Sunday, January 16, 2011

VOTERS REGISTRATION: NIGERIAN MUSLIM WOMEN DENIED ACCESS

17th January, 2011


PRESS RELEASE:
VOTERS REGISTRATION: MUSLIM WOMEN DENIED ACCESS
The nation-wide voters’ registration exercise took off with a shaky start yesterday with reports of irregularities and logistic problems. The most disturbing development is the avalanche of reports flooding the office of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) about Muslim women who are being denied registration on the basis of their religious identity.

Muslim women in the South are being asked to remove their hijab (head-scarf) before they can take registration pictures. Those who refuse to do so are sent away without being registered. Those who compromise their religious identity by removing their hijab are the only ones allowed to register.
MURIC denounces this discriminatory practice in the strongest terms. It contradicts the spirit of democracy. We are not in Soweto. Southern Nigeria is fast becoming another apartheid South Africa for Muslims. Forcing Muslim women to remove their hijab before participating in registration or before engaging in any legitimate exercise constitutes an infringement on their Allah-given and fundamental human rights. It violates the letter and spirit of Section 38 (i) and (ii) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which guarantees freedom of religion, its practice and manifestation.
We alert the Federal Government and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of the satanic manipulations of agents of chaos. None but a fanatic will compel a Muslim woman to remove her hijab before registering as a bona fide Nigerian. We warn that millions of Muslim women are being disenfranchised through this illegal, unconstitutional and parochial method.
We suspect that this is a design to provoke Muslims into civil disobedience capable of aborting the registration exercise in this part of the country. If it is true that we are all one, if it is true that there is religious tolerance, if we all must coexist peacefully, why are Southern Muslims always marginalised and oppressed? It is this kind of hatred and intolerance which is responsible for the violence in Jos.
We charge INEC to quickly make a statement to clarify the situation before it degenerates into an unpalatable development. Muslims in the South have been subjected to similar embarrassments and dehumanisation in the past. They have bourne the brunt with great patience. This is going too far. Religious apartheid in Southern Nigeria must stop. Nigerians must be allowed to enjoy the dividends of democracy anywhere in the country. Democracy is a sham without equal right, equal access and equal participation.
MURIC appeals to Muslim youths to remain calm and alert while they await further directives. Dialogue is more civilised than violence: one builds, the other destroys. The reaction or inaction of the authorities will determine our next line of action.
Dr. Is-haq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
234-818-211-9714

Sunday, January 9, 2011

MURIC DENOUNCES POSTPONEMENT OF SCHOOLS' RESUMPTION

9th January, 2011



PRESS RELEASE:
POSTPONEMENT OF SCHOOL RESUMPTION:
PENNY WISE

The Federal Government on Friday announced the postponement of school resumption from holidays till February 4, 2011. The postponement affects all nursery, primary and secondary schools in the country. Government rationalized the postponement by stressing the need for a successful registration exercise for the coming April elections.


The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) finds this decision parochial, myopic and pernicious. We have no doubt that stakeholders were not carried along before this decision was made. The country’s education system has suffered so many setbacks and this is one delay too many. The woeful performance of students in the final examinations results in recent times is enough to dissuade the Federal Government from taking this type of decision.


If the targets are the school teachers who are to act as registration officials, government should have looked for alternatives. There is an army of unemployed graduates in every Nigerian city. These job seekers would have been too willing to partake in the registration exercise.


It is grossly irresponsible to play games with the future of our young and innocent children. This decision smacks of insensitivity, arrogance and callousness. It does not make sense at all. It is, at best, pennywise, pound foolish. If we delay the resumption of our school children for one month just because of the coming voters’ registration exercise, what should we expect during the elections proper? Wouldn’t the schools close for six months? By the way, is the whole country in a state of emergency?


Government is treating the issue of education with levity and this is very sad. By taking this unwise decision, our leaders have confirmed their priority, namely, to win the next election. They have never been interested in the education of the youth. This is the tragedy of Nigeria. MURIC denounces this lackadaisical attitude to education, the indubitable bedrock of progress.


MURIC calls on the Federal Government to quickly reverse its decision and allow school children to learn and build their own future. Let the current generation of politicians carry their own cross. Leave the children alone. We charge the Parents’ Teachers Association, labour unions, the rest of civil society and all men of goodwill to wade into this matter before the future of our children is mortgaged for a pot of porridge.


