SOWORE’S RE-ARREST: MURIC CALLS FOR CALM

16^th December, 2019

          

PRESS RELEASE:

SOWORE’S RE-ARREST: MURIC CALLS FOR CALM

The convener of #Revolutionnow, Omoyele Sowore, was recently rearrested in controversial circumstances. While there are claims that his arrest by the Department of State Services (DSS) took place inside a high court, the DSS has insisted that the suspect was arrested outside the court.      

However, an Islamic human rights organization, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has appealed for calm over the matter. The group prefers dialogue in resolving the impasse. This was disclosed in a statement issued by the group’s director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, on Monday, 16^th December, 2019.

According to MURIC, “Sowore is an active member of civil society. Perhaps this is why human rights groups are in a hurry to castigate the DSS and call President Buhari names. But has civil society pursed to ponder on Sowore’s tactical blunder? We all must admit that it was improper for a man who lost an election to lead #Revolutionnow against the winner of that same election just a few months later. It amounts to seeking to gain by the bends what he could not get at the straight.

“In our efforts to engage in dialogue over the Sowore furore, we were confronted with a statement purportedly made by the activist politician. He was alleged to have said on 25^th July, 2019, ‘I'm not talking of protest. I'm embarking on revolution. 85% of Nigerians are in support. Don't tell me about legal implications or what a Judge will say. I don't care. We must bundle Buhari out of that place...the DSS shall cease to exist!’

“If it is true that he said the above, those of us in civil society should have the courage to tell him that he went too far. We all know what has been happening across the globe. Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Tunissia, Spain, Venezuela, etc are examples. No nation takes threat to security lightly.

“As a human rights group, MURIC wants Sowore freed. We are for constitutionalism and rule of law. But national security must not be jettisoned. Those of us who are leaders of civil society must realise that we have a duty to lead responsibly. Radicalism must not shut the door against rationalism. We believe that aluta must stop where any matter affecting national security starts.

“In DOKUBO-ASARI V. FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA (2007) ALL FWLR (PT 375) 588, the Supreme Court per Muhammed JSC (CJN Rtd.) had the following to say:

"Where national security is threatened or there is real likelihood of its being threatened, human rights or individual rights of those responsible take second place. Human rights or individual rights must be suspended until national security can be protected or taken care of. This is not anything new. The corporate existence of Nigeria as a united, harmonious, indivisible and indissoluble sovereign nation is certainly greater than any citizen's liberty or right. Once the security of this nation is in jeopardy and it survives in pieces rather than in peace, the individual liberty or right may not even exist"

“Those of us who love Sowore and Bakare should seek diplomatic ways of securing their freedom instead of making matters worse by confronting the Federal Government (FG), calling President Buhari names and planning demonstrations. If we are sincere, a man who has had the opportunity to arrogate our common patrimony to himself but has refused to steal one kobo should not be the target of attacks by civil society.

“This is where the Punch newspaper missed the point. Journalism is not a licence for criminality. 15 million Nigerians voted for Muhammadu Buhari early this year, not as Major General (rtd) but as president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It amounts to insulting those 15 million tax-paying patriots, nay, the whole 200 million Nigerians over whom President Buhari presides, for Punch to label President Buhari with a military title and to insist on using that title for him in all its publications.

“This action of the Punch newspaper is an exhibition of excessive excess, journalistic rascality, and, indeed, an infra dignitatem. This is not freedom of speech. It is sheer display of arrogance, hatred of Buhari’s personality and incitement of the public against a nation’s president. If we are a serious nation, all arms of the Nigerian government, including ministries, parastatals, federal institutions, etc, should blacklist the Punch newspaper for desecrating the highest office in the land. This should also be replicated at the state level and by all patriotic Nigerians until that newspaper apologises. We must put a stop to tyranny of the pen.  

“MURIC is miffed by the double standard manifested by the United States in its unsolicited interference in a matter that is totally internal. Why couldn’t America bully Spain when that country jailed Catalonian separatists this year? Why does the US pour billions of its dollars into the Sissi-led regime in Egypt in spite of the latter’s terrible human rights record particularly against the Muslim Brotherhood?

“America’s veto of the United Nation’s resolutions against Israel has emboldened that country to kill innocent Palestinians in their hundreds, including children. For the first time in a long period, Nigeria is experiencing good governance. America is supporting dictators and tyrants elsewhere but is keen on undermining this good governance, transparency, probity and accountability in Nigeria. Is America pushing for the ignition of an African spring?

