.. Organise stakeholders peace meeting
From Ujah Simon, kaduna
Muslim Youth Foundation of Southern kaduna (MYFOSKA), the Youth Wing of Southern kaduna Muslim ummah Development Association (SOKAMUDA), said their members are the worst victims of lost of lives, properties and forceful displacements in Southern kaduna crises that always took the dimensions of ethno-religous and identify forms.
MYFOSKA which disclosed this during a press conference in kaduna said over 500 Muslims were killed in southern Kaduna with over 1000 people displaced, sighting Human Rights Watch report in the post- election violence of 2011.
In the speech red by the National Chairman of MYFOSKA, Kabiru Muhammed also said, all the white papers of the previous commission of enquries on Southern kaduna crises should be emplemented to serve as deterrent to culprits.”The conflicts, as everybody know, is age-long, complex and complicated. Most of these conflicts were made to take the linear dimension of inter-religious and identity-based contestations between Christians and Muslims.
“It is also on record that most of the victims in terms of loss of lives, properties and forceful displacements have been the vulnerable and helpless Muslims whose numerical strength comparatively placed them as a relative minority in the area. “For instance, the Human Rights Watch reported that in the post- election violence of 2011, over 500 Muslims were killed in southern Kaduna with over 1000 people displaced”, he said.The chairman also noted that while it was an under estimation of the real figures of their people massacred in a genocide-like manner, it was at least, a conservative projection of what we had to bear in livingwith our intolerable neighbours.He said in most of the reoccurring incidences of violence over their communities, “it is always unfortunately that instead of diagnosing the root causes with the aim to bringing an end to the ugly situation, some people ended up making politics and economic out of it. “In spite establishing Commissions of Inquiries whose report and recommendations were submitted to governments, we note with sadness that the perpetrators and their sponsors/supporters were being left to go scot free without sanctions according to the laws of the land to serve as deterrence. “This act of commission or omission by government’s failure to prosecute the perpetrators of these heinous crimes against humanity, even after being identified by the various Commissions of Inquiries, further worsen the situation by emboldening the perpetrators and their sponsors to see nothing incriminating in their criminality. “For this reason, the massacre of innocent human beings at the slightest opportunity and with different tactics and strategies has become past time adventure in a manner as if governments do not exist.
“Pursuance to its quest for sustainable peace in the Southern Kaduna area, and haven remain too vulnerable to the uncountable forms of aggression over our Ummah, MYFOSKA, found it necessary to organize and strategize its efforts to enhance peaceful co-existence in Southern Kaduna for the realization of enduring peace, unity and stability in the zone.The aim of this meeting is principally to identify workable ways and rewarding strategies that will bring to an end to this carnage for the promotion of sustainable and peaceful coexistence among the heterogeneous and multi-ethnic communities of southern part of Kaduna state”, he Said.MYFOSKA Chairman said they invited stakeholders from Southern Kaduna, from Muslim groups and associations, faith-based sister organizations, including Hausa, Fulani and other tribes and ethnic identities for the purpose of brainstorming and proffering viable recommendations “as solutions for lasting peace in the zone among the Muslims and the non-Muslims in their respective communities….
According to him, the meeting observed that the recurrent crises bedeviling the area was factored largely by intolerance associated with political, tribal, religious and ethnic identity interests supported by some selfish religious leaders in fueling and sponsoring intolerance among ethnic activists, and instigating the otherwise tolerant traditional institutions.
“For instance the position of Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) and its conflict entrepreneurs on the peace process initiated by His Royal Highness Agwan Atyap was unfortunate and that has been their divisive and crisis-engineering attitudes.
“SOKAPU as a mouthpiece for the Christian has maintained over the years an unchanging but skewed narratives portraying the Christians as victims than perpetrators.
“SOKAPU’s victim mentality is being supported by a historically fallacious rhetoric that portrays their Christian members as the only aboriginal communities in Southern Kaduna, which at best is contrary to the historical realities,” he said.
The meeting also observed with great concern the role of government at various stage of each conflict and the need to take decisive and impartial action on the recommendations made by various Commissions of Inquiries set by either the Kaduna State or Federal Governments. “All White Papers arising from government decisions on every conflict in the past must be seen to be implemented, which stalled due to some unwholesome political as well as other reasons. While the perpetrators of these criminality that were indicted but are now not only walking free, but threating to cause more havoc in future must apprehended and reprimanded for their crimes.
“The escalation of conflicts and the rising divisiveness across ethnic and religious fault lines, unless addressed, with immediate effect, have the potentials to worsen the breakable peace by causing more deadly violent confrontations in the forthcoming years.
“This is true especially as population, climate change and other variables are exacerbating the already volatile situation in the area.
‘Worsening poverty often leads to fierce competition between the factionalized groups over scarce economic or natural resources. While one group depends on skills to earning a means of sustenance, the other group which largely dependent on white collar job that was not forthcoming have developed the tendency of envy and transferring their frustrations on the other group that are equally educated but relatively self-made in skills and small business ventures.
“From experience, the economic exerting condition has remain particularly 9true when livelihoods are based on environmentally damaging practices, such as over-grazing or unsustainable farming practices. And lastly,
“The stakeholders welcomed the initiative of His Highness the Emir of Jama’a, who from the unset of the current tension in Kafanchan summoned a meeting of youth and other stakeholders at his palace and enjoined them to live peacefully with one another and that no one should take laws into his hands.
