Abuja, Nigeria - MUSLIM delegates at the National Political Reform Conference have dissociated themselves from the call by the Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria for a boycott of the confab.
Speaking yesterday in Abuja, leader of the Muslim delegation to the conference, Alhaji Abdulkadir Oriire denied knowledge of the moves and directed all enquiries to the Alhaji Datti Ahmed-led group.
In the view of Alhaji Oriire, a former Grand Khadi of Kwara State and Secretary General of the Jaamatul Nasril Islam, "all Muslims are agreed that the imbalance at the conference should be corrected. That's what led the leadership of Muslims, not the Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria, to meet with the President and he is making efforts to address the issue. That's what I know. As a result, we now have co-secretaries. I am a member of confab, all questions should be directed to the leadership of the Muslims. I am waiting for the outcome of the discussions between the Muslims leaders and the President."
Told that the Datti Ahmed-led group dismissed the appointment of co-secretaries as insignificant, Alhaji Oriire said, "what do they want again? If the Supreme Council for Sharia is not satisfied, I cannot speak for them, they are the right persons to ask."
Also yesterday, delegates representing the civil society groups from the North at the conference addressed a press conference where they joined issues with the Muslim leaders.
Mallam Shehu Sani who spoke for them said he took strong exception to the declaration by the Supreme Council for Sharia, which he said would neither serve the interest of the North, Muslims nor the entire country.
Mallam Sani who gave the names of those representing the civil society groups in the North at the confab as Professor Audu Idris, representing the North East, Abdul Miliki, representing the North Central and himself, representing the North West said they regarded the threat as retrogressive.
His words: "We have decided that we are not boycotting the conference, based on the sentiments expressed by the Supreme Council for Sharia. We have also raised the issue based on the advertorial in which they listed those holding political appointments under this administration for which they categorized them under Muslims and Christians. We categorically dissociate ourselves with any sentiments associated with that. We believe in competence and merit of Nigerians. We also want to say that there is no Muslim here at this conference who has ever said he is not competent enough to represent the interests of Muslims.
"We wonder why that body chose to pick on the National Political Reform Conference to raise such a very sensitive religious issue. They should know that by our experiences as people from the Northern part of Nigeria for the past six years, we are living witnesses to series of ethno-political conflicts that have consumed over 200,000 lives in Jos, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Kano and some other hot spots in the North. It is subversive at this time and it is not in the interest of peace or democracy, unity or stability of this country for the Supreme Council for Sharia at this very time, to use this issue as a bargaining chip.
"We are aware that the leading elements that are calling for this boycott were also the leading light that called for the boycott of the polio vaccination last year."
Mallam Sani queried the motive behind the call when the Muslim leaders had, in the past shied away from condemning the infringement of the fundamental rights of Nigerians, including leading Northerners and Muslims. Listing such cases under previous administrations, the civil rights campaigners said "we want to make it abundantly clear that the region, the North, that is making claims to the political leadership of this country in 2007 will be sending a wrong message by this kind of intolerance. We do not believe that this is the best time to raise such issues.
"We also intend to raise the question why they are publishing the statistics of political office holders under this administration. Why didn't they publish such statistics under the Buhari, IBB, Abacha and Abdulsalami administrations? Where were the leaders of the Supreme Council of Sharia when the late General Sani Abacha threw thousands of followers of Zaki Zaki into jail? Where were they when Sultan Dasuki was deposed? Where were they when the late General Shehu Yar'Adua was arrested and thrown into cell? They didn't say anything about it. We know there was a time that Buhari regime introduced licences for Muslim preachers.
"We know that there was a time that that regime increased the fare for going to Mecca by about 300 per cent, they said nothing then. We know that there was a time that bulldozers were rolled out to demolish mosques described as illegal structures. So why must they do that now? They should leave members of the National Political Reform Conference alone."
The Northern civil rights groups called on all Northerners to ignore the boycott instruction because it would not help the region's bid for presidency in 2007. His words: "I don't think it is in the interest of the North to raise such issues now".