David N. Daniel, “The Healing of a Nation,” May, 2010, CYS
OVERVIEW
I
grew up in the city of Kaduna, a lovely place in those days, where
everyone could reside without considering whether the location was a
Muslim or Christian area. I went to primary school with my wonderful
friend - Ibrahim, a Muslim from Maiduguri. They lived in Ungwar Sarki
area where his dad was a banker in the former United Bank of Africa
in the 70s. I remember times when we visited each other and ate
together without suspecting each other.
Such
experiences are not possible today anywhere in Kaduna. People now
live within religious boundaries. What a pity especially for our dear
city of Jos – the Plateau, a place many of us thought we would love
to live because of its hospitality and tourism.
The massacre of the early hours of Sunday March 7 has raised so much tension, especially coming after the violence of January 2010 and November 2008 in Jos. All these riots began along political party lines, later taking on an ethno-religious dimension. All told this violence resulted in the death of more than 500 people, with properties worth billions of naira (approximately 150 Naira = 1 U.S. Dollar) burnt, looted and destroyed. There were also reports of armed people, some in fake Army uniforms coming in from other states and even from outside the country to be involved in the crisis.
So much has been said from within and outside the country, especially in the international community, regarding the so called killing of about 500 villagers in Dogo Nahawa, Zot, and Rassat by Fulani-Muslims. The government and individuals have accused each other after the crisis, but will that solve the problem? The paramount ruler of Jos, the Gbong Gwom Jos said, “the attack was a crime to humanity…”
I am writing this to share some lessons I learned personally from this situation.
There are always two sides to a story, with each side justifying its actions. Yet, as a Nation, we must find the root cause of the recurring crisis in our country between Christians and Muslims if we are to move towards healing and reconciliation.
In addressing all the issues, we must come to terms with honest truth: recognizing our differences and learning how we might live side-by-side in mutual respect and tolerance. Many have said that the crisis has no religious inclination, but we have seen instances where churches and mosques been burnt down. I have lived near and loved my Muslim friends and families over the years so I believe Islam should not allow any marauding hoodlums to bring disservice to the image of their religion. The Muslim world today is being held hostage by a small band of violent murderers who are hiding behind the banner of Global Jihad. This illiberal horde is committed to the use of violence and terror as instruments in their pursuit of high and lofty ambitions. This Islamic extremism is a new form of fascism that encourages total contempt for human life, and Muslims in Nigeria must watch out.
What we have seen over the years is a lack of Justice for the oppressed. If that lack of justice is not addressed, we will continue to experience crisis in our country, and the violence or killing one another will lead us nowhere. As a Christian, I believe the Bible urges us to seek the peace of the city in which we live (Jeremiah 29). Both Muslims and Christians are created by God. None of us should enjoy taking the life of any child of God. Killing someone will not change or convert the person to our religion.
We now have an abusive relationship between the Muslims and Christians, and this relationship is based on power-dynamics. The abuser has the power advantage by virtue of his or her role in government, financial assets etc. When this power differential is coupled with negative self-esteem, the offender may carry a hidden “moral rage” at feeling so inadequate. Then abusive behaviors bring a certain satisfaction to the primitive moral instinct.
Researchers Gelles and Straus suggest that acts of violence occur when the cost of being violent does not outweigh the rewards. What will happen if we fail to bring about healing? Clearly, the immediate rewards of using violence to work off anger or frustration are quite valuable to some individuals who would rather not wait to see the long-term benefits of more reasoned and rational order. We must move from an abusive relationship to a loving relationship if we want healing to happen in our country.
Also, we must restore the sense of self-integrity and unity, through self-empowerment of our people. The dynamics of self-empowerment must include some form of forgiveness where the abuse has occurred on the part of the victim, as well as self-forgiveness on the part of the offender.
Beverly Flanigan has made an approach to this important aspect of recovery in her book, Forgiving the Unforgivable – Overcoming the Bitter Legacy of Intimate Wounds:
People
who forgive sever themselves from the past and look to the future. In
the emergence of a new self, the person who has gone through major
conversions in his beliefs about very central things in his life
(like other travelers) ends his journey, unpacks his figurative bags,
and gets life back to normal. Whatever he chooses to do it will be a
time when his new beliefs gathered along the journey to forgiveness
are consolidated and tested… if nothing can ever be the same, this
time around it can be even better…”
Any injury to self produces an instinctive moral judgment, usually in the form of an accusation against the one who caused the injury. Until this moral judgment is resolved it is not possible to talk of forgiveness. Along with the moral judgment there is the desire to inflict punishment against the offender. While in determining punishment, extenuating circumstances can be taken into consideration so that not all who are judged as guilty experience the same punishment. As forgiveness is not absolving an offender from judgment, but is a release of the offender from punishment, forgives It also does not nullify a verdict, but only releases the offender from punishment.
In conclusion, my prayer will be a quote from the Bible which says: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14, NIV) Above all I hope that we will find a place in our hearts to forgive one another so we can survive as a nation.
QUESTIONS
FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION
1. Before reading this were you aware of the violence in northern Nigeria, especially from 2007 to 2010?
2. What was your understanding of the causes of that violence? Did reading this article help your understanding? What more would you like to know and how can you go about finding it?
3. The author here is a Christian. Do you think he writes fairly about the Muslims and the present tension between Muslims and Christians in his part of Nigeria?
4. Do you agree with him that justice, forgiveness and reconciliation are all a necessary part of the life and future of Nigeria? Why or why not?
5. What
other countries have experienced brutal violence among neighbors in
recent times? How have they handled its aftermath?
IMPLICATIONS
1. Globalization has also produced glocality—the universal spread of multi-nationals, global transportation, media and communication expressed quite differently in specific societies. Rivalries and tensions within localities has produced fearsome violence in many places—Rwanda, Darfur, Afghanistan among them.
2. If our goals are justice and peace, we must take a serious look at all that fosters injustice and hinders peace.
3. This article describes troubling violence in northern Nigeria. It pleads for justice, which must precede forgiveness leading to healing and reconciliation in the writer’s homeland.
4. As global neighbors we must share the suffering of all victims of violence. Through this we all can learn the cost of justice and forgiveness, healing and reconciliation—for there is not sector of the globe without such tensions.
David N. Daniel, with Dean Borgman cCYS