And Four Other Things…
If the only thing you read is news, you would think CAMA means “Christian and Allied Matters Act”, although the law covers all religions. It allows tighter regulation of the activities of not-for-profit bodies (not just churches). We live in an era where the church founder is also the accountant, treasurer and auditor — and has final say on what they see as personal business empires. That some Christian leaders would oppose accountability and transparency under the guise of resisting “jihad” is unsurprising: many are conveniently serving God and mammon simultaneously. Nevertheless, they should find a civic way of engaging with the lawmakers over their misgivings. Practical.
There was public outrage last week over the verbal assault on a journalist by Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, former aviation minister. He has been touring some states and pouring encomiums on the governors, and the journalist asked: “Who is bankrolling this?” Rather than answer the question with facts and figures, Fani-Kayode responded with raw insults and intimidation. I honestly do not blame him. The truth is that many politicians have no regard for Nigerian journalists, whatever the reason may be. They think our job is to massage their egos with patronising questions. I hope this will start a kind of revolution among Nigerian journalists. We are not meant to be bootlickers. Professionalism.
The death sentence passed on Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a singer in Kano state, by an upper Sharia court has generated enormous public interest, concern and criticism. He had been found guilty of blasphemy in a song he circulated via WhatsApp. Members of his sect have dissociated themselves from him. From the look of things, the politicians are determined to carry out the execution if his appeal fails. Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, the governor of Kano, says he will not waste a minute in signing the warrant of execution. Anybody who loves Sharif-Aminu should get him a damn good lawyer. Twitter campaigns and public opinion may not be enough to save his neck. Essential.
Iba Gani Adams, the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, has raised the alarm that members of the Islamic State are now in the Oke-Ogun area of Oyo state. My immediate response was: we made so much progress in tackling and pushing back Boko Haram before the 2015 elections and even celebrated taking over ‘Camp Zero’ in 2016, so what went wrong? I have no doubts that some of what we call banditry, kidnappings and herdsmen attacks in several parts of the country are linked to the different factions of Boko Haram. What we used to see as a Borno/ north-east problem is now threatening the whole country. Can we still retrace our steps in this war on terror? Deteriorating.