A governor in Nigeria, Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna state, has said that Islamic religion outlaws citizens from protesting against constituted authorities, whether or not government is doing well.
El Rufai was among the leaders of then opposition All Progressives Congress who staged several protests against the administration of former president Goodluck Jonathan.
But the Governor, in self contradiction, said it was for that reason that Muslims in Nigeria do not join protests.
The Governor said- “What other religions in Nigeria doesn’t understand is that the Islamic religion is against citizens protesting against their leaders, but rather pray for them always. That’s why if you go to Mosques you see the Imam and the congregation praying for the leadership of the country.
“Anybody who joined other religions to protest against the government is not a true Muslim and will be denied lots of benefits in paradise.
“During the ENDSARS Protest and even the Nigerian Labour Congress protest, no Muslim was found among them protesting. It is considered an abomination in Islamic faith because no Muslim member wants to miss paradise.
“Protest is never an option in Nigeria. Our party the APC have tried so much in bringing dividends of democracy to Nigerians, so why the protest. These are protest that are being instigated by the opposition parties just to discredit the good legacy of President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC.
“In terms of security, we are trying our best more than the previous administration of Goodluck Jonathan where blood is being shed almost every day. You can’t compare the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari with that of Goodluck Jonathan. PDP is a party characterize by corruption, impunity, killing, banditry, kidnapping and all sorts of evil malpractices.
“Now they have a faction called Labour Party and someone from the same PDP is their Presidential candidate, tell me is there any difference between the two, no difference. They are all the same with the same agenda to kill, loot and destroy. Nigerians are wise now and that is why they don’t want PDP or Labour Party again in Nigeria but APC only. You saw what happened in 2015 and 2019, it’s about to repeat again in 2023 insha Allah.”