KANO, February 2, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – For the first time, the New Hijri Year 1427 was declared an official holiday in the northern Nigerian states of Kano, Sokoto, Katsina and Zamfara, which have introduced Shari`ah (Islamic law), amid calls to use the Hijri calendar in government departments nation-wide.

"The state has declared the New Hijri Year an official holiday for all state employees to allow them to celebrate the occasion, close to the hearts of Muslims," according to a statement issued by Kano State government.

"Kano State has introduced Shari`ah and should accordingly reinforce its Islamic identity and highlight Islamic occasions," the statement said.

Nigeria’s recent census shows that Muslims make up 55 percent of the country’s 133 million population, Christians 40 percent and animists five percent.

Eleven of Nigeria’s 36 states have gradually applied Shari`ah since the return of democracy to the country in 1999.

Zamfara State was the first to introduce Shari`ah in November, 1999. It was followed by the States of Sokoto, Katsina, Kaduna, Niger, Yobe and finally Kano in 2000.

Declaring the New Hijri Year an official holiday in the mainly-Muslim northern states, prompted Muslims in the south to make the same demand anew despite frequent rejection of the federal government.

Muslims in Nigeria "are desperately waiting for a positive reaction from the federal government to declare the beginning of the Hijri Year an official holiday. This is logical as over 65 percent of the Nigerians are Muslims.

"It is not logic to deprive them from celebrating the New Hijri Year," said a statement issued by the National Union of Youth Muslim Organizations, sent to IOL.

"For over two centuries, Muslims in Nigeria have been forced to take a holiday to celebrate the Western's New Year. So it is logic to take a vacation in the beginning of the Hijri Year," the statement said.

Eid Al-Adha, Eid Al-Fitr and Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)'s Birthday occasions are official vacations in Nigeria.

In a related development, Kano State ruler called for using the Hijri calendar in government departments nation-wide.

"It is significant for Muslims to use the Hijri calendar especially in Kano state," said Hajj Ibrahim Shekarau during a celebration of the new Hijri Year held in a football stadium and attended by thousands of Muslims.

"The use of Hijri calendar reflects our belonging to the Islamic civilization and culture which are the sources of Shari`ah in our state," he said.