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VOA Symposium Focus On Sharia, Democracy And Conflict Resolution
WASHINGTON (Islam Online)-In the quest for implementation of Sharia in Nigeria, are the Muslims and the non-Muslims doomed to clash violently in this century, or are there ways to reconcile the two to create a peaceful co-existence in the world? A collection of Muslim and non-Muslim academics and political leaders gathered at the Voice of America for Africa division one day symposium, "Nigeria's Quest for Democracy: Governance, Sharia and Civil Conflicts," held May 16. "Nigeria the largest democracy in Africa is important to the United States. If Nigeria goes down so does the continent. The issue of Sharia has to be addressed carefully," said Congressman Ed Royce, Chairman, Subcommittee on Africa, House International Relations Committee, who was introduced by Sanford J. Ungar, director of the Voice of America. Nigerian Ambassador to the United States, Professor Jibril Aminu discussed how Nigeria triumphed over past Nigerian military interregnum, and gracefully succeeded under her current political dispensation. "Sharia has been part of Nigeria from the beginning," said Dr. Sulayman Nyang, professor of African Studies of Howard University. While Dr. John N. Paden, professor of International Studies at George Mason University revealed the current Nigerian constitution has provision for the Sharia. This is a point that dismissed the argument whether Sharia is part of the Nigerian constitution. The civilian elected governor of Zamfara, Alhaji Ahmad Sani, Yariman Bakuri, who flew from Nigeria for the conference, spoke on the prospects of Sharia in Zamfara. One of the 36 Nigerian states governed by Sharia. "Democracy is not an event but a process," said Nigerian president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo who participated on the symposium through a phone call. He acknowledged Nigeria's problems, which, he said, are compounded by the country's economic malaise and an estimated $35 billion foreign debt. Servicing the debt accounts for more than 30 percent of the budget. The prestigious list of speakers who participated by phone call, included Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria, Alhaji Ghali Umar Na'abba and Archbishop of Abuja, John Onaiyekan, just to mentioned a few. |
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