What I was thinking about SABELLA ABIDDE Viewpoint illustration I spent the better part of the weekend catching up on domestic and global news. Although nowhere near the publicity garnered by Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), is today on many people’s mind. On the domestic front, Abubakar Shekau’s Boko Haram continues to dominate our collective imagination. It is as if the President and the Nigerian Armed Forces have run out of ideas on how to deal with this scourge. In a related matter, Nigerians would love to know what happened to the missing plane and pilot belonging to the Nigerian Air Force. But of course, I was also thinking about other matters. First, I was excited when the New York Times (October 3, 2014) reported that “Sweden’s new center-left government has decided to recognise the state of Palestine” because, according to Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, “The conflict between Israel and Palestine can only be solved with a two-state solution.”It was further reported by the BBC that “Sweden will be the first major state of the European Union to recognise Palestine, although some East European countries did so during the Cold War, before they joined the union.” Those countries included Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. And as reported by the Guardian of London (October 3, 2014), “British MPs will be asked to vote on a motion – put forward by the Labour MP Grahame Morris – calling on the UK to recognise Palestine.” This vote will take place on October 13, 2014. Should the UK follow Sweden’s move, other EU countries are likely to follow. This will be seen as a huge gain for the Palestinians – and a huge loss for the Israelis; and of course a rebuke to Washington DC and Tel Aviv. A great victory it would be for all those who believe in self-determination and human dignity. It should be noted that the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, had asked the United Nations to “give Israel till 2016 to withdraw to 1967 borders.” It should further be noted that on November 29, 2012, the UN General Assembly voted to upgrade Palestine’s status to non-member observer state. For several decades now, the Palestinians, especially beginning under Yasser Arafat, have been seeking “to create an independent state on the territories of the West Bank, East al-Quds, and the Gaza Strip.” The second issue I was thinking about was the coming-to-life of the All Progressives Congress. Retired Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and a one-time Vice-President Atiku Abubakar – both heavyweights of the APC – recently announced their intention to seek their party’s nomination and, ultimately, contest the 2015 presidential election. This is a welcome development. I expect that a few others will join the race. There should be no coronation of any sort. It is in the interest of the party, the country and our democratic experiment that we have a robust debate, robust primary and a free and fair election. Third, one of the reasons why Nigeria is as bad as it is is because of the millions of people who are passive and submissive. They are scared to speak their mind and scared to speak the truth. They mainly grumble in silence. And because of their silence, politicians and public officials have become emboldened and continue to steal and mismanage and run the country aground. By their silence and cowardice, they become complicit in the dehumanisation of their fellow human beings and in the bastardisation of the country. Tell me: If slaves could rebel and raise their voices, why not you? Or are you less than a slave? In the life of a nation or of any society, silence can be a terrible thing. It is a terrible thing. Do not be indifferent to injustice or inequality. Do not be indifferent to bad and terrible leadership. You should speak against all those whose goal is to belittle humanity. Death or personal inconveniences should not be your immediate concern. Concern yourself with living a free and dignified life; concern yourself with making our country and our world a better place for all and for future generations. A life lived in seclusion and or in fear is a wasted life. Fourth, did Prophet T.B. Joshua’s building collapse as a result of “structural failure” or as a result of “controlled demolition”? Controlled demolition implies that the said building was deliberately brought down by known or unknown forces. Generally speaking, the former involves culpability, in which case Mr. Joshua can be prosecuted and the families of those who lost their lives can also sue him. And the later implies a criminal act by others, in which case he cannot be held liable for what happened. Whatever it is, Joshua should stop putting a spin on the matter and let the appropriate authority – in this case the Lagos State Government – conclude its investigation. For a man who made his name and his millions on prophetic visions, I wonder why his God or gods did not reveal the calamities that unfolded a couple of weeks ago. Maybe his phone line was busy when the call came. Or perhaps he was out and about town hawking miracle and sanctified water to Ebola ravaged nations. And even if Mr. Joshua didn’t foresee the calamity that claimed several lives, why didn’t other pastors and prophets that brag about their paranormal abilities? Oh, I take that back: T.B. Joshua has since turned around to tell us that “I saw the Synagogue tragedy coming.” As reported by The Punch (October 2, 2014), “For the three weeks before the incident, if you heard my message and sat down, you would know I was giving you a vision and prophetic word on how to handle the situation at hand.” Sadly, his followers believe stuff like this, hence, many are coming to his defence! Fanaticism of any kind is very dangerous – especially of the religious type. And finally: although there are no reliable data, casual observation indicates that more women, than men, attend Church; (b) women go looking for things the Church or their pastors can never give them; (c) more women, than men, fall victim to the tricks of pastors and other so-called men of God; (d) women are more forgiving of transgressions committed by their pastors; and (e) women give more – far more – in terms of tithes and offerings. Women are known to lie to their husbands and significant others in terms of how much they gave away. Why is this so?
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 04:02:13 +0000
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