These Religious Unrest!!!

[admin]

Middle belt and others,

While we try to tolerate all kinds of discussions, we find it very inappropriate for Middle belt to come here in this forum and show this much hatred toward a group of people. Please do not post these kinds of discussions here. I am sure there are plenty of other forums that you can go and share this kind of hate. So you are not welcome here if you continue to post these kind of discussions.

[Anonymous]

Well, Aminuddeen, Admin, and Al-Hamza,

It is an unfortunate situation ofcourse but know that what Middle belt say is a truth that many other groups in Nigeria today believe. Hausa Fulani is a menace to them and they have to get rid of him by violence. Even the recent violence in Jos points to this thinking. I am from Kaduna State and to this day I cannot remember how many times people of other tribal groupings in my political and social life have voiced out this grief on my face. What Middle belt is saying is in fact not new to many of us down here. We pray life will find more meaning one of these days, that is if days can continue to be counted in 24 hours slice. It is unfortunate.

[_Waziri_]

Middle Belt was right, Bola Ige once said Hausa-Fulani are the Tutsis of Nigeria and therefore deserve what the Hutus of Rwanda are doing to the Tutsi's there. Perharps our people and leaders as well you young intellectuals will find reason to open up a discussion on these things. Cetainly we you find some people voicing out these kind of sentiment you stay cork sure there is more than what tongue can tell.

[straightalkin]

If we have learnt anything from the Rwandan crisis, it is that hatred is the most destructive of all sentiments. Not only does it blind you, it takes away your humanity and allows you to kill your next door neighbour your children and your parents. Rwanda is living with the shame of the barbaric episode it went through. Both the Tutsis and the Hutus are very ashamed of what happened. So those who have been making references to genocide as the direction in which we are headed should beware.

Education is not just about going to school and learning about the sciences or learning how to read and write. In fact this kind of education is worthless without moral and ethical grounding- this is what makes you a mature human being with the ablility to reflect and think logically. The Rwandans are having now to re-educate themselves on how to be human! I think the signs are very clear that we are now at a cross-roads, Nigerians can either continue to live in ignorance and suffer the consequences of that, or we re-educate ourselves to avoid a perilous fate.

[Lamido]

The lesson from this topic from middle belt, is that we hausa/fulani have to change the way we treat other , mostly national politics. We have to change the rule by any means approach our leaders have use in the past by using the military against other group.. what have the common hausa/fulani man gain from the 40 years of our leaders ruling.. NOTHING.  our people are still poor. Only the IBB, Atiku, Maruwa have come  out of it rich, they are only using us for thier own political/ financial  motive.  2007 election vision would only cause other group to hate us.. If you discuss with non Hausa/fualni man, you would discovery that the hate is there and that is what we should try to change.. I believe our leader should forget 2007. If we want the presidency by 2007, after we have rule for almost 40 years. I can see blood. And it may lead to a civic war. I can not see Nigeria after 2007, with the way our leaders are approaching the 2007 election.. We should wait and let the other group in Nigeria cool down. Nigeria would break up in 2007 if our leaders come back in 2007 with this approach.

[mallamt]

The lasted infomation is that there has been retaliation in kano to the killings that occured in Plateau.  This a big shame which just shows how incapable we are of learning or being or brothers keeper.  I find it strange that we are reluctant to discuss it and just keep silent why is that so? Do we think that we are unaffected by these violence for whatever reason?  Why are we burying our heads in the sand and hoping these things just blow away?  Do we really expect them to go away without our own effort?  Why do we find it difficult to discuss these problems?  Why is it difficult to respect each others rights and freedom?

It was reported that one of the leaders/organisers of the protest in kano was making statements like the gov. of plateau is in supoort of what happened in his state.  This statement is from a person of repute, how can he incite like that?  As I have said and believe, these acts are just murder, theft and destruction of property.  We must not allow anyone to give religion as an excuse.  Kano adopted sharia law believeing that apart from it being a requirement for muslims, it is fairer and dispenses justice faster.  It will be of utmost importance to show the people of kano and the world the fairness and speed of this justice system by apprehending all those involved in the protest and punishing them in accordance with the dictates of the sharia being practised in the state.  I also believe that islam as it is does not have any place for the type of violence that has been seen in kano, as islam its self professes peace.  Failure to do just that will just make people even more skeptical of the sharia practised in the state.

We must find a way out of this circle of violence, and that way is not by brushing aside the matter but by discussing it.  We must not discuss it on the basis of who started what or else we will never get a solution.  Like it was reported the leader of the riot in kano tried to make a point of the violence in plateau and the killing of the muslims it is a pity he did not go just a step back and talk about the violence in plateau preceeding the latest one where christains (about 40) where locked up in a church and burnt to death by muslims, surely that was not also right.  You can not just have selective justice based on ones religion.  That is why the who did what in the past can not be used as a basis of discussion but the experiences can.  On matters of the past those involved should just be apprehended and let the law take its course, and this should apply to any present and future so called religious uprising.

