The peaceful fraternal relationship which had existed for more than 100 years between the Hausa and their Yoruba hosts in Ile-Ife, Osun State, was shattered on March 7 when a minor dispute exploded into a violent free for all. Credible accounts say up to ten persons might have lost their lives in the crisis, but the police later put the number at 46. Ninety-six people were also reported to have been injured and treated in the hospital, with 15 still on admission. The destruction of property was also extensive.
Most affected was the Sabo area of the town where most of the Hausa community lived. Houses, shops and motor vehicles were burnt, while hundreds, if not thousands of people, were displaced. For the first time in the history of Ile-Ife, the Northerners, many of whom were born and bred in the city, fled.
The crisis reportedly followed an altercation between a certain Ife lady and a Northerner, who allegedly assaulted her. The decision of her husband to rise to her defence culminated in the communal fight which claimed several lives.
We strongly condemn the inter-ethnic fight in Ile-Ife and urge that another theatre of bloody ethnic clashes is not opened in that part of the country. Nigerians of all extractions should learn to live in peace with their hosts and settler communities, and allow the rule of law to prevail whenever they have differences. Many Nigerians now have a penchant for taking the law into their own hands without recourse to law enforcement agencies whenever they have differences with their fellow citizens. This is what is fueling many of the clashes between host and settler communities in many parts of the country. This should not be so. But then, it is important that the police and other law enforcement agencies are seen to be fair to all disputants, to earn the respect of the people.
The State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, immediately visited Ile-Ife with his officials to assess the crisis. He later addressed the people, gave relief items and said the perpetrators of the crisis had been arrested.
The police have since paraded 20 persons suspected to have taken part in the violence, with some of them denying their involvement and claiming that the arrests were one-side, as mostly only Ife people were arrested, leaving out the Northerners who also took part in the violence. Even the pan-Yoruba organisation, Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), and other notable Yoruba organisations and leaders have also accused the allegedly mostly Northern policemen sent to investigate the incident, of arresting only the Yoruba, and transporting them to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, to intimidate them, even when the alleged crime was committed in Ile-Ife.
The loss of lives and property to this clash is unfortunate. It is gratifying to note the intervention of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, who worked hard to restore peace and ordered the release of those initially held hostage. It is also reassuring that a “peace and reconciliation” committee embracing all ethnic groups in the city, including the Igbo, Urhobo, Hausa and, of course, the Yoruba hosts, will be mandated to look into the tragedy to pinpoint its immediate and remote causes and how to ensure it never recurs.
This crisis is a shock to most Nigerians who are familiar with the exemplary history of the Yoruba in general, and Ile-Ife people in particular, in relating with non-indigenes. We look forward to the peace committee uncovering both the remote and immediate causes of the clash.
We urge all Nigerians to resolve to give the rule of law a chance. We should embrace civility, and eschew impatience in settling everyday disputes. There is unanimity that this crisis began with a Hausa man who tried to forcibly keep his ‘load’ in a store belonging to a Yoruba woman, and slapped her when she resisted the move. Elsewhere in the world, all she needed do was dial 911 and the police would come in minutes and take the Hausa man away in handcuffs. And, he would likely go to jail for battery. But the lady, who was said to be married to one of the leaders of the National Union of Road Transport Workers of Nigeria (NURTW) in the town, instead called her husband and his ‘boys’ to defend her. They beat up the Hausa man, thereby enraging the Hausa community, which rose up in his defence. The rest, as they say, is history.
The cost of this crisis is likely to be in scores of millions, perhaps, hundreds of millions of Naira, which could have been saved by going the regular route of lodging a complaint with the nearest police division. The lives of hundreds of Nigerians are going to be changed forever by this tragedy. Many of those who fled for their lives may never return to Ile-Ife, and would bear the wound in their psyche all their lives. The dead, of course, are an irretrievable loss.
It is not for nothing that the civilised world insists on following the rule of law. Building a civilised society is hard work. It may be slow; it is sometimes awkward; it requires patience; but in the end it is less risky than the instant justice exemplified by the incidents in Ile-Ife last week. It is also less costly as bloody clashes dent the image of communities, as well as disturb their peace and progress.
Let the law enforcement agencies ensure diligent investigation of this case. They should guard against one-sidedness in the prosecution of suspects and ensure justice for both sides of the violent clash.