Farooq Kperogi: The Northern Elite Awakening the Slumbering Muslims of the Southwest -By Azeez Ridwan

It was just like a news sailing through the political-religious architecture of the Southwest in the vessel of a foreign well-meaning, straight thinking and Journalistic somebody, ameliorating and examining the untold stories of misfortunes befalling the downtrodden Muslims of the Southwest.

It’s not skit-making that, Prof. Farooq Kperogi had succeeded in ascertaining the A-Z of some Christianization formular longlisted and directed to a group of sleep-walking Muslims Population in the Southwestern part of Nigeria, who might have understood same or waylaid it as merely a religious bigotry or a procession of religious intolerance.

The golden son of the North, Kwara State in particular, Prof. Farooq Kperogi had hysterised certain points as a question mark aimed at tantalizing before Muslims of Southwest the nauseating dish of religious irregularities lunched against them. He had highlighted by sprawling the punctured garments of Human Rights and the strangulation of the Muslim Population in search of a greener pasture to secure a better livelihood in a Federating Country where there is equality before the law.

The case of Adebowale sikiru was a drop from the ocean of a well articulated envelope of religious disparities excellently showcased by some Christian bigots in the Southwest, which were not reported. Religion intolerance had for ages been reported to be a peculiarity of the Muslims. Had any report of Religious intolerance in the Christian fold fly on our national dailies ?

Religious intolerance in the Christian fold in the Southwest had been sighted as if such had never happened, it’s not publish-worthy in any dailies even fallacious among some conglomeration of Muslims who were not only absent-minded but also ignorants of their own ordeal; even after Student were being cashed out of a public school for putting on Hijab by a Christian Principal.

The Ikoyi Collapsed building cum Osibona on-the-spot report and all that transpired within the building hitherto collapse would had been incommunicado, bypassed and interchanged if the likes of Prof. Kperogi does not exist at a time the native were still slumbering on their respective bed space and would have been exterminated if the collapse does not occur. Mr. Adebowole Sikiru gave an on the spot report of Mr. Femi Osibona, the owner of the collapsed building whom he had approached to secure a job on site to have said “I can’t work with a Muslim” which oozed out upon collapse of the said building an interview were granted on survivors and know-whats. All though was a blessing in disguise for him afterall

It is important to note that, the noises that materialises after the collapsed was adumbrated by Prof. Kperogi a son of the land of Borgu, while other media platforms were silent and coinages in headline such as MURIC React as Ikoyi 21 Building Collapse- Daily Post, Yoruba Muslims Vs Yoruba Christians- Punch among others were made while many were silent on the An24 interview of the Incident . Although no dailies whether the silents or the coinagers denied the skyrocketed ignition of a Muslims at the site of the collapsed Building.

The Professor of Journalism had in his quest to take the bull by the horn and let both the dog and the cat out of the bag, make reference to the fact that Muslims in Southwest had been nonchalant against their ordeal and found same as irrelevant to their purpose in life, identify some set of Muslims under the aegis of Jama’atu Ta’awunil Muslim ably led by Sheikh Daood Imran Molaasan the Grand Mufti of Yorubaland as the only front repelling attacks of religious discrimination directed towards the Muslims in the Southwest. There was a thousand smile when MURIC voiced out, after Kperogi writeup though it strike when the iron is cold.

There is a need awake Muslims of the Southwest to make the Islamic creed topmost in their daily routines as a way to repel further discrimination of the Muslim Populace which southwest is known for. The Ogun State nurse discrimination, the Muslim hospital Ede and the recent Kolenda Crusade in Public school were a few among other ill-befitting discrimination directed towards Muslims in Southwest.