A nyone in his right mind would not turn deaf ears regarding the religious intolerance established by the past Nigerian leaders. I did promise that I would not make further statement regarding the issue of Sharia in Nigeria besides the four-part articles that I wrote and published by the nigeriaworld under featured articles. It seems as if the Government especially our Honorable members of the National Assembly, and the Justice Department do not read the handwriting on the wall. What I left out in the four-part article was how Nigeria became a member of the Organization of Islamic Council (OIC). What happened in Kaduna should never have happened if the government especially our Honorable members of the National Assembly take their responsibilities seriously. My open letter to our Honorable members in September 1999, warned of the plan to slam Sharia Law on their face, which they did. The rural State of Zamfara threw the first punch, followed by Niger State and now the other States are throwing their punches on Sharia Law. You know when a rat is yelling at a cat, definitely, there is a hole nearby, where he can escape in case the cat charges at him. Who is behind this mayhem of Sharia Law? I dont think any human being has the moral right to tell me whom or what I should believe in, and how I should worship whatsoever, whomsoever I believe. How did Nigeria get into this mess? We need to ask our Surgeon General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida that question. In 1986, the news that Nigeria had joined the OIC as a member nation spread like wildfire in Nigeria. It coincided with the ongoing political debate, and once again reopened the issue of Sharia, which dragged on to the 1988 Constituent Assembly deliberations. The Political Bureau endorsed the Government decision to join the OIC. It commended that: Nigerias diplomatic representation at the Vatican should continue as well as the countrys admission into the OIC if that has already been concluded. If not, it should be done. The Political Bureaus recommendation encouraged the Government to come out and confirm the Nigerian membership of the OIC. One of the five Nigerian dailies, The Guardian, first broke the news that Nigeria had been admitted into the OIC, quoting the Agence France Press, a wire service based in Paris. The decision for Nigeria to join the OIC was believed to have been taken unilaterally by Babangida. His second in command, the then Chief of General Staff, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe, and the Minister of Information, Col. Anthony Ukpo, denied knowledge of the Nigerian membership in the OIC. However, the Government response to the Nigerian membership of the OIC was that Nigeria was one of the founding member nations of OIC, and that other secular African countries were members of the OIC. Defending the Government action, late Sheik Gumi wrongly stated that even Kenya had joined the OIC. Furthermore, Rilwanu Lukman, Petroleum Minister (who led the Nigerian delegation to Morocco when Nigeria became a member in 1986), stated that: Joining the OIC does not make Nigeria an Islamic State as it did not make other member States like Gabon, Cameroon, Benin, Sierra Leone, and a host of others. What makes the issue of Sharia more complex in Nigeria today is that the proponents of Sharia Law in Nigeria, are now in Obasanjos administration. The Governments justification notwithstanding, the Christians pointed out that the OIC was a religious organization. Otherwise, Babangida would not have acted single-handedly on the OIC without the consent of the Armed Forces Ruling Council, which created some fears among non-Moslems, among which are some of the objects set by the OIC: To promote Islamic solidarity among member States; to coordinate efforts for the safeguard of the holy places and support of the struggle of the people of Palestine and help them to regain their rights and liberate their land; To strengthen the struggle of all Moslem people with a view to safeguarding their dignity, independence and national rights. The public fears were further fueled by a letter from the Christian Council of South Africa, addressed to the Elders-in-Charge of the churches and Christian missions in Nigeria, written in October 1988. The letter warned of the imminent plan to disrupt Nigeria. It revealed the: Proposed plot by northern Moslems and their Arab OIC supporters to destroy churches, carry out mass murder of Christians in Nigeria [with more intensity in the Northern States of Nigeria); Counterplot by the South African Defence Forces to launch an offensive on Nigeria to defeat the Arabs and their OIC-backed Northern Nigerian Moslems. The letter further alleged that the Pretoria regime agreed to support the plan to use some of its military equipment to help, and Libya offered to assist if need be. It concluded that: It is worthy of note to