NORTHERN NIGERIA – As the northern states commemorate the tenth anniversary for the re-introduction of Shari`ah, many people and Muslim leaders complain that politicians have failed to abide by the true spirit of the Islamic legal code and were not exemplary. "As far as I am concerned, the 10 years of Shari`ah have not been an overwhelming success," Ismail Abidoye, 39, who has lived in Kano state for 30 years, told IslamOnline.
"But it won’t be fair to blame Shari`ah as a legal system. It's a very good legal code which strict implementation promises better condition of living for the people."
Ismail said Shari`ah has succeeded to an extent but a lot more could have been achieved if political leaders are genuinely committed to its ideal and show good examples.
"You are sometimes alarmed to find the so-called leaders where they should not be. You catch them doing the unthinkable."
Ismail also blamed the failings of the system on the masses whom he accused of being neither disciplined nor inclined to follow the guidelines of Shari`ah.
"We should blame its implementers and the people."
Shari`ah was reintroduced in 1999 shortly after Nigeria returned to democracy, which saw the rise of a new political class including former Zamfara State governor Ahmed Sani Yerima whose campaign promise was strict Shari`ah.
Yerima, now a senator, won election and made good on his pledge by declaring Islamic law in the state at an elaborate event.
Eleven other states followed in swift succession, provoking nationwide protest and claims of breaching constitutional provision that no state shall institute state religion.
Nigeria, a multi-religious society with 50 percent of the population Muslims and 40 percent Christians, is officially a secular state.
Shari`ah was first introduced in northern Nigeria by Arab traders around the ninth century.
In 1904 the British colonial administration, under the indirect rule arrangement, allowed it to be practiced but outlawed the punitive aspects of stoning, amputation and flogging.
Little Success
Abdullah Shuaib, coordinator of the Conference of Islamic Organizations (CIO), describes the 10 years of Shari`ah as a tale of the good, the bad and the ugly.
"The re-introduction of the system is a welcomed development for the good of the citizenry and the country at large if only the advocates of the system sincerely propagate it and uphold its true ts," he told IOL.
"The implementation of the system has provided the poor citizenry a platform to actualize their religious obligations with high expectations that it will have positive multiplier effects in the socio-political and economic life. This indeed is what Shari`ah intends for the citizenry and the country, i.e. good governance, social justice, equity and fairness."
Ikechi Agunlana, an electronics dealer in Sokoto, does not believe this has been achieved.
"Nothing has changed in the last 10 years, there is nothing like Shari`ah in all the so-called Shari`ah states," he told IOL.
"Politicians are still corrupt and immorality is everywhere. There are brothels and beer parlors everywhere."
Muhammad Saeed, student of history at Beyero University, Kano, says Shari`ah judges were initially "overzealous" thinking that the rulers were sincere.
"They began dishing out capital punishments," he said, adding they later soft-pedaled.
In the first two years of Shari`ah reintroduction, several death sentences were passed, but none executed.
Greeted by nationwide uproar, four women condemned to death by stoning for adultery had the sentences overturned on appeals.
Out of more than two dozen amputation sentences passed for theft in four states, only two were executed.
One of them was on a peasant in Zamfara, Buba Bello Jangebe, for stealing a cow in 2000.
But Kano State governor’s spokesman Sule Yau Sule countered critics as narrow-minded.
"Some people think Shari`ah is all about stoning to death and amputation, which is a narrow perception," he told IOL.
"Shari`ah is about human development, making a person a better being in all spheres and I believe this is what we are doing," he asserted.
"The government has tried over the years to make life easier for the people as dictated by Shari`ah and fair-minded people will agree."
Political Shari`ah
Shuaib, the CIO coordinator, pinpoints some of the flows in the implementation of the system.
"Those who claimed to have re-introduced the system perhaps did so for political reason. Thus, confirming the statement of former president Olusegun Obasanjo that it was ‘a political Shari`ah’," he charges.
"In my opinion, with the exceptions of Kano State under Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau and the former Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Yerima Sani Ahmed, where the system impacted positively on the poor citizens, the same could not be said about other States."
Shuaib says these two leaders demonstrated practically the principles of the system and brought governance closer to their people.
"They did live above board. Today, the sign-posts of their good leadership and governance are abound for all and sundry to refer to."
He criticized other leaders for their inconsistency, saying they have let the people down.
"Beyond this, many of the political leaders have not only disappointed the masses but have also betrayed the system beyond imagination."
The Muslim leader emphasized that the cornerstones of the Shari`ah system is about zero tolerance for corruption, justice, equity, fairness, selfless service and the rule of law.
"Hardly can we see practically all the aforementioned in most of the States that claim to be Shari`ah compliant. As long as the Shari`ah in place is politically motivated, it will not impact positively as expected in the life of the masses."
Abba Koki, one of the Muslim clerics who in 1999 actively called for Shari`ah in Kano State, agrees.
"People are disillusioned with the insincerity, deception and hypocrisy which characterize the implementation of Shari`ah."
Many say there is little to show that Shari`ah law has had a positive impact in a region still battling graft, moral decay and searing poverty.
"People’s aspirations for a just and decent society were dashed by self-seeking politicians who hide under the Shari`ah to promote their personal political interests," Koki argued.
Five years into the law, Koki quit a Kano State government Shari`ah board in protest at what he called its failure to deliver.
"The clamor for Shari`ah was motivated by the people’s ardent desire to do away with injustices, corruption, impunity, immorality and other social ills bedeviling our society.
"Instead politicians have used this to seek votes and maintain the status quo after winning elections."
Source: IslamOnline
"But it won’t be fair to blame Shari`ah as a legal system. It's a very good legal code which strict implementation promises better condition of living for the people."
Ismail said Shari`ah has succeeded to an extent but a lot more could have been achieved if political leaders are genuinely committed to its ideal and show good examples.
"You are sometimes alarmed to find the so-called leaders where they should not be. You catch them doing the unthinkable."
Ismail also blamed the failings of the system on the masses whom he accused of being neither disciplined nor inclined to follow the guidelines of Shari`ah.
"We should blame its implementers and the people."
Shari`ah was reintroduced in 1999 shortly after Nigeria returned to democracy, which saw the rise of a new political class including former Zamfara State governor Ahmed Sani Yerima whose campaign promise was strict Shari`ah.
Yerima, now a senator, won election and made good on his pledge by declaring Islamic law in the state at an elaborate event.
Eleven other states followed in swift succession, provoking nationwide protest and claims of breaching constitutional provision that no state shall institute state religion.
Nigeria, a multi-religious society with 50 percent of the population Muslims and 40 percent Christians, is officially a secular state.
Shari`ah was first introduced in northern Nigeria by Arab traders around the ninth century.
In 1904 the British colonial administration, under the indirect rule arrangement, allowed it to be practiced but outlawed the punitive aspects of stoning, amputation and flogging.
Little Success
Abdullah Shuaib, coordinator of the Conference of Islamic Organizations (CIO), describes the 10 years of Shari`ah as a tale of the good, the bad and the ugly.
"The re-introduction of the system is a welcomed development for the good of the citizenry and the country at large if only the advocates of the system sincerely propagate it and uphold its true ts," he told IOL.
"The implementation of the system has provided the poor citizenry a platform to actualize their religious obligations with high expectations that it will have positive multiplier effects in the socio-political and economic life. This indeed is what Shari`ah intends for the citizenry and the country, i.e. good governance, social justice, equity and fairness."
Ikechi Agunlana, an electronics dealer in Sokoto, does not believe this has been achieved.
"Nothing has changed in the last 10 years, there is nothing like Shari`ah in all the so-called Shari`ah states," he told IOL.
"Politicians are still corrupt and immorality is everywhere. There are brothels and beer parlors everywhere."
Muhammad Saeed, student of history at Beyero University, Kano, says Shari`ah judges were initially "overzealous" thinking that the rulers were sincere.
"They began dishing out capital punishments," he said, adding they later soft-pedaled.
In the first two years of Shari`ah reintroduction, several death sentences were passed, but none executed.
Greeted by nationwide uproar, four women condemned to death by stoning for adultery had the sentences overturned on appeals.
Out of more than two dozen amputation sentences passed for theft in four states, only two were executed.
One of them was on a peasant in Zamfara, Buba Bello Jangebe, for stealing a cow in 2000.
But Kano State governor’s spokesman Sule Yau Sule countered critics as narrow-minded.
"Some people think Shari`ah is all about stoning to death and amputation, which is a narrow perception," he told IOL.
"Shari`ah is about human development, making a person a better being in all spheres and I believe this is what we are doing," he asserted.
"The government has tried over the years to make life easier for the people as dictated by Shari`ah and fair-minded people will agree."
Political Shari`ah
Shuaib, the CIO coordinator, pinpoints some of the flows in the implementation of the system.
"Those who claimed to have re-introduced the system perhaps did so for political reason. Thus, confirming the statement of former president Olusegun Obasanjo that it was ‘a political Shari`ah’," he charges.
"In my opinion, with the exceptions of Kano State under Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau and the former Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Yerima Sani Ahmed, where the system impacted positively on the poor citizens, the same could not be said about other States."
Shuaib says these two leaders demonstrated practically the principles of the system and brought governance closer to their people.
"They did live above board. Today, the sign-posts of their good leadership and governance are abound for all and sundry to refer to."
He criticized other leaders for their inconsistency, saying they have let the people down.
"Beyond this, many of the political leaders have not only disappointed the masses but have also betrayed the system beyond imagination."
The Muslim leader emphasized that the cornerstones of the Shari`ah system is about zero tolerance for corruption, justice, equity, fairness, selfless service and the rule of law.
"Hardly can we see practically all the aforementioned in most of the States that claim to be Shari`ah compliant. As long as the Shari`ah in place is politically motivated, it will not impact positively as expected in the life of the masses."
Abba Koki, one of the Muslim clerics who in 1999 actively called for Shari`ah in Kano State, agrees.
"People are disillusioned with the insincerity, deception and hypocrisy which characterize the implementation of Shari`ah."
Many say there is little to show that Shari`ah law has had a positive impact in a region still battling graft, moral decay and searing poverty.
"People’s aspirations for a just and decent society were dashed by self-seeking politicians who hide under the Shari`ah to promote their personal political interests," Koki argued.
Five years into the law, Koki quit a Kano State government Shari`ah board in protest at what he called its failure to deliver.
"The clamor for Shari`ah was motivated by the people’s ardent desire to do away with injustices, corruption, impunity, immorality and other social ills bedeviling our society.
"Instead politicians have used this to seek votes and maintain the status quo after winning elections."
Source: IslamOnline
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