lives needlessly shed in Northern Nigeria in the wake of President Jonathan’s victory in the April 16, 2011 presidential elections. At the very least, indirect (if not direct) responsibility for the carnage points towards General Muhammadu Buhari, Mr Tunde Bakare, members of their party the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and certain elements of the so-called Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF). On September 17, 2010, Adamu Ciroma threatened “a series of events, the scope and magnitude of which we can neither proximate nor contain”; on October 5, 2010, Lawal Kaita threatened “to make the country ungovernable for President Jonathan or any other Southerner” elected president; on December 15, 2010, Atiku Abubakar warned of “violent change” and a certain Atiku Support Group added that “Boko Haram will be a child’s play compared with the action our members can take”.
Buhari and CPC campaigns were characterised by violence and riotous behaviour with drivers and passers-by compelled to chant “Sai Buhari”; Jonathan’s billboards were pulled down, his campaign office was destroyed in Gombe and he was pelted with stones in Nasarawa; Buhari issued a public instruction to his already volatile supporters to “lynch any body that tries to tinker with your votes” and his running-mate Tunde Bakare threatened a “wild, wild North” if their expected victory did not materialise. Early on polling day, Buhari complained of rigging and aeroplanes carrying thumb-printed ballot papers even before most voters had voted, and his party made allegations of computer fraud and rigging once results not favouring the party began to emerge. Interestingly so far, the only established “systematic rigging” of the presidential election has been intimidation of electoral officers and pervasive under-aged voting in Northern Nigeria, mostly for the CPC candidate.
The “dying declaration” of youth corper Ikechukwu Ukeoma on Facebook, subsequently murdered in Bauchi, who declared “This CPC supporters would have killed me yesterday…Even after forcing under-aged voters on me, they wanted me to give them the remaining ballot papers to thumbprint. Thank God for the Police…” and CNN and local media evidence of child voting across the North is indisputable.
In the event, the calls for violence and “lynching” were obeyed in Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Kaduna, Yola, Sokoto, Minna and elsewhere in Northern Nigeria as CPC supporters shouting support for Buhari burnt Churches, homes of PDP supporters and killed Southerners and Youth Corpers, in what are arguably crimes against humanity! It does seem that the orchestrated violence was designed for political purposes-to dissuade INEC and Government from announcing the rest of the results (as demanded by CPC Chairman Tony Momoh) as victory tilted irrevocably towards Jonathan; to force a political stalemate; or precipitate a national crisis that would have rendered the elections redundant! Whatever political calculations, the outcome is that innocent blood has been shed. It is particularly noteworthy that Bakare, who claims a Christian ministry, may be deemed complicit in the burning of Churches and killings of Christians!
Perhaps innocent blood has been shed in sacrifice for a new Nigeria? Perhaps President Jonathan and/or the international community will ensure that this time innocent blood is not shed in vain? Perhaps there would be truth, accountability and justice concerning responsibility for these needless deaths? What is certain is that God will demand an account of the blood of his children! May their souls rest in peace!!! Amen.
Amongst Jews, blood was similarly critical to religious observance, sacrifice, recompensing sin, trespass, or making peace offerings. In Biblical Israel, God instructed the Jews to mark their doorposts with blood of sacrificial lambs, so he could “pass over” them. Solomon’s fantastic offering of 1,000 bulls was a famous example of the power of such sacrifices in moving the hand of God. The Jews believed that “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission”. Thus the High Priest would enter the Tabernacle on the annual Day of Atonement, and offer a sacrifice to obtain mercy from God for Israel. If the High priest was himself unclean, he would sometimes die in the Holy of Holies! The Israelites were of course certain to sin again and the annual atonement would become a hollow ritual. The essence of the death and resurrection of Christ was God’s purpose to create an eternal and enduring sacrifice for mankind. Given the scale of the mission, only the blood of his own son, Jesus would do!
Unfortunately this Easter, the enduring memory would be the innocent lives needlessly shed in Northern Nigeria in the wake of President Jonathan’s victory in the April 16, 2011 presidential elections. At the very least, indirect (if not direct) responsibility for the carnage points towards General Muhammadu Buhari, Mr Tunde Bakare, members of their party the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and certain elements of the so-called Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF). On September 17, 2010, Adamu Ciroma threatened “a series of events, the scope and magnitude of which we can neither proximate nor contain”; on October 5, 2010, Lawal Kaita threatened “to make the country ungovernable for President Jonathan or any other Southerner” elected president; on December 15, 2010, Atiku Abubakar warned of “violent change” and a certain Atiku Support Group added that “Boko Haram will be a child’s play compared with the action our members can take”.
