TEN THINGS YOU DID NOT KNOW ABOUT PROPHET MUHAMMAD

Much has been written about the exemplar beyond compare. However, we will love to touch on some facts of the Prophet’s life that are not oftenly told as other facts.  You may have come across some or all before. In that case, let this be a reminder. If you are coming across them for the first time, savor, relish and appreciate the quintessential life of our noble Prophet. We hope and pray you enjoy and learn something from the piece. Thank you!

1. He suckled from the same breast as his uncle Hamza Ibn Mutallib

After the Battle of Uhud, the Prophet and Muslims were downcast.

They were sad because they let down an early victory for a humiliating defeat. The sadness was profound because majority of the Muslim dead were mutilated. Hind bint Utbah led a bevy of Makkan ladies to mutilate some of the dead. Chief among these mutilated dead was Hamza bin Abdul Mutallib. His lower abdomen was cut and his liver taken out,chewed and savored by Hind. This was in vengeance of the death of her brother, father (who were killed by Ali ibn Abi Talib) and uncle (who was killed by Hamza) that fell at Badr.

When the Prophet saw how badly his uncle Hamza was treated, he became angry and harbored thoughts of revenge. Just then Allah revealed the following verses:

“And if you punish them, then punish them with the like of that with which you were afflicted. But if you have patience with them, then it is better for those who are patient. And be patient, and your patience will not be, but by the help of Allah. And do not grieve over them, and do not be distressed by their plots.” (Qur’an 16:126-127)

But there was a connection between the Prophet and his Uncle Hamza beyond the commonality of faith and paternity. There was the connection of mammary liquid. They were foster-brothers.  They both suckled from the same breast of the slave Thuwayba al-Aslamiyah. The day Prophet Muhammad’s father Abdullah bin Abdul Mutallib married his mother Aminat bint Wahb, his grandfather Abdul Mutallib married a woman called Halah bint Uyay (Hamza’s mother). They both were given birth to around the same time though Hamza was the younger.  Prophet Muhammad said of Hamza’s daughter “She is the daughter of my nursing brother.”

2. The Prophet’s father was worth a hundred camels.
 

In Pre-Islamic Makkah, to own a camel was a mark of extreme opulence. It so happened that the grandfather of the Prophet, Abdul Mutallib executed the duties of Siqayah (providing pilgrims with water and maintenance of the Zamzam well) and Rifadah (provision of food to the pilgrims) but with limitations. Plurality of descendents was an asset in the execution of his duties but he had only one son. So he made a vow that should he be given ten sons he would sacrifice one of them to the gods. Fortunately he had ten fully-grown sons. He decided to fulfil his vow. He cast lots among his sons and the lot fell on Abdullah (the prophet’s father). He then took him to the Ka’aba to fulfil his vow. However, because of the love and admiration everyone had for Abdullah, the whole of Makkah suggested to him the he should offer ten camels which was the amount of a man’s blood wit.

He went to cast divination arrows between the ten camels and Abdullah. The first time it fell on Abdullah. He was then exhorted to increase the number and each time it fell on the same Abdullah until the number of camels reached hundred. The arrows then fell on the hundred camels. To be certain, he repeated this feat three times and each time it fell on the hundred camels. Thus the Prophet’s father was held in extremely high esteem amongst his people before his death.

                                    

3.     The Prophet’s last words.

There are certain statements that are not taken lightly. They are cherished on high with utmost religiosity by some. A whole lot attain political significance thus are copiously quoted by surviving men.  These are the last words articulated by men at the point of death.

Some of the famous last words in history are; ‘” I feel ill. Call the doctors” by Mao Zedong, “the seven sayings of Jesus Christ” as stated by those who believe he died on earth, “Money can’t buy life” as Bob Marley’s last words to his son Ziggy Marley.

The Prophet of Islam, the exemplar beyond compare, also had his fair share of the last words of men as the best of all mankind. As he approached death, he brushed his teeth with miswak. He then looked up to the sky and raised his hand and moved his lips. So ‘Aisha listened to him. She heard him say: “With those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace with the Prophets and the Truthful ones (As-Siddeeqeen), the martyrs and the good doers. O Allah, forgive me and have mercy upon me and join me to the Companionship on high.” Then at intervals he uttered these words: “The most exalted Companionship on high. To Allah we turn and to Him we turn back for help and last abode.”

