Misplaced tears over Iranian leaders when blood flows in Nigeria, by Adekunle Adekoya

2026-03-20 - 04:03

THE war in the Middle East, being fought by the United States and Israel against Iran, is still raging, and its outcomes are being felt all over the world. In the early days of the war which began February 28, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the aftermath of air strikes on selected targets in Tehran, the Iranian capital. Khamenei’s death occurred as part of a wider joint operation by the United States and Israel, using strategic locations intelligence from the US’s Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, to determine the whereabouts of several Iranian leaders. Now, Khamenei was not only Iran’s Supereme Leader, he was also acknowledged as the leader of all Shi’a Muslims worldwide. In Nigeria, Shi’a Muslims are organised under a mission called the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, IMN, promoted and led by a cleric, Ibrahim el-Zakzaky. When news of Khamenei’s death spread all over Nigeria, members of the South-West chapter of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, IMN, took to the streets of Lagos on Monday 2 March to protest the reported killing of Khamenei. The demonstrators, who gathered around the Maryland area of Lagos, chanted slogans condemning what they described as foreign intervention and the death of Khamenei, demanding global condemnation of US intervention in sovereign nations. The protest in Lagos followed similar demonstrations in other parts of Nigeria, including Kano and Niger States, where members of the Shi’a-aligned group also marched to denounce the US–Israeli strikes and mourn Khamenei’s reported death. The group also staged similar protests at Idumota Central Mosque in Lagos and on the streets of Kaduna and Bauchi. Demonstrators were seen in Kano, Niger, Sokoto, Gombe and Kaduna states condemning the joint military action by the United States and Israel, which led to Khamenei’s death alongside members of his family. Similar protests were reported in Bauchi and Yobe states. National security agencies had deployed officers to key points across Lagos ahead of the rally to prevent any breakdown of law and order. The following Friday, at the National Mosque in Abuja, Shi’ites, protested again, during which they expressed support for Iran. The group had attended the regular Friday prayer at the mosque before launching the demonstration. To cap it all, a former minister and professor was seen in a viral online video weeping over the killing of Khamenei. Now, people have the right to do what they like, including breaking the law. I have no problem whatsoever with those who chose to protest the death of another country’s leader, religious or not. But I recall that when our former president, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua died in 2010, there were no protests. But maybe that was too far. Also, when another former president, Muhammadu Buhari died, there were no protests either. In any case, it is unlikely that Nigeria’s Shi’ites will protest Buhari’s death, given the experience of el-Zakzaky during his tenure. I want to say, particularly in respect of the former minister weeping in the video, and other protesters for Khamenei that their tears were misplaced, just as our national leadership struggles with misplaced priorities. Last Monday, during the holy month of Ramadan and the Lenten period, suicide bombers resumed their nefarious business and detonated IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. Police sources said no less than 23 people were killed, with 108 injured. I have not seen or heard of any protest anywhere in this country against the killing of these 23 innocent people. Insecurity has been ravaging Nigeria for the better part of 15 years now. No less than 3,700,000 fellow countrymen and women, including children, are now living in 3,900 camps for Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, all over Nigeria. No protests by anybody, as if being forced to flee one’s ancestral land is a normal thing that happens routinely. There is no week that passes by without reports of killings by herdsmen militias in Benue State, while it seems as if there is a permanent bloodbath going on in Plateau State. In Kwara State, gunmen killed nearly 200 people in Woro village and there were no protests by anybody or group of persons over this massacre. Not a single former minister or governor, or commissioner was seen in any video lamenting these unjustified, unwarranted killings of fellow human beings. As I said earlier, people have a right to do what they like, at anytime, anywhere. But the protests against Khamenei’s death by Nigerians are misplaced when their own kith and kin, fellow compatriots, are being killed and they simply get on with their meals of tuwo shinkafa or plates of amala. If you cannot empathise with your fellow compatriots over tragedies that have befallen them, and you are a Nigerian weeping over Khamenei’s death in Nigeria, you were shedding crocodile tears. I even doubt if you’re human. For these protesters and the weeping former minister, what they need are comprehensive resets to realign their cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains, the way you do a factory reset for a malfunctioning cell phone. TGIF.