Humour amid hardship

…also published in Daily Trust

Amid the ongoing free-for-all debate over the viability or otherwise of the Buhari administration’s economic recovery policies, and the worsening economic hardship in the country, Nigerians continue to prove their characteristic resilience not only by coping with the situation but also by comforting themselves with self-comforting humorous remarks on various aspects of the situation.

As the hardship worsens, they get more creative in depicting the situation in various funny ways that at least give them momentary fun amid overwhelming frustration. After all, fun inspires and sustains hope, which is the driving force behind any individual or collective undertaking to tackle any situation no matter hard or gloomy to bring about a positive change. 

Nigeria’s toothless diplomacy

…also published in Daily Trust

It’s a pity that the name “Nigeria” trends mostly in negative contexts thanks to its particularly bizarre instances of leadership failure, and the wrongdoings of some of its citizens engaged in various acts of crime in different countries around the world.

This explains the country’s particularly damaging notoriety among nations and indeed explains why foreign governments and international diplomatic bodies hardly take it seriously. It equally explains why the few international corporations that take the risk of doing business in the country practically operate on their own terms capitalizing on the country’s lack of or limited alternatives; as they also largely operate as accomplices to corrupt government officials in the systematic thievery of the country’s resources.

Why they hate Umayyad the most

...also published in Daily Trust

Sometime in 2017 Dr Mohammad Sani Umar Rijiyar Lemo, an erudite expert in the Science of Hadith, suggested I translate an Arabic note written by an equally reputable Libyan scholar, Dr Ali Muhammad As-Sallaby, to the English language. The suggestion was conveyed to me by Barrister Salisu Muhammad Gumel.

Dr Muhammad Sani had rightly found the note absolutely worthy of wider dissemination in the face of the growing number of attention-craving charlatans masquerading as Islamic scholars and intellectuals obsessed with unearthing and dissemination of the age-old but thoroughly debunked unfounded historical narrations, distorted historical accounts and accounts quoted out of context designed to smear the Umayyad dynasty.