Apparently for Islamic fundamentalists, this is a blasphemous statement for which the author and everyone and everything related to him or her must be hounded to death or raised down. So on Monday November 19th, the Islamic zealots made for the office of the Newspaper in Kaduna and raised it down along with any vehicles carrying its name. But their anger was not assuaged. Supposing the Newspaper to be owned by a Southern Christian, they made for any Christian or Southern person or property in site, killing, maiming and burning. Over one hundred lives have been lost so far, and the dust is yet to settle. We have been reliably informed that all the Churches and other structures belonging to Christians in Tudun Wada and Kabala have been destroyed. Mission houses and presbyteries were also attacked and destroyed. Among those lying critically ill in the hospital today is an elderly priest, Father Iyere, who retired about ten years ago as Director of the Catholic Chaplaincy Services in the Nigerian Armed Forces.

Notable among the most valuable Catholic properties destroyed in this mayhem is the Catholic Resource Centre - a social development resource facility for the northern provinces of the Catholic Church. Rev. Father Peter Tanko, Director of the Centre, who also resides there, narrowly escaped death by scaling the wall of his fence and fleeing to the neighbouring compound where he watched the looting and eventual burning of his house, office and vehicles. Thus once again Kaduna has been brought to a standstill by Islamic fundamentalists. But that is not all. Abuja has had a taste of the deadly poison of Islamic fundamentalism, meaning that even the capital city of Nigeria which we thought was a melting pot, is not seen by the Muslims to belong to all Nigerians equally. After their Jumat prayers in Abuja on Friday November 22nd, and without any warning, thousands of irate youths, coming out of the mosque, chanted their usual war songs (Alahu Akbar), and descended on innocent motorists and passers-by, causing pandemonium in the city.

Many people who could not respond to questions posed to them in Arabic received machete cuts, while a number of cars belonging to non-Muslims were burnt or destroyed. The number of deaths arising from the Abuja uprising has not been ascertained as at the time of writing. The irate Islamic youths of Abuja were said to be venting their anger over the hosting of the Miss World Competition in Nigeria, and the unholy comment in the This Day Newspaper against the person of prophet Muhammed. Meanwhile, the Newspaper which has a number of Muslims at every level in its employment has on daily basis since Monday November 18th been publishing an apology to all Muslims for the "offensive" publication. But for the zealots, the apology is too little, and too late. For them, the harm has been done, and must be avenged, ostensibly on all non-Muslim Nigerians and their properties!

Now with a dusk to dawn curfew in Kaduna, and with thousands of heavily armed security agents taking over the streets of Abuja, there is uneasy calm in both cities. No one can say when normalcy will return, especially to Kaduna, as Christian youths, who were taken unawares this time around, may still be poised for a revenge mission. And for residents of Abuja, what happened last Friday is an indication that Abuja may not be the home of peace and security that the founders thought it would be for Nigerians of all creeds and ethnic nationalities.

Since February 2000, Sharia-related violent riots during which hundreds of lives are lost, and churches, shops, cars and houses belonging to Christians are burnt, have become a regular feature in Kaduna, Kano, Jos, Zaria and Bauchi, where a large population of Christians live alongside Muslims. Innocent Christians and Southerners carrying on their legitimate businesses in the Northern States have either had to relocate down South or have lived in perpetual fear of the murderous gang of Islamic fanatics whose thirst for the blood of non-Muslims in their midst is now shown to be insatiable.

Kaduna has by all standards become the most dangerous place to live in Nigeria. After the Sharia-induced massacres of February and May 2000, the metropolitan city has been effectively divided into two, the River Kaduna marking the dividing line. Christians moved away from the Muslim-dominated northern flank of Tudun Wada, Angwa Sariki, Angwa Sanusi, Rigasa, Mando, Kabala and Kawo, and joined their fellows in the southern flank of Barnawa, Narayi, Sabo, Kakuri, where they now constitute the overwhelming majority, forcing some of the Muslims in the area to move-away from there. In fact some indigenes of Kaduna are actually asking that two different towns be created from the old Kaduna, one for Muslims, with a Muslim (Sharia) government, if the inhabitants so wish, and the other part for Christians, under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. And since a large proportion of the entire state, south of the city of Kaduna is Christian, many are actually asking for a Southern Kaduna State to be created out of the present one.

