El-Zakzaky, the leader of the
Iranian-backed Islamic Movement in Nigeria, was arrested over the course of a
few fateful days in Zaria when hundreds of his followers were killed in clashes
with the Nigerian military. To the military, Zakzaky is a dangerous preacher
and a threat to the integrity and unity of Nigeria. To his followers, he is a
spiritual and political leader to whom they swear allegiance above all others.
With roots in what has in recent times been
regarded as the holy Shi’ite town of Zaria, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky is the
fifth born of his father. At the age of fifteen, he joined Fata Provincial
Arabic School, Zaria, established by the then native authority (N.A.) for
primary training of Arabic teachers. Due to his exceptional talent, he is
recorded as having finished in two years instead of the usual four. He then
proceeded to the School of Arabic Studies (AAS) in Kano, from 1971 – 1976 and obtained
the ‘Grade II’ Certificate.
Following the completion of his school
studies, he attended the GCE A-Level Private from where he proceeded to Ahmadu
Bello University (ABU), Zaria. He studied B.Sc. Economics and graduated with a
first class degree in 1979. The degree was denied to him by the university
authorities due to his Islamic activities.
On the side of his Islamic education, he
furthered his studies from various local ulamas (scholars) who included Mallam
Sani Abdulkadir, Mallam Isa Madaka, Mallam Sani (Deputy Imam of Zaria Central
Mosque) and Mallam Ibrahim Kakaki. While he was in Kano, he studied at the
hawza (religious seminary) of Sheikh Nasir Kapara. He is also a hafiz of Quran
and until the time of his recent arrest, he has been in full time research
studies in various aspects of Islam.
Presently, he has spent almost 18 years in
dawah, calling for a total establishment of Islam. His followers say that for
this reason, he has encountered atrocities by every regime in Nigeria, both
civilian and military.
El-Zakyzaky began propagating Shi’ite Islam
around 1979, at the time of the Iranian revolution, which saw Iran’s monarchy
overthrown and replaced with an Islamic Republic under Ayatollah Khomeini.
Zakzaky believed that the establishment of a republic along similar religious
lines in Nigeria would be feasible. He has been detained several times due to
accusations of civil disobedience under military regimes in Nigeria during the
1980s and 1990s. He has been to various prisons across the country which
include Sokoto, Enugu, Kaduna, Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and presently in
Kaduna.
El-Zakzaky lived in Kwarbai quarters in
Zaria City before his recent arrest. He is married to Zeenah and has six
children. He is the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria and insists in
this interview with WDNews that he has never advocated violence in any form,
despite the violence suffered by himself and his estimated 3 million
supporters.
WDNews: Is the Islamic Movement in Nigeria
(IMN) otherwise known as Shi’ites, a sect, a violent group…?
Sheikh El-Zakyzaky: (cuts in) No, we are
none of these things you have mentioned, the goal of the Islamic movement is to
enlighten the Muslims as to their duties as individuals and as a community. A
violent group cannot own more than The movement owns more than five hundred
primary/secondary schools located in different parts of the country. You need
to attend our Fudiyyah Schools and then judge for yourselves. This is in
addition to many Islamic centers and other institutions that go as far as
teaching what you may term as Western Education. We also own the nation’s most
widely circulated newspaper, Al Mizan, in the Hausa language.
I must say this, I believe that all the
names you presume us to be, are from persons that are just afraid of us for no
reason. We will never, and not and will never engage in any form of crime to
meet any of our aims.
Even when my sons were killed by the
authorities, and the genocide committed against my people we remained a
peaceful Movement, with enlightened and responsible people as members In almost
forty years, we have not had course to resort to violence.
WDNews: The Sultan has subtly warned that
there is a tendency for radicalization of your group members?
Sheikh El-Zakyzaky: In all that we do, the
crux of the matter is we have conducted ourselves in the most civilized manner
and cannot in any way derail from that track record and engage in any form of
crime or violence. I think that in itself creates fear. The fear should be that
those in power have remained careless about the welfare of their citizens, and
crime has become a reoccurring decimal in the country and the IMN condemns all
forms of crimes and preaches against them as a religious body.
WDNews: Your clashes with the military and
authorities have been widely reported, you lost your sons in one of such
clashes.
Sheikh El-Zakyzaky: I had said before my
arrest that no matter the government there will be no change, they will only
continue to threaten – you will do this, you will do that. And I have never
been frightened or been afraid, I am not the problem of Nigeria, or the army,
the problem is the lack of welfare by the Nigerian state.
WDNews: In Zaria, you are feared and many
accuse you of running a state within a state…?
Sheikh El-Zakyzaky: In Zaria, and anywhere
all I have been doing trying to get people to know that they are being cheated,
being used, and oppressed, all arms of the government have failed. And when
they see that someone is trying to fill the gap they have left, they feel
threatened. When a government can kill, arrest, and detain without trial or
even a charge, you expect that they will induce people to say all sorts of
things. Let me at this point state that
I have never seen myself as leader of a sect, or the Islamic movement as a
sect. All I have done is to fight the injustice of the system that Nigeria is.
