Founder and Director, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), Prof. Ishaq Akintola, has urged the National Assembly (NASS) to reverse the “Christianisation” of Nigeria by Britain.
Akintola made this demand in a statement issued on the second anniversary of the 9th Senate and House of Representatives.
MURIC, which alleged that some policies in the country favour Christians, appealed to the federal legislature to take “a kind look” at the plight of Nigerian Muslims.
“British colonial masters who were essentially Christians came in the 19th century (1842) and subjected the Muslims to an environment which is totally alien to their faith”, he asserted.
The director said the situation should have been corrected after Nigeria attained independence in 1960 and asked the NASS to free Nigerian Muslims from “neo-colonialism”.
“The British designed army, police, paramilitary and school uniforms which suited adherents of the Christian faith and forced it on the Muslim population. Ditto for the nation’s common law which, of course, is Christian law.
“The present uniforms used by the army, police and other paramilitary bodies do not allow the use of hijab. They are therefore an exclusive preserve of Christian women with its economic disadvantage to Muslims,” he said.
“This has resulted in a Christian-only female soldiers, policemen, customs, traffic wardens, etc. It rendered female Muslims jobless.”
MURIC demanded that all military and paramilitary uniforms be made to accommodate female Muslim recruits.
The organization wants the dress code of nurses, students, and others to allow the use of specially designed hijab.
Akintola added that other MURIC requests are contained in its memorandum already submitted to the Constitution Review Panel.