AT THE 2013 MSSN ISLAMIC VACATION COURSE

do we remember this person at the annual Islamic Vacation Course (IVC) organised every December by the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, MSSN? Was he with us those several years ago at Bida, at Jalingo, at Ilorin, or at Ede? And most times you are stumped; you do not remember either the face or the […]

do we remember this person at the annual Islamic Vacation Course (IVC) organised every December by the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, MSSN? Was he with us those several years ago at Bida, at Jalingo, at Ilorin, or at Ede? And most times you are stumped; you do not remember either the face or the name, as the person was perhaps never a member of the MSS, the biggest, most peaceful and yet pragmatic society of young Muslim students in Africa, if not the world, with a membership of over 20 million spread across all the educational institutions.
The Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, simply called MSS, was established in 1954 by southern-based Muslim brothers who were mostly in Christian mission schools. The idea of setting up an organization for Muslim students was borne out of their desire to safeguard their religious fundamentals, culture and identity from the twin effects of forceful evangelization and alluring Christian activities. At the first conference of the society held in 1955, declared open by then Oba Adeniji Adele II of Lagos, Brother (as he then was) AbdulLateef Adegbite (now the late Secretary General of the Nigerian Supreme Council on Islamic Affairs, NSCIA) was elected the Society’s first National President while then Brother A.R.A Sahid was elected Secretary General.
Over time, because of convenience and logistics, the MSS decided to create two Zones, A for the North and B for the South, in order to smoothly administer its activities. And every year, alhamdu lilLah, the MSS has convened an IVC for young Muslim boys and girls from secondary and tertiary institutions: one in the North and one in the South. The MSS A Zone, comprising eighteen states of the North (Kwara, for convenience, is listed among the B Zone, together with the other seventeen southern states that also held their IVC concurrently) convened its 2013 IVC in Zamfara State with the theme “Islam, Society and History: A Reflection on the Model of Sakkwato Jihad Leaders in Establishing an Islamic State.”
The Zamfara 2013 IVC had in attendance eminent personalities and intellectuals who were on hand to instruct this new generation of Nigerian Muslims what Islam, especially Islam in Nigeria, is at this very important crossroad. The IVC programme afforded the delegates an opportunity to deliberate on national and international issues affecting the Muslim Ummah, after which it was observed that the endemic corruption and impunity that is being promoted and supported by the present administration in Nigeria is quite worrisome; that the Nigerian government machinery is being gradually Christianised with the marginalization of Muslims, as can be seen in the massive recruitment of Christians into the military, paramilitary, ministries, departments and agencies as well as government appointments.
The IVC further observed that Government appears to be unwilling to overcome the security situation in the country, with the disturbing effect that the counter-insurgency being conducted by the Nigerian security forces continues to be outside the ambits of both human rights and humanitarian laws; that the indiscriminate arrest and incarceration of innocent Muslim scholars and their followers in the name of ‘Boko Haram’ is quite disturbing. Related to that, the systematic destruction of the economy of the North Western states of Kaduna and Zamfara by armed bandits and rustlers has wreaked havoc on both life and property and continues unabated, with the Government security system not able, or willing, to decisively put an end to it.
The MSS noted that the decay in the moral attitude of the youths, as the leaders of tomorrow, has risen to alarming proportions, portending a dangerous future for the Ummah; that there seems to be, among Nigerian Muslim youths, insufficient understanding of Islam as a complete way of life as propagated by the Sakkwato Jihad scholars, due to the inadequacies of the existing Islamic Studies curriculum taught in our schools; that inadequate funding of the educational sector by the government has resulted in strikes and near collapse of the sector; that the structure and content of the education curriculum in the country is inadequate in meeting the aspirations, norms and values of the Ummah, as this has contributed to the lukewarm attitude of Muslims towards enrolment of their children into the Western system of education.
The Society further noted that leadership (as a trust from Allah, exalted be His Name) and selection of leaders should be based on merit as against the current preferential practice which is detrimental to the development of the nation. Further, the proposed national dialogue is already rigged and would not yield the needed results; therefore a Sovereign National Conference, despite its notoriety, should be convened. On the international scene, the IVC observed that the continuous massacre of Muslims in Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and other Muslim territories is unfortunate and condemnable.
The MSS also observed with great dismay the sensational, wrong captioning and unprofessionalism exhibited by some newspapers on the Sultan’s Opening Address at the IVC. The Society sees this action as a deliberate attempt to set the Sultan against his people.
Following these observations, the MSS IVC Communique, signed by two Yusufs (Yusuf Arrigasiyu and Yusuf Saeed), resolved to support the call of the people of Borno State that, in order to decisively bring a permanent solution to the insurgency situation in the North East, the President, as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, should relocate to Borno State in the meantime; and that all Nigerians, in the interest of fairness, justice, equity, unity, stability and peaceful co-existence in Nigeria, should strongly support the call by the Sultan for a total amnesty to all the youth ‘insurgents’ in the North, similar to the one granted to Niger Delta militants granted by late President Umaru Musa ‘Yar’adua.
The MSS further said that the Muslim community, parents, teachers and the government should be more committed to the moral uprightness of the youth by inculcating in them the moral values as demonstrated by the early generations of Muslims; and that the existing Islamic Studies curriculum being taught in Nigerian schools should be reviewed and restructured to enhance the proper understanding of Islam as a complete way of life by Muslim students; and that the Government must, as a matter of urgency, show serious commitment towards the resuscitation of the educational sector through the provision of adequate funding in line with international best practices.
Further, the IVC resolved to call on the security agencies in the country to desist from framing and labelling Muslims as terrorists, and to demand the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Yunus Nazifi and other innocent Muslims arrested by the security agents on trumped-up charges. For the Nigerian security services, Muslim youths have become easy prey, as they the direct victims of unlawful arrests, extra-judicial killings as happened recently in Apo.
Further, the Society called on the Muslim world to continue to unite in the face of the American and Israeli occupation and aggression against innocent Muslims in Palestine, Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan and other Muslim territories.
The MSS finally demanded a retraction and unreserved public apology from the newspapers that misquoted His Eminence the Sultan at the IVC.