OPINION: Nigeria: Not in Their Names*

Bunmi Aina-Craiq
The good people of Jos are once again being terrorized by a handful of their idle, disenfranchised and obviously ignorant brothers and sisters. They conveniently tag the mayhem and anarchy 'religious'. There is absolutely nothing religious about killing and maiming your own people.
They real problem is social injustice, lack of opportunities, corruption, lack of planning and total failure of government administration.
When you have a system that does not invest in education, health care, community centres, youth centres and other viable ventures for the proper development and sustainability of your people you are bound to have these kinds of sporadic violent outbursts of frustrations and hopelessness which are then conveniently labelled 'religious riots.'
|The truth is that the people are frustrated; no jobs, no food, no hope, nothing; they just exist one day at a time. In such situations, death is not feared; anything is better than everything and life is not worth living.
Before a budget is allocated for yet another panel (which most government sycophants will now be positioning themselves to be on) to be set up to 'investigate' this most recent unfortunate, though inevitable occurrence, let the people who hold the peoples resources on trust examine themselves, for they know why these so-called religious riots keep reccurring.
The peoples' trustees need to invest in good education for ALL our young people and ensure that nobody is left on the margins of life as they cruise around town in their tinted motorcades raising dust on the supposed beneficiaries of the trusts they hold.
Every Nigerian child must be guaranteed proper education from the age of five up to the age of eighteen; the schools and colleges must be properly equipped and staffed with teachers whose welfare must be guaranteed.
Money meant for schools should be spent to build decent structures, proper classrooms with windows and fans, well equipped science laboratories, sport facilities, arts and culture facilities; not the dilapidated aberrations and run down shacks as we currently have. Students should not have to provide their own chairs and tables which they often carry on their heads as they walk barefooted to and from school every day.
Books ought to be provided for all Nigerian students up to the age of eighteen. They must be taught how to read and write, the HISTORY of their country and civil responsibilities too. Our young people should be given proper education in a conducive environment by teachers who are adequately trained and empowered to do the job.
The welfare of our young people also demand that we invest in community centres where young people can go for leisure activities such as sport and social interactions, libraries and IT centres.
Even in the so-called developed societies such as Britain and America where these facilities are available, they still have incidents of sporadic violence such as stabbings among young people (often fuelled by the abuse of alcohol and drugs). The difference is that those young people are educated and enlightened enough not to be brainwashed into pretending that the violence they are engaging in is religiously motivated. Those young people are a very tiny minority, not enough to cause a riot of any kind.
The core message of the two main religions in Nigeria is PEACE. The other messages include love of one’s neighbour, generosity, tolerance, humility, kindness, forgiveness and truth. Neither the Bible nor the Koran prescribes hatred, violence, theft of public funds, corruption and strife.
Indeed, our young people have been so disenfranchised that they have become ready tools in the hands of sadistic elements who brainwash them and send them out to unleash violence and anarchy on the society.
Let the custodians of our common wealth have an urgent re-think and start investing our funds judiciously so that we will have educated, enlightened and empowered people with access to available standard infrastructure. Let them provide standard schools, roads, hospitals, jobs, security, houses, and other social amenities.
As a society, our problems are self inflicted, we allow people we have not voted for, people who are not qualified to be leaders, people who have no clue about what they are doing and who obviously do not give a damn about our welfare to govern us and loot our resources. Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon Him), never preached intolerance or violence, so this recent mayhem in Jos is not in their names.
Bunmi Aina-Craig Esq. Abuja FCT
*This opinion was first carried by the Vanguard on Jan 31 2010.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this section do not necessarily represent the opinions of CISA.