Muslims in the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurum, Delta State,
are being denied their Allah-given fundamental human rights. This is as a
result of the insistence of the institution’s Vice Chancellor to disallow
Muslims from observing Jum’ah prayer on Fridays.
The Muslim
Rights Concern (MURIC) raised this alarm on Monday in a press release signed by
its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
The Islamic
human rights organization complained that the Vice Chancellor of FUPR, Effurum,
has refused to allow Muslim students and staff to attend the Friday prayer.
Efforts to persuade him via communications and dialogue have not yielded any tangible
result. The first semester examination time table was not Jum’ah-compliant as
examinations were fixed without any consideration for the Jum’ah period.
“We are miffed
that the VC claims that he cannot allow Muslims to go to mosque on Friday
‘because Nigeria is a secular country’. This is a most preposterous claim. It
is outrageous. It is incredible. We don’t expect ignorance at the apex of a
citadel of learning. Nigeria is not a secular country. It is a multi-religious
country. Secular countries do not recognize religion but Nigeria does. Or can
the VC show us the word ‘secular’ in the Nigerian constitution?
“No Vice
Chancellor has the right to hide under a phony secular society to stop Muslims
from observing Jum’ah prayer. By the way, the VC does not allow Muslims to go
to the mosque, but won’t he go to church on Sunday? Won’t the Christian staff
and students also go to church on Sunday? What right has the VC to stop the
Muslims from attending Jum’ah service on Friday when he and the Christian staff
and students go to church on Sunday? Isn’t what is good for the goose also good
for the gander? How can secularism mean freedom for Christians to worship on
Sunday but oppression and persecution for Muslims on Friday?Are men and women
of good conscience listening?
“Here lies the
hypocrisy behind the usual claim of secularism in Nigeria. Christian fanatics
use it as an excuse to cheat Muslims. They get all they want but they don’t
want their neighbours to have access to the same thing. It is the height of injustice
and anyone who pursues an unjust policy is not looking for peace. Justice is
the soul of peace. Nobody can deny one and enjoy the other. Justice and peace
are inseparable.
“It beats our
imagination that the Vice Chancellor of a federal university will challenge
Muslims to present any official document from the federal government that makes
provision for Jum’ah services in federal establishments. Universities are
expected to be centers of excellence, we are therefore shocked that gymnastic
religiousity can manifest at such level of intellectualism.
“We are
constrained to ask, ‘Is this VC aware of the provision for freedom of religion
in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria? If he is not aware, has
he cared to consult his university’s legal department? Is the VC aware of the
existence of Muslims in this country? If so, has it not occurred to him that by
accepting the post of VC, many of the staff and students under him will be
Muslims? Does he want to remain VC of Christian staff and students only to the
detriment of the adherents of other faiths? Has he travelled outside Delta
State to observe what obtains in other places or is he an armchair vice
chancellor?
“The Vice
Chancellor of FUPR has failed to realize that this is a federal institution.
Even if it is a state university, are we supposed to persecute any religious
group in an academic environment? Academicians are expected to know better, to
pursue objectivity, to lead by example and to shun all sentimentalities.
“All that
should be of interest to a Vice Chancellor is whether or not his staff are
performing their official duties and whether his students are learning. He
should create an atmosphere conducive to the pursuit of knowledge. No more no
less. But things will start going wrong when the head of an institution begins
targeting a religious group for oppression”.
Akintola
expressed serious concern for the welfare of Muslims under the VC of FUPR. “How
can the Federal Government entrust the lives of Muslim staff and students to a
biased Christian VC? We have every reason to doubt that Muslims can be safe
under this man. We have every reason to doubt that Muslims will receive fair
treatment under him.
“MURIC will
continue to expose religious bigots in public and private institutions and
enterprises who deprive Muslims of their Allah-given fundamental human rights.
We will not fold our arms while some religious fundamentalists deny us what
Almighty Allah has given us free, more so since such rights are already
guaranteed in the constitution of our country.
“There can be
no excuse for disallowing Muslims from attending the Jum’ah prayer every Friday
since Christians are not faced with such a challenge on Sundays. We will take
every necessary lawful measure to resist this oppression of Nigerian Muslims by
Christian extremists”.
As usual, MURIC
seized the opportunity to connect the incident to the need to declare Friday
work-free. Akintola said, “This constant persecution of Muslims on Fridays
underscores the need for the Nigerian authorities to pay attention to the
Friday question once again. Friday must be declared work-free like Sunday and
the earlier the better. The oppression of Muslims by Christian bosses on Friday
will come to a halt once Friday becomes free.
“It is
interesting to note that our organization has been investigating this Friday
question since 1994. Experience has shown over the years that it is only
Christian fanatics who disallow Muslims from attending the Friday prayer. Some
Christians are very understanding and accommodating. There is no place in the
world where people do not know that Muslims observe their special Jum’ah
service on Fridays while Christians observe their own on Sundays.
“It is high
time these fanatics were made to realize that Muslims are not a minority in
this country. We will not allow the oppression of Muslims in any part of the
country to go unchallenged. This is likely to cause friction from time to time.
Those who cherish peaceful coexistence should therefore leave Muslims alone.
“We will cry
out if you oppress Muslims no matter how highly placed you may be and nobody
knows the extent of the heat that will be generated or where it can lead to.
Oppressors of Muslims should therefore take notice. Even without being violent,
even while we use lawful means only, MURIC will give you no peace. It is a
digital world so there will be no place for you to hide under the sun. Yet this
will only happen if you deny Muslims their rights. Those who oppress Muslims
should therefore be seen as enemies of peace.
“However, we
assure Nigerians that we are most willing to embrace a robust relationship with
everyone. We believe that religion should bring people together no matter the
differences in the mode of worship. It should be humanity first. We are
therefore prepared to coexist peacefully with our neighbours. The only proviso
is that they should respect our right to freedom of worship. We should all live
and let live. Worship and let me worship.
“As we round
up, we call on the Vice Chancellor of FUPR, Effurum, to allow peace to reign on
his campus. Let the Muslims go. Stop all forms of religious persecution. Allow
the Muslims to observe Jum’ah service. We advise him to run an inclusive
administration in the interest of peace and harmony. Other heads of public and
private institutions in the country are advised to take a cue from this. Let us
make our country a land of religious harmony as we all can never belong to the
same faith”.
Professor Ishaq
Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
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