We stand together

Continuing the theme from my earlier post "The Stories We Ignore".

Nigerians from all of the federal republic's constituent nations and communities have suffered not only in the current upsurge of political violence, but also in the general upward spike in political violence we have suffered since 1999. As usual, though, the screaming headlines make it seem like a sectional conflict between our peoples. So, I'll continue to highlight the quieter headlines that get swept under the carpet.

Muslims Demonstrate Religious Harmony, Join Christians in Church Service

Ibrahim Shuaibu, John Shiklam, Christopher Isiguzo and Victor Efeizomo
16 January 2012

As a deliberate step to rebuild confidence and heal the festering relationship between adherents of the two major religions in the country following attacks by Boko Haram on places of worship, Muslims in Kano Sunday visited churches and worshipped with Christians to foster religious tolerance.

Leader of the Muslims, who visited the churches under the platform of Kano Covenant Group, Mr. Bashir Ishaq Bashir, said the step was taken because there was the need for Christians and Muslims to live together in peace as they described the two religions as faith with doctrines that abhor violence.

Addressing the congregation in the various churches during service, Bashir said though there might be differences in practice, Islam and Christianity have a semblance which ultimate aim is to draw people nearer together as they love and cherish one another.

"We are here to deliver a message of hope, a message of peace, a message of solidarity," he said.

He said Muslims all over Kano would remain at peace with the Christians and urged the worshippers not to panic and resist inflammatory messages that were capable of bringing a breakdown of law and order.

He said: "We must desist from rumours and spreading of falsehood. No doubt Muslims have wronged their Christian brothers, and Christian brothers have wronged their Muslim brothers."

He insisted that in the face of the shortcomings, there was still the need for a peaceful coexistence.

Speaking also, Chairman of the state branch of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Bishop Ransom Bello, emphasised the need for all stakeholders to join hands and ensure that peace reigns in Kano as violence, which could lead to destruction of lives and property under any guise, should be totally discouraged.

Bishop Bello thanked Kano State Government for its support and encouragement to the struggle to ensure that Kano remains peaceful and safe, while urging all and sundry to move about their businesses without fear or apprehension.

Among the churches visited by the group were Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, ECWA Hausa Service, Anglican Cathedral Church of Holy Trinity, Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church and Calvary of Life Assembly.

Hisbah Command Guards Christian Worshippers
Hisham Habib
16 January 2012

Kano — Officials of the Kano State Hisbah Command were yesterday spotted guarding entrances to various churches in the state to give confidence to worshippers in the state.

The Hisbah officers who were in groups, were posted to various areas in Sabon Gari and along Airport road were many Christians were attending Sunday services.

A worshipper at the Royal Parish of Saint Thomas, Airport road, Barrister Ibrahim Isa Wangida who spoke to Daily Trust said he saw Hisbah men from Club Road down to the church at Airport road and was impressed to learn that they were there to give protection to the worshippers.

He said they have been made to believe that the Muslims will give them the desired protection as they will be giving to the Muslims elsewhere, adding that as a Hausa man and an indigene of Tudun Wada in Kano he is destined to be a Christian and it gives him joy to see Hisbah men around his church.

The Director General of the Hisbah Dr. Ahmad Sufi said the command had sent over 2,000 men to various locations especially to roads leading to churches and entrances and this was in an effort to keep the cordial relationship that exists between the two faiths in the state.

He said the command had been in contact with the CAN in the past and will maintain the link for a better understanding and promotion of peace through dialogue.

Nigeria: Muslim Youths Guard Churches in Minna

Aliyu M. Hamagam

9 January 2012

Minna — MUSLIM youths yesterday grouped themselves to guard churches in Minna, Niger State Capital, during Sunday Services.The youths said this was aimed at furthering their campaign for the promotion of inter-religious unity in the country.

Our correspondent observed that the youths mounted the gates of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Kpagungu area of the state capital throughout the service period.

The leader of the group, Gimba Kakanda, who spoke to Daily Trust, said, "We are protecting our fellow Christian brothers and sisters to show the world that our leaders cannot use religion to divide us. We want to send a signal by coming here to protect our fellow Christians that we are one and we can stand to protect one another".

Asked on whether they got police permit to do so, he said, "We are peaceful, we are here only to protect our brothers, and we believe that security is the responsibility of every citizen".

Brief comments

For quite some time, insecurity and violence have been, or rather should have been the priority for the Nigerian public and for all three tiers of government in our federal republic. But these issues were somewhat eclipsed by the nationwide protests that followed the removal of the fuel subsidy.

Without commenting on the substance of the dispute (i.e. the fuel subsidy itself), it was interesting to see the Nigerian public broadly take positions on an issue based on the issue itself, without the intervention of the usual regional/ethnic political chess. Indeed, as I watched the protests, a part of me pondered the fact that we had wasted the 2011 Elections by casting our votes based on what we felt about the following question: Is it still "the North's" turn in the rotational presidency system, or has "the North" had enough turns and it is now the turn of the Niger-Deltal where the oil is produced?

In the context of our politico-economic reality, an issue like this one (i.e. the fuel subsidy) should really have been decided at an election, with the differing views on what to do with/to the subsidy marking the dividing line between political parties and between executive and legislative candidates.

Whatever it is you feel about the issue (and I have not expressed my own opinion), we can all agree that it is, and has always been, a politically very volatile issue.

President Jonathan had initially intended to end the subsidy early in 2011, and only included enough funding for a couple of months of it in the 2011 Budget. But having realized that he would lose the 2011 election (to be held in April) if he removed the subsidy at the end of February, the president decided to continue the subsidy payments through to the end of the year -- without adjusting the budget (expense side or revenue side) to compensate for it. So our deficit and debt went up in 2011 so as to maintain President Jonathan's reelection hopes, which is rather irresponsible.

But more to the point, if an issue is politically dangerous enough that you know you cannot win a democratic election after doing a certain thing, then it is even more important that you either make that thing subject to an election or referendum (obliging yourself to campaign hard enough to make your decision more popular before the vote), or if you are going to deceive people about what you intend to do after the election so as to win the election, then at the very least commit some time and effort after winning the election to persuading enough people to change their minds about the issue before you do it.

Sure, there was something the government pretended to be a campaign to explain the move to end the subsidy, but the thing about Nigeria is our political leaders have never really had to explain themselves to the people, nor have they ever really had to get the people's approval before doing anything ... so they don't really know how to do it, or what constitutes having done it. There was much talk of "transformation", but a "transformational leader" is one who is able to persuade the people to agree to changes which, prior to that point, they may not have agreed to.

I am almost tempted to hope that this issue stays alive until 2015, forcing the respective candidates to campaign on the issue. Whether my side of the issue wins or loses, at least it would be an election that was decided on the issues and not on regional/ethnic political chess.

Alas, with security a pressing and increasingly problematic issue, we can ill afford the distraction of the fuel subsidy debate.

Yeah, security should be the centrepiece of political debate. Unfortunately, the things we need to do to improve public security are, and sadly always have been, the sort of things our political leaders are loathe to do. Our leaders prefer to do enough to keep us from anarchy while not doing enough to get us to a plateau of stability and security.