21st August,
2020
PRESS RELEASE:
REMOVAL OF EL-RUFAI: NBA MISFIRED - MURIC
The Nigerian Bar
Association (NBA) yesterday removed the name of El-Rufai from the list of
speakers at its 2020 Virtual Annual General Conference (AGC) which is scheduled
for 26th to 29th August, 2020.
Reacting to this
development, an Islamic human rights organisation, the Muslim Rights Concern
(MURIC), described NBA’s action as parochial, myopic and jejune. MURIC spoke on
Friday, 21st August, 2020 through its Director, Professor Ishaq
Akintola.
“NBA yesterday dropped
Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, the governor of Kaduna State from the list speakers at
its Virtual AGC which is billed to start on 26th August, 2020. It is
high level prejudice. NBA as a group of learned literati should know
better. It is parochial, myopic and jejune.
“The fact that NBA took the
ill-advised step on account of a petition written by a group, Open Bar
Initiative whose main fear is expressed as ‘One can be sure that he will also
use the given platform to advance his conflated narrative, designed to deceive
and confuse the nation on the real causes of the killings’ exposes NBA’s
impatience, intolerance and self-conceit.
“Is it not better to hear him
out than to lock him out? Is it not better to jaw-jaw than to war-war? The
departure of the ambassador, they say, is the beginning of war. By dropping
El-Rufai, NBA has declared war on the other side in the Southern Kaduna crisis.
By so doing, it lost a golden chance to be part of the solution to the conflict.
NBA has elected to be part of the problem.
“Was it not Jane Goodall who said, ‘Change
happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing
something you don’t believe is right’? Change cannot come through rejection and
exclusion.
“How justifiable is NBA’s
decision to exclude Governor El-Rufai from the virtual conference when people
like Chief Olusegun Obasanjo of Odi and Zaki Biam fame and Governor Nyesom Wike
are among the speakers? Who bulldozed the hotels of innocent people despite
court orders? Who visited unspeakable violence on political opponents? Should
NBA hobnob with people linked to genocide and undemocratic practices? So why
demonise El-Rufai where killers of innocent people and enemies of democracy are
idolised?
“MURIC calls on all lawyers
from the North to boycott NBA’s AGC in protest against this open declaration of
war on Northern Kaduna. Every little action of injustice must spark a reaction
if tyranny is to be stopped in the world. NBA has crossed the red line in human
relations and conflict management. No single lawyer from the North should
participate in the AGC either as a resource person or as a participant unless
NBA rescinds its decision to drop El-Rufai from the list of speakers. Injury to
one is injury to all.”
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
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