Nigeria’s Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and expression. By the law, a Nigerian is protected from the risk of arrest for expressing his ideas to other Nigerians. Under no law can el-Rufai arrest you for speaking freely about God or man. Chapter IV of the 1999 constitution guarantees Nigerians those rights. The Kaduna governor will need to amend to Constitution to do that. The governor intends to arrest people for sharing their ideas about salvation but leave people free to talk about sex, share porno mags and blue films on the street. That’s how absurd the idea is.
Where have Christian churches in Nigeria been found to preach radical terrorism? Where have Shia mosques in Nigeria preached radical terror? We have rather seen the Shia Muslims in Kaduna and the IMN working with Christian leaders like Pastor Yohanna Buru to defend churches from Boko Haram wahhabist takfiri terror attacks. This is what Nigeria is proud of. So what is the governor fingering at? It is obvious the governor is confused or enthusiastically pursuing strange agenda.
I challenge the Kaduna administrator to provide us examples of Christian or Shia Muslim radical extremist preaching from online archives. So why would the governor illegally take a wide broom to persecute a broad spectrum of Nigerians for extremist criminality found in a limited sector–the Wahhabi and Salafist takfiri inspired minority who are prone to terror? When it comes to terror, the world knows where to find it. The entire world is witnessing as the Saudi regime is in mafia style blackmailing America with a $750 billion economic war threat not to release the indicting 28 pages of 911 documents and pass a bill that allows them (Saudi Arabia) be held culpable for the dastardly 911 terror tragedy. This is a self admission of terror sponsorship of the worst order. So when it comes to monitoring for radical extremism, only those under wahhabi takfiri influence, be they Imams of state governors, need be monitored and the police is already designated to do so under extant laws.
We have laws to take care of social disturbance, violence and incitement. We have laws to take care of hate speech and social misconduct. There are laws that address threats to life, be they religious or over females. The same laws are sufficient and in existence.
The police have the duty to monitor communities for their behavior. The police spy on these radical mosques or cabinets or any other assemblies and arrest and charge extremist wahhabi (inspired or sponsored) Imams, individuals or state and federal administrators to court. This is how it is done in the civilized world. You do not violate the constitutional guarantees of freedom to assemble and discuss any matter including religious. How about parties? Can people hold parties and play music like the one held at the stadium recently where the President was invited? Is it only the God industry that el-Rufai is targeting? What about if I belong to the Humba Dumba faith. Who will monitor me?
El-Rufai chose two religious leaders/sects to monitor the host of faiths in Kaduna. Which one of the two will be assigned to me of the Humba Dumba faith to invigilate my doctrine? Or I will be invigilated by these two faiths who know nothing about mine? Or is el_Rufai planing to ban all other faiths and make Kaduna a two religious faith and two sect state?
If any new targeted law must urgently be added to the constitution for protection of the citizenry, it is a new bill against politicians’ corruption, political party insolence and political paid and promoted hooliganism and terror. The bane of Nigeria.
And then the question of the moral authority of governor el-Rufai to institute such draconian laws is on the table. Can a governor be entrusted to monitor religious preaching who has just made a four-month delayed confession of the extremist and radical mass burial of hundreds of minority Shia Muslims, men and women, boys and girls, babies and the elderly in a single mass grave, setting off to Saudi Arabia for some chum change while the families besieged his office for the bodies and whereabouts of their loved ones?
The governor of Kaduna should be cautioned before he shreds Nigeria into pieces! There will be no grave large enough to contain the masses.
Dr. Peregrino Brimah; @EveryNigerian
