KUNLE ODEREMI and MUHAMMAD SABIU write on the incessant clashes in Southern Kaduna, the claims and counter-claims following the latest round of violence and the recommendations towards lasting peace in the area.
IT is a bizarre spectacle. Brothers have taken up arms against each other. Scores have been killed. Unspecified number of others maimed, while hordes of women have been turned into widows and, in some cases, children became orphans, having lost their parents in a senseless war in Southern Kaduna.
For the citizens of Southern Kaduna, they would never wish a return of the kind of bleak and bloody episode that visited their communities at the threshold of Christmas and New Year celebrations. A season of universal joy became a period of blood, tears and sorrow.
It was not the first time such a horrendous fury would sweep across Southern Kaduna. Similar clashes had occurred at different times with attendant huge loss of lives and properties. But the December 10, 2016 mayhem appeared to have been on a larger scale, with the different camps to the conflict contesting the number of casualties, especially the number of those killed. Suffice to say that the main ethnic groups in the area had lived under a climate of fear, mutual suspicion and outright bottled emotion, just as some observers claimed that religion, coupled with politics became the gun powder. Neither of the camps claimed to be responsible for the murder of sleep in area considered to be a microcosm of the Nigerian federation. However, the two main parties to the conflict seem consensus that the non-commitment of the government to implement the outcome of investigations into similar crises in the area had always been responsible for fresh outbreaks of violence.
In order to checkmate the latest round of bloodshed and destruction in the state, however, the state government had imposed a 24-hour curfew in Jema’a, Zango Kataf and Kaura, the three local government areas of the state that were regarded as ‘dark spots.’
Speaking on the rationale behind the curfew in his local government area, the Interim Chairman of Jema’a Local Government Area, Mr Katuka Bege, maintained that it was essentially to maintain law and order. He added that the curfew had brought sanity in his domain. As of the time of filing this report, the curfew had been relaxed in two of the three local government areas from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Claims, counter-claims
But the major stakeholders in the area have continued to trade blames, giving different accounts of the volatile situation in Southern Kaduna. The the Jama’a Foundation, Kafanchan chapter, in collaboration with the Muslim Youth Foundation of Southern Kaduna (MYFOSKA) through the chairman, Alhaji Muhammad M.K. Qaseem and the secretary, Mallam Dabo Abdullahi, alleged that the Fulani had been suffering in silence at the hands of the natives for a very long time. It said it was unfair to perceive the Fulani as belligerent. In a treatise entitled, “the untold story of the systematic genocide of Muslim in Southern Kaduna,” the group said it is “universally acknowledged that justice, equity and fairness to all citizens irrespective of their ethnic, religious and political affiliation, especially in a diverse society like Kaduna State is a pre-requisite for peaceful co-existence, nation building and national integration.”
It further claimed that, “in the last two decades, premeditated violence against different communities in Southern Kaduna had led to the extinction of more than 50 Hausa/Fulani communities, among them, Zangon-Kataf, Zonkwa, Matsirga, Unguwan Rimi Baju, Kwoi, Jaban kogo and Gidan maga. The recurrent aggression across Southern Kaduna has received widespread publicity from the public, media houses, and the incident was also tabled at the National Assembly. Regrettably most of what was discussed and published was one-sided, based on partisanship, ethnic chauvinism and imprudence as promoted by Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and their sponsors, without any logical initiative for dialogue, reconciliation and peace building. The driven factor for the recurrent of violence in Southern Kaduna is the pathological hatred for Muslims and Islam that has been deeply instilled in the minds of Southern Kaduna Christians natives by their elite. Thus, Any form of characterisation: ethnic, chieftaincy, procession, land or farmers-herdsmen’s conflicts is mere disguise and camouflage.”
Contrary to a general belief of mutual co-existence among the various ethnic groups in the area, the Muslim group claimed the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) is strictly a union of Christians from Southern Kaduna, as no Muslim is or will ever be obliged genuine membership. According to it, “it is on records that Southern Kaduna Christian natives are living and working peacefully in Northern states that are predominantly Muslims, like Zamfara, Sokoto, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Niger, Bauchi and Adamawa, among others, without any form of intimidation, harassment or bloodshed….It is imperative to state that the perpetrators and sponsors of this kind of monumental crime against Hausa/Fulani and other Muslims, from Kasuwan Magani in 1981 to the last 2011 post-election massacre, have never for once been brought to justice, in spite of the fact that, some were being indicted by different commissions of inquiry set up by Kaduna State Government at various points in time.”
