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Tag: MURIC

  • MURIC hails FG’s suspension of degrees from Benin, Togo

    MURIC hails FG’s suspension of degrees from Benin, Togo

    The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has commended the Federal Government for suspending the accreditation of degrees from the Republic of Benin and Togo.

    Prof. Ishaq Akintola, Executive Director, MURIC stated this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

    “A laudable move was made by the federal government when it suspended the accreditation of degrees from the Republic of Benin and Togo for their irregularities and fraudulent practices (FG Suspends Accreditation of Degree Certificates from Benin Republic, Togo

    “It will be recalled that Umar Audu, an investigative journalist of Daily Nigeria newspaper, reported recently that he bagged a degree within six weeks of being admitted into one of such universities and also served as a corper in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) with the certificate obtained. The undercover journalist received both the transcript and certificate of the Ecole Superieure de Gestion et de Technologies (ESGT), Cotonou, Benin Republic after six weeks only.

    “MURIC lauds FG for banning those fraudulent certificates. The holders of such fake credentials pose grave danger to the lives of Nigerians and the quality of public service too.

    “We charge the ministries of education at both federal and state levels to be wary of holders of such certificates. Those found to have been employed with them should be shown the way out. Furthermore, the security agencies should fish out those behind the fraudulent admissions within Nigeria. Those are agents of the fake tertiary institutions in faraway Benin and Togo. They should be made to face the full wrath of the law,’’ Akintola said.

    He added: “We demand investigation into circumstances surrounding the clearance letter issued by the Federal Ministry of Education which confirmed that the university (ESGT) is on the ministry’s list of accredited institutions. It was this letter which enabled NYSC to accept 51 fake graduates to serve in the scheme. On its own part, NYSC authorities must take necessary action on the 51 fake corpers from ESGT who are serving illegally. They must be flushed out.

    “We also advise gullible but innocent Nigerians who have obtained the certificates to quickly set the machinery in motion to correct the anomaly.

    They should upgrade themselves by seeking authentic university admission either within or outside the country.

    “Education may be the key to technological breakthrough and the concomitant industrial progress, but half-baked education and fake certificates are deadly dynamites in the system which are capable of destroying everything that may have been achieved.

    “Before we draw the curtain, we find the undercover journalist equally worthy of encomiums. He went underground to unearth this educational fraud. He put his life on the line for the sake of his country. Umar Audu is worthy of emulation by his colleagues in the Fourth Estate of the Realm.”

  • Allow married women to bear their fathers’ names – MURIC tells FG

    Allow married women to bear their fathers’ names – MURIC tells FG

    The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has tasked the Federal Government to allow married women to bear their fathers’ names.

    Prof. Ishaq Akintola, Executive Director, MURIC, stated in a statement in Abuja on Monday.

    “Our attention has been drawn to the plight of married Muslim women who are being disallowed by employers from bearing their fathers’ names. This amounts to forceful enslavement, denial of Allah-given fundamental human right to parental identity and wrongful dismissal of loco parentis.

    “We condemn the current practice for three major reasons, namely, for generating confusion in the society, for creating a monumental identity crisis among married women and for depriving women of their Allah-given fundamental human right to personal as well as parental identity in marriage.

    “Instead of this, we advocate the adoption of the women-friendly Islamic practice which allows married women to bear their fathers’ surnames after marriage.

    “No woman dropped suddenly from the sky and even if some appear out of nowhere, they must have been born, bred, nurtured, buttered and marmaladed by certain parents before they grew up and matured into womanhood. Their education was also sponsored by their parents at a time that the future husband probably knew nothing about them and spent no kobo on their upbringing and their education,’’ he said.

    He added: “It therefore beats logic, fairness and natural justice that a husband appears out of nowhere to commandeer a woman’s parental identity simply by marrying her. Such identity robbery also has its advantages.

    “For instance, women who are educated are forced to advertise change of names to their husbands’ surnames after marriage in order to retain the validity of their documents and properties. It often becomes very difficult and sometimes impossible for married women to be located or to retain old friends due to such change of name.

    “Those who want to be sincere among married women today will confirm the stress they have gone through from this experience. Islam sets women free from such stress by permitting married women to retain their original family names.

