Big Man: Who is He?

The picture of a big man, in the minds of many, is that of a guy who has got plenty of cash. Along this line, if you want to be treated as a big man, you must be able to show that you have the money. Though true, the definition of a big man transcends that realm and is actually a spectrum that includes other categories of people. The definition of a big man revolves around power, the capacity to makes things happen. It is the reason why the man of cash easily comes to mind when you think of a big man. Money gives one power. Since it is what everyone wants, you can pay people in order to get them to do things for you.

Getting people to do things is however not exclusive to rich folks. According to William Shakespeare, some people are born great, some achieve greatness and others have greatness thrust upon them. There is no doubt that a great man is a big man and all these categories of greatness cannot be tied to money. My impression of a man who is born great is one that was born with some sort of appeal, most notably wisdom or intelligence. Due to his intelligence, he or she gets things done by proffering solutions when people desperately need them. He wins the reverence of people and is a big man as a result. Eventually money will still follow because people will feel that if there is anybody that should be rich, it should be him.

Some people acquire power or the capacity to get things done by virtue of the fact that they are occupying an office that enables them to give orders that must be followed. As a result he is a big man since he has the capacity to get things done. If you are a leader of an organization, you make plans, take decisions and execute the decisions of the organization with the resources of the organization. Though the resources of the organization are not yours, you have control over them and use them to get things done. That makes you a big man. My impression is that this category of people is the one Shakespeare referred to as those to whom greatness is trusted upon them.

The greatness of some people is faith-based. These persons are leaders of some faith and have large followership by people who follow the faith or ideology they preach. Osama Bin Laden was the leader of Al Qaeda, an Islamic fundamentalist group that intends to propagate Islam to all parts of the world through the use of terror. He had a large followership of people who believe in his course and were willing to play their role towards the actualization of his dream. That made Osama Bin Laden a big guy even without considering his parental background, as his adherents did not do his will because he came from a wealthy background but because he decided to sacrifice the power from the  millions of dollars that his family business generated to live in caves for the sake of actualizing his dream. His greatness or might was thus faith-based.

Prophet Mohammed was born in 570 CE in Mecca in the region today referred to as the Middle-East. Having lost his parents at an early age, he was raised by an uncle. He worked as a merchant and a shepherd. Occasionally, he went to the cave to meditate and pray for several nights. In one such night, he received a revelation from God. Three years after the revelation, he started preaching and proclaiming God as one and to whom there should be total submission. He gained a few followers initially. Today, the faith of Islam which he founded has grown to gain global followership.  

Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, Mary, in Bethlehem in Judea, south of Jerusalem over 2000 years ago. His birth was a fulfillment of a prophecy that a Messiah shall be born to save all mankind from his sins. As a fulfillment of the prophecy, Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross, died and rose after three days. He later ascended into Heaven leaving behind his disciples to continue with the good news of salvation that he brought. Today, the faith of Christianity, which he founded, has a global followership.

The founders of these two religions lived very humble lives. They left behind hundreds of millions of followers who believe in their teachings and do their will as a result, thereby making them the most powerful humans ever. These men were or are the ultimate big men.

The Origin of the Name " Kaduna"

Kaduna City

Kaduna city is the capital city of Kaduna State, one of the thirty-six states in Nigeria. It is located in the North-Western part of the country. The state it administers and which was named after it, Kaduna, was created in 1976. Later in 1987, Katsina State was carved of it.

Most places in Nigeria, as elsewhere, where named based on prominent geographical features present in the locality. Some examples include “Lagos” which means a lagoon in Portuguese, Plateau by virtue of the table nature of the land, Niger and Benue States based on Rivers Niger and Benue respectively.  Others include Cross-Rivers, Rivers, etc.  

