From Moses George, Kaduna
Mallam Nasiru el-Rufai, now the Executive Governor of Kaduna State, is not a stranger to controversy. As the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory under the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, his ministry carried out spates of demolition of buildings which allegedly left many families homeless.
That action drew so much criticism from all over the country, and even beyond. Apparently unperturbed by what some people referred to as his obnoxious “policy of demolition,” El-Rufai went ahead in demolishing even more buildings, insisting that the so-called unpopular action was taken to save Abuja from degenerating into a slum.
On page 672 of his book entitled: ‘Accidental Public Servant,’ El-Rufai stated that he had no regrets for his controversial action as Minister of the FCT.
“It was without question worth giving four years of my life. Therefore, I have no regrets for attempting to do what we did. We did what we believed was right at that time. It is posterity in this life, and the Almighty God in the next that will ultimately judge our decisions and actions and not those timorous souls too quick to render opinions based on the short term,’’ he had said.
The recent executive bill on demolition passed into law has set many residents of Kaduna city on edge. This law legalizes the pulling down of structures in Kaduna that were deemed not to be in harmony with the colonial city’s Master Plan. As a result of this law, many structures in residential and commercial areas in the city are said to be earmarked for demolition by the Kaduna State Urban Planning Development Authority (KASUPDA). In one residential settlement in the suburb of the city, it is estimated that over 1,000 homes have allegedly been served demolition notices.
Time Nigeria has not been able to confirm this claim as at the time of writing this report. What the magazine can however confirm is that over 3,000 residents of Gbagy Villa Community in Chikun Local Government Area embarked on a peaceful demonstration to protest against the planned demolition of their houses, even when they claim to be in possession of all relevant documents that gave them the right to occupy the land.
While the demolishing fever has gripped some residents of the state,el-Rufai has stirred the hornets’ nest again, this time around, with an executive bill to control preaching sent to the Kaduna State House of Assembly.
This bill has generated so much reactions and criticism because it is alleged by most people, especially those of Christian inclination, to be a calculated design by the controversial governor to restrict all forms of religious preaching and other related activities in the state.
The bill, tagged: “A bill for a law to substitute the Kaduna State Religious reaching Law 1984,” is designed to be a replacement to the Religious Regulation Edict of 1984. Its major objective is to regulate Christianity and Islamic activities in the state. One major way the proposed law intends to achieve its goal is by setting up an inter-faith Ministerial Committee to be appointed by the governor.
The proposed inter-faith ministerial committee, which is to be chaired by an appointee of the state governor, will have representatives of the Jamatul Nasril Islam (JNI), the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the Police, Department of State Security Services, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, the governor’s Special Adviser on Religious Matters, Ministry of justice and other very top officials, who would be charged with the responsibility of advising the governor on interfaith matters.
The bill also intends to set up committees at the local government levels which will be responsible for screening applicants for licences and making appropriate recommendations to the ministerial committee for various endorsements.
This law which came into existence in 1984 was at that time tagged the “Kaduna State Regulation of Religious Preaching Edict No 7 of 1984.” However, in 1987, it was amended. Since then, Time Nigeria can confirm that not much was done in the area of enforcing that law, thereby rendering it irrelevant. Therefore, this bill that is generating so much ‘heat,’ is simply seeking to repeal the 1984 law and substituting it with an updated version.
When eventually passed into law, this bill would be called the: “Kaduna State Religious Preaching Law No… of 2016”. The contentious document which is composed of 15 sections, is seeking among other things, to issue license to preachers for a period not exceeding one year. Guest preachers will however be licensed, only within the period of their engagements in Kaduna.
The proposed law also provides guidelines for the use of cassettes, CDs, Flash drives or any other communication devices containing religious recordings from accredited preachers, stating that such materials could only be played inside one’s house, inside entrance porch, inside the church and any other designated place of worship.
The bill states that, “A person who commits an offence under the provisions of this law shall be liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding two years or an option of N250,000 fine, or both; and have his licence revoked.”
Other offences listed under the law, include; preaching without a valid licence, playing religious cassettes or using a loudspeaker for religious purposes after 8 pm in public places, using a loudspeaker for religious purposes, except inside a mosque or church and the surrounding areas outside the stipulated prayer times and using a Public Address System in vehicles plying the streets with religious recording.
It is also an offence under this proposed law to abuse religious books, inciting disturbance of the public peace, abusing or using any derogatory term in describing any religion and carrying weapons of any description whether concealed or not in places of worship or to any other place with a view to causing religious disturbance.
When the bill sails through, Sharia and Customary Courts shall be empowered to try offenders immediately, and such violators “shall, on conviction, give orders for the forfeiture or destruction of any vehicle, equipment, instrument, gadget or book or other materials carrying any offensive message.”
