16th June, 2024
PRESS RELEASE:
OPPRESSION:
UNIPORT HOLDS FIELD TRIP ON SALAH DAY – MURIC
Students
of the University of Port Harcourt are currently on a field trip today, Sunday,
16th June, 2024 for a course called ‘Geological Mapping Project’
despite being Salah day and a public holiday and in spite of appeals from the affected
Muslim students. Meanwhile the
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has described the incident as the height of religious aggression, undue transgression and naked belligerence
in the ivory tower.
This was revealed in a statement signed by the Executive
Director of the human rights advocacy group, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
The statement reads:
“Students of the University of
Port Harcourt are currently on a field trip today, Sunday, 16th
June, 2024 for a course called ‘Geological Mapping Project’ (Course code: GLY
414.2) despite being Salah day and in spite of appeals from the affected Muslim
students. This is definitely the height of religious aggression, undue transgression and naked belligerence in the ivory
tower.
“Incidents of religious apartheid committed against Nigerian
Muslims particularly in the South-West, South-East and South-South have grown
geometrically from an epidemic to a pandemic. Our office treats as many as two
or three such cases every day. Even when we should be celebrating Salah like
other Muslim faithfuls, we are busy in the office today trying to resolve this
case. It has become a recurring decimal.
“By condoning this act of oppression against Muslim
students under them, the University of Port Harcourt has disappointed millions
of Nigerians who regard the tertiary institution as a centre of excellence. What
excuse will the institution give for allowing this to happen? Who in Nigeria
does not know that today is ‘Id al-kabiir (Salah) day?
“The university took the students out for the field
trip today, Sunday, 16th June, 2024 which is Salah day. They also
took the Muslim students to a mosque in Enugu for the Salah prayer. This was
what the Vice Chancellor promised after the Muslim students complained to him.
“This is a poor damage-control strategy and it is
hereby rejected. Festivals are marked with families and the students wanted to
travel to their home states and cities to be with their families, not in an
unfamiliar environment like Enugu (from their university in Port Harcourt) even
if it is in a mosque.
“Therefore, the Vice Chancelor missed the point. He has
enslaved Muslim students and made them unwilling captives. By the way, the
field trip continues tomorrow and it is expected to last several days. No Salah
for poor and helpless Muslim students.
“There is a law
against the violation of religious freedom in this country: Section 38(i)&(ii)
of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria but Nigerian
Christians seem to have sworn to always use their official positions to cause
hardship for Muslims under them. Unfortunately, the government encourages the
ugly situation by ignoring the wicked acts while the oppressors grow in leaps
and bounds in criminal impunity.
“Those who are always quick to call Muslims abusive
names like fundamentalists, terrorists, extremists, etc, need to take a second
look at themselves and the non-Muslims who persecute vulnerable Muslims. This is
one good case to note.
“It is the silence of the authorities who should check
oppressors but who choose to keep mum that is responsible for the perpetuation
of the persecution of Muslims. But we know that something will have to give
when Muslims are pushed to the wall.
“Nigerian
Muslims will not forget this conspiracy of silence. In the words of Dr Martin
Luther King Jr, ‘In the end, we
will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.’ He
also added, ‘The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad
people but the silence over that by the good people.’ We may want to extend
that to the silence of the Ministry of Education.
“Haile Selaissie rounded it off when he opined, ‘Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those
who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better;
the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it
possible for evil to triumph.’
“We call on the Ministry of Education to institute a
probe into this incident because it is capable of causing religious misunderstanding.
It can also widen the gulf between Muslims and Christians. We wonder why interfaith
bodies at both national and state levels have not been commenting on such
incidents.
“The good people among the Christians must join hands
with other Nigerians to pull down the evil empire that champions the
persecution of Muslims in this country. This Babylon is the handiwork of hate-preachers.
But it must fall. This is a task that must be done, not by Muslims alone but by
all men of conscience.”
#UniversityOfPortHarcourt
#MinistryOfEducation
#FieldTripSalahDay
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Founder/Executive Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC).
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