The Common Sense Debate On The Islamisation Of Nigeria - By Simi Fajemirokun

There is plenty talk of how one candidate or party will ‘Islamize’ the Federal Republic of Nigeria if it assumes power. As ridiculous as that sounds, ‘silence being the best answer for a fool’ doesn’t really work in this clime. In fact, silence translates to endorsement in some instances, so let’s actually explore the feasibility of this expensive argument.

It is important to shed light on the governance structure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria so that we understand the prerequisite steps needed to ‘Islamize’ the country. This is germane because in Nigeria we tend to ‘put the cart before the horse’. We act without thinking things through and just taking a walk down any street would reveal this culture. Examples abound such as roads built without proper drainage systems; plazas/malls built without any thought to parking space; millions spent on a Cinderella wedding only to rent a small pitiful flat; and beautifully adorned gates with poorly furnished homes just to mention a few. As you can see, it is a common trait of the system and has evolved into a culture of the people.

Nigeria operates a federal system with 3 arms of government: The Executive, The Legislature and Judiciary. According to the constitution:

1. The Executive-Carries out the law and is made up of the President, Vice-President and The Federal Executive Council consisting of 36 ministers appointed by the President. The President shall be the Chief Executive of the Federation and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of the federation.
2. The Judiciary- Interprets the law and is made up of the highest court- the Supreme Court, followed by the Court of Appeal, High Court, Sharia Courts and Customary Court.
3. The Legislature- Makes the law, provides representation and oversight. It consists of 2 chambers- the House of Representatives and Senate.

The constitution as the supreme law of the nation seeks to promote good governance. It enshrines a system of checks and balance to ensure no one branch of government becomes too powerful. The evidence of separation of powers can be seen in the fact that each branch of government can change the acts of other branches such as:

• The President can veto laws by the National Assembly
• The National Assembly confirms or rejects the President’s appointment and can remove the President from office in exceptional circumstances
• The Judiciary can overturn unconstitutional laws; and are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

Now this talk of Islamizing Nigeria didn’t come from thin air but has its roots from the time of Usman Dan Fodio’s Jihad over 200 years ago (1804-1810) which swept across most of the north and reached down south to the north of Lagos. Additionally, the growth of Islamic fundamentalism at different phases of Nigeria’s history has continued to raise age-old fears and suspicions. On the other hand, in the South and parts of the North, Nigeria was being Christianized by the missionaries; and with the advent of Independence, the battle of religion has been meshed with politics. This has created a very toxic and tense interplay between politics, religion and ethnicity where in recent times religion has trumped ethnicity. But all in all, the beauty of Nigeria’s democracy is that a semblance of a system exists and the stateless era of Jihad and Crusades has truly gone if only the people choose to let go of it too.

Now lets return to the possibility of our billion-dollar question.

For a President to Islamize Nigeria, he’ll need to:

1. Appoint only Sheiks and Jihadists as Ministers to all the 36 ministries in the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
2. Appoint extremists as head of parastatals and all federal executive bodies such as National Population Commission, INEC, FIRS etc,
3. Appoint an extremist Grand Khadi as the Chief Justice of Nigeria,
4. Ensure the National Assembly (who are elected by their constituencies in the 36 states, 109 Senators and 360 Representatives [469 total]) are overwhelmingly extreme Islamists to be able to easily secure 2/3 of both chambers needed to change the constitution,
5. Ensure the State House of Assembly in all the 36 States are also filled with extremists to secure the 2/3 votes out of the 1,152 possible votes to change all laws to fit the Sharia code,
6. Institutionalize Islam as the only acceptable and state approved religion and then ensure all the Service Chiefs are Islamists to secure and legitimize the propagation of Islam by force and to reduce the monopoly on violence that terrorists groups currently have,
7. Select Special Advisers that are Islamic Scholars and provide solid expertise on establishing an efficient government grounded in Islamic law.

How practical does the above sound? It is almost like assuming that a Roman Catholic on assuming the office of the President of Nigeria, will damn the constitution and transform Nigeria into a replica of the Holy See/Roman Curia.

Unfortunately, the above can only happen when you completely obliterate this very diverse Nigeria with over 500 ethnic groups and 250 languages to achieve a completely homogenous country. You might be able to achieve that by borrowing the technology from the Hollywood movie ‘Men In Black’ to blank out the memory of all non-Muslims in the country while filling their new blank minds with an Islamist identity. But with a population of over 170 million and half of them non-Muslims, one might need to also rent those scary aliens from the movie as well to threaten to annihilate the masses if they don’t convert. This will scare the life out of people who will now be directed to make use of every INEC office or LGA office to stand in line and collect their new Islamist identity.

Outside of establishing strong links with Hollywood to execute the audacious plan above, it is safe to say that ‘Islamizing’ the sovereign entity called Nigeria is impossible. The suspicions and fears that have transferred from generation to generation are mere illusions under a democratic system. Our battles are completely human struggles to determine who gets what, when, where and how; wrapped in religious garments by political entrepreneurs.

Someone who didn’t have any ideas for leadership had an even brighter idea to distract the people with baseless religious fears. This strategy intends to sharpen our differences, fracture the society and wish away the complexities of the land while pushing us into the binary world of ‘us’ and ‘them’. This ensures that the people are too busy fighting each other instead of demanding better leadership. This has kept the citizens living as slaves in their own land while they strive to live in a heavenly kingdom that doesn’t exist on earth.

For the record, the constitution expressly states that the federal government shall not adopt any religion (Chapter I, Part II, Section 10). It also ensures that the Local to State and Federal Governments all have to abide by the federal character to reflect the constituency it represents (Chapter II, Section 14,article 3).

On a final note, we must question our basis for prioritizing our love for religion over our desire for development. In the ancient world, the idea of God actually propelled people to build magnificent structures that in today’s world still attract a pilgrimage as people scramble to see such wonders of the world. This proves that this fiery overzealous practice of hate (aka religion), leaves no legacy but robs us of the present and dims the promise of tomorrow.

Nigeria should stop shaming the black race by its chronic underdevelopment and its intense, sordid love affair with mediocrity. When Time magazine regarded Nigeria as the ‘First among equals’ in 1960 and referenced it as ‘Africa’s super power’ it was not based on its size or natural resources alone but in the strength and beauty of its diversity. Why we have decided to use this as a noose to hang ourselves is truly the billion-dollar question?

For those who choose to live in fear of a 200 year old suspicion who’s manifestation in modern Nigeria is nothing like the organized exercise used to boost trade along the Sahel-please answer the following questions; does the Benue or Niger river flow based on who is Christian or Muslim? Do the tomato farms in Jigawa grow based on the religion of the persons that till the land? Do the banana plantations in Ogoni land grow based on the planters brand of religion? If no, then as these things grow and bloom based on effort, vision and consistency so also should Nigeria just bloom without strangling itself with religious agendas that should remain strictly in the personal space of the citizenry.

Simi Fajemirokun 

Source: Omojuwa