Clinton to visit a divided Nigeria

Sharia law is polarising Nigerian society

By Barnaby Phillips in Jigawa State

US President Bill Clinton's visit to Nigeria comes at a time when the rapid spread of Sharia or Islamic law has polarised society in Africa's most populous nation, and opened deep divisions between Christians and Muslims.

Jigawa is one of the latest states to have adopted the Islamic code, and people have travelled from across the north to celebrate.

It's going to be a good life for this area, all these unwanted customs that are not in our blood, are going to be going away

Abdul Majeed, Local schoolteacher

In the street, a man shouts: "We know America is against the Sharia. We are ready to fight America."

Peasant farmers in Jigawa are amongst the poorest people in Nigeria.

The pounding of maize is a daily ritual in the small villages that dot the landscape.

Peasant farmers in Jigawa survive on subsistence farming

They survive on subsistence farming, but they are sustained by a deep faith in Islam.

With little else to cling on to, they seek at least to protect their traditional values.

In the village of Shuwarin, the local teacher, Abdul Majeed, fears that prostitution and alcohol are corrupting the young.

He says that the resurgence of Sharia will restore moral standards.

School teacher Abdul Majeed is in favour of Sharia

"It's going to be a good life for this area," he says.

"All these unwanted customs that are not in our blood, are going to be going away"

In a rural and conservative state like Jigawa, there is little that is controversial about the Sharia.

People are overwhelmingly in favour of it.

Christians critical of government

The problems lie in northern Nigeria's large cities, with their substantial Christian populations.

The national anthem carries a call for unity amongst all Nigerians. However, many Christians have seen the divisions in the country at first hand.

They come from the northern city of Kaduna, where more than 1,000 people have been killed this year in fighting between Christians and Muslims.

Kaduna has been marred by fighting between Christians and Muslims

They are raising funds for their bereaved brethren.

Christian leaders like Isuwa Dogo are fiercely critical of the new democratic government's refusal to take a firm position on the sharia controversy.

"Deplorable," he calls it.

"It's simply deplorable. You don't just sit down and wish this problem away.

"I think the government and the national assembly have done nothing and if we don't act, this problem will consume us."

Unity at risk

Muslims are at pains to point out that Sharia has existed in northern Nigeria for hundreds of years.

Dr Datti Ahmad: Islam is more important than Nigeria, for a Muslim

All that is happening now, they say, is that the code is being restored in its entirety, as it was before the British colonisers arrived.

Christians say the supporters of sharia are endangering Nigeria's unity.

Dr Datti Ahmad, a leading pro-Sharia campaigner, says that is besides the point

"All Muslims are committed to one Nigeria," he says.

"We know we have a wonderful country, we want it to continue.

"But what they don't understand is that for a Muslim, Islam is more important than anything in life."

"Islam is more important than Nigeria, for a Muslim".

In Jigawa's dusty capital, Dutse, the old and the blind have gathered outside a warehouse for free hand-outs of grain.

This is zakkat, a form of Islamic charity that is part of the Sharia tradition.

For the poorest of the poor, Sharia offers a safety net. It evokes memories of a more gentle, caring society.

But to its opponents, Sharia is synonymous with intolerance. Nigerian society is polarised over the issue, and the government is struggling to keep its people united.