SHAYATIN: SEASON OF THE EVIL MEN

They are here again. We have entered another season of evil men jostling for elective offices, throwing stolen money all over the place, making the same promises they serially broke in the past and presenting themselves as the best thing that ever happened since the discovery of strawberry ice cream. Unfortunately , they hoodwink the people and that is why we are today in this state of underdevelopment. Shayāṭīn are evil spirits in Islamic belief, inciting humans (and jinn) to sin by “whispering” to their heart. Mentioned 88 times, the Shayatin together with the angels, are the most frequently mentioned spirits in the Quran. They are a class of invisible creatures besides the angels, often thought of as ugly and grotesque creatures created from hell-fire. This aptly describe the political class except that they are not invisible, they reside and operate among us; live. Related to the devils is Iblis (Satan), who is generally considered to be their leader. Hadith-literature makes them responsible for various calamities which may affect personal life. Both hadith and folklore usually speak about devils in abstract terms, describing their evil influence. During Ramadan, the devils are chained in hell. Now that Ramadan is over, they have been let lose to roam. According to Muslim philosophical writings, devils struggle against the noble angels in the realm of the imaginal (alam al mithal) over the human mind, consisting of both angelic and devilish qualities. Some writers describe the devils as expressions of God's fierce attributes and actions. It is possible that our political class are a punishment from God for our iniquities. For too long we have suffered the punishment from these lot: Stunted socio-economic growth, retarded political development, pauperization and impoverishment and escalating poverty. Yet we see other climes rising in all aspects of life while we regress. The City of Dubai is one of such clime, with a myriad of development which our leaders have failed to provide despite our long years of political independence from colonial rule. Starting with beauty and aesthetics, Dubai’s towering skyscrapers are among the leading tourist attractions in the world. Yet, all our thieving leaders can do is to erect concrete jungles which they call cities dotted with abandoned structures such as the old Independence Building at the Racecourse, old Federal Secretariat, School of Nursing all in Lagos: Standing as monuments of waste and abandonment. These are not our only monuments of waste which successive administrations have declined to address. Prominent among them is Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL) located in Kogi State. Built on a 24,000 hectares (59,000 acres) site starting in 1979, it is the largest steel mill in Nigeria, and the coke oven and byproducts plant are larger than all the refineries in Nigeria combined. However, the project was mismanaged and remains incomplete 40 years later. Three-quarters of the complex have been abandoned, and only the light mills have been put into operation for small-scale fabrication and the production of iron rods. Adjunct to the Steel Complex is the Warri–Itakpe Railway which fell into disrepair, and part of the track was vandalized. In 2016, the government awarded contracts to the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation and Julius Berger to repair and complete the railway. Test runs began in November 2018, and the railway was officially inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari on 29 September 2020. Ope oooo! There is also the Mambila hydroelectric project originally conceived in 1972, and 50 years on, not a single watt of electricity has been produced: A period that spanned five military regimes and three civilian republics. What a country! The Three Gorges Dam, in China has been the world's largest power station in terms of installed capacity (22,500 MW). Construction started on December 14, 1994. The dam was expected to be fully operational in 2009, but additional projects, such as the underground power plant with six additional generators, delayed full operation until May 2012. The dam nearly 10 times the size of our Mambila did not take China a lifetime to complete. Who cursed our country? Dubai Has the Most Extended Automated Metro System in the world. Yet, 15 years ago there was no metro. Dubai Metro – is the longest driverless urban light railway in the world. The Red Line was opened in September 2009, 3 years after construction began in 2006. The metro line in Dubai now accounts for 75 kilometers of area coverage. Daily ridership 353,244 (2017) and Annual ridership of 200,075,000. It has taken us nearly 20 years constructing the Lagos metro rail lines, and we are still at it; a paltry 35 kilometers of construction. What a pity! In Dubai, you will find the largest airport terminal in the world. The Dubai international airport has been transformed gradually from a rough runway in the sand to the world’s most extensive and busy Airport. Emirates operated its first commercial flight on October 25th, 1985. Today, Emirate has a fleet of 255 aircrafts and the largest fleet of wide-bodies planes in the world. Yet, times were when our accursed nation had the largest national airline in Africa with the largest fleet of aircrafts. There were also private airlines such as Okada and others competing for ascendancy in the air. Today, we have nothing remotely comparable to Emirate. Where are we? Despite being among the driest cities in the world, ‘The Dubai Miracle Garden’ is the most substantial natural flower garden on the globe. The Garden has more than 50 million flowers and 250 million plants. We do not have anything in comparison. It makes our Conservatory in Lekki look like the backyard garden of a poor man. While our myopic leaders with limited vision are busy converting our Bar Beach into a haven for themselves called Eko Atlantic ( the only city beach in the world to be converted into a housing estate), Dubai with one of the most creative minds in the world have succeeded in creating the largest man-made Islands in the world, of which the Palm Jumeirah is the largest. The construction of these islands consumed Ninety-four million cubic meters of sand moved from the desert and deep sea beds. In addition, there were 5.5 million cubic meters of rock that had to also be moved from different areas. And they also come with man-made beaches too. The Burj-al-Arab hotel stands in water on its own artificial island, with the highest tennis playing ground in the world, standing at 1000 feet above the ground. In 2005 it hosted a friendly match between talented tennis players, Roger Federer and Andre Agassi. The Dubai Tennis Classic has become an annual ATP event, yet we once had our own tennis circuits with Ogbe Hard Court, Lord Rumens Classic and co. Today our premier tennis club is a drinking club with patrons inviting Saint Janet to serenade members. What a people! This might sound incredulous, but, yes there are ATMs that dispense gold in Dubai while here, ATMs often fail to dispense cash even when located in the premises of major banks. The gold ATMs have been placed all over the city for easy access. These gold ATMs spit out pure gold nuggets and coins. Emirates Palace Hotel in Dubai was the first to install a permanent gold vending machine in the world. The Dubai mall is one of the most magnificent buildings in the world. It is the largest shopping mall on the globe, covering over 5.4 million square feet. Despite our oil wealth we have been unable to provide anything comparable. Rather the oil wealth has been stolen and now reside in the private vaults of our Shayatin: Did I hear someone say in private ‘bullion vans’? The mall is incredible. There is an aquarium inside of it with so many exotic fish and over 300 ocean species in a zoo. The Dubai mall also has two amazing parks on the premises. Here, our own park, was obliterated and turned into a housing estate. The metropolis of Lagos is the largest in Africa, It cannot boast of a zoo or a ‘sea world’. What a people! As an epitome to a caring leadership, bus stops in Dubai are now being airconditioned. In Dubai, the crime rates are almost insignificant. In 2018, Dubai was ranked the 8th safest city in the world. The same cannot be said of our cities where kidnappings and robberies are a daily occurrence, not to talk of the ubiquitous armed herdsmen. It is not for nothing that we are the crime and terrorist capital of the world. In this clime a man can never sleep with his two eyes closed. Unlike here where the issue of fuel subsidy has become a national scam, the authorities in the United Arab Emirates have created a conducive environment and offered subsidies to the oil companies making the price of fuel relatively very low. Dubai has the lowest petrol prices in the world: the price of 1.5 liters of petrol is equivalent to 0.5 liters of water. What then are the new promises our Shayatin are making? Nothing new. Eight years ago, ‘change’ was the clarion call and restructuring was the mantra of the day. As soon as they got voted in, they abandoned these slogans and manifestos. It has been a change for the worse and the people are experiencing untold hardship and insecurity. Who knows what the current political challenge would bring? Maybe the total disintegration and dismemberment of the country. Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend. Babatunde Jose Babatunde Jose +2348033110822