₦airaland Forum

Satan66:
I have said it and will say it again.
Both pdp and APC are corrupt.
A civil war will awaken.
Millions will die, You will be forced to eat and rape your own mother.
Quote me this day but know on Feb it shall all come to pass.
Nothing can stop it!!!

alezzy13:
But I can't help but wonder who that person is that's so determined to bring her down. . . .

alezzy13:
Why not? She should be prosecuted just like 'they're are canvassing for Kemi.

alezzy13:
Why is this thread being avioded?

Hezbollah allegedly training Nigerian Shiites to expand influence in West Africa

While Hezbollah’s military expansion across the Middle East, particularly since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011, has drawn a great deal of attention, the Lebanese organization’s efforts to increase its presence and influence in Africa has largely been overlooked. Nigeria is a case in point. Sources close to Hezbollah say the organization provides ideological and military training to Nigerian Shiites inside Lebanon.

Tall men, in long, traditional African garb specific to northern Nigeria are sometimes spotted in Dahieh, a predominantly Shiite suburb south of Beirut where Hezbollah runs a cultural center. According to sources close to Hezbollah commanders, Nigerian men receive “training courses” at this center. “The training is limited to a few number of people but it is growing steadily,” one source confirmed, speaking to the author on the condition of anonymity. “The Shiite Nigerians initially receive a religious training before a military one that is provided in two camps in the Lebanese Bekaa,” he noted.

While it may seem as something of an oddity, the proselytization of Nigerians dates back to more than three decades ago. Nigeria is home to the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, a jihadist organization founded in the early 1980s with a strong support among the country’s five million Shiite Muslims. In the wake of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, many young members of Nigeria’s Muslim Student Society, for example, traveled to Iran and received monetary aid as well as military and religious training. The leader of the group, Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, a Sunni demagogue hailing from the town of Zaria, was initially inspired by Muslim Brotherhood’s chief ideologue Sayyed Qutb. But he later converted to Shiite Islam and became a flag-bearer for Iran’s revolution in his native country. Zakzaky believed that the establishment of an Islamic republic similar to Iran’s was potentially feasible in Nigeria. Since then, Zakzaky has had numerous confrontations with the government. He was jailed from 1981 to 1984 on charges of sedition, as he had reportedly declared he would recognize no state laws or authority except those of Islam.

The movement’s popularity also increased in the backdrop of escalating Sunni-Shiite tensions and its armed clashes with the Nigerian State. In 2015, Nigerian troops killed more than 300 Shiites in Zaria and arrested Zakzaky and hundreds of his followers. The army had accused the Shiite group of attempting to kill Nigeria’s army chief-of-staff, a charge the movement denied. As a result, the Nigerian government outlawed the IMN. Zakzaky remains in jail.

In 2016, Northern Nigeria witnessed another conflict as part of broader proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Violent clashes erupted between supporters of rival groups from the two main branches of Islam namely the Izala movement, backed by mainly Sunni Saudi Arabia, and the Shiite IMN.

Now, Hezbollah and Iran appear to be upping the ante. The increased proselytization and militancy effort by Hezbollah toward Nigerian nationals seem to be driven by local and international dynamics. “Iran has told Hezbollah that it needed to recruit and train Nigerians to establish a stronghold there so that it could serve as an operational base for the rest of Africa, mainly to thwart Israeli and western ambitions in the region,” says the source. An article published in CNN had in the past highlighted as well that IMN was providing Hezbollah-style military training to hundreds of Nigerians in camps throughout Northern Nigeria.

Another reason may that driving Hezbollah’s is linked to local calculation as its some members of its popular constituency wish to undermine rival Israeli companies in Nigeria . Some of them according to the source, appear to be allocating Hezbollah’s with funds for its Nigerian operation. The author has not been able to independently confirm the two statements, however.

Lebanese businessmen have nonetheless been linked to Hezbollah operations in Nigeria. In 2013, Reuters reported that Nigerian authorities had arrested three Lebanese nationals in the northern Nigeria’s city of Kano. The men had admitted to being members of Hezbollah and a raid conducted on the residence of one of the Lebanese led to the discovery of a large stash of weapons, including anti-tank weapons, landmines, rocket-propelled grenades, AK-47s, and some dynamite. Reuters had quoted the city’s military spokesman Captain Ikedichi Iweha as saying that the arms and ammunition were to be used for operations against Israel and Western interests in Nigeria.

However, the current training program in Lebanon for Nigerian Shiites is limited in scope, at least for now. “The training that is taking place now in Lebanon is mostly focusing on higher-ranking officers in commanding positions, who can in turn train new recruits in Nigeria, which is why the number of trainees remains limited. These trainees also generally return to Lebanon every three to six months to receive further training on more sophisticated weapons,” explained the source. But an official at the Lebanese Interior Ministry, requesting anonymity, said the ministry was unaware of large numbers of Nigerian recruits coming into Lebanon. The Nigerian embassy in Brussels could not be reached for comment.

