.
By: A.G. Abubakar.
In matters of ethno-religious crisis, the Yoruba model of tolerance comes handy. With modifications of course, depending on where one’s sectarian inclination. Plus, the fact that poverty is not endemic among the Yoruba. Nor ethnic diversity as well. The bond of kinship and tradition among the Yoruba surpasses that of the Islamic faith, in contrast to what obtains in the North even though the two had contact with Islam about the same time. The Yoruba through the old Mali Empire, that was when they refer to Islam as “Esin Imale”. Indeed, the first set of mosques in Yoruba land was built in Oyo-Ile and Iwo in 1550 and 1655 respectively, earlier than in most parts of the present-day Muslim North. Except maybe for Sokoto, Kano and Borno that embraced the religion in the 10th and 14th centuries.
Outside this axis most development regarding Islam took place in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the Yoruba land of western Nigeria, Islam and tradition coexist harmoniously since ever since. The reason for this may not be unconnected with the variant (sect) of Islam generally being practiced which is the Sufi Order (Ɗariƙat Ahamadiyya, Tijjaniyah, Qadriyyah etc). A lot of the tenets of the Order have been found compatible with the Yoruba cultural dispositions. The Yoruba “Ifa” divination was subtly replaced by the Muslim “Alfa”, a trado-muslim clergyman who like the Babalawo, prepares charms/amulets and concoctions for persons seeking success and protection in life. In the North they are refer to the “Malaman Tsubbu” and they are commonplace too. The practice of polygamy equally practiced by the Yoruba was allowed under Islam only that Islam limits the number to a maximum of four.
Thus, today religious differences never really mattered in Yoruba land. To some extent the same disposition generally obtained in the North until the coming of the Jihadist reform of the Dan Fodio in the 19th century, precisely in the year 1804. A reform that resonated with later day Movements in the 20th century. Salafist Izala groups who strife for purity of practice. The two events (the Jihad and Salafism) reshaped and continue to reshape the practice of Islam in parts of Northern Nigeria. And one of the driving force behind the Salafism philosophy in Nigeria is the Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah wa Iqamatus Sunnah (JIBWIS) popularly called the Izala movement, founded in Jos in the 70s by an Islamic scholar named Sheikh Ismaila Idris (1930-2000).
The Movement later got enormous boost through the activities of Sheikhs Abubakar Gumi (Kaduna) and Mahmood Ja’afar (Kano) both of blessed memory. The city of Jos was created by the Colonial Administration in aid of the tin mining activities in the area. “It was a virgin land among the Anaguta and the Afizere natives. Typical of most Hausa and Muslim settlements, leaders Sarkin Hausawan” Jos were appointed to manage their affairs (Krause, General Declaration paper, 2011). The native Berom then were living in a decentralized clan- based scattered settlements on the Jos Plateau with no central authority. In fact, the defunct Jos and Pankshin Divisions up to 1921 (or 1926) were then under Bauchi Providence. The first traditional ruler (Gbong Gwon) of Jos, Da Rwang Pam, a Berom from one of settlements, was appointed by the then Colonial AD in 1947 and directed to come and settle there (Jos) according to one of his sons, Mr. Pam Rwang Pam (May 2016). Before relocating the Gbong Gwon to Jos, there was already a sprawling “setler” enclave populated by Hausa, Fulani, Igala, Nupe, Igbo, Yoruba and others. And it was from this settlement that the Izala Movement was founded. As it were, the Muslim community on the Jos Plateau is a small one amidst the larger non Muslim Berom natives. The community (Hausa, Fulani, Kanuri, Babur and others) came to the Jos Plateau largely in pursuit of economic opportunities in the tin mining industry which the plateau was famous for. With the economic empowerment the “tiny” Muslim community started terming Jos “home” to the chagrin of the natives who were largely laid back and less involved, business wise, Envy and push-back soon set in.
A perception soon manifested of a tiny economic emigrant group lording it over a vast sea of less prosperous natives. Thus, the age long peace on the Plateau soon started rupturing, triggering series of violent crisis. The two neighbors increasingly became arch enemies. In the ensuing battle for supremacy, the sides, resorted to cultivating platforms and rallying points to secure advantage. Appealing to, religious, political sentiments as wall. ethnicity became a potent strategy. The most lethal and effective one, turned out be “religion”. It soon got weaponized. The Izala, the Church/CAN and other groups took side with their faithfuls in the deadly game of “push me I push you” between “indigenes” and “settlers. The Berom consider themselves the “hosts” and the Muslim (Hausa, Fulani, Kanuri, Babur and other faithfuls) community the “guests”. They later say no based on their place in the history of Jos and also constitutional rights as Nigerians. The resultant violent crisis has since pitched entire Muslim against the majority Christian group in the Plateau State as a whole, needlessly. And since then, the Ethno-religious embers have been fanned to in and outside the Plateau. A move that kept exacerbating the conflict in both frequency and intensity. Marauding herdsmen and Christian/local militia soon became integral of the carnage to continue to give it a dangerous religious/ethnic coloration and context, away from the basic root cause which was economic with sprinklings of partisan politics. And the consequence? continuous bloodletting, needlessly. According to the Plateau State Peace Building Agency (PSPBA Report), between 1994 to 2020 the state witnessed over 70 cycles of violence that consumed tens of thousands of lives in addition to the destructions of properties worth billions of naira. While the two know the cause of crisis is economic, they successfully appealed to ethnic/religious sentiments to dig in. There is basically no spiritual content to the series of conflict but the gullible onlooker had been made to perceive it as such, unfortunately.
The failure to appreciate the economic context of the crisis has largely been responsible for the many failed Peace Initiatives and Summits on Plateau State. A few include the Obasanjo declaration of state of emergency in 2004 and the appointment Gen. Alli as Administrator, the 2001, ACF Peace Misson led by IGP Coomassie (rtd), as well as various summits by well organizations and institutions (ACF, 2010). The Obasanjo frustrations boiled over during altercations with the CAN, made the unfortunate “CAN-my-foot!” statement. In continuing previous missteps, the current governor Mutfwang constituted a Security Committee of about a dozen persons, all of which were Christians with AVM Napoleon Bali (rtd) as Chairman and Arc. Samuel Jatau the Secretary to the Government as Secretary. No representation from the other divide (the Hausa, Fulani, and Muslims in general), yet the Committee was tasked with finding a lasting peace between the warring groups. It is simply a case of attempting to fly with one wing. This comedy of errors should stop. Plateau people deserve better. Governments at all levels would do well to educate people on this tricky aspect of the conflict to curtail it from becoming a religious war across the country. The move too, should be backed by robust program of poverty reduction and political equity. For, poverty, injustice and ignorance are threats to peace especially in diverse settings like the Plateau State and indeed anywhere else. They are strange bedfellows. They don’t mix well. A stitch in time saves nine.
agbarewa@gmail.com
Leave a Reply