He also said the National Assembly has little to do about the amendment of the 1999 Constitution, maintaining that it is the implementation of the constitution that is the country’s headache.

Speaking about the persistent crisis in the Niger/Delta region, the Senior Advocate said it is time for the people of the area to be treated well. He bears his mind on other national issues. Excerpts.

A joint committee of the National Assembly on the review of the 1999 Constitution will soon be inugurated. What areas would you like the committe to work on?

Chief Adetola Kazeem

What do you have to say about the agitation for the reduction in  the number of political parties in Nigeria?

Party formations should be an internal affair among those who share same views and policy and ready to form a political party. It is unfortunate that we have a long break from party politics by military intervention. The party formation is supposed to be a voluntary thing among politicians of like minds. When we had the annulled elections of 1993, but for the fact that there were two political parties, the results we had then would have been impossible. To that extent, it was a good attempt.

Again, you find out that a situation where you force people to come together to form a political party will definitely lead to nowhere.

Membership of a political party should be a voluntary act. You belong to a political party based on your conviction, your principles and policies of the party. You must be sure that the party you intend to belong to share the same principles and policies with yours. I can tell you that nearly all the political parties have no clear-cut ideology that you can pin them with.

A party contesting for election is supposed to have clear manifestoes.

You only find out now that individual Governors or the President just assume offices to fashion out their own personal policies, not those of his political party and this is wrong. If the old political parties were allowed to continue in existence, they would have  become more evolving, matured, more national in outlook and vibrant despite their tribal affiliations.

The Niger/Delta problem has become a big issue within and outside the country. What are your suggestions on how to tackle the issue?

I don’t want us to look at the problems of the area in isolation because of the oil that is generated there because that would be very unfair to the people. It is more complex than the singular fact that the nation’s resources is coming from there.

The most important thing is that there should be fairness to the people of the region. However, the region cannot hold the entire nation to ransom. It  is supposed to be a balancing act. Over the years, there have been series of commissions on the resources being generated from the area and the problem of the minorities.

We need to study these reports and implement some of the recommendations. The main problem is the issue of revenue accruing from the resources from this area. How do we share them? What percentage of the resources should be shared on the basis of derivation, geographical spread, population and host of others?
Other argument is that the resources being given to them, how well are they being managed? That is a different matter. To me, let them have the fair share that is due to them.

When you look at all these, there would be changes and improvement. At least, 25 to 30 percent share should be given to the people of the area. There would be a time when these resources would not be there anymore. So, let them employ as much as possible to develop the area now because some of these areas would lay waste in no distant future.

It was like the Lagos State government stirred the hornet nest when it promulgated the Coroner Law which has now been suspended. As a Muslim and a senior lawyer, what is your view about the law?

When the implementation of that law began, many people were not even aware of the law. There were a lot of confusions about the imple-mentation as some Muslims and interested individuals kicked against its implementation. There has always been a Coroner Law in Lagos State and some others states. The intention of those who passed the new law may be genuine, especially in the area of investigating questionable deaths.

Unfortunately, however, I think those who enacted the law did not put some factors into consideration before doing so. They went too far as virtually all deaths became the subject of inquest when the implementation started. That could not have been right. The penalty for violating the law were so stiff that even medical doctors were complaining. To this end, there were lots of public outcry. As a Muslim, I feel that natural death, which does not arise out of questionable circumstances, need not be involved.

There are things that Prophet Muhammed made clear that should not be delayed. When a Muslim dies, he should be buried immediately, a Muslim should not delay in marriage when he/she attains the age of puberty and he should not delay his Solat. When the law came into being, it became impossible to immediately bury a Muslim, especially when there is no suscispion as to the circumstances of the death.

As one of the patrons of the Muslim Lawyers Association (MULAN), we consulted and made recommendations to the government that the law be reviewed. The intention for the creation of the law might be genuine but the implementation is wrong. It is not right that all deaths should be subject of investigation, causing avoidable delay in burials. So, we suggested to government areas that ought to be amended. That the law also should be suspended until the amendments and adequate facilities are made available, both in human capacity and equipments.

The issue of Ibrahim Bello Masaba, who married 86 wives, has become controversial with the Jamaatu Nasril-Islam and an Emirate Council passing death sentence on him for marrying more than four wivescontrary to the tenets  in the Quran. What is the position of the law on this issue?

Opinions are divided over the issue. The popular verse of the Quran that referred to the issue of marriage is Surat Nisai, which says one could marry two, three, or four wives, but if you cannot do equity among them, it says one should marry only one.