In like manner, the city of Kaduna was named due to the presence of a prominent river in the locality. The name ‘Kaduana’ in its modern form is a colonial invention. The colonial administration was constructing the railway line that eventually connected the different parts of the country. While passing through the Zauzzau (Zaria) Emirates, it noticed the appeal of the locality and decided to move the capital of the Northern Protectorate previously at Zungeru in Niger State, to the new land. The white colonial administration sought the permission of the Emir of Zauzzau.  With his approval the capital was moved.
In naming the city, the colonial masters learnt of the presence of ‘rafin kaduna’, which means the river of crocodiles. ‘kada’ is a Hausa word that means "crocodile" while ‘rafi’ means a river. The word ‘kaduna’ is the plural of ‘kada.’ The colonial administration then adopted the word ‘kaduna’ for its new headquarters  The colonial administration however, changed the pronunciation such that one is not reminded of crocodiles when it is pronounced.

Saving the Music Culture of Jos

I have often believed that Jos, the capital of my home state has a reputation for producing music talent. I was however devastated when I traveled and lived in Port Harcourt where I saw it that it is not only Jos that has a brilliant music culture.

When Bongos Ikwe granted me an interview sometimes in 2009, I was astonished when he revealed that he had stayed in Jos as a kid and even attended, St. Lukes Primary School.  Apart from Bongos that has had a stint with our city; there are only a few artists to have emerged out of our city. The ones I can remember include Psquare, Jeremiah Gyang and the core members of the Chocolate City artists that include M-I, Ice Prince and Jesse Jagz. There is also the black member of the British pop group, Lighthouse Family, who is said to have schooled in Baptist High Secondary School Jos, I can’t think of enough artists to make us think that we rule the nation in this territory, especially given the kind of noise along this line.

I have often heard that Tuface was born in Jos but refused to believe it until I read an interview he granted to an online publication when he was asked where he was born. Tuface answered in the affirmative that he was born in Jos. According to Tuface, his parents came from Benue State. Later they moved from Jos to Benue State and back to Jos again. From Jos, they moved to Kano and back to Jos again, then Benue again and then Enugu from where he moved to Lagos to pursue a professional career in music.

After reading this interview I was then able to add Tuface to the list of artists with links to Jos. My believe that Jos is a fountain of music talent is now returning except for one thing – the fear that we may not be able to sustain it for long. This is because certain traditions helped to build and nurture the luminous music culture in the city. This tradition seems to be going extinct. If the traditions go, whatever it gave us will also vanish.

The manner in which the only television and radio stations of PTV and Radio Plateau that letter evolved to become PRTV was run encouraged the unique music culture in the city. Whereas most public radio and TV stations in other states insist on radio stations that promoted traditional African cultures or religious issues, those in Jos looked more in the direction of the Western approaches to issues, playing mostly Western music. On the state-owned electronic media houses, Western style programs probably used to corner more than 90% of air time. The broadcasters of the station where chosen by the high quality of what they have naturally and non-resident presenters where also chosen by merit based on talent they were perceived have which is necessary to inspire fans.

These days however everything is changing. In choosing workers of radio stations, value has been thrown to the gutters. Along the same vein, the presenters are also not chosen by merit. Persons without any interest in music can be given jobs as radio presenters. All these point to the direction of declining professionalism. One practice that is working to destroy standards is the fact that such DJs take money from desperate musicians to play their demos. The more of such demos they play, the more money they get from the owners of the demos. One is thus compelled to turn off his radio due to unattractive presentations as the airwaves are always littered with garbage. Good DJs who are confident of themselves make money through live shows where their fans pay to see them live and have good times and not by dominating the airwaves with detritus.

Good schools have played a huge role. Of course, J-town has often beat its chest in pride that has often been provoked by the presence of fabulous schools on the land. Some easily come to mind and include mind-changing rendezvous such as St. Joseph College Vom, Hill Crest School, Baptist High School, St. Louis College Jos, Nakam Memorial High Secondary School, St. Murrumba College, Government Science School Kuru, Plateau College Sharam, Boys High School Gindiri just to mention the most conspicuous. The best minds from these schools provided the extraordinary power that constantly inspired J-Towners to develop a scintillating music culture. Perhaps it becomes pertinent at this point to mention names of persons that played their roles in shaping the culture of the city. Some names include Joe Black, Nansel Nimyel, Charles Ibezim, Yakubu Lamai, L-D Extralarge, Fracis Oga, Abigail “Mama Jamma”, Uncle Steve, Morris Sua, Victor Duga, now professor, in just pointing out a few.

