Lessons from the Ramadan feeding

It’s a different thing that such officials go ahead to abuse their oath of office and allegiance by engaging in blatant acts of corruption which would have made the Ana Wazari, the Indian hermit commit suicide instead of going on hunger strike in protest. Some even find scriptural backing to condone their acts of corruption […]

It’s a different thing that such officials go ahead to abuse their oath of office and allegiance by engaging in blatant acts of corruption which would have made the Ana Wazari, the Indian hermit commit suicide instead of going on hunger strike in protest. Some even find scriptural backing to condone their acts of corruption in a feign attempt to cajole the divine to amend his laws to accommodate their greed. There is no gainsaying the fact that identifying with God in an age where others have thrown God to the dustbin of their own history is what makes our society better in some ways. A society that has thrashed God is dead, even if its streets are paved in gold.  We are poor and ruled by manipulative thieves, but thank God that once in a week or in a while, those thieves have the occasion to listen to sermons that prick their consciences even if just for a moment. A few of the kleptocrats have no other fear of anything except the certainty of their own death and of judgement before the divine in who there is no darkness tenebrous enough to hide evidence. Very often in their corrupt tracks, they are reminded of greater judgement and they tremble.

The effect of Godlessness evident in the so-called developed societies can only be imagined on our primitive system. Children who are born or who live in truly secular societies feel no sense of accountability to their natural parents or any higher authority except the state. Since the state is not omnipresent, it does not get to know when such have elevated the untutored base values over and above socially acceptable norms until they are ruinously exhibited. An example is the wanton hijack of constitutionally guaranteed right to protest into right to loot. It still takes a village to raise a child in most parts of the developing world. Decadence in the other societies is evident in the lack of respect for parental or higher authority and the elevation and acceptance of bestial behaviours as politically correct. One does not have to go into graphic or gory details.

So, give me a society that recognises God and takes away secularity rather than subtract a belief system for the lure of whims. For most of humanity in the developing world, education and enlightenment are no substitutes for sound moral doctrine and values such as accountability to men and to God. This writing is therefore not a call to atheism in any way or form.

Back to our topic – it is gratifying that usually broke states found the money to run a welfare state running into billions to feed those who were fasting. By doing that, they officially recognise that fasting and a belief-system is important. What is ironic is that in doing this, there was no mention of extra-budgetary appropriation to parliament for approval. Yet, these funds were not captured in this year’s budget. Is it religiously correct to act ultra vires the law or the constitution to fulfil our spiritual obligations? Is it halal to use the holy month of Ramadan as excuse for profligate spending? Can the states which committed to this get a blessing from Allah for such act? It would appear that the answers to all these is no since state money is public money, belonging to all including those with a faith or belief system and those with either opposing belief system or none at all.

Finding the cash to do this without necessarily disturbing the flow of governance is a wonderful admission that these states are run by insincere people who shout to the rooftops that they can hardly pay salaries or provide the dividends of democracy, yet could feed millions. It is evident therefore, that these states, and indeed, the Nigerian state has the capacity to institute a welfare regime to cater for the rising army of disenchanted unemployed, the aged, the infirmed; the widows; widowers and orphans and still run an effective government. What such a welfare regime requires is a flat stipend paid monthly to augment basic feeding system that guarantees basic nutrients for the category of people mentioned supra. It is therefore haram to demand of the Nigerian state and its component states to make welfarism a justiciable aspect of governance and to put into place the necessary mechanism for its actuation.

It is evident that if we spend time and our hard-earned cash for this, we would receive a just reward from Allah; patriotism beyond sermonisation and reduction of tension necessary for peace and progress and insulation from political manipulation. A fair, just and egalitarian society is possible given Nigeria’s wealth – and nothing shows this more practically than the Ramadan feeding programme.