Since 2001, the city of Jos has seen intermittent eruptions of ethnic and religious violence. The September 2001 conflict between Christians and Muslims saw more than 700 people killed. In 2004, a few kilometers of away in Yelwa, similar conflict broke out leading to 500 people being killed. The relative peace was disturbed in November 2008 when violence broke out again in Jos with almost 400 people being killed.
Behind the 2008 Disturbance
The riots in 2008 were as a result of a disputed local election on the 29 November 2008. It was reported by Allafrica.com,Nigeria Dozens Killed in Jos LG Election Riot, that the electoral commission of Nigeria failed to publicly announce the winners of the election which lead of a win by a candidate of the mainly Christian People’s Democratic Party (PDP). This rumor led to people of the mainly Muslim Hausa tribe protesting against the results. The tension between the Christians and Muslims in the area quickly escalated into a blood bath.
According to a CNN.com report , 300 bodies taken to mosque on 2nd day of Nigeria riots, over 381 were killed over mere two day period and hundreds more were injured. The BBC News online ,Riots 'kill hundreds in Nigeria',reported on that the Nigerian Red Cross’ account of approximately 10,000 people have fled their homes owing to the violence.
Return to Calm
According to The China Daily.com, in its article ‘200 confirmed dead as troops move into Nigeria's Jos’, confirmed that the Nigeria Federal Government deployed additional 140 armed troops to assist the police quell the violence in Jos. The appearance of the military did appear to calm the violence in the interim.
Randy Fabi of the International Herald Tribune in his December 1 2008 article, ‘Nigerian town emerges from days of clashes’, noted that the price of living in the town had become increasingly difficult with the cost of fuel and food skyrocketing. Fabi also detailed the assistance provided by the National Emergency Management Agency which has been giving out food, shelters, blankets and soap to an estimated 24,000 people who have fled their homes.
A recent News24.com report by Aminu Abubakar , ‘Youth invades mosque in Jos’, is illustrative of the growing anger of how ethnic and religious tensions have been manipulated by politicians in the area. On December 1 2008 Abubkar detailed how earlier that day close to two thousand youths stormed a mosque in Jos during a speech by parliamentarian Dimeji Bankole. The youths demanded the removal of the State governor and his government.
Intersection of Ethnicity, Politics and Religion
In Africa religious and/or ethnic conflict often masks more dubious political agendas. There are many examples across the continent such as the Darfur conflict in Sudan and the 2007 election violence in Kenya.
Nigeria has not been exempt from this trend. The country is home to hundreds of ethnic groups and is split fairly equally between Christianity and Islam. Since the 1960s civil war there have been many apparent religious and/or ethnic battles.
In the 21st century it is time for the continent to break the cycle and work towards development. As part of its mandate to create stability on the continent it would be critical for the African Union to create programmes to deal with this trend. Whether this would be done remains to be seen.
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