Dialogue
ISSUES IN CONTEMPORARY DISCUSSION
Editors
Ade P. Dopamu
Olutosin Awolalu
Stephen G. Delamarter
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Consideration of the Effectiveness of Muslim-Christian
Dialogue in Nigeria: Today’s Perspective
Pius Oyeniran Abioye
“One's experience of dialogue in Afrel is that of how to jointly
appease or invoke the divinities for peace, order and
abundance of life for all; one or other of the divinities may be
invoked against perpetrators of evil in a town or village”.
Many scholars have expressed the optimism that dialogue holds the
key to religious peace and harmony in Nigeria. Alana noted, in
1993 that".. .various ways to detonate the 'time-bomb' which
Muslim-Christian rivalries have placed in the Nigerian society"
have been suggested over the years, except dialogue which is
considered indispensable for Christians and Muslims in the
country to "agree on how to make their religions relevant to the
Nigerian situation".1 Yet, some other scholars have related
instances of crises which had necessitated one form of dialogue
or another between Christians and Muslims. This study aims at
examining how effective dialogue has been, and what else is
necessary to move forward, towards greater peace and harmony in
Nigeria.
Understanding Religious Dialogue in the Nigerian Context
Perhaps the appropriate title for this study should have indicated
inter-religious dialogue rather than limiting the title to
Muslim-Christian relationship. As Dopamu rightly notes, three
principal living religions are readily identifiable in Nigeria, namely
Afrel (African Religion), Islam and Christianity.2 But the justification
for the title is also located in his observation that Afrel is the
minefield of both Christianity and Islam. 3 Not only are the two
religions making converts from Afrel, the latter is often attacked
verbally and physically. Because Islam and Christianity are dominant
socio- politically, and because they create most of the religious
violence and breach of peace in Nigeria, one finds it justifiable to
focus on them in this study. As Tasie notes:
Whenever we have so-called religious
clashes in Nigeria, I would dare to posit
that it is either because of bad Christianity
and bad Islam, bad Christians and bad
Moslems or all of the above.4
A typical example to buttress Tasie's point that religious crisis is
usually caused by bad Christians and bad Muslims can be found in a
recent report, in which "Northern Emirs and Muslim clerics, under
the auspices of the Jama'atu Nasril Islam" threatened to declare Jihad
"should the President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, fail to redress
the alleged marginalisation of Muslims in the polity, especially in
the nomination of delegates and appointment of the principal
officers of the on-going National Political Reforms
Conference."5 The Muslim organisations were quoted as
demanding "equal treatment with other Nigerians, particularly the
Christians", otherwise "they would be forced to wage a Jihad in the
country to secure their rights."6
In reaction, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), speaking
through Bishop Mike Okonkwo, is quoted as saying; "Our
experiences of the antecedents of these Muslim organisations
leave us in no doubt as to this premeditated war against Nigerian
Christians", and they called on the federal and state governments
to take the threats seriously as Christians were poised to defend
themselves as they deemed fit, without recourse to the State
apparatus.7
The essential point to note here is that Afrelists (adherents of African
Religion) did not feature in the verbal exchanges. Another example
was when Muslims objected to the inclusion of religion in the
proposed census questionnaire of 2005. A newspaper report reads
that:
CAN (Christian Association of Nigeria) had
at the weekend through its SecretaryGeneral, Engr. Samuel Salifu, told newsmen
in Kaduna that the association would insist
on ethnicity and religion being included on the
census questionnaire. Salifu said that CAN
had discovered that the first forms printed
by the National Population Commission had
the issues of ethnicity and religion, but these
were omitted in the subsequent ones.
"We discovered that some religious
leaders met and threatened the President
that if these two issues were included in the
census, they would boycott it and the
President yielded to their threat. We are
saying that the wish of the Muslims cannot
be imposed on us... They are also saying
that there are more Muslims in Nigeria than
Christians. So, we want that proved.'8
Thus, it goes without further proof that, to a large extent, Christians
and Muslims make and unmake religious peace and harmony in
Nigeria. And so, one should focus on them, as needing dialogue
much more than Afrel. Bidmos rightly explains that "ATR" (African
Traditional Religion) has no programme of faith propagation, and
so, there is little or no room for inter-religious clashes. In his words:
ATR has no record of proselytization activities
wherein utterances that other religious groups
will find offensive could be made... So, the
possibility of clashes or strained relationships
between ATR adherents and the followers of
other faiths is considerably minimal and restricted to localities consequently where they do
occur such clashes are not large scale and not
as destructive. 9
That gives an explanation to the point quoted from Tasie earlier
on. One's experience of dialogue in Afrel is that of how to jointly
appease or invoke the divinities for peace, order and abundance of
life for all; one or the other of the divinities may be invoked against
perpetrators of evil in a town or village. Usually, there is hardly
inter-religious crisis that warrants dialogue for peaceful resolution
among Afrel denominations.