Interestingly, Section 5 of the bill seeks to authorize the JNI and CAN Committees to grant licenses to preachers who have secured approval from the Ministerial Committee. The validity of such license shall however, not exceed one year. If a preacher is invited to preach from ‘outside,’ he shall not preach until a permit is issued to cover the duration of his assignment in the state. Section 6 of the document creates committees and their compositions in each local government area of the State, to screen applications for licenses within their localities and make necessary recommendations to the Ministerial Committee for approval.
So many Nigerians, especially critics of this bill have been asking why the el- Rufai’s administration should choose to sponsor this bill at this point in time when the state is facing more pressing challenges. Such Nigerians have expressed the fear that there could be an ulterior motive behind this proposed law.
Barnaba Yusuf Bala, the Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, who is a Christian from the southern parts of the state, assured residents of Kaduna State and other concerned Nigerians that there is no cause for alarm as the bill was not aimed at clamping down on any religion. Rather, it is meant to ensure that religious violence, which the state has witnessed in the past, is nipped in the bud, he said.
Reacting to this controversy, Samuel Aruwan, Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai’s spokesman said: “ This is not a new law, it has existed since 1984, with amendments in 1987 and 1996. The bill, by virtue of Section 45(1) of the 1999 Constitution, is in order and does not offend the provisions of the constitution.
“ The provisions of the bill are in tandem with the constitution. There is nothing in the bill that suggests any effort to abolish, stop or derogate on the freedom of religion and religious beliefs. It merely seeks to ensure that religious preaching and activities in the state are conducted in ways that do not threaten public order, public safety, and to protect the rights and freedom of other persons,”
Uba Sanni, el-Rufai’s Political Adviser, reiterated his boss’ commitment to achieving all his programmes for the state regardless of criticisms. Sanni blamed those he labeled as “mischief makers” for being responsible for the antagonism against el-Rufai’s policies. He went on to say that, “You may accuse Governor el-Rufai of anything, but you don’t even have to know him too well to deduce that the governor is not the type to be swayed by any form or shade of primordial religious sentiments.
“The governor has deep knowledge of the state and knows how easy it is for persons who do not mean well for the state to orchestrate negative religious issues given the seemingly sharp religious divide in the state.
“ My understanding is that previous administrations in Kaduna State that had either enacted or retained this law were responding to outbreaks of religious violence in the state over time. So, like we have severally explained, in further amending this law, the government is only seeking to discourage the use of religion for violence and division. Kindly note however, that this law does not in any way abridge, threaten or violate the freedom of worship as enshrined in the constitution of our great country,” Sanni concluded.
Expectedly, umbrella organizations representing Christianity and Islam in Kaduna State have been reacting stridently to this development, with some of their members opposing it totally. The state’s Council of Ulamas, in its response described the bill as sated with grey areas. The Chairman of the Kaduna State Chapter of the Council of Imams and Ulamas, Sheikh Abubakar Usman Babantune, wondered why such a an important law that affects religion should be established without due consultation with the council.
According to Babantune, “the government told us then that the bill is not with them because it has been forwarded to the State House of Assembly. Therefore, the Council of which I’m the leader decided to send a letter to the state House of Assembly demanding to know the situation of the bill. Thanks be to Allah, the council met with the lawmakers and they promised to look at it carefully and that there is no way the bill would be passed into law without hearing the position of the Council of Ulamas and what the people think about it”.
“We have gotten a copy of the bill, the council of Ulamas decided to translate the bill into Hausa language for proper understanding because it was written in English. We distributed the bill to all the Imams and Ulamas that we knew would need it in the state. We told them to read through, after which we all met and set up a committee to study the bill and come up with a solution or advice on the way forward, ” the cleric concluded.
In his own reaction, the Chairman of the Kaduna State branch of the JNI. Malam Ja’faru Makarfi, said, “We at the JNI have been regulating public preaching since the era of the Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello. When Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi was the governor of Kaduna State, he wanted to propose a bill on preaching and we told him that we already had a bill restricting preaching. Unfortunately, the Christian Association of Nigerian (CAN) protested it when Joseph Hayab was the Secretary. They even went ahead to make a publication in the New Nigerian Newspaper, saying they will not regulate preaching and the government should let them be.
“Now that the present government is trying to regulate public preaching, our position is still the same; we are solidly behind the regulation of public preaching, because as Muslims, we are taught to follow rules and regulations. A Muslim preacher should not go out in the public and start abusing the citizenry all in the name of preaching.”
As at the time of filing this report, attempts by Time Nigeria to reach Joseph Hayab for his reaction were unsucceful.
