PRESS RELEASE: 2 YEAR JAIL FOR STEALING N32b

30^th January, 2013

PRESS RELEASE:

TWO YEAR JAIL FOR STEALING N32b!:

A TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE

 

An Abuja High Court yesterday sentenced one John Yakubu Yusufu to two years in prison with an option of fine to the tune of N750,000.00 (seven hundred and fifty thousand naira only) for stealing a whopping N32 billion police pension fund.

 

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) is flabbergasted by this judicial pronouncement. The judgemnet has far-reaching implications both within and outside this country. It constitutes an open and indubitable invitation to young Nigerians to engage in corruption and crimes of all types because they may now see no justitia omnibus in the system. Outside the country, Nigerians are exposed to more ridicule, contempt and derision.

 

This, no doubt, is a rape on democracy and an infra dignitatem of the collective intelligence of the good people of Nigeria. It makes a mockery of the war on corruption. This judgement reveals that the Nigerian corruption ring is wider than ever imagined.

 

The impact of this judgement on the bench is unfathomable. Whereas there are men of integrity in the profession, this pronouncement makes a mockery of the bench and renders it in puris naturalibus. It opens the noble profession to a floodgate of questions concerning the integrity of some of its drammatis personae. It portrays the Nigerian judicial system as one bent on robbing Peter to pay Paul. It is very sad that Nigerian courts are fast becoming recruitment sergeants for armed robbers and the principle of the rule of law is fast becoming a myth rather than a reality.

 

MURIC calls on the Nigerian Judicial Council to investigate the pedigree of Justice Abubakar Talba who delivered this provocative and highly irrational judgement. We assert that Nigerians have no confidence in him and his ilk. We charge Mr. Adoke, the Minister of Justice to call for the case file with a view to ordering a retrial in another court and under another judge in the interim. As a long term measure, however, we demand a clean-up of Adokie's Animal Farm.

 

Thousands of poor Nigerian citizens have spent years in jail awaiting trial: some for stealing one tuber of yam due to the pervasive hunger in the land, others for less offence. But Yusufu steals N32 billion and gets a pittance as fine. It is preposterous, tyrannical and therefore totally unacceptable. Our democracy is a fraud if this judgement stands.

 

We remind Nigerian judges and those in the corridors of power that "Allah commands justice, fairness and liberality to kith and kin. He forbids injustice…" (Qur'an 16:90). Allah also warns, "…And judge fairly when you judge among men…" (Qur'an 4:58) "…Follow not your lusts lest you swerve and if you distort or refuse to do justice, verily, Allah is well acquainted with all what you do" (Qur'an 4:135).

 

MURIC calls on civil society to rally against the tyranny of the powerful and influential in society. We charge Nigerians to rise against selective justice. Nigerians must reject this ruling with one voice. It is hypocritical to have one law for the rich and another for the poor. This is definitely not the democracy we fought for. It is imperative upon the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to appeal this judgment immediately.

 

Finally, we advise members of the press to start a boycott of Abuja courts if within 21 days nothing is done to reverse this draconian ruling. Simultaneously, civil society must call out Nigerians to occupy court premises all over the country. As a last resort, the Nigeria Labour Congress must call out its members to start a 'sit-at-home' until this arbitrary, thoughtless and reckless judgment is reversed.  

 

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

234-803-346-4974

 

ATTACK ON THE EMIR OF KANO: TIGHTEN SECURITY

23^rd January, 2013

PRESS RELEASE:

ATTACK ON EMIR OF KANO:

TIGHTEN SECURITY AROUND RELIGIOUS LEADERS

 

Gunmen ferociously attacked the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, during the weekend, killing some of his palace bodyguards and injuring two of his sons. The injuries are reportedly so serious that they have been flown abroad for treatment.

 

We of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) regard this as one attack too many. Two major problems have now emerged. One: the security agencies are not doing enough. Two: the present Nigerian leadership lacks the political will and the intellectual capacity to tackle or comprehend the dimensions of the country's security challenges.

