tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87906347377406040162024-03-12T21:51:58.036-07:00Hannatu MusawaHard ViewAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-30381614359560871762016-04-01T22:20:00.001-07:002016-04-01T22:20:53.909-07:00TRAGEMINAL DOCUMENTARY<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/L4zvMUBlHcI" width="459"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-37794098752413583852016-04-01T22:18:00.001-07:002016-04-01T22:18:27.694-07:00Living with extreme pain: Trigeminal Neuralgia<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RfHIaf-fsCw" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-78938623038985895752016-03-12T04:21:00.001-08:002016-03-12T04:21:22.586-08:00Living with extreme pain Trigeminal Neuralgia<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7y0c9Nrs4eI" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-4992334461418463092016-03-12T00:37:00.001-08:002016-03-12T00:37:58.660-08:00Living with extreme pain: Trigeminal Neuralgia #SuicideDisease<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RfHIaf-fsCw" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-81240636630839527162013-07-08T08:00:00.001-07:002013-07-08T08:00:43.334-07:00Hard View (My Ramadan Journey)
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">MY RAMADAN
JOURNEY<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">It’s that time
of year again that I find to have so much meaning and beauty. To me Ramadan is
so much more than fasting from dusk till dawn or feasting during Iftar. Not
only is it a time when I endeavour to </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">increase my Taqwa/Iman, become more
charitable and strengthen my knowledge of the Holy Qur'an, it is also a time
that I become closer to Allah and have a closer relationship with the Qur'an.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 5pt 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Many of us who celebrate Ramadan take
journeys at this time of the year and this Ramadan I want to take a journey on
how I can get the most benefit from the opportunity Ramadan affords me and I
want to encourage anyone who wishes to come along on this journey in making
this Ramadan one of great triumph and blessings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">In my Ramadan journey this year,
I wish to, first and foremost, give top priority to knowing and understanding
the true contents and message of the Qur'an. And also, I wish to take a moment
to reflect on which aspects of my life; my routine, attitude, personality or
behaviour I need to improve on and what my plans are for changing for the
better and bringing myself closer to the Islamic standard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 5pt 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">An
important part of this journey for me is to be as charitable as I can possibly
be. When possible, every time I see people in anguish and poverty, every time
my eyes fill with tears at the sight of senseless killings, blown up bodies,
devastation and displacement of innocent people, I will </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">open my purse
and give charity. I will remember to forego some of my necessities in order for
provide for those who are in more need than me. I will also opt not to spend
money on frivolous things and luxuries so that those who are in more need than
me and my family can be helped through my charity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 5pt 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Insha Allah, in my journey, I will
sleep early after praying Ishaa and </span><span class="fn"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Taraweeh</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">
and go to bed with a clear and conscious intention of fasting the next day. Then,
I will get up well before </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Suhoor</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> time, thanking
Allah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala for giving me life and then I hope to make special
Du'aa for the mercy of Allah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala on our Ummah. From the start
and right to the end of Ramadan, I will try not to sleep after Fajr, but
instead study the Qur'an. In the last ten days of the Ramadan, I will go to bed
with the intention of getting up early for Tahajjud prayers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 5pt 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Throughout the day, for the
duration of the Ramadan, I will find time to revise and re-learn the Soorahs
and Aayaat I already know. Once that is completed, I will learn at least one
Aayah a day from a Soorah that I do not already know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Insha
Allah, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I
will be extra kind, understanding, accepting, considerate and supportive to my
non-Muslims friends and neighbours. I will listen to them, carry them along and
find ways to have them participate in the blessings of Ramadan by sharing my
food and gifts with them. I will counsel myself on my temperamental nature and
strive to become calmer. I will try very hard to be forgiving to all those who
have offended me, my family or my community. I will clear my heart from anger,
suspicion and grudges.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 5pt 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">For the full duration of the
Ramadan, I will kick at least one of my bad habits and make a special effort to
speak only to add value and to say only what is meaningful and useful. When I
do not have anything useful to talk about, I will remember Allah Subhaanahu wa
Ta'aala through the beautiful and peaceful words taught by the Rasul (SAW),
while paying attention to their meanings and feeling the impact of the words on
my heart, my mind, my thoughts and my attitude.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 5pt 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Ramadan is a spiritual cleansing month
not only for the soul but also for the body. It is said in a Hadith that the
Prophet (SAW) said we should leave 1/3 of our stomach for water, 1/3 for air,
and 1/3 for food.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 5pt 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">
Therefore, this Ramadan, in addition to my spiritual journey, I will be going
on a health and weight loss one as well. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">While I embrace Ramadan for its spiritual
benefits and all the positives that it represents, it really is an excellent
opportunity to shed some extra weight. It can be very tempting to devour
anything and everything edible during Iftar, but the tendency of this is
putting on more weight than one had to begin with and becoming unhealthier. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 5pt 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">When we fast, we are already
resetting our metabolism by the protracted, long overnight fast, as well as the
daily fasting. Our metabolism resets and our body begins to change the way it
operates. <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">There
is no need to consume excess food at Iftar, dinner or </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Suhoor</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">,
but we usually do. And w</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">hen
we do that, our body thinks it is in a state of famine and will store
everything we eat as fat, because it is worried about food supply.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 5pt 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Furthermore, eating once a day
scares our body and our body starts to shut down and slow down our metabolism. <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">A diet that is
less than a normal amount of food intake but balanced is sufficient enough to
keep us healthy and active during the month of Ramadan.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 5pt 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I know
for me personally, each Ramadan in the past, I have always had a tendency to
over-eat during Iftar. But this year, I want to be disciplined, eat healthy,
eat slowly, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">avoid
binge eating at night,<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> listen to my
stomach when it is comfortably full and practice constraint. I know Ramadan is
not about losing weight, but I would like to use this opportunity, to address
my issue of gluttony and use control and constraint on what I eat.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 5pt 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">It is
nice to have support and encouragement whilst we fast during Ramadan and as
part of my Ramadan Plan, I will be sharing </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">my plan of improving myself, my
spirituality and my health and diet, which I hope to follow during<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> Ramadan, on my Facebook </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">https://www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><u>,</u></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> my Twitter </span><a href="https://twitter.com/hanneymusawa"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">https://twitter.com/hanneymusawa</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, and my website </span><a href="http://www.hannatumusawa.com/"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">www.hannatumusawa.com</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><u> (In the Blog section under
Hanneyz Honneyz)</u></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, should
anyone wish to follow along with me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 5pt 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">On
these threads and forums, I hope we can share advise, Dua’s, thoughts on how we
are coping, share things we want to improve on and share the things we are
grateful for in our lives.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 5pt 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Furthermore,
on these sites, for the duration of the Ramadan, I will post the balanced diet
plan and menu for the low fat, high energy healthy meals I hope to eat in order
to avoid the Ramadan extra weight gain. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 5pt 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">If
anybody wishes to follow this diet plan and come on this health and weight loss
journey with me, you are welcome to do so. I will try to make the menu detailed
and provide alternatives and recipes where necessary on the forums. However,
while Ramadan is an excellent opportunity for overweight people to lose weight,
please note that u<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">nderweight or
marginally normal weight people are discouraged from losing weight during
Ramadan.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 5pt 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">If, like me, you have decided to
make this a meaningful and triumphant Ramadan by moving closer to Allah and
identifying areas requiring improvement in your life, may Allah Subhaanahu wa
Ta'aala assist you and bless you for taking this step in your life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 5pt 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">If one can succeed this Ramadan
in living as planned by the true tenants of the Quran, one will be able to look
back and rejoice and feel inner joy and true happiness knowing that their Eid
day will be the day of celebrating rewards from Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'aala.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 5pt 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">As we
begin this journey for Ramadan, I wish each and every person welcoming this
Ramadan a Blessed, fruitful, safe and peaceful month. Ramadan Kareem and </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Ramadan Mubarak!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 5pt 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Written By Hannatu Musawa<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I invite you to:<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Follow me on Twitter- @hanneymusawa<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Visit my Website- www.hannatumusawa.com<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like my Facebook-
www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Text (SMS Only): 08116759753<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Subscribe to my Youtube Channel-
www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa</span></b><o:p></o:p><br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-12182619537178223112013-07-08T02:07:00.003-07:002013-07-08T02:07:43.254-07:00HARD VIEW (THE IDEAL OF RAMADAN)<span class="userContent"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: center;">
<strong><u>THE IDEAL OF RAMADAN</u></strong></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><br /> I daresay nothing in my opinion symbolises the speed at which time flies more than Ramadan. It seems to me like only yesterday we were celebrating the last Ramadan when the thirty days of fasting, reflection, feasting <span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show">and prayer went by so swiftly. But here we are again at the commencement of this most beautiful period in the life of all Muslims. As we wake up today to the start of this blessed time of abstention, permit me to reiterate to every Muslim and those of other faiths who are our neighbours, brothers, sisters and countrymen what the ideal of Ramadan is and its significance in the lives of we who submit to it.<br /><br /> In this day and age of transgression, sacrilegious entertainment, profane pop culture, venal individualism and the attractiveness of non-conformity, it is easy for the ideal and message of Ramadan to get shrouded by the lurid articulation of an alternative value. This also happens during Christmas, Easter or Lent when Christians all over the world are expected to continue embracing the message of love, peace, patience and honour that Christianity represents.<br /><br /> While the ideal of Ramadan is one and the same for every Muslim and almost identical to the ideals of the fasting rituals of Christianity and Judaism, the meaning and lessons one derives from it is, in the main, unique to each individual. Apart from the fact that it is the most important month in the Islamic calendar, it is also a most remarkable bequest from the Almighty. A gift that signifies the dawn of the day in the landscape of Islam when the morning breaks, sun rises, cocks crow and God’s creatures emerge bright and refreshed.<br /><br /> Ramadan, together with every other form of fasting in other religions empowers us as human beings because it teaches us that life is about both the body and especially the soul. What establishes man’s worth lies within the soul, not the body. The fact that we deny our body food in the spirit of faith only means that we are enriching and fortifying our souls. A person can enrich their souls not only by being tolerant and determined in the face of struggles but by being resolute in steering clear of sin despite the enticements. Being able to withstand hunger and thirst during fasting and being able to keep the hands, ears, eyes and minds away from sin provides a training ground for the important quality of patience and perseverance that Ramadan also stands for. One can understand the importance of restating the message of Ramadan if one keeps in mind that the avaricious and epicurean ideals of the times we are living in are in direct conflict with the ideals of fasting in any faith.<br /><br /> Almost everything in this life and in this world navigates us towards the satisfaction of our bodies. Day in, day out we seek ways of fulfilling the unappeasable desires we feel, be it through the consumption of food or adorning ourselves with trinkets of beauty in a quest for perfection. Such worldly aspirations, generates limitless desires which subsequently lead to limitless conflicts. In a bid to meet up with those unbounded desires, all manners of intrigue are put into play. Such infinite aspirations create vast dissatisfactions because it is impossible for any living soul to completely fill the gap between their desires and achievements. In effect, the lack of fulfilment gives way to a plethora of pandemonium, unhappiness and repression. The gift that Ramadan and other forms of fasting gives us is that it allows us to let go of all those worldly pleasures that are so addictive and, in effect, this helps us to distinguish and focus on worldly responsibilities as opposed to the pleasures.<br /><br /> Fasting allows us to take a break from the material things we enjoy in life to reflect on what truly is important in our existence. By depriving ourselves in the name of our spiritual beliefs, we are voluntarily bidding farewell to the vain quest of happiness in all forms of corporeal hedonisms and reflecting on the direction of our lives and the hereafter.<br /><br /> I have come to learn and appreciate the beauty of what this holy month means to me as an individual. From the beginning to the end of Ramadan, I see it as a complete overhaul of my life; I feel inspired, encouraged and have faith that any situation can be resolved with the strength of the prayers offered during this period. That is a far cry from my perception as a very young girl when I used to think of Ramadan as a period of pure starvation and a small alteration in meal times. Now, apart from Ramadan symbolising spiritual empowerment to me, it is a time of enhanced charity and kindness. We are told that whosoever feeds people of lesser means or gives another person food to break his fast shall be blessed and rewarded by God. With the level of suffering, poverty and hunger in Nigeria and all over the world, this ideal of fasting to embrace and perform charity cannot be overemphasized.<br /><br /> Muslims all over the country should use this Ramadan period as a route to rediscover their inner beings while dedicating themselves and time to the Creator. Apart from reading the Holy Scriptures, voluntary worship, engaging in prayer and conversing to God, Muslims must remember that every action we take as representatives of the Deen reflects on the perception of Islam. With accounts of people in the country killing each other in the name of religion, personalities supporting inept political candidates on the basis of religion and much older men marrying 13 year old minor girls young enough to be their grand-daughters in the, so called, fulfilment of religion, it is a blessing that a period of reflection is upon us. This period of Ramadan, without doubt, is the perfect time for such Muslims to reflect and ask themselves whether their actions were truly done in the interest of Islam and what effect it is to have on the Deen. If they truly care about Islam and put the best interest of Islam above their personal whims, then they need to earnestly ask themselves that question. <br /><br /> In a sermon to prepare people mentally for the sacred month of Ramadan, The Rasul (PBUH) once said; “Oh people! A great month is coming to you. A blessed month. A month in which there is one night that is better than a thousand months. A month in which Allah has made it compulsory upon you to fast by day, and voluntary to pray by night. Whoever draws nearer to Allah by performing any of the voluntary good deeds in this month shall receive the same reward as is there for performing an obligatory deed at any other time. And whoever discharges an obligatory deed in this month shall receive the reward of performing seventy obligations at any other time. It is the month of patience and the reward for patience is Heaven. It is the month of kindness and charity. It is a month in which sustenance is increased...”<br />One hopes that throughout the month of Ramadan and long after its conclusion, people will do whatever they can to imbibe the essence of such a sermon and the spirit of the season so that their actions and ideals can be informed by the ideal of Ramadan. An ideal, that preaches peace, sharing, love, patience, respect and understanding towards us and our Christian and other faith based brothers and sisters. May all the religions in Nigeria live together in mutual harmony, understanding and appreciation.<br /><br /> Whether one is embarking on ‘itikaf’ or seclusion in a Mosque to devote their full month of Ramadan to remembering the Creator, devoting the last ten days of the fasting to worship or taking it within their stride to meet the basic obligation of fasting, I take this opportunity to wish everybody that is participating in the Ramadan a very blessed, fulfilling, and rewarding worship; Ramadan Kareem.<br /><br /> Written By Hannatu Musawa<br /> I invite you to:<br /> Follow me on Twitter- @hanneymusawa<br /> Visit my Website- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hannatumusawa.com&h=BAQHDm86M&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.hannatumusawa.com</a><br /> Like my Facebook- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa</a><br /> Text (SMS Only): 08116759753<br /> Subscribe to my Youtube Channel- <a href="http://www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa</a></span></div>
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-82360253147243478002013-07-08T02:05:00.003-07:002013-07-08T02:05:54.445-07:00HARD VIEW (A WALK WELL WALKED)<span class="userContent"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: center;">
<strong><u>A WALK WELL WALKED</u></strong></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><br /> Nelson Mandela is ageing and his ‘spirit and sparkle’ is fading, his wife has said, as it is disclosed that South Africa’s former president is hospitalized on life support, suffering from a recurring lung infection. Mill<span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show">ions all over the world yet again hold their breath at the news that the Madiba, one of the greatest moral and political international heroes of our time, is ill and fighting for his life.<br /><br /> Nelson Mandela feels more like a father than a famous figure to the likes of myself, who throughout our lives recognize him as the central persona in one of the most gripping and moving political dramas in the world. His story has been one of strife, great effort, obstacle, new hope, and the ultimate achievement. And even in the midst of his darkest days, he demonstrated with vigor the task of a great leader, by leading his country from the shallow hole it was in, to the elevated heights of freedom. He did this with the spirit of a saint and a perception of strength, bravery, generosity, courage and forgiveness. Nelson Mandela is a true freedom fighter whose love for his people has no end and whose life and personal success will be remembered long after the world has forgotten the evils of the oppression that once engulfed his people. He is a star who has brightened the lives of many and set the ultimate example for all leaders in Africa, because he is one who will not compromise his people’s cause for self-interest. The radiance of his personality has touched the lives of many over the years and we hope to continue drinking from his river of humanity as we pray he pulls through.<br /><br /> In a role seldom witnessed in Africa, he selflessly dedicated his life to fight against one of the most powerful systems of oppression ever conceived, and today he stands as a decisive testimony to the victory of nobility and hope over desolation and odium, of forgiveness and love over revenge and hate. His life personifies what a true patriot should do and how they should behave under the most trying of circumstances. The spirits of all the revolutionaries and freedom fighters of this world, past and present, surely would smile blessings upon him because he always stood fair against all kinds of domination and was willing to give his life for it. In his own words, Nelson Mandela once said, “I have fought against white domination and against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a free society in which all live together in harmony, with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die”.<br /><br />Growing up in South Africa as a young black boy in the first half of the last century must have been a real ordeal as a result of apartheid. Blacks were segregated, abused, persecuted and treated little better than animals. The apartheid regime enacted laws that regarded them accordingly. But despite such adversity, Nelson Mandela was always a fighter from a young age. Instead of accepting this unreasonable system of government, he made the decision to resist and began his lifelong journey to free South Africa from the shackles of repression. Little did he know that his resolve back then would lead to the demise of apartheid, pave the road to the presidency and the ultimate honor of a Nobel Peace Award. Today, thanks to the personal effort and sacrifice of men such as Mandela, South Africa is a free state with equal opportunities for all its citizens and the pride of Africa.<br /><br /> Of all his sacrifices, the most heart-wrenching is without a doubt the sacrifice of his private life and youth for his people. I once read an interview with one of his daughters in which she described the solitude of growing up with a father that was incarcerated and branded terrorist by the government, and the loneliness of having to share him with the whole of South Africa upon his release. But even before his incarceration, Mandela was forced to live apart from his family. In an attempt to survive and evade the authorities, Mandela moved from place to place and adopted a number of camouflages. He became so good at avoiding the authorities that were stationed in every nook and cranny that at a point he was labeled the ‘black pimpernel’.<br /><br />His childhood and upbringing could not have been more apt for the life-role he was to play. He was born in the South African town of Qunu, Transkei in 1918. His father, Henry Mandela, was chief councillor to the acting paramount chief in his town. When his father died, Mandela became the chief's ward and was groomed for the chieftainship. From a young age he and his lifelong friend and fellow freedom fighter Oliver Tambo were driven to participate in the fight to free their people. As a student he was said to both be extremely studious and ambitious and eventually ended up starting a BA degree. However in 1940, during the course of his degree, he was expelled from University for actively participating in a student strike. He went on to complete his degree by doing a correspondence course after which he enrolled to become a lawyer. After joining the ANC, he helped found the youth league of the party in 1944. He put in many years of dedication to his cause and eventually became head of the defiance-campaign of the party. This empowered him to travel across the country to organize a resistance to discriminatory legislation campaign. During this period he was arrested and confined a couple of times but that didn’t stop him from forming individual underground cells of the ANC upon his release.<br /><br /> In addition, he and Oliver Tambo proceeded to open the first black legal firm in the country and even though the Law Society was petitioned to strike Mandela off the roll of barristers, his law firm and career survived. In 1960, after the Sharpeville massacre and after his release from yet another detention, Mandela as leader of the military wing of the ANC went underground to lead a campaign for a new national convention. By 1962 he went to Algeria for military training and to build a militia but upon his return he was arrested. On a charge of leaving the country illegally and incitement to strike Mandela conducted his own defence but lost and was convicted for five years in November 1962. It was during the service of that sentence he and seven others, Walter Sisulu, Dennis Goldberg, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Elias Mosoaledi, Andrew Mlangeni and Ahmed Kathrada, were charged with sabotage and sentenced to life imprisonment. <br /><br /> During this trial Mandela’s resolve never faulted and he continuously told the court; “I do not deny that I planned sabotage. I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness nor for the love of violence but as a result of a sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny, exploitation and oppression of my people by the whites.” But despite their defence the judge remained convinced that their behaviour was not borne out of a need for the attainment of equal rights for the African people but out of a warped desire for revolution and personal ambition. Luckily for the world he stopped short of imposing the supreme penalty of death and instead opted for life imprisonment. While in prison, Mandela never compromised his political principles and was always a source of strength for the other prisoners.<br /><br /> The apartheid government numerously offered Mandela the reduction of his sentence as long as he abided by certain conditions, but every time they offered, Mandela would refuse on the notion that “prisoners were not able to enter into contracts, only free men could negotiate”. <br /><br />Decades into his struggle for the liberation of black and colored people in South Africa, Mandela, together with Walter Sisulu, Dennis Goldberg, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Elias Mosoaledi, Andrew Mlangeni and Ahmed Kathrada, was charged with sabotage and sentenced to life imprisonment. While in prison, Mandela never compromised his political principles. The apartheid government numerously offered Mandela the reduction of his sentence as long as he abided by certain conditions, but every time they offered, Mandela would refuse on the notion that ‘…only free men could negotiate.’<br /><br />After decades of prison labor, Nelson Mandela and his colleagues were eventually released on February 11, 1990. On that bright day, at 4:14pm, almost an hour late, a jubilant Mandela, dressed in a light brown suit and tie and holding Winnie’s hand, appeared at the gates of his prison, smiled at the ecstatic crowds and punched the air in a victory salute before taking a silver BMW Sedan to freedom. With his tenacity unblemished, he went back to his life’s work, determined to end the struggle he and others had set out to do almost four decades earlier. In 1991, at the first national conference of the ANC held inside South Africa, Mandela was elected president of the party. On May 10, 1994, he won and became the first democratically elected president of South Africa. And, unlike most other African leaders, even though he was at the apex, he retired in June 1999 and relinquished power with no fuss after only one term in office.<br /><br /> Before being admitted to hospital, he was known to peacefully reside in his birth place with his third wife, Graca, where his most private moments were filled by his greatest pleasure: watching the sun set while listening to classical music and reading to his grandchildren. Accounts suggest he usually got up by 4:30am, exercised by 5am and took breakfast of plain porridge, fresh fruit and fresh milk by 6:30am while reading the days newspapers.<br /><br /> Despite severe provocation, Mandela never answered racism with racism but symbolized the triumph of the human spirit over man’s inhumanity to man. His life has been an inspiration to all who are oppressed and deprived and to all who are opposed to oppression and deprivation. He has never wavered in his devotion to democracy, equality and justice.<br /><br /> Words cannot describe how blessed this generation is to have lived during the times of a man like Mandela. I and millions of people around the world who love him dearly have learned so much from him and will continue to cherish him. If the world can have more people like him, it, indeed, would be a much better place to live in. He reminds me of a late woman named Hajia Wowo that I loved so much. But more than that, when I think of him, I do not see a person; I see an institution of goodness and a beacon of strength…I see my conscience!<br /><br /> In his autobiography, ‘Long Walk to Freedom,’ Mandela describes his struggle as a journey, and of that journey he says, “I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.”<br /><br />And indeed, as we pray for his fast recovery or peaceful passing, for the great Madiba it has been, for the last nine decades, a walk well walked!<br /><br /> Written By Hannatu Musawa<br /> I invite you to:<br /> Follow me on Twitter- @hanneymusawa<br /> Visit my Website- <a href="http://www.hannatumusawa.com/" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.hannatumusawa.com</a><br /> Like my Facebook- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa</a><br /> Text (SMS Only): 08116759753<br /> Subscribe to my Youtube Channel- <a href="http://www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa</a></span></div>
