WAEC EXAMINATION TIMETABLE IS AN INVITATION TO CHAOS

26^th August, 2015

PRESS RELEASE:

WAEC EXAMINATION TIMETABLE IS AN

INVITATION TO CHAOS

The timetable of the November/December General Certificate Examination (GCE) of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) which is expected to begin next week shows that some of the subjects will be taken between 1 pm and 3 pm on Fridays.

The implication of this is that Muslim candidates are likely to miss some of their papers unless they choose to skip the Jum’ah services on those days. This is tantamount to denial of Allah-given fundamental rights of those candidates. It is a flagrant breach of Section 38 (i) & (ii) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) rejects this anti-Muslim timetable released by WAEC. It is malicious, baseless, illegal, and unconstitutional. It is also most insensitive, parochial and provocative. This timetable is designed to cause chaos.

We invite the Nigerian authorities to visit WAEC’s website (registration.waecdirect.org) and click on the timetable link to confirm our allegation. WAEC has fixed its examinations between 1 pm and 3 pm of every Friday from 11^th September to 2^nd October as shown below:

1.  Friday 11^th September, 2015: Forestry 2 (Essay) 13hrs to 15 hrs

2.  Friday 18^th September 2015: Government2 (Essay) 13 hrs to 15 hrs

3.  Friday 25^th September, 2015: Further Mathematics 14 hrs to 15.30 hrs

4.  Friday 2^nd October, 2015: Applied Electricity2  13 hrs to 14 hrs

5.  Friday 2^nd October, 2015: Applied Electricity1 14 hrs to 15 hrs

We remind WAEC that Jum’ah service every Friday is not a design of homo sapien. It has divine and scriptural basis in Qur’an 62:9-11.

Any attempt therefore to circumspect it by any means constitutes a challenge to divine authority. This is bound to be counter-productive with its dire consequences for our country particularly at this crucial period when Nigeria needs prayers to survive.

We assert that WAEC’s sectional timetable is not likely to affect candidates alone as all service providers who happen to be Muslims are bound to be affected. We wonder why no examination subjects were fixed for Sundays if indeed WAEC is under any stress for time. This development has again underlined the justification for Muslims’ agitation for a workfree Friday.

It further exposes the social imbalance in the Nigerian system today. Everything is in favour of Christians because the colonial master was a Christian and he bequeathed a legacy of a pro-Christian and anti-Muslim culture to Nigerians on the eve of his departure in 1960. Justice demands that this system should have been reviewed long ago, at least to integrate Nigerian Muslims and give them a sense of belonging.

MURIC charges the Federal Government (FG) to do the needful. Nigerian Muslims have become endangered species hounded from pillar to post. There is no freedom of worship for them. Their rights are violated at will and nobody says or does anything about it. Muslim victims are called names and stereotyped when they try to resist. All these must stop if indeed we are serious about the change mantra.

FG should call WAEC to order. By the way, what is the role of the Federal Ministry of Education in matters such as this? Is it not expected to protect candidates from this kind of abuse? Didn’t the ministry have any input into WAEC’s timetable? Or did somebody somewhere fail to perform his/her duty?

We appeal to members of the National Assembly (NASS) to wade into the matter. WAEC must be invited to explain the raison d’etre for this Islam-bashing timetable. NASS is the voice of the voiceless and it should stand up to be counted on a matter which is capable of causing social pandemonium.

MURIC is a dialogue-loving human rights organization. Therefore we will not issue threats. It is hoped that FG and indeed WAEC will take this statement as an offer of dialogue.

MURIC will not be held responsible if aggrieved candidates, their parents and sympathizers hold peaceful protests in WAEC offices should WAEC go ahead with this abominable, archaic and contemptuous timetable which is designed to compel Muslim candidates to sit for examination during Jum’ah service.

MURIC will not stand akimbo while Nigerian Muslims are being humiliated and treated with contempt. We are all equal partners in the Nigerian project and we will employ every available constitutional means to resist the intimidation of Muslims in this country.

Unless it is a deliberate assault on the collective body of the Nigerian Muslim Ummah, WAEC is seriously advised to review the timetable before the commencement of examinations. A stitch in time saves nine.

In the meantime MURIC appeals to Muslims nationwide to eschew violence, to remain law abiding and to patiently await FG’s reaction to this highly combustible issue.

       

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

DEATH OF EMIR OF MISAU: MURIC CONDOLES THE SULTAN OF SOKOTO

18^th August, 2015

PRESS RELEASE:

DEATH OF EMIR OF MISAU:

MURIC CONDOLES THE SULTAN OF SOKOTO

The Emir of Misau in Bauchi State, Muhammadu Manga III, died yesterday after a protracted illness. He was 84 years old.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) commiserates with the Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), His Eminence Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III mni, on the demise of the royal father.

 

MURIC also shares this moment of grief with the Governor of Bauchi State and the peace-loving people of Misau.

We pray that Almighty Allah will forgive the late Emir and grant him Aljannah in the Hereafter.       

