Have a wonderful celebration!
The ubiquitous printer’s devil stole in to try and prevent me from celebrating with my Muslim brothers and sisters in my TREASURES column in the New Telegraph newspaper of today. But in vain!
This is wishing all my Muslim brothers and sisters happy celebration!
May you joyfully witness and joyously participate in a countless number of Eid-al- Fitri anniversaries to come!
On occasions such as this, I remember my grandmother who raised me. She was a devout Muslim.
I remember her first son, my uncle, whom we fondly called “Alhaji” or “Baba Shop”, under whose roof I grew up.
And I remember also his own son, Alhaji, who served in the Nigerian Army (he was Chief Imam) and who taught me “alif, ba, ta, sa…”
I remember also my own father, a practising Muslim, who died and we buried him according to Islamic rites.
I remember brother Fasasi, my maternal uncle from Ipele, Owo. I can still picture his handsome and well-built frame, a man hairy like biblical Esau, resplendent in his well-ironed Army uniforms as he came both to announce to us he has joined the Nigerian Army as well as bid us farewell as they were marched to the war front during the civil war. That was the last we saw of him!
I remember my sisters, Bilikisu and Tawakalitu (Tawa especially because Biliki died while I myself was still a child). Theirs were destinies cruelly cut short at so tender an age! Were they allowed to live, what would they have been today?
May Allah forgive their sins and reward them and many others too numerous to mention here with aljannah firdaus!
I also seize this opportunity to felicitate with my blood brothers – Kola (Sulaimon) and Sesan (Haruna) as they join teeming number of Muslims to celebrate today.
May Almighty Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful reward you all with your heart’s desires according to his will!