More on violence in Jos
Jeremy Wheate, writing in his blog Naijablog from London has this comment about the violence in Jos.At the root of the conflict in Plateau State are two core issues: poverty and an artificial distinction between "settler" and "indigene". Although a few years old now, this report by Human Rights Watch gives a good background to the issue. You can download the pdf here.
The settler/indigene dichotomy goes against the fundamental freedoms granted in sections 42 and 43 of the constitution. Both these sections are good and should remain in a reformed constitution. It is also quite arbitrary who is classified as a settler and who as a indigene. Many ethnic groups in Nigeria migrated from elsewhere (the Beroms in Plateau State are thought to have migrated centuries ago from Niger; the Efiks in Calabar were originally from Sudan etc.)
Until the government takes a hard look at the issues that block 42 and 43 from functioning ("Federal character" guidelines and the "State of origin" law), the conflicts will remain and Jos will continue to be a flashpoint. Violent conflict will probably exacerbate as desertification, water scarcity and population growth drive northern populations southwards into the Middle Belt in the next decade.
The report recommends that state laws that are biased in favour of 'indigenes' should be repealed. Four years after it was written, that's still a very good recommendation. But in a country where politicians don't need to have ideas or practical policies, who is going to stand up and push this forward?
See also:
- From June 2009 Cleavages and conflict
- From December 2008 Nigeria Forces Are Implicated in the Killings of Muslims and More background on Nigerian riots and politics
- From November 2008 More conflict in Plateau state of Nigeria
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Labels: civil society, cleavages, constitution, demographics, Nigeria, politics, rule-of-law
posted by Ken Wedding @ 4:02 PM
1 Comments:
A few years ago, text messages organized riots to oppose the Miss Universe Pageant in Nigeria. Now, Nigeria text messages 'fuelled Jos riots'
"Days of deadly violence between Muslims and Christians in Nigeria last week was fuelled by inflammatory text messages, a religious leader has told the BBC.
"Rev Joseph Hayab said hundreds of texts circulated around the city of Jos - some urging Christians not to buy food from Muslims 'because it was poisoned'.
"Another told Muslims the state governor had ordered their water supply to be cut in an attempt to kill them..."
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