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Wednesday, August 21, 2002
05:10 a.m.
The real story about sharia and Nigeria?
The latest stage in the case of Amina Lawal has been widely reported in the last day or so. But sketchily so, as far as I have seen.
Beyond the human story lies the (much trickier for the media to tell) political story. A political story is easy enough to concoct from the outside: Northern politicians using sharia to solidify their base, much as politicians in the US Southern states used race during the Jim Crow era. (Their great horror was, of course, that the Negroes and white trash would get together and vote for some sort of socialism!)
Non-Moslems in the (richer, oil-producing) South of Nigeria naturally feel under increasing threat; federal institutions come under growing and eventually intolerable strain; ending in some kind of military coup (no doubt, by Northern brass). Or, continuing the US theme, secession by the North on the issue of - states' rights!
(Except that Lincoln in March 1861 was prepared to let his Southern states keep their 'peculiar institution' - and unmolested by his administration to boot! Whereas, in Nigeria, secession would only arise if the Federal institutions (courts, with or without the government's participation) struck down sharia as unconstitutional.)
That's a story you could make up in a saloon bar in East Grinstead!
One can make a start in piecing together a more soundly based story with materials online. Needless to say, a great deal is clearly biased, and - which, in a way, is worse - assumes an educated Nigerian's knowledge of persons and events. But - as I say, it's a start.
One could do worse than start with the Nigerian Attorney-General's letter earlier this year to Governors of 'sharia' states, ending thus:
"I appeal to you, therefore, to take steps to secure modification of all criminal laws of your state so that the courts will not be obliged to impose punishments which derogate from the rights of Moslems under the constitution."
That seems a fairly clearly threat on behalf of the Federal government to seek to have the Federal courts strike down state sharia laws as unconstitutional. I cannot believe, however, that the Federal government has not had several excellent test cases any one of which it might have supported. But, so far nothing - as far as I am aware.
(Perhaps the Lawal case will be the one?)
The laid back attitude of the President may be gauged from this transcript of a BBC radio phone-in in February of this year. He seems to take the same attitude to sweeping away sharia as St Augustine to abjuring sin - 'not yet'!
This 2001 paper (written (to judge from the domain name) from an Ebo perspective) suggests that the Islamisation of Nigeria started two decades earlier than the introduction of sharia in Zamfara. And was a policy implemented at the Federal level by military heads of state (including the current president, himself a Christian).
That's only a tiny sample of what's there, obviously. Much more digging required!
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