By Kamoru Sodiq

Fellow Brethren, please, permit me to start this article on a sad note. On a personal conviction, I don’t actually know the divine reason and wisdom behind trials in life. From my little experience and exposure on campus here, I make bold to posit that, it is not nice to come under the disillusionment of challenges. In all sincerity, I don’t know what our people derive from worshipping their egos. Can anyone convince me that we have benefitted from this war? Is there any laurel in rendering our fellow brothers incapacitated? Why do we passionately love to sell out our future? 

It is only in a shrine-like environment deities dictate disunity and unrest. Are we demons? In due course, every facilitators and participators in this ceaseless war of attrition, will all live to harvest the consequences of their actions and inactions sufficiently. It maybe good, it maybe otherwise, time is taking records. Everyone on top this face-off shall one day meet Allah in his retributive capacity. Here we are, everything is collapsing. Our existence as Muslims on campus is too ugly. 
By Allah, we will continue to pray for all who brought us to our knees like this and we will always remember them for this in their living or dead memory. 

At this juncture, I have keenly listened and researched a bit about some of the fundamental causes that ignited and gave birth to this sorry state. It is my dismay however to say that, those causes are too flimsy and disturbing. Every time I tried to look at those reasons, it was just too aching. In fact, the more often I looked, the more crazier it sounded. 
At times, you wondered aloud when university students are behaving and reasoning like a bush boy. On a more serious note, you tend to get fed up with everything. You will be forced to ask yourself; “are these the youths that will represent Islam in various leadership capacity and reformatory positions in future? Let be sincere here, in case your reasoning is failing you, islam on this campus is almost sold out by its major stakeholders with pride the way I’m seeing it. 
It is a brutal irony however that, they believe they are teaching the penitent boys a bitter-sweet lesson. They continue to hire and fire mercenaries to extend their throes. If truth be told, they are simply pricing out Islam and dragging us back. Please, if your foot soldiers are not feeding you the correct thing, I will implore you to sack them, it is legal! No manager is too big to be fired by a football team if he is not meeting their demands. listening calmly to your detractors and determine comprehensively how to take a balance position.
Our brothers are just like some of us, they are not without their faults and errors, the fact is that they are still young, they need our love and prayers. We must not wipe them out of the earth surface. I have talked so much in recent days and I will never get tired of sermonizing to our people. I have once protested within myself why I was not in other fantastic campus where Muslims tolerate, celebrate and appreciate one another as brothers. On getting to OAU campus, we were told many things. We were regaled with old tales and new waves and we were differently admonished to take side if we want to sail smooth on campus.
But today, we find it hardly difficult to whistle blowing a particular party and the reason is simple enough; if participation is what we crave for, we would have become party-chieftains. If participation is what we desired, we would have become pseudo-leaders. But far away from that, Islam is our prime objective and Muslims are our primary beneficiary. How will it be nice for us to take side with some Muslims and take side against some fellow brethren? Islam is one and we must always allow it to grow and blow.
Years back now, muslim community flourish but the students did not substantially benefit from their boom. Islamic works were left undone and religious activities closed. Brotherhood tie on campus is too FAKE and VAGUE. Or how will you describe a situation when you came across a Muslim brother on campus and  you didn’t know whether to greet or ignore. In the case of female, it was totally irritating and immoral. You dare not express tasleem (greeting) to them, they will simply fire a salvo and discount you as a persona-non-gratta. Make no mistakes, I’m not attacking anybody. What for? 
Truth can never be sweet and we must accept it with open mind. Everything we met on campus needs improvement except the Muslim community magnificent mosque and the amazing bond of familyhood among them. I must confess, I occasionally marvelled at how they created and moulded themselves as one family and in reality, they are not even people of the same tribe. What a blessing! I sometimes went thoughtless looking at the way their children usually cuddled themselves with reciprocity love and respect. It was just incredible! 
If the way we met the Muslim community is the same way we met the students, It would have been better. But sadly and tragically, that is not the case. We met the students in their various stages of unspoken disappointments. We met them groaning and lamenting and attributing their woes to the Muslim community who they claimed had neglected them to their plights. Amidst all this, let the good Samaritan carry this message to where it would be decisively attended to. The true concerned minds should go and tell our ancestors that AWOLOWO and FAJUYI hall mosques are no longer in shape. 
Let the progressive spirit of great ife reminds our alumnus that their legacies are no more and Islam is bleeding profusely in the intensive care unit. Students are sick of where to go. No opportunities, no training, no film, no show, everywhere is tense like a cemetery corner. Anyway, I know one thing is certain that those ancestors, alumnus and possibly the fence seaters would all weep, the day those mosques eventually crash down. 
At this material time, many want their stay on campus to serve as a grace to unite and hopefully reverse this stupendous slump from grace to grass. They are fervently praying and fasting for the season of true change. I’m also trying in my own little way I can, albeit, it is a noble course. I just decided here to challenge the ill we inherited and wish to cough out my mental disturbances before everyone. Who knows, there might be a speedy succour at the near distance close to home before I rest my case.
Let me end this contribution by saying, please, I’m consequentially and solely responsible for what I say, I’m not responsible at all for what you understand. My underlining philosophy is that, it is not for us to begin to condemn but to begin to join hands together, to call for unity and to consider how we can make the best out of our present situation that is my sole mission and vision. My people, anything that cost our peace and unity is too expensive. Our time is now…
Kamoru Sodiq.

Faculty of Law.

O.A.U.

17/03/2017.

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