By Michael West

In response to the assertion by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo that Islamic agenda is non-existent and that political appointments under this regime have been fair to all sides, I wish to debunk his claim by asserting that a simmering intellectual and political jihad is gradually sweeping Nigeria off her feet. Its twin evil, nepotism, which President Muhammadu Buhari had last week admitted by promising to correct the imbalance, is equally endemic as aptly demonstrated in the style of appointments by this administration. Osinbajo made these pronouncements at an enlarged meeting with Christian leaders in Lagos recently.

Let me state here that I have respect for Islam as a religion of good people, but the unconstitutional and systematic imposition of Islam is real! I’m sure patriotic Muslims won’t subscribe to government’s surreptitious moves to impose Islam as such will ultimately breed discord, mutual suspicion and religious hostility among Nigerians.

Meanwhile, it is an act of double-standard for us to excitedly lambast the church leaders on any perceived profiteering or uncharitable attitude which does not breach the constitution, while we often tread softly or even look the other way when it concerns leaders of Islamic faith at the corridors of power. In reacting to apparent Islamists’ maneuvers, we often caution against ‘hate speech’ or ‘divisive statements’ even in cases of naked injustices and sheer constitutional breaches. Unfortunately, the media is an accomplice in this aberration, as they stay away from publishing hard-hitting opinions against religious posturing that undermines our constitution. Except for few courageous media establishments, others do hide under ‘proprietorial interests’, ‘security implications’ and the need to avoid creating ‘religious tension’ in the polity. However, none of these factors is considered when it comes to disparaging the church and her leaders.

Nigeria is a secular state; this is according to our constitution. Hence, the country should distant itself from core religious activities capable of undermining her internal security and compromising her unity, independence, and sovereignty. I think we embraced religion as part of our natural rights because freedom of association permits us to socialize, gather together and worship unhindered. However, accepting Christianity and Islam as the dominant religions in Nigeria does not wish away our constitutional status as a secular state. Secularity in its meaning implies not practicing or adopting any form of religion as state religion. Thus far, this has not been adhered to.

I’m not here to whip up religious sentiments, rather, I seek, nonetheless, to call to question the fundamental errors and unconstitutional indulgences sentimentally condoned thus far, which now threaten our peaceful existence as a nation. I think we need to ask why we allowed the inclusion of Sharia in our constitution in the first place. Who smuggled it in? Why did we not insist on the reversal of Nigeria’s membership of the Organization of Islamic States (OIC), which the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida (retd) imposed on us in 1986? Honestly, Nigerian Muslims are free to belong to any Islamic organization of their choice around the world, but not Nigeria as a nation. Nigerian Christians are members of various Christian organisations internationally, but the Nigerian state is not a member unlike what we have in OIC and D8. This is clearly wrong and unconstitutional!

A forthright approach to a holistic healing process of our defective socio-political and religious membranes will be to consider an immediate review of our affiliations with all religious organisations; and to align our dealings and continued membership in line with our constitutional provisions. This guileless opinion was aptly articulated by an eminent constitutional lawyer, Elder Solomon Asemota (SAN) that: “By taking Nigeria into the OIC in 1986, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd) officially turned Nigeria into an Islamic state. Simply by the act of the application for OIC membership, Babangida tampered with the secularity of the Nigerian state. That unilateral decision should be reviewed because it violates Section 10 of the constitution.”

Another brazen affront to our constitution ever witnessed in this country was the proclamation of Sharia Law as state legal code for some states in the north as was pioneered by Zamfara state during the Ahmed Yerima administration as governor in 2000. By this, Islam became the official religion of those states. Meanwhile, Section 10 of the constitution specifies that “The government of the federation or of a state shall not adopt any religion as state religion.”

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Conversely, when a federal lawmaker proposed a Bill for Ecclesiastical (Christian) Courts, pronto, leaders of the Islamic faith spat fire. According to the Secretary-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, the Christian court idea was a recipe for anarchy and should be stopped in the interest of the nation! He added that no informed Christian would agitate for Christian courts because Muslims had Sharia courts! Hmmm! So, what is good for Muslims is not good for Christians or any other religion in Nigeria? Meanwhile, the proposed bill for the Christian court sponsored by Hon. Gyang Dung (PDP) from Plateau State and eight other members of the House of Representatives had scaled the second reading. Since then, nothing has been said about the pending bill.

There were acts of intolerance and overt entrenchment of Islamic fundamentalism going by the utterances, actions and biased dispensation of justice in favour of Islamists in this country. Till date, no culprit of blue murders carried out in parts of the north in the name of “blasphemy” has been brought to book. Mrs. Christiana Oluwasesin, who was murdered March 21, 2007 at Government Day Secondary School, Gandu, Gombe State, is a case in point. As at today, justice has not been done. There had been several of such unprovoked attacks and killings by Muslim urchins who claimed to be protecting the sanctity of Islam and its prophet. This includes the recent incident in Kano where a woman, Bridget Agbahime, a trader at the Kofar Wambai market, was killed right in the presence of her husband over an alleged blasphemous statement. It is even more annoying that the suspects were freed by a court few days after their arraignment after a “No case” submission by their lawyers.

Our security agents and northern leaders have been insisting that the marauding Fulani assailants are foreigners from Mali, Senegal and some other neighbouring countries; but the question is, why, then, were these so-called leaders enraged when Christian leaders told their people to defend themselves against further assaults from the ‘foreigners’?

Why did the DSS send lorry-loads of its officials to arrest Apostle Johnson Suleman in the dead of the night at Ado-Ekiti, like it did to some judges, simply because the preacher asked his members to take up arms to defend themselves since the state has abdicated its duties in this regard? But for the prompt action of Gov. Peter Ayo Fayose, Apostle Suleman would have been arrested like a common criminal and, possibly, his life could have been endangered.

Does it then mean that our leaders are being economical with the truth whereas the rampaging herdsmen are those they know too well? If indeed those killers are foreigners, shouldn’t our leaders support their fellow Nigerians and cooperate to protect us against ‘foreigners’ murdering us at will? If Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, actually paid the killer-Fulanis to stop killing Christians in his state as he publicly declared, then, is it not true that those bestial murderers are well known?

The simple truth is that those dastardly acts are well funded, scrupulously coordinated and clinically executed towards achieving a sectarian goal. Let me warn that continued pandering to the whims of religious prejudices and ethnic sentiments in the running of our national affairs is a shorter route to anarchy than any political insurrection.

West, a Media Consultant, wrote via [email protected]