An overview of the Jos Plateau Conflicts: January 2010-January 2011 G N S Pwajok Director-General Research and Planning Governor’s Office Plateau State, Nigeria Presented on occasion of the Nigeria Briefing: on the Anniversary of the March 2010 massacres in Jos Crisis, with the Theme: JosPlateau Conflict: Africa’s New Sudan Crisis? March 8, 2011 , Capitol Hill, Washington, DC Opening One major challenge of democratic consolidation is the challenge of ensuring a proper balance between the military and the civilian populace… another critical challenge is the matter of redirecting the armed forces to ensure democratic subordination to civil democratic authority. -Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Paul Dike The situation in Plateau is more than what we see on the surface. -Senate President David Mark If we could first know where we are and wither we are tending, we could better judge what to do and how to do it. -Abraham Lincoln One of the 36 States in Nigeria Plateau Plateau State is one of the 36 States that make up the Federal Republic of Nigeria The State is located within latitude 80° 22’ North and 100° 24’ South and latitude 80° East and has a total land area of 26,899sq kilometers. It shares a common boundary with Nassarawa, Kaduna, Bauchi, Taraba and Benue States The name Plateau is derived from the predominant geographical landscape in the Central Nigeria area popularly known as Middle-Belt of Nigeria and is blessed with undulating highlands characterized by hills ranging from 500 to 1600 meters above sea level, peaking at 1,829m at Shere Hills in Jos The Land Undulating landscape and hydrological source of Rivers Temperate climate, vast Tourism potentials and attractions Population Often referred to as a miniature Nigeria, Plateau State is culturally diverse (with some 50 ethnic groups), populated by an estimated 3.2 million people (2006 census) and structured into 17 Local Government Areas, each with an elected Local Government Council. A Safe Harbor From the time of its creation in 1976, Plateau State managed to stay relatively and comparatively out of the troubled waters of religious intolerance and tragic violence. In fact, Jos which is the capital of the State came to serve as a safe heaven for those moving out of conflict areas in Northern Nigeria, largely on account of its hospitality, and generally accommodating predisposition as home for many including Europeans, Americans and Asians The 10 Best of Nigeria: The Business Environment Score Sheet The 2009 rating on the Best of Nigeria by the African Institute of Applied Economics (AIAE) in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the National Planning Commission published in 1st October ranks Plateau 4th amongst the States of the federation The nation’s score sheet in the democratic experiment, responsive and responsible governance, political and economic reforms and management of the economy which assures Nigeria a place in the global scheme of things shows Plateau as 4th , after Lagos, FCT and Cross Rivers Escalating Crisis Sadly, this picture of a “Home of Peace and Tourism” has changed to what some may call a “Home of Pieces and Terrorism” with a catalogue of escalating crisis incidents Perpetrators and Victims For the umpteenth time, Jos, which has not known peace since the inception of the country's democracy ten years ago, witnessed several attacks including multiple bomb blasts on Christmas eve 2010 claiming many lives and properties Christians and Muslims, indigenes and non-indigenes have become both perpetrators and victims. These has stretched the capacities of the people and government of the State, Federal as well as agencies and stakeholders who have tried to intervene …more than what we can see? Nigerians this time around, are finding it difficult to reconcile a situation where the police and the army, which are said to be involved in a joint operation as a panacea for averting further occurrences, are gradually drawn into the arena of conflict which has not deescalated, attesting to the fact that the situation in Jos is more than what we can see on the surface using the Plateau experience, we need to take a close look at the dramatic changes in human organization, thought and behavior, which are taking place all over the world. Global Trends and Tensions The world is entering a new era in which the source of conflict will be based on cultural divisions rather than ideology or economic forces. Some scholars maintain that conflict will occur along fault lines that divide civilization. While others are of the view that the simultaneous forces of global disintegration and global homogenization constitute the primary sources of future conflict. In