"The death of another man diminishes me,” wrote John Donne, the 18th Century British poet, in his For Whom The Bell Tolls. This diminishing effect was overpowering as one beheld the carcass of the NAF 033 aircraft sprawled atop Mount Ngokugh in Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State. Tears rolled down the newsman’s cheeks as he surveyed the area. The realisation that Nigeria had lost that number of Generals in the plane crash was overpowering. Somehow, the gory sight brought to the mind images of rot, nonchalance, greed and ineptitude of a dead system.

Getting to the crash site from Calabar was one strenuous trip. From the long and pot hole-infested Calabar-Ogoja road, one is confronted with a dire neglect of public infrastructure. Even as one is made to pay through the nose at several points along the 500-km road, commuters have to disembark to pull the vehicle out of caved-in culverts, bridges and gullies. The result is that six hours got spent on a journey that should normally take four.

At Vandeikya, the initially touted crash site, the journey was by no means over, as one was told in clear language that the site was at Mbakunu Shameye, in Kwande Local Government Area, some forty kilometres away. And the only way to access the place was by the ubiquitous okada. Half of those forty kilometers are a beaten path which takes the visitor through streams, creeks, ponds, hills and farmlands.

Finally, after several falls on the bike, one came to the closest house to the mountain, in the village of Mbakunu Shameya, where Demiter, the 18-year-old lad who first sighted the ill-fated plane, lives. There, shoes, trousers and shirts were discarded and in their place, boxers, slippers and singlet were worn as one made to climb the mountain. At the foot of the mountain, one was confronted by an imposing giant standing silent, rising steeply to a dizzying height. Stretching from Shameya, the mountain extends to Akwayafe, down to Sankula, in Obudu, the intended destination of the Generals . Its cynical stare seems to dare anyone to come on if he has the capacity and ability to get to its peak, striking awe in the heart of the prospective climber.

It was at this point that Governor George Akume of Benue State and his entourage turned back in the afternoon of Monday last week. Daniel Akasi, pastor of the local NKST Church, claims that the place is home to a rich variety of animals and plants. Their forefathers, he said, before the coming of Christianity went up to worship the mountain. Evidence of this abounds as one climbs the mountain, a veritable test in human fitness and endurance. One several occasions one was tempted to give up, but the call to duty, combined with curiosity and a sense of adventure, fired him on. The frequent question was: “How far are we from the apex?” And the response from the guide was: “Oga, try more, we are getting close.”

The falling stream that spews forth from the top of the mountain served as a veritable refreshment as one occasionally took a bath and a guzzle. Along the way, discarded footwears and entrails of the air plane, obviously vandalised by those who had been there, served as souvenirs and proof to people at the base of the mountain that they “ have been there.” The task of carrying some of the items while dragging oneself sometimes became too much, thus they were thrown away. Also, the stench of faeces on the shrubs along the way testified to the fraility of the human body.

Some hundred yards to the peak, one was confronted with a big gape which contrasted with the light brimming down the mountain, making it appear as if one was coming out of a tunnel. As one reached the top, the mangled body of the ill-fated Dornier transport plane lay quiet at the stem of a mahogany tree. The contortion of an assortment of cables and metal told the story of what used to be its engine. The propeller, seats and entrails lay shattered and scattered. In the vicinity were personal effects, shirts, paper covers of Leadership Bible, trainer trousers, and Rotatrim brand of A4 size paper sheets.
.............................................................courtesy THE NEWS

O men! Behold, We have created you all out of a male and a female, and have made you into nations and tribes, so that you might come to know one another. Verily, the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one who is most deeply conscious of Him. Behold, God is all-knowing, all aware.
(Al Qur'an, Al-Hujurat 49:13)


WHEREAS the age-old human aspiration for a just world order wherein people could live, develop and prosper in an environment free from fear, oppression, exploitation and deprivation, remains largely unfulfilled;WHEREAS the Divine Mercy unto mankind reflected in its having been endowed with super-abundant economic sustenance is being wasted, or unfairly or unjustly withheld from the inhabitants of the earth;WHEREAS Allah (God) has given mankind through His revelations in the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah of His Blessed Prophet Muhammad an abiding legal and moral framework within which to establish and regulate human institutions and relationships;WHEREAS the human rights decreed by the Divine Law aim at conferring dignity and honour on mankind and are designed to eliminate oppression and injustice;WHEREAS by virtue of their Divine source and sanction these rights can neither be curtailed, abrogated or disregarded by authorities, assemblies or other institutions, nor can they be surrendered or alienated;Therefore we, as Muslims, who believe

a) in God, the Beneficent and Merciful, the Creator, the Sustainer, the Sovereign, the sole Guide of mankind and the Source of all Law;

b) in the Vicegerency (Khilafah) of man who has been created to fulfill the Will of God on earth;

c) in the wisdom of Divine guidance brought by the Prophets, whose mission found its culmination in the final Divine message that was conveyed by the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) to all mankind;

d) that rationality by itself without the light of revelation from God can neither be a sure guide in the affairs of mankind nor provide spiritual nourishment to the human soul, and, knowing that the teachings of Islam represent the quintessence of Divine guidance in its final and perfect form, feel duty-bound to remind man of the high status and dignity bestowed on him by God;

e) in inviting all mankind to the message of Islam;

f) that by the terms of our primeval covenant with God our duties and obligations have priority over our rights, and that each one of us is under a bounden duty to spread the teachings of Islam by word, deed, and indeed in all gentle ways, and to make them effective not only in our individual lives but also in the society around us;

g) in our obligation to establish an Islamic order:

i) wherein all human beings shall be equal and none shall enjoy a privilege or suffer a disadvantage or discrimination by reason of race, colour, sex, origin or language;

ii) wherein all human beings are born free;

iii) wherein slavery and forced labour are abhorred;

iv) wherein conditions shall be established such that the institution of family shall be preserved, protected and honoured as the basis of all social life;

v) wherein the rulers and the ruled alike are subject to, and equal before, the Law;

vi) wherein obedience shall be rendered only to those commands that are in consonance with the Law;

vii) wherein all worldly power shall be considered as a sacred trust, to be exercised within the limits prescribed by the Law and in a manner approved by it, and with due regard for the priorities fixed by it;

viii) wherein all economic resources shall be treated as Divine blessings bestowed upon mankind, to be enjoyed by all in accordance with the rules and the values set out in the Qur’an and the Sunnah;

ix) wherein all public affairs shall be determined and conducted, and the authority to administer them shall be exercised after mutual consultation (Shura) between the believers qualified to contribute to a decision which would accord well with the Law and the public good;

x) wherein everyone shall undertake obligations proportionate to his capacity and shall be held responsible pro rata for his deeds;

xi) wherein everyone shall, in case of an infringement of his rights, be assured of appropriate remedial measures in accordance with the Law;

xii) wherein no one shall be deprived of the rights assured to him by the Law except by its authority and to the extent permitted by it;

xiii) wherein every individual shall have the right to bring legal action against anyone who commits a crime against society as a whole or against any of its members;

xiv) wherein every effort shall be made to

(a) secure unto mankind deliverance from every type of exploitation, injustice and oppression,

(b) ensure to everyone security, dignity and liberty in terms set out and by methods approved and within the limits set by the Law;

Do hereby, as servants of Allah and as members of the Universal Brotherhood of Islam, at the beginning of the Fifteenth Century of the Islamic Era, affirm our commitment to uphold the following inviolable and inalienable human rights that we consider are enjoined by Islam.