How Urhobo Christian Put Arabic In Nigerian Army Crest – MURIC

By Chuks Ekpeneru

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has identified General David Akpode Ejoor (rtd) as the one who introduced the Arabic language into the crest of the Nigerian Army as it on Monday dismissed the suit to remove the Arabic language from the nation’s currencies as frivolous.

MURIC disclosed this in a statement in reaction to the suit by a Lagos-based lawyer, Malcolm Omirhobo challenging the Arabic inscription on the Nigerian currency (naira).

Omirhobo had gone to court saying that the Arabic inscription on naira notes portrays Nigeria as an Islamic state contrary to the country’s constitutional status of a secular state.

The body in the statement signed by its Director and founder, Ishaq Akintola described the suit as ‘acrobatic religiousity.’

“Perhaps the plaintiff thinks Nigerian Muslims were the ones who initiated the inscription of Arabic on both the army badge and the naira notes. Omirhobo needs to be told that even the colonial masters inscribed Arabic on the currency printed by Britain and used in Nigeria. The words: ‘pound daya’, i.e. one pound was inscribed on colonial currency. Omirhobo may therefore need to sue the Queen of England.

Noting how Arabic language came into the Nigerian Army Crest, he said:

“To continue along the lanes of history, it was not even Nigerian Muslim leaders who brought the idea of Arabic in the Nigerian currency in post-independence Nigeria.

“The man who initiated it was a Christian, a Urhobo officer by name General David Akpode Ejoor (rtd). He was the one who introduced the Arabic inscription and the Star emblem into the Nigeria Army crest.

“He was given the assignment and research led him to pick the Arabic words ‘nasrun minallahi’ (meaning ‘victory is from God’) and a committee made up of three ministers of the First Republic : Muhammadu Ribadu (Defence), Festus Okotie-Eboh (Finance) and Yar’adua (Works and Housing) approved his choice. Ejoor confirmed this in his book ‘Reminiscences’ (page 16).

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