3rd August, 2013
PRESS RELEASE:
LAGOS NUJ OFFICIALS AUTO-CRASH:
CONDOLENCE MESSAGE
Three members of the Lagos State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) were confirmed dead in a fatal auto crash which occurred yesterday at Ilesa, Osun State. Many others were critically injured. The journalists were returning from a meeting of the federated chapels all over the country with the national leadership of the NUJ which took place at the NUJ national secretariat in Abuja.
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) commiserates with the leadership and entire members of the NUJ on this tragic event. We pray that Almighty Allah will give the families of the deceased the courage to bear the loss. We also pray that Allah will invoke His great healing power to return those injured to normalcy.
We see this calamity as one that has befallen the whole country, not journalists alone. Journalists occupy the Fourth Estate of the Realm. They are the voice of the voiceless and, often times, their profession compels them to take risks.
We appeal to the Federal Government to insure the lives of all Nigerian journalists. FG should also bear the cost of treating the wounded in this tragic accident. FG must also make urgent arrangements to fly critically injured ones among the journalists outside Nigeria for better medical care. We charge the Lagos State Government to partner with FG in this regard in view of the fact that those involved are mainly from the Lagos chapter of the NUJ.
Our urgent appeal also goes to Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, governor of the State of Osun, in whose state the accident occurred to send the best medical team in the state to take care of the injured journalists. The team should be able to ascertain if any of the victims need to be treated abroad. FG should bear the cost of the trip as well as the treatment outside the country. MURIC recalls that Nigeria's First Family and many FG officials have always enjoyed this luxury. We assert that journalists deserve no less.
Finally, we observe the alarming trend whereby Nigerian leaders now fly in helicopters for short trips from one town to another or from one part of the town to another. This ugly trend is symptomatic of a carefree leadership. High level corruption and an abominable culture of poor maintenance have turned our roads into killing fields and the leaders are simply abandoning the roads for the jamaaheer al-masaakiin (poor masses). In view of the fact that most accidents in Nigeria are caused by bad roads, we charge the FG to take urgent steps towards overhauling the bad road network in the country in order to avoid similar tragedies in future.
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC),
0818-211-9714
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC),
0818-211-9714
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC),
234-803-346-4974
234-818-211-9714
E-mail: muslimrightsconcern@yahoo.co.uk
Website: www.muric.net
Yahoo Group: groups.yahoo.com/group/muslimrights
Blog: muslimrightsmuric.blogspot.com
Twitter: twitter.com/muslimrights
MURIC's bank account :
Banker's Name: Guaranty Trust Bank
Be just
Justice is the soul of peace
Banker's Name: Guaranty Trust Bank
Account Name: Muslim Rights Concern
Account Number: 0112827277
Account Number: 0112827277
Justice is the soul of peaceNo one can deny one and have the other
Neither can violence or naked force bring lasting peace
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