Nigerian Shiites: Between Evil Wishes and Democracy

Until the coming of Buhari three years ago, the Nigerian Shiites had always had their way. For about three decades they unleashed terror on major cities in Northern Nigeria. In the mosques, they preached what they wanted at their choice time without recourse to any protocol laid down by mosques’ leadership. On the streets, they staged all forms of demonstrations at any time they wanted and molested anyone as they desired and had always gotten away with it save in very few circumstances.

The Shiites took the law into their hands and openly derided the Nigerian state and her law enforcement agents. They had their own President in Zaria who appointed governors in all the states. It was once reported that a Military administrator of a Northern state sent for the Shiite governor of his state and the reply he got was, “who is he to send for me? If he is an Abacha’s governor, I am a Zakzaky governor”. And it ended there. In short, the Shiites were untouchable.

Two factors emboldened the Shiites. One of them was the disposition of world powers to decimate Sunnis and empower Shiites. For example, after September 11 all funds coming from Sunni countries including charity, da’wah, etc. were sanctioned while Iranian money for the promotion of Shiah was allowed to flow to all countries without let or hindrance. Saddam was removed and replaced with a Shiite stooge while Assad, a Nusairi Shiite, was allowed to continue killing and maiming the Syrian Sunni majority. Another factor that emboldened the Shiites is their deep entrenchment into the Nigerian public system. There is hardly a public service outfit in which Shiites are not embedded and reporting to the centre. These Shiites camouflage as Sunnis when it is not safe to disclose their Shiite identity.

With the coming of Buhari, the Shiites were further carried away by his closeness to someone widely believed to be a Shiite. This was celebrated with an article written by their then spokesman Ibrahim Usman and posted on the internet in November 2015. A month later, Ibrahim Usman and his cotravellers were disappointed. The December 2015 Zaria episode is well known. Many blame Mallam Ibrahim Elzakzaky for sending his unarmed followers to obstruct the passage of an Army Chief whose troops have the record of opening fire for reasons as flimsy as overtaking their convoy.

But regardless of who to blame for the Zaria loss of life, the conduct of Nigerian Shiites has drastically changed for the past three years. The public now have a sigh of relief from the excesses of the Shiites. No molestation, no road obstruction, no name-calling. In fact, since that time, if Shiites are having an occasion and they hear the sound of a siren they readily disappear and allow the siren to pass.

Their relationship towards other Muslims has also changed. Their erstwhile attacks on the sensitivities of Sunnis have drastically reduced. For example, they once paid an unsuccessful visit to the famous Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi. They were disappointed to find that even Dariqa scholars whom they thought were passive are fully aware that they were only out for deception. Of course, even before the December 2015 incidence the Shiites have always considered Christians as their brethren and friends. It is pertinent to note that throughout their history, the enemies of Shiites have always been Muslims. They had at various times helped enemies of Islam to fight Islamic states.

In addition to their new tactic of deceiving the Nigerian public that they are not violent, this group has been waging a venomous campaign against President Muhammadu Buhari and his party. They consider PMB responsible for their tragedy and do not hide their evil wishes for the president. During his two long medical trips to the UK, their internet warriors never concealed their joy over the health predicament of the popular president.

Now, the biggest dilemma of Nigerian Shiites is their next political move. What they had been preaching under Elzakzaky is an Islamic state with him as the Head of State. Unfortunately, Mallam Ibrahim Elzakzaky could only deceive his ignorant followers because in Shia creed there is nothing like an Islamic state or Jihad in whatever guise until the reappearance of Mahdi. Mahdi, in Shia mythology is their last Imam hidden in some hole in Iraq and will appear towards the end of time. Until he reappears there is no struggle in whatever form for the establishment of an Islamic state. The idea of an Islamic state is thus only a cover used by Iran through her hirelings to propagate Shia.

When the foundation of their “Islamic state” under Zakzaky was destroyed with the arrest and killing of their leaders and the demolishing of their shrine, these heretics became divided on the next step. Out of frustration, some of them openly started advocating for democracy and even claiming that Elzakzaky instructed them to register and collect voters’ cards. But it is undeniable that until his arrest Mallam Ibrahim Elzakzaky openly condemned the Nigerian political process and preached for the establishment of an Islamic state through a revolution similar to the Iranian one. This is what many of his followers still advocate.

Now that the writing is clear that Buhari has won the primaries of his party and is set to win the next February’s election, the Shiites are further confused because their voters’ cards will be valueless.

Even as the rest of us watch the next move of the Nigerian Shiites, it is wrong to assume that there is a difference between one Shiite faction and another, noting that the idea that Nigerian Shiites should join the political process was first mooted by a Shiite who has not been in the mainstream Elzakzaky-led IMN.