 

The fact that those who attacked the Emir got away without anyone challenging them reveals the gross ineptitude of our security agencies. Apart from total lack of underground information network which should have uncovered the plot and nipped it in the bud, the attack exposes Nigeria's security apparatus as tragically deficient in strategic planning and poorly equipped in forward-looking defence system.

 

Ceteris paribus, water-tight and absolutely impregnable security should have been knit around the Emir of Kano and all other religious leaders in the North from the day the suspected Boko Haram group had started attacking churches, mosques, Imams and emirs. It is as clear as daylight that the suspected Boko Haram group has rejected the status quo. This is why the group is targeting Muslim leaders. But it is astonishing that our security agencies could not read this barometer even after an emir was attacked some months ago. It is nauseating, preposterous and unacceptable.

 

MURIC demands an explanation from the Inspector General of Police. Kano Police Command must explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against it for allowing this to happen. Ditto for the Kano State Security Service and the JTF Kano wing. What were they doing? This is sheer dereliction of duty.

 

While we thank Allah for the Emir's survival of this atrocious attack, we make an urgent call for the tightening of security around all religious leaders particularly in the North. A very thick cordon must be thrown around the topmost echelon of both the Christian and Muslim organizations from now on.

 

Finally, MURIC reminds President Jonathan that he cannot afford to go to bed while the roof is burning. He should listen to the voice of reason and engage Boko Haram in sincere dialogue. Wars are not won on the battlefield alone. You may win the battle but the war goes on. Dialogue has been the option of MURIC ab initio and on dialogue we still stand.   

 

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

234-803-346-4974

 

TRAVAILS OF PENSIONERS IN NIGERIA

16^th January, 2013

PRESS RELEASE:

PAY PENSIONERS' ENTITLEMENTS WITHIN SIX MONTHS OF RETIREMENT

 

The war against corruption in Nigeria has been long and hard. Yet no anti-corruption agency fashioned by successive Nigerian administrations to date has been able to nip the problem in the bud. The cancerous tumour rears its ugly head in every facet of public and private lives though its manifestation is felt most strongly in the public arena.

 

One of the casus belli for the reticence of corruption in this country is the negative attitude of governments and their agents to the payment of the retirement benefits of workers. The story is the same whether in the civil service, the army, the police, customs or any other formation.

 

Islam lays great emphasis on the umbilical cord which connects work with reward. People who serve must be paid. The Glorious Qur'an frowns upon the 'monkey-de-work-baboon-de-chop' mentality. Qur'an 24:38, 29:7 and 39:35 measure reward according to deeds. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) commanded his followers to pay workers before the sweat on their faces dry up.

 

Unfortunately this golden practice is ignored in Nigeria. Men and women who spent the most productive period of their lives in serving this country are treated like lepers who must not be touched and who must live the rest of their lives in quarantines. The payment of pension which should have been regular and monthly ceteris paribus is delayed for months and sometimes for years. In their old age, Nigerians who toiled for their country are treated like oranges whose owners peel off the skin and squeeze the juice out of them until they become totally dry and useless. They are then thrown away.

 

Many pensioners are made to stand in long queues under the burning sun while waiting to be paid. Many have collapsed and died in such inhuman circumstances. This is a blatant violation of citizens' Allah-given and fundamental human rights. It is ungodly, unjustifiable and unacceptable.

 

We of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) regard this phenomenon as wicked, inhuman and atrocious. It is the height of barbarism to treat senior citizens with reckless abandon. Any state governor or head of state who has no enduring welfare package for elderly people should pack his bags and baggages and leave office. Governance must have a human face and the welfare of the citizens (particularly the elderly) is the numero uno responsibility of government. Any government that fails in this regard has breached its contract with the people and should leave the stage for a more dedicated leadership.

 

MURIC asserts clearly, categorically and unambiguously that there is a symbiotic link between corruption and the shoddy way pensioners are treated. Workers who are still in service are driven to corrupt practices by the fear of what awaits them after retirement.

