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Friday, March 29, 2024

Opinion: Kaduna And The Threat Of Election Violence

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by Yusuf Ishaku Goje

With the passing of each day, the tension soaked state of Kaduna is experiencing one form of political vibration or the other as the 2015 general elections inches closer, as a result of inciting statements, like the recent outburst of the chief security officer (Governor) of the state urging his supporters to violently retaliate when provoked by opponents (which should be condemned by all well-meaning Nigerians), and also the gory history of political violence in the state, with the 2011 post presidential election violence as the most recent reference.

Furthermore, the political class and their agents have perfected and are implementing the exploitation of the fault-lines that have polarized the state along ethno-religious lines over the years for political gains. The unfortunate part of the whole unpalatable situation is that some of our traditional rulers and clergymen have corruptly and mischievously availed themselves as agents of deepening this divisive and destructive political strategy.

As a cosmopolitan state, Kaduna has witnessed its own fair share of violent conflicts that have made the state very volatile and vulnerable; ranging from boundary and land disputes, religious crisis, political violence, ethnic clashes, chieftaincy tussle and so on. The violent conflicts that caught attention include among many: the 1987 Kafanchan crisis, 1992 Zangon Kataf crisis, 2000 Sharia crisis, 2002 miss world crisis, post presidential election violence in 2011, the bombings of places of worship that provoked reprisal attacks, and recently the attacks in the southern part of the state specifically Kaura and also in Birnin Gwari in the northern part. Many factors have been attributed to be the source of these frequent violent clashes in the state; they include ignorance, poverty, gazing land, boundary disputes, inordinate ambitions of a few, religious intolerance, desire for retribution, ethnic suspicion and mistrust, and injustice.

The more our political class become desperate for power, the more the likelihood violence would become a prominent feature in the 2015 general election; the posture adopted by politician, political parties and their followers suggest they have adopted the do or die mentality and approach in actualizing their inordinate ambitions. It is evident to see that political affiliation has polarized families, friends, religious adherents and communities (intra and inter); with threats and counter-threats across the divide. Our airwaves have been hijacked by hate-speeches, blame-trading, malicious rumors, blackmail, among other negative political propaganda; which continuously exacerbate tension and threatens the fragile cum unstable peace in the state. In fact, the two dominant political parties, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressive Congress, in the state are almost at each other’s throat, with their supporters provoking and threatening each other at any given opportunity.

As a trained conflict analyst (USIP), a volunteer with a peace-building Non-governmental Organization (Centre for Crisis Prevention and Peace Advocacy) and an executive council member of a peace-advocacy association (Advocate for Peace & Unity Development Association); I have come to the informed opinion that the early warning signs of violent conflict are palpable, and I am calling on critical stakeholder in the peace-building structures and processes in the state to begin intensive implementation of preventive peace-building measures in their various locations. This call should be treated with all sense of urgency, because prevention is better than cure and a stitch in time saves nine.

As shown above, violent conflicts are not new to Kaduna state, whereby a mere stepping on the toes of another could be catastrophic to the extent of cutting short the existence of thousands of productive lives and the destruction of properties worth millions. As history and reality have shown, conflict in itself is not as negative as many people have perceived it to be, it is as much positive as it is negative; usually it is our negative reaction to conflict that gives birth to violence and destruction. Reacting negatively to conflict expresses itself in insults, provocative statements, agitations, aggression and violence; this is how over the years residents of Kaduna state have reacted to political conflict situations.

There needs to be attitudinal change and the adoption of creative ways to positively react to political conflicts in our society, especially through non- violent measures, which ensures the overpowering of hate by love. This is so because Kaduna state over the years have been polarized due to persistent ethno-religious crisis; love and good neighborliness have been substituted with mutual suspicion, mistrust, intolerance and hate. It is this reality that should agitate us towards adopting and adhering to the advice that was aptly given by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he believed that, “we should learn from the fact that violence is impractical and that now, more than ever before, we must pursue the course of non- violence to achieve a reign of justice and a rule of love in our society, and that hatred and violence must be cast into the unending limbo if we are to survive”.

As the general elections inches closer by the day, we must begin to direct our thinking towards the line of non- violence in order to save our state and country as a whole from self- destruction; again we must put into consideration the views of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., when he posited that “the way of violence leads to bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers. But that the way of nonviolence leads to redemption and the creation of the beloved community”. This is more so when one puts into consideration the overall negative effect of violence on the growth and development of our society; on the part of the citizenry, there is no doubt that thousands of lives are lost and properties worth millions of naira are usually destroyed whenever violent conflict occur. While on the part of government, monies meant for development are regrettably redirected into the maintenance of peace and security, and while development is stagnated.

Must we kill ourselves or destroy properties for issues to be resolved or for justice to reign, why can’t we just adopt dialogue and reconciliation in ironing out our political differences and grievances; we are all losers when we fight each other. We must change our ways, in order for Kaduna state to return to its former glorious self, when being your neighbor’s keeper made sense, when religion was personal and respected, and politics a game of gentlemen not rascality. The question we should ask ourselves is why is it that we always find it convenient to engage in self -destruction, whenever we perceive political provocation or injustice. Our thinking must begin the process of graduating from violence to nonviolence for Kaduna state to have an enduring peaceful environment and political stability for growth and development to occur.

A major ingredient of conflict resolution, arising from the fallout of political activities or contest, is nonviolent reaction to provocative statements or actions or unfavorable outcome; we must at all times adopt peaceful measures in resolving conflicts at all levels, thereby bringing about tolerance and reconciliation back into the lives of residents of Kaduna state. The residents of the state must come to terms with the reality that their responsibility to peace is at par with that of the government; in as much as it is the government’s role to provide peaceful environment in the state by ensuring that justice and security stays supreme, but the fact still remains that the residents owe it to themselves and state to react non-violently politically, for peace and development to occur and be sustainable.

As the campaign intensifies, candidates, political parties and their supporters must be cautious of their statements and actions to avoid overheating the polity, and creating the avenue for violent conflict to occur before, during and after the 2015 general elections. I wish us a peaceful and credible 2015 general elections.

Yusuf Ishaku Goje is a Program Officer at Ambassadors Initiative for Development and Empowerment

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.

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