[ad_1]
* Ask Buhari to release the leader of the IMN for peace to reign
PProfessor Ango Abdullahi, former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadou Bello University, Zaria, and the leader of the Northern Seniors Forum (NEF) at this meeting, talk about the recent Shiite protests that claimed the lives of Abuja and stated that the federal government is playing politics with the continued detention of the head of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, IMN, Sheik Ibraheem El Zakzaky, because of Saudi Arabia. He blamed what he called the House of Representatives for failing to live up to expectations as the guardian of the rule of law, but supported the President in advising that El Zakzaky is not released.
By Chioma Gabriel, Editor Special Features
Nigeria has gone from one problem to another: from the threat of herders to banditry, kidnappings, and most recently, Shiites have made headlines for protesting against the continued detention of their leader. Innocent people lost their lives in the demonstration …
EFCC and ICCP should pre-screen government nominees – MaharajJi(Opens in a new browser tab)
We have laws in this country. Nigerian citizens must be treated within the laws of that country. Innocent people are losing their lives and right now, what is happening among Shiites is that they do not seem to be treated like Nigerians. They have rights and their rights must be recognized and given to them. We have been looking at this thing for a long time. Their case has been in court for years and their leader has been released on bail for three, four or five years. Why are court decisions not respected?
Of course, Shi'ites are not the only ones to be denied their basic rights and their right to a fair hearing. Even Dasuki is in detention after the court has granted him bail for treatment. They refused to release him. Are we now a lawless country? Why do we not obey court decisions?
The case of Shiites is even different. It is a religious group. Why are they treated differently in the laws of Nigeria? These are the kinds of things that have produced a resistance group that we have today under the name of Boko Haram. At first, they were not treated as human beings. Instead, they started killing them left, right, and center. Of course, they organized themselves and started fighting back and they fought until today.
So, if they are not careful and keep pushing these boys, they will have a problem. These boys even have a different ideology from Boko Haram, which only got much later when they linked up with other international groups. If they push those, I think that they would be surprised. So basically, the way they treat them is wrong. They have rights. If they behaved badly, they should be treated according to the laws of the country. There have been court decisions, so many court decisions in their own case are ignored by the government.
The federal government has attempted to explain why El-Zakzaky was not released after the court ordered him to …
They have no explanation for this. They have no justification. This man was released on bail. A judgment was rendered against the government as to how it dealt with them. They were supposed to receive compensation, but they decided that a man who was allegedly badaulted at home with his wife would be prosecuted for committing an arson attack on the outside. These are fabrications. Politically, I do not know why their problems are politicized. They are not the only Islamic sect in the country; they are not the only religious sect. So, why are they treated differently from the laws of Nigeria?
What is there about El-Zakzaky that even Christians say: quit this man?
Is not it common sense? It's our laws that are bastardized. The courts have ruled in favor of his release. Why is not it released? It is a country where, for me, the rule of law does not exist, because if it does, there is no reason for anyone, government or otherwise, to ignore court decisions.
Is there anything else in this group that scares the government, something else that people do not know?
This is a rivalry between sects and the government has decided to be against them in favor of the sect that opposes them. There are Islamic sects that oppose the Shiite group and apparently these other groups have the ears of the authorities. This is why the authorities are practically against Shiites because other sects oppose it, which is very shameful.
Will proscribing the group bring peace?
It is a religious organization that exists in all regions of the world. All is now international. You know that Iran is a Shiite country and Iran is not friends with many countries in the world, including Saudi Arabia, the United States, and so on. It is this international policy that is played here. But you can not deprive people of their right to religion and worship. People should worship as they want. What is this bitterness? For me, it is pure bitterness.
The Shiite leader was my student at Ahmadu Bello University, where he studied economics. The Shiite sect in Islam has existed for more than 1,000 years and there are Shia groups in the world and countries that are practically Shiite countries. Iran is one of them. Iraq is one of them. Syria is one of them. So what's the problem?
For me, the authorities are clearly biased in favor of other Islamic sects.
But you know that the House of Representatives supported the president's action that El-Zakzaky should not be released?
The House of Representatives is supposed to be the guardian of the laws of this country. Should they refuse people their rights? What is at stake is politics and I understand it because the relationship between this government and the new National Assembly is different from that of the other badembly. This is a national rubber badembly. It is up to them to manage the country as they wish, but they must also be prepared for the consequences.
Around the same time, in 1966, the problem that led to the civil war was growing. Today, we have all kinds of things going on. kidnappings, banditry, shepherds threaten and people start talking about the war again …
I was aware of certain things when the Civil War took place. I chaired the 1959 general election. I have been an integral part of the system for a long time. In my head, I have never seen a country immersed in a kind of chaos like Nigeria. It has never been once in this country where we had this kind of confusion as we do now and it is not an omen at all.
And another thing is that you, the journalists, are part of the current crisis in our country.
How?
Journalists move away from reporting and are not honest. Journalists should insist that the laws of this country be respected at all times. But if selfish and biased people take parties that are obviously unfair and unjust, as in the case of Shiites, the situation can only worsen. I do not know the Shiite population in this country but they must be numerous. If journalists sit down and objectively badyze these things, they will discover that many things go wrong because people decide not to obey the rule of law or judicial decisions in this country.
You can not be in a hurry to say that people should go to court and yet you do not obey court orders. What kind of thing is this?
Would you say that some government advisers are not doing their job?
It's not just that. You know what has happened in the last four years. For example, the list of ministers has been published, but is there a change? We are back to square one. The media is part of the problem. The editorial policy of the newspapers is one of the problems. Your employers have friends in government and so you are limited. This is a problem because there is no free press in Nigeria. There is only the press that dances to the whims of those who finance the institutions. It is not like that in other countries.
But Nigeria has groups of elders who must advise the government from time to time …
Nigerians do not respect elders. Are we not the ones who are mistreated everywhere? Afenifere is abused, Ohanaeze is abused and Northerners and ACF are abused. They abuse old people everywhere and no one wants to hear the truth.
Your group, Northern Elders Forum, may have been abused because you asked the Fulani from the south to go home …
That's exactly what I said. I was the person who made the statement, but the reporter published a different thing by removing an important word from my statement. I said: "If the Fulani living in the South, wherever they are, feel threatened in their environment and do not think they have the protection of the constituted authorities, they must find safer grounds. That's all I said. But this reporter suppressed the "if", distorted the statement by saying that NEF had given the order. It was bad. Why should my statement be distorted to create tension in politics?
The president ordered the Inspector General of Police to put an end to the deplorable situation of insecurity in the country and to protect the citizens. Your take
They talk about protecting Nigerians for many years, but the situation only worsens. So, you should find the solution.
If El Zakzaky was your student, then you must know something, which may explain why the government is afraid to release him …
I think the government should tell us what it is afraid of. If someone commits an offense, he should be sued. The court decides their guilt and if the court says no, they are not guilty, they should be released on bail and the court ruling respected. If they know something, they should appear in court to say what they know. The government should convince the court why the man should not be released on bail. But if the court has made an order, it should be obeyed. Otherwise, you deny the fundamental right of the person you hold.
How to avoid a major breach of public order because of these many problems in the country?
You should go and ask the leaders you have chosen. Ask them.
Avant-garde
Related
[ad_2]
Source link
