Violence around the city of Jos in Plateau State of Nigeria has been moving in and out of the mainstream media headlines over the past week.  However, while this month’s attacks by Muslim Hausa speaking Funali herdsmen on Berom Christians has gotten some press it is also reported that this is a retaliation raid for Berom attacks on Funali settlements back in January.  And in the even bigger picture, as you can probably anticipate, this is part of a much longer and larger cycle of violence in the area.  I found a story from the BBC to be particularly helpful in providing the context for the conflict.  Here are some helpful excerpts:

A mosaic of distinct ethnic groups – Tiv, Jukun, Pyem, Kofyar, Berom, the Hausa-Fulani and many more – live along this dividing line between the Muslim north and mostly Christian south.
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The fertile land and jobs were a powerful draw for migrants seeking work. People travelled to Jos from all over Nigeria.

Those patterns of migration are marked today by sharp divisions in the community.

People here are either classified as indigenes or settlers.

Indigenes are able to prove their ancestry in the state.

Settlers – whose grandparents and great-grandparents settled here – cannot.

Settlers find it difficult to get jobs in local government, or apply for educational scholarships.

Most indigenes are Berom Christians. Most settlers are Hausa Muslims.

Many Christians believe Hausa Muslim settlers seek to seize political control and impose Sharia law. They fear an extremist Islamist agenda and jihad.

Many Muslims believe the Plateau State government wishes to drive them out of certain areas.

The circle of violence, the emergence of vigilante groups and organised militia, the suspicion of the military within the Christian community and the lack of a political framework for talks worries those tasked with security.

There is a bit of coverage out there, some of it better than others.  From the admittedly incomplete reading that I have done I would recommend the BBC article, a New York Times piece, and an AP story from The Boston Globe.  General Christian voices include Christian Today and The Christian Post.  Local voices carried by AllAfrica.com include news stories, opinion pieces, and interviews.  In particular, there are some interesting comments in that interview with Barrister Yahaya Mahood who has previously represented Fulani settlers.  In the interview he says about earlier incidents:

They are not religious riots. They are ethnic clashes between those that are called indigenes and those called settlers. The dispute in the two communities is not over religion, its practice or right. It is purely economic. In both cases, people who settled 200 years who are purely traders and businessmen dominated the economy over those who say they are indigenes and who are public servants and farmers.

When asked for his solution to the current conflict he answered in part:

[I]f the ‘indigenes’ will not accept the ‘settlers’ as Nigerians with a right to stay anywhere in Nigeria and enjoy rights as Nigerians, then the federal government should move all the settlers out of Jos back to wherever and pay them adequate compensation. That is why I welcomed the Chief Solomon Lar Panel, made up of indigenes and settlers to sort out their differences. It is better than setting up Judicial Commissions of Inquiry.
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We should allow Chief Solomon Lar panel to do its work. They know themselves. They know the problems and have the solution. The federal government must step in, be firm and rebuild the town as was done in Zango. Plateau State government should be neutral and fair to all, if the settlers are to remain in Jos. The leaders of the settlers should undertake to control their people and there should be mutual respect. Only that can guarantee peace.

That is a brief introduction to the situation.  Related to this I have seen both internal and external responses from the Presbyterian church.

From the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria the Moderator of the General Assembly, The Rt. Rev. Ubon Bassey Usung, has expressed views similar to those of Mr. Mahood.  According to the press report The Moderator “warned that the recurring ethno-religious crisis in Jos, Plateau State, if not checked immediately, might snowball into a full-blown war.”  The article goes on to say:

Usung  condemned the attack.  He advocated the setting up of a Conflict Resolution Committee  made up of Christian and Muslim leaders, government community chiefs and security agencies to check violence in the area.  “The committee should be able to preach peace among the members of the various communities and religions in the area and nip any crisis in the bud,” he added.

In solidarity with the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, The Rev. Harvey Self, has issued a statement which echoes Mr. Usung’s call for peace, security, and community work to heal the divisions.  The statement concludes with:

We also call on state and federal authorities in Nigeria to put an end to the culture of impunity by making every effort to identify and punish to the full extent of the law all those responsible for instigating and for carrying out these murderous attacks. In addition, we call upon state and federal authorities to make a concerted and sustained effort to deal with the underlying causes of these repeated outbreaks of ethnic and religious violence; namely, discrimination between settlers and indigenes, endemic poverty, and the continuing unresolved disputes over land. Finally, we call on all people of faith, everywhere, to pray and to work together for peace, healing, reconciliation, and acceptance of all human rights for the people of Nigeria.

We will see how this develops and which other Presbyterian branches speak out on it.  For now, I echo these words for us to “pray and work together for peace…”