THE CRISIS IN JOS
Mar 13th, 2010 by admin
The first riots in Jos, occurred in 1994, more than a decade later, the incessant violence continues. This year alone, crisis have erupted twice, the first being January 17; the recent took place a couple of weeks ago. The once peaceful state has many unresolved issues and many factors play a role in the continued crises, factors such as religion, culture and ideology. The once peaceful state often referred to as the home of peace and tourism has put its people in a state of perpetual fear. Each time innocent people are killed the blame game begins in the state. With these recent killings, the blame game has begun with the governor of the state David Jonah Jang putting it all on the Army, saying they failed to deploy troops when alerted. The blame however must be put on the Federal government, the leaders that have failed to find a lasting solution to the continuous mayhem in the state. The Federal government over the years has rather set up panels to investigate the killings and to this day an outcome to these numerous sittings is yet to suffice. Many arrested in connection with the riots are never brought to justice, bringing up the recurrent idea that the riots are sponsored by some select groups and there are sacred cows involved.
The recent killing of about 500 people, mostly Berol, of Dogon-Hauwa community in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau state by suspected Hausa-Fulani men is the failure of the government to protect defenseless citizens. It is sad that children and women were the victims, the killings which occurred in the night left corpses all over the community.
The continued killing of innocent Nigerians says a lot about the fundamental human rights of its citizens. This is because the country has become driven with economic considerations such that human life has become second rate. Why does religion and ethnic undertones always play major roles in the crises and over the years, time and time again, the nation still fails to secure the lives of its people. How long will the repeated acts of violence continue? How long must a band of marauders kill and get away with killing innocent Nigerians? Most Nigeria remain a polity? If Nigerians cannot cohabit, why not disintegrate. Must the fate of a country be decided by select groups? Must Nigerians continue to watch violence at the grass root, while the elite continue to set up investigative panels for the purpose of reconciliation? How can the Federal Government negotiate with individuals who kill innocent people in the dead of the night, with guns, machetes, bows and arrows? How can Nigerians continue to believe and have confidence in the development of the nation?