The Jos Crisis, the untold story and global connection

The Jos Crisis, the untold story and global connection
One of my favourite documentary programs on CNN is a documentary program “My City, My Life” – it chronicles the life in a city through the eyes of celebrities who resides in the city and how the city has shaped their lives. They always portray the city in such a way as to make it a much sought destination or for business or pleasure.
Jos City has had great influence on my life and ministry; it provided me a fresh challenge in life and ministry when I believed that I have reached my peek in Lagos in the year 1997; the offer to relocate to Jos in was a welcome relief.
It was love at first sight when I entered Jos City in November 1997; the weather, low traffic and the generally peaceful atmosphere was conducive for what I believe that God has sent me to do in the city.
This atmosphere was however violated in September 2001 when an unprovoked ethno-religious crisis broke out in the City claiming many innocent lives and since that time the city of peace and tourism has known no peace but tension and sustained anxiety.
Jos City woke up to another senseless ethno-religious crisis on Friday 28th November 2008 and it came with wanton destruction of innocent lives and properties.
The question is for how long will our leaders watch and allow this kind of madness to continue?
Nigeria is a nation where those entrusted with the responsibility of governance knows next to nothing about the purpose of governance as it is seen as a means of amassing wealth and worldly comfort and also a means of furthering some selfish agenda – many times ethnic and religious.
A lot of reasons have been adduced as the cause of this mayhem, but many of the reasons have been given in apparent denial of the real truth behind this crisis and until we all put on our sincerity cap and face the issue head on, this ugly thing will repeat itself over and over again.
The truth of the matter is that the Jos crisis which started in 2001and repeated itself this year 2008 is not and has never been a political crisis; it is an ethno-religious crisis which dates back to the vision of a man called Usman dan Fodio.
Usman dan Fodio was an Arab immigrant born in 1754 to a Muslim scholar, he was thoroughly imbued with Islamic culture, and by the age of 20 began to teach, travel, and preach. The final break came in 1804, when Usuman, elected imam (leader) by his followers, declared a jihad, or holy war. Within a few years, aided by his son Muhammad Bello, Usman was in charge of most of Hausa land imposing the Islamic religion on the inhabitants who were hitherto animists and ancestral worshippers; most of these conquests were achieved under the guise of politics which he used to spread the Islamic religion to major parts of Northern Nigeria which largely practised animism as their predominant religion.
Usman dan Fodio was successful in major parts of the north until 1812 when his activities were effectively checked when he turned east towards the Kanem Bornu Empire; he later withdrew from active politics and devoted his last five years to scholarship, leaving a prodigious body of writings. His son Muhammad Bello, also a brilliant scholar, took over from him and expanded his father's empire southward into Yoruba country in South Western Nigeria which resulted in a large section of the area being converted to Islam through force of arms.
This is the truth that political leaders has been denying that this incessant crisis is all part of an age long vision to Islamise the nation which is an offshoot of a global Islamic agenda to spread Islam through Jihad – this is the truth that our leaders are denying.
Jos and its environs was the one section of the country where this Jihad recorded little or no success but the vision of Usman dan Fodio has been kept alive by successive generations; the desire and cause was to Islamise Jos, install an Emir against the wish of the inhabitants who were more receptive to Christian missionaries who came with a lot of developmental projects which are still in the state and flourishing till date.
The Christians in Plateau state Nigeria and all over the world must come to terms with this truth that Islam is out to destroy our faith; if we don’t, we will continue to lose members and properties they might preach tolerance and freedom of religion, it is a BIG LIE.
WE CANNOT SIT AND FOLD OUR ARMS
The political leaders in Plateau state has been toying with the destiny of the state; they have displayed a lack of will either moral or political to take a stand for the yearnings of the citizens of the state which is to have a state where they can practise the religion that they have come to embrace, the religion which has improved their social well being over the years.
The recent mayhem in Jos has absolutely nothing to do with the local government elections; how does one explain Churches and mosques being burnt because of a faulty election – the adherents of Usman dan Fodio vision hid under the cloak of a local election to unleash terror and fear on the polity through a systematic ethnic cleansing.
There is no record of any politician being killed or their houses set ablaze; the three young boys who are on national service in Jos were killed because they are Yoruba Christians period, but our leaders would not want to accept this truth.
There is a grand plan to turn Jos City or the whole plateau state into an Emirate and establish Islam as the official religion; the way this is to be carried out is to cleanse the city of all non Hausa -Fulani citizens or intimidate them so much that they accept the Hausa – Fulani domination.
It is this same vision that terrorists like Osama Bn Laden and his cohorts are pursuing, killing in god’s name; it is this same vision that will make a group of boys sit for three months planning to unleash on innocent westerners in a Mumbai hotel.
Many times I have heard excuses made for terrorism as being a reaction to Western policies, how convenient – is it western policy that is responsible for Churches being burnt in Maiduguri Nigeria because a Belgian reporter published a cartoon depicting Mohammed as a terrorist.
The world need to wake up and called Islam by its name – it is an uncivilised way of getting people to embrace a religion.
Christianity too has the vision of Christianising the world, but it is through the power of love through humanitarian services and education, but Islam does this through force of physical arms.
The world has denied this obvious truth enough and this denial will cause uncivilised miscreants like Ahmedinajad to continue to make such statements claiming some humans do not have a right of existence.
For as long as we avoid this obvious truth, we will continue to experience this kind of senseless destruction of lives and properties.
Islam is not a religion of peace, it is one of VIOLENCE – and it is what is responsible for the incessant crises in Jos and every terrorism attack in the world.

Ps: Usman dan Fodio story adapted from – “Usman dan Fodio” Microsoft Student 2008 (DVD). Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2007