It has often been said that competition breeds excellence and one would have taught that the arrival of other radio and TV stations, particularly the  private ones should have started setting up a new pace that will compel the others to stand up. Sadly, the new ones have failed to live up to expectations.

Talents are gifts from God to mankind to enable him add value to life and make the world a better place. When these divine gifts are thrown to the garbage tribulations, will as you might expect, will follow.

Music and Nigeria at 50

Today 1st October 2010, Nigeria celebrates its Golden Jubilee as an independent nation following the concession of the administration of the nation to Nigerians by the British colonial government in 1960. At fifty, there is the need to take stock and see if there is anything to party about.

The immediate challenges before an independent Nigeria in 1960 were how to sustain the economic growth, foster unity and sustain our leadership role in Africa. These issues, thus, serve as benchmarks for appraising the progress or otherwise of the Nigerian nation.

On the morning of our fiftieth anniversary, I listened to BBC journalists asking Gen. Yakubu Gowon, former military leader, to list what he feels are the successes of the nation after fifty years of independence. The general was more emphatic on the unity of the nation. According to him, the ability of the leaders to ensure the continued unity of a country with a complex ethnic and religious diversity should be seen as the greatest success recorded and for which Nigerians should have something to cheer about. He talked about the civil war his administration fought to keep the nation as one between 1967 and 1970 as one demonstration of the ability of the government to live up to expectations. Yes, it is true. The war succeeded in keeping the nation as one. The point of concern, however, is that while the people were united, they did so with grudges. It is not that the Ibos or Biafrans never wanted to be part of Nigeria. They wanted it under circumstances that ensured their happiness. The leaders never gave Nigerians generally, this desire up till this point when we are celebrating fifty years of nationhood.

Music despite its amazing influence on people is often taken for granted. Without any iota of contradiction, the music era of the Tufaces, D’banjs, Ashas and the rest has played a remarkable role in uniting the nation. The industry has given Nigerians reasons to be proud of their nation. These young men and women have exported the beautiful Nigerian spirit to all nooks and crannies of the world through their acts. Suddenly, Nigerians realized that their country has something that is appealing to the rest of the world after all. The realization is that there is something in this nation after all and many from north, south, east and west are opting to be part of the nation.” People should want to be part of a nation by will and not by coercion. Music has given people reasons to be part of the nation by will.

While I listened to BBC Africa Have Your Say on the BBC on the eve of Nigeria’s Golden Jubilee, listeners from different parts of the continent were asked to say how the Nigerian culture has influenced them. Nearly all of the youths from Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Ghana listed Nigerian music of the era of Dbanj, Tuface and P-Square and the humour in the parlance of Nigerian cultural English (Pidgin English) as the greatest things that have made Nigeria the apple of their eyes. I noticed that these people never wanted to mention the negative parts of our nation. When somebody loves you, you notice that he doesn’t want to talk about your weaknesses.

Along this line, music has also become the greatest weapon of rebranding for the Nigerian nation. We must effectively rebrand to preserve our integrity and remain the leader of Africa. The artists are doing it at no cost to the federal government that has committed billions of naira to rebranding the image of the nation since the time of Gen. Sani Abacha.

Critics have often complained that the current music industry in Nigeria has forgotten the Nigerian culture as compared to the era of Haruna Ishola, Fela, Sunny Ade and the rest of them. These old generations of musicians are most cherished by people around the world who are more interested in the study of the cultural diversity of the world. While they are there doing their cultural studies, we are here experiencing the pains of suffering as caused by poverty. The contemporary music industry, besides working on the Nigerian image abroad, is also generating money for the artists, their families and communities and healing the economic wounds of the nation. That is what matters for now. But, I believe that, the music is merely a reflection of contemporary Nigerian culture which is gradually succumbing to the West as is the case anywhere else.