“On its own part, the Nigerian civil society ignores the persecution of millions of Muslims in the country. Hundreds of female Muslim children are locked out of school in the South West over an ordinary head scarf which Britain, Ireland and other Western countries allow, but our human rights neighbours look the other way.

“What kind of human rights groups do we parade in this country? Most members of the Nigerian civil society practice selective activism. Was civil society on sabbatical when Amasa Firdaus single-handedly took on the Nigerian Law School over her right to wear hijab? Just yesterday, the Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) took a heavily biased stand against the shariah and Muslims as if Muslims do not possess the Adamic chromosome and therefore do not qualify as human beings.

“Why do human rights groups behave as if Muslims have no right to enjoy fundamental human rights? Are Muslims not human beings? Why do they maintain criminal silence each time Muslims are persecuted? How can Muslims take such people seriously? How can any right-thinking person follow such crooked ideology of selective justice and exclusive determinism?

“Nonethess, MURIC does not wish to see a single activist behind bars. We therefore appeal to elder statesmen, high-ranking traditional rulers and religious leaders of the highest echelon to initiate dialogue with the Federal Government on the Sowore affair.

“In our concluding remarks, we advise members of civil society to call off its planned protest particularly in view of the fact that government has ordered a probe into the circumstances surrounding the re-arrest of Sowore and Bakare. We call on civil society to adopt a broader view of the human rights spectrum in such a way that it will also recognise the rights of Muslims in the Nigerian nation. We urge the US to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Nigeria by desisting to interfere in her internal affairs.”

Professor Ishaq Akintola,    

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

MURIC BACKS CJN’S CALL FOR CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT

13^th December, 2019

          

PRESS RELEASE:

MURIC BACKS CJN’S CALL FOR CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Muhammad Tanko, yesterday called for constitutional amendments to accommodate some peculiarities of Shariah law which have been ignored for so long. The CJN made this statement while declaring open the 20^th Annual Judges Conference at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria. The CJN was represented by Justice Muhammad Danjuma, the Grand Kadi of Niger State.

In the meantime, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has given its blessing to the CJN’s suggestion. The human rights organization is of the opinion that the current constitution is a child of British colonial Christianisation of the country which has failed to take into consideration the multi-religious nature of the Nigerian nation. MURIC spoke through its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, who issued a press statement on the matter on Friday, 13^th December, 2019.

“The CJN has our full backing on this. The British colonial government bequeathed a legacy of Christianisation to the Nigerian nation. Muslims were not comfortable with it but the British did not listen. The British did not give a damn. The Northern Muslims resisted and the British invaded the North. Muslim resistance was brutally broken by the ruthless massacre of thousands of Muslim freedom fighters in Hausaland, particularly in Burmi (1903), Satiru (1906) and Zinder (1917). Even those who surrounded were not spared as they were mowed down with machine guns. Thereafter, the British victors curtailed Islamic landmarks.

“Islam had arrived in Karnem Borno in the year 1085 (818 years before the invasion of the North by the British) during the reign of King Humi Jilmi while Christianity was first preached in 1842 (757 years after the advent of Islam) under the Agacia tree in Badagry. As far as we are concerned, therefore, the British who brought Christianity to Nigeria spread their religion by force after invading the North, after intimidating the South West and after subdueing the Muslims who had been practicing their faith for more than 800 years. They used excessive force against the Muslims and carried out barbaric and extra-judicial killings.

“The bombardment of Lagos in 1851 by Commodore Captain R. W. Bruce during the ‘Boiling Battle’ (Ogun Ahoyaya) and the subsequent surrender of the city was the first operation ‘shock and awe’ designed to cow Southerners. It was equally intended to send a strong message to the North. The booming of cannon shells and other bombs was hitherto unknown to the city. Lagos quickly put its tail between its legs like a frightened dog and other cities in the South West took the cue. It was a fait accompli. The Muslim population cautioned its membership against courting the ire of the colonial masters. This surrender paved the way for the creation of the Lagos Colony ten years later (1861). From then onwards, the city of Lagos which by 1775 had more than fifty Islamic schools, opened the floodgate to the intimidation and coercion of Muslim children in colonial schools. This persecution has lasted to date.

