In the name of Allah the beneficent the merciful'Whosoever obeys Allah and the Messenger will be in the company of those whom Allah has blessed - the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous: What excellent companions they will be.'-(Quran 4; 67)'I guarantee an abode on the boundary of Paradise for him who gives up quarrel, even if he is right; and an abode in the centre of Paradise for him who abandons lying, even if it is for the sake of fun; and an abode in the highest grade of Paradise for him who excels in good conduct.' 'Prophet MuhammadAND once again, he refused the award. Chinua Achebe refused the offer of a national award extended to him by President Goodluck Jonathan. He refused the award because the hiatus he perceived in the governance of this country, a couple of years back when he first turned down the same offer, still subsists. He refused the award in protest against mediocrity and under-performance. He equally turned the down the award. Yes. A member of House of Representative from Lagos also refused to be 'dishonoured' by the 'honour' of being referred to as Mr. Lagbaja, OON. When he was asked the reason for his action, he argued that the award simply lacks an essence; that it has become a platform for political patronage; that he does not think he has done enough for this country to be given a national award! Brethren, the first category of award ever bestowed by the Almighty Allah on an individual is that of prophet hood. It was conferred on Adam (upon him be peace). It was an award endowed on to Prophet Adam, not earned. But subsequent upon this primordial event, men who have had the uncommon privilege of being granted the robe of prophet hood have all been exemplars. In other words, the man who would become a prophet of Allah would be a man of unshakeable faith in Allah, an heir to a spiritual-moral pedigree. Those who have been conferred with the award of prophet hood were men with the acute awareness that neither money nor security apparatus can protect the human subject from the unknowable schemes of the Almighty; that intelligence is useless in reference to the inimitable and unknowable plans and wisdom of Allah. To be referred to, as an honoree of Allah, is to know that faith should be vested in the creator not the creation. Al-Ghazalli recalls the statement of the wise that when we talk of the faithful, reference is made to those who have triumphed over three things: feeling pleasure each time something pleasing come their way, expressing lamentations over the loss of anything, and the enjoyment of self-praise. Brethren, awards bestowed by the Almighty are usually on the truthful ones among His creatures, not on charlatans and impostors. To be truthful consists of not only in speaking the truth always, but also in acting truthfulness all the time. Thus to be truthful demands fidelity, not only to honest deeds and words, but saintly companions and friends. Put differently, the truthful among mankind is usually an enemy of earthly principalities, a loner, and the wretched. The truthful usually finds the doors of the rich and powerful ever unattractive and loathsome. He is seen as an enigma if not someone suffering from dementia. The truthful amongst human beings would most likely not be found in the circle of the politicians, not a comrade to the moral Lilliputians who luxuriate on a daily basis in the vanities of the temporality of earthly positions and the illusions of bodily enchantments. The truthful amongst us would be a disbeliever in everything the world believes in and adore- the supremacy of materialism and the pre-eminence of violence as a means of obtaining it. Brethren, the truthful one who would qualify for this Divine award would most likely not be a politician of Nigerian extraction! The third in the category of awards, which the Almighty often grants is that of martyrdom- an award which is given to men and women who sacrifice their lives in order that humanity may live. To qualify for this award, such an individual must have satisfied a basic criterion- that of sincerity and the necessity to please only the Almighty Allah. Thus the martyr among us would be the person in the service of this nation for the sake of our Creator only. Thus how could that awardee, who polluted the air in Abuja the other day with his spiritual infamy, have qualified for the honour given the paucity of his contribution to this nation and the dubiety in his character as a person' How could that man and woman have been honoured with CON and OON while they are still 'serving' this nation' How could that man be treated with so much honour while his case is still being investigated by the EFCC and ICPC' The fourth category of awards usually conferred by Allah on His servants is righteousness. Again, this is an award that is extremely loaded. To qualify for this award the award recipient must be a believer in Allah, the last day, the angels, the revealed books and the prophets; he must spend of his wealth out of love for Allah on relatives, orphans, the helpless and the needy; he must establish regular prayers, pay Zakat and fulfill his promises. The award recipient must be steadfast in distress, in adversity and at the time of war.' (Q2: 177) Contemplating the assemblage in Abuja the other day, I wonder how many of the awardees could be described as 'honorees', those who have, in all honesty, truthfully served this nation. But their number is infinitesimal when compared to that of those Chinua Achebe would have taken flight from their companionship. I guess one of the greatest tragedies that would befall a man of intuition and intellect is to be arraigned on the same podium with characters that are hostage to perfidy and ignorance. But how would Chinua Achebe have felt were he to be told after having been coerced to come to Abuja that the medal could not go round; that he has to come back to Aso Rock to pick his prize' A colleague of mine in the University described the announcement that the medals could not go round the honoree as national disgrace. But that singular event speaks to a national trend: that some of those who call themselves our leaders may, in other climes, not fit enough to run a cottage. Thus we should not be surprised that they commit errors by design but that they are incapable of doing right by mistake. Or how else do we make sense of the village head, who invited eminent Nigerians to a banquet, but neglected to provide enough plates for them to eat. Brethren, let us close with this anecdote: a man was passing by a mental hospital. He called out to one of the patients who were peering through the windows: 'How many madmen are there in the hospital'' Looking the questioner up and down, the inmate replied: 'Tell me, how many sane people remain out there'' Please join me in praying as follows: 'Our Lord! Do not punish us if we forget or make a mistake. Our Lord! Do not place on us a burden as you placed on those before us. Our Lord! Lay not on us the kind of burden that we have no strength to bear. Pardon us, forgive us, have mercy on us. You are our protector, help us against the unbelievers.'-Quran 2:285-286.(guardianfridayworship@gmail.com)
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