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By Abdulkadir Salaudeen
Many consider the ongoing debate on the status of donkeys in Nigeria amazing. Do not think it is an oversight. Perhaps I mean to say ‘cow’ or ‘cattle’. It is not an oversight. I really mean it, donkeys. Yes! Donkeys! It was on Tuesday on the floor of the Senate during the plenary session.
There was this bill sponsored by Senate Leader, the Senator representing Kebbi North. It was titled ‘The Bill for an Act to Regulate the Slaughter of Donkeys and Ranching of Donkeys through the Export Certification Value Chain to Mitigate the Extinction of Donkeys, 2021.’
The sponsor of the bill argues that donkeys are going into extinction in our dear Country. Donkeys are found in the North and are means of conveyance especially in the rural communities. This is not to dispute the facts that donkeys are regularly found on some of the major roads and streets in Kano City—the State Capital—and other northern cities which are of course not rural communities.
It may sound too ridiculous if you live in the South where donkeys are hardly found, hardly seen and hardly known. Truly, it is important to the rural economy in the North. Though the bill lays no much emphasis on its economic import. Its emphasis is on extinction due to indiscriminate slaughtering for the purpose of collecting its skin. It was also argued that its extinction could lead to an imbalance in the ecosystem. And this makes the bill, to that extent, soundly, rationally, and reasonably sensible. Ignore the tautology. It is meant for emphasis.
However, there are many questions on Nigerians’ lips; I will reduce them to two: ‘Why the bill now?’ ‘Why at all?’ Those who appreciate the importance of preserving animals (domestic or wild) are not in doubt about the relevance of the bill. Their reservation is the timing. On the other hand, there are those who do not see and could not fathom the relevance of the bill in toto.
It should be noted that preservation of donkeys (or any animals) could be looked at using both religious and scientific lens. There is cultural perspective to it too; I will not delve on the cultural aspect due to space constraints. First and foremost, the Prophet (SAW) commanded us: “Show mercy on every creature on earth, and you shall be shown mercy by (God) in heaven” (Tirmidhi). ‘Every creature’ in the Prophet’s command includes animals. He further forbade killing of four animals: ants, bees, hoopoe birds, and shrikes (Ahmad). Employing the concept of Mafhum al-muwaafaqah (equivalent meaning), scholars interpreted the Prophet’s forbiddance to include all animals. That is to say all animals must be conserved against extinction.
To emphasize the import of conserving animals, the Prophet said: “An ant had bitten a prophet (one amongst the earlier prophets) and he ordered that the colony of the ants should be burnt. And Allah revealed to him: “Because of an ant’s bite you have burnt a community from amongst the communities which sings my glory”” (Muslim).
This Prophet (AS) was censured for burning, and hence, annihilating a whole community of ants. Every living animal in the system of Allah is a community; and must be well-kept-up. The Qur’an says: “There is not an animal (that lives) on the earth nor a being that flies on its wings, but (forms part of) communities like you” (Q6: 38).
Also, science teaches that engendered species like the donkeys in question, if not conserved, would become extinct. This is indisputable. And their extinction has far-reaching implications for food, water, health and environment. It is scientifically proven that when one species goes into extinction, the ecosystem is affected and everything around it becomes more fragile as it adapts to change. To be more succinct, every living thing plays important role(s) in the food web and the ecosystems.
I guess the import of this Bill, from above discussion, is not in doubt anymore. But there remains a conundrum. That section of human species called Nigerians are also endangered. We also need Nigerians’ Extinction Bill. Coincidentally, Kebbi State, where the sponsor of the said bill comes from should have rather presented the Nigerians Extinction Bill. This is because Kebbi is one of those states where Nigerians are awfully endangered due to serious insecurity—banditry, cattle rustling, killing, maiming, and kidnapping.
Now that the endangered donkeys and the Nigerians to whom donkeys render conveyance service are teetering on a tightrope of existence, the question is: who deserves more attention? Ordinarily in a sane society where common sense prevails, this question is superfluous. But since I have asked it, the answer should be Nigerians.
Premising the argument on this logic, I urge the sponsor of the bill to step it down for now. He should fine tune it to read: “Act to Regulate the Slaughtering and Kidnapping of Nigerians and Protection of Nigerians through Good Governance to Mitigate the Extinction of Nigerians, 2021”. I render this service of fine tuning for free.
The senator, if he is disposed to this suggestion, will be handsomely rewarded by the Almighty God in Sha Allah; and Nigerians will be happy for it. Bill like this (as fine tuned) might be instrumental in bringing about good governance in our dear Country. It may also help to realise that Nigerians are human beings. Thus, we deserve protection first before the cattle and the donkeys.
What am I even saying? Cattle and donkeys are created for us; not we for them. The Qur’an says: “And the grazing livestock He has created for you; in them is warmth and [numerous] benefits, and from them you eat. And for you in them is [the enjoyment of] beauty when you bring them in [for the evening] and when you send them out [to pasture]. And they carry your loads to a land you could not have reached except with difficulty to yourselves. Indeed, your Lord is Kind and Merciful. And [He created] the horses, mules, and donkeys for you to ride and [as] adornment (Q16: 5-8).
Though preserving animals as explained from the two perspectives above is essential, it can not be more important than preserving mankind (or Nigerians for that matter). An Islamic principle states that “ensuring the human livelihood takes precedence over that of animals”. Therefore, the above verses allude to one fact: a Nigeria is better than a donkey. Nigerians’ protection against extinction should ordinarily come before protection of donkeys.
What should be the priority of our law makers should be how to nip insecurity in the bud. That the Islaamiyah Kids are still in captivity should disturb their minds. We do not need to be told how terrible would be the condition of these kids. It has never occurred to me that kids, in this large number, could ever be kidnapped. I also find it difficult to come to terms with the fact that they will stay this long without being rescued. What is our offence to deserve this?
We are also in the dark about the kidnapped students in Kebbi State. The students of Bethel Baptist High School in Kaduna have recently joined this ugly train. Yet what we are having a heated debate on how our donkeys would not suffer extinction. I am just tired of this Country. But with prayers, hope, optimism, and resilience, we shall come out of this slough.
O the Merciful! Do not abandon us to our fate. We have indeed wronged ourselves, if You do not forgive us, we will surely be among the losers. Please forgive us Allah, guide our leaders, and have mercy on us.
Abdulkadir Salaudeen
salahuddeenabdulkadir@gmail.com
