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Friday, 24th April 2020

The Ramadan exercise is an annual activity of socio-spritual importance to mankind, but purposely for the adherents of Islam to keep the body system fit and make its environment safe and secured in order that human interpersonal relationship in every sphere of human endeavor is made cordial.

Lessons are expected to be learnt for 29 or 30 days in the 9th month of the Lunar calendar. Let us be reminded of the fact that it is a grace and privilege from God for humankind that we are alive to observe it for this reason it must be taken with all seriousness. Ramadan Kareem.

Saturday 25th April

Let us all avoid engaging in unwarranted controversies over the fat that it is difficult to start for observations at the same time. What should preoccupy our minds is to appreciate the efforts of those who go through calculations to determine the beginning of Ramadan using the end of Shaaban for the first Tarawih, so that the Ramadan will start on the first day of the 30 day first.

Let us equally appreciate those who take the patience to observe it through sighting the moon to start the Tarawih for their own length of Ramadan fats to be 29 days in some cases.

Both of them are expected to go for Eid as thanksgiving period to Allah on the first day of Shawwal which is the 10th month of the Lunar calendar. The fact remains that Ramadan fast must not extend to 31 days or be shortened to 28 days . The basic cause of the differences of opinions is the spherical structure of the earth that makes the sighting of the moon to be difficult to be observed in our different locations at the same time.

The second point is that of the weather condition which may be cloudy.

Above all, only those who fast during this month to achieve the set objective of the fear of God matters most to the Almighty Allah. Ramadan Kareem.

Sunday, April 26th

Let us appreciate God the almighty Allah for the present condition of mankind in the COVID 19 challenges to coincide with the season of need for repentance from sins and crimes.

This is because naturally fasting exercises with prayer has always been for mankind, a prescribed solution to ward off evil.

The Muslims, in this season of soberness must work hard through the Ramadan fasting exercise to achieve preventing the further spread of the Corona-virus, finding permanent vaccines for its cure by seeking for God’s guidance and divine intervention.

This can only be achieved if we are mindful of the fact that our frivolities ans waywardness including infidelity must have brought about the present human mistakes of the scientists that manufactured the biological culture leading to the present travail of man been brought about by the Coronavirus pandemic..

No better opportunities can be given by God than that of the Ramadan fast, this period. Let us be more serious on it than before. Ramadan Kareem.

Monday, 27th April

Ramadan has a characteristics curriculum which adherents of Islam must recognize and follow to be able to have a resounding success in the 29 to 30 days spiritual training sessions which must reform us to be able to transform our environment for better. For example, Tarawaih, a voluntary Nawafl during the night of Ramadan, although we cannot observe it congregation-ally, this time around because of the closure of Mosques including those in Saudi Arabia which is the source and center of Islamic spread to all the nooks and crannies of the world.

Muslim faithful should endeavor to seek for divine intervention on the Coronavirus pandemic. Suffice it now to say that no condition can destroy a structure erected by God and the design of God over matters can never be rubbished in the force of all conditions.

This as observed needs to strengthen your faith in getting closer to God. May God save us from all calamities. Ramadan Kareem.

Tuesday, 28th April

Still on the structure of the curriculum for Ramadan fasting exercise as must be observed accordingly for 29 or 39 days, it is compulsory for Muslim adherents to painstakingly observe the exercise in a way that will make him or her achieve the culture of the fear of God or using due process in executing programs.

For example Sahaur has a divine commutation and it goes beyond mere meal taking during Ramadan fasting before dawn . It is as significant as Iftar period, that is breaking of fast period during the month of Ramadan. Remember that most people are poor to be able to fund the cost of material demand to satisfy the conditions of Sahaur and Iftar. Of equal importance is the opportunity Oiyamu-layl that is voluntary Nawafl in the midnight during the month of Ramadan. This opportunity demands that we pass the test of body preservation for sins and crimes as well as soul purification from evil thoughts for us to be able to commune with God to have a resounding success through visible prayer efficacy-James 5 : 16, Quran 13 : 14. Ramadan Kareem.

Prof. Sabitu Olagoke

Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide,Wakajaiye, Ibadan, Nigeria

On Wednesday, 15 April,2020, the Managing Director of Conac Opticals(Nig) Limited, Eze(Dr.) Anozie distributed financial palliatives to residents of Ososami road, Ibadan, Oyo state Nigeria.

According to Eze(Dr.)Anozie this gesture was borne out of the need to cushion the negative effects of the partial lock down in the state, as a result of the coronavirus pansdemic, on the residents.

''I sat down and thought of it, how are people coping in these critical times, so God gave me  the directive to gather the downtrodden and give them the financial palliatives. In the light of this, I appeal to every business venture in the state to replicate this gesture in their various locations in different parts of the state'', Eze(Dr.)Anozie submitted.

Nigerians have been advised to ensure that all sources of electricity supply to their offices, shops and business premises are disconnected before proceeding on the indefinite break occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic.

This advice was given by the Deputy Director, Oyo state Fire Service, Mr. Moshood Adewuyi.

‘’In this time of lock down those who are not in their offices, shops and business premises should isolate the power supply. Also they should discourage the handling of highly inflammable content in their offices, shops and business premises’’.

‘’I also want to advise that every home, office and shop should have a potable fire extinguisher to curtail any fire out break. They should attach great importance to 9 Kg/Co2 fire extinguishers. In addition, I appeal to members of the public not to hesitate to call the fire service in the event of any fire outbreak, so as to minimize the destruction of valuables’’, Mr. Adwwuyi stated.

The coronavirus has brought in its wake economic, social and religious problems. Reports of crime and criminality, domestic violence inclusive are everywhere in the media space. In this interview the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke opines that the restriction of movement by the Federal and State Governments shall result in the spread of other diseases, sexual abuses and other social and economic problems. Excerpts :

What do you think are the problems trailing the coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria ?

The records of the quality of governance has always been tales of woes of declining profile, whereby the quality of life is always on the depletion side. Even till date, Nigeria rely more on foreign aids for its its people to enjoy products of Science, and Technology, making us to believe not in ourselves as a nation and not in our people as instruments of development, that should be encouraged to compete with global best practices. This is a nation wherein employment is based on knowing the people who matter and where most graduates roam about to manage the irritating new national minimum wage. Poverty and hunger are already like plagues in the lives of millions of Nigerians., adding coronavirus to it, would surely make things worse for our social life. The Federal Government took actions when the virus had successfully entered the country and started its damage. Everybody is susceptible irrespective of social status. The Federal Government is expected to look into the areas of weaknesses emanating from lack of ethical ways of doing things to the various instance of under funding characterizing government culture of providing social amenities and infrastructure including Research Institutes which are solutions to alert the nation of the need to take first aid cover up, in order that the spread of the deadly virus is appropriately controlled.

However, wealthy Nigerians must realize that this is not the period to keep their wealth on selfish grounds, but to spend it now in the cause of preventing the spread of COVID 19 and curing the victims now.

Beside this, confining people to their homes and curtailing their movements through curfew as well as preventing interstate entries for a number of days may provide the needed magic.

But we must realize that there would be unnecessarily rowdy effects in the home front, which could result in various other diseases among the people, while at the same time promoting the spread of COVID 19. If there is no way to monitor them on compliance with the rules of hygiene. Idleness on the other hand may breed socio-psychological problems which must be effectively controlled. For example surveillance must be on to prevent pedophilia, sex abuses, incest, isolation that may even breed depression and consequent suicidal attempts must be looked out for. Effective control of these equally depends on the provision of social welfare and financial packages to remove the probable state of hopelessness which may be brought forth through debts by individual. For the purpose of survival, Government’s directive for Houses of God to close up, is in the right direction to prevent the spread of the pandemic. However, at home the culture of doing things aright must be learnt and we must realize that without good attitudinal change no prayer of any adherent can be answered as referenced in Koran 13 : 14 and the Bible James 5 : 16, while at home adherents must turn towards God to help reduce the eight months scourge of COVID 19 as spiritually revealed to the barest minimum for the wholesome cleansing of the lad to be realized and for the right vaccines to cure the victims to be discovered on time.

The April/ May 2020 Senior Secondary School Certificate examinations has been postponed, even though parents, guardians , teachers and school authorities have continued to express mixed feelings over the preparedness of students for the examinations. In most recent times a number of state Governments have expressed reservations over the poor performances of students it registered for the external examinations. This prompted some of these state Governments to withdraw their financial support, in terms of paying for the examination fees. In another breadth these state Governments are working round the clock to ensure that students from their states excel in the examination by all means. Sadly, students of a sizable number of schools in the country focus more on cybercafes and betting centers, while at the same time abandoning their primary aim of attending school. This has to a large extent negatively affected the prospects of improved examination results.

In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke says the funadmental issues affecting the education sector should be addressee before there can be an improvement in the performances of students in external examinations. Excerpts :

How do you think the performances of students can be improved on in examinations conducted by the West African Examination Council(WAEC), considering the poor results in recent years ?

The poor performances of Nigerian students in WAEC conducted examinations as a West African issue led to the inauguration of the National Examination Council(NECO) without compromising the standard.

Luckily, the syllabi is based on the general curricula of education which every secondary school must comply with, right from the Junior Secondary School (JSS)1 to Senior Secondary School(SSS)3. I can remember in 1976 when our set were faced with leakages in the examination, other set of questions were made available, but unfortunately 3 1/4 of the questions were what we were taught in Form Three, while the remaining were from Forms Four and Five syllabi. Then, most of us still came out tops. However, it was during an era of institutional discipline, when even illiterate parents supported the cause of the teachers’ efforts in bringing out the best in the children.

Since 1985, things have not been the same for the nation in all spheres of human endeavor because of the man made environment of institutional indiscipline and corrupt practices in the quest to realize the best without putting in necessary efforts.

