{"id":288617,"date":"2011-03-03T23:46:00","date_gmt":"2011-03-03T23:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/03\/time-for-questions\/"},"modified":"2011-03-03T23:46:00","modified_gmt":"2011-03-03T23:46:00","slug":"time-for-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/03\/time-for-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Time for questions"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many observant Muslims might wonder why some Imams keep repeating either the sermons of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) or those of his disciples even over1400 years after the Prophet\u2019s demise. What such people may not understand is that the situation which warranted those sermons when they were first rendered has never parted with mankind. Thus, the Prophet\u2019s counseling was not meant for a particular time or race or even geographical location. It will therefore not be out of place if today, yours sincerely alludes to an article once published on leadership in this column. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Like his divine Message, Prophet Muhammad\u2019s sermons were meant for all people in all nations and at all times. And the Arabs, from among whom he emerged, are so richly endowed culturally and linguistically that they are uniquely versatile in prose and poetry.<\/span><\/p>\n

Their heritage from the Qur\u2019anic oratory especially the memorisation of that voluminous Glorious Book has become a peculiar tradition which Muslims of other races have adopted. In fact, the Arabs are eminently qualified to be the philological torch bearers of the heritage of Indo-European family of languages that emanated from \u2018Sanskrit\u2019 the first human language. In a narrative poem, one of the renowned Arab poets recalled a warning once given by two disciples of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) thus:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHere is the period we had been warned of by Ka\u2019b and Ibn Mas\u2019ud;<\/span><\/p>\n

A period when the truth becomes totally abhorrent;<\/span><\/p>\n

And falsehood with treachery takes its place;<\/span><\/p>\n

If this evil period lingers on without any alteration;<\/span><\/p>\n

Humanity will slip into such a situation;<\/span><\/p>\n

Where no one will rejoice over a new birth;<\/span><\/p>\n

Or grieve over the demise of relatives\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both Ka\u2019b and Ibn Mas\u2019ud were close disciples of the Prophet when the latter was alive. They had heard him prophesy about the future of the world particularly about tyrannical rulers and oppressed masses. They had relayed many Hadiths on same. And, they had based their own admonition of Muslims on that prophecy as it concerned leadership.<\/span><\/p>\n

