Urgency of Peace Building
Jibrin Ibrahim
An Essay for Nigeria: Building the Peace
Jibrin Ibrahim, Friday column, Daily Trust, 6thJuly 2018
“I love my country I no go lie. Na inside am I go live and die”
Wole Soyinka
Nigeria is in a very difficult situation due to the sharp rise in the volume and spread of conflicts. Last week,Amnesty International released a distressing report on the senseless killings currently going on and lamented that so far, at least 1813 people have been killed between January till date, across 17 states in the country. This death toll almost doubles that of the entire 2017 count. The violence is not really new although the numbers and intensity has increased. Indeed, since the 1990s, violent conflicts have been growing and deepening in Nigeria. The sources include the militancy in the Niger Delta, the Boko Haram insurgency and the growing clashes between constituted authorities and the Shiite Islamic Movement in Nigeria as well as the Igbo secessionist movements. There have also been numerous communal clashes in various States in the country. The most serious violence with the most serious threat to national cohesion has been the deepening and widening attacks and killings between farmers and herders, which have been compounded with growing criminality and cattle rustling. In addition, kidnapping for ransom has become widespread and no one feels safe today.
The violence and destruction are not the most serious problem affecting our country today. Nigerians are even more concerned about the lack of accountability. The killings are done with impunity and the State has failed in its primary responsibility to hold murderers to account. It is this element of impunity that is most distressing to citizens. The Nigerian state is clearly failing in meeting its constitutional obligations of providing security for citizens. I believe that there is a consensus that things cannot continue like this and government must address the security situation, with the objective of securing significant improvement.
As people see atrocities multiplying and no one is being held accountable, we cannot blame them for thinking that the State is complicit in allowing the violence to continue unabated. Conspiracy theories have been emerging spreading narratives of Jihad and conquest to seize land by the President’s so-called ethnic group, the Fulani. I say so-called because the President is not ethnically Fulani even if he presents himself as such. The irony is that when you speak to the Fulani pastoralists, they say that the President is allowing the youth of farming communities to kill them at will because he does not want to create the impression that he is providing them special protection.
The winners today are those who want Nigeria to continue along the path of self-destruction. They are pushing in that direction by mixing in fake news and photos to the reality of true killings and destruction. In other words, they are aggravating and exacerbating an already bad situation to make it worse and fan the embers of discord. They are succeeding because President Buhari’s Government has not been showing sufficient concern at the on-going destruction and above all, the security agencies are not carrying out their security provisioning and law enforcement duties with the efficacity Nigerians expect. The President is simply watching them and no one understands why the leadership of security agencies are left in office in spite of their inability to carry out their responsibilities. The aloofness of President Buhari has become a real problem and we cannot make progress until he engages with the growing insecurity directly, shows more concern and empathy and above all responds and acts more decisively.
Government must act but ordinary citizens who want to build Nigeria must also act. We must begin to reassure ourselves that with 200 million people, half Christian and the other half Muslim, it’s impossible for one to destroy the other. We must become less gullible and question the conspiracy theories circulating today. We must remind ourselves that although we have been playing ethnic politics since the colonial era, the exercise of ethnic supremacy has not held sway in our country. We should always remind ourselves that at the epicentre of the current crisis that confronts the Nigerian state is bad governance and not bad tribes and religions. Bad governance manifests itself in the form of corruption, exclusion and state capture by the elites of all ethnic and religious groups, which have led to increased poverty, unemployment and deprivation of citizens, thereby creating conditions and incentives for violence in the country. The entrenchment of a violent political culture that is engineered and sustained by the political class, further heightens these factors.
Above all, we must all strive to build peace because there is a serious risk today that the country could glide towards civil war again if preventive measures are not taken. Such an outcome would be catastrophic for West Africa, and indeed for Africa because of the huge population of the country and the possible gigantic scale of the humanitarian crisis that could be generated. The majority of Nigerians have nowhere to run to while the elite who cause the problems would be in Europe and America enjoying the loot they stole from the Nigerian people.
Given the scale and depth of insecurity and break down of inter-ethnic and inter-religious relations, we need to focus our attention on building effective institutions with a focus on peace building. There is urgency in the institutionalization of conflict management, resolution and peace building mechanisms in the country. There are many institutions in the university system, defence establishments and civil society that engage in peace building in Nigeria. The formal institution charged with the responsibility is the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) established in 2000 in response to the rising incidents of conflicts across the country. It’s a policy think tank whose mandate covers research and interventions towards strengthening Nigeria’s response capacity in the promotion of peace, conflict prevention, management and resolution. The IPCR however is placed in a ridiculous institutional location, it is under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as if it is external diplomacy that will make the peace in Nigeria. The IPCR should be placed where it belongs in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and empowered to do its work.
All states in the country should also establish peace building institutions. So far, only two states have embarked on the path of establishing specialized state level peace building institutions. They are Kaduna and Plateau states. This idea of states establishing conflict resolution agencies is extremely useful as conflicts spread in the nooks and corners of the country, a process that is stretching the capacity of the federal government to understand and respond adequately. Such State Institutions could play the important role of preparing regular conflict assessment reports for the State and engaging in conflict monitoring and mitigation activities in all local governments. They should be developed as the intellectual base and practitioner resource centre for conflict management and peace building. States should see themselves as institutions with responsibility of promoting the culture of harmonious co-existence among the diverse ethnic and religious groups in the state.
