PUBLIC EXPRESSION VERSUS PUBLIC REPRIMAND. Re: Prof Kurfi in the current domain: How our Politicians lack the Strategic Mindsets: By M K ILYASU

PUBLIC EXPRESSION VERSUS PUBLIC REPRIMAND.

Re: Prof Kurfi in the current domain: How our Politicians lack the Strategic Mindsets:

By M K ILYASU

The Right to Self Expression is the right to freedom of expression guaranteed by Section 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

Prof Kurfi’s interview

The most important issue facing the polity is not public policy issue but are the questions of fundamental political beliefs.

Have you ever encountered someone who staunchly defends a politician, a leader, or a public figure, regardless of the controversial statements they make? I’m sure you’ve all seen those devotees who passionately praise their chosen idol despite obvious flaws in logic and judgment.

Let me ask you this. Have you ever been baffled why an otherwise intelligent person blindly follows a pundit who routinely argues against common interest?

Before we get into Carlo Cipolla’s arguments on human behaviour, we may as well understand the pattern upon which he based his deductions.

Cipolla categorized people into four behavioral groups. 1. The intelligent, those who benefit both themselves and others. 2. The BANDITS, THOSE WHO BENEFIT ONLY THEMSELVES BY HARMING OTHERS 3. The unfortunate, those who cause harm while trying to help others. 4. The stupid, those who harm both themselves and others. We may therefore infer from his satirical yet insightful treatise that our observations are correlated to his deductions requiring serious intervention to prevent further deterioration of our safety.

Silence you may argue keeps the system working, BUT in a way that’s UNJUST. We are not afraid, but we are SERIOUSLY CONCERN ABOUT EHAT IS KEPT AWAY FROM US ON PURPOSE.
That was the import of Prof Kurfi’s interview.

Why should we not listen to the interview as an opportunity to learn and start organising our thoughts and actions differently. You said is a mad person who keeps doing the same thing expecting different results. The security infrastructure must be REVISITED.

I’m not an expert, but I love learning. We recalled Gov Bello Aminu Masari of Katsina sought and dialogue with Bandits, just as his homologous in Zamfara and Kebbi in order to stop kidnapping and Banditry activities in their respective states.
The modality used by those states to assuage the Bandits to my understanding never worked. We still witness increased kidnappings in those states.

Supporting the explicit legal and political norms of any society is a moral order that forbids certain behaviors, glorifies others, values different goals as more or less worthy, and guides how its members make sense of the world around them. It is through this moral framework that nations and individuals find meaning. And when it collapses, people, unable to endure life without meaning quickly find new ways to fill the void.

The Nigerian nation is presently in the final or critical stages, struggling of finding a meaning of its existence. It would be uncharitable to call it “A Failed State”, but all indicators point to it.

Tribalism, insecurity and religious intolerance are old instruments lately refitted, and what recommends them into our social order is the society that has lost its bearings and its efficacy.

Let us briefly consider legal imperatives that apply in Katsina in particular and draw parallel to what Prof Kurfi’s interview highlights.

LEGAL OPTIONS

Sharia Penal Code enabled the then Northern Region to apply Islamic criminal law alongside Nigeria secular legal system. The system worked as it prevented religious disharmony and punished crimes including MURDER.

Under the Katsina State Sharia Penal Code Law, 2001, since Katsina State is Sharia Compliant, homicide is dealt with in Chapter IX (Retaliatory Offences/Qisas). The principal provisions are sections 142 to 145. These provisions clearly gives the govt the legal and legitimacy to punish offenders in line with Islamic Law, if it chooses, as well as existing statutory laws.

Section 145 – Intentional Homicide in the Course of (Hirabah) Armed Robbery/Banditry, Kidnapping leading to severe bodily injuries or death, the punishment is DEATH.

It should be noted that since the resumption of democratic governance in 1999, we have continued to experience clerical disputes hell bent to establish the Sharia law legibility which was ALREADY IN EXISTENCE AND OPERATIONAL.

Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution further recognizes Sharia Courts of Appeal for specified matters and remains the supreme law of the country. The coexistence of state Sharia criminal codes with the federal constitutional framework has been the subjected to an ongoing legal, constitutional, and human rights debates.

POLITICAL

Just as Nigeria sought to rid itself from the Imperial educational system that was designed to export doctrines not to build nations, it adopted American Presidential system as well as its Educational structures, send her youth abroad to study but have failed to create factories as well as cultivate fields, and construct hospitals.

NOW, the Government is reported of abandoning the American educational model of 6-3-3-4 into what only God knows. So, the pertinent question is where do we turn to import, to copy as well as to learn in order to improve our communities? Who should we copy AGAIN since both models have failed to achieve our developmental goals?

Nigeria from its declaration at independence is a secular state, fought civil war from 1966-1979 to remain secular, where the national constitution sits above all religious codes and doctrines, that believably works pari-passu at ensuring a viable society.

Prof Kurfi should not be condemned for stating the obvious and bringing to fore what you must all believe our govt could do to prevent the ongoing social treachery as attacks on our communities by our so-called Moslem brethren continues un-abetted.

Leadership and wisdom are not measured by votes or political standing, but by the measures taken to address wrongs through judicial process and where possible political fiat. Our justice system embodied in the constitution remains the driving force of our survival.

For years, the Northern states have endured clerical misunderstandings, forcing some 12 States with Kwara making the 13th state to become Sharia compliant, but the MAIN JUDICIAL INJUNCTION ON DEATH CAUSED BY BANDITRY/KIDNAPPING remains same even where the Northern Penal Code remains applicable. Its concluding part remains universal in application with the following declaration, namely that
the Penal Code expressly includes DESTH SENTENCE for causing death with knowledge that death is likely to result from your action.

The Katsina Sharia Code’s definition of sections 142 to 145 is framed to punish by death for intentional crimes leading to Death. It emphasizes intention, while also including rashful or negligent acts.

It is therefore worth reminding ourself that whatever contribution is made into drawing the attention of govt to her social obligations should not be taken as an affront or indicative of failure. People like us want to see govt becoming more responsive to its constitutional responsibilities.

Nigeria sworn to remain a secular state, BUT, even where states decide to apply Sharia law as a state law, we are, and will remain, a secular nation where every citizen, a Muslim, Christian, or Traditionalist stands equal before the civil law of the Federal Republic. Wilful Murder begets Death penalty. You know it and God prescribes it.

Our founding fathers built this land on solidarity, not sectarian hatred. The states of Zamfara, Sokoto, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, Gombe, Borno, Yobe, Nasarawa, Niger, Kogi and Kwara amongst others that privileges one religious legal system over another indeed is witnessing permanent civil conflict. Our civic laws protect the freedom of worship for everyone equally, ensuring that no group can impose its beliefs on others.

A government, once it can no longer reason through and diagnose its problems, is a living society that also loses both its will and its ability to address its problems. This therefore leaves a community that cannot labor for any cause nor build anything for itself.

Pity!! In the sovereignty of state, right is not the source of its power but power is the ground for right. Please USE IT.

M K ILYASU  13th August, 2026