CUSTOMS BOSS: SENATE MANIFESTING PULL HIM DOWN SYNDROME (PH.D)

10^th March, 2017

PRESS RELEASE:

CUSTOMS BOSS: SENATE MANIFESTING PULL HIM DOWN SYNDROME (PH.D)

The Nigerian Senate yesterday ordered the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Hammed Ali, to appear before it “in uniform” and threatened to sack him if he does not obey its order on the suspension of collection of duties on old vehicles.   

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) is deeply worried by this development. Senate appears to be engaging in parliamentary recklessness and flexing muscles unnecessarily. It is sheer massaging of parliamentary ego, witch-hunting and profiling.

What has the wearing of custom uniform by the custom’s boss got to do with the performance of his duty? What is wrong if the custom’s boss takes salutes in mufti? Don’t we have officials who receive salutes from the military, the police, etc in mufti? Has it occurred to Senate that the custom’s boss is a retired army officer? Why is Senate leaving the substance to chase the shadow?

What is important to Nigerians is service delivery. Some Senators appear interested in humiliating people appointed by the present administration on the basis of their pedigree. What does the custom’s boss appearance in uniform mean to Nigerians?

There have been reports of great improvement in the performance of customs at the borders since Hammed Ali took over. Startling discoveries have been made. Dangerous goods like weapons which should not be allowed into the country have been seized on many occasions. Is Senate not pleased with these achievements?

Senate’s order to the custom’s boss for the stoppage of the collection of duties on old vehicles stands logic on its head. Is Senate not interested in boosting income at the nation’s borders? This order seems strange coming at a time when government needs every kobo it can generate for effective running of the country. How many people are bringing new cars into the country? This is a tall order. It must be rescinded.

The order is also suspicious because somebody somewhere may have vested interest in bringing old vehicles into the country and he wants to bring them in gratis! The Nigerian Senate should not allow itself to be used for undermining the nation’s economy. This will be most unpatriotic.    

Is Senate envious of the rising profile of the custom’s boss? Or is it a manifestation of the well-known pull him down syndrome (Ph.D)? Nigerians should note where Senate is coming from. There has been no love lost between Senate and the executive arm of government since the commencement of the war against corruption particularly since top echelons of the National Assembly were involved.

MURIC advises Senate to desist from frustrating the executive arm and its operatives. It amounts to arm-twisting. Nobody should test the will of the Nigerian people. They know what is going on. Senate’s bashing of men of integrity appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari for the purpose of intimidating them and rubbishing the executive arm of government should stop forthwith. Senate should not join corruption in its avowed fight-back.

As we round up, we advise Senate to create harmony between the NASS and the executive for the smooth running of government, economic progress and political stability. It is better to address the tangential than to focus on the peripheral. It will not get us anywhere. Nigerians are interested in performance and not whether the custom’s boss wears any uniform.

Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

MURIC CALLS FOR PRESIDENTIAL PARDON FOR 54 SOLDIERS

9^th March, 2017

PRESS RELEASE:

MURIC CALLS FOR PRESIDENTIAL PARDON FOR 54 SOLDIERS

As five hundred dismissed soldiers plead with the Nigerian Army to “tamper justice with mercy”, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) is reiterating its appeal for presidential pardon for the 54 soldiers who are currently serving a ten-year jail sentence for requesting for proper armament before advancing on Boko Haram insurgents.       

They had earlier advanced with their battalion on 9^th July, 2014 under Lt. Col K. C. Uwa to recapture Damboa but they were ambushed and they lost 23 men and four officers due to inadequate equipment. Without fresh arms and without a single armoured tank, they were again asked to advance on Damboa,Deluwa and Bullabilin.

This made them request for more equipments from their commander, Lt. Col. Oporum. For daring to demand arms before engaging a better equipped enemy, they were rounded up. Their death sentence which was pronounced on 17^th December, 2014 was commuted to ten years imprisonment each by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Major General Tukur Yusuf Buratai in December 2015.

MURIC has since been pleading with President Muhammadu Buhari to grant presidential pardon to the 54 soldiers. We have issued six different press statements since their predicament began (7^th December, 2015, 21^st December 2015, 5^th January, 2016, 5^th June 2016 , 21^st October, 2016 and 11^th December 2016). This statement is the seventh.

The COAS has played his own part by commuting their death sentence to imprisonment and we believe that it is now the turn of President Buhari as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to exercise the prerogative of mercy by granting the 54 soldiers presidential pardon.