 

Finally, MURIC commends the efforts of some state governments who have initiated welfare packages for senior citizens and calls on the Federal Government and other states to take a cue from such welfarist states. We charge the National Assembly to enact a bill compelling the payment of pensioners' benefits within six months of retirement.

 

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

234-803-346-4974

 

NEW YEAR MESSAGE

25^th December 2012

NEW YEAR MESSAGE:

LACUNA BETWEEN THE LEADERS AND THE LEAD

As year 2012 rolls to an end, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) takes a retrospective look at events in Nigeria within the year with particular reference to the relationship between the leaders and the citizenry as well as the provision of infrastructure capable of improving the standard of living.

 

The oil subsidy controversy has continued unabated. Fuel scarcity is a common feature in most Nigerian cities with long queues at fuel stations. Palliatives offered by the Federal Government in the wake of the oil subsidy saga have vanished into thin air.

 

Boko Haram, kidnapping, armed robbery and related crimes have made a mess of the country's security system. The transport sector, whether by land or by air, is as safe as playing a game of rugby in a mined field. Electricity, which is the backbone of any economy, is assailed by epilepsy and has rendered the industrial sector prostate.

 

Except in a few states, Nigeria's public hospitals remain public mortuaries patronized only by desperate sicklers willing to commit suicide. To cap it all, the education sector which is the hope for a better tomorrow, is still crawling at 62 and receiving crunches that fall from the politicians' table.

 

Yet Nigeria's woes can be traced to the glaring lacuna between the leaders and the lead. There is total breakdown of communication between banquet-loving Aso Rock and the rest of the country. The leaders ignore the bad roads because they can afford to shuttle in helicopters. The Nigerian president has ten aircrafts in his fleet whereas the American president has only two. Yet the Nigerian president wants more presidential jets.

 

The losses suffered by the aviation sector within the year are symptomatic of the sheer neglect characteristic of the Nigerian leadership. The fact that the deficiencies in all these sectors have started affecting the leaders themselves must be enough lesson for these leaders who have hitherto refused to listen.

 

Perhaps those governors who are rumoured to be recuperating in hospitals abroad (Suntai in Germany, Imoke in the United States and Chime in India) would return home to turn the health sector around in their states. Perhaps the late governor Yakowa of Kaduna State and former National Security Adviser, General Aziza (rtd), would have used the roads if the Niger Delta had been developed. Nonetheless, MURIC wishes to give kudos to governor Idris of Kogi State for rejecting foreign treatment after his crash.

 

Finally, MURIC charges President Jonathan to learn from the lessons of 2012. He should therefore focus the paraphernalia of governance on security, roads, education and health because he or his close relations may need these neglected infrastructure one day.

 

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

234-803-346-4974

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

25^th December 2012

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE:

IMBIBE THE QUALITIES OF JESUS

 

Christendom is presently marking the birth of Jesus, not only in Nigeria but throughout the world.     

 

The Glorious Qur'an reveals that the life of Jesus was filled with piety, humility and simplicity (Qur'an 6:85). He was "held in honour in this world and the hereafter" (Qur'an 3:45) just as he was righteous (Qur'an 3:46) and was blessed (Qur'an 19:31).

 

The lessons contained in the life of Jesus are enough to surmount the problems facing Nigeria as a country if only all the citizens would emulate him regardless of religious or ethnic background. If we can all be God-fearing, nobody would hate his fellow man or contemplate taking the life of another homo sapien.

 

Nigeria would be paradise on earth if we could all be as loving as Jesus. Seeking revenge would become history in our country if all would embrace the qualities of fortitude and forgiveness. Neither would poverty pervade the land if we adhere to Jesus' pattern of simple life. Adoption of simplicity, shunning the temptation to accumulate wealth, imbibing the hospitable art of giving and sharing are the only measures capable of alleviating the grinding poverty ravaging our nation.

