I don’t want to be remembered for my many fights — Obaseki

I was in Kaduna yesterday and I met an old friend. We'd first met at Efon Alaye NYSC Orientation Camp in Ekiti State more than a decade ago. We'd only spent about a month on Camp and then we lost contact. On meeting me yesterday, in a hotel lounge, he rang out my name, 'Auwal?! Auwal?!' rushing over to give me a crushing bearhug. And before I could recover, as I madly searched my poor brain to remember his name, he turned and introduced me to a lady, his wife, saying, 'Babe! Here is the only Muslim I trust!'
My brain shut down. How do you respond to that?
Well, pleasantries said and all, a couple of drinks to celebrate the reunion, my head was still reeling from that declaration. And after we parted, I sat down to wait for a while remembering those days. All I did was be friendly, be open to discussions about our way of life without judging anyone, listening to their misconceptions about Muslims and Hausas and then explaining to them things from our perspective, all in an atmosphere of peace, harmony and even humour. In other words, all I tried to be was a good Muslim, because that was what Islam taught me.
But here we are in a world today where Islam is only identified as a religion of intolerance, backwardness, violence and wickedness – all because from Afghanistan to Nigeria, from Pakistan to Syria, from Somalia to Libya, all you hear on the radio, see on tv or read in newspapers are disturbing stories about Muslims killing Muslims and others in a senseless sectarian, political or economic conflicts.
Now in these conflicts, statistically, more Muslims die than Christians or others in the hands of these Muslim terrorists/insurgents, etc. And this places the Muslims in an impossible position. While they bear more casualty than any other group to this monstrosity from the terrorists, they also bear the most vicarious liability/blame/scorn/hatred from the rest of the world for sharing a religion with these terrorists. So this is the place for ordinary Muslims today. You are going about your business but nobody trusts you. And there is nothing you can say to change that.
Interestingly, the din rises to high heavens when a terror activity linked to Muslims happens in the West. A case in point, Paris. From the Hebdo attack to the latest unfortunate murders with bombs and guns in and around Paris, you find the whole world crying out. From the US to China, from South Africa to Iceland, world leaders will be quick to either condemn the act or at least register their disappointment. You may wonder why one life appears to be more important than the other. And it so easy to find Muslims in disparate groups observing that and shaking their heads.
Well, it is not rocket science, my Muslim brothers and sisters. It is reality that is smacking us in the face. We have to tell ourselves the truth. We have to wake up to our responsibilities. Our responsibilities to ourselves and to the rest of the world.
If a Muslim kills a Muslim, it is an internal problem. It is more like a civil war. The world may think, 'Muslims should deal with it.' However, if a Muslim kills a non-Muslim, then it is an external problem. It is like one country attacking another. All non-Muslims and nations will be rightfully concerned, 'cos they may be next! This should explain, in a very basic way why responses are different where the religion of the victim is considered.
Some Muslims wonder why CNN, BBC, etc, go on and on when there is a terror attack that consumes ten lives in London, but they barely mention it when 200 are killed in say Maiduguri. It is a common thing to see people fuming why that issue is not getting enough coverage. This is very simple too. If there is a calamity in your house, no matter how little, it is what will consume your attention. And you will use all your resources to solve it. But if it happens in a far away place, you will still feel bad, but it will not be that important to you such that you dedicate the whole day discussing it. If we want a television to cover deaths in Muslim lands from Muslim hands, then we should establish such television stations in our own lands. Do not expect Ted Turner to do Aliko Dangote's job. It is not fair. Turner established CNN and it addresses world issues from the Western perspective – Turner's perspective. Aliko or BUA or someone should establish a station that will see our local challenges and promote them as world problems so that the world can hear us too and come to our aid.
For those that expect the world to cry because somebody died in Damaturu, they need to think again. When the world turned to Nigeria regarding the Bring Back Our Girls campaign, it was just being kind. If we kill ourselves, what will happen? What do we contribute to the world that the world will miss if Nigeria disappears today? Why should the US and Chinese leadership be quick to address a press conference about a few deaths in Nigeria? How central are we to the economic, political survival of the world? Nigeria happens to be a country of more than 180 million consumers. All we contribute to the world is consumption. And we dont even have a serious purchasing power. We can only buy cheap things because we are so poor. I think nobody will really miss us. And that is why when we die, nobody really cares.
I think if Nigerians want their lives to matter, they should rejig their economy and be good-for-something. If the world thinks that our economy is too important to be allowed to die, then our lives will matter too.
I also think Muslims need to look inwards for the solutions to these problems that bedevil us and the rest of the world today. The Islam that Prophet Muhammad SAW preached was the best gift to mankind. It respects rights, abhors wickedness, promotes peace and enthrones justice. If we practice that as a group and as individuals, we shall be well on our way to helping the world. The world can only do so much. At that point, even external factors that exploit our weaknesses to promote the image of Islam as a violent religion will fail. And just so you know, those 'forces' are not only agains Islam, they are agains all organized religion. So Muslims need allies in Christians, Jews and others to stand firm in God's ways.
But we cannot continue to blame others for all our flaws. Let's look inwards first. We need to develop internal mechanisms for dealing with our peculiar challenges. Our number one challenge today is that which can best be addressed from within. Let's teach ourselves the real Islam. Let's project that to the world in our ways and our days that Islam is a friend. And let the world have peace, at least from our end.