By Fatima Saka
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called on the Nigerian media and the country’s elite to take a more active role in the ongoing debate over preaching in commercial buses, warning that their silence could amount to a failure of responsibility.
MURIC, in a statement issued on Thursday by its Founder and Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, expressed concern over what it described as the “loud silence” of the media and Nigerian elites despite the growing controversy surrounding bus preaching.
The group said Nigerians needed balanced, informed and objective discussions on the issue, particularly as it concerns commuters’ right to enjoy a peaceful and quiet journey.
According to Akintola, the debate should have generated extensive discussions on television, radio, newspaper columns and editorials, with experts and stakeholders examining the merits and concerns surrounding religious preaching in commercial vehicles.
He said, “As the debate on the issue of preaching inside commercial buses raged, we have noticed the loud silence of both the media and Nigerian elites on the subject matter.”
Akintola argued that rather than allowing the conversation to be dominated by threats from religious leaders and rigid positions from clerics, the media should provide the public with factual analysis and diverse perspectives.
“The media and the elites must therefore speak up. Silence is not an option,” he said, adding that Nigerians needed to be educated, informed and instructed on the contentious issue.
MURIC stressed that the media had a responsibility to promote truth, knowledge, constructiveness and courage, warning against what it described as selective articulation and prejudice in journalism.
The organisation also questioned why the Nigerian press, which it said had historically been outspoken on contentious national issues, appeared reluctant to engage robustly in the bus preaching debate.
“The Nigerian media cannot afford to stand akimbo while such aggressive debate is going on. It is about the right to enjoy a quiet ride,” Akintola said.
He maintained that the absence of sustained media engagement had created a gap in the national conversation and called for more balanced discussions involving journalists, public commentators, religious leaders and other stakeholders.
MURIC urged journalists and opinion leaders to uphold the principles of objectivity and impartiality, insisting that professionalism should take precedence over religious or personal biases.
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The group warned that continued silence could deny Nigerians the opportunity to properly understand the competing rights and concerns surrounding preaching in commercial buses.
Akintola said the press must rise to its responsibility of serving the public interest, declaring that the media and Nigerian elites “must not fail the Nigerian people.”
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