Of segregation in Kaduna

The Kaduna I knew in 1985 was a religiously-integrated city, bustling, and full of promises for youngsters who flocked there to seek opportunities.

Fast-forward 32 years into the future to 2017 and I was left weeping in my heart for Kaduna as I passed through this town one Saturday afternoon on my way to Zaria.

The bye-pass expressway still bears the visible scars of a town that lost reason and turned on itself for reasons that are still strange to fathom.

If these reasons were religious, then Nigeria’s arrested development nightmare is still a long way from over.

Kaduna has been the flash point of wanton killings and destruction of property since the heydays of religious riots from the early 1990s to the early 2000s; the town basically ran itself aground.

It was here that the parents of the Nigerian football player, Victor Moses, were murdered in rioting when he was barely above 10 years old on account of the fact that his father was a pastor and owned a church.

The scars that were alluded to earlier can still be seen on the shoulders of the bye-pass in the shape of abandoned church buildings and abandoned homes of Southerners that are slowly falling apart.

The result of this self-inflicted madness is the segregation of Kaduna along religious line whence the northern segment is predominantly Muslim. The reverse situation applies to the southern segment.

This situation mirrors the situation of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon.

Somehow, this segregation has assured peace for almost 20 years now and who knows if such segregations are not worth experimenting with across Nigerians towns and cities.

Since Nigeria’s problems are still rooted in consciousness about religious differences, it appears that Nigerians would grudgingly respect one another and see the good in the other if neighbourhoods are separated on the basis of religious affiliation.

Basically, multiculturalism failed in Kaduna as it is wont to fail elsewhere in the world.

Mankind must now accept that multiculturalism will always fail.

Sunday Jonah

Minna, Niger State.