For example, take a look at this piece of garbage reporting about the riots in Jos over the course of the weekend:

The mostly Christian-backed governing party, the People’s Democratic Party, was declared to have won the state elections in Plateau state, of which Jos is the capital city.

The result was contested by the opposition All Nigeria People’s Party, which has support from Muslims.

Ok, even a cursory look at BBC’s own website, would have shown that the current President of Nigeria who also happens to be the head of the PDP is a muslim… Meanwhile, the Chairman of the All Nigeria People’s Party, Chief Edwin Ume-ezeoke is a Christian.

If one is to believe the BBC, which unfortunately is the main news source for millions of people outside Nigeria, then the implication is that a muslim leads a Christian party, and a christian leads a Muslim party, and somehow, these individuals had their respective followers assault people of opposing faiths.  Confused, so am I, but trust me that is the implication of the BBC report.

PDP and ANPP are secular parties which do contain religious fundamentalists in them, but those elements are the exception rather than the norm when it comes time to set party policies and activities.

What is going on in Jos right now is all about the perceived politics of disenfranchisement, and not religion. Here is a blurb from the Guardian:

According to sources, the crisis began when suspected members of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) learnt that the party was leading in the council polls for Jos North Council with about 58,000 votes but that the People Democratic Party (PDP) had allegedly upturned the result in its favour.

It was alleged that it was that rumour that ignited the youths of Jos North who were ANPP supporters to go on rampage as early as 4 a.m. yesterday, vandalising everything they felt belonged to the government.

How about Thisday:

Eyewitnesses said supporters of the All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP) allegedly became violent following speculations that their candidate, whom they said was leading the PDP candidate, was about to be “declared the loser.”

The ANPP protesters said they were not fighting people but fighting government “because of their action.” The results of the elections were still being collated when the crisis broke out.

Agency reports said youths with machetes hacked to death a policeman and burned tyres in one part of the city. Several mosques and churches were also reported to have been set ablaze.

So Nigerian papers say the strife was as a result of what is being perceived as a stolen election, but the BBC takes that, twists it around, and turns it into a story of Christians vs. Muslims, obviously a story that will garner more interest in the West, but one that sets religious relations back immensely across the board.

Hundreds of people are reported to have been killed in central Nigeria after Christians and Muslims clashed over the result of a local election.

A Muslim charity in the town of Jos says it collected more than 300 bodies, and fatalities are also expected among Christians.

There is no official confirmation yet, and figures are notoriously unreliable in Nigeria, says the BBC’s Alex Last.

Police have imposed a 24-hour curfew and the army is patrolling the streets.

The wonders of western media… I guess next time there is economic beef going down in the UK, Nigerian media should say it is a race war between the white anglo-saxons and their former subjects from the continent or the island…

Yup, how about that…

Posted By Naija Pundit

It is shameful that in 2008, things like this are still going on. Maybe those who engaged in the rampage didn’t get approved to go on the bonanza pilgrimage to Mecca?

From Christian Today

Tension is rising in the northern Nigerian town of Yelwa, in Bauchi State, after two churches were attacked and destroyed within a three day period, reports Christian Solidarity Worldwide.

Reports indicate that local Muslims dismantled the foundation stones of a new church belonging to the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) in Sabon Kaura on Sunday.

Bauchi’s Military Commandant, Commissioner of Police and Deputy Governor visited the area on Monday to investigate further and a guard was placed around the facility. However, despite the presence of these troops, an Anglican church two kilometres away was then burnt down on Tuesday evening.

Although there are currently less direct attacks on church buildings than in the past, churches in northern Nigeria and in central states continue to face regular harassment. They often have difficulties obtaining land or getting permission for construction. Churches there are commonly dismantled without adequate compensation, on the orders of local authorities.

In the northern town of Gwoza, a 50-year-old Catholic Church was obliged to construct an alternative gate to its’ premises after a newly constructed Islamic school blocked access to the original gate.

In the Sabon Ungwa area of Katsina Town in Katsina State, a Pentecostal pastor and his congregation are frequently attacked. Stones are hurled at the building during the Sunday service, cars are scratched and tyres flattened. On one occasion the pastor sustained a leg injury after being attacked by local youths.

A Catholic congregation in the Kankara area of Katsina has also been prevented from completing its church building since 1986, while another church was destroyed there earlier this year without compensation. A charismatic church in Mani, Katsina State, was ordered to cease construction of their new facility, which was then completed by local authorities and turned into a library. In addition, sources report the Kano State House of Assembly has allegedly billed a legal provision forbidding the use of land for the construction of churches, even if the land in question belongs to a Christian.

A local source told CSW: “This illustrates the unpredictability of events in northern states. Although the authorities appear ready to enforce peace, this has yet to penetrate to the intolerant section of society that continues to foment religious tension without provocation whenever they feel like doing so.”

CSW’s Advocacy Director Tina Lambert, said was worrying that the presence of troops in Yelwa did not deter a further attack on a church nearby.

CSW is calling on the Bauchi State authorities to further increase security forces in the area in order to ensure the protection of the Christian community and their assets.

“We ask for a definitive end to the violence and the timely payment of adequate compensation to the damaged churches,” said Ms Lambert. “CSW also calls on the authorities in other northern and central states, in the interests of justice and reconciliation, to ensure the Christian community is equally allowed to enjoy the right to freedom of worship and assembly, as provided for under the Nigerian Constitution.”

CSW is also calling on the federal attorney general to urgently review and challenge any legislation enacted by Nigeria’s individual states “that discriminates against any section of society, thereby violating the Federal Constitution”.

Incidentally, don’t think this is only a Muslim agressors, Christian victim type of thing, the reverse also happens. Incidentally, I feel that a majority of these conflicts are caused by things other than religion. money and power.

Posted by Naija Pundit

It is interesting to note that these guys, including one who seems to be the Speaker of the House, Dimeji Bankole are quite proud of their accomplishment.

Anyway, as a proponent of the Britiko religion, my faith requires me to worship the Queen of England at Buckingham Palace, who do I need to go see about paying for my airfare, feeding and lodging?

If you have the answer to that question, please let me know.

Posted by Naija Pundit

Hajj – Over 21,000 Pilgrims Airlifted

Leadership (Abuja)
NEWS
17 November 2008
Posted to the web 17 November 2008

By Emmanuel Iffer
Abuja
No fewer than 21,000 Muslims have been airlifted to Saudi Arabia in the on-going airlift of pilgrims which began early in the month.

This was disclosed yesterday by the chairman, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Mallam Mohammed Musa Bello, in Abuja.

allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Hajj – Over 21,000 Pilgrims AirliftedThe chairman who spoke with newsmen about the hajj operations so far, said 21,231 pilgrims had been successfully airlifted to the Holy Land to perform their religious duties.

Mallam Bello noted that the airlift was going on in all the zones designated for the hajj operation.

He acknowledged that as with hajj operations, the first week of airlift was no different but that the commission was already getting over it.

“We are overcoming the initial problem usually associated with the first week of airlift of pilgrims,” he maintained.

The chairman who described the airlift as the most challenging aspect of the hajj operations, added that the commission had, apart from the commissioned air carrier, arranged with three other airlines to standby, and that the standby airlines have since been deployed to help forestall lapses.

He added that the commissions in close collaboration with the National Amirul Hajj, Oladimeji Bankole, were working hard so as to ensure that all registered pilgrims were airlifted to Saudi Arabia.

Furthermore, the chairman said that all other aspects of the hajj were going on without hitch.