The coronavirus pandemic is taking its toll on Nigerian Muslims as they observe the holy month of Ramadan.
Daily Trust reports that millions of Muslims across Nigeria are adopting difficult but necessary measures like the total or partial lockdown and its counter effect on their incomes make this year’s Ramadan different from previous years.
When Ramadan began on April 24, Nigerians mostly in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos and Ogun states were in their fourth week of the lockdown imposed by the federal government to contain the spread of the coronavirus while other states were observing some forms of restrictions.
Despite relaxing the lockdown in the three mentioned places, the Quarantine Act maintains a ban on public gathering, including religious events of more than 20 persons.
This has affected both Muslims and Christians in the country forcing religious groups to adopt online fora to reach their congregants.
The poor crying
“This is the most difficult fasting I witnessed in my 65 years of existence as a Muslim because there was a day I and my family broke the fast with water we got from the motorized well of a neighbour,” said Malam Ibrahim Aminu, a resident of Maiduguri.
“I live by the day, meaning I have to go out and get what to feed my family with but the curfew forced us to remain indoors,” he said.
In Naraguta village in Jos, Malam Aminu, an Arabic school teacher said though Ramadan is always a month of blessing, it came with a lot of challenges this year.
According to him, “It is during the Ramadan that some of us receive bags of food as a charity and in some instances cash in form of Zakkat from the well-to-do in the society.
“The gesture is normally from the beginning of Ramadan but as I speak with you, I am yet to receive even a cup of grain from anybody.
“People are hungry and the rich are afraid of the unknown, those who use to reach out to the poor are skeptical, probably thinking the condition we have found ourselves will last for long,” he said.
Kaltime Aliyu, a widow and mother of five said this is the time to support the poor and those whose source of livelihood has been crippled by different measures taken by authorities to contain the COVID-19.
On his part, 21-year-old Sani Aliyu said the closure of mosques and other places of worship was a good decision to fight the pandemic but the action also posed another challenge for the poor.
“We used to break our fast in the mosques during Ramadan because the well-to-do normally supply food, drinks and fruits for free but there is nothing like that this year. We pray Allah will wipe away our tears and free the world before the end of Ramadan,” he said.
FCT residents recount struggles
A guard at Apo Resettlement in Abuja, Gambo Ibrahim, said his wife and seven children are facing hardship in this Ramadan due to the fallout of the COVID-19 lockdown.
“Since the government asked everybody to stay at home, all my sources of income are closed.
“With everything closed, feeding my family has become a problem at a time I should be stocking up food for Ramadan,” he said.
Another Abuja resident, Inusa Ya’u said a challenge with virtual learning is the distractions at home.
However, he prays most times at home and at times, with few neighbours as the mosque in his area is locked.
At Kpeyegi, Abuja, Ali Haruna observed that “there is huge difference between last year’s preparation and this year because it is harder now.”
For Ibrahim Dangana, a resident of Karu, “The money at hand cannot purchase all the stuff we want to use during this Ramadan period.”
Kabirat Lah, another Abuja resident is not happy with the current situation.
“The beauty of Ramadan is going to the mosque, listening to preaching, sharing food with other Muslims and engaging in conversations with others, but now none of such things are possible,” she said.
For Mohammed Mohammed of Tungan Maje, giving to the needy is no longer easy.
“I can no longer share food with others in the mosque after breaking our fast but I resort to taking the food to friends that reside nearby. It can’t be compared to sitting down, eating fruits and food in the mosque with other devotees.”
Kano residents struggle harder with lockdown
Ubale Alhassan Tsamiya, 52, a resident of Kano said the lockdown has made life difficult especially for daily earners.
“With the total lockdown order, many of us are reduced to mere beggars living on the mercies of others.
“Prices of commodities keep soaring day by day, and one has to break the fast alone with only his immediate family, which makes the whole ritual absurd,” Tsamiya said.
Islamic scholar, Isah Madugu of Hotoro Quarters said normally, there is a timetable during Ramadan for tafsir and other religious practices but that is not the case with the lockdown.
“We don’t go for tarawih, we don’t attend tafsir anymore, and these are what makes the month of Ramadan unique. People feel as if they are not in Ramadan,” he said.
At Tarauni Quarters in Kano, Talatu Umar, a housewife, said, “Everything has gone high above our purchasing power and to make things worse, the state government has halted this year’s Ramadan feeding.”