Dr. Is-haq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
234-818-211-9714

Saturday, January 8, 2011

EXTRAVAGANCE IN THE NIGERIAN PRESIDENCY

7th January, 2010

PRESS RELEASE:
2011 BUDGET PROPOSAL: N1.57m ON PRESIDENCY FOOD DAILY IS OUTRAGEOUS
Details of the 2011 budget proposal have started emerging. One aspect of the revelations concern the amount to be spent on food this year in the presidency alone which has been put at N574m. Spread over the 365 days of the year, the presidency will be spending about N1.57m per day in 2011.

In a country where an army of unemployed youths roam the streets, where hunger and starvation are the lot of the masses, where the average Nigerian survives on less than $1 per day and the per capita income is less than $300, the presidency cannot rationalize its plan to spend this colossal amount on food.


Compared to last year’s presidency food budget of N405.3m, the present increase is inexplicable. What has changed in the presidency within the last one year to warrant the increment? Does this not mean that Nigerians should expect another increment of over N100m in 2012? Is this not the same executive which grudgingly approved N18,000.00 minimum wage for workers and is yet to pay same? What kind of leaders do we have in this country for Allah’s sake?


The Glorious Qur’an commands that people should be given their fair share of resources. It warns against squandering and describes people who are extravagant as brothers of Shaytan (Satan). The Qur’an concludes that Shaytan is ungrateful to Allah. It says inter alia, “Render to the kindred and those in want their due rights as well as the wayfarer. But do not waste your wealth. Verily indeed spendthrifts are brothers of Shaytan and Shaytan is to his Lord ungrateful” (Qur’an 17: 26 – 27).


The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) rejects this gluttonous food budget particularly on grounds of its ungodliness. Nigerian leaders lack the fear of God. We call on the National Assembly to throw the budget back to the presidency until a prudent food budget is returned. This is the budget of a spendthrift. It is outrageous, ungodly and provocative. It is insensitive to the plight of the average Nigerian. It is an exercise in executive extravagance. It is therefore unacceptable.

This reckless food budget further confirms our fear that the poverty in Nigeria is self-imposed. There is a persistent push from people in power to permanently enslave the proletariat by impoverishing the citizenry. This explains why a few powerful individuals often allocate to themselves resources that should go round. Nigerians were not created to suffer hunger, nakedness or homelessness. The Glorious Qur’an confirms that Allah made enough provision for all (Qur’an 20: 118 – 119). The problem is that those in power in this country have always taken more than their fair share.


MURIC calls on those in power to let Nigerians go! The Nigerian government has no moral right to punish petty thieves and armed robbers pushed into crime by hunger when they themselves lack discipline.


We charge the Federal Government to show concern for millions of Nigerians who battle hunger on a daily basis. We call on civil society to rise against the current trend of the manifestation of greed, avarice and selfishness in the executive arm of government.




Dr. Is-haq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
234-818-211-9714



Saturday, January 1, 2011

NEW YEAR EVE BOMBING IN ABUJA, NIGERIA

1st January, 2010



PRESS RELEASE:
ABUJA EXPLOSIONS: GOOD GOVERNANCE IS THE ANSWER
The city of Abuja received another bashing yesterday as two bombs exploded within two hours of each other. The twin explosions, which occurred inside the Mammy Market beside the Mogadishu Military Barracks killed 11 people and injured 13 others. Some eyewitnesses believe that the death toll is higher.

Though careful not to jump to conclusions, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) hereby expresses grave concern at the sad turn of events in Nigeria. Coming on the last day of the year and at a time when a large number of people are celebrating the new year’s eve, yesterday’s bombing seems to have originated from sadists and frustrated elements whose only goal is to bring down the Nigerian nation.
It will be recalled that the series of bombings began with the October 1st 2010 strike at Abuja, the heart of Nigeria. The responsibility for the October 1st blast was claimed by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) while that of Jos was claimed by a faceless Islamic group. The emerging trends from the Jos and Abuja bombings seem to indicate that grievances exist at both state (Plateau) and Federal levels.

