12th December 2015 is a day many Nigerians
will not forget. It is the day many men and women graduated from the Nigerian
Army Depot in Zaria. However, most Nigerians would not have known about the
passing out of these new recruits if not for what Colonel SK Usman of the
Nigerian Army referred to as an attempt on the life of the Chief of Army Staff. The
three star General was on his way to pay a courtesy call on the Emir of Zaria
when he met a group of rampaging youth many of whom were holding sticks,
machetes and other types of weapons. Their mission, according to what they told
senior military officers who were pleading with them to clear from the road,
was to make sure that no one passed without the permission of their leader.
That was not the first time this group of heretics will
obstruct the road for a high profile Nigerian. They did the same thing to the
immediate past Governor of Kaduna state. These same people once forced the
convoy of the late Emir Ado Bayero to stop and wait in the premises of a
secondary school in Kano city to allow their leader to pass. But like the
saying goes everyday is for the thief and one day is for the owner. If the
civilian Governor, the traditional ruler and indeed other Nigerians tolerated
the rascality of the Shiites, this would not be expected from the nation’s
chief warrior.
Since the December episode many opinions have been
expressed, but mostly by analysts who must say something because it is their
job to do so. For those of us who are at liberty to keep quiet and have watched
with keen interest, there has been nothing surprising. Shia thrives on
deception, ignorance and hypocrisy. Shiites pronounce Islam only to undermine
it. That is why they do not build mosques but only shrines like the now
demolished Husainiyya which is reminiscent of Zoroastrian fire temple of the
old Persia. Even in countries where they build mosques they do so for cover up
but not for Islamic worship. This was once publicly stated by Mallam Yakubu
Yahya with reference to Iran. Yahya is currently the acting leader of Shiites
in Nigeria. He allegedly remained in Shia because of economic benefits which
accrue to him as the ‘Governor’ of Katsina in Elzakzaky’s Government.
Mallam Ibrahim Elzakzaky was reportedly shot several
times and is still in Police custody. Many of his followers including his
deputy are said to be dead. This is very unfortunate and although the Shiites
always rejoice at the suffering of other Muslims, the rest of us would not do
that. We wish him a quick recovery and Allah’s guidance. It is also important
here to call on his remaining followers to embrace peace and realize that where
their rights stop is where the rights of other people start. Of course this
will not be possible without first withdrawing their allegiance from Iran and facing
the realities of the Nigerian society. There is nothing wrong in realizing one’s
mistake and effecting correction. Mistakes, like the Prophet (pbuh) said, are
human, and the best of human beings are those who repent when they make
mistakes.
What we have seen from Shiites, their internet
gladiators and their new spokesman since the December happenings would only make
one laugh because of the level of insult on the intelligence of Nigerians. For
example, instead of the Shiites to apologize to NSCIA for the contempt with
which they have always related with her, their spokesman is claiming that his
group has an utmost respect for the body. Who does he think he can deceive? The
well experienced NSCIA or the rest of us?
Another act of deceit by the Shiites is the use of the
name Islamic Movement of Nigeria to identify themselves. Here, a few questions need answers from the
Shiites. For a group of people to be a movement, certain conditions are
necessary. In the first place, members of a movement must share a common
ideology. What the Shiites keep telling us is that they are a mass movement of
people that include Muslims, Christians, Shiites, Sunnis, etc. If that is the
case, what is the ideology? Is it Islam? If it is, then why drag the Christians
into it? Christians do not share the same belief as Muslims and it will be a
sheer dishonesty to drag them into a move that will lead to the establishment
of an Islamic state, which is what the Shiites tell other Muslims they are
struggling to achieve. On the other hand, if the ideology is not Islam, why use
the word Islamic to describe the ‘movement’?
A movement, any movement, must have a goal. What is
the goal of the so-called Islamic movement of Nigeria? Is it to practice Islam
or what else? One cannot do Islam without following the teaching of the Holy
Prophet. How did the Prophet (peace be upon him) successfully convert the whole
of Arabia into Islam within 23 years? Was it by obstructing public roads? Or
did he ever confront an armed warrior without even a needle in his hand? Why
did the prophet have to leave Makkah in darkness and hide in a cave on his way
to Madinah? Was it because he was not as brave as Zakzaky and his group?
Certainly the Shiites have missed the road to the proper teaching of Islam.
Elzakzaky considers the Iranian approach to ‘revolution’ as the only way to establish
Islam. That is why he keeps on sending his defenseless followers to confront a
well-equipped army because he believes that just like it happened in Iran in
1979, when the soldiers kill too many people they will be dropping their guns
and joining the protestors. This is the kind of naivety expected when
ignorance, haughtiness and leadership converge on one place.
Another characteristic of a movement is unity. The
Shiites themselves are not united. There are at least three factions of Shiites
in Nigeria with each faction looking upon others with contempt. With that, I
suppose the first thing to do is to put their house in order, and even if they
are able to achieve that almost impossible task then they should bear their
correct name of Shia and not an Islamic movement.
It is in the light of the above that I would like to
call upon the Kaduna state Government to reconsider the nomenclature of the
commission of enquiry set up to investigate the clash between the Army and
Shiites. The use of the term ‘Islamic movement of Nigeria’ to describe the
group should be restricted to their imagination but should not be used by the
Government. It is noteworthy that no one refers to the Shiites as Islamic
movement except themselves. It is therefore highly unexpected for the
Government to join the Shiites in this unpopular nomenclature. This is
especially so because the group is not registered with this name by Corporate
Affairs Commission.
If the reference to Shiites in the nomenclature of the
commission as Islamic movement of Nigeria was meant to pacify them, it has not
achieved the desired result. Instead of the Shiites to prepare their case, they
are already giving some ridiculous conditions for them to appear before the
commission. In addition, their internet gladiators are busy casting aspersions
on the members of the commission. What I know of Shiites is that they will not
accept anything short of Shiism and if anyone has any other approach they think
can appease Shiites, let them try it.
