By Adisa Adeleye
The bad news of attack on the United Nations Building in Abuja was followed by another worse tale of deadly clashes in Jos.

The story is the same inspite of efforts by security forces to stop the terrible acts of terrorism. The act of killings and wounding of Nigerians and foreigners by bombs has gone too far to be overlooked in a decent society.

Gradually it seems, the country is moving towards the path of the dreaded Hobbesian tragedy of the (State of Nature) where everything is an absolute confusion that needs the philosophy of absolutism as a remedy. The question is what does President Jonathan need to stop the dangerous drift into a state of confusion where political stability and economic development seem impossible? Some members of the public have suggested the giving of absolute power to the President to combat insecurity that has become a serious threat to the existence of this nation.

While there is a bit of sympathy for views of those who want negotiation with Boko Haram, there is also the strong believe that only a weak government would parley with a terrorist organization whose weapon of dialogue is that of throwing bombs. If Boko Haram organization has genuine religious and political principles to be resolved peacefully, there should be an avenue to discuss, hoping for a reasonable resolution of issues. However, there should be no compromise by a good government with any organization whose weapon is a deadly weapon.

The implied contract (exercised through votes) between the government and the people is the provision of adequate security for the citizens of Nigeria and foreigners anywhere in the country. President Jonathan should be seen and encouraged to be doing that.

It is a pity that the peaceful resolution of Jos crisis is still elusive despite the deployment of strong military task force and the setting up of several committees, whose reports are still being awaited or being studied. To many commentators, the Jos crisis is a product of political and economic factors. The political has an historical divide line between the indigenes and non_indigenes of the prosperous town. For a long time, the administration of Jos (before the creation of States) had been in the hands of the Hausa/Fulani officials while the economic life of the once mining town was and still being controlled by the southerners – mainly the Ibos and Yorubas. Many of the non indigenes – Hausa/Fulani; Ibo and Yoruba had settled in Jos before the amalgamation in 1914, and in their third generation in the now Plateau State capital. In fact, the present indigenes of Jos had neither participated in the administration nor formed part of the economic life of the place. But the creation of Plateau State altered the political scene by transferring administration of Jos to the indigenes, as it should be.

As it has been noted, the economy of Jos has been built on big foreign enterprises, medium_sized businesses of Ibo and Yoruba. The retail shops and main markets are dominated by Southern retail traders whose parents had settled many decades ago.

The real problem of Jos is how to reconcile the rising political power of the indigenes with the entrenched political and economic rights of the settled Nigerians from other areas. The dilemma of the just resolution of the indigenes. to control the political administration and the heights of the economy of Jos.

The lasting solution of Jos crisis lies in tough political stand of the Federal Government on clearly defined relationship between the indigenes and settlers with respect to rights and responsibilities of all. Many analysts believe that if victims of sectional riots and other disturbances are quickly compensated by the authorities and their houses immediately rebuilt, the less would be the desire of the vandals to continue to burn and loot. Unfortunately, more than one hundred houses of southerners and some northerners have remained unbuilt nor their owners compensated. Instead victims have been secretly approached by some people to sell their properties at ridiculous low prices.

The problem of being a ‘Nigerian‘ is still yet to be seriously tackled by the Nigerian leadership despite the rights enshrined boldly in the Nigerian Constitution. In some parts of the North, the Southern Christians suffer during any uprising if he is a Christian in a mostly Muslim dominated area. In Jos (Plateau State), it is double jeopardy.

The Northern and Southern Muslim suffers in mostly Christian dominated areas; the southerners suffer through attacks by religious or ethnic vandals.

The threat to life and property of the Nigerian citizen depends on how adequate and capable the country‘s security force is. Many believe that the decentralization of the country‘s security outfit would tend to help in combating the menace of terrorism. Each state or zone should be able to manage its own security problems with of course, help from the Federal Government in case of bigger threats.

However, the greatest challenge to terrorism is good governance which is responsible to the yearnings of the people. For instance, a policy of full employment would give human dignity and income to idle hands. Perhaps one day, President Jonathan would see the wisdom of conveying a conference where Nigerians would discuss how to live in peace and prosperity in a United State of Nigeria (USN).