[gogannaka]

"I will appeal to you to restrain our Muslim brothers... because if you go for an eye for an eye, this country will be bloody"

"It's time now to put a permanent stop to this whole thing"
   
These are the words of President Olusegun Obasanjo when he was speaking to a group of muslim clerics that visited him to express concern over the recent religious violence in the country.

His words are very important but how can the violence be stopped permanently?

Nigeria being a multi religious,multi ethnic country is at risk of concurrently encountering religious violence.



I think the revenge killings that took place in Kano (over the Yelwa massacre) could have been avoided had the federal government declared a state of emergency in plateau state.By the declaration of a state of emergency in Plateau state,the muslims in Nigeria will no doubt be satisfied that the government is taking steps to solve the problem.But when they start to institute investigation panels everyone looses confidence.These panels have never helped matters.
What has the government got to loose by declaring a state of emergency in Plateau state?Or is it because it is a P.D.P controlled state?The unworthy comments made by the governor of plateau that all non indigenes vacate his state indicates his support for the violence.

[mallamt]

The president and his team have failed nigeria woefully and I am honestly not confident that they would do anything about these riots.  His statement to the lmuslim clerics as qouted is not saying much, every nigerian knows that going an eye for an eye would be bloody!!!  Who is to put a parmanent stop to this?  Are we expecting someone to drop from the sky and do that?  The president mus lead and give directions.

Why are people not being arrested and prosecuted for these riots?  Why all the commissions and panels what are they doing how many recommendations have been implemented?  For as long as people fell they can do these things and get away they will do them!  Are we to believe that the president does not know religious matters are an explosive issue in nigeria or is it because the violence mostly occurs in a section of the country?  Why has he not had talks and try and bring religious bodies together for them to map a way for peacful co-existance all this time?  Nigeria is not the only multi ethnic and mult cultural society in the world how have yhose countries that have been able to live peacefully together done it?  Are we a cursed nation that can not live together?  How about the security agents with specific reference to intelligence?  Why do we have them if intelligence can not be gathered about such things so that they are prevented?  After the Jos riots what steps were taken to secure some of the well known hot spots like kano?  What are these governors told?  hoe can a gov make the type of statement made by that of plateau and every one keeps silent? Is he a gov for christains or for the state?  Is he aware of his constitutional responsibilities?  In fact I believe if he indeed made that statement he should be impeached same goes to other govs who make similar statements, because they have already prejudiced a category of citizens and have gone against the constitution.

I must say the president is a complete failure on this matter.  We as citizens and from northern nigeria must look in to our own interest.  We must make concerted effort to come together to insist we want and must live in peace irrespective of our differences.  Obviously the president and govs would not do that for us from the way things look, my question is are we (both christians and muslims) tired of these violence and ready to sit and talk to resolve this matter or do we want to kill each other some more?

[Indabawa]

Middle belt,Dele & Anonymous,

I must say i am not particularly suprised by your unguarded venom and outburst targeted against the Hausa/Fulani Muslims.

It is just a pity that you have been successfuly brainwashed by the unsuccessful politicians into missapropriating your inadequacies at a clearly cultured and contented community.

The misplaced and unjustified hatred displayed by the likes of middle belt was a typical of the mindest of a gloomy frustrated morons,who ignorantly subscribed their failure in life to a seemingly indolent group.

The continued tirade against this percieved docile group, should not be misconstrued to be unreciprocable.Far from it,the world has become more enlightend, that no single group should consider to be the sole custodian and dispenser of uncivilised means of redressing issues.

Therefore, what the middle belt et al should bear in mind is that their enemy is not Muslim or Hausa/Fulani.

They should adjust their life styles by being productive, rather than being jealous at the "cattle rearers" and the cultured Hausa/Fulani who always believed in give & take and live and lets live.

And i do not believe that the opinion of these deranged pretenders is the common refrain of the average so called middle belt.I happened to execcellently interact and associate with people from the central Nigeria.

Therefore,the views of these seemingly frustrated drunkards should not bother any right thinking,educated forumite.Rather, they should be advised to target their frustrations at their leaders, who at various times hold fort under the Nigerian project but failed to address the issues of their people.

It is these people who out of sheer mischief diabolically hides their failure by influencing their ignorant people misdirect their hatred and enmity at an "visigoths of the savannah".

The gratest calamity that can befall this country is when the hated "Northernas", wakes up from their slumber and  exerts justice by application of "an eye for an eye...".

A community that has over two hundred years of civilisation can certainly revive its past by demanding to be teated justly and be able to say:enough is enough! :x