Stowaway boy: Hero or villain?

Up till moment, the misadventure of the Daniel Oikhena has earned him rewards and little or no condemnation. The basis for the reward is clear – Intelligence. The 13-year-old boy stunned everyone including his family members to do what no Nigerian has ever done.

He chose to stowaway to America to realise a dream; in the recess of the wheel compartment of Arik airplane where Daniel had hid himself.

His intelligence however did not tell him that he might not get to America alive or that bodies had been known to fall when the wheels come down before landing; or better still; he chose to ignore all that. The Junior Secondary School II student of Asoro Grammar school, Benin, perfected the act and waltzed down like a hero, unscathed without any mistake from his hiding place.

Even the Austrian-born American former actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger would have carried out several rehearsals before embarking on it in a make-believe adventure. That is the stuff Nigerian child is made off. Thanks to Edo State government and Governor Rauf Aregbesola Foundation splashing scholarships on him. But not many people have seen anything bad in the act that fell short of acceptable behaviour.

I wonder what would be running through the minds of other kids and young-adults who have been socially and economically truamatised. I just pray the rewards wont be a stimulant to encourage desperate acts in our society especially under this present condition.

But the Muslims should at this glorious time give glory to God. This is because the storyline surrounding Daniel’s reasons for the act – realising a dream in America would have changed or better still would not have survived most probably if he was a Muslim.

If his name had been Musa or Yussuf, even without a modicum of knowledge of the five pillars of Islam, he would have been tagged a Islamic terrorist’ without any benefit of the doubt, indicting Islam. Nobody would have believed the argument of a mere adventure to realise a dream in America. It would have been insinuated and widely claimed that the he intended to do something sinister, blow up the plane or something.

Security apparatus would have concentrated largely on another planned attack and beaming their search lights on possible links to terrorist groups. In fact, the claim and counter claims would have eroded the idea of scholarships and rewards even if nothing was found. The point here is that Islam has suffered undue bitter contemplation particularly from anachronistic and religious bigots without any justification.

If sometimes, the personal idea and belief of an individual overrides the religious beliefs, it is the individual that should be on focus and not the religion simply because that individual has at that point discarded his religious beliefs.

Apparition in Mosque: An illusory perception: Last week, we published

a story on the claim of apparition in Dawiz Central Mosque, Owode-Onirin in Kosofe Local Government area of the State. The report was a clear perspective of those who spoke to us and objective report of what we saw. I chose to comment on it today because of some of our readers who called to ask about the veracity of the claim. Facing the Kaaba did not see any apparition.

We went round the mosque and no image of any scholar was seen as claimed by some worshipers. Yet, those who sell photographs of the apparition in the area claimed it was shot the very first day it appeared including other worshipers who believe the image appear intermittently. We believe it is the phantasm of the claimers. Almighty Allah knows what no one knows.

If there were image of the Prophet (s.a.w), only Allah (SWT) knows what people would have been done with it. In fact, right inside the mosque, in a manner that is antithetical to Islam, people were seen bowing to unseen images on the wall in supplication. Some even had bottled/sachets water in their hands facing the wall where they believe the apparition appeared in supplication.

Remember visual depictions of all the prophets of Islam are particularly not encouraged , that is why the photo of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.) is not in existence.  Only Allah knows what people like this would have done with such pictures.  This is merely because the use of these images can encourage idolatry. So, those who have bowed for images should seek Allah’s forgiveness as that act is tantamount to idolatry. May Allah guide us to do what is right.

Prayer: ‘O Allah, by Your unlimited knowledge and by the greateness of Your power, we  seek Your guidance and  Your immense favourin all our affairs. Verily, You know while we do not. The Knower of the unseen.