By Muhsin Ibrahim
HRH Muhammadu Sanusi II is not new to controversies. His recent one on population control seems to have generated more reactions than I thought, as that was not the first, second or third time he spoke about this issue. We may accuse him of not walking his talks, fine. We may also call him a neo-capitalist, an elite, etc. All fine. However, we ought to ponder the implication of exponential population growth with Nigeria’s declining resources to understand him well.
The renowned writer and philanthropist, Fauziyya D. Sulaiman, supports Sanusi’s opinion in a Facebook post. Lo and behold, some people rained insult on her, forgetting that she’s also a mother of several kids and knows the degradation of our marriage institution way more than many of us. She daily deals with cases of jobless, unconcerned parents who abandon their wives, some on the day they give births. I, for once, don’t doubt her sincerity.
Arewa-A Region Suffering From Media Propaganda
A relative contacted me yesterday about her husband’s deceit to forcibly collect her money. They have 7 or 8 kids, and he does nothing. The last time he ‘robbed’ her of her hard earnings and went to Abuja, he returned six months later, empty-handed. Now, she vows to not give him a kobo. I support her decision. There are many men like him. For God’s sake, who will not want this man compelled to stop giving birth?
Nothing is free today. Everything, I mean everything, requires money. For instance, “makarantar allo (traditional Qur’anic school)” used to cost virtually nothing. The Mallams collect a voluntary token on Wednesdays. When modern Islamic schools came, they used to charge not more than N10 per month! How much do they cost now? One’s children go to public schools as a last option. The private ones, regardless of their standard, charge money — and that’s alright. In other words, no money, no education.
Likewise, no money means no health, no food, no nothing. Children must devise means to eat, buy cloth and do other things like their other friends. Needless to say, this breeds criminals in our communities. China, India, among others, have a larger population than us and live in peace because they have better systems, functioning infrastructures, jobs for their people and even others. What of us, please?
We need to tell ourselves these home truths and change for the better. Let’s not look at the messenger; the message is spot-on. Children are a blessing, but also a test, i.e. “fitna” (Qur’an 64:15). They need to be nurtured closely and cautiously – and that requires money and prayers. And, the fewer, the more manageable. Sanusi was not wrong. Our population is more of a liability than an asset.
Muhsin Ibrahim wrote from Cologne, Germany. He can be reached via muhsin2008@gmail.com.
