An array of tribal affiliations, conflicting ideologies, commercial interests and religious dogmas compete for the hearts of Nigerians, with deadly consequences, writes Gamal Nkrumah The religious fundamentalists -- both Christian and Muslim -- are overplaying their hands in Nigerian frail multi- party democracy. The fundamentalist drive to escalate tensions over religious rights is all the more foolhardy given the long-term trend in democracy's direction. Be that as it may, things in Nigeria are not going according to script. That script, traditionally somewhat uninspiring, must now be torn up. The chief reason is that the authorities in Nigeria have demonstrated the weakness of their writ beyond the country's capital Abuja. Sorely needed now is a revamped strategy on the ground for dealing with sectarian strife, rampant corruption, abject poverty, underdevelopment and unemployment. Nigeria's religious bigots may have failed to derail multi-party democracy, but the irony is that the successive democratically elected governments of the country may be doing the work of the zealots for them. The downsides of Nigerian democracy are legion. Ethnic divisions are entrenched and religious rivalries exacerbated. There are moments when religious zealots systematically slay people of other faiths. Invariably there are social, political and economic implications and underlying root causes beneath the thin veneer of a religious crusade or jihad. In Nigeria's case, there has also been a complete disregard for accountability and a deep-seated dread of bringing the criminals to book. The underlying problem is the cultural clash on the border between north and south Nigeria, the huge swathe of rugged savannah in northern Nigeria that borders the southern equatorial regions of the country -- the so-called Middle Belt. This is the country's chief political fault-line. Geographically the Middle Belt is an extension of northern Nigeria, but it borders the south and its inhabitants are not overwhelmingly Muslim as in the 12 northermost Nigerian states that have promulgated Islamic Sharia law. The Middle Belt is rather more mixed in ethnic and religious composition. The fundamentalists have in vain been trying hard to gather endorsement from the disparate groups. From time to time, however, they succeed in unleashing a tit-for-tat bout of sectarian violence and counter-violence. Hundreds of innocent civilians have been hacked to death. The latest count puts the figure at a staggering 600 in mainly Christian villages, though this is hardly the first time. Sectarian violence in September 2001 claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people, and 700 in 2004. Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang, a Christian who leads the Christian- controlled state government, is accused of failing to come to the rescue of his co-religionists in Zot and Dogo-Nahawa. "This kind of terrible violence has left thousands dead in Plateau State in the past decade, but no one has been held accountable," Corinne Dufka of the New York-based Human Rights Watch observed. "Clearly previous efforts to tackle the underlying causes have been inadequate, and in the meantime the wounds have festered and grown deeper." "It's time to draw a line in the sand," added Dufka. Even though marauding Muslim bandits have been condemnation, Nigeria's Police Minister Ibrahim Lame courageously ducked the issue, accusing his own police officers of perpetrating violence, human rights violations and extra- judicial killings. He pin-pointed Nigeria's rampant corruption and culture of police brutality as the real culprit. In short, the security situation in Nigeria is as fraught as ever. Riots periodically break out and curfews are imposed. Nigeria's ruling People's Democratic Party condemned the massacre, but many human rights organisations suspect official complicity. The international community expressed shock and grave concern. "I appeal to all concerned to exercise maximum constraint," United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon mouthed in a statement on Nigeria in New York. "I am deeply concerned that there has been more inter-religious violence, with appalling loss of life." Like other international political figures he insinuated that the Nigerian government was not handling the matter correctly. "Nigeria's political and religious leaders should work together to address the underlying causes and to achieve a permanent solution to the crisis," the UN chief stressed. United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton concurred. "The Nigerian government should make sure the perpetrators are brought to justice under the rule of law and that human rights are respected as order is restored," Clinton noted. "We continue to urge all parties to exercise restraint." Though Nigeria is one of the world's most important exporters of natural gas and oil, yet most of its people are subsistence farmers and landless peasants living on less than $2 a day. Crime and unemployment are rising sharply. Violent confessional fighting between Christians and Muslims has hit the headlines. There are those who believe that the violence is not as bloody as before in spite of continuing bloodshed. Yet, not all in gloom in Nigeria. The economy is booming and for all its travails, the country is experiencing a vibrant democratic process. In the deep southern oil-producing Niger Delta, a tentative peace is in place between government, the oil extractors and the aggrieved indigenous people. Even if the religious crisis is deepening Nigeria's north- south divide, it is drawing attention away from the far more critical crises facing the country. Needless to say prolonged political instability and paralysis threatens to derail Nigerian nascent democracy. Underpinning the Nigerian military's reluctance to go after the militant Islamists, deflecting blame onto the militant Islamists for their own failures, is the fact that its upper echelons are dominated by Muslim northerners. The pressures are mounting for bed-ridden Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua to officially step down. That leaves power in the hands of Acting President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian southerner from the Niger Delta. The army, to give the incapacitated president his due, seems reluctant to accept such a proposition. And, while the military are reluctant to see the country run by a Christian southerner, they seem seriously committed to crushing the militant Islamist insurgency. What is happening in the Plateau State capital Jos is not in the interest of the people of either the Middle Belt or of Nigeria as a whole.
