UI HIJAB BAN IS AN INVITATION TO CHAOS

13^th November, 2018      

PRESS RELEASE:

UI HIJAB BAN IS AN INVITATION TO CHAOS

   

The principal of the University of Ibadan International School (UIIS), Mrs. Phebean Olowe recently banned the use of hijab by female Muslim students of the school. The ban provoked Muslim parents who protested at the gates of the school yesterday, Monday 12^th November, 2018.

In its characteristic intervention, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) described the ban as an invitation to chaos and a threat to girl-child education. MURIC’s intervention was expressed in a press statement issued on Tuesday 13^th November, 2018.

According to MURIC, “Mrs. Phebean Olowe is a failure in administration. She is out of touch with reality. She has failed to properly read the barometer. She is reeling out draconian and anachronistic decrees reminiscent of colonial days. This principal is retarding the progress of UIIS. She can only be an agent of destabilization to have behaved this way. This is the 21^st century for crying out loud. Where does she think she is?

“We are surprised that at a time when the whole world is struggling to boost girl-child education and reduce the number of out-of-school children, a female school administrator of her status is issuing anti-girl-child education directives. It is such a shame. Britain and America are encouraging the wearing of hijab in their schools but here we find a school administrator constituting herself into a cog in the wheel of progress particularly in the area of girl-child education. Can this be attributed to lack of exposure? This principal is in dire need of a sabbatical leave outside Nigeria.

“She should have known that UIIS is an elitist academic environment where all the parents (Christians or Muslims) know their rights. Many of the Muslim parents are staff of the university. Why must she chew more than she can swallow? Why must she bring an alien, parochial and archaic agenda to an academic setting? This is obviously a failure in administration.

“A good administrator will consult parents before taking such a sensitive decision and there are a lot of opportunities for her to do that. Religion is a sensitive matter. She must have a hidden agenda otherwise she would not have made such an attempt in view of the proliferation of hijab stories in the news. No school administrator worth the salt will issue an anti-hijab instruction in view of recent events around the country unless such a principal is from Mars or Mercury”.

MURIC commended the parents who participated in the peaceful protest at the school gate. According to Professor Ishaq Akintola, the director of MURIC who signed the press statement, “Peaceful protest is an extention of dialogue where there are grievances to address. It is an Allah-given fundamental right of all citizens. Nobody has the right to take it from us.

“We hail the Muslim parents of UIIS for standing up in loco parentis. These parents have refused to abdicate their responsibilities. They have a duty to educate their children and to monitor their progress as prescribed in Qur’an 2:233. They have successfully done that. They also have a duty to protect their children from abuse, stigma and religious discrimination. They have proved that they are capable of doing that. We are proud of them.

“We are particularly happy with these parents for the peaceful manner in which they conducted their protest. They have proved beyond any iota of doubt that they are true ambassadors of Islam. The adherents of the religion of peace cannot afford to eschew the path of peace. We assure them of our full support. MURIC will keenly monitor the progress of this matter.

“We appeal to the management of the University of Ibadan (UI) to intervene in this matter. It should not be allowed to escalate. UI is a center of academic excellence. The authorities should not allow administrative shenanigans and educational charlatans to turn its International School into a center for religious apartheid. It is high time UIIS realized that Nigerian Muslims have come of age.  

“We call on the school principal to face reality. Nigeria belongs to all of us. We should learn to coexist. Muslims will no longer accept a situation whereby everything is designed to suit Christians and Muslims are left to choose between accepting the Christian way of life or abandoning education. The Nigerian school uniform was designed by Christian colonial masters. It is therefore a manifestation of neo-imperialism cum totalitarian dictatorship to force Muslim children to wear Christian uniforms. It smacks of lack of religious tolerance. Mrs. Phebean Olowe should resign if she cannot tolerate the sight of female Muslim children in hijab because she is going to be seeing quite a lot of them these days.

“Finally, we appeal to Muslims in the city of Ibadan and Oyo State in particular as well as all over Nigeria to remain calm and law abiding. We should give the UI management the benefit of doubt and the opportunity to wade into the matter. However, all Muslim parents are advised to remain alert because eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. Aluta continua because it is not yet Uhuru”.

