THE children neither go to school for Western
education nor undergo vocational training for skill
acquisition neither. They also have no moral in any respect as they
hardly internalize the Qur’anic instruction. The
view of Bozimo that “perhaps we pray knowing
nothing about religion other than name” is useful
in analyzing “almajiri”. These children of alms are always at the mercy of
peer and amoral influence. As they grow into
adulthood, they part ways with their Mallam and
graduate to potential hoodlum ready to terrorise
the community at any point in time. They neither
have worth nor value for themselves nor others.
President Goodluck Jonathan flanked by Governor
Aliyu Wammako and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji
Sa’ad Abubakar III while Governor Saidu Dakingari
of Kebbi ZState (l) and others watched during the
official ceremony to commission the Model
Almajiri school at Gagi, Sokoto State. This practice is over two hundred and fifty years in
the north, when African communalism was in
place but Muslim peasants have refused to let go
the practice following the collapse of
communalism occasioned by European intrusion
and eventual monetisation as well as capitalisation of the economy. Government should not expect anything better
from the “almajiris” other than what is in practice.
One would have expected northern governors
especially the Muslims among them to have
outlawed this practice and integrate the victims of
parental abuse to the society through completely free education with free meal as a source of
attraction, while they also work with their
guardians (Mallams). Rather than act, northern
governors only lament. Equally, government draft in military to the scene
of conflict and usually, they suppress the violence.
Although they also unleash maximum terror on
innocent citizens but at least fragile peace is
engendered. When little peace is experienced,
rather than aggressively consolidate on the peace using the opportunities that such period provides
to objectively address the worries of the parties,
the Federal Government either declares state of
emergency or set up judicial commission of
enquiry whose report will neither be implemented
nor made public. How do we explain that the killings in Borno, Benue, Jos, Nasarawa and other
places have continued despite the reports of
various commissions of enquiry? Of interest is also the crisis involving the Fulani
cattle-hearers. If Nigerian leaders are serious, are
they not supposed to have made research into
how cattle rearers get food for their cattle in other
countries, without destroying farm land, so as to
solve Fulani related crisis. Media complicity: The Nigerian press have contributed a great deal to the development of
the country. At the same time, they have
consciously or unconsciously increased the tempo
of conflicts in northern Nigeria. They have thrown
fairness to all to the dust bin to the extent that,
when there is an incident, one can accurately predict the sentiment that would follow the
reportage. It is doubtful whether unity and security of the
country is prioritized in their reports. Hausas are of
the view that, Nigerian press are biased against
them as they play down violence against them
and amplify their own aggression. For instance, the mass murder of Huasas and the
destruction of worshipers vehicles at a praying
ground in Rukuba road at the celebration of end
of Ramadan festival on August 29, 2011 in Jos by
the indigenes was reported on Radio Nigeria
7.00am network news of August 30, 2011 as a clash between two rival youth groups in less than
forty-seconds. The reverse has always been the
case when Hausas unleash terror. The bad feeling
generated by this type of disposition is of
immeasurable proportion as it increases hatred
among the people. Also, the attempt to make people believe that
every violent group is purely religious only makes
volunteers to be much more interested and join
such groups. For instance, the recent operations
of Boko Haram suggest that, it has more
members than in the past. Even when a religious group that turns criminal
lays claim to religious inclination, the media has a
duty to refute such claim by inviting credible
uncompromising and popular religious scholars
to wipe off the air on the issue at stake. To that
extent, they call a criminal group criminal. The editorial of The Nation (February 24, 2012)
informed how Kabiru Sokoto reveals that they,
Boko Haram rob banks. Although, there is need to make people
understand how such groups emerge but
information must be properly dissected, so as to
be devoid of ambiguity or lead to more hatred in
the land. For instance, Nigerians of all religious
persuasions find it difficult to know the exact demands of Boko Haram as they kill
indiscriminately. In fact, Nigerian media portrays
them as pursuing northern Muslim interest and
agenda. Investigative and objective journalism
must be taken seriously. Indiscipline and incompetent security: Truly, our security agents especially the Police and Army
officers are seen as embodiment of indiscipline,
corruption and oppression by the populace. The officers we see on our streets who
incidentally relate with the citizens on daily basis
are grossly incompetent both in reasoning and
action. A large part of them lack respect for
human dignity, which is clearly an evidence of
ignorance. These people cannot elicit the much needed support and sympathy of the populace,
which is surely a necessity for combating crimes
and conflicts because they need tip off from
residents. RATHER than gain confidence and support of the
people, they attract hatred. They have also been
variously alleged of complications in some of the
conflicts. For instance, in July 2009, it was
estimated that, security forces killed 1,000 people
in their fight against Boko Haram. Children and handicapped were not spared
(Punch, 24/02/2010). The case in Borno in 2011
where people were not also killed but where
market were also destroyed as well as the killing
of three people in Jos on 12th March, 2012 for
protesting attack on Churches are examples. 4. Deceitful Political and Educated Elites: The most
ruinous adventure in Nigeria is the one
committed by our political and educated elite.
