… A Response to MURIC, Ogun State Chapter*
By Comrade Ibrahim Muhammad Sani*
_Arewa Advocate_
My brothers, Ustaadh Tajudeen Jimoh Alao and Ambassador Olaleye Rasheed Damilare, I read your statement of Monday, November 9th, 2026, with attention and with respect.
You said: _”The Politics Of Division, Personal Interests And The Continued Marginalisation Of Muslims In Ogun State Must Come To An End.”_
On that title alone, I agree with you 100%. Division must end. Personal interest must end. Marginalisation — of any group — must end.
But as a Muslim, as a Northerner, and as an Arewa Advocate who believes in justice for all, let me respond to you with honesty, with love, and with balance.
1. YOU ARE RIGHT: SILENCE HAS BECOME COMPLICITY
You said there comes a time when silence becomes complicity, when patience begins to look like surrender, and when speaking the truth becomes a moral responsibility.
You are right.
If Muslims in Ogun feel marginalised, they have a right to speak. If Christians in Sokoto feel marginalised, they also have a right to speak. If any community in Nigeria feels it is not fairly represented, it has a right to speak — peacefully, through dialogue, not violence.
That is your motto: *Dialogue, Not Violence.* I commend you for that motto. Keep it. Do not abandon it.
MURIC has always been known for dialogue. Professor Ishaq Lakin Akintola, whom you commended, is known for speaking boldly, but speaking with pen, not with sword. Keep that tradition.
But speaking the truth must also be speaking the whole truth, not half truth.
2. YOU ARE RIGHT: SOME MUSLIM LEADERS HAVE BETRAYED THEIR OWN PEOPLE
My brothers, this is the most painful part of your statement, and it is 100% true — not only in Ogun, but in the whole Nigeria, including Arewa.
You asked: _Who is truly fighting for the Muslim community, and who is merely fighting for personal survival?_
Let me answer you bluntly: Many of those who claim to be Muslim leaders are not fighting for Muslims. They are fighting for Hajj slots, for Ramadan packages, for Eid rams, for appointments, for contracts, for political relevance.
When government asks them: “What is happening? Have you not settled them?” — instead of defending their brothers, they say: “Ignore them, they are troublemakers.”
My brothers, I have seen this in the North too. I have seen Muslim leaders in Arewa who collect money from Governors and then tell the poor Muslims: “Keep quiet, the Governor is our brother.” I have seen Imams who will not speak against injustice because they are afraid of losing their monthly allowance.
That is betrayal. That is not leadership. Leadership is not how many people depend on you. As you rightly said, leadership is how many people become better because you occupied a position.
So on this point, I stand with MURIC: *Hold Muslim leaders accountable.* If a man claims to represent Muslims but only represents his stomach, expose him. Peacefully, but firmly, expose him.
When “I” becomes “WE”, illness becomes wellness. You are right.
3. ON THE FIGURES: 18 CHAIRMEN AGAINST 2 — LET US ASK FOR FAIRNESS, NOT FOR WAR
You cited a figure: 18 non-Muslim local government chairmen against only 2 Muslim chairmen in Ogun State.
My brothers, if that figure is correct, then it is a serious question that deserves an answer. In a state like Ogun, where Muslims are a large population, where Muslims vote, where Muslims contribute to the economy, where Muslims pay tax — how can representation be so lopsided?
That question is legitimate. It is not aggression. It is not domination. It is a demand for fairness.
As you said: _How much is too much when all a community demands is fairness, inclusion and equal opportunity?_
I agree. Asking for fairness is not asking for too much. Asking for representation is not an act of aggression.
But my brothers, let me also add this with respect, because I want MURIC to be heard, not dismissed:
When we demand fairness, we must demand it with facts, with figures, and with competence.
Do not just say “Give us 18 chairmen.” Say: “Here are 18 competent Muslims, with certificates, with experience, with character, who can lead those local governments better than anybody.” Then nobody can accuse you of demanding for religion alone. They will see you are demanding for competence and justice together.
And also, when we talk about commissioners, chairmen, parastatals — let us also talk about merit. Let us say: We do not want a Muslim who is incompetent to replace a Christian who is competent. We want a competent Muslim to have the same chance as a competent Christian. That is justice. That is Islam.
Islam does not teach us to demand position because we are Muslims. Islam teaches us to demand justice because we are human beings. And justice must be for all — Muslim, Christian, and Traditionalist.