At the age of fifty, this is the contribution the new era of the Nigerian music industry has made. Only a few politicians have done this much. The industry has achieved this against all odds such as piracy and the non-challance of the authorities to the challenges of the industry, despite this obvious capacity to make a remarkable contribution. Given this, the government should work towards ending piracy and other challenges of the Nigerian music industry that have demonstrated what it can do for the nation. According to the Holy Bible, “the greatest thing about the youths is their strength.” The leaders must know this.

Nigeria’s Democracy at 13

When Time Magazine included General Olusegun Obasanjo as one of the persons that shaped 1999, it was an outcome of his victory at the polls to become the democratic President of the world’s largest black nation after a difficult period of struggle against military rule that lasted for more than a decade and half.

Obasanjo, though an accomplished military General, was involved in the struggle against military rule leading to his arrest and incarceration by the military regime of late General Sani Abacha in 1995. His struggle and tribulation during the era of Abacha was rewarded by a victory in 1999. As the new President, he declared May 29th as Democracy Day. On May 29th Nigeria again celebrated the 13th anniversary of Nigeria’s new democracy that held a lot of promises to the people in 1999 at its dawn. It is only natural to take stock to see the progress that has been made within the period.

The most developed nations on earth are nations that were built on a foundation of democracy, freedom and justice. Looking at those nations as proofs of the gains democracy can bring, Nigerians placed a lot of expectations of the good democracy can bring. Thirteen years after the journey, Nigerians are of the opinion that the new era has not lived up to their expectations. They have thought Nigeria will begin to close the gap between it and those models of democracy. Thirteen years after, the gap only seems to have widened. Most persons that should give account of how the resource of national time and money that have been spent so far insist that the democracy is still an infant from which nothing much should be expected.

Bamanga Tukur, the National Chairman of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in his anniversary message said the PDP has remained in power wining election after election because of the people’s acceptance of its leadership. President Goodluck Jonathan in his anniversary speech made further promises and went on to rename the University of Lagos as MKO Abiola University something that did not go down well with students of the institution who came out immediately to begin demonstration. Late Abiola is a well respected figure in the South-Western part of the country where the PDP has failed to establish a strong hold. The interpretation is that he was trying to buy the political conscience of the people of the region in preparation for the 2015 elections that rumors say he still wishes to contest against promises made to persuade northern political class whose turn it was to produce a president within the period starting from 2007 to 2015. Former President Obasanjo blamed the National Assembly who he referred to as ‘rogues and armed robbers’ for the failures of Nigerian democracy. President Jonathan in trying to defend his administration noted that his administration did not create the problems it is working to fix.

There is no doubt that the progress brought by democracy in other nations where not a result of luck. It is just that those nations recognize that democracy is not flawless and the players need to be cautious to ensure they play by the rule. Had Nigerian politicians played by the rule in the last thirteen years, there is no doubt that Nigerians would have had reasons to smile. It was former UN Secretary-General, Boutros-Boutros Ghali who said that democracy does not begin and end with the polls. Rather what happens at the polls is just the beginning and in the course of the journey care should be taken to ensure that all arms of the government truly remain independent. If Nigeria were to achieve just this in the first two years of our democracy and then sustain it, which would have amounted to a huge gain of democracy because once that is achieved all other things should fall in place with ease. The government would not have had to scavenge for what to present as proof of its good application of democracy.

The result of modest performance according to Nigerians is the failure of the government to provide just basic needs such as water, electricity, good school, satisfactory health care and the general improvement of the standard of living of ordinary Nigerians.