    “Contrary to the general claim that Islam discriminates against women, Islamic liberation theology actually teaches respect for the dignity of women in all circumstances. One of such circumstances is the period when women are in wedlock. Whereas Western civilization robs married women of their original family identity by insisting that they should bear their husbands’ surnames, the Shari’ah allows women to bear their own fathers’ names even after marriage.’’

    “We therefore invite the Federal Government and other relevant authorities to set the machinery in motion towards allowing married women to bear their fathers’ names. In particular, we charge both houses in the National Assembly, Senate and the House of Representatives, to introduce the necessary bills that will set Nigerian women free from undue masculine domination.

    “This advocacy is not for Muslim women alone. We are certain that Muslim women are not the only ones who feel the pinch. MURIC will love to see every married woman who desires to be identified by her father’s name enabled to do so. Our lawmakers should frame the clauses in such a way that all women can enjoy the freedom to choose between bearing their fathers’ names or their husbands’. It is time to set Nigerian women free. They are the mothers of our society.

    “We contend that the whole gamut of women liberation struggle boils down to a sham and a mirage until this goal is achieved. A married woman is not a slave. She is not just a dot in social statistics. She has a soul and that soul yearns for love. She covets to love and be loved, not only by her husband but also by her family and vice versa. Nigeria must not fail her. Parental identity is sacrosanct. Husbands can never replace fathers in matters of parental identity and that is what the current system compels women to go through. Enough is enough”.

  • MURIC tasks FG on bombing of 120 Kaduna villagers

    MURIC tasks FG on bombing of 120 Kaduna villagers

    The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has tasked the Federal Government to investigate the bombing of 120 villagers in Tudun-Biri, Igabi Local Government of Kaduna State by the Nigerian Army.

    Prof. Ishaq Akintola, the Executive Director, MURIC, said this in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday.

    “Army drones killed 120 innocent villagers at Tudun-Biri, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Sunday, Dec. 3. The victims were celebrating the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) when the ugly incident occurred.

    “Although the Nigerian Army has accepted responsibility for the attack. We strongly condemn the killing of unarmed and innocent villagers. The incident reflects carelessness and lack of professionalism.

    “MURIC demands full investigation into the circumstances surrounding this disaster. Those found responsible for the callous murder of these innocent Muslim villagers must be made to face the full wrath of the law.

    “We also demand full compensation for lives lost and properties destroyed in this thoughtless attack. Live is sacred and soldiers should not turn innocent civilians to lawful targets of their killing machines,” he said.

  • Supreme Court verdict: ‘Both of you are Muslims’ – MURIC tells Atiku to congratulate Tinubu

    Supreme Court verdict: ‘Both of you are Muslims’ – MURIC tells Atiku to congratulate Tinubu

    The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called on the main opposition candidate, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, to congratulate the winner, President Bola Tinubu.

    In a statement issued on Friday, the Executive Director of MURIC, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, implored Abubakar, to display Islamic brotherhood and political maturity by congratulating the winner.

    Akintola said that politics was over as the legal fireworks had come to an end with the final pronouncement of the Supreme Court.

    ”But we have a country to build and the time to do it is now.

    “Both of you are Muslims and that is important to MURIC. First and foremost, you were both Muslims before becoming politicians. You must now join hands to heal wounds, to build bridges and to allay fears,” he said.

  • MURIC sends SOS to President Tinubu on Lagos-Abeokuta

    MURIC sends SOS to President Tinubu on Lagos-Abeokuta

    The Muslim Rights Concern on Monday, sent a Save Our Soul(SOS) message to President Bola Tinubu over the deplorable condition of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.

    The Lagos and Ogun Chairmen of the group, Dr Busari Ademola and Alhaji Jimoh Alao, in a statement said that the 81km federal highway has continued to be a death trap.

    “We are calling on the federal government to revisit the construction of the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway.

    “The road which was first constructed more than 40 years ago by the Muritala-Obasanjo regime linking over 200 communities has made life unbearable for thousands of road users.

    “The condition of the expressway is embarrassing, and with the return to democracy since 1999, the citizens of our dear States keep wondering if the route is attracting enough government attention.