4.    The only life the Prophet took.

The Prophet was as harmless as a lamb. He was meek and mild. He was gentle and genteel. He never hurt a fly. One companion who lived for several years with the Prophet stated that the Prophet never rebuked him “why did he do this or that?” A testament to his overwhelming magnanimity.

After the Battle of Badr, the morale of the Makkans was badly battered. The town itself reverberated with profound melancholy. The women of Makkah led by the embittered Hind bint Utbah resolved not to accommodate their men in their beds until they avenge themselves.
A year later, Uhud was fought. And when the Muslims out of disobedience lost the early morning victory they had to the Makkans, they really suffered the onslaught of the Makkans. The Makkans vowed to finish the agenda by killing the Prophet.

During the heat of the onslaught, many companions formed a protective ring around the Prophet to prevent him from been seen after it was believed that he had died. One of the approaching disbelievers looked through the human ring, saw the Prophet and proceeded to attack.  The Prophet took a weapon from Suhail ibn Amr and threw it at the approaching infidel. It scratched him at his back which eventually led to his death. That infidel was Ubayy ibn Khalaf. Thus he was the only man the Prophet killed.

5.    The Actual name of his grandfather

The fourth grandfather of the prophet by name Qussay Bun Kilab was blessed with three children, Abdal Uzza, Abd Manaf and Abd al Dar.

Abd Manaf, the most promising son of Qussay bun Kilab grew up and gave birth to Al Mutallib, Hashim and Nawfal. Hashim, a trade man, became the leader of his people. He was custodian of the Siqayah and the Rifadah. In one of his trips to Yathrib (Madina), he met one woman called Salma bint Amr. Hashim fell in love with her and they finally got married. She lived with him for a while in Makkah and she later returned to Yathrib where she gave birth to son called Shaybah. Several years after Hashim passed away, his brother Al Mutallib who succeeded his post decided to for his brother’s son, Shaybah in Madina. On his return to Makkah, he allowed the young man to precede him on his camel. The people of Makkah thought that he was the servant of Al Mutallib and named him Abd al Mutallib (the servant of Al-Mutallib).  The name became so popular that his actual name was forgotten. Abd al Mutallib married and gave birth to a son called Abdullah who eventually became the father of the prophet. So the actual name of the prophet’s grandfather is not   Abd-al-Mutallib but Shaybah ibn Hashim.

The writers on a sight-seeing walk on June 4th, 2015

6.   The ‘betweener’ of the Prophet and Khadijah

Abu Talib was virtually living from hand to mouth and had so many mouths to feed. Upon hearing that Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, a tradeswoman of honor, dignity and great wealth was hiring men to work for her in a trade.  Abu Talib recommended his nephew (Prophet Muhammad pbuh) to her.

 On his first trip together with her servant Maysarah, the prophet came back to her with an unprecedented and historical trade record. Maysarah recounted the immaculate and impeccable qualities of the Prophet to his mistress.

She was moved and touched by his entrepreneurial skill and overwhelmingly virtuous nature. Shortly, despite the difference in age between her and the prophet coupled with her status as one of noblest women in Makkah, her satisfaction with the prophet turned in love.  She couldn’t directly disclose this to the prophet but intimated her desire to her friend Nufaysah bint Munyah. Nufaysah disclosed to the prophet that Khadijah wants him to be her husband. The prophet accepted her proposal and they got married. The person who stood for Khadijah as father was her uncle, Umar ibn Asad since her father had passed away before the marriage. 

