By Pascal Oparada
Two events dominated the Nigeria social media landscape in the last week.
Fidaous Amosa, a law graduate generated a firestorm in Nigeria when she insisted on adorning hijab alongside her wig to her call up to the Bar. The Nigerian Law School authorities insisted she appears in the appropriate legal regalia.
Nigerians on social media were divided along religious lines over Amosa’s choice. While some see her stance as defiance, others believe she has the right to put on anything to appear at the event as long as she did not violate any known law.
Amosa said she wants to challenge and change the status quo, where Muslim women were compelled to appear in just a wig, which according to her are against Islam.
This resulted in many Muslim rights groups accusing Nigerian Law School of Islamophobia.
The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), said, “Those who make false appeals to the “secular” nature of Nigeria when the issue of Muslim rights is raised are guilty of paranoia, hypocrisy and myopia. We have maintained that Nigeria is a multi-religious country and that cannot be controverted. Those who are quick to drop the “secular” verbiage can afford to be flippant because the Christian system violently imposed on Nigeria by the colonial masters adequately provides for and serves their interests, certainly not the interest of Muslims.”
Aside Amosa’s Hijab saga, some Nigerians, especially feminists, trooped out in their numbers on social media to call for the scrapping of the bride price in the country, saying the practice reeks of enslavement and backwardness.
Opinions were divided as others said that the price is not an act of slavery but a tradition that had existed before the present generation and therefore should be maintained.