The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has reacted to the Chief Justice
of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Muhammad Tanko’s call for constitutional amendments
to accommodate some peculiarities of Shariah law which have been ignored for so
long.
The CJN made the statement while declaring open the 20th
Annual Judges Conference at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Kaduna
State, yesterday.
The CJN was represented by Justice Muhammad Danjuma, the
Grand Khadi of Niger State.
MURIC backed the CJN’s suggestion, adding that the current
constitution was a child of British colonial Christianisation of the country
which had failed to take into consideration the multi-religious nature of the
Nigerian nation.
MURIC spoke through its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola,
who issued a press statement on the matter, Friday.
The statement added, “The CJN has our full backing on this.
The British colonial government bequeathed a legacy of Christianisation to the
Nigerian nation. Muslims were not comfortable with it but the British did not
listen.
“The British did not give a damn. The Northern Muslims
resisted and the British invaded the North.
“Muslim resistance was brutally broken by the ruthless
massacre of thousands of Muslim freedom fighters in Hausaland, particularly in
Burmi (1903), Satiru (1906) and Zinder (1917).
“Even those who surrounded were not spared as they were
mowed down with machine guns. Thereafter, the British victors curtailed Islamic
landmarks.
“Islam had arrived in Karnem Borno in the year 1085 (818
years before the invasion of the North by the British) during the reign of King
Humi Jilmi while Christianity was first preached in 1842 (757 years after the
advent of Islam) under the Agacia tree in Badagry.
“As far as we are concerned, therefore, the British who
brought Christianity to Nigeria spread their religion by force after invading
the North, after intimidating the South West and after subdueing the Muslims
who had been practicing their faith for more than 800 years. They used
excessive force against the Muslims and carried out barbaric and extra-judicial
killings.
“The bombardment of Lagos in 1851 by Commodore Captain R. W.
Bruce during the ‘Boiling Battle’ (Ogun Ahoyaya) and the subsequent surrender
of the city was the first operation ‘shock and awe’ designed to cow Southerners.
It was equally intended to send a strong message to the North.
“The booming of cannon shells and other bombs was hitherto
unknown to the city. Lagos quickly put its tail between its legs like a
frightened dog and other cities in the South West took the cue.
“It was a fait accompli. The Muslim population cautioned its
membership against courting the ire of the colonial masters. This surrender
paved the way for the creation of the Lagos Colony ten years later (1861).
“From then onwards, the city of Lagos which by 1775 had more
than fifty Islamic schools, opened the floodgate to the intimidation and
coercion of Muslim children in colonial schools. This persecution has lasted to
date.
“We have gone down the lanes of history because today was
born from the wombs of yesterday. Muslims in Yorubaland put up no armed
resistance to colonial invasion and forceful conversion whereas Northern
Muslims died in their thousands resisting colonial invasion.
“This resulted in the bold and ruthless conversion of Muslims
to Christianity in the South West whereas the colonialists exercised caution in
their dealing with Northern Muslims.
“This situation also informed British adoption of indirect
rule in the North. Nobody should ask MURIC to forget the history of Nigerian
Muslims. Brutalisation of Muslims by the British marauders is part of our
history just as the forceful abandonment of Islamic landmarks as ordered by the
British Christian evangelists.
“It was after the British had killed all Muslims who
resisted their occupation of Northern Nigeria and after they had imposed
restrictions on the Shariah that they established a Christian-oriented
administration.
“Western education through which thousands of Muslims were
forcefully converted was also introduced to replace Islamic education which was
already popular before the arrival of the British.
“This was the situation until Nigeria obtained independence
in 1960 and the Muslims continued to bear the brunt of subjection to a
Christian-oriented system.
“Unfortunately successive regimes in post-independence
Nigeria have failed to review the system after the exit of the British in spite
of repeated demands. As a result of this, the Muslims remain unintegrated,
unaccommodated and displeased.
“Without attempting to justify violent uprisings, it is our
contention that this lop-sidedness is partly responsible for the interreligious
clashes which Nigeria has experienced to date, including, of course, Boko Haram
insurgency.
“The system we run in this country is not only alien to
Muslim culture, it has marginalised the Muslim population. Our democracy is
deceptive in as much as Muslims who form the largest segment of the population
are not integrated into the system. Participatory democracy is the global best
practice. But not in Nigeria.
“Nigeria’s democracy excludes the Muslims. Our weekends shut
Muslims out. It is the entire monopoly of Christians. Saturday and Sunday are
free but Friday is not.
“The Muslim girl-child goes to school with tears in her eyes
because she must not enter the school with hijab on her head. There is no
single Shariah Appeal Court in the entire South West and Muslims in that
sub-region are subjected to Christian common law in all civil matters.
“Muslim marriages conducted inside mosques are not
recognised but those held in churches are sacrosanct. This democracy is
fraudulent.
“Christian women enjoy the monopoly of recruitment into the
army, navy, police, civil defence, traffic wardens, immigrations, customs, etc
but Muslim women cannot because those uniformed agencies will not recruit users
of hijab. Yet Muslim police women and soldiers use hijab in Britain, United
States, Ireland, etc. Female Muslim graduates therefore remain jobless and
impoverished while their Christian counterparts smile to the banks.
“Yet it was not so ab initio. It was the British Christian
colonialists who changed the system to favour Christians only. This is not good
enough and we need to sit down like neighbours to renegotiate our nationhood.
“It is always better to jaw-jaw than to war-war. If we all
condemn the Boko Haram style, what alternative have we put forward?
“MURIC therefore embraces the CJN’s idea of the need for
constitutional amendment. It is even belated. It is part of restructuring.
“We hope the restructuring camp will welcome the CJN’s idea
because it is not going to be about Muslim demands alone but a comprehensive
one. We call for objectivity in this matter.
“Those who always oppose anything which is likely to benefit
Muslims are urged to consider this initiative with an open mind. Constitutional
amendment has all the potentials to usher in peace and tranquillity if we
approach it with sincerity.”
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around of applause to CJN.
ReplyDeleteThis is baseless! there is nothing religious or christian-like in the current constitution. It is currently a secular constitution and the muslims should learn to live in peace in secular environments and stop creating problems everywhere they find themselves. As much as the British tried to take the country away from the Stone Age and see the value of civilization, the muslims have not rejected civilization and the fruit of it. There other religions apart from Christianity and Islam, so why the hullabaloo! I expect them to talk about how to improve the constitution and rule of law; not Sharia in this 21st century!
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