Leadership in Islam is so sacrosanct that the Prophet never relented in warning all leaders and aspirants to leadership about the delicate nature of governing the people. In his farewell sermon, he reminded the Muslim Ummah that leadership is a great responsibility entrusted, either to certain individuals or to groups, by the society and sanctioned by the Almighty Allah. The Prophet also admonished the people on their responsibility to both the state and leadership quoting Qur\u2019an 4, Verse 59 thus:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh you, who believe, Obey Allah and obey the Messenger (of Allah) and those charged with authority among you. Should you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger if you sincerely do believe in Allah and the last day. That is best and most suitable for final determination\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, he did not stop there. He went further to explain that obedience to those charged with authority is conditioned by their own obedience to God in their deeds as well as the rule of law that governs them. In one of his statements, he said there is no obedience or loyalty to any human being, ruler or otherwise, who is not himself, obedient to God and the rule of law (the current trend in the Arab countries is a testimony to that Prophetic counseling). The Prophet concluded that: \u201cWhoever entrusts a man to a public office, where, in his society, there is a better man than this trustee, has betrayed the trust of God and His Messenger as well as the people of that society\u201d. The exemplary governance of the Prophet and his great teachings were scrupulously followed by the Caliphs who succeeded him in office. When, shortly after the Prophet\u2019s demise, Abubakr Siddiq was elected as the first Caliph, his primary objective was to continue the pious administration left behind by the Prophet. He took the mantle of leadership with which he was saddled as a responsibility to Allah. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In his acceptance speech as new Head of State, he addressed the people as follows: \u201cOh people behold me charged with the cares of government. Yet, I am not the best of you. In carrying out this great responsibility, I need your advice and assistance. If you find me doing well, please support me. If I make mistake, counsel me. To tell the truth to a person commissioned to rule is faithful allegiance. So long I obey God and act according to law, obey me. But if I neglect the law of God and His Prophet, I have no more right to your obedience. The strong among you shall have no right over the weak on the basis of his strength. Neither shall there be any room for sycophancy, nepotism or undue favouritism. Authority, power and sovereignty belong to God alone in whose hand is the dominion over all things\u2026.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Other Caliphs after Abubakr followed suit and lived austere lives despite their unquestionable access to unlimited state resources. Ali bn Abi-Talib, in particular, did not limit those qualities to himself. He also extended them to his appointed Governors. While appointing Malik bn Ashtar as the Governor of Egypt he gave him instructions in writing and admonished him to follow it to the letter in his governance in that country. Here is an excerpt from the letter:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Be it known to you Oh Malik, that I am sending you to a country which had experienced in the past both just and unjust rule. The people of that country will scrutinise your actions with a searching eye just as you used to scrutinise the actions of those before you, and they will speak of you just as you spoke of your leaders. The fact is that members of the public speak well only of those who perform well. It is the ruled who will testify to the proof of your actions. Hence, the richest treasure that you may covet should be the treasure of good governance. Keep your desire under control and deny yourself that which you have been warned against. By such abstinence alone, you will be able to distinguish between good and bad\u2026.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026.Develop in your heart the feeling of love for your people and let that love be the source of kindness and blessing to them. Do not behave to them like a barbarian, and do not appropriate to yourself that which belongs to them. Remember that the citizens of the state are of two categories. They are either your brothers in religion or your brothers as human beings. As masses, they are subjects of infirmities and liable to making mistakes, but forgive them as you would like God to forgive you. Bear in mind that you are placed over them as I am placed over you. And there is God even above him who has given you the position of a Governor in order that you may look after those under you and \u00a0 be sufficient for them. You will be judged by what you do for them\u2026.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026.Should you feel elated in power, or pride and arrogance creep into your mind then take a look at the power and majesty of the divine governance of the universe over which you have no minutest control. This will restore your sense of balance and give you calmness and affability\u2026.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026.Never take counsel of a miser, for, he will vitiate your magnanimity and frighten you with poverty around. Do not seek advice from a coward, he will weaken your resolution and dampen your morale. Do not take counsel of a greedy person, he will instill greed in you and turn you into a tyrant. Miserliness, cowardice and greed deprive man of piety and push him into unbridled desperation. The worst counselor is one who had served a tyrant before and shared his crimes. Do not appoint such a person as your adviser. He will lure you into crimes and turn you into a criminal\u2026.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026.Great care should be exercised in revenue administration to ensure, not only the prosperity of the tax payers but also that of the masses. You should regard the proper upkeep of the land in cultivation as of greater importance than the collection of revenues. He who demands revenue without helping land cultivators ruins the state\u2026.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou should fear God when dealing with the problems of the poor who have no one to patronise them or protect their interest. They are forlorn, indigent, helpless and have become victims of the vicissitude of time. Assign for their uplift a portion of the state exchequer (Baytul Mal) wherever they may be. Let no preoccupation slip them from your mind for no excuse whatsoever, because neglecting their rights will not be acceptable to Allah\u2026.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026.Finally, dear Malik, shun self-adoration. Do not indulge in self-praise nor encourage others to extol you because of all the ruses to undo good deeds of pious men, Satan relies most on praise and flattery. Neither over-rate nor indulge in tall talks about the favours you have showered on people. Breach of promise annoys God and man alike. Do not act in haste nor defer the execution of a good decision. Do not insist on wrong doing or slackness in rectifying the wrong already done\u2026.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Using the above example to judge the system of government in Nigeria, which is heavily characterised by unprecedented corruption, hooliganism and murder, one will understand why our society is now bereft of peace and cohesion. The basis of our constitution itself is so fraudulent that it serves as the main incubator of Nigeria\u2019s uncheckable corruption. A constitution written by a military cabal without involving the populace which was started with a statement such as: \u201cWE THE PEOPLE OF NIGERIA\u201d (to give the impression that it was indeed written by the people) is enough to render its operators illegitimate. Why would such a constitution not produce a fraudulent government?<\/span><\/p>\n

