Uromi, Plateau and the rise of heroic Nigerians

The Vanguard newspaper of March 31, 2025 (Online) reported an interesting development where the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) condemned the killing of 16 people in Uromi, in strong terms, and demanded for justice for the victims. This is against the run of play in Nigeria because all […]

The Vanguard newspaper of March 31, 2025 (Online) reported an interesting development where the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) condemned the killing of 16 people in Uromi, in strong terms, and demanded for justice for the victims. This is against the run of play in Nigeria because all the victims were Muslims. The president of CAN, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, was quoted as saying:

“A few days ago, 16 hunters traveling from Port Harcourt to Kano to mark the Eid-el-Fitr were brutally murdered by a mob in Uromi, Edo State.

“Misplaced for kidnappers due to the traditional hunting tools they carried, these innocent men suffered a horrific fate – beaten and burned alive in an act of mob violence, denied any chance of due process.

“This extrajudicial killing is a violation of human rights and a chilling reminder of the dangers of lawlessness.

“We extend our deepest sympathy to the families of the hunters, who now mourn the loss of their loved ones fallen in such a senseless and brutal manner.”

“The government must act decisively to address these failures and ensure justice is served. Specifically, we call on the government to conduct a thorough investigation into the killing of the 16 hunters and to ensure the perpetrators face justice.”

Interestingly, all those who matter in the state, especially the governor, Monday Okpebholo, demonstrated excellent leadership in crisis situation. For example, in his column of Thisday, April 3, 2025, Segun Adeniyi quoted the Uromi Elders, operating under Esan Descendants Assembly, in a statement signed by its chairman, Professor G. R. A. Okogun, as saying:

“To the families of the slain, to the communities from which they come, to the states that raised them, and to the nation whose conscience has been wounded, we offer our deepest sorrow. We do not apologise out of politeness, but from the pain of brotherhood. No man deserves to be judged by fire. No mother should receive her child in ashes”

Horrible as the Uromi carnage is, there are two consolations: First, they were not killed because they were Muslims, Hausa, or Northerners. It was a case of jungle justice which is purely a criminal act based on a loss of confidence in the criminal justice system.

If the people of Uromi were looking for people purely on the basis of such identities, they wouldn’t have gone to the highway because there have been such people in their midst. But they didn’t attack them. In fact, one of them said that his parents came to Uromi over 70 years ago. He was born there and has children but they never had any ethnic or religious conflict in the area.

Secondly, Nigerians rose in condemnation of the barbaric killings both in Uromi and Plateau State. What is left is for the criminals to be identified and punished for the gruesome murder while families of the victims are adequately compensated. Also, the government must wake up to its responsibility of protecting lives and property in the country.

In a related development, commenting on the recent killings of over 60 people in Bokkos, Plateau State, the Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), 19 Northern States and FCT, Revered Joseph Hayab, told Channels Television in an interview posted on YouTube on or about April 8, 2025, that:

“But as someone who has been around and I understand some of these things very well, I sometimes downplay the religious angle because it’s a diversion. It’s deliberately to divert attention, because a criminal will want to hit on Christians so that, hey, it is Christian versus Muslim. But there are many other Muslims who are suffering because of the attitude of the criminal. Or the criminal will hit the Muslim — ah, it is Muslim versus Christian. But there are other Christians who are suffering, but the criminal is having a field day.

“And when we concentrate on this religious angle too much, we divert attention from hitting the criminal, or going after the criminal. I quite agree that the criminals use religious cover. They use tribal cover. But they are criminals. And unless we say that, that’s when we can now come together — Christians and Muslims and everybody — to chase them out, to fight them.

“But you see, this overuse of identity further divides the people so that the criminals will have a field day. Because if they meet a Muslim on the road, they’re going to kill him. But they do come with a religious identity. And I ask this question: are they truly religious? Do they represent the faith they claim to? And you would agree with me that they don’t.”

For me, Nigerian heroes are those who put humanity first by making compromises to promote peace, reconciliation, the rule of law and national development. The support of Nigerians to the liberation struggles in Southern Africa is a good example of putting humanity first before any other thing. But if we can contribute human and material resources to liberate the countries despite our religious differences, why can’t we do it for ourselves? Of course, any idiot can be angry and resort to violence, but the strong is the person who controls his anger, forgives and empathises especially with the weak.