Most difficult Ramadan ever – Katsina residents
Muslims in Katsina say this year’s Ramadan coupled with the lockdown and extremely hot weather is the most difficult in recent years.
“I can’t plan anything for the Ramadan,” Yusuf Ibrahim a commercial motorcyclist said.
“I have to ferry passengers to feed my family. The lockdown has forced us out.”
Owners of tea joint, like Malam Salisu too have witnessed low patronage.
“People don’t patronise us anymore because of the lockdown. This is my source of income and so the Ramadan is difficult but it’s a test from God. We accept it like that,” he said.
Among other concerns, however, residents of some villages in Katsina have to contend with armed banditry, according to Rabo Ali, a Katsina resident.
“Bandits attacks in rural settlements are becoming a daily occurrence,” he said. “Innocent people are killed and maimed, animals rustled and foodstuffs are stolen.”
Kaduna heads of households turn Imams
With a 30-day COVID-19 lockdown imposed by the state government still in place, fathers, husbands and brothers, have taken over the roles of imams as they lead their families in the five daily congregational prayers as well as taraweeh prayers.
Nuhu Salisu, a resident of Millennium city in Kaduna sees blessings in the stay at home order during Ramadan.
“I work in the bank, so I hardly have time to spend with my family, but now, I engage my wife and children in Islamic lessons,” he said.
Zaria resident, Khadijah Sulaiman, on her part observed that while people have the opportunity to pray with their immediate families, relations with the extended family and the community is suffering.
“Taraweeh and tahajjud are no more taking place in the mosques. Giving cooked food to various mosques isn’t possible too in this lockdown as everyone is at home.
“We used to go to our family house to breakfast with everybody, but with social and physical distancing rule during this Ramadan that is no more.”
Daily Trust also observed that individuals, groups and organisations have taken to sharing raw food items to poor homes.
Business as usual in Sokoto despite COVID-19 cases
Despite four deaths already recorded in the Sokoto, residents are still carrying on with their business as usual.
Though the state government shut all its land borders, it did not impose a total lockdown as Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal hinged his decision on the economic status of his people.
He also signed a law, banning assembly at preaching and voluntary prayer places just as he earmarked N500 million for special Ramadan feeding programme.
Isa Abubakar Shuni, a resident said he has not noticed any change in the way people use to break their fast in his community.
“Those that use to break it with immediate members of their family maintain so, same thing with those who eat together with members of their extended family without recourse to social distancing measure,” he said.
Malam Abu Lawal has also maintained his tradition. “This has been my tradition, I use to invite a few of my friends, especially those that are still single to join me and my family in breaking our fast,” he said.
Religious gatherings on hold in Nasarawa
In Nasarawa State, the ban on religious and public gatherings has affected people during this Ramadan period.
An Islamic Scholar, Ustaz Habibu Sarki who has a bookshop in Lafia, said, “We usually gather with people we have invited to break the fast, but we now break the fast with our family.”
“The very few have stocked their stores with food, while the majority and poor strive to make ends meet,” Sarki said.
Most people also complained of low income and restrictions in movement that prevents them from accessing food donations.
More struggles for Bauchi residents
A resident of Bojinji village at the outskirts of Bauchi metropolis, Ibrahim Musa, said these are very difficult times.
“I forfeit my own food in my house because it is not enough for us,” he said.
“The usual zakat and other charity is not forthcoming. I trek every day from Bojinji to Bauchi town to break my fast at the house of a friend.”
Comrade, Bashir Ma’aji, a former National President of the National Union of Bauchi State Students (NUBASS), worries about the situation of daily income earners.
“Apart from hot weather, fasting for Muslims has not been an easy thing for daily labourers, okada riders, retired people, beggars and business people due to the ongoing lockdown,” he said.
Ma’aji is also worried about the lack of preventive and safety practices by some people who cannot afford sanitisers and face masks.
“Like in Bauchi and DP 21 Central Mosques, there is hand washing practice, use of face masks while praying but social distancing is not applied.
“This lack of practice could be due to poverty among the people and the inability of the state government to provide free face masks and hand sanitisers to all mosques,” he said.
While he said he tried to listen to Tafsir from renowned scholars on Sunna TV, a channel on DSTV, his challenge is the cost of subscription and epileptic power.
“It is unlike before when you can go to nearby mosques and just listen to a tafsir. Zakat also has not been well given out in my area. I only saw one provision store giving 20 percent Ramadan discount,” Ma’aji said.
