ACF, CAN Condemn Crisis
From Madu Onuorah (Abuja), Isa Abdulsalami (Jos) and Saxone Akhaine (Kaduna)
PRESIDENT Umaru Yar'Adua has ordered the military to take full control of the situation in Bauchi where sectarian crisis has reportedly claimed no fewer than eight persons.
Special Adviser to the President (Media and Publicity), Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi said last night that immediately President Yar'Adua was briefed on the situation, he ordered the military to mobilise to contain the situation.
Meanwhile, to avert a spill over of the crisis into Plateau, the state government has put the security on alert, particularly in Jos.
And the Arewa Consultative Forum and the Christian Association of Nigeria (Northern States and Abuja) have condemned the Bauchi mayhem and called for a return to peace there.
According to Adeniyi, "the situation in Bauchi has been contained. The President was the first to be briefed on what happened and he directed the military authority to complement the efforts of the Police to keep peace in the town.
"That is why soldiers quickly moved in, on the directive of the President. The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Division located in Jos has relocated to Bauchi immediately. And the problem is now localised.
"The President is satisfied with the efforts of the security agencies. But he, nonetheless, appeals for religious tolerance by all Nigerians."
The Plateau State government has put the Joint Security Task Force on red alert, following the conflict in Bauchi at the weekend.
The government, which addressed the press yesterday in Jos, said the measure became necessary in order to avoid a reprisal attack or the clash spreading into the state.
A source in Bauchi told The Guardian that no fewer than four churches were burnt in the clash, which started immediately after the Jumat prayers on Friday, occasioned by religious disagreements.
According to the source, it all started when two factions of the Izala faith, a Muslim group, clashed in the mosque at Railway Lowcost in Bauchi.
"There had been disagreement between the groups that worship in the same mosque in the area. Because of this disagreement, which started a long time ago, an agreement was reached, where one faction would use the mosque earlier and vacate it later for the other one to use.
"But on Friday, one of the groups changed its hours of worship. One group came as agreed earlier, but did not finish on time and refused to give way for the other to perform their Islamic rites too.
"Hot arguments ensured between the two Izala groups, which led to the burning of the mosque," the source said.
However, it disclosed that when other Islamic faithful, who came to worship in the mosque, removed their cars to the premises of a nearby church, the Christians refused their request to park in their premises.
"This led to a hot argument, which eventually led to setting the church ablaze," the source added.
The source said the burning of the church and that of the mosque gave an erroneous view that there was a fight between the Muslims and Christians; a situation, which led to the burning of more places of worship.
Though the situation is said to be under control, tension is still high.
And following the crisis in Bauchi, the Plateau State government immediately held a security meeting to adopt a motion that joint patrol meeting be held to allay fears of the citizens.
After the meeting at the Police Headquarters, Jos, yesterday, attended by the Head of Operations and Garrison Commander of the 3 Armoured Division, Jos, Col. Charles Ufoma Macaulay, the State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Edward Pwajok, the State Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adams Audu, the Joint Task Force doused the apprehension of the people, saying that their lives and property were safe.
Audu, who did not want to disclose what happened in Bauchi to journalists, likened the incidence to a power surge, which led to the burning in the places of worship.
Instead, the press briefing became necessary because of the rate of reported cases of fire out break, a situation, he said, might lead to public speculations and rumours.
Also addressing the press, Pwajok said that the power surge in Bauchi, which caused panic among the people, was the handiwork of saboteurs.
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the Christian Association (CAN) in the 19 northern states, yesterday condemned the religious violence in Bauchi State, describing the incident as a shame to the governors and religious leaders in the region.
The elders' body said the news of sectarian clashes resulting in loss of lives and property was condemnable, stressing that our creator has His reasons for allowing the existence of differences in faith and ethnicity.
The ACF Publicity Secretary, Mr. Anthony Sani, in a statement, pointed out that it was desecrating for ordinary mortals to think that "God or Allah is too weak to fight His cause; and as a result, people must help Him."
"ACF thus calls on the feuding parties to calm down and return peace to the affected areas in the interest of the peaceful coexistence that is a sine qua non for any socio-economic development of any society.
"Allah wants people He has created to love their differences and make the most of such differences."
The ACF commiserates with those who lost their loved ones and property, believing that God would provide the needed fortitude to endure the irreparable losses.
"Allah is also capable of returning lost properties many folds. Our God is Allah of peace, merciful and forgiven. Certainly not of violence," it said.
Spokesman of CAN (Northern States and Abuja), Revd Joseph Hayab, who fielded questions from journalists in Kaduna, expressed disappointment over the violence.
He said it was a shame that when other people were struggling to make progress and improve their condition, northerners are busy killing and destroying each other's property because of religion.
His words: "We are actually disappointed that despite all the development people are struggling to achieve in Nigeria, in the North, we have no other business than religious crisis.
"This is sincerely a disappointment; this is a proof of failure on the part of the governors in the 19 Northern States, and also religious leaders.
"Why must we continue to kill each other and destroy each other's property on the slightest provocation?
"Are we the only ones that have faith? Don't other people belong to a faith? Are there no people of other religions in other part of Nigeria? Are we serving God or we are using God to destroy the humanity that God created?"
He continued: "It is a shame on the northern governors and it is a shame on our politicians because they are manipulating religion and using it for their selfish end.
"The Christians in the North are not happy. We are northerners not because of our faith; we are northerners because we are part of this geographical location. So, people must learn to accept us."
