Thousands of Muslims rallied peacefully in northern Nigeria on Saturday to demand the return of Egypt’s Islamist former president Mohamed Morsi, ousted by the military early last month. Around 4,000 demonstrators carrying banners and placards chanted pro-Morsi songs and slogans outside a mosque in northern Nigeria’s biggest city, Kano, an AFP reporter witnessed. Organisers put the number of protesters at 5,000.
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The last time I witnessed such demonstration in Kano it snowballed into riot where hundreds were brutally massacred. Nobody has tendered an apology. It was also under the administration of Governor Kwankwoso.
On September 11th, 2001, terrorists hijacked four plans inside the United States and flew them into World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and one heading for the White House or Capitol crashed landed somewhere in Pennslavania. The World Trade Center which was one time the tallest buildings in the world came down within few minutes in one of the most terrifying way witnessed live on television all over the world. When the whole world was shocked by that event, some people in some parts of the world were celebrating. Among those celebrating were some people in Kano at the United State's misfortune. Osama bin Laden, United States prime suspect became an instant hero with his posters
littered everywhere. A lot of young people added 'bin' to their names. In later years I have seen a lot of families name their children 'Osama.'
A month after 9/11, the US started it bombardment of Kandahar and Kabul that housed the regime of Mullah Omar who harboured Osama bin Laden after an ultimatum that he should handover the man elapsed. Anti-war demonstration hit the West, and in the Muslim world there was demonstration in solidarity with the Afganistan government. Kano loves copycat and attention and intended to overdo theirs to get into the news. The first Friday after the attack on Afghanistan, Kano demonstrators hit town after Friday's prayer and headed for Sabon Gari, an area where most Christians and non-indigenous people reside. The demonstrators attack people on their way and later burnt down a police vehicle at Sabon Gari Market. Somehow the police dispersed the demonstrators. The next day the organisers of that demonstration packaged a riot. It was obviously premeditated. Around 10:30am and 11 am riots breakout in the whole city of Kano. CNN reported hundreds of bodies littered Kano Streets. The government claimed only 16 people were killed. The Kano rioters have always known that after such riots the country just moves on. Nobody gets arrested, the victims have no one to fight for them and that is that. The government promotes impunity.
Three years later Kano was to erupt again in 2004. I was in Ibadan. But this time I heard the rioters were even bold now they even entered Bayero University Kano. Bayero University Kano's authority have always tolerated and
encouraged mild extremism. The Wuztas phenomenon in Northern Universities was really encouraged as it Southern counterparts encouraged cultism. Shortly after the 2004 riot of Kano, l left Nigeria on 11th November,2004, for Athen, Greece. Many months later in Cyprus when applying for Resident permit I was asked several questions by immigration to ascertain if I am really a Nigerian and when I told them I graduated from a University in Kano, they logged on the internet and all they asked me was about rioting. It was quite embarrassing. Two years later I arrived Nigeria.
In Nigeria another riot breakout in February 2007 after some Danish cartoonist cartooned Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). It started from the same format of demonstration.
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In Eastern Nigeria, Igbos retaliated. Impunity has always been law.
So when I hear demonstration for Morsi and his Islamic Brotherhood in Kano, it just baffles me. The only reason why this is going on is because Nigeria have personalised the issue in the Middle East as America/Israel vs Muslims. The military are seen as having US backing and Islamic Brotherhood representing Muslims. It has nothing to do with real sympathy for democracy or Egyptian people. Behind this demonstration are elites collecting money from radical groups from the Middle East. Anti-West and anti-American promotion is big business in Northern Nigeria, sometime they spies it up with mayhem to get more funding.
We must warn organisers of such demonstration to be very careful and inform the Nigerian government to watch them carefully as soon it will lead to incitement to kill and destroy. It has happened before and has been promoted to the height of culture.
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