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-33379860125223952592013-07-08T02:04:00.003-07:002013-07-08T02:04:24.002-07:00HARD VIEW (MAN IN THE MIRROR)<span class="userContent"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: center;">
<strong><u>MAN IN THE MIRROR</u></strong></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><br /> Today, Tuesday, the 25th June 2013, the world witnesses the fourth year anniversary of the death of the greatest, most successful and influential entertainer of all time. This time four years ago when news broke that Mich<span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show">ael Jackson had passed away after suffering from a cardiac arrest, an unprecedented outpouring of grief barraged every corner of the globe. Four years on since that tragic day, his life, achievements and legacies has been the subject of much focus. Apart from his achievements as a great father and philanthropist, Michael left behind the sound of great music. With his intrinsically spectacular story and sensational genius, he taught people what real music was and spread the message of love patience and peace through his work. <br /><br /> In my annual tribute to the King of Pop, I would like to consider one of the most powerful and beautiful messages he left in that work. In the song, Man in the Mirror, Michael advises each of us to make an individual change if we want to make the world a better place. In the lyrics of the song, Michael sings:<br /><br />“I'M STARTING WITH THE MAN IN THE MIRROR,<br /> I'M ASKING HIM TO CHANGE HIS WAYS<br /> NO MESSAGE COULD HAVE BEEN ANY CLEARER<br /> IF YOU WANNA MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE<br /> TAKE A LOOK AT YOURSELF AND THEN MAKE A CHANGE.”<br /><br />This song is indeed about suffering and the cruelty of life, but it goes way deeper than that by saying that the only way we can change the world is by changing ourselves. Essentially, the message that each and every individual has the responsibility of changing themselves in the interest of the greater good is one that would benefit any society. In societies such as ours in Nigeria, the scepter of individual and petty interest has totally infiltrated and completely submerged our way of life and our mindset, invariably characterizing the crux of our tribulations. <br /><br /> As we toil from day to day, wobble through this uncertain democracy and union, Nigeria’s future continues to loom on the precipice as a result of the fact that the majority of our people do not give priority to the highest interest of the nation over their own. But what is even worse than our vice of self-serving interest is the transferred aggression we harbor and lurch at each other.<br /><br /> With so much finger pointing and vilification being hurled across to each other on just about everything in Nigeria, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: No one wants to accept responsibility for the state that we, as Nigerians, are in or the pains that we go through daily as a nation. Whether it’s about sectarian violence, ineptitude, marginalization, extremism, crime, bad leadership or Nigeria’s tattered international image as a scamming and 419 hub, no one wants to take responsibility or admit that each and every one of us has contributed to the state that we find ourselves. <br /> In essence, everyone is pointing the finger at everyone else. No one wants to declare: the buck stops here. No one seems ready to imbibe the message given in Man in the Mirror, which also happens to be the same as the advice of inspiration that was so eloquently quoted by Mahatma Gandhi when he said, “be the change we want to see in the world.”<br /><br />When I first came across this great quote by Mahatma Gandhi, I knew it held a great deep meaning but I don’t think I fully grasped the real meaning behind it. But over time, I have come to appreciate that, whether through outlook or behavior, it is important for us to change ourselves first before we can expect and see the change we want to see in the world. If we desire non-violence, peace, love and unity, then we ourselves have to reject violence, and embrace peace, love and unity. Putting enormous stakes on the notion of personal responsibility and by extension using that self-responsibility to change ourselves in the interest of our nation is, if I’m not mistaken, one of the things we desperately need in this country. <br /><br /> Whatever change we want to see in our motherland, instead of laying blame on everybody else’s doorstep, first we have to be that change ourselves before we can expect others to be. Each and every one of us has a role to play in that respect. And if each and every one of us imbibes this, we will have a totally reinvigorated society.<br /><br /> There is no reason why the advice given by Mahatma Ghandi or the message in a song like the Man in the Mirror should not be a starting point for all Nigerians to scrutinize their different options and the responsibilities we each have in building a change into a nation that is very much in need of change. If, as a society, we were more sympathetic to others around us and the future generations to come after us, a positive change will occur in the interest of the greater good.<br /><br /> Michael Jackson was my favorite singer. His inspirational songs and strong lyrics are still very powerful and he is still greatly missed. As I analyze some of the greatest songs that MJ has bequeathed to us, I see the instinctive kindness of being the person he was. He cared for people and yearned to be the catalyst to initiate change in the world. He was willing to look through the mirror and be an instrument for recreating positive changes.<br /><br /> One wishes the people in this country, especially our leaders and politicians would imbibe such perspective. If Nigerian politicians make themselves the motivators of change and stopped presenting scenarios that tend to be in their benefit as opposed to that of the nation as a whole, they would have given this country the greatest gift of all; The gift of positive change.<br /><br /> Without a doubt, realizing the true meaning of and embracing the message in the Man in the Mirror is highly liberating and a vital concept for Nigerians to adopt. It is a fair evaluation of simply getting young and old Nigerians to look at the possible things we can each offer in making Nigeria a better place. At this stage, it should not really matter whose turn it is to rule Nigeria or what the gentleman’s agreement the ruling party put in place a decade ago says. What does matter to the vast majority of us is the sincerity of ‘we’ the people and our desire to help make this country better. As long as all the rhetoric and political negotiations taking place at present comes with a proviso that suggests the advocates are purely working towards their personal gains in the 2015 elections and the cabinet that will be constituted thereafter, then Nigeria will forever remain in the doldrums that it is in now. If we want this country to be a better place than it is at present, then, in the great words of Michael, we have to; “TAKE A LOOK AT OURSELVES AND MAKE A CHANGE.”<br /><br />Written By Hannatu Musawa<br /> I invite you to:<br /> Follow me on Twitter- @hanneymusawa<br /> Visit my Website- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hannatumusawa.com&h=MAQGAZJ2K&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.hannatumusawa.com</a><br /> Like my Facebook- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa</a><br /> Text (SMS Only): 08116759753<br /> Subscribe to my Youtube Channel- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2FHannatuMusawa&h=hAQHpRY6e&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa</a></span></div>
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-12514295372368503292013-07-08T02:02:00.001-07:002013-07-08T02:02:52.746-07:00HARD VIEW (DEAR MICHAEL)<span class="userContent"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: center;">
<strong><u>DEAR MICHAEL</u></strong></div>
<strong><u></u></strong><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><br />“DEAR MICHAEL,”<br /><br /> “HERE I AM” at the fourth anniversary of your death. It is hard to believe that June 25th will mark four years since you left us. Whenever I “REMEMBER THE TIME” I heard the “NEWSFLASH” on the “NITE-LINE” that <span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show">your life was “ON THE LINE,” I prayed for your soul not to “FLY AWAY.” It was a “HEARTBREAKER” because by the “BREAK OF DAWN” when I learnt that you weren’t “GOING BACK TO INDIANA” but that you were no more with us “IN THE FLESH,” I felt as if I was “EATEN ALIVE.” I felt that “THERE MUST BE MORE TO LIFE THAN THIS” pain of losing you. Your death made me “SPEECHLESS” and made me “CRY;” I had to “STOP” and ask friends to “TELL ME I’M NOT DREAMING;” for Michael at the prime age of 50, you had “GONE TOO SOON.” <br /><br />There just “AIN’T NO SUNSHINE” without you, there’s just no one else that could “BOOGIE ON DOWN” and gives us “BUTTERFLIES” the way you do. As sure as “ABC,” for any Tom, Dick, Harry, “BEN” or “JOHNNY RAVEN” who grew up anytime between 1970 and 2000, you were part of our “CHILDHOOD,” even if it was just for “ONE DAY IN YOUR LIFE.” Whether we liked you or not, whether we saw the man “BEHIND THE MASK,” in life as in death, you remain an object of fascination, you remain “INVINCIBLE” not only for the “SUPERFLY SISTER,” “CIRCUS GIRL,” “ROCKING ROBIN,” “TABLOID JUNKIE” or even the “STREET WALKER.” From your “HAPPY” contributions to the “HOT STREET” of entertainment, to your “UNCONVENTIONAL” private life, most of us have our memory of you made palpable every time one becomes a “DANCING MACHINE” to “GET ON THE FLOOR” to “JAM” to your music till the “BREAK OF DAWN.”<br /><br /> “WHATEVER HAPPENS,” the world of entertainment will never “COME TOGETHER” and “SHOO-BE-DOO-BE-DOO-DA-DAY” the way you made it. Never “AGAIN” will we have the kind of “SPEED DEMON” that could “BURN THE DISCO OUT” on the dance floor like you did; never again will there “BE A LION” of the ineradicable and “MORPHINE” talent that you were. They say some “PEOPLE MAKE THE WORLD GO ROUND;” you certainly did Michael because yours was the “GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH.” When we hear your beat, we don’t need to ask “WHO IS IT?” When you sing, it’s as if “WE’VE GOT FOREVER.”<br /><br />Your “HISTORY” began when your “MOTHER” gave birth to nine children in a family of talented and creative artists. From the very beginning there was “SOMETHING ABOUT YOU ‘BABY” Michael’ and your star shone brightly with “MONEY” and fame beckoning. You undoubtedly took all “THE LOVE YOU SAVE” because by the age of five, you were belting out a string of No.1 hits and everybody was wanting to “ROCK WITH YOU.” As you “EASE ON DOWN THE ROAD” to stardom you proceeded to “ROCK MY WORLD.” Your voice was the “MORNING GLOW;” your lyrics made us believe in “A BRAND NEW DAY,” your “MELODIE” gave us “THE HAPPIEST DAYS OF OUR LIVES” and your dance moves were just literally “OFF THE WALL.” You were phenomenal, electrifying and marvellous. The talent you exhibited was so epic that it was only “HUMAN NATURE” for you to be “COMFORTABLY NUMB” and unable to thrive as normal men do. Your controversies were a far “CRY” from the days when you were a “P.Y.T (PRETTY YOUNG THING),” who made millions “SHOUT,” “SCREAM” and jump “UP AGAIN” with joy. <br /><br /> You gave us hits that could have easily been regarded as the ultimate “EARTH SONG.” “2 BAD” you lost your “PRIVACY” to “THE THIN ICE” of the media but your personal life also took a strange turn. Never mind the fact that you jilted “BILLIE JEAN,” your face and your lifestyle spelt “TROUBLE” and “THREATENED” your popularity. You appeared to be “STRANGER IN MOSCOW” than a conventional pop star when you traveled there to have a few face lifts. At that point I didn’t “GET IT” Michael, I thought “WHATZUPWITU” man? I no longer knew if you were “BLACK OR WHITE” when you transformed yourself from big Mike to “LITTLE SUZIE”. You looked like you “WERE ALMOST THERE”, but not quite; because you resembled “SOMEONE IN THE DARK”; like “ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL” of weirdness. To honestly “SAY, SAY, SAY” that before your death you looked like a voodoo-death-god “WAITING FOR THE WORMS” on the “CAROUSEL” is implying the subtlest of innuendos to someone rather thick; somewhat like saying Charles Taylor fought his war like a “LIBERIAN GIRL.” <br /><br />Before your “FAREWELL, MY SUMMER LOVE,” you didn’t look like the man who urged us to “HEAL THE WORLD,” you looked gaunt and ashen, much like the “GHOSTS” in the thriller video. You looked like a man that was “SCARED OF THE MOON” or one who had been electrocuted by “2000 WATTS.” Your eccentric conduct made me confused; and yet despite this, my admiration for you was “UNBREAKABLE.” Even now that you are gone, even now that “YOU ARE THERE” and not here, “I CAN’T HELP IT,” every time I hear you sing, you “TAKE ME BACK” to “THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL” when I first heard the Jackson 5 album.<br /><br /> No longer looking like a “MAN IN THE MIRROR,” you hoped to “KEEP THE FAITH” in your Never-land Ranch because it kept you in touch with the child within. After you said “SHE’S OUT OF MY LIFE” to your first wife Lisa Marie and said “THE GIRL IS MINE” to your nurse Debbie Rowe, you went on to say “BABY BE MINE” when you had three beautiful babies. If I thought that the saga in your life was “OUTSIDE THE WALL” of normality or that your problem was that you were still “IN THE CLOSET,” I hadn’t seen anything till the 2003 documentary that featured you as “THE WIZARD” who did “MONKEY BUSINESS” with young boys like they were your “GIRLFRIEND.” Like a perverted “SUNSET DRIVER” or your proverbial “DIRTY DIANA,” you saw nothing wrong with sleeping in the same bed with underage boys. Unfortunately for you, many thought this incongruity was “LOVE GONE BAD” for the poor “LOST CHILDREN.” You were prosecuted for preying on vulnerable young boys, “TOO YOUNG” for you to urge them to “GIVE INTO ME”. You demanded for your adversaries to tell you, “WHY YOU WANNA TRIP ON ME?” You asked all your fans; “WILL YOU BE THERE” for me?” I know that you wondered, “IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE;” please “DON’T LEAVE ME NOW,” “DON’T WALK AWAY” and abandon me”. <br /><br />However, just when I thought “YOU CAN’T WIN” Michael, at “THE TRIAL,” your exceptional defence team insisted that all the people that “WANNA BE STARTIN’ SOMETHING” by accusing you of being a “DANGEROUS,” child-raping “SMOOTH CRIMINAL” should “BEAT IT” and be ready to “RUN LIKE HELL.” After you saw the child molestation cases “FLY AWAY” when the judge ruled the boys were “JUST GOOD FRIENDS” to you, you pleaded with the public to “LEAVE ME ALONE” since your kindness was treated like “BLOOD ON THE DANCEFLOOR.” Was it scary then, “IS IT SCARY” now?<br /><br /> The one thing I knew about the people who wrongly accused you was that “THEY DON’T REALLY CARE ABOUT US” fans the world over. They said you were a “CHEATER” and you were “BAD,” they wanted you to “FALL AGAIN” but in “OUR SMALL WAY” and “IN THE BACK” of our minds, we knew you struggled to make the world a better place by reaching one person at a time with your music. We knew you were kind, gracious, generous, compassionate and burdened. We knew you felt like you had “GOT TO BE THERE” for those who were downtrodden and “YOU WERE THERE” for them. You must have had “LONELY TEARDROPS” at their false accusations and lies before you said “GOODBYE CRUEL WORLD.” But “HEY YOU;” don’t worry because “WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND.” There is a saying that “EVERYBODY’S SOMEBODY’S FOOL;” you certainly were nobody’s fool Michael.<br /><br />“THIS TIME AROUND” everyone will agree that despite your battered reputation, amidst all the things you were and “ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE,” your gift was unparalleled. “THE FEELING THAT WE HAVE” when we hear you sing is rich enough to “TOUCH THE ONE YOU LOVE,” which was almost everyone. Your “MIND IS THE MAGIC,” you were a genius; “THE MAN” with the Midas touch. No scandal can torpedo your legacy now; “THE SHOW MUST GO ON” for the King of Pop. The “THRILLER” may be gone, but the thrill will always remain…“CAN YOU FEEL IT?” <br />Michael you make me “SMILE” when I see your videos, when I hear your voice, your lyrics make me see “ANOTHER PART OF ME” and you make me believe that, as people, “WE ARE THE WORLD” and that “WE ARE HERE TO CHANGE THE WORLD.” You said that “PEOPLE MAKE THE WORLD GO ROUND” if only they could “COME TOGETHER.” You were “WORKING DAY AND NIGHT” to represent all this and I believe “THAT’S WHAT LOVE IS MADE OF.” I sing your songs to tell my “BEAUTIFUL GIRL,” my daughter, “YOU ARE MY LIFE”, I mimic your words “TO MAKE MY FATHER PROUD,” I belt out your melody to let my mother know that “YOU’RE MY BEST FRIEND, MY LOVE,” I repeat your songs to tell my friends that “YOU CAN CRY ON MY SHOULDER”, I chant your lyrics so my sisters can know that “YOU ARE NOT ALONE” and they can “CALL ON ME” whenever and I use your vision to write to my fellow countrymen weekly that “WE’VE GOT A GOOD THING GOING” if we “DON’T WALK AWAY” from Nigeria. <br /><br />“I CAN’T HELP IT” Michael but your “MUSIC AND ME” are a match made in heaven. Through your music your “LOVE IS HERE AND YOU ARE GONE.” Whenever I hear your songs “I HEAR A SYMPHONY,” then “IT’S THE FALLING IN LOVE” and ‘whoosh,’ “I’M IN LOVE AGAIN.” “I JUST CAN’T STOP LOVING YOU” on my CD player. Your songs “ROCK MY WORLD,” have a “SERIOUS EFFECT” on me, “GIVE ME HALF A CHANCE” to “XSCAPE” and “SAVE ME” from boredom especially when there’s “NOBODY HOME.” “I WANT YOU BACK” for “ONE MORE CHANCE” to sing again and despite your troubled life, “I LIKE THE WAY YOU ARE” and “I’LL BE THERE” to listen to your music for as long as I live…I only wish “HEAVEN CAN WAIT!” <br /><br /> “THIS IS IT,” I loved your music Michael, I remain your number one fan and I still believe in your ability to bring together people, cultures and kinds through it. I could walk more than “25 MILES” to celebrate your life and all your accomplishments and I know “I’LL COME HOME TO YOU” on my record player. You brought joy and entertainment to my life. Although I don’t “WANNA BE WHERE YOU ARE,” I still miss you. “MAYBE TOMORROW” or as “SOON AS I GET HOME,” I’ll put on your music and dance and when I “DON’T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH,” I won’t blame it on you Michael; I’ll “BLAME IT ON THE BOOGIE.” …And “THE BEAT GOES ON;” Thank you. Peace to you brother…“FOR ALL TIME!”<br /><br />From your number one fan, Hanney<br /><br /> Written By Hannatu Musawa<br /> I invite you to:<br /> Follow me on Twitter- @hanneymusawa<br /> Visit my Website- <a href="http://www.hannatumusawa.com/" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.hannatumusawa.com</a><br /> Like my Facebook- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa</a><br /> Text (SMS Only): 08116759753<br /> Subscribe to my Youtube Channel- <a href="http://www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa</a></span></div>
</span><a ajaxify="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=438580562919069&set=a.316201705156956.68154.316123051831488&type=1&relevant_count=1&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-prn1%2F1010658_438580562919069_1672808840_n.jpg&size=232%2C217&theater&source=9" class="_6i9" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=438580562919069&set=a.316201705156956.68154.316123051831488&type=1&relevant_count=1" rel="theater"><div class="_53s uiScaledThumb photo photoWidth1" data-ft="{"tn":"E"}" data-gt="{"fbid":"438580562919069"}" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="uiScaledImageContainer photoWrap" style="height: 377px;">
</div>
</div>
</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-66280867262663503162013-07-08T02:01:00.000-07:002013-07-08T02:01:06.599-07:00HARD VIEW (THAT ENIGMA OF KASPER HAUSER)<span class="userContent"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: center;">
<strong><u>THAT ENIGMA OF KASPER HAUSER</u></strong></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><br />“ONCE UPON A TIME, A MYSTERIOUS TEENAGE BOY NAMED KASPER HAUSER WALKED INTO A TOWN. HE WAS DIRTY AND COULD BARELY SPEAK. NO ONE KNEW WHO HE WAS OR WHERE HE CAME FROM BUT IT WAS REVEALED THAT HAUSER HAD LIVED IN<span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show"> A SMALL CELL SINCE HE WAS A BABY. HAUSER CLAIMED THAT HE SLEPT ON A STRAW BED AND WAS ONLY FED BREAD AND WATER THROUGH A HOLE BY AN UNKNOWN MAN. HAUSER’S STORY SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE LAND, PEOPLE TOOK PITY ON HIM AND CAME FROM FAR AND WIDE TO MEET AND SUPPORT HIM. RUMORS AROSE THAT HE WAS OF PRINCELY PARENTAGE, POSSIBLY EVEN A DUKE, BUT THERE WERE ALSO CLAIMS THAT HE WAS AN IMPOSTOR. THESE CLAIMS INCREASED WHEN IT BECAME EVIDENT THAT THE BOY HAD A TENDENCY TO LIE. HE QUICKLY BECAME KNOWN AS A CHRONIC HYPOCRITE AND THE ATTENTION AND CURIOSITY THAT WAS INITIALLY AROUSED BY HAUSER’S STORY FADED WITH HIS BAD CONDUCT. BY THE TIME OF HIS DEATH, THOUGH THE MYSTERY OF KASPER HAUSER DID NOT DIE, HIS LEGACY WAS TAINED, NOT LEAST BECAUSE OF HIS VANITY, SPITE, LIES AND HYPOCRICY….THE END!"<br /><br /> This true story of a young, mysterious stranger, who was rescued to have great opportunity in life, but lost it due to his mendacity, has always been one to capture the imagination of mystery lovers all over the world. Kasper Hauser was an enigma of sorts, a man whose one step forward was tantamount to ten steps back. As one looks at the assortment of Kasper Hauser’s in the Nigerian polity, time has come for the congregation to have a word with one of them…!<br /><br />If only Governor Isa Yuguda didn't have a hissy fit and thrown his toys out of the pram over what he perceived as a betrayal of the Northern Governors to their ludicrous gentleman’s agreement that adopted Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang as the consensus Northern candidate for the Chairmanship of the Nigerian Governors Forum, his sheer duplicity could have stayed under wraps for a tad bit longer.<br /><br /> Although he'd, of recent, not been seen as a particularly upright and reliable politician, Governor Yuguda’s gung-ho outburst where “he didn’t see any reason why he should attend the Northern Governors meeting for the next two years until one of the Northern Governors owned up to breeching their earlier agreement,” moved him, whether he liked it or not, from the ‘Special School of Hypocrites Anonymous’ into the realm of the ‘Kasper Hauser Institute for the Extremely Advanced Hypocrite.’<br /><br />And it was a pretty reckless move because, unless one is mistaken, hasn’t the same Governor Yuguda, who is now crying bloody murder over the breech of a political gentleman’s agreement, been part and parcel to the breech of other more critical gentleman’s agreements?<br /> When the PDP came up with their ineffectual, insulated agreement which demanded for power to shift from North to South, Governor Yuguda was very much aware of that gentleman’s agreement. When fate crashed the PDP shindig to hoist President Jonathan on a presidency that the PDP had prepped for the North only two years after an eight year stint by President Obasanjo, not a whimper came from Governor Yuguda’s mouth on that gentleman’s agreement. Not that anyone would blame him on that account since that was fate’s doing.<br /><br /> However, in the run up to the 2011 race when President Jonathan denied being part of any gentleman’s agreement for power rotation between the North and South, despite the fact that he was the biggest beneficiary to the agreement, could it be that a big black cat got a hold of Governor Yuguda’s tongue since he didn’t murmur a peep about that agreement? But the real cracker comes when one considers the alleged gentleman’s agreement that Northern Governors, of which Governor Yuguda happens to be one, had with President Jonathan in 2011, when they all agreed that the president would serve for one term and allow the presidency to be zoned back to the North in 2015, in line with the initial PDP arrangement. Now that it is quite abundantly clear that President Jonathan is gunning to run for the presidency uncontested, allegedly, on the PDP ticket, many had begun to wonder whether Governor Yuguda’s larynx was not adjusting to his articulators in a manner able to filter the sound needed for him to belt out his swan song.<br /><br /> But “Alas”, we can all rest easy; for Governor Yuguda did not lose his voice, he just lost the righteousness of knowing when to use it. When this self-described aficionado of honor used his own words to say, “By my own culture, background and religion, I strongly believe that whatever is agreed upon, we must stand by it unless it is illegal,” unless we are missing something, the star student of “The Kasper Hauser Institute for the Extremely Advanced Hypocrite” plunged a stake straight into the heart of what was left of his honor.