Violence As a Weapon for Power
By
Paul Mamza
The concept of applying violence in order to secure maximum political space is not new in Nigeria, the Wild, Wild West's querulous posture of political violence of the late 1960s code-named Operation Wetie due to the aftermath of an election victory by Chief Samuel Akintola's UNDP as Premier of the defunct Western Region which went into alliance with Sir Ahmadu Bello , Sardauna of Sokoto's Northern People's Congress (NPC) to form the Nigerian National Alliance (NNA) is a typical display of opposition's might to outsmart its adversary, in this case the supporters of Chief Obafemi Awolowo's Action group (AG) against the victory of the NNA'S candidate (Chief Samuel Akintola). Since that truculent event the ghost of violence has always pursued the soul of politics of the South-western part of Nigeria, the recent being the manhandling of the former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation by Political thugs at the Ooni of Ife's Palace. The crisis which is widely believed to emanate from the home state of the Minister led to his eventual assassination. The death of Chief Bola Ige in Cold-blood marked a new chapter of political violence in the South-West and by extension the Southern part of Nigeria. That is not to say the Northern Political terrain is completely devoid of violence of this sort, one can recall some pockets of violence like the circumstances the led to the burning to ashes of the former political adviser of the former Executive Governor of Kano State (Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar Rimi) during the defunct Second Republic. Late Dr. Bala Mohammed's may be an isolated case especially in the Northern part of Nigeria due to its peaceful and "politics without bitterness" antecedents. However, recent events in the North is disturbing to warrant worries. Starting with Kaduna Mayhem that claimed several lives and property over the Shariah controversy, to the tribal wars between the Jukuns and Tivs of Taraba and Benue states, the civil unrest in Kano over the September 11 episode, the religious clashes in Plateau, Bauchi and Gombe states, the Nassarawa state's bitter experience of ethnic conflict and the political conflict in Zamfara state are proofs that even the North is fast qualifying to join the league of politically violent regions. Though the efforts by well-meaning individuals and groups like the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), the Northern traditional rulers and the Nineteen Northern Governors amongst others have yielded many results but there is the need to design a permanent effective machinery to revert the region to its earlier traditional posture. A crisis management mechanism that can reduce frustrations in the region through provision of essential services to its people and creation of Job opportunities for the unemployment will go a long in arresting the bad situations.
If a rapid transformation is to be desired from these long ruins of political shamanism then a cultured reframe of the rudimentary concepts of participatory democracy in the current experiences needs to be organically reconstituted. Even for the entire stability of Nigeria, the North need to be completely stabilized. Actually, the exploitation of the various permutations in North by some overzealous aspiring sit-tight politicians to translate it as weakness for divide and rule will not go without a devastating consequences to their very "chair- for-sitting". As political commentators have rightly put, times without number that "No North, No Nigeria". With over two hundred tribal groups of the country's about two hundred and fifty tribes, it is for the good interest of the nation that the peace and stability of the North is considered as an essential policy in the promulgation of national laws.
The recent happenings at Gombe state PDP rally where the Honourable Minister of State, Alhaji Murtala Aliyu was manhandled is another threatening episode. According to Nigerian Tribune and The Punch of 18th March, 2002, the Minister of State escaped death by whiskers. "Trouble started for the Minister" said Tribune "when he was invited to address the rally, but those opposed to him booed him, warning him not to dare mount the podium to talk because, according to them 'he did not deserve to be heard". The Nigerian Tribune's source reported that "there had been an intra-party crisis between the Minister and another leading member of the party over the gubernatorial seat of the PDP in 2003 election" and the paper claimed that their source "added that the other faction was seeing the Minister's camp as a threat to its ambition and so resolved to stop it by all means".
Personally, I am highly concerned about the Gombe political crisis for two reasons, viz; the Minister said to be affected is a long- time friend of mine and that a sub-region of the North-North-East which is relatively the most peaceful and stable even in the more peaceful North is becoming a violent trap for primitive politicking. But before I digress let us analyse the area of contention vis-à-vis the reasons and forces behind the manhandling of the Minister even in the presence of the Vice-President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the National Chairman of PDP, Chief Audu Ogbeh amongst other important dignitaries that witnessed the said PDP rally. If the Nigerian Tribune and The Punch report is anything to go by, there will be a dominant force in the next general elections. To be fair to Alhaji Murtala Aliyu, my closeness to him would have offered a great opportunity for me to vindicate the ambitions that his opponents were suspecting, there is never a time the Minister has indicated the ambition to contest for the gubernatorial post come 2003 to the best of my knowledge of him and those forces after him for these reasons are pursuing a redundant cause. The implications of the happenings at the Gombe rally no matter how remote have a direct reproach on the security situation in the country. If a Honourable Minister can be attacked by hoodlums in the very eyes of the Vice-President of the country with little help, one wonders if anybody is safe in Nigeria today. Which investor will come such a country and invest, when even the highly placed government officials are not safe?
As of the time of writing this article I doubt
very much if the government have constituted any machinery to investigate the
circumstances surrounding the emerging Gombe political crisis. Must these
issues lead to some degenerating experiences before the matter is taken
seriously? This is the second time a Minister is been manhandled by
political thugs with no concern from authorities, the first being the late Chief
Bola Ige's case at the palace of the Ooni of Ife. Unlike in the Bola Ige's
issue when those presently in power were said to master-mind his manhandling and
eventual murder, in the case of Alhaji Murtala Aliyu it seems those that are
behind this plot is/are aspiring candidate(s) because it is the All People Party
(APP) that is presently the ruling party in the state. The intention is to
stop him "by all means" to secure a platform for contest under the PDP
(if at all he has any intention to contest). These matters especially the
emerging political crisis in Gombe state must be the concern of all stakeholders
in the peace and tranquility of the nation in general; because if one cannot
argue with an earthquake, one can at least study its dynamics and that is why
the Gombe's new trend needs much interest and keenly too.
Mamza wrote in from
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria