Abp. Kaigama of Jos: Religion not root cause of violence

“We will do whatever we can as a Church to promote…friendship and understanding among us and Muslims”, says Nigerian Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos in the aftermath of the latest wave of violence to sweep the central Plateau State.

The Archbishop issued a new call for peace in union with Muslim leaders in Jos on Monday after 16 people were killed in the latest round of violence between rival groups. The villages of Babale and Dabwak, mostly inhabited by a Christian community, were attacked on Sunday night, while 11 people were killed the previous night in another village, Tatu. At least 50 people have been killed in total since last Monday when celebrations for the end of Ramadan led to confrontations between groups of Christian and Muslim youths.

Archbishop Kaigama, however, said the conflict is not primarily religious, but is rooted in deeper causes which must be addressed, including fierce competition for local political power and control of fertile farmlands:

“It is very convenient for those in authority to say that the whole crisis is about religion. Christians, Muslims are fighting. Yes, I don’t deny that. There is tension in that regard. But then, the factors that are fuelling that crisis are not certainly only religions. There are many deep-seated root causes that have to be dug out and probably solutions found. This is not done.”

The Archbishop concluded “on the whole [Muslim leaders] responded very positively. They were very happy that there was this contact and they were very worried that our youth had imbibed this culture of death, culture of violence, instead of a culture of love.”
Listen to Christopher Wells’ full interview with Archbishop Kaigama: