I fear that Nigeria may be wittingly or unwittingly entering the global sectarian crises between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, which if it materializes will be a most unfortunate development.
There are many signs of this trend, least of all the unfortunate bloodbath in Zaria, Kaduna State, in which a large but yet unspecified number of Shiite Muslims were massacred by the military! The precise number may not yet be known, but it appears possible that the number of victims may exceed tens and reach into the hundreds, or even, according to some accounts, close to a thousand!
It is difficult to ascertain the correct version of events in Zaria, but some facts are beyond dispute – a crowd of Shiite “protesters” or simply “adherents” was on a major highway commemorating the beginning of the birth month of their prophet. It seems that it was habitual of the Shiites to block major roads whenever they celebrated their several “processions” and there is little doubt that they typically inconvenience many residents and commuters in the process. By the way, behaving like you are above the law is intolerable behaviour, whether exercised by Shiites or any other sections of the Nigerian population, including “big men” who block roads for social events like weddings, funerals or birthday parties; government officials who drive official convoys against traffic when the roads are congested, or herdsmen who lead their cows on highways obstructing traffic. Regrettably, it also seems, in many communities, that there is a convention in favour of blocking major roads for religious services every Friday, which may have encouraged Shiites to “demand” a similar convention anytime they sought to celebrate their peculiar religious ceremonies.
Whatever their thought processes, unfortunately for the Zaria Shiites, on this occasion the Chief of Army Staff was in Zaria seeking to visit the Emir and attend the passing-out parade of military recruits at the Depot Nigerian Army in Zaria. I have carefully watched over and over again an online video of the encounter between General Buratai’s convoy and the Shiite protesters – it is clear that the “demonstrators” did not permit the army chief’s entourage through in spite of entreaties by senior military officers. It is doubtful, however, that the crowd had either intention or ability to “assassinate” anyone, least of all the Chief of Army Staff. The Shiite adherents were “armed” with sticks or tree branches and some may have had more dangerous implements like cutlasses or bows and arrows; they defied persuasions to clear the road to enable Buratai through, but they didn’t appear in an attacking or offensive posture; and the army chief was well-protected by ascerheavily armed soldiers who took positions between the crowd and the general’s convoy. It is clear that subsequently, due to the overwhelming force weighted in favour of the general, his convoy forced its way through and went well on its way. There was no sign at this point of any deaths or injuries, other than burning tyres and debris at the scene.
The army may well have to account for what appears clearly to be a later decision to teach the Shiites, especially their leader El-Zakzaky, a bloody lesson, and where in the chain of command such instructions may have emanated from!
El-Zakzaky, it is well known, is a protégé of the Islamic Revolutionary Regime of Iran, a regime accused in the West of being the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world. The Iranian regime’s clients include the Shiite Hezbollah of Lebanon, the Houthi rebels in Yemen and even Palestinian Hamas! Iran regards itself as the global patron of all Shiites who have through history suffered at the hands of mainstream Sunni monarchs and dictators in the Middle-East. Nigeria must tread with caution in this Sunni-Shiite landmine that we appear to be walking into with our eyes open! It seems that El-Zakzaky has been injured and is now in police custody with reports suggesting heightened Iranian interest, if not threats concerning his well-being and welfare!
The US, the UK and Iran have reportedly cautioned the Nigerian government on the matter, and to confirm the Sunni flavour (most Nigerian Muslims are said to be Sunnis), Saudi-Arabia, the Sunni hegemon, has issued a statement in support of Nigeria. President Buhari has not spoken one word about the matter!
Days before this tragedy, Saudi-Arabia announced the formation of a military alliance of “Muslim nations” to confront the threat of terrorism. Though it was described as an anti-terror formation of Muslim nations, the only factor that could explain the absence of Shia-dominated Iran and Iraq was that this was more like a Sunni grouping rather than one of all Muslims. The fact that Nigeria was named as a member raised blood pressures in several quarters in Nigeria and corroborates the trend towards sectarian posturing in Nigeria.
