The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has asked
the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to
either endorse or disown ‘This is Nigeria’ video
by Folarin Falana, aka Falz the Bahd Guy.
The Muslim body had announced that it will no longer approach
the court to seek a ban on the video.
In a statement on Tuesday, its Director, Prof Ishaq Akintola, urged
CAN to declare its position on the matter.
“We have no other option than to openly ask the Christian
Association of Nigeria (CAN) if it is behind this move. Is CAN
leadership aware of this segregational campaign? Did CAN initiate
it or did it just endorse it? Should we also believe rumours of
CAN’s surreptitious meetings with high ranking foreign diplomats
in unholy hours of the day? Is CAN aware of the security
implications of such meetings? Is CAN with Nigeria or against
Nigeria? Et tu CAN? It had better not be.
“What kind of people are we that we continue to drag ourselves
backwards while the rest of the world is going forward? Election
campaign should be issue-based. Religion is not given any room
in politics in other climes. Why should we be looking at the faith of
a candidate and not his pedigree, his integrity and his
antecedence?
“It is a pity that CAN still pushes primordial sentiment like religion
to the front burner when advanced countries only consider
credibility and ability to deliver. Why is it that CAN cannot tolerate
Muslim leadership after Muslims have tolerated Christian
leadership for so long?” He asked.
The Islamic human rights outfit also wondered why Muslims
should not be allowed to rule for the same long period that
Christians had been in office.
“It is on record that of the 16 wasted years of PDP rule, a Muslim
(former President Umaru Yaradua) only ruled for two years and he
died in office. Christians ruled for 14 years (ex-President Olusegun
Obasanjo: 8 years and Goodluck Jonathan: 6 years). So why can’t
you live and let live?
“Even as divisive and destructive as it is, the idea of Christians
voting for Christians only still remains naïve and utopia. Who told
CAN that it can install a Christian president with an all-Christian
vote? It is a mirage. CAN is day-dreaming. What if Muslims also
ask their fellow Muslims not to vote for any Christian candidate?
What do you think will happen? But we will not descend so low.
We will not ask Muslims not to vote for Christian candidates.
Whoever is behind this video and the anti-Muslim campaign in
general is promoting anarchy,” it added.
The organization argued that “Nigeria is a heterogeneous, multi-
religious and multi-cultural project which belongs to nobody and it
is bigger than any section. For any progress to be made, Muslims
and Christians as well as all ethnic groups, it said, have to sink
their differences.
“We all have to work together. Nigeria is a wrong candidate for
‘possessing your possession’ slogans.”
Akintola admitted that Nigeria was blessed with good Christian
candidates and credible Muslim candidates.
He urged Nigerians to create an enabling environment for the
emergence of such good candidates. Narrowing the search to any
particular religion or ethnic group, he argued, is not only self-
defeating but also counter-productive.
“In a nutshell, we reiterate our conviction that we do not believe in
religious politics. We Muslims are prepared to peacefully coexist
with our Christian neighbours in Nigeria.
We urge Muslims to get their PVC and vote for both Christian and
Muslim candidates of their choice. The only proviso is that such
candidates must be reformers and game changers, not looters,
kleptomaniacs and politicians in the daytime but armed robbers at
night,” he said.
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