Why politicians must conduct themselves in a decent manner, by MUSWEN

The Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN) has called on politicians to comport themselves in a decent manner and desist from making the forthcoming national elections a do or die affair.

The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, MUSWEN, Dawud Noibi, said “Nigerians, Muslims and non-Muslims are alike, should bear in mind the need for us to continue to live together in peace and harmony.

“Contest for political positions should not be a do-or-die affair. It should rather be a contest of ideas about building a better future for Nigeria and Nigerians.

“Our politicians must conduct themselves in a decent manner and not turn Nigeria into a battle zone. They must remember that only Allah can grant power and authority to whomever He wills. As such, we call on all politicians and the electorate to eschew violence in whatever form. The nation can only make progress in an atmosphere of peace.

“What’s more, MUSWEN enjoins all Muslims of voting age to get duly registered and actively participate in all the stages of the election process as part of their civic responsibility. We all have genuine stake in the future of Nigeria. In doing this, they must avoid all actions that may run contrary to the law,” he said.

MUSWEN however urged past political leaders especially Generals Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida and Theophilus Danjuma to thread with caution as elder statesmen and not throw the nation into further confusion.

Commenting further on recent national issues, Noibi said: “We are, disturbed by the report that the Boko Haram group continues to hold hostage of the only non-Muslim girl among the abductees, Leah Sharibu, who is said to refuse to convert to Islam.

We want to reiterate the fact that Islam forbids forceful conversion of non-Muslims to Islam and enjoin respect for People of the Book – Jews and Christians.

“Indeed, Allah explicitly directs Muslims to provide refuge to even idol-worshippers who seek shelter in our abodes and grant them protection to safety” he stated.

He therefore condemned the action of some Christian leaders and elders who have politicised this sad development, which has nothing to do with Islam.

Calling on the members of the Boko Haram group to release the girl forthwith without any further delay, he said: “We declare for the umpteenth time that the Boko Haram group does not represent Islam and the Muslim Ummah in Nigeria,”

The group also expressed concerns about the reoccurring decimal of hijab victimization on Muslim women, (such as Miss Firdausa Al-Jannah Amasa and Miss Aisha Zubair), calling on the appropriate authorities to look into the issue.

“We are, however, disappointed that the public hearings which the Joint Committee had planned to hold in February and March this year were aborted owing to the attempt by some Christian lawyers to scuttle the cause of justice for Miss Firdausa Amasa as they succeeded a court order which restrained the House from carrying out the public hearing.

“We, therefore, call on the House of Representatives to do all it can to ensure that it exercises its constitutional powers as guaranteed by the principle of separation of powers by conducting the public hearing.

We also reiterate our call on the Body of Benchers to reverse the suspension of Firdausa’s call to bar and do the needful by calling her to bar forthwith with effect from the date on which she ought to have been called to bar,” it stated.