It
was with astonishment that news that some State Governors in Nigeria, (Bala
Mohammed of Bauchi, Nasir Idris of Kebbi, and Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano) had in
a most macabre move, opted to shut down schools in their states for the
duration of the Muslim period of fasting – the month of Ramadan.
One wonders, how did these politicians arrive at this brain wave? Was anything found amiss with the status quo? What was wrong with the previous practice when schools, in some
areas, where allowed to close an hour or two earlier than normal? This clearly dense act, which had never been tried in Nigeria, was clearly to elicit opposition from the generality of the public and position the governors in question as being ‘defenders of the Islamic faith’, and precipitate another ‘religious crisis’ in Nigeria.
Politicians, bereft of any real governance skills, and with no plans to alleviate their peoples’ sufferings or address their concerns, often resort to stoke primordial embers (ethnic, religious or otherwise) to sustain themselves in office and weave a cocoon of relevance. The politicization and weaponization of Islam to hoodwink the ignorant in their States, has become a regular pastime of some rulers from the Northern fringes of Nigeria, where the contraptions dubious and unreliable population figures presume a majority of people are of the Islamic faith.
When it is realized that in core Islamic States such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, etc. the
governments don't close schools for Ramadan, but merely shorten the length of the school day, it becomes necessary to inquire into the motive of the political rulers who use Islam as a cover to exploit the population over whom they are supposed to govern. Why are these Nigerian pretenders being more
Islamic than the owners of the faith, the Custodian of the Two Holy Temples?
What efforts are these religious pretenders in Nigeria making to ensure that the Islamic
(Shari'a) penalties for corruption (a pastime of theirs) is implemented? No this wouldn't concern them as they would all have lost limbs in the process. These rulers would rather distort, destroy and rubbish the future of the children of the peoples of their states, ensuring the population is consigned to endemic
ignorance, whilst their own children are shipped abroad to the choicest schools in Europe, the Americans and Arabia.
The inability of the Nigerian contraption to frontally address the bastardization of religion for
political goals is the bane of the country and has ensured that Nigeria is consigned to the backwoods of civilization.
Efforts by some unscrupulous politicians to distort the enshrined secular status of Federal
Republic of Nigeria will yet lead the territory to unsavory ends. The need for a holistic renegotiation and restructuring of Nigeria gets clearer to all.
Shame on religious charlatans
Picture: Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, one of those who have decreed the closure of
schools during Ramadan
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