For Mustapha Haruna Duguri, a resident of Bauchi metropolis, he could not recall a worse Ramadan than this.
“This is the worst Ramadan I experienced throughout my life. The spirit of sharing and sacrifice during Ramadan has almost been defeated because the ban on public gathering has deprived the poor people from benefiting from the rich ones during Iftar,” he said.
As to accessing online tafsir, he said, “When people are battling with what to eat, how would they buy data to watch tafsir?”
The National Deputy Chairman, Council of Ulama of Nigeria, Sheikh Danazumi Musa Tafawa Balewa, said, “Majority of Islamic Scholars cancelled tafsir because they are not capable of doing it (on social media) and even those who have the means are not doing it in good condition.”
Scholars adopt virtual, social media teaching
Khadijah Sulaiman, a lecturer at Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic in Zaria, Kaduna State, connects to online tafsir (reading, translation and explanation of the verses of the Qur’an) from prominent scholars and shares the links with her friends. She said most of Ramadan Tafsir are now online, through Facebook, YouTube or Zoom.
Prominent Islamic scholars like Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Abubakar Gumi, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami (Minister of Communications and Digital Economy), Sheikh Salihu Abubakar Zaria, Dr. Sulayman Mahmoud (Al-Ashari) among others continue their Tafsir on these platforms.
Daily Trust observed that the Kaduna-based scholar, Sheik Gumi, has jettisoned his regular tafsir at the Sultan Bello Mosque in favour of online broadcast with the video posted on dandalinsunnah.com.
“The listenership at home is more than those who used to come to the mosque for the lecture yearly before now, so Muslim faithful will not miss out,” he said.
Imam Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, the Chief Imam of Fibre Mosque Jos, Plateau State and Secretary-General, Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) headquarters in Kaduna, conducts his daily Ramadan lecture from his home and a six-minute video is posted online for Muslim faithful to view.
“Due to the coronavirus pandemic, I am unable to conduct my lecture from my usual mosque in Jos, so I decided to record my lecture from home and send it out to different social media handles so that Muslim faithful will not lose out this Ramadan,” he said.
Another scholar, Dr. Sulayman Mahmoud (Al-Ashari) holds tafsir in Hausa between 2:30pm and 3:30pm daily using Zoom live video application.
People are being invited via social media messages to hook up on Zoom while they are provided with meeting identity codes and a password.
Former Emir of Kano, Malam Sanusi Lamido was also pictured observing the digital mode of Ramadan tafsir.
But this comes with its challenges.
“If you don’t have a smartphone and data, it means you won’t listen or view these tafsir, but rely on radio stations, which couldn’t cover much due to time factor or sponsorship constraints,” a woman, who simply identified as Khadija, said.
One of such people is Jelili Adebayo of Iddo Sabo community near the University of Abuja.
He has not listened to any tafsir since the beginning of the Ramadan. The mechanic said he could not afford a phone with an internet connection to stream any teaching.
Lawyers share experience, clarify Ramadan practices
Mohammed Yunusa, a lawyer based in Abuja, said many people record tasfir prayers for download and playback or live stream them for their audience.
On tarawih prayers, he said, the challenge is for Muslims who have not memorised the Qur’an and other practices, who prefer to stand behind a more knowledgeable imam during such prayers.
“So, this restriction is not so much of a problem. The thing is that, this has taken us back to original idea that you can perform your tarawih individually,” he said.
Abdul Mohammed, a law lecturer, said the restriction order has little effect on Ramadan practice.
“There is even more taraweeh prayers now because you can pray with your wife and family. Others are live streaming it on Facebook, WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram and Zoom,” he said.
Yunusa also raised a crucial point on the Disease Control Bill before the House of Representatives, to strengthen the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
He said this again has brought to the fore the problem of federalism in Nigeria.
The lawyer said issues of primary healthcare are under the residual list of the Nigerian Constitution, which means states and local governments will be in charge but the Quarantine Act and the NCDC Bill have given enormous powers to the federal government.
“That is why the states have gone on to enact their own Quarantine Acts. But the federal Act and Bill have some advantages, where states are not responsible and responsive.
“For instance in Kano, it could have been a disaster if the federal government did not intervene,” he explained.
In spite of the gains, Yunusa said the federal lawmakers must consult widely on the Disease Control Bill.
“They should bring other stakeholders to the National Assembly and should involve a public hearing.
“The federal government and National Assembly should take the initiative in making further consultations,” he said.