Here or there, some Muslims clash with some Afrelists (adherents
of African Religion), because the former feel that the latter should not
exist. Atypical example is at Offa town in Yorubaland. There, some
"Muslim fundamentalists" keep destroying the ancestral shrine of
Moremi, while the Afrelists keep re-building it.10
As a matter of fact, both Christians and Muslims sometimes object
to the existence of some Afrel shrines or emblems and sometimes
that leads to very bloody clashes. But the most objectionable
aspect of Afrel, as far as some Christians and Muslims are
concerned, are the Afrel festivals that forbid either women or all
non-members to move about during certain times of the days of the
festivals. The most prominent of such festivals in Yorubaland is
Oro, and it has generated clashes and loss of lives and property in
some towns, such as Shagamu and Iseyin. Outside Yorubaland,
an example of the festivals in question is Seigbein in Patani,
Delta State. In 2005, the confrontation that ensued provoked the
Afrelists to expel four pastors from the town (Patani). CAN was suing
for their return to the town, based on the claim that the action of
the Afrelists contradicted "the rights to freedom of association,
religion or worship as enshrined in the constitution."11
We should emphasise the need for mutuality and reciprocity with
regards to respecting one another's rights. We should not forget that
because of Christianity, most government offices are not open to the
public on Saturday and Sunday. Muslims also have their "no go
areas". For instance, in llorin, all roads leading to the central mosque,
which is around the main market of the town, are closed between
2pm and 3p.m every Friday. Not only that no vehicle driver would
dare remove the roadblocks, any woman of any religion passing by
must cover her head, otherwise she would be harassed by some
Muslim youths. To the best of one's knowledge, there is no record of
any resistance against the practice. Likewise, the Islamic "Call to
Prayer" no doubt affects the different communities in Nigeria day
and night. During the month of Ramadan, for about thirty days
non- Muslims are awakened as from 2 a.m. in the course of
waking Muslims up to prepare the pre-dawn fast meal. One would,
therefore, expect tolerance from Christians and Muslims in respect
of Afrel. Each religion has one aspect or the other which may put the
larger society to inconvenience.
By its nature, dialogue is applicable to many areas of human life.
As Smith notes, it has socio-political, historical, cultural,
economic, intellectual, and other dimensions. He notes further
that dialogue can feature at both corporate and inter-personal
levels. He explains what is understood by the personal character
of dialogue in these words:
One might well argue that the matter is
finally a personal one; the central truth is
that Christian-Muslim relations are
relations among persons, both at the
individual and at the corporate levels.
Personal relations between individuals
come into play when a Christian and a
Muslim sit down together over a cup of
coffee.l:>
That is what dialogue it is a cordial
inter-personal
relationship.
Madaki
quotes Pope Paul VI as stating the
essence of dialogue, when the latter
noted that:
We must meet each other, not just as
tourists but as pilgrims on the road
seeking God, not just in stone-buildings
but in the hearts of human beings. Human
beings and nations must meet each other
as brothers and sisters, as children of
God.
In
mutual
friendship
and
understanding, and in holy fellowship, we
must also begin to work together to build
a communal future for the human race.13
In the same book, Madaki also notes how three indispensable
principles of dialogue were listed by the World Council of
Churches. The three principles are: 1. Frank and undisguised
witness to one's
faith; 2. Mutual respect between participants in a dialogue; and 3. A
recognition of religious freedom as an inalienable human right.14 The
three principles imply that dialogue is about mutual understanding
for peaceful co-existence, and "must never be used for
proselytisation."15 Indeed, turning dialogue into an opportunity for
propagating one's faith can only scare away adherents of a religion
who fear that their members may be lost in conversion to another
religion. Yet, in the experience of a Regional Consultation of the
Network for Interfaith Concerns in the Anglican Communion (Nifcon)
in India, dialogue for conversion can become a necessity where
"anti-conversion laws" exist. In the words of the members of the
consultation:
We believe that it is crucially important that
Christian interfaith work should embrace
advocacy for the Church in places where it
is under persecution, or where its freedom
to propagate the Gospel, to engage in
mission and ministry, and to welcome new
members is denied. More widely, we
recognise in an obligation to be in
solidarity with all religious minorities where
their fundamental rights are under attack.16
Of course, similar difficulties exist in Nigeria, particularly in the
northern part of the country. The Christian Association of Nigeria
(CAN) was quoted as saying that "...in the North, Christians are treated
as second class citizens". The spokesperson of the Association
explained that:
The humiliation we experience is what
culminated in the killings in Plateau and Kano
where Christians are being annihilated. Just
call Christians in the North slaves in their
fatherland. Could you believe that in states
like Zamfara, Sokoto, Kano, Jigawa, Katsina
and others, Christians are hardly given land
to build churches while our Moslem brothers
have mosques just anywhere they want
them. Moslems believe they have to live as
free citizens in every part of the country, yet
they don't accord Christians the same right
in the North."
There is a great debate whether Muslims form the majority
in Northern Nigeria. What appears incontrovertible, however, is
that what is
called
the
core
North
constitutes the
stronghold of Nigerian Muslims, and Christian existence in
the region is hazardous, as the quotation above testifies. MuslimChristian clashes happen in the southern parts of the country,
but they are not as rampant and as severe as they are in the
North, where so many Christians are reportedly killed and so many
are rendered homeless and stranded. 1 " The new Millenium
has witnessed some Muslim-Christian clashes in Nigeria, and
dialogue (not necessarily religious dialogue) has been helpful to an
extent, as this study is set to explain.
Muslim-Christian Dialogue in Nigerian History: 1930 -2005
Islam is said to precede Christianity in arrival in Nigeria. History has
it that Islam was introduced in Kanem-Bornu around the11th century
A.D., and spread to Hausa States as from the 14th century. It came
as a peaceful religion that got spread through commercial
interactions. But the "reform" of a Fulani Muslim cleric, Uthman dan
Fodio, which was carried out through Jihad and missionary activities
(1804-1831), tended to introduce militancy and intolerance. Through
the Jihad, Islam spread to the northern parts of Yorubaland, but its
unlimited determination was halted at Osogbo by the Ibadan army.
Nevertheless, as Alana notes, the religion continued to spread
"under a peaceful atmosphere among the Yoruba". He also notes
the fact that Islam has a much more limited presence in the Eastern
parts of Nigeria.19
Unlike Islam which came to the country via the Northern route,
Christianity came through the Southern towns of Badagry and
Abeokuta, both in Western Nigeria. Another difference was that while
Islam came from Arabia, Christianity came from Europe and America.
Initially, Christianity was introduced to the peoples of Benin and Warri
in the 15th century by some Roman Catholic Portuguese merchants.
But this initial effort had no lasting effect. As Ayandele notes, the
attempts were "futile, feeble and spasmodic." He observes further
that:
The introduction of missionary propaganda
through the opposite ends of the Nigerian
coast, Badagry and Old Calabar, in 1842 and
1846 respectively, altered the situation and
marked a turning-point in the political and
social evolution of Nigeria. Missionary
enterprise turned the white man's activity in
Nigeria into a veritable political and social
force. So formidable did it become that by
the end of the nineteenth century it threatened to overthrow the Islamic revolution
which had occurred between 1804 and 1831
in Northern Nigeria.20
It should be noted that Christianity made its missionary progress
through provision of social services, such as schools and hospitals,
rather than through any form of violent crusade. Many pupils and
students who attended Christian established schools became
converted through the process of indoctrination. Many elderly
persons who received healing in the Christian-established hospitals
also became converted with their household. When an elder was
too rooted in Af rel and could not convert, he could permit his children
to be converted. Later, many mothers were converted through their
children. In essence, Afrel facilitated the spread of Christianity, to a
great extent. What the Afrelists were not alert to was the fact that
many Christian missionaries and their African converts were
blackmailing Afrel. And in the course of time, as Christianity gained a
greater percentage of the population, it stood in the way of certain
Afrel festivals in some towns, as earlier noted. The situation is
reminiscent of the Roman Empire where Christians were initially
persecuted, but became persecutors after gaining the upper hand.
