The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has written to the Governors of Southwest States concerning Operation Amotekun.
According to DailyPost, MURIC told the governors to embrace all
citizens living in the sub-region in a statement it released on Monday
through Director of the human rights organization, Prof. Ishaq Akintola.
MURIC also advised that the new security organization should not
lean towards any religion or target any ethnic group for victimization.
This was sequel to the resolution of the governors of the South West to give a legal backing to the Amotekun security outfit.
The statement added, “No homo sapien compos mentis living in
Yorubaland will oppose the setting up of a security outfit to complement
the existing security agencies on ground (the army, police, NNDC, DSS,
etc).
“We all want lives and properties secured all over Nigeria.
That is why people living on every street have security arrangements in
place while some individuals also have both day and night guards in
their private offices and homes.
“It is therefore mischievous to give the impression that
Muslims are against the South West security initiative. No reasonable
Nigerian today will frown at attempts to boost security in any part of
the country. What we oppose is the religious and ethnic tinge which the
handlers gave Amotekun.
“You cannot blame Muslims for crying out when you ask them to
bring birth certificates from churches before joining Amotekun. Neither
can you expect them to stand akimbo when you tell them to bring letters
of recommendation from churches.
“Muslims in the Yoruba enclave are not opposing Amotekun per
se. What they oppose is a situation where a ostensibly anti-Islam
security outfit comes into operation in Yorubaland.
“Apart from the reference to birth certificates from churches
and letters of reference from pastors, the choice of nomenclature is
another controversial issue because it has a strong Christian identity.
“Why ‘Amotekun’ as a name for crying out loud? Research has
revealed the biblical origin of this name and it makes Muslims
suspicious. Why Amotekun of all brands?
“Jeremiah 5:6 says, ‘A leopard shall guard over their city’.
Amotekun is mentioned in this verse with particular reference to
guarding a city.
“Now, we have a sub-region where Muslims have been under
persecution for ages coming up with a security outfit under the name of
the same leopard mentioned in the bible as a guard over the city.
“This is not a coincidence. The handlers of Amotekun picked the
name deliberately from the bible in order to score a spiritual point.
It is very critical. It calls for serious concern. So why give a
security unit a religious name?
“We advise the planners of the new security outfit to give it
another name in the interest of peace and harmony in the sub-region.
This is necessary if they want to carry all stakeholders along. Amotekun
as a name is already controversial. We do not need a Christian security
unit.
“Neither do we need a Muslim security outfit. The security
agency in the South West must not only be neutral, it must also be seen
to be neutral.
“We affirm that Muslims form the majority in the population of
the South West. They are therefore critical stakeholders and the unity
of the Yoruba cannot become fait accompli without involving the Muslims
in the sub-region. Muslims must be carried along in any security network
in the zone. We are interested in security.
“We are security conscious. We will therefore join a South West
security initiative if it is not tainted with Christian landmarks. We
will have confidence in a security outfit that involves Muslim leaders,
not one that parades pastors, bishops and archbishops alone.
“It must also be noted that a security group that starts with
subtle threats to our brethren in faith in another part of the country
cannot be safe for Muslims in Yorubaland. There is no racism or
tribalism in Islam (Qur’an 49:13). It is a global brotherhood. Yoruba
Muslims love Yorubaland.
“They also love Nigeria. But they owe their Creator, Allah, an
unflinching and undiluted love towards their brothers and sisters in
Islam no matter their race, tribe or colour. From Allah we came and unto
Allah we shall return.
“On that Day, nobody will be judged on the basis of his tribe
but on the basis of his deeds on earth. Nonetheless, we believe in a
united Nigeria and we will support a security unit that constitutes no
threat to any tribe in the country, be it Igbo, Fulani, Ijaw, or Tiv.
“However, the latest assurance coming from certain quarters
that birth certificates from churches and letters of reference from
pastors was not part of the original pre-requisites is most welcome.
“MURIC will support any security arrangement anywhere in
Nigeria so long as such arrangement is devoid of gymnastic religiousity
and acrobatic ethnicity.
“In addition, the organisers of Amotekun must desist from
attempts to intimidate perceived opponents of the scheme. Leaders of the
group must caution their foot-soldiers against excesses.
“They must distance themselves from arm-twisting gimmicks like
deliberately misinterpreting statements made by people who oppose the
Amotekun idea.
“For instance, MURIC has very strong evidence that some
elements in the Amotekun camp have issued death threats to its leader.
That is unacceptable. It is an attempt to silence opposition.
“All opinions must be allowed in a democracy. That is freedom
of speech. Those who attempt to muzzle opinions give the impression that
they have hidden agenda. It presupposes that the Amotekun security
project will be biased and unprofessional when it finally comes on
board. We refuse to be intimidated. It changes nothing in our stand and
style of advocacy.
“In a nutshell, as the organisers deliberate on the legal
framework to back the complementary security project in the South West,
we advise that such legal framework includes a clause that lays emphasis
on religious neutrality, security for all citizens residing in
Yorubaland regardless of their ethnic background and a new name which is
acceptable to all faiths.”
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