WDNews: What is the way forward…for example
many people have accused your members of carrying arms?
Sheikh El-Zakyzaky: Justice, all we are
asking for is justice, you just put me in detention, you are only fanning the
embers, and the truth is for how long, our schools and properties are being
destroyed, the authorities I am aware are still sending corpses of my members.
If we carried arms, it would have been a different case, we would not have this
opportunity to talk. Why is it that we carry arms and each time we are the ones
that suffer the casualties?
El-Zakyzaky’s Shi’ites in Nigeria
The Islamic Movement in Nigeria is believed
to be around anything between three and five million members, beyond being
their leader, he is charismatic, and well loved, commanding a followership that
is willing to die for him. Security sources inside government believe that for
the President, this is a test of strength and power. There is a history between
both men, with Buhari’s convoy once alleged to have been pelted with stones in
the city of Zaria during one of his political campaigns in the past, apart from
other encounters when he was a military leader.
A top government functionary told WDNews
“the Sheikh is not a fan of Buhari, and the President has never hidden his
disdain for the man, this is one complex case.”
Another source told WDNews “Buhari will not
order his release and does not care of the consequences. As this is equally a
case of might between two doctrinal powerhouse of Islam, Saudiya and Iran.
Zaria without him
But Saidu Ahmed says “Zaria is more peaceful
without him, I know there is freedom of worship or religion in Nigeria but with
him, there was a fear factor in Zaria, he had his own army, his own school,
even flag etc.”
It is also a twist because several persons
say with his absence crime rate in Zaria has become a problem, and it is the
peace of the grave, Saidu sums it up this way, “If anything happens to him, I
can tell you Zaria would burn.
Commissions and Panels
The Kaduna State instituted panel has
suffered several adjournments as a result of the refusal of the Movement to
make a case, While the panel argues that the Movement was a body different from
the Sheikh.
The Movement insists that it would not
appear unless her leader was released. In the course of this report, a top
member of the panel told WDNews that they had met with the Sheikh who gave his
approval for the panel.
This however is an assertion that Ibrahim
Musa and Nusaiba Ibrahim Zakzaky, daughter of the Sheikh say is false.
His daughter told WDNews that her father
who was shot several times alongside their mom before he was taken away by the
military, is only believe to be in the custody of the Department State Security
Service (DSS), and till date nothing has been heard of him.
Ibrahim Musa, spokesperson for the movement
who was initial thought to have been killed during the clash told WDNews that
about 200 of their members were being held at Kaduna’s central prison in
northern Nigeria, and several have already died.
“Sadly what we do not know is the current
state of health of our leader, and one thing we know is that the current
administration is out to prove a point against us.
When WDNews asked why they had refused to
appear before any of the panels set up either by the Kaduna State government,
federal or military authorities, Musa said, “It was obvious that all the panels
were prejudiced, already the country’s President, Muhammadu Buhari has accused
us of being violent and trying to create “a state within a state.”
Brigadier-General Rabe Abubakar, Nigeria’s
defense spokesman, in comments monitored by WDNews while doing this exclusive
had told a medium that “It would not be appropriate to comment on Zakzaky’s
detention or the forthcoming trial before the Kaduna inquiry was complete, but
did say that the military had submitted itself to investigation since “we have
nothing to hide.”
When WDNews reached out to Khadijah Hawaja
Gambo, a member of the Federal Government Commission, she said she could not
comment as she was a member of the Commission, but that she continues to
maintain an objective stance. She said the Commission was still sitting and
will do the right thing.
What remains to be seen in this unfolding
drama is what exactly is the right thing, indeed what is the right thing defers
from one person to another. Is the Nigerian government right in keeping the
scholar, amidst growing protests in few states in the North, and Nigeria, or
the sheikh is a menace to the society that needs to be tamed are some of the
questions only few can really answer.
Danger
But experts believe that there is danger,
especially given the history of Boko Haram and how it’s founder Mohammed Yusuf
was killed. Ali Ibraheem in Zaria (not real names) tells WDNews “If anything
happens to our leader, I cannot honestly tell you what will happen.” Infact he
won’t die, it is not something we should think of, he added.
However, Ibrahim Musa, who is President of
the Media Forum of the Movement is a bit pensive in his response, “In shaa
Allah nothing will happen to him, but I am sure if anything happens we have a
council of scholars that will direct us on what action to take.”
WDNews resident security expert also notes
that “we may be toying with a new group being currently radicalized as a result
of the continued detention of her leader.”
We are all witnesses of the trajectory of
the Boko Haram story from Mohammed Yusuf to the fall out today, the current
scenario is not too different, the government needs to thread with caution. We
still lack the intelligence to track “possible terrorism and cases of
radicalization at the root.”..
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