Author:
Publication: The Telegraph,
UK
Date: June 22, 2000
Hundreds of thousands
of Muslims gathered in the city of Kano yesterday for the proclamation
of Islamic sharia law in northern Nigeria's most populous state - prompting
fears of a fresh wave of religious violence.
As a vast crowd chanted
"God is Great!" in a prayer ground in the city, Kano state officials said
implementation would begin later this year. Rabiu Kwankwaso, the state
governor, said: "This is a momentous day in the history of Kano state."
The declaration sets the north of Nigeria more firmly than ever on a collision
course with the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo who has appealed
repeatedly for the Islamic code not to be enforced.
Moves earlier this year
to adopt sharia in the neighbouring state of Kaduna triggered Muslim-Christian
clashes in which hundreds of people died. Mr Obasanjo called that crisis
the most serious since the Sixties' civil war over breakaway Biafra. Police
struggled to control the chanting crowd at yesterday's proclamation ceremony.
Two people were crushed to death and at least 11 people collapsed from
exhaustion. The state government had declared the day a holiday to reduce
tensions.
Shops and major business,
mostly operated by non-Muslims, were shut as Governor Kwankwaso appealed
for calm in the coming days. Local banks have reported a run on deposits
because of withdrawals by non-Mulims heading south. Observers say the flight
of Christians could hurt the northern economy.
Northern Muslims see
sharia - with penalties such as amputation of hands for theft and death
for adultery - as a response to Nigeria's endemic problems of crime and
corruption. But the mainly Christian and animist southerners see it as
a renewed imposition by northerners who dominated past military regimes,
and resent the fact that even non-Muslim women in Zamfara state - another
to adopt sharia - have been made to wear veils.
Mr Kwankwaso was forced
to abandon his plans to address yesterday's gathering because of fears
over crowd safety. He said later that Islam was a religion of peace and
tolerance, and that any attacks on those of other religions would be unIslamic
acts. He said: "Islam urges people to follow in the footsteps of the Prophet,
and show patience, honesty and trustworthiness and preserve the rights
of women, children and neighbours."
Abubakar Mika'il, an
Islamic lawyer, said he believed that religious law would help solve many
of the country's ills, adding: "We Muslims have been yearning to see the
sharia code implemented for many years. It is our right." The promulgation
of Islamic law has been one of the main disputes driving a wave of religious
and ethnic violence since the end of military rule last year. Fears have
even been expressed that Africa's most populous country might fragment.
Muslims form about 90
per cent of the population of Kano, on the edge of the Sahara desert, which
is the fourth and largest state to declare some form of sharia. President
Obasanjo is under pressure from non-Muslims to seek a supreme court ruling
on the constitutionality of sharia in secular Nigeria. He took office last
year after 15 years of army rule, but faces a dilemma over sharia's popularity
in the north.
