BY CHAMBERLAIN ODEY, JOS – The President, North Central Muslim Peace Initiative (NCMPI), Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, has warned the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) to desist from making utterances that would cause disaffection in the country as well as division between ethno-religious groups and corporate bodies.
Zazzaga, who spoke in Jos at a stakeholders’ meeting of the NCMPI, was responding to the statement credited to the Director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola, who last Friday accused the Director General of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Jos, Sir Joseph Ari, of being biased against Muslims.
The accusation which was contained in a press statement tagged ‘Investigate Mother of all Nepotism in ITF, Jos’, MURIC accused Sir Ari of nepotism, wrongful appointments, and marginalisation of Muslims in the running of the agency.
But Zazzaga described MURIC’s allegations as unsubstantiated false alarms capable of causing violence and setting the nation backwards, adding that such an accusation which has religious inclination should have been carefully weighed before it is voiced out.
He explained that this is because the country is deeply polarized, and daily divided along religious lines, stressing that such inflammatory remarks will easily aggravate an already combustible situation.
The NCMPI President advised that religious groups should at all times be more concerned with building bridges of unity, national cohesion, avoid hate speech.
Zazzaga specifically noted that the manner in which the heading of the Press Release by the director of MURIC was worded was indicting, harsh, and inciting, adding that such claims could be presented in a suggestive way without making any authoritative claim since it was still an allegation.
He therefore cautioned MURIC to always make wide consultations on any controversial issue before coming out with any claim.
Zazzaga stressed that Muslim individuals and groups close to Sir Ari right from his journalism days, and as the General Manager of the Plateau Radio and Television Corporation (PRTV) Jos, have never been discriminated against and he has been a detribalized Nigerian.
He challenged MURIC to do more by trying to get the right information and not hearsay in order to get accurate findings on the matter.