“We have gone down the lanes of history because today was born from the wombs of yesterday. Muslims in Yorubaland put up no armed resistance to colonial invasion and forceful conversion whereas Northern Muslims died in their thousands resisting colonial invasion. This resulted in the bold and ruthless conversion of Muslims to Christianity in the South West whereas the colonialists exercised caution in their dealing with Northern Muslims. This situation also informed British adoption of indirect rule in the North. Nobody should ask MURIC to forget the history of Nigerian Muslims. Brutalisation of Muslims by the British marauders is part of our history just as the forceful abandonment of Islamic landmarks as ordered by the British Christian evangelists.

“It was after the British had killed all Muslims who resisted their occupation of Northern Nigeria and after they had imposed restrictions on the Shariah that they established a Christian-oriented administration. Western education through which thousands of Muslims were forcefully converted was also introduced to replace Islamic education which was already popular before the arrival of the British.

“This was the situation until Nigeria obtained independence in 1960 and the Muslims continued to bear the brunt of subjection to a Christian-oriented system. Unfortunately successive regimes in post-independence Nigeria have failed to review the system after the exit of the British in spite of repeated demands. As a result of this, the Muslims remain unintegrated, unaccommodated and displeased. Without attempting to justify violent uprisings, it is our contention that this lop-sidedness is partly responsible for the interreligious clashes which Nigeria has experienced to date, including, of course, Boko Haram insurgency.

“The system we run in this country is not only alien to Muslim culture, it has marginalised the Muslim population. Our democracy is deceptive in as much as Muslims who form the largest segment of the population are not integrated into the system. Participatory democracy is the global best practice. But not in Nigeria.

“Nigeria’s democracy excludes the Muslims. Our weekends shut Muslims out. It is the entire monopoly of Christians. Saturday and Sunday are free but Friday is not. The Muslim girl-child goes to school with tears in her eyes because she must not enter the school with hijab on her head. There is no single Shariah Appeal Court in the entire South West and Muslims in that sub-region are subjected to Christian common law in all civil matters. Muslim marriages conducted inside mosques are not recognised but those held in churches are sacrosanct. This democracy is fraudulent.   

“Christian women enjoy the monopoly of recruitment into the army, navy, police, civil defence, traffic wardens, immigrations, customs, etc but Muslim women cannot because those uniformed agencies will not recruit users of hijab. Yet Muslim police women and soldiers use hijab in Britain, United States, Ireland, etc. Female Muslim graduates therefore remain jobless and impoverished while their Christian counterparts smile to the banks.  

“Yet it was not so ab initio. It was the British Christian colonialists who changed the system to favour Christians only. This is not good enough and we need to sit down like neighbours to renegotiate our nationhood. It is always better to jaw-jaw than to war-war. If we all condemn the Boko Haram style, what alternative have we put forward?    

“MURIC therefore embraces the CJN’s idea of the need for constitutional amendment. It is even belated. It is part of restructuring. We hope the restructuring camp will welcome the CJN’s idea because it is not going to be about Muslim demands alone but a comprehensive one. We call for objectivity in this matter. Those who always oppose anything which is likely to benefit Muslims are urged to consider this initiative with an open mind. Constitutional amendment has all the potentials to usher in peace and tranquillity if we approach it with sincerity.  

Professor Ishaq Akintola,    

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

MURIC SALUTES BUHARI ON WORLD ANTI-CORRUPTION DAY

9^th December, 2019

          

PRESS RELEASE:

MURIC SALUTES BUHARI ON WORLD ANTI-CORRUPTION DAY

As the world community marks 2019 World Anti-Corruption Day today 9^th December, 2019, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has saluted President Muhammadu Buhari. The group’s message came through a press statement issued on Monday, 9^th December, 2019 by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.

MURIC said, “We salute the architect of modern Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari. He has emerged as the undisputable hero of the war against corruption and the indubitable champion of transparency campaign on the African continent.

“Nigeria would have been swallowed long ago by the corruption monster had it not been for the doggedness of this relentless fighter. Nigeria had become a pariah nation until Buhari came to the rescue. Transparency International ranked Nigeria the world’s most corrupt nation in 2001, second most corrupt country in 2003 and third most corrupt in 2004.

“We continued to wobble and tumble until the emergence of this president who dedicated his life to prudence, austerity and high level discipline to the extent that African leaders, nay, the world as a whole, turned round to recognize his immense contributions to keeping Nigeria on the track of transparency, probity and accountability. Corruption Perception Index (CPI) which sat at 16% under Obasanjo is now at 27%, signaling greater success in the war against graft.

