Peace, gruesomely undermined

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) had organized a conference it called “Arewa Conference on Peace and Unity” which held between 5-6 of December at Kaduna ’s Murtala Square . The build-up to the conference was quite commendable, with the organizers tirelessly visiting important personalities from the North to solicit moral, political and of course financial […]

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) had organized a conference it called “Arewa Conference on Peace and Unity” which held between 5-6 of December at Kaduna ’s Murtala Square . The build-up to the conference was quite commendable, with the organizers tirelessly visiting important personalities from the North to solicit moral, political and of course financial support. Although the extent of the financial support they received was not declared, it was apparent that everything the organizers wanted, they got; because politically speaking, the conference was a huge success. The media coverage, particularly by those with wide acceptability in the region was very patriotic; so was attendance, because among the first four citizens of the nation, only President Goodluck Jonathan was absent. Meaning that Vice President Namadi Sambo, Senate President David Mark and House Speaker Aminu Tambuwal were all present in person. At least seven state governors turned up, those who couldn’t sent their deputies to represent them. I wish I was there myself, but having just returned from a rigorous trip I had to be contented with following the conference proceedings through the media; that was how I came to the conclusion that the region’s media performed excellently.

In terms of substance though, it will take a little while to gauge the actual success of the conference. This is because at the end of the conference certain committees that are to monitor the implementation of the resolutions reached were raised; and it would be grossly unfair to begin to assess them after only a few days. But certain things about the conference can be, have in fact been, assessed by those who attended the conference from beginning to the end. Just after the conference, one of such participants had phoned me and angrily demanded to know what I thought of the “shameful behavior” that some of our leaders exhibited at the conference. Maybe some of them had exchanged blows, I thought hopefully, because if they were passionate enough to go that far (as some of them once did over the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives), that would mean we are closer to a solution than we thought. But no such luck; the shameful behavior my friend was referring to was that almost all the important personalities that showed up promptly left the venue right after the opening razzmatazz. Almost? Actually my informant said all of them left except Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko of Sokoto State and a couple of deputy governors. “The only people that hung around were ex this and former that”.

Too bad if that was a correct representation of what happened; and it had to be too because this version was corroborated by three other reliable eye witnesses. One of the Guest Speakers Professor Elias Elaigwu, actually confirmed this when he bitterly complained that it was pointless to say anything since those with authority to effect the necessary actions had already left. Thus this was the first stage at which the fundamental objective of the conference was undermined. Pre-conference critics who had dismissed it as just another talk shop with or without a hidden agenda were given additional reason to feel vindicated.  But more was to come.

And it came by way of a very unpardonable omission or commission by the entire officials of the conference. Before the conference, ACF had explained that it could not invite Boko Haram because nobody knew where to send the invitation card to. Fair enough; but aside Boko Haram the bulk of the violence in the region was executed through the manipulation of a very volatile section of the northern population—the youth—which constitute more than 70% of the region’s population. For some inexcusable reason this critical section of the society was not officially represented. But a number of youth organizations were present nonetheless; their anger was that none of them was recognized to contribute to the search for peace, despite making every effort to be so recognized.

At the risk of sounding presumptuous, the ACF really could have done with a little bit more imagination in the way it encapsulated how peace can be restored in the region. The lethal weapons that were used to terrorize the region over the years were indeed far away from the venue of that conference. Most of them were under the age of 30, many below 20 and a good majority was in fact teenagers.  They didn’t wear well-starched agbada or drove beautiful cars. Most of them hawk ‘pure water’ or operate commercial motorcycles; that is if they did anything at all. And yet nobody thought it appropriate to include a modest representation of those groups; representatives of the Nigerian film industry in the North (popularly called Kannywood), Achaba (motorcycle riders) association, pure water vendors association etc could definitely have provided the kind of insight no one else could have provided. If ACF didn’t know where to find Boko Haram, they could have found these other equally active human bombs in great numbers around the ‘ori-akpata’ area where last Wednesday’s explosion happened.

Curiously, ACF itself actually admitted in its communiqué the necessity for engaging the youth if the region is to have lasting peace; item eight of its 14-point communiqué for instance states: “The Conference viewed the high level of frustrations among the youth due to widespread unemployment and lack of opportunities for advancement…”

But it is not too late; if the ACF still has some resources left, it must convene a special youth summit with the same theme and begin an honest, open dialogue with the youth. As it is the feelings out there among the youth is that the same people that destroyed their future; who wouldn’t allow them to grow; who narrowed opportunities to include only their immediate family members; whose children are studying in various institutions outside the country; who are endlessly recycled and ‘re-recycled’ in government; are now trying to find solutions in a vacuum.

…ASK THE SENATE PRESIDENT

At the same ACF conference, the wily President of the Nigerian Senate, David Mark, had asked a very interesting question (before he hurriedly left of course). Senator Mark had asked why northern leaders are not speaking out and condemning the activities of Boko Haram. Since this question does not apply to me in the least, I shall allow those affected to speak for themselves.

But it is appropriate to ask the Senate President a few pertinent questions as well: How many times has he visited Maiduguri in the last 12 months? Did he visit Damaturu last month to commiserate with the relatives of the 140 people, most them uniformed men and women (and him being a retired General and all) that lost their lives there? Is the Senate president aware that his native Benue state is fast catching up with violence-prone states such as Plateau, Kaduna and Bauchi? How many press conferences has he held in Makurdi, the Benue State capital condemning the violence? But the Senate President need not bother to answer any of those questions; in a free country such as our own, where might is right, people have right to be afraid if they want to. And they also have a right to decline to answer any question that may be used against them.