Legal evaluation of the bill, however, differs sharply. While some hold that the bill is in harmony with the constitution, others disagree. Festus Okoye a renowned constitutional lawyer, said that the bill is a direct affront to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, especially, when viewed against the background that the constitution is the supreme law of the country. According to Okoye, since the constitution took care of areas that were related to the issue at stake, no state assembly has the power to “legislate on and or refine or contradict its provisions.”
He observed that it is unconstitutional to promote JNI and CAN to a paramount position above every other religious group or association in the state, because they were both registered and incorporated just like any other association registered under part B and C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act. He said in view of the foregoing, the bill cannot bestow upon JNI and CAN an exceptional status above any other organization that enjoyed the same registration status. He added that as at now, the Catholic Church has suspended its membership of CAN at the national level. What that means is that if it has suspended its membership at the state and local government level and it will become a pariah and cannot be issued with license.
“They know that Section 38 of the Constitution guarantees that every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom (either alone or in a community with others, and in public or in private) to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance”.
“This particular bill fails all constitutional tests and cannot for all practical purposes be said to be a bill which when passed into law will be justifiable in a democratic society in the interest of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health; or for the purpose of protecting the rights and freedom of other persons,” Okoye concluded .
Those in support of the bill have argued that its provisions are in tandem with the constitution. They said the bill does not offend the provisions of constitution in any way, if Section 45(1) of the 1999 Constitution is to be taken into cognizance.
But Rev. Sunday Ibrahim, the Secretary of the Kaduna State Chapter of CAN told Time Nigeria that the association has rejected the bill.
The Christian cleric pointed out that areas in which the bill is seeking to punish violators has already been taken care of by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“For a government to start licensing preachers through CAN and JNI and any other body to be appointed by the governor clearly shows that the government wants to take over religious activities. This is in conflict with our constitution that gives us right to religion.
“Our lawyers are already working on the papers. We are not in support of that bill. CAN is not one bloc. How can it issue licenses to different churches? Besides, issuing a license to a Christian preacher is totally against the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are not in support of this bill, and we reject it in its entirety,’’ he said.
Bishop George Dodo, the Chairman of the Kaduna State chapter of CAN in his own reaction, declared that no body, no matter how highly placed has the prerogative to muzzle religious practices in a democratic dispensation.
“I don’t think any governor has the power to enact laws that will supercede the constitution. The constitution guarantees every person the right to practice his or her religion; I don’t think there is any governor that can enact a law in that regard,” Dodo submitted.
Speaking to Time Nigeria, the Catholic Archbishop of Kaduna Archdioceses, Mathew Man-Oso Ndagoso, said that the bill could cause confusion in the state. Ndagoso stressed that any preacher, whether Christian or Muslim, who embarks on spreading hatred or engages in hate speech should be brought to book.
He advised that the Kaduna State government should try to regulate religion in the state by making use of existing laws.
On its own part, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) described the bill as anti- Christianity. The Chairman of the Kaduna State Chapter of PFN, Prof. Femi Ehinmidu wondered why restricting and regulation of religious activities should be the priority of the Kaduna State Government when most families in the state are confronted with the challenge of economic survival.
“ This bill that he has sent to the House is opening up new vistas of hostilities between Christians and Muslims when bias implementation is carried out if the bill is passed into law.
“Furthermore, the bill is obnoxious and directly offends our faith. The Bible commands us in Mark 16 verse 15 to ‘go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature,’ and 1Thessalonians 5 verse 29 also says, ‘pray without ceasing.’
“This is the live-wire of Christianity. Taking away the right to preach and evangelize is telling Christians not to practice their religion as commanded by the Lord Jesus,’’ he said.
He called on “ well meaning Nigerians and relevant stakeholders to prevail on the Kaduna State Government to withdraw the bill before the Assembly.’’
“ This bill has latent explosive that can set Kaduna State on fire if not tamed with proper stakeholders engagements or better still, withdraw the bill from being processed in the House of Assembly and use existing laws to address the re-emerging religious challenges,’’ he added.
A leading voice against this bill is Senator Shehu Sani representing Kaduna Central at the upper chamber of the National Assembly. The senator who is said to have a sour relationship with el- Rufai condemned the bill, saying Kaduna being a fragile state does not require such a bill now, especially, taking into consideration the fact that the state has suffered serious religious crisis in the past.
Sani emphasized that, “No government, no governor, no president, no legislator can take away people’s fundamental rights.”
Investigation carried out by Time Nigeria revealed that the state government did not foresee that the bill could generate this level of controversy. A government source told Time Nigeria that it was the improper handling of the matter by the bureau responsible for sensitizing the public on the issue that has led to the controversy.
Despite the controversy that the bill has generated, the el- Rufai administration is forging ahead with the legislative process to actualize the law. Will he succeed?
