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Tag: FR STEPHEN OJAPAH

  • The Yes of Christ, By Stephen Ojapah MSP

    The Yes of Christ, By Stephen Ojapah MSP

    Stephen Ojapah MSP

    “Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vowed. But I say to you, do not swear at all, not by heaven, for it is God’s throne, nor by the earth,’ for it is his footstool” (Mathew 5:33-34). We are gradually coming to the end of my two month long reflection on the Gospel of Mathew Chapter 5. There are profound insights in that chapter in the life of a Christian. In the earlier verses, Jesus talks about the beatitudes, poverty, purity, suffering, peacemaking, mourning, meekness, mercy and persecution (Mathew 5:3-11). He equally speaks about the saltiness of his followers (Mathew 5:13). The Salt element can be likened to the Christian’s participation in public and spiritual affairs were their presence adds value and quality to people and issues in the society. Jesus enjoins his followers not to break the Law. He expects that at all times the bar should be raised and Christians are to encourage people to uphold moral standards in every circumstance.

    Today’s reflection, Jesus builds a wall around oath-taking: “Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your Yes mean Yes and your No mean No. Anything more is from the evil one” ( Mathew 5:36). There is a recent comic video that has gone viral. It is about a politician and a Chief Judge who is supposedly administering the oath of office to the politician who just won an election. Instead of the traditional use of the Bible or the Quran, the Chief Judge used an iron to administer the oath. He said to the politician “Hold this, this is iron and repeat after me”. Afterwards, he proceeded in this manner: “In the administration of my duties while in office, if I steal any public money let Ogun kill me”. Nigeria is presumably a religious country if seen through the prism of Christianity and Islam. It seems that as Nigerians increasingly embrace either of the two religions, the same Nigerians in equal measure appear to be less trustworthy. Our forebears in this country never practised any of the two religions, yet in comparison to present adherents of both religions, our ancestors seemed virtuous in keeping to their word. Ironically, even without knowing Christ as we claim to have known him today, our ancestors exemplified in their lives the teaching of Christ on truthfulness and honesty. Their “yes” was their “yes’ and their “no” meant “no”.

    Traditionally, an oath is either a statement of fact or a promise with wording that relates to something considered sacred as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to give an affirmation instead. As a matter of fact, even when there is no notion of sanctity involved, certain promises said out loud in ceremonial or juridical purpose are referred to as oaths. The word come from Anglo-Saxon āð . It refers to judicial swearing, solemn appeal to deity as a witness to the veracity of the truth or the promise being made.

    Oaths usually a cultural significance especially a deity is invoked. The essence of involving a deity is an invocation of a divine agency to be the guarantor of the oath taker’s own honesty and integrity in the matter under question. By implication, this incurs divine displeasure if the oath taker fails in his or her sworn duties. It implies great responsibility and attention in the performance of one’s duty since a deity has been called upon to be the witness and guarantor. The concept of oath is deeply rooted in the Jewish culture like other cultures in Ancient Near East. For instance, in Genesis 8:21, when God swears that He will “never again curse the ground because of man and never again smite every living thing”. This repetition of the term never again is explained by Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac Commonly known by his acronym Rashi a biblical commentator. It serves as an oath where God swears by Himself to keep His word. In biblical tradition, the first human being known to have taken an oath is said to be Eliezer. He was the chief servant of Abraham. His master asked him to promise that he would not take a wife for Isaac from the daughters of Canaan, but from among Abraham’s own family.

    The foundational text for oath making is in Numbers 30:2 “When a man voweth a vow unto the Lord, or sweareth an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.” For its part, Islam takes the fulfillment of oaths extremely serious: “God does not hold you responsible for mere utterance; He holds you responsible for your actual intentions. If you violate an oath, you shall atone by feeding ten poor people from the same food you offer to your own family, or clothing them, or by freeing a slave. If you cannot afford this, then you shall fast three days. This is the atonement for violating the oaths that you swore to keep. You shall fulfill your oaths. God thus explains His revelations to you, that you may be appreciative. Quran Chapter 5: 89.