7.      The woman that hosted him the night of Israi wal Miraj

The prophet has demonstrated not once, but times without number, miraculous evidence pointing to the fact that indeed he is a messenger from Allah. The greatest miracle of the Prophet is the Qur’an. The Qur’an outshone the eloquence of Arab which had been their trademark. One important miracle that entrenched the faith of the believers and ironically made the disbelievers very intransigent in their state of disbelief was al Israi and Miraj. This spiritual phenomenon did not only baffle the minds of the disbelievers but also historians and knowledge seekers. Al Israi means the night journey the prophet was reported to have taken from Makkah to Masjid-al Aqsa (Jerusalem) and Miraj on the other hand means the Prophet’s ascension to heaven and his visit to paradise and hell. It was during this time that the five obligatory prayers were prescribed to the prophet. In the middle of a solemn, quiet night when even the night birds and the rambling beat were quiet and the prophet was asleep in the house of his cousin, Hind bint Abu Talib also known as Umm Hani, Prophet Muhammad was awakened by a voice and before him was Angel Gabriel.  He led the fantastical steed, Buraq and made the prophet to mount and took the prophet away. The Prophet is reported to have said “Oh Umm Hani I prayed with you the night prayer in this place then went to Jerusalem and I prayed there …”

8. Only four people knew their hiding place

The enmity and hostility of the disbelievers grew as the number of Muslims in Makkah kept increasing as the days unfolded. The Muslims were persecuted and punished perniciously. Slaves who accepted Islam faced the wrath of their masters. Umayya ibn Khalaf severely punished Bilal ibn Raba to denounce Islam but he resisted the throes and pains of the punishment until he was bought by Abu Bakr. Sumaiyyah, her husband, Yassir, and her son Ammaar were brutalized by hard-hearted Abu Jahl.  It was in his filthy hands that the first martyrdom in Islam was recorded. That was Sumaiyyah bint Khayyat, may Allah be pleased with her. Muslims could no more contain and resist the wrath of the disbelievers and therefore Allah ordered the prophet to allow the Muslims to migrate to Madina. The migration of the ordinary Muslims was not what mattered to them but that of the prophet peace be upon him. The Prophet was ordained by Allah chose Abu Bakr to be his companion for the migration to Madina. The Prophet cognizant of the fact that the disbelievers were on the verge of killing him decided with his friend to leave unnoticed out of Makkah. The Prophet and Abu Bakr on their way to Madina decided to hide in the Cave Thawr. Nobody knew of their hiding place in the cave except the son of Abu Bakr, Abdullah, his two sisters Aisha and Asma and his servant Amir ibn Fuhayrah. 

9.      The man He lived with when He arrived in Madina

The people of Madina became so much expectant as they heard the prophet was on his way to their town. They were yearning and anxious to see the greatest light ever to befall on human race.  The Prophet finally reached Madina on a Friday and he performed his prayer at the mosque situated in the Valley of Ranuqna. This became the first place the prophet prayed in Madina. On that day, every Tom, Dick and Harry was out of his shells to see the greatest man ever to have set foot on the face of the earth.  They loved the prophet with their minds and hearts, and they firmly believed in his message, the reason why he named them Al Ansaar        (the Helpers). The Prophet loved them as well. His love for the Al Ansaar is reminiscent of his pronunciation “had it been not for the sake of Hijra, I would have loved to be part of the Al Ansaar”. Should people splits into groups, I would have joined the Al Ansaar my group.” The Prophet rode his camel continuously as the people were watching. The camel stopped at a yard belonging to orphans of Banu al Najaar. Upon enquiry, he learned that it belonged to Sahl and Suhayl, guardian-sons of Suhail ibn Amr. The Prophet was asked to build the mosque there and he promised to satisfy the two boys. The Prophet built the mosque as well his living quarters.  While the mosque was been erected, he lived with an indigene of Madina called Abu Ayub Khalid ibn Zayd Al Ansari.

10.       The Miracle in Cave Thawr that occurs every day in our lives

When the Prophet was migrating from Makkah to Madina, a reward of 100 red camels was placed on his head. Anyone to bring him dead or alive was going to be profoundly opulent for the rest of his life. The Prophet and his companion had to hide themselves in Cave Thawr in order to escape the vigilante groups that were in search of him. The people of Makkah searched thoroughly for them until they appeared at the foot of the cave. Abu Bakr stated that the only thing left for them to be seen was the head of the one standing at the foot of the cave to come down. Abu Bakr became so jittery that the Prophet had to console him.

