- I—A conflict averted
- II—Origins of the meeting at Bukuru
- III—Keynote address part 1: Jesus and Mohammed; Forgiveness
- IV—Keynote address part 2: Peace, the gold prize
- V—Other speakers; conclusion; afterward
Peacemaking Success Story—A Crisis Averted
More Trouble in Bukuru
Rev. Yakubu Pam called me on last Thursday morning. (The name is pronounced like the “palm” tree, not like the woman’s name.) He is the chairman of the North-Central zone of CAN (Christian Association of Nigeria, the umbrella organization of all Christian denominations in Nigeria). He is also the person who arranged the amazing meeting between the Christian and Muslim youth in the Kwarafa Cinema earlier that week.
Children in Bukuru
Pam had a very excited tone in his voice. He said, “Did you hear about Bukuru yesterday? There were more problems there.” I groaned a little bit when I heard it. The crisis in January had started on a Sunday. By Tuesday, it had spread to Bukuru, about ten miles south of Jos. The losses there were incredible. The main market that contained hundreds of shops was completely destroyed. In addition, I would guess that hundreds of homes and businesses were destroyed and dozens of people were killed.
People who had lived side by side for decades were now turning against each other and burning one another’s homes and killing each other. And as the violence spread out to some of the villages near Bukuru over the next few weeks, the area experienced almost genocide-like conditions, in which whole villages were destroyed and hundreds of men, women and children were killed.
A Pastor’s Response
Still on the phone, Pam told me this story.
Apparently, there was some kind of flare up in Bukuru associated with a soccer match. A person from the “other side” stopped to watch and some youths there attacked him and would have killed him if not for the intervention of soldiers who were there. Things turned very ugly. Several people were injured and there is a rumor that at least one person was killed, though this has not been confirmed. Pam was in Abuja at the time, but he received a phone call from Gideon Para-Mallam, who told him that there was fighting in Bukuru and tension in his own village, Gel, which is right outside Bukuru. Pam quickly called the leader of the Christian youth in Bukuru. He had just met with the leader the previous week and had urged him and his followers to follow the path of peace and not violence.
When the youth leader answered the phone, Pam asked him about the tension. The youth leader confirmed the tense situation and said that the Christian boys were already assembled and preparing to go fight the Muslim youth. Pam told him that he should tell the boys to go back home. The youth leader argued with him for a bit. Pam told him, “You should know that there are already soldiers in Bukuru and they will just kill you if you go in there planning to fight. The lives of your boys will just be wasted. You do not want to waste the lives of these youth.” The youth leader finally agreed that he would tell the boys to go back.
Pam then called the Muslim youth leader. This young man told Pam that he was in Kano but was aware of the problems in Bukuru. Pam told him that he had to call his boys and tell them to go back home. There must be no fighting. The Muslim leader eventually agreed to do so. However, he called Pam back in a few minutes and said that his boys were afraid that if they disbanded the Christian youth would come and kill them. Pam told him that the Christian boys had already disbanded and promised the youth leader there would be no problem.
The Muslim leader eventually called Pam back and said that the Muslim youth had followed his instructions and dispersed.
Pam was elated while telling me about this and I was just as happy to receive this information. A serious battle was averted by the actions of a committed Christian pastor who had taken some initiative to build peace. And who knows what else his decisive action may have stopped? Had this battle reopened in Bukuru, the knowledge would have quickly spread by cell phones and text messages to other parts of the state, and violence could have exploded all over the state and been worse than January.
The next day, the Christian and the Muslim leaders both called Pam to thank him for his intervention. Apparently, they realized there would have been serious casualties if they had continued the way they were going. Both of them also agreed to participate in any peace initiative that Pam would create.
Lunch with Pam
The next day, Friday, 26 March, Rev. Pam filled me in on a few more details while we had lunch together. He said that one of the things that had helped spur this project forward was that around last Christmas he had met and provided some training for 24 Muslim youths who live near his church.
The church is located directly across the street from the Kwarafa Cinema, in the heart of the Muslim area in Jos. During the crisis, some Muslim youth came to burn his church. However, these 24 Muslim youth protected his church and arrested one of the boys. After beating him very well, they turned him over to the police. This event encouraged Pam to do more. It also encouraged some of the people who were helping Pam that perhaps some of his strategies might work.
Pam was very happy with the Kwarafa meeting and with the good coverage that the media gave it. It was not only on local news but made national news as well. He said that he had tried to give the soldiers a little token financial appreciation gift for helping provide security but they had refused. This, too, was an encouragement to him. Police and soldiers seldom turn down financial gifts.
Pam’s team had obviously learned some things from that event which they planned to include in the next meeting. He had been very pleased with the participation of the director general of NIPSS, who is a Hausa Fulani Muslim. He knew the language of the majority of those boys and really communicated well with them. Pam was also kind enough to say that he felt that my brief little speech really connected with the boys.
II—Origins of the meeting at Bukuru
