* We’ve been neglected because of our faith, says Dr Afikpo
The Muslim community in Southeast and Southsouth regions of Nigeria decried the alarming rate of exclusion from leadership positions at both federal and subnational levels.
They also raised concerns about marginalisation and deliberate killings, especially by the proscribed group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a lot of which have occured without justice for the victims.
In an interview with Muslim News, Chairman of the South Eastern Muslim Organisation of Nigeria (SEMON), a global umbrella body for Ndi’Igbo Muslims, Dr. Suleman Afikpo, said the situation of the Muslim minority in Southsouth and Southeast has not improved and is only getting worse.
Surprisingly, Bishop Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe of the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi, recently made a claim before the United States Congress that Nigerian Christians were being targeted for killings.
The Federal Government has however debunked the claim. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged that though there are security concerns in the country, both Christians and Muslims are affected.
The gruesome killing of Harira Jibril, a 32-year-old pregnant Muslim woman and her four children (Fatima, Khadijah, Hadiza and Zaituna) in May 2022 allegedly by members of proscribed terrorist group, IPOB has not received justice to date.
“The killings have remained an unresolved cases of murder. A comprehensive report of the slaughter with all the pictorial evidence were included in a petition SEMON wrote to the Inspector General of Police and copied all arms of the Government,” Dr. Afikpo said.
“Lo and behold, our follow-up has always been ‘come today, come tomorrow’. We have not been responded to, besides the usual lip-service of the government of Anambra State.
“The murder case has remained a pain in our neck. We will continue to demand justice for Harira and her children.”
Speaking further, Dr. Afikpo lamented how their members have been shortchanged at both federal and state levels despite their overwhelming support and participation in the elections that brought the leaders to power with reference to 2023 presidential election.
According to him, “In the whole of Southeast, for instance, there is no single Muslim that’s appointed as commissioner despite our active participation during the elections that brought most of them to power.
“We have always worked with them for the progress of the states and interest of our members who have been marginalized. We are not always remembered during sharing of leadership positions”, he noted.
The leader of the Igbo Muslim group related the roles SEMON played during the last presidential election, saying that they endangered their lives to campaign for Muslim-Muslim ticket despite threats from many of their kinsmen who worked supporting Labour Party (LP).
“But today, there is no federal and state appointments for our members, many of whom have qualifications. This discrimination has been on for years and we experienced it at every election. Come 2027, we will still go out and vote. We have to keep struggling, maybe one day, it might be our turn to serve our country or states.
Dr. Afikpo also alleged that the position meant for the South-South in the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) was given to an “outsider”, whom he claimed is from Akko LGA in Gombe State.
The SEMON Chairman maintained that such action is an insult to the entire Igbo Muslim community of the South-South in particular.
He asked if there were no qualified people from the entire region.
“I have some of my mates in the university that read Islamic Studies residing in Southsouth. But they picked an outsider from Gombe to represent the region. That is marginalisation,” he said.
The Igbo Muslim leader called attention to how they have similarly been neglected by their brethren in the Muslim majority regions of the country, noting that the situation should change.
“They don’t know the challenges we face on a daily basis. From the non-Muslims in the East. We face discrimination, exclusion and Islamophobia. All our problems would be presented and nobody gives us a listening ear, even from the Muslim majority regions. we are more or less being tormented. It is really pathetic,” Dr. Afikpo said.
He gave instances on how relief items sent down to Nigeria by foreign countries for the benefit of the Muslim Ummah hardly get to Southeast and Southsouth in most cases.
“This is Ramadan, and let me take this year for example. There are palliatives and there are other supports – iftar and others – that come from not only within the shores of Nigeria but from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. They come in the name of the Muslim Ummah of Nigeria, but unfortunately these palliatives and supports do not get to the Southeast and the Southsouth.
“Containers of dates were sent to Nigeria for the Muslim Ummah, but we have not received even a pack of such in Southsouth or Southeast. Are we not among the Muslim Ummah? We are disappointed. When palliatives of the federal government were shared through religious groups, none reached the Southeast and Southsouth.
“Majority of Muslims in our regions are reverts. Allah has categorically mentioned that we should be assisted in the Qur’an. But we are not always being carried along.”
The SEMON Chairman acknowledged that a few organisations like the Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation in Lagos have been extending hands of support to Muslims in the Southeast and Southsouth, but stressed that the situation could still be a lot better.
He said efforts are ongoing by Muslim stakeholders in the region to produce a Noble Qur’an translated to Igbo language.
He noted that while there are existing publications, they were largely borne out of business interest with no regard for professionalism.
“In no time, we shall announce a unanimously agreed-upon translation by scholars of the region, insha Allah,” he said.
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