What made the Makkans lose interest in the cave were three things that happened. The entrance was covered with cobwebs, and there was a pair of wild pigeons on the threshold. Obviously, no one could have gone in without disturbing the pigeons and destroying the cobwebs. The entrance also was blocked with branches growing from a tree nearby.  The Orientalist Demenghem states that "These three things are the only miracles recorded in authentic Mussulman history: the web of a spider, the love of a dove, the sprouting of a flower three miracles accomplished daily on God's earth."

 Inusah Mohammed and Alhassan Ahmed Tembineh
NB: The writer is a Youth-Activist and a Student of knowledge.
The co-writer is the former  President of GMSA, University of Ghana,  Legon Branch.

I RECOMMEND THESE FIVE BOB MARLEY SONGS TO YOU

One of the topics that have seen more views given than the sands of the Accra (Borla) beach is the position of music in Islam. A large number of exegetes of the Quran in their exegesis of some verses that talk about the wheedlings and seductions of Satan in the hearts of men say he does it through music. Those who hold contrary view also say it is the form and content of music that determines its good or bad nature and that music in itself cannot be bad.  My view in this argument was captured well by the Awake Magazine of the Jehovah Witness of August, 2011.  

Awake Magazine of August, 2011

The opening sentence starts:  

“Can you imagine life without music? No soothing lullabies. No romantic serenades. No lively pop songs. No stirring symphonies. And no inspirational melodies. Most will consider that a dull and unappealing prospect.” It continued: “Yes, music appeals to virtually the full range of human emotions. It soothes and excites us, uplifts and inspires us. It moves us to ecstasy and reduces us to tears. Moreover, because music speaks straight to our heart, it has power. Why are we so moved by music? The answer is really quite simple: music is a beautiful gift from God. (James 1:17)

So I really love good music. The genre of music I like and really have an affinity for is reggae. I used to loathe reggae music to the point that I regarded James Amoako as delusional. James was a classmate back in O’Reilly Senior High School. For our three years stay in school, he has extolled the qualities of Reggae music ad nauseam. He always stated that all the genres of music are for the weak-hearted and that reggae is for real men and the strong-hearted. Personally I regarded his talks as musings of a confused person. 

After Senior High School, I took a personal initiative to acquire as much knowledge as possible on my own. Those were the days I could ‘buy time’ in the internet cafe and sit for hours researching and reading about the lives of great men. I read more to the point when I began to read about porn stars.  My mind became like what Mutabaruka stated in his poem “Dis poem”. It became like a sponge, absorbing things as I encounter them. And my mind yearned for thought-provoking issues. I must confess that I argued violently those days. It so happened that a friend had a music player which he gave me one day. The music that played first began with the lyrics “until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned, everywhere is war.” The lyrics gripped me like death.  I had to replay that song to the umpteenth time. That was the day I started following Reggae Music religiously.

I got inundated with more Reggae songs by my friend Hamza Hajj Ayub whom I spent most part of the year 2007 with. The man who really baptized me in Reggae music is Blakk Rasta formally of Hitz fm. His teachings coupled with my further researches really revealed a whole lot of world issues to me. I love reggae music now to the point that I once unplugged a DJ’s electrical socket at a wake-keeping in Frankies, Nima just because he did not play even one reggae track over that night. That act ended in a real fight between us.

He inundated me with Reggae Music

Reggae music is different. It is an everlasting music as noted  Peter Tosh. He described other genres of music as "music that rises today and dies tomorrow." 

When Reggae is mentioned, the name that readily comes to mind is Bob Marley. 

Anytime I visit the Nima-Maamobi Community library, I make sure I find time to read something again about this man from the book Bob Marley: His Musical Legacy by Jeremy Collingwood. 

That tiny man from Jamaica sold that genre of music to the world and beyond. His profound messages against oppression, slavery in whatever from, sufferation and the subjugation of a part of the world makes him stand out as a musician with a class.Today happens to be 35 years since he found himself in the shores of the afterlife from succumbing to a cancer medically known as Acral Lentiginous Malignant Melanoma. I recommend five songs of his to you. Find them, listen to the lyrics, read about them and live up to the world.

