The truth is Nigeria’s post-independence journey has been one of political dependence, economic manipulation, and social fragmentation. What...
The truth is Nigeria’s post-independence journey has been one of political dependence, economic manipulation, and social fragmentation. What Nigeria gained in 1960 was not true liberation, but a hand-over, from white colonial rulers to black colonial agents. That’s the local elites replaced foreign rulers. But the real power still stays tied to foreign interests.
It is against this backdrop that voices like Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky stand out in Nigeria’s modern political and ideological discourse. Regardless of one's view of his ideology, Zakzaky remains one of the few figures who have consistently questioned the fundamental structure of Nigerian independence, especially in relation to foreign influence, moral decay, and leadership compromise. He did not just criticize the system, he challenged it. His movement has, over the years, called for self-reliance, justice, and resistance to neocolonialism. This ideological stance alone made him a threat to those benefiting from the status quo, and it is perhaps the reason the state respond to him with violence and suppression.
Nigerians, particularly the northerners, should be more concerned about the violent and disruptive arrival of the British colonizers. Prior to 1914, Nigeria was relatively peaceful, self-governed, and rooted in indigenous systems of leadership and religious order. The people lived under traditional and religious institutions that matched their culture and values. However, with the British invasion came violent conquest. Colonial forces not only dismantled established systems of governance, they humiliated traditional/religious rulers and imposed a foreign structure under the banner of "conquest.”
The conquest of the North was so brutal. The rulers were captured, and those who refused to submit were killed. The then-leader of the Sokoto Caliphate who fled to the Northeast was pursued, and all those with him were massacred in somewhere in what is now Gombe State, a history that remains largely unknown to the majority of citizens. Buried under the weight of post-independence propaganda.
This history alone should preclude any thought of celebration to the unsuccessful reformation of conquest rebranded as Independence; Nigeria should be mourning the the continued failure to dismantle colonial structures.
Before Independence, while the British were nurturing a cohort of Nigerians on their culture and norms, even then some citizens understood the colonialists' agenda was not viable and bravely challenged the system. Sadly, they were silenced before they could get momentum, the fear that continues to resonate in the Nigerians’ DNA.
After independence, power was handed over to manipulative pawns. But when these new leaders began to focus on nation-building, a move the colonial masters recognized would lead to fragmentation. Before it could take rook, they swiftly established the divisive concept of tribalism. This led to a brutal cycle of coups and military rule, all of which failed to prioritize and stabilize the country.
Even with the return to civilian rule, the country continues its downward trajectory. The increase in corruption, infrastructural collapse, widespread looting by the politicians, insecurity, hunger, and hiking of prices has devastated the nation. The educational system has been abandoned from top to bottom, welfare for public servants is nonexistent, and youth unemployment is rampant, with many being reduced to thugs for political gain. The government has become so entrenched that people have lost hope in it changing the future; politicians appoint themselves, regardless of the electoral process, and justice itself has become selective.
Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, then a university student in the mid-1970s during a period of military rule, began his activism. He sought to understand the issue from its core.
In early 1979, the Islamic Revolution of Iran offered an eye-opener. While Zakzaky was already inspired by the history of Shehu Usman Danfodio who established an Islamic system in the region long ago, the Iranian Revolution demonstrated that religious governance was possible even in the modern 20th century. Zakzaky saw the possibility for the 21st century.
Following a visit to Iran as the National Vice President (Foreign Affairs) of the MSSN (Muslim Students' Society of Nigeria), he publicly declared his rebellion against the System governing the Nigeria at an MSSN program in Funtua, Katsina State, the moment he was recognized by the masses.
This led to his expulsion from the university, though he completed his final exams. He was denied his Degree Qualification to this day.
Zakzaky mobilized his movement from the university walls to the masses, he then started establishing religious and Western-based schools (Fudiyya), moral teaching centers (Markaz), and later the Hussainiyya in Zaria. His core message was consistent: the main core problem is not "who" is in authority, but "what" the authority is, the system itself. He believes that as long as Nigerians believe that merely reforming or re-electing someone will change the country, they will continue to suffer.
Despite the tragic consequences, imprisonments, demolitions, and even the 2015 genocide in Zaria executed by the Nigerian Army, Zakzaky maintains that a revolution of thought, system, and values is the only solution, rejecting the ineffective cycle of political reformation.
He prioritizes the development of youth, instilling in them moral and religious values and inspiring them with the concept of Martyrdom, which creates a psychological shield to against materialistic manipulation. For his followers, they don’t lose in any instance, if they are killed, they achieve martyrdom; if they live, they succeed in their cause.
For Nigeria to achieve true freedom, it must stand and fight for itself. Its people must let go of the spiral of silence, understand that even the democracy they have was not implemented by their approval, and abandon any psychological domain of slaver to face the reality of the country's future.
Ahmad Muhammad Lamara is an undergraduate student at ABU Zaria. He can be reached at ahmadlamaramuhammad@gmail.com
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