In the words of Schreck:
In A.D. 381, Theodosius declared
Christianity the only official religion of the
Roman Empire and moved to end paganism.
The numbers of Christians soared and led
to the problem of many people joining t he
Church for political expedience. It was
now easier and more comfortable to be
a Christian than a pagan, or a follower of
any other religion.21
In a similar vein, Dopamu notes that both Islam and Christianity
regard Afrel as an object for elimination. In his words:
Islam and Christianity won converts so much
so that Afrel, for some time, appeared
moribund. Indoctrination gave birth to
contempt of the religion and it was regarded
with utter disgust and disdain by many. It
was fashionable for people to identify themselves with Christianity or Islam, since these
were regarded as the religions of the enlightened.22
Yet, through thin and thick, Christianity co-exists with Afrel in
Southern communities, much better than what obtains with Islam in
the Northern parts of the country. Islam seems to be much more
vigorous in eliminating Afrel from many towns and villages in the North.
Even llorin, originally a core Yoruba town, no longer celebrates any
Afrel festival, since Islam became solidly entrenched in the town
through a Jihad. What is more, the core Islamic North now regards
llorin as a Northern town, and as headquarters of llorin Emirate.
It should be noted that initially Islam firmly resisted the introduction of
Christianity to the North. Historical records have it that the
evangelisation of Northern Nigeria before 1930 could not have been
said to be progressive. This was because:
The
Emirs
insisted
that
the
missionaries should not preach the
Gospel in their territories and the
colonial authorities consented to this out
of political expediency. Nevertheless, the
C.M.S., the Sudan Interior Mission (now
Evangelical Church of West Africa) and
the Sudan United Mission were allowed
to begin missionary work in Zaria and
Bida, Pategi and Wase respectively.
But after 1930, missionary activities in
the North became more encouraging.23
Unfortunately, this study could not discover the level of dialogue, if
any, that went into Christian evangelisation of different parts of the
North. In 1993, Alana observed that dialogue was a possibility that
had not been explored in inter-religious relationships in Nigeria.24 In
2001; Madaki also noted that, "So far there is no formal structure for
collaboration between Christians and Muslims" except that "informal
opportunities come up at every turn, especially for joint action in
matters of local concern." On this point, Madaki cited John
Onaiyekan, a Catholic Archbishop, to support himself.25 One is aware
that the federal government has established a National Religious
Council, comprising representatives of the three principal religions
in the country, to forestall religious tension in the land. But its
effectiveness is not for discussion in this section.
On the local scene, there is the example of the Catholic Diocese of
Ijebu-Ode which has an "Interreligious Dialogue Commission." The
body is reported as having organised four public fora between June
11, 2000 and March 15, 2002. The report has it that:
The fora witnessed the attendance of
between 60-300 participants. We made
'Unity among God's Creatures' as the
theme of the inter-dialogue. We took the
fora to different locations in the Diocese:
Sagamu, Ijebu-Ode, and Odogbolu
respectively. Three speakers from the three
main religions spoke on the theme/topic from
the perspective of their religions. They
pointed out that God is the Creator of us all.
It is very important for us to live as children
of the same Father. Our commission has
been recognised as open to other religions,
and a peacemaker, such that we have
received many invitations to bring a public
forum to different areas in the Diocese.26
This type of dialogical effort can be said to be theological in nature. It
is possible that many unsung socio-religious dialogues take
place in many Nigerian communities. The possibility is predicated
on the existence of religious peace that is perceivable in many
communities.
In his book, Inter-Religious Dialogue: The Nigerian Experience,
Bidmos traces the origin of Muslim-Christian dialogue in Nigeria. He
observes that:
To start with, the Muslims found the method
used by the missionaries for evangelisation
offensive especially the use of education as
bait to de-lslamise Muslim homes. The
emergent discussions ranged between
asking for a free hour on Friday to fulfil an
important religious obligation and a provision
for the Muslim youth education system that
should be devoid of Christian colouration.
Such isolated cases of discussions and
consultations represented the very early
forms of inter-religious dialogue in Nigeria.27
He highlights four forms of inter-religious dialogue that obtain in
Nigeria:
1.