War
Recorded and released in 1976. The song is a revolt against the phenomenon that precipitated the two greatest crimes the world has ever witnessed, slavery and colonialism. These two crimes have their underpinnings in racism; where one race feels it has the natural right to subjugate other races because of its color. The song has much of its lyrics taken from the speech the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie gave to the United Nations in 1963. The song ends with a message of hope to the African.

“And until that day, the African continent will not know peace. We Africans will fight, we find it necessary. And we know we shall win, as we are confident in the victory of good over evil, good over evil.”

One Love/People Get Ready

The year 1977 in the Rastafari movement’s calendar was a prophetic year. It is believed that Marcus Garvey prophesied that there will be chaos when the two sevens clash (July, 7, 1977). Hence the roots reggae band Culture released their debut album that year with the name “two sevens clash.” One significant album that was released in that year also was Bob Marley’s Exodus which was voted ‘Album of the Century’ by Time Magazine. In that album we find this powerful track, One Love/People Get ready. A song that talks about the greatest force on earth, the harbinger of hope, the purveyor of joy and the greatest force on earth. Love indeed conquers all. The Anglican church of Jamaica has incorporated this song in its hymn book and it is sung by all adherents of the church. For thousand years, the best song that was ever sung was this song as it was voted Song of the Millennium by the British Broadcasting Corporation.

  “Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner. There ain’t no hiding place from the Father of Creation. One Love, one heart. Let’s all get together and feel alright.”

Wake up and live

It’s a four minute, fifty-eight seconds track that is found on the side two of the album that has showed strong disposition to warfare, Survival. The song exhorts the listener to rise up and live rather than merely existing as most do in the world now.  The message sums it all up in the song.

“Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts don’t you complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don’t bury your thoughts. Put your vision to reality. Wake up and live”

Captan Gh is a Dancehall artist i gave this book to read

Redemption Song

Largely acclaimed as the Reggae Anthem and considered by many as Bob Marley’s Magnum Opus, it was released in 1980, a year before he died. One could feel the pain in the song as he was already diagnosed with the malignant cancer that forever shut his eyes to the world. Rita Marley his wife stated “he was already secretly in a lot of pain and dealt with his own mortality, a feature that is clearly apparent in the album, particularly this song.” 

  

   " Emancipate yourself from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds."

Zimbabwe
On the 26^th of September, 2007, Robert Mugabe told the 62^nd session of the United Nations Assembly in New York a ferocious truth. He said this “Mr. President, I lost eleven precious years of my life in the jail of a white man whose freedom and well- being I have assured from the first day of Zimbabwe's Independence. I lost a further fifteen years fighting white injustice in my country.
Ian Smith is responsible for the death of well over 50,000 of my people. I bear scars of his tyranny which Britain and America condoned. I meet his victims every day. Yet he walks free. He farms free. He talks freely, associates freely under a black Government. We taught him democracy. We gave him back his humanity.”

When Robert Mugabe won the war against the imperialist Rhodesian government, he invited Bob Marley to play a concert in honor of the victory. In a prophetic style and fashion, Bob Marley had prophesied on this track released in 1979 that Zimbabwe will win the war against imperialism and he is going to “mash it in Zimbabwe.”

“Mash it up in-a (Zimbabwe);
Natty trash it in-a (Zimbabwe);
Africans a-liberate Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe);
I'n'I a-liberate Zimbabwe.”

And truly he did it by personally sponsoring his trip to and fro Jamaica and Zimbabwe. And he played a free concert too. It is no wonder that this song is the unofficial National Anthem of Zimbabweans. Legend has it that Zimbabweans know this song more than their national anthem.

“Every man got the right to decide his own destiny. And in this judgment there’s no partiality”

There is certainly no partiality in choosing your favorite Bob Marley song. Which Bob Marley song is your favorite?

Inusah Mohammed

NB: The writer is a Youth-Activist and a Student of knowledge.

Okoromaazi@gmail.com

FELIX NATALIS MAHMOUD JAJAH!

