Youth protesting the presidential polls at Tudun Wada in Kaduna State on Monday The mood of optimism fostered by federal elections turned gloomy and apprehensive yesterday as rioters went on a rampage in parts of the north, leaving many dead. Most of the dead were the innocent and poor, the usual victims of mob actions, but much of the property destroyed belonged to the rich and the powerful. The revolt against authority figures was sparked by the landslide election victory of President Goodluck Jonathan over the local favourite, Muhammadu Buhari, the retired army general and former military head of state.
In Kaduna, Gombe, Bauchi, Kano, Adamawa, and Zaria, the homes of leading traditional rulers and politicians were razed to the ground as the youth attacked people they considered to be oppressors. The residence of Vice President Namadi Sambo, located at Baba Ahmed Road, Tudun Wada, Zaria, was reportedly burnt down and his Kaduna home saved from a similar fate by the quick intervention of his security officers.
In Gombe, one of the places where the riots started, a group almost succeeded in burning down the house of the state governor, Danjuma Goje. Their attempts were foiled but those who went to the campaign office of Governor Isah Yuguda succeeded in burning down the place and destroying several vehicles belonging to PDP agents. The rioters also blocked the main Ahmadu Bello Way leading to the Sa'adu Zungur Model School which served as a collation centre for the presidential election.
In Kano, which seemed to have witnessed the worst of this anger against people previously held in high esteem, the palace of the emir of Kano, in Dorayi, was burnt down. The home of the former speaker of the House of Representatives, Umar Ghali Na'abba - once a beacon of radicalism for northern youth - was set on fire.
Bashir Tofa, seen as a PDP sympathiser, suffered a worse fate, losing both of his homes, and Isiaku Rabiu, considered a sympathizer of President Goodluck Jonathan, had to be evacuated quickly from his home when the mob came calling. The house of the Galadima of Kano, who allegedly distributed money and fabric on behalf of Mr Jonathan, was also burnt down. In Bauchi, irate youth had set the house of the deputy national secretary of the PDP, Musa Babayo, on fire and burnt down the house of the state party chairman, Ibrahim Yaro Yaro.
Early sign of revolt
Mr Sambo had experienced a lot of disrespect during this election. Youth booed the campaign train of Mr Jonathan when it came to Kaduna and on at least one occasion, held his convoy hostage until he gave them money. During the aborted national assembly election of April 2, the vice president was ignored when he came for accreditation, and no one went over to greet him. During Saturday's election, when Mr Sambo came for accreditation at his polling unit, voters shouted obscenities at him and he had to leave abruptly. The disrespect that the vice president, a politician, received pales in comparison to the insult to the Sultan of Sokoto, head of the Muslim community. On the Friday preceding Saturday's election, he was pelted with "pure water" by regular people who reportedly accused him of supporting President Jonathan. Such a thing was previously unheard of and would have been considered almost sacrilegious. No less shocking was the treatment meted out to the Lamido of Adamawa on the same day. The emir was used to being swamped by people who rushed over to pay their respects after Friday prayers. But on the eve of the election, as the Lamido prepared to receive this usual obeisance, people went past him, some turning their backs on him.
The causes of anger
The immediate reason for the rampage in the north had been the announcement that Mr Jonathan practically won the polls. Although the conduct of the election had generally been praised, the results coming out of a few states in the north where pro-Buhari sentiment is strongest, was a major factor in the riots. For instance, in Kaduna State where the CPC was set to rout Mr Sambo's PDP, the result that the party got 1.2 million votes to CPC's 1.3 million shocked Mr Buhari's supporters who considered the margin too narrow and hardly representative of the reality. The fact that Mr Jonathan was able to get the requisite 25 percent in states that are traditionally CPC strongholds and also win between 90 percent and 99 percent of votes in some south-south and southeast states, also made many of them suspicious. While these elections were the last straw that broke the camel's back, it was clear that these riots were also about northern youth who had, for a long time, felt disenfranchised and vested their hopes of change on the candidacy of Mr Buhari, a man considered to be different from the largely corrupt leaders that have ruled over them for decades. None of this justified the violence unleashed in the days following the election. Mr Buhari had, however, not run such an inspiring campaign, according to analysts. His choice of campaigning mainly in his northern stronghold, and making little effort to win the southern votes, was seen by many as a major hindrance. Other analysts say that although his actions may have been interpreted as a snub to the south, it was in fact more an indication of the lack of money available to the Buhari campaign compared to Mr Jonathan's war chest.
