T
here is nothing more sacred
than a human life. A human
life is very sacred whenever
it’s lost and it’s a terrible tragedy
whether that of a farmer, a herder,
a Muslim, a Christian, a Berom or a
Fulani. A loss of life is a tragedy. In
the past two years, I have travelled
thrice to Plateau, and also to Zamfara,
Kaduna, Sokoto, Edo and Niger States.
And in each of these places I have
seen the costs of the terrible violence
that has touched so many people in
rural parts of Nigeria. Innocence has
been killed, communities torn apart,
people displaced from their homes and
families are mourning their loved ones.
The U.S. Embassy, the U.S. Government
and the American people condole
with you in these tragedies you have
suffered and we vow to work with
you to end this kind of violence in the
future.
O
At the same time as I have witnessed
tragedy, I have seen people who work
for peace. I have met those who’ve put
their lives on the line to protect others
in their community. I would like to
introduce to you one of Nigeria’s
heroes, a very special person who
has touched my life and indeed
touched my heart in my visits last
year to Plateau state. I would like to
introduce to you the 83 year old chief
Imam of Nghar village in Barkin Ladi
LGA, Imam Abdullahi Abubakar. I’m
going to tell you a story about this
wonderful Imam and the lifesaving
work he has done because I think
many people in this country don’t
know about this extraordinary man.
It was about nine months ago that the
village of Inyar was invaded by armed
men. They came early in the morning
on motor bikes armed with AK47’s,
machetes and with those machetes
they killed people. They burned down
houses. Of a village of one thousand
people, 84 lost their lives. Women
and men and children who perished
because of the hatred and the evilness
of young men who were misguided in
their views of the world. But alongside
this terrible tragedy, Imam Abdullahi
Abubakar and his Fulani assistant did
some extraordinary things. When
people started shooting and hacking,
people went running by the hundreds
to save their lives and two hundred
and sixty two people ran to the mosque
of the town. They went inside, mostly
Chargé d’Affaires, David Young with Ishaku Abdullahi Abubakar, Imam Abdullahi’s son and
Mallam Adullahi Umar, Deputy Imam of the Nghar village mosque pose with Imam Abubakar
Christians and/or Berom and the Imam
and his assistant Imam brought them
into the mosque and shut the door.
Imam Abdullahi brought people into
his house next door and shut the door
and they stood outside. As armed
men came to their doors they said you
cannot come in, you will have to kill us
to go inside. Imam Abdullahi got down
on his knees in the dust and pleaded
with these armed men to turn away, to
spare the lives of innocent people, and
his community, his friends that he had
known for years. Christians whom
he had celebrated Christmas with as
they had celebrated sallah with him.
Because of their friendship and their
commitment and their brotherhood
and sisterhood, he risked his life and
today more than 300 people are alive
because those armed men turned away.
I have rarely in my life of travelling
to 80 countries met a man like Imam
Abdullahi.
What I would like to say to you today
is that those who work for peace, are
not of one group or another. They
are not just Muslim, they are not just
Christian, they are not just from one
group or state. They are individuals
who stand up in their lives for good
and to fight evil. Imam Abdullahi is
a challenge to all of us. Think about
what you do every day in your daily
life. Do you take risk for peace, would
you put your life on the line to protect
people from other communities? Think
about what that means to us, to your
country and to our world. The cycle of
violence and attacks and reprisals and
counter reprisals take horrific tolls on
people in this state and both Christians
and Muslims have been killed. That is
a tragedy. But the reminder for us is
that working for peace can save lives,
and that is the most sacred thing in the
world.
This is a very religious country. A
country of faith where children
of Abraham, brothers and sisters
who follow two of the world’s great
religions Christianity and Islam submit
themselves to God to worship and
prayer each week, each day. And they
submit themselves to work for peace
and love and justice. But sometimes we
see that there are people who really put
their faith into action. For me that’s
a reminder that the most important
thing we can do is to work for these
eternal principles. My hope is that
for all of us we can be worthy of the
kind of sacrifice that these two Imams
and many others who work for peace
in Plateau state take regularly. I have
heard these stories of different peace
builders and my hope is that each of us
can do our part to work for peace, to
find common ground and to bring an
end to the violence.
CROSSROADS | April/May 2019
11