    “The contract for the reconstruction of the road was re-awarded in 2018 to some construction companies but till date, no significant progress could be seen,” they said.

    The chairmen, in the statement, said that the road experience along Ijaiye-Alakuko axis of Lagos via tollgate, Sango, Ifo, Itori, Papalanto and Obada near Abeokuta, was brutal and painful with so many deep holes.

    “Therefore, we call on President Tinubu and relevant authorities and agencies to expedite action in constructing a viable, motorable and secure expressway to save the lives of Nigerians.

    “We equally sympathise with thousands of Nigerians who are regular users of the road despite its unbearable state of dilapidation.

    “We urge them to be hopeful, the relieve is inevitable as the governments of Lagos and Ogun will find a lasting solution to the deplorable condition of the expressway without further political bureaucracy,” the statement said.

    The federal government on Aug. 31, proposed to jointly rehabilitate the Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta expressway with the Ogun State government.

    The proposal was made by the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, during a courtesy call on Governor Dapo Abiodun in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

    The minister was on a tour of federal roads in the State, along with officials of the ministry.

    Umahi, while responding to Governor Abiodun on the frustration experienced by Ogun and Lagos States during the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to get the road done, disclosed that the period of bureaucracy in road construction in the country was over.

    Umahi noted that if the Federal Government is looking for corporate organisations to get involved in road construction and management, state governments should not be denied the same opportunity.

    He said, “Let me say something about the frustration you had while you and the Lagos State government wrote to take over the reconstruction of the Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta road. Let me announce to you that it falls under our new programme, the High Way Development Management Initiative. It is a public-private partnership programme.

    “People should begin to look at a state as a corporate entity. If you are looking for investors to come and invest on our roads; to construct, to own, to maintain and toll, why shouldn’t a state do that?;” the minister said.

     

  • No to security deal with Israel – MURIC tells Wike

    No to security deal with Israel – MURIC tells Wike

    The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has faulted plans by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Mr Nyesome Wike, to partner with Israeli security experts on security challenges.

    MURIC stated this in a statement on Thursday, by its Executive Director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola in Abuja.

    “The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesome Wike, yesterday disclosed that he was working on a deal to partner with Israeli security experts for the improvement of security in Abuja.

    “We like to warn that such collaboration with the state of Israel will exacerbate Nigeria’s security problem by escalating it from a local crisis to an international fracas engineered by MOSSAD (Israel’s secret spies) with the likelihood of Nigeria becoming the center of rivalry for global espionage outfits like the American CIA and the Russian SVR and FSB.

    “We believe that Wike is now courting the Israelis because, like most Nigerian Christians, he holds the wrong notion that Israel is a Christian state whereas the reverse is the case. Several instances confirm that the only religion Israel recognises and respects is judaism.

    “Just yesterday, Wednesday, Sept.4 Jews spit on Christian pilgrims in Jerusalem, Christians are under constant attacks in Israel,” he said.

    Akintola added: “To cap the edifice, Israel’s arrogant posture at the United Nations as it shuns the latter’s resolutions is legendary. At least 45 UN resolutions have condemned Israel’s aggression against Palestianians.

    “A terrorist state cannot be the ideal security partner for us in Nigeria. Wike should take the Israelis to Rivers State. Israel constitutes an existential threat to both Muslims and Christians in Nigeria.”

  • MURIC calls for probe into religious crisis in FUNAAB

    MURIC calls for probe into religious crisis in FUNAAB

    The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has tasked the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir  Mamman, to investigate the circumstances surrounding the religious crisis at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), to save it from total collapse.

    Prof. Ishaq Akintola, the Executive Director, MURIC stated this in a statement on Friday in Abuja.

    “FUNAAB has been engulfed in religious crisis for several months without any solution in sight. Whereas female Muslim undergraduates who use hijab or niqab in other universities all over the country have free access to their campuses, lecture rooms and examinations, FUNAAB has been a horse of a different colour.

    “Female Muslim students in niqab are disallowed from entering the campus. They cannot attend lectures or write examinations. The situation degenerated about two months ago when a female guest lecturer in niqab who was invited to an Islamic programme in the school was not allowed to enter.