    I don’t know in detail the mind of Christ when he said: “Let your Yes be Yes.” It can, however, be inferred that Jesus had in view the slippery character of the human person particularly as exhibited in his encounter with the Pharisees. Jesus lived with the Pharisees, the Scribes and the religious leaders of his time. He constantly had backlashes with them, accusing them severally of double standards. Jesus did not take it kindly in his depiction of the Jewish authorities as men who did not always honor their words since in many instances, they promised what they could not fulfill. In contrast to the Pharisees and the Scribes, Jesus enjoined his followers to ensure that their word was their bond. In other words, if their word could not be trusted, meaningless and invalid was their oath even if they swore by the all the deities in the world.

    All of us at some point or the other have taken oaths to do one thing or the other: religious leaders, public servants, elected politicians, medical doctors, military personnel, and married people, etc. Two things easily surface during oath-swearing ceremonies: (1) the easiness of oath-taking and (2) the difficulty of keeping what is promised. As human actions do not always march words, it means that the taking of oath must be done in good faith as a result of a properly formed conscience. Oath of any kind imposes a heavy moral obligation on a person. That obligation is graver for politicians who have access to government resources that ought to be judiciously managed for the commonweal.

    For that reason, does anyone honestly trust the words of Nigerian politicians? Who among them can truly say he or she is a person of integrity, whose word is his or her bond? For the ordinary Nigerian who easily swears “in the name of God” or “Allah”, does he or she know the gravity of calling the divine deity to be a witness to his or her lies? It should not surprise anyone if Nigerian documents like passports, certificates, credit cards, etc are viewed with suspicion outside the country. Even the official government seal on a document is not often considered as a guarantee of authenticity. What is at stake is the moral integrity of a people. Therefore, let our “yes” be “yes” and our “no” be “no”!

    Fr Stephen Ojapah is a priest of the Missionary Society of St Paul. He is equally the director for Interreligious Dialogue and Ecumenism for the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, a member of IDFP. He is also a KAICIID Fellow. (omeizaojapah85@gmail.com

  • LET THE LITTLE CHILDREN COME TO ME

    BY FR STEPHEN OJAPAH

     

    But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:16). In Africa like any other society, children are a blessing from the Lord. In most cultures the birth of a child is celebrated with fun fair and trumpet blowing. The Urhobo people and the many tribes of Southern Nigeria celebrate the birth of a new baby with the splashing of face powder on any bystander. Amongst the Maguzawa people of Gidan Mai Kambu in Katsina state, the birth of a new baby is celebrated with a loud scream known as buda. Every culture has special ways of announcing the birth of a new baby. All to buttress one simple fact: children are blessing from God. The scripture says: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 18:10).

    These blessings are so delicate that the society becomes outraged when they are abused and exploited. Any form of abuse and exploitation is intolerable by our various institutions and systems. Any system that encourages the abuse and exploitation of children shocks our conscience collectively as a nation. The late Islamic scholar, Sheikh Uthaimeen, described children as a trust given to parents by God. He also said that children are to be well fed, well-groomed, properly dressed for seasons and appearance. Children are entitled to education, religious learning, and spiritual guidance. Their hearts must be filled with faith and their minds entertained with proper guidance, knowledge, and wisdom. “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).

    For years now, the Almajiri system of education in the north has become a source of worry for all meaning Nigerians. Personally, I must say that I have not been educated enough about the system until the Federation of Muslim Women’s Association in Nigeria in collaboration with the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs organized an online conference on the 27th May, 2020 titled: The Almajiri Child: Challenges, Potential and Way Forward. After listening to great scholars, like Hajiya Halima Jibril, who is the National president of FOMWAN. Shiekh Dr Khalid Aliyu, Secretary General of Jama’atu Nasri Islam. Hajiya Suwaiba Yakubu Jibril; Head of programs, Action Aid Nigeria on Advocacy for Dan Almajiri Network. Dr Usman Abubakar of Ahmadu Bello Zaria, Convener of Alternative Education for Almajiri. I became more open to the heavy burden of reforming a system that has served Northern Nigeria for over six hundred years.

