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Tag: NSCIA

  • Ninth National Assembly: NSCIA warns CAN against incitement on leadership

    The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) yesterday faulted the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) for allegedly inciting National Assembly members-elect to vote for principal officers along religious lines.

    It urged CAN to stop behaving like a political party. It  alleged that the intolerance and political partisanship of CAN and its alter egos were becoming alarming.

    The NSCIA, which made its position known in a statement by its  Deputy Secretary-General, Prof. Salisu Shehu, urged CAN to apply to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for registration as a political party.

    It accused CAN of allegedly mounting surreptitious pressure on Christian judges serving in the various election petition tribunals across the country, under a pseudo-Christian organisation, to ensure the victory of Christians and/or their sympathisers.

    CAN  in a statement of appeal to the coming Ninth National Assembly, asked members-elect to  ”balance the appointments of your principal officers across religious divides to avoid domination and marginalization of any kind in the interest of equity, justice, and fair play as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”

    It went on: “Although both the Senate and the House of Representatives have several principal officers, our focus here are the Senate President, the Deputy Senate President, the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker. As it has been the practice since 1999, whenever the Senate President is a Christian, the Speaker of the House has always been a Muslim and vice- versa. And the same thing happens to their deputies.”

    But the NSCIA described CAN’s plea as ill-advised and ill-motivated.

    Read also: Your political interferences causing disunity, Christian group cautions CAN, others

    NSCIA said: “Given the trajectory of the recent activities of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), like other informed groups and people in Nigeria, cannot but wonder whether CAN still remain a religious body or a political party in a religious garb.

    “The Council is persuaded to believe the latter because of the Association’s posture as the counterfoil for and opposition to everything Islam and Muslims in this country.

    “We cannot also but wonder whether Islamophobia has indeed not replaced the more important responsibility of giving direction to millions of our compatriots who are law-abiding citizens of the Christian faith. It is really benumbing that CAN appears to be giving credence and relevance to the rhetorical question asked centuries ago: “if gold rust, what should iron do?”

    “Specifically, the statement issued by Pastor Adebayo Oladeji (Special Assistant Media and Communication to CAN President) on behalf of CAN is the last straw to break the camel’s back in the Association’s ill-advised and ill-motivated interventions in the polity.”

    The NSCIA reminded CAN that past National Assembly leaders were voted for on merit and without religious colouration.

    The statement added: “Is CAN suffering from selective amnesia or is it just obsessed with chronic mendacity? Was there no CAN between 2009 and 2011 when Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu was the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Senator David A. B. Mark was President of the Senate and Senator Ike Ekweremadu was Deputy Senate President? Was there religious balance in 2007 when David Mark was elected Senate President and Patricia Etteh was elected Speaker? Was there no 1999 Constitution at that time?

    “Even prior to 1999, the two arms of the National Assembly were headed by Christians. For instance, while between 1979 and 1983, the Senate was headed by Joseph Wayas and the House of Representatives by Ume-Ezeoke, from October to December, 1983, Joseph Wayas and Benjamin Chaha were leading the respective chambers. Furthermore, in the aborted Third Republic, the Senate Presidents were Iyocha Ayu and Ameh Ebute while the Speaker was Hon. Anakwe.

    “Meanwhile, the NSCIA welcomes with pleasure the fact that CAN has finally agreed that the correct interpretation of the Section of the Constitution quoted in its letter to the National Assembly includes religious balancing.

    “It is in this spirit that NSCIA calls on the Federal Government of Nigeria to conduct a holistic census of all Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies, including higher institutions, to determine whether there is anywhere Muslims constitute up to 30 per cent of the staff strength and thereafter ensure compliance with the sections of the Constitution cited by CAN.

    The chronic intolerance and political partisanship of CAN and its alter egos are becoming alarming as they are ardent at purveying blatant falsehood and fake news.”

    It urged CAN to apply to INEC for registration as a political party instead of serving as front for politicians.

    It said: “Let CAN apply to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be registered as a full-fledged political party as “politicians in cassock”, to quote the CAN President himself, rather than front for politicians who nurse the ambitions of holding political offices. In other climes such as Australia, Germany, New Zealand, etc., there are Christian political parties and CAN should rather be straightforward and apply to be registered as a political party, if the Nigerian Constitution allows that tomfoolery.

    “It is hypocritical for CAN and its alter egos to claim to be on the side of justice by forming the ‘National Peace Committee’ which is not surprisingly dominated by Christian clergymen. The pretense of the ‘Peace Committee’ had been exposed by the various comments/actions of their prominent members.

    “ For instance, a member, prior to the last election, took a partisan posture masquerading as a good doer and incited the people of Southern Kaduna against the government while another member, despite his level of education, could not avail himself of historical facts but rather chose to spit the dummy that “the low turnout at the gubernatorial election was a loud protest against the outcome of the 2019 presidential polls”.

    “All these are not surprising as it is on record that CAN itself had maliciously referred to President Muhammadu Buhari as a ‘bad product’.

    “The NSCIA is also well-informed of the surreptitious pressure CAN is mounting on Christian judges serving in the various election petition tribunals across the country, under a pseudo-Christian organisation, to ensure the victory of Christians and/or their sympathisers.  Even the recent release of the so-called National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) lends credence to this point

    “The indecorous and outright partisan statement by CAN which is meant to polarise the country has created doubt in NSCIA and any right-thinking person about the genuineness of the partnership of CAN with NSCIA. What is the essence of conferring with hate-filled religious leaders whose wish is for Muslims to be exterminated from the polity and Nigerian society?

    “All these must stop! CAN should save itself of creating hatred in the minds of well-meaning Nigerians through its divisive and evil-impelled interventions.”

     

  • ‘Cooperate with Buhari to build virile nation’

    Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, Ekiti State chapter, has called on the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, in Saturday’s poll to accept defeat and join hands with the winner.

    NSCIA said the opposition party should see the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari as a true decision of Nigerians, urging them to join hands with him to build a virile nation.

    The Islamic group said sustainable development could only be achieved when opposition parties criticize constructively.

    In a statement signed by its President, Alhaj Yakubu Sanni, the council congratulated President Buhari on his electoral victory, saying it was his integrity that earned him the electoral success.

    Read also: Senate: ‘How we dislodged Saraki, Ajimobi, Akpabio, Alasoadura, Sani’

    The group, which called on Nigerians to inculcate the virtue of integrity in all their dealing, urged the president to be magnanimous in victory.

    The NSCIA urged President Buhari to be relentless in the fight against corruption, focus more on the security of lives and property and put in place policies that would make life worth living for an average citizen.

  • Shagari fought for Nigeria’s growth, unity, says NSCIA

    THE Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has described the late Second Republic President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, as a selfless leader, who among other things fought for Nigeria’s unity and progress.

    A statement issued by the NSCIA Chairman of Media Committee, Femi Abbas, said the late former president was such a household name and quintessential role model, whose legacies many Nigerians cannot afford to discountenance.

    The NSCIA condoled with his family and chieftains of the Sultanate of Sokoto State, among whom the body said Shagari was a front-liner in his lifetime.

    It prayed to the Almighty Allah to repose the late Shagari’s soul in eternal bliss and grant his immediate and extended families the fortitude to bear the agony that might arise from his demise.

    The statement reads in part: “When the media announced the demise of a Nigerian political icon and first Executive President, Alhaji Shehu Aliyu Usman Shagari, last Friday with a reverberation effect across the world, many Nige count of the episodes that propelled the deceased to have made history as much as he was himself made by history.

    “The late President’s life was like a huge elephant surrounded by blind men and women of letters and substance. To describe the features of that proverbial elephant, each of the persons that surrounded it would only be able to give an account of the area he/she is able to touch on the body of the mammoth animal and not the whole of it.

