0
0
That is as far as I know. If you think it is blasphemous, you may not be wrong and you are not alone. But if you think those who made this comparison mean different thing, isn’t it high time they learnt how to make comparison between things that are similar and avoid blasphemous similarization? It is human to like. Likeness leads to eulogy. People eulogise those they have unconditional likeness for; and in most cases they eulogise out of sheer hypocrisy. Be that as it may, Nigerian politicians exert all efforts to eulogise their political benefactors. They, at times, push their eulogy to the domain of divinity—comparing their godfathers with God.
It could be argued that there has never been any politician in Nigeria that said their godfathers are God or like Him. I agree. But it is on record that two Nigerian Presidents are said to be next to God by their admirers. When someone is said to be next to God, if that is not comparison, you can please help with a befitting word.
I woke up on Monday to read about Governor Hope Uzodimma’s faux pas declaring that after God in Nigeria, the next person is Buhari. The premise upon which his conclusion was arrived at can only be explained by him. What pushed him to make this utterance is not too clear to some of us. He is not the first person. Before him, the Governor of Bauchi, Bala Mohammed, made similar utterance in deference to the former President, Goodluck Jonathan.
Many consider this utterance as lack of respect for God. I cannot disagree. But in fairness to them, there is need to ask which God they are referring to. We should understand that in spoken English, one cannot differentiate between God and god. The difference is clearly made in writing not in talking. The God with ‘G’ is the Creator of the heavens and the earths, the stars and the moon and the sun, rivers and mountains and rocks, trees and birds and animals and etc.
He is the God that blows the wind, drives the cloud and sends down the rain. He created me and created you—even if you disagreed. He created generations before us and will create generations after us. He is the Ever Living, the One, the Self-Sufficient Master, He begets not and was not begotten, and no one is comparable unto Him (Q 112).
Could Jonathan or Buhari be next to this God? This God alternates the day and the night, he causes the egg to be fertilized when joined by the sperm and monitors the process till it becomes an embryo. He does not stop at that; He nourishes the fetus in the womb of the would-be-mother. The fetus grows and metamorphoses into a complete being under the care of God. He then eases the narrow path—that trajectory that lands it (the baby) to the larger world. He nourishes the baby after its birth till it grows to become an adult. Then, someone says he is next to God! This is serious!
If the eulogiser is drunk and could not see and could not understand, the eulogised should see and be disturbed. He should dissociate himself from this comparison. He should disown the eulogiser and hurl his eulogy at him. He should humble himself before the Almighty. He should declare himself as nothing before the Creator of things. But if the god with ‘g’ is what is referred to, this is another thing entirely.
A god in Islam, and also in other monotheistic religions, is a deity worshipped beside God or instead of God. This could be an idol or a demon or any worshipable or worshipped thing which people adore worshipfully. If it is this god that our presidents are next to, that gives credence to my DEMONcratic thesis. If our presidents are next to God, that will be blasphemous as explained above. But if they are next to god (i.e. idol or demon), why everything in Nigeria is topsy-turvy or hugger-mugger needs no further explanation.
All said, it is left to those who want us to believe our presidents are (to them) next to God to explain what they mean. Since they know what we do not know and perhaps do not mean what we mean, we may wish to know what they mean in order to disabuse us of what we think they mean.
Governor Bala Mohammed actually explained that he did not mean what people thought he meant. This was in the wake of the waves of backlash he received from Muslims who interpreted his Jonathan-next-to-God utterance as blasphemous. But would the Muslims react if he had said so to President Buhari? For it could be that their angst was because the comparison was made between Jonathan who is a Christian and God. In either case, the Muslims would react because it is fundamental.
But amazingly, history, within a very short time, repeated itself and balanced the equation when Governor Uzodimma, a Christian, publicly declared that President Buhari, a Muslim, is also next to God. I am not aware that he or the Presidency has denied that. An atheist who does not know God and, thus, does not have respect for Him might be excused. It is nonetheless shocking when those who claim to worship God bury their common sense to disrespect Him. For their lack of respect for God, they declared, without compunction, that their political benefactors are next to God. This is because of what they have benefitted from them politically or what they intend to benefit. These are the sycophants which leaders must be wary of.
The Prophet (SAW) did not only condemn excessive praise, he instructed that a handful of dust should be thrown at the faces of those who are excessive in praise (Muslim & Trimidhi). This is to express disapproval. And the worst praisers are the ones who praise those in authority excessively and irrationally. Excessive praise makes leaders power drunk, it also makes them think they are beyond reproach and criticism. This is why little disagreement with them pisses them off.
Anyway, the lesson to be learnt is that Nigerian politicians in whose possession is the knife for cutting the national cake hardly discriminate among themselves on religious basis. They unite in inflicting pains on the masses. This, provided their positions are secured and interests are protected. They are, of course, few exemptions; the exemptions are too few to invalidate our generalization.
On this note, the masses, especially those who are religiously inclined, should not allow any politician to instigate them to violence—speaking in God’s name or in god’s language. They are chameleon. They could be saints or demons. It is the circumstance that defines them.
In conclusion, no one is like God or next to God. The Qur’an says it clearly: “There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.” (Q42: 11). Lest we are carried away by the diversionary utterances of our politicians, those Islaamiyyah kids (and others) are still in captivity. May Allah liberate them and deliver them lively and safely and sanely to their parents. It is very unfortunate!
Abdulkadir Salaudeen
salahuddeenabdulkadir@gmail.com
