Stones Turned Bullets

To be forewarned is to be forearmed. The ensuing violent protests by members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) raise lots of worry for a nation already ridden with security issues. Advocacies by Nextier SPD have been on possible ways of tactfully approaching the Shiites issue.

In 2018, Should Stones Become Bullet, raised speculations about the possibility of violence given the clampdowns the frequent Shiites protests face. It appears stones eventually became bullets. For two days now, there have been violent clashes between Shiites protesters and security operatives in the nation’s capital, Abuja. Shiites: Deaf Ears is a reminder of the effect of state’s inability to effectively resolve the issues around the Shiites protests in the escalation of the crisis.

The Nigerian government is yet to come out with concrete actions that will address the thickening plot of the Shiites protests.  As A Slippery Slope argues, government appear not be aware of the dangerous part it is treading, apparently it has not learnt any lesson from the Boko Haram insurgency. With the way incidents are panning out, it seems members of IMN are becoming more aggressive in their ‘peaceful’ protests and are reacting to violence with violence. It arguable that the strategy of Nigeria’s security operatives is militarizing the group. Chances of radicalism are very much imminent.

According to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), perceptions of injustice, human-rights violations, sustained mistreatment of certain groups, etc , are considered to be important push factors of violent extremism. It further argues that when these inequalities come together for a particular group, radical movements and violence are more likely to erupt.

Promoting rule of law and human-rights-based approach will help to tackle the issue tactfully. Government must lead by example and respect the law that demands for Zakzaky’s release or protest in court why it has reservations for his release.

Security agencies while cordoning protests should be more tolerable when dealing with protesters.  Use of live ammunitions should only arise in cases where the security of lives and properties are threatened, otherwise it should be a secondary resort. With the way government is applying brute force in dealing with Shiites and the latter’s growing restiveness and aggression, full-blown violent conflict cannot be ruled off.