The Computer Guild of Nigeria (CGN) yesterday, Saturday, 15th July, 2023, demanded the appointment of a Christian as communication minister. However, the demand was swiftly countered by an Islamic human rights organization, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC). The latter described the demand by the CGN as bizarre, suspicious and motivated by a sinister design.
MURIC’s reaction was contained in a press statement issued on Sunday, 16th July, 2023 by its Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
His full statement reads:
“The Computer Guild of Nigeria (CGN) has asked President bola Ahmed Tinubu to appoint a Christian as the minister of communications. The demand was made yesterday, Saturday, 15th July, 2023Saturday, 15th July, 2023.
“We are bewildered by this strange demand. It is bizarre, suspicious and motivated by a sinister design. It is unfortunate that a so-called professional body is making a most unprofessional demand. We urge the president to ignore this call.
“It is an open secret that Christians dominated and monopolized the secretarial and computer professions for decades. But this priviledge was grossly abused as they used it to intimidate and block Muslims from entering into the profession while secretarial and computer services sought by Muslims for Islamic matters were rebuffed. They turned the profession into a cult until very recently.
CGN elected to conveniently forget that there must have been yesteryears if there were yesterdays. But when a child rejects pounded yam for dinner, his parents will narrate the story of how his mother was married into that family. We are therefore constrained to go down the lanes of history.
“The ministry of communications is almost as old as Nigeria itself. Arthur Prest was the first minister of communications (1951 – 1954) and the first four ministers were all Christians (Arthur Prest, Mbadiwe, Akintola and Akinfosile from 1951 to 1964, a period of fourteen years).
“Nigeria had fourteen ministers of communications from 1951 to 1983. Out of this figure, eleven were Christians and only three were Muslims. Four of the eleven Christians held office back-to-back, i.e. in a row, without any Muslim coming between them.
“Again from 2003 to 2015, a period of twelve years, six Christians were appointed in succession to the ministry of communications and Nigerian Muslims did not complain (Chief Cornelius Adebayo 2003-2006, Engr Dr. Obafemi Ani-Baba 2006 – 2007, John Odey 2007 – 2008, Prof Dora Akunyili 2008 – 2010, Labaran Maku 2010-2011, Omobola Johnson 2011-2015).
“But all hell has broken loose now because just two Muslims have occupied the ministry. When will CGN learn to be professional? President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must not return Nigerian Muslims to secretarial slavery and a world of computer illiteracy. Nigeria belongs to all of us.
“It would have been a horse of another colour if the Muslims who occupied that ministry had underperformed. In fact, the last occupant, Professor Isa Ali Pantami revolutionized the ministry and his programmes took Nigeria to the next level in a highly competitive digital world. Most noteworthy was the 112 toll-free number commissioned in March 2020 and the mobile application that linked the National Identity Number (NIN) to the SIM.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should therefore ignore the call made by the CGN for lacking merit. That request arouses suspicion. Why communications of all ministries? Is there more to this than meets the eye?”
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Executive Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
