As Muslims celebrate the Eid-el-Fitri, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan or the end of 30 or 29 days of mandatory fasting, Nigerians can only hope that the feast of the ram as it is popularly known, will provide yet another opportunity for the faithful to embrace the fear of God as the beginning of wisdom. As clerics have emphasized, the fear of God is the very essence of the feast, not the voluptuous eating and drinking spree that many have erroneously associated it with. Indeed, the lesson is not to over-indulge in merriment, but to use the occasion to foster peace, love one another, care for the less privileged, help the needy and generally strive to uplift society. At no better time than now does the message of Eid-el-Fitri; resonate with Nigeria, a nation in dire need of redemption. All those leaders – Christians and Muslims, who have contributed to the political, economic and social adversity of Nigeria, should, in the spirit of the Ramadan, reflect and change their ways. Nigerians must begin anew the work of rescuing the country from the Boko Haram insurgency and the stranglehold of failure.
To appreciate this fundamental need for sobriety, Muslims and non-Muslims are reminded of the origin of Ramadan, thousands of years ago when Prophet Abraham (May the peace of Allah be upon him) took out his only son at the time, Ishmael, for sacrifice to God. The action was sequel to the revelation, in dreams, to Abraham in which God asked him to sacrifice his son. At the appointed time, and just before Ishmael was slaughtered, God miraculously provided a ram in replacement. In appreciation of this merciful act of God, many people have correctly interpreted Ramadan as the festival of life. Obviously, it would have been difficult to replicate the scene had Abraham sacrificed his son at the time.
It is worth emphasizing, therefore, that Eid-el-Fitri is a time for sober reflection; a time for all Muslims to appreciate the divine mercy of God in preserving their lives, and for them to reciprocate by seeking to walk only in the way of God. The significance of obedience to the will of Allah is underlined first by the fact that, pained as he was in deciding to sacrifice his only son, Ibrahim never hesitated in carrying out God’s commandment. That was an exemplification of the fear of God. And Ishmael who knew from his father that he was to be sacrificed, never complained, again because he had the fear of God.
These are the lessons of the celebration, which Muslims and all people should imbibe. They are lessons about having unwavering faith in God; being ready to make personal, even painful sacrifice for one another; and keeping away from sins or acts that are detrimental to fellow citizens or to the society. On the other hand, this year’s celebration comes when the nation is at a crossroads politically, economically and socially; hardly an atmosphere for religious felicitation, especially for a religion synonymous with peace; yet being used as platform to launch one of the most grotesque campaigns of human savagery and barbarism. During the period of fasting for instance, hundreds of innocent Nigerians were killed by Boko Haram terrorists, who professed to be acting in defence of Islam.
This year’s Ramadan is, therefore, significant, first for the different template it brings to the country and for the opportunities it offers those who perpetrate evil in the name of Islam, and for leaders who jettison the commandments of Allah in preference for self-aggrandizement and primitive accumulation. On the whole, the example of Abraham seems lost in Nigeria, where greed and corruption run riot. These are difficult times for Nigeria as the nation’s politicians burn the midnight oil, plotting not how to serve but how to consolidate the “lootocracy”. Events in the political arena already portend crises as the 2015 presidential election draws near, while the security challenges posed by Boko Haram, point to a nation in critical need of rescue.
Beyond these, what should not be lost on Nigerians is the essence of the conscious sacrifice. Too often, the pervasiveness of religion is directly proportional to the level of criminality. Ramadan is an opportunity for all Muslims to retrace their steps and seek the peace, blessing and mercy of God. Forgiveness of sins, which the Ramadan entails, ought to be complemented with a desire to contribute positively to the society, and to eschew acts that hunker Nigeria down. Muslims and indeed all Nigerians need to offer special prayers to atone for the mindless killings of thousands of Nigerians in cold blood; and for the thousands of innocent Nigerians – Muslims and Christians alike – caught in the insurgency, through no fault of their own; including the 234 schoolgirls abducted from Chibok, Borno State. This is the time to show remorse and seek Allah’s forgiveness. Leaders at all levels should resolve to stop their conspicuous consumption, gross mismanagement of public resources, corruption, nepotism and flagrant acts of injustice, which impoverish and undermine the dignity of the people who put them in power.
As Nigerians celebrate, they must not lose sight of the notion of selfless and sacrificial love that is central to the life of Abraham. Authentic religion and genuine worship necessarily involve sacrifice and self-denial. What appears to be popular in Nigeria today, however, is religion of convenience that glamorizes wealth, pleasure and power with scant regard for sacrificial love, self-denial and self-abnegation. Buffeted though by a myriad of woes – a stagnant economy propped up with statistics, a corrupted judiciary, decaying national infrastructure, a manipulative ruling class steeped in corruption, terrorism, declining educational and health care delivery, a self-serving political class – redemption is still possible. As adherents of the two major religions of Christianity and Islam, when Nigerians abandon hypocrisy and, live out the high ideals of their religions, redemption is certain. Believers in Nigeria must therefore capitalize on the best ideals of their religion to transform the country from a land of endemic corruption, greed and graft, led by opportunists, to a corrupt-free one under visionary leaders.
Ramadan is an opportunity to reflect on the state of the nation. A nation may be awash with corruption and official malfeasance. It may even be tottering on the brink of collapse. But Nigerians need not give in to a death wish. They can dream dreams. Nigeria can rise to new heights and regain her dignity. Nigerians can make Nigeria work for everyone. It only takes sacrifice, discipline, determination, focus, commitment, integrity, and visionary, selfless leadership.
There is need for sober reflection on the moral imperatives of the political and economic choices before the nation. The values for which Abraham was to sacrifice his only son – love, truth, humility, service, self-sacrifice, remain elusive as Nigerians struggle for the soul of the nation. Incumbent and aspiring Nigerian leaders must abandon the path of selfishness, greed and inordinate ambition for power if the country would prosper. Muslims and non-Muslims alike must embrace the higher value of sacrificial leadership that make for lasting peace and prosperity.
