Misbahu El-Hamza

Reverend Canon Mpho Tutu-van Furth  It is a gospel truth (as it often been said) that "everything we do, even the slightest thing we do, can have a ripple effect and repercussions that emanate. If you throw a pebble into the water on one side of the ocean, it can create a tidal wave on the other side." Just as the (retired) Archbishop Desmond Tutu, I am sad but not surprise when the news got to me that his daughter, Reverend Canon Mpho Tutu-van Furth had married another woman as her wife! I am sad for two reasons; first being that God has catched Tutu by his neck while he still breath and secondly, because I know other Christians, the Anglicans especially are already sad with this news. For those who do not know, Mr. Tutu who won the Nobel peace prize in 1984 for the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, have been so staunch and substantial in defending and advocating Gay marriage for years. This was probably among with other reasons what made his Church in South Africa...

Unknowingly to me, I have being sharing a working space with someone who have being following me for over three years on facebook. I didn't know him in person. Amazingly, he told me, just yesterday that he recognized me the very first time he saw me. But he kept it to himself for months now. He is a Muslim. Yesterday after spending couple of minutes in front of a mall in Kano, discussing, a school friend of mine approached with his family. The very first thing he said to me was "Assalamu'alaikum (peace be upon you), 'Misbau'." I answered "wa'alaikussalaam wa rahmatullah" (Peace and Mercy of Allah be upon you too). We embraced each order happily. I extended my greetings to his wife and a beautiful little daughter she was holding, and they went in to the mall. The man is a very learned Christian I respect dearly. My colleague who was just about to drive off, standing by his vehicle's door was not happy with the way I welcomed my Christian frien...

From time immemorial, humans live in a world of relentless change; large migration to (new) mega cities, vast slums, revenue, appetite for food and fuel, an unpredictable climate change, and extreme poverty among others. All these and many more are happening in a world whose population is already growing so fast. At present, the world's population is about 7.4 billion with an estimated increase to about 11 billion by the end of the century. Almost half of this estimated figure is expected to come from Africa, powered by Nigeria which is already home to about 185 million people – an astronomical increase from 55 million of the 1950s. According to United Nation's demographic projection, by the year 2050, Nigeria's population will not just surpass that of United States as it will exceed  440 million (which is an enormous increase in a very short span of time) but will also leap and take over it position in the world ranking (from 7th - 3rd). While some preferred not to think o...