|
Aisha: Any Hope for the Living Dead?
AISHA. This is one name that means different things to different people. To some it is simply the name of one of the wives of prophet Muhammad (SAWS). To others it is one of the few names that you can be sure to find in any household in Northern Nigeria; the other names that share this enviable position with Aisha include Rabi, Fatimah and Amina.
To Stevie Wonder, that maestro, Aisha is his daughter’s name. In the song titled “Isn’t She Lovely” he sang “ life is, Aisha the meaning of her name. I never thought true love could bring someone as lovely as she….” That song, an evergreen ruled the Nigerian airwaves for several months in the 80s.
To me Aisha is a said recollection. The name reminds me of the sum total of the wickedness of man. It symbolizes the reality of the destruction of the lives of the living in a non-violent but systematic manner.
The name brings me very close to tears and takes me back every time to the year 2003.
However before I proceed, I also wish to recall the dramatization of a play written by Ola Rotimi at the Unilag auditorium some years back. It was titled “ Hopes of the living-dead”. It was a satire which drew attention to the plight of leprosy victims amongst us; ostracized, forgotten, uncared for and abandoned to death. They are the living-dead!
In a way this society has afflicted several millions of people with a different kind of leprosy which has rendered the victims helpless, abandoned, hopeless and walking corpses.
This affliction is more deadly than the dreaded AIDS disease!
Back to Aisha.
I was working as regional co-ordinator for a bank sometime in 2003 when I met her.
I was driving to work as usual in the morning from my Rabah Road, Malali residence when I noticed, at the Angwar Seriki junction a frail looking woman waving frantically at my car. I screeched to a halt a few metres from her and asked her what she wanted.
She could barely talk but I heard her mutter “Kasuwa”. I guessed she was going to the market so I offered to give her a lift.
I took a closer look at her and I was alarmed by her frail body and unkempt appearance. She looked like someone who needed help badly so I tried to chat her up. Unfortunately she kept on saying “ba turenchi” - “ I don’t understand English”.
I later learnt through an interpreter that she had a sister in Kaduna who could speak English. So I directed that she should come to my office with her sister.
Two days after they came to my office and she told me her pathetic story.
Aisha was given in marriage by her illiterate father at the age of twelve (12) to a village head who was about eighty (80) years old. Somehow she bore him two kids before the man died. The man left meager inheritance for his family of several wives and a many children.
In the course of our discussion I discovered that Aisha never learnt any trade. She could not boast of any petty trading or traditional cottage business skills. She was not groomed for anything in life other than to “quench the royal fires” of the slave master that she was married to.
Imagine a young woman in her early 20s with no skills, no formal education and by extension no means of livelihood.
She was subjected to and sentenced to life imprisonment of despair, dependency, begging and above all a meaningless existence.
In other climes she would have been an undergraduate, a skilled trader, a teacher, a nurse ; a happy human being with hopes, aspiration and self esteem.
Indeed if this is the lot of Aisha, one needs not wonder what the fate of her children will be. Except through divine intervention, the children will suffer a more cruel fate turning out as street urchins, pick pockets, etc thereby establishing the foundation for a lifecycle of poverty, disease, destruction of human souls.
I did what I could to make her relocate from her temporary abode (the courtyard of a Sarkin at Angwar Seriki) to her base somewhere in Bauchi.
One of the important joints in Kaduna is the pounded yam spot on Kigo road. On arrival a horde of young Nigerians (our fellow country boys) clutching begging bowls welcomes you.
They allow you to peacefully enjoy your delicious meal of pounded yam, egusi, fresh fish and cow leg. After washing it down with Kunu and as you prepare to enter your car, they swoop on you like ants contesting for alms.
For me it was difficult to avoid “dropping” something for them on a daily basis because my conscience was always telling me “if you have just had lunch don’t you think these kids should eat too”
Then one day, I noticed this brilliant young boy amongst them. I called him aside and interrogated him. His name is Ibrahim. He told me that he was in primary four. The following day he brought his last report card and I gave him an appointment to come to my office with a relation of his.
A few days later he came to my office with his aunt. I informed her of my intention to have the boy live with me and continue his education in one of the best schools in Kaduna. She replied that she needed to consult with other members of the family.