4. BUT MY BROTHERS, LET US NOT TURN OGUN INTO A RELIGIOUS WAR
This is where I must disagree with part of your statement, with love.
You wrote about “some Christian governors appoint fellow Christians as running mates” and about “political manipulation and religious deception.”
My brothers, I understand your pain. But please, do not let this become a Muslim vs Christian fight in Ogun.
Ogun is a Yoruba state. Yoruba people are unique in Nigeria. In one family in Ogun, the father can be Muslim, the mother can be Christian, the son can be Muslim, the daughter can be Christian — and they will eat together on Sallah and on Christmas. That is the beauty of Yorubaland. That is the beauty of Ogun.
If we turn Ogun into a religious battlefield — Muslims on one side, Christians on the other side — we will destroy that beauty. We will destroy that family. We will destroy Ogun.
We must not replace one form of domination with another, as you rightly said. We must not say: “Because Christians dominated before, now Muslims must dominate.” No. That is not justice. That is revenge.
What we must say is: “Let competence, justice, inclusion and equal opportunity determine leadership.”
Let a Muslim lead if he is competent and just.
Let a Christian lead if he is competent and just.
Let the best person lead, whether he is Muslim or Christian.
And let us also remember: In Ogun, there are Christians who also feel marginalised. In the North, there are Christians who feel marginalised. In the South-East, there are Muslims who feel marginalised. Marginalisation is not only a Muslim problem. It is a Nigerian problem. And the solution must be Nigerian, not sectional.
5. MY ADVICE TO MURIC, TO OGUN GOVERNMENT, AND TO ALL MUSLIMS
*To MURIC, Ogun Chapter:*
Continue to speak, but continue to speak with dialogue, not violence. Continue to speak with facts, not insults. Continue to speak for fairness for Muslims, but also speak for fairness for all Ogun citizens. When you speak for all, everybody will listen to you. When you speak only for one group, only that group will listen to you.
Do not allow politicians to use MURIC. Do not allow any party — APC, PDP, ADC — to use your platform for their campaign. MURIC must remain MURIC — a rights organisation, not a party office.
*To the Governor of Ogun State:*
Sir, listen to MURIC. Do not dismiss them. Do not say “Have you not settled them?” Do not try to settle leaders with Hajj slots and Ramadan packages. Instead, settle the community with fairness.
If there is imbalance in chairmen, correct it. If there is imbalance in commissioners, correct it. If there is imbalance in parastatals, correct it. Not because MURIC shouted, but because it is just. Justice is good for your government. Justice will make Ogun peaceful. Justice will make your name remembered in history.
*To Muslim Leaders in Ogun:*
Stop fighting each other over personal benefits. Two scholars fighting each other publicly is a shame to Islam. If you have disagreement, settle it in private, like brothers. Do not bring your fight to the public and make Muslims look divided. The Ummah is bigger than your ego.
*To Muslim Youths in Ogun:*
Do not mistake patience for weakness. Do not mistake tolerance for ignorance. But also, do not mistake anger for strength. True strength is to demand your rights peacefully, to vote wisely in 2027, to educate yourselves, to become competent, to become leaders who cannot be ignored.
2027 is coming. As you said, 2027 will be an opportunity to assess political conduct. Use your PVC. Vote for who is just, not for who gives you rice. Vote for who will include you, not for who will use you.
CONCLUSION: WE ARE NOT DEMANDING PRIVILEGES, WE ARE DEMANDING FAIRNESS — FOR ALL
My brothers in MURIC, you said: “We are not demanding privileges above others. We are demanding fairness.”
I agree. And I will add: Let us demand fairness for Muslims in Ogun, fairness for Christians in Sokoto, fairness for all Nigerians everywhere.
History is like Facebook, as you said — it never forgets. One day, titles will disappear. Appointments will end. Governments will change.
What will remain is: Did we build bridges, or did we burn them? Did we empower others, or did we exploit them? Did we unite the community, or did we divide it for personal gain?
Let us build bridges. Let us empower the vulnerable. Let us educate the uninformed. Let us encourage the younger generation.
Let us stop playing politics with the future of Muslims. Let us stop playing politics with the future of Christians. Let us stop playing politics with the future of Nigeria.
*When I becomes WE, illness becomes wellness. When personal interest gives way to collective responsibility, division gives way to unity.*
And when unity meets purposeful leadership, Ogun will progress, Arewa will progress, Nigeria will progress.
*— Comrade Ibrahim Muhammad Sani*
_Arewa Advocate_