    “Nevertheless, the aspect that concerns the NSCIA) most in his life’s odyssey is religion.

    “It can be recalled that it was Alhaji Shagari, as Nigeria’s first elected Executive President, that approved the sum of N10 million each for the commencement of building a National Mosque and a National Ecumenical Church in Abuja at a time when naira was really strong and the foundation of Abuja as a city was just being laid.

    “That Presidential gesture, which no religious group rejected, was a confirmation that Nigeria is indeed a multi-religious and not a secular country as being peddled in certain quarters for selfish reasons. Today, the two houses of worship are conspicuous in Abuja with their grandiose postures to the finite attraction of foreign tourists, who see them as symbols of national unity.”

    It added: “Not only that, the late president also tackled diplomatically and militarily, as then warranted, a frightening national crisis in the guise of religion engendered by one Cameroonian called Muhammad Marwa Maitatsine in most parts of Northern Nigeria in the Second Republic.

    “Though Alhaji Shagari was a quiet and easy going personality, he never wavered in taking necessary decisions in the interest of unity in the country. As a Muslim, Alhaji Shagari never hesitated in justifying the principle of justice, fairness and equity, which his religion (Islam) emphasises.

    “As a teacher in the early part of his life, he was exemplary in touching the lives of his students positively and in grooming those students for future leadership. As a politician, he displayed such a special trait that distinguished him as a template designer and a dark horse in Nigeria’s political racecourse. This great man’s political sagacity was like a major Faculty in the University of Life, into which many forward-looking leadership aspirants in Nigeria were eager to seek enrolment for specialisation in African political education.

    “Alhaji Shagari was the eminent Dean of that Faculty even as the vibrancy of his tenure, which remains enduring till date, is a testimony to the template he set for Nigeria’s democratic dispensation. For Nigerian generations of the colonial era as well as those of the First and Second Republics, a major falcon of reference has flown away forever, leaving some of his surviving peers to mere dreams in communication encounter.

    “The NSCIA, under the leadership of its President General and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, and the entire Nigerian Muslim Ummah hereby commiserate with the Federal and Sokoto State governments as well as all the citizens of Nigeria while imploring them to learn from the exemplary lifestyle of this icon and emulate it for the progress of Nigeria.”

  • 2019: Use PVC to elect leaders not weapons – Sultan

    The Sultan of Sokoto and President General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs ( NSCIA) Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar on Tuesday urged Nigerian youths to use their PVCs not weapons to choose their leaders.

    According to the reverred leader, is the only sure way to ensure the success of their parties and candidates in the forthcoming elections.

    ‎”I urge you to obtain your PVCs. Without which you cannot not vote for your favourite party and candidates in the forthcoming elections in 2019.

    “We should see our PVCs as religious and weapons not the kind of weapons given to our youths by unscrupulous politicians to cause mayhem in our societies.

    ” If you love Buhari, the only way you can ensure his success is obtaining your PVCs and same thing with Governor Tambuwal and other aspirants,” he said

    Sultan made the call in his message to Muslims on the occasion of Ed-el-Adhan.

    The religious monarch also reiterated his call on them to shun acts of thuggery or violence, saying no election worth a precious life of any Nigerian.

    He maintained that traditional rulers have no favourite party or candidate other than the choices of their subjects.

    Read Also: 2019: Fight for political offices, Youths urged

    However, the royal father appealed to politicians and political parties not to take politics as do or die affairs, stressing that only God gives power to whoever He wishes and at the time He wishes so.

    “We should therefore play the game by its rules. We should avoid making inflammatory and divisive statements in our politicking. And after the election whoever God gives the office we should support him to succeed,” he said

    He further urged Nigerians to continue supporting their leaders with prayers and advices in order to deliver on their mandates successfully while reminding them of the need‎ to also pray fervently for a sustained peace across the country as according to him, no country would progress without a permanent peace and tranquility.

