By Professor Ishaq Akintola
The Federal Government appears set for restructuring
particularly with the setting up of a committee on this crucial matter by the
ruling party, the All Peoples’ Congress (APC). Restructuring became popular
after the South East, South South and a section of the South West complained
about marginalization. Several politicians from both the opposition and the
ruling party have since spoken in support of this clamour.
However, we of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
dissociate ourselves from all agitations for secession. We condemn all
irredentist movements rearing their ugly heads in Southern Nigeria,
particularly the agitation for the creation of Oduduwa Republic. We affirm
clearly, unambiguously and unequivocally, that Muslim leaders in Yorubaland
were not carried along before those demands were tabled. Nonetheless, just as
some ethnic groups have complained of disaffections, we contend that Nigerian
Muslims also nurse serious grudges bordering on marginalization against the
Nigerian state.
We must start from the lanes of history because today
was born from the wombs of yesterday. Islam has been in Nigeria since the 11th
century and the British met Islam on ground when they arrived in the 19th
century (800 years later). The British did not deem it fit to observe the rules
of natural justice when they colonized the country as all Islamic landmarks
were eliminated and supplanted with a wholly Christian system.
This injustice may have been at the root of frequent
religious crisis in Nigeria because successive governments after independence
refused to listen to the agitations of Muslims for a review of the status quo.
The issues being raised by Muslims are listed in the following paragraphs so
that the authorities may address them when restructuring eventually begins.
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| MURIC BOSS |
One: Nigerians enjoy a total of eight (8) public
holidays in a year. These are Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year Day, Good
Friday, Easter Monday, Id al-Kabir, Id al-Fitr and Maulud an-Nabiyy. Five (5)
of the eight holidays belong to Christians (Christmas Day, Boxing Day, 1st
January, i.e, New Year Day, Good Friday and Easter Monday). Only three (3)
holidays belong to Muslims, viz, Id al-Kabir, Id al-Fitr and Maulud an-Nabiyy.
Restructuring should give Muslims 1st Muharram. This
will bring the total number of Muslim holidays to four while Christian holidays
remain five.
Two: Christian marriages contracted inside churches or
registries are held sacrosanct everywhere in Nigeria whereas Muslim marriages
(nikah) are not recognized for any official purpose. Muslim couples find
themselves in a cul de sac each time they presented their Islamic marriage
certificates for official purposes. It is paradoxical that in a democracy, one
marriage conducted by a religious group is acceptable while the other is not.
What kind of constitution is Nigeria using?
Islamic marriages should be recognized in all official
circles where Christian marriages are recognized. The Nigerian Marriage Act
(1990) should therefore be revisited.
Three: Nigeria has a two-day weekend, viz, Saturday and
Sunday. Saturday was a half day during the colonial era and Sunday was the only
full day at the weekend. However, Saturday was made a full day to favour the
Seventh Day Adventists, a Christian denomination during the regime of General
Yakubu Gowon, a Christian military ruler. It is very clear, therefore, that the
two weekend days recognized in Nigeria belong to Christians while Muslims have
none since Friday, the Muslim day of worship, remains a working day.
It is pertinent to note that Friday was a work-free day
until the British brought Christianity and stopped Muslims from enjoying their
Allah-given fundamental human right. The relief we are seeking through
restructuring is that Friday should be declared free to assume parity with the
Christians’ Sunday. While we are not seeking anarchy, we are confident that the
Federal Government (FG) has all the paraphernalia of administration to work out
the modalities.
Four: Immigration officials engage in regular stereotyping
of Muslims who apply for international passports. They intimidate Muslims
particularly at the point of taking pictures.
Muslim males are ordered to
remove their caps; Imams are coerced into removing their turbans; bearded
Muslims are compelled to shave or trim their beards; hijab-wearing Muslim women
are made to remove their hijabs or ordered to draw their hijab backwards to
reveal their ears. The same scenario plays itself out in driving licence,
national identity card offices and during registration for elections.
In the process, thousands of Muslims have been denied
international passports, driving licences and national identity cards
while millions have been disenfranchised during elections. The authorities must
find a way of stopping the persecution and profiling of Muslims.
Five: Uniformed groups in Nigeria, including the army,
police, uniformed voluntary groups, nurses, the National Youth Service Corps
(NYSC), students of primary and secondary schools, etc, use uniforms designed
by the Christian colonialists. These uniforms should have been reviewed after
independence because they only suit the Christians. Some of them constitute
breaches to Islamic dress code and offend the sensibility of Muslims who are
compelled to wear the uniforms regardless of their inner feeling of resentment.
In view of the fact that Western countries like
Britain, Canada and the United States have designed uniforms with hijab for
their female Muslim police, soldiers, students, etc, Nigeria’s restructuring
authorities should borrow a leaf from those countries.
Six: There is no single Shari’ah court in South Western
Nigeria where Muslims constitute the majority. This is contrary to what
obtained in Yorubaland before the advent of the British. There were Shariah
courts in Ede, Iwo, Ikirun, Ibadan, etc. Yoruba Muslims are now compelled to
take their civil matters like inheritance, marriage, etc to Christo-Western
courts. This is preposterous and unacceptable.
We demand the establishment of Shariah courts in all
South Western states including Edo State where there is a significant
percentage of Muslims.
We call the attention of FG and the restructuring
committee of the APC to the above six reliefs. Muslims are in bondage in this
country and we believe that restructuring should emancipate people in
captivity. APC promised change. This change can only be meaningful to us if it
breaks the shackles around our necks. We have begged enough for the restoration
of our Allah-given and fundamental human rights. We are tired of begging.
Restructuring is about reapportioning the dividends of democracy such that it
goes round and it is not restricted to one section.
Colonial administration was grossly unfair to Muslims.
Nigeria was Christianised by Britain and Muslims bore the brunt. We suffered
forceful conversion, denial of rightful employment and even worse forms of
persecution. But what is most disappointing is the policy of exclusion adopted
by post-independence governments.
On a final note, we demand full integration and full recognition
as bona fide citizens of Nigeria, not second or third class citizens. We are
the aggrieved party. The British most brutally and most unjustly took all we
had from us, giving us nothing in return and offering no relief. It has
continued to give us a feeling of rejection, marginalization, denial of the
dividends of democracy and lack of a sense of belonging. The time for redress
is now and our six-point relief is here for all to digest.
Professor Ishaq Akintola is the President, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
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