Kala-Kato crisis: How latest Bauchi incident erupted

The February crisis was said to have started manifesting two Fridays before then when a vehicle broke down along Railway Road necessitating vehicles and pedestrians to pass near the premises of a church, COCIN, situated along the road, which itself is just about 50 meters from a Juma’at mosque, Masjidul Quran mosque, situated along the […]

The February crisis was said to have started manifesting two Fridays before then when a vehicle broke down along Railway Road necessitating vehicles and pedestrians to pass near the premises of a church, COCIN, situated along the road, which itself is just about 50 meters from a Juma’at mosque, Masjidul Quran mosque, situated along the same road.

Weekly Trust gathered that when the vehicle broke down, both vehicular and pedestrian traffic shifted to a route that passes near the premises of the church while worshippers in the Juma’at mosque within two Fridays were compelled to park their vehicles near the premises of the church whose members objected to the parking. Some residents claimed that some youths had protested over what they saw as the Muslims’ ‘encroachment’ of their place of worship and tried to block the route, but security personnel were called in and stationed there to quell the crisis and did not leave the area until late in the evening. However, things got out of control when the next morning, a mosque was found burning.

Another crisis engulfed Bauchi metropolis in July of the same year when some youths believed to be members of a radical Islamic sect known as Boko Haram that abhors the western way of life struck leading to the death of over 50 people. Reports said members of the sect attacked the Dutsin Tanshi police station with locally-made weapons on a Sunday morning but were overpowered and most of them killed by security operatives. Muhammad Yusuf, the leader of the group, promised revenge in faraway Maiduguri, and a day after, they struck and hundreds of people perished, including the leader.

Then on Monday, December 28, 2009, another religious crisis erupted; this time around by members of a sect called Kala Kato, who are said to practise Islam but only based on the teachings of the Holy Qur’an and not the tradition or hadith of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). They were said not to recognise other Muslims as they do not pray along with them and refer to them as infidels.

According to the state Commissioner of Police, 28 people including the sect’s leader, Badamasi Sale, and a soldier were killed but it was later reported that the death toll rose to 70 and included underage children as confirmed by the presence of dead bodies seen at the state Specialist Hospital, Bauchi. The recent crisis left several people homeless and many others injured.

Reports obtained from residents of Zango where the crisis erupted have indicated that neighbours of the radical scholar had complained about his provocative statements to security operatives and other community leaders. Badamasi was said to have had his membership divided who later fought among themselves before security men intervened and were attacked, which led to their involvement out of self defence.

The recent crisis, which was the third in a year in the state capital, raised concerns among social commentators, religious leaders from all divide and other stakeholders. Questions are being asked as to why Bauchi is experiencing persistent religious crises and what should be done to check the situation.

According to a lecturer of sociology at the Tatari Ali Polytechnic, Bauchi, Musa Yakubu, the low level of awareness of both Muslim and Christian faithful on how to relate with people from within and outside their religions as well as high level of illiteracy are some of the factors responsible for the recurrent religious crises in Bauchi State and other parts of northern Nigeria.

He accused most adherents of the two major religions of not having clear understanding of the dictates of their faiths, yet go about practising at all cost. “Most of the people misunderstand the teachings of their religion. Most don’t even know their religion well enough but want to practise at all cost. The level of awareness of people on how to relate with those from within and outside their religions is very low. There is also low level of both western and religious education in this state. According to the 2006 census, of the more than four million people here, just about 30 per cent is literate.”

“Governments are most times insensitive to issues of security. Several times, there are visible signals indicating problems but government remains unprepared. In the case of the current crisis, Badamasi’s activities had been known and neighbours had been complaining but because he might have been serving as a ritual killer to some powerful politicians, he was allowed unchecked.”

He said the way out was to ensure that all religious leaders, preachers and scholars were adequately investigated and registered by government while complaints of residents on the activities of their neighbours should be promptly and thoroughly investigated while land should not be made available to people to erect residences or religious structures without proper investigation into their backgrounds.

A Bauchi-based Islamic scholar, Uztaz Mustapha Baba Ilelah, also agrees that lack of proper knowledge of their religions contributes to the emergence of sects and the assumption by the sect members that they are the ones that are right while others are not.

“Most of them lack the proper understanding of the chapters and verses of the Holy Qur’an. Everyone depends on his own understanding and is not ready to listen to others, which is why we have sects springing up. And because our youths are idle, they become readily vulnerable and fall into wrong hands,” he said.

On his own part, Pastor Joshua Maina of ECWA Church Federal Low Cost in Bauchi said the persistent religious crises in the state capital are partly due to the collapse of the traditional system in the emirate, laxity on the part of the security apparatus and government and politicians’ lacklustre attitude to issues of security.

“In my own opinion, the major reason for the incessant religious crises in Bauchi is the collapse of the traditional system. Throughout the recent crisis, no action was taken by the Bauchi Emirate. In the past, before any building gets erected, a church or mosque, the mai-anguwa is consulted. But they now don’t seem to care. They have surrendered everything to government, maybe because government no longer gives them proper recognition.

“Our security system is also poor. Sometimes, we wonder if our security men have our interest at heart. If the security operatives will live to their responsibility, no such crises would occur. Some of our religious leaders are also to blame. Their utterances and sermons are provocative. In the past, Christians and Muslims were like brothers and sisters in the North. My immediate younger brother died a Muslim.

“He was the first to convert to Islam in my family and he built a mosque in front of our house without anybody objecting. Religious leaders should be more responsible and stop inciting their members against others,” he said.

“The government and politicians are the custodians of the security of lives and properties of the people, but we’ve discovered that they use these happenings to advance their own selfish interests.

“I think that is why the state governor, Malam Isa Yuguda, insists that the crises were politically motivated. Politicians use religion to foment trouble for their opponents. They will not want the youths to be self-reliant because they want to continue to use them during political campaigns.”

A community leader who did not want to be identified blamed the whole thing on government, saying it refuses to accord the traditional system the recognition it deserves and the powers to intervene thoroughly in such situations. He also said politics has made it impossible for government to react positively and objectively to most issues.

“I am a community leader, but nowadays, we stand by the side and watch things happening. We really know what is happening, but if one is not cautious, he may be branded a member of the opposition, and before you know it, you are rubbished by one insignificant politician in your area. OK, somebody that I know is not good came to stay in my area and I tried to stop him. What happens if he knows my councillor? Before you know it, he will meet the councillor and paint me black, saying I don’t like him.”

The community leader was of the view that if government seriously wants to check cases of religious crises, it must have confidence in the mai-anguwa and other community leaders because they are the ones who are really close to the people and almost know every resident and members of his family by name.