President tries to calm Nigerian powderkeg

Jan 8, 2012, 14:52 GMT

Cape Town/Abuja - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan appeared stern and statesmanlike as he appealed to his country to accept tough economic reforms - but he faces a double-whammy of strikes and protests against a backdrop of increasingly vicious inter-religious violence.

'I feel the pain that you all feel,' the president said in a television address late Saturday, wearing his trademark black hat and flanked by Nigerian flags.

'I know that these are not easy times. But tough choices have to be made to safeguard the economy and our collective survival as a nation.'

Jonathan fears new social unrest, after trade unions announced a general strike for Monday, in response to strict austerity measures and the cancellation of government fuel subsidies, which are expected to double the price of petrol.

But the president, in power since 2010, is facing storms on several political fronts - and even, some fear, the threat of civil war.

Last week, anger at the fuel price hikes drove the citizens of Africa's most populous nation onto the streets, in protests that at times turned violent, revealing deep levels of dissatisfaction.

While Nigeria has prospered from its abundant mineral resources and fertile soils, the majority of the country's 150 million citizens live in dire poverty. Decades of corruption and mismanagement have prevented the country from blossoming economically.

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund have praised Nigeria's economic growth rates, but these have only benefited a small minority.

Now, Jonathan wants to redirect funding into long-overdue investments for education, healthcare and infrastructure projects, but all that citizens perceive is an immediate worsening of their living conditions.

The conflict in the predominantly Muslim north of the country is also partly rooted in economic issues. The Islamist Boko Haram group is seizing on resentments felt towards the state as well as perceived disadvantages compared to the richer, largely Christian south.

As a result, Boko Haram's campaign of bloody violence is an increasing threat to the central government.

Despite stepping up security in the north, declaring a state of emergency and curfews as well as developing inter-religious forums, the attacks have not abated, and have prompted thousands of Christians to flee south.

Meanwhile, thousands of Muslims are reported to have left for the north of the country, out of fear of reprisals.

There is little hope at present that Boko Haram might give up its cause. A three-day ultimatum ordering Christians to relocate south lapsed on Wednesday, followed by more violent attacks that killed around 30.

A string of attacks on churches during the Christmas period claimed around 50 lives.

Boko Haram - which roughly translates as 'Western education is sacrilege,' is a growing threat to peace and unity in Nigeria, where more than 400 tribes live.

The Islamists have garnered the sympathies of many young people who see little opportunity in their lives. The group generated awe in 2010, with spectacular attacks on the police headquarters and the United Nations' Abuja office.

Nigerians traditionally have little trust in the state and law enforcement. Recent bloody tribal feuds have shown how little control the government in Abuja has over the country. More than 50 people died in clashes over land in Ebonyi state on December 31.

Nigeria's approximately 60 million Christians are becoming particularly concerned. Churches accuse the Emir of Sokoto, the revered leader of Nigerian Muslims, of not sufficiently condemning Boko Haram as a terrorist group.

Ayodele Oritsejafor, the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, has drawn parallels to the worst periods in Nigeria's history more than 40 years ago, when more than a million people died in the Biafra war following independence.

Oritsejafor has accused northern state governors of not doing enough to fight the anti-Christian violence, which he has likened to 'ethnic and religious cleansing.'

He said Christians had decided to defend themselves against the senseless killings.

'We cannot sit back and watch people being slaughtered like animals everyday, going to the church, shooting people, killing them. This is unacceptable,' Oritsejafor added.