Normally, elected leaders should be able to think deep to understand what the problems of a nation are prior to mounting the seat of power or even aspiring for leadership. My secondary school teacher of history use to say, ‘understanding a question is part of the solution.’ Had the administration understood well enough the problems of the nation, the story would have been different. A critical part of the life of the nation that should have been given the desired attention, for instance, is the judiciary. During the long period of military rule, the judiciary suffered neglect and it was a first huge mistake for the administration not to have noticed that reforming it was the right step for an administration that truly wanted to reform a nation. According to Barrister Solomon Dalong, an attorney who also lectures at the faculty of Law at the University of Jos, a huge portion of the blame for the sad situation of the Nigerian judiciary should be placed at the doorstep of the executive arm of government for constantly rocking the boat of the judiciary to enable it to perpetrate illegality. This is in addition to the poor funding of the judiciary, he says. Dalong likened the judiciary to a pyramid whose base suffers as a result of what goes on at the top. To a lesser degree he says, members of The Bar have played their roles in throwing the judiciary into the huge and filthy ditch in which it has found itself. He said that in Nigeria, some members of the bar has put money high and above professionalism thereby polluting the pure waters of justice by unnecessarily working to delay and frustrate the delivery of justice in situations where they are aware of the guilt of the person they are defending. The police, according to him, cannot exempt itself of blame as far as the comatose state in which the Nigerian judiciary has found itself. The police sometimes deliberately fail to present a suspect in court against the instruction of judge as doing so will hurt their own personal and selfish interest. That is not to mention the police’s insistence of payment of bailing fee in a country where the constitution provides that bail of a suspect from the custody of the police shall be free. At times police deliberately keep a suspect in custody even for months just to allow time for his relations to raise the money for his bailing, even in cases where the detained person may be innocent. Sometimes the police even detain people just to give the society the impression that they are working. All these challenges are judicial issues that an emerging nation must tackle to demonstrate that it is indeed willing to remake itself.

Critics of the powers that ruled during thirteen years of democratic rule blame the series of administrations within the period for taking for granted the need for an alternative source of revenue to supplement oil revenue and make more money available for state governments to carry out development programs. Agriculture, tourism and solid minerals development are areas that should have been taken seriously to generate the additional revenue and create the desperately needed jobs for the unemployed that are now reacting with extremely bitter consequences. In the last thirteen years, attempts have been made to exploit the huge economic potential in these sectors but no meaningful success has been recorded.

Education is another critical area that needs the attention of leaders who sincerely understand that the nation had retrogressed and the reversal of the ugly trend is the motivating factor that pushed them into politics. Good leaders should be able to understand that education is the only means that can change a mentality with the potential to hold a nation in the mire and if we must move away from the stagnation then education must be given its due recognition and treated as such. The history of neglect of education in Nigeria dates back to the early eighties and the trend has only gotten worse as the years roll by. The last thirteen years opened a new chapter in the neglect of the sector as it is during this period that wealthy and influential Nigerians started the culture of educating their children in other countries. This is an implication that hope has been lost on the possibility of good education in Nigeria. The sad thing is that even our leaders see it as a culture of the rich and influential for which they cannot be left behind. Some of the destination countries are even smaller and poorer nations of Africa. A good government that is committed to rebuilding its nation should be able to see beyond obstacles and able to overcome the urge to join trends that will hurt the nation.

Nigeria in the last thirteen years has grown to become more corrupt compared to the level of corruption prior to the coming of democracy. According to OPEC, Nigeria’s oil export in 2011 contributed 87% of total revenue for that year. The implication of this is that the Nigerian budget was largely based on oil revenues. This has been the case since the oil sector became fully developed in the seventies. In May 1999, when Nigeria’s reigning democracy was born, the price per liter of crude oil was $15.22 per barrel. As at April 30th 2012, a barrel of crude oil sold for $118.66 per barrel representing an increase of 679.63%. Despite this, children in Nigerian cities often go to school late due to time wasted in search of water, especially during the dry seasons. During the last thirteen years, the frequency of industrial actions has risen remarkably demonstrating that the period has been the least productive with lots of man- hours lost. Electric power supply has not improved, the trains are still not moving and so on and so forth. While the provision of social amenities has been unsatisfactory within the period, there have been a corresponding increase in cases of corruption within the same period that could explain the drain into which the staggering oil revenue generated within the period has been lost. Some of the most recent include the corruption case in connection with the stealing of pension funds where one of the suspect was found to have hidden N2 billion in his house, the oil subsidy scandal, the recent sentencing of the ex-governor of Delta State, James Ibori to thirteen years imprisonment in Britain over cases for which he was discharged by a law court in Nigeria. Other cases in the past are the Patricia Ette’s case in the National Assembly, the Police Pension Fund case, the $16 billion USD meant for the improvement of electricity supply during the Obasanjo administration. This is just to mention a few.