Several weeks passed and nothing happened. During this period I also resigned my appointment in order to take up a new offer in Lagos. In spite of this development, my driver contacted the family and at our last meeting I told them of the new developments in my career and that I would like to take the boy with me to Lagos.
They refused bluntly. The boy was saddened.
Unfortunately, that was the end of the matter. Once again I couldn’t do anything to help this boy who was full of promise, hopes and was indeed enthusiastic about getting good education in order to become a useful person in life.
In retrospect, I wish I had taken the boy with me to Lagos because that was what he wanted and that would have been better for him!
Child Rights Act
Aisha and Ibrahim are just two representatives of several millions of Nigerian children, our children whose present and future aspirations have been stolen and buried by the wickedness of a few of our privileged men and women.
It is against this background that I want to salute and commend the efforts of those honorable men and women who sponsored and approved the Child Rights Act. It is a step in the right direction.
It is therefore disheartening to read in the THISDAY newspaper of 8th November, 2006 under the caption “Why North Can’t Pass Child Rights’ Bill” that “Speaking in Abuja yesterday, the Borno State House of Assembly speaker Hon. Goni Modu said some sections of the Act are not in tandem with the Northern culture”. The Speaker went further “The main reason we in the north have not passed the Act up till now is religious factor. The other reasons are culture and poverty…… He posited that in the northern culture, the children are expected to economically contribute to their parents when they reach a certain age”
This is inconceivable, callous, immoral and against the tenets of Islam. It is nothing but a calculated attempt to continue to oppress, disfranchise and “kill” our children who by accident of birth are from the northern part of this country. I wish somebody asked Mr. Speaker the age at which children are expected to be turned to beasts of burden and whether his own children who are of that age are not in school or freely enjoying the spoils of office brought home by him.
Closely related to this problem is the refusal of some state governments to provide counterpart funding for the Universal Basic Education programme.
I do not know much about the culture in the North but I know that it is predominantly inhabited by Muslims. There is nothing in the Quran or hadith to support the claims of Mr. Speaker and any cultural practice that is not in tandem with the principles of Islam should be rejected by any true muslim.
Indeed the truth is that this is one of the tools being used to oppress the poor and the voiceless in northern Nigeria. It is therefore no surprise that some elements in the North fought ferociously against the proposed introduction of free education in the North by late Obafemi Awolowo. They also branded western education as evil while they sent their children to school in Lagos and some other capitals of the world.
The following are the excerpts from the book The Rights of Children in Islam by By Sheikh Al-Uthaymeen (http://members.tripod.com/oum_abdulaziz/rights.html)
• Children, according to Islam, are entitled to various rights. The first and foremost of these rights is the right to be properly brought up, raised and educated. This means that children should be given suitable, sufficient, sound and adequate religious, ethical and moral guidance to last them for their entire lives. They should be engraved with true values, the meaning of right and wrong, true and false, correct and incorrect, appropriate and inappropriate and so forth and so on. Allah, the Almighty stated in the Glorious Qur’an:
• "O ye who believe! Save yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is Men and Stones." (66:6)
• Allah’s Apostle, PBUH also said: "Every one of you (people) is a shepherd. And every one is responsible for whatever falls under his responsibility. A man is like a shepherd of his own family, and he is responsible for them." This Hadith is reported by both Bukhari and Muslim.
• Children, therefore are a trust given to the parents. Parents will be responsible for this trust on the Day of Judgement. Parents are essentially responsible for the moral, ethical and the basic and essential religious teachings of their children.
• If parents fulfill this responsibility, they will be free of the consequences on the Day of Judgement. The children will become better citizens and a pleasure to the eyes of their parents, first in this life, and in the hereafter.
• Allah, the Almighty stated in the Glorious Quran:
• "And those who believe and whose families follow them in Faith, to them shall We join their families: Nor shall We deprive them (of the fruit) of aught of their works: (Yet) is each individual in pledge for his deeds." (52:21)
• Moreover, Allah's Apostle, PBUH said: "Upon death, man's deeds will (definitely) stop except for three deeds, namely: a continuous charitable fund, endowment or goodwill; knowledge left for people to benefit from; and pious righteous and God-fearing child who continuously prays Allah, the Almighty, for the soul of his parents." This Hadith is reported by Muslim.
