– ‘it’s absurd and detrimental to Nigerian unity’
The B-Zone Headquarters of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria has registered its displeasure over and disagreement with the call by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) for a Christian Senate President and Speaker for the 9th National Assembly.
In a press release signed by its Amir (President), Barr. Qaasim Odedeji, the largest Muslim students’ body in Southwest Nigeria said the call by CAN is absurd and detrimental to the unity of the Nigerian people, while reacting to a letter recently written by the Christian body to the lawmakers-elect, calling for the sharing of the principal offices along religious lines.
Claiming a stand for justice and fairness, the Christian body sued that either the Speaker or Senate President should be a Christian, since the President and Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria are Muslims.
Responding to this move, the Muslim students’ group said; “May we also remind the Dr. Ayokunle-led leadership of CAN that at a time in the political history of Nigeria, the President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mrs Foluke Ette were all Christians and the Muslim leadership kept their peace.
“If CAN is concerned about justice and fairness, where was it when both major parties presented, at best, only two Muslims each out of the seventeen governorship candidates of Southern Nigeria? Where was CAN and its ‘theory of justice’ when occupiers of almost all the elective and appointive positions in the Southsouth and Southeast, including Ondo and Ekiti states, belonged to the Christian religion?
“Are there no sizable numbers of Muslims in the regions, even among the Southeasterners? The Governor of Ekiti State has just sent names of his commissioner-nominees to the State House of Assembly with only two Muslims, where the Governor, his Deputy, the Secretary to the State Government and the Chief of Staff to the Governor are all Christians. To CAN, nothing is wrong with that. It is ‘justice’ according to ‘Saint CAN’.
“Just recently, Mr Dapo Abiodun’s picture presenting his Certificate of Return to Pastor Enoch Adeboye of the RCCG went viral, perceivably as if he was elected into the office by the Christians and to serve organised Christiandom.
“If it were to be a Muslim who did a similar thing, CAN and its watchdogs would have gone to town with their usual song of Islamisation agenda, supported by their partners in the media. When will CAN be just? When will CAN be fair? When will CAN be nationalistic?”
MSSN B-Zone further asserted that; “The Christian Association of Nigeria purportedly predicated their call on ‘justice and fairness’. The question is, does CAN believe in justice and fairness? Is justice a one-way traffic? And should justice, as defined by CAN, not be done at all times and in all circumstances? Should justice be in accordance with the whims and caprices of the Christian leaders? We say No!!!
“We therefore advise the lawmakers-elect of the 9th Assembly regardless of political and religious affiliations to shun all religious tendencies and remain patriotic in deciding their leadership, while remaining dedicated to delivering their responsibilities to Nigerians,” the statement added.
