Eid El Kabir is one of the holiest celebrations in the entire Islamic calendar. It commemorates the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son, as an act of obedience to God‘s command. Before Abraham sacrificed his son, God provided a male goat to sacrifice instead. In commemoration of this, an animal is sacrificed and divided into three parts: one third of the share is given to the poor and needy; another third is given to relatives, friends and neighbours; and the remaining third is retained by the family.

Given its significance and importance to the Muslim Ummah, all Plateau citizens must felicitate and celebrate with our fellow Muslim citizens as a mark of good neighbourliness and peaceful coexistence –especially given our shared heritage and common values.

Government also owes it to the Muslim community to reach out and felicitate with them. But in my opinion, that felicitation will make a lot more sense if done through social capacity building and infrastructural means –as opposed to patronizing gestures of ram and food hand-outs.

What does that mean? Well, Imagine that on the eve of Eid El Kabir, we all converge on Bauchi road or Angwan Rogo for the opening of a new ultra-modern hospital or ICT centre in the locality. Imagine that on the eve of Eid El Kabir, PLSG announces scholarships for 200 youths from Angwan Rimi or that the much awaited Angwan Rogo – Angwan Rimi road (currently under construction) was finalised and we commissioned it on the eve of Eid El Kabir? Without a doubt, that will give more social capital and value to the Muslim community than the current gestures which simply exploits religion for political means.

All I am saying in essence is that –it is much more beneficial way for Government to demonstrate its support and buy-in to the Muslim community than the patronizing, archaic and parochial gesture of buying rams for the Muslim Ummah. See report of how much was spent at:

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/plateau-spends-n45m-on-sallah-rams.html

The same goes for Christmas. Government has no business doling out money to citizens for any Christian celebrations –these are personal affairs which should be totally separate from politics. Chruches should be responsible for taking care of Christian related celebrations/matters and not Government. Don’t forget that Churches are technically registered as charities, so they do not pay taxes –as such this should be the minimum they should do.

In the same vein, the sponsorship of Christians to Jerusalem which costs billions of Naira must stop. Such needless expenditure is a gross abuse of trust and power –and we as citizens must reject and condemn any future patronage because it robs us of our collective wealth.

Permit me to ask the following rhetorical questions:

• How many students has PLSG sponsored for further education in the past 2 years?
• How many of the highly talented musical artists roaming the streets of Jos have received funding for their art?
• How many of the Plateau film directors and actors have received “seed-capital” for their projects which will export/showcase the Plateau brand and culture to the world?

An investment by PLSG into any of the above is guaranteed to bring billions of Naira of returns, change the economic landscape of Plateau and secure our futures. But as I pen this, most of  our talented artists are simply walking the streets of Jos hopelessly without a record label –how about if PLSG starts a Plateau indigenous record label, bear in mind our abundant resource is not only solid minerals or tourism but also highly gifted musical talents? Just conceptualize how many other “Ice Princes”, “MI Abagas”, “P-Squares” or “Jesse Jags” will be introduced into the Nigerian entertainment industry. Imagine how Jos will fully take over the entertainment landscape of Nigeria.

Consider this: In August 2017 PLSG sponsored 616 pilgrims for pilgrimage to Mecca at the cost of approx. N1.5 million per pilgrim.

See: http://www.viewpointnigeria.com/1104-intending-pilgrims-will-perform-2017-hajj-plateau-2/

https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2017/08/17/plateau-makes-u-turn-sponsors-616-pilgrims-to-hajj/

This translates to approx. N 1billion –which is a colossal amount of money given the current recession, uncompleted infrastructure projects and the indebted of the state. The N1 billion is only  part of the expenditure, because it excludes the amount spent on pilgrimage to Jerusalem (which ViewPointNigeria is still obtaining from sources in Jos) but expects to be much higher than that spent on Hajj.

To put the sheer scale of this expenditure into perspective, consider the following:

• N1 billion Naira will sponsor up to 70,000 Plateau graduates for Master’s programmes in various universities around the world – building future leaders.
• It can start up to 200 independent record labels (providing employment for our youths and revenue for the state)
• It can provide unlimited seed-capital for film directors and actors to start exporting “Taroh”, “Goemai”, “Mupun”, “Berom”, “Mwaghavul” “Ngas” etc cultures to not just Nigeria but the world. Akin to how the Igbo and Yoruba cultures of Nollywood have become part of global culture.
• N1billion will build 20 ICT centres the size of nHub. And will help to cultivate, nurture and transform Jos into the silicon valley of Northern Nigeria.

In conclusion, Lalong being the amiable fellow that he is, has reached out to the Muslim community in an admirable gesture, which should be commended. However, the practice of giving out hand-outs for Christmas or Sallah is archaic and parochial in my opinion. Even Northern Governors have deserted this practice –see the following:

https://kdsg.gov.ng/el-rufai-saves-n222m-after-stopping-hajj-sponsorship/

http://thenationonlineng.net/fg-stop-sponsoring-pilgrims-2022/

The real Eid El Kabir present that our brothers in the Muslim community yearn for development and infrastructure projects like hospitals, schools and the “Angwan Rogo – Angwan Rimi road” which is currently under construction.

It is our duty as Plateau citizens to hold Government accountable and assist it in delivery of dividends of democracy to the people.

God Bless Plateau State.

By Dr. Chinan Mclean

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Why we should reject the politics of rams and rice during Sallah & Christmas