 Contrary to John Mahama’s assertion that Ghanaians suffer from amnesia, I have a serious photographic memory. And I am a human testimony to Ben Carson’s often used statement that “the brain acquires everything that we encounter.” My brain captures  things I pass through and encounter unwaveringly like the anchor in the hymn that is prophesied to “hold in the storms of life when the clouds unfold their wings of strife”. Like the Facebook button ‘see friendship’ that shows the interactions between two friends, I want to recount some of the moments I shared with you not forgetting the  impact they made  in my nascent life. 

A very powerful book every person alive should read

1.     One of the days I will never forget is 17^th May, 2007. That is the day together with seven school mates of mine, I was locked up in the Adabaraka police cells for a crime I never committed but decided to shield the culprit. We spent 24 hours and some minutes in that inhumane condition before we were released from custody. But the memory of that day pales in memory of the day I met you in August of the same year. We met on an excursion bus enroute to Elmina Castle via Kakum National Reserve. There was a quiz on the bus which I won. However, there was a question no one was able to answer and you were called in to help. That was how you introduced me to Helen Keller.

2.     You introduced me to AVERT Youth Foundation and I will forever be grateful for that. 

   AVERT Youth Foundation is a community-based, youth-led, non-religious, non-sectarian, non-political organization that gave the youth the chance to impact their community. Under your abled leadership, AVERT was awarded by the National Youth Authority in 2005 as the best Youth organization in Ghana. I learnt many things. How to work at a committee level, how to introduce a concept to people, how to lead people. I had the chance to meet Bernard Avle of Citi fm and Daniel Kokrokoo of Dafoko concepts in 2008, I met the women from Abantu for Development, and I met workers of Ghana Aids Commission through the numerous AIDS Candlelight Memorials we used to organize. I miss those candles. I learnt leadership also from the numerous Leadership Workshops we organized.  I am not a leader but almost everywhere I find myself, I end up being the leader because of the leadership qualities imbued in me at AVERT. I was a Science student when I joined AVERT. However, I could tell a good Financial statement and Budget statement from a bad one due to those moments at AVERT when a Financial secretary is grilled anytime he presents them. Thank you for introducing me to AVERT YOUTH FOUNDATION.

3.     One thing I will forever be grateful for is the  books you introduced me to. My mum introduced me to reading. From nursery, I was an avid reader. However, you revolutionized my readings by introducing me to books that blow the mind.  Long Walk to Freedom, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Malcolm X: The Life of Reinvention, A biography of Mandela, Letters from Prison edited by  Mac Maharaj, From Third World to First World, Think Big, The Power of Focus, The Magic of Thinking Big, Awaking the Giant within, Goals, 21 irrefutable laws of leadership, Seven Habits of Highly successful people, The Eighth Habit, Who moved my cheese?, Seeking Gaddafi, Soccernomics, Mandela’s way, Everyday Greatness, The Entrepreneur, The Art of War, 48 Laws of Power etc are some of the books you introduced me to. Most you gave me and I got my own copies later. Most could not be secured in our reading-deficient land.  The books I will be super-grateful for are The Greatness Guide 1 and 2. 

     

They really opened my eyes to life and made me realize there’s more to life than just existing.

4.     Through you, I knew Yussif Jajah. The man who helped restore my Academic life. I will forever be grateful and will forever support him in his endeavors.

5.     I can’t exhaust all the encounters. Forgive me for the day you witnessed a verbal fight I had with a very stubborn woman in Nima. That was on the 29^th of November, 2014. I still criticize myself for making you see me in that state. Only once you criticized me and you immediately followed it up with praise. The day I was in goal post for AVERT and conceded a goal I should not have at Al-Waleed. I later came on to strike.  You told me “ Maazi, you made them score us but you have done well.”  I happily laughed after that… hahahhahaaa.

Happy earthday boss! You are one in a million. You are a sun that never sets. If others are jewels, you are a treasure!  May Allah grant you more life and prosperity to positively influence more lives on earth.

 Felix Natalis  Abu Saamankusei!

