The Ulama Forum in Nigeria has raised concerned with the declining state of affairs in Nigeria, particularly the excruciating suffering of the ordinary citizens in the face of economic deprivation, inflation and hunger, coupled with insensitivity, immaturity,ostentation, injustice, and corruption on the side of those saddled with public trust.The Ulama forum said it is unfortunate that the political leadership at all levels of governance seemed to be sadistically oblivious of the situation on ground as they continue to seclude themselves in their self- deceptive enclaves, engrossed in plundering public wealth, with reckless impunity and disdain for due process and leadership values.
The forum made this assertion in a communique endorsed by 25 members titled “REFLECTIONS ON THE STATE OF THE NATION”released to journalists on 10th August,2024.
The forum said rapid build-up of dissatisfaction and the effectiveness with which the youth were mobilised to engage in the protests were a wakeup call to the greater dangers that lie ahead for the nation. It therefore urged Government take note of the precarious situation and address the issues adequately and responsibly.
“More worrisome is the fact that the organisers of the protests turned down all advice and caution by keen and concerned groups, including members of this Forum, to shelve the protests and consider dialogue and other civic methods of registering their dissatisfaction and plight, and engaging the government towards policy changes in the interest of the
Nigerian people”the forum said.
The Ulama Forum condemned the undemocratic and uncivil conduct of the protests in a number of states which were attended with wanton destruction of public and private property and unfortunate loss of precious lives.
“It is sad and disheartening to see youth, who represent the future of the nation, depicting violence of the highest animalistic tendencies and abuse of cultural and religious norms and
values in the basest and most profane manner. That mosques, hospitals, street lights,and even facilities meant for youth empowerment, were not spared from the senseless destruction speaks volumes of the level of moral and ethical decay in our society.
The Ulama Forum in Nigeria, upon reflecting on the situation, resolves and
recommends as follows:
Government
Government at all levels should
1. Appreciate the gravity of the situation and respond with empathy, sympathy
and review its economic policies and programmes to ensure that they are
geared to transparently and judiciously serve the interests of the Nigerian
people only,
2. Take immediate measures, to discard or stop white elephant undertakings,
reduce the costs of food, energy and transport in order to curtail poverty and
hunger, as essential steps for survival, peace, and stability of the polity
Demonstrate responsibility towards the victims, their loved ones and the nation
in general, by holding the security agencies to account for the excessive use of force in handling the situation in some states,
4. Rectify the impervious Presidential speech of Sunday, 4th of August 2024,
perceived by many concerned groups, including this Forum, to have fallen
below expectations. It should be followed with steps of greater appreciation of
the depth of anger among the youth and the dire survival situation of the
citizenry which was expressed, albeit violently, by a cross section of the youth,
in addition to more specific steps to address the cause of the anger,
5. Take steps to reduce the cost of governance and the profligate lifestyle of
officials, legislators and other political office holders with humongous,
illegitimate salaries, allowances, and perquisites that offend sensitivities, and
which incite anger in the youth,
6. Deploy constructive engagement with the youth, rather than labelling them as
criminals, hooligans or saboteurs, but to see them as legitimate and enraged
protestors, who, though they have gone beyond reasonable limits in expressing
their anger, but they need to be listened to and handled with utmost care,
because they represent the future of the country,
7. Soberly reflect and appreciate the reality of difficulties facing the people and
the non-political dimensions of the protest, even as the government contends
with the likely presence of political conspiracy and foreign influence, reflected in the exuberance of the youth in burning the national flag and raising a foreign one,
8. Roll out effective programmes of youth empowerment by embarking upon
extensive, crash skills acquisition training and engagement of the youth in
community projects such as building schools, road repairs, apprenticeships, and tree planting,
9. Disabuse minds of the perceived bias of its programmes; to this end, the
government should immediately publish the details of the beneficiaries of all its
empowerment programmes and spending; and
10.Most importantly, take drastic steps to address the problem of insecurity in the
North, which is the most critical existential threat and the major cause of the social dislocation, biting poverty and hunger sweeping across the region.
Furthermore, the Forum recommends that
11. Governments at State levels should establish mandate offices specifically for
verifying and securing their proportionate share for all federal government support programmes and publish same so that both of them can be held accountable,
12. Elected representatives should strive to uphold the trust of their electorates
and always promote and protect the interest of the people and in this particular instance, they should convene an emergency joint House meeting on the state of the nation with a view to impressing upon the executive the need to address the complaints of the people,
13. The political leadership should, as a gesture of goodwill and empathy, eschew
ostentatious display of wealth; and
The Judiciary should not only dispense justice but must be seen to be doing so,
by giving expedited hearing and resolution of cases of greater merit,
seriousness, and national consequences, and by avoiding frivolous adjournments.