While it is necessary to call on the security agencies to find and punish the culprits behind all these bomb attacks, we are constrained to posit the cause-effect theory. Sentimentalities apart, there can be no smoke without fire. We call on the Federal Government and the generality of Nigerians to eschew emotional discharges and pursue the path of objectivity. Government must speedily find lasting solutions to issues motivating people to plant bombs. Only this can bring lasting peace. Apprehending the culprits alone without addressing the issues will only bring the kind of peace found in the graveyard.
The socio-economic problems facing Nigerians are enough to push some people into committing this atrocious act. Both the executive and the legislative arms at state and federal levels have for long abdicated their responsibilities by failing to address problems of hunger, unemployment, bad roads, etc which led to the frustration felt by the younger generation. Only the few in government and the legislators are enjoying the dividends of democracy and they appear to have taken a conspiratorial oath of turning the blind eye to the jamaheer (masses).

What is happening at present is therefore not a religious uprising, nor an ethnic conflict. It is more of a manifestation of the frustrations of a ravaged people. Globalisation has turned the world into a sophisticated entity. Nigerians now know what is happening everywhere: in Haiti, in Italy, Spain, France, etc, where people are rising against bad leadership. The solution to these bomb attacks is therefore good governance at all levels: justice in the Niger Delta, fairness to Christians, equal rights for the Muslims and goodwill to all ethnic groups in our dear country, Nigeria.
MURIC appeals to those behind the blasts to cease fire in the interest of innocent citizens. We urge them to give dialogue a chance by channelling their grievances directly to the authorities. We charge Nigeria’s security agencies to be on red alert in order to save innocent Nigerians from untimely deaths.

Finally, the ministries of information at both federal and state levels must be blamed for failing to educate Nigerians about safety measures in situations like this. We therefore urge Nigerians to be alert and to report any suspicious parcel or movement to the police. Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.Dr. Is-haq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
234-818-211-9714



Saturday, December 25, 2010

BOMB BLASTS IN JOS, NIGERIA

25th December, 2010



PRESS RELEASE:
JOS BOMB BLASTS: A NATIONAL TRAGEDY
Three coordinated bomb blasts reportedly occurred in Jos, Plateau State yesterday killing twenty people and injuring many others. Jos has been engulfed in religious and tribal crises in recent times resulting in heavy tolls.
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) is deeply disturbed by this national tragedy. We strongly condemn the use of terrorist tactics like bomb explosions to settle scores. This is a dastardly act. It is barbaric, inhuman and insane. The perpetrators are unpatriotic and unscrupulous elements bent on turning Nigeria into a wide battle field.
MURIC is particularly saddened by the timing of the blasts coming on Christmas eve. Some Nigerians are yet to come to grips with the factor of fate which brought Muslims and Christians as well as different tribes together in the same country.


We charge the security agencies to fish out the perpetrators and make them face the full wrath of the law. We appeal to religious and tribal leaders in the affected area to call their followers to order. Everything necessary must be done to avoid further bloodshed.

We also appeal to Nigerians nationwide not to allow this unfortunate incident to destroy the atmosphere of peaceful coexistence which the rest of the country has been enjoying for decades. We urge leaders of all sectors to refrain from making inflammatory statements. The youth are advised to remain calm and law abiding.


Finally, MURIC prays that Allah grants the families of the victims of the bomb blasts the strength to bear the loss.


Dr. Is-haq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
234-818-211-9714

Friday, December 24, 2010

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FROM MUSLIM RIGHTS

24th December, 2010


CHRISTMAS MESSAGE:
CALL ON POLITICIANS TO EMULATE JESUS CHRIST
 Nigerian Christians will tomorrow join the rest of the global body of Christ to celebrate this year’s Christmas. We of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) felicitate with our Christian brothers and sisters and wish them a fruitful season.
This is definitely a season that necessitates sober reflection. Jesus is revered throughout the world today because of his selflessness, his readiness to sacrifice and his consistent transparency. These virtues are what Nigerian politicians and leaders lack. It is the absence of these golden values that has brought Nigeria to its current state of sleep-walking.
Nigerians pick food from the dustbin in spite of the immense natural wealth which God has endowed this country. Hundreds of people are unable to get good medical attention. Many Nigerians sleep under the bridge. Our educational institutions can only be compared to lepers’ islands. Nigerian roads are fit only for suicide drivers. Workers are over-worked, under-paid and over-taxed. Too many people have nothing. Too few have too much.
Ironically, politicians are pampered with too much largesse from the people’s sweat. The National Assembly takes 25% of the nation’s overhead budget. The executive has arrogated 50% of same to its self, leaving a meager 25% for the jamaheer (masses). To make the matter worse, the Federal Government is contemplating taking more than $3.5 billion from the World Bank. Like the biblical prodigal son, Nigerian leaders are on a mission to waste our resources. Nigeria borrowed $5 billion only by 1985. We paid up to $19 billion between 1986 and 1999 only to be told that we were still owing $32 billion! Yet another tragedy is manifested in the materialistic mentality of ordinary Nigerians.


