Friday Sermon: In Times Like These…

By Babatunde Jose

“There is no more dangerous menace to civilization than a Government of incompetent, corrupt, or vile men” – Ludwig Von Mises.

Let me echo the president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Ado when he said, ‘We are in a crisis, I do not exaggerate when I say so. I cannot find an example in history when so many malevolent forces have come together at the same time.” He might have been referring to Nigeria.

Dickens wrote: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way…”  – A Tale of Two Cities

Abu Huraira reported: The Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, said, “Woe to the rulers! And woe to the chiefs! And woe to the trustees! Some people will wish on the Day of Resurrection that their hair was hanging from the sky and swinging between heaven and earth rather than to have done what they did.”

We are today drifting in an uncharted and uncertain sea. What hope do we have of reaching the Promised Land? When this journey started, we had high hopes but today our revolution of rising expectations has turned into a revolution of rising frustration, bordering on despondency.

Our patrimony has been squandered and embezzled. Our national coffers are broken into and brazenly robbed. The man we employed to keep account of our money stole N120 billion from the strong room. The armorer embezzled the billions meant to procure weapons to fight insecurity. The Samaritan who mediates with the insurgents and kidnappers had been creaming monies meant for ransom. And the troops commander has been selling arms to the enemy.

 Allah in the Quran, Surat Az-Zukhruf, Ayat 32 said:

…But the Mercy of thy Lord is better than the (wealth) which they amass. (Quran 43:32)

Yet, they are here again, asking for our votes. What happened to the votes we cast four years ago, eight years ago, sixteen and twenty years ago? The proverbial ‘dividends of democracy’ never got to us. Where are the jobs they promised? Our pensions and gratuity were stolen. Funds meant for our roads, electricity, housing, and the food on our tables. All stolen.  

Fathers are today jobless, while the mothers have no goods in their shops. The children are out of school, 40 million of them and those that went to school have joined the swelling army of the unemployed. Our universities were under lock for 8 months, while our children roamed the streets, many of them becoming the workshop of the Devil: Like dispossessed children we walk naked in the streets seeking food from the dustbins. And Umaru Dikko predicted it!

Today there is much poverty in the land. Poverty amid plenty. Poverty now parades our streets in nakedness, and I ask, ‘where are we going’?

“Many Nigerian states receive revenue allocations which are larger than the budgets of neighbouring countries such as: Liberia, Gambia, and Benin Republic. Akwa Ibom and Rivers –receive allocations, which is about half of the entire budget of Ghana.

It is instructive to ask ourselves, what our leaders did with such fantastic allocations. They were stolen.

And of course, Lagos State, with its jumbo IGR: It is instructive to ask what they have done for their people. Some 30 years ago, there was a land rush in a place called Badore because of speculation that the Lagos State government would be constructing the 4th Mainland bridge from Ijede in Ikorodu to  Badore. It is axiomatic to ask the question what the various leaders who ruled the state since the demise of the military did on the project. Today, the chief architect of the party that has ruled the state for over 20 years is a presidential aspirant. What should we expect from him? Can a leopard change its spots?

Another of the political aspirants was a co-ruler at the federal level for 8 good years during the ara of the locust. What contribution did he make to the socio-economic development of our people? He is now promising to give us better life. Hmmmmmmm! How long will we wait at the ‘gates of hell?

They failed to bring about meaningful change to the life of their people; only promises and promises.

Can an empty sack stand erect? Can these men bring meaningful change to our lives? Can they usher in the desired restructuring required to correct the structural and political imbalances in our dear country? Can they arrest the haemorrhage in the economy where we have lost $12.6b, 120 million barrels of crude oil in 9 months? Can they arrest the drift towards economic Armageddon?

Can they right decades of wrong? Can they plug the leakages in our economy, subsidy, cooked-up petroleum consumption, inflated road construction contracts and other iniquities? Can they restore our light and bring us out of the darkness we have been sentenced to for ages? Can they revamp our abandoned projects? These are daunting propositions which seem to be beyond these men. We have many more miles to go.  

 Allah said in the Quran:

“And O my people! Give just measure and weight, nor withhold from the people the things that are their due: Commit not evil in the land with intent to do mischief. (Quran 11:85)

For many years now, people living and working in Apapa have been under siege, caused by unprecedented traffic on the only two approaches to the port. Yet it need not have been like this if our leaders had had the foresight to plan while developing the port of Tin-Can some 40 years ago. This port was developed without any provision for expansion. What land could have served as avenues for expansion were carved out and divided among our leaders; Ibafon, Beachland and the Kirikiri waterfronts up to the Ferry port in Mile 2. All could have been available today for port expansion. Ask them who owns these places and you would be amazed.

According to Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in his epic book, My Vision: Challenges in the Race for Excellence, he wrote: “The crucial point in Dubai’s modern history was the dredging of the Creek and the construction of a modern port. … Following the deepening and widening of the Creek, my father expected Dubai would soon attract much more trade…he decided that much larger port facilities in deeper water were needed. In 1969 he ordered construction of Port Rashid. He kept on increasing the size of the port and eventually two years to completing it he surprised everybody by ordering the construction of a larger new port; the port of Jabel Ali, which today is the biggest port in the Middle East.”

With all our oil money we cannot boast of anything comparable.

Change must come and must come now! Unfortunately, the elections will not usher in the change we desire. Reason: All the contestants are men and women of yesterday. Old wine, in an old bottle. They have been aged and seasoned in political perfidy and spiritual iniquity. Like the proverbial dry fish, they cannot be straightened again. There are therefore ‘dark clouds on the horizon’.

The Prophet (saws) said, “Any man whom Allah has given the authority of ruling some people and he does not look after them in an honest manner, will never feel even the smell of Paradise.” Sahih Muslim – Volume 9, Book 89, Number 264.

God calls His people to trust Him, to live carefully, to be watchful, and to pray in troubled times. Jesus had something to say to his disciples about the uncertain and troubling times that would come to them, it can equally apply to us now.

²⁵ “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.

²⁶ People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.”  Luke 2: 25-26

War and insecurity, terrorist threats, starvation, uncertain economic times, levies, wage cuts, lay-offs, higher taxes, more pressure on the job, austerity measures, declining income and productivity, currency devaluation, declining value of export, and most important, the shaking of our inner peace. Suddenly, the end time is here.

We must work towards change. We must use the only weapon we have – our votes.  However, without restructuring the polity, without redrawing the political format, and a paradigm shift, it is doubtful if our votes can bring about a new system.

GOD, give us men! A time like these demands. Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands; Men whom the lust of office does not kill; Men whom the spoils of office can not buy; Men who possess opinions and a will; Men who have honor; men who will not lie; Men who can stand before a demagogue And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking!

Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog In public duty, and in private thinking; For while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds, Their large professions and their little deeds, Mingle in selfish strife, lo! Freedom weeps, Wrong rules the land and waiting Justice sleeps.- Josiah Gilbert Holland

Show us the straight way, The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, Those whose (portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray. (Quran 1:6-7)

 Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend!