Former Kano Deputy Governor Dumps PDP, Kwankwaso

His resignation is coming barely eight weeks after he dumped
his former boss, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, and the All
Progressives Congress

A former Deputy Governor of Kano State, Prof. Hafiz Abubakar,
has resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party.

His resignation is coming barely eight weeks after he dumped his
former boss, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, and the All Progressives
Congress.

It could be recalled that Prof. Abubakar resigned from
administration of Ganduje over eight weeks ago following the
defection of Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso to the PDP and seeming
irreconcilable differences with the governor.

He was member of Kwankwasiya’s movement before his resignation
from the PDP.

I Have Withdrawn My Membership of Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP)- #Profhafiz #Abubakar pic.twitter.com/bWlquKYKAx^[1][2][3]

— Prof. Hafiz Abubakar (@ProfHafizAbu) October
30, 2018^[4]

A Question from a Non-Shiite Nigerian
By Ibrahim Sheme

Anybody saying the Shiites could be made to become “hardened”
through the ongoing strong-arm security response to their
demonstration in Abuja does not appear to know them properly.
Theologically they do not harbour “hardening elements” in the mould
of, say, the Boko Haram as some analysts think. For one, they fully
believe in “Boko” (western education), that is why they are
everywhere – in business, politics, government, media, schools, and
even the security services, among others. And that is why they do
everything in the open. The guys we see demonstrating in the
streets are merely the “face of the Shiites”, but they are not the
only ones.

From my reading of their history and activities, I do not
believe they will engage in an insurgency like that of BH. I cannot
think of a country where they did that, including those countries
where they were/are severely persecuted – e.g. Iran under the Shah
and today’s Saudi Arabia. But they believe in increasing their
numbers to such a humungous level where it is possible for them to
launch a revolution. Alternatively, they believe in acquiring or
utilising power through participatory politics and all other
legitimate human endeavours – very much unlike the BH whose core
belief centres on armed resistance.

Someone in the security circle seems to know only the aspect of
their non-violent, participatory bent, in my view, hence the
gruesome campaign to depopulate them through the brazen killing of
their unarmed members participating in civil protest. But killing
them is a misplaced and misguided option. The fact that what they
are doing tallies with their constitutional rights makes the
killing illegal and untenable and disturbingly smacks of a Sunni
plot.

Another thing those authorising the killing do not seem to know
is that these gun-shootings don’t scare the Shiites into submission
or dispersal because martyrdom is at the core of their theology.
The only “hardening element” the killing tends to cause is that it
strengthens the Shiites’ sense of martyrdom and galvanises them
into more protest. In the end the government is the loser because
it is attracting negative world and local attention to itself.

Already, there is a growing backlash. One, human rights
organizations have been crying foul, with Amnesty International two
days ago giving a damning report on the strong-arm response to the
Shi’a protest. Two, more than a million votes (of the Shiites) have
already been lost by the ruling APC in next year’s general
elections. I daresay most Shi’a votes in 2015 went to Buhari rather
than to Jonathan, but this time around your guess is as good as
mine! Three, some local legal luminaries and civil rights
campaigners are talking about compiling evidence for filing a case
at the International Criminal Court (ICC) sometime in the future.
The question from me, a non-Shi’a Nigerian, is this: Pray, does
Baba Buhari need all this awful negativity?

If I were an aide with the President’s listening ear, I would
tell Baba this:

1. Stop the brutal killing of the young protesters.
2. Release Sheikh Elzakzaky, his wife and other Shi’a detainees
immediately.
3. Rebuild and give back Elzakzaky’s Zaria house and learning
centre.
4. Pay compensation to Elzakzaky for the killings and the
demolitions.
5. Advise Governor El-Rufai and any other start governor to reach
rapprochement with the Shiites.
6. Prosecute in court any Shiite found breaking the law in due
course.

Doing this, I believe, is in accordance with the oath of office
the President took. Sadly, I am no such aide and it appears that
those who have his listening ear either are afraid to tell him the
truth or actually think the present like of action is the best. Or,
maybe, don’t give a hoot about any possible consequences.

Ibrahim Sheme is a bilingual Nigerian writer, journalist,
filmmaker and publisher.