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

MURIC FLAYS GOV LALONG FOR BEGGING THE ARMY

12^th November, 2018      

PRESS RELEASE:

MURIC FLAYS GOV LALONG FOR BEGGING THE ARMY   

The governor of Plateau State, Simon Bako Lalong last week Monday, 7^th November, 2018, led a delegation of people to Army Headquarters, Abuja, to beg the Nigerian Army not to avenge the gruesome murder of the former Army Chief of Administration, General Muhammad Idris Alkali (rtd) allegedly by some Berom elements.

Sequel to this development, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has decried both the visit and the appeal made to the army, describing it as hypocritical. This was contained in a press statement issued by the human rights organization on Monday, 12^th November, 2018. The statement was signed by its director and founder, Professor Ishaq Akintola.

“While we affirm that Lalong’s visit and his appeal to the army is an admission of guilt, we contend that would have been meaningful if he had also visited the Fulani community and the Muslim leaders in his state to express the same sentiment. He left those poor, weak and oppressed people back home in Jos to beg the army hundreds of kilometers away in Abuja. What kind of leader is this?

“It is hypocrisy of the highest order. Just like the Berom women who tried in vain to deceive the world by protesting at the Dura Du pond, Lalong too is acting.

“Mr. Governor sir, under your watch, a whole general was hacked to death. Under your watch, a whole general was humiliated, probably tortured, dehumanized, killed, buried in a shallow grave and exhumed again.

“Under your watch, the dead general’s body was stuffed in a sack laden with stones and dumped in a narrow deep well to keep him below forever so the crime would never be uncovered. Why are you the chief security officer of the state?

“Under your watch, no single Fulani or Muslim traveler from any part of the country is allowed to pass through your roads alive. They are, profiled, identified, dragged out, brutally killed and dumped in ponds of death. And this continued for years! Your apology is empty. It is devoid of humanity. You are simply acting.This matter is beyond the Alkali affair. It is beyond the army. You cannot trivialize genocide against Fulanis and religious cleansing against Nigerian Muslims just by pretending to apologise to the army. General Alkali is not the only human being among the Fulanis. All Fulanis are complete human beings with red blood flowing in their veins.

“Your Excellency, where were you when about 500 Berom women were staging the hocus pocus they called a protest against soldiers attempting to evacuate Dura Du pond in their search for the late general? Where were you when the Nigerian press was being mobilized to smear the good reputation of the same Nigerian Army? We are surprised that the same women are now silent.

“Mrs Rebecca Gyang who led about 500 women in black clothes with some of them half-naked to protest against the draining of water from Dura Du old mining pond on the false excuse that its evacuation would cause calamity of mysterious deaths and other misfortunes for their communities is said to be the wife of Pam Gyang Dung, the Mai Unguwa of Latiya in Du. That is instructive.

“What happens when a traditional chieftain of a people instructs his wife to divert the attention of investigators of a heinous crime by leading such a protest? What should we expect when the state information unit mobilizes the press to give such a diabolical protest full coverage? Both the paramount ruler of Berom, Gbong Gwom Jos and an ex-governor of the state, Senator David Jonah Jang, are from Du District where the killings have been taking place. Neither of them has condemned the killing of General Alkali. Who is Lalong deceiving? This is another strong evidence of the whole community’s involvement in the killings.  

“What Lalong failed to realize is that this has gone beyond the killing of an army general. It is about a Fulani army general and thousands of Fulani men and women, including Muslims from all parts of the country who have been mowed down by blood-thirsty Berom killers. The truth is that genocide has been committed against Fulanis and Muslims. There is indubitable evidence of ethnic and religious cleansing. It is a heinous crime and no official state jamboree can extenuate that crime against humanity.   