The organisation also alleged that the Southern Kaduna Christians natives were always the first to breach any agreement reached after peace talks among the people of the area.
But the Southern Kaduna indigenes have also continued to blame the Fulani for the incessant attacks in the area, the Southern Kaduna Elders Consultative Forum (SKECF) and the Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU), in separate statements at different periods, have blamed the Fulani for threatening the peace of the area despite having lived together with the people for a long time.
SOKAPU, in a statement by its National Public Relations Officer, Mr. Yakubu Kuzamani, also accused the state government for the latest round of clashes, saying the governor should be held responsible for the attacks in Goska, which reportedly happened during the 24-hour curfew imposed on three local governments in the state.
Will government efforts yield fruits this time?
After weeks of being accused of staying silent on the Southern Kaduna debacle, President Muhammad Buhari waged in recently by deploying the military to the area as part of the Federal Government effort in restoring peace.
Before the president’s directive, the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, had visited the state to assess the situation in the area. Speaking with journalists shortly after the visit, Idris had said the Nigeria Police would establish a mobile police base in Kafanchan to address security problems in the southern part of Kaduna State.
On his assessment of the situation, he said, “we are here to see things for ourselves so that we have a lasting peace in the whole area,” noting that some of the reports on Southern Kaduna were exaggerated, a statement seen as a veiled reference to the position of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kafanchan that the unrest in Southern Kaduna claimed 808 lives.
The vicar general of the church, Ibrahim Yakubu, in a press statement, had noted that 53 villages were attacked while 57 people had been injured, accusing the state and federal governments of not doing enough to end the bloodshed.
The IGP, however, said: “Some of the community leaders need to be cautioned, because they are contributing to creating the situation that does not exist.”
But when will lasting peace really return to Southern Kaduna, this has been the most important question being asked across the state, with a resident of the area, who pleaded for anonymity, telling Sunday Tribune that they had not been finding the situation funny. “Our movement had been curtailed. It is like living in a prison yard,” he said, referring to the curfew, even as he appealed to the government to lift the curfew since the security operatives were on ground. However, the state commissioner of police, Mr Agyole Abeh, announced that though security in the area had improved, prompting the curfew to be relaxed in two local government areas, things were not yet Uhuru. The police boss affirmed that the police were in full control, saying “we are currently using 40 patrol vehicles in the troubled areas and had deployed more men and will soon come up with strategies that will reduce the spate of crime not only in southern Kaduna, but across the state.
“As I speak to you, the area is very calm and there is no any record of any incident after the unfortunate major incident in Goska. We have deployed enough of our men on ground to ensure that they curb any acts of lawlessness. As I always say, if you can bring the whole police in Nigeria, we cannot achieve the desired result without the people. The people themselves must prepare to embrace peace and must accommodate one another.
“We have the department of security service and we are working in conjunction with the military intelligence. Just yesterday, I ordered the police to dismantle illegal gathering and check point around Kagoro,” said the commissioner.
Also corroborating what the CP said, the General Officer Commanding 1 Mechanised Division of the Nigerian Army, Major-General Adeniyi Oyebade, remarked after visiting the troubled areas, that peace was gradually returning to the area. He also disclosed that his men had recovered arms and ammunition from Fulani herdsmen and their opponents in Southern Kaduna as part of efforts to end the crisis.
Shedding light on the disarming of the warring sides, Gen. Oyebade said: “We have mopped up arms from the Fulani herdsmen and the locals. Our operations based on intelligence gathering are still ongoing and we are also working with the Department of State Services. As it is well known, the army has approved two battalions to be stationed in Southern Kaduna. One of them is in Kafanchan. So, we are not leaving. We will be there for as long as it’s necessary. We have other fundamental issues in the area which the political leadership needs to resolve. The governor has engaged various stakeholders and as our operations continue, peace is returning.”
Sunday Tribune findings showed that the military intervention to restore peace to Southern Kaduna had also involved the Nigeria Air Force, as aerial surveillance by its men has started in earnest. The Air Officer Commanding, Training Command, Kaduna, Air Vice Marshal Christopher Okoye, who participated in the aerial surveillance, said the exercise was part of the efforts by security forces to crush the armed bandits and restore normalcy to the areas.
