9th May, 2022
PRESS RELEASE
LEAVE POLICE ACADEMY COMMANDANT ALONE
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has come out in stout defence of the Commandant of the Police Academy, Wudil, AbdurRahman Ahmad, who has currently been under siege from critics. The Islamic human rights organization accused his traducers of Islamophobia, witch-hunting and Muslim-bashing.
MURIC spoke through it’s director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, on Monday, 9th May 2022.
Akintola said, “We are not surprised that the Commandant of the Police Academy, Wudil, AbdurRahman Ahmad, has come under a barrage of criticisms. It is in the character of the Lagos axis of the Nigerian media and the Christo-Western elites to find faults in Muslims in public positions.
“They are particularly interested in bringing down Muslims whom they see as devoted to their faith. They will quickly activate the bring-him-down syndrome in them by whipping up anti-Muslim sentiments. However, they are quite comfortable with Muslims who do not know their rights from their left in matters of religion.
“Can you imagine some people questioning the reason behind organising separate meals for fasting Muslims in an institution in this 21st century? Are there people anywhere in the world who do not know that Muslims eat twice a day during Ramadan?
“Muslims who are fasting in Ramadan must eat between 4 am and 5 am and break their fasts approximately by 7 am. Even 5-star hotels around the world know this. Is it reasonable to serve the meals of those Muslims and non-Muslims together?
“The complainants have no pointable point. It is only if the practice of serving separate meals continue after Ramadan that they can complain. Nigerians must learn to live with and respect our diverse cultures. In fact, Muslims should complain of inconvenience if the Police Academy fails to do this for them during Ramadan or if they have not been doing it before. The Commandant did the right thing.
“The critics also made a mountain out of a molehill when they complained about enhanced dinner for the Muslims. It is common knowledge that fasting Muslims do not take lunch. It is only logical and reasonable if their dinner is enhanced after missing lunch. By the way, the lunch is everyone’s right and the Muslims could have chosen to collect it in the afternoon and kept it till they break their fast at 7 pm. But the meal would have become unhygienic by that time. Would the critics prefer that?
Has religious disharmony gotten to that level? Is your hatred for your Muslim neighbour so pathological? Is it so irredeemable that you would prefer their food wasted than consumed?
“Neither do the critics have any valid point in their complaint about the use of hijab by female Muslims in the academy in view of the fact that hijab has been approved by the Nigerian Police. It must be noted that the approval stands until a court of competent jurisdiction says otherwise. Of course MURIC is standing by to pursue such a case up to the highest court in the land.
“We can see Islamophobia, witch-hunting and Muslim-bashing boldly printed on the foreheads of those who are complaining against the Commandant. We advise them to eschew hatred of their fellowmen. Let us love and tolerate one another. There is enough space for all birds to fly in the sky.
“We appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, to ignore the rantings of these haters. Their complaints are ill-motivated, baseless and therefore untenable.
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
