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| Rev. Samuel Doro. Source: Samuel Doro |
The security situation in Nigeria has reached a frightening dimension, complicated
by sectarian wars, banditry, kidnapping and outright assassinations. While
these are happening, the federal government of Nigeria doesn’t seem to worry much about the situation, further adding insult to injury. The News Tower Magazine
decided to visit the Executive Director of the Centre for Peace Advancement in
Nigeria, CEPAN, Reverend Solomon Doro, here in Jos.
Doro cites impunity, systemic corruption, widespread
crimes and a complacent police force as some reasons why security in Nigeria
has worsened. There is also the loss of faith in the ability of the
authorities. When this happens, people take laws into their hands.
Rev. Doro gave details of how religion has played a role
in the deteriorating security situation in the country. He cites an example of
Jos, where religion has been at the centre of the conflict over the years. He
also cites Boko Haram, a religious group that wishes to topple the Nigerian
government and set up an Islamic state. There is the Shi’a Muslims issue that
has made its contribution to the deterioration of peace in Nigeria.
Doro noted that, while government officials are supposed
to work towards ensuring the separation of religion and state as the
constitution requires, they are the ones complicating matters. Instances,
according to Doro, include the use of state funds to finance pilgrimages to
Jerusalem and Mecca. There is also the purchase of rice and rams to be shared
to adherents during the Eid, not forgetting millions spent to feed people
during Ramadan. There are also chapels and mosques built within state houses
using state funds. While these happen, the state’s anti-corruption agencies
look the other way. The Nigerian law allows freedom of religious worship but
frowns at the use of state funds to help advance any religion.
Some Nigerians have advocated the creation of state
police at the second tier of government since state governors claim they do not
have any powers over the federal police. The situation leaves them emasculated
on security matters within their jurisdictions. Doro says the idea seems
attractive but could turn out disastrous. Nigerian authorities, he says, have a
history of using anything at their disposal to fight the opposition. He cites
the instance of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission that targets
members of the opposition exclusively, despite tons of corrupt officials within
the ruling party with grave cases of corruption to answer.
Doro doesn’t support the government making laws that
allow gun ownership. Guns could help rural people to fight against night
attackers, but they will prove disastrous in the cities since there are still
distrusts among conflicting factions. And since some groups feel that some
security bodies are against them, this could lead to a deadly confrontation
with the security forces, making things messier.
On the roles of NGOs and government towards the spread of
peace, Doro explained that they are all supposed to work for peace, but the
government doesn’t see the meaning of peace the way the NGOs see it. When the
government talks about peace, it is talking about the suppression of violence
so that people can go about their normal activities. But when NGOs talk about
peace, they are looking at human security, which is a reference to good
governance. It is because when people live in peace it means that their needs
have been fully met. It boils down to good governance. The government forces
the people to live in peace, without looking at triggers of conflict. The NGOs
try to address the triggers, rather than wait for the conflicts to trigger.
Hence, they encourage governments to be embracing by bringing people together
to talk about their issues. NGOs, he says, source their finances from donors,
mostly abroad, without getting any help from the government at home. The
implication is that the home authorities are complacent in working towards the
creation of peace. Governments have security votes that never support NGOs
working for peace. Instead, the security votes are drain-pipes for stealing
state funds, since, by law, they are legal.
Doro explained that NGOs are facing challenges of folding
up because the reckless manner of handling state funds is giving international
donors reasons to believe that there is so much money in Nigeria. It is the
reason why they are withdrawing their financial supports to poorer nations.
Currently, the Government of the Netherland, USAID, the European Union (EU) and
the National Endowment for Democracy supports the activities of NGOs in Plateau
State. The conflicts in Plateau State had attracted donors, but when Boko Haram
insurgency broke out, most of these donors moved to the Northeast corner of the
country. In Plateau State, however, NGOs feel that building peace works better
when there is relative peace, as it is the right time to get the attention of
the people. Plateau State, he says, haven’t reached that point when lasting
peace has finally come. It is because there hasn’t been reconciliation yet –no
one has come to admit atrocities he had committed and no one has come to pardon
persons who committed crimes against them. You still see segregation in
schools, markets and living quarters. The farmers-herders conflict has emerged
in the villages, and it is getting very complicated. So, Plateau State still
has a marathon to run.
According to Doro, one challenge local NGOs are going to
face currently is that many of them are likely going to fold up because of
Corona Virus pandemic that is negatively affecting the economy of donor
nations.
In the past, NGOs loved working with community
representatives such as the hardos (Fulani leaders) and elected legislators. The
NGOs, however, realized that these set of people don’t feel the pains of the
villagers who are the victims of conflicts in rural areas. Hence, the NGOs have
resorted to dealing directly with the victims in rural areas. If it becomes
mandatory to talk to the leaders, the NGOs now prefer advocacy, cutting down
the cost of its operations.
As a solution to the spread of conflicts across the
nation, he suggests the authorities should change the security chiefs. They
have failed, he says, and have no reason to be there. Furthermore, there is a
need to instil discipline within the police and military in the country. The
security issue in Nigeria is domestic and should be in the hands of the police.
Sadly, the military comes in and complicate matters, since the two are
competing rather than cooperating on security matters.
For a sense of lasting peace in Plateau State, he
suggests that the Plateau State Peace-Building Agency should not only be
sustained but should be allowed to work freely by, not only the current
government but the others to come after it.
