The Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN), has declared that unless urgent actions are taken to stop various attacks being perpetrated by various groups against others across the country, it may drag the country into another civil war.
MSSN National Amir (President) Muhammad Jameel Muhammad in a statement issued on Friday titled “A CLARION CALL FOR RESPONSIVENESS AND RESTRAINT” said unless prompt responsiveness and mature restrain were quickly imbibed by all levels of governments, the attacks of Muslims especially in the South-East may push the country into another civil war.
In the statement obtained by DAILY POST on Saturday, Muhammad said that the attention of the organisation had been drawn to spate of attacks on Muslims, especially in South East where lives and property had been lost.
He said that such attacks which were provoking may lead to another spate of violence which were culpable of enveloping the country .
“Our attention has been drawn to the crude mayhem, madness and wanton destruction of lives and property of Nigerian Muslims in some states in the South East, more especially in Abia.
“The gruesome murder in cold blood of defenceless Muslims regardless of ethnic or geographical affinity, the wanton destruction of their property, the beastly manhunt of these Muslims by fellow Nigerians in the name of whatever agitation are not only animalistic and barbaric but are also unpardonably provocative, especially in a supposedly civilized epoch of the 21st century.
“Unless prompt responsiveness and mature restraint are quickly imbibed by our governments at all levels and the entirety of Nigerians respectively, these attacks are potent enough to drag Nigeria into a war even of higher magnitude than the civil war of the 1960s.
Muhammad who said that the student body was worried by the action of IPOB members who are mainly youth for being used to create bad blood among Nigerians however noted that their fellow Igbo members are more vulnerable in larger part of the country than Muslims in the East”, he said.
He added “As a student/youth organization, we are dismally worried that some youths are being used to create bad blood among Nigerians nothing that Igbo have more investments in places controlled by brothers and sisters of those they are attacking.
“How we wish this fraction of Igbos in the name of IPOB have, even for once, remembered that their fellow Igbos are as or even more vulnerable in larger parts of the country than are the Muslims in Igbo land.
“How we wish that IPOB has realized that the Igbos, in whose name it is destroying the wealth of other Nigerians, have more investments in places controlled by the brothers and sisters of their victims. Though it is a popular saying among Nigerians that the Igbos have no leader (something trying to extend to being totally lawless), the so-called elders and political gladiators in the land should call these deviants to order. This will do nobody well more than the Igbo race whose members are scattered in all the nooks and crannies of the land in search of the daily bread.”
He, therefore, called on other Igbos to come out and condemn the act of violence being perpetrated by the IPOB members.
“We call on all civilized Igbos everywhere on the globe to, singly and collectively, condemn this display of barbarism by their foolish fellows. A stitch in time has the potency of saving nine.
“At this juncture, let it be said clearly and unambiguously that the acts of such deviant pan-Igbo groups as IPOB should not provoke other civilized and patriotic Nigerians into attacking innocent Igbos scattered across the country in search of livelihood”, he noted.
He said that two wrongs cannot make a right and advised well meaning Nigerians and the Federal Government to prevail to avoid another civil war.
Muhammad however insisted that the Federal Government must not sleep or dodge its responsibility of protecting lives and property of all Nigerians.
“The Nigerian government on whose shoulders the responsibility of protecting lives and property of all Nigerians lies should be given some benefit of the doubt to tackle the situation.
“Instead of being equally lawless in the name reprisals against innocent accessible neighbours and friends, we should be, more than ever before, our brothers’ keepers, especially at this trying time. Elements of retrogression must be put to shame this time around. The project of putting Nigeria on the right track must continue unabatedly.
“Undoubtedly, the most important stakeholder in this critical time is the federal government. Let it be repeated for the umpteenth time that the primary function for which all governments everywhere on the globe should exist is the protection of lives and property of the citizens.
“We are aware that noisemakers in the name of the opposition, human rights, rule of law or the international community (many of whom have been silent on this and similar attempts by the government at annihilating Muslims as is happening currently in Burma) may lavishly criticize any serious attempts at bringing normalcy back and the culprits to book.
“It should be noted that the action of the government will be more responsive in this volatile situation. It will show to all that nobody is above the law no matter how connected or how highly placed. Let us therefore be more resolute, more proactive, more patriotic and more dispassionate in dealing with this testing situation.
“Finally, we implore all well-meaning Nigerians in general and Nigerian Muslim students in particular to continue to exercise restraint, be more than ever before vigilant and pray more fervently so that this biggest country of the black race will triumph over all problems”, he stated.
