Not as simplistic
If the journalists writing about the awful violence and bloodshed in Jos can only emphasize the religious cleavages there, Imnakoya, a Nigerian-American writing in the blog Grandiose Parlor, elaborates the issues to avoid oversimplification.JOS: a crisis triggered by inequality
It is now clear that the violence-igniting problem in JOS is far from solved. Not after more than 500 were killed again over the weekend in what appeared a sequel to an equally bloody incident in January.
The common denominator in the Jos crisis — as in most sectarian crises in Nigeria — is traceable to the deep inequalities in the society. The elements of religion and geography are just mere facilitators in the conflict…
It is ironic that this extent of bloody encounters have occurred in Jos, a city which is an acronym for “Jesus our Savior”. Perhaps, the origins of the Jos — a former enclave for colonial missionaries, and its geographic location — aptly described by some as a “de facto fault line separating Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north from its mainly Christian south”, is partly responsible for the mishaps… However, the fact remains that the gory events in Jos can be reproduced almost anywhere in Nigeria.
Nigeria is a nation of natives and settlers; the Nigerian constitution even empowers this ethnic affiliation by giving credence to the of “state of origin” status...
This inequality is made even more potent at the state levels, and the crisis in Jos is not immune to the “state of origin” contraption: the Christians are the natives, while the Muslims are the settlers; the natives feel entitled to largess but not the settlers…
That the two are on the opposing sides of the religion divide certainly does not help. The cumulative effect of these factors — the aftermath of cultural and societal inequality — is what has been happening in Jos over the years: an intractable bloody violence…
Millions of executive committees could be commissioned to investigate, and international agencies called in to pontificate and and proffer solutions, but not until the inequalities in the societies are addressed would there be sustainable peace. Bending the inequality curve will demand will power and sincerity from the political lords of the land and sacrifice from the various stakeholders, unfortunately, these are very scarce items in present day Nigeria.
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Labels: cleavages, Nigeria, political culture, politics
posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:53 AM
1 Comments:
A more in-depth analysis of the conflicts in Jos was "buried" in a blog at the New York Times web site. It is more than the oversimplified headlines that have made the main news stories. It includes some video clips. If the situation in Jos is to be a case study to illustrate many aspects of Nigeria and its governance and politics, you really should check these sources.
Violence Is Not Religiously Motivated, Nigerian Archbishop Says
In January, Rev. Kwashi, the Anglican archbishop of Jos, argued in an essay for Christianity Today magazine — headlined, “In Jos We Are Coming Face to Face in Confrontation with Satan” — that violence in the region was not motivated by religious differences, writing: “those who have in the past used violence to settle political issues, economic issues, social matters, intertribal disagreements, or any issue for that matter, now continue to use that same path of violence and cover it up with religion.”...
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