– Why we are supporting him: MUSWEN President
+ All you need to know about the Sunday, December 11, town hall meeting in Ibadan
The Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN) has concluded plans and arrangements to host the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu tomorrow, Sunday, December 11, at a town hall meeting.
Muslim News learnt that MUSWEN, which is the umbrella body of Muslims in southwest Nigeria would also be endorsing Asiwaju Tinubu at the meeting, scheduled to hold at Hall of Grace, Jogor Center, Liberty Road, Oke Ado, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
Asiwaju, famously known as BAT, will be slugging it out with other top contenders, including Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigerian People Party (NNPP), who are equally Muslims, in the presidential race slated for February 2023.
Recall that MUSWEN had on Thursday, December 8, issued a statement where it declared unflinching support for the former two-term governor of Lagos State, describing him as an eminently qualified candidate that Muslims in the southwest are duty-bound to support.
The statement, which has since gone viral on social media, was signed by the MUSWEN President, Alhaji Rasaki Oladejo and his Executive Secretary, Professor Muslihudeen Yahya.
According to the statement, “Never in the history of Nigeria has any Yoruba Muslim from southwest Nigeria stepped into Aso Rock either as president or vice president. Akinwale Wey, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Chief Earnest Shonekan, Chief Oladipo Diya and Professor Yemi Osinbajo have been given the chance before but they are all Christians.
“But now, a capable and eminently qualified Yoruba Muslim has emerged as the presidential candidate. All Muslims of the southwest are duty-bound to support him.”
It added: “The Glorious Qur’an says, “Inama al-Muminuun ikhwah”, i.e.. Verily indeed, Muslims are all brothers and sisters (Qur’an 49:10).”
MUSWEN urged Muslims in the southwest to eschew political affiliations, as the meeting is about the survival of Islam in Yorubaland.
“This is not about any political party. It is for the survival of Islam in Yorubaland where our religion is under constant threat. We are therefore inviting all Yoruba Muslims regardless of their political affiliation,” the statement said.
*Preparation for the meeting*
While speaking with Muslim News on Saturday in preparation for the most anticipated meeting, Alhaji Oladejo said MUSWEN is well prepared and has reached out to necessary Muslim groups and stakeholders.
According to him, “We are well prepared. The leadership is working with all committees set up for the event and some Muslim groups that are also associated with MUSWEN. We are working together to make the event very successful and remarkable. We’ve secured a hall to that effect.
“We have also reached out to our state’s Muslim communities/councils. Moreover, we’ve been in liaison with the League of Imams and Alfas in our zone and we’re trying to synergize and organise a programme that will last for one hour or thereabout. All hands are on deck to ensure that this becomes a reality,” he said.
MUSWEN President also explained that the meeting would include a prayer session for Asiwaju Tinubu’s aspiration, President Muhammadu Buhari and the nation at large, adding that goodwill messages are going to be entertained too.
He, however, clarified that only key stakeholders and representatives of Muslim organisations/communities are expected at the meeting to avoid overpopulation of the hall.
“We’ve also reached out to Muslims leaders, unions and philanthropists in the southwest, sent letters of invitation to them. We have also gotten in touch with personages in communities and councils, and they’re forthcoming as well.
“Part of the programme for the day is to welcome His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, pray for him, and for the government in power, His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari and the nation at large. We’ll make a presentation to him which comes with our demand and expectations. We’ll also entertain one or two goodwill messages, after that, he would respond.
“Finally, we’ll round off with the National Anthem.
“MUSWEN has been in contact with many Muslim organisations like Ansar-ud-Deen, Nawair-ud-Deen among others and they are actively involved in this event. This is about Muslims in southwest, and this also includes people who are not even Yoruba. The Hausa Muslim community would also be involved. The Izala group would also be involved. It will be encompassing as much as possible. We also have the Tijaniyyah, Ahl Sunnah, all of them.
“We are not asking every member to come. It’s just representatives of the organisations so that they will all participate in the programme,” he added.
Why we are supporting him: MUSWEN President – Alhaji Oladejo
In an exclusive interview with Rasheed Abubakar, MUSWEN President, Alhaji Oladejo shed more light on the endorsement of Bola Ahmed Tinubu and expectations from the southwest Muslim community. Excerpts…
MN: What informed the decision of MUSWEN to endorse Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, knowing full well that there are also other Muslims contesting for same presidency?
Oladejo: One thing is that if you look at the occupants of Aso Rock from the Southwest, they are all Christians. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Earnest Shonekan, and so on. There is no Muslim from Southwest who has had the privilege of being there. So, this is a big opportunity to have one of us on that seat.
We are also looking at the track record. The one that is close to us here is that of Lagos. Look at the time when Lagos State created some local councils and their allocation was withheld. Even though they went to court and won, those allocations were not given to them in the life of the Tinubu’s administration. But you find out that without that allocation, the government was able to function. It was then they increased their IGR and were able to do a lot of good projects.
Lagos was the first state to talk about independent power generation in Nigeria. Even though, it wasn’t allowed to work, at least we could see the idea and vision. If you look at it, you find out that the appellation of centre of excellence is well given to Lagos State in terms of performance.
Today, if you look at what other administrations have been building on that foundation, you find out that if there is any state that can do without allocation, Lagos comes first. It can always get better.
We are not a political organisation. We are just a support group, and that’s all.
In a contest like this, you cannot vote everybody. You just have to pick a candidate and you have to put up a good argument for that. We are much more concerned about the federal election. We are not really talking about the state and local elections.
MN: Can we have an insight of some of the programmes you will be presenting to Asiwaju in the interest of the Nigerian Muslims?
Alhaji Oladejo: You can see what has happened recently with the Lagos State Government issuing out a circular on the use of Hijab in public schools. The issue of Hijab is one of those things. But we want to have a demand list which will be for all Muslims in Nigeria. We collate everything and then present to him. We will sit down with other Muslim groups to harmonise our demands. That’s what we will do. We’ll feature that in another bigger forum.
MN: What’s your expectation from the Nigerian Muslims, especially the Southwest Muslim electorate, regarding the endorsement of Asiwaju?
Alhaji Oladejo: We believe that they will do the best and honour Asiwaju with their vote. People are expecting that he would get a lot of votes from this side. I think we should ensure that it’s done by coming out and voting for him on the day of election. Even the Christian community will also vote for him because he has been nice to everyone. It is a matter of the Asiwaju personality involved.