“In the same vein, we pay tribute to his foot soldier, Ibrahim Magu and his gallant men in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Equally worthy of accolades is Nuhu Ribadu, the pioneer head of the commission who put the team’s feet firmly on the path of dedication to the war against financial crimes.

“A plethora of proofs of the success of Nigeria’s anti-corruption war has emerged. As recently as May 2019, the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, revealed that the sum of N605 billion has been realized through whistle blowing. More than $320 million has been returned by Switzerland as part of the alleged $2 billion Abacha loots. EFCC wins laurels daily as the courts forfeit humongous sums of money and properties to the Federal Government (FG).

“The elimination of ghost workers has saved Nigeria more than N200 billion while the Treasury Single Account (TSA) swelled FG’s account to a whopping N10 trillion as at July 2019. Expectedly, the TSA policy led to the closure of more than 20,000 accounts. The thieves are feeling the pressure. The icing on the cake is the current massive investment in infrastructure and various economic empowerment programmes embarked upon by FG.

“At least four ex-governors have been jailed for corruption under Buhari and we are still counting. They include James Bala Ngilari of Adamawa State who was sentenced to 5 years in 2017; Jolly Nyame of Taraba who bagged 14 years in 2018; Joshua Dariye of Plateau who also received a 14 year sentence in 2018 and Orji Uzor Kalu who got 12 years last week (December 2019). All these prove that Buhari is on the right course and FG is winning the war against graft. Kleptomaniacs are frightened out of their wits. They know it is no longer business as usual. Stealing with impunity has taken flight.  

The human rights outfit solicited for cooperation from both the judiciary, the civil service and the National Assembly (NASS).

“We in MURIC laud the courage of a few judges who have stood up to be counted in the anti-graft war. We solicit for more support from the judiciary in general. We also urge the civil service to give all necessary support to the war against corruption.  

“In particular, we call on the National Assembly (NASS) to waste no time in enacting a bill on special courts to try corrupt public officers. This is not the time to sit on the fence. Our message to the honourable members of the NASS is simple: if you don’t do it now because you are comfortable and your children are enjoying, the children of the poor whom you neglect today will return with a fury to make life unbearable for your children.

Professor Ishaq Akintola,    

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

MURIC HAILS NEW NAHCON HEAD

7^th December, 2019

PRESS RELEASE:

MURIC HAILS NEW NAHCON HEAD

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday nominated Dhikrullah Hassan as the new chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Hajj Commission (NAHCON). His nomination came along with those of new commissioners in the hajj agency.       

Meanwhile the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has hailed the incoming chairman as the right man for the job. MURIC via a press statement issued on Saturday, 7^th December, 2019 by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.

According to MURIC, “Dhikrullah Hassan is the right man for the job. There is no doubt about it. He is not a green horn in managing hajj matters. He was the chairman of the Osun State Muslim Pilgrims Board for good eight years and his good performance led to his emergence as the chairman of all state pilgrims boards. Besides, he is a lawyer, an Islamic scholar and a numero uno administrator all rolled into one. A Quraysh has come to Makkah.

“We have seen him in action both in Nigeria and in the holy land. Dhikrullah Hassan knows his onions. His human relations approach is also superb. Our observation of him in the field of operation particularly in Saudi Arabia shows that he is diligent, transparent and meticulous. He ensures that things work correctly by personally verifying challenging issues night and day. We have no doubt that both pilgrims and officials will enjoy him. He will also be a great asset to the Federal Government and an ambassador nulli secundus for our great country, Nigeria.

“Finally, we reiterate clearly, categorically and unequivocally that Dhikrullah Hassan is the right man for the job. He is not ‘packaged’ for public consumption. He is as natural as they come. We therefore urge Senate to give him a clean bill of health.”

Professor Ishaq Akintola,    

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

MURIC TASKS FG ON REPAIR OF 200-METER STRETCH AROUND SANGO OTTA BRIDGE

6^th December, 2019

PRESS RELEASE:

MURIC TASKS FG ON REPAIR OF 200-METER STRETCH AROUND SANGO OTTA BRIDGE

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has appealed to the Federal Government (FG) to carry out urgent repair of a 200-meter stretch around Sango-Otta bridge.

This was disclosed in a press statement issued by the human rights organization on Friday, 6^th December, 2019, through its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.