<br /><br /> Governor Yuguda seems smart, and brilliantly quick, and in the past, often served as an interesting, opposing figure, especially in the lead to the 2007 elections when he was persecuted and unjustly denied the PDP ticket, prompting him to move to the ANPP. Back then, traces of the righteous politician he once was somehow still defined him and his people fought tooth and nail to ensure that he reclaimed what was rightfully his. Back then, he was a peoples leader struggling for more accountability of government, against too much power held by the governor; he symbolized the downtrodden and became hope itself, he stood for transparency and the democratic tenant of ‘one man one vote.’<br /><br />However, having barely warmed his governorship seat, he decided to show his supporters the finger by leapfrogging back to the PDP from the ANPP. But that wasn’t his real crime. The real crime came when he decided to do what was done onto him; to bulldoze and persecute the ANPP faithful who refused to decamp to the PDP with him, including his deputy, Alhaji Mohammed Garba Gadi.<br /><br /> It seems that when it comes to hypocrisy, Governor Yuguda believes the old adage, "in for a penny, in for a pound!" And in his quest to overzealously prove loyalty to his faction of colleagues, his hypocrisy has been exposed at the greatest of price to him; for the incisiveness of his words and actions reveals all. His tenacious desires to save face for the blustering defeat his troupe suffered at the election of the Nigerian Governors Forum and publicly retain faith in whatever sordid plan President Jonathan allegedly has up his sleeve, makes him a poor reader of the daily satire being hurled at his very persona from every corner of the North. By the end of it all, this exposure will have cost Governor Yuguda his remaining straw of dignity in the eyes of his people.<br /><br /> But if only he hadn't had that hissy fit, he may not have totally exposed his sheer hypocrisy. Or to put it another way: if only he hadn't overreacted and publicly try to throw the other governors under the bus, he may not have shown himself as the proverbially despised tell-tale stoolpigeon. Because this is, of course, what he did by challenging the other governors to come out and confess as to why they reneged on supporting Governor Jang. Of course Governor Yuguda had a right to be frustrated at his colleagues who had defaulted on their earlier agreement. And when it comes to the moral side of such things, promise is key of course.<br /><br /> But were the governors, who refused to vote for Governor Jang, behaving immorally because they refused to be used as pawns on the Chess Board of President Jonathan or simply being canny? Did the fact that some of the governors decided to change their minds, after the meeting and before the election, warrant for Governor Yuguda to imply that they had no common sense, rationality, fear of God or honor when he said, “I expected common sense, rationality and fear of God to prevail?” How about whether the accusation that the Northern Governors did the North a disservice because they refused to support a Northerner and instead supported Governor Amaechi for the Chairmanship seat which was slated for the North? “Really Governor Yuguda… Really…?”<br /><br />These are legitimate questions that should be put to Governor Yuguda. And he could argue them till the cows come home, but if he really wants to see what immoral political behavior looks like, if he wants to glare at lack of common sense, irrationality and dishonor in government, if he’s desperate to stare at the archetypal Northern leader that continues to do the North a disservice; then he should grab the nearest mirror and gaze squarely into it… Therein he will see the answer to his conundrum!<br /><br /> How does one remind politicians like Governor Yuguda of their own humanity; that they once believed in something else, something important and valuable... something called honour and democracy? Like Kasper Hauser, Governor Yuguda was a man who had the world at his feet but through his actions, his initial good relationship with his people seems to have soured amidst complains about his exorbitant vanity, and hypocrisy; this one in particular.<br /><br /> Perhaps the sharpest judgment passed on Kasper Hauser was when he was described as a person with “horrendous mendacity" and "art of dissimulation." Governor Yuguda still has a chance to redeem him-self and one hopes that he re-evaluates his actions in office before he well and truly completely embodies that, “Enigma of Kasper Hauser!”<br /><br />Written By Hannatu Musawa<br /><br /> I invite you to:<br /><br /> Follow me on Twitter- @hanneymusawa<br /><br /> Visit my Website- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hannatumusawa.com&h=rAQGsx557&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.hannatumusawa.com</a><br /><br /> Like my Facebook- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa</a><br /><br /> Text (SMS) 08116759753<br /><br /> Subscribe to my Youtube Channel- <a href="http://www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa</a></span></div>
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-71844719717152534162013-07-08T01:59:00.001-07:002013-07-08T01:59:15.796-07:00HARD VIEW (CELEBRATING A FATHER ON FATHERS DAY)<span class="userContent"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: center;">
<strong><u>CELEBRATING A FATHER ON FATHERS DAY</u></strong></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><br /> This Sunday the 16th, as the world honours fathers and celebrates fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society, I would like to use this forum to honor and recognize all the father<span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show">s in Nigeria who work and toil hard to put food on the table irrespective of the harsh economic conditions we find ourselves today. Sometimes our fathers are overlooked for mothers who appear to be more nurturing and involved in our everyday lives. This is a tribute to all those fathers and one in particular that I would simply describe as, “the greatest Dad in the world.”<br />Alhaji Musa Musawa is not only my father; he is my greatest role model, my inspiration and my rock. Even though every day I communicate to my Dad how grateful and lucky I am to have him as a father, every year I look forward to father’s day because it is a time that I can further express my appreciation to him for everything he has represented in my life.<br /><br /> Often tributes are paid to people in the aftermath of their lives. But <br /> I want to tell my dad, while he still has so much life in him, just how much his struggles and hard-work have been appreciated by his “little girl.” I would want the example of how much of a good father he is and the bond that is so strong between him and me to serve as an inspiration this father’s day. And I don't mean to make a tribute to him in any kind of simple, celebratory way. Rather, this is a tribute worthy of him, one that brings together the good and the bad.<br /><br /> In the real world, where domination, bigotry, oppression, dishonesty and corruption intertwine with all aspects of our lives, there are no easy, uncomplicated sources of inspiration. But there are lessons. I have always looked to my dad for those lessons about how to struggle against immorality and dishonesty, as well as for lessons about the structures of prejudice and chauvinism that I was confronted with in a highly dogmatic and sexist atmosphere. In his example and lessons, I have been able to find both inspiration and warning, inseparably tied.<br /><br /> When I think of my Dads story, at first glance, it looks deceptively like a bootstraps tale of hard-won success and class mobility. But I think his resolve, opportunities and identity were shaped by much more than that. My dad was born in Bichi, Kano state on April 1st 1937. His mother was a religious young lady from Musawa, Katsina state, who passed away when my father was just a baby. His father never remarried after the loss of his mother and he was sent to his mother’s village in Musawa to live with his aunty, a true woman of substance who instilled a sense of independence, confidence and focus in him. He grew up in a very hard, rural environment, the youngest of three children in a family constantly struggling to make ends meet. He was sent back to Bichi to attend school and along the way inherited a healthy distrust of the autocratic and feudalistic actions of both the Colonial and the Native Northern Governments. He has always told me that, even as far back as then, he felt a driving and throbbing need to stand up for the downtrodden and poor in the society. It was also then he realized that he had what I like to call, ‘the gift of the gab.’<br /><br />Though my dad came of age during the transition for independence of Nigeria, he never lost his gut sense of egalitarian ethics. He strongly believed in democratization, women empowerment and freedom of speech. Decades later as I was becoming politicized, he would confess that, he would forever remain a socialist; convinced that the staggering inequalities of our society were fundamentally wrong and we each had a duty to speak out against it and change it. I suspect that this core ethic contributed to his acceptance of so many things, amongst which, surprisingly, is feminism. All my life, I have watched him try to break down the rigid Arewa gender boundaries for his daughters with mixed success, in his relationship with my mother and his relationship with our husbands. And in the process, I learned a lot about patriarchy, not the least of which is its frustrating resilience.<br /><br /> Struggle and hard work framed my father's young adulthood. Attending Kano Secondary School was never really a priority for a young man of his humble background, but with the encouragement of his aunty/mother forever playing on his psyche, my dad was determined to pull himself and his family out of the dearth in which he had seen his family toil in and he was determined to put himself in a position where he could speak up for the millions whom he felt did not have a voice. He knew that education as the only way he could achieve that. So he put himself through school and fought to remain and excel there and he skimmed through while also working. Around about the same time, Mallam Aminu Kano, the son of a noble Islamic scholar had begun a movement of young radicals eager to fight for change known as the Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU). It was an incontestably natural progression for my dad to join NEPU. He became Youth Chairman of NEPU in Bichi and together with the likes of Alh Ali Abdallah, Alh. Sobo Bakin Zuwo, Alh. Abubakar Rimi, Alh. Balarabe Musa, Alh. Sule Lamido, Alh Adamu Garkuwa, Alh Wada Abubakar, Alh Sadi Gabari, Alh Abba Musa Rimi and many others, they challenged the ruling elite in the north.<br /><br /> He went to the University of Ife, Ibadan to study Public Administration, after which he got a job with the BBC African Service. He stayed at the BBC for 5 years before proceeding to Cambridge to study Chinese. My dad then joined the Foreign Service and was posted to Uganda and then India. <br /><br /> Apart from when he speaks about his late aunty/mother and his late friend Alhaji Lawal Baloni, the only time I see my father speak in an emotional manner with tears welling up in his eyes is when he speaks about Mallam Aminu Kano. My father adored and looked up to Mallam Aminu Kano and was one of the closest people to the late hero. When Mallam formed the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Dad was elected as the treasurer at the national convention and later contested for the governorship of Kaduna State in 1983 under the party.<br /><br /> I never miss an opportunity to speak of what a great Dad I have and he never misses and opportunity to speak about how his greatest pride and joy are his children. He has always been a supportive Dad in our personal, professional and educational lives. And he has always made himself available to watch television, eat, play games, listen and have regular family picnics with his children. He struggled to make sure he gave us the very best education. And in the late seventies that effort led him to the UK where he enrolled us in the very best schools in England. I will forever be grateful to him for that priceless foundation. <br /><br /> Only those who truly know him realize that my father has the greatest sense of humor. And I can categorically say that I have never met anyone as funny, sarcastic and with a penchant to wittily-exaggerate the funny side of life like Dad. Many of my most inspirational moments with him are during our daily experiences when he uses humor to try to make a point.<br /><br /> My Dad is a great “silent” philanthropist who never publicizes the deeds he does for people. Over the decades, I have seen him educate countless of youths to further themselves in school, build houses for people, sponsor the sick for medical treatment at home and abroad, build mosques, build schools, feed families and employ hundreds of people in his ‘beloved’ Manema farm. My father was the first put the name of our village, Musawa, Katsina on the map and sponsored a number of successful people from that village to better opportunities.<br /><br /> But there is a flip side to my dad. That is, he is far from untouched by tenaciousness, temperament and an over heightened state of self-esteem. In fact, some of the more poignant lessons I take from him have to do with his imperfections. Mostly, they center on his worst demons, inextricably linked to the workings of our social order and the lack of acknowledgement for his struggles and his potential; the struggles and potential that Mallam Aminu Kano, more than anyone else, recognized in him.<br /><br /> I acknowledge his defects and successes but most of all, the inspirational role he has played in my life and the lives of so many others. Simply put, I would not be the person that I am today without him. He helped equip me with some essential reflective tools for challenging systems of oppression. He embodied a, not entirely, different way for me to look at myself as an independent Hausa/Fulani woman. And he taught me basic things, to confront my own struggles, to not let criticism or obstacles deter me, always stand up for what I think is right, to never forget how to cry and to never put myself in a position where anyone would undermine my integrity. These are lessons I religiously carry with me every day of my life. <br /><br /> I love my dad very much, even during the times he used to make us watch snooker and horse riding, and the most sincere way I know of expressing my love is never to compromise the ethics he strived so hard to instill in me, to learn from the mistakes he confided in me and to never ignore the privilege he has given me. To forget any of this would be the greatest disrespect to him. In this sense, I will continue to carry him with me and use him as a yard stick for honor and integrity. I pray for Dad’s speedy recovery as he bravely battles diabetes.<br /><br /> As we mark international father’s day, I would like to thank Alhaji Musa Musawa, General T.Y Danjuma, Alh Isiyaku Ibrahim, General Garba Duba, Alh Aminu Dantata, Alh Mamooda Zayyan, Alhaji Umaru Mutalab, Bishop Mathew Kukah, Alhaji Abdullahi Imam, Alhaji Nura Imam, Alh Lamis Dicco all my fathers in Rafindadi, Unguwan-Alkali, Kaduna and Musawa for their support, guidance and inspiration. I wish them all a very fulfilling father’s day.<br /><br /><br /> Written By Hannatu Musawa<br /><br /> I invite you to:<br /> Follow me on Twitter- @hanneymusawa<br /> Visit my Website- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hannatumusawa.com&h=LAQF1k14W&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.hannatumusawa.com</a><br /> Like my Facebook- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa</a><br /> Text (SMS Only): 08116759753<br /> Subscribe to my Youtube Channel- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2FHannatuMusawa&h=NAQEgnJJq&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa</a></span></div>
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-85826528690332490142013-07-08T01:57:00.001-07:002013-07-08T01:57:52.719-07:00HARD VIEW (JUBILEE’VE ITS BEEN 50 YEARS?)<div class="aboveUnitContent">
<div class="userContentWrapper">
<div class="_wk">
<span class="userContent"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: center;">
<strong><u>JUBILEE’VE ITS BEEN 50 YEARS?</u></strong></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><br />Alhaji Ado Bayero’s appearance at the Durbar in Kano this weekend will cap a triumphant Golden Jubilee for a Monarch who is secure in his subject’s’ hearts and has emerged as one of the most successful and res<span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show">pected royal figures in the country. <br /><br /> 50 years ago, when the young Mallam Ado Bayero was summoned back to Nigeria while on a French course in France, little did he know the mammoth role that destiny would bestow on him. Upon the passing of Emir Muhammadu Inuwa, his uncle, Alhaji Ado Bayero was appointed the new Emir of Kano. <br /><br /> Mallam Ado Bayero was born on the 15th June 1930, when his father, Abdullahi Bayero, had been on the throne for four years. Mallam Ado was the eleventh child of his father and the second of three born to his mother, Hajiya Hasiya.<br /> He trained vigorously in religious studies and latter enrolled in contemporary school. After graduating in 1947, he then took up employment with the British Bank for West Africa, now the First Bank of Nigeria.<br /><br />“Alhaji Ado Bayero left the bank to begin his career with the Kano Native Authority in 1949. While working for the Native Authority, he attended a number of clerical and administrative courses in Nigeria and abroad. In 1952 he attended the Clerical Training College, Zaria. He then took a course on Local Government in the United Kingdom. In 1953 he became the Chief Clerk of the Kano Town Council. He contested and won the election to the Northern Regional House of Assembly in Kaduna on the ticket of the Northern Peoples' Congress (NPC) in 1954, and he made his inaugural speech in the House on 3rd. March 1955. In April 1957 Ado Bayero resigned his seat in the House to take up an appointment as the Police Chief of the Kano Native Administration Police. He was appointed Nigeria's Ambassador to Senegal in late 1962.” With such a glittering career in his past, the Emir was well poised for the role in which his popularity is unassailable, the role that he has upheld for 50 strong years. <br /><br /> Over the years, the Emir has widely been recognized as a true patriot and a man of great humility and justice. In reflection of these qualities, the Emir of Kano Ado Bayero, has often been called to play numerous mediating roles all over the country. This Golden Jubilee should not only be seen as a celebration of the Emir’s throne, but as an affirmation of his place as a national leader. People of different tribes all over Nigeria are this weekend showing their admiration for the Emir and their respect for the job that he has done.<br /><br /> As the good people of Kano celebrate 50 years of a leader who has truly proven himself, many, all over the world will be overjoyed with the response to the jubilee, which has brought a natural expression of popular feeling to the people of Kano.<br /> Reservations over the security challenges that have plagued the north and even targeted the Emir himself seem drowned out by the Kano people’s enthusiasm in celebrating such a deserving leader. In the lead up to the Jubilee weekend, enormous crowds headed towards Kano, residents began packing the streets in order to book a place where they could get a glimpse of their Monarch. Witnesses to the emerging crowds speak of well-wishers of all ages who seem genuinely moved by this milestone in their history.<br /><br /> And a milestone it really is because, once upon a time, the complete administration of Kano was under rule of the aristocracy before the conquest of the land by the Colonial Masters. With the arrival of the British, the power of the Aristocracy was taken away but the role of the Emir of Kano was maintained. In maintaining that part of their history, the people Kano remained loyal to the Emirate Council in accepting and obeying orders from the Emir.<br /><br /> To rule over the exceptional and complex people of Kano for 50 years, given the cocktail of challenges and turbulence this country has gone through, while still maintaining the respect and love of his subjects, is a great testimony to the Emir. The people of Kano have, from time, proven themselves to be a resilient, independent, entrepreneurial, creative, hardworking and ingenious people. They have never opted for second best and have never been ones to suffer fools gladly. I know because I see it in my daughter, nieces and nephews who are all from Kano. With the likes of the late, great Mallam Aminu Kano, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, Alhaji Bala Mohammed, Alhaji Maitama Yusuf, amongst others, Kano people have always been ready to stand up for what they believe in and reject what they don’t. And even though, their hospitality, warmth and sense of tradition has always provided a balance to their spunk in nature, had the Emir not ruled over them with the honour and grace he has, they would not be celebrating him in the way they are doing at this golden jubilee. Through this and by any accounting, his reign had been successful.<br /><br /> As we head into an uncertain future as a nation, the qualities and legacies of leaders such as the Emir of Kano should be imbibed by all. May we, as citizens, learn from people like the Emir, behave in the manner of the Emir and lead in the way of the Emir. His leadership and the leadership of others like him revive hope.<br /><br /> This weekend I will be celebrating along with my daughter, nieces, nephews, cousins, uncles, aunties, in-laws, friends, members of the Kano Royal family and all people of Kano on this great landmark in their history. I especially congratulate my step mother, Hajia Asiya Musawa (Nee Ado Bayero), my little brother Mohammed and my cousin Zainab Sanusi on the Golden Jubilee of their father, grandfather and uncle, respectively. May the next 50 years of this great Monarchy bring them the blessings, unity, forgiveness, strength, understanding and faith that the last 50 years have.<br /><br /> I was not born at the time that the Emir of Kano ascended his throne, but I have heard great and wonderful stories from my father on what a glorious time it was then. As he sits down now to reflect on where all those years went, Dad tells me that, “the coronation of the Emir of Kano to the throne was just like yesterday”… Then after a moment he looks up again and says, “JUBILEE’VE it’s been 50 years already?”<br /><br />Written By Hannatu Musawa<br /> I invite you to:<br /> Follow me on Twitter- @hanneymusawa<br /> Visit my Website- <a href="http://www.hannatumusawa.com/" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.hannatumusawa.com</a><br /> Like my Facebook- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa</a><br /> Text (SMS Only): 08116759753<br /> Subscribe to my Youtube Channel- <a href="http://www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa</a></span></div>
</span><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_51da79f3dbb8b5353325923">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-33353522814399315072013-07-08T01:56:00.001-07:002013-07-08T01:56:16.562-07:00HARD VIEW (THE CONSPIRACY OF THE THEORY)<span class="userContent"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: center;">
<strong><u>THE CONSPIRACY OF THE THEORY</u></strong></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /> The unprecedented, horrific events of the Woolwich killings of a British soldier, James Rigby, in broad daylight on a London street last week forced a massive shock, not only in Britain but the rest of the worl<span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show">d. The straw that broke the camel’s back (if you will) is the fact that both the suspects are of Nigerian descent and the dimension of the revelation further revealed that they are Nigerians from the southern part of the country. The fact that they are not Muslims from the northern part of Nigeria gives a more complex perspective to a phenomenon that would otherwise have been labelled by Nigerians especially as a Boko Haram terrorist activity. The overzealous and fascinatingly diverse conspiracy theories spun by Nigerians in the media, especially of southern descent, on dissipating the forensic evidence on the scene of the crime have been gigantean in nature. This is not the first of such unfortunate activity on an international platform of which a Nigerian has been involved. But in the first of such case, the media, especially those of southern descent, never expressed or entertained the possibility that the first case, which involved a northerner, could also lend itself to a conspiracy theory.<br /><br /> Similarly, the recent preposterous outburst by the ridiculous Asari Dokubo, where he threatened fire and brimstone primarily targeting northerners drew anger from a wide spectrum of Northern leaders. While it goes without saying that Dokubo is nothing better than an ignorant and mad bumbling fool, who has directed his personal frustrations towards bigotry, the outrage of many northerners to the utterances of the ‘rabid dog’ has been as revealing as the complacency southerners treated the onslaught. But the truth is, even though the manner and approach adopted by Dokubo was, to say the least, crass and uncouth, several northerners have, in the not so distant past, made statements not so dissimilar to Dokubo’s. But when they did, northerners didn’t see fault in it and didn’t articulate outrage in the same way southerners haven’t reacted to Dokubo’s statements. The theory all the time, in each instance is that there is a conspiracy where all regions adopt the posture of victims whose existence and wellbeing is threatened by some tribal covert grand design. And that in itself makes a conspiracy of the theory.<br /><br /> The reactions to the Woolwich killings and Dokubos statements may not seem connected, but they are; in the most crucial manner. Assessing these diverse events and the reactions that have followed them, one can’t help but conclude the navigation of ethnic sensibilities. When such conspiracy theories came into the fold in Nigeria, one can bet that there is an assessment of tribe and our natural denial of anything that reflects negativity of anyone that comes from the same tribe as us. Instead of universally labelling inciting statements of both northerners and southerners wrong, instead of accepting that murdering extremists are nothing less than murdering extremists, we make excuses when our tribes are concerned; use conspiracy theories to rationalise bad behaviour.<br /><br /> When it comes to conspiracy theories, we here in Nigeria are the sharers out of nations. So dependent we are on story telling for our survival, especially in connection with tribal issues, we have lost the codes of rational reasoning and to properly and reasonably articulate our outrage.<br /><br /> Don Delera, one of the most outstanding contemporary American writers, once said of conspiracy theories, “If we are on the outside, we assume a conspiracy is the perfect working of a scheme; silent nameless men with unadorned hearts. A conspiracy is everything that ordinary life is not. It's the inside game, cold, sure, undistracted, forever closed off to us. We are the flawed ones, the innocents, trying to make some rough sense of the daily jostle. Conspirators have logic and a daring beyond our reach. All conspiracies are the same taut story of men who find coherence in some criminal act.” <br /><br />We do this to an art form in Nigeria. So easy is it to take refuge in the shadowy world of maybe or maybe nots. To blame all our failings on bogey men, on the ‘other’ tribes, on anyone except ourselves. It saves us the trouble of confronting reality. It saves us the trouble of having to take responsibility, of conserving our identity and our country; which we destroy so quickly and so shamelessly. It saves us from taking accountability for our actions and decisions and in the long run, we assassinate the potential of our young Nigeria in the span of one short lifetime. And it saves us from demanding better from our feckless rulers and depriving them of their overbearing and overwhelming power over us.<br /><br /> It is becoming harder and harder to escape the sense that the narrow-minded idiosyncrasy we apply to the issue of tribe is the core threat to our development and existence. Being unable to assess issues objectively without giving it a tribal and ethnic dimension is disturbing and a further reinforcement that what we have got in Nigeria is a most disunited and leery order. As a people, our way of reasoning requires a stronger focus on inconvenient truths which are much too often swept under the carpet in exchange for an optical illusion that exonerates what we consider to be ‘our own kind.’