The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has given a rather ridiculous
interpretation to the unfolding tragedy in Kano, suggesting that the
unusual death toll in the northwestern state could be “a deliberate
attempt” at decimating the population of Muslims in Nigeria.
Kano State has seen a spike in mystery deaths in one week amid COVID-19 threats.
With scant resources nationally and low capacity to test, authorities are yet to determine if COVID-19 caused the deaths.
Public
concerns have arisen over the situation in the state, which now appears
helpless, with Governor Abdullahi Ganduje accusing the Federal
Government of neglect.
In a statement on Monday, MURIC Director,
Ishaq Akintola, lamented the unusual deaths, saying Kano needed help
urgently, and then surprisingly brought a religious angle to the matter,
warning of a threat to the “majority status” Nigerian Muslims enjoy “in
the area of demography.”
“More disturbing is the rumour that the
National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in the state has locked up
its offices and its officials are not responding to distress calls,” the
MURIC director said.
“The only testing centre in Kano which is
situated at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital has also been allegedly
locked up. So where did NCDC get its figure on Kano? Something is fishy
here. We are surprised that testing centres are almost nonexistent in
the North.
“Is this a deliberate attempt at debilitating Northern
population with its attendant impact on Muslim majority population in
the country?
“We, therefore, demand an inquiry into circumstances
surrounding the alleged closure of NCDC office in Kano State as well as
the paucity of testing centres in the whole North.
“Nigerian
Muslims are currently enjoying a majority status in the area of
demography. We must avoid anything capable of decimating our population.
“We
urge Kano citizens to strictly obey rules set by health officials,
particularly social distancing, washing hands regularly with soap, using
sanitizers and staying at home. You must break the cycle of this killer
virus.
“Above all, the government must be vicious to be
triumphant. Violators of lockdown rules must be dealt with according to
the law while the lockdown on Kano must not be lifted until the rate of
death slows down to a reasonable level.”
Mr Akintola is a
professor and founder of MURIC, which he runs, according to his personal
website, for “protection and promotion of the rights of Muslims in
Nigeria.”
But contrary to his claim, there is no data indicating
which religion has more followers in Nigeria. The country had its last
census in 2006 and during that headcount, the National Population
Commission did not collect data on religious affiliations.
Mr
Akintola has a reputation for using MURIC to make alarmist claims, some
of them false. In January, he tried to drive Muslims against Amotekun, a
popular south-west initiate to combat insecurity. He tagged the
initiative “an ostensibly anti-Muslim security network (coming) into
operation in Yorubaland.”
Many Nigerians, including Muslims, have
repeatedly denounced Mr Akintola’s MURIC rhetoric, warning him to rise
above bigotry and instead promote harmonious co-existence by adherents
of all religions as espoused by the Holy Quran.
