STOP IMPOSING KUKAH ON US - MURIC

 

19^th January, 2021

                

PRESS RELEASE:

STOP IMPOSING KUKAH ON US - MURIC

      

It appears the dust is yet to settle on the Kukah controversy as the Nigerian Islamic human rights body, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called on the Federal Government (FG) and the National Peace Committee (NPC) to desist from imposing Bishop Mathew Hasan Kukah on Nigerian Muslims. MURIC reminded Muslims that they have the right to boycott any committee or event in which the controversial bishop is involved. 

 

MURIC stated this in its latest press release of Tuesday, 19^th January, 2020 The release was signed by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.

 

 

“We have watched in utter consternation in the past four weeks as some groups added fuel to the flame in the Kukah controversy. In particular, the Nigerian Catholic Mission and Northern Christian groups have arrogantly endorsed Bishop Kukah’s incinerating Christmas statement instead of dousing tension. Neither has the National Peace Committee (NPC) helped matters with its silence.

 

 

“Kukah himself added salt to injury by telling us that he did not know how or where he insulted Muslims. It means he is not ready to show remorse. Kukah will not recognise the dignity of his Muslim neighbor. He still believes that Muslims are there for him to push around and lampoon like school children.  

 

 

“Meanwhile several Islamic organisations including the Jamaatu Nasr il-Islam (JNI), the Nigerian Islamic Center, Zaria and the Sokoto Muslim Solidarity Forum have demanded Kukah’s resignation from that committee. It must be a huge joke if the Federal Government or the NPC think this matter can be swept under the carpet or that it would soon be overtaken by events.

 

 

“We insist that this is not one of such issues that will just melt away like ice cream under the burning desert sun. Successive Nigerian governments have created a larger than life image for Bishop Kukah by giving him lofty positions particularly in federal commissions and committees without any objection from Muslims. But Kukah failed to appreciate the grace of Nigerians particularly that of Muslims who have always endorsed such appointments.

 

 

“Unfortunately instead of a proper appraisal the bishop used every opportunity of his public profile to pour invectives on Muslims. The latter continued to tolerate him until his cup of ingratitude overflowed and spilled.

 

 

“You can force a horse to the river but you cannot force it to drink there. Mediation is a tripartite obligation. The two warring parties must be willing to come to the table. Both of them must also accept the mediator. A situation where one party has no confidence in the mediator necessitates bringing in a more credible person to mediate.

 

 

“Nigerian Muslims have told the National Peace Committee (NPC) that Bishop Kukah is no longer acceptable to them as Secretary and member of that Committee but surprisingly there is dead silence on the part of the NPC. Is that how to work for peace?

 

 

“NPC must scout around for a credible person to replace Kukah. We mean a non-controvertial personality, not a politician and not necessarily a religious leader. NPC may also want to go further if it so desires by coopting other middle-roaders and patriotic citizens.

 

 

“In case the NPC fails to act, Nigerian Muslims are hereby reminded that it is their Allah-given fundamental human right to boycott (or stage a walkout from) any event in which Bishop Mathew Hasan Kukah is involved either as the chairman, secretary, member, guest or speaker.

 

 

“It was Edmund Burke who said, ‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing’ and Abraham Lincoln complemented him by adding, ‘To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men’. Muslims must liberate themselves from Kukah’s grip if the NPC and FG refuse to tame this shrewd.”

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

MURIC CONDOLES SULTAN ON BROTHER’S DEATH

 

17^th January, 2021

                

PRESS RELEASE:

MURIC CONDOLES SULTAN ON BROTHER’S DEATH

      

Sokoto lost an industrious son yesterday as the state’s Commissioner for Home Affairs, Abdulkadir Jeli Abubakar III, died after a protracted illness. The deceased was a junior brother to the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar.

 

 

Meanwhile a faith-based human rights organization, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has commiserated with the Sultan on the loss of his brother. In a press release signed by the director of the organization, Professor Ishaq Akintola, MURIC described the commissioner’s death as sunset at dawn.

 

“We are deeply saddened by the death of our leader’s junior brother, Alhaji Abdulkadir Jeli Abubakar III, the commissioner for Home Affairs in Sokoto State. Though it is sunset at dawn, we take solace in the inevitability of death as a major philosophy in Islam. We condole His Eminence the Sultan and President General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA). Our thoughts are with him at this moment. Nigerian Muslims are in mourning mood.

