A third World Cup final in one career, and he is still the reason a whole country believes on the night. Careers like this do not come back around. We are watching the closing chapters of something we will spend decades trying to explain to anyone who missed it.
I miss typos.
I miss reading an email and being able to feel the person on the other side, sweating a little, trying.
Now every message is flawless. Every cover letter is polished glass. And somehow I trust them less.
AI has not destroyed writing. It has destroyed the tell. The small human error that used to say, "a real person sat here and cared enough to try."
My advice in this new world is almost funny: let a little of yourself show. In a sea of perfect, sincerity is the edge.
A new video of Nigerian police men vi0lently assault!ng an uber driver. Please spread this video cos this is someone’s father they’re beat!ng like an animal like this 💔💔
@BakreAdeyanju@the_beardedsina That of roads thingy seems to be an ever constant factor with Abeokuta. "Kundus" to past LG chairmen there, I womder what they do with the allocations.
5 years old - Mom, I love you.
12 years old - Mom, I can't stand you.
16 years old - My mother is very annoying.
18 years old - I'm leaving this house.
25 years old - Mom, you were right.
30 years old - I want to go to my mom's house.
50 years old - I don't want to lose my mother.
70 years old - I would give up everything to have my mom here with me.
You only have one mom. Take care of her while she's still alive.
Open letter to Muslims in Yorùbá-land
Dear Muslims in Yorùbá-land,
I trust you are doing well. The title of my letter to you is "What is wrong with us?"
We turban our Imams in such a unique way. The turbaning often has a mixture of culture and beauty, both of which gives it a uniquely elegant, innovative and creative outlook.
We celebrate our Nikāh so beautifully that the elegance of our culture and faith are always represented in an uncommon way.
We celebrate our children when they master the reading of the Glorious Qur'ān with fanfare and we spend without restraints, glorifying Allah and showing gratitude for the uncommon feat achieved by our dearest youngsters. Notwithstanding, some of us even invite musicians and entertain our guests with some alcohol. After all, it's just another party.
Our naming ceremony, housewarming and even Ramadan lectures and other special events always come in very special ways, the likelihood of which you could never find elsewhere.
Unpopularly and never minding whatever anyone might say, we even converge to commemorate the memory of our deceased on the cultural eight day, and fortieth day Fidau prayers. We might even task the bereaved to give some money to the clerics. After all, it's Ṣadaqah and it has to be given willingly or …
Why all of that? We are Yorùbá, the best at everything but…
All the events mentioned above are tied to Islam. Turbaning of Imams and other chieftains of our Islamic communities and societies; Nikāh; child naming ceremony; Housewarming; Walimah; Fidau and so on, are all tied to Islam but most often, very often, almost always, the time of Ṣalāh arrives while the events are ongoing and we wouldn't stop them for Ṣalāh even if the event is holding within the extension of the Masjid and the Muadhdhin's voice echoes "Allahu Akbar" or even if the event is the turbaning of a new Imam, the supposed custodian of the faith.
What is wrong with us? How could we claim to be doing things for God while also flouting the most important commands of God?
We freemix carelessly and let the time of Ṣalāh pass us by while many of our local clerics continue to officiate the programmes not minding that Zuhr and Asr have passed by. After all, money has to be made and its "Laluri" and we could bring the Fiqh of Jam'u. Ha! Hmmm! AstaghfiruLlah.
How do we claim to be celebrating the Qur'ān while glaringly disobeying it?
How do we ask for God's blessings on our Nikah while openly acting heedlessly to His most supreme call to prayer? How do we expect to be with the most beloved RasūluLlah (ṣallā Allah 'alayhi wa sallam) in Jannah while we glaringly disrespect all that he held very high?
Yorùbá Muslims, maybe it's time, we switch the tone and address ourselves as Muslim-Yorùbá. By that, we might begin to see that Islam and the decree of Allah comes first and nothing we do should ever become an hindrance to Ṣalāh when the time has reached. Maybe switching the names and addressing ourselves as Muslims first will make us see that we need to assess our methods, things that we do on our so-called Islamic events or in attachment to them and the usage of time for events that we often tag "Islamic" because if it is Islamic, it cannot be but Islamic and if it is not Islamic, no amount of twisting can make it Islamic.
Your brother-in-Islam,
Imam, Idris A. Oni (Ph.D.)
Amīn al-Islām of Gbágùrá-land