Let’s not complicate things
Nigerian lawmakers almost started a religious war, but we’re good…for now
Good morning, Big Brains. There are many Nigerian concepts I’m in love with, but nothing is touching Sunday rice and the sweet nap it sends you into. I hope you experienced that yesterday and I hope you’re ready to do rockstar things this week.
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This Week’s Big Question: “What’s one thing that can significantly improve the quality of your life?” Share your responses with us, and if we think they’re fun enough, we’ll feature them in the newsletter :) so be on the lookout.
Let’s get into the news you missed during the weekend:
Nigerian lawmakers are not fans of religious differences
President Tinubu wants to help Nigeria save money
Elon Musk has rich people's problems, and he doesn’t care
The Big Deal
Nigerian lawmakers are not fans of religious differences
Nigerian lawmakers are becoming more interesting than they need to be, and we should all be a little concerned. While regular men went about their businesses, Aliyu Misau, representing the fine people of Misau/Dambam in Bauchi State, wanted to give Islamic Law more power in the constitution through a new bill. But members of the House of Representatives hit “reject” on it faster than anything.
Specifically, he suggested removing the word “personal” from sections 24, 262, 277, and 288 of the 1999 constitution so that “Islamic law” could stand alone. Misau’s argument was that adding “personal” after “Islamic law” restricts how the law can be used.
Currently, Section 262(1) of the constitution says, “The Sharia Court of Appeal shall, in addition to such other jurisdiction as may be conferred upon it by an Act of the National Assembly, exercise such appellate and supervisory jurisdiction in civil proceedings involving questions of Islamic personal law.” The key word here is “personal” for a reason. But that's what Misau finds limiting because this restricts the law to just personal matters and misses out on other areas, like Islamic commercial law.
Misau gave an example of why this bill keeps him up at night: Jaiz Bank, which started operating in 2003, deals in Islamic banking principles and would apparently benefit from the broadened scope he was proposing. To Misau, the people who wrote the 1999 constitution didn’t anticipate any enterprise like Jaiz Bank.
While many Northern lawmakers were on board with the idea, their Southern colleagues said, “Nah, we’ll pass”. Some of these southern lawmakers pointed out that removing “personal” could increase the power of Islamic laws beyond what is constitutionally allowed for a country that practices several religions like Nigeria.
Bamidele Salam from Osun State also reminded lawmakers of the intense debates on this issue during past constitutional assemblies in '79, '89, and '99—discussions that got so heated that the military had to step in to calm things down. “We must tread carefully on constitutional amendments that could widen divisions in Nigeria,” he added, noting that many of the issues Misau raised are already covered by existing laws.
After some spirited back-and-forth, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu put the bill to a voice vote, and a majority of lawmakers voted against it.
Why is this a big deal?
As cool and fun as Nigerians are, there are two things we don’t play about – ethnicity and religion. The 1999 constitution may have its arguable share of flaws, but it tries to keep the peace by maintaining a neutral stance—helping everyone thrive in their own lane without merging religion directly into state law.
Misau’s bill to expand Islamic law shakes up the careful balance that the constitution has maintained for years. If Islamic law goes beyond personal matters, it could create the impression that other religious groups are welcome to push for their own changes. In a country where over 56,000 Nigerians have been killed over religious differences in the past four years, this could bring up bigger divisions that may lead to more violent religious clashes. Clearly, even our lawmakers who seem to have a kink for controversy these days are not willing to mess around and find out how much trouble this bill could cause.
President Tinubu wants to help Nigeria save money
Some Nigerians called President Tinubu “T-pain”; he took it. They called him Tulumbu, he took it. Some people are now starting to call the president a wasteful consumer of public resources – that, he won’t take.
To prove his haters wrong, President Tinubu is shaking things up with some serious cost-cutting moves. Now, ministers and heads of departments of public agencies are limited to just three vehicles in their official convoys. For context, most of these ministers like to go big and ride in style. The recently dismissed Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy, had a convoy of six vehicles and spent ₦1.5 million to fuel those six cars during a work trip. That gives you an idea of what other ministers spend on car fueling and maintenance every month.
Tinubu has also restricted each minister and agency head to five bodyguards for every official duty: four police officers and one agent from the Department of State Services (DSS).
Before you go “Why isn’t he leading by example?” - He’s been leading. In January, he cut his own entourage for foreign trips from 50 to 20. We’re not sure how these cost-cutting efforts will benefit the average Nigerian, but it’s a good start and an interesting move that The Big Daily will be keeping a curious eye on.
Elon Musk has rich people's problems, and he doesn’t care
Billionaire, Elon Musk knows how to stay on top of people’s minds, and he’s done it again.
Two weeks ago, Musk’s America PAC (Political Action Committee) kicked off a daily $1 million giveaway for registered voters in key states, running until the election on November 5. Since Musk is openly backing Donald Trump, many Americans think this giveaway is just another move to help Trump win votes.
To qualify for the giveaway, voters must sign a petition from their Political Action Committee supporting the First and Second Amendments, which protect free speech and the right to bear arms. Since the giveaways started, Musk’s PAC has announced four winners.
But the guys at the Justice Department aren’t fans of Musk’s giveaway. They believe it broke a few rules and because of this, they issued Musk a not-so-subtle warning last week.
We’re not sure the SpaceX man was fazed by this warning because his PAC seems to have started the giveaways again, posting pictures of two new winners on social media.
The Big Picks
Nigeria Loses $26bn Yearly To Power Shortages: Nigeria loses around $26 billion yearly due to power outages, according to the latest Africa Trade Barometer report. And that’s not even counting what people spend on off-grid generators.
Gov Diri Approves ₦80,000 New Minimum Wage For Bayelsa Workers: Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has approved ₦80,000 as the new minimum wage for civil service workers, starting November 1, 2024.
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