Why Southern Kaduna killings Persist

BY SIMON REEF MUSA

There is no doubt that those behind the mindless butcheries of innocent citizens, comprising defenceless men, women and children, in Southern Kaduna are not in a hurry to end their grisly coldblooded murderous acts. Just when we were about to heave a sigh of relief that peace was returning to the slaughter house of Kaduna state, the re-enactment of yet another violence as manifested in the current onslaughts is reverberating across various parts of the state and sending fears in the hearts of citizens.

It is a fact that should never be doubted that even before the coming of Malam Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai as governor on May 29, 2020, the axis was noted for its incessant trails of violence that had led to avoidable deaths and destruction of property. Since the crisis that rocked Kasuwan Magani in the 1980s between Adara natives and the Hausa ethnic group over ownership of land, violence has gradually become an entrenched practice and now part of the Southern Kaduna story.

Other crises that also caused monumental destruction of lives and property included the 1986 Kafanchan religious crisis, Zangon Kataf crisis of 1992 that served as a defining moment and introduced ethnic and religious coloration to the recurring mayhem. It took the irrevocable determination of the then Military Administrator, Col Dangiwa Umar who ordered the military into the street to shoot rioters be shot at sight.

The 1992 Zangon Kataf crisis that pitched Atyap people against members of the Hausa/Fulani people in Zango Kataf town proved a hard a nut to crack. However, the military must be commended for managing the peace of the state. Despite the Sharia crisis of 2000 and the attendant Miss World in 2002, much efforts were deployed to ensure the crisis did not go beyond certain limits.

After the exit of the administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as President in 2007, a sick president, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, was soon overwhelmed with crises caused by a deadly militant sect, Boko Haram whose activities were then restricted to the North-east geo-political zone. More worrisome, the Boko Haram violent campaign was making its way through to Kaduna and Abuja, with the bombing of the Louis Edet Police Headquarters and the United Nations Building.  

While many saw the crisis in the North-east as inspired by the sect’s determination to wage war against western education, the bloodshed mostly in the North-central zone was interpreted as a deliberate plot by herdsmen to take over ancestral lands and decimate communities in areas inhabited by ethnic nationalities. The crises between farmers and herders that was seen as normal soon became deadly, with deaths causing concerns and causing humanitarian crisis.

If those who want us to believe that the current bloody encounters between native farmers and herders are simple clashes inspired by simple quarrels over destruction of crops by animals reared by these herders, why then are whole communities sacked, while invaders take charge of towns and sometimes change names of sacked villages and towns to bear Fulani names?

When el-Rufai came in 2015 and unveiled his dream on what he intends to do when elected as governor, not a few believed that he was the right man for the job. To many observers, including yours sincerely, he had shown uncommon capacity to walk his talk, no matter whose ox is gored. Unlike Governor Ramalan Yero who was seeking a re-election bid, the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had then exhibited a fiery disposition to deal with problems plaguing the state and vowed to turn around the tables against those who have turned our troubles into their profits.

In our collective agony, el-Rufai painted a glorious future for all Kaduna citizens where all shall drink from the cup of justice. He declared that Kaduna had suffered from bad leadership and promised to ‘Make Kaduna Great Again’.

It all sounded simple in promising to walk his talk to bring the required peace and achieve his electoral promises. Now are these problems growing bigger, as the state has often come incessant attacks from Fulani herdsmen. Worst hit are the Adara communities and the Birnin Gwari axis that is slowly attaining notoriety. As towns and villages are being sacked in the southern part and many killed, a storm of criticisms had blown across the affected areas. The strategy by the governor to contain the storm of troubles backfired when el-Rufai visited Kafanchan in December 2016 and met with protesting women who were angered by the daily killings of their husbands and children.

Less than a month to the first year of his second tenure, the violence has increased in unprecedented intensity. Adara communities in Kajuru LGA have come under constant attacks, leading to dozens of deaths and sacking of villages and towns. Hair-rising violence and killings of women and infants have awaken the consciousness of the global community on what is happening in Kajuru. While the Adara natives seem to have been abandoned by the state government, the Chairman of Kajuru LGA, Cafra Caino seems to be more at home in recounting the destruction of ruga than lamenting and finding roadmap to resolving the current massacres of the people.

The efforts to bring an end to the killings have not been hinged on sincerity. More than this, those who should be at the forefront of resolving the conflict are now under the bed for fear of siding with the natives. Political representatives from Southern Kaduna are the most culpable who now only focus on pursuing material acquisition at the expense of defending the rights of their people.

Considering the present fate of Southern Kaduna people, we need no seer to stress that the thick clouds of anxious moments lie ahead. Democracy for the Southern Kaduna people has remained a devastation and complete disappointment. What is mostly needed now is that the people should reclaim democracy by ensuring that the true representatives are elected.

Stopping these killings must be hinged on home-grown solutions. It is very obvious that the Kaduna State Government has not shown the required willpower to end the human carnage. The so-called representatives of the people are more of political profiteers who are simply interested in what comes to their pockets.

Having been blessed by fearful-stricken political leaders who cannot stand up for anything other than their interests, the prospects of ending the killings mat take a long while to be realised. If we must end the current bloodbath in the state, then a new template must be evolved where critical citizens are allowed at the table of citizenship as equal partners in order to advance the interest of the people.