RECRITICISM OF 1ST MUHARRAM AS PUBLIC HOLIDAY IN KWARA STATE, UNCHARITABLE, CONDEMNABLE- MUSLIM STAKEHOLDERS
By Fatai Ahmed
The Kwara State Muslim Stakeholders have described as uncharitable and condemnable, criticism of Kwara State Government’s declaration of 1st Muharram 1445 AH (19th July, 2023) as Work-Free Day in the State.
The stakeholders in an interview granted to media executives in Ilorin by their Chairman,Alhaji Is-haq Abdul-Karim declared the criticism from one Prof. (Mrs) Funmilayo Adesanya Davies from Ira in Oyun Local Government as baseless, uncharitable and condemnable, wondering what concerns a christian about Public Holiday for muslims who have endured the imposition of 1st January as a Public Holiday by christian colonial masters on the Muslims in Nigeria for more than 63 years.
Abdul-Karim commended the Kwara State Governor Mal. Abdul-Rahman Abdul-Razaq for doing what is right at the right time pointing out that his singular act on that matter elicited alot of commendation for his Administration.
He described the vituperations and negative reaction of Mrs Davies on this matter as a sign of religious intolerance and fanaticism on her part pointing out that she is among the people using religion to cause trouble in Nigeria.
Alh. Abdulkarim who is a Chartered Accountant said as an Academic, Mrs Davies ought to have commended Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for the declaration and praise Kwara Muslim Community for their patience and endurance for the past 30 years that they have been making the demand for 1st Muharram of every year as Public Holiday.
He explained further that the record met by Governor AbdulRahman indicated that his predecessor Gov. AbdulFatai Ahmed had approved the 1st Muharram as Work-Free Day but was not conveyed officially, pointing out that for Gov. AbdulRahman to do it now ‘is better late, than never’.
“Muslims in Kwara State have never queried the declaration and celebration of 1st day of Christian/Gregorian Calendar Year – January 1st – as a Public Holiday”, Abdul-Karim said, adding that the negative reaction to the declaration just made last week by Mrs Davies smacks ‘unnecessary envy and hatred for muslims out of religious fanaticism and patrochialism.
The Muslim Leader said how could an academic of her calibre be ignorant of the fact that Oyo and Ogun States headed by christian Governors had earlier declared 1st Muharram of this year as Work-Free Day in their States. This is in addition to similar declarations across Nigeria including Osun State.
He therefore summarily described Mrs Davies criticism as ‘the ranting of an ignorant and religiously intolerant academic’ who should not be allowed to henceforth mentor any of our youths as she could mislead them; due to her patent religious hatred for large percentage of the society; adding that Nigeria and Kwara parade overwhelming muslim majority even in Oyun Local Government where she comes from. How then do you subjugate or persecute vast majority of the people, the Chairman queried?
In his response to Mrs Davies’s call for return of Kwara Schools to Missions, the Chairman of Kwara State Muslim Stakeholders said the woman goofed again because of her pretence of ignorance that the matter was taken to court by Kwara CAN since 2013 and they lost at Ilorin High Court by the judgement of 2016 and also lost their Appeal to the Court of Appeal in 2019; asking why a Professor like her was behaving like an illiterate by calling on Kwara State Government to go against the ruling of the two superior Courts of Record on return the Schools to the Mission which would amount to running against the ‘rule of law’.
Alh. Abdulkarim stated further that by the two subsisting Court Judgements, all Christian and Muslim Mission Schools both Primary and Secondary in Kwara State formerly owned by them are Public Schools since 1976 and that Kwara CAN suits against KWSG were ‘just testing the microphone’ and the two judgements were against Kwara CAN.
He said the Court of Appeal Ilorin also has declared Kwara CAN as ‘meddlesome interlopers’ who are unknown to the law ‘on the return of schools matter’ filed before it.
With all these submissions, the Kwara Muslim Stakeholders asked Mrs Davies – which schools she was talking about; stating further that after the judgement delivered by Court of Appeal on the matter in 2019, Kwara CAN just filed an Appeal to Supreme Court in 2021 without filing any brief till date, stressing further that KWSG has continued to own, manage and run all their Public Schools with tax payers’ money of several billions of Naira since 1976 and would continue to do so; warning all Principals in those Schools to stop double loyalty in running the Schools or face the consequence of it.
