Nigeria: Catholic bishops point out ethnic and economic sources of conflict in Jos

"Nigeria calls for inquiry into religious violence," runs the headline in an article by the Associated Press on Thursday 11.

Hundreds of Christians, including women and children, were killed over the weekend when Muslim herdsmen attacked three mostly Christian towns near the northern Nigerian city of Jos.

The attacks are thought to be reprisals for similar clashes between Muslim and Christian groups over control of fertile farmland in the region in January. But contrary to many news reports, Nigeria's bishops and the Holy See stress the conflict is more about ethnicity and politics than religion.

Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, expressed the Holy See's “concern and horror” over the wave of violence in the country and said Monday that it appeared the Christians had been attacked not for religious but for social reasons.

Speaking on < i>Vatican Radio, the archbishop of Abuja, John Olorunfemi, said the violence was the result of "a classic feud between farmers and herdsmen, the difference being that the herdsmen are all Muslim and the farmers are Christians. It's easy for the international press to simply report that Muslim and Christians are killing each other,"” he said.

"But this is not the case because the cause is not religious but has to do with social, economic, tribal, and cultural issues and differences."”

In an article for the British magazine, The Tablet this week, the archbishop of Jos, Ignatius Kaigama, wrote that the real underlying causes of the conflict are poverty, corruption, and tensions between indigenous and settler communities, adding that religion has been hijacked.”

"The aggressive use of the mass media and the promise of material prosperity give the impression that religion is not about eternal or supernatural values but about earthly progress and domination," he wrote, before this latest outbreak of violence.

It is against this backdrop that the violent clashes in Jos took place in January. " Religious leaders," he said, "need to reclaim its integrity and promote peace and reconciliation’ and political leaders need to address the underlying causes, work for the common good, and stop using religion to score political points or‘more bloodshed will follow."’

Another cause of the ongoing violence is an absence of justice for the victims. Archbishop Kaigama says no one has been held to account for previous atrocities committed in 1994, 2001 and 2008 despite two previous commissions of inquiry.

And, while it may not be a cause, Islam does appear to have played some role in the violence as tensions rose considerably after the introduction of Sharia law in the country in the 1990s.

Archbishop Kaigama has called for an end to bigotry and extremism but prefers to focus on constructive cooperation and dialogue with his Muslim counterparts. He has spent the past few years developing a good friendship with the local emir.

"Either we learn to accept and appreciate our differences, or we destroy one another and ourselves," he wrote. "Islam and Christianity are both present in Jos and the surrounding Plateau State. So, if we take the view that either or both are the problem, then we are stuck in the inevitability of violence."

On the other hand, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Abuja chapter, has said that the recent Jos crisis is religious and not political as speculated in some quarters.

Addressing newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja, the FCT chairman of CAN, Rev. Fr. Dr. Willy Ojukwu, said, "We want to have this on record: that these killings, arson and destruction of property are not political. It is purely religious, otherwise, why should these hooligans always attack the churches and worshippers?"

"If it is political, let them attack political houses such as the National Assembly, government houses to mention but a few, rather than churches and innocent worshippers."

The cleric, who noted that the violence had portrayed religion in a very bad and ugly light, lamented that it is unfair that while Muslim faithful are relaxed during their prayer days (Fridays) in the mosque, Christians in the affected areas on Sundays do the same in fear and uncertainty for their lives.

Insisting that Nigeria could not be re-branded when part of its populace is sorrowing for no reason, Ojukwu stressed the need for government at all levels to give internal security to both Christians and Muslims.

In a document made available to newsmen at the briefing, he stated, "We are so discouraged that results from commissions of inquiry and earlier investigations were often swept under carpet."

Source: CISA