Conferences on inter-religious dialogue that are sometimes
organised by some university departments of religious
studies.
2.
Journals, such as that belonging to the Nigerian Association
for the Study of Religions, and Orita: Ibadan Journal of
Religious Studies. (He notes that although the journals are
not floated for inter-religious dialogue perse, their implication
for that purpose is obvious, since scholars of various faiths
contribute papers t o them.
3.
The designers of the undergraduate syllabus in religious
studies in Nigerian universities have fashioned it in a way that
will ensure cross fertilisation for students majoring in religious
studies. In a nutshell, the students are made to take one or
more courses in religious studies other than their own area of
specialisation. That means, for instance, that a student
majoring in Islamic studies is made to offer some courses in
Christian and Afrel studies (and vice versa).
4.
Individual Efforts. Here, Bidmos notes that "Professor Ismail
Balogun of the University of llorin... designed many
programmes that brought Muslims and Christians to
face-to-face discussions on several occasions." In the same
vein, "Dr. C.S. Momoh of the University of Lagos" originated
the "National Association for Religious Tolerance (NARETO)".
Abdul Kareem Hussein is said to be the brain behind the
"Islamic Study Group of Nigeria (ISGON)" whose mission is
Da'wah, and so focuses "on the relationship between the
Muslims and Christians".28
In addition, one can mention some other academic efforts, such as
the books by Dopamu, 29Raji30and Oduyoye.31 These books are
not dialogical as such, but they contain contributions from scholars
from various religions. The limitation of these efforts and those
mentioned above is that the factors which usually cause tension go
beyond theological differences. A deep look into the issues reveals
socio-political and economic rivalry as being the main bone of
contention under the smokescreen of religious allegations. Hence,
as earlier noted, Christianity monopolised the Roman Empire, and
the Emirs resisted the introduction of Christianity to Northern Nigeria.
Thus, dialogue may suffer where ulterior motives reign.
The Effectiveness of Muslim-Christian Dialogue in Nigeria
The word dialogue is a positive term, which connotes peace or the
search for peace. With specific reference to inter-religious dialogue,
Oloso notes that:
Inter-reiigious dialogue can be defined as
a forum purposefully created to generate
contacts, discussions and interactions
between two or more different religious
groups with a view to bringing about an atmosphere of peaceful co-existence... Its
objective should be to discuss the various
aspects of the problem that poses a threat
to the peaceful co-existence between different religious groups.:i:>
When this concept is applied to Muslim-Christian relationship in
Nigeria, it can be said that dialogue has been effective, to a great
extent, in many communities, with particular reference to the South
(from the East to the West). That is not to rule-out occasional and
isolated clashes, but these will be nothing compared to what obtains
in many parts of Northern Nigeria which is said to be dominated
by Muslims. Kaduna, Kano and Plateau States are particularly
notorious for wanton destruction of lives and property on the grounds
of religious clashes. It seems that the original objection to the
introduction of Christianity to the North, which dates back to the
colonial days, as earlier noted in this paper, has not disappeared in
totality. As recent as 2004, one reads that:
Not only that Christians are being denied lands
to build places of worship, they are not even
employed in some of the Moslem states in
the North. You go and find out. The highest
office to which a Christian can be employed
is a clerk not a director or what have you.33
The implication is that religious clashes are much more sociopolitically and economically motivated than being spiritually
engendered. Theologically speaking, many Muslims and
Christians would agree that more things bind both Islam and
Christianity together than divide them. As a religion that professes
that all its divinities are agents of God, Afrel is also said to have a lot
in common with Christianity and Islam, spiritually and morally. An
Afrelist, Yemi Elebuibon, who is a Yoruba diviner of the Orunmila
order, notes, for instance, that:
Jesus Christ offered Himself as a
sacrifice in order to save mankind.
Also in the Islamic way, Ibrahim was
trying to sacrifice his only son to God
and he was replaced by a ram. And
in traditional religion known as Orisa,
it occurred to Orunmila when he
married Princess at Ido called Oroye
who gave birth to Olomo and was
sold as a slave to lle-lfe, to make
sacrifice to Orunmila. But when
Orunmila discovered that Olomo was
the only child, he was replaced by a
she-goat. Since then, human sacrifice
has been abolished by both
Christians, Muslims and traditional
worshippers.34
Elebuibon made the point to stress that the money-making ritual
killing of fellow human beings that is common nowadays is strange
to Afrel. Indirectly, his analysis indicates a basic theological element
of belief that is common to Christianity, Islam and Afrel.