Buhari and CPC campaigns were characterised by violence and riotous behaviour with drivers and passers-by compelled to chant “Sai Buhari”; Jonathan’s billboards were pulled down, his campaign office was destroyed in Gombe and he was pelted with stones in Nasarawa; Buhari issued a public instruction to his already volatile supporters to “lynch any body that tries to tinker with your votes” and his running-mate Tunde Bakare threatened a “wild, wild North” if their expected victory did not materialise. Early on polling day, Buhari complained of rigging and aeroplanes carrying thumb-printed ballot papers even before most voters had voted, and his party made allegations of computer fraud and rigging once results not favouring the party began to emerge. Interestingly so far, the only established “systematic rigging” of the presidential election has been intimidation of electoral officers and pervasive under-aged voting in Northern Nigeria, mostly for the CPC candidate.
The “dying declaration” of youth corper Ikechukwu Ukeoma on Facebook, subsequently murdered in Bauchi, who declared “This CPC supporters would have killed me yesterday…Even after forcing under-aged voters on me, they wanted me to give them the remaining ballot papers to thumbprint. Thank God for the Police…” and CNN and local media evidence of child voting across the North is indisputable.
In the event, the calls for violence and “lynching” were obeyed in Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Kaduna, Yola, Sokoto, Minna and elsewhere in Northern Nigeria as CPC supporters shouting support for Buhari burnt Churches, homes of PDP supporters and killed Southerners and Youth Corpers, in what are arguably crimes against humanity! It does seem that the orchestrated violence was designed for political purposes-to dissuade INEC and Government from announcing the rest of the results (as demanded by CPC Chairman Tony Momoh) as victory tilted irrevocably towards Jonathan; to force a political stalemate; or precipitate a national crisis that would have rendered the elections redundant! Whatever political calculations, the outcome is that innocent blood has been shed. It is particularly noteworthy that Bakare, who claims a Christian ministry, may be deemed complicit in the burning of Churches and killings of Christians!
Perhaps innocent blood has been shed in sacrifice for a new Nigeria? Perhaps President Jonathan and/or the international community will ensure that this time innocent blood is not shed in vain? Perhaps there would be truth, accountability and justice concerning responsibility for these needless deaths? What is certain is that God will demand an account of the blood of his children! May their souls rest in peace!!! Amen.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
The Leadership Calling
“There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler: Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth….Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through the idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.” Ecclesiastes 10: 5-7 & 16-18. KJV.
That is the story of Nigeria! The New International Version Bible says “…Fools are put in many high positions…Woe to you, O land whose king was a servant and whose princes feast in the morning. Blessed are you, O land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat at a proper time-for strength and not for drunkenness.” We do not understand that leadership is a calling and have elevated many who lack the nobility to serve and to lead into positions they are scarcely prepared for. For some time now I have reflected on this tragedy of our nation. There are some positions which are fundamental to a nation’s future-its leaders, teachers, doctors and healthcare workers, priests and judges. The more I reflected on these positions and their critical role in a nation’s destiny, the more it was clear to me that all of these positions are positions to which men are called.
The problem in Nigeria is that we have despised virtually all of them and elevated people into them with neither inner desire nor anointing for these offices. So many are promoted into priestly positions as routine postings and appointments; graduates who can’t get other positions become teachers a position they positively hate and visit their grievance and anger on their unfortunate students who embody our future; our medical workers are poorly treated and are always on strike, evidence that when they are not on strike, they do the work with disdain and unhappiness; and corruption has crept or perhaps strolled boldly into the honourable sanctuaries of justice. The price we pay for these evils under the sun of our nation is the state our nation is in today!
Of course the greatest error is in terms of those we have allowed to become leaders over us. Or in fact that might well be the foundational error i.e. perhaps the reason we are building dysfunctional education, administrative, judicial, medical and religious systems is because we have allowed misfits become our leaders. Our leaders have been servants, soldiers, customs officers, police officers, dishonourable men and women, cheats and fraudsters, thieves, street fighters and thugs. Essentially a coalition of all the wrong people lead while honourable people occupy lowly positions. When we see a gentleman who seeks leadership and/or who leads with consideration and humanness, we begin to despise him. Like the woman who prefers the man who ill treats her to one who respects and honours her, we are masochists who assume that only brigands and “chieftains” are good enough for leadership in Nigeria.