<br /><br />It honestly is a woeful decree in the assessment of Nigeria that, a century since our formation; we are still unable to shed the garb of suspicion, intolerance and disparity. Still, unable to see beyond ethnicity, religion and regional origin. We; the black race, the people of Africa, Nigerians far and wide want to be accepted and seen as equals by the Europeans, the Americans, by the Caucasians all over the world. We complain when the Westerners make documentaries depicting our nations decline. We curse and cry bias when they refuse to grant us visas to their countries and when fellow Africans label us parasites, criminals and 419ers. Who are we to accuse anybody else of prejudice against us? We have no right to claim discrimination when we fail to exhibit the equality and understanding that we yearn from outsiders to our own people and in our own home. Through actions and words, all ethnic and religious groups in Nigeria are equally as guilty as each other of promoting the disharmony that is now drowning us.<br /><br /> There is no doubt that we are a different people with different cultures, religions, languages and traditions. We eat different foods, wear different clothes and look different. It is true that we have had to cope with the colonial legacy that lumped incompatible ethnic groups into one. But even amidst our differences, we are a people with the same story, with the same history, with the same plight. And even within each ethnic group, each village, each community, dichotomy and odium still thrive. The treasure of any nation is formed from the union of the people within its territory and its worth is characterised from its variety. The diversity and range of our different cultures and beliefs is where our strength lies and our weakness comes from our non-recognition of this fact.<br /><br /> In any society, ideological face-offs are encouraged, pride in identity is essential, but the ethno-regionalism and ethnic fundamentalism that is so rife in this atmosphere is just so darn unhealthy. In any forward-thinking society that adopts fitting ideals, zonal and religious sentiments and emotions are not abused in the way they are in Nigeria. In a cultured setting, individuals, not the tribes they originate from, would be responsible for their actions and Nigerians would cease from viewing every challenge through jaundiced eyes. The vast majority of us seem to have massive blind spots when it comes to our ability to tame prejudice and subjectivity when tribe and ethnicity is involved. And the vast majority of us find it hard to castigate a fellow tribe member from wrongdoing, preferring instead to find coherence in the irresponsible or criminal act by believing in a conspiracy theory, thus exonerating the fellow tribesman.<br /><br /> To be honest, I did the same in the early days of the Boko Haram offensive. I found it very difficult to believe that people who had the same identity as me would commit the type of atrocious crimes that Boko Haram did against fellow human beings, instead preferring to believe that there were a group of tribal covert men in grey suits who sat in some sort of a secret society to design these events in order to achieve some end result. And while, there are other dimensions to the Boko Haram phenomenon to be discussed for another day, I have had to come to terms with the reality and call a spade what it actually is. <br /><br /> This primordial and regressive ethnic thinking that we all seem to be slightly guilty of has no place in any future, even if we don’t remain as one nation. But since, at this present time, we are one nation, we must recognize that before the need for a good leader or the need for electricity, what Nigeria needs first and foremost is a united atmosphere that will improve our sense of belonging and give each of us the opportunity to flourish. In order to have that, each of us has to stop forming part of the chain that preys on ethnic and religious identities and sentiments.<br /><br /> It’s time to get our acts together so that diverse groups can develop a cohesive and genuine democracy fostered by federalism. A democracy where our differences will be split along ideological lines not ethnic insularities. It is by Gods’ will that Nigeria came to be made up of a variety of religions and 250 ethnic groups. It is up to us to be grateful for this gift and make this country work.<br /><br /> The downfall of any multi ethnic country is usually enhanced through the flaw of reasoning, social dogma or ignorance. Unless we are able to overcome our flaw in reasoning and ignorance that accentuates our ethnic distinctions, then we will remain unable to address our troubles, because even though we clearly see the truth, as Don Delera says, it will “forever be closed off to us since we can only see ourselves as the innocents trying to find coherence in some criminal act.” Let’s wake up and recognise that; “the real theory of the conspiracies lies in the conspiracy of the theory,” and it has nothing to do with a real rationale but everything to do with our prejudiced tribal sensibilities and denials.<br /><br /> So as we come to terms with the emergence of a converted Muslim extremist of southern descent, as we enrage about comparable inciting tribal statements from northern personalities and Niger-delta militants alike, we might just need to take a minute and look for fault from within, give the conspiracies a break, put tribal sensibilities aside and lay blame where blame is due…, even if it is on our doorstep.<br /><br /><br /> Written By Hannatu Musawa<br /> I invite you to:<br /> Follow me on Twitter- @hanneymusawa<br /> Visit my Website- <a href="http://www.hannatumusawa.com/" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.hannatumusawa.com</a><br /> Like my Facebook- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa</a><br /> Text (SMS Only): 08116759753<br /> Subscribe to my Youtube Channel- <a href="http://www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa</a></span></div>
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-9950133561141429712013-07-08T01:54:00.001-07:002013-07-08T01:54:33.779-07:00HARD VIEW (STATE OF EMERGENCY TO SLATE THE INSURGENCY)<div align="justify" class="userContentWrapper">
<div class="_wk">
<span class="userContent"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: center;">
<strong><u>STATE OF EMERGENCY TO SLATE THE INSURGENCY</u></strong></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed">
<br /><br /> So after much deliberation and rigmarole, after much dissent by leading sectors of Nigerians, after the massacres and nauseating murders of men, women and children, the government has finally decl<span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show">ared a state of emergency in three states. The unexpected declaration of the state of emergency to deal with the high rate of violence and spate of deadly attacks by militant groups has taken many by surprise. Yesterday evening, 14th May 2013, President Jonathan delivered an address in which he gave the military powers to take over security in the states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe. This step, which affects a broad range of civil rights, has already triggered widespread debate about the implications of the government's latest strategy, from the opposition, to religious groups, civil society and even the governor’s forum.<br /><br /> The state of emergency requires a presidential proclamation under conditions specified in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended under the provisions of Section 305 (1). It gives the authorities special temporary legal powers to arrest and search citizens without a warrant. It also imposes a curfew on the specified states, restricting residents to their homes between the times of a curfew. Other emergency powers regulations affect ‘habeas corpus’ and citizens’ rights to freedom of movement, assembly, association, speech, and privacy.<br /><br /> Over the past two years, the rate of violence in several states has increased dramatically, fuelled by the rise of militancy, extremism and the widespread availability of illegal weapons. Successive clamp down by authorities, an apparent trigger-happy task force, mismanaged deliverance of information on behalf of the government and a leadership that seems totally confused and not in control have had the utmost regressive effect, almost to the point of providing sympathy and understanding for the plight of the insurgents. In recent weeks, the country has been horrified by the series of violent murders. The situation became a lot worse, with the massacres in Baga and Bama town. Announcing the state of emergency, President Jonathan said, “The country is facing, not just militancy or criminality, but a rebellion and insurgency by terrorist groups which pose a very serious threat to national unity and territorial integrity”.<br /><br />While I am often at variance with the utterances and policies of President Jonathan, it is not so difficult for me to understand why the president felt the need to take such an aggressive reaction, especially along his reasoning that no terrorist group, religious or tribal has a right to pose a threat to national unity and territorial integrity. Not Boko Haram or tramps and vagrants like Asari Dokubo or any other ignorant yobs who fancies themselves as the new Scarface and who happen to all be the same kind of bigoted criminals disguised in different garbs. The country cannot go to war because of some criminal elements have been threatening to overrun the Nigerian state under the guise of religious extremism, resource control, militancy or insurgency.<br /><br /> If reports that over a dozen local government areas in Borno State have been taken over by insurgents are true, if reports that in those local governments there is no semblance of authority are factual, then a state of emergency in those hotspots was absolutely and unquestionably necessary. Why should a whole nation be held to ransom by plundering and rancorous groups of brutes bent on creating havoc on a society, no matter how candid their grievance or cause? Why should a group of people organize themselves in guerrilla warfare and carry out the kind of offensive that is claiming the lives of innocent men, women and children? For goodness sake, when did our society sink to the depths of darkness we are in now; where we are forced to discuss the destruction of people’s lives and death of fellow human beings in such a blasé manner? That is what we have been reduced to. Every single morning, the minute one listens to the news or reads a paper, the first thing one is confronted with is stories of death, destruction and murder. I mean it is just so absolutely unbelievable for us to wake up every morning with news of the kind of senseless violence we have been witnessing. It is simply unacceptable. As a civilized society which has evolved from the dark ages, our current situation has got to be intolerable by every standard, even for those criminal Nigerians who are hell-bent on declaring a ridiculously, unnecessary and unfair war against innocent Nigerians.<br /><br /> It may be easy enough for those of us who are not directly affected by the violence to sit and judge this draconian declaration by the government, but even those of us that have not been directly affected by the violence and unwarranted massacres in the affected states have been shaken to the core by it and shudder at its domino effect. The situation of the murders and total disregard for human life has reached epic proportions; proportions which call for the authorities to respond in the most decisive manner possible.<br /><br /> There is no doubt that this measure which the government has taken will have an impact on the daily lives of innocent, law-abiding citizens in these areas and provide inconveniencies for them. It will limit people’s movements and give the regiment powers to arrest; it will even infringe on the fundamental rights and freedoms of the citizens, but, unless someone in authority takes the bull by the horn and affects this kind of stringent system, the situation in those areas will not be brought under control and it will come to a point when the violence cannot be contained. Those affected by the state of emergency should look at the bigger picture and recognize the need to protect them and bring the current violence surge affecting them under control. Many people have lost their loved ones to unnecessary violence in the past three years and unless something is done to restore normalcy in those areas, it will likely get worse.<br /><br /> Of course, there are other manners of dialogue and solutions that need to be adopted in order to bring this impasse totally under control; solutions that focus on long-term results to the problem and the fundamental issues that gave birth to the crisis itself has to be tackled. A state of emergency has a time-limit and therefore has a short-term effect and short term gain. <br /> Therefore, in addition to placing the state of emergency, the government must immediately sit down and identify what is driving this upsurge of violence in these respective areas and address the best way to bring an end to it, otherwise when the emergency is eventually lifted, it will be ‘violence’ business as usual. <br /><br /> To show sincerity in its wish to end the violence, the government should immediately make an undertaking to release the innocent women and children that have been detained without cause in the quest to clampdown on the guerrillas. Government should further undertake to rebuild and relinquish the Mosques and properties that belonged to the Jamā'a Ahl al-sunnah li-da'wa wa al-jihād movement before the Borno state government under the leadership of Ali Modu Sheriff launched its offensive against them, before the murder of their leader Imam Mohammed Yusuf. And most importantly, the on-going trial of the security operatives who murdered Imam Mohammed Yusuf and Alhaji Buji Foi should be intensified, together with the arrest and prosecution of the government officials who allegedly ordered their execution. Those actions would show the sincerity and commitment of government to tackle the root of this problem and bring it to an end. <br /><br /> Now that the presidency has expressed determination to root out the insurgents in the affected areas, the good people of those states should endeavor to cooperate with the authorities in order to bring an end to the horror that surrounds them every day. To restore law and order to the states, people should be able to give accurate and dependable information as well as advice to all seekers of peace. It is expected that if the society as a whole resolves to end the crisis today, there will be no more killing or kidnapping of our people tomorrow. If the communities do not provide a safe haven for those who are out to disrupt peace, there will be no place for any criminals to hide. Our brothers that have turned renegades should also be persuaded to embrace peace and end the killings of innocent people.<br /><br /> The security officials deployed in the three states ought to understand that democracy is still in place in Nigeria as a whole and even though a state of emergency has been declared in those states, we are still a democracy and overzealousness of any kind should by no means be exercised or tolerated. The authorities themselves cannot use lawlessness to fight lawlessness because violence begets and encourages more violence.<br /><br /> One prays that we will soon see an end to the violence and hopes that the government, in enacting this state of emergency can tackle the mayhem in the troubled areas in the most responsible manner and be committed to placing every resource at their disposal towards winning this war in a way that is in the best interest of the collective.<br /><br /> The current rate of violence dictated for more to be done and stronger action to be employed. The situation, especially in Borno State, could not have been expected to continue the way it was going without a response commensurate with the wanton acts of violence and lawlessness; it is a response that is necessary to halt the current spike in the hostile activity of insurgents in the shortest possible time. Desperate acts require desperate measures.<br /> So, even though the method is not ideal under our democracy, I can appreciate the current declaration of government to be more than a panic response. I do not see it through the lens of opposition, creed or tribe; I see it simply as a “state of emergency to slate the insurgency.”<br /><br />Written By Hannatu Musawa<br /> I invite you to:<br /> Follow me on Twitter- @hanneymusawa<br /> Visit my Website- <a href="http://www.hannatumusawa.com/" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.hannatumusawa.com</a><br /> Like me on Facebook- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa</a><br /> Text (SMS Only): 08116759753<br /> Subscribe to my YouTube Channel- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2FHannatuMusawa&h=xAQGCkcHn&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa</a></span><span class="text_exposed_hide"><span class="text_exposed_link"><a data-ft="{"tn":"e"}" href="http://www.blogger.com/null">See More</a></span></span></div>
</span></div>
</div>
<div class="_53s uiScaledThumb photo photoWidth1" data-ft="{"tn":"E"}" data-gt="{"fbid":"395817120528747"}">
<a ajaxify="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=395817120528747&set=a.316201705156956.68154.316123051831488&type=1&relevant_count=1&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-ash3%2F935308_395817120528747_1260571238_n.png&size=300%2C168&theater&source=9" class="_6i9" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=395817120528747&set=a.316201705156956.68154.316123051831488&type=1&relevant_count=1" rel="theater"><div class="uiScaledImageContainer photoWrap" style="height: 226px;">
</div>
</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-1219135243740935012013-07-08T01:53:00.000-07:002013-07-08T01:53:11.312-07:00HARD VIEW (TO MOTHER ON THIS MOTHER’S DAY)<div align="justify" class="userContentWrapper">
<div class="_wk">
<span class="userContent"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: center;">
<strong><u>TO MOTHER ON THIS MOTHER’S DAY</u></strong></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed">
<br /><br /> Motherhood is, without doubt, the most joyous and altering experience in my life and the life of almost all mothers. Of all the achievements and pleasures we enjoy in life, none makes a woman more proud than <span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show">her role as a mother. It is the most wearing, thrilling and remarkable journey and as we approach Mother’s Day on the 12th of May, I would like to take the opportunity to exemplify the unique challenges and delights of motherhood, reveal its deep significance and in doing that wish all mothers a Happy Mother’s Day.<br /><br /> My daughter is the first person I speak to every morning when I wake up and the last person I speak to before I go to sleep at night and as I watch her grow into a very special, beautiful, bright, brilliant, pious and virtuous young lady together with all my other children, I realize that one of the greatest aspects of motherhood is the appreciation of my mother that I have learnt just by being a mother myself. <br /><br /> Children will always have a special place in their mother’s hearts and mothers will always have a unique place in their children’s lives. The connection between mother and child that begins when the woman is pregnant with her child and progresses through to adulthood will always be the most special and remarkable bond of life. The feature that sets mothers apart is her everlasting love for her children and that love transforms into a unique, emotional, unconditional and telepathic relationship because their understanding of the deep love they have for each other need never be spoken.<br /><br /> Mothers are amazing and apart from literally bearing their children, they are ready to bear adversity; liability and hope for their children but at the same time carry pleasure, adoration, compassion, understanding and ideals. A mother, with her out of control emotions, can exhibit the most bizarre display. She smiles instead of cries in front of her children so as not to alarm them, sings instead of screams so as not to scare them. When she is happy for her children she cries for joy instead of laughing. A mother is always ready to fight to the ends of the earth in order to stand up for her children. She is prepared to go without, so that her children can go with. A mother always shows strength for her children even when she realises that there is no strength left. She knows that a reassuring smile, a hug or a kiss can heal her children’s broken hearts.<br /><br /> The one common feature of every mother is her Olympic winning ability to worry profusely. For most of her life a mother worries. She worries that she has not done her best for her children; she worries about how the world will treat them. She is scared about what their past was and about the secrets the future holds for them. She is petrified about absolutely everything to do with her children and about absolutely nothing, as long as it has to do with them. When things don’t go right in her children’s lives, when the world seems against them, a mother always has the magic touch of making them feel better. A mother always puts the needs of her children before hers, no matter the price she has to pay. She is always ready to give the unconditional love her children need, even when they make a mess of their lives and no matter the amount of bad choices they make. At the times when her children fail to show their appreciation for all she means to them, or the times when their actions threaten the fabric of their lives, a mother’s love will always overshadow every possible wrong in her children’s lives. When her children are ill, even if she is ill herself, a mother is always ready to take care of her babies. A mother will always nurture her children throughout their lives, tolerate their attitude and misbehaviour, and will always be there to encourage them. A mother will do all this and more because, that is what mothers do.<br /><br /> Often, being a mother is an exacting job, one which exposes us to several moments of anguish before our children grow up and that anguish doesn’t disappear even when they are grown up. Mothering is a learning process and a mother is only human and as such very able to make mistakes. Even though most of us have a visual of our mothers as being perfect, especially during childhood, no woman is perfect and no mother can perform her job of mothering flawlessly. All mothers are capable of right and wrong, committing gaffs, missing the mark, but despite the mistakes she makes, we still must appreciate her because she is still our beloved mother.<br /><br /> Mothers are the most special people in this world and motherhood is the most special gift. For all of us whose mothers are living today, we should show her gratitude for all of our battles she has fought, we should make every day the most wonderful day of her life. Sometimes the demands of everyday take over and we may loose sight of the most imperative facet of life; the act of loving people around us, especially our mothers. Even when we speak and see our mothers regularly, we don't always get a chance or take the opportunity to tell them how much we love and appreciate all they are and have been in our lives. For all of us whose mothers are no longer with us, we should pray for them constantly, thank God for giving us the blessing of knowing them and using them to help us experience the wonderful love we had of being their children. We must continue to spread and teach the message of love that they taught us.<br /><br /> In the past two years, I had been very ill and spent the vast majority of that time in hospital. And through that challenge of pain and uncertainty, one face, one voice, one beacon of support stood head and shoulders above all others; that of my mother Hajia Ladi Musawa. From the start of my illness right to the point when I stood up and became healthy again, my mother never wavered in her support to the extent that the staff at the hospital used to make fun of her. She was always there at my bedside with an unfaltering determination, courage and, of course, a beautiful smile. She prayed for me, sang for me, bathed me and cradled me in the same way she probably did when I was a little girl.<br /><br /> During some of my very dark moments, at the time of my illness, I often doubted whether I could have pulled through had I not had her constant encouragement, her spiritual and physical support, and her undying love. And every time I lost hope, every time I felt drained, it only took a glance at the reassuring face of my mother and the whisper of her prayers for me to have the strength to fight on.<br /><br /> Anyone who knows my mother, Hajia Ladi Musawa, will be aware of what a difficult task it is for me to attempt to find the words to describe her. A role model to all who know and love her, my mother lives her life with great humility and her selflessness and kindness to others knows no bounds. She is a fantastic person who has been blessed with a sense of humour, a kind nature, and an unassuming ability to make all those around her feel special and loved.<br /><br /> My mother has affected me and her five other children for the rest of our lives. Her great character and her view on life have inspired us to try and be better people. She has always pushed us to look at people on the inside and not their appearance or identity. She never judges but always connects with people by their hearts and their values to see if they are good people, and that has always made us want to do so too. Because of my mother when I walk into a room I see people for who they are on the inside, and not the outside. She is my inspiration in life, and the one who I look at as a perfect person. She has impacted me in so many ways, and I will never really be able to thank her enough.<br /><br /> A mother is invariably where life itself begins and in her heart is where the magic of life lives. And on this Mother’s day and every other day, I thank God for my mother and all mothers. I give honour to every Nigerian woman who plays the role of a mother because as mothers, we are deserving of praise and so much more.<br /><br /> Written By Hannatu Musawa<br /><br /> I invite you to:<br /> Follow me on Twitter- @hanneymusawa<br /> Visit my Website- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hannatumusawa.com%2F&h=TAQGd_TjH&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.hannatumusawa.com/</a><br /> Like me on Facebook- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa</a><br /> Text (SMS Only): 08116759753<br /> Subscribe to my YouTube Channel- <a href="http://www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa</a></span></div>
</span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-36757788399689332632013-07-08T01:51:00.001-07:002013-07-08T01:51:13.457-07:00HARD VIEW (SUICIDE BOMBING: DYING TO KILL)<span class="userContent"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: center;">
