BOMB BLASTS IN JOS, NIGERIA

25th December, 2010

PRESS RELEASE:

JOS BOMB BLASTS: A NATIONAL TRAGEDY

Three coordinated bomb blasts reportedly occurred in Jos, Plateau State yesterday killing twenty people and injuring many others. Jos has been engulfed in religious and tribal crises in recent times resulting in heavy tolls.
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) is deeply disturbed by this national tragedy. We strongly condemn the use of terrorist tactics like bomb explosions to settle scores. This is a dastardly act. It is barbaric, inhuman and insane. The perpetrators are unpatriotic and unscrupulous elements bent on turning Nigeria into a wide battle field.
MURIC is particularly saddened by the timing of the blasts coming on Christmas eve. Some Nigerians are yet to come to grips with the factor of fate which brought Muslims and Christians as well as different tribes together in the same country.


We charge the security agencies to fish out the perpetrators and make them face the full wrath of the law. We appeal to religious and tribal leaders in the affected area to call their followers to order. Everything necessary must be done to avoid further bloodshed.

We also appeal to Nigerians nationwide not to allow this unfortunate incident to destroy the atmosphere of peaceful coexistence which the rest of the country has been enjoying for decades. We urge leaders of all sectors to refrain from making inflammatory statements. The youth are advised to remain calm and law abiding.


Finally, MURIC prays that Allah grants the families of the victims of the bomb blasts the strength to bear the loss.


Dr. Is-haq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
234-818-211-9714

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FROM MUSLIM RIGHTS

24th December, 2010

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE:

CALL ON POLITICIANS TO EMULATE JESUS CHRIST

 Nigerian Christians will tomorrow join the rest of the global body of Christ to celebrate this year’s Christmas. We of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) felicitate with our Christian brothers and sisters and wish them a fruitful season.
This is definitely a season that necessitates sober reflection. Jesus is revered throughout the world today because of his selflessness, his readiness to sacrifice and his consistent transparency. These virtues are what Nigerian politicians and leaders lack. It is the absence of these golden values that has brought Nigeria to its current state of sleep-walking.
Nigerians pick food from the dustbin in spite of the immense natural wealth which God has endowed this country. Hundreds of people are unable to get good medical attention. Many Nigerians sleep under the bridge. Our educational institutions can only be compared to lepers’ islands. Nigerian roads are fit only for suicide drivers. Workers are over-worked, under-paid and over-taxed. Too many people have nothing. Too few have too much.
Ironically, politicians are pampered with too much largesse from the people’s sweat. The National Assembly takes 25% of the nation’s overhead budget. The executive has arrogated 50% of same to its self, leaving a meager 25% for the jamaheer (masses). To make the matter worse, the Federal Government is contemplating taking more than $3.5 billion from the World Bank. Like the biblical prodigal son, Nigerian leaders are on a mission to waste our resources. Nigeria borrowed $5 billion only by 1985. We paid up to $19 billion between 1986 and 1999 only to be told that we were still owing $32 billion! Yet another tragedy is manifested in the materialistic mentality of ordinary Nigerians.


MURIC calls on Nigerian leaders to emulate Jesus Christ and follow his leadership example. We charge religious clerics to drum the lessons inherent in the life and death of Jesus Christ into the ears of Nigerians. The average Nigerian must be sincerely God-fearing and shun the mad rush for the accumulation of wealth.


The Federal Government of Nigeria must desist from negotiating loans from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or any other international financial agency that represents Western capitalism. Western interest on loans is designed to keep the Third World underdeveloped and dependent for ever.

Dr. Is-haq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
234-818-211-9714

JUMBO PAY FOR NIGERIAN LAWMAKERS

5th December, 2010

PRESS RELEASE:

NASS JUMBO PAY: NIGERIANS FACE DICTATORSHIP OF THE LEGISLATURE The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Lamido Sanusi, revealed last week that the National Assembly (NASS) consumes 25% of Nigeria’s annual total overhead cost. Many others had earlier disclosed that colossal amounts are being spent on the same NASS. The CBN governor has also been invited by the Senate to defend his position.
 The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) finds these developments curious and disheartening. The people’s representatives are portraying themselves as insensitive to the plight of the jamaheer (masses). The legislature is busy arrogating to itself all the milk and honey in the land while the people ransack dustbins for leftovers before they can eat. The proletariat is toiling day and night but it is being denied adequate pay for its sweat. Labour’s demand for a survival minimum wage of N18,000 was ignored until a national strike had to be called and until lives were lost over the demand. Yet members of the NASS felt no qualms allocating jumbo pay to themselves.

