Since
2001, “the home of peace and tourism” seize to be when violence has erupted in
Jos city, capital of Plateau state, in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region. The
ostensible dispute is over the “rights” of the indigene Berom/ Anaguta/Afizere
(BAA) group and the rival claims of the Hausa-Fulani settlers to land, power
and resources. Indi- gene-settler conflicts are not new to Nigeria, but the
country is currently experiencing widespread intercommunal strife, which
particularly affects the Middle Belt. The Jos crisis is the result of failure
to amend the constitution to privilege broad-based citizenship over exclusive
indigene status and ensure that residency rather than indignity determines
citizens’ rights. Constitutional change is an important step to defuse indigene
settler rivalries that continue to undermine security. It must be accompanied by
immediate steps to identify and prosecute perpetrators of violence, in Jos and
other parts of the country. Elites at local, state and federal level must also
consistently implement policies aimed at reducing the dangerous link be- tween
ethnic belonging and access to resources, power and security if intercommunal
violence is to end.
PREVIOUS CAUSES
The 2001 Jos riots were riots
involving Christians and Muslims in Jos, Nigeria over
the appointment of a Muslim politician, Alhaji Muktar Mohammed, as
local coordinator of the federal poverty alleviation
program. The clashes started on 7 September and lasted
nearly two weeks, ending on 17 September. Over 1000 people were killed because
of the conflicts.
Many houses, mosques and churches
were damaged, destroyed or burned to the ground. Torched cars were left along
the streets after the clashes between Christians and Muslims. Property and even
human beings were set on fire also. Three churches of the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN)
were burned. Three major hospitals suggested that their government increased
casualty figures by hundreds.
The clashes started on 7
September 2001, when a Christian woman attempted to cross a barricaded street.
It led to a conflict between her and a group of Muslims, church leaders said.
The fight eventually spread to other parts of the city. Christians were
spontaneously attacked by Muslims, according to church leaders. The clash ended
on 17 September 2001, when Nigeria's president, Olusegun Obasanjo,
lamented the violence between the Muslims and Christians. Local sources see
the introduction of military intervention and strictly enforced curfews as the
major contributor to the end of the clashes. Because of the large number of
people involved who were killed in the clashes, a mass burial had to be
arranged as said by Mortuary
attendants from Jos University Teaching Hospital and Plateau State Specialist Hospital
The
2008 Jos riots was as a result
of Electoral workers did not publicly list the winners of the elections, and
rumours began that the election was won by the candidate of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), barrister Timothy Gyang Buba, defeating the
candidate for the All Nigerian Peoples Party. People from
the largely Muslim Hausa community,
began protesting even before the results were released, and started to attack
Christian homes and churches by midnight. Violence escalated between them and
the Christians, who largely supported Buba.
The rioting led to the death of over
381 people in central Nigeria in only two days of clashing,and several homes,
mosques, churches and a seminary were damaged
or burned by mob. The Nigerian Red Cross Society reported that
10,000 people fled their homes due to the riots,and were living in government-provided
shelters. Nigerian
soldiers were sent into Jos to break up the fighting and create a
buffer
zone between the Christians and Muslims.
Jonah Jang, the governor of the Plateau
State, imposed a 24-hour curfew on four
districts of the city, and soldiers are permitted to "shoot on sight"
to prevent more violence. Flights to and from Jos were cancelled and roads to
the north were blocked.
Similar riots in 2001 between
Christians and Muslims in Jos also killed hundreds. A 2004 riot in Yelwa,
another town in Plateau State resulted in the so-called Yelwa
Massacre. Fighting in the north-central Kaduna State when it tried
to impose shari'a law in 2000,
resulted in the partition of Kaduna. This was
followed by the Kaduna riots of November 2002, resulting from Nigeria's hosting
of the Miss
World contest, which one of its contestants had won the
previous year.
Many armed youths of both sides were
arrested at military roadblocks. Police estimated that as many as 500 were
arrested on Saturday, 29 November, alone
-PETER ATSEN AWARE
KUW/U14/SLG/2033
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