The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has asked Folarin ‘Falz’ Falana to withdraw his ‘This is Nigeria’ video and apologies

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has asked Folarin ‘Falz’ Falana to withdraw his ‘This is Nigeria’ video and apologies to every Nigerian, or face legal action.

Falz, while earlier responding to sets of criticisms that trailed the video, had explained that the girls were a representation of the abducted Chibok girls still in Boko Haram captivity.
But the group, in a statement by its Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, condemned the song and the video for featuring a character that dressed like a Fulani man, who suddenly abandoned and left

his traditional guitar and beheaded a man and also for portraying women in hijab as choreographers dancing the ‘shaku-shaku’.

WATCH VIDEO: FALZ – THIS IS NIGERIATHE STATEMENT READS IN PART, ”THE MUSLIM RIGHTS CONCERN (MURIC) STRONGLY DENOUNCES THE SHAKU SHAKU DANCE VIDEO. IT IS THOUGHTLESS, INSENSITIVE AND HIGHLY PROVOCATIVE. IT IS A HATE VIDEO. IT IS ISLAMOPHOBIA NULLI SECUNDUS. THIS VIDEO HAS THE POTENTIAL OF CAUSING RELIGIOUS CRISI OF UNPRECEDENTED DIMENSION. WE THEREFORE DEMAND ITS WITHDRAWAL AND AN APOLOGY TO NIGERIAN MUSLIMS WITHIN SEVEN DAYS OR THE AUTHORS AND THEIR AGENTS WILL FACE LEGAL ACTION IF THEY FAIL TO COMPLY.
”THE VIDEO MANIFESTS ETHNIC BIAS AGAINST FULANIS WHILE IT IGNORED THE CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES OF ETHNIC MILITIA OF THE MIDDLE BELT WHO HAVE ALSO MASSACRED FULANIS AND RUSTLED THEIR CATTLES IN THEIR THOUSANDS. THIS VIDEO HAS DENIGRATED ISLAM, DEMONIZED NIGERIAN MUSLIMS AND SUBJECTED THEM TO PUBLIC OPPROBIUM.
”MURIC REJECTS FALZ’ EXPLANATION THAT THE GIRLS IN HIJAB IN HIS ‘SHAKU SHAKU’ DANCE SYMBOLIZE THE CHIBOK GIRLS BECAUSE NOTHING IN THE VIDEO INDICATES THAT THE GIRLS REPRESENT THE CHIBOK GIRLS. AT LEAST NONE OF THE CHIBOK GIRLS HAVE BEEN SEEN DANCING LIKE A DRUNKARD. THEY ARE ALWAYS IN PENSIVE MOOD. DO THEY HAVE ANY CAUSE TO BE DANCING? ARE THEY HAPPY? THIS VIDEO IS THE MOST DETESTABLE, ODIOUS AND INSIDIOUS ISLAM-BASHING IN RECENT TIME.
”WE CALL THE ATTENTION OF SECURITY AGENCIES TO THIS HATE ACTION. THE TRAGEDY FACING MODERN SOCIETIES ALL OVER THE WORLD IS THEIR CRIMINAL COMPLICITY IN ISLAM-BASHING AND THEIR HYPOCRITICAL ACCUSATION OF MUSLIMS OF TERRORISM AND RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE. ON THE CONTRARY, TERRORISM IS MERE SMOKE. PROVOCATION, DERISION AND INJUSTICE ARE THE FIRES WHICH CAUSE TERRORISM. WE REITERATE OUR PONTIFICATION THAT IT IS NAÏVE FOR A FIRE FIGHTER TO IGNORE THE FIRE AND TURN HIS HOSE AT THE SMOKE. THE WORLD IS TREATING SYMPTOMS, LEAVING THE REAL AILMENT TO FESTER.

”WE CONDEMN VIOLENCE AND ALL ACTS OF TERRORISM. BUT WE DO NOT SHARE THE OPINION THAT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION CAN GO TO ANY LENGTH. EVEN POPE FRANCIS HAS WARNED PEOPLE NOT TO INSULT THE FAITH OF OTHERS. HE SAID, “IT IS NORMAL. YOU CANNOT PROVOKE. YOU CANNOT INSULT THE FAITHS OF OTHERS. YOU CANNOT MAKE FUN OF THE FAITHS OF OTHERS. FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION ARE FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS. HOWEVER, THERE SHOULD BE A LIMIT TO OFFENDING AND RIDICULING THE FAITHS AND BELIEFS OF OTHERS.”

”MURIC WARNS NIGERIAN ARTISTS TO STOP GIVING MUSLIM NAMES TO DEVILISH AND LOWLY CHARACTERS. WE APPEAL TO MUSLIMS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY TO SIMMER DOWN. LET US ADOPT A CIVILIZED APPROACH TO ‘SHAKU SHAKU’ AND TEACH AGENTS PROVOCATEUR SOME LESSONS IN RESPECT FOR HUMAN FEELINGS. INSTEAD OF GOING VIOLENT, NIGERIAN MUSLIMS SHOULD TAKE THOSE BEHIND THE ‘SHAKU SHAKU’ VIDEO TO COURT IN ORDER TO SERVE AS A DETERRENT TO OTHERS.

”WE THEREFORE GIVE NOTICE OF IMPENDING LEGAL ACTION AGAINST THE ARTIST BEHIND THE ‘SHAKU SHAKU’ VIDEO UNLESS THE LATTER IS WITHDRAWN AND AN APOLOGY IS WIDELY PUBLISHED WITHIN SEVEN DAYS.”