SHARIAH AND NIGERIANS: ARE WE HEADING TOWARDS COALITION OR COLLISION?
by
Rev Lawrence A. Lasisi, California USA

I would suggest that whosoever wants to fathom my intention of writing this article should first read and digest my earlier article titled " A Dialogical Approach to the Issue of Shari’ah in Nigeria" (Special Issues, December 1999). This is necessary because I do not want anyone to misinterpret or misrepresent my latest observation about the complexity of the full implementation of Shari’ah in Nigeria. In my previous article, I suggested that both Muslim and Christian leaders should enter into a sincere dialogue with the State and Federal governments on how to amicably handle this thorny case of Shari’ah without necessarily shedding innocent blood or leading the nation into avoidable religious war.

However, with the recent unfortunate religious carnage in Kaduna State it looks like both sides are not ready for any dialogue over this case, and this does not give a positive picture to the future unity of Nigeria as a multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation.

It is unfortunate that some northern State leaders are bent on implementing the Islamic law without any regard for the overall unity of Nigeria. In fact, some of them have been piously arrogant in their remarks over the full implementation of Shari’ah in their various domains. Imagine a governor elected to defend the constitution of Nigeria, saying, "he is ready to resign if he is not allowed to implement the Islamic law fully."

Then, one needs to ask whether he is only a governor to the Muslims or was he elected to champion only the cause one religion at the expense of others? Undoubtedly, such an act of religious extremism, fanaticism and arrogance will cause nothing but chaos and riot. In fact, it was very shocking to see both the governors of Niger and Sokoto states piously and proudly signing the Shari’ah bill into law while Kaduna was still boiling and burning. They cannot even sympathize with the innocent victims. To me, this nonchalant attitude has shown that these northern politicians have some hidden agendas.

In the light of this, then ones need to suspect that the case of Shari’ah is no more a religious matter, but a political ball game to prove to the Muslim world or OIC that Islam is still alive in Nigeria (at most in the north) despite the recent election of a southern Christian, who is not ashamed to publicly express his Christian faith. Historically, Islam and Christianity have always been at loggerheads with each other doctrinally and politically. But it is sad to observe that some northern Muslims are interpreting the election of Saint Obasanjo as a defeat to the cause of Islam in Nigeria, and the only way to revenge is to rush to the full implementation of Shari’ah even while those whose life will be affected by the law are still in total ignorance about the dos and don’ts of the law. I strongly believe that if a poll is conducted today among Muslims in the north, hardly can we find 20% of them that fully understand what Shari’ah is all about. Some of them are purely being dogmatic and sentimental in their agitation for the law they knew little about. Some of them will later discover that their political leaders have enacted the law to further use them to score their political goals. And it is very unfortunate that the proponents of Shari’ah have failed to patiently enlighten the public about the full implications of the law they intended to forcefully implement. I belief if this had been properly done, it is not only the Christians that would be fighting against the law, some Muslims would as well do the same thing after they might have discovered that some aspects of the law are not compatible with the federal constitution of Nigeria.

Now to go to the constitutionality of the Islamic law in Nigeria. To what extent does our constitution allow the operation of Shari’ah? The advocates of Shari’ah are claiming that the 1999 Nigerian Constitution gives provisions for the full implementation of the Islamic law. But didn’t we have the same provisions in the 1979 Constitution? So why did they have to wait till now to agitate for the full implementation of Shari’ah? What hindered the North from doing this when Alhaji Shagari, a core northern Muslim, was the president? Why have some of them seen the election of a southern Christian man as a threat to the cause of Islam in Nigeria? And who is of the view that the Shari’ah is superior to the federal constitution of Nigeria? Certainly, the Islamic law cannot duplicate or improve upon any criminal law already clearly stipulated by the Nigerian constitution.

I have nothing against Islam and neither do I have opposition to any Muslim that may want Shari’ah. But I strongly believe that some lines must de drawn as to how to implement Shari’ah without jeopardizing the volatile and fractured unity of our nation. Also, I believe that even if the motive for adoption of Shari’ah was not political, the timing is very wrong. It is important for the Muslim north to be patient until the whole nation is carefully educated or enlightened about the law before embarking on it. As a scholar of Islamic studies, I suspect that there is no way Shari’ah can be fully implemented in Nigeria without some chaos and anarchy. The Muslims must be ready to adapt or modify some aspects of the law to suit Nigerian context. The constitution of Nigeria must be above any other law. In fact, there is no ideal Islamic State in the world today. A case in point is Sudan, where the president recently declared a state of emergency because of the rivalry between him and the president of the parliament. By doing so, he was only protecting his office without caring whether his action was in line with the Islamic law or not. Surprisingly, he never quoted any aspect of Shari’ah to support his action. What about Saudi Arabia that is practicing monarchy that is not fully compatible with Shari’ah. What about Pakistan, the military that recently staged a coup never cited any support for it from Shari’ah. Even Libya, with all its noise about Islam is not practicing full Shari’ah for the government never recognizes Hadith, which is part and parcel of Islamic legal code. Even Indonesia, the largest Muslim nation in the world decided to do away with the full implementation of Shari’ah because of its incompatibility with its heterogeneous society. In the same vein, I believe that if the Muslim north are interested in the unity of Nigeria they must be ready to modify some aspects of Shari’ah that may appear threatening to non-Muslims and to the overall constitution of Nigeria.

It is not enough to give verbal promise to non-Muslims that Shari’ah will not affect them. Muslims, Christians and Traditionalists must be ready to enter into a sincere dialogue with the State and Federal governments as to how to handle this complex case. But I suspect that by rushing to the full implementation of Shari’ah without carrying both the non-Muslims and the Federal government along the Muslim north is betraying the trust of all Nigerians. For how can we trust you when you are too in a hurry to implement a legal code that will have everlasting consequences upon the political, social, educational and religious life of all Nigerians. I want to submit that some of the actions taken so far on Shari’ah by some northern leaders are too impulsive, sentimental, extreme and fanatical. We cannot afford to be rushed again on a sensitive national issue as Lord Lugard did in 1914 when the north and south were amalgamated without proper consultations with all the parties involved. Why can’t we use year 2000 to dialogue about Shari’ah and maybe after all had been properly enlightened anyone who wants to practice it should do so from year 2001. What are we going to accomplish with this unwarranted impulsive haste to adopt Shari’ah at all cost in year 2000? It is a pity that some are confusing impulsiveness with genuine religious inspiration. Nigerian governments are too romanticized with crash programs and we have witnessed the crashes of many crashed programs in the history of our nation. But it is gravely dangerous to treat a religious matter as a crash program for it may later crash on the unity in diversity of our beloved nation.

I am not in any way exonerating radical Christian leaders that have been protesting and leading rallies against the adoption of Shari’ah in the north. But I think that most of their fear was based on the fact that the Muslim north have not entered into genuine dialogue with them about the issue. And truly the actions and utterances of governors Sani of Zamfara State and Kure of Niger State have demonstrated that the opinions of Christians do not really matter. It is doubtful whether both governors have spent significant amount of money to conduct seminars and workshops so as to prepare both Muslims and the non-Muslims for Shari’ah. It appears that the adoption of Shari’ah is a forgone conclusion regardless of what the Christians feel about it. This paternalistic and triumphant attitude will never create a peaceful atmosphere to really enter into a meaningful dialogue. And one thing we must remember is that everyone needs to come to the dialogue table as equal partners. Everybody is equal in Nigeria regardless of one’s ethnicity, sex, status or religion. But regrettably, it seems that in principle we affirm that all Nigerians are equal, but in practice some Nigerians are more equal than others. I strongly believe that Christians in Nigeria will never cooperate on the issue of Shari’ah if the Muslims are not ready to do away with their pride of religious and political hegemony. It is a daydreaming and nightmare for anyone to still believe that Nigeria can be turned into an Islamic State to please OIC or the Muslim world. Any attempt to do that under any pretence will cause nothing but a bloody separation and anarchy.

Finally, suffice to say that the Federal government needs to give us a better legal interpretation of Shari’ah while the nation is still together. I understand that the president does not want to bite the fingers of the Muslim north that voted en masse for his election. Regardless, you still need to give us a definite direction as to how to go about the sensitive case of Shari’ah. Please do not think whether the outcomes of your stand on the issue will make or mar your chances of reelection. Think first about what will be the consequences of your silence on the next innocent generations. By now Nigerians are tired of opportunist leaders who selfishly think about next elections instead of about next generations. Surely, the shameful religious carnage that happened in Kaduna could have been prevented if you or your Attorney General had boldly told the Muslim north the limitations of the Islamic law under the supreme constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. However, I still believe something positive can be done to avert further religious chaos in our beloved nation. Now the ball is in your court.