Kaduna State is in the cusps of an economic, social, ethical and political renaissance. It is a mission that the governor, Mallam Nasir El Rufai is fervently and feverishly committed to; and in less than one year in office, he is at the verge of meeting the set targets. But Kaduna State is a peculiar state: sentiments, particularly religious sentiments are easily amplified and often blown out of proportion, leading to very damning consequences. This is hardly surprising given the rather generous population of adherents of both Islam and Christianity in the state. This diversity, ordinarily ought to be a blessing and a strength that could easily be harnessed for the greatest good of all. However, over the years, zealots, religious contractors, extremists, crisis profiteers and unscrupulous political and community leaders have for pecuniary or political reasons, perfected the nefarious act of using religion to unnecessarily destabilize Kaduna State.
As a child of the 70s, I recall ever so vividly growing up in both Zaria and Kaduna metro with the trauma of the several extremely acrimonious and destructive religious upheavals in our dear state. Between 1980 and 2011 alone, over 25 avoidable religious or ethnic-inspired crises led to the unfortunate loss of thousands of lives, destruction of properties worth several billions of Naira. Some of the most unfortunate previous crises include the Kafachan riots of 1987, the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria riots of 1992, the Kaduna North/Kaduna South and Kafachan crisis of 1999, the so-called Sharia riots of 2000, another Zaria Crisis of 2001, the aborted Miss Nigeria riot of 2002 and of course the post-election riots of 2011 to name but just a few. Sadly, the ordinarily boisterous and welcoming Kaduna State eventually gained notoriety as a hotbed of sorts of religious and ethnic crises. This of course had telling effects on the economic, social and ethical well-being of the state and its long-suffering people.
Successive administrations in Kaduna State who had contended with bloody and destructive religious riotshad at one point or the other resorted to legislations to rein in religious extremism in the state. So far, the most far reaching of the legislations remains the Regulation of Religious Preaching Edict No. 7 of 1984, which has been amended twice – in 1987 and 1996. The original 1984 Edict was promulgated by the then Military Governor of Kaduna State, Air-Commodore UsmanMuazu, on July 17, 1984 following the Maitatsine riots in some parts of Northern Nigeria at the time. The Edict provided for the mandatory licensing of preachers. It also restricted the playing of religious cassettes to homes, banned the use of abusive language against any person or religious organisation or religious leader. The Edict expressly banned the use of loudspeakers for religious purposes other than in a Church or Mosque, the abuse of religious books and the use of such expressions as “infidels,” “non-Islamic,” or “pagans” in describing other religious groups.
The penalty for violating the 1984 Edict was two years’ imprisonment with an option of fine.
On March 9, 1987 the then Military Governor of Kaduna State, Lt. Col. Abubakar Umar, amended the 1984 Edict and expunged the option of fine and extended the term of imprisonment upon conviction to five years.
On November 25, 1996, Lt. Col. Hamid Ibrahim Ali, the Military Administrator of the state at the time, further amended the 1984 Edict by limiting the validity of a preaching license in Section 7 (c) of the Edict to a period not exceeding six months subject to revocation at any time.
For the avoidance of doubt, the Religious Preaching Regulation Bill that is currently before the Kaduna State House of Assembly is just a slightly amended version of the same law that has been in existence since 1984. So, why are certain persons going about creating the wrong impression that Governor Nasir el Rufai is introducing a new religious preaching law in Kaduna State?
Contrary to the impression some political jobbers and enemies of the state are currently creating, in revisiting this law, the Government of Kaduna State under Mallam el Rufai is not only responding to current realities in most states in northern Nigeria but also proactively nipping in the bud the possibility of Kaduna State returning to its destructive ugly past. The truth is that in spite of the dogged efforts by critics and mischievous politicians to tar Governor El Rufai with the wicked brush of religious extremism, this lie is just refusing to stick especially given that Islamic clerics have opposed the bill much more than Christian leaders. It is indeed an open secret that religious zealotry is not one of weaknesses of Nasir El Rufai.
I have extensively studied the bill and have consulted with lawyers, my clear take on the amended Kaduna State Religious Preaching Regulation Bill is that it does not in any way abridge, threaten to abridge or violate the freedom of worship as enshrined in the constitution of our great country. On the contrary, the bill, if passed into law will establish Kaduna State as a bastion of peace and tranquility in northern Nigeria. I can attest to the fact that Mallam Nasir el Rufai, whom I have worked closely with for more than two decades, will never be part of any scheme, plot, programme or legislation targeted at abolishing, abridging or derogating the freedom of religion and religious beliefs as enshrined in the constitution of our great country.
Mention has been repeatedly made of the supposed opposition of religious leaders in the state to this bill. The initial apprehension about the law by the clerics were largely informed by the fact that enough information was not made available to them on time. Political opponents of the governor were quick to go to town with the falsehood that a new law that would emasculate religion was in the offing. All too easily, but expectedly though, our highly regarded Islamic and Christian leaders believed this crass misinformation by ill-intentioned political jobbers and panicked. However after due explanations and with several of our religious leaders now availed of copies of the bill, they now have a better understanding. They are now aware that it is not a new law; that the bill does not in any way seek to negate or infringe on the freedom of worship; they are now aware that this law is basically aimed at deepening safety and security in Kaduna State and they are well aware that a peaceful Kaduna State would unleash the huge and enviable economic and other potentials of our great state.
For the records, salient features of the proposed law include the establishment of an inter-faith ministerial committee to regulate the practice of the two main religions in the state, Christianity and Islam. The law provides for the establishment of a committee of the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) with equal representation of the Izala and Darika religious groups, for Muslims and another committee by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). The inter-faith ministerial committee is expected to exercise supervisory control over JNI and CAN with a view to stemming provocative or public hate preaching hence the restriction on the playing or blaring of religious recordings outside churches and mosques. Indeed under the law, a preacher may be jailed for a period not exceeding two years if he preaches without a valid licence or engages in inciting religious teachings and uses derogatory terms in describing any religion. The law also stipulates that a preacher visiting Kaduna from outside the state is expected to obtain a permit to cover the period of his stay. For preachers who are resident in Kaduna State, the licence to preach has a life span of one year which may be renewed. If the truth must be told, incessant hate and inciting preaching have for years been the main cause of religious upheaval in Kaduna State. Equally damaging has been the inciting statements credited to some overzealous or extremist preachers. Indeed the matter of hateful or provocative preaching was robustly addressed during the JNI’s 2015 annual pre-Ramadan conference in June 2015 in Kaduna when it noted that in spite of repeated calls by the Muslim leadership, some scholars still employed divisive comments during their Tafsir preaching in the month of Ramadan. According to the JNI, “there is a growing trend of mystic doctrines expressed by some unguided extremists which are completely contradictory to the Islamic faith and principles”. The JNI leadership was also of the view that several of the media houses that air Tafsir during Ramadan do not care to censor statements capable of destabilizing the Ummah. It was also the view of the JNI at this very important conference that negative conducts contrary to the established creed of the Islamic faith were being exhibited by some scholars in their Tafsir sessions.
Indeed the JNI insists that “the (Muslim) leadership should regulate the conduct of Tafsir, to control erring commentators and make it mandatory for any Mufassir to be screened and be given permission by the JNI or any authorized body before he can be allowed to venture into Tafsir.”
The position of the JNI tallies with the resolve of governor that Kaduna State should not and will no longer be the hotbed of needless religious acrimony or riots. The state seeks to harness the beauty in its diversity to strengthen social ties and bolster its economy and eventually restore the glory of the state is a bastion of peace and a pacesetter in northern Nigeria.
- Sani is Special Adviser t