What we find most disturbing is the harassment of the CBN governor by Senate when he was invited to defend his revelations on Wednesday. The questions hauled at him by members of Senate were nothing short of tactics in blackmail, coercion and intimidation. Otherwise why should any senator ask the CBN governor if he was still interested in his job? It reminds us of the manner Senate gagged Professor Attahiru Jega, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) when he alerted the nation about delays in the Electoral Act. Senate promptly invited him and he was told, “You talk too much”.

We find this phenomenon quite disturbing. We cannot have a free and fair election if the man at the helm of affairs of the highest electoral body is not free to pass comments. MURIC is therefore asking the question: How independent is the ‘Independent’ National Electoral Commission? The NASS is fast becoming dictatorial. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Whereas democracy entails freedom of speech, our NASS is suppressing free speech. Also, whereas democracy necessitates separation of powers whereby each component is independent of the other, the NASS seeks to strangulate other arms of governance.


MURIC rejects the dictatorial proclivities of the NASS. This august body is fast eroding the powers of other arms. It has also constituted itself into a threat to free speech, justice and fair play. It is turning the theory of the separation of powers into sheer illusion. The NASS has not demonstrated any readiness to make sacrifices, rather it has become an Oliver Twist, asking for more and more while the jamaheer are hungry, naked and homeless.


True leaders of the people are expected to make sacrifices which the people can emulate. The whole anatomy of the Nigerian nation lies prostrate on a sick bed with members of the NASS as bedbugs sucking its blood dry. The attitude of members of the NASS seems to tell us that many of them came in through the backdoor. The recent court pronouncements on election cases are didactic in this regard. MURIC is obligated to ask again: are these the true representatives of the people? Did these people win free and fair elections?


We call on civil society to act quickly and save the jamaheer from the totalitarian tendencies of the NASS before it becomes a hydra-headed monster with jaws wide open to swallow up the social order.


Dr. Is-haq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
234-818-211-9714



COURT SACKS ANOTHER GOVERNOR IN NIGERIA

27th November, 2010

PRESS RELEASE:

OSHUN GUBER JUDGEMENT: MANY RIVERS TO CROSS

The Court of Appeal in Ibadan yesterday ruled in favour of Rauf Aregbesola in the gubernatorial case between him and former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola. Aregbesola will be sworn in any moment from now. It will be recalled that similar cases of judicial defeat have occurred in Edo, Ekiti, Ondo, etc.

What is disturbing, however, is the length of time spent in power by usurpers and electoral kleptomaniacs. Adams Oshiomole, Fayemi, Aregbesola et al were all illegally kept out of the Edo government house for periods ranging between one year and three and a half years.
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) considers this anomaly as preposterous, outrageous and therefore unacceptable. MURIC proposes a radical amendment of the electoral reform that will ensure that all electoral disputes are disposed of before alleged winners are sworn in. The present arrangement allows political armed robbers to enjoy their illegal loots to the chagrin of legitimate winners of elections.
We recall the attempts of the Oshun State government to manipulate the situation. Aregbesola, the legitimate winner, was hounded from pillar to post. With the connivance of the police, a fraudulent case of forgery was slammed on him. He was even declared wanted at a stage. The question is: what is the next step now that the Appeal Court has declared him winner? Should his oppressors who are the real fraud go scott free?
MURIC is of the humble opinion that the time has come to make vote thieves accountable, including those who collude with them. This is necessary in order to serve as deterrent. Oyinlola must cough out every illegal earning he received while illegally occupying another citizen’s seat.
The judiciary has helped Nigerians to identify the real enemies of the people. This latest judgements against sitting governors have exposed the cogs in the wheel of progress in our dear country. Democracy is good but it is easy to turn into tyranny in the hands of political terrorists. Now Nigerians must know why there is no steady power supply; why there are no drugs in the hospitals; why education in Nigeria has turned into nightmare and why Nigerian roads are the best death traps in the whole world. It is simply because the real candidates voted for by majority of Nigerians are often cheated. The thin façade on the faces of the cheats are now being removed by the judiciary.
Yesterday’s judgement is unique in a special way. It is a case study in military/civilian confrontation in the political arena. Those who thought only retired soldiers possess the tactical know-how to wade through the mine-laden political field of Nigeria have been proved wrong afterall. MURIC lauds the doggedness of Rauf Aregbesola, the civilian strategist who cubbed the excesses of retired army general Olagunsoye Oyinlola.
Dr. Is-haq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
234-818-211-9714