Unfortunately, some people are ignoring the voices of reason and embracing the words of ethnic and regional merchants who have excelled in grandstanding for selfish interests.

It is surprising that the more God saves Nigeria, the more some Nigerians are determined to destroy the country. For example, imagine what would have happened if Senator Natasha Akpoti and Oby Ezekwesili were Muslim women humiliated by Christian senators. But Natasha and Senate President Akpabio are Christians, Ezekwesili and Senator Nwaebonyi, who is accused of insulting her, are not only Christians but also from the same ethnic Igbo. It would have been a protracted religious war by many Nigerians who are very religious but extremely unGodly.

Nigeria has championed the interests of oppressed people, as we have argued. Unfortunately, such beneficiaries of Nigeria’s benevolence, and many others, are more interested in rubbishing the country as a centre of financial crimes. But it is worse that many Nigerians have also been rubbishing the country to the delight of their pay masters.

For example, Nigerians are the only people in the world who leave their country in large numbers and make it a full-time job to rubbish the country and insult the citizens they left behind. Well, they need our sympathy because they are victims of a grand design to destroy the country. It is sad that rather than emphasising their humanity, some Nigerians are more interested in defending people on the basis of ethnicity or religion, even if the people they are defending are wrong.

Nigeria is fragile because it is at the mercy of many countries. The citizens largely look up to foreign countries where they have domiciled their loyalty. Such countries include the United Kingdom, the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Iran. It is not unusual to find Nigerians rushing to the American Congress, British Parliament or foreign embassies requesting them to intervene in the affairs of the country.

This is why Nigeria is so fragile that Saudi Arabia, for example, can sabotage any Nigerian leader by announcing that Nigerians will not be allowed into the country for Hajj until their leaders stop conspiring with the Zionists to destroy the two holy mosques. Who will care about evidence or proof?

Be that as it may, Nigeria will continue to be a member of the United Nations, and a power in Africa. For those of us who have resolved not to accept artificial identity and passport from any country, there is no alternative but to rise up against injustice no matter who is involved.

Northern elites must rise up to the historic role of elites. Lives must matter in all parts of the country. I believe in justice because as Sheikh Usman Danfodio said, a society can survive without faith but not without justice. Therefore, unless it is made a policy that an attack on one Northerner is an attack on all Northerners, as Sardauna and his associates insisted, nobody will take the region seriously.

Fortunately, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, is leading the way, when he said recently, as reported by the Daily Trust of Wednesday 2, April 2025 (online), that: “In Sokoto, we don’t have non-indigenes, but rather members of the resident communities”.

Also, the Daily Trust of April 16, 2025 (online) reported the Sultan as saying, at the Northern Traditional Rulers Council Conference in Maiduguri, that:

“Our coming together as traditional rulers in the North, I believe we have more than 86 in the North. We will speak with one voice to say “enough is enough” of this senseless killing of innocent people across the North and across the country.

“We have released so many statements of condemnation, but how many times do we need to condemn these killings before our political leaders and security agencies stop or reduce the insecurity in the country to the barest minimum.”

Of course, as we know, the Qur’an is very explicit on this:

“O believers! Stand firm for justice as witnesses for Allah even if it is against yourselves, your parents, or close relatives. Be they rich or poor, Allah is best to ensure their interests. So do not let your desires cause you to deviate from justice. If you distort the testimony or refuse to give it, then know that Allah is certainly All-Aware of what you do.” Qur’an 4:135

But we must be honest with ourselves on insecurity in the country. For example, when some people in Plateau State adopted a policy of blocking major roads, killing innocent people and throwing them and their vehicles in deep ponds because of their ethnic and religious identities, including General Alkali, there was a conspiracy of silence. Alkali’s case is still in court in Jos.

Also, Honourable Yusuf Gagdi, revealed in an interview with Channels Television on April 16, 2025, that some months ago, 147 people were killed in his Kanem constituency of the same Plateau State, out of which three were Christians and 144 were Muslims. To the best of my knowledge, this massacre did not attract attention because, for some people, it is only news when their favourites are attacked.

Finally, it is important to understand that even if all Nigerians are killed, the geographical area or entity called Nigeria will remain, and cannot be moved to East or Central Africa. Also, some people will occupy our “papa’s land”, and we will not be here to ask, “Who owns this land?”

 

Dikko resides in Abuja