RE-THE PERSECUTION OF SHIA MUSLIMS IN SOKOTO

      The article on Mohammed Haruna’s “Wednesday Column” (Daily Trust 6/2/2008) bearing the above title, would have passed for a sincere comment by a concerned social critic on the state of affairs in a city for which he should have respect. It should ordinarily be regarded as an honest contribution to the sustenance of peace and order in Sokoto, where Mohammed Haruna himself acknowledges has been historically famous for peace and harmony. And coming from the renown Mohammed Haruna, a commentator who should command respect, a Nupe man from Niger State and thus a descendant of Malam Dendo, one of Danfodiyo’s flag-bearers, the write-up should automatically earn value and currency.

      However, considering its timing, the sloppy manner it is presented (which is uncharacteristic of the writer) and its total lack of balance and fairness, Mohammed Haruna’s commentary can best be regarded as a misguided piece; though the possibility of the write-up being a patronized and sponsored mischief cannot altogether be over-ruled, again considering that Mohammed Haruna is too much of an accomplished media practitioner to be caught making such a mistake.

      The article’s re-hash of the history of the Shi’a sect and its centuries – old antagonism against mainstream Islam is the least of Mohammed Haruna’s literary sins. Even his unsuccessfully subdued glorification of Shi’a is pardonable, since as a Nigerian citizen, the commentator has a right to his convictions, no matter how “disagreeable” and “irrational” they are. Mohammed Haruna is thus entitled to not only speak out for Shi’a but to also belong to it or any other more bizarre sect of his choice.

      However what self-professed (rather busy-body) social critics and watchers of democracy like Mohammed Haruna fail-or refuse for self-serving reasons-to realize is that the right to religious belief does not confer on anybody the licence to insult another person’s beliefs. No section of the constitution of Nigeria or of any country for that matter, guarantees the freedom to use the exercise of religious duties and expression of beliefs to provoke and incense the adherents of other creeds or sects. This is a fact that Mohammed Haruna refused to raise in his write-up.

      As the columnist is presumably ignorant of the background of Shi’a – Sunni tensions in Sokoto, it is worthwhile to educate him on the circumstances that led to the incidents he so carelessly wrote about. The Shi’a group in Sokoto, who Haruna himself admits are a fractional minority, have existed in the state since the early eighties. Their activities have witnessed an increasing degree of frequency and potency since then, without hindrance due mainly to the tolerance of the Sunni majority. However, as time went on, the Shi’a activities and (particularly) public utterances began to assume an inciting and provoking extremism.

      The Shi’aits had set base at the two important Jumu’at Mosques of Shehu Danfodiyo and Muhammadu Bello, where the Sultans of Sokoto and all their prominent Mullahs attend Friday prayers. There, the Shi’aits would mount sermons during which they would insult the disciples of Prophet Muhammad, Caliphs and prominent teachers of Islam, including (and specifically) Imam Malik, the father of the Islamic doctrine being followed by 99.99% of the people of Sokoto. This is the conduct of the Shi’aits that Mohammed Haruna apologetically described as “disagreeable”

      The more provoking activity of the Shi’aits however is the manner they commemorate the martyrdom of Hussein. Here, the greatest pain is not the mortification to which the sect subject themselves as a sign of mourning but that which they inflict on the Sunni majority, as they parade the major streets of Sokoto, screaming insults at the Caliphs of Islam and prominent Sunnis, both alive and deceased. At these occasions, the Shi’aits not only denigrate revered Sunnis but also express to the hearing of all, a desire (and plan) to eliminate Sunni leaders and teachers. This ignited the first round of clashes between Sunnis and Shi’aits three years ago. Then last year, when Sheikh Ja’afar, a prominent Sunni teacher and Shi’ait critic was assassinated in Kano, there were widespread celebrations by Shi’aits in Sokoto, thus suggesting for the Sunni majority, a connection between the Shi’aits’ utterances and the murder. Public suspicion was heightened by the subsequent point-blank and Kano-syle murder of Sheikh Umar Danmaishiya in Sokoto, another renown Sunni preacher and ‘Shi’ait critic.

      This sequence of events ignited attacks on Shi’aits and suspected adherents of the sect in Sokoto, in an unfortunate but perfectly spontaneous and logical mass reaction among the Sunni majority. It would be everybody’s wish that the Sunni’s were not normal human beings, who would succumb to retaliatory impulses when extremely provoked. It would however be everyone’s wish that the Shi’aits had, in the first place, not been so provocative.

      Therefore, much as Mohammed Haruna cannot resist pointing an arbitrary accusing finger at the authorities in Sokoto, the government under the situation could only do its best to contain the situation and prevent it from escalating to a real bloodbath. And if Haruna had bothered to make an attempt at fairness, he would have given atleast to mention of the swift efforts of the authorities to restore normalcy and calm to the city. Those efforts, Haruna may like to know, were the concert of the government, security agencies and Sultanate Council, who deserve some credit for bringing the situation under control under 24 hours. For there were instances in Nigeria when religious tensions spiralled out of control for days, including in Kaduna, where Mohammed Haruna has lived nearly all his life.

      Mohammed Haruna should really learn from his vast experience of watching and commenting on issues and events. That should instruct him on the logic of cause-and-effect: the viscous circle of succeeding incidents that often produce complicated events that are hard to subjectively explain. This difficulty can clearly be seen in Haruna’s write-up. With scanty knowledge and information and a strong bias, he has only succeeded in producing a most insincere and unbalanced analysis of the intra-religious situation in Sokoto.

      Incidentally, the columnist should know that the situation in Sokoto has remarkably improved, mostly owing to the steps taken by the authorities, which have given the populace the confidence that matters are in control. One of those measures is the demolishing of the Shi’ait headquarters. The building, which Haruna ignorantly identifies as the family house of the leading Shia cleric, Malam Qasim Rinin Tawaye, is infact a Shia haven located in a Sunni stronghold, in the old City, within the vicinity of the Sultan’s Palace.

      What Haruna’s informants/sponsors failed to tell him is that the compound, that is infamously known as Markass was the virtual Shia military command post during the crisis, from where they launched assaults on armless residents within the neighbourhood. Demolishing the house is therefore a security expediency in the circumstances. More over, city and urban planning regulations the world over allow for the relocation of the place of worship of a minority religion, if it conflicts with the dominant religious leaning of the residents of its current location.

      Mohammed Haruna should have also got his facts right on the detention of the 138 persons, he claims are being held for the murder of Danmaishiya. He would have discovered that a number of them are already being tried, not in connection with the murder but with other aspects of the sectarian crisis. Infact, no one has yet been charged for the assassination, as investigations are still being conducted on the incident.

      All said, Haruna’s article is less a problem for the Sokoto State Government, which is his obvious target, than it is a serious dent on his credibility as a media practitioner. Although it is understandable that the columnist could use some patronage having been on the periphery of the profession for sometime, there is still the need for decorum and atleast an attempt to seem credible on his part. Because it will indeed be unfortunate, if the reputation Mohammed Haruna has built over the years is used as a bargaining chip to increase his value for the patronage of mischief-makers.

      SAYADDI SANI

      SOKOTO CINEMA AREA,

      SOKOTO.                sahagar7@yahoo.com