The Jos Palm Sunday Massacre And Other Matters -By Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

On Sunday, the 29th day of March an unidentified group of gun men stormed a gathering spot in Angwa Rukuba village in the neighborhood of University of Jos, Plateau State killing over thirty (30) defenseless citizens and injuring scores of others. And in a swift reaction, the University of Jos postponed its exams scheduled for Monday and Tuesday while the Plateau State governor Caleb Manasseh Muftwang declared a 48-hour curfew, according to media reports. In his statement, the state governor strongly condemn what describes as barbaric and unprovoked attack on innocent citizens and assures the public that all necessary measures are being taken to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

In the same vein, the presidency as is usual of it has given its half-hearted response to the incident. In his reaction, through Bayo Onanuga, the media aide, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu condemned the killings in Jos and similar attack that took place in Kahir village in Kagarko LGA of Kaduna State, describing the attack on the community in Jos and the killing and abduction of wedding guests in Kaduna as an affront to all that Nigeria stands for, assuring Nigerians that the barbaric acts will not go unpunished. According to the president, “Anyone who will sneak under the cover of the night and kill defenseless citizens as done in Jos and Kahir village, is a heartless coward. By attacking soft targets in Jos, their objective is not only to cause harm but also trigger a spiral of reprisal attacks and further bloodletting”.

In another development an American missionary and humanitarian, who leads the group known as Building Zion, Alex Barbir, has expressed outrage at what is now known as the Jos Palm Sunday Massacre, criticizing President Bola Tinubu over his obvious nonchalant attitude to the killings of Nigerian hapless citizens. In a viral video now circulating widely on X, Barbir condemned what he called the continued persecution of Christians in parts of Nigeria, accusing the Federal Government of repeated inaction, alleging that attacks persist because authorities have failed to respond decisively. “As you sit in Aso Rock and you do absolutely nothing. You allow your people to be killed again and again and again and again,” he said. “When will it stop? When will you hear the cries of Nigerians, of Christians? You can no longer deny genocide. They are being slaughtered, and you said there is no issue,” he added.

Just as Alex Babir asked, the main question is: when will these senseless killings stop? Will they ever stop? There seem to respite in sight. Killing and bloodletting have become commonplace in Nigeria. The tragic incident comes less than two week after at least 23 people were killed and more than 100 injured in a series of suspected suicide attacks in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, and reinforces the insecurity affecting many parts of Nigeria. Does it surprise anybody that last month Nigeria was declared one of the worst insecure place on earth, in the same class with Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia and war-torn Syria? And do we still need anyone to argue that Nigeria is not “a country of particular concern” as designated by Donald Trump of America? But, Nigerian government and its agents are living in self-denial. Tinubu would rather spend $9 million tax-payers’ funds to lobby to cover up stories that are in public knowledge rather face reality. Is not scandalous that after frittering trillions annually on defense what Nigerians receive in return is insecurity and bloodbath.

Clearly, there is absolutely no reason to justify the killings and bloodletting that is going on in Nigeria at present. Some cite land hunger and climate change and religious factors but they are all balderdash. It is neither farmers-herdsmen clash nor religious war. It is political and it is re-enforced and exacerbated by failure of governance.

One major reason why these senseless killings have continued on this scale is negligence on the part of the government and the security operatives. The government is insensitive to the plight of the people because its agents and officials dwell in secure enclaves. The army has negligently allowed members of the insurgent groups and their sympathizers to infiltrate their ranks thereby allowing its operations to be sabotaged. This is what happens when you recruit captured terrorists into the army on the assumption that they are repentant.

Secondly, members of the armed forces seem not to have given deserved attention to intelligence gathering. The attacks on settlements by the terrorist take time to plan. If our armed forces are proactive enough, they would gather intelligence about these planned attacks on time and forestall them before they happen.

Thirdly, there is the issue of corruption. Some people within the government and the armed forces seem to be benefitting from this war against terror and would not want it to end. Every year since the coming of the APC regime, trillions of Naira are budgeted for security. But, while Nigerians are being slaughtered on daily basis by the dare-devil terrorists, some drones are feeding fat on our defense budget. And closely related to the above is the issue lack of political will. It seems that the government of the day did not want to fight insecurity. There have been rumors and stories about terrorism sponsors and financiers and yet none have been arrested or tried for terrorism. And it is not known that anybody have ever faced trial for terrorism.

Furthermore, we have the issue of misplaced priority. The current regime in Nigeria clearly did not know what the priority of the citizens is. The government has exhibited ineptitude and gross irresponsibility in its decisions and actions leading to deterioration in many aspect of national life. The president’s priority is to decimate the opposition, ensconced himself permanently in office and reign like an emperor; whatever else happens is not his business. He is not bothered about his campaign promises or the wellbeing of the citizens that he has sworn on oath to protect. He is fixated about the next election.

Finally and the major reason for this insecurity and failure of governance in Nigeria is traceable to the peoples’ inability to hold their leaders accountable. The citizens apparently do not know their rights and civil obligations nor the power they possess. There is no unity among the people and no voice to sensitize the citizens about their rights. Moreover, the citizens are divided along religious and ethnic lines and so cannot speak with one voice. Were it not so, there would have been serious uprising that would have forced the government to act or resign. When I watched the video footage of the American missionary accusing Tinubu of negligence while the Nigeria activists kept mute it reminds me that Nigerians don’t know their responsibilities in a democratic government. Nigeria wake up; take back your country before it is too late.

Hajia Hadiza Mohammed 

hajiahadizamohammed@gmail.com

An actress, social activist, politician

London, UK