The Muslim Rights Concern, (MURIC), says the planned nationwide hunger protest is an invitation to the mother of all hungers.
MURIC’s position was made known yesterday, in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Professor Is’haq Akintola.
According to the group, the organisers should rather toe the path of patience and dialogue.
Akintola said: “Nigerian youths backed by major opposition figures are poised to begin what they describe as hunger protest in the next 48 hours. The whole country is agitated and the fear of the unknown hangs above our heads like the sword of Damocles. Nigeria holds its breath and trembles.
“Although we have spoken out before on the need to tread softly, we find it necessary to reiterate our position as the hour draws nearer. In particular, it has become mandatory to draw our warning from the ‘hunger’ label given to the proposed protest. We warn clearly, categorically and emphatically that what the organisers call hunger protest is an invitation to the mother of all hungers.
“Instead of unleashing anger on the government and its paraphernalia, the organisers should engage the government in dialogue bearing in mind the consequences of violent protests around the world.
“Two other things that should be considered are the fact that inflation is global and hunger is common around the world. Nigeria is affected because we are not an island. The second consideration is the antiquity of hardship in Nigeria. Poverty and hard times have always been major concern of Nigerians from time immemorial. It is therefore too hasty and unfair to hang it all on a regime that is barely one year old.
“We call attention to the crises in countries like Libya and Sudan where ordinary protests snowballed into civil war. They are yet to settle down. The ten days from August 1st to 10th which the organisers of the hunger protest have called for may take Nigeria to ten years of hunger if calls for restraint are ignored. Nigeria may be on the threshold of Mother of All Hungers.
“This is why we appeal to the organisers to simmer down and give dialogue a chance. The worst families are those who bottle up all their grievances until everything explodes. It is always better to jaw-jaw than to war-war.
“MURIC charges Nigerians to avoid such a catastrophe. The Nigerian government has signalled its readiness to listen. Anarchy hardly results in understanding and brotherhood. But while wars end at conference tables at the end of the day, destroyed infrastructure takes decades to rebuild. 48 hours to D-Day is not too late. Let us strike while the iron is still hot. We can bend a sappling, no one can bend a full-grown tree”.
