By Amidu Arije
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called for an end to the continued persecution of Muslims in South West Nigeria.
The Islamic rights organisation bared its mind on Thursday at a world press conference held in Lagos to address what it called persecution, lopsidedness, and imbalanced treatment of Muslims in the southwestern part of the country by Christian leaders in the country.
The MURIC, which took account of various persecutions and imbalances in political appointments and other areas across the country from the six South West states, lamented the growing insecurity and persecution of Muslims as each state presented areas where Muslims are being persecuted and neglected.
Addressing pressmen at the conference, leader of the team, Prof Ishaq Akintola, lamented the overbearing attitude of some leaders in favouring one religion above the other in the country. The Prof condemned disobedience to court orders by some states on the rights of female Muslim students to wear the hijab in schools.
Prof Akintola demanded unhindered religious freedom in the South West, urging the government to allow the Shariah court to exist side by side with the common law, saying the Shariah law would allow Muslim cases to be treated in line with Islamic injunctions. This, Prof Akintola said, would mean fairness and religious freedom.
The six chairmen of MURIC from the South West states, one after the other, presented cases of persecution, neglect, and lopsidedness in their various states.
Leading the pack in the discussion, chairman of the Lagos State chapter, Dr Jamiu Busari, disclosed that the state government’s appointment of principal officers into various ministries and parastatals is lopsided, lamenting the neglect of Muslims in such key appointments.
He said: “Muslim communities in Lagos State have raised concerns about disparities in political appointments. Key positions including commissioners, permanent secretaries, and local government officials are skewed in favour of Christians. This imbalance, which is against the principle of fairness and inclusiveness, does not reflect the significant Muslim population and competence in the state and has resulted in limited Muslim presence in critical governance roles.”
Dr Busari also lamented the non-inclusion of Muslims in the appointment of education district permanent secretaries and tutors-general in the state.
The Lagos chapter of MURIC also disclosed that there is lopsidedness in the health sector in the state: “We request adequate and equal representation as well as the protection of Muslim patients, especially women and our daughters, who are discriminated against by some health officials. We advocate for equitable treatment and representation of Muslims in Lagos State for social cohesion, religious freedom, and inclusive development; we are all Nigerians, we deserve equal representation in all sectors, not persecution.”
The Secretary, Oyo State chapter of the Islamic rights organisation, Ibrahim Agunbiade, equally presented its report on persecution of Muslims in the state, as well as Ogun, Ekiti, and Ondo, with all coming up with similar maltreatment against Muslims in their various states.
In their unanimous conclusions, the states demanded an unconditional end to all persecutions, imbalance, and injustice meted against Muslims in the Southwest region of the country.
Other state chapters chairmen present included Alhaji Tajudeen Jimoh, Ogun; ESV Ganiyu Moruf, Ondo; and Prof Kamaldeen Sulaiman, Ekiti while the chairman of Osun, Dr. Abdul Razaq Uthman was represented.
