Truth Is Bitter Series (Ep 16)

Short satirical reflections on faith, society and the uncomfortable truths we avoid. First published in the Safar/Rabi’al-awwal 1447AH (2026) print edition of The PEACE Magazine.

By Abdulfatth Abdussalam

Some Imam Houses STINK

Imam position in Islam is revered. It is a position meant for the most learned in a Muslim community. He is the leader of a mosque that is responsible for leading the five daily prayers, deliver sermons on Jumah , and eid prayers  where necessary. Imams are also expected to act as spiritual mentors, counselors, educators, peace makers who resolve disputes, teach the Qur’an and officiate at Islamic functions, like Nikkah, Janazah   and provide support to challenged individuals in his community. Typically they are chosen based on their deep knowledge of Islam, piety, character and proficiency in Quranic recitation. They are selected by people of the community or association, based on their trustworthiness. But sadly, some Imams in today’s Islam are the complete opposite of what an Imam should represent and stand for. Some of them are more known with diabolical acts, fraudulent activities, unashamed adultery, money rituals, bashful life styles, back bones for miscreants, armed robbers and money rituality.  Some Imams are currently, havingcases to answer at many police stations across Nigeria and, some are in prisons for heinous crimes. In Lagos state, an Imam was arrested and still undergoing prosecution for fraud, to the tune of 150 million naira, he duped people under pretences. In Abuja, an Imam, impregnated a woman and ran away abandoning the woman and the child. When accosted, he cared less. In Ibadan,Oyo state, a popular Imam, was arrested for money ritual. Days to his arrest, he killed a surveyour for money rituals. In another house of an Imam, rather than getting married to women of his choice, he has become a serial flirt with women, because   he isafraid of his wife. Some of them go clubbing at bars, some of them drinks and many are retarded in knowledge seeking. Unfortunately these are the leaders many Muslims, have regard for, whereas their homes are in sordid situations. Most of them,without established sources of funds keep large monies in their banks  and live above their means.

The Genotype Blindness 

In this age of blood banks, diagnostics centres, teaching hospitals and roadside laboratories, it is astonishing that many Nigerians still walk into marriage as though they were entering a raffle draw. Names are compatible, tribes align, familles consent but yet the blood is never questioned. Genotype is ignored like an inconvenient fatnote, until a child arrives bearing the burden of adult negligence. One wonders what exactly is romantic about ignorance. How does love neutralise hemoglobin? Or how does prayer reverse a preventable genetic condition? Yet, many Muslims continue to contract marriage blindly, only a later fill hospital corridors with cries, appeals and endless medical bills. By then, the matters is conveniently rebranded as destiny. The consequences are neither light nor hidden. Children born with incompatible genotypes live between pain and hospital wards. Parents oscillate between guilt and exhaustion. Marriages that began with celebration soon stagger under emotional and financial strain. Some do not survive it. All this, not from war or famine, but from avoidable ignorance. More troubling is the silence around the matter. Families suppress genotype discussions so as not to “lose” a suitor. Some cleries treat the subject gingerly, as though medical facts offend faith. Others wave it off with pious slogans, forgetting that Islam never dignified recklessness. Tying the camel was never optional. In a country like Nigeria where healthcare is expensive and unreliable, knowingly ignoring genotype compatibility is not just foolish, it is cruel. It adds unnecessary suffering to a society already stretched thin. No civilisation progresses by repeatedly manufacturing avoidable pain. Marriage is not only about companionship, it is about consequence. If Nigerians cab insist on wedding colours of the day and imported souvenirs, surely we can insist on knowing what flows in our veins. Genotype blindness is not faith. It is negligence dressed in tradition.

Editor’s Note: Truth Is Bitter is a weekly reflective and satirical column drawn from the “Front of the Book” pages of PEACE Magazine. It seeks to provoke introspection, not hostility; reform, not ridicule.

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