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Barr. ADEBAYO SHITTU Insists
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Explains His Support For Sharia Law
You are from Oke-Ogun zone. Do you think the zone can produce a governor now? And do you plan to achieve that?
Let me start from the national level. Before Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the North was always dictating who would be president. Tinubu had to appeal to them that look, ‘the Yoruba says ajoje o dun beni Kan o ni.’
This country belongs to all of us. You people have been President for so long; let a Southerner also be president now. And thank God, all the Northern governors accepted that it was a reasonable request which must be supported. And so they fully supported Tinubu at the congress. I’m happy I was there.
In Oyo State too, we are saying we appreciate the role of Ibadan as the Capital, our senior brothers, if you like. It’s time that power should be allowed to rotate. You have done it 6 times. Ibadan has produced governors 6 times. This time, let an Oke-Ogun man take over. Oke-Ogun has always been producing deputy governor. We are tired of that. And a lot of them are seeing sense in the agitation. I have moved around; we have spoken with a lot of Ibadan people. Thank God I’m married to three Ibadan daughters. So I’m also part of Ibadan. Besides that, I have lived in Ibadan for 47 years. I live here, I have my house here, my family is in Ibadan. I have been a lawyer in Ibadan for so long, and I have been doing politics. So we are going to achieve our aim by the grace of God.
You said you will implement Sharia law if people ask for it when you become governor. What inspired such a remark?
If I were governor and some people in Oyo State say they want Sharia law, would I say no? Number one, a lot of people don’t want hard facts and the truth. They get annoyed. The issue of Sharia is a constitutional right of all Muslims, no matter where they live. The constitution says whenever there is a demand for it, you could have it. Now, this is a thing that has no negative implication on any non-Muslim. Remember we have a Federal Capital Territory, FCT Abuja, made up of Muslims and Christians. There is a Sharia Court of Appeal there. In Benue State, a Christian state, there is a Sharia Court of Appeal there. There is also one in Plateau. The governors of these states are Chrislams, and they have never thought of abolishing it. In Oyo State, Muslims are at least 50%. I got married in Islamic rites. You know the ‘yigi’ that we normally do. If, God forbid, issues of divorce occur, consequences of divorce are maybe who keeps the children, maybe in inheritance issues, and so on. As of today, there is no court which can give a decision over such Islamic fundamental rights issues. As of today, if a Christian gets married, he gets married under the court law. If there is an issue of divorce, inheritance, and all, he goes to the high court. That is where the Christian law under which he got married is administered. If you are an ‘Isese’ man, you go to the customary court. If you are a Muslim, the customary court has no jurisdiction over Islamic family matters. So it’s like Muslims are being marginalized and are demanding a right that they have. In any case, even if I’m a Christian governor, if people make a demand which is legitimate, what do I tell them? Should I tell them no because there was no Sharia in Oyo State before? Would that be a democratic governor? Would that be a sensitive governor? It’s a very simple matter that people overblew out of proportion.
