Their eyes huge
from fear and confusion after fleeing their burning village of Izge, some 300
internally displaced people met with members of the Adamawa Peace Initiative
(API) in Mubi, where they had sought refuge. Members of the peace council had
traveled north from Yola, capital of Adamawa State, to distribute food,
clothing and money to these mothers, daughters, some sons and a few
husbands.
We listened to tales of terror and flight.
Spearheaded by the
American University of Nigeria (AUN), the Adamawa Peace Initiative has been a
local, Yola-based response to the escalating violence and state of emergency in
the states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa. Representing both Muslims and
Christians, as well as business, educational and government leaders, the peace
council has five development projects-from literacy training for teachers and
students, to a peace through sports initiative for over 1,200 unemployed youth,
to free ICT and entrepreneurship training to help create income and employment.
One of our
strongest areas is education for girls. We are using advanced technology, in
one of the poorest parts of the world, to ensure that young children, especially
girls, can read, write and participate in society. Recently, the Yola Girls
secondary school won the math portion of our STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering and Math) contest.
The API recently
has been transforming itself into something of a relief agency as part of its
peacemaking role. So far, there are few national or international responses to
the increasing violence in Northern Nigeria.
What is causing the
violence in the North and how can it be stopped? Imam Dauda Bello, peace
council member, says it is creed, greed and need. Creed or religion is being
used to create distrust and violence in a setting ripe for it, he believes. On
the four hour drive to Mubi, Peace Council members shared first-hand stories
describing Christians disguised as Muslims burning mosques, and vice versa. By
greed Imam Bello points explicitly to the corruption of the political system in
Nigeria that has left many areas -- especially the northeast -- among he
poorest in the world. Education levels are among the lowest and maternal
mortality the highest. Electric power and potable water are rare where it
exists at all. There are 10 million young people on the street. The Almajari as
they are called, beg for food and many have no education. The future looks
bleak, especially for the young. Basic needs are not being met, and for some --
as in other parts of the world -- violence is the answer.
While the conflict
in the North is generally reported as a religious one, the two-year-old API,
which has been very active in the region, and whose Christian and Muslim
members are largely local residents, disagree. All agree that religion is being
used to manipulate people and that unless something is done about the
underlying conditions of extreme poverty in the north, there will be more
killings, more refugees and more despair. The aims of the rebel group Boko
Haram are now clear. They have claimed responsibility for some horrendous
killings, including those of school children. Now they have kidnapped between
200-300 girls. The Nigerian government's response has been ineffective leading
to a cycle of conflict and death. All agree the conflict is complex and
confusing. No one expected this to be their last trip north.
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