Who will stem the rage
In the past, traditional rulers in the north always exerted remarkable influence on the people. However, with their increasing encroachment into partisan politics, they have all but lost the respect of the people. Most of those who participated in the horrible riots were young people whose future had been circumscribed by poverty, illiteracy and wanton neglect. Although the poverty index in Nigeria is embarrassing, statistics from the north show that the illiteracy there is worse than the nation's average. In one of the debates before the presidential election, the ACN candidate, Nuhu Ribadu, told the Kano State governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, who ran on the ticket of the ANPP, that Kano was the most educationally backward state in Nigeria. The one person who has more of a chance than any other of being listened to by northern youth has not said anything so far apart from the fact that he believes that electoral fraud has been perpetrated. Mr Buhari's party, the CPC, however, issued a statement condemning the violence resulting from the elections.
"The CPC abhors violence by all Nigerians in the course of expressing grievances," the statement said.
The party further said it "[had], throughout its campaign, preached to its supporters to eschew violence".
"In the circumstances, we therefore call on all our supporters to remain calm and nonviolent and prepare themselves for the next round of elections on Tuesday, April 26, 2011," the statement said.
Other northern political leaders, including former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, who was chosen as the northern consensus candidate of the PDP by a group, also condemned the scale of the violence when there were existing legal avenues to handle post-election complaints.
"Any form of political violence that involves attacks on public institutions, including places of worship, is dangerous to the stability, unity and peaceful coexistence of Nigeria," he said.
Already, curfews have been imposed in Kaduna, Kano and Katsina. Ibrahim Shema, Katsina State governor, said: "There is no excuse for violence. I have directed security agencies, including the military, police and civil defence, to arrest anyone found to perpetrate violence, murder and arson."
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Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everydayIn Kaduna, Gombe, Bauchi, Kano, Adamawa, and Zaria, the homes of leading traditional rulers and politicians were razed to the ground as the youth attacked people they considered to be oppressors. The residence of Vice President Namadi Sambo, located at Baba Ahmed Road, Tudun Wada, Zaria, was reportedly burnt down and his Kaduna home saved from a similar fate by the quick intervention of his security officers.
In Gombe, one of the places where the riots started, a group almost succeeded in burning down the house of the state governor, Danjuma Goje. Their attempts were foiled but those who went to the campaign office of Governor Isah Yuguda succeeded in burning down the place and destroying several vehicles belonging to PDP agents. The rioters also blocked the main Ahmadu Bello Way leading to the Sa'adu Zungur Model School which served as a collation centre for the presidential election.
In Kano, which seemed to have witnessed the worst of this anger against people previously held in high esteem, the palace of the emir of Kano, in Dorayi, was burnt down. The home of the former speaker of the House of Representatives, Umar Ghali Na'abba - once a beacon of radicalism for northern youth - was set on fire.
Bashir Tofa, seen as a PDP sympathiser, suffered a worse fate, losing both of his homes, and Isiaku Rabiu, considered a sympathizer of President Goodluck Jonathan, had to be evacuated quickly from his home when the mob came calling. The house of the Galadima of Kano, who allegedly distributed money and fabric on behalf of Mr Jonathan, was also burnt down. In Bauchi, irate youth had set the house of the deputy national secretary of the PDP, Musa Babayo, on fire and burnt down the house of the state party chairman, Ibrahim Yaro Yaro.
