The Pharaohs of our time
Ramses II was born February 27, 1303 BC; had about 200 wives, 100 sons and 60 daughters (two of whom were eventually promoted to become his wives!). He died at the age of 92 after ruling for 67 years (1279-1212 BC). Named for his grandfather, Ramses I, he was appointed as successor to the throne […]
Ramses II was born February 27, 1303 BC; had about 200 wives, 100 sons and 60 daughters (two of whom were eventually promoted to become his wives!). He died at the age of 92 after ruling for 67 years (1279-1212 BC). Named for his grandfather, Ramses I, he was appointed as successor to the throne when he was only 14. Even before assuming full “powers”, he was regarded as co-ruler with his father; Pharaoh Seti I. Ramses II is cited in revealed scriptures as the most powerful and the worst villain of all pharaohs.
Two outrageous transgressions of Ramses II, perhaps, made him more bigheaded and callous than others. First, Ramses claimed, himself, to be God; not only one god among many but the only god. Qur’an 79:24 quotes Ramses and states, “I am your Lord Most High”. In fact, Ramses II at a time thought of reaching the heavens by building lofty towers. Second, Qur’an 2:49 which states “…slaughtered your sons and let your women-folk live…” speaks of how Pharaoh ordered the slaughtering of every male child and sparing the lives female children that were born. In spite of this brutality by Ramses II who so hated the Israelites and wanted them annihilated; Allah (SWT) in fulfillment of His will brought up Moses under Ramses II’s care in order for him to, later in life, challenge Ramses’ tyrannical authorities to a defeat. Ramses II’s body was mummified and is currently being kept in the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, Cairo.
The Daily Trust edition of September 14, 2012 carried a story on page 36 in which a member of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) FCT Council, Mr. James Momoh of Pilot newspaper was allegedly knocked down recently by the convoy of the minister of petroleum along NICON junction in Maitama, Abuja. Mr. Momoh reportedly died from the accident. The tragic death of Mr. Momoh brings to fore the recklessness of government convoys and their absolute disregard for traffic rules and other road users. It is now obvious that the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has failed Nigerians by refusing to fulfill its mandate as enshrined in Section 10(3p) of the Federal Road Safety Commission (Establishment) Act, 2007.
The FRSC is empowered by the section under reference to regulate the use of siren; register and keep records of all vehicles (including ambulances) with sirens, flashers and beacon lights; and issue convoy/security number plates. It is one year since the FRSC in an advertisement in the Daily Trust of October 4, 2011 announced the introduction of convoy number plates; yet, pilot cars in convoys are still plying the roads without registration numbers. It’s unfortunate that Nigerians (after 14 years of the existence of FRSC) still suffer from the consequences of the abuse of siren. The FRSC is, maybe, refusing to enforce the law on siren because it cherishes the “comfort” of the few who misuse siren more than it values the lives of other Nigerians.
The minister, whose convoy knocked down Mr. Momoh reportedly failed to demonstrate any human feeling to the family of the deceased; implicitly making her a woman with a Pharaoh’s heart. But this minister may not be the only one guilty of this. There evidently exists in contemporary Nigeria a class of people who by heir crude nature are better described as Ramses II though in disguise. This includes leaders who spread poverty and disease by their failure to conduct public affairs and manage public resources in a manner that will avail citizens with basic necessities of life as well as guarantee the realization of human rights. Those whose dis-service to the nation makes healthcare inaccessible; making citizens vulnerable to death from common but preventable and curable illnesses such as malaria, diarrhea, cholera, etc; are also Ramses II in disguise.
Those who should have ensured the dualization of the Abuja-Lokoja road but are instead working for its non-completion, resulting daily in loss of lives; are indeed among the pharaohs of our time. Authorities that should have increased access to safe-drinking water but whose failures in their duties have led to the death of Nigerians through water-borne diseases are secret admirers of Ramses II. Leaders who breed ignorance through their failure to make education functional are destroying present and future generations of Nigerians, which makes them the most ruthless among the pharaohs of our time. May Allah (SWT) touch the hearts of our leaders to heed His guidance, amin.
The US anti-Islam film:
The sacrilegious film produced in the US to disparage the person of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is condemnable. As if the blasphemous film was not vilifying enough, other insulting cartoons followed almost immediately in France, probably to further inflame the tensions that had built up in the Muslim world. It has indeed been a season of blasphemies since Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses was made public. Muslims still recall the Danish cartoons of February 2006 and the case of a US “priest”, Terry Jones, who was prevailed upon not to burn the holy Qur’an in 2011. The motive for all this is to provoke the anger of Muslims and cause chaos; to turn round and label them as intolerant, violent and terrorists. This is certainly not the best way to engage Muslims especially in times when interfaith dialogue is taking the center stage of intellectual discourses around the world. The truth is that Christians, Jews and Hindus would react in a similar way if their religions are ridiculed. US policies in the Muslim world in the past four years have been in utter contradiction of Obama’s Cairo speech. We beg of the west, particularly the US, to allow peace to reign in the world. The west needs to define the limits of “freedom of speech” as much as it would be in the interest of universal peace for the US to review its contradictory policies in the Middle East. They also need to discard their Islamophobic reactions. In any case, violence should be avoided by Muslims in reacting to provocative actions because the last of such blasphemies may not have been heard.