Check Muslim clerics with radical views — Don

A lecturer at the Department of Actuarial and Insurance, University of  Lagos, Dr. Tajudeen Yusuf, has urged the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) to always check Muslim clerics who hold radical  views that may be contrary to Islamic teachings and inimical to national  development.

Delivering the pre-Ramadan lecture organised by the Fountain University, Osogbo (FUO), Dr. Yusuf said the NSCIA should encourage Muslim clerics to  always promote religious tolerance in the interest of unity and harmony among the citizenry.


According to him, the failure of Islamic leaders in the country to check  some individuals who spread dangerous views under the cover of  teachings emboldened those who founded the Boko Haram sect and  misled their followers.
He also urged Muslim clerics to always make comments and statements on political, economic and religious issues rather than talking only during the Ramadan. Dr. Yusuf advised the  NSCIA to translate the Quran into various Nigerian  languages.
“What brought about the Boko Haram? It is lack of leadership. Anybody can just say anything or teach anything. Everybody turned themselves  into Muslim clerics, nobody cautioned them. But when the Boko Haram came, didn’t they kill Muslims? People were praying inside mosques and they opened fire on them. Leadership failure brought about the emergence of
Boko Haram”, he said.
He tasked Nigerians, especially the Muslims, to always hold political leaders accountable, saying this would make those in power to behave well.
The chairman of the occasion, Prof. Bashir Raji also urged Muslims to develop interest in politics while urging those in positions of authority to show leadership by example.