At this time, it is important that peace building should be routinized and made more effective. We should strive to get out of the practice that whenever there is a breakdown of the peace, the first response is to deploy security forces to restore law and order. Rather, the Federal and State governments should become proactive and intervene before there is breakdown of law and order and prevent the conflicts from breaking out in the first place. We have had dozens if not hundreds of reports of commissions of inquiry on various conflicts examining remote and immediate causes but we do not use the recommendations to prevent the recurrence of the conflicts so the vicious cycles continue.
As citizens, we all have a responsibility to rebuild Nigeria. One of the reasons conflicts have spread is that we have allowed community level peace building mechanisms that have been instrumental for harmony and cohesion to disappear. Government has a vital role in peace building but traditional, community and religious leaders, as well as other organized groups within the communities also have a vital role to play. We all need to dig into our history and culture to discover the mechanisms we have used in the past to prevent the escalation of conflicts and conserve cohesion. There is no doubt in my mind that the escalation of violent conflicts between pastoralist and farmer communities is linked to this breakdown of traditional conflict prevention mechanisms. Let’s all rise to the collective challenge of playing positive roles in rebuilding Nigeria.
Cornelius Hamelberg
I thank you very much for taking the time to pay this visit today and for the issues you have raised.
The recent killings in Benue, Zamfara and lately Plateau are wicked, condemnable and completely unacceptable acts.
We, Nigerians, are religious people and no religion or culture accepts the killing of people for any reason whatsoever.
This is why we must all rise as one to condemn these vile and wicked acts to ensure that all the culprits are brought to justice.
We owe it to the memory of those who lost their lives in the violence in Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba, Zamfara and elsewhere since 1999 to bring the conflicts to a decisive end. I assure you that we will do this.
Let me make it clear that even a single life lost in any part of the country is one too many. I came to office vowing to ensure the protection of lives and property, and I remain committed to this despite the challenges we have experienced.
I, therefore, seek your support as clerics and religious leaders to join hands with this administration and give us your full support. As you all know, deploying law enforcement agencies is fully our responsibility as a government while creating the platform and mechanisms for dialogue is a collective effort.
The military and police have arrested hundreds of suspects across the various flash-points in the region and several prosecutions are going on. In a number of cases, we have seen convictions. Nigerians are right when they say they want to see more convictions and I would like to appeal to the judiciary to help us fast-track these cases.
When some, for clearly political purposes, attempt to suggest that this government is doing nothing about the killings, and that I, being Fulani, must be encouraging these satanic acts, it seems to me that there is no limit to the evil in the minds of men.
Otherwise, how can anyone in their right minds suggest that I, as an elected President even with substantial votes in the affected areas, will for any reason do harm by an act of omission to those same people?
Secondly, the problems in all these areas, as you all know, are historical. There is no administration that has not had to contend with killings in these same areas over the years.
Indeed, in 2001, you may recall that after thousands were killed in Plateau State, a State of Emergency was declared and a Governor was replaced by an Administrator.
To suggest that our Administration is doing nothing is terribly unfair.
We must not forget that the same Plateau State which has been crisis-ridden for years has in the past three years been celebrated for its peacefulness. The Governor’s hard work for peace and the presence of the military’s Operation Safe Haven must have had some impact.
In recent weeks, we have beefed up its strength with the deployment of extra Special Forces from the Defence headquarters.
Besides, we currently have no fewer than three special military intervention forces in the troubled zones.
Operation Safe Haven to secure Plateau State, Operation Whirl Stroke 1 (OPWS) to secure Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa and OPWS 2 to secure Zamfara and Kaduna States.
These forces are supported with investigative and intelligence gathering capabilities from the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services and other agencies.
Government can achieve lasting peace only with the sincere and active cooperation of communities, religious leaders, youths and other stakeholders.
These include the Media in whose hands lies the power to frame, shape the perspectives and narratives which influence the thinking of millions of people within and outside Nigeria.
Finally, let us collectively shame those who are stoking the fires of ethnic and religious conflicts for their short-term political gains.
This country belongs equally to Christians and Muslims and even those who claim ignorance of God.
Thank you very much.
Windows Live 2018
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Cornelius Hamelberg
Nigeria : The 2019 Presidential Elections
Over 30 Nigeria opposition parties join forces against Buhari
This appeared on the Swedish Text TV today :
“39 opposition parties in Nigeria will cooperate to try prevent the country's president Muhammadu Buhari being elected next year.
Representatives of the parties have signed an agreement to form an anti-Buhari alliance for the election held in February, according to AFP news agency.
The opposition plans to "present a presidential candidate who can get rid of
President Muhammadu Buhari's incompetent government ", says spokespersons Kola Ologbodiyan.”
Cornelius Hamelberg
President Muhammadu Buhari has an impressive following on Facebook and Twitter where he addresses his fans directly
On Tuesday, 10 July 2018 13:01:30 UTC+2, Windows Live 2018 wrote:
Windows Live 2018
President Muhammadu Buhari has an impressive following on Facebook and Twitter where he addresses his fans directly
On Tuesday, 10 July 2018 13:01:30 UTC+2, Windows Live 2018 wrote:
Windows Live 2018
Nigeria : The 2019 Presidential Elections
Over 30 Nigeria opposition parties join forces against Buhari
This appeared on the Swedish Text TV today :
“39 opposition parties in Nigeria will cooperate to try prevent the country's president Muhammadu Buhari being elected next year.
Representatives of the parties have signed an agreement to form an anti-Buhari alliance for the election held in February, according to AFP news agency.
The opposition plans to "present a presidential candidate who can get rid of
President Muhammadu Buhari's incompetent government ", says spokespersons Kola Ologbodiyan.”
On Tuesday, 10 July 2018 13:01:30 UTC+2, Windows Live 2018 wrote: