Fixing Orientation Camp During Ramadan Wrong - Muslim Body
Prospective corps members of batch A stream II are expected to report to camps across the nation on Monday. But MURIC described the decision to open the camp at this period as unconstitutional, calling on the authorities to postpone the programme.
Accusing the NYSC of discrimination, MURIC said religious crisis is common in Nigeria due to the “overzealousness and insensitivity of some government officials”.
“We reject this date because Muslim corpers will still be fasting at that time. It is illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional for NYSC to hold camp at a time when its Muslim members will be deprived of their freedom of worship and the liberty to practice their creed without fear. This planned camp is exclusive, discriminatory and parochial,” MURIC said in a statement signed by Ishaq Akintola, its director.
“Official policies in this country often fail to take our cultural and religious plurality into consideration.
“Any Nigerian institution dealing with schedules and programmes particularly the NYSC whose programmes are of such magnitude is expected to consider the dates and periods of important festivals, rituals and religious practices. This should form the core of its logistics. It is our humble opinion that NYSC headquarters has failed in its strategic planning by allowing its next camp to clash with the Ramadan period.”
MURIC said allowing the camp to go on as planned would leave Muslim corps members at a disadvantage, explaining that those observing Ramadan will find it very difficult to adapt to the rigours in camp.
The body wondered why the NYSC did not stick to the initial date scheduled for the exercise.
“What happened to 21st May, 2016 which was the date earlier picked for the orientation? We do not want to believe that the shift was deliberately planned to coincide with the Ramadan season with a view to excluding prospective Muslim corpers,” the statement read.
The Cable
