The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), a human rights organization has called on the Federal Government to withdraw the circulation of the N100 notes which were printed in former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration due to the absence of Arabic Ajami letters. According to MURIC, the absence of the Arabic letters affects the users of the currency who are already used to the letters.
In a Statement signed by the Director of the group, Professor Ishaq Akintola, the removal of the inscriptions was calculated to hurt the Muslim population and may end up as a disservice to the Nation.
Akintola stated that the N100 note is not the first to witness the removal of the Ajami Arabic inscriptions, as it has also been unceremoniously removed in 2005 from N5, N10, N20 and N50 denominations during the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo.
“The average Northerner cannot read any other script except in Arabic Ajami and anyone who wants to communicate with him effectively must use the Ajami, not even writings in Hausa language can help in this matter.
“Millions of Northerners have therefore been marginalised by removing the Arabic Ajami. Currencies worldwide are designed to suit each nation’s culture and history. Incidentally, Nigeria is a multi-religious entity. In this case, therefore, our cultural and religious homogeneity should be the criteria, particularly when designing our banknotes, our stamps, etc.”
MURIC further said the notes should be withdrawn because Nigerians consider it inferior to others printed earlier. He also disclosed that the currency is of low quality, tears easily, grow soft and fragile with time, thereby making it difficult to handle or fold in people’s pockets or wallets.
“It has therefore failed as a veritable means of exchange. Placed side by side with the old N100 note which still has the Arabic Ajami inscription and which is still in circulation, Jonathan’s N100 shrinks into oblivion.”
“In conclusion, MURIC demands the withdrawal of Jonathan’s N100 note from circulation and the reinstatement of Arabic Ajami on N200, N500 and N1,000 denominations. We affirm that Jonathan’s N100 note was a scam. We therefore call for a probe. We warn against any attempt by any future Nigerian leader to remove Arabic Ajami from the few remaining denominations. We will not hesitate to deploy every constitutional means at our disposal to stop such an attempt now or in future.”
What is Ajami?
The Ajami letters are Arabic letters used for writing African languages, especially those of Hausa and Swahili.
It is considered an Arabic-derived African writing system. Since African languages involve phonetic sounds and systems different from the Arabic language, there have often been adaptations of the Arabic script to transcribe them.
The West African Hausa is an example of a language written using Ajami, especially during the pre-colonial period when Qur’anic schools taught Muslim children Arabic, and by extension, Ajami.
While some have queried MURIC on its call for the removal of the notes due to the absence of the Ajami inscriptions, saying, Nigeria is not an Islamic or Arab country, so, there should be no inclusion of Arabic to her currency notes, others have argued that after English Language, which is the official and colonial language of Nigeria, the most read language in Nigeria is Arabic.
They based their arguments on the fact that it was introduced to the Hausas as early as the 15th century and the Hausa language is the most widely spoken language in Nigeria, spoken as first language by about 35 million people and as second language by 15 million Nigerians.
The issue of if the Ajami inscription should be left on the notes or not have over the years been misconstrued as a religious one in its original form, but Ajami inscriptions on the naira notes are Hausa languages. For example, the transliteration of the Ajami letters on 200 Naira notes means “Naira Dari-Biyu”. This, for example, will be strange to Southern Muslims who, even though they can read Arabic, will still not know what the words mean.A fact that narrows the debate to demographics not religion.
