El-Zakzaky, Religion and the Nigerian State by Reuben Abati

SO much has been said about the December 12 confrontation between the Nigerian Army and members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria led by Sheik Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, the leader of the Shia in Nigeria. I guess the point has been well-made that there are faults on both sides.  There seems to be a consensus, however, that the followers of Ali, better known as Shiites or the Shia, seem to enjoy confrontations with the state and seem determined to disregard dominant authority – Islamic and secular.
By the same token, the Nigerian security establishment has since the 1980s showed an equal determination to put El Zakzaky in his place. But in no way does this justify the extra-judicial killing of members of the Islamic Movement, or the use of the word, "Prisoners of War" (POW) to describe its detained members. The Nigerian Government since the '80s has set up a series of panels of inquiry and produced tomes on the subject of forging peaceful relations between the state and religion, and yet religion remains a key threat to amalgamation and the sanctity of the Nigerian state.
What we are dealing with is something deeper — it is the outflow of a deep schism within the Islamic faith on the questions of authenticity and legitimacy, in terms of what constitutes rules, doctrines, interpretations and values. This old battle for doctrinal supremacy is what has been responsible for the divisions within the faith since the First Fitna. It is the drama being played out in the Middle East.  It is the story and politics of ISIS and ISIL. This is why it will be wrong to describe the Islamic Movement in Nigeria's constant conflict with the Nigerian state as a confrontation between Nigerian Muslims and the state, to the extent that ISIS or ISIL does not speak for all Muslims just as the ISMIN does not speak for all Nigerian Muslims.

Anglican leader fears Nigeria gay marriage backlash

Justin Welby, head of the Anglican Communion worldwide has warned that if the Church of England accepted gay marriage worldwide, it could prove "catastrophic" for Christians in Nigeria and other African countries.
On his four-nation tour of Africa earlier this year, the former oil executive wrote to the presidents of Nigeria and Uganda warning against the "victimisation or diminishment" of homosexuals.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, who is the spiritual head of all Anglicans said encouraging gay marriage in Africa could potentially lead to massacres of Christians.
Gay marriage became legal in England and Wales on 29 March although the Church of England, the state church, is barred from performing same-sex marriages to provide it with an additional layer of legal protection.
"What we say here is heard around the world," Welby told LBC radio. "Why can't we just do it now? Because the impact of that on Christians in countries far from here, like South Sudan, like Pakistan, Nigeria and other places, would be absolutely catastrophic, and we have to love them as much as we love the people who are here."

Cargo Airplane Mishap Aviation Agencies, Firms Count Loses Over Abuja Airport Closure

Airlines, aviation agencies and service providers in the aviation industry are counting their losses following the closure of the Abuja airport to traffic following the aircraft incident involving a Saudi Arabian B747 which overshot the airport runway on Wednesday night resulting in the closure of the airport to traffic.    “The airport has been closed to all arriving aircraft following the incident,” the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) said in a statement yesterday.  

In response to the shutdown directive, all domestic airlines had cancelled their flights into the Abuja airport, just as international flights going into Abuja were diverted to Lagos.  

THE WORLD WILL NO LONGER TOLERATE MILITARY IN GOVERNANCE – PRESIDENT JONATHAN

President Goodluck Jonathan Friday in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau warned that the global community was no longer inclined to tolerate a role in governance by the military in Africa and other parts of the world.
Addressing a special session of the National Peoples's Assembly during his visit to Guinea-Bissau, President Jonathan called on the country's Armed Forces to embrace total respect for democracy and constitutionalism in the interest of their nation.
"It is no longer fashionable today to see the military parading themselves as the custodians of political power. Rather, it is fashionable for the military to embrace the protection, preservation and total respect for constitutional order and democracy in order to build a prosperous and an egalitarian society," President Jonathan said at the session which was also attended by members of the diplomatic corps and representatives of civil society organizations.