‘Do Not Condemn Sharia’ – Shagari Speaks On Nigeria Becoming An Islamic State

Bello Shagari, the grandson of the late former President Shehu Shagari, has taken to social media to say that Sharia should not be condemned in its totality.

Shagari in a long thread of post on Friday morning on his verified Twitter account stated categorically that Nigeria as a country is not an Islamic State and will never be.

The former President of the National Youth Council of Nigeria said though he had always defended Sharia itself as a religious instruction to Muslims, he never advocated for Sharia in Nigeria.

Shagari believes Sharia is not the only thing done wrong in the country, but that every other law in Nigeria is done wrongly. He pointed out that no members of any religion should attempt to forcefully impose their religion upon others.

His tweet reads: “First of all, I have never advocated for Sharia in Nigeria. It is glaringly clear that Nigeria is not an Islamic State and will never be.

“However, I have always defended sharia itself due to perceived Islamaphobia which usually condemns sharia instead of its improper usage NGR.

“No members of any religion should impose their religion upon others, and even Allah has commanded that ‘there is no compulsion in religion’. Therefore, imposing Islam upon others is even unislamic.

“Sharia is not the only thing done wrongly in Nigeria but every other law. Therefore, when criticizing sharia, we should be mindful not to be condemning it in general, as sharia in itself, is a religious instruction to Muslims, thereby making it offensive and Islamaphobic.”

Click the tweet below to read full thread:

First of all, I have never advocated for Sharia in Nigeria. It is glaringly clear that Nigeria is not an Islamic State and will never be.

However, I have always defended sharia itself due to perceived Islamaphobia which usually condemns sharia instead of its improper usage NGR.

— Bello Shagari (@Belshagy) May 28, 2021

Meanwhile, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) on Thursday vowed to resist any move by the Nigerian Senate to introduce Sharia law to the South-West region.
Speaking to newsmen in Oyo State, President of the PFN, Bishop Francis Wale Oke warned against any move by any group to introduce Sharia through the ongoing constitutional review being carried out by the Senate.

According to the PFN, such move could plunge the country into a major religious crisis.