• In fact, such a statement reflects the value of the proper upbringing of children. It has an everlasting effect, even after death.
• Unfortunately, many parents from every walk of life, in every society, regardless of creed, origin, social and economical status, etc., have neglected this very important imposed right of their own children on them. Such individuals have indeed lost their children as a result of their own negligence. Such parents are so careless about the time their children spend with no benefit, the friends they associate with, the places they go to, etc. Such parents do not care, are totally indifferent about where their children go, when they come back and so forth and so on, causing the children to grow up without any responsible adult and without caring supervision. Such parents neglect even to instruct, direct or guide their children to the proper way of life, behaviour or even right attitudes towards others. Yet, you may find these parents are so careful about guarding their wealth. They are extremely concerned about their businesses, work and otherwise. They exert every possible effort to lead a very successful life in terms of materialistic gains, although all this wealth is not actually theirs. No one will take wealth to the grave.
• Children are not only to be well-fed, well-groomed, properly dressed for the weather and for appearance, well-taken care of in terms of housing and utilities. It is more important to offer the child comparable care in terms of educational, religious training, and spiritual guidance. The heart of a child must be filled with faith. A child’s mind must be entertained with proper guidance, knowledge and wisdom. Clothes, food, housing, schooling are not, by any means, an indication of proper care of the child. Proper education and guidance is far more important to a child than this food, grooming and appearance.
Furthermore, the holy prophet of Allah was quoted as saying that “the difference between an unbeliever and a believer is the obligatory five daily prayers” .
True as this is, the Quran instructs us in several places that Allah does not have use for or reward the prayers of certain set of people (in which case they are not different fro unbelievers – kafirs)
• Chapter 2 v 177 : It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces Towards east or West; but it is righteousness- to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfil the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the Allah. fearing.
• Chapter 107:1-7:. 1 Seest thou one who denies the Judgment (to come)? 2. Then such is the (man) who repulses the orphan (with harshness), 3. And encourages not the feeding of the indigent. 4. So woe to the worshippers 5. Who are neglectful of their prayers, 6. Those who (want but) to be seen (of men), 7. But refuse (to supply) (even) neighbourly needs
It is therefore inconceivable that a muslim will make these fraudulent claims in the 21st century. Perhaps he is not aware that Islam is a universal religion with several thousands of scholars and millions of free information available to whoever cares to do as little as visit any Islamic site on the internet.
Conclusion
To everyone who still think that they can continue to hide under Islam and culture to commit heinous crimes against the children of this country, that is those who are Muslims among them, I want to remind them of the following passages from the Quran:
104: 1. Woe to every (kind of) scandal-monger and-backbiter, 2. Who pileth up wealth and layeth it by, 3. Thinking that his wealth would make him last for ever 4. By no means! He will be sure to be thrown into That which Breaks to Pieces, 5. And what will explain to thee That which Breaks to Pieces? 6. (It is) the Fire of (the Wrath of) Allah kindled (to a blaze), 7. The which doth mount (Right) to the Hearts: 8. It shall be made into a vault over them, 9. In columns outstretched.
86: 13. Behold this is the Word that distinguishes (Good from Evil): 14. It is not a thing for amusement, 15. As for them, they are but plotting a scheme, 16. And I am planning a scheme, 17. Therefore grant a delay to the Unbelievers: Give respite to them gently (for awhile).
At our level we should endeavour to save these children through the following ways:
Get more NGOs to cater for and champion the needs of these children
These issues to become campaign materials against all office holders seeking re-election
To borrow a leaf from late Chief Mbakwe who called for the re-colonization of Nigeria, I will like to appeal to foreign agencies and donors to invest directly in education in Nigeria and be active in the running of such schools especially in the educationally disadvantaged states. Let us earmark 40% of the votes for AIDS to this scheme as a way of helping humanity.
Let the rich amongst us adopt some of these children irrespective of their state of origin, language or religion.
Let our religious organizations take this as a challenge and a sacred duty by wiping the tears from the faces of these helpless children and their parents, who by accident of birth are being oppressed by their captors.
May Allah provide help in abundance to these children and change the hearts of the oppressors towards love and care. Amen.
Thanks for having read this article.
Taslim Anibaba (FCA). 13th , November 2006
|
Authors 
Posted by Robot| 13.11.2006 17:41