inform you that all highly placed Muslim members of the Armed Forces Ruling Council of Nigeria are in support of these plans by Arab and OIC backed northern Muslims to destroy Christianity in Nigeria, as they wish to formally declare an Islamic Republic early next year [1989] [a course to which they are irrevocably committed. Another document, which pointed to the steps of bringing religion into the Nigerian body politic, was a letter written from the Arab African International Bank (AAIB) dated August 3, 1989. The letter identified four prominent Nigerian top Government officials as owners of some bank accounts. (As an individuals private account is not my immediate concern, although it might have some remote effect or implication on the Government on Islamic affairs, I will not go into the details of the individuals account number how much is in the account.) The Government connection with the bank was revealed in the letter, stating that: We confirm that the sum of US21billion was transferred through us |[AAIB] by three Swiss Banks as the Federal Government of Nigerias special donation to the Islamic Development Fund of the OIC for the total Islamization of Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. Another letter from the Islam in Africa Organizations London branch purported to be the OICs African arm (headquarters in Abuja), was addressed to Babangida. It was dated February 5, 1990, and stated among other things that: It is our pleasure once again to thank you this time around through this medium for having graciously donated on behalf of Nigeria the sum of $21 billion to the OIC to facilitate our mutual task of spreading Islam not only in Nigeria, but in Africa as a whole. We are, too pleased to notice that you have partially commenced the Islamization of Nigeria through placement of Muslims in strategic positions. The letter urged Babangida, as a matter of urgency, to initiate the moves to implement the stated OIC policies and programs, among which are to: . . . impose Sharia Law on Nigeria, Islamize all Universities, Colleges and Schools, and Courts in the Federal Islamic Sultanate of Nigeria. Given the validity of these documents, the already strained relationship between the Moslems and other religious groups, especially Christians, would be further inflated. The letter from the Arab African International Bank might have been exaggerated; however, I am of the opinion that some public money was transferred to the coffers of the OIC from the Nigerian Government of IBB.) Non-Moslems conceived steps taken by the Government as a gradual way of establishing Sharia Law in Nigeria. If I might argue, in order to establish complete temporal power, the Moslems would like to divorce Nigeria from the laws originally established by Great Britain. Also, the Islamization of the Nigerian Government would require the complete uprooting of all western forms of legal and judicial systems. As surely as oil and water do not mix, neither do democratic principles and Islamic Law (i.e., the Sharia)? Where is Nigeria heading? To confirm my assertion, the Islam in Africa Organization held a conference in Abuja on November 28, 1989, and resolved among other things: To ensure the ultimate replacement of all western forms of legal and judicial systems with the Sharia in all member nations before the next Islam in Africa Conference. . . . The conference notes the yearnings of Muslims everywhere on the continent who have been deprived of their rights to be governed by the Sharia and urges them to intensify efforts in the struggle to reinstate the application of the Sharia. The OIC efforts in its quest to Islamize Nigeria continued throughout the 1980s, while opposition to the establishment of the Sharia Law in Nigeria continued to mount. Is Nigeria on the brink of a religious war? I do believe that, if care is not taken, the already charged atmosphere could result in chains of civil disobedience as we are witnessing now. Is Waku right about his call for the Coupist to come back? Related in part to the OIC issue was the question of the Islamic Development Bank. It was believed that the bank would be able to bail out Nigeria from its economic woes through the interest-free loans. The OIC was capable of paying the colossal external indebtedness of Nigeria to the West. On the question of the bank, one of the Nigerian newspapers, The Guardian, stated that: One benefit Nigeria stands to enjoy in the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) . . . is that whatever assistance she gets in return will be entirely without payable interest . . . compassionate offices must have been the main lure for the overwhelming bloc of African members in the wealthy IDB. Still on the IDB, especially on its loans, if I may argue the Islamic principle upheld in Sharia Law supporting interest free loans is called riba, meaning the abolition of interest. This economic system falsely represents to provide interest free banking service. This is only a delusion because a variety of other obligatory fees and hidden costs are required instead. From the moment that Nigeria became a member of the OIC, the Nigerian-Israeli Association formed in 1989, which for many years had been propagandists of diplomatic relations with Israel, quickly sprang up. They called for Nigerias renewal of diplomatic relations with Israel. The advocates saw their demands as an opportunity to balance for Christians what the OIC is for Moslems. To the Arabs (Moslems), Israel is probably a terrorist nation, which has used its superior technology, and military might to terrorize, intimidate, and humiliate its weaker neighbors- the Arabs. During Buharis regime, two prominent traditional rulers-the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade, and the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero were publicly humiliated in August 1984 for their visit to Israel. They were suspended as Chairman of their respective State Councils of Traditional Rulers. Junaid Mohammed, a parliamentarian in the Second Republic of Nigeria (1979-1983) made reference to the feelings of the Moslems in Nigeria on how Israel had repeatedly: . . . caused the desecration and, in fact, twice bombed and set fire to the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Al-Aqsa is Islams third holiest shrine, coming only after the Kaaba Shrine in Mecca and Prophet Mohammeds Mausoleum in Medina. The severance of diplomatic relations with Israel occurred in 1974 when it attacked Egypt. However, in the late 1970s, Egypt renewed diplomatic relations with Israel. Also, Israel had chains of businesses in Nigeria, such as the National Insurance Corporations of Nigeria, Reynolds Construction Company, Solel Boneh, Afro Continental Dizpharm (Nig.) Limited, and Dizengoff West Africa (Nig.) Limited. All the facts presented in my previous four- part articles and this one showed how religion became politicized as a result of the Governments intervention, patronage, and favoritism on religious matters. In the past Military administrations the Nigerian Government, especially Babangidas went neck- deep on religious matters, especially on the issue of the OIC. It was believed to be the backbone for the possible establishment of the Sharia Law. On the OIC issue, someone opined that: The President [Babangida] should be held solely responsible if a religious conflict grips Nigeria today, because Nigerians are aware that the OIC decision was taken single- handedly by the President. We are aware of the fact that religion is essentially and primarily an individual affair. Some may argue that religion is a communal affair. However, I would assert that it is only in religious extremism that domination, discrimination, and persecution is placed, as discussed by Babangidas administration. Nonetheless, I allude to the fact that the ethics of each religion demand love, peace, justice, and tolerance of other people and religions. In the quest for personal political gains, individual religious leaders and a handful of politicians exploited the underprivileged masses. In effect, the ruling elite used religious sentiments to polarize the people and created unnecessary and unhealthy tension. As pointed out in my first part Sharia Law and Nigeria Unity published by nigeriaworld, if Nigeria is to grow socially, politically, and economically, the politicization of religion must cease. I join other Nigerians to warn the Government to desist from actions and policies which directly or indirectly violate the Constitutional secularity of Nigeria. Suffice it to say that the least one might do is to borrow a leaf from the former Zambian Presidents model, who stated that: Zambia is a country of many religions. . . . I did not feel it was my place as President of the Republic to adjudicate between them, to declare this religion or that Official, so far as the State is concerned. Each has the right to exist and it is my desire that believers of all faiths should live together in harmony. We are after all human beings. We certainly cannot add religious divisions to the tribal [ethnic] differences, which threaten our national unity. There is nothing more unedifying than watching devotees batter themselves into submission in the name of the only true God. Nigerian past leaders had adjudicated between these various religious groups in Nigeria as the Official State religion. Quite unfortunately, religion had been added to the already ethnic divisions in the Nigerian political process. I believe that this is a salient food-for-thought for Nigerian leaders and those who have the best interests and the love of the nation at heart. The Nigerian National Anthem, in part, clearly requests: O God of creation, dit
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 10:40:37 +0000