Governor Nasir el-Rufai, security personnel and religious leaders weigh in on the reason Kaduna, the jewel of the North, is often a theatre of large scale violence. ABDULGAFAR ALABELEWE reports
There is this thing about Kaduna. It is the city where everyone in the North likes to pitch their tent. And it is not only the northerners. The British also fell for the city when they set foot in the region. It was the capital of the defunct Northern Region, consisting of the present 19 northern states, and it retained this status until 1967 when it became the capital of the Northcentral State which was later renamed Kaduna State in 1976.
The state today comprises 23 local government areas, namely; Birnin Gwari, Chikun, Giwa, Igabi, Ikara, Jaba, Jema’a, Kachia, Kaduna North, Kaduna South, Kagarko, Kajuru, Kaura, Kauru, Kubau, Kudan, Lere, Makarfi, Sabon Gari, Sanga, Soba, Zangon Kataf, Zaria.
Presently in the northwestern part of the country with about 6.1million people, according to the 2006 population census, Kaduna is a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic state populated by over 60 different ethnic groups with Hausa/Fulani and Gbagyi as the dominant ethnic groups.
But unlike the 18 other states it gave birth to, Kaduna has witnessed about 20 major ethno-religious crises since the unfortunate Kasuwan Magani violence of 1982. The crises over the years have caused mutual suspicion and divided the state and even the capital city sharply along religious lines; Muslims in the north, and Christians in the south, a situation that makes the state boil often at any slight provocation.
The first crisis in the state was said to have occurred in 1980, in Kasuwan Magani, Kajuru Local Government Area of the state following disagreements over farmlands between the indigenous Adara ethnic group and the Hausa Fulani.
Other bloody clashes were the 1987 riots at the College of Education, Gidan Waya; the Zangon Kataf riots of 1992; the 2000/2001 Sharia riots; the 2002 Miss World riot and the post-presidential election violence in 2011 and the recent Kasuwan Magani violence, among several others.
The state governor Nasir el-Rufai, who has had to manage several crises since assumption of office, blamed the frequent violence on the failure of previous governments to prosecute those behind it. El-Rufai stated categorically that the solution to killings with impunity in the state is enforcement of the law and prosecution of perpetrators.
He said, “Apart from the Justice Benedict Okadigbo Tribunal on the Zango-Kataf Religious Crisis, no government had prosecuted anybody over their involvement in various crises in the state.”
The administration of a former military dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, established the Benedict Okadigbo Tribunal to try all those that were implicated in the 1992 Zango-Kataf crisis, during which hundreds of people were killed and property worth millions of naira was destroyed.
At the weekend, Governor el-Rufai said residents must commit to peace, stressing that crisis and conflict have certainly made societies poorer.
Speaking at the 2018 Igbo Cultural Day, held in Kaduna, the governor maintained that it was time for all residents to say never again to crisis. El-Rufai, who noted that the state just emerged from another episode of the violent crises that have challenged Kaduna over the last 40 years, said every responsible resident of the state can now see that the relentless obsession with ethnicity and religion is not helpful.
“The varied talents that we all have should instead be deployed for the common purpose of building a peaceful and prosperous society. Building the good society is in our hands, whereas our ethnicity and religion are often determined for us by the circumstances of our birth.
“Let us keep religion in the private sphere, retain pride in our heritage but behave like citizens who respect the law and the rights of others.
“Thankfully, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria protects the rights of citizens to live anywhere, practise any faith of their choice and pursue their livelihoods in peace and security. I assure you that the Kaduna State government, which I currently lead, takes seriously its obligation to uphold these rights for every citizen, no matter their ethnic or religious affiliations.”
Other stakeholders and experts view the reasons behind the recurrent crises in Kaduna differently. While some blame it on intolerance among the various ethno-religious groups in the state, others see the crises rooted in poverty and illiteracy.
Professor David Alabi of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) said if Kaduna must have peace, government must address the growing army of unemployed graduates, Almajiri syndrome, adding that the unholy trinity of poverty, ignorance and disease will always cause problems if not addressed.
The professor of political science, who spoke at an event in Kaduna on the conflict in the state, said, “Because different ethnic groups were brought together by the colonial masters, there will always be conflict among these various groups. To say there will not be conflict is to be unrealistic. So, the colonial legacy is a major problem, but the way we manage it is very important. But for mere fact that we have been living together for this long, we cannot continue to blame western imperialism for the conflicts in Kaduna or Nigeria. If we must address the crises in Kaduna, there must be dialogue between the people and the leaders.
“Another issue is the downturn in the Nigerian economy. This is partly responsible for the conflicts in Kaduna and Nigeria as a whole. For instance, the Arewa textile mill folded up, Kaduna textile mill folded up, so many other factories went under, as a result of this, we have a large army of unemployed people, the youth. This is a major cause of violence. So, if there is going to be peace in this state and Nigeria we must solve the nagging economic crisis, especially youth unemployment.
“Number 3, we must solve the major problem of illitracy. Julius Inyerere of Tanzania said, Africa suffers from the unholy trinity of poverty, ignorance and disease. That is true. In the Bible, we have the holy trinity of ‘the father, the son and the holy spirit’ , but here we have the unholy trinity of poverty, ignorance and disease. And that is a major reason we are having conflicts. If there is awareness, the kids are in school, who will be readily available to selfish politicians to be used as thugs. But, just this some morning, I saw some boys with plastic bowls in their hands, begging. If we must eradicate violence in Kaduna state, this boys must be taken off the streets and taken to school, and there must be massive education of the youth in the state, that is very important.
