KADUNA STATE ASKS FOR MORE SOLDIERS

          While receiving the House of Representatives Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, the Deputy Governor of Kaduna State Alhaji Mukhtar Ramalan Yero appealed to the federal government to build additional military and police barracks in the southern part of the State in order to beef up security in the area. The State government specifically appealed for mobile police barracks across the state, but particularly in the South, where it takes securitymen hours to get to places of crises, as a result of which casualties tend to be high. The Deputy Governor lamented the high cost of maintaining security in the state since the post-election violence in April and May, and subsequent crises in the southern part of the State. He appealed to the federal government to devise measures to assist states which have security challenges.

          The security situation in Kaduna State should indeed be a major source of concern for the nation, and specifically for its citizens. The state is quite possibly the most strategic in security and political terms, so much so that it used to be said that when Kaduna sneezes, Nigeria catches cold. In spite of the seeming shift of political power away from the north and its current relative weakness in the federal arrangement, Kaduna State remains a major nerve center for the nation’s politics. It is the old battleground and the frontline for the many conflicts between christians and muslims. Many of the ethno-regious crises, including the last election-related violence, started from Kaduna State and spread to other parts of the country . It is the historic base of the leaders of all the major sects in Islam, and northern Christians see events and developments in Kaduna State as the yardstick by which to measure their success in the perennial fight for ascendancy against muslims.

          The State links the north substantially with the South, so conflicts in and around Kaduna tend to tense up the entire region and the nation. It is home to just about every Nigerian community; so Nigerians everywhere tend to have an intense interest in what happens in Kaduna State. The state  accommodates almost the entire training capacity of the armed forces, as well as strategic facilities for the nation’s defence. It is home to the cream of the northern political and economic elite, or what is left of it; and northerners see it with nostalgia as the spiritual headquarters of the old north.

          Yet this state is quite literally a battleground. Its citizens have fought so many battles against each other that they now live largely in segregated areas. Kaduna city is basically segregated in residential terms, with majority of muslims in Kaduna North, and christians in Kaduna South. In times of crises, people are slaughtered in each section literally for their faith alone. The southern part of the state is dotted and occupied by many security checkpoints; yet villagers are shot and killed or injured with alarming frequency. During the election-related conflicts, hundreds of people were massacred in Zonkwa, Matsirga, Kafanchan and suburbs of Kaduna. Kafanchan, the largest town in the region has now been economically crippled, and much of it burnt down during recurring crises. A drive through the southern Kaduna region will scare even the bravest, owing to the visible presence of security personnel on roads and around towns. Yet the citizens of the towns and villages live with the fear of night attacks. They frequently protest for their pound of flesh from the people they suspect attack them in their sleep, and they insist that these are Fulani. They are frustrated that the security agents and the law are unable to protect them. The Fulani community are also frightened that they are being scapegoated, and they also live in fear of being attacked by every community they come across, or live with.

          On the very day the Deputy Governor made the case for more barracks for soldiers and mobile Policemen, text messages went out to tens of thousands of people warning them not to travel to or from Abuja through Gonin Gora in Kaduna because people were being killed there. This was not the first time this type of message was sent to the public, and its effect set panic among the population. It was, as was the earlier message, a hoax, presumable sent by people who recognize that in a state of general insecurity, it is easy to spread rumours and get people to react with fear and panic.

          The people of Kaduna State do not feel safe or secure, but it will require a lot more than the construction of military and police barracks to give them the levels of safety and security they desire and deserve. By all means, the federal government should assist Kaduna State with funding for security operations, and construction of accommodation for personnel in areas of need it also needs help to resettle its refugees from the last conflict. But peace is more than just the absence of conflict. Soldiers and policemen may keep the peace during conflicts, or discourage those who want to keep  the levels of tension as high as it is. Real and sustainable peace however can only be attained if the communities are willing to work towards them. At this stage, the initial and exploratory discussions going on between the communities should be encouraged and sustained. Traditional rulers and the clergy in the area need to consult and engage young people and women in their communities towards establishing frameworks and building bridges for peace. The elite from southern Kaduna are vital in terms of manner the issues are discussed and resolved in Southern Kaduna communities, and it is also important that their inputs are sought for in all-embracing discussions. The government of Patrick Yakowa is being blamed for much of the laxity of the security in villages. In many respects, this is unfair to the Governor and his administration. True, it does appear that the sheer magnitude of the breakdown of law and order and trust among the communities and the resultant rise in prolonged tension is overwhelming the government of Kaduna State. But it has no option than the continuous encouragement of the communities to find lasting peace. It must regain the confidence of its communities, all of which blame it for its woes. Building barracks will give some confidence that citizens are safe, but building sustainable security and peace must involve difficult, yet potentially productive steps towards getting all the communities to engage each other in serious discussions about their own peace and security. Everyone in Kaduna State is hostage to its insecurity, and Nigeria will be only as safe and secure as citizens are in Kaduna, Jos Borno, Yobe and Bauchi. Building barracks may discourage fights; but building peace in hearts and minds will eliminate the reasons for the fight.