 

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) cautions clerics of all divides and the elite to shun materialistic propensities. We charge holders of public offices to avoid the temptation to appropriate to themselves all the milk and honey in the land. We call on leaders to remember that those among them who died while holding public offices could not take any money or property to their graves with them. Leaders should therefore remember that their primary duty is not to line their own pockets but to cater for the welfare of the citizens.

 

To the generality of Nigerians, MURIC calls for a change of mindset. Nigerians must think positively of their country. The followership must resist the temptation to join the maddening crowd of corruption in the wrong and misleading dogma that only the corrupt can succeed in this country. In this regard, we urge parents to lay good examples for their offsprings and to desist from encouraging the latter to engage in sharp practices.

 

 

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

234-803-346-4974

 

'NO' TO ASO ROCK BANQUET HALL

5^th December 2012

PRESS RELEASE

'NO' TO ASO VILLA BANQUET HALL

 

The Nigerian Federal Executive Council recently approved a whopping N2.2bn for the purpose of building a banquet hall inside the palatial Aso Rock Villa.   

 

This approval raises more questions than answers. Is a dancing hall Nigeria's next priority? Have we provided accommodation for the homeless thousands who sleep under the bridge? Are our roads motorable? Have we conquered the power monster? Is the gangrene sucking the blood dry in the education sector plugged out yet? Do we now have drugs in the hospitals? Bombs are still exploding. Kidnappers are having a field day. What, therefore, does President Jonathan want to celebrate in a presidential banquet hall?

 

It beats the imagination of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) that a man who narrated his shoeless childhood to a sympathetic and gullible nation would turn around to propose N300m for plates and spoons in Aso Rock and N18bn for the maintenance of the presidential fleet of aircrafts. When will Nigeria grow? Saudi Arabia hosts an average of five million people for two months annually without the lights blinking for a second. The taps run ad infinitum. The roads are bumpless and macadam. When will Nigeria grow?

 

It was this same Nigeria that was declared the 26^th poorest and later 20^th hungriest country in the world. 100,000 Nigerians die of tuberculosis annually. Another 300,000 die yearly of ordinary malaria. Life expectancy, which was seventy as at independence, is now 47. Eighty million Nigerians live below poverty line. Per capita income is less than $300 and the average Nigerian lives on less than $1 per day. There is no hope of employment for Nigerian graduates. We therefore have every reason to declare the Jonathan administration as deaf, dumb and clueless.

 

The Glorious Qur'an says, "Allah has set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing and put a veil on their eyes…." (Qur'an 2:7). MURIC reminds Aso Rock of the divine warning contained in Qur'an 102: 1-4 "You compete in the accumulation of wealth…and it diverts you (from the welfare of the citizens)…until you go into your graves. Soon you will know…Very soon indeed you will know".

 

We assert clearly, unambiguously and unequivocally that the proposed banquet hall is an exercise in frivolity, opulence, gross irresponsibility and executive insensitivity. MURIC rejects this culture of reckless spending. The signals coming from Aso Rock confirm the fear earlier expressed by some activists in the country, namely, that Jonathan is out to out-Herod Herod.

 

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

234-803-346-4974

 

 