    In the same vein, the religious leader commended the efforts and resilience of security agencies in their drive towards securing the country.

  • Ibadan Chief Imam defies NSCIA

    •Cleric leads prayer

    CHIEF Imam of Ibadanland Sheikh Abdul-Ganiyy Agbotomokekere yesterday  defied the directive from the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) that Muslim faithful should observe this year’s Eid-el-Fitri today (Friday) .

    Contrary to the directive, the Chief Imam called out Muslims in Ibadan to observe it yesterday.

    The Olubadan of Ibadan land, Oba Saliu Akanmu Adetunji, was also at the praying ground located at Agodi Gate area of Ibadan to observe this year’s prayer.

    The Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN) yesterday urged Islamic stakeholders to search for the crescent of the month of Shawwal 1439H, after sunset yesterday.

    MUSWEN, in a statement signed by its Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, Prof Dawud O. S. Noibi, requested stakeholders to comply with NSCIA’s directive.

    However, despite this directive, there were prayers in some parts of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, led by the chief imam.

    All the effort to speak with the chief imam proved abortive as his aides didn’t allow him to grant media interview.

     

     

     

     

  • NSCIA’s press statement

    NSCIA’s press statement

    Preamble

    In a seeming reaction to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN’s) belligerent salvo fired venomously at the leadership of Nigerian Supreme on January 15, 2018, which was widely publicized by Nigerian media on January 16, 2018, the NSCIA issued a Press Statement published last Tuesday to put the records straight . An excerpt from the statement signed by Deputy Secretary General of NSCIA, Professor Salisu Shehu and entitled ‘CAN’S PENCHANT FOR MISCHIEF AND HATE’ reads as follows:

    “The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), under the leadership its President General and Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Saad Abubakr CFR, mni, makes this press release in response to the recent campaign of venom, hatred, calumny and unimaginable malice that smacks of intolerance and political brigandage by Reverend Musa Asake, the Secretary-General of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in response to the advice of the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI).

     

    Awareness

    Many Nigerians are aware that NSCIA would ordinarily refrain from joining issues with CAN, but the silence of the Council seems to give the impression that only CAN has the license and reason to complain and impugn motives. Like other right-thinking Nigerians who hoped that the ignoble past of this erstwhile respectable Association would be confined to history especially with the change of leadership, it is disappointing that Rev. Asake, a beneficiary of the old order of institutionalized corruption, is still there making hate speeches, heating the polity and diminishing himself and his Association. Little wonder that the new President of CAN publicly cut him to size when he said Rev. Asake’s formal endorsement of Governor Ayo Fayose’s alleged Presidential ambition was personal as “there was no time CAN or the president of CAN authorized such a letter.” It is now clear that Rev. Asake’s political leaning is not personal, as claimed, but a smoke-screen to deceive the public”.

     

     Without Decorum

    “Rev. Musa Asake’s CAN derisively and uncouthly referred to President Muhammadu Buhari as “a bad product”. He made further outlandish statements characteristic of egocentric, relevance-seeking and loquacious politicians associated with discredited political parties and called out “the President of Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs” (sic) in his attempt to react to two Nigerians he disagreed with. Was President Jonathan declared a bad product at any time by CAN despite the earth-shaking atrocities of his government?

    It is no longer a secret that CAN has since its last Administration descended to the abyss of infamy. The role the leadership of CAN played during the dark days of the past corruption-riddled Administration is well recorded. CAN did not call for heaven to fall when private planes were being openly used to support money-laundering and (failed) gun-running enterprise which involved its leadership….”