Early sign of revolt
Mr Sambo had experienced a lot of disrespect during this election. Youth booed the campaign train of Mr Jonathan when it came to Kaduna and on at least one occasion, held his convoy hostage until he gave them money. During the aborted national assembly election of April 2, the vice president was ignored when he came for accreditation, and no one went over to greet him. During Saturday's election, when Mr Sambo came for accreditation at his polling unit, voters shouted obscenities at him and he had to leave abruptly. The disrespect that the vice president, a politician, received pales in comparison to the insult to the Sultan of Sokoto, head of the Muslim community. On the Friday preceding Saturday's election, he was pelted with "pure water" by regular people who reportedly accused him of supporting President Jonathan. Such a thing was previously unheard of and would have been considered almost sacrilegious. No less shocking was the treatment meted out to the Lamido of Adamawa on the same day. The emir was used to being swamped by people who rushed over to pay their respects after Friday prayers. But on the eve of the election, as the Lamido prepared to receive this usual obeisance, people went past him, some turning their backs on him.
The causes of anger
The immediate reason for the rampage in the north had been the announcement that Mr Jonathan practically won the polls. Although the conduct of the election had generally been praised, the results coming out of a few states in the north where pro-Buhari sentiment is strongest, was a major factor in the riots. For instance, in Kaduna State where the CPC was set to rout Mr Sambo's PDP, the result that the party got 1.2 million votes to CPC's 1.3 million shocked Mr Buhari's supporters who considered the margin too narrow and hardly representative of the reality. The fact that Mr Jonathan was able to get the requisite 25 percent in states that are traditionally CPC strongholds and also win between 90 percent and 99 percent of votes in some south-south and southeast states, also made many of them suspicious. While these elections were the last straw that broke the camel's back, it was clear that these riots were also about northern youth who had, for a long time, felt disenfranchised and vested their hopes of change on the candidacy of Mr Buhari, a man considered to be different from the largely corrupt leaders that have ruled over them for decades. None of this justified the violence unleashed in the days following the election. Mr Buhari had, however, not run such an inspiring campaign, according to analysts. His choice of campaigning mainly in his northern stronghold, and making little effort to win the southern votes, was seen by many as a major hindrance. Other analysts say that although his actions may have been interpreted as a snub to the south, it was in fact more an indication of the lack of money available to the Buhari campaign compared to Mr Jonathan's war chest.
Who will stem the rage
In the past, traditional rulers in the north always exerted remarkable influence on the people. However, with their increasing encroachment into partisan politics, they have all but lost the respect of the people. Most of those who participated in the horrible riots were young people whose future had been circumscribed by poverty, illiteracy and wanton neglect. Although the poverty index in Nigeria is embarrassing, statistics from the north show that the illiteracy there is worse than the nation's average. In one of the debates before the presidential election, the ACN candidate, Nuhu Ribadu, told the Kano State governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, who ran on the ticket of the ANPP, that Kano was the most educationally backward state in Nigeria. The one person who has more of a chance than any other of being listened to by northern youth has not said anything so far apart from the fact that he believes that electoral fraud has been perpetrated. Mr Buhari's party, the CPC, however, issued a statement condemning the violence resulting from the elections.
"The CPC abhors violence by all Nigerians in the course of expressing grievances," the statement said.
The party further said it "[had], throughout its campaign, preached to its supporters to eschew violence".
"In the circumstances, we therefore call on all our supporters to remain calm and nonviolent and prepare themselves for the next round of elections on Tuesday, April 26, 2011," the statement said.
Other northern political leaders, including former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, who was chosen as the northern consensus candidate of the PDP by a group, also condemned the scale of the violence when there were existing legal avenues to handle post-election complaints.
"Any form of political violence that involves attacks on public institutions, including places of worship, is dangerous to the stability, unity and peaceful coexistence of Nigeria," he said.
Already, curfews have been imposed in Kaduna, Kano and Katsina. Ibrahim Shema, Katsina State governor, said: "There is no excuse for violence. I have directed security agencies, including the military, police and civil defence, to arrest anyone found to perpetrate violence, murder and arson."
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