In the past, I’ve written on some certain topics for which many people unfortunately took personal, some even accused me of waging a direct attack on their personalities. While, while writing, or better still, while making up the mind to, I do not bear them in mind in the slightest, not because they are unworthy of, but because at such a moment, recollecting or calling to mind their memories is not only useless but needless, as it is not an additional knowledge or idea to the playing topic in dominion of the brain. In essence, there has never been a time when the intention was a personal attack, or such other presumably held notions at some corners, to drive home a point… never, or so I thought!
However, this time too, at the risk of repeating the same, for no fault of mine, a certain phenomenon of similar quantum which in the past I took to, and wasted no time to condemn, has yet again, presented itself to the public, for which, there is no the slightest excuse to lie low, not only for public good, but because it borders on the Islamic teachings, upon which the reasons for the actions are based, though it has for many years remained unchallenged and uncondemned.
In recent times, no one would claim not to have witnessed that scenario where, right in front of the house of a certain occupant of the 1% strata — the rich and influential men in town, a trailer full to capacity with the as usual — bags of sugar, rice… gallons of oil, etc, being unloaded by some “exploited” youths of the 99% class at not over N500-service; or depending on the season, sometimes full-bodied and well fed rams in tens and hundreds. The moment this meets the eye,
one knows that it’s the sharing spree of the state wealth sickly-acquired, between two occupants of the ruling class, at the expense of the 99%; and in my mind in particular, in the reverse, what comes to it, is the picture of that hobbledecoy — that tatteredly dressed, wearing rashes-spotted hopeless face (that says everything about his life)… young boy holding his plate, on the street, roaming about randomly without direction, scavenging for any left-over to be found around, like a hungry Lion, we call: Almajiri.
In such instance, no doubt, I will not turn down the offer of, if at all will be afforded, dwelling in the thinking of both the sender and the recipient for a little while, just to empathically decipher how they both feel about their actions at that moment. To be sincere, each time I come across such a balderdash, we call Ramadan token, I do not only weep, but pray to the Almighty Allah to come to our aid, to save us from those who impose themselves over us only to exploit us.
Consider my worries… just imagine such a trailer before a Tsangaya, unloading the same, or even half, to the Almajiris… and just again imagine: who will not say “may God bless whoever that is offering these goods to this hopeless young boys”? In fact, who will be worried, in this background, if he sees it done before the houses of all the rich men in town? Perhaps nobody! But…
It is just unfortunate that one doesn’t get the chance to ask them on what grounds such offers are made to the already rich, where there are the needy who deserve it the most. And even sickening the more is it that, the rich too do not ask them — i.e the givers, why they were given such an over-abundant gift while out there,there are many who do deserve it. The stark truth is, most of the rich men of the exploiting class, are in the same state of mind, so no wrong to be expected of any action from their fellow.
That is why, last two years, at the eve of Ramadan, myself and Mal. Kolo, in his car, while cruising around the Borno state secretariat, behind a trailer full of the as usual, some young men rode fast on their Motorbike, and attacked the trailer, climbed its top, threw down as many bags of rice and sugar as they could or wanted, and ran away with it, I, too, saw no wrong, much as it is.
In a country where hunger and poverty has come to characterise her people in the society, her few opportuned elites who accumulate the available resources, and still raking, do only care about the one of their own. They have accumulated a lot, to an intoxicating extent that they don’t know what to do with it. They truth is, they are confused beyond reversal as to what to do with it, for, how could any level- headed person give out such an over abundant gift to someone who he knows fully well that is twice or even more as wealthier as he is? How could the receiver, for any reason not challenge the offer or the grounds upon which his offer is based? Make no mistake
about it, they are absolutely confused, as they are ignorant about what Islam teaches. For anyone who calls that, or thinks of it as a gift, as is in Islam, is blatantly ignorant of why in the first place, he has to give out.
In the state governments, a case of itself, there are certain parameters, used during offering such token, to determine who to, and what to give, making up the protocol list, as they call it. The idea here, in their case, is sometimes thinly sensible. They determine the social status of an individual , and the possible number of those under him, hoping that, that way, it will find its way to the bottom-most commoner, as they believe that that person too will further share down to those under him. What is missed here is, there is no the consideration over what would be the fate of those who do not even have such individuals who find the balance in the government’s gauge.
For such people in this class, of which the majority of the population belong to, if the first reason above answers the question of how it goes to the bottom, from those favoured by the protocol list to those under them, one will find it very welcoming to get the answer as to how the government plans to settle the latter. Because much as the state wealth belongs “not” to them to be shared for or amongst them, in Ramadan or other religious festivities, if anyone gets it, in that name, the rest of the population too have every right to demand for their share. For instance, I have the right to demand for the share of my mother back home who has been a widow for 16years now. So does every other individual.
In the overall, that we know that won’t ever happen, it tells us to: One, because the state ruling mechanism doesn’t consider the level of our poverty, we have to forget about its being unfortunate, but to work hard to reach to where, at least, those close to and under us, will because of us, not languish in the hardship inflicted on them by the mercilessness of the 1% ruling class. A lesson to the lazy.
Two, you will believe me that the rich men in town are confused, so very confused. In doing what they have been doing, they have given us thousand and one reasons that they are absolutely confused and do not have idea of what to do with their money, whether because it is ill-gotten or whatever, we may not know. But how heartening, they will keep on, what, for want of better word, “wasting” their wealth counting on numbers, and God so Kind and Just, only counts on intention. God is Great. So worry not, the poor.
Abdulhamid Al-Gazali
