March 1, 2000
Paul Ejime
PANA Correspondent
LAGOS, Nigeria (PANA) - A mixed reaction continued Wednesday to trail the agreement by Nigeria's northern states to shelve the implementation of the Islamic Sharia law whose introduction has led to deadly violence in parts of the country.
The decision unveiled by Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, after Tuesday's emergency meeting of the Council of State, has been generally well-received in the multi-ethnic nation ruled by a secular constitution.
But while Christians are overtly relieved by the decision, some Moslem hard-liners and Sharia proponents appear unsatisfied.
"I feel greatly relieved and this offers the nation another window of opportunity" to get its act together, Rev. Fr. Mathew Kuka, secretary general of the Christian Association of Nigeria, said.
Kuka, an outspoken social critic, whose statement reflects the general views by non-Moslems, however, added that there should be no feeling of victory or defeat on the issue.
A top Moslem leader, Usman Jubril, described the Council of State's decision, which is binding on all the 36 states, as "unfortunate."
He said the decision was "ill-timed," adding that the federal authorities should have allowed tension to ease before announcing the decision suspending the implementation of Sharia penal code in the northern states.
Zamfara state stoked the controversy by introducing Sharia laws October, evoking strong protests by non-Moslems across the country.
The plan by neighbouring Kaduna state to introduce the system led to bloody clashes between Christians and Moslems, which killed more than 200 people in the area.
The violence later spread to the south-eastern state of Abia, claiming some 20 lives and forcing authorities there to slap a night curfew on the state.
Sharia-related sporadic violence has also been reported in Umuahia, capital of Abia, and Uyo, in south-eastern Akwa Ibom state.
Given the emotive nature of the issue, it is obvious that Nigerians have not heard the last word on Sharia, even as the nation awaits President Olusegun Obasanjo's state broadcast late Wednesday, during which he is expected to appeal for calm on the potentially dangerous crisis.
Meanwhile, a human rights group, which took the Sharia case to court, seeking a constitutional interpretation on the matter, has said it would go ahead with the case, which comes up for hearing at Gusau, capital of Zamfara, 9 March.
Welcoming Tuesday's decision by the Council of State, Lagos lawyer Stella Njoku said the courts needed to guide the nation on this issue.
"What the Council of State has done may help to restore peace, but that is not the end of the matter," she told PANA.
Also reacting to a presidential request, the Nigerian Senate has agreed to grant Obasanjo a qualified approval of the powers to impose a state of emergency on any trouble spot in the restive country.
Senate president Chuba Okadigbo said the upper house of the 469-member National Assembly considered the approval of the powers imperative "provided it complies" with the relevant provisions and sections of the constitution.