<strong><u>SUICIDE BOMBING: DYING TO KILL</u></strong></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><br /> I've often wondered what motivates one person to murder another. It must be the ultimate act of inhumanity for one human to consciously and intentionally go out of their way to snuff the life out of another h<span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show">uman. Even though no murderer has the exact same motivation as another, I believe murderers are, for the most part, really intense individuals who strive for some kind of mental, physical or spiritual release. And even though not all murderers express validation for their actions, the more perplexing type of murderers are those who incorrectly justify the action of snatching another human’s fundamental right to life from them.<br /><br /> Which brings me to the concept of mass killings and suicide bombings. For over two years, Nigerians have fallen prey to the brutality of mass extermination in the form of suicide bombings. While those who are carrying out these suicide bombings justify it by saying that they are fighting for the course of Islam, the vast majority of Muslims recognize their actions as a perversion of Islam and which has nothing to do with Muslims. <br /><br /> As a Muslim sister, a mother; as a person who cares for her people, her country and cherishes Islam beyond everything else in this world, it really is shocking to see fellow Muslims and people from Islam all over the world resort to an action that is a complete contradiction to what Islam, a religion of peace, teaches us and stands for.<br /><br /> As a Muslim sister, a mother; as a person who cares for her people, her country and cherishes Islam beyond everything else in this world, if I had a chance to look into the faces and speak directly to those Muslims, especially those Nigerians who interpret and preach our scripture in a manner that lends itself to the extreme act of suicide bombings and mass killings, I would ask;<br />“Whether at some point during your journey; during your really quiet sober moments, there have been points when you have asked yourself if the suicide killings that you send your followers to carry out in the name of Jihad is truly what our religion asks of you; whether the thousands of dead bodies and blood that now seeps down your hands is the obligatory religious sacrifice of which our faith and ‘Iman’ is built on?<br /><br /> All the people that you have sent to carry out what you have interpreted and preached as an essential Jihad have been just that; people. People who belong to others; who happen to be other people’s children, other people’s parents, other people’s siblings, other people’s friends, other people’s neighbour’s and other people’s dependants. Every time you send out our brothers to carry out your interpretation of what Jihad requires of them, someone suffers, someone dies, parents loose their children. You do not send out your children for what you say is the ultimate, pious sacrifice; you don’t send out your parents or your wives. You don’t even send yourself, but you let our young brothers, our young men carry out the ultimate sin in Islam to fulfil the fate that you have not given yourself up to.<br /><br /> Yes, the suicide bombings and mass killings that you have subjected our society to is an ultimate sin, because using an Islamic eye to look at the concept of suicide bombings in its very basic form, it is impossible to rationalize it with the beautiful and peaceful teachings of Islam. As a Muslim, if you look at the act of suicide, ask yourself if Islam endorses suicide in any capacity? Whether there is any circumstance where the commission of suicide is encouraged or permitted? Even with your extreme interpretation of Jihad, the first and short answer has got to be absolutely not ever.<br /><br /> During your religious studies, you would have come across several examples of this prohibition from Hadith where it is explained quite explicitly that whoever commits suicide with any weapon will be punished with that very same weapon in the Hell Fire. In Hadith (Bukhari 7:670) Narrated by Abu Huraira, The Prophet (SAW) said, ‘Whoever purposely throws himself from a mountain and kills himself, will be in the Hell Fire falling down into it and abiding therein perpetually forever; and whoever drinks poison and kills himself with it, he will be carrying his poison in his hand and drinking it in the Hell Fire wherein he will abide eternally forever; and whoever kills himself with an iron weapon, will be carrying that weapon in his hand and stabbing his abdomen with it in the Hell Fire wherein he will abide eternally forever.’<br /><br />A further example from a battle in Hadith (Book #52, Hadith #297) Narrated by Abu Huraira tells of a situation in the company of Allah's Apostle in a Ghazwa where He remarked about a man who claimed to be a Muslim, saying, ‘This man is from the people of the Hell Fire.’ When asked why the Muslim man was from the people of Hell fire, he replied that, ‘When battle started, the Muslim man fought violently till he got wounded.’ Somebody said, ‘O Allah's Apostle! The man whom you described as being from the people of the Hell Fire fought violently today and died.’ The Prophet (SAW) again replied, ‘He will go to the Hell Fire.’ Some people were confused as to why a Muslim who had fought so gallantly for his religion would be described as being from the people of the Hell Fire. Suddenly someone explained that the man was still alive but severely wounded after the battle but when night fell, he lost patience and committed suicide and that was why he was described as a man that would serve eternity in Hell. Whilst none of the Hadith mentions suicide bombings in particular, it seems clear that suicide, even 'in the name of Allah' is forbidden and punished severely. <br /><br /> If suicide is forbidden then suicide bombing is strictly haram. Suicide bombing kills innocent people, and Allah says that whoever kills another, it is as if the whole of humanity is killed. You know as much as the next person that it is absolutely forbidden to kill people in Islam except in the case where it has been ordered by Allah, such as during war time. That circumstance does not exist in the present state that we are living in no matter what analysis you have given our situation. I’m sorry it just doesn’t! If you are well read in Islamic tenants, law and jurisprudence, you must know that, as Muslims, we are prohibited from taking the law into our own hands, even if we have been wronged. There is nowhere in the teachings of Islam to where any of us are permitted to make a judgement against another and take the law into our own hands. It is never permissible for you or anyone in the name of religion to suddenly decide to kill another or commit yourself to a bomb where you take your own life and kill innocent people without any right. It is a grave sin!<br /><br /> When you follow the example set by foreign Islamist groups like Al-Qaeda and other militant groups in Asia, the Caucuses and throughout the Middle East, when you take funding, logistics and other support from them, when you travel to receive training in their camps, you align yourself with their struggle. But the struggle of these groups is fundamentally a global jihad against the West; a movement against the United States and its policies, especially in regards to Israel and its occupation of Jerusalem and the persecution and murder of Muslims there. The foreign Islamist groups are waging their war because of that, because of the occupation of the lands of Islam by the United States in the holiest of places, the Arabian Peninsula, plundering its riches, dictating to its rulers, humiliating its people, terrorizing its neighbours, and turning its bases in the Peninsula into a spearhead through which to fight the neighbouring Muslim peoples. The Islamist groups are also fighting because of Americas' past aggression against the Iraqi and Afghan people. Is that what you are fighting for? Because if it is, then why are you targeting Nigerians who have no concept of the West and its foreign policy? Even for our foreign Muslim brothers who target civilian Westerners, you must ask yourself what they have achieved in their Jihad. It has not stopped Israeli occupation in Palestine, it has not stopped American foreign policies that offend and oppress our people. What it has done is gotten our fathers and children killed and locked up. What it has done are massacred Western civilians who have no knowledge or business with their countries’ foreign policy. What it has done is presented our peaceful religion as a religion of violence.<br /><br /> When you recruit a suicide bomber to kill and take the law into their own hands, it is not because Islam prescribed it; it is because you have fallen victim to an extreme way of thinking that is not a fair portrayal of Islam; a religion of peace, hope, harmony, goodwill and brotherhood; especially when you go to the level of killing other people; especially when you use the name of a peaceful religion to justify your unwarranted acts of violence.<br /> The one thing that you continue to speak of is Jihad. You rely on the concept of Jihad to justify your actions. You must remember that the Holy Quran does not make Jihad, in context of an article of faith. The sayings and traditions of the Holy Prophet (SAW) render it into a formula for active struggle that invariably and incorrectly tended towards a militant expression. Your suicide bombings and mass killings of those of alternative and different faiths are contrary to the purview of the real spirit of the Islamic Jihad. Your presentation of Islam as a crude and barbaric religion which gives itself the right to cause unwarranted human and material suffering and destruction under the guise of Divine authority is not the kind of Islam many of us find in the Holy Quran read in its entirety and in the precepts of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW).<br /> When you get upset at non-Muslims who read the Quran out of context, does it not occur to you that you also read and interpret it in a context that does not reflect the peace, patience and understanding that Islam represents and the teachings and life of the Holy Prophet (SAW)?<br /><br /> Among the attributes of God, the Holy Quran mentions that ‘He is the Source of peace and the bestower of security’. The establishment of peace and maintenance of security must, therefore, be the constant objective of all Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Every pursuit and activity which disturbs peace is severely condemned in Islam and you will find this in specific injunctions in the Holy Quran: ‘…And create not disorder in the earth after it has been set in order...’ Mischief and wickedness are condemned in several other verses and Muslims are commanded to work wholly for peace.<br /><br /> When you speak about forced conversions to the extent of telling a President to convert to Islam before you lay down your arms, you make jest of your struggle and give the impression that you are not sincere in what you claim to be struggling for by making demands that even you know to be obviously unreasonable. By saying that, one wonders where you place the expression in the Quran which says, ‘there is no compulsion in religion.’<br /><br />When you insist that Shari’a law must be applied in the whole of Nigeria, you know that it is not realistic for Nigeria as a country to be ruled under Shari’a law. It has now been fourteen years since some state governors politicised the issue of applying Shari’a law in their states. Fourteen years since those governors set off the domino that has culminated in what you have become today. Ask yourself whether those state governors have taken any responsibility for what they started fourteen years ago. Those state governors personally benefited from that policy back then while blood was spilt and are still benefiting because most of them are now in sitting cushy in the Nigerian senate while “you”, the pawn that was used by them, are today hunted as criminals, branded as terrorists, fallen as mass murderers. Ask yourself whether those states are earnestly practicing Shari’a today.<br /><br /> Thousands of people died in the sectarian and religious clashes that resulted from the fallout during that period. And for what? For the application of Shari’a which evidently, fourteen years on, was not a sincere application? If you believe that the application of Shari’a in those States has been successful and you desire to bring your family up in a Shari’a state, you have the option of moving to any of those states or migrating to an Islamic country such as Saudi Arabia instead of shedding the blood of people who are struggling to live day by day and struggling to do good by their families.<br /><br /> Nigeria is a country that is made up of not only Muslims. There are indigenous people of both the Islamic and Christian faith in all corners of the country. Each of those people has a right to practice a religion of their choosing. What right does any one section of the community have to decide the fate and religion of the rest?<br /> You were born into this country in its secular state and you have grown up as a Nigerian in its secular state. Millions of devout Muslims (Uthman Dan Fodio, Aminu Kano, Ahmadu Bello, Shehu Yaradua, Sheikh Jaafar; and so on) have lived and died in a secular Nigeria, as Nigerians before you. What would make you think that you have the Devine right to make yourself responsible to decide a person’s faith for them above and beyond all those who came before you? <br /><br /> If the Holy Prophet (SAW) provided assurances to non-Muslim minorities living in Muslim majority countries and ordered Muslim minorities living in non-Muslim majority countries to abide by all laws and the rules of the country, there is no reason for any Nigerian Muslim not to abide by the laws of Nigeria. The belief that God is a just God that welcomes those who believe in Him, the last day and lead a righteous life, by whatever name they call themselves should be enough reason for us to co-exist peacefully. In the Quran, it is written that: ‘Surely, those who believe those who are Jewish, the converts, and the Christians; any of them who believe in GOD and believe in the Last Day, and lead a righteous life, have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve. [Quran 5:69].’<br /><br />If you so desire to do a Jihad and draw people to Islam, why don’t you show them through example the pillar of peace and understanding that Islam preaches? Why don’t you tell them about the complete teachings of the Quran; about the pure way of life, about faith in God; all His angels, all His holy books, all His prophets, day of Judgment, and destiny? Why don’t you teach them about the virtuous existence and lifestyle of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW)? Why don’t you talk about the need to perform good deeds for the benefit of community, nature, and mankind? The need to treat every single person equally like the way you treat yourself, the need for morality and the need for brotherhood, justice, equality, kindness, tolerance, love, sympathy, sacrifice and service to humanity? By doing that, you offer them a positive and attractive choice; by doing that you are more likely to succeed in your Jihad. Show them by positive examples, not by bombs, not by force, not by bloodshed and certainly not by death.<br /><br /> As true Muslims, who know and understand the teachings of Islam, it is not the fact that our religion is going through a period of scrutiny and slur that bothers us. After all, that is the challenge and lesson of faith. Such calamities are a test. They are like medicine; even though it is bitter, yet, in spite of its bitterness you still take it. The greatest reward comes with the greatest trial. As we have seen in all the Holy Books, the Quran, the Bible, the Torah, any religion must pass through hardships, scrutiny, persecution and ridicule in order to reach its ultimate goal. No matter what anyone says, many of us believe that is what Islam is experiencing now.<br /> You must remember it is not what the people who know no better believe, think and say about Islam that matters, it is not the verses of the Quran and Hadith that are read out of context by non-Muslims to justify violence that is important, it is what we Muslims believe, think and say about what Islam stands for that is most important. And if you, as a Muslim, take verses in the Quran and Hadith out of context of the overlying message of peace that Islam preaches, then there is an incontrovertible cause for concern and you must acknowledge that you are part of the problem Islam is faced with. If you, as a Muslim, interpret Jihad to the extent that you can commit the ultimate sin of suicide to kill innocent women and children and blow up Churches and other people’s worshiping places, then, let’s face it…, we have a real problem on our hands of which you are perpetrators.<br /><br /> Why would you think it is alright, as Muslims, to intimidate and threaten people? You say that you are fighting a Jihad against the non-believers of Islam. But what about the believers of Islam? What about the innocent Muslim bodies that you leave in your wake? What about the Emirs and the Imams who have not bowed to your requests and have presented a dissimilar Islamic teaching to yours and as a result have been targeted by people who claim to represent you? There is nowhere in Islamic scripture where the murder of other Muslims who hold a diverse view to you is permitted.<br /><br /> Nigerian Muslim leaders are constantly being accused for not speaking out against you and your actions. But the truth is that everyone is afraid of your gung-ho aggression. Everyone is afraid of what you might do to them, their families and their communities should they speak since you seem not to have any boundaries. That is not just! That is not right! That is not Islamic! Our leaders are living and breathing people too, who have families who they strive to protect. Those same Muslim leaders that you and other Nigerians have vilified have gone out of their way to force a reluctant president to offer you an amnesty many believe you do not deserve. A gesture that you disregard. As long as those Nigerian Muslims who present a different view to you are not desecrating or defaming Islam, you should understand that they have a right to speak their minds on behalf of those who look up to them, just as you do every time you send out your messages on the internet.<br /><br /> You may consider yourselves to be Islamic scholars just because you have read and memorized the Quran and as scholars you and your followers believe that what you are preaching is gospel. But memorizing the Quran by no means makes you a scholar. It makes you a reciter (Qari) instead or a preserver (Hafiz), but it doesn't make you a knowledgeable person (Alim). There are so many people in this world who have memorized the Quran, but the fact that they have done so does not qualify them to assume the function of a scholar. Everywhere in Nigeria, hoards of Muslims memorize the Quran, yet they cannot repeat a Tafsir of a single Ayah, so that in itself doesn’t qualify you or any other Muslim as an Islamic scholar.<br /><br /> However, every single rational scholar and knowledgeable person in Islamic law, from Saudi Arabia, to Indonesia, to Bosnia and beyond have all said the exact same thing; that no Muslim has the right to take the law into their own hands and just suddenly declare a war against a perceived enemy.<br /><br /> It is all well and good that you probably truly believe you are doing Allah’s work and that a great reward awaits you in the hereafter when you sacrifice yourself in this way. I have no doubt that you do, because otherwise how could one explain your aspiration for such an extreme measure. But just take a moment to consider, ‘what if...’ What if the interpretation you are applying to the scripture is not one hundred per cent what Allah wills? What if you are making a grave mistake by committing the ultimate sin in Islam from your desire to commit the ultimate deed for Islam? What if? Just that one second contemplation and question you owe to yourself could be the difference between your destruction and your salvation in the afterlife. Would it not be better for you to explore other means of performing Allah’s work through a path of peace that does not harm you, your people or others? Would it not be better to find another route to Jihad, if that is your primary aim, where you have the guarantee of not putting your soul on the precipice of uncertainty? Where you can perform the good deeds Islam speaks about in the hope of ensuring your place in paradise (Al Jannah Firdaus) since that is your main motivation?<br /><br /> I implore you, as a Muslim sister, as a mother, as a person who cares for her people, her country and cherishes Islam beyond anything else, to stop this war you have waged against a perceived enemy because it affects every one of us, you included. Stop the violence, stop the aggression and stop the bloodshed.<br /> There is no doubt that your people were wronged first by the Nigerian State and the Borno government under Senator Ali Modu Sheriff. Your leaders were murdered, your mosques were burnt, your children were slaughtered and your women were locked up. And those crimes against you must be acknowledged. Those who did you and your people wrong when you committed no crime against anyone should be brought to justice. I have written numerous times about this in my previous columns. But today if your leader, Mallam Mohammed Yusuf (Allah ya jikan shi, ya rihamshe shi; Amin) was alive, I am sure he would support your struggle for Islam but I doubt he would have supported the kind of unnecessary bloodshed that has become the staple of your struggle.<br /><br /> I have seen numerous of his sermons and must say Mallam Mohammed Yusuf was one of the most articulate Nigerian Imams of his time. He seemed to care very deeply for you and your people. He seemed devout, kind, generous and very endearing. It is easy to see how wounded you and your people would have been when he and Alhaji Buji Foi were extra judiciously murdered under the alleged orders of your state government at a time when your people were being hounded, persecuted and slaughtered. It has all been documented and some of the atrocities committed against your people when you did nothing more than practice your religion can be viewed on the following links.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJ5_DQY4Wfeo&h=LAQF1k14W&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5_DQY4Wfeo</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DHDcYdF7lZOY&h=nAQG8RuIk&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDcYdF7lZOY</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DtlpZr8IRUcY&h=IAQEqRXnX&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlpZr8IRUcY</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DABAsZakzepY&h=ZAQGWjuvh&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABAsZakzepY</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D8VN_7A3mNKg&h=zAQGN4Ilw&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VN_7A3mNKg</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DePpUvfTXY7w&h=WAQFOUAC1&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePpUvfTXY7w</a><br /><br /> When Allah Subhaanahu wa Ta’ala, in His Infinite Wisdom, tested you and your people with the difficult situation you were confronted with back then, you should have had faith in His choice for you. No one if they are honest will say that your people have not been unfairly challenged but, as Muslims, you have to be forgiving and patient. Perhaps if you are more patient with the suffering and challenge that Allah decreed for your people, instead of reacting in the way you are, your reward and salvation may be better, for ‘He is All-Wise and All-Knowing.’<br /><br />Practice the patience that Islam teaches us and stop visiting your suffering onto other people who are already suffering under the sweltering ineptitude of the Goodluck Jonathan government. Stop making extreme decisions for every single Nigerian Muslim based on your personal belief because you do not speak for them.<br /> When you see stories of hundreds of innocent civilians being massacred in Baga town in Borno State and other similar tragedies, it must be heart breaking. Hundreds of people were killed and a whole community was leveled because the soldiers were hunting for you and your supporters. While you are not the ones who committed this particular crime, you must know that you also have to take some part of the responsibility for their death because those innocent people are the casualties of the unnecessary war that you are waging. <br /><br /> Be patient, even to the JTF troops who kill and persecute your people. Though the JTF are ruthlessly and extra-judiciously killing your people, you must remember that you are targeting them too and they are people with families, just like you.<br /> You are all parents, children, siblings, neighbors or friends. You have people who care for you and rely on you, just like every other Nigerian. You have people you care for just like every other Nigerian. Combine your Islamic teaching of peace with humanity and cease the violence in Allah’s name. As Muslims, you must be patient, not just for you, but for the casualties of your war, for the mothers who cry daily at the loss of their children, for the future of all of our families and for the repose of your soul.<br /><br /> Allah tells us that He is the One who created us and makes it clear to us that it is only He who can take life. You and your people should give credence to this ultimate truth and stop the massacre. Stop the suicide bombings …Allah Subhaanahu wa Ta'ala, in His Infinite Wisdom, knows best…!”<br /><br />As a Muslim sister, a mother; as a person who cares for her people, her country and cherishes Islam beyond everything else in this world, if I had a chance to look into the faces of and directly address those Muslims, especially the Nigerians, who interpret and preach our scripture in a manner that lends itself to the extreme act of suicide bombings and mass killings, that and just that is what I would say!<br /><br /> I've often wondered what motivates one person to murder another. But in the case of suicide bombings in Nigeria, it’s not so much about wondering but more about a frustration that the message of a beautiful, peaceful religion and way of life is being perverted by those who profess to love and live by it.<br /> One can only pray that, instead of strapping on bombs, setting off explosives and murdering in mass, these people can give peace a chance. Because there must be a better option than killing to die… or dying to kill!<br /><br /> Written By Hannatu Musawa<br /> I invite you to:<br /> Follow me on Twitter- @hanneymusawa<br /> Visit my Website- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hannatumusawa.com&h=8AQFX76hh&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.hannatumusawa.com</a><br /> Like my Facebook- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa</a><br /> Text (SMS Only): 08116759753<br /> Subscribe to my Youtube Channel- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2FHannatuMusawa&h=VAQGs-hOz&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa</a></span></div>
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-29031541513789178232013-07-08T01:49:00.000-07:002013-07-08T01:49:13.661-07:00HARD VIEW (WHAT IS GOOD FOR THE GOOSE…)<span class="userContent"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: center;">
