By Emeka Alex Duru—
It shouldn’t have taken exceptional insight for anyone following events in Jos, the Plateau State capital, to recognise the growing tension. A three-day visit to the state last September was all it took for me to conclude that Jos, the ‘Tin City’ I once knew, had lost its peace and had, in fact, become a powder keg waiting to explode.
By what felt like a series of unfortunate coincidences, everything I remembered about Jos had changed. The usually pleasant climate typically associated with September had given way to oppressive heat. The characteristic smiles of residents, even amidst poverty, and the sense of community amongst its diverse cultures and languages, had vanished. In their place were hostile expressions, simmering anger, and barely concealed animosity directed at everyone and no one in particular.
A drive around the city confirmed my suspicions. In some areas, the rubble of buildings torched during previous unrest offered disturbing sights. Even inside commercial buses, which usually provide a space for social interaction, a palpable mistrust prevailed. There was no friendly banter, no shared conversation. Everyone kept to themselves. The message was clear: Jos, the city I knew and loved, was in ruins, and its people were suffering.
Only someone who had experienced Jos in its days of innocence and harmony could truly appreciate the extent of the damage it has suffered at the hands of ruthless individuals, with little tangible support from the government. I once recounted my first encounter with Jos in this publication. I was in the city for a postgraduate programme at the University of Jos (UNIJOS) in the early 1990s. Before then, I had longed to visit Plateau State. Growing up, my parents, particularly my mother, shared stories of the beauty and serenity of Jos. Our family lived there during our early childhood before being forced to leave following the crisis and pogroms of 1966, which ultimately escalated into the civil war.
Those stories fuelled my imagination and my desire to visit Plateau. During my time at UNIJOS between 1991 and 1993, I discovered the beauty and tranquillity of the place. The unique Jos weather, relatively low cost of living, peaceful environment, and sense of camaraderie amongst the residents were unparalleled anywhere else in the country. It was in Jos that I first saw churches and mosques sharing compounds or separated only by thin walls.
Angwan Rogo, where I lived with other students, was behind the University and predominantly Muslim. But it didn’t matter. During festivals, whether Christian or Muslim, we were often gifted food by generous members of the celebrating faith. To my knowledge, no one in the neighbourhood was discriminated against or attacked based on their religion, sect, or ethnicity. It was no accident that we proudly referred to UNIJOS as a ‘mini-Nigeria’ – an institution where many students lived in peace, with no single group dominating the others.
Sadly, those days are gone. The ‘Tin City’ has lost its charm and beauty. Violence and intolerance have taken hold. It was so severe that when I visited Jos last September, I learned of the existence of metaphorical ‘Walls of Jericho’ dividing residents along religious lines. Even without official statements, certain parts of the city were predominantly inhabited by Muslims, while Christians had their own areas.
It was particularly distressing that a friend, whom I asked to take me to my former residence in Angwan Rogo, bluntly refused, advising me against the trip, which he deemed too risky. This spoke volumes about how drastically things had deteriorated. This is the grim reality of Jos and the wider Plateau State – a damning indictment of state failure and the irresponsibility of successive leaders at both state and national levels.
The terrorist attack on the capital city on Palm Sunday, March 29th, in which over 30 residents were killed, was therefore unsurprising. It was, rather, a consequence of the disharmony within the city, a spillover of unmanaged tension, and the mismanagement of the already precarious security situation. In other words, it was an accident waiting to happen.
The lack of preventative measures and effective management was evident in the lacklustre response from the state and federal governments as the city descended into chaos. Neither Governor Caleb Mutfwang nor President Bola Tinubu promptly stepped up to reassure the people of their protection.
It took considerable effort for the governor to dismount from an armoured car to address the public directly. For Tinubu, a visit to the city was limited to Yakubu Gowon (Heipang) Airport. This is consistent with the recurring failures that have plagued the ongoing crisis in Jos. It follows a pattern of initial assurances to investigate the root causes of the problem, followed by inaction. This cycle of neglect did not begin with the recent Palm Sunday tragedy and is unlikely to end with it.
For over 30 years, Jos has endured repeated crises that have eroded the peace and tranquillity it was once known for. During this period, both the Federal and Plateau State governments have established six Commissions of Inquiry to investigate the various crises. These included the Justice J. Aribiton Fiberesima Commission of 1994, established by the then Military Administrator of the State, Lt. Col. Mohammed Maina, to investigate the riots that erupted on April 12, 1994, over the appointment of a Hausa-Fulani person as the chairman of Jos North Local Government Area – a position contested by the indigenous Berom, Anaguta, and Jarawa ethnic groups.
A violent outbreak on September 7, 2001, resulting in hundreds of deaths and widespread destruction of property and places of worship, led to the establishment of the Justice Niki Tobi Commission by Governor Joshua Dariye. Another crisis in 2009 prompted the establishment of the Justice Bola Ajibola (SAN) Commission by Governor Jonah Jang.
The Ajibola panel criticised the creation of Jos North Local Government Area by former Military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd.). It is recommended that the present Jos North LGA be re-delineated into three sustainable local governments with an equitable number of wards within each.
Unfortunately, the reports of these commissions were never published, fully debated, or translated into action. It was a case of all talk and no action. More than any other failing, the non-implementation of the commissions’ findings seems to exacerbate impunity and encourage further attacks on innocent citizens in Jos.
Tinubu’s perfunctory visit to Heipang Airport and the empty threat of bringing the perpetrators to justice will do little to stem the tide of violence. Nor will Governor Mutfwang’s tentative approach to joining President Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress (APC) be enough to deter the murderous marauders.
Rescuing Jos from its continued decline and alleviating the suffering of its people requires more than token gestures from President Tinubu and Governor Mutfwang. It demands strategic thinking, the political will to address the root causes of the recurrent violence, and decisive action against those responsible for the bloodshed and their sponsors. Until such measures are taken, Jos and other cities in Plateau State will continue to suffer, while leaders stand by helplessly.
*Duru, PhD is the Editor, TheNiche Newspapers, Lagos. 08054103327, (nwaukpala@yahoo.com)