However, opinions are divided over whether the verse explicitly put an end to the number of wives one can marry. Some have argued that the verse did not say you could not marry more than four. I must confess, I don’t want to pretend to be somebody who is learned in Sharia law. However, if you look at the verses  of the Holy Quran above, the man has the choice of what he wants to do with himself. It is a matter of conviction. We know that the most popular view is that a Muslim, at any point in time, should not have more than four wives. If one enjoys the company of a large number of women, he can replace if one dies, or if any of them is out of the marriage.

At any point in time, a Muslim should not marry more than four wives. Now, whether marrying more than that amounts to a criminal offence is another matter, even under the Islamic law. I am not so sure that having more than four wives, at any point in time, is punishable. It may be an offence against Allah, but I don’t know if there is a written sanction against it. Unless, you can classify such thing as adultery. If you can say the number of wives in excess of four, or relationship with those in excess of four can be classified as adultery, then you can be talking of punishment. That way, we can say he has committed an offence.

Otherwise, I don’t know of any penalty for somebody who marries more than four wives. If he says he married them, well, it is another issue entirely. There is a difference between having a relationship with someone and marrying someone. Once you legally marry a woman, you have the right to her. If you are not legally married to a woman, what you are doing is fornication or adultery, as the case may be.

Now, let us examine whether the constitution or the Sharia law empowers any religious group, individual or authority to impose sanction on the man, especially banishing him?

Constitutionally, the man has the right to the quality of life, to a religious belief, etc. If you profess to be a Muslim, one would expect you to live like a Muslim under the tenets and the rules of Islam. Another point is that if someone professes to be a Muslim and he is not acting as one, of course, you might be questioned, especially when there are rules for you to obey.

That is for those who feel the man's action  is wrong. On the other hand, if you feel the man has a right to his private life, to conduct his affairs the way he wants to, that would be another angle of the arguments. The issue will tilt towards the area upon which he is being challeng-ed now.

As a patron of the Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria, how do you assess the activities of the Association so far?

We are doing well. It is the combination of Islamic faith and the practice of law in our environment. I must say, it is not an easy task to practice the common law, conventional law and Islamic law. Sometimes, you find some area of conflicts.

The MULAN, especially in Lagos State, is doing its best. For instance, it took the issue of Coroner Law up as a challenge and said something must be done about this.

Recently, it had the national conference of the Association, which was a success. In the last two years, it has been trying to enlighten the public about its activities. I am pleased with its activities.

Some members of the Muslim Lawyers Association formed a Sharia Panel in Lagos State to address the issue of Sharia. Since the state does not adopt the law, how are they marrying Sharia and the conventional law?

Initially, the idea was to create awareness on the practice of Sharia. In this part of the country, there is substantial population of Muslims. The constitution also allows the people to practice their religion. This is because Sharia has to do with personal law, such as law of succession, marriage, etc.

As a Muslim, one should be able to deal with issues like marriage, divorce, inheritance and others. It has nothing to do with any other person’s right. It is right for the government in this part of the country to establish Sharia court for Muslims who desire it.

Those who are agitating against it are really not fair to the Muslim population, especially in the south-west where you have over 50 percent as Muslims.

So, the establishment of the Sharia panel by the lawyers is to create awareness and for those who subscribed to what the panel stands for. It is a good starting point to create awareness and to let those in government realise that Sharia courts are established to regulate the activities of those who wish to subscribe to it, especially from the Muslim community.

One of the conditions now for those applying for the revered status of the senior advocates is to deposit a non-refundable fee of N200,000. This has made the whole thing look as if it is now a question  of  who has the cash or not. As a Senior Advocate, what is your view on this?

From time to time, there are those who constituted the committee to review the criteria for the appointment. They are privileged committee and are privileged to do so.

They are given the authority to confer the rank on the eligible candidates. To this end, I don’t want to question their right to impose conditions or review the criteria from time to time. The argument based on their evaluation is that the cost involved is high. The resources to move round the country are not there.

So, if you are an applicant, you must contribute to the cost of moving round to verify the claims of applicants. However, the requirements of N200,000 from the applicants is another matter. One has to consider that the amount is non-refundable and one has to pay it from time to  time. It has never been as exorbitant. N200,000, to some people, is a lot of money.

However, if one is qualified for that class, N200,000 should not be something difficult to pay to justify your claims. We give it to the wisdom of the people doing the work. Suggestions are being made from time to time. It shouldn’t be tied to money. If that is the case, it would mean the richer you are, the better your chances of qualifying. It should not be about money but how well are you equipped for the rank in terms of knowledge, practice and how much you have done in the practice of law.

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