By
ENYIMBA It is with utmost
urgency that Enyimba wishes to bring to your attention,
the incremental but
gradual Islamization of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
by the
predominantly Muslim ruling class in Nigeria. According to a
study on Nigeria by the U.S.
Library of Congress for the Department of the Army, 47% of
Nigerians is
reportedly of the Muslim faith; 35% reportedly of the
Christian faith; and 18%
practice traditional religion. A majority of Nigerians 53%,
are thus
non-Muslim. The Nigerian
government, buffered by the Muslim dominated military
establishment, has
for long been dominated by the Northern Nigerian Muslims.
At independence
from Britain in 1960, Nigeria was established as a secular
state. Nigeria
unequivocally is a multi-nation state, with multi-ethnic,
and three main
religious groups. It is, however, sad
to note that prominent Northern Nigerian Muslims have
over the years been
stripping the country of its secular status, and are
gradually forcing
Islamic laws on the rest of the country. Why is it that
the majority
non-Muslims of Nigeria seem powerless to stop the
Islamization process, one may
ask? The answer is simple: the military machinery is behind
the Muslim North,
hence the emasculated non-Muslim majority is afraid to
protest. The followings are
examples of the unilateral acts by the Muslim-dominated
Nigerian governments towards
the gradual Islamization of Nigeria: ( 1) In 1986, the
then government of General Ibrahim Babangida unilaterally
signed up Nigeria
as a member of the Organization of Islamic Conference ( OIC
), ignoring the
sensitivities and objections of the 53% non-Muslim
Nigerians. This
eventually led to the unceremonious removal of Commodore
Ebitu Ukiwe, one of
the few Christians from Southern Nigeria in the then
ruling military
council, because he publicly exposed this unilateral
decision by the
predominantly Northern Muslim military
council. ( 2 ) Under the
leadership of the Abacha's military regime, the Nigerian
government adopted
a policy of not allowing females dressed in pants of any
sort to enter
Nigerian federal government buildings. Such manner of
dressing is supposed to be
un-Islamic. Any female who dared to disobey this policy was
subject to being
flogged, with ox-hide, taunted and called humiliating names.
The people
enforcing this policy were members of the armed forces and
the police. In the
Federal Capital, Abuja, toilet facilities for women are set
up to mimic the style
used in predominantly Muslim countries. Non-Muslim women
who are forced to
use these facilities complain that they have to squat down
to floor level to
ease themselves, a posture that is not accommodating of
pregnant women.
What will it be next? One wonders if a compulsory wearing of
the veil will soon
be forced on all Nigerian women. ( 3 ) On Friday,
May 9, 1997, Moammar El Ghadaffi of Libya visited Northern
Nigeria to lead
prayers and to inaugurate a mosque: the Kofar Kata Jumat
mosque in Kano.
During his one- and- half hour address to Northern Nigerian
Muslim congregation
in the mosque, he called on the Muslims to " rise up,
fight and crush all
anti-Islamic movements as the great leaders of Islam
did". He also urged
that " anybody who went against Islam religion should be
ruthlessly dealt
with." Colonel Ghadaffi's visit was sanctioned by the
Abacha government,
which bestowed on him the highest honor the Nigerian
government can
bestow on anyone: The Grand commander of the Federal
Republic of
Nigeria. ( 4 ) On June 15,
1997, the Nigerian industry minister in the Abacha military
government, a
Northern Muslim, representing the Muslim controlled
government, joined the
presidents of Iran, Turkey, and Indonesia, and the prime
ministers of Malaysia, Egypt,
Pakistan, and Bangladesh in Istanbul, Turkey, in signing
a declaration
establishing what they described as " the Eight Developing
Islamic Nations" or
"D8" for short. Article 5 of the
declaration, according to the reputable news magazine, THE WEEK
of May 26, 1997, states " members agreed that an
appropriate
mechanism should be established to liaise with other
relevant organizations
particularly the OIC". OIC you will recall is the
abbreviation for the
organization of Islamic conference. And of recent,
under the so called Democratically-elected government in
Nigeria, some
states in the Northern part of the country like Zamfara, and
Niger have
unilaterally instituted sharia laws in their respective
states in total violation of
and contempt for the Nigerian current constitution. As if
this was not
enough, a group of these self motivated Muslims in the North
as reported in the
News paper, Vanguard dated Feb. 14, 2000 convened what they
called " a national
seminar on sharia' and issued a pronouncement calling for
the institution of
sharia all over Nigeria. The groups reasoning for taking
this position was
motivated by describing sharia as " the fundamental right
of Muslims". This
group should better explain to everyone why the fundamental
rights of the
Muslim minority in Nigeria should supercede the fundamental
rights of the
non-Muslim majority in Nigeria. The above listed
facts are verifiable instances of trends showing how the
Muslin-dominated
governments of Nigeria have over the years unilaterally
promulgated and
implemented laws and edicts calculated at Islamizing the
Nigerian state,
without regard for the fundamental rights of the 53% of
Nigerians who are
non-Muslims. Enyimba fears that the institution of Muslim
Sharia law for the whole
country is not too far off, and should not be
allowed to happen.
A disaster of unimaginable proportions would be unleashed
on the non-Muslim
Nigerian majority should people sit idly by and allow the
designs of some of
the selfish Muslims in Nigeria to take hold. If sharia is
imposed all over
Nigeria, the Igbo nation and the Eastern part of Nigeria
will unequivocally
go its own way. The reason Enyimba
is bringing this particular issue to everyone's
attention is to alert non Muslin Nigerians and peace loving
people of the world, of
what is going on in Nigeria, and to bring to the fore front
the potentially
explosive nature of these acts by the Muslim-dominated
governments of
Nigeria. The Muslim world, represented by Ghadaffi and his
allies in Iran,
Iraq, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, etc. are ready to assist their
counterparts in
Nigeria, to carry on their Jihad against Christians and
non-Muslims should
their design of gradual Islamization of the country
attains its apex.
Enyimba hopes and
prays that peace loving Christians, Jews, Gentiles,
and Muslims will
not sit by and watch the non-Muslims in Nigerian get
slaughtered, and
those who would survive the BIafra holocaust subjugated to
demeaning and
dehumanizing conditions, as is the case in Southern Sudan.
Help Enyimba says NO to
the grand designs of Islamization of Nigeria. Thank you for your
attention and expected action on this potentially explosive
condition brewing in
Nigeria. Signed: M. O Ene,
Ph.D ( Chairman ) and D. Ozokwelu, Ph.D (
Secretary-General)
TRENDS
AND FACTS on THE ISLAMIZATION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF
NIGERIA
February 20, 2000.
 MONEYWATCHMoney minting machines reportedly used by late Gen. Abacha and his group recovered from Ismaila Gwarzo's house. |
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