What we have been witnessing in Nigeria in the last few years, is actually the failure of state and the collapse of governance. There is nothing on the ground to demonstrate that ours is not a land run over by political bandits, ethnic warlords and religious fanatics. The average citizen now seems to have lost confidence in the capacity of those in power to protect lives and property. Where one part of the country can decide to operate an Islamic legal code that is clearly at variance with the national constitution, cutting off the limbs of petty offenders, condemning poor adulterers to death by stoning, and harassing non-Muslims every so often, the impression created is that no one is in charge of our affairs, and there is no law and order in place.

With a selfless, visionary and prudent leadership, the thousands of death we have recorded, and the millions of Naira worth of property that have been destroyed in the last few years, could have been avoided. We hold the current leadership of the Nigerian State responsible for the massive destruction of lives and property in Kaduna, Jos, Kano, Zaria, Bauchi and elsewhere over the Sharia controversy, and at the hands of Islamic fundamentalists, because the president and his team have remained indolent and insensitive in the face of a very explosive situation. We hold President Obasanjo and his team accountable for the blood and tears in many parts of Nigeria where non-Muslims have lost their right to live in peace, for it is the primary duty of government to protect innocent and law abiding citizens from the nefarious activities of hooligans, bandits and fanatics. We hold them responsible for the pain and anguish that is the lot of the innocent citizens of Northern Nigeria who have been rendered refugees in their own country, because we expect them to own up to their ineptitude and resign from their high office, if their being in office makes no difference for the internal security of the nation.

After three and a half years in government, the present crop of leaders have done little to improve the lot of Nigerians. The economy is comatose. Unemployment, especially graduate unemployment has soared, as a result of which the mass of our young people are losing hope. Our schools, hospitals, and other social infrastructure are in an embarrassing state of decay. The population itself is more divided today than it was, since the end of 1967-1970 civil war. And now religious violence has been added to our multiple woes. But in the midst of all these calamities, our leaders carrying on business as usual. They are feeding fat on our scarce resources, selling the poor for a pair of sandals and playing games with the fate and fortune of our children. There are allegations and counter allegation of bribery, running into hundreds of millions of Naira, and involving high-ranking members of the legislature and the executive. Young Nigerians have become angry, restive and violence prone. They are capitalising on anything they can find to vent their anger. Yesterday it was ethnicity. Today it is religion. Tomorrow it may be political affiliation. And there are politicians who fan these flames of violence for their own selfish political advantage. But where does all these leave Nigeria?

In the midst of the madness of today peace-seeking Nigerians must begin to take the elected representatives of the people to task with regard to their commitment or otherwise to creating the enabling environment for peace and social well-being. The saner elements in our society must begin to take the president, the governors, the local government chairmen and the lawmakers at all levels to task on their capacity or otherwise to formulate and defend such legal instruments and pursue such policies that will make for peace, security and prosperity.

It is not enough for us to desire peace for our land. We must be peace makers as well. We must be committed to designing strategies to forestall, manage and resolve conflict situations. We must work hard and make sacrifices towards the attainment of the peace of our dream. The men and women of goodwill in Nigeria must constantly be on the watch to ensure that in our evolving democracy, such agents of destabilisation as the gang of Islamic fanatics in the North and their collaborators elsewhere do not hijack our commonweal for selfish political gains, and transform our land to a theatre of war, a war with no discernible reason and one without frontiers.

The latest uprising in Kaduna and Abuja should teach despondent Nigerians that evil will always thrive when good people keep silent. Christians and the saner segment of the Islamic community must reflect together and rise up in defence of the secular nature of our national constitution, or else Nigeria may soon become another Algeria. A stitch in time saves nine they say. This latest events in the tragic drama of the Nigerian state is one more reason why it is necessary to hold a round table or a national conference to discuss the terms of our social contract as a nation. We cannot continue to be banded together in a hellish state by professional politicians who are only mercenaries, as they have little or no concern for the flesh and blood of the poor that are sacrificed on daily basis to an insatiable god of hate. The time to act is now!