other words the forces of “Jihad and MacWorld” operate with equal strength in opposite directions. Beyond the horizon of current events Just beyond the horizon of current events lie two possible political futures, both bleak, neither democratic. The first is a retribalisation of large swaths of human kind by war and bloodshed: a threatened lebonization of national states in which culture is pitted against culture, people against people, tribe against tribe, a jihad in the name of hundred narrowly conceived faiths against every kind of interdependence, every kind of artificial social cooperation and civil mutuality. The second is borne in on us by the on rush of economic and social forces that demand integration and uniformity and that mesmerize the world with fast music and fast food with MTV Macintosh and MacDonald, pressing nations into commercially homogenous global network: One MacWorld tied together by technology, ecology, communications and commerce. The planet is falling precipitately apart and coming together at the very same moment. These tendencies are sometimes visible in the same country at the same time (Berber: 2000, 23) Projections on Nigeria If we turn our search light to the Nigerian experience, we have similar projections. In the 90’s the United State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research made the following incisive points of analysis of Nigeria in the following words: … Prospect for a transition to civilian rule and democratization are slim… The repressive apparatus of State Security Service… will be difficult for any future civilian government to control… The country is becoming increasingly ungovernable… Ethnic and regional splits are deepening, a situation made worst by an increase in the number of states from 19 to 30 and a doubling of the number of local governing authorities; religious cleavages are more serious, Muslim fundamentalism and evangelical Christian militancy are on the rise and northern Muslim anxiety over Southern (Christian) control of the economy is intense…The will to keep Nigeria together is now very weak (Kaplan: 2000, 39-40) The Escalators: 1990s In 1991, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida carved Jos Local Government into North and South against established norms of rational acceptance thus importing new realities characterized by religious cleavages and anxiety based on a North and South dichotomy. By 1994 the first major riot in Jos took place under the military administration of Col Mohammed Mana. In the ensuing riot, 4 people lost their lives, 104 rioters were apprehended by the police at the various scenes of conflict and conflagration and a speedy preliminary investigation, took them to the law courts for trial. Eightythree of those apprehended were of Hausa-Fulani extraction, while the rest came from various other tribes. The incidents of 2001 Under the civilian administration of Governor Joshua Dariye Jos witnessed another round of crisis The Nikki Tobi Commission of Inquiry puts the total number of lives lost at 770 with about N3,369,716,404.95 worth of properties destroyed. With the persistent crisis which spread to other parts of the state, a State of Emergency was eventually imposed on Plateau State and the Governor together with the House of Assembly sacked. Mega Trends also Projected In January 2005, the National Intelligence Council convened a group of top US experts on Sub Saharan Africa to discuss likely trends in the region over the next 15 years. The group discussed several major issues or “drivers” that will affect Africa including globalization and its impact on political development and economic growth, patterns of conflict, terrorism, democratization, AIDS, evolving foreign influence and religion. Participants saw the level of violence in Africa as likely to change appreciably in the next 15 years. They noted that most conflicts will be internal. Some of their views include: Projected State Failure? Positive developments in debt management Nigeria was projected as a failed state capable of dragging large parts of West Africa. Most African countries will continue to pay lip service to democracy. China will become a leading actor in Africa. The Down Risk- show potential decline or outright collapse of Nigeria as our leaders are locked in a bad marriage that all dislike but dare not leave. There are possibilities that could disrupt the precarious equilibrium in Abuja – The most important would be a Junior Officer Coup that could destabilize the country. Jos-Plateau State as Fault line Jos-Plateau State within this context became the fault line that divides civilization in the far North which is more Muslim and the South which is more