Sheikh Aminu Ibrahim Daurawa, a foremost Muslim scholar has given reasons why most Muslim clerics and imams are against the proposed mass protests over economic hardship set for 29 July 2020 by Nigerian youths.
Daily News 24 reports that some Nigerian youths across northern Nigerian states are planning a mass revolt against the Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration over high cost of food, drugs and other essential commodities across the country.
However, a number of Islamic scholars, including Sheikh Daurawa have come under attack for opposing the protests.
But in an interview with DCL Hausa, an online media platform, Mr Daurawa said protest is not the solution for the current hardship because it may be hijacked by unscrupulous elements to destabilize the country.
“We know the situation in the country and how people are suffering. But it is not possible to expect someone that is hungry and jobless to come out to the streets and protest peacefully,” he said.
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“Those who organized the protests could be responsible people but there is no guarantee that some irresponsible persons or groups cannot infiltrate the peaceful protests and turn it violent as it happened in other countries”.
According to him, instead of conducting protests, there are other viable options that can be deployed to bring the attention of political leaders to the situation in the country.
“My advice is that all clerics, those who support the protest and those that oppose it should unite and collaborate with other stakeholders such as members of the National Assembly and the Nigerian Governors’ Forum to call the attention of the President to immediately address the current hardship,” he said.
“If this is done and the government decides to ignore our concerns, then whatever happens, nobody would blame us the Ulama for keeping quiet,” he added.
Sheikh Daurawa, who is the Commander-General of Kano State Hisbah Board, also denied claims that major Islamic scholars have been bribed with N16 million each to convince youths to shelve the planned protests.
“Whoever accuses us of collecting bribes to discourage the planned protests should get ready to provide evidence of his allegation to Allah on the Day of Judgement,” he said.
