Fanatics, bandits and the failure of state
By
IN the midst of widespread protestation from many level headed Nigerians, and at the consternation of the international community, a fundamentalist ill-wind has continued to blow through the Northern States of Nigeria like a devastating cyclone, consuming lives and property and aggravating the general state of distress in the land. The latest mayhem in November 2002 once again devastated Kaduna, and shockingly extended to Abuja, the nation's capital, which we thought was the last bastion of neutrality in matters of religion and ethnicity. Abuja, our symbol of unity, has lost its innocence. Abuja, the melting pot of Nigeria, has been violated by bandits and fanatics!
The perpetrators of this crime in Kaduna and Abuja last month claimed that they were venting their anger over the botched Miss World Competition in Nigeria, and the unholy comment of a journalist in This Day Newspaper against the person of the holy prophet Muhammed. And in spite of passionate pleas for forgiveness by the Newspaper management, the fanatics went to town to avenge the alleged offence on all non-Muslim Nigerians and their properties! It sounds incredible, but why else were Churches razed and Christians killed in Kaduna? Why else will cars and shops belonging to non-Muslims destroyed in Abuja? Is it the Christian Association of Nigeria that sponsored the Miss World Competition? Or does This Day Newspaper belong to the Catholic Archbishop of Kaduna?
Since February 2000, Sharia-related violent riots during which hundreds of lives are lost, and churches, shops, cars and houses belonging to Christians and Southerners are burnt, have become a regular feature in Kaduna, Kano, Jos, Zaria and Bauchi, where a large population of Christians live alongside Muslims. But what we have been witnessing in Nigeria in the last few years, is actually the failure of state and the collapse of governance. There is nothing on the ground to demonstrate that ours is not a land run over by political bandits, ethnic warlords and religious fanatics. The average citizen now seems to have lost confidence in the capacity of those in power to protect lives and property.
Where one part of the country can decide to enforce criminal elements of the Islamic legal code that are clearly at variance with the nation's constitution, cutting off the limbs of petty offenders, condemning poor adulterers to death by stoning, and harassing those who do not share their faith every so often, the impression created is that no one is in charge of our affairs, and there is no law and order in place.
With a selfless, visionary and prudent leadership, the thousands of deaths we have recorded, and the millions of Naira worth of property that have been destroyed in the last few years, could have been avoided. I hold the current leadership of the Nigerian State responsible for the massive destruction of lives and property in Kaduna, Jos, Kano, Zaria, Bauchi and elsewhere, over the Sharia controversy, and at the hands of Islamic fundamentalists, because the president and his team have remained indolent and insensitive in the face of a very explosive situation. I hold President Obasanjo and his team accountable for the blood and tears in Kaduna and other parts of the North, where non-Muslims have lost their right to live in peace, for it is the primary duty of government to protect innocent and law abiding citizens from the nefarious activities of hooligans, bandits and fanatics. I hold those in power responsible for the pain and anguish that is the lot of the innocent citizens of Northern Nigeria who for the umpteenth time have been rendered refugees in their own country, because I expect them to own up to their ineptitude and resign from their high office, if their being in office makes no difference for the internal security of the nation.
True, after three and a half years in government, the present crop of leaders have done little to improve the lot of Nigerians. The economy remains comatose in a country that is otherwise abundantly blessed by the creator. Unemployment, especially youth unemployment, has soared, as a result of which the mass of our young people are losing hope and losing patience. Our schools, hospitals, and other social infrastructure are in an embarrassing state of decay. The population itself is more divided today than it ever was, since the end of 1967-1970 civil war. And now religious violence has been added to our multiple woes. Yet in the midst of all these calamities, our leaders are carrying on business as usual.
Our public office holders are feeding fat on our scarce resources, selling the poor for a pair of sandals and playing games with the fate and fortune of our children. There are allegations and counter allegations of bribery, running into hundreds of millions of Naira, and involving high-ranking members of the legislature and the executive. Young Nigerians have become angry, restive and violence prone. They are capitalising on anything they can find to vent their anger. Yesterday it was ethnicity. Today it is religion. Tomorrow it may be political affiliation. And there are politicians who fan these flames of violence for their own selfish political advantage. But where does all these leave Nigeria?
In the midst of the madness of today peace-seeking Nigerians and civil society groups must begin to take the elected representatives of the people to task with regard to their commitment or otherwise to creating the enabling environment for peace and social well-being. The saner elements in our society must begin to take the president, the governors, the local government chairmen and the lawmakers at all levels to task on their capacity or otherwise to formulate and defend such legal instruments and pursue such policies that will make for peace, security and prosperity.
It is not enough for us to desire peace for our land. We must be peace makers as well. We must be committed to designing strategies to forestall, manage and resolve conflict situations. We must work hard and make sacrifices towards the attainment of the peace of our dream. The men and women of goodwill in Nigeria must constantly be on the watch to ensure that in our evolving democracy, such agents of destabilisation as the gang of Islamic fanatics in the North and their collaborators elsewhere do not hijack our commonweal for selfish political gains, and transform our land to a theatre of war, a war with no discernible reason and one without frontiers.
In the midst of the madness of today those who still have their heads in place must reflect together and rise up in defence of the secular nature of our national constitution, or else Nigeria may soon become another Algeria. A stitch in time saves nine they say. This latest event in the tragic drama of the Nigerian state is one more reason why it is necessary to hold a round table or a national conference to discuss the terms of our social contract as a nation... We must salvage our country for once from the hands of bandits, hooligans and fanatics. The time to act is now!
April 2003