Mick Hartley

"The crisis in Plateau is intricately linked to, and caused by the political and jihadist Islam that prevails in Northern Nigeria." Further to the post below on the killings in Jos, here's a piece in the Nigerian Tribune (via Butterflies and Wheels) by Leo Igwe, who – unlike the various BBC and Guardian correspondents - lives in Nigeria and knows what he's talking about:

I agree with those who said that the Muslim settlers’ community sustained heavy casualities in the latest outbreak of violence. But, anyone  who has been following the conflicts in Jos and Plateau State as a whole would know that the local community, including settlers from other ethnic and religious  backgrounds has recorded heavy casualities in the past. In fact, it was reported that Muslim militants, wearing army uniforms started the killings in January.

Many analysts have failed to point out the role of fanatics and militants from the Muslim settlers’ community in the recurrent ethno-religious carnage in Plateau State, since 2001. Personally, I see a kind of  connection between the crisis in Plateau and the wave of Islamic fanaticism, political and jihadist Islam sweeping across Northern Nigeria.

Since 1999, the imposition and implementation of sharia law by Muslim majority states have escalated tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims in Northern Nigeria. Muslim politicians  elected by the people used their positions to foist Islamic theocracy on the entire population, including indigenes and settlers from different ethno-religious backgrounds. Non-muslims were forced to live under sharia law by state governments, that donned the ‘islamic partisan cassock’.

In some states in Northern Nigeria, like Kaduna and Bauchi, the imposition of sharia law sparked religious riots, clashes and cleansing. Non-muslims, particularly those in other Northern  but non-sharia implementing states have been living in fear, suspicion and mistrust, particularly of Muslim politicians. They are afraid of voting them into power or of supporting them politically, because they could use their positions to impose sharia law and promote Islam.

So, what appears to some people as the Christian partisanship of the Plateau State government is a reaction to the Islamic partisanship that holds sway in most states in Northern Nigeria. What we have in Plateau is a situation where militant Islam has led to the emergence of militant christianity. Political Islam had bred political Christianity. The Islamic partisanship in Muslim majority states has caused the emergence of Christian partisanship in Plateau and in other Christian majority states in the country.

The crisis in Plateau is intricately linked to, and caused by the political and jihadist Islam that prevails in Northern Nigeria. The Plateau butchery cannot be resolved without rooting out militant and political Islam. Muslim politicians must stop using elective positions to further Islamic agenda and implement Islamic law. Muslim politicians must learn to uphold democracy and universal human rights, and stop foisting Islamic theocracy on the people.