Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, the secretary-general of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), has urged leaders in the South-West geopolitical zone to support the establishment of Sharia panels in each of the state there.
According to him, the establishment of Sharia panels, which are essentially Islamic scholar committees set up to resolve disputes over marriage and heirlooms, will promote lasting peace in the area.
Oloyede, who also serves as the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s (JAMB) registrar, was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday edition of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-political program.
He said Nigerian “leaders should have a rethink. For sustainable peace, there is nothing bad in Muslims having” Sharia courts in the South-West.
The proposed establishment of Sharia panels in South-West states like Ogun, Oyo, and others have recently sparked unrest in the region, with traditional institutions and the Christian community supporting the move, while state governments in Ogun and Oyo have also rejected the idea. However, despite the criticism, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, has emphasized the value of the panels as an alternative dispute resolution strategy for Muslims.
Oloyede said, “I think Nigeria is great and Nigeria will continue to be great, but it calls for a lot of rethought.” Recently, people are talking about Sharia Panels in South-West and I was just smiling, I was smiling that I had never seen that level of ignorance being displayed. Someone at the Shira Panel in Oyo State wrote a PhD thesis about it in 2007, which indicates that it had existed there prior to 2007. The author of that appraisal is currently an Ibadan professor. He is Prof Makinde, and the governor coincidentally is Makinde. I don’t know whether they are related”.
The former University of Ilorin vice Chancellor warned against creating unnecessary tension around it, especially in the South-West, where Muslims, Christians, and traditional institutions have coexisted peacefully for ages, because the issue is so trivial.
He, however, said the Muslims in the South-West are paying psychologically for the harmony enjoyed in the zone.
Oloyede said, “When you have such a situation (of religious tolerance) and you do not continue to monitor what you are doing, you will be living in the past. I’m a Muslim from the South-West. The South-West Muslims are responsible psychologically for the peace and harmony we are discussing.
The government grants churches license to hold legally arranged marriages, and couples who have disagreements with their spouses can resolve them in government-funded high courts.
“If there is a dispute in my marriage, where do I go? Because I wed in accordance with Islamic rites, the customary judge has no idea what my religion is and what laws apply to the grounds for our union. I will have to go to customary court. He would now decide whether to marry Muslims, and the Nigerian Constitution allows him to declare Sharia Courts of Appeal whenever the state of assembly permits it.
“In a number of places in the nation, particularly in the northern region, has there been a Sharia Court of Appeal.” When we say there is harmony, it means somebody is suffering in silence but when the person speaks, they say: ‘ Why are you making noise? ‘ “
Source: Channels TV
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