Nigeria is not yet a nation in the true sense. Nigeria cannot be a nation without having a national identity and national values for which everyone, irrespective of ethnic, religious, regional or political leaning, are bound.
Section 38 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) as amended guarantees the fundamental right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
The case of the female aspirant to the Bar who flouted the age-long rule of the legal profession in Nigeria by wearing hijab to the last Call to Bar ceremony and was denied entry following her refusal to remove the hijab has further brought the issue of religion to the fore.
People are entitled to their views. But let us get certain facts clear.
One, there is no compulsion in joining the noble, legal profession. If we say that the Body of Benchers was wrong to have refused this lady access into the auditorium for the Call to Bar, we are simply saying that the Rule should have been bended to accommodate her interpretation of fidelity to Islam.
No one forced her to read law. No one forced her to go to the Law School. No one forced her to become a lawyer. She elected on her own volition to be part of the profession having known the strict rules, including the dress code for the Call to Bar ceremony. Let it not be said that she was ignorant of what she was not expected to wear.
Two, religion should be personal. To that extent, people should realise that in a multi-religious and supposedly secular society like ours, individual religious beliefs have to be sacrificed in certain circumstances for the overall benefit of all. In this context, there can be no distinction between Christianity, Islam, Traditional Worship and other religions. None is superior to the other.
If we hold the wearing of hijab to Call to Bar as a fundamental right and the denial of same as an infringement, it means that members of the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, Celestial, Osu worshippers, Rosicrusians, Elkanka, Catholics and other faiths also have the right to wear their peculiar apparel for the Call to Bar. This is the natural and only plausible implication.
The fundamental right to religion contemplated by the Constitution does not inure to benefit of only Muslims or Christians. Islam is not mentioned in Section 38 of the Constitution neither is Christianity. The Constitution contemplates ALL beliefs. The argument that Muslim women are commanded by the Koran to wear hijab unlike the apparel of other faiths is only tenable within the Islamic Jurisprudence and applicable strictly in the Mosque or other places where secular or national laws do not prescribe otherwise. There is a difference between Islamic Jurisprudence and Nigerian Jurisprudence. Section 10 of the Constitution makes Nigeria a secular state.
The point is that if everyone insist that they should be allowed to wear their respective religious apparel for the Call to Bar ceremony, anarchy will be the inevitable result. That is part of the reason why there is a standard Dress Code for ALL. If you feel that you cannot abide by it, you can join another profession.
Three, Thousands of Muslim women have been called to the Nigerian Bar over the years without any controversy. When I was at the Law School, we were constantly reminded of the strict dress code for the Call to Bar ceremony. I recall that I had to buy a new black (not just dark) suits, socks and shoes for my Call to Bar ceremony to avoid having issues as to the proprity of my dressing. I refuse to accept that the lady in question is the most devout Muslim in her set.
Four, religious extremism has never done any society any good. People who insist that the rest of the society must concede to the way they choose to practice their religion at all times and places are extremists. No Muslim woman was born with a hijab. No Catholic was born with a crucifix. I do not know whether both apparel can be worn at ALL times, including when having bath, sleeping and so on. The point is that these things are not and can only be sacrosanct depending on the circumstance, environment and other considerations.
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