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Tag: NSCIA

  • CAN flays NSCIA’s stance on pastor’s daughter’s abduction

    The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has faulted the position of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) on the alleged abduction of Miss Charity Uzoechina, 24-year-old daughter of a Pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, by Etsu Nupe.

    CAN, in a release entitled “The impunity must stop”, said it is particularly alarmed by the recent position of the apex Islamic body, NSCIA, justifying abduction and custody of a female Christian student in a federal institution in Bida, allegedly by the Etsu Nupe, within his traditional domain as proper.

    According to the Christians’ body, it had expected the highly influential apex Islamic religious body to join it in outright condemning of what it described as “wholly indiscreet, illegal and unconstitutional action of the Etsu Nupe.”

    CAN noted that “this contemptible conduct cannot be justified on any ground, much less on the frivolous premise of threats to her life, thereby denying her access to her parents and family. If indeed there was such a threat, the Nigerian Police and our criminal justice system are adequately equipped and capable to handle it.”

    Condemning the stance of NSCIA on the abduction of Charity allegedly by Etsu Nupe, CAN wondered if criminal abduction was an alternative to the criminal justice process; and what would have been the reaction of the Islamic body if such an act were alleged against a Christian public functionary or institution.

    Aligning itself with statements reportedly expressed on the issue by CAN President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, the association said: “The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) wishes to state categorically that the statements variously expressed by our President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejiafor, are not his personal views or opinions but that of the association. We wish to affirm that all his statements have been veritable, patriotic, in good faith and meant to curb the tide of illegality and impunity in our national life.”

    Similarly, CAN took exception to NSCIA’s criticism of its stance on CBN governor, Lamido Sanusi Lamido’s arbitrary and unilateral adoption of Organisation of Islamic Countries’ (OIC) banking model.

    The Christians’ association also called on the public, particularly the Nigerian Bar Association and other professional associations, civil society organisations, unions and all well-meaning Nigerians “to demand that the Inspector General of Police secures the immediate release of the abducted girl back to her parents.”

    It also urged the Inspector General of Police “to forthwith investigate and prosecute the Etsu Nupe for this criminal act, and, if found wanting, to face the full wrath of the law. The point must be made that no one is above the law.”

  • CAN, Muslim body disagree over pastor daughter’s abduction

    CAN, Muslim body disagree over pastor daughter’s abduction

    The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) on Wednesday engaged in war of words over the alleged abduction of the daughter of a pastor by the Emir of Bida, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar.

    The Vice President of CAN, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, called on the police to ensure the immediate release of the pastor’s daughter.

    The victim is a student of Federal Polytechnic, Bida.

    Ayokunle made the call during a press conference held at the NBC Secretariat, Dugbe, Ibadan, on Wednesday.

    The president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, had accused the Emir of abducting the daughter of a pastor and keeping her in his palace for some weeks.

    But, the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs described comments by the CAN President as being deliberately targeted against Islam and Muslim leaders.

    NSCIA, in a statement signed by its acting Director of Publicity, Muhammad Kassim, said it had become a normal routine for the CAN president to target his outbursts at some Muslim personalities in the country.

    However, the CAN Vice-President, said the response of the NSCIA to the Oritsejafor’s statement on the alleged abduction was unfortunate and could lead to unnecessary incitement.

    “As Vice-President of Christian Association of Nigeria I wish to state that the comments our President made were never directed at Islam because we are never a disrespectful people.

    “CAN will never fail to speak through our president or any other officer mandated to speak on our behalf on any national issue or about anyone in the society whose action appears to be inappropriate,” Ayokunle said during the press briefing.

     

  • NSCIA urges leaders on responsibilities

    Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) Secretary-General Prof Is-haq Oloyede has urged the country’s leaders to be conscious of Allah in discharging their responsibilities to the followers.

    The apex Muslim body also called on Muslims to shun violence and pray for leaders at all levels for Allah’s guidance and justice.

    Oloyede enjoined Muslims to pray for peace and tranquillity in the spirit of Ramadan fast.

    Oloyede hailed the governor of Bayelsa state, Henry Seriake Dickson, for the paid advertisement of his felicitation with Nigerian Muslims over the commencement of Ramadan, thereby displaying a good understanding of the letters of religious tolerance in a pluralistic society like Nigeria.

    “It is a gesture worthy of emulation. The council commended special Ramadan service by Dana Airline and urges all other corporate bodies to always extend to Islam and its festivities the usual courtesies,” he said.

  • NSCIA: Tasks before Oloyede

    The emergence of the immediate past Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede, as the new Secretary-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) did not come as a surprise to many keen watchers of the erudite scholar and versatile administrator vis-à-vis his activities as a cosmopolitan and pan-Nigerian Muslim activist. His antecedents speak volumes of his suitability for the position. Indeed, his appointment on May 7, 2013, during the National Executive Council meeting of the NSCIA in Kaduna is akin to putting a round peg in a round hole.

    The former President of the Association of African Universities (AAU) is very familiar with the issues that define the raison d’être of the foremost Islamic organisation, having been involved, at a very tender age, in the mobilisation and conscientisation of Muslim youths during his undergraduate days when he was the National President of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN). Apart from this, Prof. Oloyede has been a member of the National Executive Council of the NSCIA since 2002 when he became its assistant secretary-general.

    Above all, his position as Co-Secretary/National Coordinator of the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) has put him in a vantage position as the right person to champion and cement the much-needed peaceful co-existence among practitioners of the two major religions in the country. No doubt, Prof. Oloyede is a respected voice in the country today and very well admired by many eminent Nigerians and even the international community.

