Nigerian Government Should Remove Arabic Language From Naira Notes — Agbakoba, SAN

A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olisa
Agbakoba, has urged the Nigerian government to remove the Arabic
language on the Nigerian naira notes.

Agbakoba wondered why Arabic inscription is on the naira when
Nigeria is not an Islamic state.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria asked the government to replace
it with the country’s indigenous languages.

He said, “I don’t think Arabic should be on the naira. We are
not an Arabic country. I don’t know why that sign should be
there.

“I asked similar questions when I was a member of the National
Judicial Council when the question about the understanding of the
Sharia Law came up, and I opposed the then CJN, Aloma Mukhtar that
I didn’t see how it should be a requirement for judges of Islamic
origin to understand Arabic. I’m a Roman Catholic, does it mean
that a Catholic judge must speak Latin? I think these are the sort
of things we need to get rid of for a united, independent nation.
We are not an Arabic nation.

“So, it will be nice to get rid of all the Arabic inscriptions
and symbols, or are we trying to say we are Arabic? I don’t get the
point. If it were Hausa or Igbo or Yoruba language, it makes more
sense, but Arabic is not part of our language. We should replace it
with our language.”

Speaking further, Agbakoba said although the country’s electoral
processes are not perfect, marked improvements have been recorded
in a series of recent elections conducted by Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC).

“It’s a long journey. To strengthen the democratic process, many
things are required. The first thing would be to strengthen the
constitution. In fairness, since the last 20 years, the process has
improved particularly under Attahiru Jega and Mahmood Yakubu, but I
still need to see a substantial amendment to the electoral
process.

“INEC is doing far too many things, that is why it has not been
very competent. It is the biggest printer of papers in Nigeria, but
that should not be the job of INEC. The job of INEC is like the
referee in a football match. So, we need to interrogate its roles
and ask whether it can do the multiple roles it is doing, and if
not, what can we remove from it to make them more efficient? I
think the duty of INEC should be to go and count the votes on the
election day.

“The second thing is for it to be independent. We have not seen
INEC be independent with the way it defends cases in court. INEC
should not be defending cases in court. If both of us are
contesting a senatorial seat, if I lose and I go to court, the role
of INEC is to bring all the papers it used in conducting the
election. INEC should not be filing any papers as a defence.

“When we sat in the Mohammed Uwais panel on Electoral Reform, we
said INEC’s position must be neutral. If anybody questions INEC’s
work in respect of vote counting, let the court decide it, not
INEC. During the Buhari – Atiku case, INEC came and vigorously
defended the elections. That’s not for INEC to do. It means it’s
not neutral. Let the court listen to all, ask INEC to bring the
papers and then decide,” he said.

SaharaReporters

A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olisa
Agbakoba, has urged the Nigerian government to remove the Arabic
language on the Nigerian naira notes.

Agbakoba wondered why Arabic inscription is on the naira when
Nigeria is not an Islamic state.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria asked the government to replace
it with the country’s indigenous languages.

He said, “I don’t think Arabic should be on the naira. We are
not an Arabic country. I don’t know why that sign should be
there.

“I asked similar questions when I was a member of the National
Judicial Council when the question about the understanding of the
Sharia Law came up, and I opposed the then CJN, Aloma Mukhtar that
I didn’t see how it should be a requirement for judges of Islamic
origin to understand Arabic. I’m a Roman Catholic, does it mean
that a Catholic judge must speak Latin? I think these are the sort
of things we need to get rid of for a united, independent nation.
We are not an Arabic nation.

“So, it will be nice to get rid of all the Arabic inscriptions
and symbols, or are we trying to say we are Arabic? I don’t get the
point. If it were Hausa or Igbo or Yoruba language, it makes more
sense, but Arabic is not part of our language. We should replace it
with our language.”

Speaking further, Agbakoba said although the country’s electoral
processes are not perfect, marked improvements have been recorded
in a series of recent elections conducted by Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC).

“It’s a long journey. To strengthen the democratic process, many
things are required. The first thing would be to strengthen the
constitution. In fairness, since the last 20 years, the process has
improved particularly under Attahiru Jega and Mahmood Yakubu, but I
still need to see a substantial amendment to the electoral
process.

“INEC is doing far too many things, that is why it has not been
very competent. It is the biggest printer of papers in Nigeria, but
that should not be the job of INEC. The job of INEC is like the
referee in a football match. So, we need to interrogate its roles
and ask whether it can do the multiple roles it is doing, and if
not, what can we remove from it to make them more efficient? I
think the duty of INEC should be to go and count the votes on the
election day.

“The second thing is for it to be independent. We have not seen
INEC be independent with the way it defends cases in court. INEC
should not be defending cases in court. If both of us are
contesting a senatorial seat, if I lose and I go to court, the role
of INEC is to bring all the papers it used in conducting the
election. INEC should not be filing any papers as a defence.

“When we sat in the Mohammed Uwais panel on Electoral Reform, we
said INEC’s position must be neutral. If anybody questions INEC’s
work in respect of vote counting, let the court decide it, not
INEC. During the Buhari – Atiku case, INEC came and vigorously
defended the elections. That’s not for INEC to do. It means it’s
not neutral. Let the court listen to all, ask INEC to bring the
papers and then decide,” he said.

SaharaReporters