IDENTIFYING TRUE LEADERS IN NIGERIA

IDENTIFY LEADERS WHO ARE READY TO SACRIFICE

As Muslims worldwide prepare to celebrate the Id al-Kabir, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) felicitates with all Nigerians who are witnessing this monumental occasion. Although a major aspect of the festival is the sacrifice of rams, the lessons go beyond ordinary pecuniary expenses incurred in the purchase of the sacrificial animal.

Individual devotees who have stressed themselves financially to ensure that they also bought rams to be slaughtered on Salah day are simply emulating Prophet Ibrahim who obediently offered his own son (Ismail) as sacrifice to Allah and almost slaughtered him before the son was replaced with a ram. This great service is what has inspired Muslims on an annual basis to offer rams as sacrifice.


The great lesson here for Nigerian politicians is that the leader’s altruistic proclivities ignited in the followers a readiness to make sacrifices. Prophet Ibrahim’s readiness to surrender even his own son for sacrifice has encouraged his followers to emulate him by sacrificing animals on Salah day.


MURIC therefore charges Nigeria’s leaders to be prepared to make sacrifices. We have no doubt that if the citizens see that the leaders are making sacrifices, they too will follow suit. Things continue to fall apart in this country today because the leadership lacks this vital sense of sacrifice. The centre cannot hold in Nigeria today because Nigerians hear and read reports about the greed and licenciousness of their leaders. The falcon cannot hear the falconer in Nigeria today because Nigerians watch their leaders wasting the wealth of the nation while the citizenry languish in abject poverty.


The recent jumbo pay announced for past leaders is a case in point. That decision is reckless, ridiculous and preposterous. Coming at a time when the minimum wage still remains N7,500 and labour’s demand for an increase of this to N18,000 has been rejected by the Federal Government, the announcement exposes the hypocrisy of our leaders. It is grossly immoral. The wise decision is to reward past leaders whose records remain clean and whose progenies appear in dire need of financial help. It is most provoking to dream of jumbo pay for a military dictator like Abacha whose stolen loot is capable of buying up the Central Bank itself. MURIC urges the National Assembly to revise its decision on jumbo pay for past leaders.


We affirm that Nigeria’s problems will persist until the citizens identify and follow those who are ready to make sacrifices. The leaders’ sacrifices will inspire the rest of us. Only thus can we build a nation where peace and justice shall reign.


Finally, MURIC calls on Nigerians to make ‘sacrifice’ the keyword in the 2011 elections. The electorate must finger selfless leaders and vote for them. We must reject leaders who want to rule Nigeria while their own children are in cosy environments in Europe and America. Nigerians must rebuff candidates who jet out of the country to treat the slightest headache. Such candidates cannot be interested in revamping our ailing health sector.


Dr. Is-haq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
234-818-211-9714

NIGERIA GENERAL ELECTIONS: FEMALE MUSLIM CANDIDATES

25th October, 2010

PRESS RELEASE:

MUSLIM WOMEN AND 2011 ELECTIONS

The Nigerian nation is making preparations for the next general elections which are expected to take place in the year 2011. Already, new political parties are being formed and registered while candidates are emerging across the country for the presidential, gubernatorial, the National Assembly as well as local government councils. Notable among the emerging candidates are Muslim women.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) wishes to make it clear that Islam permits Muslims to engage in politics, to vote and be voted for, to exercise their civic rights and to fulfill their civic responsibilities. Homo sapiens are seen in Islam as vicegerents of Allah. According to the Glorious Qur’an, sovereignty belongs to Allah (Qur’an 2:107, 3:26, 189; 5:17, 40; etc).