<strong><u>WHAT IS GOOD FOR THE GOOSE…</u></strong></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />Due to its implications and dangers, it would be difficult for anyone not to be concerned with the recent nuclear threats by the North Korean government and the tensions that have arisen between North Korea and <span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show">America as a result. As one of the states once described by George Bush as the “axis of evil”, North Korea has for some time now insured its place as one of the biggest enemies to a super-power that has, in the past, enacted unilateral military action against its adversaries. But no matter how much one vilifies the actions of North Korea, looking at the situation from a third party view, America, itself, still doesn’t come out as the paragon of virtue in the whole kafuffle.<br /><br /> A well-known legal maxim which bars relief for anyone guilty of improper conduct in a matter urges one who comes to equity to come with clean hands. It operates to prevent any affirmative recovery for a party with unclean-hands, no matter how unfairly the party's adversary appears. Granted, North Korea has come across as the main aggressor in this particular round of hostilities, but the truth is, as a nation that used its military might to illegally invade a sovereign nation within the last several years, it is hardly the time for America to try and pass itself off as the arbitrageur of righteousness. And even though the prospect of Kim Jong Un’s threats of missile testing and development of more nuclear technology comes with ominous implications, the perceived double standards of America, a nuclear power itself, telling another sovereignty to give up its nuclear technology leaves a lot to be desired.<br /><br /> America's turgid jingoism, enormous exhibitions of patriotic vehemence and arrogance within the last decade very much exceeds the notion of moral equivalency and their call for North Korea to abide by International standards would be almost as hypocritical as Adolph Hitler calling for world peace. If the U.S ever represented the pursuance of freedom and protection of rights, then why did they ever keep secret prisons and torture cells, why do they, to this day, hold detainees without due process in Guantanamo Bay and why did they invade another sovereign country without a cogent, authentic reason other than on the impulse of a diplomatically spastic and a verbally dyslexic pea-brained former president? Had it been another country who had behaved in the manner America has in the last couple of years, America would have been the first and loudest to cry bloody murder. There is no doubt that America has somewhat redeemed itself in the eyes of the other 99% of the world since the exit of George. W. Bush from power and the election of an objective, fair minded Barack Obama, but the annoyance of America’s hypocrisy when it comes to their directive and bully tactics to other nations to give up nuclear weapons still soils its international image.<br /><br /> As the main nation to have used atomic weapons against an enemy during a war, America knows all too well the ease in which a nuclear power can destroy its enemy. But even though the world has been able to come to terms with the Hiroshima disaster, America must be aware that their most recent misadventures in Iraq and Afghanistan has set a sorry example and arguably become the very engine to propel the development of nuclear weapons. During his tenure, when President Bush disregarded the UN and went to war in Iraq, he effectively opened the door to other war loving, international law hating leaders. But for the hostility and threats of isolation displayed by the American government against its enemies, it is likely that governments such as that of North Korea may not have been so steadfast in acquiring nuclear might. Any country believing that it would be exposed to American aggression similar to the groundless one conducted in Iraq in the last Gulf war might probably be ready to withstand international condemnation in order to develop nuclear weapons, if only to protect themselves from America. With the situation as it is now, it is quite unlikely that anyone on the receiving end of American wrath will unilaterally disarm and abandon its nuclear weapons technology. Especially given the example set where, even though Col. Muammar Qaddafi gave up Libya's nuclear weapons development project, it didn’t stop him from being ousted from power and killed like a dog, with American help.<br /><br /> As a punishment for North Korean insolence, the United Nations are calling for sanctions. But as history shows, sanctions do not necessarily work on authoritarian regimes willing to allow massive human suffering. The consequence of sanctions affects the most vulnerable and helpless; it is highly unlikely that the threat of sanctions will deter the North Koreans from its nuclear path or achieve regime change. <br /><br /> In an ideal world, the United States should have the capability to prevent the kind of conflict we are witnessing between North Korea and the western world. America controls the whole planet through trade, aid, military capacity and with its vast influence; it should also have the ability to guide the world to peace. But the super power has a reputation for pursuing its interest in a manner that disregards anyone it perceives to be an international threat to U.S. geopolitical and economic interest. Had it chosen to approach the issue of nuclear possession from an even platform where the terms of possession is equal for all countries, then their argument would have been more convincing. But as it is now, what incentive does North Korea have in joining talks to give up its nuclear weapons when their perceived enemies possess nuclear weapons? What is good for the goose should be good for the gander and until the entire world became weapons-free, no country has the moral right to point an accusing finger at another, especially if they possess nuclear weapons themselves. <br /><br /> It’s all well and good for the international community to denounce North Korea’s recent nuclear ambitions, but as long as there is a general support for the kind of American weapons development and testing we have witnessed within the last 100 years, then this is double-standards. Let’s not forget this isn’t year zero; many nations, including America, Britain, France, India and Pakistan amongst others have had huge piles of nerve gas and other chemical weapons for years. Until the whole world calls for the destruction of all nuclear weapons in every country and speaks up against the type of injustice we have witnessed America unleash on other countries, then none of these nations have a right to tell North Korea what it should and should not do. This effort to limit nuclear weapons technology to the current nuclear powers can only influence the kind of confrontation we are witnessing. If America or any of the western nations are interested in fostering peace and forming an understanding with countries like North Korea, one of their main prerogatives should be to de-arm the nuclear weapons they themselves have then try to develop some kind of dialogue. <br /><br /> The possession of nuclear arms by any country threatens everyone on the planet and the only defence against them is a realistic worldwide non-nuclear strategy that would involve a progressive disarming of all nuclear powers. The world needs cooperation, discourse and arbitration in order to destroy all nuclear weapons. But as long as select nations are allowed to keep their stockpiles of nuclear weapons, then this recent hue and cry against North Korea is akin to stopping the gander from acquiring what it sees the goose has. And although Kim Jong Un may be suffering from a twisted form of youthful exuberance, he will unlikely be willing to abandon his nuclear ambitions just because America and the western community said so.<br /><br /> Written By Hannatu Musawa<br /> I invite you to:<br /> Follow me on Twitter- @hanneymusawa<br /> Visit my Website- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hannatumusawa.com&h=iAQEUUlNf&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.hannatumusawa.com</a><br /> Like me on Facebook- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa</a><br /> Subscribe to my Youtube Channel- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2FHannatuMusawa&h=iAQEUUlNf&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa</a></span></div>
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-54347856065596297732013-07-08T01:47:00.002-07:002013-07-08T01:47:32.912-07:00HARD VIEW (FOOTPRINTS OF A BARONESS)<span class="userContent"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: center;">
<strong><u>FOOTPRINTS OF A BARONESS</u></strong></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><br /> Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Of those people, some we may personally know and some we may just see on our television screens, read about in books, or hear about them through tales. Of those peopl<span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show">e, some will leave footprints on our hearts and minds which may change us and we are never, ever the same.<br /><br /> Along with Mallam Aminu Kano, Chief Sunday Awoniyi, General T.Y Danjuma, Sheikh Ahmed Deedat, Pope John Paul II, Nelson Mandela, Sheikh Abubakar Mahmood Gumi, Queen Elizabeth II, Wangari Maathai, Oprah Winfrey, Gambo Sawaba, Moshoud Abiola, Jerry Rawlings, Gani Fawehinmi, Mamman Shatta, Bishop Mathew Kukah, Michael Jackson, Emeka Anyaoku, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Obi Ezekwesili, Mother Teressa, and Mohammed Ali, Margaret Thatcher was one of the public figures in my lifetime who have left, and continue to leave footprints on my heart and mind and whose teachings, character and example has had a big impact in my life. With the news of her passing Monday evening (8th April, 2013), I and millions of people across the world who admired her lost a great role model. She had fought a long battle with dementia and a series of strokes and eventually succumbed to a massive stroke. She will be greatly missed although it’s somewhat a relief knowing that she no longer suffers. Additionally, I have an immense amount of positive lessons that I was able to learn, that will continue to serve me through the balance of my life from this profound figure I watched at the time I was growing up.<br /><br /> Though I was very young when I went to Britain in 1979, Margaret Thatcher, as the first British female prime minister, was very much present in my everyday life. Coming from a society and country where women did not traditionally assume the kind of leadership role that Margaret Thatcher did, I immediately became fascinated with her. Growing into my consciousness through the 1980’s I observed with intrigue how she commanded her position with such direction and conviction.<br /><br /> I remember as a small girl seeing her on television and wondering how she had the guts to speak so convincingly and decisively in a room filled with males. Even to my young and inexperienced eyes and ears, I understood that she was a very passionate lady who was changing the world and the role of women. I found her enthusiasm very infectious and a lot of the time she got me interested enough to ask questions about governance.<br /><br /> Although I always knew that I admired and looked up to Margaret Thatcher, it was only very much later in my life that I realized the significance and magnitude of the impact she had on me. Being the Chancellor of The University of Buckingham at the time I was a student there, I had the good fortune of meeting her on two occasions. As I stood face to face with the woman that I had looked up to and admired for so long, I was certainly not disappointed but I was most definitely star-struck.<br /><br /> Baroness Thatcher was a legend in her own life time. There are very few people of whom this can be said. One of the most intriguing and wonderful things about this woman was her dedication to her principle and conviction. Never was there a leader who was so prepared to stand by their convictions for good or bad like Margaret Thatcher. She always stayed true to her core values and her unyielding stance never to compromise them stood as her greatest strength and, at the same time, probably her greatest weakness. <br /><br /> Apart from her just ‘being’, there were many other aspects of Margaret Thatcher and many things she had done that have combined to make the many footprints on my heart and mind. She was a great example of the importance of dedicating oneself to hard work and a commitment to excellence. She was not a woman to suffer fools gladly and she had a healthy understanding of how to give as good as she got and absorb disapproval; as long as she believed in what she stood for and her principles, she really couldn’t care less about criticisms or distractions. A key lesson I learned from her. Her confidence and security in being different has always inspired me not to be afraid to be different, independent and to make my own decisions. She cared for her people and her country almost to a fault and she believed in the purpose of everything she did for Great Britain. As one of the most influential political figures of the 20th Century, she defined her country and had a profound effect on the politics of Britain and the world.<br /><br /> She was feisty, determined, focussed and brilliant. She was a remarkable, courageous and special woman. And it wasn’t solely because she was a woman who achieved what she did at the time she did, it is because only a handful of politicians ever in history have exercised such dominance during their term in office and attracted such strength of feeling, both for and against. Agree with her policies or not, there is no doubt that an era ended with her passing.<br /><br /> Her legacy has had a deep effect upon the policies of all her successors even though her radical and sometimes confrontational approach defined her 11-year period as prime minister. It was an innate stubbornness she had which led to her refusal to engage in consensus politics that made her a divisive figure. That, together with an opposition to her policies and her style of government led eventually to rebellion inside her party. Whilst not everyone will have agreed with her more controversial actions and policies such as the response to the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands and introduction of the poll tax, the integrity and determination with which she pursued them was truly intriguing. She had many faults as a leader, but the positive impact she had on her country far, far outweighed the negative.<br /><br /> The people who knew her best speak of her very dissimilar persona when she was in her personal capacity than the towering public figure that the world was presented with. As a public figure, Margaret Thatcher was viewed as an uncompromising and overbearing iron lady with an obdurate allegiance to her country at the detriment of others. As a private person, she was said to have had a great sense of humour, been kind natured and had an unassuming ability to make all those around her feel special and loved. <br /><br /> In the last decade, as I watched Margaret Thatcher negotiate the last stage of her life, the quality that first endeared me to her was what continued to strike me most about her; that characteristic of a person with strong convictions, who never gave up her dreams and never lost her zeal to speak up for what she believed in. She took advantage of the blessings life gave her and she aged with a grace that one would hope to emulate.<br /><br /> Though she had to curtail her activities as a result of deteriorating health, she continued to appear in public and lend her voice to support the courses she stood for, whenever she felt the need to. The tragic loss of her best-friend and husband, Dennis, whom she had described as her "rock" in 2003, and her good friend and political partner, Ronald Reagan only a year later, may have been big blows to her but it failed to completely take the wind from her sail.<br /><br /> The life and works of other people often influence us to be great in what we do. For so many of the achievements she accomplished, for so much of what she represented, Margaret Thatcher was truly what role models are made of. And her life and work will no doubt serve to influence generations yet to come. From the manner in which she operated as a leader, to her steadfast nature, to her commitment for her course, I doubt that anyone can ever write the history of world politics without mentioning Margaret Thatcher, who is much more than a footnote in the example of patriotism, conviction and determination.<br /><br /> Margaret Hilda Thatcher came a long way from the town of Grantham, Lincolnshire where she was born on the 13th October 1925. Being the daughter of a local councillor must have had an enormous impact on the direction of her life, her love for governance and the political policies she would eventually adopt. Becoming only the third female president of the Oxford University Conservative Association at the time she studied Chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford and latter qualifying as a Barrister, more than qualified her for the role that would come to define a historical way of governance.<br /><br /> Margaret Thatcher was a lady and a heroine. She was ‘my’ heroine, someone who taught, encouraged and helped this Nigerian woman on a journey without ever knowing she did. There are so many things I learned as a professional and a strong, independent woman from the example that Margaret Thatcher so unapologetically set. Excellence, integrity, personal sacrifice, virtues, resilience, patriotism, a deeper understanding of my greatest potential as a lawyer, a politician, a woman, a wife and a mother are just some of the teachings I strive to pick from her. I will value her example for the rest of my life.<br /><br /> Like so many others, I will never forget Margaret Thatcher and I feel privileged to have lived through a period that saw her strength of leadership and even more privileged to have had the good fortune of meeting a woman that I will forever look up to. I grieve at her passing and send my prayers and condolences to her children, Mark and Carole. <br /><br />“Rest well Baroness, you will be sorely missed. While your footprints remain in the hearts and minds of millions of us, your legacy will never, ever be forgotten….”<br /><br /><br />Written By Hannatu Musawa<br /> I invite you to:<br /> Follow me on Twitter- @hanneymusawa<br /> Visit my Website- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hannatumusawa.com&h=_AQH7QYzj&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.hannatumusawa.com</a><br /> Like me on Facebook- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa</a><br /> Subscribe to my Youtube Channel- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2FHannatuMusawa&h=TAQGd_TjH&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa</a></span></div>
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-40373165183869820892013-07-08T01:45:00.002-07:002013-07-08T01:45:32.115-07:00HARD VIEW (SACRIFICING PEACE OR JUSTICE)<span class="userContent"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: center;">
<strong><u>SACRIFICING PEACE OR JUSTICE</u></strong></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><br /> Justice or peace? Basically that’s what it boils down to. Since the beginning of the offensive by Boko Haram, there has been widespread debate about how to bring the bloody onslaught to an end. With so many di<span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show">vergent voices lending themselves to the debate of whether the particular strategy developed along the lines of amnesty is appropriate, given the surrounding circumstance; it’s anyone’s guess as to which side of the pendulum president Jonathan will ultimately land on the matter.<br /><br /> There is no doubt, the section of Boko Haram and other extremists that ignite this debate are a mob of ignorant, depraved, erroneous, wicked and misguided zealots who have committed the most vile, heinous, evil and immoral crimes against innocent people; women and children whom have done absolutely nothing to them. And for that, under any structure or belief system, there has to be retribution. In any country of the world, criminal prosecution of those accused of committing crimes is a fundamental aspect of a victim’s right to justice. However, sometimes the notion of remedial justice for victims often has to be balanced against the need to deal effectively and progressively with the atrocities and not provoke or maintain further violence. In such a circumstance, a restorative justice approach incorporating amnesty, focusing on the normative rather than the punitive objectives of criminal law, may be the more appropriate model. And that is how the issue of amnesty for Boko Haram comes into the fray, since the current situation we are in could be said to lend itself to such an event.<br /><br /> From time immemorial, amnesty has been employed as a means of promoting settlement and advancing reconciliation in societies that have emerged from repression. But even though, it is a tool that was historically often utilized in conflict resolution, it was never entirely viewed as the best option; only a necessary one. When atrocities are committed with such impunity, as is the case with Boko Haram, and are merely dealt with by forgiveness and restorative justice, for the concept of human rights to have real legitimacy, they must connect up with retributive conceptions of justice. And a carte-blanche amnesty for Boko Haram, despite the atrocious mass murders and butchering they have subjected innocent Nigerians to, does not meet up with that standard.<br /><br /> Putting the issue of human rights aside, whether amnesty is the wisest course for the government to pursue with Boko Haram really remains a matter of debate and perception. Instead of examining the pros and cons of amnesty for Boko Haram on a large scale; instead of making arguments about setting bad precedents, previous amnesty agreements with Niger Delta militants and not negotiating with ghosts, I opt to examine what the adoption or rejection of amnesty really means; what it would represent. Perhaps, if we remove all our emotional and sentimental blinkers, and break down the implications of any amnesty deal to their very basic indices, we might have a better understanding of what the adoption or rejection of amnesty for Boko Haram really represents.<br /><br /> Fundamentally, in its simplest form, the adoption of amnesty for Boko Haram entails a choice between peace and justice. Peace and justice; two resolutions that inspire and give way to each other, would normally go together and complement each other. Ideally, any strategy adopted in this matter should incorporate both concepts. But when we are dealing with the kind of amnesty we are discussing within the backdrop of the atrocities that have been committed, the amnesty may only offer the best prospect for peace, not justice. Within this our particular impasse, unless Boko Haram surrender and offer them-selves up for trial and prosecution today, the two concepts certainly cannot be applied in a manner where they co-exist together. There is just no getting away from it, peace verses Justice must be brought to a direct point when we talk about amnesty for Boko Haram. And if there is a dichotomy between the two, as suggested in this case, and a single choice has to be made, what ought we to prefer?<br /><br /> I have my own personal views on the issue and find that, for me, it is a battle of conscience for the past against the present. The past, because for the victims and for the crimes that have already been committed, justice should be served. The present, because the innocent people existing within the eye of the storm deserve some reprieve, deserve peace. But a third facet of this reasoning, the most important one, is the future. Given a singular choice between the concept of peace and justice, which option has the ability to actually change the status quo and provide the most stable and secure future for Nigerians?<br /><br /> History shows that in countries which have emerged from repressive regimes and trials where crimes against humanity were committed, the peace deals that sacrifice justice often fail to produce the expected peace in the long run. Whereas justice creates a structural change in society that fundamentally alters the conditions allowing for conflict, peace deals simply return societies to a state of non-war; particularly one that allowed for the widespread crisis in the first place. One would be hard pressed to find a case where a system that prefers justice ever leads to a return to that conflict. Therefore in that sense, peace should never be preferred to justice, only to allow it to inspire justice.<br /><br /> On the other hand, while international and national criminal trials promote justice, the quest for justice can be a long winding road and can exacerbate divisions and may even hinder the achievement of peace. Usually, those who face the potential for prosecution may be reluctant to lay down arms, giving way for the violence to continue. Instead, amnesties for perpetrators are often thought to promote peace and reconciliation, though it is sought at the expense of retributive justice. <br /><br /> It is essential for the government upon pondering their decision on whether to give amnesty to Boko Haram to gauge the views of the population most affected by the violence rather than instigating plans based on the views of politicians and dogmatists. The communities, the families, the businesses residing in the red zones, those that have been targeted, hounded and slaughtered should have the first-refusal to make an input into the decision government makes about amnesty. It is their views that should count first and foremost. Unless the government and security agencies have concrete plans to ensure the security of every family living in the target communities, it is their cries, their anguish and not those of the naysayers not directly affected by the violence or those politicizing and tribalizing the issue, which the government should take into account, in addition to providing full reparation to all the victims and their relatives. <br /><br /> Any initiative that the government eventually applies in regards to amnesty for terrorists should ideally balance the demand for justice against the need for peace and reconciliation. And while the lack of amnesty for Boko Haram can provide accountability and amnesty can provide stability, it is clear that the attainment of both is almost impossible. A choice has to be made on the resolution the government will adopt.<br /><br /> So as we continue to unravel this morbid, dark drama that Boko Haram has visited upon us, we can be certain that the choice is not about which group of criminals deserve amnesty and which don’t, it’s not about a perverse allegiance to ethnicity or religion, it’s about what we are willing to sacrifice; Justice for the cause of peace or peace for the cause of justice?<br /><br /> Over to you President Jonathan Sir… So what will it be...; peace or justice?<br /><br /><br /> Written By Hannatu Musawa<br /> I invite you to:<br /> Follow me on Twitter- @hanneymusawa<br /> Visit my Website- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hannatumusawa.com&h=OAQHDnK4P&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.hannatumusawa.com</a><br /> Like me on Facebook- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa</a><br /> Subscribe to my Youtube Channel- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2FHannatuMusawa&h=dAQEXobrl&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa</a></span></div>
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-71244936779719803892013-07-08T01:43:00.002-07:002013-07-08T01:43:59.741-07:00HARD VIEW (WHATSOEVER A MAN SOWETH, THAT SHALL HE ALSO REAP)<span class="userContent"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: center;">