PAROCHIAL PUNCH EDITORIAL

PAROCHIAL PUNCH EDITORIAL   The government of the State of Oshun recently declared a one-day public holiday in recognition of the first day of the Islamic calendar. In a conservative and myopic reaction to the declaration, the Punch newspaper  of Tuesday, 20th November, 2012 , page 18, poured vitriolic attacks on the state government for taking this patriotic and much belated action.   The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) takes the Punch editorial with a pinch of salt. Though we are not unaware of the crusader and anti-Islam character of the Punch from its inception,  we are shocked that this newspaper can descend so low.  The Punch is simply acting the script of some fanatical Christian leaders and groups  who see nothing good in Muslims and who are determined to keep the current assymetrical system in the country without  allowing any room for Muslims. We are aware  of  the existence of many level-headed and moderate Christians who are prepared to co-exist peacefully with Muslims but this group is not vocal. Rather the Punch has chosen to silence such moderate Christian groups  and remain the major megaphone for champions of Islamophobia.   MURIC calls on the authorities to watch media houses like the Punch. Stoking the fire of religious bigotry is not the right thing to do at this point in time when Nigeria needs people with clear understanding of the religious atmosphere in the country. That editorial is malicious, sinister and parochial, and that is to say the least.  The Punch will continue to lose respect among Muslims so long as it fails to realise that this country is not for Christians alone. We  reaffirm our demand for a national conference  where all the demands of religious and ethnic groups will be tabled. We assert that the constitution of this country remains a fraud so long as it fails to recognize those Allah-given and fundamental rights of Muslims.  Our democracy is fake if there is no equal rights. By declaring a public holiday in recognition of the 1st day of the hijrah calendar, Oshun State government has merely responded to the yearnings, aspirations, demands and protests of Muslims which date back to the 80s. Punch's condemnation of the declaration of hijrah holiday has only exposed its ignorance of the fundamentals of democracy. The hijrah holiday is a dividend of  democracy and the right of Muslims. Democracy is all about participation and sense of belonging. Oshun government has given Muslims that much needed feeling of patriotism. Punch should stop fanning the embers of hatred.   Punch needs to be told that the governor of the State of Oshun has simply exercised the powers vested upon him by the Public Holidays Act  chapter 378 to enable Section 38 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which grants every Nigerian freedom of worship to see the light of day. Muslims in the South-West who constitute more than 55%  of the total population in the region have long been deprived of this right in spite of several petitions and peaceful demands.  Is this the Punch's sense of democracy? MURIC challenges the Punch or anyone else that feels bothered with this to go to court. We warn that no newspaper should use its priviledged position to pour invectives on public officers simply because the latter happen to be Muslims or because they take the right decision. It is cheap blackmail. Those who wrongly use  the power of the press to intimidate and coerce should go back to the pages of history. It is ironical that an organ which is expected to be the voice of the voiceless has allowed religious bigotry to turn it into an instrument of tyranny. Punch has carried its Islamophobia too  far.   Neither can anyone in his right sense accuse the governor of the State of Oshun of favouring Muslims at the expense of Christians. A brief look at the statistics of government officials is enough to allay such a fear. In fact it is the Muslims in the state who have been accusing the governor of short-changing them in appointments to public offices.  Perhaps we should ask Punch to tell us how many Muslims are in the state government's executive and how many are in the list of permanent secretaries recently appointed in the state? For the avoidance of doubt, we state the figures as they are at present: of the thirteen (13) commissioners in the state, only four (4) are Muslims, the remaining nine (9) are Christians; of the twenty nine (29) permanent secretaries, eight (8) are Muslims while the remaining twenty one (21) are Christians. Again, only five (5) of the fourteen (14) special advisers in the state are Muslims compared to the remaining nine (9) who are Christians. Why didn't Punch complain about this lopsidedness if indeed it represents justice and fairness?   MURIC asserts clearly, unambiguously and unequivocally that Nigerian Muslims will continue to pursue their peaceful and legitimate demands for the rule of law, equal rights and justice in this Westo-Christian dominated country. We believe that this land belongs to us all. Nobody is going to run away for anyone. What is good for the goose is equally good for the gander.  Christians and Muslims must live peacefully together with fully recognised rights. A constitution that fails to fully recognise the rights of all is only fit for the dustbin. There has been enough bloodshed in the land. Punch should allow peace to rain. It should therefore stop the publication of provocative editorials to avoid setting fire to the keg of gun powder.   Professor Is-haq Akintola,  Lagos State University, P.O. Box 10211, LASU Post Office, HO 102 101, Ojo, Lagos, Nigeria. Tel. 234-803-346-4974        234-818-211-9714 Website: www.ishaqakintola.com Blog: drishaqakintola.blogspot.com Twitter:  ishaqakintola Facebook: facebook.com/ishaqakintola Twitter: ishaqakintola   I remain oppressed untill the hungry are fed, the naked clothed, the sick healed and the homeless sheltered