El-Zakzaky: Preventing a Shiite revolution in Nigeria -By Edebhagba Justice

As the Islamic Movement in Nigeria continues violent protest in Abuja,in a calculated bid to force the government to free their leader, Sheikh El-zakzaky, from detention,we must once again not get carried away by the flood of sympathy for the percieved victims (the IMN) and beer palour outrage at the percieved antics of the government,which is exactly the view that the Shiites wants to cultivate among the populace.

As much as freedom of religion is enshrined in the Nigerian constitution,it is however a very severe crime to build a personality cult and a group that opposes the sovereignty of the nation. What many Nigerians may not know is that the IMN was created as a vehicle for not only proselytizing people to Shia Islam,but also to ultimately bring about a Shiites revolution in Nigeria, similar to the Iranian revolution of 1979. Ibrahim El-zakzaky, a man once alleged to have made the statement, “there is no government but the government of Allah”, has proven to be a fishbone in the throat of successive governments in Nigeria through provocative speeches and yearly mass processions causing public unrest; both of which are criminal at best and treasonable at worst. If there was ever a chance that Nigeria would be islamized,it would most probably be by the IMN-led Shiites,if allowed to continue unchecked. In the case of Sheikh Zakzaky, one can only wonder if this is all one man’s megalomania or a grander Iranian plot to ship off its system of “guardianship of the Islamic jurist” to Africa.

It is therefore my opinion that the federal government proscribes IMN and it’s affiliates before the situation gets out of hand. A group whose followers takes inspiration from the radical theocracy of Iran and practically worship it’s leader in the same form that the Iranians revere the Ayatollahs, poses a danger to a secular democracy such as Nigeria.

Sheikh Zakzaky must remain in protective custody not just to prevent him from having freedom to plot further mischief,but also to protect him from harm. It should be understood that if such a personality were to die,he becomes a matyr and the centrepiece for an insurgency(in the spirit of Boko Haram’s Mohammed Yusuf). Wouldn’t it then make sense that those who would want to destabilize the nation would need only to kill him and blame the government?. In this case,should El-zakzaky be free to roam unprotected, it could spell doom for peace in Nigeria.

As much as we must have utmost respect for judicial processes in Nigeria,we must also recognise that there are times when national interest supercedes rule of law.