My Krossroads

Nigerians were just getting over the Boko  Haram crises when news hit of the Darul-Islam sect in Niger state. The presidency, to prevent another reoccurence of the Boko Haram incident notified security agents of the need to dislodge the sect from their camp, this was done while ensuring no loss of lives or injury on both sides.

According to sources members of the sect are from Neighbouring countries. They are against western education, western medicine and have, during the past administration in the state refused the immunisation exercise against killer diseases like polio and measles. An appeal from the Then deputy Governor with a team of vaccinators did not help matters.

The leader of the sect is likely form Sudan, the police have said. And that the sect related with members of the immediate community very well but started living in seclusion as the community grew.

It was gathered that nobody could run away from the camp because their wives ,children and all their means of livelihood were located in the camp and the people lived a communal life and engaged in wives swapping. Any man in the group that had reached the age of marriage and had not been able to get a wife, the leader of the group or his representative would pick a woman from another man that had more than one wife, and give such a woman to the bachelor to take as wife.

The news was a clear reminder of how religion can be used to what ever end in the country, but the initiative of the government to dislodge the camp is a step in the right direction.

Meanwhile, the Borno state government in Nigeria granted 150million Muslim scholars the permission to preach during the Ramadan. I hope this goes a long way in helping Muslims in that part of the country understand the faith.