     

     CAN’s Campaigns of Calumny

    “The unfortunate escalation of the herdsmen/farmers conflict has been exploited by the cantankerous CAN scribe to cast aspersion and spew venom, hatred, calumny and invectives at Muslims in Nigeria. Reading some of the effusions coming from people like Rev. Asake, who should be a custodian of good conscience and beliefs in this country, one wonders the type of models they would be for their followers. After hobnobbing with the powers that be during the last Administration, taking their right and every other thing left in the vast corruption enterprise that they criminally ran with their partners in crime, the strategy now is to cry wolf where there is none, make a storm in a teacup and shout of maginalisation and Islamization, even though they are the ones still in charge, in order to totally emasculate Muslims in their own country…”.

     

     Herdsmen/Farmers’ Violent Clashes

    “The state of insecurity presently being experienced in some parts of the nation is owed to fundamental factors than the simplistic delimitation of the crisis to the desire of the Fulani herdsmen to re-launch the “Caliphate’ afresh. While the NSCIA deprecates and denounces all acts of violence no matter the motive or cause, the Council considers it an infantile indulgence in crass ignorance, a manifestation of noxious prejudice or a predilection for roguish subterfuge to insinuate that the herdsmen who are suspected of brigandage or criminal behaviour are doing that in the name of Islam. The NSCIA says this because it recognizes that Churches are already ‘planted’ in various parts of the North even in the homeland of the Caliphate where the Fulanis have become sheep in the house of God”.

    “Furthermore, NSCIA knows that the current challenges posed by the herdsmen/farmers conflicts to our security speak to a greater cankerworm assailing the nation. These include erosion of mutual trust and love among the citizenry, easy access to weapons of violence, failure of the herdsmen to appreciate and get attuned to the new challenges and circumstances posed by modernity, loss of national values and the quest for quick money which has made kidnapping a new industry since the reign of former President Goodluck Jonathan. Thus to argue that President Buhari has been treating the security challenges posed by the Fulani herdsmen attacks with kid gloves because he is Fulani is not only arcane and puerile but also tantamount to saying that the reason why President Jonathan could not permanently stop the militants’ attacks in the Niger Delta was because he is of Ijaw tribe…”.

     

     State of Federal Appointments

    “Despite the data provided by the President’s Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, on President Buhari’s federal appointments so far and the consequent rebuttal to the erroneous impression of an Islamist agenda on the part of the current Government at the federal level,  with data showing that Ogun, Imo and Kano States have enjoyed the uncommon privilege of the highest patronage from the Federal Government, certain groups and individuals in the nation like CAN still accuse the President of  Northernization/Islamization agenda. In its recent press release on this matter, CAN mentioned Education and Security sectors. Always listed are NUC, NBTE, JAMB, NABTEB and TETFund. Has CAN forgotten so soon that in the past 15 years, the Executive Secretaries of NUC have been  Christians? Has CAN forgotten so soon that the last substantive Executive Secretary of TETFund up to 2016 was a Christian? Has CAN forgotten so soon that in the last 20 years, except for 14 months (i.e. May 2015 – September 2016) the Registrars/CEO’s of NECO till date have been Christians? Has CAN forgotten so soon that during the past ten years before August 2016, the Registrar of JAMB was a Christian? When almost all the appointees were Christians and Southerners, it was normal but when some are Muslims and Northerners, it is nepotism, favoritism and discrimination”.

    “Again, has the CAN forgotten that under a past Christian President, the Chief of Staff was a Christian, the Chief of Air Staff was a Christian, the Chief of Army Staff was a Christian, the Chief of Defence Staff was a Christian, the DG SSS was a Christian, the DG of NIA was a Christian and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) was a Christian? Is this a case of selective amnesia or that of acute balefulness? NABTEB, TRCN and NIEPA have never for once been headed by a Muslim to date. That is normal?”

     

    Southern Muslims

    “When the Muslims Ummah of the Southwest (Nigeria (MUSWEN) complained that all the Seven (7) Ministers from the zone were Christians, the former President Jonathan initially refuted it, though he belatedly at the twilight of his tenure brought in Senator Musiliu Obanikoro from Lagos and Jelili Adesiyan from Osun State for window dressing”.

