The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has taken a swipe at the Federal Government and the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) for allegedly sidelining Muslims during the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations by failing to provide free train rides, a gesture previously extended to Christians during Christmas.
Professor Ishaq Akintola, Executive Director of MURIC, raised the concern in a statement on Thursday, accusing the authorities of “executive insensitivity” and perpetuating “systemic religious imbalance” in Nigeria’s public service delivery.
“A strange scenario is currently playing out in the Nigerian socio-cultural landscape,” Akintola said. “Whereas the Federal Government offered free train rides during Christmas, it has maintained a pregnant silence on whether the same handout will be offered during this Salah.”
MURIC observed that the Christmas train rides not only spanned the festive period but were extended into mid-January 2025. However, for Eid-el-Kabir, the NRC merely announced an extension of train services without waiving fares.
“This extension cannot even scratch the surface. Neither is it comparable to the over-pampering luxury of the Christmas period,” Akintola noted. “As part of its corporate social responsibility to Nigerians, MURIC has a duty to interrogate the performance of government in this area.”
He added: “We note that there is gross disparity and astounding imbalance in the manner free train rides are declared for Christmas, whereas Salah attracts no dividends of democracy.”
The group argued that the issue goes beyond holiday logistics and reflects a broader pattern of unequal treatment of Muslims in national policy, despite the current administration being led by a Muslim president under a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
“Is free train meant for Christians alone? Who is in control of this government? Are Muslims really being carried along? Are we on a wild goose chase?” Akintola queried. “FG appears to be drumming it into the ears of Nigerian Muslims that equal rights in Nigeria is an illusion, a myth, a mirage.”
According to him, “It appears that all religions are equal in Nigeria, but Christianity is more equal than any other faith. We have been politically marginalised, economically shortchanged and socially ostracised.”
MURIC also called for a comprehensive overhaul of public policy frameworks that favour Christian practices, including public holidays and the weekend structure, arguing that such legacies were inherited uncritically from colonial rule.
“We therefore demand a total and categorical overhauling of all religious matters like our weekend system, seasonal holidays, etc, that were fixed and skewed pro-Christian by the colonial master,” the group stated. “We should have reviewed all these immediately after independence in 1960.”
While acknowledging that government holds the discretion to determine public service policies, Akintola warned that perceived religious bias could fuel resentment.
“If this is an oversight, we demand an apology from FG. If it is deliberate and official arrogance and an exhibition of executive impunity, we will assume that the government is merely flexing its muscles,” he said.
MURIC concluded by urging for constitutional reforms and equitable treatment of all religious groups, warning that the current imbalance threatens national unity in a country as religiously diverse as Nigeria.