THE CHANGE FOR THE ZONGO YOUTH LAUNCH AND THE MALCONDUCT OF OUR POLITICIANS

Last week Friday, a historic event took place at the Nima-Maamobi community library. The historicity of the event lies in the fact that a youth-engineered initiative was launched to prevent the youth of Zongo from becoming victims of the criticisms they have always leveled against their elderly folks. The youth have always lamented the fact that our elders did not do enough to place us on a very good footing in the national development agenda.  The Change for Zongo Youth was officially launched. It was well-attended considering the fact that our people have still not woken up from their long sleep and deep slumber. 

On Facebook, I uploaded a picture we took there and wrote “And we helped launch the Change for Zongo Youth today. Interestingly, I did not see any Zongo Politician around. Why? Because they have not the Zongo at heart. I know it’s going to be difficult to believe that. If it’s not a vote-garnering programme, they send an ‘ignorant’ representative or do not come at all. We are surely rising up. The youth are becoming wiser by the day. We are (as the Rastas say) “reading between the lines and wise”. One Reggae musician I love is Everton Blender. He sings powerfully and his messages are geared towards the upliftment of the ghetto. In his Ghetto People song, he tells wicked politicians “they are losing the fact that we are humans who one day will not take it anymore.”    

With my bosses and fellow progressives at the launch.

Heaven came tumbling down on earth as the fanatics of one political party started raining an avalanche of attacks and responses on me. One boss of mine wrote “forget the politician. Be the change you seek”. This generated ten more comments from the banter that ensued between us. One of my responses was “when it is credit-worthy, you want us to mention the politician. When it comes to his dereliction of duty, you tell us “be the change you seek.” Sia!”       Follow it here

The statement that generated the fury in me and interestingly was the most response is “did you invite them”? This statement had me thinking whether those who asked that had sands in their brains.

Politicians are fed, clothed and sometimes sheltered with the tax-payers money. The tax payer is the common taxi or trotro driver, wakye seller, farmer, market women, fisherman and a lot other commoners that are considered part of the flotsam and jetsam of the society. With this in mind, one expects the politician to have extreme interest in what will develop the citizenry which will in the long way develop the country. After all, a developed citizenry ensures a developed country. However, we do not see that in our Zongos. All we see in the politician is his interest in what will increase his votes or where he could garner for more votes.

In 2014, I was invited to be a quiz master of a quiz contest organized among eight basic schools in Nima. The almost two-month long contest was an eye-opening experience for me. The organizers of the programme were youth who had then completed their high school education. Though they were young, they realized that you do not have to be old to be an agent of change. One author stated “if you think you are too small to be an agent of change, try going to bed with a mosquito.” So with their scanty resources, these youth organized this event. For two months, the eight schools battled it out in brains and wit and sheer tenacity. It was the first of its nature in our community. It should have been an annual community event where we will have the reigning school of the year. 

The final day of the quiz won by St. Kizito RC School of Nima. 

This will help  whip up the learning spirit and a spirit of seriousness in our young ones in a community where everything shows that the future is bleak.

A birthday party of a teenager at the Nima social center where weed was smoked by youth with wanton abandon and 10 -12 year olds almost stripping in the wee hours of the night. 

The contest proved that learning could be enjoying and intensely competitive. This should have been wholly embraced by politicians who are supposed to be unwavering agents of positive change. Interestingly it was not so. 

Having an intercourse of minds to come up with an answer to a question

Before the organizers started, they sent letters of invitation and for support to all Assembly men, Members of Parliament (both Ayawaso East and North) and all those who matter in our community. No politician gave any form of support nor  showed his face for the eight weeks save the erstwhile Assembly member for Nima-East electoral area, Hon.Shareau Tajudeen who only  came on the final day. And even with that, he came in very late.  When the organizers took the letter to Hon.Dr.Mustapha Ahmed, he told them it was not within his domain and that the youth should rather go the Ayawaso-East Member of Parliament. At that point in time, he was a Minister of State in charge of  Developmental Authorities at the Presidency. (I wonder what Development is).

The Change for Zongo Youth that got launched last week Friday is a month-long celebration of the Zongo youth. 

