A
don, Sabitu Olagoke, has blamed the rising wave of violent crime and
terrorism on the failure of religion and governance in Nigeria.Olagoke, who is the Dean, School of Engineering, Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, as well as Founder and Spiritual Head of the Shafaudeen in Islam Worldwide, said the inability of the nation’s religious and political leaders to properly use their influence to nip terrorism in the bud had resulted in the worsening insecurity confronting the entire country today.
The cleric stated this in a lecture he delivered on Wednesday on the occasion of the Shafaudeen Ishrat 2013, organised by the Shafaudeen In Islam Fiduniya Wal’akhirat.
Olagoke, expressed regret that what started as isolated cases of violence in some parts of the country had now grown into a monster, threatening to consume the entire Nigerian nation.
He said, “So far, religion and governance have not been explored well to bring about solution to curb terrorism; hence, the eluding mitigation that aggravates the problem.”
One Response to ‘Failure of religion, governance, cause of insecurity’
NIGERIA BETWEEN RELIGIOUS, REGIONAL AND POLITICAL PARTY DIFFERENCES.
Allah calls upon us as human beings to work together. People are supposed to cooperate in wholesome endeavours to achieve the best results. We are called upon to enjoin one another to truth and patience while working for our mutual benefit.
Consequently, it is correct for people with common goals and objective to organise their efforts so they can work more effectively, just like corporations do. What matters is that their goals and activities are ethical, legitimate and good. These objectives might be related to a matter of worldly benefit or simply shared interests. It is perfectly natural for people to organize themselves in this way, and it often proves to be an important factor in the success of their efforts. Such behaviour strengthens social institutions and cements interpersonal relationships. It empowers different sectors of society so that they can protect their interests without causing harm to others.
Therefore, we must have a balanced attitude about group affiliation and political party membership. As long as it relates to that which is good and permissible, then it is no different that when someone identifies with a particular political party or ethnic group without exhibiting bigotry. On the other hand, if it relates to something sinful or unethical, or threatens social cohesion, then it is wrong and worthy of censure.
We should not summarily judge people on the basis of their party membership. We should not call them deviants or erroneous simply because they are affiliated with a certain group or cooperate with that group in some of their activities. We should certainly never allow our personal attitudes or dislike of a group cause us to try and destroy that group, ignore their legitimate concerns, or suspect their accomplishments. This is the attitude that you are “either with us or against us” and it is wrong.
People are to be judged as individuals, on their personal merits. Allah says: “All who are in the heavens and the Earth will come to the Beneficent (Allah) as a servant. Certainly He has a comprehensive knowledge of them and He has accounted for them all. And each one of them will come unto Him singly and alone on the Day of Resurrection.” [Sūrah Maryam: 92-93]
No individual bears the sin of another. Everyone is culpable for their own actions. A good and upright person might belong to a group or political party that has a lot of shortcomings, while a bad or disreputable person might belong to a respectable group or political party.
The best of people are those who speak honestly and about what is good, who avoid gossip and rumours, and who have no desire to pursue or expose the faults of others.
There have been factions mobilised whose group identity is based solely on being in opposition to particular person. They busy themselves with exposing the (presumed) faults of their enemies, and pay no regard to their own development or to that of society at large.
Party members, factions, religious faithfuls, etc are not uniform in their membership. They are loci of convergent opinion, and, like the community at large, contain people who are just as well as unjust, virtuous as well as sinful. Truth be told, the fierce disagreements that take place between Nigerians squanders our energies. It compromises our writings, our media production, our policies, and our interpersonal relations.
Other communities, by contrast, have learned to accommodate disagreement, and they succeed in channelling their differences into positive action. For instance, the extreme right-wing and left-wing parties in the Israeli Knesset have become part of the broader society. They participate in the government or in the official opposition, and they contribute to the development of national policy. The state has managed to accommodate the full spectrum of political opinion, and uses their isolation in the region to their advantage to foster unity.
Likewise, the European Union has achieved a united currency and a standardised tariff policy. They engage in full-scale military and political cooperation and work together for their mutual security. They develop strategic plans for their mutual progress and shared ambitions. At the same time, the autonomy of each country and the will of its people are fully respected, and they are given a voice in developing their shared programs and projects.
In America, we see a very sensible circulation of power between the Democratic and Republican parties. This is carried out with considerable goodwill between the American people, after the election results are announced. No one holds a grudge against anyone else on account of their vote. They have a strong and firmly established democratic institution, which in spite of its shortcomings, is capable of compensating for the inevitable mistakes and missteps of its policymakers, as well as triumphing over the crises and challenges that the country faces, including crises as serious as the September 11 atrocities and Hurricane Katrina.
These are nations which have succeeded in developing sound policies and systems for governing their differences, drawn from their experience, history, practical knowledge, and accumulated wisdom. Nigeria deserves to be guided by all of these factors from within its own historical legacy as well as from the experience of other nations, in consideration of the strengths that lies within diversity and the legacies of our founding fathers.
We have a right to dream that Nigeria, with all of its religiosities, ethnicities, and ideological currents, can unite upon its common interests, or at least draw closer together. It may seem to be a distant dream, but Allah is capable of all things. Are we prepared to accept that people will have various identities and affiliations, and instead fight against bigotry, racism, and selfish factional interests?
