As the curtain was drawn over year 2021 yesterday and a new year 2022 is born, an Islamic human rights advocacy group, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has told Nigerians to thank Allah for making them Nigerians. MURIC argued that although many other countries experience earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, windstorms, wildfires, etc, Nigeria has been free from natural disasters.
Therefore, the group wants Nigerians to show gratitude to Allah by stopping all acts of criminality, fake news and hate speech and by adopting a positive attitude towards their country as the new year 2022 unfolds. Nigerians, according to MURIC, should stop being architects of man-made disasters in a land that Allah has blessed, purified and immuned from natural disasters.
This was the content of the group’s new year message issued on Saturday, 1st January, 2022 by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
The new year message reads :
“As the curtain was drawn over year 2021 yesterday and a new year 2022 is born, we of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), wish to remind Nigerians of the need to thank Allah for making them Nigerians. Allah has been merciful on this country because whereas many other countries experience earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, wildfires, etc, Nigeria has been free from natural disasters.
“10 natural disasters shook the world in 2021 alone but none occurred in Nigeria. Nonetheless, Nigerians used their own hands to create disasters, to kill and maim and to destroy public and private properties within the same period.
“Just yesterday, 31st December, 2021, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), more than 500 houses were destroyed by fire in Colorado, United States of America. These were homes where hundreds of families had decorated for Christmas and they were all preparing for the advent of the new year. We should ponder on this sad incident, visualize the condition of those families today and realize that Allah, God, Obangiji, Chineke, Olodumare or whatever name we choose to call Him has been merciful to us in this country.
“These natural disasters occur around the world but Nigeria has so far been spared. Several countries fell victims in 2021 alone. In Canada, a suffocating heatwave killed 569 people in the state of British Columbia in June 2021 within five days. 170 people died in Germany in July 2021 as a result of flooding. More than 100,000 were without hydropower or electricity for days. Professors, qualified engineers and medical doctors may have been among the flood victims. Nigerians should think about this.
“Fire broke out in Sicily, Italy, with more than 500 houses burned in August 2021. The temperature was 119.8 fahrenheit or 48.8 degrees celsius. Again, there were 580 fire outbreaks in Greece with several fatalities. Evia Island had to be evacuated. There was uncontrollable wildfire in North America, earthquake in Haitti and flood in the Phillipines.
“Hurricane Ida in the US killed more than 80 people and destroyed homes in six states in a single day, 29th August 2021. More than 1,200 homes were destroyed while 22,000 electric poles were uprooted. This rendered more than 630,000 homes and businesses without power. Hurricanes Katrina, Zeta and Delta are also common in the US.
“Have we ever had any hurricane disaster in Nigeria? Has there ever been any volcano eruption? Any earthquake at all? No earthquakes, no volcanoes, no landslides, no wildfires, no windstorms, no hurricanes, but Nigerians create their own Hurricane Boko Haram, Volcano Bandits, Wildfire #EndSars, etc, to kill, maim and destroy public and private properties.
“Nigerians have elected to be the architects of man-made disasters in their own country. They do this by engaging in several acts of criminality, spreading fake news, giving hate speech and delivering killer sermons to inflame the citizenry.
“We warn that fake news, hate speech and killer sermons have the capacity to animalise and cannibalise Nigerians, particularly the young ones. The end result could be ethnic or religious crisis of unimaginable proportion leading to massive killings and destruction of properties.
“MURIC urges Nigerians to adopt a positive attitude towards their country as the new year 2022 unfolds. We should eschew all acts capable of causing self-induced disasters in a land that Allah has blessed, purified and immuned from natural disasters.”