The Zongo has always been the victim of discriminatory reportage. Negative stories have almost always been told about it the even the inhabitants have tend to accept the fact that they have no good to give. This partly has culminated in serious inferiority complex which makes Zongo people think everything must be done for them. The politicians have also exploited this to the apogee. In his well-written piece, The Trouble with our Zongo Communities in Ghana, Mahmoud Jajah wrote, “I think the trouble with our Zongo communities is the very nature or structure of the Zongo communities. What exactly do I mean by this? When a group of people live together and try to behave or in fact behave as if they’re different from the rest, in terms of how they live their lives and go about their activities, it sends a wrong or better put mixed signals to the rest of us. I’m not suggesting that Muslims should live like Christians. My point is Muslims in Ghana in particular have not done a good job in integrating into the Ghanaian society very well. We may have been living peacefully with non-Muslims. However, we shouldn’t see ourselves as the underdogs and the minority that needs to be helped out from our current situations. We’ve got to live as Ghanaians who have the full and equal right just like any other Ghanaian! When there are troubles or violence in non-Zongo communities, the media reports it as an isolated incident from that community and not a peculiarity to the community. It is about time; therefore, we stopped seeing ourselves as marginalized and the underdogs. Yes Muslims are in the minority in Ghana. But Ghana is a secular State which technically doesn’t care about what religion one belongs to. We are Ghanaians and we should behave as such!” Solid!

Ever wondered why the National Democratic Congress has Zongo Caucus and not any other people’s caucus?  Ever wondered why the New Patriotic Party keep promising without end the establishment of a Zongo Development fund and not any other people’s development fund? The Zongo Caucus of the NDC has been very important and instrumental in one sole ‘good’. And that is its expertise in facilitating the sharing of rice and sugar to hoodwink our people for votes. I harbor a strong feeling that the Zongo Development fund of the NPP also is just an attempt to win us over and nothing else.

 It is therefore worth-embracing to have the youth rising up to tell the Zongo story in a positive way. This, however humble, will inspire our people to wake up and work towards securing a reputable status in this country. It should be embraced by all with the politician leading the charge. Our politicians are either ignorant of the situation we find ourselves in or just want to maintain the status quo which ensures milk in their tea.

A cross-section of the Zongorians who graced the occasion.

 To tell us to invite politicians to noble and development-driven programmes such as these before they come is just like telling us to beg a husband to perform his conjugal duties. The event was graced by Oguchuku Nweke, Iddris Sajjad Toppoh and Balla Maikankan. One personality whose presence illuminated the whole programme was Mariska Araba Taylor of the Ghana Association of Writers. Her speech when she donated books to the cause was soul-permeating. She stated that we must write our own stories and codify it for posterity to learn about our struggle. Interestingly, she is not even from our Zongos but as a progressive-minded person, she came around to grace the occasion.

Mariska donating books to the cause

In the run-up to the intra-party primaries of the various political parties in the Ayawaso East and North constituencies, we saw politicians running helter-skelter to almost all events in town uninvited. Suddenly, we saw them during our marriages, donating and pledging freebies. We saw them at almost all funerals in town. Generators were dashed out to Police stations and interestingly to mosques as if they were prayer mats. One of our strong youth died (Muhammad Chankpan, may his soul rest in peace) and his internment took about four hours to and fro the burial grounds, we saw a Member of Parliament with us unhindered and unperturbed throughout the proceedings. The most shocking of all was the appearance of politicians on stage at the immediate past Sallahfest on the Prince Al-Waleed Highway.  We all saw what happened, and it should be a lesson to all and remind us that “we are human, who one day will not take it anymore.”          All these visits and donations ended immediately after the primaries. So to tell us to invite our politicians to programmes that will push the community forward before they come is to me a statement borne out of a shallow-thinking mind.

The Change for Zongo Youth initiative is not political. It is certainly not sectarian. It is also not for a specific group of people in the Zongo. It is for all. It is for a people awakening, arising and understanding that it has been too long in ‘slavery”.

Inusah Mohammed

NB: The Writer is a Youth-Activist and a Student of Knowledge.

okoromaazi@gmail.com