21st
March, 2022
PRESS RELEASE:
REDEEMED CHURCH SIMPLIFIED
OUR S/W AGENDA – MURIC
The Muslim
Rights Concern (MURIC) has declared that the Redeemed Church has simplified its
South West agenda with its foray into politics. The group made the declaration
in a press release issued on Monday, 21st March, 2022. The statement
was signed by the group’s director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
The statement
reads :
“The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG)
recently created a Directorate For Politics and Governance ahead of the 2023
presidential election. (https://thenationonlineng.net/2023-rccg-sets-up-directorate-for-politics/)
Although the implication is not lost on
MURIC, we are amused by the needless furore generated by the group’s foray into
politics.
“Why should that
decision surprise anyone? Is there any Christian group that is not deep in
politics? Only the naïve will agree that the Christian Association of Nigeria
is not into politics. So, if CAN is in politics, how can the RCCG be outside
politics? They have all been there all the time. The only exception may be the
highly respected clergyman, Pastor Kumuyi of Deeper Life.
“The declaration of RCCG did not surprise
MURIC at all. We knew they had been working on it all along. Neither does MURIC
need to engage RCCG in a race for political awareness and relevance. Political
consciousness is in MURIC’s Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid (DNA).
“This explains
why our statements are often pregnant with political permutations. It was for
this reason MURIC fought against the military junta. We rallied support for the
actualisation of MKO Abiola’s June 12 mandate for the same reason. We are
always on the lookout for good Muslim materials for politics: experience,
followership, spread, etc.
“It explains why
we stood solidly behind President Muhammadu Buhari. We refused to look for his
faults because even wailing wailers refuse to see anything good in all he has
done. So why should it be MURIC that will join his blind critics? This is called
strategic political alignment.
“It will be recalled that MURIC made no
secret of its agenda for the South West. We made a clear demand for a Yoruba
Muslim presidential candidate from all parties that zone their candidates to
the South West and we gave good reason for that.
“South West
Muslims are sick and tired of Yoruba Christians heading this country because
they always use that position to further terrorise, traumatise, oppress and pauperise
Yoruba Muslims. Any Christian president or vice president can come from the
East or Middle Belt. We don’t mind. Even former President Goodluck Jonathan is welcome
back as far as MURIC is concerned.
“RCCG disappointed us anyway. We expected a
group with such a big name to be more careful, more strategic. Why go to town
with the loud music? RCCG has been too clever by half. It has even helped MURIC
to cross a big hurdle. This is because some Muslims who had earlier been
reluctant to buy our ‘Yoruba Muslim President’ idea grew wiser the moment RCCG
made its unguarded declaration. In fact, RCCG just simplified MURIC’s South
West agenda for us.
“We are not
losing any sleep over RCCG’s establishment of its political directorate. It has
only helped to wake up a sleeping giant. It has pinched Nigerian Muslims who
have numerical strength but has never used it to its advantage, except in
Kaduna where Governor Nasir El-Rufai, the fox of Northern politics, taught
Southern Kaduna a big lesson in how humility can humble self-righteousness.
“RCCG needed to have borrowed a leaf from
Southern Kaduna before making its boastful declaration. The group has just
ignited Muslim passion for politics particularly as regards using Muslims’ numerical
strength to good advantage. Every Muslim is now aware that a vote for any
candidate who is a member of the Redeemed Church is a vote for the Redeemed
Church.
“MURIC since its
establishment in 1994 has always encouraged Muslims to go into politics. Although
most Muslims disagreed at the time and social critics called us names, we stood
our ground.
“Today we are vindicated. We warned long ago that
Muslims who avoid politics will be governed by non-Muslims who love politics
but hate the Muslims. They will be governed by non-Muslims who will rob Muslims
of their civic liberties. They will be governed by non-Muslims who will deprive
Muslims of all means of economic survival. They will be governed by non-Muslims
who will humiliate Muslims, dehumanise Muslims, harass their mothers and their
wives and snatch the hijab from their daughters’ heads.
“RCCG just fell
into MURIC’s trap without us lifting a finger. The group has done our assignment
for us. Muslims in the South West who used to say we are one with Yoruba
Christians are now singing a different song. RCCG has helped us to change their
orientation.
“Like the old
school American artiste, the song on the lips of every Yoruba Muslim now is, ‘I
can see clearly now the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone
are the dark clouds that kept me blind. It’s going bright, bright, sunshining
day…’
“For the
avoidance of all doubts, MURIC remains committed to its South West agenda of a
Yoruba Muslim president. We started the campaign for this with a press release
in February 2021 long before any religious group commented on 2023 candidates
and we have issued more than six statements since then. We are consistent and
we are committed to this goal.
“Incidentally no member of the RCCG who is a
candidate today fits into that shoe. We therefore advise Yoruba Christians who
are still in the safety of the RCCG camp to remain where they are without
exposing their weaknesses. We assert clearly, unequivocally and emphatically
that Yoruba Muslims will not vote for them, neither will Northern Muslims. It
is much ado about nothing.
“The wind has
blown. We have seen the ruff of the hen. That RCCG declaration was a gross misadventure
in political strategy. It changed the mindset of Muslims who have now realised
that an RCCG president for Nigeria is an existential threat to Nigerian
Muslims.”
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC).
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