Re: Army-Shiite clashes: JCI report at a glance

Reading the above mentioned article in Daily Trust of Friday 5th August, 2016 by Mohammad Qaddam Sidq Isah – the self-acclaimed analyst on Middle East and Islamic Affairs, I busted into laughter. Specifically how he deliberately diverted from the Judicial Committee of Inquiry’s terms of references which were: the allegation against the members of IMN […]

Reading the above mentioned article in Daily Trust of Friday 5th August, 2016 by Mohammad Qaddam Sidq Isah – the self-acclaimed analyst on Middle East and Islamic Affairs, I busted into laughter.
Specifically how he deliberately diverted from the Judicial Committee of Inquiry’s terms of references which were: the allegation against the members of IMN (Shiites) for barricading the road for Chief of Army Staff, Lietenant General Yusuf Tukur Buratai and the killing of hundreds armless members of IMN (Shiites) by members of the Nigerian Army; thus he dwelt on something different by castigating Shiism as an ideology – which he is popularly known at doing.
In his attempt to fool his readers he said, “I wrote a two-part article titled ‘the external dynamics of the Zaria incident’ on December 18 and 25, 2015 respectively, in which I avoided speculation over the party responsible for sparking the clashes pending the outcome of the official inquiry in to the incident”, no sensible person will agree with him that this was why he avoided the issue. Other columnists like Mohammed Haruna, Mahmud Jega and Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed, who always remain fair and neutral in their commentaries did not skirt the issues. And, unlike him, they never, in any of their write ups, castigated Shiism. They are fair and objective to all. Why couldn’t he borrow a leaf from them, if not because of his Wahhabi mindset?
All I know is that Nigerian state is in serious need of unity among its citizens, especially at this critical times that the nation has suffered from Boko Haram insurgency and Niger-Delta militancy. Such unity cannot be achieved until we live in peace and harmony. What’s required now is mutual respect and understanding. I don’t think Qaddam is more Sunnah than Professor Ahmed El Dayyib- the chief Imam for Azhar Central Mosque in Egypt – who recently called for the need for unity between Sunnah and Shi’a.
The choices, however, are now ours’ as citizens of Nigeria to either accept, overlook and live with our differences – which we were naturally made to be, so that the country will be on a good track not only between intra religious groups but even among inter religious groups.

Ibrahim M. Aboki, Azare, Bauchi State, [email protected]