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The 6th NTA/FRCN Annual Ramadan Lecture:How
KDSG
Missed The Point
By Abdulrahman Mohammed Alfa
Newsdiaryonline Tue Sep 27,2011
This year’s annual Ramadan lecture which took place on August
13th, 2011 was not only an interesting one, but it was indeed
more than relevant to us in Nigeria and Kaduna in particular.
The theme of the lecture: The rights of the leaders and the led;
coming after the elections of 2011 with all the attendant crises
of expectations between the Nigerian political elites and the
masses, was more than timely to me.
I have had the privilege of attending four of the six annual
Ramadan lectures and I want to say that the lectures have lived
up to the expectations
of agenda setting, policy advocacy, promotion of peace, unity,
mutual tolerance among other things. Some of the lectures that
stood out among them include the ones on Almajiri, Marriage
institution in Islam, Education etc.
The fact that both Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and
Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) are Federal
Government’s owned electronic media houses made their attempt at
Corporate Social Responsibility, using the medium of Ramadan
lecture, making them a neutral agent of positive change
especially in the North.
But I want to observe that the Kaduna State Government
completely missed the point at a critical time this year. By the
special grace of God, His Excellency the Executive Governor of
Kaduna State Sir Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa is the first non-Muslim
governor of the state – elected or appointed. For the advocates
of equity and justice, it is something worth celebrating.
Unfortunately, the rumoured politics of Muslim sects and
divisiveness for and against the current governor especially at
the eve of the elections, which if not for its extreme
religionization on both sides would have been normal in
competitive politics, clearly revealed itself at this year’s
NTA/FRCN Kaduna Ramadan lecture. It was unfortunate, because
going by the content of the lecture, there was no individual or
corporate body that stood to benefit from the lecture apart from
the entire Muslim Ummah in the State than the Governor and
Kaduna State Government.
I want to seize this opportunity to appeal to the Governor and
any of his interested aides to obtain both the audio and printed
copy of the lecture delivered by Dr Ahmad Bello Dogarawa on the
rights of the leaders and the led and listen to or read it.
After doing that, the reader will agree with me that the
Kaduna State Government was ill-advised on its low profile
participation or representation at the lecture. I felt that KDSG
should jump at any opportunity that would provide a platform to
enlighten the populace on the need for unity, peace, justice and
equity. To my mind, this year’s lecture was a reference point to
all Muslims on matters of governance, leadership and obedient
followership.
The fact that the lecture was organized by NTA and FRCN, Federal
Government-owned media outfit, should have encouraged the
Governor and his government to identify with the project. The
two media organizations certainly don’t belong to any Muslim
sects, (neither) do they belong to Islam alone. They belong to
the government of Nigeria and by extension all Nigerians. I am
therefore surprised when it became obvious that a Permanent
Secretary turned-up to represent the Governor and even at that,
it seemed to be an afterthought considering the time we wasted
waiting for his arrival.
Kaduna State Government really missed the point through its body
language toward this year’s annual Ramadan lecture. My fear is
that such body language is open to many (mis)interpretations. I
personally sympathize with the Governor because
although I was not expecting him to attend the annual
Ramadan lecture personally, I expected his representative to be
the Deputy Governor of the state or at worst a Commissioner.
It was at the lecture hall I later learnt why Kaduna State
Government obviously shunned the lecture when a Permanent
Secretary was co-opted in the last minutes to represent His
Excellency! Whether such rumoured reasons advanced were true or
false, I personally sawKDSG missing the point with its handling
of the annual lecture. This was specially so when even the
leading traditional rulers refused to honour the invitation sent
to them. This year’s lecture was more than timely and desirable
for the current administration.
While the real problems or challenges of intra-religious unity
lie with the Muslims in the state, it is imperative for the
State Government to remain neutral in matters of Muslims’
sects. His Excellency should not be deceived or misadvised in
taking side on the in-fighting or struggling amongst Muslims. It
is not going to be in the interest of his government. While
wishing him a successful, peaceful and stable tenure, I urge him
and his government to continue to embrace all in the state. We
should all remember that the greatest threats to our body polity
today are politics of exclusion and marginalization. As the
first elected Executive Governor from the southern part of the
state, Sir Partrick Yakowa’s task of uniting the state should be
supported by all lovers of peace, justice and equity, please.
Abdulrahman Mohammed Alfa
No 6, Mukum Close, Badarawa
P.O. Box 7677, Kaduna Main Post Office
Kaduna - NIGERIA.
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