Still on this Matter of ‘Peace and Unity’
by Simon Kolawole
Something significant happened late last month but it went virtually unnoticed: the youth wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) honoured Governor Muhammad Danjuma Goje of Gombe State for promoting religious tolerance in his state. You would be pardoned if you failed to notice anything significant in that; there are so many honours and awards out there that they don’t seem to make any sense any more. They are now 10 for a penny. However, for somebody like me who has more than a passing interest in the discourse on national unity and national integration, I picked up a few thoughts from the development. If these thoughts are applied on a larger scale, I believe the seemingly elusive “peace and unity” in Nigeria could indeed be achievable.
I am not about to write on Goje or CAN or awards. Rather, I seek to draw lessons about ethnic and religious relations within the context of the CAN honour and drag the attention of our leaders to the “little matters” that count a lot in building strong and viable nationhood. I have taken time to study countries across the world with diverse ethnic, racial and religious composition – some more diverse than Nigeria – and I have come to the realisation that with justice and fairness entrenched in the system and nurtured by the socio-political leadership, there is no limit to the joy we can enjoy in our ethno-religious relations in Nigeria. Fairness will not happen by chance – it has to be sought and pursed with all sincerity. The Nigerians I know will go to any length to follow the leader if they are sure of the sincerity of purpose.
The questions that need to be answered on a fairly consistent basis are: as a Christian or Muslim, can you be accommodated without prejudice anywhere you choose to live in Nigeria ? As a Muslim or Christian, are you free to practise your religion without fear of harassment? As a Northerner, can you be assured that you will not be treated with contempt in the public sphere? As a Southerner, can you be sure of fair play in the body politic? Are there some positions you will never be allowed to hold simply because of your ethnic origin or religious affiliation? These are the very questions that task our nationhood. These are the questions we must openly discuss with fairness and frankness rather than hide behind rhetoric and political speak or hurl insults and threats at one another.
Back to Goje and CAN. The president of the youth wing of CAN, Pastor Henry Sado, said the honour was given to Goje because of his relentless efforts in promoting peaceful coexistence among the peoples of Gombe State over the years. He gives everybody a sense of belonging, Sado said, and never discriminates or encourages discrimination against non-Muslims. “Even as a practicing Moslem, Danjuma Goje has demonstrated that Nigerians are one, indeed, and can coexist harmoniously. We are most delighted in this,” he said, listing some of the evidence: Goje’s government donated six hectares of land and a sum of N100 million to the state chapter of CAN; he gave ECWA N10 million to reconstruct its church auditorium; and a host of other “tokens”.
It’s all politics, you may say. What about this: Sado said Goje offered full protection to Christians during the Boko Haram mayhem – and it’s been a long time since places of worship were burnt in the state obviously because the governor has been firmly on top of things. The deputy governor is a Christian. Also, Christians have now found themselves heading key ministries and agencies in Gombe, such as the Ministry of Agriculture and the State Water Board. CAN has always cried out that in some Northern states, Christian Religious Studies is prohibited in schools; there are no Christian pilgrim boards; and it is an unwritten law that land must not be given for the building of churches.
The distribution of political offices and economic patronage – which, let’s be honest, is at the heart of ethnic and sectional “competition” at every level of government across the country – has been a major factor in achieving “peace and unity” in Gombe State. Accommodation of the groups not holding the key political power is a stabilising factor in a diverse society, no doubt about that. The ability to do this efficiently requires a difficult balancing act – because it is always seen as a zero sum game; that is, your gain is my loss. Yet, it could be a win-win situation where you try to pull every tendency together with as much fairness and openness that you could afford. Everybody must have a sense of belonging. It is not good for any society for a citizen to think that his or her ethnic or religious identity is a stumbling block.
Now let’s put things in perspective. The acrimony between Northern Muslims and Northern Christians is worse than the North/South divide in Nigeria which is the one we often talk about. This acrimony in the North was historically constructed. It is a story of struggles, battles and wars, producing bitterness, hostility, resentment, contempt and tension. Therefore, for a Christian group to pick on a Northern governor for special recognition – in the midst of historically hostile circumstances – should not be treated as an ordinary event. It had never happened in the history of Northern Nigeria . In this development, I find some hope for “peace and unity”.
Northern Christians are typically suspicious of their Muslims brothers, and the feeling is mutual. Sado told Goje: “All these things you have done for Christians in Gombe State do not and will not make you less a Muslim than other Muslims.” Read the quote again. There is bitterness in-between those words. Read it again. You will detect a veiled snipe at other governors. That sums up the feelings of a typical Northern Christian. In Plateau, however, reverse is the case: Muslims feel Christians are discriminatory and insensitive – while Christians see the Fulani Muslims as trying to conquer more lands in an attempt to complete the “unfinished jihad” of Uthman Dan Fodio. We should continue to understand frequent religious clashes and riots in Jos North within this context. The regular collateral damage, unfortunately, is the Southerner; yet, it is about internal battles and struggles.
Let me round up. The problem with “peace and unity” in Nigeria is not Jos Riot or Shagamu Riot. It is not about the burning of churches in the North and pulling down of mosques in the South. It is not about the fact that we have three dominant ethnic groups and two dominant religions always at battle. It is not about OPC or Egbesu or MASSOB. I want to repeat: differences abound everywhere in the world. There will always be conflict in any society. Some conflicts are more acrimonious than the others; some have thinned out with economic prosperity and political stability. But what should really worry us in Nigeria is not conflict but the political management of it. We see riots and killings as the diseases, whereas they are mere symptoms. Search deep, and you will discover the bitterness that has developed over time because of a feeling of exclusion and marginalisation. At the slightest provocation, we grab each other’s neck.
Anybody who has read me enough will know very well where I stand – I believe in one, diverse, united Nigeria . I have been ridiculed and called names by those who cannot just see my point. Some say I am playing to the gallery. Others say I’m living in delusion. Some even accused me of patriotism. But I have not seen anything so unmanageable in our differences. I have not seen such a big problem that we cannot confront and address. I like the words of the late Sardauna of Sokoto, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, who, when implored by the Great Zik to “let us forget our differences”, reportedly replied: “No, Zik, we cannot forget our differences. Let us understand our differences instead.”
That is the point: understanding that we are different; understanding that we all have our interests to protect and project; understanding that we must accommodate each other within the political and economic constrains; understanding that we must reach out to other groups with a warm handshake; understanding that the world does not belong to only our ethnic or religious group; understanding that fair play is critical to nation-building. We all know that there is diversity everywhere – if not by religion, then by region; if not by tribe, then by tongue; if not by dialect, then by idiolect. Our problem is not the diversity but HOW we manage it.
I salute Goje and CAN, and wish that in every state of the federation, in every local government, in every ministry and parastatal, we will give everybody a sense of belonging. Muslims in Imo, Christians in Zamfara, Ekiti in Kwara, Hausa in Lagos , Igbo in Kano , Ijaw in Ondo – we must all be given a sense of belonging. Come to think of it, Nigeria belongs to all of us.
October 25, 2009
Tags: boko haram, goje, gombe, Nigeria, religion Posted in: Simon Kolawole
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