In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent the Merciful'O mankind! If you doubt that there is life after death remember that We first created you from dust, then from a sperm, then from a leech- like mass, then from a morsel of flesh, partly formed and partly unformed, so that We may manifest to you Our power. We cause to remain in the womb whom We wish for an appointed term, and then We bring you forth as infants; then We nourish you so that you may reach your age of full strength...'(Quran 22)THIS sermon is burdened by the incertitude of the intellectual vocation, by the seeming powerlessness of speech and the pen particularly under the suzerainty of the ignorant, by the hiatus in-between the existentialist necessities of human life and the unbelievable failure of state, particularly in Nigeria.When the Arabs say nothing images the utter weakness of the human subject more than the presence of a desire to do good in the season of absence of authority to so do, the aphorism directly speaks to the Nigerian condition. Our world appears headed for the wrong direction partly because those who have wisdom lack power, while those who have power loathe wisdom.During this season of Hajj, I am fascinated by the chapter of Hajj- chapter 22 of the Quran. The chapter solaces me from the universal inanity of these times, it soothes the psycho-social and intellectual trauma most thinkers who exist in this time and clime now go through on a daily basis. Such is evidenced in the news that our country has concluded plans to build a refinery in Indonesia from which it shall be importing refined petroleum products in future (which has been denied), and the of the era of government brigandage, the arrant display of raw violence and official terrorism as evidenced in the arrest and detention of journalists of The Nation newspaper.The argument for and against the removal of government subsidy from petroleum products, which is currently going on in Nigeria and at a time Malaysians are enjoying not only considerable government subsidised petroleum products but equally subsidised food materials, reminds critical minds of the insuperable chemistry of this epoch. The Prophet (s.a.w) says an era will come unto humankind in which they would wonder whether their Prophet ever prophesied its occurrence due to the strange events they would be witnessing.Such is true of these times in which Palestine remains an occupied territory. As at today, reports have it that over 700, 000 Palestinians are being held by Israel, men and women the Israelis have dubbed terrorists just because they are fighting to reclaim what belongs to them. Today Palestinians are dying on a daily basis in order that Israel may live.Allah says in the chapter of Hajj. 'If they deny you O Muhammad, remember that before them the people of Noah, 'Ad and Thamud, the people of Abraham and Lot, as well as, the residents of Madyan had denied their prophets, likewise Moses was also denied.Initially, I gave respite to all those unbelievers and then I seized them, see how terrible was my disapproval, How many townships, teaming with wrong doings, have We utterly destroyed! Today they lie with their roofs fallen in, their wells abandoned, and their lofty castles deserted'-(42-45).Again while I was trying to make sense of these times, I heard about the decision of the members of the National Assembly to buy a new set of cars, totaling over 300 Toyota Camry cars which, they argue, would be deployed to 'oil' their oversight functions of government agencies. I asked my colleague in the office what happened to the cars the previous assembly made use of. But just before we reached a consensus on this, news came again that the Federal Government has distributed the monthly allocation for the month of October.Whereas the federal government would be 'playing' with over 200 billion naira, Akwa Ibom would be receiving a princely sum of nothing less than 20 billion naira while the least paid state including Ebonyi and Ekiti would be receiving nothing less than five billion. The receipt or otherwise of these monies appeared not to be the issue but the continued images and evidences that dot the Nigerian landscape.In other words, with the exception of a few states in the northern and southern parts of the country, the announcement of the amount each tier of government receives nowadays has ironically become a reminder of the continued pauperisation of the masses.Put differently, a visit to the city of Port-Harcourt would remind you of how far behind government at the centre has become. Unless there has been a radical change in the status quo, the federal road, which connects the city of Port-Harcourt to Asaba in Delta and the Airport Road in Lagos, not only sap and wear the energy of my compatriots who ply the routes out, but equally increase their frustration about the future of this country.On a daily basis, we hear about the enormous wealth Allah has endowed this country with, on a daily basis we experience an increment in the pauperisation of the masses. Our leaders continue to amass more wealth, they desire to be richer than Qarun. Allah says, O mankind, you have been distracted by the rivalry of piling up worldly gains against one another, you will never be satisfied until you get into the grave. Nevertheless, soon you shall come to know, Again, nevertheless, soon you shall come to know, Nay! Would that you knew through the real knowledge provided to you in this Qur'an and care about your life in the hereafter, because on the Day of Judgment when you shall see the hell, and see it with the certainty of your own eyes; - you shall believe it, but that belief is going to do you no good'' ' (Quran 102:1-8)The worldly gains referenced in the above chapter concerns the ones obtained through lawful means. But when lawful gains become useless when the reckoning of Allah comes, what would happen to the evildoers, who sit on our national wealth and luxuriate in perfidious lucre of greed and incontinence when they come face-to-face with Allah' But the best politician in our village is highly self-opinionated; any attempt to call his attention to his failing would be dismissed as the ranting of the opposition.Again in the Chapter of Hajj, Allah says, 'if they argue with you, say, 'Allah knows best all that you do, Allah will judge between you on the Day of Resurrection concerning the matters in which you differ, Do you not know that Allah is aware of all that is in heaven and the earth' Certainly all of this is recorded in a book and it is very easy for Allah to do so, ' When our revelations are recited to them with all their clarity, you can notice a denial on the faces of the unbelievers. They can barely restrain themselves from assaulting those who recite our revelations. Say to them: 'Shall I tell you something, which is far worse than that' It is the fire of hell, which Allah has promised to those who reject the truth, what an evil abode it will be!' (68-72)(guardianfridayworship@gmail.com)
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