Thirteen years of civilian regime in Nigeria has worked to entrench a culture of violence that started during the clamor for the implementation of Sharia law in Northern Nigeria early within the period to the Niger Delta crisis, ethno-religious violence in the central part of the country and terrorism also in the north. Most of these can be tied to expression of frustration over the cycle of failure of the administration.

The ordinary man in the street of Nigeria has his own criteria for the appraisal of the progress made or otherwise within the period of active practice of democracy. Food prices have only gone higher, the streets have not become as brilliant as the ones they see on TV and the Super Eagles of Nigeria have continued to descend in FIFA rankings.

Security and Life Pattern in Jos

If you have been away from Jos in the last seven years at least, you will be astonished with the degree with which the poor security situation in the country has reshaped life in the city. Previously the major security challenge in Nigeria had been due, largely, to activities of armed bandits. The emergence of militias in the Niger Delta and their modes of operation which involves the kidnap of ‘lucrative’ victims in return for monetary compensation from their family or the oil companies they work for, led criminal gangs to realize that kidnapping is a far better option to making money than outright robbery. Thus kidnapping replaced armed robbery as a major security concern in the country. The next security challenge that emerged after kidnapping is linked to ethno-religious conflicts in many parts of the country. Then came Boko Haram that started by fighting members of the Nigerian Police Force, then other Muslims who don’t buy their idea of Islam, then government agents and finally the general public. In Jos, security issues had centered mainly on ethno-religious fighting. With the gradual spread of the activities of Boko Haram fundamentalist Muslims to other parts of Nigeria however, it has became obvious that the activities of this religious fundamentalists has become a second security issue in Jos where several incidences of bomb attacks have been recorded.

The conflict in Jos has led to segregation of Christians and Muslims in residential areas, markets and schools. Above all, there exists a strong absence of trust among members of these two religious groups. As the activities of Boko Haram gradually spread from the North-Eastern part of the country, where it originated, to other parts of the country, it has affected life in Jos too. While ethnic and religious conflicts have often led to the deployment of Joint Task Forces (JTF) who mount roadblocks on the highways, the fear of surprise attacks by Boko Haram members have modified the nature of the security check points erected along the roads. At the roadblocks currently, protective walls made by piling up sand bags are very common. The walls narrow the road compelling motorists to drive slowly and causing long traffic queues. You are not a patient man, you cannot drive in Jos especially during late hours when people are coming back from their offices.

Since Boko Haram members are known to make their quick get-away on motorbikes after launching attacks, police have come up with an order mandating all riders of motorbikes and their passengers to disembark and push their bikes with the engines shut down at such roadblocks. If you are coming to town and unaware of this new rule, you will be greatly astonished if not frightened by the large population of persons dragging motorbikes with passengers trekking along with them at certain locations.

The poor security situation has led to worsening poverty in Jos too. Due to incessant security problems in Jos-North, Jos-South, Riyom and Barkin Ladi Local Government Areas, President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state-of-emergency in the areas. What the public don’t understand however, is the refusal of the Federal Government to release monthly subventions these are entitled to since the declaration. The result is that nothing happens in these local councils of the affected local government areas. If you are a staff of any of these councils, you have to find money elsewhere to take care of yourself.