The core values of self confidence, self esteem and self reliance are no longer there. We have forgotten that the home and the children form the cluster of the micro elements for the society while government and its institutions form the macro, that is exactly the mirror image of the home and its products. From my personal research based on my concern on value deterioration of education I discovered that the time our children spend in school is very insignificant compared to the time they will spend in life, the geriatric period inclusive. What we teach in the classrooms, laboratories and workshops in schools to these children are mere 20 per cent of what they need to survive the ordeals of life without deviating and resorting to committing sins and crimes to be successful in life. The remaining 80 per cent is better learnt based on what they see in their environment, quick money making syndrome without hard work. This is why they fail holistically to learn correctly under mentor-ship and pupil-age interactions for the necessary wisdom.

The materials to teach in faith based houses of god are equally defective, due to the quest to become successful in the quickest time frame, in this sense through diabolic means .The necessary firmness of purpose is no longer there for those who attend the Church or the Mosque. In the absence of a role model, the poverty of knowledge takes over. This is a psychological problem that needs to be corrected for education to become more beneficial to our children. The structure of education is intact for necessary impact, but the way we impart education is defective. For example, the attitudinal value of the affective domain is no more emphasized, hence the disciplinary aspect of the children lives is watered down. We have become robotic in the application of the cognitive domain and Nigerian children are yet to learn anything about innovation which is the essence of the psycho motor domain because of the attitude of our government towards education.

Teachers and Lecturers are rarely motivated and challenged because they are only selective with few lucky numbers, when it comes to the essential training needs. This position is worse for Primary and Secondary school teachers who our government will carelessly claim are too many when it comes to the payment of salaries, but in actual fact there is a worrisome shortage of teachers. It is true that the advent of the social media has resulted in the drop in the reading culture, while parents are not ready to correct this lapse.

These are fundamental issues that must be addressed urgently, before the concerns of the state Governors on the improvement needs of our students in their performances could be resulted oriented.

In the time past, when academic calendars were never toyed with, teachers and students performances were aspects to reckon with, but presently, there is always instability in the academic calendar ,with students most of the session been at home, with all the attendant distractions of the peer group effect and the poor ones among them hawking the streets to make ends meet.

Poverty is equally a great factor that is affecting the concentration of students in their studies. A peep into what is happening in Oyo state, as regards the state Government’s attention and focus on education is commendable. All that will aid learning are already in place. Poor parents are been taken care of and compiled Questions and Answers of WAEC/NECO into booklets have been given to the final year students, the teachers’ copies based on the subjects been taught are been photocopied for them by each school to digest well in order that they would be authoritatively fit to put the students through.

It should be emphasized that the students should not be robotic about the past Questions and Answers. There are 12 reasons why students fail examinations : 1) Inadequate preparation by the trio of the parents, teachers and students 2) Overconfidence by some students . 3) Examination anxiety. 4) Examination misconduct and malpractices. 5)Memory loss. 6)Time management and control. 7) Bad gang effects of negative peer groups and probable hard drug effects. 8) Bad sleeping habits 9) Lack of access to education materials such as books, due to lack of funds. 10) Lack of good reading habits. 11) Intrinsic property of an introvert that may lead to shyness in asking questions. 12) Ignoring instructions in Question and Answer sheets.

The parents, teachers and counseling psychologists must be able to help the students in order that they overcome the need for positive mindset with respect to positive mental attitude for ease of taking right decisions most especially in their quest to learn, for them to be able to pay back positively to the concerns and efforts of the state Governors in their belief that with adequate preparations no students must fail WAEC or NECO.

The Oyo state Fire Service has attributed fire incidents in the state in recent times to human error.

The potions of the fire service was made know by its Deputy Director, Mr. Moshood Adewuyi.

Since I joined the service three decades ago, I have never witnessed such fire incidents, between January 1st and today we have recorded 200 fire calls. All these fire incidents are man made not natural causes. The fire incidents occurred due to one mistake or the other. I appeal to residents of Oyo state to be careful and abide by fire safety tips'', Mr. Adewuyi stressed.

The elite in Nigeria have been called upon to emulate the philanthropic gesture of the late Hon. Temitope Olatoye Sugar top cushion the negative effects of poor governance in the country.

This call was made  on Monday by the  Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke at the one year remembrance lecture in honor  of the late lawmaker in Ibadan, Nigeria.

''The concept of philanthropy  which Hon. Dr. Olatoye Temitope Sugar stood for is an antidote to poor governance and  bad leadership which has  been responsible  for poverty and hunger, hoodlum in agitation on survival moves hence the need to promote  by the people in government, credible leadership for good governance and the culture of altruism for the elites to follow the philanthropic legacy left behind by Hon. Olatoye Sugar for the land to be fertile, disciplined and safe for the masses for our Democracy to yield prosperity for all''.

''It is on record that usually when there is going to  change of government  even through electoral process, there is always records of bloodshed due to various manipulations that undermines the need for merit in the conduct of the election to enthrone leaders into offices of service in governance. Prof. Wole Soyinka tagged it as an offer to the highest bidder. When Nigeria lost such a gem, that touches the lives of the masses, charting the right cause  to establish a legacy of sustainable development through philanthropic moves, the vacuum created cannot be quantified ! Who will fill the gap now and when are we going to  have another, even in the next generation ? A thousand dollar question indeed'', Prof. Olagoke stated.