    ”It led to a peaceful demonstration held by the Muslim students. There has been no solution, weeks after the demonstration and the condition of the female Muslim students remains the same.

    “MURIC is deeply concerned with the plight of the Muslim girl-child in FUNAAB. We cannot fathom the rationale for the harsh treatment being meted out to female Muslim students whose only crime is that they have elected to shun material recklessness, immorality, indecent dressing and prostitution.

    “We are equally at a loss to understand why FUNAAB under the watch of Prof. Olusola Babatunde Kehinde should be different among all other Nigerian universities. Female Muslim students who use niqab do so freely in other institutions,’’ Akintola said.

    He added: “Female security personnel on those campuses carry out identification exercises on the veiled students whenever and wherever necessary and there have been no hitches. But the vice chancellor of FUNAAB has totally rejected the idea.

    “It should be noted that many of the female students using niqab in other universities are performing excellently in their studies. One of them just graduated from the University of Lagos with first class. Another female Muslim, Balquis Bintilaye, who uses the veil was the best graduating student in an American university recently, thereby proving that their brains function normally even with their heads or faces being covered.

    “MURIC invites the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, to save FUNAAB from total collapse by instituting a probe into the circumstances surrounding the religious crisis which began since November 2021.

    “A federal university cannot claim to be unaware of the position of the law on religious freedom in this country. Section 38(i)&(ii) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees religious freedom for every Nigerian.’’

    “As far back as 2009, the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the use of niqab as a fundamental human right.

    “It should be noted that the current vice-chancellor, Prof. Olusola Kehinde was acting vice-chancellor from Nov.1 2022 to March 31. He became the substantive vice chancellor on  April 1. It can therefore be adduced that he is not in any way alien to the role played by the university management in the crisis. Even the fact that the niqab imbroglio continues to fester during his tenure speaks volumes.

    “It is our assumption that the vice chancellor may be nursing an incurable persecution complex, lack of the spirit of compromise, desertification of crisis management skill and a fixated determination to deny the Muslim girl-child of her right to education’’.

    “Such rigid mien is alien to academic culture. Acute deficiency in leadership qualities and lack of damage control tactics on the part of the vice chancellor may also be at the bottom of his failure to rein in the religious brouhaha on time.

    “We demand a powerful probe panel into the niqab saga. Female Muslim students who have been disallowed from writing examinations should be given the chance to rewrite the papers in the interest of justice and fairness.”

  • MURIC sends strong message to Gov Makinde over Alaafin stool

    MURIC sends strong message to Gov Makinde over Alaafin stool

    The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), on Wednesday, tasked Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State to follow due process in the selection of the next Alaafin of Oyo.

    Prof. Ishaq Akintola, Executive Director, MURIC, said this in a statement issued in Lagos on Wednesday.

    “There has been prolonged controversy over the right candidate to become the next Alaafin of Oyo since the demise of Oba Lamidi Adeyemi on April 22, 2022 at the age of 83.

    “The authentic kingmakers of Oyo who are known as Oyomesi have kicked against the nomination of Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu who is 85 years old for lack of due process.

    “A document published in various newspapers two days ago and signed by the seven Oyomesi revealed that the candidate duly selected by the rightful kingmakers of the ancient town is Prince Lukman Adelodun Gbadegesin.

    “The Oyomesi group affirmed that it had forwarded the name of Prince Gbadegesin to the governor since Oct.4, 2022,” he said.

    Akintola added: ”According to them, the Bashorun of Oyo, High Chief Yusuf Akinade Ayoola wrongfully picked another candidate, Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu and filed a suit against them in court but he lost the case.

    “This implies that the Alaafin throne has been vacant for almost one and a half years. We urge Makinde to make hay while the sun shines. It is now time to announce the name of the candidate picked by the Oyomesi and backed by the court’s pronouncement.

    “Archbishop Ladigbolu’s attempt to come through the backdoor to the throne of the Alaafin of Oyo is illegal, illegitimate, unlawful and unconstitutional.

    ”Communal clashes which claim hundreds of lives and destroy properties worth billions of naira will be avoided if state governors respect the rule of law and follow due process. Vested interest from official circles in matters relating to tradition often end in tragedies.