We’re ready to work for peace—Miyetti Allah, SOKAPU
Will the steps already taken by the government be apt enough to address the intractable crisis? Will the people give peace a chance this time round? These have been the critical questions, but stakeholders in the area have expressed satisfaction with the steps already taken.
The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN), speaking through its National Assistant Secretary, Dr Ibrahim Abdullahi, said “we want to also support the steps so far taken by the government of Kaduna State and all the security agencies in order to return normalcy to the area. We call on leaders in particular, political, religious and otherwise to desist from making inflammatory speeches that could escalate the situation. There should be no hate speech, those speeches that point towards religious sentiment or ethnic jingoism. Let us all work for peace. We inherited a peaceful Southern Kaduna and I don’t think we are sensible if we bequeath to our children and grandchildren a Southern Kaduna that is fighting itself.”
Continuing, the cattle breeders said: “We want to assure that we will continue to work with people of goodwill. In Southern Kaduna, there are good people that are out for peace. And I want to make it clear that there are chiefdoms where you never ever experience any clash because the traditional rulers there are out to promote peace. Kagoro and Marwa are some of them even though some people mischievously leave attack. We are going to work with people of like minds to ensure total reconciliation.”
Similarly, the president SOKAPU, Solomon Musa, in a reaction to the military interventions, said: “The people of Southern Kaduna are ready to embrace peace and support the security agencies in ending the crisis, provided the peace move is not deceptive.”
Also responding, the senator representing Kaduna South, Senator Danjuma Laah, who is regarded as the political leader of the area, said he was optimistic that the army would end the crisis in the area like they defeated Boko Haram.
He said: “I have absolute confidence that the Nigeria Army will quickly put an end to this wild and cruel onslaught, which have not only ravaged but laid to waste peaceful and law abiding communities. I am appealing especially to the Nigeria military, whose gallant achievements in dislodging Boko Haram terrorist is being praised and hailed nationwide, to step in and assist the police.”
“Again, I call on all Southern Kaduna residents to give their maximum cooperation to the police, security operatives, the Nigeria military and all personnel legitimately deployed to secure us,” the senator maintained.
Recommendations for lasting peace
Giving recommendations on what could guarantee lasting peace in Southern Kaduna, the catholic diocese of Kafanchan called for the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the causes of the crisis while the Jama’a Foundation also made a number of demands, which include the composition of an impartial fact-finding committee by federal and state governments to unravel the genesis of the crises and level of destruction and lives lost, as well investigate and identify all perpetrators of violence; their sponsors, role of the police and ensure justice to serve as deterrent to others.
The foundation also urged the government to ensure that henceforth, the composition of security agencies and their posting to all local government areas of Southern Kaduna reflect federal character and diversity of the country, saying this will remove suspicion, collaboration and bias. It demanded that both the federal and state governments should ensure that all its appointments, programmes, polices and relief materials for Southern Kaduna reflect the diversity of the zone, that is, Christian ethnic natives and Muslims of Southern Kaduna; that the print and electronic media should always verify their findings before publishing; they should hear from both parties: Christian natives of Southern Kaduna and Muslims of Southern Kaduna, and that the government should establish a law prohibiting the poisoning of animal pasture, water ways and ensure the reclaiming of old grazing reserves and routes and establish new ones.
Foreign intervention
As the outrage rages on the Southern Kaduna violence, a high-powered independent probe team, comprising local and international experts and civil society actors, appears underway. Checks by Sunday Tribune indicated that the investigation is at the instance of a coalition consisting eminent professionals, human rights and pro-democracy community, in conjunction with a United Kingdom government funded peace building project agency.
The committee is expected to carry out the assignment within four weeks, with the renowned economist, Professor Pat Utomi, proposed as the chairman. It was gathered that the coalition of local and international community and professionals could include among other professionals, Professor Pat Utomi, Professor Kole Shettima, Dr Lakin Akintola, Lady Lauretta Aniagolu, Alhaji Shettima Yerima, Ms Hauwa Shekarau; Professor Chidi Odinkalu, Mr Charles Nwadiani; Lady Juliet Binitie and Mallam Naseer Kura. According to a statement, the team will have powers to co-opt other members, who may be deemed useful and relevant to the success of their tasks but must maintain geopolitical balance in the team composition at all times.