IT is implausible to argue, with intellectual fairness and objectivity, that religious and ethnic considerations have no role in the Plateau fracas. It is becoming evidently clear that our political parties are being turned into facades of our real parties; religion and tribalism. In all but name, we have the two as our real political parties. Put differently, what we have, at some level, are Christian Party of Nigeria CPN and Muslim Party of Nigeria, MPN.
It is instructive that the first outcry over the Yelwa Shendam episode came from the Sharia Council of Nigeria. In the case of the suspension of Dariye, a purely political action, CAN promulgated it a Jihad. And over the years, the battle over Jos North has also been fought along religious lines. These and more are indices of the religious polarization of the issue and therefore cannot be discounted as a non factor.
Even then, however, the economic underpins are still quite glaring. With the decline of the economy over the past years, politics has come to be practiced as an avenue for lucrative business, massively empowering not only politicians and the elected plus appointed office holders, but also thuggery traders. This accounts largely for the viciousness of the politics of Jos North. One fact many have never appreciated is that it is not only the Hausas/Fulanis/Muslims that are being resisted from holding any position in the area but also other so called settler-tenants, whether minorities or Christians. There are Christians/minorities from other states of the Middle Belt, whose ancestors arrived Jos several years ago, but cannot dare to mute any political ambition even as a ward officer of a political party. The perception is that this will deny the natives “political employment” in whatever capacity.
Still, we cannot run away from the fact that Jos North is predominantly of the so-called settler tenants, just as you cannot deny the huge population of Igbos in Sabongari Kano where they have elected Councilors. Few bother to appreciate that Malmadori in Yobe State is substantially populated by people of Igbo origin whose forefathers settled there so many years ago. Only a few know of their Igbo origin.
They have their own Councilors. Presently, the representative of Kaduna South in the House of Representatives is a lady from Bazza, in Michika local government of Adamawa State. She was elected twice. Christians and Muslims have been voting for her. Wusasa near Zaria, is predominantly Christian with General Gowon’s ruling house having the District Head and membership of the Zaria Emirate Traditional Council and don’t forget Gowon is originally from Plateau and an Angas but who has never seen himself except as an indigene and native of Wusasa. And Christians settled in the area only in the 30s, or so, against the Hausa/Fulani/Muslims who have in los longer than the Christians have been in Wusasa.
General Ali should therefore borrow a leaf from Wusasa by creating a district in Jos North whose head is answerable to the Gbong Gwom of Jos. Afterall, of the 14 chiefs of Jos, eleven were Hausa Fulani and when the first native came to the throne, the position of Magajin Gari, equivalent to District Head, was created headed by Hausa/FulanilMuslims. What is more, we have sarkin Hausawa in so many places in the South, Igbo Obis and Yoruba Obas in the North crowned by various traditional rulers as their contribution to national integration. If the “settler-tenants” of Wusasa, have an Angasman, as their District Head, what makes it wrong for the “settler tenants” of Jos equally have one? The possibility of achieving this should be explored in conjunction with the traditional institutions in Jos in particular and Plateau State in general.
This brings us to another contentious issue; election in Jos North Local Government, one area where it has not been held which is a constitutional aberration. The Sole Administrator should see to it that a free, fair, and credible election is conducted there before the expiration of his tenure. We have seen how CAN denounced the “Obasanjo Jihad,’ against the people of Plateau State for suspending, there, democratic institutions. Yet, when others complained about a similar treatment inflicted on Jos North those denouncing Obasanjo, rightly or wrongly, were curiously, among those who have been denouncing the protesters! For the reasons it is “wrong” of Mr president to curtail democratic practices in Plateau State, so is it an equally constitutional aberration to deny the people of Jos north Local Government similar practices.
There are some governors General Ali needs to consult. The first is that of Benue, Mr Akume. His state like Plateau has as much Muslim population but unlike Plateau such evident frictions have never reared their ugly heads there. How was he able to achieve this, or could it be that the Muslims there are less aggressive than their Plateau counterparts or that the indigenes are more tolerant than those of Plateau?
The next is that of Adamawa, Mr Haruna. During the days of Gongola State, now split into Adamawa and Taraba states respectively, there were 104 different tribes, none constituting more than 10% of the population. Perhaps Adamawa alone has about 70. In term of ethnic pluralism, sure enough, Plateau cannot beat it. Except when “foreign invaders” took on Dumne, Boni never had the Plateau experience during his tenure and there are also Hausa/FulanilMuslims around. How then has Boni been handling this rainbow of tribes and religion, which according to Obasanjo, rightly or wrongly, Dariye couldn’t manage?
Of course, we are not unaware of the balance of religious terror in the state, at least more than it is in Plateau. But more profound is that in several parts of Adamawa State not many families have no blood brothers and sisters who are either Muslims or Christians. it is the case with Taraba, Kogi and to some extent Kwara. SOLAD Ali should therefore think very seriously of getting in contact with the governors of these states for a lecture on relative ethnic and religious harmony. Coming from Kogi, he is not unaware of what is being said here. What is more, as one whose father is Muslim and mother Christian, he doesn’t need any lecture on religious harmony. He is a product.
In the meantime, one thing the people of the state are unanimous on is the need for the release of the findings of the various reports of the committees set up to took into the crisis in the state since the outbreak of hostilities in Jos in September 2001. The last Dariye said on them, sometimes in March, or so, this year, was that no group should blame him should it find the report unfavourable. The Sole Administrator should release these reports and implement their recommendations accordingly. In addition, he should look into the serious allegations, by some prominent citizens of the state, that top government officials originally fuelled the crisis between the Tarok people and those of Wase, plus the alleged partisan involvement of some federal agencies in all the crisis since 2001 and the rumoured taking into slavery, of 200 women and children by one side in the conflict.
Before they were suspended, members of the State House of Assembly passed a resolution calling on the Federal Government to set up a military post and a Mobile Police Station in the violent prone areas of the state. Much as there is skepticism over the seeming inability of the intelligence community to detect those occurrences, this proposal is not entirely misplaced. For sure, there is need for kind of a rapid response force in that area but whose composition should inspire confidence in the people.
One important task is a daunting one but absolutely necessary: that of winning the mind. For the kind of situation on ground, muddled up, as it were, by certain considerations, the mind should essentially be won over. As a General, Ali knows that there is a difference between winning a battle and’ defeating a people. Where the mind is not won over, no war is won.
In going about this, respective community leaders, be formed into committees, This is important here. They should be set up at all strata of the polity starting from the ward level backed up by publicity.
Plateau State is not a task for General Chris Ali alone but for all us-Nigerians. It is our collective project both Christians and Muslims plus others. This should be the attitude. As we rally behind our brothers in the state, let us always remember; five years, as raw recruits of democracy, we have not been doing badly only that we are yet to be qualified for a nursery class certificate. In this lies a lesson