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

REVERSAL OF JONATHAN’S TWILIGHT APPOINTMENTS: BUHARI IS IN ORDER

16^th August, 2015

PRESS RELEASE:

REVERSAL OF JONATHAN’S TWILIGHT APPOINTMENTS: BUHARI IS IN ORDER

President Muhammadu Buhari recently sacked the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Alhaji Sanusi Ado Bayero. He has simultaneously appointed Alhaji Habib Abdullahi as his replacement. It will be recalled that ex-President Goodluck Jonathan had sacked the latter in the twilight of his tenure and appointed the former.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) gives kudos to President Buhari for taking this bold step. We find the reversal of all appointments and sacks carried out by the former ruler mandatory because they were executed with the style of a rampaging herd of elephants keen on bringing down anything that stood in its way.

At a point, Nigerians started asking themselves if, at best, Aso Rock under Jonathan did not need the attention of psychologists. This question became necessary when in the last few days Jonathan displayed great dexterity and utmost pleasure in relieving Nigerians of their legitimate sources of income. The cry of vendetta rented the air and not a few social critics called for caution.

By reinstating Habib Abdullahi, Buhari has not only proved that he is in full control but that he will stand on the side of justice and fair play any day. The step taken has also proved that the president cannot be intimidated by professional blackmailers and executive witch-hunters, be they prospective exile seekers or self-confessed danfo drivers and touts who accidentally found themselves becoming numero uno citizens at the state level.

Also praiseworthy is the recent sack of all the service chiefs and their replacement. The military under Jonathan became so heavily compromised that it almost became an object of ridicule among Nigerians particularly over the certificate saga. If we may ask, has President Buhari’s secondary school certificate been found eventually? If so, to what or to who do we owe this greatest ‘miracle’ of our time?

Ditto for the general shakeup in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation which had become an open basket into which the nation’s resources were poured, only for the basket’s contents to disappear overnight. The revamping of our refineries in PortHarcourt, Warri and Kaduna are living testimonies of the change mantra.    

We appeal to critics of Buhari’s war against corruption to employ decorum, finesse and parliamentary language in their quest for attention. In particular, we advise Governor Ayo Fayose to stop desecrating the hallowed office of executive governor with his anti-Buhari belligerence, his foul language and his motor-park antics. A state governor must be a symbol of authority, maturity and integrity.  

Finally, MURIC lauds the sobriety of President Buhari. We charge him to remain undaunted. Mr. President must remain focused in his anti-corruption crusade. We affirm that corruption is party-blind and unlike Jonathan who hobnobbed with international drug barons and gave national awards to kleptomaniacs and those who smeared Nigeria’s name abroad by jumping bail in London while disguised as women, we repose full confidence in Buhari as the man  who will bring pen-thieves to their knees.     

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

ESTABLISH NORTH EAST DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION NOW

13^th August, 2015

PRESS RELEASE:

ESTABLISH NORTH EAST DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION NOW

The Boko Haram phenomenon has brought untold suffering to North Eastern Nigeria. Apart from massive deaths and destruction of properties worth billions of naira, there is hunger, starvation and displacement of a large number of people. Vulnerable people like women and children are the worst victims. Several schools and markets remain shut while socio-economic life is at a standstill.

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF), there were about 1.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Nigeria as at April this year. There is no doubt that the number has risen geometrically.

This figure includes people displaced as a result of brutal attacks by Boko Haram, the government’s counter-insurgency operations, inter-communal clashes, and natural hazard-induced disasters. But victims of the Boko Haram insurgency have the lion share of displacements.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) hereby expresses grave concern about the plight of IDPs in North Eastern Nigeria. It is obvious that adequate care has not been provided. There have been reports of IDPs starving for days. The number of IDPs in camps grossly outweighs the facilities provided.

In Gombe State alone for example, only 3,000 of them could be accommodated at the official camp out of about 25,000 registered IDPs. What is the fate of the rest? The Federal Government has a moral obligation to answer this question. Many of the IDPs scattered across other Northern states are currently experiencing this inhuman condition.

Fresh births were reported in camps early this week and, according to the UNPF, the number of births recorded among internally displaced persons in Nigeria is estimated to hit 60,000 by the end of 2015. How prepared are we for these incoming babies?

Although much of the blame should go to the immediate past administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan who adopted a lackadaisical attitude in the early days of the insurgency and treated the issue of IDPs with kid gloves, the new administration of President Muhammadu Buhari must face this challenge with the urgency it requires.

Jonathan’s Presidential Committee on Victims Support Fund, VSF, which raised N58 billion shortly after the ex-president inaugurated the body  to raise money for the support and rehabilitation of victims of insurgency, reportedly gave food and non-food items to displaced persons in the state only once, on January 9, 2015. There is no record that additional supply was distributed before the exit of Jonathan. What has been done with the N58 billion raised by VSF? Nigerians want to know.

In the meantime, MURIC suggests the following as long term solutions to the challenges faced by the North East:

1.  immediate establishment of a North East Development Commission (NEDEC) along the same line as the Niger Delta Development Commission;

2.  active involvement of corporate bodies in the assistance of IDPs and the speedy development of the North East;

3.  regular visits to IDP camps by top government officials for on-the-spot assessments and the moral upliftment of people of the sub-region;

4.  adequate and updated press coverage of living conditions in IDP camps and

5.  adequate accountability measures in the distribution process of donated cash and items in IDP camps in order to curb abuse.

  

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said, “Have mercy on those on earth and those in heaven will shower mercy on you”.

MURIC therefore appeals to wealthy Nigerians, charity organizations, professional and corporate bodies like banks, wireless service providers, oil companies, etc, to urgently come to the aid of IDPs in the North East. 

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)