The two over centuries old self acclaimed purifiers of Islamic Religion in Hausa Land albeit the entire Nigeria, are today’s conquerous political gladiators using the same Islam. Sheik Dr Col(Rtd) Ahmad Gumi and his fellow Fulani Clerics are complaining in various viral video clips that Wike who as governor declared Rivers State as a Christian State and asserted that he is unapologetic about it, demonstrates that Wike will be religiously biased as a Minister of the FCT.
It is interesting to note that the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) itself is Biased in terms of Religion, Tribe and Geopolitical Regions. This is what Federal Character and Quota System are all about as espoused in sections 14:(2c) (3), 35,36,40 and 42 of the Constitution. Since June 1999 to May 2023 only Muslims have been the Ministers of the FCT.
Going by Gumi’s assertion it means that the Muslim Ministers of FCT have been religiously biased in their administration of the FCT since the last 23 years and therefore consider the FCT Abuja as their conquered territory. Despite that section 10 of the Constitution asserts that Nigeria is a Secular State, conversely section 175 of the same Constitution allows that any state can be declared a Shariah State and by implications Muslim States. All Shariah States are therefore Muslim States Statutorily, and there are 12 of such States in Nigeria today.
Prominent Nigerian Muslims like Sheick El-Zakzakky, Late: Dr. Lateef Adegbite, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, etc have at various times declared that Shariah is above the Constitution. According to an undenied media report, Sultan Saad Abubakar III reinforced this superiority of Shariah above the Nigerian Constitution when he declared in an event at Harvard USA, that he does not recognize any Constitution except the Qur’an. This means that the 12 Shariah States of Nigeria are Sovereign States of themselves. Therefore, their citizens’ claims to still belong to one Nigeria is pretentious and deceptive, but the claims only serve as avenues to justify their legitimacy at collection of revenues from the remaining Constitutional-Nigeria of 24 states and the FCT, and to engage in continued extension of their territories until the rest of Nigeria come under their complete grips, control and ownership. Of the said remaining 24 States and the FCT only Rivers State has been declared a Christian State by it’s former governor (Wike) and it still remains bonded to the Nigerian Constitution. How is the said Wike’s Declaration a crime or unconstitutional whereas the Nigerian Constitution itself is not neutral on the issue of State Religion! Islam is not the only religion practiced by Nigerians.The Constitution must not serve the Muslim interests alone. Christians, Pagans and Animists have rights guaranteed by section 42 (Rights of freedom from Discrimination) of the Constitution that must not be fettered. If the 1999 Constitution (as amended) is truly designed to serve all Nigerians it means that every State of the Federation have the right to declare their own State Religion. At least section 45: 1b favourably applies to this. Section 275 that establishes Sharia as State Laws is by implications a session clause and those who have invoked it have seceded and thereby exited themselves from the Constitution.
Therefore, they should stop relating to the True-Nigerians as their conquered slaves or pretending to be more Nigerian than those True-Nigerians still bonded by the Constitution. Sheick Ahmed Gumi and other Fulani Clerics, Elites and Monarchs should tell us and the world from which portion of the Qur’an or Saheeh Hadith did they find justification for their monopoly of Muslim Organizations/Territorial Leadership and Traditional Institutions which they are using to monopolize the Northern and other Nigerian Polity. Their overthrow and continued monopoly of the Hausa Traditional Institutions in the guise of Islam is what they are extending across Nigeria. They trade in hate speech: that is why today there is dichotomy between Muslim Hausa and their blood brothers the Maguzawa. It is this same hate speech their Ulamas, Imams and Politicians import into Nigerian politics, like Elrufai and Buhari demonstrated which gave birth to the Muslim-Muslim tickets in Kaduna State and Nigerian Presidency that have widely divided Nigerians today over religion.
According to Dr Yusuf Pantami in a video clip while lamenting in Hausa language over Plateau he said, “this Religion is all that we have. Without it we are nothing and have nothing!” The ‘We’ here apply to only the Fulani because they are the ones in Nigeria without original claims to land ownership. Hence their resort to invocation of religious sentiments and bigotry on every matter. Their antics have divided Nigeria badly enough and if allowed to continue unchecked this would eventually lead the country to catastrophic consequences.
May God never allow it. LEAVE WIKE ALONE!
Comrade Tabara SK.