It hurts severely to be made to suffer for so long for exposing large scale corruption in the army. We remind Mr. President that it was this case which actually revealed the massive graft involving arms fund meant for soldiers fighting Boko Haram. It is therefore paradoxical that the 54 soldiers are undergoing punishment for exposing corruption in the army.

Equally ironical is the fact that the 54 soldiers who acted as whistle-blowers in the arms fund case are rotting in jail at a time the Federal Government promised reward for whistle-blowers in corruption cases. It is a sad twist of fate and it may serve as a source of deterrent for prospective whistle-blowers if their case is not urgently revisited.

Mr. President sir, remember that Allah will ask you how you conduct the affairs of citizens under your care. He (Allah) said in the Glorious Qur’an, “We shall ask those to whom our messages were delivered and We shall also ask those who were sent to deliver them” (Qur’an 7:6).

Finally, MURIC appeals to all ex-heads of state, serving governors, the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Chief Commissioner of the Public Complaints Commission, Mr. Emmanuel Ogbole and civil society groups to show interest in the plight of the 54 soldiers.

Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

MURIC HAILS GOV NGGILARI’S JAIL SENTENCE

7^th March, 2017

PRESS RELEASE:

MURIC HAILS GOV NGGILARI’S JAIL SENTENCE

The former governor of Adamawa State, Bala Nggilari, was yesterday sentenced to a five-year jail term by the Adamawa High Court, Yola, for corruption.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) hails this judgement. We commend Justice Nathan Musa for his boldness in handing down the judgement despite the ex-governor’s high profile. By the same token, we salute men of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for its commitment to the fight against corruption.

This judgement is a game changer. It is a yellow card for fraudulent governors who believe that state government houses are meant for personal aggrandizement. Now they know it is no longer business as usual.

The sentence handed down to the ex-governor will reassure ordinary Nigerians that justice is no longer for sale and that Nigerian prisons are no longer meant for the poor alone.

MURIC certifies that this is an indubitable evidence of change in the Nigerian legal system. We recall that the Buhari administration anchored its campaign during the 2015 presidential election on ‘change’. This judgement shows that the campaign promise is being fulfilled. The change mantra is on course.  

Nigerians are used to hearing of governors stealing their states dry without anyone challenging them. For the first time in the history of this great country, a governor has not only been prosecuted for corrupt practices, he has also been jailed. Gone are the days of stealing with impunity and the fear of Buhari is now the beginning of wisdom.

As we round up, we jog the consciences of all sitting governors and other public officials around the country. The handwriting is on the wall. They should take a cue from Nggilari. Those eyeing public offices for the purpose of enriching themselves should also watch out. We charge Nigerians to take charge of their own destiny. They should not allow yam thieves to deceive them. It is only looters who wish Buhari dead and spread negative propaganda about the current war against corruption.

Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

BUHARI’S HEALTH: THE CHOICE BEFORE NIGERIANS

6^th March, 2017

PRESS RELEASE:

BUHARI’S HEALTH: THE CHOICE BEFORE NIGERIANS

The continued absence of Nigeria’s No. 1 citizen, President Muhammadu Buhari, is causing apprehension in the country. It has also given room for speculations about the condition of his heath.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) rejects the Federal Government’s grandstanding on the issue. We equally denounce the diabolical speculations and death wishes flying around the length and breadth of the country. It is all much ado about nothing. It is an act of bad faith.

We refuse to accept the Federal Government’s (FG) claim that the president is hale and hearty. That sounds more like tales by moonlight. Neither shall we give credit to advocatus diaboli who wish him dead or enemies of peace who claim that Buhari had died.

As for those who assume that the president was poisoned, they are simply playing a game of chance. We will not jump to conclusions until we see palpable proof. To what end is the whole furore anyway? What is the big deal if a president is sick? Haven’t presidents of other countries been sick before? Are presidents not human beings? We can cite examples from the world’s biggest democracy.

US presidents have been sick while in office. Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) suffered a severe stroke that left him incapacitated throughout his presidency. Yet He remained in office till the end of his term in 1921. Diagnosed with polio in 1921 at the age of 39, Franklin D Roosevelt (1933-1945) still served for twelve good years though he could not stand or walk without support.  Using a wheelchair in private, he never disclosed the full extent of his health condition.

Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961) suffered heart attack in 1955 as a result of which he was hospitalized for several weeks. He also did a surgery some months later to treat Crohn’s disease and in late 1957 suffered another stroke that made him temporarily unable to speak. Yet he went ahead to win a second term after that.

John F Kennedy (1961 - 1963) had a chronic bone disease and was hospitalized nine times in his short two and a half year presidency but this was never revealed to the American public. George Bush (1989 – 1993) vomited and then fainted in front of cameras in 1992 while on a visit in Japan and heaven did not fall in America.

Now if about five of American presidents have been sick in office, what is wrong if Nigeria’s current president is also sick? Is he made of iron? We are also tempted to ask, if Buhari dies, will it be the first time that a president will die? Yaradua died here in Nigeria. Murtala Muhammad died. Tafawa Balewa died.

Eight American presidents have died in office. Four died of natural causes:  William Henry Harrison (1841), Zachary Taylor (1850), Warren Harding (1923) and Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1945). Four others were assassinated: Abraham Lincoln (1865), James A. Garfield (1881), William McKinley (1901) and John F. Kennedy (1963).

The truth is that if Buhari dies today, his name will be written in letters of gold. It is the death of a hero primus inter pareil and the death of a reformer nulli secundus. Buhari is a dogged corruption fighter who came to rescue Nigerians from yam thieves. If he dies today he will leave an indellible record, an achievement difficult to match by his successor and a standard that is bound to create a yawning lacuna.

 

As for the fear that his death may lead to ethnic or religious war and over which some religious leaders are allegedly inciting their followership, I think it is due to wrong perception. Some people ask curious questions. They want to know why is it that only Muslim presidents die while in office: Tafawa Balewa (15^th January,1966), Muritala Muhammad (13^th February, 1976) , General Sani Abacha (9^th June, 1998) and Umaru Yaradua (5^th May, 2010).

But there is a historical inexactitude in this thinking because it has left out one Christian leader, General Aguiyi Ironsi, who died while in office on 29^th July, 1966. So it is not only Muslim leaders who have died while in office. 

We also do not want to join issues with authors of conspiracy theories, particularly those who assume that Buhari had been poisoned. It is sheer guess work and I think we should leave that to the security agencies and medical experts handling Buhari’s medical tests. Those who did death-wish advertorials during the 2015 electioneering campaigns may also have questions to answer concerning the conspiracy theory. They may want to explain to Nigerians how much walk they gave their talk.

What should Nigerians do in the present circumstance? Nigerians need to relax on this whole issue. We also need to widen our horizon of knowledge. We need to know that what is happening to Buhari now has happened to many leaders in other countries before and it did not lead to any crisis. Buhari handed over properly and constitutionally before leaving the country and the Acting president is doing well. So there is no cause for alarm. Unless there is malice, the National Assembly has no choice but to key into the arrangement. 

Nigerians also need to show sympathy and understanding as their president battles with a poor health condition. They should not allow people whose hearts are filled with hate to brainwash and indoctrinate them.

For the avoidance of doubts, we declare that MURIC stands with Buhari not because he is a Muslim. Abacha was a Muslim yet we rose in rebellion against him for the actualization of June 12. Babangida is a Muslim but we mobilized activists against him to debilitate military dictatorship. Obasanjo is a Christian yet we supported his war against corruption. The records are there for all to see.

By extension, we are today supporting the Osinbajo presidency even though he is not a Muslim as long as he keeps up the pressure on looters and remains incorruptible like his boss. The issue should be good governance, not religion, not ethnicity.

MURIC stands with Buhari because he is rescuing poor Nigerians from the claws of a tiny cabal which has unjustly enriched itself from the sweat of the poor masses. This is the same tiny cabal which sentenced Nigerians to an epileptic power supply, sudden and painful deaths due to bad roads and poor public heath system, all occasioned by reckless corruption.

The same cabal subjected millions of Nigerians to a life of ignorance and illiteracy due to corruption-driven neglect of the education sector. Millions of Nigerians are starving today because the same cabal has arrogated our common wealth to itself. So why should any sensible Nigerian join this heartless class of people when the only man who had the liver to challenge them has a health problem?

To round up, we regard those who are comparing Osinbajo’s performance to that of Buhari as sheer idle gossipers and professional rumour mongers. Buhari knew the stuff Osinbajo was made of and that was why he picked him as his running mate in the first place. The presidency is a joint ticket and we wonder why anybody should be interested in disparaging and unreasonable comparisons. In any case, could there have been an Osinbajo without a Buhari?

Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)