They tribalise every issue in a bid to gain
popularity and attract privileges they do not
deserve. Today, nobody is seen as a Nigerian but as
Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, Ijaw, Jukun, Tiv etc. the
betrayal of loyalty is so enmeshed to the extent
that, when an individual displays exemplary
conduct, nobody talks about his tribe but every
shortcoming is quickly attached to his/her tribe. In fact, people of every tribe are made to wrongly
believe that other tribes are their problem, even
during lectures especially in the humanities and
social sciences. The argument in this context is that our political
and educated elites from the Hausa and northern
minority groups are playing on the collective
intelligence of the people. They make the masses
hate themselves, while they enjoy and prevent
them from collective action, thereby preparing the ground for eventual conflict. The diatribe called
“Kaduna Mafia” is a case in view. Conclusion The level at which violent conflicts ravage
northern Nigeria today is a manifestation of the
fact that, all is not well with the country as all the
three geo-political zones in the region are
affected. Meanwhile, all hope is not lost on
peaceful co-existence of northern residents irrespective of social, political and economic
status and place of origin as well as tribe/region
as they can forgive themselves and put their
differences aside as Blacks and Whites did in
South_Africa as well as Hutus and Tutsis in
Rwanda and Burundi did. Government has to take the lead in this process, if result is to be quickly
achieved. Recommendations It is clear from the above that, the attainment of
peace in northern Nigeria is a project that must be
consciously and vigorously pursued. Meanwhile,
the recipe for the various conflicts will certainly
differ since their causes vary but certain salient
factors are observable in all the conflicts which will make the following suggestions useful in a
bid to ensure peace in the country. The
suggestions are: 1. Restructuring of Nigerian federal arrangement
must be given priority. The restructuring should
entail the power to make laws that best suit the
feelings of the various states, and state police,
while the federal government continues to control
the armed forces and federal capital territory police. We do not share the view of those
opposed to the creation of state police. It is our strong view that, the country is over-
governed since she has 774 LG, 36 States and one
Federal Government but with little impact and
high burden on public resources. We therefore
recommend the dissolution of the present local
government councils and states, while the 108 senatorial districts with the exception of the one
in FCT are made states with no local government
councils. This will make government closer to the
people and will also make better impact on the
lives of the people. A comprehensive formula for
the working of this arrangement would be worked out. In this sense, most communal or
ethnic conflicts would be addressed. 2. Provision of employment opportunities cannot
be forgotten in a hurry as joblessness provides
army of experts in violence. To achieve this,
agriculture, power supply and good roads must
be given the right attention. Also, our present
capitalist model educational system that only produce specialists in one area, which in turn fail
to make best use of human potential must be
addressed. Our educational system must
emphasise doing (skill/practical) to the extent
that, every graduates will be an expert in a
theoretical field like political science, along a practical work such as tailoring. The idea must
start from the primary and secondary schools. 3. “Almajiris” must be integrated into the civilised
society. This is only when the north will know
peace. This can be achieved through aggressive
construction of modern boarding schools in all
parts of the north. The schools must be
completely free, free meal must be given and Mallam must also be co-opted into the system.
The practice of “almajiri” must also be outlawed. The schools, which will also provide skills for the
adult wanderers will be operated jointly by the
federal and state governments and once an
almajiri comes in, he will be well treated and not
allowed to depart the premises for at least four
months. This is to make him internalise value for self and
others. The establishment of “almajiri” schools by
the federal government is a welcome
development but the schools must be in
thousands, the less than five schools established
will not make a difference, as there are about ten million “almajiris” at present. 4. The various reports of commissions of enquiry
into certain conflicts should be reviewed and
implemented with utmost objectivity. 5. The government and people of Nigeria must
develop inquisitiveness, to the extent that
organizations and government of other countries
that issues statement about the state of affairs or
predictions about the country are made to explain
the indices or premise upon which their conclusions were made. For instance, United
States of America issued a statement in 2010
predicting the disintegration of Nigeria before
2015. Rather than ask why such a conclusion was
drawn, they were called prophets of doom. Also,
we can’t completely rule out their influence in some of these conflicts. Therefore, our security agents must also look in
their direction.