“We are aware of humongous amounts of money being spent by FG on the rehabilitation of roads and the construction of new ones around the country. These efforts are quite commendable. In particular, we salute FG for its tremendous effort in the construction of the Second Niger Bridge which had been ignored for decades. Nigerian roads would not have been in this sordid state if the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) had addressed infrastructure the same way that the current administration is doing.

“Nigerians are now suffering for 16 years of official waste and criminal complacency. It was not as if PDP regimes did not earn money. They had more than enough but they were more interested in sharing our common patrimony among themselves. That is the difference between the Buhari administration and the PDP men. Buhari came in when Nigeria was earning the lowest from oil but prudent spending, the plugging of holes and focus on infrastructure is making the difference. Yet no matter how hard this government can try, the neglect of 16 years cannot be wished away in this short excursus.

“This is exactly what has happened in the case of Sango-Otta road. The attention of MURIC has been drawn to the terrible state of about 200 meters of road on Lagos-Abeokuta Road. This is about 100 meters before Sango-Otta bridge and another 100 meters after the same bridge. This spot is infested with large, deep holes capable of swallowing whole cars. Motorists’ hearts leap to their mouths as they approach the holes while passengers pray silently that their vehicles should emerge safely out of the bad spot.

“Worse still, a long line of vehicles standing bumper to bumper and crawling like pregnant snails assail the scenario, sentencing our hard-earned democracy to years of backwardness in Stone Age dungeon. Motorists spend up to three hours between the bridge and the first petrol station standing just 100 meters away. This is a very short distance that can be covered in two minutes. It is horrendous, nauseating and scandalizing.   

“Could this be the same Sango-Otta overhead bridge over which the governor of Ogun State, the then Minister of Works and the Speaker of the House of Representatives nearly engaged in fisticuffs over who should have the honour of opening it on 28^th July, 2010? https://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/07/ota-bridge-bankole-daniel-daggash-in-hot-exchange-of-words/. It goes to prove how myopic and egocentric some of our leaders can be. They completed the overhead bridge without paying any attention to the deteriorating road before and after the bridge. That road itself was already screaming for repairs but those government officials were only interested in massaging their ego. It was such a pity.

“In summary, we are crying out to FG for an urgent palliative measure. We appeal to the Minister of Works to focus on the 100 meters before and after Sango-Otta overhead bridge in order to ameliorate the sufferings of road users in that axis.” 

Professor Ishaq Akintola,    

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

MURIC SLAMS MOGHALU FOR STOPPING MOSQUE BUILDING

2^nd December, 2019

          

PRESS RELEASE:

MURIC SLAMS MOGHALU FOR STOPPING MOSQUE BUILDING

The new Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Dr. George Moghalu, has allegedly issued instructions for the stoppage of the construction of a mosque in the agency’s Warri area office. The structure was at roofing level when the order for stoppage was given.

An Islamic human rights organization has however slammed Moghalu for what it described as denial of Allah-given fundamental rights of the Muslim staff in the Warri area office of NIWA. In a message circulated to newsmen on Monday, 2^nd December, 2019, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) lamented that Moghalu’s action was tantamount to religious persecution. The statement was signed by the group’s director and founder, Professor Ishaq Akintola.

“Moghalu’s stop work order on a mosque in NIMA’s Warri area office should be condemned by all right-thinking Nigerians. It is arbitrary, vengeful and inimical to peaceful coexistence. We understand where Moghalu is coming from. He simply comes across as the typical extremist Christian in office who is determined to use his position to oppress Muslims under him.

“The Moghalu factor in Christian-Muslim relationship vividly illustrates the tragedy of the Nigerian nation. Nigeria is the only country where religious fanatics are allowed to break the law in order to persecute people who do not belong to their faith. It is noteworthy that those who have been responsible for persecuting Muslims over the hijab affair, forceful removal of caps and intimidation over the wearing of beards are all Christians. They continue to oppress Muslims knowing fully well that what they are doing is illegal and that the law permits Muslims to wear their hijab, cap, turban and beards.

“What is disheartening about Moghalu’s action is that he is a well educated man and he knows that what he is doing is wrong. Like many other islamophobic government officials, Moghalu is a metaphor for religious intolerance. Yet the hypocrisy in the persecution of Muslims in this country lies in its limitation to the South only. It is either in the South West or the South East.

