By Busola Samuel, Lagos
The Chief Imam of Misbaudeen Islamic Centre, Iloro, Dopemu, Agege, Lagos, Imam Qamarudeen Abdullateef, has described the challenges facing Nigeria as things caused by attitude of Nigerians.
The spiritual leader, in his Jumat sermon on Friday, gave similitude of a nation described by Allah in the Qur’an chapter 16 verse 112 as blessed in abundance but was made to suffer hunger and fear because of the attitude of the people.
It would be recalled how many Nigerians including some elements in the media, security, legislature and the judiciary are said to be working hard to frustrate the ongoing anti-corruption war of the Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government.
All Nigerians had agreed that corruption was the parasite responsible for the rot that had for decades inhibit good governance and overall development in country. But, while South Africans sent away their President for failing to fight corruption and for involving in corruption, some Nigerians have been up and doing ensuring that their own incorruptible President, Muhammadu Buhari, whose anti-corruption crusade has catapulted him to the status of topmost anti-corruption fighter in Africa and one of few in the world, does not succeed and that he does not have a second term in office.
Attitudes like this probably prompted the worry of the Islamic scholar, who delivers his sermons in Yoruba, Hausa and English, when he said it should not be a surprise to anybody that Nigerians have always lived in fear and hunger even in the presence of abundant blessings.
Nigeria is blessed with oil that is the largest deposit in Africa and sixth largest in the world and its arable land has been touted to have capacity for planting food enough to feed entire Africa.
He said the problem of Nigeria was caused by Nigerians and warned them to change attitude so that in the presence of plenty they will not have fear and hunger as said by Allah in the Qur’an.
Imam Abdullateef, who is younger brother to the Lagos State Commissioner for Home Affairs, Abdul-Hakeem Abdullateef, was speaking this week on Jumat Khutbah titled “Signs of End Time” and he recited Suratul Asri from the Holy Qur’an in which Allah points out four things that will happen when the End-Time approaches.
He said, “There are four signs that you will see, and which the Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned also, to make you know that the end-time has come. One, when people give judgment, they will not give judgment based on justice and equity and the Prophet said truth will no longer be popular as people will give glory to falsehood over truth and added that when you see this happens, the end-time has come.”
In expatiating on that, the Imam was worried that much as the Nigerian Police was noble and doing well, Nigerians have not been fairly treated by them as, according to him in most cases, people who go to report armed robbers end up being treated by the police as armed robbers.
He said the Prophet said when the last hour will be approaching, Muslims should hold fast to four things which include profound faith, being constant in doing good work, saying and standing for the truth and then being ones with patience.
Confirming that “the end-time is here”, Imam Qamarudeen Abdullateef said, “we are now already in the end-time era because all of those things given as the signs by the Prophet (s) are already happening.”
He seized the Khutbah to announce the reversion of a Pastor by name Ahmad Yusuf, who said as a church pastor with official accommodation and good salary he used to have dreams where he was leading people in Islamic prayers in the church and in the end had embraced Islam.
Welcoming Brother Ahmad Yusuf into the fold of Islam, Imam Abdullateef admonished him, “to be Muslim with truth, sincerity, certainty, clarity of purpose and realization that being Muslim does not make one free from test.”
