Muslims Working On Fridays Is Unfair While Sunday Is Work-free – Reno Omokri
Former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, has called for a review of Nigeria’s work schedule to accommodate Muslim worship on Fridays, describing the current arrangement as unfair to the Muslim community.
In a video shared on his verified Facebook page on Friday, Omokri argued that before colonial rule, Fridays were traditionally recognised as a day of rest for Muslims.
He noted that while Sunday remains a non-working day for Christians, Muslims are required to work on Fridays, despite its significance for their religious obligations.
He suggested that a compromise could be reached by adjusting daily work hours.
According to him, work could begin earlier from Monday to Thursday, creating room for offices to close by midday on Fridays. This adjustment, he said, would allow Muslims to attend Jumu’ah prayers without reducing national productivity or affecting the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
He stressed that the proposal would strike a balance between religious practices and the demands of Nigeria’s workday system, ensuring fairness to both Christians and Muslims.
He said, “I don’t think it is fair for the Muslim Ummah for us to have Friday as a working day in Nigeria. Originally, before colonialism, it was not like that.
“Now we have Sunday as a non-working day and Friday as a working day. I think that we can achieve a compromise. What we can do is that instead of work beginning on Mondays all the way to Friday at 9am or 8am, we can start work at 7:30am on Mondays to Fridays and then on Friday we close at 12 o’clock.
“So the time we are going to lose on Friday we are going to gain it back from Monday to Thursday. So it is not going to affect our productivity as a country and our GDP. And then the Muslim Ummah can close at 12 noon and go for Solat Jumaat. That way, there would be a more equitable balance of our workday lives in Nigeria.”
