History is fairly decided now on how the Boko Haram uprising started. Mohammed Yusuf, whatever his woes, was murdered unjustly and extra-judicially by the Nigeria Police after he was abducted by security operatives from his in-law’s house. Whether he was shot while trying to escape or simply killed to serve as a deterrent, what cannot be disputed is that he was extra-judicially executed in public view and this was a huge mistake that thousands of innocent people have died, been displaced and abducted for. And we are still paying dearly for it.

Now, in similar series of events, the crisis in northern Nigeria involving El Zakzaky’s Islamic Movement of Nigeria has been allowed to spiral into the huge wildfire we are nursing today. Co-ordinated attacks against Shiites have been carried out in several cities in the north from Zaria, to Katsina, Sokoto and even Jos.

What are we to make of this. The Presidency chooses to assume the role of the confused and in-the-dark by stander while several members of the group are routinely attacked and killed for no reason being Shiite.

In July 2014, three of El Zakzaky’s children were killed in an attack against the Shiites who were going about an annual pro-Palestinian procession in Zaria, Kaduna. The military claimed it was acting in self-defence during that incident. Another attack soon followed and although Boko Haram claimed responsibility, El Zakzaky maintains that it was another attack by the Nigerian Army.

In what is perhaps the most controversial clash till date, last December, over 300 Shiites were killed allegedly by the Nigerian army because they had blocked the passage of army chief, Tukur Buratai. The two parties traded blames and the end result? El Zakzaky’s arrest.

Even if the Nigerian government was turning a deaf ear, the international community was paying rapt attention including Iran, where there is the largest concentration of Shiites. After the incident, President Hassan Rouhani issued a warning to President Buhari to conduct fact-findings that will reveal the real cause of the issue.

This warning should never have been taken with levity. Shiites have been involved in some of the most violent uprisings in history. Today El Zakzaky is still under arrest and his followers are being killed across states of the nation while the President expresses sadness at the bombing in Maiduguri, but keeps mum about the killing of Shiites.

Beyond the issue of constitutional freedom to express thought and practice religion of choice, the treatment of the Shiites in Nigeria till date especially by the Nigerian government at all levels and through its various agencies calls for serious concerns if we do not want another terror group to nurse as we usher out Boko haram (or claim to).

Roqeebah

Creative mind. Enthusiast. Learner. Multipotentialite. And here, an assistant editor.