Jos crisis: give war a chance

Plateau state like most states with contentious population distribution of followers of the Muslim and Christian faith, is neither new nor stranger to crisis for reasons as varied as the numbers of persons giving them, the most popular being that the issues are more economical and political than religious.


So when in the early hours of Sunday, the 7th of March, some groups purported to be made up mainly of Hausa-Fulani herdsmen without any formal training in gorilla warfare other than shepherding of animals and killing of same, descended on some towns in the outskirt of Jos the capital of Plateau state, still under tight military observation, following the last crisis in the city, and murdered hundreds, if not thousands, of indigenes, mostly women and their babies, the public concern was almost entirely trained on the place, timings and demographic distributions of victims and not really whether it happened or why.

In the past, such retaliatory attacks had always being left to such a day and time when another confrontation, even for unrelated reason, would avail itself to cause as much damage as is possible or allowed before the government referees—the security forces—deems it fit to call off the fracas for yet another day as has just happened. Yes, for another day! Not many, particularly family members of victims, is going to leave matters to either the government in the form of another “public hearing” whose report has meant little or nothing in the past. It has not worked in the past and there is nothing to suggest that it will this time, more so, when the army and the state government are engaged in a brickbat over the crisis, a needless word fight at that.

The GOC, 3rd Armoured Division, Major-General Saleh Maina does not need the assistance of the state government to know the goings-on the state. As a matter of fact, he, just like the other security agencies in the state, is suppose to make the report available to the governor and help him make the best of choices in dealing with such a report. That he has publicly admitted not to know about the impending attack and only received text messages relating to it portrays him as incompetent or lacking good judgement as a result of poor construction or organisation of his Management Information System (MIS).
His kind, posted to the Niger Delta to lead an onslaught against MEND activist would simply lead his troops to their death. If he could not contain some herdsmen who moved in groups like herds, carrying majorly, bow and arrows, machetes and guns that no militant would touch with a pole, then God, help him against the Art of War recommended tactics of the MENDERS in the Delta. He, to my mind, has failed—and possibly, deliberately—, and should just apologise to the public and get on with the task of being a better GOC. And for those who argue that legislative approval and that of the C-in-C is needed to move troops around, it seems, does not seem to remember that the troops are already out of the barracks for similar reason in the state. That all that was needed was to drive in convoy to the scene of action and arrest the situation.


On the herdsmen and containing them, I have to say this: If all they are equipped with for the purpose of their invasion of a peaceful town are actually the above mentioned, then the army is really not needed. It is simply glorifying them and their crude exploits, to mention the military. The Nigeria Mobile Police Force properly, encouraged would rout them within an hour. They are not like MEND, populated with quick thinking chaps. What I saw on television looks moronic and acts accordingly.
Back to the reasons—popular ones— always advanced as the cause for the crisis. All are correct but not singularly. Their correctness is to the extent of their close link or relatedness. It is religious to the extent that some persons of a particular faith who, before the advent of democracy, which returned the power of choice to the people, were assuming a domineering status in terms of control of the state machinery through military appointment and postings and were systematically promoting their faith as a ticket to power and wealth, suddenly woke up to find that under the new dispensation, that it was not going to be business as usual, that the right to appropriate government patronage was longer the exclusive preserve of some select few but that of the entire state, to decide. And without the number, since it now depended on numbers, it was not going to be possible to ever occupy such coveted post, ever.

This naturally affected some persons adversely; particularly those whose entire means of live hood depended on government patronage at the state and local government levels since the new men of power naturally wanted to satisfy those who were of consequence, electorally, to them. Equally naturally, like all changes, this bred resentment and in keeping with the axiom: what you cannot have, you destroy. They set about importing fighters who unfortunately, are not in supply in a country bedevilled with lack, even of the basic necessities of life with the hope of extinguishing democracy flame in the state and replacing it with emergency rule based on appointment.
Mercenaries were imported to strengthen local hands but during the real action they were mercilessly vanquished. The primary sponsors withdrew. With the entire scheme hidden under religious garb it was not difficult to find another set of willing sponsor who did not know the original cause but was only interested emotionally since members of their faith, to them, were under threat of extermination in the state.

Currently or right now, the originators of this crisis are no longer in charge and cannot control the event any more than the government. The current lull in activity or action for is for the defeated side to find any one, including the minders of the president, who lied barefacedly to the world about the president mountaineering in his bed, as both a diversionary strategy and a bargaining one. Thankfully, crisis has not spread uncontrollably to the south due to the combinations of cross border exposure of her people; formal education and better standard of living or opportunities down south to the extent that the northerners in the south are safer than those back home in the north.
The drums of war are beating louder and louder by the day in Nigeria. In fact, war is already making it home in Nigeria. What with the minders of Yar’Adua insisting that he remains our president even if an invalid one with a public unfriendly physique that must be hidden from them hence somebody dies from convulsion arising from seeing a ghost or increased MASSOB activities in the last few days. War is in his country it behoves us to give it a chance to pass through.

Austin Ilobi is available on www.twitter.com www.facebook.com and any where you wish to take his articles to
Postscript: I really would like to cease this opportunity to commend the courage of the Nigerian photo journalists who braved all odds particularly, possible death through the barrel of the gun by the Nigerian army deployed illegally in most routes in Abuja, to provide protection for the bullion van that was driven into Aso rock villa, the other day. Bravery is relative. Courage is absolute. Bravery is what Christiane Amanpour of CNN exhibits when she covers wars in some distant land. She is not the actual target. The journalist in Nigeria was the actual reason why that Home video had to be shot in the night; yet they showed up and did their act. More grease, if you can find that to buy in Nigeria easily, to your knee caps, in case there is need to fled a scene.

More