…AND NOW, OVER TO 2012!

Two ‘old’ years have just gone: the Islamic year 1432 (since the year Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace, left Mecca for Medina) and the Gregorian year 2011 (since the birth of Prophet Isa, Jesus son of Mary, upon whom be peace). Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, has just ended while its […]

Two ‘old’ years have just gone: the Islamic year 1432 (since the year Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace, left Mecca for Medina) and the Gregorian year 2011 (since the birth of Prophet Isa, Jesus son of Mary, upon whom be peace). Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, has just ended while its counterpart, January, the first of the Gregorian, is just beginning. May Allah intervene in our affairs, and make our lives secure, and safe. Amin.

New Year Resolutions are common, but hardly kept. If citizens could suggest to their countries to make their own New Year Prayers, many of us would surely ask Nigeria to say “Give Me Peace”. Forget about electricity; forget about poverty (though of course unforgettable); the most pressing problem now is security of life. And forget property when talking about life. For us Nigerians, 2011 has left mostly bitter memories, and may Allah not repeat such a sad year for us. May we be blessed as other nations, with peace, unity and progress. Amin.

While we are at the threshold of memories, let us revisit some, though not necessarily in any order:

WE REMEMBER: 2011 came in with great hopes, at least ahead of the elections. People expected that there would be change this time. What with the then new Election Umpire, and a President who promised that, were he to be told that Nigerians were tired of his party, he would let go. Alas! In the event, his party was ‘returned’. And the rest is now history.

WE REMEMBER: A great opportunity to unseat ‘the largest political party in Africa’ came the way of the opposition, through the permutations of the political spectrum. And then this opportunity knocked not only once, but several times, but was sadly squandered. (And, because this Columnist was involved in part, the lost opportunity is enough to lament the year 2011). Alas!

WE REMEMBER: Over in Tunisia and Egypt, revolutions took place when mostly young people took to the streets and toppled their sit-tight leaders. Scores of people died, but not on the scale that occurred in Nigeria’s post-election violence, where the death toll was in the thousands. We trekked to Eagle Square, but our journey was truncated along the way. And then sadly, Muammar Gaddafi, who refused to see the light, ended up in a tunnel, only to be fished out and murdered in cold blood. And Africa lost a great son.

WE REMEMBER: Small neighbour-to-the-north (population 15 million) Niger Republic also held elections. As far as can be determined, no one lost his or her life directly as the result of someone’s win or someone’s loss. To add joy to happiness, that country dedicated its first oil refinery in 2011. (This refinery, built by the Chinese in only three years, belies any claim that we cannot in Nigeria build new refineries or put to work the ones we already have. Fie to subsidy removal!)

WE REMEMBER: Wicked people, working on behalf of the Devil himself, continued to unleash mayhem and bloodshed on this nation. We inherited the deaths and destruction in Maiduguri and Damaturu from the previous year, and the year closed with the condemnable Madalla Christmas Bombing. Let it be known that whoever kills Christians while in their churches cannot claim to be a Muslim or acting on behalf of them. Muslim leaders and lay have disowned the perpetrators, so does this Column. And makes one ask: is there really intelligence in our security system?

WE REMEMBER: Before the most recent killings, 2011 saw much blood that had been shed during the post-election Zonkwa Massacre, the Siege on Kafanchan, and then the killings in Jos on Eid el Fitr Day (Karamar Sallah), and the incessant night-marauder murders in parts of Plateau State. All such killings are condemnable, and all perpetrators must be fished out and punished.

WE REMEMBER: Discovering Herb 25 was a real eye opener. For almost a year now, your Columnist has had no cause to spend one Naira on anti-malarial drugs, which used to cost quite a chunk. And to that we must say alhamdu lilLah! Though we continue to be tried in our (and our loved ones’) health and wealth, we submit that that is Allah’s Way, and we should be patient. (O Allah we are!) And 2011 saw the arrival of Islamic banking in Nigeria, in the image of Ja’iz Bank. Despite all the hullabaloos, it has come to stay. For that also, we say alhamdu lilLah!

WE REMEMBER: The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) embarked on yet another strike to press home demands for a better university education. This Column believes the weapon of strike has been overused by ASUU, as well as by labour generally. Over time, the sharpness of strikes has been blunted by the sheer expectation of it. This Column argues that, since the children of those who ‘backwarded’ education in Nigeria are NOT studying in the self-same public universities (as they are either abroad or in the hands of the local Turks and Americans), the target has moved, and the hunter needs to refocus.

WE REMEMBER: Luck, despite it being our middle name, deserted us in the field of football. We could not qualify for the Cup of African Nations and the London Olympics. Luck also deserted many who were supposed to be awarded Medals on a certain day. Many were told to return home and await theirs. Though this Column knows not whether the medals were made of Gold or Sylva, one person with the latter name was denied his medal. Though his colleagues are still fighting to return his medal to him, an apparently strong lord and master seems to say: the tape has been breasted.

WE REMEMBER: We were told that one thing that we may all wake up to in the New Year may be subsidy-less fuel prices. Government is adamant it has to save One Point One Trillion Naira (N1.1t) now being enjoyed by a cabal (the list of which shows, for the most part, entities that seem to have sympathy for a particular political party, and may have funded its campaigns). Fie to subsidy removal!

WE REMEMBER: Finally: the Supreme Court has finally put to rest the 2011 presidential elections. It said, among other things, that the incumbent won the elections fair and square, and the judgement was unanimous. Now that the matter has been rested, it is time to move this country forward. And we pray to Allah, our Lord, to make it possible, and safe, for us to be able to sleep when the wind blows in 2012. Amin. Amin. Amin.