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Tag: MSSN

  • MSSN seeks end to gender violence, religious intolerance

    Female members of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN), Lagos State, have urged an end to gender imbalance and domestic violence. Their Amirah (leader), Hajia Hafsah Badru, said the rights of women were still being trampled on, urging the authority to strengthen laws protecting the women in the country.

    Hajia Badru, who spoke at an event to commemorate International Women Day, said the rights of women against discrimination, violence and religious intolerance appeared to be protected only on newspapers.

    Despite universal declaration of human rights by the United Nations and the country’s Constitution, ‎she said, women were yet to be protected from the oppression. She said female students particularly were still being harassed, suspended and beaten up for exhibiting their rights to practise their religion.

    She urged governments at all level to study the UN declarations as adopted by the 36th session of the General Assembly in 1981 and a second resolution adopted by the 48th session in 1993.

    She said: “Despite the provisions of the Holy Quran, our Constitution and international laws on freedom of religion, we are still made to face tough times in practising our religion in Nigeria. This is highly condemnable and unfair. The high rate of discrimination has grown that a government in Nigeria demolished mosques for unacceptable reasons and rejected the use of hijab in public schools by Muslim pupils.

    “It is saddening that religious inequality and domestic violence against women are still reigning. In few of the instances where partial religious freedom is allowed, our parents went to court with funds that could have been used to finance our education to enforce our rights. This is injustice and the whole world can attest that no country will attain development in an atmosphere of inequality.”

    Hajia Hafsah advised women not to forget their primary role of raising morally upright children and building of peaceful home.

    She added: “I salute the courage and sagacity of women who have made Islam proud and aided national development at different levels. However, we must remember that having good homes is the bed rock of a peaceful and secured society. Always remember the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), that if you train a woman, you have trained a nation.”

    She urged men to stop discrimination against women, stressing that the government must protect the rights of women, justice and tolerance to achieve lasting peace.

  • N10 reduction in oil price shameful, says MSSN

    The Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN), Lagos State Area Unit has described the reduction in the fuel price of petrol from N97 per litre to N87 per litre as shameful.

    The MSSN said the Federal Government embarrassed the people’s sensibilities with what it called “meagre reduction”.

    In a statement by its president, Kaamil Kaleijaye, the group lamented that despite public outcry, President Goodluck Jonathan allowed corruption to fester in the oil sector.

    Kalejaiye said: “Despite that it took so much time and complaints to reduce the oil price, it still came to us as a insincere. Why does FG keep destroying the integrity of Nigeria in international community? Where other countries are making their citizens happy with more percentage decrease, the President compounded our sadness with N10 decrease. We must state clearly that as students, we are neither happy nor impressed with the reduction. It is a complete cheat on us.

    “Even if we want to talk of cost of refining, we should still have the more reduction because if there is a significant fall in oil price, there should also be a significant change in oil price. The Federal Government should give Nigerians what we deserve based on standard and not what their so called ‘cabal’ dictates that should hold.”

    “The Federal Government,” he said, “have told Nigerians in the past that without subsidy, Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) pump price should be N147 but with more than 50 per cent drop in the price of crude oil, the reduction should be around 50 per cent, so a reduction to less than N73 is expected.”

    The leader of the students-based organisation also suspected foul in the reduction, faulting that it has no multiplier effect on other derivatives.

    He said: “The reduction as a cheat is further proven by the partial and suspicious gesture of the Federal Government which only reduced petroleum prices. Since it is reduction on crude oil, why is it that it is only petroleum that was reduced and no reduction announced for other derivatives of crude oil? Since Kerosene, diesel are also derivatives of crude oil, they should also be reduced.

    “The government cannot feign ignorance that kerosene is what is mostly used by the masses, hence should reduce it immediately. It is worrisome that Nigerians need to always complain before government do the right thing.”

    He urged the Federal Government to fix the challenge of missing barrels of crude oil to enable Nigerians enjoy the full benefit of the natural resources.

    “The Federal Government must stop making Nigerians suffer for its inadequacies. It should account for the daily missing oil barrels and give Nigerians what they deserve,” he stated.

  • MSSN to host 5,000 at vacation programme

    No fewer than 5,000 students are expected to attend Islamic Vacation Camp (IVC) seminar, which starts next Saturday. The event with the theme: Steadfastness is organised by the Lagos State Area Unit of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN).

