SHARIAH AGITATIONS, NOT THE CAUSE OF BOKO HARAM: A RESPONSE OF THE MUSLIM

STUDENTS SOCIETY OF NIGERIA (MSSN), NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS, TO THE

INFLAMMATORY AND ILL-MOTIVATED CLAIMS BY REVEREND FATHER MATTHEW HASSAN
KUKAH
The attention of the National Headquarters of the MSSN has been drawn to some misleading, false
and frivolous allegations made by the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Reverend Father Matthew
Hassan Kukah, recently. Father Kukah was making a keynote address at a conference themed The
Muslim Agenda for Nigeria: Challenges of Development and Good Governance organized by the
Islamic Welfare Foundation at Fountain University, Osogbo, Osun State capital. The address titled
Thoughts on the Future of Religion in Nigerias Politics was published on page 40 of Daily Trust
Newspapers edition of Sunday, 29th November, 2015. It was also partly reported in BBC Hausa
Service early morning broadcast of Tuesday December 1st, 2015.
MSSN finds it necessary to respond because Kukah is famous for making controversial,
inflammatory, glaringly false and history-distorting utterances, riding on the reputation he is deluded
to have possessed. He is one of the few wolves hiding in sheep skin whose true colour will continue
to manifest with the passage of time. For the records, the following responses are necessary.
To start with, it should be noted that Kukah, having succeeded in disuniting the North along ethnoreligious lines, is all out to cause disunity among Nigerian Muslims along geographical and ethnic
lines. That informed his consistent castigation of what he calls Northern Islam, Northern Muslim
elites, Islamic North and so on, since he was making the presentation in Osogbo, South western
Nigeria.
He also tried to prove that the Muslim political elites who brought Shariah implementation were not
serious on that as they were not violent. But the youth, who were serious about implementing the
shariah in body and spirit, resorted to Boko Haram since, according to what Kukah wants the world
to believe, Islam, kidnapping, rape and violence are synonymous and inseparable.
The islamophobic cleric labouriously tried to show that the Muslim North, throughout the ages of the
countrys history, has been consistently revolting whenever agitations for Shariah implementation
were not honoured or approved. This he did citing what he called a walkout in 1979, 1988, 1995
and beyond by fathers and grandfathers of Boko Haram insurgents. While we unequivocally assert
that true Muslims will forever agitate for the implementation of Shariah being the best, the only
comprehensive and humanity-friendly system ever, we challenge Kukah, or anyone for that matter, to
cite true (not history-distorting) instances when Muslims went violent in the name of clamour for
Shariah. It is on record that all shariah related violence in the country were initiated and started by
Non-Muslims in the North with the sole aim of stopping Shariah from being established. A mere
walkout should in no way be considered beyond the expression of dissentment, a universally known
inviolable human right. But history, through all panels of inquiry set up in the past, records that
Christians in Kaduna ( inspired by the Kukahs) resorted to violence in 2000/2001 when they realized

that they could not peacefully and democratically convince the Government and people of the State
on why the majority Muslims should not have their chosen Shariah legal system implemented on
their own selves. Therefore, contrary to the allegation and false analysis of Kukah, Muslims in the
North do not resort to violence when their quest for Shariah fails to be granted. Interestingly, it is his
people, Northern Christians, who do so.
The cleric also accused the Northern Muslim Elites of using Shariah/religion to gain cheap political
popularity, the disillusionment of youth from which caused Boko Haram. While we are not and cannot
be defending the said elites, we had expected Kukah to generalize such crafty tendency to cover
even their Christian counterparts. We agree that many elites do exploit the gullibility and vulnerability
of the masses by hiding under such volatile and delicate issues as religion, ethnicity or geography to
gain personal, political and socio-economic advantages; and one of those who do it and, sadly, get
celebrated blindly is Reverend Kukah himself. We expected the father to have acted like one by
preaching to all (Muslims and Christians alike) to eschew such ungodly practice.
Moreover, Reverend Kukah wanted to convince the world that Muslims should not, through
democratic processes, bring to the limelight any aspect of the Shariah. To him, we have to abandon
anything Islam if we want to practise modern democracy. This is because, to the nave Kukah, the
relationship between democracy and Islam or Shariah is that of mutual exclusiveness, such that,
where one is present, the other can never be found. But, reality, which Kukah purports to want
northern Muslims to embrace but which he ironically deliberately ignores, has shown that democracy
is a system in which the majority always have their way, provided the rights of the minority are
respected and not violated. Kukah should be educated that, as a global religion that is responsive to
all times, places and situations, Islam is compatible with democracy, monarchy and even military
regime. Its flexibly limited principles can be applied in different situations.
Let us say that, contrary to the demonizing picture Mr. Kukah is trying to paint, the Muslims in the
North are more accommodating than their Christian counterparts of the same region. Thus, while the
Muslim majority in Kaduna State (where Kukah comes from),have graciously and even unmeritedly
dashed their Christian brothers the Deputy Governorship position to carry them along, a reality
present also in Nasarawa, Gombe, Kogi and so on, the minority Muslims in Plateau cannot even
have a minority leader. In fact, they were denied even the right to be Jos North Local Government
Chairman some years ago through bloody means. But the Kukahs were mute. We should add that
Kukah, as a Christian cleric, was invited for a presentation in a Muslim gathering is in itself a proof
(the highest one for that matter) that Muslims are really accommodating and robust minded. After
querying why a nearby Christian should be made to pay the price of a crime committed by other
people of the same religion living far away whether in the country or beyond ( a true and
dispassionately objective an admonishment), the Bishop should have also preached against ethnoreligious cleansing attempts by his kinsmen in southern Kaduna and Plateau, even when he
peacefully resides at Sokoto,the seat of the famous Muslim caliphate and could be invited to deliver
a talk in Osogbo at a Muslim gathering.
In his characteristics subjective, illogical judgement, father Kukah vehemently resists all calims and
explanations that Boko Haram members, judging from the few caught who cannot even recite the

Quran, are neither representing Islam nor are they Muslims. His argument is that they claim to
represent and have been inspired by Islam. One begins to question father Kukahs exaggerated
erudite scholarship on peace and politics, considering his ignorance of the possibility of your enemy
to claim to be your agent in a bid to smear your name, as we can see presently epitomised in
ISIS/ISIL. What then can the Kukahs say about the Christians caught on 29th December,2011 trying
to bomb a church in Yenegoa of Bayelsa state; the nine Christian faithfulls that attacked a church at
Miya Barkate on 26th February, 2012; John Akpabus attempt at attacking Radio House, Abuja in
2012 and the recent arrest of John Trankil, a Boko Haram kingpin in Maiduguri, Borno state on 16th
November, 2015?
Perhaps it will be good to enlighten Reverend Kukah and other Islamophobics like him on the
objectives of the cherished Shariah of the Muslims. It is a system built on wisdom, mercy and justice
that has as its primary objectives the protection of religion, life, wealth/ property, intellect and
progeny/geneology. Thus any creed, belief, practice or transaction that contradicts these cardinal
principles and objectives is not only unIslamic but also anti-Islam, the claim of the actors to have any
affinity with the religion notwithstanding. We will continue to pray to Allah, just as we implore all
irrespective of religion to pray, that Allah assists the Federal Government and indeed all Nigerians to
bring to final end of "all atrocities in the country"
Muhammad Jameel Muhammad,
National Amir/President.