MURIC calls on Nigerian leaders to emulate Jesus Christ and follow his leadership example. We charge religious clerics to drum the lessons inherent in the life and death of Jesus Christ into the ears of Nigerians. The average Nigerian must be sincerely God-fearing and shun the mad rush for the accumulation of wealth.


The Federal Government of Nigeria must desist from negotiating loans from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or any other international financial agency that represents Western capitalism. Western interest on loans is designed to keep the Third World underdeveloped and dependent for ever.

Dr. Is-haq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
234-818-211-9714



Sunday, December 5, 2010

JUMBO PAY FOR NIGERIAN LAWMAKERS

5th December, 2010
PRESS RELEASE:
NASS JUMBO PAY: NIGERIANS FACE DICTATORSHIP OF THE LEGISLATURE The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Lamido Sanusi, revealed last week that the National Assembly (NASS) consumes 25% of Nigeria’s annual total overhead cost. Many others had earlier disclosed that colossal amounts are being spent on the same NASS. The CBN governor has also been invited by the Senate to defend his position.
 The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) finds these developments curious and disheartening. The people’s representatives are portraying themselves as insensitive to the plight of the jamaheer (masses). The legislature is busy arrogating to itself all the milk and honey in the land while the people ransack dustbins for leftovers before they can eat. The proletariat is toiling day and night but it is being denied adequate pay for its sweat. Labour’s demand for a survival minimum wage of N18,000 was ignored until a national strike had to be called and until lives were lost over the demand. Yet members of the NASS felt no qualms allocating jumbo pay to themselves.

What we find most disturbing is the harassment of the CBN governor by Senate when he was invited to defend his revelations on Wednesday. The questions hauled at him by members of Senate were nothing short of tactics in blackmail, coercion and intimidation. Otherwise why should any senator ask the CBN governor if he was still interested in his job? It reminds us of the manner Senate gagged Professor Attahiru Jega, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) when he alerted the nation about delays in the Electoral Act. Senate promptly invited him and he was told, “You talk too much”.

We find this phenomenon quite disturbing. We cannot have a free and fair election if the man at the helm of affairs of the highest electoral body is not free to pass comments. MURIC is therefore asking the question: How independent is the ‘Independent’ National Electoral Commission? The NASS is fast becoming dictatorial. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Whereas democracy entails freedom of speech, our NASS is suppressing free speech. Also, whereas democracy necessitates separation of powers whereby each component is independent of the other, the NASS seeks to strangulate other arms of governance.


MURIC rejects the dictatorial proclivities of the NASS. This august body is fast eroding the powers of other arms. It has also constituted itself into a threat to free speech, justice and fair play. It is turning the theory of the separation of powers into sheer illusion. The NASS has not demonstrated any readiness to make sacrifices, rather it has become an Oliver Twist, asking for more and more while the jamaheer are hungry, naked and homeless.


True leaders of the people are expected to make sacrifices which the people can emulate. The whole anatomy of the Nigerian nation lies prostrate on a sick bed with members of the NASS as bedbugs sucking its blood dry. The attitude of members of the NASS seems to tell us that many of them came in through the backdoor. The recent court pronouncements on election cases are didactic in this regard. MURIC is obligated to ask again: are these the true representatives of the people? Did these people win free and fair elections?


We call on civil society to act quickly and save the jamaheer from the totalitarian tendencies of the NASS before it becomes a hydra-headed monster with jaws wide open to swallow up the social order.


Dr. Is-haq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
234-818-211-9714