    “It is on this note that in order to demonstrate that we are fair and we do not condone injustice, we call on the Federal Government to commence immediately, the process of conducting a religious census of not only the leadership but also the staff membership of all Ministries, Departments and Agencies with a view to confirming or refuting the allegation of CAN leaders when they visited the President. We know the allegation is another barefaced lie, the stock-in-trade of CAN”.

    “Then, while commiserating with the victims of the recent attacks in Benue,  we strongly call for a thorough investigation of all aggressions, including the initial ones in Mambilla and Numan in Taraba and Adamawa States respectively. We expect the Federal Government to expeditiously redouble its efforts at arresting the current state of insecurity in all parts of the country. We also urge CAN leaders to follow and obey the teachings of Jesus Christ of love, peace-making, compassion and standing by truth and justice, and not follow the path of the devil by always being invidious, insidious, mischievous, vicious and hateful in its postures and pronouncements”. God save Nigeria.

     

  • Ekiti Muslims excluded from top federal jobs, says NSCIA

    The Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) in Ekiti State has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to correct the alleged exclusion of the state’s Muslims from federal appointments.

    The body, which described the situation as “injustice”, expressed dismay that the Federal Government gave Muslims no appointment into its statutory boards, corporations and agencies.

    In a letter, dated January 1, by its President, Alhaji Yakubu Sanni and Secretary Alhaji Tajudeen Adejumo, the state’s NSCIA said there were qualified indigenous Muslims in the All Progressives Congress (APC) for any federal job.

    The body said its letter was prompted by appointments of Ekiti State indigenes as chairmen and members of boards of corporations and agencies by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The highest Muslim body in the land said it considered the exclusion of Muslims as injustice because the 23 appointees from Ekiti State were Christians.

    In the letter: Exclusion of Ekiti Muslims from National Appointments, NSCIA said majority of Muslims in the state voted for Buhari in the 2015 presidential election.

    It said: “We observed that in all the series of national appointments made so far, we could not find a single Muslim from Ekiti State.

    “We see this as serious on us as a people with lots of stakes in this country, given the fact that we have eminently qualified Muslims who are active members of the APC in the state.

    “Muslims have always been side-lined in the politics of Ekiti State and we hope that President Buhari will redress this injustice, more importantly when majority of us supported your candidature and victory as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

    The group said it was “sure” the President was “not a party to this marginalisation of Muslims in Ekiti State,” adding that it was “surprising that this anomaly was not corrected in the recent appointment, given that Muslims account for about 40 per cent of the population of the state”.

    The NSCIA named the appointees and their positions and attached same to the letter addressed to Buhari.

    It added: “We respectfully appeal that this injustice be promptly redressed.”

  • Sultan declares Dec. 20 as first day of Rabi’u Asani

    Sultan declares Dec. 20 as first day of Rabi’u Asani

    The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, has declared Dec. 20 as the first day of the Islamic month of Rabi’u Asani, 1439 AH.

    The declaration was contained in a statement issued in Sokoto on Wednesday by Prof. Sambo Junaidu, Chairman, Advisory Committee on Religious Affairs, Sultanate Council, Sokoto.

    It said:”The Sultanate Council Advisory Committee on Religious Affairs,in conjunction with the National Moon Sighting Committee, did not receive any reports from various moon sighting committees across the country confirming the sighting of the new moon of Rabi’u Asani 1439 AH on Monday, which was the 29th day of Rabi’u Awwal , 1439 AH.

    Read Also: Sultan attributes crisis, attacks to lack of education, proper orientation

    ’The Sultan and President-General, Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in Nigeria (  NSCIA ), has accepted the reports and accordingly declared Wednesday, 20th December, 2017 as the first day of Rabi’u Asani, 1439 AH.

