18th September, 2024
PRESS RELEASE:
GUARD YOUR PUBLIC UTTERANCES MURIC TELLS FORMER HEAD OF STATE
(RTD)
Former military head of state, General AbdulSalami
Abubakar was quoted yesterday, Tuesday as saying that the hardship in Nigeria
is ‘getting out of control’. However, an Islamic human rights organization, the
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has told Abubakar to guard his utterances.
MURIC's reaction was contained in a statement
issued on Wednesday 18th September, 2024 by the Founder and Executive Director
of the group, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
The statement reads:
"Former military head of state, General
AbdulSalami Abubakar on Tuesday 17th September, 2024 allegedly said that the
hardship in Nigeria is getting out of control. He also added that people could
demonstrate peacefully (https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2024/09/17/abdulsalami-hardship-in-nigeria-is-getting-out-of-control/).
"We
are alarmed by the tone of this statement. It is an extreme language to say
things are getting ‘out of control’. We do not expect a former head of state to
use such strong words when describing the current situation in the
country.
"Of course we all know that things are hard
but to describe them as getting out of control is to expect people to also go
out of control. There is a milder way to put it and the retired general knows
it, having been trained in the use of diplomatic language before, at least
while in Aso Rock himself.
"Undiplomatic and unparliamentary languages
are capable of inflaming the populace. The retired general could have done
better. As a former head of state and an elder statesman, the retired general
has a duty to act in loco parentis. He is still one of our
fathers. He could have reminded his immediate audience (a delegation of
the Campaign for Democracy) of the global nature of the economic hardship which
Nigerians are facing.
"The former head of state also added during
his speech yesterday that people could demonstrate though he asked them to shun
violence. Coming from a leader who witnessed the last #EndBadGovernance
demonstrations a few weeks ago and the human and material losses it brought
upon the country, the least we can say is that we are disappointed.
"Every right-thinking Nigerian knows that
there is nothing like peaceful conduct in the vocabulary of Nigerian
demonstrators of this age. General AbdulSalami Abubakar (rtd) himself saw the
irrational behaviors exhibited by demonstrators during their last outing. How
could he have encouraged another of such outing so soon?
"His belated advice to government is
unnecessary because both the federal and state governments have been
implementing all of them even before he mentioned them. It is however sad that
he could come out publicly to condemn the sharing of palliatives which, in
actual fact, has saved the lives of many poor Nigerians.
"We advise the retired general to channel his
future admonitions to government directly to Aso Rock since he has access to
the seat of power as a much respected former head of state. He must also
endeavour as much as possible to remain neutral particularly in his position as
leader of the Nigerian Peace Committee.
“Nigerians still respect General Abubakar as the
only former military head of state who promised to hand over to civilians
within one year and kept his words. He did not allow the perquisites of office
to sway him. This is one of the reasons he still remains relevant in the
Nigerian political scene.
“MURIC
advises those who are planning to demonstrate on 1st October to
shelve the idea and adopt dialogue. They should consider several efforts being
made by the Federal Government to ameliorate the present economic hardship. Keeping
demonstrations peaceful in the Nigeria of today is either sheer wishful
thinking or a deliberate skullduggery to spread pandemonium. Demonstration is a
square peg, the end result is often a round hole.”
#AbdulSalamiAbubakar
#NoToDemonstration
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Founder/Executive Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC).
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