The Shi'a Conundrum

[5min Read]

The Shi'a-Police force clashes are not foreign to residents of the Federal Capital Territory

You probably saw on Monday, July 22^nd, the gut-wrenching newsflash announcing yet another bloody clash between members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria and the Nigerian Police Force.

What made this previously familiar head-on collision particularly different was the delivery of Collateral damage in the deaths of Precious Owolabi, a graduate of performing arts from the University of Ilorin and now member of the Youth Service corps attached to Channels TV and Usman Umar, a Deputy Commissioner of Police.

Above: Fellow members of the Youth Service corps serve as pallbearers for the slain Precious Owolabi.
Below: DCP Usman Umar took a fatal bullet during the clash.

Yet another blood stain on the already blood-soaked Nigerian fabric. A senseless, criminal and unwarranted abrupt end to a bright future.

As a youth, I’m definitely riled up and sad and I think you should be too. The reward for serving your fatherland shouldn’t be a permanently stopped heartbeat.

The reward for serving your fatherland shouldn’t be a permanently stopped heartbeat.

Your guess is as good as mine with the timeline of response. The Presidency releases a half-arsed, lazy and nearly mindless statement which likely will be followed by the dispatch of the Vice President on consolation duties to the slain corps member’s parents’ home et cetera, et cetera.

We will talk about Channels TV’s culpability in sending a young lad to the very frontline of an insane clash without protection like a lamb led to the slaughter sometime later.

For now, this columnist prays for the repose of their souls. 

But there is a sinister problem right on the national doorstep, a loading avalanche. One that is all too familiar but which carries a heavy risk of being misdiagnosed and subsequently spectacularly mismanaged.

That problem is how to handle the Shi’ites (Shi’a).

How exactly do you solve a problem like the Shi'a? 

For some historical perspective, these protests that have rocked the Federal Capital Territory almost non-stop have been a motivated at least on the surface by the increasing detention of the Shi’ites’ leader and revered cleric, 66-year-old Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky by the Federal Government despite valid court orders calling for his release.

The Shi’ites belong to the branch of Islam which argues that Prophet Mohammed (S.A.W) in fact appointed Ali ibn Abn Talib his to carry on his work. This argument is vehemently and passionately opposed by another (albeit much larger) branch called the Sunni.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has the highest number of Shi’ites in the world with Nigeria coming in at 11^th all thanks to the then younger El-Zakzaky’s nationwide relentless evangelism back in the '70s.

Question therefore is, how and why has El-Zakzaky been such a threat to the government that he was injured and jailed multiple times while six out of seven sons were killed by the Nigerian armed forces?

As a young and radical preacher in the '70s, El-Zakzaky, impressed and interested in the Iranian revolution of 1979 made a trip to Iran (the home of the Shi’a) and returned with fervour and near desperate desire to copy the blueprints of the revolution.

It is at this juncture that we’re reminded that the revolution in Iran resulted in the sack of the government led by the Shah and the subsequent installation of a radical cleric Ayatollah Khomeini.

The Iranian revolution of 1979 installed Ayatollah Khomeini, a radical Shi'a cleric as Supreme Leader of The Islamic Republic of Iran. El-Zakzaky fancied that and wanted a Nigerian repeat of the experience.

On his return from that trip, he became on one hand, the new leader and cleric of the Shi’ites sect and on the other, an enemy of state who wanted to import the revolution from Iran and therefore was subjected to intense surveillance by the Federal Government which remains till this day.

The source of the government’s paranoia remains an understanding that one of the pillars of this sect as stated officially is the establishment of an Islamic state. Just like Iran.

Up until now, the sect had always employed non-violent but persistent protests to drive home their ideology. The sudden transition in tactics offers poor prognosis.

Up until now, the sect had always employed non-violent but persistent protests to drive home their ideology. The sudden transition in tactics offers poor prognosis.

The explanations for this sudden change are endless but the two more feared of all which can worse still occur at the same time are first the emergence of a State sponsor (say Iran) and/or a gradual conversion from a sect to an insurgent group.

The Iranian government through the Prosecutor-General (Mohammed Montazeri) did in fact write to the Nigerian government and in his words; “I, as the prosecutor general of the Islamic Republic of Iran, urge the Nigerian judicial authorities (to take steps) in line with their judicial independence and support for a captive citizen, and provide the ground for his release and transfer him to the Islamic Republic of Iran for treatment.”

This follows a statement in January by the Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hoseyn Jaberi-Ansari; "We have used all those channels to warn them [Nigeria] regarding this issue. So hopefully the government… would adopt wise action given the sensitive situation.”

One explanation for the sudden change in tactics to the use of force is that Iran is making a play for the soul of Islam in Nigeria.

Usually such conversions occur when members of sect become psyched up to begin to consider themselves martyrs. At such point they become nearly impossible to defeat and become ruthlessly efficient in carrying out the Jihad.

It is worthy to remember that Jama’at Ahl as-sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-jihad (or simply Boko Haram) started with non-violence in 2002 before insurgency began in 2009 following the summary execution of their leader Mohammed Yusuf by the Nigerian Police. They have since killed tens of thousands and displaced roughly 2.3 million people from their homes.

It could be argued that the summary execution of Mohammed Yusuf in 2009 by police forces was all the fuel the fire of insurgency needed and boy has it gone downhill for the Nigerian Nation ever since.

(By the way, the doctrine of the Boko Haram sect considers the Shi’a as an abomination and have viciously attacked them on a few occasions).

Insurgents never really die. They are hydra-headed. Cut one off and a more malignant character shows up.

“Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown” the old saying goes. I do not envy the President and I particularly feel for him at this point. With the now-militant Herdsmen and Boko Haram still keeping the country’s security forces awake at night, this is another potential demon equally as dangerous.

I definitely don't want to be in his shoes right now. “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown”. There are no truer words than those for a situation like this  

At the precipice of disaster and some more bloodletting, the President has but a few uncomfortable options; keep El-Zakzaky detained while maintaining a bellicose posture against his followers and he might fuel the completion of the cycle of sect to insurgent and a deadly jihad might erupt OR release the Sheikh and hope to the sweet heavens that he still does not nurse the ambition of an Islamic state.

A lot depends on how the Federal Government handle Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky in the coming weeks/months. A very volatile moment is such that the nation now finds herself. 

This is one of those decisions with reverberating consequences and only the one who sits on the throne of the Nigerian State can make it.

As a Nigerian, my fingers are crossed and I wish the Commander-in-Chief the best of luck (You should too).


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