Unfortunately leadership is a calling and when servants rule, there is woe in the land, and the nation decays. When God would choose a first king for the Jews, he sent Samuel specifically to Saul and asked him to anoint him king over Israel. When God would replace Saul with David, he sent Samuel this time to the house of Jesse and told him to “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man look on outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” In Nigeria, worse than looking at the intimidating features of the chieftains we like as leaders, we look carefully at the size of their wallet and how free they are with its contents. In effect the more corrupt you are, or are perceived to be, the more your appeal in the politics of twenty-first century Nigeria!
As we step into 2011, we need to re-consider the qualifications for leadership in this country. We do not want scoundrels and men that lack integrity as our leaders. Why can’t that principled and honest school teacher be the local government councillor? Why can’t we encourage the kind doctor who established a hospital in the community and oftentimes treats poor people free-of-charge to be the local government chairman? Why can’t that virtuous lady who serves as usher in the church or mosque be a member of the House of Assembly? Why can’t the local Bar or Medical Association Chair or the Company Accountant be a federal legislator? What is wrong with the Dean or Professor in the University becoming a Senator? Why must we assume that these types are not “rough” enough to be leaders? Why can’t an intellectual or university lecturer be a President? Why must the servants ride on horses while noble men walk as servants?
That is the story of Nigeria! The New International Version Bible says “…Fools are put in many high positions…Woe to you, O land whose king was a servant and whose princes feast in the morning. Blessed are you, O land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat at a proper time-for strength and not for drunkenness.” We do not understand that leadership is a calling and have elevated many who lack the nobility to serve and to lead into positions they are scarcely prepared for. For some time now I have reflected on this tragedy of our nation. There are some positions which are fundamental to a nation’s future-its leaders, teachers, doctors and healthcare workers, priests and judges. The more I reflected on these positions and their critical role in a nation’s destiny, the more it was clear to me that all of these positions are positions to which men are called.
The problem in Nigeria is that we have despised virtually all of them and elevated people into them with neither inner desire nor anointing for these offices. So many are promoted into priestly positions as routine postings and appointments; graduates who can’t get other positions become teachers a position they positively hate and visit their grievance and anger on their unfortunate students who embody our future; our medical workers are poorly treated and are always on strike, evidence that when they are not on strike, they do the work with disdain and unhappiness; and corruption has crept or perhaps strolled boldly into the honourable sanctuaries of justice. The price we pay for these evils under the sun of our nation is the state our nation is in today!
Of course the greatest error is in terms of those we have allowed to become leaders over us. Or in fact that might well be the foundational error i.e. perhaps the reason we are building dysfunctional education, administrative, judicial, medical and religious systems is because we have allowed misfits become our leaders. Our leaders have been servants, soldiers, customs officers, police officers, dishonourable men and women, cheats and fraudsters, thieves, street fighters and thugs. Essentially a coalition of all the wrong people lead while honourable people occupy lowly positions. When we see a gentleman who seeks leadership and/or who leads with consideration and humanness, we begin to despise him. Like the woman who prefers the man who ill treats her to one who respects and honours her, we are masochists who assume that only brigands and “chieftains” are good enough for leadership in Nigeria.
Unfortunately leadership is a calling and when servants rule, there is woe in the land, and the nation decays. When God would choose a first king for the Jews, he sent Samuel specifically to Saul and asked him to anoint him king over Israel. When God would replace Saul with David, he sent Samuel this time to the house of Jesse and told him to “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man look on outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” In Nigeria, worse than looking at the intimidating features of the chieftains we like as leaders, we look carefully at the size of their wallet and how free they are with its contents. In effect the more corrupt you are, or are perceived to be, the more your appeal in the politics of twenty-first century Nigeria!
As we step into 2011, we need to re-consider the qualifications for leadership in this country. We do not want scoundrels and men that lack integrity as our leaders. Why can’t that principled and honest school teacher be the local government councillor? Why can’t we encourage the kind doctor who established a hospital in the community and oftentimes treats poor people free-of-charge to be the local government chairman? Why can’t that virtuous lady who serves as usher in the church or mosque be a member of the House of Assembly? Why can’t the local Bar or Medical Association Chair or the Company Accountant be a federal legislator? What is wrong with the Dean or Professor in the University becoming a Senator? Why must we assume that these types are not “rough” enough to be leaders? Why can’t an intellectual or university lecturer be a President? Why must the servants ride on horses while noble men walk as servants?
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