Army must postpone training new recruits until after Ramadan, says MURIC

Nigerian Muslim right group, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has appealed to the Nigerian Army to postpone its training exercise until after the Muslim Ramadan fast.

According to the training calendar seen by Daily Correspondents, the training is billed to commence on April 12, 2021, and the Ramadan fast may begin the next day, being 13th of April, 2021.

MURIC argued that shifting the training will allow new Muslim recruits to be able to focus mentally and spiritually with enough energy to face the rigours of the exercise.

This was contained in a press release signed by MURIC’s director, Professor Ishaq Akintola and made available to journalists on Tuesday.

MURIC noted that the fasting in this month of Ramadan is mandatory upon adult Muslims as recorded in the Holy Qur’an, adding that it is one of the five pillars of Islam, none of which a Muslim can ignore.

“Military training is an energy-sapping exercise for which a person who is fasting may be unfit. He is prone to dehydration. He may not be able to concentrate fully, may get tired easily and may actually come to harm due to the rigours of the training.

“The Nigerian Army may not be able to get the best out of Muslim recruits who are fasting. Therefore the purpose may be defeated. Worse still, casualties may be recorded during the training.

“In order to register a hitch-free and successful training exercise, therefore, we appeal to the Nigerian Army to postpone the exercise billed to begin on Monday, 12th April, 2021 till the middle of May when Ramadan would have ended.

“Our appeal should not be misconstrued as sheer sentiment. Neither are we unaware of the security challenges facing our dear nation which necessitates the recruitment of more men into the armed forces,” it said.