    “Tongues are wagging, not only in Oyo town but in the whole state as well as in the whole South West. This time around, Makinde has to prove that the label given to him as the governor who likes to install Christians only as Yoruba kings is unsuitable for him.”

    “This year alone, it happened in Ogbomosho where a Redeemed Church pastor, Afolabi Ghandi Olaoye, was crowned as king and in Iseyin where another pastor, David Olawale Oyebola has emerged the Aseyin.

    “As a peace-loving and dialogue-inclined human rights organization, MURIC urges the state governor to allow the choice of the authentic kingmakers of Oyo town to prevail by announcing Prince Lukman Adelodun Gbadegesin as the next Alaafin of Oyo without any delay.”

  • Appointments: MURIC blasts Tinubu for favouring Yoruba Christians

    Appointments: MURIC blasts Tinubu for favouring Yoruba Christians

    The Executive Director of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), Prof. Ishaq Akintola, on Monday, accused President Bola Tinubu of lopsided appointments in his administration.

    In a statement, MURIC said that mainly Yoruba Christians are being appointed to top positions by the president.

    The group, therefore, advised Tinubu to ensure balance in coming appointments.

    The statement read, “We are shocked to our marrows that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been appointing Christians and Yorubas mainly to key positions since the inception of this administration at the expense of Muslims. For instance, five out of eight security chiefs appointed earlier are Christians. Ministerial posts have not been different.

    “All five key appointments made by President Tinubu to revive the economy were given to Christians and Yorubas mainly. These new appointees include the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, the newly nominated CBN Governor, Dr. Michael Cardoso, Hon. Zacch Adedeji, Acting Chairman, FIRS, the Chairman, Tax Reforms Committee, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele and Mr. Tope Fasua, Special Adviser on Economic Affairs.

    “Many competent Muslims who campaigned and voted Muslim-Muslim ticket during the presidential election were ignored. It is interesting to note that some of those Muslims are eminently qualified to hold key political offices since there are professors, engineers, medical doctors and holders of doctorate degrees among them.

    “To add salt to injury, one of the best Muslim ministerial nominees, the man who championed the Muslim-Muslim ticket and mobilised the whole North behind Asiwaju has been jettisoned. Also, Professor Ali Isa Pantami who took the communication and digital economy to enviable heights during the last administration was ignored. Where, then, is our Muslim president, taking Nigerian Muslims?

    “MURIC rejects this trending narrative that makes competence the raison d’etre for concentrating appointments in any particular tribe, religion or group. Government’s tentacles should be spread nationwide in the search for competence. Neither should the need for skills be used as a cover for the marginalisation of some sections of Nigeria.

    “We assert clearly, emphatically and unequivocally that competence is not the monopoly of any tribe, faith or group. Talented Nigerians are to be found everywhere if sincere searches are conducted.

    “Besides, government should take the lion share of the blame if competent hands cannot be found in any section, creed or group for certain assignments. It means the government has not, ab initio, allowed educational and training facilities to be fairly and evenly distributed, or that government has failed to consciously integrate all segments of the Nigerian society. All sectors must therefore have equal opportunities to participate in governance.

    “This regime must be wary of allegation of nepotism which the previous regime was accused of. Nigeria is a vast country with talented men and women in all nooks and crannies. Government must not just pick the low hanging skills or those on the water surface. It must send its underwater swimmers to dive below the surface in order to bring the gems to dry land.

    “Our message to President Tinubu is this (and we want the president’s handlers to take this to him) the cacophony of voices of dissatisfied Muslims has reached an unbearable crescendo such that MURIC is now constrained to speak up. People are complaining, particularly Muslims from the North and South West and they can only be ignored at the risk of foregoing 2027.

    “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is our Muslim brother but that should not stop us from criticising him if he does the wrong thing. The Prophet (SAW) said, “Help your brother when he is wronged and even when he is wrong…”

    “Traceable as well as well known authors on social media are exchanging lopsided lists either tilted in favour of Christians who did not vote for the Muslim-Muslim ticket or in favour of Yorubas only. Such lists raise questions of nepotism and that of marginalisation of the same Muslims who stood behind Asiwaju and voted massively for him.

