TheCable

The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), also known as Shiites, says many Nigerians saw President Muhammadu Buhari as a messiah when he came to power in 2015.

In a statement on Monday, Abdullahi Danladi, IMN chairman, said Buhari failed members of the group despite massive support for him during the 2015 elections.

In December 2015, about 300 members of Shiites were reportedly killed during a clash with the Nigerian army in the Zaria area of Kaduna.

During the clash, about four children of Ibrahim Zakzaky, leader of the IMN, were reportedly killed.

In 2016, the Kaduna government banned the IMN group for “refusing to conduct itself with full adherence to the laws of this state”.

After reports of alleged violent activities of members of the group, the Kaduna government arrested Zakzaky and Zeenatu Ibrahim, his wife, for alleged culpable homicide, unlawful assembly and disruption of public peace among others.

The Kaduna state high court later freed the IMN leader and his wife in 2021, after over five years in detention.

“BUHARI’S APOLOGY IS ABSURD”

“It is in the history of Nigerian politics that no single person has enjoyed the support and expectation of the Nigerian masses like President Buhari did,” Danladi said.

“He was seen as a messiah from the adversities of President Jonathan’s government.

“How the common man was made to contribute monetarily to the campaign funding of Muhammadu Buhari is still fresh in their minds.

“People saw it as a religious onus to elect their redeemer so that they will live evocative and purposeful live.

“The campaign promises centred on poverty eradication, tackling insecurity and checkmating corruption.

“Now that the curtain is drawing, those staunch supporters and fogies have totally and openly abandoned the wrecked ship of the government.

“Many theories have been put forward regarding Buhari’s failure to take Nigeria to the promised land.

“Some attribute it to the lack of professionalism in selecting the cabinet and ill conception of the policies on which the government was run.

“Some saw the problem of nepotism and lack of will to checkmate the bizarre corrupt activities of the government officials.

“All these could be contributory factors in the unforgivable failure of the Buhari administration.

“Over a thousand armless people including babies, lactating mothers with their children, and old and promising youths were killed openly.

“The house of Sheikh Zakzaky was burnt and demolished along with his 70-year-old elder sister.

“Copies of the Holy Quran were destroyed along with other religious books.

“Similarly, the Fudiya Islamic Centre and Husainiyya Baqiyatullah all in Zaria were ransacked, burnt and demolished by the “popular” government of that time.

“The bodies of martyrs were dumped in mass graves. Now that the game is over for Buhari and his cohorts, let us ask: what have you achieved in the killings you supervised?

“To what extent have you succeeded in eliminating the Shiites? Have you been able to curtail the spread of Shia in Nigeria?”

The IMN chairman added that Buhari’s recent plea for forgiveness “to say the least, is absurd”, adding that it did not mean anything to those whose family members were killed.

“The spirit of those killed by your government will continue to torment you for the rest of your life,” he added.