The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has urged President Bola
Ahmed Tinubu to ensure that all regions, faiths and sections benefit from
political appointments made by his government while no ethnic group or faith is
seen to be favoured above others.
Executive Director of MURIC, Prof Isiaq Akintola, made the
plea in a statement on Monday.
According to him, the appointments made so far by President
Tinubu are lopsided because they favour mainly Yorubas and Christians.
He advised the president to ensure balance in coming
appointments.
“We are shocked to our marrows that President Bola Ahmed
Tinubu has been appointing Christians and Yorubas mainly to key positions since
the inception of this administration at the expense of Muslims. For instance,
five out of eight security chiefs appointed earlier are Christians. Ministerial
posts have not been different.
“All five key appointments made by President Tinubu to
revive the economy were given to Christians and Yorubas mainly. These new
appointees include the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, the newly nominated CBN
Governor, Dr. Michael Cardoso, Hon. Zacch Adedeji, Acting Chairman, FIRS, the
Chairman, Tax Reforms Committee, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele and Mr. Tope Fasua, Special
Adviser on Economic Affairs.
“Many competent Muslims who campaigned and voted
Muslim-Muslim ticket during the presidential election were ignored. It is
interesting to note that some of those Muslims are eminently qualified to hold
key political offices since there are professors, engineers, medical doctors
and holders of doctorate degrees among them,” he said.
Apparently referring to former Kaduna State governor, Mallam
Nasir El-Rufai, Akintola said that to add salt to injury, one of the best
Muslim ministerial nominees, the man who championed the Muslim-Muslim ticket
and mobilised the whole North behind Asiwaju has been jettisoned.
He said, “Also, Prof Ali Isa Pantami who took the
communication and digital economy to enviable heights during the last
administration was ignored. Where, then, is our Muslim president, taking
Nigerian Muslims?
“MURIC rejects this trending narrative that makes competence
the raison d’etre for concentrating appointments in any particular tribe,
religion or group. Government’s tentacles should be spread nationwide in the
search for competence. Neither should the need for skills be used as a cover
for the marginalisation of some sections of Nigeria.”
The MURIC boss said competence is not the monopoly of any
tribe, faith or group as talented Nigerians are to be found everywhere if
sincere searches are conducted.
“Besides, government should take the lion share of the blame
if competent hands cannot be found in any section, creed or group for certain
assignments. It means the government has not, ab initio, allowed educational
and training facilities to be fairly and evenly distributed, or that government
has failed to consciously integrate all segments of the Nigerian society.
“This regime must be wary of allegation of nepotism which
the previous regime was accused of. Nigeria is a vast country with talented men
and women in all nooks and crannies. Government must not just pick the low
hanging skills or those on the water surface. It must send its underwater
swimmers to dive below the surface in order to bring the gems to dry land.
“Our message to President Tinubu is this (and we want the
president’s handlers to take this to him) the cacophony of voices of
dissatisfied Muslims has reached an unbearable crescendo such that MURIC is now
constrained to speak up. People are complaining, particularly Muslims from the
North and South West and they can only be ignored at the risk of foregoing
2027.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is our Muslim brother but that
should not stop us from criticising him if he does the wrong thing. The Prophet
(SAW) said, “Help your brother when he is wronged and even when he is wrong…”
“Traceable as well as well known authors on social media are
exchanging lopsided lists either tilted in favour of Christians who did not
vote for the Muslim-Muslim ticket or in favour of Yorubas only. Such lists
raise questions of nepotism and that of marginalisation of the same Muslims who
stood behind Asiwaju and voted massively for him.
“We remind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that all regions,
faiths and sections deserve political appointments. The Tinubu administration
must not be the exclusive preserve of the Yorubas at the expense of other
tribes, nor the monopoly of Rome at the expense of Madinah. No region must be
sentenced to hunger, starvation and political isolation.
“Tinubu’s next appointments must see a shift in body
language. All regions, faiths and sections must benefit from political
appointments made by this government while no ethnic group or faith is seen to
be favoured above others.
“Meanwhile we in MURIC accept full responsibility for the
dilemma facing Nigerian Muslims as their Muslim-Muslim ticket has turned into a
‘Christian majority government’. We admit being in the forefront of the
campaign for a Yoruba Muslim presidency which has become a bone in the throat
of Yoruba Muslims in particular and Nigerian Muslims in general.
“With heavy hearts, we tender unreserved apology, first, to
the former governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai for what we led him
to even though he showed no interest at the beginning, and to other Nigerian
Muslims particularly those who have been accusing us of misleading them,”
Akintola said.
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This man is a very confused man. A Muslim-Muslim ticket was elected president by all and the president feels he can achieve what he wants to with a particular set of people who he feels are competent enough irrespective of religious affiliations. When PMB was busy appointing Muslims here and there, you no talk, now that BAT(A Muslim) is appointing Christians, e don become problem. Oga MURIC,, do not farm the embers of religious violence as you are already set to do so.
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