For instance, if we may ask, what have Nigerians benefited from the so called democratic government in the past 12 years despite the trillions of naira accruing to the country from oil and other resources? Why should immunity clause be created in the constitution for a class of Nigerians? Isn\u2019t that an audacious privatisation of governance and an indication that corruption is a legitimate venture for the political class? What has happened so far to official thieves in government from whom ICPC and EFCC claim to have recovered billions of stolen dollars and naira? And where is the money? Why does Nigeria, the so-called \u2018GIANT OF AFRICA\u2019 remain a country without electricity after spending trillions of naira on revamping the power sector? If Nigeria never had electricity and she is to start one how much would it have cost? Why must our electricity, rail system and Police be centralised in a country that lays claim to federation?<\/span><\/p>\n

If we may ask, what is the annual cost of running the three tiers of government in Nigeria? What is the Federal Government doing with 49 Ministers when even the United States has only ten federal Ministers? What qualifies the Nigerian Federal Government for 54.68 % of the revenue allocation? What percentage of our national budget goes to federal overhead? And, what is the Federal Government\u2019s contribution to Nigeria\u2019s national income? \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When, shortly after his arrival in Madinah for Hijrah in 622 CE, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) gave a precise definition of a hypocrite, hardly did anybody know that he was talking of the government of a future country to be called Nigeria. He said \u201ca hypocrite is known by three signs: when he speaks he lies; when he promises he reneges and when he is trusted he betrays\u201d. Which of these signs is not fitting to the so-called politicians ruling Nigeria? Otherwise, why does the political class always come up with promises that will never be fulfilled? Why are the electorates not given the benefit of feedback over the government expenditure every year? When last was the account of the Federal Government audited and to whom was the audit report submitted? Or shouldn\u2019t Nigerians have access to the annual audit report of their budget? What purpose does a budget serve without an entailed audit?<\/span><\/p>\n

What percentage of Nigerians is gainfully employed? Why are multinational companies moving out of Nigeria to neighbouring West African countries? No modern country ever survives economically without a strong middle class. Where is Nigeria\u2019s own middle class? And, without the middle class, isn\u2019t the propaganda that Nigeria would become one of the 20 biggest economies in the world in 2020 another grand deception in vain? \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nigeria is said to the biggest consumer of power generators in the world with over 73 million of such generators domicile in this country and as a matter of fact, Nigeria is the main market for all manufacturers in of power generator in the world. The disaster in this is not just the amount spent on importing those generators but also the rate of depleting of ozone layer through the consumption of those generators.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since Nigerians get opportunity to see their rulers only during the political campaign for votes every four years and there is no forum direct to ask question on how the country is governed where is the meeting point? Governance (like a marriage between husband and wife) is a social contract between the rulers and the ruled. Each has a role to play. And, to a great extent, the ruled in Nigeria are playing their role by obeying the law and paying tax. How do the rulers play their own role in the contract? There many more questions.<\/span><\/p>\n

But from all indications, it seems that the connotation of government in Nigeria today is not but enslavement. And Nigeria\u2019s first President, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe seemed to have foreseen this kind of situation as far back as 1933 when he returned to Nigeria from the United States where he had gone to study. During one of his many addresses o his countrymen who organized reception for him he admonished as follows: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026where you have people whose thinking has evolved beyond the primal stage and who allow reason to control their thoughts; where you have people who appreciate their common affinity (in poverty) and live in cooperative spirit; ..,where you have people who are creative factors in the social and material cultures of mankind, you cannot keep them politically subservient indefinitely\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

That is the substance of the Arab revolt against the status quo in their land. Only a fool will think that such a revolt cannot occur in Nigeria. In his conclusion to the above quoted address, Dr. Azikiwe said: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMan is not innately wicked, but when an attempt is made to consign him to the scrap-heap he shows resentment in no uncertain terms\u201d. That is the stage to which Nigeria has been dragged. And, whatever anybody may think, for as long as this situation persists, a revolt against the status quo is just a matter of time. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\nTime for questions<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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