 

 

“We share the pain of this huge loss with the entire members of the Abubakar family and the Sultanate. We also commiserate with the state governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, members of the state cabinet who were colleagues of the deceased and the good people of Sokoto State who will definitely miss him.

 

 

“May Almighty Allah overlook his trespasses, shower His divine mercy on him and count him among the inhabitants of Al-Jannah firdaus in the Hereafter. May Allah also give the family the fortitude to bear the loss.”

 

 

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

 

DON’T INTIMIDATE OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS: MURIC TELLS AMOTEKUN

 

14^th January, 2021

                

PRESS RELEASE:

DON’T INTIMIDATE OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS:

MURIC TELLS AMOTEKUN

      

The Nigerian Islamic human rights organization, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has accused the South West regional security outfit, Amotekun of intimidating other ethnic groups. MURIC accused the security organization of profiling and intimidating Northerners traveling down south. The group also claimed that Amotekun is engaging in extra-judicial killings of Yoruba people.

 

 

This was contained in a press statement issued by the director of the organization, Professor Ishaq Akintola, on Thursday, 14^th January, 2021.

 

 

“Reports reaching us indicate that the South West regional security outfit, Amotekun, has been engaging in extra-judicial killings. Among those killed without proper recourse to law were Akolade Gbadebo, a 400 level student of the University of Ibadan, who was killed on 26^th December, 2020. Seven Fulanis were also reported killed at Ayete in Ibarapa North Local Government area of Oyo State on Monday, 11^th January, 2021.

 

 

“We also have reports that vehicles coming from or going to the North are being stopped by members of the Amotekun corps. They order Hausa-Fulanis to disembark, search them and almost strip them naked.

 

 

“MURIC strongly condemns this act of stereotyping of a particular ethnic group. It is not only provocative and counter-productive, but also illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional. It may provoke angry reactions against Yoruba people who also travel to the North as well as those who are currently residing there. Amotekun should not put Yorubas in other places at risk.

 

 

“The intimidation of Northern travelers violates the spirit and letter of Section 41 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which says inter alia, ‘Every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof…’ The profiling of Northerners at Amotekun roadblocks therefore encroaches upon freedom of movement.

 

 

“It should also be noted that the dehumanization of people of other ethnic groups by Amotekun is a denial of the right to the dignity of the human person which is entrenched in Section 34 (b) & (c) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended (2011) which says, ‘Every individual is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person, and accordingly…(b) no person shall be held in slavery or servitude and (c) no person shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour.’

 

 

“The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Article 4, Clause 1 & 2 also says, ‘Human beings are inviolable. Every human being shall be entitled to respect for his life and the integrity of his person.’

 

 

“We believe that Amotekun can be useful in stemming the tide of insecurity in the South West without targeting any particular ethnic group. We remind Amotekun leaders that any threat to the lives and livelihood of other ethnic groups in the South West is an invitation to threat to the lives and livelihood of Yoruba residents and travelers in the North. We therefore call on governors in the region to call Amotekun to order.

 

 

“For the avoidance of doubts, we are not opposed to security measures being taken by state governments in the South West but those charged with the task must be properly trained. Professionalism will make Amotekun more effective. Amotekun should therefore deal with all criminals, whether they are Yoruba, Hausa-Fulani or Igbo without considering their tribes.”

 

 

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

 

PLACE TRAVEL BAN ON TRUMP, CRONIES - MURIC

 

11^th January, 2021

                

PRESS RELEASE:

PLACE TRAVEL BAN ON TRUMP, CRONIES - MURIC

      

The Federal Government (FG) of Nigeria has been urged to place a travel ban on Donald Trump, the outgoing president of the United States of America. Also to be sanctioned with him are his key allies for their ignoble roles in the US 2020 presidential elections particularly the storming of the Capitol.

 

 

This advice was given in a press statement issued by an Islamic human rights organization, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), on Monday, 11^th January, 2021. The press release was signed by the group’s director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.

 

The group said:

 

“We strongly denounce the role played by President Donald Trump in the last US general elections. Trump’s refusal to acknowledge defeat shows acute desertification of the spirit of sportsmanship. His insistence on electoral fraud despite several court declarations to the contrary is a manifestation of selfishness, overambition and inordinate lust for power. Above all, his incitement which led to the storming of the Capitol is despicable, repulsive and preposterous. Trump has stained America’s reputation as a great democracy.

 

 

“MURIC calls on the Federal Government (FG) to speak up on the American debacle. America’s condemnation of African and other third world countries has been deafening enough to attract a tornado of backlashes at this moment. We are not happy that FG has remained silent. China, Turkey and Iran have spoken up. The voice of Africa must also be heard and the continent is looking unto Nigeria to lead the way.