The IMN appears to have also emulated Hezbollah’s extensive and successful propaganda and outreach programs. A Bloomberg report had noted last year that the IMN propaganda was very similar to that of Hezbollah. IMN had begun broadcasting its own internet-based Hausa radio station, Shuhada, and had plans to start a new TV channel. It also runs a newspaper called al-Mizan. In addition, the organization, according to Bloomberg, boasts more than 300 schools, Islamic centers, security guards and a “martyrs’ foundation” funded mainly by member donations. This network bears striking resemblance to Hezbollah’s welfare systems and media operating model.

Iran and Hezbollah’s drive into Africa is both geopolitical and ideological. With limited means, Iran has been able to project power and influence across regions. While majority of Shiite communities in the Middle East and North Africa are loyal citizens and refuse to accept Iranian dictates, the Islamic Republic has managed to exploit local grievances of some Shiite communities for its geopolitical ends.

Iranian and Hezbollah efforts also risk exacerbating sectarian strife in in Nigeria, which is home to a large Sunni community. Hezbollah has proven to be Iran’s successful foreign policy tool in that regard, thanks to its high military capabilities, its connections across Africa through its constituency, and its experience in foreign covert operations.

winningwinner:
The Director General of the DMO, Patience Oniha, who disclosed this at a briefing in Abuja , also said the proceeds of $2.5 billion Eurobond, issued last month, was being used to pay maturing domestic debt, starting with N130 billion Nigeria Treasury Bills (NTBs), repaid on March 1.

coolitempa:
Success is one percent luck and ninety-nine percent perseverance...try again. !!! As a pointer...where did he say seven junior ministers were from the south east?

freeze001:
It's a combination of SE and SS. To them and those who really know Nigeria, that is the Eastern region. The SE/SS tag is only for administrative and political convenience. When it comes down to the basics, they are classified as one region.
That is why he would say he gave the sensitive petroleum ministry to the SE for instance.

coolitempa:
No he did not say that....you by the way lack the ability to comprehend simple English....read again before commenting....

OKDnigeria:
“In South East, I got 198,000 votes but I have four substantive ministers and seven junior ministers from there".

During the presidential campaign of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, he won the heart of many Nigerians even after winning the election, with his change mantra.

Shortly after winning the election, many Nigerians were still made to believe that positive change often comes with pain and deprivation. But in Buhari’s case, it can be said to be a different thing entirely.

The President Buhari-led administration has in its first tenure disappointed most people who vowed for his effectiveness as a nation’s leader. Among the many Nigerians who campaigned heavily for the president are some prominent persons, who also followed the change mantra established by the presidency. These prominent persons surprised many Nigerians, as the president’s administration forced them to turn their backs.

1. Dele Momodu
Having campaigned actively for Buhari during the 2015 presidential race, publisher of Ovation Magazine and former presidential candidate, to the surprise of many turned his back against the president.

On what prompted him to turn against the Buhari-led administration, Momodu said “the then President, Goodluck Jonathan and his party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, did not leave Nigerians many options and it seemed there was only one logical and rational way to go, no matter how unpalatable, and that was Buhari and his APC.”


2. Tunde Bakare
The renowned Nigerian pastor in 2011 was Buhari’s presidential running mate. The general overseer of the Latter Rain Assembly, however, shocked Nigerians with his presidential ambition declaration.

On why he accepted the proposal to file out as a running mate, Bakare said he accepted the plan to run with Buhari on the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change because of his views on restructuring. The preacher added that the president’s view then was “positive”.


3. Wole Soyinka www.nairaland.com/attachments/4092449_1_jpeg83b5009e040969ee7b60362ad7426573
In 2015, during Buhari’s election campaign, the Nigerian playwright and novelist, endorsed the presidential ambition of the All Progressives Congress, candidate.

Professor Soyinka, in an article titled “The Challenge of Change – A Burden of Choice”, stated that the “the clock of Change cannot tick sufficiently fast.” The noble laureate also joins the league of those denouncing Buhari’s second term ambition. He said Nigeria is long overdue for reconfiguration saying it is sickening for some people to be agitating against it.

4. Atiku Abubakar
The former Vice President, who used to be a member of the same political party Buhari belongs to, accused the president and the ruling All Progressives Congress of abandoning him. Atiku has over time expressed how he helped the party won the 2015 general elections.

Atiku made known that he had been abandoned in spite of his efforts in making sure that the APC defeated the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Atiku subsequently announced his formal return to PDP.

5. Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka
The Spiritual Director, Adoration Ministry, Enugu Nigeria, declared his support for Buhari, at a time when many Nigerians were skeptical if Buhari was the chosen one to take the nation to her ‘promise land’.

After making known publicly that Buhari is God’s sent, in his new year message, he warned the president against his second term ambition. Mbaka maintained that the president will be shamed should he contest in the 2019 general elections.

oduastates:
Msteeew.
Brainless conclusions.
The answers are right there in his crappy tweets but as usual ,most Nigerians are as clueless as their politicians .
For those who want to learn.

Unfortunately, Nigeria exports nothing apart from oil ,a few thousand tonnes of cocoa ,hide and thousands of people.

oduastates:
Msteeew.
Brainless conclusions.
The answers are right there in his crappy tweets but as usual ,most Nigerians are as clueless as their politicians .
For those who want to learn.

What has changed is the price of crude oil from the days $110 /barrel.