The external dynamics of Zaria incident (ll)

Also published in Daily Trust  

Notwithstanding the justifiability or otherwise of the amount of force used by the military during their recent showdown with the Shiites in Zaria or indeed during any similar incident in the past, it’s obvious that the recent incident has provoked Iran’s anger, which has ever since then continued to manifest itself in the form of blackmail, campaign of calumny and threat against the Nigerian government.

Though the federal government might have downplayed the implication of Iran’s reaction in the aftermath of the incident, the reality is that, its reaction represents the beginning of its overt mischievous activities against Nigeria. This raises worries about Nigeria’s ability to cope with the associated security challenges and avert their destabilizing effects, in view of its obvious inexperience in the sophisticated modus operandi of Iran’s clandestine operations against any country that refuses to tolerate the disruptive and subversive practices of the Shiites among its citizens.

Iran maintains efficient international intelligence networks, well-funded media propaganda outlets, many European and American-based apologists masquerading as objective analysts, puppet organizations masquerading as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in different parts of the world, experts in diplomatic maneuvering and, in fact, a well-armed special military unit i.e. the so-called Quds Force that is responsible for the formation, funding and deployment of Shi’a militias to any country where Iran has  particular strategic interests.

In its media, for instance, there have been persistent allegations and claims that the recent incident was actually a systematic display of Nigerian government’s hostility against the Shiites in the country, and that the Nigerian government has always killed the Shiites and destroyed their religious shrines in the country, due to their anti-Zionist and anti anti-American stands.

Besides, many Iranian officials and turbaned Iranian and non-Iranian clerics have appeared on various Iran’s local and international media outlets to make some ridiculous insinuations and allegations to the effect that that the Nigerian government was actually acting on the instructions of the US and the Israeli intelligence agencies, or playing into their hands by killing the Shiites, as claimed by Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami in Tehran, as reported by Press TV channel.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Iran-linked London-based so-called Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), Massoud Shadjareh claimed that the Nigerian military killed over one thousand Shiites and buried their bodies in mass graves during the recent showdown.

Interestingly, these particular falsehoods disseminated by Iran, the organizations and the individuals linked to it, which are also part of the Shiites’ strategy of self-victimization to attract sympathy, are clearly intended to incite the Nigerian Muslims and indeed other Muslim communities elsewhere against the Nigerian government, and portray it as an anti-Shi’a government.

Yet, Iran’ media outlets continue to demonize the Nigerian government in the eyes of the international community by portraying it as sympathetic towards the terrorists, or an accomplice in terrorism. For instance, the Iraqi Ayn Al-Iraq news agency quoted an influential Iraqi Shi’a turbaned cleric, Moqtada As-sadr openly accusing Nigerian government of committing ISIS-styled terrorism against the Shiites in Nigeria, adding that Nigeria has turned into a terrorist state or it, at least, approves of what the terrorists do, covers up their activities or gives them the green light to kill the Shiites, claiming further that terrorists have infiltrated the Nigerian government and its military.

Besides, barely two days after the incident, the Iran military posted on its official Facebook page on 15 December 2015 that “The time when they could oppress Shias and get away with it is long gone, we shall pay a visit to the puppet regime in Nigeria soon, God willing.”

Though many Nigerians may downplay the seriousness of this blatant threat, government can’t afford to downplay, let alone ignore it considering Iran’s notoriety in destabilizing many countries.  After all, in 2013 three Iran-linked Lebanese nationals were arrested in Kano in connection with a mindboggling discovery of a large cache of dangerous weapons that included 21 RPG missiles, 11 anti-tank weapons, 17 AK-47s, four anti-tank mines, two sub-machine guns, a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) 76 grenades etc, in a warehouse in Kano while the Lebanese owner of the warehouse who was equally linked to Iran was outside the country.

In the same year also, an internationally blacklisted Iranian national named Azim Aghajani who was believed to be a member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, and his Nigerian accomplice, one Usman Abbas Jega were convicted and sentenced by a Lagos court for smuggling thirteen shipping containers of weapons that included mortars, grenades, rockets etc, into Nigeria in 2010.

Obviously, Nigeria lacks adequate intelligence capabilities to pre-empt the impacts of Iran’s destabilizing activities, as it also lacks adequate diplomatic expertise and, of course, effective media outlets to counter Iran’s systematic smear campaign against it. Yet, in view of the foregoing (starting from the first part  of this piece), and though Shi’a phenomenon is not the only security threat that Nigeria is grappling with, its particularly peculiar ideological and external dynamics make it imperative for government to conceive and implement particularly appropriate strategies and measure to tackle it.