“While governor Lalong is pretending to beg, his kinsmen are threatening fire and brimstone. They are grandstanding. What do we call the vituperations of Da Iliya Choji Kim, Vice President of Berom Educational and Cultural Organisation (BECO), against the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), the Jamaatu Nasril Islam (JNI) and MURIC? What do we call his attack on Professors Salisu Shehu and Ishaq Akintola.? Why is he personalising the crisis? What did Lalong say about the safety of Fulanis and Muslims who ply that axis in future? Nothing was mentioned about guarantee for their safety. Beroms have not shown any remorse.

“Lalong got it wrong. The process of forgiveness necessitates admission of guilt, showing remorse, a readiness to ensure redress and an undertaking not to repeat the offence again. None of these has taken place. Lalong’s visit is therefore a cowardly act. He and his kith and kin can bully the poor and weak Fulanis and Muslims in his domain, but they lack the balls to face the consequences of their actions.

“If the pretentious demonstration of half-naked Berom women could not distract the army from evacuating Dura Du pond in search of their missing general, Lalong’s crocodile tears in army headquarters cannot deceive them. This is a well-trained and highly disciplined formation.  

“The atrocity has been going on for about 17 (seventeen) years, at least since 2001. Crime has the propensity to hide its prolification. It is only criminologists who know that for every single crime uncovered, there must have been more than a dozen others which went undetected. The fact that other vehicles were found under the pond with that of the general lends credence to this point. The late General Alkali must be recognized as a martyr. He laid down his life in order to expose the crimes committed by the Beroms against his people, the Fulanis and Nigerian Muslims.   

“For instance, the truth about the disappearance of Alhaji Lawal Isa, a Fulani land agent, who went missing in Du District in 2013, would never have been known but for the Alkali affair. Alhaji Lawal Isa was the owner of the Red Rover found in Du pond with Bauchi plate number AG 645 TRR. He was allegedly tricked by Da Chuwang, the Village Head of Du to visit the area on the pretense that they wanted to buy land from him. He and a friend who accompanied him on the trip were in Du on January 31, 2013. It is noteworthy that the discoveries were made in only one pond (Dura Du pond) and there are about 80 (eighty) others! Who knows how many dead bodies lie below them? It is nostalgic. We contend that thousands had been killed and dumped in the ponds even before 2013.

MURIC vowed to take the matter to international agencies if the Nigerian authorities fail to take necessary action. According to Akintola, “The International Criminal Court (ICC) may have to be brought into this matter of organized genocide, ethnic and religious cleansing against Fulanis and Muslims in the Middle Belt if justice is not obtainable locally. Joshua Dariye allegedly swore to make Plateau the headquarters of Christianity when he was governor and he made good his pledge. The alleged training of militia in Israel and the massive smuggling of arms and ammunition into Plateau State in the past ten years could not have been without the knowledge of Jonah Jang and Lalong.

“For an enduring settlement, Governor Lalong must swallow his pride. He must mobilize leaders of the Berom community, apologise to General Alkali’s family and meet Fulani leaders in the state in a free and sincere dialogue. A Plateau Truth Commission may not be out of place for a genuine and lasting solution to the ever recurring Plateau crisis. Lalong will be joking if he thinks he can get away with this heinous crime merely by apologizing to the army. Apology my foot! Fulanis and Muslims are human beings too.

Before we round off, we reiterate our condemnation of Governor Lalong’s hypocritical apology expressed to the army. We demand justice for the wanton, callous and ultra-criminal killing of General Alkali (rtd), thousands of Fulanis and other Nigerian Muslims. We call for the arrest, detention and prosecution of the sponsors of Berom killers. We assert that we will not hesitate to take this matter to the ICC if there is any attempt to limit the investigations to General Alkali’s murder alone or to sweep the whole issue under the carpet. This matter is beyond Alkali, beyond the military.

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

BEROM KILLERS: GO AFTER THE BIG SHOTS

7^th November, 2018 

PRESS RELEASE:

BEROM KILLERS: GO AFTER THE BIG SHOTS   

The Nigerian Police two days ago arraigned 19 suspects in court over the killing of General Idris Muhammed Alkali (rtd). All 19 men were remanded in prison.

However, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has questioned the line up in the list of 19 suspects. According to the human rights organization, all 19 suspects are ordinary Berom citizens.       

In a press statement issued on Wednesday and signed by its director and founder, Professor Ishaq Akintola, MURIC wondered if the 19 suspects were capable of commiting the crime alone.

“Those 19 men paraded on television are ordinary Berom citizens. They are just the fall guys. They are incapable of importing arms and ammunition from outside Nigeria. They lack the capacity to finance the recruitment of hitmen, store weapons, train the militia and distribute arms.

“The police must dig deeper. Where are the financiers? Where are the big guys? Where are their sponsors? What of their arms depot? There is need to identify the armourer and trace the supply line as well as the illegal training camps which of course are established with the official backing of their state governments.

The Plateau crisis festered because nobody was ever punished in spite of the regular killings and it will continue to defy solutions until the big guns behind the killings are dealt with the same way their errand boys are being treated now. There must be no sacred cows in this case.

“Equally didactic are several containers seized at the borders with the arms and ammunitions particularly during the present Buhari administration. The fact that such seizures began only after there was a change of leadership both in the Federal Government (FG) and customs suggests that the illegal smuggling of arms into the country has been going on for long with the tacit support of the immediate past government at the federal level.

“Or could all these have been possible without the active connivance of the immediate past administration at the federal level? What is very clear is that the state governments of Plateau, Benue and Taraba provided official cover for the criminals. It is interesting to note that illegal training camps have also been discovered in those states.

“MURIC is therefore dissatisfied with the prosecution of mere errand boys. The sponsors must be fished out otherwise the killings will continue. Fulanis and other Muslim travelers on that axis are now endangered species on whom Berom killers can pounce any moment.

“The task before the Federal Government (FG) and the security agencies is to find the sponsors, flood the highways which are usually blocked by the Berom killers with soldiers and make the roads safe for travellers. These are necessary steps in order to build trust in the Nigerian Muslim community. Fulanis and Muslims are the victims and they need FG’s assurance that government is prepared to provide security.

“By the way, what is the Directorate of State Services doing in Plateau State? The onus is on the leadership of the state chapter of the DSS to uncover the brains behind the killings. Hundreds of Muslims were massacred in 2001. Again in 2011, an equally large number was merciless killed, roasted and eaten up a la cannibals at the Id (Salah ground). No secret security outfit worth its salt can remain ignorant of the nitty-gritties of such massive killings under its watch. DSS should dust up its files and place its cards on the table. Nigerian Muslims are tired of hanky-pankies.

As our last shot, we demand the arrest and prosecution of the big shots behind the Berom killers. We charge the Plateau State chapter of the DSS to get cracking. We assert emphatically, unequivocally and categorically that there can be no enduring solution to the Plateau crisis until the sponsors of killers are apprehended. There must be no sacred cows.

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

NLC STRIKE: WEIGH OPTIONS BEFORE ACTION

4^th November, 2018 

PRESS RELEASE:

NLC STRIKE: WEIGH OPTIONS BEFORE ACTION   

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has threatened to go ahead with its planned strike billed to start on Tuesday 6^th November, 2018. This is in spite of a court order stopping NLC from embarking on a strike action. Although NLC is demanding N30,000 as minimum wage, the Federal Government (FG) has offered to pay workers N24,000 while state governments are offering N22,000.       

Meanwhile the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has appealed to NLC to weigh the options properly before commencing the strike.

In a statement released on Monday, 5^th November, 2018, MURIC cautioned against a strike action whose major victims will be the poor jamaaheer. According to the director of the organization, Professor Ishaq Akintola who signed the press statement, the same workers and innocent members of their families are most likely to suffer the devastating consequences of an all-out industrial action.

“NLC has directed workers to stock their homes with foodstuffs in preparation for a long strike. But can Nigerian workers sustain this? How much does an average Nigerian worker have in his bank account to enable him reserve food supplies at home? In the midst of pervasive poverty, we doubt much if the masses who have been asked by the NLC to stock foodstuffs at home will be able to afford it. The take-home pay of the average worker cannot take him home. So what is the quantity of foodstuffs he can afford to reserve at home in preparation for the strike?