    Muslim traders first came to the Nigerian regions of Kanem and Borno in the 9th century, and the religion spread through trade and migration. Almajiri began in Kanem-Borno in the 11th century, when many rulers practiced Islam. More than 700 years later, in the 19th century, Islamic scholar, Usman dan Fodio founded the Sokoto caliphate, and furthered the cause of Islamic learning. Prior to the British arrival in Nigeria, Almajiri children stayed at home with their parents and attended tsangayu to study the Quran. All the schools available then were in close proximity with the immediate environment of the students. Inspectors were introduced to go to the schools and report the affairs of the school to the province. The schools were funded by the state treasury, the community, parents, zakah controlled by local emirs, sadaqqah and sometimes the farm output of the students. In the pre-colonial era, Almajirai did not beg because there was sufficient funding to feed and cloth them.

    The British colonized Nigeria in 1904, and with them came many changes to the Almajiri system. During the colonial era, the British deposed Emirs and defunded the Almajiri system. The remaining Emirs lost control of their territories, this resulted also in the loss of fundamental control of the Almajiri. With no support from the community, Emirs and government, the system collapsed. The British neither established secular schools on a large scale nor advanced existing institutions. Most Western education (Boko) was conducted by Christian missionaries, but this education was only available for a small portion of Nigerians. Because Islamic scholars did not have a western education, they were disqualified from white-collar and political jobs.

    One Muslim response to the establishment of Christian-led secular schools was to create integrated Muslim-led secular schools. In 1921, there were more than 30,000 Islamic schools in Northern Nigeria. The British did, however, establish large urban centers, so many malammai (teachers) migrated from rural areas to the cities. Many northern cities, such as Kano, became important centers of Islamic learning. Parents started sending their children to the cities to study Islam, and the relationship between the almajiri and the malammai (teachers) became more salient. The teachers and students had no financial support, so, they turned to alms begging and menial jobs for survival. Eventually this practice became the norm.

    One of the fundamental problems we have as a people in Nigeria, is mutual suspicion. The North suspects the East, the East suspects the South and the North while the South distrusts the East and the North. All with legitimate reasons, so much so that National Issues are treated with tribal and religious sentiments. No wonder we are hardly on the same page. Again, with COVID 19 a lot of opportunities are coming to us handy, and we must not miss it. The solidarity I experienced at the conference reflects the values of the Christian gospel and the teaching of Islam. If we truly are coming from a tradition that values children then we must collectively come up with better ways of affecting the Almajiri system in tandem with the 21st century. According to the Psalmist, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate” (Psalm 127:3-5).

    I was particularly motivated by the keen interest of Christians who were on that conference, Priests, Pastors, Rev Sisters, Students from Malasia, USA, Indonesia and many other countries. Nigeria has come to stay, it is in our interest and the interest of our great grandchildren, that the country succeed, therefore lets all hands be on deck to chat the cause for the future of every child. Whether in the North, South or East. Finally, an Almajiri discussion cannot be successful without the contributions of great scholars like Shiek Dahiru Bauchi. Thank you must sincerely FOMWAN AND NSCIA for putting up such a timely conference but please invite Shierk Dahiru and all who have the interest of children in your next conversation on the need to emancipate children from mental and physical suffering that takes the form of servitude. Jesus says, “Whoever receives a child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me” (Mark 9:37).

    Fr Stephen Ojapah is a Missionary of St Paul. He is equally the director for Interreligious Dialogue and Ecumenism for the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto. He is also a KAICIID Fellow. (omeizaojapah85@gmail.com)