The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has berated the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) for remaining silent more than 72 hours after the appointment of five Christians and two Muslims as service chiefs by a Muslim president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
This was contained in an issued statement released from MURICs headquarters by its Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, on Friday.
The group, in statement, argued that the Nigerian media as well as cyberspace would have been awash with protests from CAN had it been the other way round.
The statement read in part: Five out of the seven Service Chiefs appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday, 20th June, 2023 are Christians, and only two are Muslims. The same numbers were repeated last week when special advisers were appointed. The latest appointments brings the ratio to 10:4.
It is now more than 72 hours after the appointments were announced and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has not made any comment. It is unusual for the umbrella body of all Christians in Nigeria to remain quiet for so long particularly after such a momentous development.
The usual cry of Islamisation has not rented the air. A Muslim president has made appointments heavily tilted against Muslims and instead of CAN to commend him, the Christian body which is known for its gymnastic criticism and acrobatic intolerance towards Muslim leaders has maintained dead silence.
Our deduction from this is that CAN is not really after fairness and equity. The Christian umbrella organisation is only interested in getting everything for Christians while Muslims get nothing. CAN just wants all and will employ any means, both fair and foul, but the latter more often than not.
MURIC calls out CAN to speak up. It is on record that several well-meaning groups have commended the latest steps taken by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, including the appointment of new Service Chiefs, but we are yet to hear a word from CAN.
The group further stated that, It must also be put on record that a Muslim president that goes by the name Ahmed Tinubu has elected to appoint five Christians and only two Muslims as service chiefs even after picking another five Christians (Uwajumogu, Adedeji, Edun, Alake and Verheijen) and two Muslims (Darazo and Salma) as special advisers last week.
However, we reiterate the position taken by us two days ago, namely, that Nigerians, especially the Muslim Ummah, should wait until all appointments have been made before judging the Tinubu administration.
