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Following the recent crisis in Bauchi, the state chairman of the Christian Association Nigeria, Rt. Rev. Musa Mwin Tula, tells CHUX OHAI that unless the Federal Government acts fast, unidentified foreign mercenaries will destabilise Nigeria.
What is the ethnic composition of Bauchi State?
We thought the National Population Commission would have provided the accurate statistics of the ethnic composition by now. Unfortunately, during the last census they decided to skip many important issues. They failed to address sensitive issues like what religion an individual belonged to. Such a subject was cut off from the entire programme. Nevertheless, we have more than 40 ethnic groups in Bauchi State.
Which ones are the major ethnic groups in the state?
They are the Sarawas, the Jarwas, and the Butawas. There are 20 local government councils in the state. We have nine local governments around Katargum and Muslims constitute the majority of the population. When you come to Bauchi area, we have 11 local governments in which Christians constitute the majority. It is left for anybody calculating the difference in the populations of these areas to determine which religious faith outnumbers the other.
When exactly did this religious problem begin in Bauchi?
It started as early as the 1980s with the arrival of Maitasine and his followers. When the devil wants to plan his activities, he must have his disciples. I believe that the people Maitasine trained to execute his agenda spread across the country, not only in the north. That is why we are having these riots everywhere. How did Maitasine himself come into being? He might have been a disciple of another person who could have been a Nigerian citizen or not. Now that they have multiplied in number, the violent strikes have increased.
How did Christians and Muslims relate with each other before the coming of Maitasine?
I recall that 30 years ago we lived peacefully with one another. In those days, Christians and Muslims inter-married. Even Muslim women married Christians. All of a sudden Muslims began to forbid their children from marrying Christians. There was a time when a Muslim woman would insist on marrying her Christian lover and her relatives would seize it as an opportunity to make trouble. In spite of this, Christians did not stop their children from marrying Muslims. Gradually the Muslims no longer felt comfortable with us and they would not allow us to occupy certain positions in government. It got to a point where if you wanted to become the governor of the state, if you were not a Muslim, they would not give you the ticket and if you wanted to be the chairman of a local government, if you were not a Muslim, you would not get there. As if that was not bad enough, they introduced measures to prevent our children from getting admitted into educational institutions. Similarly, they made sure that fewer Christians than ever got recruited in the army and police. Such developments began to signal to us that something was wrong somewhere.
How long have you been a priest?
Over twenty years.
What has been your experience so far?
I have experienced a lot of crises in the north. I experienced one in Jos. When I was transferred to Gombe State, there was crisis there. Now that I am in Bauchi State, there is crisis there, too. Throughout my career, I have been passing through crises. We see what is happening and we are witnesses to it.
Has that always been the case, up north?
The situation varies from one part of the north to another. The problem started with the Maitasine episode in the 1980s and early 1990s. It manifested in the burning of churches and in discrimination against Christians in their places of work. Overnight, uniforms worn by school children were changed and many other things took place. From that period till date, the pattern remains the same. The activities of the oppressors and their mode of operation remain the same.
Have you considered the fact that the violence may have been motivated by ethnic factors rather than religious?
In Kano, for example, the Muslims may regard people from other parts of the country who are non-Muslims as those they cannot tolerate or live with. That is why, perhaps, they always attack the Igbo and Yoruba. But in other places the story is different. In Bauchi, it does not matter whether you are Yoruba, Igbo or Ijaw; as long as you are not a Muslim, you are always open to violent attacks. Even indigenes of Bauchi are attacked. So it is a plan against the Christian faith.
From the point of view of a leading member of the Christian Association of Nigeria, what do you think is the motive for these attacks?
I think what the Muslims in Nigeria are trying to do is to ensure that this country is brought under the control of Islam. That is how I see it.
Why do you say so?
Why I say so is because from the 1970s when the Muslims took over control of the schools in the then Northern Nigeria, they deprived our children of having religious instructors. Some can no longer benefit from scholarship programmes. While the government sponsors Muslims to Islamic schools, the Christians are ignored. That is why I am saying that there is a conspiracy to islamise this country. When you look at the present composition of government at the centre, you will discover that the key positions are occupied by Muslims. I think this is unfair. Whoever is qualified for any job should be allowed to have it, irrespective of tribe or religion.
Are you referring to the north in general or to Bauchi State?
I am talking about the north in general. For instance, in Bauchi, we have been having governors that were Muslims, but we have not had a Christian in that position. Not one person. And that includes the number of state commissioners in Bauchi. If, for example, 10 commissioners are needed in the state, nine slots would be occupied by Muslims. Christians are marginalised in the state. We want the authorities to check these loopholes and lapses.
If the Christians were in the majority in Bauchi like you said, how come the Muslims were able to dominate them so easily?
The Muslims were clever, they exploited the Christians, especially those who wanted to go into politics but were too poor to sponsor themselves. What the Muslims did was to offer them financial assistance on condition that they changed their names from, for example, Yohanna to Yahaya. Unfortunately some people succumbed to this strategy and that is why the number of the Muslims grew. They have the political and economic power, in a sense that if a state governor is a Muslim, he can award contracts to his fellow Muslims and do other things for them. With that advantage, they can position themselves economically and become powerful. They use both political and economic power to lord it over the Christians. We expect that any public officer will use his position and the resources at his disposal for the benefit of all, irrespective of tribe and religion. But this is not how most Muslims in Bauchi think. They use their positions to advance the Islamic agenda.
Has there been any case of forceful conversion to Islam in Bauchi?
There have been many cases of forceful conversion to Islam and the people that were responsible for such actions are officials of the Sharia Commission. They legalized it. They encouraged their daughters to make friends with Christian girls. Before you know it, your daughter would be missing and a letter would come from the commission to inform you that she has converted to Islam and that they are protecting her. They did this to children whose ages were between 13 and 16 years. There have been many of such cases all over Bauchi State. In fact, it was one of the causes of the crisis that occurred in Ingi.
Did CAN protest against it?
When these things happen, we always alert the security agencies. Several times, we wrote to the state government and the police, but nothing was done about it. This is why we have come to let the entire nation know that something is fishy somewhere. This matter should not be treated as just a Bauchi issue. Nigerians need to see it as a national issue.
How did the recent crisis in Bauchi happen?
On February 13, it was reported that a truck had broken down around the railway in Bauchi town. The Muslims were coming for prayers in the mosque belonging to Malam Ali Pantami. Because of the truck, they ran to the COCIN Church, which was nearby, to park their cars. There was nothing that the Christian brethren could do about it at that point and so they let it pass. By February 20, the truck had been removed. But the same Muslims decided to come over to the church premises to park their cars. They were challenged by some Christian youths who demanded to know why they should come a second time. The Muslim youths began to attack them with machetes and other weapons. Many Christians were wounded as a result. The Pastor of the church went to report this to the police. The Director of the State Security Service in Bauchi called for a reconciliation of differences between the two parties. I was there and we advised both sides to select elders who would see to it that the matter was resolved amicably.
We went back, thinking that the issue had been resolved. But to our surprise, on February 25, the Muslims went by 2.00a.m to burn a mosque. When they set the mosque on fire, every other building that was adjacent to it was also set on fire. From there they started burning churches, houses, and started killing people everywhere in Bauchi. It was an organised violence. Now, we are not safe because many of the perpetrators of these violent and destructive actions are still in Bauchi. We do not know them and we have not been seeing them before. We are calling on the Federal Government to do something fast before this country becomes another Afghanistan or Sudan.
Aren’t you raising unnecessary alarm?
When it happened in Jos, the Muslims were boasting that they would retaliate. The fight took place in Jos, not in Bauchi. Why were they so concerned about it? At the same time, there was tension in Kaduna. If what happened in Jos could generate so much tension in Kaduna, it means that the entire country is in grave danger. If it happens in Kaduna and in Bauchi just as it happened in Jos, it will spread to other parts of the country. Then things will get out of hand. That was how it started in Sudan and other countries. However, you see it, we are convinced that there are foreigners in our midst who have perfected a plan to destroy our country. Already they are beginning to achieve their aim. In Bauchi, it is difficult for Christians to live in houses built by Muslims or in Muslim communities.
How did the governor of Bauchi State respond to this situation?
He has not taken any proper step to address the situation. In fact, his inability to stop the violence is really pathetic. Instead of sitting down when his house was on fire, he decided to embark on a journey to another state to attend a burial ceremony. Even when he returned he did not bother to pay a visit to the victims of the incident.
What do you think the Federal Government should do to solve this problem?
We want the Federal Government to set up a high-powered commission of inquiry to investigate this matter. Those who are responsible for the outbreak of violence should be brought to book, so that others will learn from their example. Secondly, we want the governor of Bauchi State to step down from office and a state of emergency declared, so that this issue can be effectively dealt with. Also, we want the Federal Government to pay serious attention to the issue of national security because of these intruders that are brought into the country to cause trouble. Punch Newspapers
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