Confession Of A Sheikh And Matters Arising

LET ME begin by congratulating Sheikh Mohamed Abdallah for being bold enough to lick back what he spat. It takes courageous men to do that, and history is made from such bold actions. 

When Sheikh and his cohorts decided to take on the affable former Veep, Alhaji Aliu Mahama unduly for the hitches that characterized the Hajj two years ago, I picked up my trenchant pen and drafted two articles in my attempt to literally “shoot them down”, but I had to shelve all the two because I knew one day the truth will come out, which will give me the opportunity to write about the issue.

I can imagine how the Alhaji felt when he was being insulted on the radio stations, but knowing him, I trusted in his patience and ability to contain such situations. Alhaji Aliu Mahama seems to believe that silence is golden but speech is silvery.

Have you, my dear reader, taken time to observe how he has kept silent since he left office? That is a typical northern gentleman for you!

Rendering an unqualified apology to Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Sheikh Abdallah had this to say:  “I have come to the realization that they (his other colleagues who were castigating the Alhaji) had a special political agenda for their actions. I am remorseful for joining them”. He continued: 

“Some of these persons were part of the team who organized the last Hajj, and it is clear that at the time they were busy hopping from one radio station to another, they were prosecuting a political agenda”.

Sheikh Mohamed Abdallah used the occasion to appeal to his fellow Muslims not to allow themselves to be used as pawns in the dangerous chess game of local politics.  That to me is fine, very fine.

If a man opens his heart to render such an unqualified apology, what else can the former Veep do except to accept his apology and forgive him. 

But this forgiveness, if the Alhaji decides to do so, should serve as a warning to unsuspecting Muslims in this country. What Muslims in this country should know is that if care is not taken, politicians will stealthily weave themselves into their mist, divide them and eventually destroy the religion. 

(Allah forbid!!!) The overall interest of the Muslim society is not what the politician is looking for but just to divide and rule. 

Those who were chastising the former Veep knew very well that even though he is a Muslim and the Vice President, he was not in charge for the organization of the Hajj.

The deliberate attempt to put the former Veep in the middle of the problems associated with the Hajj succeeded, but luckily the chips have started falling. The sages say he who laughs last, laughs longest.

Even when the organizers experienced unfortunate lapses, the former Veep and his boss, ex-President Kufuor, were able to make sure the suffering of the pilgrims were assuaged. 

The sad aspect of this episode was that the detractors decided to make the former Veep unpopular among the Muslim society, knowing very well that as at that time he was running as a presidential candidate for his party.

The conspiracy was from within and without his own party.  In the face of all this treachery, the man did not mince a word and went to the polls like a sacrificial lamb.

The harm that Sheikh Abdallah and his fellow conspirators did to the Alhaji was so enormous that the Muslim society came to see the former Veep as someone who hated Muslims. The harm was irreparable, but the Alhaji took it as his fate.

That is the mark of a gentleman. After all, what could he have done in view of the fact that he was the number two citizen of the nation and for that matter needed to possess a huge heart?

I know the former Veep knows very well that a gentleman always does the kindest thing. He believes that people are basically good but society sometimes destroys them.

Sheikh Abdallah did not look far enough and eventually allowed himself to be misused. Having come to realize the trickery, I hope the former Veep will forgive him and draw him closer as a prodigal son.  

As for those who gained from destroying the former Veep, they will forever live with their disturbed consciences.

Today, they are rubbing shoulders with the powers that be through the Hajj which is supposed to be a holy pilgrimage.

Tomorrow, posterity will judge them according to their deeds. Allah, the most compassionate, raised His hand and Alhaji Aliu Mahama has been vindicated.

A lot of lessons need to be learnt from the experience of Sheikh Abdallah.  Abdallah has proved to us that there is nothing better for the inside of a man than the outside of a horse.

The former Vice President's silence over the issue has helped him a lot. I expect the rest to follow suit and render similar apologies to the man or bow down their heads in shame. 

They told lies about the gentleman and now that the cat is out of the bag, they should act like gentlemen.

Abdallah is telling Ghanaians that it was all politics and those who played politics with the Hajj have found themselves in the corridors of power.

When they were beating their chests that they were able to organize an incidence-free Hajj, they failed to realize that even though the Saudi authorities gave a quota of more than three thousand pilgrims, only a little above two thousand were able to make the trip.

The rest could not make it because of lack of money to pay for the Hajj. This shows that times are hard for Ghanaians Muslims. Even those who stayed back home found it difficult to buy sheep for the annual sacrifice.

Two years ago, the number of Muslims who applied to make the journey was far above the quota given to Ghanaian Muslims.

Even in such circumstances, all who paid were able to make the journey despite the initial hitches.

The then government, of which Alhaji Aliu Mahama was the Vice President, rescued the Hajj Committee who had failed to bring in planes to carry the pilgrims to Mecca.

In the run-up to the 2008 general elections, the NDC politicized everything, from petrol to Hajj, and now that they are in power they want to prove to Ghanaians that they could do better, but sadly they have hit the rock. Take the issue of cocaine for example.

Instead of arresting the barons, they have opened the floodgates for the exportation of the drug, and yet they boast that because the pushers are not arrested on daily basis they have been able to curb the drug menace.

One year after the regime of Professor Mills, the killers of the Ya Naa are yet to be found, and one of the suspected killers of Alhaji Mobila who bears an Ewe name has been let off the hook. Your guess is as right as mine.

As for the issue of armed robbery, all the NDC government is doing is to instruct the security agencies to shoot to kill.

The armed robbers on the order hand are sending a clear message to them that “Kum apem a, apem beba” {If you kill thousand, thousand will come}.  Who is winning the war now?  

But come to think of this:  do you think Sheikh Abdullah Mohamed would have come out to apologize to the former Veep if he had been rewarded or appointed as a member of the Hajj Committee for taking part in the demolishing exercise? 

The answer is no. The man was swindled and as a result he started singing like a canary bird.  He was misused and later ditched. 

“Okyena se Sheikh hyia Akwasi Obroni a, obetu ne kye!” (Tomorrow, if Sheikh meets a white man, he (Sheikh) will doff off his hat!).  Serves you right!!!