“Besides, will a general strike not inform the evacuation of hundreds of sick Nigerians from hospital beds? Will it not lead to an increased number of deaths of citizens who do not have the money to access private health facilities? What will happen to accident victims during a strike?

“Socio-economic activities stand the risk of being paralysed. Banks will remain shut and even ATM machines may soon become dry. This strike may turn out to be an open invitation to hunger in the land.

“The impact on the oil sector is expected to be severe. Oil output is likely to be affected. Oil exports which hit 1.7 million barrels per day in October 2018 may come to a complete halt. It cannot be good news to stop oil exports at a time when the price of oil has risen and it is hovering between $76 and $80 after suffering a fall as low as $38 per barrel at the inception of this adminidtration. This is capable of wreaking havoc on the economy. The naira will depreciate further, forcing prices of goods to skyrocket while both imports and exports will be affected as the ports go to sleep.

“This is why we are appealing to NLC leadership to consider the implications of a general strike at this crucial time. By the way, is NLC certain that an irrational payrise resulting from a forced increase in wages will not provoke retrenchment of workers?

“The economy was most crudely battered for sixteen years of reckless looting between 1999 and 2015. This precipitated a recession which lasted almost one year under the present regime. The quick recovery from the recession was due to the prudent management of the economy by the Buhari administration and its blockage of leakages. A general strike just when the economy is starting to look good will do workers no good.

MURIC advised NLC leaders to focus on responsible leadership, patriotic intervention and citizen-oriented actions.

Akintola asked, “Where was NLC when the National Assembly (NASS) shut down the whole nation as it went on recess for weeks ad infinitum? Where were the leaders of labour when the budget was delayed for a whole seven months? Are they telling us that they do not know the implications of prolonged delay of budgets?

“The whole nation expected NLC to stand up when the NASS deducted humongous amounts of money from the budgets of critical sectors of the economy and added same to their own. Were NLC leaders on sabbatical at that time? Mambilla Power Plant, 2nd Niger Bridge/ancillary roads, East-West Road, Bonny-Bodo Road, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway & Itakpe-Ajaokuta Rail allocations were cut by an aggregate of N11.5 billion. The provision for construction of the Terminal Building at Enugu Airport was cut from N2billion to N500million. Wasn’t that outrageous? But does it mean nothing to NLC?

“Positive activism demands that NLC should show concern for the reckless and selfish actions of the 8^th NASS. The fact that the cuts from allocations to vital sectors of the economy were added to the budget of the NASS should have struck some vital cords in the anatomy of labour leadership and spurred it to action.

“We expect NLC to strike against legislative recklessness, not only against stomach infrastructure. A government that is providing infrastructure and bringing back the glorious days of rail transportation for Nigerian workers deserves NLC’s cooperation.

“N22.6 billion was released by FG to pay pensioners of the Nigerian Railway after they have been ignored for fifteen (15) years. A government that is paying pensions to retirees who have been ignored for years deserves NLC’s understanding. For crying out loud, those 8.5 million children who are benefiting from FG’s school-feeding programme are children of workers. FG has so far spent N49 billion on the project in two years. This is a government with a human face.

“We do not wish to be misunderstood. MURIC is on the side of Nigerian workers. We also believe that the present minimum wage of N18,000 is unrealistic. But NLC needs to time its action appropriately and put the blame where it really belongs. NLC should face the hawks in the NASS who illegally allocated N29 million monthly to themselves. NLC should lead workers and the rest of Nigerians to protest against parliamentary rascality and legislative impunity.

“In conclusion, we appeal to NLC to shelve its planned strike action and go back to the negotiation table in the interest of Nigerian workers. We call for proactive activism on the part of NLC. The Nigerian people expect the labour leaders to emancipate them from legislative tyranny. NLC’s focus should not be on the central and state governments alone. Neither should it always be about workers’ wages. We need action against greedy legislators.

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