6. The Nigerian educated elites and press must
put the interest of the country first in their
conduct while also taking fairness seriously. We
expect our educated elites and the media to check excesses of the political elites, set agenda for the
nation and objectively refute deceitful and
unpatriotic claims. 7. The security operatives, police, armed forces
and others must be well tutored on conflict
prevention, management and peace keeping as
well as civic rights. We believe as pointed out
earlier that, the making of police a state affair will
do the country a lot of good.
education nor undergo vocational training for skill
acquisition neither. They also have no moral in any respect as they
hardly internalize the Qur’anic instruction. The
view of Bozimo that “perhaps we pray knowing
nothing about religion other than name” is useful
in analyzing “almajiri”. These children of alms are always at the mercy of
peer and amoral influence. As they grow into
adulthood, they part ways with their Mallam and
graduate to potential hoodlum ready to terrorise
the community at any point in time. They neither
have worth nor value for themselves nor others.
President Goodluck Jonathan flanked by Governor
Aliyu Wammako and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji
Sa’ad Abubakar III while Governor Saidu Dakingari
of Kebbi ZState (l) and others watched during the
official ceremony to commission the Model
Almajiri school at Gagi, Sokoto State. This practice is over two hundred and fifty years in
the north, when African communalism was in
place but Muslim peasants have refused to let go
the practice following the collapse of
communalism occasioned by European intrusion
and eventual monetisation as well as capitalisation of the economy. Government should not expect anything better
from the “almajiris” other than what is in practice.
One would have expected northern governors
especially the Muslims among them to have
outlawed this practice and integrate the victims of
parental abuse to the society through completely free education with free meal as a source of
attraction, while they also work with their
guardians (Mallams). Rather than act, northern
governors only lament. Equally, government draft in military to the scene
of conflict and usually, they suppress the violence.
Although they also unleash maximum terror on
innocent citizens but at least fragile peace is
engendered. When little peace is experienced,
rather than aggressively consolidate on the peace using the opportunities that such period provides
to objectively address the worries of the parties,
the Federal Government either declares state of
emergency or set up judicial commission of
enquiry whose report will neither be implemented
nor made public. How do we explain that the killings in Borno, Benue, Jos, Nasarawa and other
places have continued despite the reports of
various commissions of enquiry? Of interest is also the crisis involving the Fulani
cattle-hearers. If Nigerian leaders are serious, are
they not supposed to have made research into
how cattle rearers get food for their cattle in other
countries, without destroying farm land, so as to
solve Fulani related crisis. Media complicity: The Nigerian press have contributed a great deal to the development of
the country. At the same time, they have
consciously or unconsciously increased the tempo
of conflicts in northern Nigeria. They have thrown
fairness to all to the dust bin to the extent that,
when there is an incident, one can accurately predict the sentiment that would follow the
reportage. It is doubtful whether unity and security of the
country is prioritized in their reports. Hausas are of
the view that, Nigerian press are biased against
them as they play down violence against them
and amplify their own aggression. For instance, the mass murder of Huasas and the
destruction of worshipers vehicles at a praying
ground in Rukuba road at the celebration of end
of Ramadan festival on August 29, 2011 in Jos by
the indigenes was reported on Radio Nigeria
7.00am network news of August 30, 2011 as a clash between two rival youth groups in less than
forty-seconds. The reverse has always been the
case when Hausas unleash terror. The bad feeling
generated by this type of disposition is of
immeasurable proportion as it increases hatred
among the people. Also, the attempt to make people believe that
every violent group is purely religious only makes
volunteers to be much more interested and join
such groups. For instance, the recent operations
of Boko Haram suggest that, it has more
members than in the past. Even when a religious group that turns criminal
lays claim to religious inclination, the media has a
duty to refute such claim by inviting credible
uncompromising and popular religious scholars
to wipe off the air on the issue at stake. To that
extent, they call a criminal group criminal. The editorial of The Nation (February 24, 2012)
informed how Kabiru Sokoto reveals that they,
Boko Haram rob banks. Although, there is need to make people
understand how such groups emerge but
information must be properly dissected, so as to
be devoid of ambiguity or lead to more hatred in
the land. For instance, Nigerians of all religious
persuasions find it difficult to know the exact demands of Boko Haram as they kill
indiscriminately. In fact, Nigerian media portrays
them as pursuing northern Muslim interest and
agenda. Investigative and objective journalism
must be taken seriously. Indiscipline and incompetent security: Truly, our security agents especially the Police and Army
officers are seen as embodiment of indiscipline,
corruption and oppression by the populace. The officers we see on our streets who
incidentally relate with the citizens on daily basis
are grossly incompetent both in reasoning and
action. A large part of them lack respect for
human dignity, which is clearly an evidence of
ignorance. These people cannot elicit the much needed support and sympathy of the populace,
which is surely a necessity for combating crimes
and conflicts because they need tip off from
residents. RATHER than gain confidence and support of the
people, they attract hatred. They have also been
variously alleged of complications in some of the
conflicts. For instance, in July 2009, it was
estimated that, security forces killed 1,000 people
in their fight against Boko Haram. Children and handicapped were not spared
(Punch, 24/02/2010). The case in Borno in 2011
where people were not also killed but where
market were also destroyed as well as the killing
of three people in Jos on 12th March, 2012 for
protesting attack on Churches are examples. 4. Deceitful Political and Educated Elites: The most
ruinous adventure in Nigeria is the one
committed by our political and educated elite.
