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News Headlines
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Written by RANA BAYOK Kaduna
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In the last couple of weeks, there had been tension in the North and indeed the entire nation following the onslaught by a militant Islamic sect who called (or is referred to by other people as “Boko Haram” (Meaning western education is an abomination).
The group, out of the blues, first launched an attack in Bauchi, specifically on the police, by attacking a police station, thus sparking off a gun battle between them and he police. It took the combined efforts of the army to crush the fundamentalists which little is known about their sect.
But while security agencies where able to quickly contain the situation in Bauchi, that of Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, said to be the headquarters of the sect and where their leader, one Mohammed Yusuf, who very little is known about in Islamic circles hold sway
This is one of the crises Maiduguri is witnessing in recent times. In 2004, the Borno state capital went up in flames when some people protesting against alleged blasphemous cartoon on the Prophet in a newspaper in far away Denmark, decided to visit their anger on Christians.
Since the Maitasine riots in Kano in 1980, the North has been riddled with so many religious and ethnically inspired violence that had resulted in mindless destruction of lives and property
Right from the early 80’s, there had been flurry of religious and ethnic riots in virtually all the 19 Northern states. From Kaduna, Kano, Plateau, Bauchi, Adamawa, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, Sokoto, Jigawa, Kebbi to mention just these.
By 1987, these violent religious riots had taken a bigger dimension by the extent of their scope and destruction. The riots are either between Muslims and Christians or between one Islamic sect and the other.
For instance in December 1980 the Maitatsine riots broke out in Kano. Over 4,000 people were said to have died and property worth millions were destroyed. In October 1982 Muslim demonstrators in Kano burnt down many Churches in the city.
In March 1987, there was a clash between Muslims and Christian students at the college of Education, Kafanchan. Mosques and Churches were burnt. Many people were killed and properties were destroyed.
In April 1991 Katsina went up in flames following a religious violence spearheaded by one Mallam Yahaya, leader of a Muslim sect in Katsina over a blasphemous publication in Fun Times. Many lives and property were destroyed.
In April 1991 a quarrel between a Fulani man and a Sayawa man at the abattoir escalated into violence between Christians and Muslims resulting in the killing of many people and destruction of property.
Kano erupted into violence again in October 1991 following a peaceful procession by the Izala Muslim sect to stop Rev. Reinhard Bonnke from holding his crusade in Kano. The protest degenerated into a bloody religious confrontation leading to loss of lives and destruction of property.
In May 1992, a conflict between Katafs and Hausas in Zangon Kataf, Kaduna state transformed into religious war between Christians and Muslims, spreading to major towns in the state. It was one of the bloodiest religious conflict in which many people lost their lives and property worth billions of naira were destroyed.
In 1994 and 1995, there was burning of Churches and killings in Kano. The 1994 clashes was triggered off by the beheading of a Christian who allegedly desecrated the Qur’an while the one in 1995 was sparked off by a quarrel between an Hausa and an Igbo boy. Both incidents led to killings, burning of Churches and destruction of property.
Kaduna witnessed one of its bloodiest religious clashes in February 2000 when Muslims and Christians clashed over proposals for the introduction of the Sharia Legal System. Many people were killed, Churches and mosques were burnt and property worth billions of Naira was destroyed.
In September 2001, Jos, Plateau state hitherto known as “Home of Peace and Tourism” was shattered following a clash between Muslims and Christians. Many lives were lost and many properties were destroyed.
In October 2001, there was violence in Kano again when Muslims stage a protest against the bombing of Afghanistan by America. The protest turned into a bloody religious war between Muslims and Christians. Again, lives and property were lost.
In 2004, virtually most part of Plateau state was thrown into religious war between the Hausa Fulani communities in affected places and the natives. The peak of the clashes was the Yelwan Shendam incident in May 2004, which led to the declaration of the controversial state of emergency by former president Olusegun Obasanjo.
In November 2008, there were bloody clashes between Muslims and Christians again in Jos North local government of Plateau state over results of local government elections in the area.
In February 2009, an Islamic group led by one Imam Fantami allegedly sparked off riot between Muslims and Christians in Bauchi .These are just a few of the religious violence the North had witnessed in the past.
Many Nigerians believed that these events were not just the handiwork of hooligans but well orchestrated, planned and manipulated by politicians and activists. This is because these riots have become so persistent since the advent of democracy in 1999.
The implementation of the Shariah legal system which was spear headed by Alhaji Ahmed Sani who was governor of Zamfara state from 1999 to 2007 almost tore the Nigerian nation apart. The northern states suddenly turned into a hotbed for religious and ethnic crises.
The north became very dangerous to live as all the core northern states , which include Zamfara, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, Jigawa, Bauchi, Minna, Bornu, and Yobe and some parts Gombe as well as some parts of Kaduna implemented the Islamic legal code.
