Destruction Of Bottles Of Bear In Kano State: The Issues At Stake -By Aliyu Danladi

The recent destruction of crates of bear worth millions of Naira has generated controversy and mixed public reactions; many condemning the action of the State Government in view of the economic loss and as a lamentation of “intolerance” of the Sharia system. Others, on the other hand, have commended the Kano State Government basely on religious and moral grounds.

The claims of the polarized sides of opinion have both been supported by public debate. However, the historical and social context of Kano State has been neglected in the prevailing debate.

The first thing to note is that Kano has been historically a Muslim state, administered with the Islamic legal code. Kano State has maintained Islamic ruling in some specified sectors despite the introduction of British Law, retaining some segments of civil affairs to the judgement of the Sharia court. Kano has for a long time in history imposed Islamic law on its citizens through the Royal Muslim court. Being a trading state, traders came from different places to Kano for merchandise. These traders included non-Muslims, and some of them established trading stations in Kano.

Amidst a growing trading population immigrating into Kano, the problem would arise of how to administer justice on a non-Muslim in a society that prohibited gambling, alcoholism, eating fork and dogs etc. To solve the problem, land was granted to the immigrating population and named “Sabon Gari.” Sabon Gari community would interact with mainland Kano and engage in business and social activities with the native population. However, Sabon Gari community was exempted from Sharia, adhering to a different legal system. It is for this historical reason that to this day, alcohol and fork could be consumed in Sabon Gari despite their ban in Kano State.

The situation of Kano has a parallel with the Jewish and Christian communities staying in Islamic Madinah in the time of the Prophet (S.A.W). Paying Jizya(dues), those communities were protected by the state. They were exempted from some Islamic rulings and were allowed to consume fork and drink alcohol.

From this, we can say the Hisbah was wrong if it confiscated bottles of beer from Sabo Gari even in the presence of ban in Kano. Aside, Kano State has the authority to decide which commodities to allow or ban.

Looking at the economic aspect, it should be known that economic activity is affected by sociopolitical context. Economic activity is directed by the cultural, religious and moral values of a place. There are expensive commodities such as marijuana, cocaine and arms that are prohibited for moral ground. In line with this, Kano State has the discretion to decide commodities on cultural, social and moral grounds.

Nevertheless, Sabon Gari community remains exempted from the direct Sharia system, to be administered under the provisions of the Constitution of Nigeria.

Aliyu Danladi is a student at Bayero University, Kano, where he participates in Students’ Unionism. Born in Gombe state, he writes poems, literary reviews and articles related to politics and national issues.