All rulers, from the president of Nigeria to the chairmen of local governments are proxies of Allah (Qur’an 6:165; 10:14, 73; 35:39; 7:69; etc). Islam holds that leaders will be held accountable for their deeds and misdeeds Yaom al-Qiyamah (the Day of Judgement).

It therefore behoves Muslim politicians to play the game according to the dictates of their faith, not according to their whims and caprices. In this regard, MURIC urges Muslim women not to shy away from politics. Female Muslim aspirants should pursue their legitimate and Islam-compliant dreams with vigour. We call on the husbands of such aspirants to support their wives morally and financially.

 

However, MURIC wishes to remind female Muslim aspirants of an important proviso in their engagement in politics, namely, that a Muslim woman is not permitted to aspire to be president of Nigeria or governor of a state. She is free to contest for the posts of vice president or deputy governor. The wrong impression must not be created that Muslim women are second class citizens. Nay, they are special creatures. Women are to be honoured. They are the mothers of society. Allah made them mothers, not fathers.

Fathers are heads of families. Just as fathers cannot become mothers, the mothers must not seek to play the role of fathers. Muslim women are the protectors of mankind and sustainers of nobility. The emergence of women who seek to turn the natural order is responsible for the present turmoil in society: high rate of crime, lack of respect for human life, loss of compassion among mankind, greed of unimaginable proportion, broken marriages, child abuse, etc. The only solution to the confusion in the world today is for the woman to go back to her traditional role of a true mother of the society.

We therefore appeal to female Muslim aspirants who are eyeing the highest political posts in the country or in their states to reconsider their stands and respect their faith. Failure to step down from such high aspiration tantamounts to aggression against Allah and arrogance before their creator. Refusal to abide by this Islamic tradition will be regarded as a belligerent confrontation of Muslim voters and the outcome can only be overwhelming defeat. MURIC will mobilize Muslim voters against female Muslim aspirants who transgress the limit. We will ensure that they lose with ignominy.

Finally, we warn the various political parties in the country to resist the temptation of fielding Muslim women for the highest posts at both the presidential and governorship levels. Any political party that ignores this warning stands the risk of losing the votes of Muslims to other parties.

Dr. Is-haq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
234-818-211-9714

APPEAL COURT RULING ON EKITI GOVERNORSHIP

18th October, 2010

PRESS RELEASE:

EKITI GOVERNORSHIP JUDGEMENT: WE RUN A DEFECTIVE LEGAL SYSTEM

The Court of Appeal in its latest judgement on Friday ruled that the Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN) candidate Dr. Kayode Fayemi on the largest number of votes in the 2007 gubernatorial election in the state. Fayemi was therefore sworn in as Ekiti governor on Saturday. It will be recalled that similar court judgements on elections had taken place in other states of the federation in the past.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) salutes the judiciary for this bold pronouncement. The fact that the judgement is unanimous among the five judges is a serious indictment on the system which perpetuated this illegality. We congratulate the newly sworn-in governor on his well-deserved victory and laud his steadfastness in the struggle for justice.


MURIC is however deeply disturbed by the paradox of Nigeria’s electoral laws which make it possible for a loser to retain a stolen mandate for as long as three and a half years out of a four-year tenure. Justice delayed is justice denied. It is a sad commentary on Nigeria’s party-politics. It is alarming that the definition of our own democracy is now seen as ‘government of the loser by the rigger for the tiny cabal’. This is contrary to the dream of the founders of the Nigerian nation. It is also a sharp contradiction of the generally accepted meaning of democracy everywhere in the world. Nigeria’s democracy is a sham.


This judgement and the attendant revelations and implications have once again exposed the National Assembly and its procrastination tactics on the amendment of the Electoral Act. Nigerians must put their representatives to task. Now we know why the chairman Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, raised an alarm on the issue of the Electoral Act. The status quo is designed to benefit political charlatans and recycled tyrants to retain stolen mandates ad infinitum.


MURIC challenges the National Assembly to publish within seven days facts and reasons delaying the amendment of the Electoral Act or be declared ‘accessories after the fact’. It is our humble opinion that the rigging of the 2011 elections may well have started and the principle of ‘one man one vote’ may remain a dream in Nigeria for a very long time.


Dr. Is-haq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
234-803-346-4974