“CAN IS SO UNFAIR!” – SULTAN AT MSS IVC

Speaking as enlightened Muslims, we always say it loud and clear that most of our Nigerian Christian fellow citizens and compatriots are quite nice people, gentle folk, unassuming humans, hospitable persons, and generally easy to deal with. We understand each other well – at work, in the neighbourhood, on travel – because we suffer the same insecurities, the same economic deprivations, the same social iniquities, and the same political shenanigans by political adventurers of both faiths, and of no faith at all.

That is why, in fact, we this week wish them, our Christian compatriots, the best of this their festive season, and pray that may the blessings and protection of the Good Lord be upon us all, against insecurity, against inflation, and against all manners of crises. We wish them well as we acknowledge that they also generally reciprocate these felicitations during our celebrations at the two Sallahs and beyond.

But that happy note, alas, cannot be said of their umbrella organisation known as the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). The leaders of CAN are deliberately always trying to put intractable wedges between adherents of these two faiths who, left alone, would find ways to weather their storms in the turbulent waters of a vexatious nation such as we have.

The foregone are not my words – I am paraphrasing my leader spiritual and temporal, His Eminence the Sultan of Sokoto. In not so many words, the Sultan, speaking Wednesday at the closing ceremony of 77th annual Islamic Vacation Course (IVC) of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN) at Bayero University, Kano, said he was shocked by the recent statement of CAN supporting US’s accusation of Nigeria as a country where ‘their religion is persecuted’. CAN, it seems, always waits for any slight opportunity to latch on to and castigate Muslims and their leaders.

The shock of the Sultan knew no bounds – he said that he had been in a meeting with CAN’s leadership only a couple of days earlier, and none of this matter of ‘persecution’ came up for discussion. Yet as soon as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released a list naming Nigeria along with others such as Burma and China and Saudi Arabia as ‘countries…engaging in violations of religious and on US Special Watch List (SWL)’, CAN came out in support.

For a long time, exuberant and zealous young Muslims have always desired that our spiritual leaders eschew the apparent over-indulgence and over-accommodation of CAN by replying them kobo to Naira, and dirty to dirtier. But the decorum of the present Sultan (who actually bends over backwards to ensure peace and accommodation) is sadly not for once reciprocated by the CAN leadership. How so sad!

The Sultan added: “If such persecution really exists, why was this not tabled at the Interfaith forum just the other day where Muslims and Christians leaders met to discuss issues to promote harmonious coexistence between the two religions.” But all the same, the Islamic Supreme Leader appealed to Muslim faithful not to be provoked by CAN’s statement, which he described as false and partial (though many were half-provoked, though calm).

Luckily for Nigerian Muslims, we have an “Answerer-in-Chief” – Prof Is’haq Akintola of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) who is permanently ‘provoked’ and ‘agitated’ until injustice against Muslims is ended. In his retort titled ‘CAN, US Ganging Up in Iniquity’ on this vexatious CAN mudslinging, he echoed the Sultan by saying: “CAN is simply playing to type. This is a group that does the hurting and harming, yet it is always the first to scream. It has only manifested its naivety in modern international politics because US’s own human rights record is nothing to write home about particularly regarding its attitude to issues affecting Muslim nations and Muslims in general.

“US sanctions are used selectively against Muslim nations in order to weaken them militarily and economically. What is the US doing about the rights of Palestinians and others? Israel is free to kill and maim Palestinian children while America uses vetoes to frustrate resolutions of the United Nations against Israel. In fact, democracy is a sham if assessed against the backdrop of happenings in the UN where America alone can stop any decision made by the rest of the world.

“The US has thrown religious persecution as a bait. Unfortunately, CAN has swallowed it, hook, line and sinker. CAN should remember that religion or no religion, America’s national interest is America’s priority. America has no permanent friends. The US has thrown religious persecution as a bait. Unfortunately, CAN has swallowed it.”

He added: “Instead of breaking up in 2015 as predicted, Nigeria is waxing strong. Therefore, a spanner must be thrown at the works to justify forceful intervention and a grip on Nigerian oil. But America should do some introspection. Those who claim to be the champions of democracy in the world cannot, in good conscience, beat their chests and say, ‘We have been fair to all’. America complains to Nigeria that Christians are being killed even when it is well known that Muslims are the greatest victims of the killings.

“Muslims of Southern Nigeria have been complaining of persecution for decades but America turned its deaf ears. America pretends nothing is happening to Nigerian Muslims even when the Muslim girl child is locked out of school over an ordinary head scarf which is even allowed in US schools. Our message to CAN is this: allow America to set fire to your country and we can assure you that it is not the Muslims alone who will face turmoil. Our people say that when a hen perches on a rope, neither the hen nor the rope will enjoy stability.”

Finally, the MSSN IVC, true to Islam’s borderless universality, welcomed from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Kabir Bello MSSN Ameer and Nefisat Umeka Abugu MSSN Ameerah whose first ever trip to the North was facilitated by Senator Ibrahim Shekarau.

Ma sha Allah.