They tribalise every issue in a bid to gain
popularity and attract privileges they do not
deserve. Today, nobody is seen as a Nigerian but as
Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, Ijaw, Jukun, Tiv etc. the
betrayal of loyalty is so enmeshed to the extent
that, when an individual displays exemplary
conduct, nobody talks about his tribe but every
shortcoming is quickly attached to his/her tribe. In fact, people of every tribe are made to wrongly
believe that other tribes are their problem, even
during lectures especially in the humanities and
social sciences. The argument in this context is that our political
and educated elites from the Hausa and northern
minority groups are playing on the collective
intelligence of the people. They make the masses
hate themselves, while they enjoy and prevent
them from collective action, thereby preparing the ground for eventual conflict. The diatribe called
“Kaduna Mafia” is a case in view. Conclusion The level at which violent conflicts ravage
northern Nigeria today is a manifestation of the
fact that, all is not well with the country as all the
three geo-political zones in the region are
affected. Meanwhile, all hope is not lost on
peaceful co-existence of northern residents irrespective of social, political and economic
status and place of origin as well as tribe/region
as they can forgive themselves and put their
differences aside as Blacks and Whites did in
South_Africa as well as Hutus and Tutsis in
Rwanda and Burundi did. Government has to take the lead in this process, if result is to be quickly
achieved. Recommendations It is clear from the above that, the attainment of
peace in northern Nigeria is a project that must be
consciously and vigorously pursued. Meanwhile,
the recipe for the various conflicts will certainly
differ since their causes vary but certain salient
factors are observable in all the conflicts which will make the following suggestions useful in a
bid to ensure peace in the country. The
suggestions are: 1. Restructuring of Nigerian federal arrangement
must be given priority. The restructuring should
entail the power to make laws that best suit the
feelings of the various states, and state police,
while the federal government continues to control
the armed forces and federal capital territory police. We do not share the view of those
opposed to the creation of state police. It is our strong view that, the country is over-
governed since she has 774 LG, 36 States and one
Federal Government but with little impact and
high burden on public resources. We therefore
recommend the dissolution of the present local
government councils and states, while the 108 senatorial districts with the exception of the one
in FCT are made states with no local government
councils. This will make government closer to the
people and will also make better impact on the
lives of the people. A comprehensive formula for
the working of this arrangement would be worked out. In this sense, most communal or
ethnic conflicts would be addressed. 2. Provision of employment opportunities cannot
be forgotten in a hurry as joblessness provides
army of experts in violence. To achieve this,
agriculture, power supply and good roads must
be given the right attention. Also, our present
capitalist model educational system that only produce specialists in one area, which in turn fail
to make best use of human potential must be
addressed. Our educational system must
emphasise doing (skill/practical) to the extent
that, every graduates will be an expert in a
theoretical field like political science, along a practical work such as tailoring. The idea must
start from the primary and secondary schools. 3. “Almajiris” must be integrated into the civilised
society. This is only when the north will know
peace. This can be achieved through aggressive
construction of modern boarding schools in all
parts of the north. The schools must be
completely free, free meal must be given and Mallam must also be co-opted into the system.
The practice of “almajiri” must also be outlawed. The schools, which will also provide skills for the
adult wanderers will be operated jointly by the
federal and state governments and once an
almajiri comes in, he will be well treated and not
allowed to depart the premises for at least four
months. This is to make him internalise value for self and
others. The establishment of “almajiri” schools by
the federal government is a welcome
development but the schools must be in
thousands, the less than five schools established
will not make a difference, as there are about ten million “almajiris” at present. 4. The various reports of commissions of enquiry
into certain conflicts should be reviewed and
implemented with utmost objectivity. 5. The government and people of Nigeria must
develop inquisitiveness, to the extent that
organizations and government of other countries
that issues statement about the state of affairs or
predictions about the country are made to explain
the indices or premise upon which their conclusions were made. For instance, United
States of America issued a statement in 2010
predicting the disintegration of Nigeria before
2015. Rather than ask why such a conclusion was
drawn, they were called prophets of doom. Also,
we can’t completely rule out their influence in some of these conflicts. Therefore, our security agents must also look in
their direction.
6. The Nigerian educated elites and press must
put the interest of the country first in their
conduct while also taking fairness seriously. We
expect our educated elites and the media to check excesses of the political elites, set agenda for the
nation and objectively refute deceitful and
unpatriotic claims. 7. The security operatives, police, armed forces
and others must be well tutored on conflict
prevention, management and peace keeping as
well as civic rights. We believe as pointed out
earlier that, the making of police a state affair will
do the country a lot of good.
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