    According to a statement signed by Society’s Amir (president), Kaamil Kalejaiye, the seminar is being held for voluntary workers. He said the event would begin with camping of secondary school pupils at Alubarika Primary School in Bariga from December 21 to 26, while students of higher institutions will be camped in Human Capital Development Centre, Noforija in  Epe axis of Lagos between December 27 and January 1, 2015.

    The programmes lined up for the event include memorisation of Quran,  mentoring sessions, capacity building seminar and networking, among others.

    Kalejaiye said: “The camping event is committed to upholding societal values of honesty, diligence, patience, hard work, commitment, and fear of God, in addition to entrenching, spiritual uprightness, and academic excellence.

    “The IVC is to inculcate necessary leadership skills in the participants to make them excel in any field of human endeavour them find themselves. There will be soul-inspiring lectures, live-changing career talks, and spiritual activities to make the camp experience worthwhile.”

    The MSSN president urged Muslims not allow themselves to be carried away by the Yuletide festivities at the expense of their spirituality. He identified sin as factor responsible for the sufferings of humanity, noting that grave sins are committed in December.

    He added: “We cannot continue to live in iniquity and expect development in our society. God is all-forgiving but that does not mean that we should commit more sin. Events like IVC are important to help individual attain spiritual fulfillment and development.

    “We believe that the concept of Islam should be extended beyond our private life to our communal life, because a bad society can kill our faith. We must strive to purity the soul of our society and we will not relent on this.”

    Kalejaiye urged parents and guardians to allow their children attend the event, saying it would complement their upbringing efforts.

    He urged the public to assist in the Society in developing the MSSN’s permanent site in Epe. “We urge Nigerians with giving spirit to assist us in achieving our goals. Our hope is to see the completion of our permanent sit in Epe and we need about N 300 million to complete it,” Kalejaiye said.

     

  • Judgment on hijab against the Constitution, says MSSN

    Judgment on hijab against the Constitution, says MSSN

    The Lagos area unit of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN) has described the decision of the Ikeja High Court to uphold the ban of hijabs in primary and secondary schools in the state as a rape on the constitution.

    Justice Grace Onyeabo last Friday ruled against the MSSN suit against the Lagos State government, saying such practice would affect the secular nature of state.

    The MSSN rejected the judgment, saying it would deny Muslim students their rights to observe a practise of their religion.

    The Amir (president), Kaamil Kalejaiye, accused the judge of neglecting facts and misinterpreting the law, stressing that the Constitution and international charters guaranteed the freedom of religion of everyone.

    Kalejaiye said: “It is shameful that the judge denied the students a right that is not only godly but also supported by the Constitution. Do we call that a misinterpretation of the constitution or rape on the law? We want to believe that the judge’s wisdom is not above the provision of the constitution. While we remain undaunted and won’t relent on our resolve to get female pupils dress according to Islam tenets, we reject in totality the judgment and urge every Muslims to do so.”

    The MSSN said it was only demanding enforcement of the right of Muslim student and not a favour from the government. Kalejaiye said the Society had started consultation with members and sympathisers, including parents to prepare for the next line of action.

    Kalejaiye insisted that the judgment was not fairly served, noting that the action of the government to allow the use of hijab during Islamic Religion Knowledge classes and Jumaat prayer showed that it was permissible.

    He added: “There is contradiction in the judgment and the provisions of the Constitution. While the judge claims that Nigeria is a secular state, the Constitution recognises two major religions, which are Islam and Christianity. It must be noted that the government finances the schools with tax paid by our parents and indirect tax by us. So, we have rights to demand for what is lawful under the Constitution.”

    The MSSN Amirah (female leader), Hafsah Badru, said hijab could not distort the secularity of the state. She said there had not been punishment for harassment of Muslim pupils for using hijab.

    “Some states in the Southwest, such as Ekiti have granted the use of Hijab in schools and they don’t have problem with maintaining their secularity as claimed by the judge. Why should Lagos be different? Wearing hijab is constitutional and must be seen as such,” Hajia Badru said.

    The counsel to the MSSN, Chief Gani Adetola-Kassim (SAN), said the Society would appeal the judgment.