    ”The sultan wishes all Muslims, a happy new Month. May Allah ( SWT ) accept our religious deeds.”

    It urged all citizens to care, love and protect one another, adding that the Islamic virtues of unity, peace and honesty should be imbibed all Muslims.

  • Christian elders flay NSCIA over stance on Sukkuk Bond

    Christian elders flay NSCIA over stance on Sukkuk Bond

    The National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) yesterday criticised the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs’s statement (NSCIA) that the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN)was suspicious of Islam for kicking against Sukkuk Bond.

    CAN had last week frowned against what it described as “unrelenting plan” by the Federal Government to introduce Islamic financing into a secular state.

    NSCIA then issued a statement that while the council is tolerating Christianisation, CAN was suspicious of Islam.

    Insisting that Sukkuk was covert Jihad contrary to Sections 1 and 10 of the Nigerian Constitution, a statement issued yesterday in Abuja by NCEF Chairman Chief Solomon Asemota (SAN) said: “The allegation that CAN is Islamophobic is untenable and purely mischievous.”

    NCEF said if leaders of Islam in Nigeria have “demonstrated inability to call Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen to order” after the alleged atrocities both committed against Christians, churches, businesses and Christian communities, it would be unfair and unjust for the same Islamic leaders to turn around and accuse Christians of Islamophobia.

    “It is akin to slapping a man and yet complaining that the man screamed. Do leaders of Islam expect Christians to keep mute while violent Jihad (Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen) and stealth Jihad also known as stealth jihad with money (Sukkuk) are all used to negate Section 38 (1) of the Constitution and destroy the secularity of the Nigerian State?” the statement queried.

  • Sukuk bonds: NSCIA accuses CAN of Islamophobia

    The Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) hit back yesterday at the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) for its objection to the recent issuance of Sukuk bonds by the Federal Government.

    The Christian body had claimed the bonds issuance  and their offering to Arab countries was part of the plot by government to  Islamise the country.

    But reacting to the CAN allegation yesterday, the  NSCIA Deputy Secretary-General,Alhaji  Salisu Shehu, said the CAN statement smacked of Islamophobia, given that Nigerian Muslims  have tolerated Christian ways imposed on the country.

    He said: “CAN cannot claim ignorance about the fact that even the World Bank has been involved in issuing Sukuk and the floating of Sukuk bonds.

    “Interestingly also, several non-Muslim countries across Africa, Europe and Asia have instituted Islamic Financial System generally and Sukuk in particular. Worthy of mention here are Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Russia, China, Singapore and a number of firms in the United States.

    “Less than two years ago, Britain hosted a world conference on Islamic Banking and Finance and David Cameron, the then British Prime Minister, openly declared that their intention was to make UK the hub of Islamic finance in the world.

    “It would certainly be embarrassing for CAN to be told that the first and foremost state in Nigeria to submit application for loan to the Islamic Development Bank is a Christian-dominated state in the South-East.

    “This has been the factor that made Muslims to tolerate several practices or things that are essentially Christian in nature and outlook, in substance and form and indeed in principle and practice, but imposed on us.

    “We have not been talking of Christianisation because Sunday has been forced on us as a work-free day, or the cross as our hospital sign and symbol, our membership of the International Red Cross, and many other things including almost all the titles of the heads of academic institutions (chancellor, provost, dean, rector, etc.).

    “Despite this remarkable tolerance from Muslims over the years, CAN appears to be increasingly becoming Islamaphobic and paranoid about its hate and intolerance of Islam, casting aspersions, unnecessarily overheating the polity and unjustifiably creating fear and distrust in the minds of peace-loving citizens of our great country.

    “We are poised to advise CAN to, in the spirit of Biblical injunctions, uphold the truth for its sake and tread the path of honour and refrain from statements capable of causing disaffection and promoting disharmony that may lead to conflict in the country.”

    A N100 billion worth of Sukuk was sold  on the local market to fund road projects