Groaning from afar

Also published in Daily Trust

In light of the elaborate myths woven around living abroad, there is a common, albeit erroneous, assumption among many home-based-Nigerians that their foreign-based countrymen living in some rich and efficiently managed countries are simply spared the “frustration” associated with being Nigerians.

This longstanding assumption further takes root as the country’s socio-economic crisis gets worse that explains why an increasing number of people subscribe to it as Nigerians go through, perhaps, the worst ever economic hardship in the country, which is rightly or wrongly nicknamed Buhariyya.

 President Buhari

Also, it’s quite easy to perceive this assumption particularly in conversations involving home-based-Nigerians and their foreign-based countrymen, where it’s often quite difficult for the latter to convince the former over the erroneousness of this assumption. After all, with the alarming rate at which poverty ravages lives and unleashes despair throughout the country, on the one hand, and the obvious disparity in the quality of life between Nigeria and elsewhere, on the other, one can understand why the largely poverty-stricken Nigerians cling to this assumption.

Absolving the Ahlul-bait (ll)

Also published in Daily Trust

In addition to the vast network of intermarriage between Ahlul-bait and Sahaba, and between their respective descendants also, which I highlighted last Friday in the context of debunking the already fictitious enmity between them, I now similarly highlight some instances of the Ahlul-bait’s obvious preference for naming their sons and daughters after the Sahaba, which further debunk that myth.

For instance, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Hassan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, Ali zainul-Abideen bin Hussain ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, Ali ibn Musa Al-Kazim ibn Ja’afar As-sadiq, Abdullah ibn Ja’afar ibn Abi Talib, among others, each named one of his sons after Abubakr As-siddeeq. Likewise, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Hassan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, Ali zainul-Abideen bin Hussain ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib and Musa-Kazim ibn Ja’afar As-sadiq etc each had a son named after Umar ibn Al-Khattab. Also, Ali ibn Abi Talib and his brother, Aqil ibn Abi Talib each equally had a son named after Uthman ibn Affan.

Absolving the Ahlul-bait (l)

Also published in Daily Trust 

Here we go again, another Shiite religious ritual, the so-called Arba’een, is just around the corner, and their religious processions are already underway to Karbala, Iraq where the main worship rites are conducted, and which (i.e. Karbala) is the holiest city on earth, according to their belief.  (See Mustadrakul-Wasa’el, v10, p322, or Biharul-Anwar, v101, p109 etc.).

As usual also, it’s an occasion when they intensify their show of hatred against the Sahaba i.e. the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and indeed hurl all sorts of insults at them. By the way, this piece is closely related to a previous piece of mine titled ‘In Defence of the Sahaba’ (Daily Trust, 14, Oct. 2016) where, in the light of some of the many relevant Qur’anic verses, I highlighted the righteousness of the Sahaba and indeed their superior virtues, which were only surpassed by the righteousness and virtues of the prophets of Allah, peace be upon them.

Now, the fact that Shiites’ hatred against the Sahaba is based on the unfounded claim of the existence of hatred or enmity between the Ahlul-bait and the Sahaba, and having absolved the Sahaba in the abovementioned piece, I intend to highlight some instances that equally absolve the Ahlul-bait, disprove any claim to that effect and indeed prove how the Ahlul-bait and the Sahaba were bound together by genuine love and mutual respect.

Dynamics of America’s decline

Also published in Daily Trust

The just concluded and hotly contested presidential election in the United States attracted unprecedented global attention, which wasn’t unusual as the country remains the world’s largest economic and military power and where almost every country today has strategic interests to pursue and/or defend.

Since the end of the Second World War, the United States and its then archenemy, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) had been engaged in a tense struggle for global dominance in what was known as Cold War, until the fall of the USSR in 1991, and ever since then the United States has been the sole global superpower, a privilege it has largely abused.

However, the current steady but persistent decline of its global influence gradually ushers in a new world order where its global dominance will be a thing of the past, and indeed where there would be no sole global superpower anymore. After all, throughout history there have been incidents of rise and fall of empires, which simply means that the US and indeed any other global dominant power in the future will not be an exception. Besides, analysts around the world have been commenting on the dynamics of the looming eclipse of the US current global dominance, and speculating on its aftermath and the possible ensuing world order scenarios.

Ambassadorship for the sake of it

Also published in Daily Trust

Now that another list of Nigerian ambassadorial nominees has been released, a look into the Nigerian diplomacy and the pattern of appointing Nigerian ambassadors and high commissioners reveals how such appointments are, in most cases, made just for the sake of it, instead of pursuing any specific foreign policy.

Obviously, Nigerian ambassadors and high commissioners are either carrier diplomats i.e. civil servants who have built their careers in diplomacy and risen through the ranks to become ambassadors, or non-career diplomats i.e. those appointed from different carrier backgrounds most of whom are either defeated candidates compensated with ambassadorial appointments, or political allies rewarded for their contributions to the election victory of the ruling party. The successive civilian administrations and military regimes in the country have maintained this tradition, which the current administration under President Buhari appears to equally maintain.