 

“We must tell America to its face that tyranny is colour blind and dictators can emerge from the least expected places on earth. There is no country which is occupied by angels only, least of all America. We call on FG to place travel ban on outgoing President Donald Trump and his key allies. It is hoped that other African countries will key into the idea. It just has to be on record that once upon a time, America produced a tyrant, a bully and an insurrectionist.

 

 

“The American tragedy has exposed the weakness in all man-made political and economic theories. Trumpism is the Archile’s heel of Western democracy just as perestroika and glastnost spelled doom for communism. In the same vein, socialism isnot different from a fake drug administered by a quack doctor.

 

 

“The only enduring system is the one made by Allah, the Supreme Creator, who knows the nature of man and how best he should be governed. This is why Islamic political thought posits at-taohiid, al-khilafah, ash-shurah and al-akhirah. At-Taohiid is the principle of oneness of all existence: all are a miniature representation of a whole and a microcosm in a macro, which is Islam, a complete way of life.

 

 

“Al-khilafah affirms the representative nature of man. The leader holds his position in lieu of the divine physical presence. He is a shadow of Allah on earth. Just as the shadow cannot afford to live in isolation of its substance, a leader must always be conscious of Allah.

 

 

“Ash-shurah is consultation with the people. It is a reflection of Islamic democracy. But whereas Western democracy (government of the people, by the people, for the people) lays emphasis on people only, the focus of Shurah is Allah, the Creator of the people. Islamic democracy is therefore government of Allah, by the people created by Allah, for Allah’s own creatures. The leader in Islam must relate both vertically (with Allah) and horizontally (with the people). Whereas the leader only relates horizontally with the people in Western democracy, he interfaces both vertically and horizontally in Islamic political thought.

 

 

“The concept of al-akhirah evokes the fear of Allah in the heart of politicians as they weigh the consequences of their actions on the Last Day before taking them. Al-akhirah is about leaders being held accountable on the Day of Judgement. This is what is lacking in Western democracy, including communism and socialism. This is why Donald Trump made a mess of the American written constitution which is based on George Washington’s Boston Tea Party, and Mikhail Gorbachev swept the rug off the feet of Lenin, man of steel and Stalin in a single sweep.”

 

 

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

 

 

774,000 JOBS: MURIC DEMANDS TRANSPARENCY

 

9^th January, 2021

                    

PRESS RELEASE:

774,000 JOBS: MURIC DEMANDS TRANSPARENCY

      

The Federal Government (FG) flagged off one of its job creation projects for the employment of 774,000 Nigerians in all the 774 local governments in the country on Wednesday, 6^th January, 2021. Already, Delta State has received the sum of N1.59 billion for beneficiaries in the state.

 

 

Meanwhile the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has demanded transparency in the implementation of the project. The human rights group spoke through its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, on Saturday, 9^th January, 2021 via a statement circulated to pressmen.

 

 

“We warmly welcome the flagging off of the pilot Special Public Works Programme which is domiciled in the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) for implementation. We have no doubt that the project will pull out thousands of Nigerian youths from the streets and reduce crime.

 

 

“MURIC commends the Federal Government (FG) for resuscitating this age-long initiative of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). We see the project as one of the effective means of redistributing wealth and eliminating poverty in the country. The gigantic pilot project is expected to cost N46.44 billion or N52 billion when the costs of administration and logistics are added. Already, Delta State has reportedly received the sum of N1.59 billion for the scheme.

 

 

“However, we wish to warn against the hijack of the project by greedy officials, political shenanigans and religious demagogues who may be tempted to arrogate large percentage of the job slots to their cronies, court-jesters and boot-lickers. We demand absolute transparency, fairness and balanced representation.

 

 

“NDE must exhibit zero tolerance for the ghost worker phenomenon. The agency in charge must therefore ensure that accuracy in quoted figures and physical presence of those recruited for the job. Names of those employed and paid must be displayed in local government headquarters on a monthly basis.

 

 

In view of the fact that transparency necessitates accountability, we call on the anti-corruption agencies in the country to set up adequate machinery for the purpose of monitoring the exercise. Those found wanting must be held accountable.

 

 

“In particular, no religious group should be allowed to dominate the operation at the expense of another. In this regard, we warn those who are usually inclined to shortchange others in the sharing of our common patrimony to keep off as we will not hesitate to expose any attempt to play hanky panky in any local government.”

 

 

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