As a practice in Western culture and some westernized countries, honeymoon involves a newlywed couple going on a holiday immediately after their wedding, to celebrate their marriage. This delightful period, which is not defined in days or weeks, is generally believed to be full of moments of mutual love, excitement and happiness. During this charming period of a couple’s marital life, it is normal to find a groom open his car door (if he has one) for his bride; drops and picks her up at her workplace and the marketplace; and attends ceremonies in her company. It’s also in the light of honeymoon that native speakers of Hausa say “A bride does not sin even when she kills a child from the groom’s family”.
Honeymoon is usually a period could last for as long as a couple is able to manage themselves just as it could be as short as few months. When the honeymoon is over, the groom ( who would have assumed the ‘chauvinistic’ title of husband) would give the wife (who may have also ceased to be a bride) money to ride Keke-NAPEP to the market place instead riding in his car; asking her to do everything he hitherto helped her to do. He could even have changed the name with which he had saved her number on his phone from ‘Sweetheart’ or ‘darling’ to ‘Wahala’ or ‘problem’.
Like newly-weds, one would have expected the recently inaugurated federal lawmakers to remain in the euphoria of honeymoon for, at least, the next three months; plucking low hanging fruits that would easily endear them to Nigerians. The lawmakers should have prioritized the passing of motions that seek to tackle socio-economic indicators that have immediate and direct impact on the life of about 200 million ordinary Nigerians. This, for instance, may include requesting the executive to, as a matter of policy, abolish consultation fees in public hospitals; half payment for drugs prescribed for the treatment of malaria and diarrhea. These and other quick interventions in the transport, agricultural and education sectors are some of the interventions that could simply be ‘plucked’ to prolong and sustain the lawmakers’ political ‘honeymoon’ with Nigerians.
Unfortunately, the federal lawmakers ignored these not-too-sweet fruits and rather went straight for the ‘forbidden’ fruits, which are ‘sweetest’. The ‘fruits’ may not be too sweet to them because it would require the executive to appropriate a huge chunk of funds for such interventions, which in practical terms, may affect the monies they expect to service their privileges; a sacrifice they are not prepared to make. The first visible misstep that suddenly prepared the ground for ending their ‘honeymoon’ was the appointment of 33 personal aides by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Honourable Tajudeen Abbas.
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Initially, I thought it was a social media ‘news’ until it came out in the conventional print media. For a people who promised to cut down on the cost of governance to start this way (barely two weeks after assuming office) illustrates how insensitive, given the prevailing socio-economic realities in the country, Oga Tajudden has become. This came too soon after Nigerians started feeling the heat of oil subsidy removal, a devalued currency, and a record 7-year inflation surge now put at over 22 percent.
The honeymoon gaffe was carried to a worse level when the lawmakers amended the N819.5 billion 2022 supplementary budget and approved N70 billion to support their own “working conditions”. This is the ‘forbidden fruit’ they chose to taste (because it is sweetest) at the expense of the wellbeing of Nigerians. The amendment, which also made provision for N500 billion in palliatives to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal, was passed in both the Senate and House of Representatives 24 hours after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu sent the request to the parliament.
Like the proverbial groom who withdrew his honeymoon indulgences from his wife, the allocation of N70bn for lawmakers has, since then, continued to attract criticisms from all categories of Nigerians including civil society organisations who consider the N70bn as outrageous. Indeed, the lawmakers deserve the criticisms directed at them because while they are asking millions of Nigerian farmers to do with N19.2bn, only 469 lawmakers (109 senators and 360 Reps) would have N70bn to themselves in the name of supporting their “working conditions”! Given the fact that provisions have already been made for lawmakers in the 2023 Appropriation Act, the N70bn allocation to themselves could only be the height of insensitivity and a brazen expression of greed.
That which finally and recklessly ended lawmakers’ honeymoon with Nigerians was, perhaps, the announcement that the lawmakers approval for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to borrow $800 million from the World Bank is for the payment of a monthly cash transfer of N8,000 to poor 12 million Nigerian families for a period of six months. All the efforts made by the lawmakers to justify their N70bn have, so far, failed to restore their honeymoon. May Allah touch the hearts of Nigerian leaders, amin.
Fasting on Tasu’ah and Ashura days:
In the first paragraph of last week’s piece “Let’s begin the 1445th Hijrah year with national prayers”, the dates Tuesday July 11, 2023 and Wednesday July 12, 2023 were supposed to have respectively read Tuesday July 18, 2023 and Wednesday July 19, 2023. The error is sincerely regrated.
The Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW) exhorts believers to observe voluntary fast on the 9th (Tasu’ah) and 10th (Ashura) days of the first month, Muharram, of the Hijrah year. The six authentic compilers of hadith all relate on the authority of Ibn Abbas (RA) that the Prophet (SAW) fasted on Ashura day (10th of Muharram) and thereafter instructed believers to also do the same. Abi Qatadah (RA) reports that the Prophet (SAW) said, “It (i.e., Ashura) vitiates for (the sins of) the previous year”. On fasting on Tasu’ah (9th of Muharram), Imam Muslim (RA) relates on the authority of Ibn Abbas (RA) that the Prophet (SAW) said, “If I am alive till next year, I will surely observe voluntary fast on Tasu’ah (day)”. Next week Friday July 28, 2023 and Saturday July 29, 2023 would be Tasu’ah and Ashura respectively. We encourage Muslims to observe this new Hijrah year voluntary fast. May Allah accept it from those who are able to observe this Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW), amin.
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