Christian. This significantly affects the way the policies, actions or inactions of the State government, which is responsible for the daily discharge of public affairs are interpreted mostly with religious colourations. Prominent amongst these are the urban renewal policy of the present administration, popularly referred to as the “Greater Jos Master Plan”, and the ban on the use of commercial motor cycles, which has variously been misinterpreted as part of an underhand attempt to drive out Muslims from Jos. Unique Referred to as Nigeria’s “Home of Peace and Tourism”, the ethno-linguistically diverse state is majority Christian with a sizeable Muslim population. It is situated in Nigeria’s ‘Middle Belt” at the edge of the predominantly Muslim North and Christian South. 2008 In 2008 another crisis erupted in Jos with devastating effect on lives and property The Commission of Inquiry headed by Judge Bola Ajibola, an international jurist of repute found that the actual number lives lost were 312, while 323 sustained various degree of injury and property destroyed estimated at N43,247,630,642.00 Since the submission of the Ajibola Report not less than 200 people have been killed as a result of all manner of attacks Date Local District/Village January 2010-2011 Government Area Remarks 17/01/2010 Jos South Bukuru Market Burning and looting of shops 28/02/2010 “ Gyel Gyero Rd 07/03/2010 “ Dyemburuk (Dogo Hundreds killed, Na Hawa) mostly the aged, women and children 17 /03 /2010 “ Sabon Gida Kanar 3 killed 11/04/2010 “ Kuru Jenta Houses burnt 24/04/2010 “ Daku Hei- Turu 1 killed ,40 cows rustled 18/10/2010 “ Dashe Vwang 60 cows rustled 17/10/2010 “ K/Vom 1 killed 15/11/2010 “ Kwata 3 killed , 2 injured Date Local Government District/Village Area Remarks 20/12/2010 Jos South Gongohong Vwang 3 killed, 2 injured,17 cows rustled 24/12/2010 “ Farin Lamba 3 killed (Ione 5 yr) 24/12/2010 “ Chakarum Vwang 3 killed 30/12/2010 “ Chaha Vwang 2 killed 31/12/2011 “ Lodapan Turu 29 cows rustled 16//1/2011 “ Vwangkogot 1 Aged 23/1/2011 “ Daguruk Farin /Lamba 6 killed (one 7 month , 10 yr old 30/1/2011 “ K/Vom 3 killed (woman and child) 10/2/2011 “ Soil School 5 killed (5yr old), 36 cows rustled Date Local Government District / Village Remarks Area 01/03/2011 Jos South Dabwak Kuru 5 killed , 1 injured 06/02/2010 Ryom Tashek Jol Houses ablaze 10/02/2010 “ Kwi- 3 injured, 36 cows rustled 14/02/2010 “ Darin-Jol, TanJol 2 killed, 1 injured 15/02/2010 ‘’ Ranjol Bachi 1 killed 1 injured 19/02/2010 ‘’ Jol 1 woman killed 22/02/2010 ‘’ Byei 1 injured Houses set ablaze 26/02/2010 ‘’ Jol 2 injured Byei 17 killed, mostly women and children, 3 injured ,grains burnt 17/03/2010 Date Local Government District/ Village Areas Remarks Aug-sept Riyom Fang 1 killed 4 injured 15/12/2011 ‘’ Tashek Jol 1 killed ‘’ Gako-Rim 2 killed 20/12/2010 ‘’ Lwa 1 killed, crops/grains , houses destroyed 24/12/2010 ‘’ Lwa 1 woman killed Jan-Feb 2011 ‘’ Shonong, Jol, Wereng,kwi Over 50 cows rustled, crops and farms destroyed 07/01/2011 ‘’ Wereng Camp 1 killed, 2 injured Kuru Station 14 killed 3 injured mostly women and children, STF 10/01/2011 Date Local Government District/ Village Areas Remarks 2010-2011 Jos North Major locations Hundreds killed , Christmas Eve bomb blast, travelers on transit attacked, students, missing persons etc 2010-2011 Barkin Ladi Some districts like Fan, Heipang More than 16 attacks with several women and children killed 2010-2011 Bassa Mostly irigwe Over 8 attacks Some critical Issues In action by Security Forces in spite of civil authority efforts at providing intelligence eg. Dogo Na Hawa (Sim Card), Maza Killings, Phone calls to the then GOC, Mohammed Aliyu saga etc Rising Culture of Impunity as result of centralized control of Security Inadequacies in Justice Administration in which demands for prosecution is often misinterpreted as persecution of suspects Usurpation of Legislative , Judicial and Executive Powers clothed in seemingly value free demands for State of Emergency Issues Instability in recruitment and deployment of security forces with perception issues . Within three years not less than 5 Commissioners of Police have been posted to Plateau State Issues of desert encroachment and porous borders, and infiltration by non-Nigerians especially from Niger and Chad State-State Relations as demonstrated by externalization of attacks with neighboring states like Bauchi serving as staging post while encouraging legislation calling for the dismemberment of Plateau Federal -State Relations, jurisdictional issues State-Non State Actors Media Management issues with emerging concepts such as “ethnic cleansing” and “genocide” escalating conflict, from riots to crisis and now bombings