<strong><u>WHATSOEVER A MAN SOWETH, THAT SHALL HE ALSO REAP</u></strong></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><br /> It is an important teaching in Christianity that God is not mocked; whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. We cannot escape the consequence of our actions; everything that we do a<span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show">s participants in this interconnecting community has repercussions and one way or another it comes back to us. Much like this principle and the law of Karma, in nearly every religion and culture there is a fervent belief that the total result of a person's deeds and actions during the successive phases of the person's existence determines the feedback fate issues that person within their life time or in the hereafter. It is further taught, ‘if we sow a thought we reap an act, if we sow an act, we reap a habit, if we sow a habit, we reap a character and if we sow a character, we reap a consequence.’ <br /><br />At this point in time, nowhere should this message be reiterated than on our very own doorsteps where few people in the corridors of power are determined to garner us towards a most debauched consequence. Despite the outcry that continues to follow our recent irrational and derisible presidential pardon of criminals and kleptomaniacs, notwithstanding the embarrassment of the exposure of inept government representatives who have to clarify the simplest questions from ‘their oga on the top’, in spite of the plethora of blunders by this administration, reports have been made of secret plans by a select few in the corridors of power who are devising a very dangerous scheme to remain in power by using the tool of terrorism.<br /><br /> Recently, reports were made of an alleged plot to unleash a terror attack in Lagos. The ink had barely dried on that report when it was revealed that nine suspected terrorists were arrested in a building in Lagos which belongs to a state government. Although the state government has dissociated itself from the suspected terrorists arrested in its building, the arrest of the alleged terrorists in that particular building has fueled the conspiracy theory that Boko Haram has become a franchise under which government fifth columnists are operating to further disrupt Nigeria and prompt a national crisis likely to break up the country or force Nigerians to elongate the tenure of this administration come 2015. If these reports are true, despite the brink of disaster from which Nigeria has often come from, then the consequence Nigeria finds itself in is truly pathetic and indeed sad; very sad. <br /> Although our country is situated on top of a smouldering volcano that is ready and rearing to erupt at any given moment, some of these signs point to definite elements within government and around the president that are determined to unscrupulously elongate their inhabitancy of power while damming the consequence of their actions. The more they use their calling to lord over the next cause of action to divert Nigeria away from a future; the more they plot and plan on how to fragment the country using the tool of terrorism, the closer they advance us toward the trigger that might commence the great explosion. While this great explosion may just be the end result they scheme for, do they not care about what will happen to the almost 160 million Nigerians already existing under pressure? No; because they have completely become victims to a world where the intense lust for power and money fully possesses its pray, so much so they no longer bother to camouflage their voracity, guile, and self-serving actions. And to be able to satisfy the worldly desires of a few, Nigeria and her helpless children are again being short-changed by the intrigues of those who swore to protect them. The amount of spin few in the corridors of power are running in order to achieve its alleged aim moves faster than that of a tumble dryer. Anyone who doesn’t comply is chewed out like a discarded piece of bubble gum and anyone who speaks against it is threatened, stalked and victimized like a sub-human entity.<br /> In the past, government officials who tried to double deal this country by either illegally elongating their tenure in power through trickery, misusing their power or milking the coffers for what it is worth have received their comeuppance in the most unfortunate of ways. But despite the numerous failed administrations serving as an example, we are again being besieged from within by tyranny, graft and disloyalty by a select few who carry out secret meetings and come to secret agreements that they earnestly, “Between them and God”, know is not in the best interest of the majority of people of this country. <br /><br /> The power hungry packs who are advocating desecrating the fragment of the liberty we gained in the past are the true enemies of the people of this nation. By turning Nigeria into a business venture and a power podium they have betrayed the dreams of our past and the hopes of our future. By planning to disregard common sense and behaving as if the millions of us who have a stake in this country don’t exist, they create and contribute to the disaster we find ourselves in. By steering our country for purely personal ambitions, members of those few in the corridors of power stand before us guilty as people who acted to disorganise Nigeria. If in the coming months those who are in power succeed in bringing forth anymore anti Constitution presidential pardons, more anti-people and anti-Nigerian policies or terrorism conspiracies to further divide the country, history forever will judge them reproachfully as those who were willing to pawn the future of their children, grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.<br /><br /> With decades of power mismanagement in this country, one is compelled to wonder whether we are fated thusly. Is the giant of Africa perpetually condemned to an eternity of a greedy gaggle of few government officials who mortgage our nation, disdain the interest of the population and bleed Nigeria dry? This would appear to be our reality.<br /><br /> If those we had previously relied upon to take us to the Promised Land continue to short-change and fail us, then maybe the masses of Nigeria as a collective need to take the requisite action into their own hands. Our hindrance is that we are a nation divided and in denial, we suffer from grave memory loss and are incredibly easy to manipulate. People still look at freedom fighting with suspicion along ethnic and religious lines. Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, Gwari, Shekiri, Irogbo, Nupe, Eleme, Birom, Langtang, Ijaw, Auchi, Fulani, Calabari, Tiv, Ogoni, Igbirra, and all the other 234 tribes of Nigeria; our struggles as humans are one and the same and unless we realise and embrace this, then our torture will continue.<br /><br /> We tend to also fantasize that a messiah will emerge and the seas will part open into two in order for Nigeria to be saved. Maybe the solution lies not within the direction of a messiah but within the strength of the masses of a nation that claims one in every five Africans. If we consider the effect of the Ukrainian, Tunisian, Libyan, Egyptian and Georgian peoples past resolve when the insult of their governments became unbearable, we begin to realise the power of a people when they stand together as one. Tyranny begets uprisings, when the government’s tyranny reaches its zenith any more than it has now and the majority population realise they are constantly staring at empty food bowls, empty government coffers, rigged elections, alleged government induced insecurity, wicked governmental intrigue, the situation may spew and the next mass action may really become mass.<br /><br /> For those determined to flog this country off so that you can remain in power or spill the blood of innocent Nigerians in order to split the nation up, lest you forget your actions all have consequences. Make no mistake you cannot get away with the bad choices you make for your nation, because history is recording everything you do. If you sow badly in this season, you will reap worse in another, no matter how long it takes. Even some of the greatest forces in Africa; Idi Amin, Mobutu Seseseko, Haile Salasi, once bred the radiant rule of Monarchs. And for some time their might nurtured their supremacy and reign over their countries but in the end, they faced karma and all three ended up victims of the consequences of their actions. None was even allowed to die in the nation he once commanded. <br /><br /> Therefore, next time the ‘freemasons’ in the government corridors secretly meet to allegedly fuel terrorism and sow the seed of ruin for Nigeria, they should be mindful not to be deceived; “God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap… For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." <br /><br /> May God expose those who scheme to destroy the future of 160 million people!<br /><br /> Written By Hannatu Musawa<br /> I invite you to:<br /> Follow me on Twitter- @hanneymusawa<br /> Visit my Website- <a href="http://www.hannatumusawa.com/" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.hannatumusawa.com</a><br /> Like me on Facebook- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa</a><br /> Subscribe to my Youtube Channel- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2FHannatuMusawa&h=pAQGDuzyY&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa</a></span></div>
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-40336990236876427722013-07-08T01:41:00.001-07:002013-07-08T01:41:25.190-07:00HARD VIEW (BUOYED HOPE AGAINST HIV)<span class="userContent"><div align="center" class="text_exposed_root text_exposed">
<strong><u>BUOYED HOPE AGAINST HIV</u></strong></div>
<strong><u></u></strong><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><br /> Reports from Mississippi of a child who contracted HIV from her mother at birth but who is now free of it must be the best news we’ve heard in a while. Apparently, scientists and Doctors on a quest to cure HIV may h<span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show">ave stumbled on a breakthrough in the fight against the disease. While this latest advance does not mean that the cure for AIDS has been discovered, it is progress that will no doubt open up new avenues at the very least for scientists to <br /> explore and help improve the treatment of babies infected at birth.<br /><br /> The baby in question was born with the disease because her mother had not been tested in early pregnancy, thus had not been put on antiretroviral drugs. By the time doctors had realised that the mother was HIV positive, it was too late to implement the prevention package that would have prevented transmission of HIV from mother to child. Shortly after her birth, she was given a strong cocktail of antiretroviral drugs. The drugs are thought to have hit the virus so hard and so early that the disease all but disappeared. Although tests show that the baby no longer has HIV, scientists are careful not to label it a complete-cure but instead call it a functional-cure since traces of the virus, though inactive, still remain in the baby.<br /><br /> This is brilliant news for everybody across the globe but especially good news for our continent, which has been brought down to its knees by HIV and AIDS. While we often hear folk tales about people being cured of HIV and AIDS with traditional concoctions, there is no cure for HIV and AIDS and the only fully cured patient recognized worldwide is the Berlin-patient, Timothy Brown. He was considered cured of HIV and leukaemia five years after receiving bone marrow transplant to treat his leukaemia from a rare donor naturally resistant to HIV.<br /><br /> From the time HIV and AIDS descended on our world, it has devastated generations and decimated our continent especially. The grim reaper of all afflictions, HIV and AIDS has never discriminated against its victims as it overwhelms each with fevers, night sweats, swollen glands, chills, weakness, gross weight loss, chronic diarrhoea, constant colds, headaches, sore muscles, sore joints, stomach aches or skin rashes. Scientists have long maintained that there is a small group of individuals who have a genetic resistance to HIV, develop AIDS very slowly or never at all. These unique individuals seem to possess a genetic difference which prevents the virus from attacking certain immune receptors. In all our bodies, the group of cells and organs known as the immune system are meant to protect us by fighting viruses and infections. What makes HIV so vicious is that it attacks the immune system itself and has the additional ability to rapidly mutate in order to evade additional defences. This effectively leaves the body vulnerable to HIV and other infections.<br /> For many of us in these parts of the world, the horror of HIV and AIDS has become all too real. Almost every household knows someone who has died or is suffering from the disease. In Nigeria, the spread of the disease that first appeared in 1986 is so fast that Health Organisations have rated us the 3rd most Aids vulnerable country. And it’s no wonder because over the last three decades Nigeria's healthcare system has deteriorated so badly due to political instability, corruption and a mismanaged economy. The entire country lacks basic healthcare provisions and trained medics robbing Nigerians of access to basic prevention, care or treatment services.<br /><br /> The 1996 HIV and Aids Emergency Action Plan (HEAP) programme established, was ab-initio lacking due to low spending on the plan and due to the government not consolidating its efforts. For example when over 600,000 people required antiretroviral treatment, only 17,000 received it. If the government was at any time focused in its efforts to curb the spread of the disease, it should have tackled the numerous fonts that facilitate the spread of HIV. This would include organising coordinated national blood supply systems, regulating the licentious activities of long-distance truck and commercial drivers, sanctioning harmful traditional practices, introducing safety regulations in barbers/salons and clamping down hard on commercial sex workers. Although the world’s oldest profession is illegal in Nigeria there are millions of active commercial sex workers, with a high percentage being HIV positive. Since the vast majority of them do not use any form of protection, our legislature needs to implement stringent laws to curb this practice and the enforcement agencies need to enforce the laws vigorously.<br /> Attitudes are shaped by knowledge and experience, therefore those with knowledge about HIV and AIDS must try to reach out about sexual health, abstinence, HIV and other means of contracting the disease. It won’t be easy because culturally and religiously our private society makes discussion on certain topics taboo and since the society generally regards immoral behaviour as being the main cause of the epidemic, stigma may prevent people living with the virus to willingly participate in discussions. <br /> Our government can articulate its policy on HIV and AIDS more effectively by supporting NGOs, matching words with sustained action and commitment, sensitizing the society using the media, the religious communities and the performing arts. If we consider Uganda’s example, the success-story of the African fight against HIV, it’s clear that the epidemic is beatable. The success in Uganda was the result of a broad-based national effort backed up by involvement of religious and traditional leaders, NGOs and a firm political commitment that introduced same-day results for HIV tests, support for victims, distribution of protection tools, self-treatment kits for infections and sex education programmes all across schools and rural areas.<br /><br /> Undoubtedly Africa has borne the brunt of this disease. The West brands Africa as the original habitat of the virus. Though many are sceptical of this theory, the question of where HIV comes from still remains. One of the numerous theories regarding its origin is the hunter-theory, where HIV was thought to have passed to humans through the consumption of monkeys and bush-meat in Central Africa. The big anomaly with the Out-of-Africa theory is why was the first identified case of HIV in the West and not in Africa? While AIDS was identified to have killed a patient in the US in 1980, it did not appear in Africa until 1982. It is pure logic that with the population, polygamy and procreation present in Africa, had the disease first come to Africa before going to the West, it would have ravaged the continent long ago. When one considers the trend of its spread in Africa, one will notice that HIV and AIDS made its preliminary impact on the African continent in the countries which have a higher percentage of western tourism, suggesting that it was brought into Africa by Westerners already infected.<br /><br /> Another theory states that in the early 70s when the hepatitis B vaccine was developed in chimpanzees, it was tested on thousands of homosexual men who signed up as guinea pigs in the US. Even though scientists have downplayed any connection with HIV and the vaccine, over 20% of the men who volunteered for the experiments were discovered to be HIV-positive. Further theories suggest that three of the earliest known instances of HIV infection were much earlier than thought. The first was thought to be a plasma sample taken in 1959 from an adult male living in Central Africa, the second was found in tissue samples from an American teenager who died in St. Louis in 1969 and the third was found in tissue samples from a Norwegian sailor who died around 1976. A 1998 analysis of the plasma sample from 1959 has suggested that HIV was introduced into humans around the 1940s or the early 1950s. The problem with this theory is the unanswered question of why it did not spread then and if it didn’t spread, how did it appear a decade later in an individual situated on the opposite part of the world? The spread of HIV and AIDS could quite conceivably have been induced by a combination of many different events. The origin of HIV has puzzled everyone ever since the illness first came into light but most would probably agree it is important to understand the actual source of the virus in order to fight it. In the early days of the epidemic, disease control scientists were alleged to have traced the AIDS trail to Patient-O, a promiscuous Bi-Sexual Canadian flight attendant named Gaetan Dugas who was thought to have given HIV to multiple male and female partners globally, who then in turn transmitted it to others and rapidly spread the virus to locations all over the world.<br /><br /> It is likely that we will never know how, when and where HIV actually originated from but what we do know is that it is a ruthless killer that humanity and each and every one of us must strive to contain.<br /><br /> The case of the baby girl has buoyed hopes for millions and if scientists can better understand and replicate what happened in her treatment, it could allow them to establish a cure for new-born babies infected with the disease. Real excitement is justified by this discovery, but in spite of the feat, we must keep in mind that there is still no cure for HIV and AIDS and any practical applications as far as the latest discovery are most likely a long way further down the line.<br /><br /> Written By Hannatu Musawa<br /> I invite you to:<br /> Follow me on Twitter- @hanneymusawa<br /> Visit my Website- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hannatumusawa.com&h=IAQEqRXnX&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.hannatumusawa.com</a><br /> Like me on Facebook- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa</a><br /> Subscribe to my Youtube Channel- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2FHannatuMusawa&h=eAQEQZeg9&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa</a></span><span class="text_exposed_hide"><span class="text_exposed_link"><a data-ft="{"tn":"e"}" href="http://www.blogger.com/null">See More</a></span></span></div>
</span><a ajaxify="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=350109628432830&set=a.316201705156956.68154.316123051831488&type=1&relevant_count=1&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-ash3%2F576052_350109628432830_606008482_n.jpg&size=99%2C127&theater&source=9" class="_6i9" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=350109628432830&set=a.316201705156956.68154.316123051831488&type=1&relevant_count=1" rel="theater"><div class="_53s uiScaledThumb photo photoWidth1" data-ft="{"tn":"E"}" data-gt="{"fbid":"350109628432830"}">
<div class="uiScaledImageContainer photoWrap uiScaledImageCentered" style="height: 127px;">
</div>
</div>
</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com385tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-72714120861081803242013-02-27T22:47:00.003-08:002013-02-27T22:47:37.416-08:00HARD VIEW (DISPENSABLE LIVES)<br />
<div style="color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Baskerville, Georgia, Palatino, 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', 'URW Palladio L', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: none !important; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">
<u><b>HARD VIEW</b></u></div>
<div style="color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Baskerville, Georgia, Palatino, 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', 'URW Palladio L', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: none !important; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">
<u><b>DISPENSABLE LIVES</b></u></div>
<div style="color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Baskerville, Georgia, Palatino, 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', 'URW Palladio L', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: none !important; padding: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: none !important; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
Mother Nature could be beautiful, kind and nurturing, but she also has her dark moments. Floods, droughts, earthquakes, hurricanes, cyclones are all natural disasters that have the gargantuan capacity to destroy communities and indeed cities. The biggest most recent natural disaster was the Haiti earthquake in 2010 where an estimated 316,000 people were killed by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake and a minimum of 52 aftershocks. As devastating as these events were, they were not preventable because they happened naturally. </div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: none !important; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
But when disasters are caused by man, it is inexcusable. Mankind has frequently created catastrophes that have devastated the immediate environment and taken countless innocent lives. The effects of chemical or radioactive spills are especially horrific to a person’s physical and mental state of health. The adverse effects resulting from chemicals are known to evoke a wide spectrum of biological responses in people, depending upon the extent of their exposure and its potential to interact with the person’s anatomical structures and physiological functions. These effects could finally result in clusters of disease or instantaneous death.</div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: none !important; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
That is why when I shockingly learnt of the alleged dumping of harmful waste by the Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company (KPRC), the NNPC subsidiary in Rido community of Chikun LGA, Kaduna State, I was appalled. The community of Rido is about half a kilometre from KRPC with an estimated 30,000 people residing there. But between June 10 and 14, 2012, a powdery, dusty substance was dumped by contractors that were hired by the KRPC. Almost immediately, two human deaths were reported with a high death toll of dogs and chickens within the vicinity. At least six more deaths were reported within two weeks of this alleged callous crime; many children were admitted into the community’s only hospital and clinic. Many villagers experienced respiratory tract problems, as the fumes they inhaled were toxic and caused incessant, severe coughing. Even though children and animals alike had gone to the waste dump to pick wood and other things, those that did not go near the dump site experienced severe symptoms as the wind blew the powdery substance to nearby distances. The village head, nurses that work in the community and eyewitnesses have clarified the above facts.</div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: none !important; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
The proprietor of Biams Integrated Farms, a farm located 500m from the vicinity of the waste dump, recorded the loss of 700 chickens in less than three hours, within four days of the waste’s dumping on their poultry farm. Staff employed at the farm complained of headaches and bloated stomachs. Justifiably, the matter is now in court and it would be inexcusable for the legal system not to take this matter with the seriousness it deserves. KINGS (Kaduna Integrity Groups), an NGO, has on behalf of the Rido community taken the matter up in court and a legal battle has been in the works since last year. Abdullahi Umar Ladan, leader of KINGS, has repeatedly called on the relevant authorities to come to the aid of the people in Rido Community by avoiding another illegal dumping of any toxic waste.</div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: none !important; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
A veterinary doctor of Biams Integrated Farms, Abdul Ganiyu, spoke about the high mortality rate experienced with poultry on the farm. He also described some of the symptoms experienced by villagers, who described the smell of the waste as “having a tear-gas effect”. The victims spoke about taking painful breaths from the fumes of the waste.</div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: none !important; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
Despite the fact that the waste has long been evacuated, residents of the community are still suffering from the effects of this traumatic event. The KEPA (Kaduna Environmental Protection Agency) has also confirmed that industrial waste was dumped in Rido community when KRPC refurbished some of its facilities. KEPA had informed KRPC that any waste to be dumped has to be done only with official clearance from KEPA, as industrial waste is a specialised waste and there are usually specific sites where these are dumped -- far away from community settlements. There have been futile promises by the affected government agencies to look fully into the matter but, till date, no impactful action has been taken on behalf of the people of this longsuffering community. The KRPC has continuously denied any misappropriate action taken by them, claiming that any dumping of waste was conducted by contractors. If indeed toxic waste was dumped by KRPC, then there need to be accountability by the organisation as well as adequate compensation for the victims.</div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: none !important; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
Whatever the facts, a chemical incident has resulted as an unexpected, uncontrolled release of a chemical from its containment. The WHO defines a public- health incident as “where two or more members of the public are exposed (or threatened to be exposed) to a chemical.” In a majority of cases, it’s an acute release where the exposure and dose do not rise quickly and public health measures are not taken so promptly, even though the public- health concern can emerge suddenly and acutely. Chemicals enter our body through the eyes, skin, lung or digestive tract. The rate varies from different chemicals and the concentration of a chemical as well as length of time of exposure can have varying but ultimately damaging effects.</div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: none !important; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
So how do we protect our people and environment from exposure to these chemical disasters? The federal government should set up procedures and organisations to ensure that the public- health management of any chemical incident is effective and comprehensive. In the case of the Rido community, it is apparent that the safety measures put in place were not adequate enough to protect them. At the local level, public- health authorities need to identify situations where chemical incidents could occur and assess the likely risks to exposed people, property and the environment. There should be facilities for emergency plan development and implementation. This means well- stocked pharmacies within a clinic, functional ambulances and highly trained staff attached to the clinics.</div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: none !important; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
Vulnerability assessment, also known as community risk assessment (CRA) in the field of chemical incident management, is an assessment of the potential effects of a chemical incident in the local area. This is composed of four major steps: identification of hazardous chemical sites, identification of possible incident scenarios and exposure paths, identification of vulnerable populations, facilities and environments, and lastly estimation of health impact of potential chemical incidents and the requirements for health-care facilities sensitised on the dangers of such. There should also be proper monitoring of vulnerable areas with emergency phone lines available in preparation for any chemical incident.</div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: none !important; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
In April 2010, a Maesrk Line vessel, “MV Nashville” was apprehended by the Nigerian Ports Authority. It was filled with toxic waste. In June 2010, a ship, “MV Gumel”, was detained in Lagos with several containers of toxic waste. Similarly, in 1988, radioactive waste was dumped in Koko, Delta State. The list seems endless. Ironically, in all these cases, the federal government sought substantial compensation for these crimes. There should not be double standard in how the crime of toxic waste dumping is investigated. </div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: none !important; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
Since it is proven that chemical waste has a long-lasting impact on our society and environment, all potential victims are entitled to compensation. Sadly, there can be no compensation for those innocent adults and children that lost their lives in 2012 in Rido community. A community’s basic right to coexist in peace and lead happy, healthy and productive lives has forever been blemished by the incident of chemical waste dump.</div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: none !important; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
No matter how powerful or influential an organisation is, no one has the right to play God with innocent people’s lives. And if that unfortunate gamble is indeed taken, then, the culprits should be ready to not only face the wrath of God himself but be accountable to the proper authorities within the confines of our judicial system.</div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: none !important; padding: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><b>Hannatu Musawa</b></span></div>
<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">I invite you to follow me on Twitter- @hanneymusawa</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Visit my Website- </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hannatumusawa.com&h=CAQH0EBvs&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.hannatumusawa.com</a><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Like me on Facebook-</span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa</a><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Subscribe to my Youtube Channel-</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa</a></b><br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-28634446183276477792013-02-20T03:02:00.001-08:002013-02-20T03:02:36.468-08:00Hard View (LORD OF THE AspiRINGS)<span class="userContent"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: center;">
<strong><u>LORD OF THE AspiRINGS<br /> </u></strong></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
