ABUJA- Justice Mohammed Uwais, a former Chief Justice of Nigeria, has in Abuja called on Nigerians to join the crusade to wipe out corruption in Nigeria.

Uwais made the call in a keynote address on the occasion of a Ramadan seminar organised by the FCT chapter of the Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN).

The theme of the one-day seminar was “Islam, Media and Corruption”.

Uwais, who is the Chairman of the Electoral Reform Committee (ERC), also called on the Media to expose corruption through their reportage and news analysis.

Uwais, who was the chairman of the occasion, said fighting corruption was a good way to build a nation and stressed that all hands must be on deck to eradicate the cankerworm.
He commended the effort of the MMPN in organising a seminar aimed at finding a lasting solution to the problem of corruption.

Speaking on the Role of Muslim Media Practitioners in fighting Corruption, Dr Usman Bugaje, AC National Secretary, said it was an obligation imposed on every Muslim by God in the Quran.

Represented by his wife, Dr Mairo Mandara, Bugaje said that a Muslim who was not ready to fight corruption “might as well stop praying, fasting and paying Zakat”.

He implored Muslims in the media to see their role as a divine call from Allah to expose corruption and make the society a better place to live in.

In his contribution, Dr Datti Baba-Ahmed, a former member of the House of Representatives, said media practitioners, especially Muslims should be fearless and just in reporting events accurately and truthfully.

Baba-Ahmed said corruption was so endemic in the country and that it required special prayers and determination from all stakeholders to check and redress the situation.
Speaking on the challenges facing media practitioners, Alhaji Liad Tella of the National Hajj Commission (NAHCON), lamented that Muslims media practitioners were in minority in the country.

Tella, a former Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the defunct National Concord Newspapers, and former Managing Director of Monitor Newspapers, called on wealthy Muslims to establish newspapers to correct the negative impression about Islam and Muslims in
the Western media.

Imam Tajudeen Adigun-Bello, who spoke on “Standing Up for Islam”, said the basis for Islamic existence was the dissemination of correct information on the religion.

He advised members of MMPN not to compromise their stand on any issue affecting Islam.
Adigun-Bello also urged the members to counter the bad impression being created in the western media that Islam supported terrorism.association in Abuja by Justice Uwais.