The Muslim Rights Concern, Oyo State Chapter, has pledged to accompany Professor Ishaq Akintola, the Director of the organization, any time he wants to honor the invitation sent to him by the Department of State Services (DSS), Ibadan, Oyo State. The invitation is alleged to be over the organization’s recent statement on Muslim students in a public school who were forced to sing Christmas carols last week.
MURIC’s release, signed by Professor Akintola and dated December 12, 2022, accused Governor Seyi Makinde of aiding and abetting the age-long oppression of Muslims in Oyo State through Oyo State school authorities.
MURIC cited the example of St Annes schools, Molete, Ibadan, whose principals forced Muslim students and Muslim teachers to join in the singing of the Christmas carol.
MURIC condemned the action as extremist, feudalistic, and provocative.
The attention of Oyo State MURIC has been drawn to the invitation extended to Professor Ishaq Akintola by the Oyo State DSS office by-passing the state branch of MURIC.
Our Director committed no offense, rather Governor Makinde should channel his energy into the fight against those unfair activities committed under his watch.
MURIC Oyo State chapter endorses the press statement on what Muslims are going through in Oyo State and we hereby reproduce part of it. ‘Under Seyi Makinde’s watch, Muslim students were herded like sheep to attend the crusade of a German Christian crusader, Evangelist Daniel Kolenda in November 2021. Oyo State public schools were used for the crusade during school hours.
‘Again under Makinde’s watch, Muslim applicants attending a screening exercise for appointment were made to answer questions on the Bible in August 2020. Under Makinde’s watch, Muslim teachers were forced to attend a screening exercise on Salah day in July 2022. Yet these are schools using public funds and Muslims are the majority among tax-payers in the state’.
The DSS should extend her invitation to us at Oyo State MURIC, not only Professor Akintola, and we will honor it.
Prof Akintola is only the Director of MURIC but there are 36 state chairmen and an Abuja chairman. MURIC has come to stop the oppression of the Muslims that started during colonization. MURIC is the voice of oppressed Nigerian Muslims. We will not allow anyone to silence us.