Professor Isaac Olawale Albert of the University of Ibadan has said the desire for Sharia law among sections of the Muslim population in Northern Nigeria was genuine but had, in his view, been exploited by politicians for political purposes.
Albert, a professor of peace and conflict studies, said many ordinary people who demanded Sharia genuinely believed it would provide a more just society.
Speaking with PrimeStar News Online, he recalled the emergence of Sharia-based legal systems in some Northern states in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
According to him, the issue was not simply created by politicians because many people at the grassroots genuinely wanted Sharia.
He, however, said political leaders subsequently exploited the demand.
Albert cited the experience of Zamfara State following the introduction of Sharia in 2000.
He recalled the case of Bello Buba Jengebe, whose hand was amputated after he was convicted of stealing a cow.
The professor contrasted such punishment with the conduct of political elites whom he said were themselves accused of stealing public resources.
According to him, the experience contributed to disappointment among ordinary people because the same standards expected of them were not consistently applied to the political elite.
Albert said this contradiction contributed to the eventual weakening of confidence in the political implementation of Sharia.
He linked the resulting frustration to the wider evolution of radical Islamist movements in Northern Nigeria, including the emergence of Mohammed Yusuf and Boko Haram.
The professor said politicians often revived the Sharia issue during elections but abandoned it afterwards.
He argued that this pattern contributed to the perception among some ordinary Muslims that political leaders had manipulated their religious aspirations for electoral purposes.
Albert nevertheless maintained that the grassroots demand for Sharia should not simply be dismissed.
He said many people who advocated Sharia genuinely believed in the system and were not necessarily motivated by political considerations.
On whether Sharia could coexist with Nigeria’s constitutional system, Albert said that where citizens genuinely demanded it, governments should engage with them rather than simply imposing their own worldview.
He referred to the example of the Ward Development Programme under former Niger State Governor Aliyu Babangida, where communities used development funds according to their own priorities, including building mosques, schools and wells.
Albert said development priorities could be influenced by the worldview of a community.
He therefore argued that governments should understand the values and aspirations of the people they govern.
He said there was nothing inherently wrong with a Northern state expressing a desire for Sharia, provided the issue was handled through dialogue and within the constitutional framework.
For the South-West, he said any such demand should similarly be subjected to discussion with the people concerned.
Albert stressed that the important issue was not for government to impose its own worldview on communities but to engage citizens and find workable arrangements.
He said the failure of political leaders to deal honestly with such issues could deepen mistrust between citizens and the state.
