The Executive Secretary/CEO, Muslim Ummah of South-West Nigeria (MUSWEN), Professor Dawud O.S Noibi (OBE, FISN), in this interview with Saliu Gbadamosi and Sulaimon Adesina reveals the problems facing the Muslim Ummah (community) in the South Western part of the country, among other issues. Excerpt:

W HAT in formed the establishment of the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN)?
Historically, Muslims in the South Western part of Nigeria have been facing some challenges that are peculiar to them, and which, therefore, require peculiar, special type of response. I say they are peculiar because they are not replicated anywhere else in the country. The response, therefore, requires that Muslims in this particular zone of the country be united under a veritable, effective leadership.

The challenges arose from the fact that long before the colonialists came to Nigeria, and with them the missionaries, Islam had had a very strong, firm footing in the South Western part of Nigeria. And I can say without any fear of contradiction that not less than 65 per cent of the people of this part of the country are Muslims. And if there are 27.5 million people living in South Western part of Nigeria (the states put together),

it means that not less than 17 million Muslims live in this part of the country. Unfortunately, however, with the coming of Western education, the Christian education, plus the fact that the colonialists left education in the hands of the missionaries, the schools were used in converting Muslim children to Christianity.

As a result of this, many Muslim parents withheld their children from going to school because they didn’t want the children to lose their faith, which is far more important than any dividend that anyone might expect from their children getting Western education. And those who persisted in sending their children to Christian schools either lost the children to another faith or had such children knowing next to nothing about Islam as they know of other faith.

So, they could not practise Islam as they ought to do. As a result of this, Muslims are very few among those who make decisions at the highest quarters, political and social matters.

Therefore, poverty is more common among Muslims than it is among people of other faith, at least in this part of the country. Disease  is, therefore, more common among Muslims because education helps your healthcare; you know about hygiene, taking care of your health through education. So, we have that problem.

We also have the problems of not having enough Western educated Muslims in the population as much as our population requires. This kind of situation cannot be left unchanged. It must be responded to in a manner that is lawful, peaceful; a manner that would prevent religious disharmony. So, it is necessary that Muslim leaders in this area come together and try to find solution to the problem. That was why MUSWEN was established and inaugurated on the 9th Shaban, 1429 AH, equivalent to 10th August, 2008.

It is also pertinent, indeed, to note that as a result of this situation, many  young Muslim graduates find it difficult to get jobs because those who have the upper hand, who belong to another faith, would  lure them to give up their faith and embrace another religion in return for the job, or those of them who are ignorant about how to look after themselves fall into the hands of false people, who promise them healing in return for changing of their religion.

That is a very common feeling. All of these require a response, one that would be helpful, not only to the Muslims, but also to the entire country. So that, in the future, Insha Allah, we have a situation in which the Muslims are able to contribute to the development of the country in a very informed and dignified way.

Dignified in the sense that they would be respected, not only for their development, but also as leaders in the course of Islam. You probably would know, as I do, that the general perception of Muslims amongst the elite in any part of the country is that they hardly think that anything good could come from Muslims.

So, they are sometimes surprised when they find a person in high positions, highly educated and talks sense identifying himself or herself as Muslim. It is a common experience of educated Muslims in  Yorubaland that they are asked, “I never knew that you  a Muslim.” That tells a lot. Don’t you think that we should do something about that, not only for the Muslims but also for the good of the whole country.

There is something very common among the Yoruba. It is well known that there is a mixture of Christians and Muslims within the same family. Now,  if there is no mutual respect and mutual recognition of the fact that Muslims can also contribute to the development of the family and the society, that is not going to be helpful to family cohesion. I don’t know whether non-Muslims appreciate the fact that the situation that I am going to describe now, which is true, is something that hurts the Muslims, even though they don’t talk about it often.

It is hurtful to see a child or relation, sent to school, born to Muslim family, whose education was paid for by the Muslim parents, and such a person becomes a Christian, to be counted  among them, for someone to now turn around say Muslims are uneducated is worrisome. So, it is not in the interest of the whole community that everybody feels the need for a redress. This is what MUSWEN is all about; with the motto: “Self Development Of A Marginalised People, Through Unity, Education And Empowerment.”

Since MUSWEN came on board, what has been the relationship between MUSWEN and the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA)?
Let me assure you of the fact that the Sultan of Sokoto and the President of the NSCIA was present at the inauguration of MUSWEN, on the 10th August, 2008. Not only that, on that occasion, he sprang a surprise: He announced, to the amazement of everybody, the award of scholarship to three female Muslim students of medicine of South-West origin. And he has since paid for the scholarship. That tells us that MUSWEN works closely and enjoins the confidence of the NSCIA. We have since paid a visit to the Sultan, in appreciation of his relationship,  a fantastic relationship.

You mentioned the problems facing Muslims in the South-West region of this country. In the past two years or so, what have you been able to do in terms of solving these problems?
Our first approach to the problem of education is to encourage, in a very strong way and consistently, the 100 per cent enrolment of Muslim children for U.B.E. Research has shown that not less than 90 per cent of the nearly 10 million children that are out of school in Nigeria are Muslims. So, it is a heritage that has come from the past; the attitude of ‘we don’t want to lose our children’, the attitude that has not changed, because even up to the present time, Muslim children are still under that pressure of Christian indoctrination. We have evidence from samples taken from various states of the fact that very small percentage of Muslim children that go to public schools are allowed to have instructions in Islam Studies.

On the contrary, they are given Bible Studies to do. So, if you want the Muslims to change that attitude of reservation, then, you should make the environment attractive to them. So, whilst we are encouraging the Muslims to register their children of school age for the UBE of the Federal Government, we are also calling on the government to ensure that the environment is conducive for Muslims to have education, and, at the same time, maintain their religion,