The fear of Boko Haram, has led to the closure roads leading to churches with huge stones on Sundays. Once these roads are closed, you can never use them until the worships are over. Church members are also mandated to park their vehicles far away from the church location and finishing the completing the journey to church on foot. On a humorous note, this could be said to have worked against persons who come to church merely to show off the expensive vehicles they own. The directive coming from the state security council followed the third incidence of congregational attacks within five months by persons claiming to be Boko Haram members in Jos. Armed soldiers are also posted to major church premises while Sunday church services last.

Commercial vehicles in Jos are often apprehensive of loading their vehicles with goods fearing that some may contain concealed explosive materials.

After second bomb incidence at football viewing centers, police have also banned football viewing centers in the city.

At banks, people have to be inspected thoroughly before getting in and bags must be placed very far away from the buildings.

The presence of members of the JTF has affected the manner of delivery of justice in Jos with bitter consequences. Members of the public who are fed up with Nigeria’s often distrustful and unsatisfying path to justice have resorted to engaging members of the JTF to settle disagreements that are usually centered on money. Recently, a soldier beat up a culprit to death. The victim was reported to the soldier by his own sibling. When irate youths tried to react, the soldier opened fire in self-defense, killing more persons.

Huge gatherings especially in late hours are seldom common in Jos these days as they could provide the right atmosphere for the killing of many, using explosive materials. Thus the status of the Jos Township Stadium and Polo Field as host venues for huge gatherings has also changed.

It is sad to see how the lifestyle in Jos is changing. It is the beginning and many fear how it will end, whether pleasant or otherwise especially seeing how the federal government has demonstrated gross incompetence at handling the security problem across the nation as a whole.

Jos: Business Momentum Grows

With the exception of night attacks in some villages in Barkin Ladi and Riyom Local Government Areas of Plateau State recently, it could be said that there has been a long a period of peace in Plateau State. People seem tired of fighting. It is the reason why they would not want violent incidences in remote villages to disrupt their activities in the cities. The result is that normal life is returning, paving the way for normal businesses to return as they had been before fighting got to the peak.

Businesses grow only where there are huge populations of people that interact freely. The conflict in Jos has worked to polarize the people along ethnic and religious boundaries. At the peak of fighting, the populations of the diverse religions have moved to live in separate suburbs. What that means is that Hausas who are predominantly Muslims will conduct businesses only among themselves while the other tribes that form the bulk of the Christian population will conduct businesses only among themselves.

The main occupation of Hausas is trading. They depend on the patronage of large Christian population in Jos for their businesses to thrive. As a result lack of interaction between the two religions in Jos makes Hausa businesses to suffer reverses. Since there are certain commodities such as cattle that are supplied mainly by Hausas, the implication is that if there is no interaction between the two sides, only a limited supply of meat will be available to the Christians leading to high prices of the product. This scenario hurts business badly in the city.

In the town of Bukuru in Jos South, the gravity of conflict was so grave that Christians opted out of the common market in the heart of Bukuru to establish a ‘Christian’ market in Gyel, one of the mainly Christians suburbs surrounding Bukuru town. The only option left for the Hausas is to find a way of reaching the Christian markets. The long period of peace has made it possible for some Hausa traders to begin to re-establish contact with their Christian customers by daring into the predominantly Christian markets.

It is at one such market that I met Mohammed Alhaji Ado Mai Doya. He was born in the town of Bukuru and started meat selling in 2004. As a result, the series of conflicts that followed affected his business and those of other Hausas so badly that the only option left for them is either to flee the state or to find a way of reviving their businesses by reaching the Christians. Mallam Mai Doya said that it is important for all traders to come back to a common market as it has been since experience has shown that the idea of separate markets is not good for the progress of business in the town. Furthermore, he said there is the need for the authorities to work hard to ensure that fighting does not recur as it is the single reason why the progress recorded will be lost again. Part of the reason why fighting keeps reoccurring is the fact that you don’t see offenders getting punished, he says. He is therefore calling on the government to work hard to ensure that people are punished when they start problems that lead to the escalation of fighting in the city.