This is the challenge that we must be prepared to face. It is certainly a difficult one, but it is far from insurmountable. If we rely upon Allah, we will find He is enough for us. As we Muslim say in each and every one of our prayers: “You alone we worship, and Your help alone we seek.” [Sūrah al-Fatihah: 5]
I ask Allah The Most High to unite our youth, unite our elders, unite our leaders, unite our politicians, unite our religious leaders and bless our country with abundance of good…
Thank You
Kaka Kyari Abba
Allah calls upon us as human beings to work together. People are supposed to cooperate in wholesome endeavours to achieve the best results. We are called upon to enjoin one another to truth and patience while working for our mutual benefit.
Consequently, it is correct for people with common goals and objective to organise their efforts so they can work more effectively, just like corporations do. What matters is that their goals and activities are ethical, legitimate and good. These objectives might be related to a matter of worldly benefit or simply shared interests. It is perfectly natural for people to organize themselves in this way, and it often proves to be an important factor in the success of their efforts. Such behaviour strengthens social institutions and cements interpersonal relationships. It empowers different sectors of society so that they can protect their interests without causing harm to others.
Therefore, we must have a balanced attitude about group affiliation and political party membership. As long as it relates to that which is good and permissible, then it is no different that when someone identifies with a particular political party or ethnic group without exhibiting bigotry. On the other hand, if it relates to something sinful or unethical, or threatens social cohesion, then it is wrong and worthy of censure.
We should not summarily judge people on the basis of their party membership. We should not call them deviants or erroneous simply because they are affiliated with a certain group or cooperate with that group in some of their activities. We should certainly never allow our personal attitudes or dislike of a group cause us to try and destroy that group, ignore their legitimate concerns, or suspect their accomplishments. This is the attitude that you are “either with us or against us” and it is wrong.
People are to be judged as individuals, on their personal merits. Allah says: “All who are in the heavens and the Earth will come to the Beneficent (Allah) as a servant. Certainly He has a comprehensive knowledge of them and He has accounted for them all. And each one of them will come unto Him singly and alone on the Day of Resurrection.” [Sūrah Maryam: 92-93]
No individual bears the sin of another. Everyone is culpable for their own actions. A good and upright person might belong to a group or political party that has a lot of shortcomings, while a bad or disreputable person might belong to a respectable group or political party.
The best of people are those who speak honestly and about what is good, who avoid gossip and rumours, and who have no desire to pursue or expose the faults of others.
There have been factions mobilised whose group identity is based solely on being in opposition to particular person. They busy themselves with exposing the (presumed) faults of their enemies, and pay no regard to their own development or to that of society at large.
Party members, factions, religious faithfuls, etc are not uniform in their membership. They are loci of convergent opinion, and, like the community at large, contain people who are just as well as unjust, virtuous as well as sinful. Truth be told, the fierce disagreements that take place between Nigerians squanders our energies. It compromises our writings, our media production, our policies, and our interpersonal relations.
Other communities, by contrast, have learned to accommodate disagreement, and they succeed in channelling their differences into positive action. For instance, the extreme right-wing and left-wing parties in the Israeli Knesset have become part of the broader society. They participate in the government or in the official opposition, and they contribute to the development of national policy. The state has managed to accommodate the full spectrum of political opinion, and uses their isolation in the region to their advantage to foster unity.
Likewise, the European Union has achieved a united currency and a standardised tariff policy. They engage in full-scale military and political cooperation and work together for their mutual security. They develop strategic plans for their mutual progress and shared ambitions. At the same time, the autonomy of each country and the will of its people are fully respected, and they are given a voice in developing their shared programs and projects.
In America, we see a very sensible circulation of power between the Democratic and Republican parties. This is carried out with considerable goodwill between the American people, after the election results are announced. No one holds a grudge against anyone else on account of their vote. They have a strong and firmly established democratic institution, which in spite of its shortcomings, is capable of compensating for the inevitable mistakes and missteps of its policymakers, as well as triumphing over the crises and challenges that the country faces, including crises as serious as the September 11 atrocities and Hurricane Katrina.
These are nations which have succeeded in developing sound policies and systems for governing their differences, drawn from their experience, history, practical knowledge, and accumulated wisdom. Nigeria deserves to be guided by all of these factors from within its own historical legacy as well as from the experience of other nations, in consideration of the strengths that lies within diversity and the legacies of our founding fathers.
We have a right to dream that Nigeria, with all of its religiosities, ethnicities, and ideological currents, can unite upon its common interests, or at least draw closer together. It may seem to be a distant dream, but Allah is capable of all things. Are we prepared to accept that people will have various identities and affiliations, and instead fight against bigotry, racism, and selfish factional interests?
This is the challenge that we must be prepared to face. It is certainly a difficult one, but it is far from insurmountable. If we rely upon Allah, we will find He is enough for us. As we Muslim say in each and every one of our prayers: “You alone we worship, and Your help alone we seek.” [Sūrah al-Fatihah: 5]
I ask Allah The Most High to unite our youth, unite our elders, unite our leaders, unite our politicians, unite our religious leaders and bless our country with abundance of good…
Thank You
Kaka Kyari Abba
