IF TELEVISION footages, social media videos and newspapers reports of Tuesday, 2nd July, 2019, of the enormous damages inflicted by defiant Shi'ite adherents to the heavily-guarded gates of the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, were truly authentic, it is fresh proof that teeming street children have come off age and are ready to foment fresh security challenges if swift, adequate and professional measures were not quickly put in place to securely nip in the bud the violent agitations for the release of Sheikh Ibraheem el Zakzaki, leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, from protective custody or detention!
Other protests by the same group in spite of the alleged fatal causalities of three dead persons, (two protesters and one policeman), continued elsewhere in Abuja on Wednesday, 3rd July, 2019, and Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria simultaneously, but were professionally dispersed with tear gas while unspecified number of protesters were arrested!
Their grouse was hinged on the same demand since 2015, that their leader whom they claimed was seriously ill should be released to seek medical attention abroad and were prepared to die if their demand was not met as they brazenly threw stones and several hard objects at armed security agents! It was reported that they also seized a policeman's pistol and shot sporadically at security agents! Videos posted on the internet revealed that protesters involved in the violent uproar were youths between the ages of 15-25 bracket and were adamant and unremorseful
Government asserts that Shiite Muslims have been brainwashed to disobey laws of the Federation of Nigeria by el Zakzaky, who had elevated himself into an institution above constituted authorities in view of his large followership and international support from the Islamic State of IRAN!


THESE UNFORTUNATE YOUTHS NEED GREATER SOCIAL INTERVENTION!
Recent national statistics on child education claim that out-of-school-children in Nigeria has risen from ten to thirteen million, in spite of the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, (NHGSFP), and other incentives introduced to check-mate the alarming figure of primary school drop-out rate, pegged at about 30%, during President Buhari's first term on office! In 2018, over USD$ 183million was invested in the cost-effective programme, according to official sources!

Over NINE MILLION pupils in 30 States presently benefit from the Federal Government's free feeding programme which has taken the children off the streets to actualize formal education from Primary I to at least Junior Secondary I, while the economic value-chain-benefits of government's Social Investment Programme, (SIP), flow to agriculture/poultry farmers and food contractors who supply food stuffs, chickens and eggs etc. to actualize the masses-oriented venture.
But more needed to be done outside of feeding to vocational interests in agriculture, theatre arts, building technology/masonry, aquaculture, movie industry etc, to save the rest of these children who are endangered due to the influence of the Almajiri System of Education which selfish and exploitative religious leaders explore to brainwash them with fanatical doctrines that were opposed to acceptable international norms!

The freedom of association and worship as stipulated in the Nigerian Constitution gives much latitude for manipulators in the system to abuse those privileges but, it is believed that the Federal Government is now poised to proscribe the Almajiri System of Education and opt for formal studies that would embrace both Islamic and Western Education as substitute!


PAST VIOLENT PROTESTS LINKED TO SHI'ITE MUSLIMS!
Although, the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), group claimed they were a peaceful Faith organisation, past events of violence linked to them proved the opposite. In December 2015, the group blocked the Zaria-Kano Highway in a massive procession of thousands of adherents and refused to give way for the Nigerian Army Chief of Staff entourage to pass through!
They resisted all entreaties but became very violent. And between 12-14th December days of the confrontation, the group alleged that at least 348 members died while the Army debunked the figure as highly exaggerated!

In another incident also, a lorry-load of hundreds of new cutlasses, camouflaged with leaves and straws were discovered by security agents during a protest march by the same group in Zaria in 2015!
On 30th October, 2018 the same group laid siege on the Federal Capital Territory from the satellite town of Nyanyan on the Nasarawa State axis forcefully marched into the city until they were halted by soldiers who mounted road blocks to repel the dangerous move to avoid another round of bloodshed!


DEMAND FOR EL ZAKZAKI 'S RELEASE!
Since the year 2015, when el Zazaki and his wife had been facing trial over allegations of culpable homicide, unlawful assembly among other charges, sustained pressures have been mounted by his followers for his release
This Islamic leader is educated and possesses a first degree of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, but majority of his followers are illiterates. He began to spread his religious ideologies on the city of Zaria, Kaduna State, since the early 1980s and over the years, was able to build a large population of followers who could not be said to have gainful employments but became unruly, unmanageable and disobedient to all social laws and lawful authorities/institutions - including the Police and Nigerian Army personnel!

It is no secret that ambitious religious leaders needed adherents to believe in their doctrines and propagate the messages/ideologies in order to have exposition that would eventually attract popularity, fame, power and fortune and el Zakzaky is not an exception!

SHI'ITE MUSLIMS ACTIVITIES IN NIGERIA!
Shi'ite Muslims in Nigeria are in minority to their SUNNI counterparts world-wide and while desperately craving for global recognition, they began to constitute themselves into an autonomous religious sect due to the secular state of the nation which allows for freedom of worship! Although affiliated to IRAN – the acclaimed Shiite Muslim country of the world - not much searchlight was beamed on them by Nigerian security agents until in recent years when they grew in population and became unruly in their mode of worship and procession in Zaria, North Central State!

During the Sect’s confrontation with the Nigerian Army Chief of Staff whom they allegedly planned to assassinate in 2015, the Islamic State of Iran tried to meddle in the internal affairs of Nigeria by summoning Nigeria’s Ambassador in Tehran for explanations on the detention of Shiite leader, Sheikh Zakzaky and deaths of several of his followers in Zaria, but was rebuffed by the Federal Authorities!


NOW THAT THEY ARE GETTING WILDER!
With recent developments which involve violence of high degree, possession of dangerous weapons, arms and ammunitions, confrontations against law enforcement agents in a suicidal bid to overheat the polity:
The Shi'ite Islamic Movement of Nigeria can no longer claim to be a peaceful organisation!
Its members can no longer play the victim by declaring that they were ready to die, if their leader was not released!
Handlers of the Movement must follow due process of the Law and advocate their members to shun every form of violence if they were truly a peaceful religious body and should not exaggerate a matter that borders on national security/interest.
Religious extremism is unacceptable, even in a SECULAR STATE as Nigeria, which in NINE years, is still grappling with Boko Haram insurgency which had claimed thousands of innocent lives and We advocate all law-abiding citizens should be spared of any other form of religious upheaval from being unleashed on this nation!
The sanctity of lives must now take the front-burner because too much bloodshed had also been recorded by the hands of murderers, bandits, assassins, cattle herdersmen/rustlers, militants, gunmen etc, on virtually daily basis and all Nigerians must rise in unison to condemn the very unacceptable situation once and for all by supply authentic information to all law enforcement agencies about the activities and movements of these enemies of the STATE, who are not GHOSTS but human!
Nigerians are tired of all forms of insurgency and violence and concerted efforts should be made by National Orientation Agency (NOA), in this regard, to avail the good citizens who are in the majority all necessary precautions to take in all given circumstances of national upheavals!

IT IS OUR CANDID OPINION IS THAT THE TRIAL OF SHEIHK el ZAKZAKI AND HIS WIFE SHOULD BE ACCELERATED AND JUSTICE BE METED TO THEM - WHICHEVER WAY IT TURNS - PRISON OR FREEDOM, SO THAT ANOTHER BOUT OF RELIGIOUS INSURRECTION CAN BE AVOIDED!

It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment. (Prov 18:5)

I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

All his terms have been negative both in the military and now democratic eras. Let's not act like there's ever really been anything great or outstanding as a positive development under buhari's rulership.