I have a pitch for a great, blockbuster movie; I think I just may have to call Peter Jackson about it. My working title is “Lord of the AspiRings” and it goes something like this:<br /><br /> “A very powerful organization whose<span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show"> inner functioning is concealed from non-members has covert meetings in which they strategize on ways they can hoard power within their group and deny anyone that is not part of them a fair shot. In a grand design, they agree that the best way to maintain that power is to rotate it exclusively between the members of the group and create an uneven playing ground to hinder anyone outside the organization from getting their hands on this power. Despite the fact that this organization controls the administration of over 160 million unsatisfied people desperate for change, they plot and plan, scheme and spin every possible strategy that would hold that power down. In a move to maintain the power, members of this organization came up with a rotation scheme that would alternate the power between the different regions that the members come from. Although the insulated agreement they drew up had no constitutional backing and wasn’t endorsed by the over 160 million people that the organization ruled over, greed, blind ambition, arrogance, self-interest and narcissism became so severe within this organization that it began to consume them. As more members of the organization became interested in aspiring for the most coveted post, accusations of agreements and broken pledges began to float to the surface. Suddenly feathers became ruffled and hairs started sticking out of place within this organization.<br /><br /> The story culminates into a bizarre drama, filled with a cocktail of suspense, sci-fi, action, thriller, horror and comedy, where the main players get nasty and downright dirty. And as the audience anxiously watches the epic saga unfold, the question remains, which one of the leading men within the organization will become the Lord of those aspiring…?”<br /><br /> Wow, what a blockbuster. This is how Oscars are born. I may be due for a brand new career soon.<br /><br /> OK, so unless one has been living under a meteor for the past couple of months, it is clear to every Nigerian that the political race for 2015 has well and truly begun. And if anyone wanted a lesson on how power is the ultimate corruptible aphrodisiac, they need only look at the power struggle igniting in the PDP.<br /><br /> As the race takes off, we have a series of claims and accusations in the PDP from the president and governors, with each repeatedly denying the other's accusations. An ambitious president, an agreement that nobody told us Nigerians about and a cluster of equally ambitious governors on the last leg of their second terms get a few nice shout outs but nothing is yet fully exposed.<br /><br /> And so it began a couple of days ago in the vibrant city of Abuja during a live radio broadcast when Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger state spoke of President Goodluck’s one term pact. An agreement was made, we are told, by the president to run only for one term in 2011 and the rumoured interest of President Jonathan in aspiring for a second term in 2015 should be taken as mere speculation.<br /><br /> At first, the president’s camp met this exposure with an almost stupefied taciturnity. And instead of a categorical address or some sort of press release to the nation to clear up the matter, the president did what all ill-starred leaders do when they want to express a position that they may need to deny in future. He sent his aide to wax lyrical about his commitment to Nigeria and deny committing to any agreement not to run for the presidency in 2015. All the while resurrecting nothing short of a sum speech of the president’s assumed aspiration; which essentially translated as, ‘Yes folks, I am aspiring for a second term… Don’t mind these darn governors and their premature aspirations.’<br /><br /> So did he, or didn’t he sign a pact to run for only one term? And if he did, does it really matter? Although ones intuition says that the president is being less than truthful on the matter, with so many of the key players giving so many variant accounts of the same topic, we may have to wait for Wikileaks, who will no doubt tell us what really happened in a couple of months.<br /><br /> As the mud gets slung around, we the spectators are being led to believe that the supposed collaborative agreement was predicated upon the desire of our leaders to uphold national character and stand up for the rights of their regions. One begs to differ! Let’s not get it twisted, this impasse has absolutely nothing to do with regional power shift or a need to protect a people’s interest but everything to do with a formula where everyone is feverishly angling for the best position to make their imagined target of taking power for themselves come true.<br /><br /> And it begs the question really, if the governors arguing for the turn of the north were in earnest trying to protect the interest of the north, what on earth happened to them in 2011? And was it not their fault that the initial power rotation of the PDP which gave power to President Obasanjo for eight years and then President Yar’adua for eight years was not enforced in accordance with that initial agreement in 2011? Since they had an opportunity and audience with President Jonathan to negotiate power back then, why did they not claim the position for the north in the aftermath of President Yar’adua’s death? Why, one may also ask, did they not support Atiku Abubakar or any of the other northerners that put themselves up for election in 2011? Their ferocious campaign against anyone that was northern in 2011 and in support of President Jonathan is a clear indication that the only interest they are truly out to protect is their own. Now that they are finishing their second terms and may have the aspiration to elevate themselves to the presidency in 2015, it’s difficult to take their crusade for the north sincerely. Seriously, if anyone is begging to not be taken seriously on the issue of trying to protect regional interest, it’s the northern governors who were in office in 2011 and their approach. There’s approach and strategy and then there’s freaking exasperating!<br /><br /> But despite the dodgy objective of the governors, President Jonathan does not and should not get a pass. Though his pledge of ignorance is coming furiously through his aid, the fact of the matter is that it goes to the root of revealing President Jonathan’s true character as a person. At a time when the presidency is openly being accused of telling bare faced lies, it would be untoward for the president to expose himself as a fibber. Already in the past he was caught in a lie in 2010 when he denied that PDP had an agreement for rotational presidency even though he was a beneficiary of that agreement. And when he denied the involvement of MEND in the October 1st 2010 Eagle Square bombing, his nose might have grown a few inches. If he did indeed agree to run only once and has subsequently changed his mind, Nigerians would respect him, not only as a leader but as a man if he admitted it. He still has a constitutional right to seek re-election despite any agreement and if he wants to be the Lord of those aspiring, then he should own it.<br /><br /> The region that the 2015 aspirants come from shouldn’t matter. The native language and native dress they wear shouldn’t be a factor. If they came from Mars, as long as they are Nigerian and have a constitutional right to run for the presidency, no agreement can bypass that. Nobody should get to hide behind an agreement which has, at best, outrun its purpose and is unconstitutional.<br /><br /> Something new is happening across Nigeria and it has nothing to do with an insulated agreement that PDP made or with the towering zombie of ethnic dichotomy that has been manufactured for us to absorb and align with. The discourse with the vast majority of Nigerians has shifted. People are desperate for change; a sustained incremental change. A change that will be carried forward by ordinary people, ordinary men and women, not by governors or presidents or anyone who worships an unconstitutional agreement fashioned to take away the choice of the Nigerian people. And this is something that those in the ruling party should probably be remembering as the next two years go by.<br /><br /> As we watch the dramas unfold, I doubt that Hitchcock, Shakespeare or even Spielberg could have come up with a better plot than our epic story. And although we probably won’t be winning any accolades or awards for our ratchet mess, Nigerians will be on the edge of their seats to see whether it’s the governors or the president that emerge as the “Lord of the aspiRings”.<br /><br /><strong>Hannatu Musawa<br /> I invite you to follow me on Twitter- @hanneymusawa<br /> Visit my Website- </strong><a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hannatumusawa.com&h=AAQEzeBUB&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>www.hannatumusawa.com</strong></a><br /><strong> Like me on Facebook- </strong><a href="http://www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa</strong></a><br /><strong> Subscribe to my Youtube Channel- </strong><a href="http://www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa</strong></a></span></div>
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-70418069093741900302013-02-20T03:00:00.001-08:002013-02-20T03:00:12.717-08:00Hard View (Global Warning)<span class="userContent"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: center;">
<strong><u>GLOBAL WARNING</u></strong></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
Our climate is changing. What is meant to be the chilly season of harmattan apparently feels more like a scorching heat-wave. Nigeria is supposed to have a wet and dry season, with the wet season starting at different times i<span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show">n the north and south. The harmattan season, the West African winter, is a season of gusty, dry winds, relatively cool at night but warm by day. Presently it is the season of harmattan, but in contrast to the norm of the climate, the weather is hot throughout the night and day. Like the weather, most Nigerians should agree that our climate is changing all the time. Because of global climatic cycles, some of the changes are natural while others are caused by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and gas emissions. In the past when I heard scientists talking about protecting the environment and reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, I put it down to the fact that they did not have better things to talk about. With millions of men, women and children being abused and starving the world over why would a scientist solely be concerned with how many vehicles we drive? Besides, any talk about the ozone layer sounded more like the title of a Sci-Fi adventure movie for children to me back then. But upon doing some research and coming across numerous meteorological accounts that climate change is one of the most pervasive threats to the web of human life, I realized the supreme importance of considering the devastation of weather change. What prompted me to do research in this field was as a result of the countless, recurring natural disasters that have been occurring and reported all over the world in the last couple of years. Every time one turns on the news there seems to be a report of a hurricane, earthquake, typhoon, snow storm, drought or cyclone and I wanted to understand whether these unfortunate events had any connection with the talk of the greenhouse effect.<br /><br /> The truth is that much of our lives depend on our climate because we rely on water stored underground, in lakes and reservoirs for our personal use and crop irrigation. If the climate changes and warms up, the ability of the land to store moisture or the rain to fall changes. Evidence of the effects of climate change is presently being felt throughout the world. All over the globe glaciers are melting, avalanches are threatening, soil is eroding, water is flooding, snow is receding and oceans are warming; posing a risk to many marine creatures. The warm climate is upsetting seasonal cycles, harming ecosystems, affecting agriculture, food production and causing sea-levels to rise. In addition landslides, drought and famine are experienced. On top of this imminent threat, hotter heat waves create an ideal breeding ground for disease infested insects and rodents to expand their range while species are pushed to extinction. In Nigeria the effects could include an increase in epidemics of water-borne diseases such as malaria, typhoid, hepatitis and cholera.<br /><br /> Statistics show overwhelming evidence that the planet has warmed by about 1 degree Fahrenheit over the course of the past century with the final 2 decades of the 20th century being the hottest on record. This is due to rise even more rapidly in the coming decades. The cause of this hybrid is because of the thickening layer of carbon dioxide pollution mostly from power plants and automobiles that traps heat in the atmosphere. Evidence shows that carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels used in vehicles and dirty power plants has formed a blanket around the earth and is warming it. The gasses act like the gas of a greenhouse, trapping heat that would otherwise radiate off into space. The heat then rebounds onto the earth's surface and the planet's temperature rises, creating the greenhouse effect. Its harmful impact on the worlds’ climate is now so overwhelming especially given the fact that we have been pumping it into the world atmosphere for more than 2 centuries. Although a certain level of global warming is natural and essential to sustain life, the excessive emission of greenhouse gases accelerates this process by trapping too much heat and resulting in devastating effects on the world. Meteorologists argue that the recent change of weather is the natural consequence of this green house effect. Whether we subscribe to this argument or not, we can’t deny that the recent behavior of the weather and atmosphere has been irregular to what we are normally used to.<br /><br /> If our behavior as a people has had anything to do with the freak trend of the climate, it is imperative for us to study natural events and strive to correct the continuing damage on the world at this stage. While it is impossible to completely stop global warming we do have the ability to lessen the process, allowing nature time to adjust to this man made problem. Since we know that the majority of heat trapping gases comes from vehicles and power plants, we have the capability to curb their emissions by perfecting modern technologies and passing stronger laws regarding vehicle use and power plant management. Typically, it is quite common to see cars and trucks in this country traveling the motorways with an unbelievable amount of exhaust fume, as if in an exhaust fume competition. Regulations need to be passed prohibiting vehicle owners from operating such hazardous machines because apart from damaging the ozone layer, they further pose threats to other motorists. Since we are a heavily populated country with a vast number of vehicles, the Nigerian authorities should educate the nation on the ill effects of climate change to our environment and the importance of adapting to it. Government and industries should adopt initiatives to take the immediate action that will lead to more efficient public transport, cleaner energy production, increasing the efficiency of buildings and better responsible industrial and agricultural practices.<br /><br /> In a country like Nigeria, there is a requirement for far more effective waste management and disposal. Everywhere we go in this country; there are dumps of rubbish and pollution on drive ways and road sides that it has almost become a trade mark of our towns and cities. The environmental sector in Nigeria needs to introduce more strategies for waste disposal. Previously, past governments had a sanitation eradication program on Saturdays where people were not allowed to roam the streets until 10, after a general clean up operation. The streets back then were much cleaner than they are now. Maybe the government needs to consider revisiting this practice in order to facilitate the clean up of the environment. The Nigerian government must consider adopting these or other alternative strategies and policies so that it can encourage industries to adapt to climate change. Furthermore, the initiative could include a sensitization exercise on the benefits of recycling products such as aluminum, glass, plastic, cardboard and paper. This would help because it would allow industries to save a lot of energy needed to make new products. In addition the use of energy efficient technologies and renewable energy resources like wind and solar power could be integrated by the industries that have the means.<br /><br /> On an individual and community level, we can each help cool the earth by small actions such as turning computers off overnight because of the energy it uses, planting trees and plants in order to combat erosion and integrating agricultural lands. The use of better water storage systems such as underground tanks and improved water treatment plants, improved rainwater harvesting strategies and creating community water resources to meet human or livestock needs can also be effective. Even though resources are limited, people engaged in the transportation business should try and service cars regularly and not send them out onto the streets with an unreasonable amount of exhaust seeping out. This is very common with molue buses and trucks.<br /><br /> All Nigerians should get involved in curbing the climate change that is fast becoming a threat to our existence. The whole process of environmental awareness is a difficult feat because as humans we tend to be nonchalant about the effect of gas emissions and water misuse on our environment. It is so easy for us to take the air we breathe for granted and not give a thought about the numerous ways we are polluting it. Unless a stance is taken, the cumulative impact of climate change is bound to affect our air and water quality even worse than it is now, resulting in inestimable consequences on every body living on this planet. If not in our lifetime, the fall back of the damage will affect the occupation, property and lives of our descendants.<br /><br /> Since the root cause of climate change is thought by scientists to lie primarily in the phenomena of huge emissions of gas, we effectively have the power to mitigate its damaging impact on our planet. To protect the health and economic wellbeing of current and future generations, we honestly must reduce our emissions of heat trapping gases by using the practical solutions already at our disposal. Solutions to global warming are available and everyone has a role to play in implementing them at all levels of society.<br /><br /> Since embarking on my research and recovering from the ignorance of climate change that plagued me, I now consider global warming as one of the most serious challenges facing our species today. And since we were the original cause of the problem we can always take solace in the fact that we can also create a solution for it. So even though Nigerians are in the middle of a harmattan heat wave, we should strive to consider our role in keeping our environment clean and eventually saving our world. I hope that the cumulative negative effect on natural resources and the balance of nature created by our over smoking exhaust pipes and rubbish laden streets serves as a global warning for global warming!<br /><br /> <strong>Written By Hannatu Musawa<br /> I invite you to follow me on Twitter- @hanneymusawa<br /> Visit my Website- </strong><a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hannatumusawa.com&h=4AQGt1763&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>www.hannatumusawa.com</strong></a><br /><strong> Like my Facebook Fanpage- </strong><a href="http://www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa</strong></a><br /><strong> Subscribe to my Youtube Channel- </strong><a href="http://www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa</strong></a></span></div>
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8790634737740604016.post-47571680696286123932013-02-20T02:58:00.000-08:002013-02-20T02:58:30.573-08:00Hard View (New Dawn)<span class="userContent"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: center;">
<strong><u>NEW DAWN</u></strong></div>
<strong><u></u></strong><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />February 6, 2013 was a magnificent day for Nigeria. As the sun rose over the eventful day, Nigerians all over the world celebrated the thrashing our Super Eagles gave Mali’s Les Aigles to reach the final of the African Cup of Nati<span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show">ons in South Africa. But prosperity was not done with us, for as the jubilations rang out, news that several of our most significant opposition political parties, including the All Nigeria Peoples Party, Action Congress of Nigeria, Congress for Progressive Change, and the All Progressive Grand Alliance had merged to form one party gave cause for much more celebration. As the news of the newly formed All Progressive Congress trickled in, the social networks went crazy. Nigerians young and old; far and wide expressed their delight at the possibility of this new coalition party. Opposition victories have been hard to come by in the last decade and this new coalition not only gives the vast majority of worn-out Nigerians a tremendous sense of achievement, it gives millions of people new hope that their cause was right and new determination that change will finally show its face in Nigeria. <br /> <br /> For many of us, this week has been a time to be proud; a time for reflection on the possibility of a new dawn, a time where our country has the chance to sow the seed of success in overcoming the great turmoil that our electoral and political process has thus far represented. Now, as Nigerians look towards 2015, it is beginning to look like we may be standing at the beginning of a new chapter in our history; one that will hopefully be defined by a prosperous democracy incontrovertibly built upon the will of the people.<br /> <br /> Nigerians have really been put through the ringer. Apart from dealing with the dearth of security, employment, health care, education, striving to provide for our families and rising crime to name a few, we have been lumbered with a political leadership that is solely focused on personal interests rather than on solving our widespread problems. And even though there are over one million and ninety nine thousand things that Nigerians would ideally like to see done differently, the one general consensus of what people want right now seems to be a change of government.<br /> <br /> A very smart man known as Albert Einstein once described insanity as ‘doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.’ It would be difficult not to agree with him. If having the same party in power since 1999 translates into a reality where we still have no stable electricity, no unity, no security, no peace, no job opportunities, no development and hardly anything good, then how on earth can anyone expect a different result in terms of the way the country is governed if the same party keeps hoisting itself into power? It would naturally follow that in order for our life to change from the nightmare we are living, into a more structured dream, we must change; the country must change and government must change. And for the first time in a very long time, a vehicle with the ability to translate that nightmare into a dream and then into reality is being presented to Nigerians. That vehicle is this newly formed united merger.<br /> <br /> However, now that the first leg of the task has been achieved, this marks the point at which the real work needs to be done. To consolidate the exceptional success that the merger represents, the APC must now pass the crucial test without allowing the demons of the past to re-emerge. The demons which defy stepping up to the challenge of putting personal interest aside in order for the party to operate in the interest of all the people of this nation. The party must set the objective of making Nigeria a place liveable for the right of the many. The coalition must work in partnership with each other to create a dynamic, broad and competitive platform for progressives, for minorities, for women, for children, for the poor and for every interest. The party must be fashioned as an entity that seeks to restore trust in Nigerian politics, cleanse Nigerian politics and decentralizes it so that people can once again have hope that politics can be about the service to the public.<br /> <br /> The APC should be a party entrenched with solid ideals; the ideals of integrity, impartiality, unity, honesty and development. And it should also be a party equipped with the valour to welcome new ideas required to make those standards a reality for Nigerians; a party of practical process in pursuit of a gallant cause and the solemn obligation to act accountably, transparently, and impartially. These should be at the core of APC’s intention for Nigeria.<br /> <br /> True democracy has never been a concrete box that isolates the political leadership from the people. And if it’s true democracy we are interested in, then the party leadership must embrace that fact. Leaders of APC have the obligation to use their positions of power to earn the people’s trust because that is what will primarily impact the public’s confidence in the party. As the governors and leaders of the opposition gathered in front of the residence of the Lagos State Governor to announce the merger, they must know all too well the enormous responsibility that they have undertaken and the great trust that the Nigerian people may be willing to place in them. More than anyone, the leaders of the APC know well the change that Nigeria desperately needs. They know that this country is anxious to step away from its past, desperate to get those things done that need doing for the future. <br /> No less important, the parties that have come together to form the APC must each individually get their acts together. The ongoing internal wrangling and court cases that litter the corridors of most of the opposition parties have to stop with immediate effect. If the APC is to have a chance of success and have a chance of being inclusive and nonpartisan in its internal decision making, then the different entities that form it must find a way of letting bygones be bygones, cooperating and actively seeking consensus through compromise and dialogue. Each of these parties is responsible for cooperating fully with the ideal and unity necessary to establish and promote the APC. <br /> <br /> Let me state a simple truth: public faith in the political process is extremely low. Many people are still pessimistic, especially given the fact that a number of the strong players in the new coalition were once part of past governments. Part of the APC’s challenge is to earn the trust of the people by avoiding political trickery, standing up to the PDP, abstaining from inflammatory behavior, working together and convincing the public that the party really is ready to be the fresh new change Nigeria needs despite some of the personalities that make up the party.<br /> <br /> If managed well, the APC has the ability to bring Nigeria together once again, to unite people as one nation in which our hopes for Nigeria corresponds with a sense of consideration, decorum and responsibility. Let us be hopeful and optimistic about this chance. One can only shape the opposition and make it what they need it to be when they participate in the process.<br /> <br /> As Nigeria prepares to embark on this new chapter in its political life, one element of change seems to rise above all others in terms of importance: specifically the need for our politicians to show love for Nigeria. Love for Nigeria means putting public interests above personal interests. It means doing everything possible to keep partisan politics fair and clean. Love for Nigeria is not about the words that politicians speak but about their actions. It’s about putting nation building above everything else. Leaders of APC must display their love for Nigeria.<br /> <br /> With 2015 approaching, we have a chance to start a new chapter, to put aside individual and party interests, to insist on accountability from the political class. More than anything, we should all accept individual responsibility for making this happen because only individual Nigerians putting Nigeria’s interests first can build the just, democratic society that will make present and future generations of Nigerians justifiably proud. As this new dawn breaks, the APC is giving Nigerians a platform to do just that.<br /> <br /> February 6, 2013 truly was a magnificent day for Nigeria and as we keep our eye on the making sure the APC does right by us, let us also keep our fingers crossed for the success of our Eagles in the African Cup of Nations.<br /><br /> Written By Hannatu Musawa<br /> I invite you to follow me on Twitter- @hanneymusawa<br /> Visit my Website- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hannatumusawa.com&h=9AQF9URE6&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.hannatumusawa.com</a><br /> Like me on Facebook- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/hannatu.musawa</a><br /> Subscribe to my Youtube Channel- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2FHannatuMusawa&h=pAQG9dvgX&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.youtube.com/HannatuMusawa</a></span></div>
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15840628565615717373noreply@blogger.com0