Women Actions for Peace in Nigeria Jos, Jang and Genocide

By Hajiya Bilkisu (mni)

‘Conscience is an open wound, only the truth can heal it’ – Usman Danfodio

As the dust settled, the women in Jos across ethnic and religious divide fasted and prayed for three days and planned a protest march to register their condemnation of the wanton destruction of lives and property in their once peaceful city. They were prevented from carrying out their protest by the government. Those who could not be prevented were the Muslim women in Nigeria who converged in Abuja led by their umbrella organization, the Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria, FOMWAN. One hundred and twenty of us went in to the National Assembly in Abuja to protest the genocide in Jos. We carried placards that read:

‘End the Genocide’, ‘The Guilty Must be Punished’ ‘Stop the killings and Destruction” Let peace Reign on the Plateau’ This is Man’s Inhumanity to Man’ ‘Indict Jang’ etc.

They echoed the demands of some civil society organizations on the crisis. They called on all Nigerian to embrace peace, respect one another and resist the manipulation of our lives by the politicians and the ruling class who use religious and ethnic sentiments to cover up their failure to provide good governance and guarantee the fundamental rights of all. Like most citizens, the women have lost faith in the government panels that are set up to investigate the causes of various crises and their numerous reports that are never implemented. The women and the Centre called for the prosecution of the perpetrators of the mayhem and international investigation and action in the case. They also demanded that

• leaders should be held accountable for crisis that occur during their tenure

• the government should also investigate and prosecute those responsible for the killing over one thousand (1000) people during the violence

• the media must eschew partisanship and provide balanced and unbiased reports to avoid the escalation of the crisis

• government must compensate all the victims who lost their family members and properties as a result of the tragedy

• all the previous reports of inquiries set up to investigate the various crises be made public and those behind the violence should be prosecuted no matter how highly placed

• the government of Plateau state must realize that the discrimination against non-indigenes in its territory is a time-bomb that must not be allowed to explode again. It has responsibility to protect all the people living in the state, irrespective of their religious and ethnic group.
• the Federal government should ensure that its security forces exercise restraint and comply with international standards on the use of force in responding inter-communal violence.

The writer is a Nigerian Muslim and is an active member of the IFAPA Women network. The account is given as a way of sharing information and also as a way of showing what women working together can achieve. This is one of the things IFAPA Women’s Desk is working on – women of different faiths, women of different ethnic backgrounds bound together by common concerns and taking action to address these concerns. Help IFAPA achieve their aims through assisting the IFAPA Women Desk to support women of Africa in their efforts as there are many challenges along the way. We salute the women of Nigeria for voicing their concerns and ensuring that these concerns were heard – this is indeed something for others to learn from.

Coalition Against Jos Genocide –

By Hajiya Bilkisu (mni)

The Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN) sent messages to members of its numerous affiliate groups inviting them to join the protest march on the genocide in Jos. At 10 o’clock when they were heading to the assembly there were only 120 women but an hour later when they were asked to enter the National Assembly building the number had swelled to one thousand and fifteen women! The senate was in session and none of the Committee rooms could accommodate them. The women came from various groups within the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and the neigbouring states of Plateau, Nassarawa, Kaduna and Kogi. Among them were Ansar-udeen Society, Women In Da’awah, Movement for Islamic Culture and Awareness MICA, NASFAT Women’s Wing, Muslim Sisters Organisation MSO, Muslim students Association MSS. Muslim Corpers Association of Nigeria MCAN etc. They were led by the FOMWAN National Amirah (President) Hajiya Maryam Idris Othman and were received by the Senate President David Mark and his colleagues.

In a statement read by the Amirah, she told the Senators that ‘Muslim women condemn in strong terms the repeated violence against the citizens of this country and call on the Federal Government to enforce the freedom of citizens to reside in any part of Nigeria without fear of persecution as enshrined in the constitution’. The women also demanded as follows: That the perpetrators of the carnage be identified and punished, reports of panels established to investigate earlier crises should be made public and the recommendations made therein implemented, payment of compensation to those who lost their homes and property, the source of small arms and ammunition should be identified and inflow controlled, leaders such as governors who are the Chief Security Officers of their states should also be held responsible for actions that happen during their tenure. In his response, the Senate President commended the women for their

patience and orderliness. He assured them that their demands will be considered and action will be taken.

The FOMWAN led protest seemed to have galvanized the civil society organizations into action. Thirty five NGOs drawn nation -wide from human rights and pro democracy groups, gender and women’s rights organizations, concerned professional bodies, children’s rights promotion groups collaborated and issued a joint statement and a press release titled 35 Nigerian NGOs Call for ICC Investigations into Jos crisis.

IFAPA works with like-minded organizations and networks and the IFAPA Women’s Desk has been in contact with FOMWAN through Ms Bilkisu who is an active member of the IFAPA women network. The Nigerian women action provides clear evidence that faith-based African women are active participants in working for peace and in this undertaking, they are increasingly showing courage and leadership that go with the role. IFAPA encourages this and continues to work towards empowering women of Africa to address the ills that make Africa an unhealthy continent thus beyond the ‘cry’ in A Mother’s Cry for a Healthy Africa Campaign, which rallies women of different faith communities together, women of Africa are taking action and need to be supported. IFAPA is providing this support albeit with constraints and would welcome all who are willing to be partners in empowering women of Africa to speak and be listened to and to take positive action in challenging situations such as the Nigeria case. Well done FOMWAN for being a positive example!