    Adetola-Kassim said: “The court has spoken, but there are many issues to be considered, which means that we will appeal the judgment. We are simply not satisfied with the court decision. The angle through which the court looked at the issue was at variance with the provisions of the constitution. We will definitely appeal.”

  • Killings, a national tragedy, say Muslims

    Killings, a national tragedy, say Muslims

    Nigeria Inter Religious Council (NIREC), Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN) Lagos State Area Unit and The Criterion, a group of Muslim Women in business and professions, have described the series of killings and bombings in the country as a national tragedy.

    NIREC Executive Secretary Prof Is-haq Oloyede, told reporters in Ibadan yesterday that he was pworried that the killings were on the increase, despite all efforts to curtail it.

    “It is a national tragedy which defies all logic and civility,’’ he said.

    Oloyede, who doubles as the Secretary-General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, (NSCIA), urged all Nigerians across all denominations to jettison political and religious propaganda.

    The religious leader said that the nation was going through a trial and “all hands must be on the deck to collectively combat these calamities’’.

    “We must all rescue our nation from impending doom and ensure that we restore peace and sanity in our country’’ Oloyede said.

    Oloyede called on men of goodwill to do all within their powers to curtail the menace which has taken a dangerous dimension of killing innocent school children.

    “While we appreciate the efforts of government and other security agencies, we urge them to be more tactical and strategic in confronting the unfortunate development,” he said.

    Oloyede equally called on all parents, to take good care of their children and prevent them from taking hard drugs or join a bad gang, which in most cases, the root cause of the problem.

    He commiserated with the families of those killed and called on the security agencies to fish out the perpetrators of the act.

    MSSN Lagos State Area Unit Amir (President), Kaamil Kalejaiye enjoined President Goodluck Jonathan to take strategic and dynamic approach towards arresting the perpetrators of inhuman acts.

    Kalejaiye said “The spate of unjustified killings have now gone much diabolic that we never can tell where next the subsequent attack would occur. Neither the numbers, nor those killed appears to be important. Lives, no longer seem to count for much. They have become sheer statistics reeled off at conference to authenticate information.

    “We condemn these killings and all forms of killing of innocent souls, we state once again that those who are trying to paint Islam bad and black will meet their waterloo very soon.

    “We however pour a heart wrenching condolence on the life of innocent souls that were lost in Yobe, Borno and all other places in Nigeria where these attacks are taking place”.

    Government, Kalejaiye said has the responsibility to not only protect citizens, but to make them feel safe.

    According to him, to win the war against insurgents, personal and political considerations have to receive less attention than millions of lives terrorists place at risk. He said: “The indiscriminate attacks put everyone at risk, terrorists and their supporters alike. Improvement on intelligence gathering and provisions for the security agencies would make the volatile parts of Nigeria peaceful again”.

    The Criterion’s National President, Saudat Abu Baqi said mothers are weeping for the loss of innocent souls for no fault of theirs.

    “It is saddening that innocent promising children could be cut down in their prime while in search of knowledge,’’ she said.

    According to her, the wanton killings have dampened the sense of security and brought instead fears and grieves of attacks.

    The Criterion called on the federal government to deploy all machineries at its disposal to preserve human lives, restore human dignity and project Nigeria as a country safe for all.

    “We also call on well-meaning Nigerians, regardless of their religious or cultural leaning, to shun personal bigotry and join hands with relevant authorities in finding solution to the scourge,” she said.

     

     

     

     

  • UNILAG VC, Folawiyo, others for MSSN conference

    The Annual conference of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN) Lagos State Area Unit will hold on Sunday at the Main Auditorium of the University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba.

    The conference is expected to usher in a new administration that will pilot the affairs of the organization for the next two years.

    The theme of the conference, ‘Sustainable Development, Nigeria as a Case Study, according to a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer, Sulaimon Alamutu, is aimed at calling the attention of policy makers in the country to act for the benefit of Nigerians.

    The Dean, Faculty of Arts, Lagos State University Prof Lakin Akintola will be guest speaker while Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof Rahaman Bello, will chair the event.

    Other guests include the Giwa Olori Giwa of Lagos Central Mosque, Alhaji Tijani Tunde Folawiyo; Chairman, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) Lagos, Alhaja Gbolahan Dawodu, among others.