Nevertheless, Christians and Muslims in Nigeria forget what unites
them and emphasise what divides them except whenever their
personal interests dictate otherwise. For instance, in 2004, when
Mallam EI-Rufai,the Minister of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory,
was demolishing houses, including churches and mosques which
he tagged illegally erected buildings, both Christians and Muslims
united in prayer and petition for him to stop the demolition. The
reporter puts it this way:
Muslims and Christians in Kubwa, Abuja's
foremost satellite town have decided to bury
their differences and join forces to get God
to stop FCT Minister, Mallam Nasir EI-Rufai's
further demolition of structures in that town.
Threatened residents under the aegis of
Kubwa Resident Welfare Association
(KUREWA) suspended religious hostilities
and mobilised themselves into a prayer front
after it appeared that all human entreaties
had failed in appealing to the soft side of the
minister.35
Note the expression, "suspended religious hostilities," which
expresses the fact of sustained hostility between the two religions,
particularly in Northern Nigeria.
Like in the developed nations of the Western world, Nigeria has
enshrined the principle of state secularly in its constitution. State
secularity implies that "The Government of the Federation or of a
State shall not adopt any religion as State Religion." According to
Balogun, this proviso is contained in section 10 of the 1979 Constitution. He also notes how the proviso has not been taken seriously
by both the Federal and State governments, since they still organise annual pilgrimages to Mecca and Jerusalem through publicly
funded pilgrims' boards; and the federal government has a National Religious Council.36 Certainly, the beneficiaries of these violations are mostly Muslims and Christians.
It would appear that many scholars who insist that Nigeria should
not be reckoned as a secular state but a multi-religious state are
not aware that, because Nigeria is multi-religious, it is better to
treat it as a secular state, that is, a state that does not adopt any
religion as a state religion. That seems to be the only way by
which a government can be fair to all the citizens. Balogun
notes, for instance, that "Nigeria should be recognised not as an
absolutely secular state but as a multi-religious state". Yet, he is
complaining that when many Nigerian elites "get to the corridors
of power, they place their religion before them and use it as a force
to be reckoned with in terms of staff recruitment, policy
making, students admission into educational institutions, and
indeed in the award of scholarships to students among many other
things".37 That, basically, is what state secularity aims at
forestalling. State secularity does not mean objection to God or
religion, but that the State apparatus belongs to every citizen of
the State and not in a special way to any religion. Humanly
speaking, it would seem that the only way to ensure justice and
fairness to all is to free the State from religious encumbrances, as
implied in the principle of state secularity.
Some governments in Nigeria have gone beyond sponsoring some
people on pilgrimages to Mecca and Jerusalem. They now provide
food to those fasting in the month of Ramadan, build mosques, and
donate huge amounts of public funds to church-building, rather than
regarding these as the private affairs of each religion. For instance,
Ogunmakin reports that, "As his contribution towards the propagation of Islam, Governor Attahiru Dalhuatu Bafarawa of Sokoto State
is to construct ninety mosques in different communities". According
to Ogunmakin, the announcement was made by "the Special Adviser on Religious Affairs, Alhaji Abubakar Tarawa".38
As a matter of fact, there seems to be no known policy that can
check politicisation of religion better than state secularity. Some
scholars, such as Balogun, hold ttoat Islam cannot be fully practised
unless "Shari-ah law" is fully entrenched. Yet, Shari'a implies theocracy which is inconsiderate to fully introduce in a pluralistic society
in which people have different perceptions of what theocracy is all
about. A Guardian editorial relates the catastrophe and agony that
Sudan went through when President Nimeiri imposed Shari'a on that
country:
In 1983 the government of President Nimeiri
imposed the Islamic shari'a law on the whole
country, in utter contempt for the religious and
political sensibilities of the Christians and
animist Sudanese in the country's south.
