Press Release: LACK OF CREDIBLE LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBLE FOR DISCORDANT SALAH 15 October, 2007

The attention of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has been drawn to the events of the last Id al-Fitr which was characterized by confusion and disharmony among Muslim faithfuls in different parts of Nigeria. While some in the North marked it on Thursday 11th October, Muslims in the South-West celebrated the Id on Friday. As if this confusion was not enough, a group in Kano added to the pandemonium by feasting and observing the Salah prayer on Saturday 13th October 2007.
Millions of Muslims have been embarrassed by this ugly phenomenon as disturbing questions are asked by their children and neighbours. MURIC is constrained to address this issue and to call on those concerned to find lasting solution to it. The buck stops at the Sultan’s table. It is unfortunate that the leaders of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) have failed woefully to mobilize the followership. Instead of enjoying the Salah holidays, innocent Muslims have been subjected to untold psychological trauma. Nigerian Muslims are tired of NSCIA’s negligence.
MURIC recalls that this has been the trade-mark of the umbrella organization for decades: inconsistency, ambiguity and abdication of responsibility. The organization often manifests gross incompetence as exemplified in the way it misled Nigerian Muslims to mark Id al-Kabir on Arafat day in 1996. Even monks in Cambodia know that the Id day must never clash with Arafat day. NSCIA is groping in the dark. It has neither vision nor direction. 
NSCIA’s perambulating mentality can be traced to the fundamental flaw in the leadership structure which is feudalistic and totalitarian. The discordance in the last Salah celebrations proves that Nigerian Muslims, North and South, massively reject its present leadership system. It is a vote of no confidence in the system, not necessarily in the individual leaders. We therefore call on the new Sultan to read between the lines. Sultan Abubakar must bring his experience to bear on the situation. Muslims want the archaic and dust-bin-quality constitution of the NSCIA to be reviewed, a national conference of all Islamic organizations in Nigeria must be convened so that Muslims may choose their leader by themselves. 

Dr. Is-haq Akintola                                                         Mallam Abdul Yakeen Williams
    DIRECTOR                                                               PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER