While there is no regret for the nation getting rid of the dangerous Jonathan government, Nigeria must be apprehensive in the face of the turn or perhaps return of this “change.”
Two days ago, President Buhari presented the 2016 budget to the National Assembly, despite Nigeria experiencing a highest level national security tragedy the preceding days. According to numbers from Human Rights Watch [Nigeria: Army Attack on Shia Unjustified-HRW], at least 300 murdered Muslims were criminally buried by the Nigerian Army to cover-up evidence of the extent of the Zaria “unjustified” massacre. ABU hospital received 200 bodies in the first day after (I haven’t checked update) and 13 more were handed over to families by the Kaduna police. Adding the numbers, at least 513 were killed and with numbers of bodies left on the streets, the claim of 1000-2000 dead is realistic. The nation’s presidency declining to address this tragedy and seeing it as important to present a budget at such time is scary and forecasts horror. This cannot happen anywhere else in the world. Once again, Nigeria is setting records.
Whether this loss of lives was a result of civilian or military terror, based on the numbers affected, it deserves a position as top national priority. It is not.
What has happened and continues to happen to these minority Muslims over the past decades, through military and civilian rules alike has the full hallmarks of State-orchestrated religious persecution.
Egypt’s Morsi allowed the persecution of Coptic Christians in Egypt. He called on Egyptian youth to go join the Syrian Jihadists. Morsi thought that because he had been elected into power with his zealous identity well known, that it indicated a blank ticket to perpetrate extremist Salafist and Wahhabi, Takfiri Sunni aggression on his people and others. He was wrong. The people were not ready for that, or at least, many enough weren’t and nor was the army.
While Buhari’s past is quite known, including his persecution of a Nigerian Sage, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Nigerians largely and unregretably voted for the “change” government because the nation badly needed a break from corruption and Buhari with his anti-corruption record was the only viable opposition.
Zaria Massacre
Late Muhammed Bukhari was an ardent supporter of Muhammadu Buhari. He was part of the election observer team in Kogi state during the concluded general elections. Bukhari was murdered in cold blood while holed up in the Husainiyyah building. He and many others did not block any streets that blood crimson-river December day. They did not carry any deadly weapons and they did not stone anyone. They simply stayed in the Husainiyyah Islamic complex and watched and praised God as they were bombarded “like it was Sambisa,” as Bukhari said before he was killed.
There was no procession that fateful day of blood rivers in Zaria. From 3pm till the morning of the 13th, the Nigerian army pounded locations where the minority Muslims were residing and killed everyone in sight. The army had behaved as judge and jury. The Kaduna government has since continued demolishing all properties owned by the movement including Zakzaky’s family home. The army continued massacres at Muslim cemeteries, according to the Human Rights Watch. [See: Nigerian Army Attack On Shia, Unjustified- HRW]
While one may argue that no civilian, and please do not be retarded to use the word, “bloody,” may block a road with sticks and stones, even if they are mad at an unaddressed massacre of their own by the same army a year back who again earlier in the day, positioned officers with loads of ammunition around their center as though ready for a new attack; it is the duty of the police (mobile) to clear such blockade and not the military, be it new recruit being blocked or Chief of Staff. Hence the extreme “they tried to kill me,” defense. I have addressed this explicitly [Zaria Massacre: Why CoAS Lt. General T. Y. Buratai Needs To Resign-Brimah] and so has Attorney Femi Falana. [Zaria Massacre: Falana wants Army Chief, Buratai, others prosecuted-Falana]
Thus the continued extra-judicial assault on the Islamic Movement, tolerated by the Buhari government reeks of one thing, sadly: religious persecution.
One can predict a heap of trumped-up charges that will be thrown on the Islamic Movement, of treason, trying to over throw Nigeria and other ridiculous stuff, all in the hope, not of saving the heads of the governors and military leadership culpable in the ongoing genocide, but sadly, in the hope of securing public and international complacency to complete the wipe-out of this Muslim minority.
Nigeria’s Sunni-Takfiri Zealots
In their divide-and-rule conquerors protocol, the colonialist, just like they sought and invested in cultural differences in Africa, figured that to make the Middle East helplessly dependent on them and to ensure permanent chaos, differences must be exploited. So-called Sunni and Shia had been living side by side mostly in peace and love for decades. Most just called each-other fellow Muslims and did not even regard the arbitrary and erroneous (Haram) terms, “Sunni, Shia.”
The colonialist exploited the theological differences and created divides based on this. [See: Sunni-Shiite Conflict Reflects Modern Power Struggle, Not Theological Schism] They intentionally handed over the split-up Arab world which was till before 1914 largely under the Ottoman “caliphate” to minority dictators who where thereby insecure and guaranteed to depend on them to hold power. The French upgraded the minority Alawaites in the army and socially to create their pathway to power over Sunni majority Syria. The British who got Transjordan (Jordan, Palestine and Israel), Iraq and Hijaz-ul-Arabia, gave one family, three puppet sons of Sheriff Hussein, one got Arabia, another-Jordan, and Faisal was given Iraq. [Watch: 1914: The Shaping of the Modern Muslim World – Part 1 ~ Dr. Yasir Qadhi] Later the Britts raised the Saud family who overthrew the Hussein family and renamed Saudi Arabia after their name. This became the capital of extremist Wahhabi and Takfiri ideology and finance. Read about the McMahon–Hussein correspondence and Sykes Picot agreement and Treaty of Versailles.
The colonialists created and empowered the Wahhabi Saudi leadership to spread the extremist Salafi/Sunni-Takfiri extremist ideology. What is Takfiri: a Takfiri is a “Sunni” Muslim who feels he is better than anyone else and denies freedom of individual theology and worship to others, believing he has the right to kill anyone who is different from him. Takfiri declare “Shia” worthy of death. They declare Christians, Yazidis, Copts and the like, worthy of death. In fact they kill Muslims who they view as different with even more passion than they pursue Christians and others and by no accident, and thankfully for this group, they are hardly found pursuing Jews and are often accused of cooperating with Israel to together eliminate their common enemies, usually other Muslim groups. [See: The Islamic State (ISIS) and Israel are Allies]
Pew Poll: Nigeria Has Highest Number Of Muslims Who Support ISIS
Unfortunately, Nigeria is one of the worst Muslim nations in the world according to data. Boko Haram being able to establish in Nigeria is no accident. The people were largely silent about Boko Haram, the Sultan said nothing as he does again now as Muslims are being massacred buy the army. Some like PDP’s Bamanga Tukur, praised recently by Buhari even positively appraised Boko Haram. [Boko Haram is fighting for justice –Tukur — The Punch]
culled from saharareporter