*Photo: President Bola Tinubu*
The allegation of violation of the Nigerian constitution made by a former All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential aspirant, Charles Udeogaranya, against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and call for his impeachment for attending the Arab-Islamic Summit in Saudi Arabia have been described as hate speech, infantile and islamophobic.
The reaction was circulated to the media on Wednesday, 13th November, 2024 by the Founder and Executive Director of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC).
The statement reads:“A former All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential aspirant, Charles Udeogaranya, yesterday accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of violating the Nigerian constitution for attending the Arab-Islamic Summit in Saudi Arabia. He also described the president’s action as impeachable (https://dailypost.ng/2024/11/12/tinubus-representation-at-arab-islamic-summit-offensive-impeachable-offense-apc-chieftain/).
“We are shocked by Udeogaranya’s shortsightedness and his decision to hobnob with sentimentalities. His allegation is motivated by anti-Muslim emotions and it can best be described as hate speech, infantile and islamophobic.
“We see no offence committed here if the president has attended a gathering under whatever aegis where solution to a raging war is being sought. More than fifty heads of states attended the summit and many of them came from non-Arab and non-Islamic countries. We thought all the noise about Muslim-Christian controversies were over. It is better for Udeogaranya and his sponsors to allow sleeping dogs to lie.
“His submissions were full of flaws. For instance, he claimed that Nigeria is a secular state. We corrected this wrong impression long ago but people like Udeogaranya love to buy books entitled ‘Common Errors in National Discourse: Failures Come And Buy’.
“They love to prepare only for failure in examinations. Nigeria is a multi-religious state. A secular state is one where religion is not recognized but Nigeria recognizes several religions and allows them to flourish.
“Also, he allegedly said ‘most Nigerians are Christians and that Nigerians firmly support Israel in all international matters’. Only a man who just dropped from Jupiter can make such a false, reckless, baseless and unfounded statement.
“Can he substantiate these? Can he cite at least two instances where and when Nigeria supported Israel? Udeogaranya may be suffering from desertification of terminological exactitude syndrome. He should check his facts again.
“Meanwhile nobody should take his allegations seriously. His call for impeachment should equally be ignored because it is meaningless, null, void and of no consequence. President Tinubu did not go for a tea party in Saudi Arabia. He went to serve this country. It is not easy to embark on trips.
“Records of the president’s speech at the summit have emerged. Tinubu addressed the ongoing Israel-Palestinian conflict, highlighting Nigeria’s call for an immediate ceasefire and a peaceful resolution.
“President Tinubu advocated for reviving the two-state solution to achieve lasting peace in the region and expressed deep concern over the humanitarian conditions in Gaza and warned that ‘empty condemnations’ are not enough to end the conflict in Palestine, which, he said, ‘has persisted for far too long’ (https://punchng.com/tinubu-returns-to-abuja-after-arab-islamic-summit-in-saudi-arabia/).
“This contribution shows that our president has a clear picture of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and his representation of Nigeria at the summit has not been in vain. Therefore, he deserves commendation for his efforts, not criticism.”
