Saturday October 13, 2001

KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) - At least 20 people were killed in Nigeria in anti-American riots Saturday. Nigerian authorities issued a shoot-on-sight order and clamped a night curfew on Kano, the biggest city in the mainly Muslim north, after some of the most violent anti-American protests in Africa since U.S. air strikes on Afghanistan began.

Army tanks criss-crossed the streets to quell riots which followed a pattern of Muslim-Christian clashes that have killed thousands in oil-producing Nigeria over the past two years. ``There is rampant shooting in the streets,'' said resident Jibrin Idris, who said he was trapped in a building with scores of people in the city's commercial district. ``Churches, mosques and shops are on fire. There is smoke everywhere,'' he said by telephone.

In Nigeria, the army moved tanks into Kano's Sabon Gari market area early Saturday after Christian churches and mosques were set on fire in rioting Friday. Community leaders said rioters killed at least six female school students on their way to take university entrance exams. Police said they found another two bodies in the street, one hacked by a machete, and a witness said he was seeking refuge in a police station when eight more bodies were brought in. Up to four people were shot later by soldiers enforcing the shoot on sight measure, witnesses said. Mike Idika, a leader of the predominantly Christian Igbo community, which accounts for most of city's merchants, said more than 200 people had been injured and sent to hospital.

Local residents said the protests were lead by unemployed youth, who chanted ``May God destroy America!'' and ``Americans are terrorists.'' Brandishing posters of bin Laden, they burned American flags and effigies of President Bush and Nigerian Foreign Minister Sule Lamido, who has backed the U.S. attacks

Ok, the American flags I can understand, they are ubiquitous after all, kind of like Nike and Coca-Cola, the three most famous brand names in all of Africa. But the posters of bin Laden? The only thing I can imagine is that they downloaded the photo from the internet and somehow had the equipment to produce posters. That was quick and efficient for that part of the world. I've been to Kano. It's no Lagos let me tell you.

I only bring this up because I am fascinated by the emerging cult of bin Laden. Previously you could hardly find anyone to take the guy seriously but suddenly now he is as quoted as Tupac or Bob Marley. Yep, something sure going on here. The guy has some fabulous PR team wouldn't you say? Of course events seem to propel him to stardom and not all those events are in his control exactly so I'm not sure he deserves all the credit. He kind of reminds me of a character in Frank Herbert's Dune series. You know, the guy who they killed and accidentally made into a martyr? Then a planet wide revolution is mounted to avenge his death. You will have to read the book yourself to see how it comes out.