    “The pervading hunger everywhere in the land may force some regions to seek a pound of flesh in 2027 if they are denied political appointments where it matters. In particular, President Tinubu should ensure that the North, which was his strategic ally in the 2023 presidential election, is not stinted of political appointments, otherwise he will destroy the thin veneer of solidarity which currently exists between the North and the South West.

    “We remind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that all regions, faiths and sections deserve political appointments. The Tinubu administration must not be the exclusive preserve of the Yorubas at the expense of other tribes, nor the monopoly of Rome at the expense of Madinah. No region must be sentenced to hunger, starvation and political isolation.

    “Tinubu’s next appointments must see a shift in body language. All regions, faiths and sections must benefit from political appointments made by this government while no ethnic group or faith is seen to be favoured above others.

    “Meanwhile we in MURIC accept full responsibility for the dilemma facing Nigerian Muslims as their Muslim-Muslim ticket has turned into a ‘Christian majority government’. We admit being in the forefront of the campaign for a Yoruba Muslim presidency which has become a bone in the throat of Yoruba Muslims in particular and Nigerian Muslims in general.

    “With heavy hearts, we tender unreserved apology, first, to the former governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai for what we led him to even though he showed no interest at the beginning, and to other Nigerian Muslims particularly those who have been accusing us of misleading them.”

  • Ex-Gov El-Rufai speaks on how leadership should be like in Nigeria

    Ex-Gov El-Rufai speaks on how leadership should be like in Nigeria

    Former Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai has harped on the need to practice the culture of citizens-centred governance in the country.

    Malam El-Rufai stressed that citizens-centred governance should be encouraged in the country to drive even development.

    El-Rufai spoke on Sunday at the launch of an autobiography and retirement programme of Prof. Ishaq Akintola in Lagos.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Akintola, a Lagos State University (LASU) lecturer, doubles as the Founder of Muslim Rights Concerns (MURIC).

    He bows out of the university service on Monday, on attainment of the statutory retirement age of 70, and the book, entitled “My Jihad”,  x-rayed his activist struggles and achievements through perseverance, to encourage young social crusaders.

    El-Rufai, who was the keynote speaker and awardee at the programme, said with the present political advancement of the country, any political mobilisation based on ethnic or religious leaning was bound to fail.

    He said that the enthronement of Tinubu-Shettima was a repeat of Abiola-Kingibe’s feat.

    According to him the sound-footing with which the Tinubu leadership was going had deflected the ranks of those that did not see any good in the same faith ticket that propelled them to power.

    “As a people, the earlier we distil ourselves from the primordial ethnoreligious perception of things, especially as it concerns national leadership, the better for us.

    “The way with which the present administration at the centre is changing things for the common good of the Nigerian people within a short period shows that leadership should be hinged on merit and not entitlement basis.

    “We must de-emphasise religion and ethnic colouration for us to build a society where no one should be discriminated against on the basis of ethnic nationality, religion or political leaning.

    “As members of the two major religious groups in the country, if we find ourselves in public positions, we should ensure we practice the basic principles of leadership as encapsulated in both Christian and Islamic religions.

    “Both religions espoused the culture of good leadership, but some individual persons tend to do that which is at variance with the scriptures,” he said.

    He regretted that leadership choice based on entitlement in Kaduna State plunged the state into protracted crisis in the bygone years.

    The former governor, however, said a recent change in the old tradition of leadership choice had changed things for the better.

    He described the South-Western part of the country as a tolerant society and encouraged them to continue with such spirit for the development of the country.

    The former governor expressed delight in the tempo of religious activism of the celebrator with his MURIC organisation.

    El-Rufai said that the crusader, through his preaching and bridge-building across the divide, was instrumental to the power shift from the North to the South in 2023.

    He commended the celebrator for his vigour in the pursuit of uprightness and a just Nigerian society, praying that Allah would continue to grant him wisdom to do his work.

    At the event, the former Kaduna Governor was awarded the symbol “Icon of Ariwa Intigrity” for his service to humanity.

    Other awardees include former Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami and former Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Muiz Banire.

    The event drew personalities from academia, state actors, religious groups and the corporate world.