The shocking story of Igbo Muslim
Part II explores the sudden use of the name “Hausa” as a hate word and a derogatory term to describe Igbo Muslims. One respondent thinks that this is, “Hausa phobia taken too far.”
Farida Okoli tells the story of her time as a sales girl in Enugu. She is not allowed to sell items while wearing hijab or with her hair tied. Okoli is pushed to lose her identity and to dress, think and intuit just like any other lady in the community.
Her words, “I have been looking for work wearing my hijab, but each time I go to an office they will tell me that I must work without the hijab. If I wear the long hijab, they will pull at it calling me a Hausa girl.”
Okoli had to change her names, rendering them less Islamic and more like an Igbo-Christian name, in order to get a job. This is another aspect of identity loss. She adds, “If I wear a head tie they will ask me to remove it.” She states that most Igbo Muslim women prefer living in Northern Nigeria, “because if you wear the hijab in the North, you will be much more comfortable than in the East.”
“When they see an Igbo Muslim, they will now say he is a Hausa man. They refuse to understand that Hausa is a tribe, Igbo is a tribe and Islam is a divine mechanism of spiritual relationship with the Almighty. They refuse to understand that we are Igbo before being Muslims, and that those in the North are Hausa before being Christians,” says Sheikh Ajah, Vice President General, (NSCIA) commenting on the use of Hausa as a method of profiling and segregating Igbo Muslims.
“If they see an Igbo Muslim, they feel he has left his grandfather’s roots and decided to go to the Hausa man who they believe is an enemy of the Igbo man. They know that we exist, but they want to give it a different interpretation,” Ajah concludes. They are referred to as Hausa and very soon they actually go to settle in the North.
More Igbo Muslims in North
Imam Njoku says, “Because of persecution in the South East, the North has risen to become home to many Igbo Muslims. There is a high level of migration to the North, and there are more Igbo Muslims in the North than in the entire South East.” He adds, “Some of our brothers, no matter how highly educated they may be, may not be considered for jobs here in the East. This is because when employers see a Muslim name such as mine, which is Suleiman Njoku, they will ask what is the link between Suleiman and Njoku. They will inquire if this is a Hausa man and proceed to ask where does he come from. This is the belief system that confronts us every day.”
Hausa phobia
All Muslims in the East are Hausa, sounds like flawed thinking, but the notion is everywhere and it is fast spreading. “The Ndigbo have the notion that it’s only Hausa that can be Muslims. An Igbo man will see a Yoruba Muslim and call him a Hausa man. He will see his fellow Igbo who is a Muslim and refer to him as a Hausa man. He will see other non-Hausa Muslims and describe them as Hausa. Somebody will even ask you, “How much are you being paid for being a Muslim?”, explains Sheikh Ali Ukiwo, Chief Imam of Abia State.
Incomplete Igbo man
The youths have amazing experiences too. Anas Abdullah Odunachukwu is studying petroleum chemistry at the University of Maiduguri, Borno State. On why he chose to apply to a university in the North rather than in Enugu, his state of origin, he replies, “The problem with applying to a university in the South East is that as soon as they see your names, they will feel you are not Igbo, or they will feel you are not a complete Igbo person. They don’t accept the fact that Igbo can be Muslims. Anas Abdullah are my Arabic names and that may discourage them.” His names imply that he will be seen as a Hausa man or a Northerner at the first instance.
The tendency to mock
“The thing that hurts is the tendency to mock, people asking you why you are a Muslim, and making the erroneous point that Islam is a Hausa religion,” adds Dr Abdulfatah Emetumah, a Muslim and the Offor of Umuofor Kingdom in Imo State.
“Their argument is based on naivety and misconception. The two main religions are from Arab lands, Christianity from Palestine, Islam from Saudi Arabia. There is a serious lack of knowledge on the part of some Christians. There are Muslims who don’t like seeing churches, and there are Muslims who can build churches for Christians. On the other hand, there are Christians who don’t like seeing mosques anywhere, and there are Christians who can help Muslims build mosques,” says Emetumah.
Memory of North
Igbo Muslims who were born in the East and schooled in the North are numerous. Saadatu Abdullahi, a Muslim of Igbo extraction who lives in Kaduna, was educated at the Federal College of Education (T) in Yobe State.
She has pleasant memories of her time: “There was no discrimination of any kind. I have never been discriminated against for not being from the North. They took cognisance of the fact that I am a Muslim, and especially of Igbo extraction. I was often given preferential treatment by both the school and the host community.”
Religion & politics
Religion may hinder rather than aid your chances during elections irrespective of the individuals gifts and talents.
Ibrahim Ogbonnia Amah is the Federal Commsissioner (Representing South East) on the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON). He tells a curious story of his electoral misfortunes in Afikpo, his community.
“I am a practicing politician and I started politics in 1999. I contested for councillorship in 2003. I lost because I am a Muslim. I was the best in both the PDP and ANPP, but PDP was in power. The stakeholders met and told me that they know that I am the best, but that they cannot support me because I am a Muslim.”
He tried again: “I lost in 2007 and lost again in 2015. I applied for the House of Assembly elections, losing in the primaries. My loss was due to the matter of faith. The other aspirants and stakeholders who are into the business used religion to gain cheap popularity, to make people accept them.” In the effort to weaken his chances, he a non-Fulani, was then linked with the Fulani. His words: “They were inciting the people, saying how can they empower the Fulani, that if I am empowered it means that the Fulani will come and take over the entire place.”
‘I must prove I am Igbo’
Many ask why it is difficult to be Muslim and at the same time Igbo in Igbo land? Okonkwo opens up on the challenges faced by Igbo Muslims. “The challenge emerges from the fact that Islam is seen as a strange and foreign religion in this part of the country. Anybody that is a Muslim here