“But why is this so when we operate the same constitution in both North and South? Why do state governments and overzealous Christian officials in the South persist in persecuting Muslims? What is happening in Southern Nigeria is that instead of following due process, a Christian in office wants to use his authority to oppress Muslims. This will not promote cordial relationship among the adherents of different faiths in the country. It must stop. Can these officials attempt half of what they are doing to Muslims in the South if they are in the North? Could Moghalu have attempted to stop the construction of a mosque in any Northern area office of NIWA, say Kano or Sokoto?

“There lies the hypocrisy. People like Moghalu are yet to learn how to follow due process and how to act within the law. Unfortunately the Nigerian justice system is so slow that it may take ages if law abiding Muslims approach the courts to assert their Allah-given fundamental human rights. The hijab cases presently in court in the South West are good examples. It is this slow process that our oppressors exploit.

“The danger here (which MURIC does not pray for) lies in the fact that Muslim patience may run out any time soon and a militant group may emerge to hijack the struggle of Southern Muslims to emancipate themselves from the clutches of oppression. But must we fight over virtually everything? Must we kill and maim ourselves before our rights are given to us?

“Moghalu should learn the art of living and letting live. His stop work order is outrageous, provocative and divisive. That order should be withdrawn in the interest of peaceful coexistence. Those Muslims in NIWA Warri area office are not embarking on something illegal by seeking to have a place to worship. So why is Moghalu allergic about the construction of a mosque in NIWA’s Warri area office? Whose interest is he protecting? Why do Nigerians take joy in depriving people of other faith of their rights? Are they unaware that denial of rights is a threat to peace? Justice is the soul of peace. Ceteris paribus, those who deny one cannot enjoy the other.”      

The group narrated examples of good neighbourliness cited recently by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

“Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Friday 29^th November, 2019 was present at the (NSCIA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) as the Special Guest pof honour and he spoke of his admiration for a Northern Muslim governor who has been renovating churches vandalized by Boko Haram. He also reminded his audience that an Imam in Plateau State has won accolades for protecting more than 200 Christians in his village from being killed by Muslim attackers. He sheltered them in his mosque. Even when the attackers threatened to invade the mosque to kill the Christians, he told them they would have to kill him first.

“Our message to Dr. George Moghalu is this: As the head of the agency, you must belong to all. You cannot be a good neighbor of your Muslim staff by disallowing them from building their mosque. We ask you to emulate the Northern Muslim governor who renovated churches and the Imam who protected Christians. Every Muslim staff of NIWA is under your protection and so are the Christian staff. But in as much as you remain a Christian and in the interest of harmonious coexistence, you must jealously guard the interest of the Muslims and ensure that they have no cause to complain of persecution.

“Nigeria will be a land of peace if all Muslim leaders also follow this golden rule. Protect the interest of your Christian staff if you are the boss and give them no cause to doubt your sincerity. We are not asking you to over-pamper them but at least give them their rights and let due process be due process. Oppress no single Christian and allow the system to run its normal course. Everything will fall in place once the system is respected by management.

“MURIC therefore calls on Dr. Moghalu to lift his stop work order or explain to Nigerians why the mosque should not be completed. Moghalu should explain to Nigerians why Muslims in Warri area office do not deserve a mosque when there is a church and a mosque in his headquarters office in Abuja for Christians and Muslims respectively. Is Moghalu aware that some area offices of NIWA also have mosques? Has he ordered the shutting down or demolition of those? Even Aso Rock has both a church and a mosque. It is the beauty of our great country.”

MURIC explained why Muslims need mosques in their places of work.

“Muslims are not being unnecessarily difficult or fussy by seeking to have mosques in their workplaces. Unlike in Christianity, the religion of Islam demands that Muslims must pray five times daily and two of the five times fall within working hours. These are (Zuhr and ‘Asr). The two are observed daily between 1 pm and 3.30 pm. Although each prayer may not last longer than five or ten minutes at most, Muslims may have to leave the premises to look for a mosque to pray if there is no mosque within. So it is always better to have a mosque at the workplace to avoid waste of man-hour.”

The civil society group also appealed to leaders of the APC to intervene.  

“We are not unaware that Moghalu is also the National Auditor of the ruling party (APC). So we are appealing to his party leaders to persuade him to tow the path of reason. It is equally important to let him know that any arbitrary transfer of Muslim staff at this period will be correctly interpreted as vendetta.

 “On a final note, we urge the new MD of NIWA, Dr. Moghalu, to allow peace to reign by lifting his stop work order on the Warri area mosque of NIWA.”  

Professor Ishaq Akintola,    

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)