THE Muslim Students Society of Nigeria, Ogun State Council, has kicked against the recent statutory appointments into commissions and boards made by Governor Dapo Abiodun.
The MSSN, in a statement signed by its state President, Saheed Amisu, maintained that the appointments were lopsided, stressing that they had glaring gaps on religious grounds.
Amisu decried what he described as “religious chauvinism and insensitiveness towards the entire Muslim community.”
He lamented that only 11 out of the 43 newly appointed members of commissions and boards were Muslims.
The MSSN president also complained that the few Muslims appointed were not given strategic positions of chairman or secretary in any of the board or commission.
He said, “A critical analysis of the members of Muslims appointed smacks a high degree of religious chauvinism and insensitiveness towards the entire Muslim community, which constitutes a significant portion of the state population.
“Out of the forty three (43) persons appointed, we only strained to pick just eleven (11) Muslims and as if that is not enough, none of the heads of the various commissions appointed are Muslims.”
He added, “Strategically, Muslims are not appointed into sensitive commissions, like the Civil Service Commission, which poses dual danger of identity and disillusionment to our brethren in the sector.
“In furtherance of the marginalisation mission, the Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), has also been deliberately shielded as a Muslim no- go- area! Incidentally, this is a Commission that has progressively sustained wanton victimisation and oppression of Muslim students recently. This is further aggravated by painful realisation that both Special Advisers to the Governor on Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Education are Christians.”
The Islamic group however urged the governor to review the appointments so as to accommodate more Muslims.
“We call on Ogun State Government to immediately redress the ugly situation via appointment of more Muslims, having consulted widely. That is when the government may be said to have managed the religious diversity of its citizens sensitively.”
In the same vein, another Muslim group, Campaign for Islamic Agenda (International) also faulted the governor’s appointments, describing it as ‘insensitive’ against the Muslims in the state.
The group in a statement by its Director-General, Ayodeji Ahmed, lamented that the alleged lopsided appointment and employment had reportedly led to the intimidation and victimisation of Muslims.
He added, “No doubt Governor Dapo Abiodun is using his Christianisation agenda to plant the process of complete annihilation of Muslims in the future. Recall that this same administration appointed eighteen Commissioners in the state and only three Muslims (16.6%) are considered appointable by the Governor.
“The question is, was it the same fate for the Christians when a Muslim was the governor of the state? Would the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) have kept quiet if they suffered the same during the reign of a Muslim governor? Only a governor with a Christianisation agenda can do this in a Muslim-majority state.”
Ahmed further said, “The Muslims in the state had never shown any concern about the religion inclination of whoever governs the state. The concern has always been whoever is elected to discharge the best for the entire people of the state. Out of the five Executive governors of the state since its creation in 1976, only one is a Muslim and despite that, the Muslims gave absolute support and cooperation to all the administrations, including the present one without any discrimination. But what did we have in return? Continuous marginalisation, subjugation, intimidation, victimisation, harassment and oppression.
“These attitudes of successive governments are grossly responsible for the avoidable and continuous agitation, rivalry and destructive contest between religious, ethnic and other interest groups.”
He said Governor Abiodun should note that Muslims were displeased with his administration’s anti-Islamic stance.
“The wound of the government’s action against the interests of Muslim children in schools is still very painful. It still remains unimaginable that the government of Ogun State can stoop so low to use the collective resources and commonwealth of the people of the state to fight against the interest of Muslim children in the law court,” he said.