THE YOUTH
Nigerian Youth should
1. Reflect on the conduct of protests, which could be, indeed were, infiltrated by
people with ulterior motives, leading to unfortunate consequences, and which
portend greater danger to the peace, security, and sustainable development of
the nation,
2. Call off further protests and be open, as democrats, to sincere dialogue with
the government and, based on that, present well-articulated and workable
solutions to the economic and social problems bedevilling the nation,
3. Use the avenue of dialogue to seek explanations and accountability on
government interventions and programmes like the Skill-Up Artisan Programme (SUPA), the Nigerian Youth Academy (NIYA), the National Youth Talent Export Programme (NATEP), and the various credit facilities announced by the government. The youth should track each of the programmes and strategise to
benefit from them most appropriately,
4. Accord due respect to and listen to the caution and advice of elders and
religious leaders who seek to promote good governance, peace, and morality
in society,
5. Avoid issuing generalised, unverifiable, disrespectful, inflammatory and downright impudent vituperations on the persons and offices of public notaries and government officials. Doing so will be unhelpful to their cause; they should rather always seek guidance and counselling from appropriate quarters; and
6. Shun violence in pressing for their demands and beware of mischievous
elements within and outside the country who seek to distort the protest to
promote perpetual conspiratorial ambitions in the land; in line with this, they should outrightly stop calling for a military coup and desist from waving the
flag of any foreign country.
THE ULAMA
The Ulama on their part should
1. Sustain the good work they have been doing in providing religious guidance,
moral teachings, and promotion of the culture of peace; and defy all efforts at
intimidating them into passive silence,
2. Strive to, as much as possible, remain non-partisan, at the same time be
religious and patriotic citizens, concerned about the plight of the people and canvass for good governance,
3. Continue to strengthen the spirit of Islamic brotherhood binding them, uphold the Islamic etiquette of differences in views and opinions, maintain fairness,balance and objectivity in telling truth to the authorities and the citizens; and
4. On all issues, they should be in conclave to examine matters, discuss issues,find solutions and achieve a consensus (ittifaq) so as to speak in unison and with one voice, thereby restraining themselves from grandstanding and refraining from divergent, sometime conflicting, views and from personal attacks which tend to diminish their collective credibility.
THE PUBLIC
The general public should
1. Be patriotic by putting the nation over and above personal and
primordial interests, amend their personal behaviour, eschew corruption, and turn to Allah in repentance,
2. Demand accountability from their elected leaders, both the executive and the legislative, at the Federal, State and Local Government levels,
3. Explore and exploit constitutional and legal provisions to recall all elected
officers who fail to deliver,
4. Be alert, vigilant and aware of anything that will disturb peace, leading to chaos and the grinding of economic activities which further aggravate their suffering,
5. Dialogue with government, through community leaders, about their grievances and observed potential risks to peace and order,
6. At all times, keep track of government activities to keep awake their
representatives at local, state and federal levels, for their legitimate due share
of benefits,
7. Demand explanation from their legislative representatives regarding their conspiratorial silence, and abdication of responsibility, at critical times, such as the one at hand,
8. Exercise patience and await the next elections to vote out non-performing and
or corrupt representatives, leaders and political parties,Additionally,
9. Nigerian academics, professionals and economic experts should develop and
promote homegrown economic policies and programmes against IMF and
World Bank induced policies, and positively engage the government towards ensuring sustainable national development; and
10. Parents in particular should intensify more efforts at ensuring the proper
upbringing of their children and youth and train them on societal values, civic
responsibilities, respecting elders, avoiding drug abuse and acts that are
destructive”.
In conclusion, the Ulama Forum urged government to handle the situation with
greater responsibility, with the involvement of all stakeholders, in order to avert further deterioration of the precarious condition. It also called upon Muslims to engage in prayers to Allah for national peace and unity, for Allah to touch the hearts of Nigeria leaders, guide them to be just and compassionate and Nigerian youth to be more patient, resourceful, disciplined and respectful.
“As we call for cessation of further protests and resorting to dialogue, we urge the press and particularly the social media influencers to be more circumspect on their reporting and analysis of situations”the Forum added.