“Then, the manipulation of our differences by the political elites is a problem. If you go to the ‘Kasuwa’ here, the central market, you will see an Igbo woman sitting beside a Yoruba woman, Yoruba woman sitting beside a Fulani woman, selling their wares, and there is no problem, they live together in peace, but when the elites want to be mischievous, that is when they will tell you look o, you Solomon, this man is Suleiman, he is your enemy. No, that is not your enemy; your enemies are those stealing our resources.
“The only way to stop this is to introduce free and compulsory education for the youtths. Education that will be functional, that will be able to provide jobs. We read, political science and the rest, I am a professor of political science. But, how will political science provide food for you if you don’t have government employment? The type of education that we need in Kaduna state today is such that will provide skills for these youths, so that, even if they don’t get government jobs, they will be able to stand on their own.
“Now, let me tell you about the current reality about the youths in Kaduna state. As far as Kaduna state is concerned, they are confronting high rate of unemployment. So, if there is going to be peace in Kaduna state, in fact, the reality of what I am talking about goes beyond Kaduna state, if there is going to be peace in Nigeria, we need to address the high rate of unemployment.
“Another issue is that, the youths in Kaduna State have learnt from the elders not to trust themselves, they are too conscious of their differences and they are ready to fight to the dead in situation of crisis. That is very unfortunate. These are boys and girls that should live harmoniously together, that should trust one-another, but because of the antics of the elders, they don’t. So, we must work on that.
“If we are going to have peace in Kaduna State, we have some stakeholders that must play some important roles; the government. The government is very important. The other time, I commended the Governor of this state for his prompt action, he went from one place to the other, checking those people that are victims of the recent crisis, visisted Kachia and other places. This is how it is supposed to be. So, government has a very important role to play. They must be seen to be impartial, fair to everyone. Yes, you belong to different political parties, but there is a limit to partisan politics.
“The media also have a great role to play. They media must enlighten the people very well; make sure they have the right perspective. And finally, the citizen themselves must resolve to live together in peace, be patriotic and respect the sacredness of life, because the government and its security agents cannot be everywhere.” He said.
The Kaduna State chapter Secretary of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Reverend Sunday Ibrahim blamed the situation on religious intolerance.
He said, “I don’t want to see it that way; that Kaduna is always in crisis. You know, a father has a big responsibility on his head. Kaduna is the father of the North, and as a father of the North, you should understand that Kaduna is a mini-Nigeria, you find every tribe in Kaduna, you find every big man in Kaduna. So, if you have different people coming from different places and different religions, they have different opinions.
“So, part of the reasons for the crises is lack of maturity, lack of fairness, tolerance and forgiveness for one another, and accumulative anger, as well as religious intolerance. That is the way I look at it. I don’t want to use the word extremism, though in every society now, you find extremists there.
Talking about impunity and lack of punishment of the culprits of the previous crisis, the CAN scribe said, “to be very frank, some of the white papers that are produced are faulty. I don’t think we should just implement those white papers, the reason is that some of those white papers do not reflect what really happened. If the government of the day will look at those white papers and set up panels to also look at those white papers, it will help. Because, implementing some of those white papers will even bring more problems, because they were not done in good faith and they were not done accurately. In most cases some of the white papers were not even produced by members of the committee set up to investigate the crises, but done by a different set of people. So, such white papers must be checked before being implemented.
“But truly speaking, if someone is found to have committed a crime, the government should call him to order. There is nothing bad about that, because we are governed by the law.
Talking about mutual suspicion and division along religious lines, the CAN Secretary said, “I want you to know that, one’s safety is the most important thing. I think why we have what we have, this divide between the north and south, is that, so many people have died, and it will always be good that you don’t go and put yourself in a trap.”
Like Professor Alabi, a veteran journalist and public affairs analyst, Alhaji Tajudeen Tijjani opined that the government should take Almajiri children off Kaduna streets, if Kaduna must have peace.
“The first reason Kaduna is always in crisis is poverty, though poverty is not peculiar to Kaduna state. However, in fairness to every government that has come on board, they have tried to see that poverty level is reduced, but there is too much of dependence on goverment, and the government cannot cater for the needs of everybody.”
He said though, the crises in Kaduna state predated the closure of the textile factories, the revival of such factories will help in reducing poverty. “Because the textile those days use to recruit 7,000 people at a goal. During the break, you see 21,000 people coming out. Those selling other wares also making a living from them, the cotton farmers and host of others in the textile value chain.
“Another important issue is that, some people, a particular area of the state claim they have been marginalised. But, the area has benefitted from many things. For instance, during the tenure of Governor Ahmad Mohammed Makarfi, all the nooks and crannies of that area benefitted from rural electrification and roads, among many others. That is why during his time, people called him ‘gwamna na karkara’, meaning the villagers’ governor; he earned that name.
“But here we have people who are always suspicious of themselves. So, there is need for massive enlightenment to be able to heal that suspicion, because it has always been there.”
Tijjani said, the government should sustain the tempo of enlightenment it has started, saying that, people must realise that people fanning the embers of religious crisis are actually not religious themselves, because neither Qur’an nor Bible preaches hate and division.
“The Kaduna Peace Commission established by the government of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai is also a step in the right direction. The Commission has a lot of work to. People must be disarmed. When I joined the Nigerian Newspapers as a young reporter in those days, you don’t see young men carrying weapons like ‘gario’ or machetes about. But that is happening today. Almajiri children must be taken away from the streets.”
The riddle of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu’s sudden disappearance about one year ago has been resolved – somehow. A video of the separatist group leader performing some religious obligation in Jerusalem —the Israelis deny he is with them —was quickly followed by a broadcast to his followers.