Muslim Rights Concern Group, MURIC has reacted to the ban on Falz’s video, “This is Nigeria” video by the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation(NBC).
Below is a statement made available to PoliticsNGR, signed by the leader of the group, Prof. Ishaq Akintola;
The Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) last week banned the ‘Shaku Shaku’ dance video which was released by Folarin Falana (Falz the Bad Guy) in May this year. The video was offensive to the sensitivity of Muslims and the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) gave Falz a 7-day ultimatum to withdraw the video or face litigation. Instead of heeding the warning, Falz dared MURIC.
In a press release issued on Monday, the Islamic group commended NBC for banning the video and stressed that NBC should ensure that the video remained banned until the artist removes all the offensive parts. The group explained that the banning of Falz video may not be unconnected with a petition it sent to the National Film And Video Censors Board (NFVCB). The petition which was sent by courier to both the Abuja and Lagos offices of the agency was dated 11th June, 2018.
“The video portrayed Fulanis and Muslims as killers. It also showed women in hijab engaging in the notorious ‘Shaku Shaku’ dance. Although reactions to similar provocative works of art had been violent in the past, MURIC as an elite Islamic group decided to adopt dialogue. We asked Falz to withdraw the video or we would sue him. Instead of showing remorse he dared us. We knew he could delay the court case for years because he is a lawyer and he would use every trick in the books to frustrate us. That was why he was boasting.
“Therefore, instead of going to court, we decided to ambush him by sending a petition to the video board. This week, the NBC banned the video and others like it. He should be the one to go to court now if he likes. Let him go and show how brilliant he is in court. He and his fans laughed at us when we complained about his provocative and vulgar video. But there is no doubt that he who laughs last laughs best”.
The leader of the human rights organization, Ishaq Akintola , who signed the press statement added, “It is hoped that Nigerian artists will borrow a leaf from this episode. We Muslims have been the laughing stock of Nigerian artists for some time now. They associate every dirty job with a Muslim name. It is no longer going to be business as usual. That does not mean that we hate artists. No, we don’t. Artists are creative and hardworking people. We appreciate creativity and hardwork.
“We also love works of art and we respect artists who come out with brilliant ideas. We recognize the right of every artist to produce. But the right of an artist to produce whatever he likes stops where the rights of other citizens begin. Like all other citizens, we Muslims have the right to the dignity of our persons. Nobody can take that right from us. Our right is our right. The law is very clear about that. Fela Anikulapo Kuti used his songs to fight military dictatorship and other ills in the Nigerian society. But he never attacked Muslims or Christians. Neither did he incite Nigerians against any ethnic group. He criticized religious groups but never in a vulgar manner and he never exposed Muslims or Christians to ridicule”.
MURIC related the incident to the phenomenon of terrorism and religious violence. “It is incidents like this which lead to religious crisis. Fortunately we handled it intellectually. Other people could have allowed it to escalate into a major religious crisis and turned it into another opportunity to kill, maim and destroy properties. It is rather unfortunate that Nigerians are yet to appreciate what MURIC has been doing in this regard.
“It is germane at this juncture to analyse the anatomy of terrorism and religious violence. The cassu belli of most terrorist acts and religious violence is open or perceived injustice, including inadvertent or deliberate provocation. There is no smoke without fire
Source:- Politicsngr
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