ALLAH YA ISA

When the Hausa man says Allah ya isa, he means Allah suffices me, Allah is sufficient for me, and Allah is able to requite the villain that wrongs me. He says this not in a state of enfeeblement but in situations where he fails to discern the source of his travail, or someone’s omission in doing what is required, especially of those in authority, causes him to suffer hurt or injustice.  To the Hausa man, therefore, Allah ya isa, is a subtle supplication that Allah, who knows what is apparent and what is hidden, is able to protect him from evil, and through His requital, the evildoers shall, sooner or later, get their just deserts! 

They are martyrs, those Muslim faithful who thronged the Kano Central Mosque for Friday prayers only to be murdered. They did no wrong by coming for Jumu’ah. They purified themselves, wore their best raiments and answered the call of Allah’s summoner for the weekly assembly of Friday, not knowing that was the last Jumu’ah they would witness. Allah will not suffer to be wasted the blood of those who died, and the agony of those injured; He shall reckon it to their credit as an act of devotion to Him (at-Taubah, 9:120). Allah ya isa!

In that State House roundtable I wrote on last week, CAN President, Oritsejafor said, as he was wont to do in such forums, that, ’there are still religious clerics that Boko Haram respects’, though he did not mention any. He wanted ‘Muslim leaders to find ways of reaching Boko Haram’ in order to present ‘real Islam to them’ in place of the distorted one that they propagate. Allah ya isa!

The Pastor failed to inform his audience which of the Boko Harams he was referring to: those that infested the government to which he serves as self-appointed spokesperson, or that of Christians caught but never charged or prosecuted with explosive devices in church premises across the country, or that of late Muhammad Yusuf of old, or those provided with heavily armed military detachment and exclusive landing and take-off permission, a privilege denied the state’s Chief Security Officer? Or perhaps the ones caught in Lagos in an abandoned building that strangely belongs to the government of Bayelsa State? Or the ones the actor, Shekau, speaks for and away from whom highly trained soldiers flee despite superior training and weapons only for the weapons to be picked up by the terrorists? Allah ya isa!

Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor has conveniently chosen to ignore the brave intervention of various Muslim leaders and Islamic scholars against Boko Haram the result of which most of them paid the supreme price. The recent was that made by the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, on the need for self-defence since the government has woefully failed to secure life and proper of its citizens. Many an analyst have attributed the Kano Central Mosque attack to the call of Muhammadu Sanusi on the people to defy the insurgents. Allah knows best what would have happened were the Emir present in the mosque at the time of the attack. But still, to people like Oritsejafor, even with this, Muslim leaders are not doing enough. Allah ya isa!

The Vice President, Arc Mohammed Namadi Sambo led a Federal Government Delegation to condole with the Emir, Government and people of Kano on the loss of more than 100 innocent lives in last Friday’s bomb blasts. Among other things, His Excellency said: 

“We have to understand that this is something that goes beyond politics as I am aware that many people are saying that government is responsible for all what has been happening. Government has no hand in these things. What the government is doing is to protect  lives and property of citizens and promote peaceful coexistence in the nation.

“Talking about security, the nucleus of every nation’s security is in the office of the National Security Adviser, the office is occupied by a Muslim from Sokoto State and a descendant of Shehu Usman Danfodiyo. Second is the Minister of Defence, retired General Aliyu Gusau who a Muslim and from Zamfara State and the Inspector General of Police Sulaiman Abba who is with me here, is also a Muslim and from Jigawa State.

“The vice president is a Muslim from Zaria in Kaduna State. There is no way all of us being Muslims from the North and Nigerians will fold our hands even with the position Allah has given us  and watch bad things happen to the region and Nigeria in general,”

These are very strong assertions from His Excellency, the Vice President. The government, after all is not oblivious of people’s perception on ‘what has been happening.’ Many people marvel at the killing, maiming and destruction of property by an insurgent group that desires to establish Islamic Caliphate, but which spares no effort at targeting Muslims in their houses and mosques.  Muslim scholars and leaders who dared to speak against the group were exterminated in cold blood. Also, not a few people from the region cannot understand why government will deploy a large contingent of our armed  forces to monitor election as witnessed recently in some South East states but stands idly by when thousands are murdered in the North East and territories captured by the insurgents. Quite a number of Muslims see the government as another brand of Boko Haram that is orchestrating these security challenges to economically weaken the region, deplete its demographic capital through bomb blasts, create anarchy that will instil fear in the electorate which disenfranchises people from voting, or give the government reason to prevent election from taking place in the affected areas all together. Allah ya isa!

The people who hold the above beliefs, are not exulting in having ‘the nucleus of’ Nigeria’s security, the VP, NSA, Defence Minister, IGP, etc, in the hands of Muslims from the North, rather, they see it as an indictment. If, according to them, Muslims from the North occupy all these high offices at a time that the region is facing one of its most challenging periods, when an insurgency laid to ruin the lives, dwellings and means of sustenance of myriad of Northerners, without discernible solution, then, of what use are these so called Northerners in the corridors of power to the religion or the region? Allah ya isa!

I believe His Excellency, the Vice President when he said: “There is no way all of us being Muslims from the North and Nigerians will fold our hands even with the position Allah has given us and watch bad things happen to the region and Nigeria in general.” Yes, I believe the VP and his comrades from the region are distressed with the current situation and are doing their best to better our despicable state. But my humble advice is, if entreaties and good counsel fall on deaf ears, resignation will be the best option. Whoever, among the numerous Muslims serving in this government in various positions, will resign because of their disenchantment  ‘for all what has been happening’; they will be received with triumphant, even raucous welcome from people back home. Allah ya isa!

You see, it is not enough that you and the rest say you do not fold your arms and let evil things happen, Mr Vice President, we actually want to know what is happening. We need to know why, for example, our president has NEVER visited any of the North Eastern states that have been under attack since this madness started about three years ago. Do not give us the same lame, unintelligent excuse Abati and Okupe always give, don’t say it is not safe, we know it is not but that is one of the true tests of leadership. Courage is never the absence of fear, it is acting in spite of it knowing that there are more important things than harbouring the notion of fear. Dancing to “Skelewu” in Kano the morning after almost 300 Nigerian girls were kidnapped in the dead of night sounds like the most callous thing I have heard a leader do. What did you tell him about such an insensitive thing to do , sir? I remember as Vice President, you were also part of that awful deed in Kano. Two tragedies of unbelievable proportions happened the day before your dance in Kano. More than 75 lives were wasted and many other people were maimed for life. Don’t tell us you cannot fold your arms and let bad things happen sir, and do not tell us the same puerile story of carrying on with the job of running the country as your reasons for dancing. It had nothing to do with that. In fact, one sometimes wonders whether your government has a mandate to run Nigeria aground before 2015. Allah ya isa!