The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has described the suffering of Nigerians following the removal of fuel subsidy and other economic policies as a test of their faith.
The group’s Executive Director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, made the appeal in a statement on Friday in Lagos.
He appealed to Nigerians to be patient, to ensure they reap the long-term gains of the current economic policies.
“The deregulation of the oil sector of the Nigerian economy which has been hailed by experts as a wise step must come with a price.
“It has necessitated the determination of prices of petroleum products by global market forces.
“This implies that even the Nigerian government can no longer fix the prices of petroleum products and it was not responsible for the latest increase from N488 to N617.
“The good news is that we have a sensitive administration which has shown concern for the plight of the common man,” he said.
He added that the president had declared that the poor must not be strangulated by the current hardship.
“Palliatives are, therefore, being prepared to ease the pain without which there can be no gain.
“We, therefore, appeal to Nigerians to patiently wait for the palliatives. This hard time is the test of our faith, our patriotism and our resolve to reengineer our destiny as a people.
“Therefore, endurance is our best option now, not demonstrations or willful destruction of public properties, looting of shops and businesses belonging to innocent Nigerians,” he said.
He appealed to Nigerians to rally behind the Tinubu administration.
“We have seen the concrete and pragmatic steps which he has taken as he squarely confronts Nigeria’s economic woes.
“Comments made by experts since the beginning of this administration prove that the man on the driving seat knows his onions and he is well prepared for the job of turning our economy round.
“All we need to do now is to endure, to have faith in the leadership and to patiently forbear for Nigeria,” he pleaded.
