LED BY THE CHIEF IMAM & CO: WE WATCHED THEM ARRIVE IN COMMANDO STYLE...
It was just another Sunday afternoon in Awolowo Hall Mosque yesterday, but this time it is in the holy month of Ramadan; the Muslim students were reading, some were relaxing with their heads on desks while others were engaged in various acts of worship. Nobody thought the shrill whistle that we suddenly heard pierce the serenity of the mosque from outside will be related to the mosque. But looking back now, indeed many found the whistle strange... It sounded too familiarly militaristic.
But we don't have to wait long for an explanation....
They stormed in. Led by the Chief Imam of OAU, Professor Sanusi (and some other Muslim community members), a potpourri of strange men and women suddenly filed into the mosque, screaming, shouting, stridently shouting orders and blowing their interminable whistle, many stepped on opened Qur'ans on the floor as they run in every direction.
Their shouts rent the air, ordering every one in the mosque to get out. Then they pulled out all sort of implements and started breaking doors, windows, pulling down fans and blackboards, cutting electric wires and...generally reminding someone of the wild.
Tongues wagging, eyes popped out, brothers were initially slow to comprehend the situation. It was just too unbelievable, here is the Chief imam of the campus leading a mostly Christian band of human juggernaut to desecrate the sanctity of the mosque.
We soon wake up soon, unarmed unlike them but fasting too. We surveyed outside, it was not surrounded, just Awo boys rushing out, lining to watch our spectacle of this unusual demolition team. People want to grab for books, but that was when the sledgehammer landed on the shelves, flying slivers of broken wood all around turned the smooth floor of the mosque into a maze difficult to navigate, we still thought these suddenly strange men can be reasoned with, if only to have a rethink about making a farce of our religion and personalities as Muslims in front of a non-believing world. But when the hardwood wooden dividers that was used to save the mosque from the distractions of football matches usually shown in Awo Cafe nearby came crashing down, we know it is hopeless, a troupe of sinister comedians have just landed in Awo to make a farce out of Islam and it's symbols in front of confounded Awo boys!!
Brothers walked out, now just content to be spectators themselves. Bloods are boiling though, but a whisper went around that we should maintain our peaceable nature to the last. We watched crashes after crashes and wood was almost flung in some nearby brothers' faces. When those with delicate electronics like laptops quickly reached to save their bags, we guess the slumbers on others lifted, for it soon dawned not waste even your tiniest needle to the crash of a random mace.
We watched and watched, the curious and even the Christians watch with awe. It was all over in twenty minutes.
Awo hall mosque lay in ruins.
We thank Allah they injured no one.
Where shall we place this in the pages of OAU Muslim students history? But life continues friend, it all ends with prayers for Allah to rectify them.
We soon congregated for our Asr prayer on the grass...
Monday 5th June 2017. We thank Allah we wake up today to an even better sunlight.