In Kaduna, there was serious massacre between Christians and Muslims in the state over demand by Muslims for the implementation of the Sharia law in the state. Thousands of people and property worth billions of naira were lost during the crises.
The implementation of Sharia in some of the Northern states also resulted in the harassment and molestation of none Muslims in the Sharia states, thereby creating serious friction between Muslims and Christians in the region. For instance, in Kano, the Igbo community recently raised an alarm over alleged harassment by the Hisba (Sharia enforcement police) in the city.
The consequence of some of these crises is the massive dislocation of citizens, loss of life and property and increased segregation and suspicion among Muslims and Christians.
In Kaduna for example, residential places are segregated along religious line. After the Sharia riots in the city, places like Tudun Wada, Angwan Sarki and Rigasa areas became mainly for Muslims while places like Narayi, Television and Angwan Sunday areas became exclusive aboard for Christians.
These persistent religious conflicts have had adversely effected the North, politically, economically and socially. The area has remained backward, educationally and without any viable industries. Majority of the population live in abject poverty, ignorance and disease.
Indeed the history of the region which has dominated the leadership of Nigeria is replete with all form of resistance from ethnic minority groups such as the Middle Belt.
These minority ethnic groups were said to have resisted the conversion (to Islam) policy of the premier of the defunct Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto whose dream was to Islamise the entire North.
Achievers of Nigerian history provide evidence that the seed of religious suspicion in the North was sawn during the colonial period.
In their petition to the Willink commission set up to look into the complains of minorities in Nigeria, Northern Minorities, complained that the dominant Hausa Fulani have no respect for their religion and culture and that the Hausa/Fulani were using derogatory phrases to describe them.
They also complained of being tried in Muslims courts even though they were not Muslims and that the emirs were appointing chiefs for non Muslims whose areas were under the emirate without regards to their culture and tradition.
They also complained of the use of the Hausa language as the language used in teaching and as official language for the conduct of government business.
Several efforts have been made to ensure tolerance and peaceful coexistence among Christians and Muslims in the area but such efforts appeared to be failing principally because political leaders in the North are not helping matters. There is discrimination and marginalization of Christians in states dominated and governs by Muslims while the same thing is obtainable in states dominated by and govern by a Christian.
In December 2004 the governors of the 19 Northern states, under the aegis of Northern governors’ forum (NGF), organised a peace conference tagged “Northern Peace Conference aimed at addressing all forms of religious and communal clashes in the area.
In attendance at the conference which held at the Conference Hall of the Kaduna International Trade Fair Complex were Political leaders, traditional rulers, religious leaders and other stake holders.
Various proposals for peace were made at the conference which was chaired by the then governor of Jigawa state, Alhaji Saminu Turaki however, the series of violence that had erupted after the conference five years after, is an indication that the conference was just a mere talk shop.
In a recent presentation it made at the meeting of the 19 Northern Governors which held at the Hassan Katsina House, Kaduna on the 7th of May, 2009, the Christian Association in the 19 Northern states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), told the governors that the fundamental problem of the North borders on equality.
The presentation which was made to the governors by the Secretary of the Northern CAN, Elder Saidu Dogo at the heels of the crises that rocked Bauchi and Jos noted that so long as there is injustice, discrimination and marginalization in the North, it will be difficult to make progress.
“It is imperative on us to note from the outset, that the fundamental problem that is wrong with the north is a question that borders on equality. In other words, do those who call themselves northerners, see themselves as having equal rights and access to justice, power, freedom of worship, land etc?
“Are those of us in the north treated with equal dignity as human beings or are there some who have more rights and should be treated with more dignity than others? Have we and can we come to terms with the stark reality that we a heterogeneous society and are willing to live and let others live?
“Can a north, which has been built and so far, sustained on a foundation of injustice, suppression and deceit by an elite ever remain strongly united since it is still within the grip of such an elite? Can a north, which has refused to create a level playing ground for its people to worship the one true God in freedom and without molestation, ever hope to receive blessings from that God?
“How can a north, which appears to glory in the shedding of blood as a result of religious intolerance, which is glaringly systemic, ever hope to be united? Are we, as northerners, willing to take to heart, observation of the former Kaduna State Governor (Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi) when he said "for Muslims, the Koran is supreme for Muslims, for Christians the Bible is supreme, but in Kaduna State, given our diversity the constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria should be supreme?
“Are we willing to ensure that the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is implemented to the letter or are we going to continue on the path of using and interpreting only when it suits some sections of our society?
“Why are Christians and Muslims living peacefully in the Western part of Nigeria and focusing on the common good of all of them while we keep soaking each other's blood? Is there anything in our genes that should not be there? Why do some people in the North feel that they are more "Northern" than others? Are these crises truly religious or ethnic? Or are they as a result of bad governance?” These where the questions posed to the governors by the religious body.
These are questions that the Northern leaders need to ponder on if they are genuinely interested in ensuring peace and stability in the region.
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