    However, as well suited as he is for the position, Prof. Oloyede should realise that he has a big task ahead of him, especially as he is taking over the seat from a veteran and pre-eminent Muslim leader, the late Dr. Abdul-Lateef Adegbite, who tried his best to nurture the Islamic body and made it an organisation to reckon with in the country. But much still need to be done.

    Prof. Oloyede must therefore be prepared to build on and even surpass Dr. Adegbite’s legacies. The new NSCIA scribe should immediately set to work on how to further bridge the gap between Northern and Southern Muslims. This should not be a difficult task for the former vice-chancellor, being a Southern Muslim with pan-Nigerian world view, and having a lot of friends and associates across the country.

    As a first step, the new head of the NSCIA secretariat should set in motion modality for erasing the manifesting dichotomy between Northern and southern Muslims in the discordant timing of the commencement and termination of the yearly Ramadan fast. Every Nigerian Muslim was happy over the national concurrence in the timing of the last Ramadan timing, the first in recent history.

    The new NSCIA Secretary-General should also use his national exposure to begin a more serious search for inter-faith harmony in the country. He should initiate a constructively engaging inter-faith dialogue between Muslim and Christian leaders with the ultimate aim of bringing religious leaders from both divides together for a sustainable harmonious co-existence. There is no gainsaying that fact that most religious crises the country has witnessed so far were instigated by the incendiary statements of some religious leaders. So, if the leaders could be made to see reason why they should preach what both religions teach to their congregation – the bottom-line of which are human brotherhood, peace and harmony – fewer adherents of any of these two faiths would want to carry arms against the other.

    With Prof. Oloyede at the head of NSCIA Secretariat, it is expected that the Islamic body would take on a more pro-active role in national politics, a role that is expected of religion as the conscience of society. He is expected to lead the NSCIA in championing a programme of national revival and ethical reorientation, with emphasis on the role of religious leaders in rescuing the nation from the precipice which politicians are currently pushing it. There is no denying the fact that many Muslims occupying leadership positions in the country today are not living up to their calling. So, there is an urgent need to initiate a national programme to monitor such Muslims and ensure that they serve as good examples to their non-Muslim counterparts. This will not only help in positively projecting the image of Islam, it could also be the dawn of a new era of accountable leadership and ultimately national development.

    With his pedigree of a Nigerian in a hurry to make his mark in every position he finds himself, it will not be out of place to say with certainty that Prof. Oloyede will make a difference in his new assignment and the Muslim community and Nigeria at large will be the better for it.

    A shrewd manager of men and resources, Prof. Oloyede has become a reference point in university administration not only in Nigeria but in Africa as a whole. A stickler for undiluted academic excellence and uncompromising discipline, he left an indelible mark at the University of Ilorin where he was Vice-Chancellor until October last year. Acknowledged nationally and internationally, he was instrumental to most of the feats achieved by the university in recent times. The tenure of Prof. Oloyede as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin (2007 – 2012) witnessed an unprecedented transformation of the 35 year-old second generation university. Not only is the academic calendar now predictably stable unlike what obtains in many other Nigerian universities, the quality of graduates produced by the university has significantly imporved.

    Prof. Oloyede’s sustained association with the President-General of the NSCIA, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Mohammad Sa’ad Abubakar is another pointer to the fact that the organisation’s headship would be a great study in harmonious team spirit. And this will positively enhance consensus building for the benefit of the Nigerian Muslim community. With God’s continued guidance, the former university administrator is expected to bring his wealth of experience to bear on his new assignment.

     

    • Akogun is the Deputy Director, Corporate Affairs, University of Ilorin.

  • NSCIA urges govt to resettle displaced Muslims

    The Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) yesterday urged the government to immediately resettle all displaced Muslims in crisis-ridden areas of Bauchi, Plateau and Kaduna.

    It also urged an end to what it called “deliberate plans to exterminate Muslims in Wukari, Taraba State”.

    In a communiqué at the end of its meeting in Kaduna, the council frowned at the continued failure of the government at the state and federal levels to implement White Paper reports of various commissions/panels of enquiry into various ethno-religious crises and conflicts across the country.

    In the communiqué, read by the newly appointed Secretary-General, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, the council urged the government to prosecute all those who have been arrested and accused of criminal activities.

    The communiqué reads: “…Muslims should continue to propagate Islam wherever they are and remain peaceful, even in the face of provocation. The council will continue to protect the interest of Muslims in the country.

  • NSCIA to pick Adegbite’s successor today

    Leaders of Nigeria’s Muslim Ummah are expected to pick the successor of the former Secretary-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), the late Dr Lateef Adegbite.

    Two candidates from the Southwest – Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, a former University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) Vice-Chancellor and currently the Executive Secretary of the National Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) as well as Prof Tajudeen Gbadamosi, the Chairman, Joint Technical Committee of the Lagos State Muslim Council, have emerged.

    A meeting will hold today at the headquarters of the Jamatul Nasril Islam in Kaduna to pick the successor.

    The position became vacant following the demise of the Dr Adegbite on September 28, last year.

    The issue of who succeeds the late Adegbite has pitched Muslims in the Southwest, where the seat is zone to, against one another.

    While leaders of the NSCIA in the zone settled for Prof Gbadamosi, a professor of History, the Muslim Ummah in South West Nigeria (MUSWEN) preferred Prof Oloyede, who was Dr Adegbite’s assistant, to step into the late lawyer’s shoes.