Surely enough, an army battalion based at
Bor mutinied and fled into the bush under
Colonel Garang's leadership. The rebels
became the nucleus of the SPLA and its
political wing, the Sudan People's Liberation
Movement. For the next 21 years Sudan was
engulfed in a bloody civil war, the second in
the country's chequered history, which
resulted in the death of over one and half
million Sudanese, mostly civilians.39
It can be argued that Nigerian Muslims are not aiming at imposing
Shari'a on the whole country. Yet, a dual legal system of equal weight
within the same society has its unwholesome implications
socio-politically and economically. Besides, Islamic clerics may come
to learn that many Muslims are not comfortable with the full
implementation of the Shari'a law. Toyin Akinosho observes that:
The thing that convinces you of the
liberalness of the Egyptian society is the sight
of Saudis in night clubs in Cairo. To escape
the harsh Shari'a laws that make any form
of leisure a sin in their own country, Saudis
escape to Cairo in droves, and lap it all up in
the city's numerous hang outs... Cynical taxi
drivers joke that Saudis come to Cairo
every weekend to "warm up".40
Thus, the earlier it is realised that the law is made for human beings
and not vice versa, the better. Akinosho also relates how Hosni
Mubarak, the Egyptian President, checks Islamic fundamentalists.
She notes that: "The major reason why terrorism is not fashionable
in Egypt is that the government puts it down by force." As she
further notes, "President Hosni Mubarak snuffs out any trace of
Islamic fundamentalism, whenever he detects one."41
The foregoing highlights the importance of enforcing peace where
dialogue is unable to resolve issues. Dialogue to be successful,
must be motivated by the spirit of love and mutual desire for peace.
However, while genuine love cannot be enforced, positive peace can
be enforced, as the Egyptian experience demonstrates. Of course,
force is not a desirable element, but it has its own place in human life
it can help to restore peace, while people continue hide and seek
with dialogue. In dialogue, people can say what they do not mean;
whenever that happens constitutionalised adequate force can make
them sober, somehow.
One's observation is that wherever religious clashes are rife in
Nigeria, it is not usually dialogue but security agents and/or the courts
that can restore peace. For instance, in 2004, when religious clashes
broke-out in Kano, a report had it that:
Scores of young Muslim men had torched
and looted at least five Christian-run businesses and a delivery truck at Gyadi area in
Kano Municipal, a mainly Muslim district of
the city, triggering explosions in a cooking gas
store. Heavily armed policemen mobilised to
curtail the violence were racing around the
area in police jeeps sporadically firing warning shots... According to the statement, 'After due consultation with the State Security
Council, the Kano State Government has imposed a dusk-to-dawn
That is not to conclude that dialogue is of no value, but that it is not
always given the chance in volatile and explosive situations. Yet, at
any event, Nigerians must be made to live in peace whether fanatics
and violence-prone fundamentalists like it or not. Dialogue is not
always given a chance by Muslims and Christians who rival one
another, with each party aiming at outplaying the other arrogantly,
very often for socio-political and economic ulterior motives.
Conclusion
This study discovers that dialogue has been effective in Nigeria in
communities where the leaders naturally desire peace and harmony.
In many other instances, however, Muslim-Christian rivalry has been
intensive and hostile with hardly any room for dialogue. My
recommendation is that the secular status of Nigeria, as enshrined
in the 1979 constitution, should be strictly adhered to, if there are to
be equality and fair play socio-politically, economically, and
spiritually. That is the only way to tame religious favouritism, whereby
state security apparatus can be engaged to enforce peace whenever religious intolerance is on rampage, without minding whose
horse is gored. Since dialogue depends on love and honesty of
purpose which cannot be enforced, the government should not fail
in its duty to maintain peace and order equitably, without ruling out
the benefits of dialogue.
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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Ibid., p 240.
Tasie, G. O.M., '^African Culture, Modern Science and
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Bakoji., Sukuji," Uneasy Calm in Kaduna... as Soldiers
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Ezeobi Obinna, "CAN Reacts to Alleged Jihad by Muslims",
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Ibid.
Ganiyu Mutiu and NwozorNgozi "Census: NPC Insists on
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Oyekola Tunde "Crises Split Offa Muslims: Central Mosque
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Ibid.
Alana, p208.
Ayandele, E. A., (1991), The Missionary Impact on Modern
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Dopamu, P . Ade., in Abubakre R. D., M . T . Yaha, et a/.,
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Alana, p209.
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Ibid., p 2151.
25.
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Madaki, Augustine, (2001), p60f.
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Akinosho, Toyin, "Clubbing in Cairo in Spite of the
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