Religious War? Arabic School Bombed in Nigeria

By: Nsenga Burton | Posted: December 29, 2011 at 1:50 PM

Nigeria's Chief of Defense Oluseyi Pentirin talks to reporters. (Getty)

Straight from our "Exactly what we don't need" file, a religious war may be brewing in Nigeria after an Arabic school was bombed on Tuesday in Nigeria's Christian South. According to Aderogba Obisesan of the AFP, police said that "attackers threw a 'low-capacity' bomb into an Arabic school in a drive-by attack in Nigeria's mainly Christian south, wounding six children and an adult on Tuesday evening." Nobody has claimed responsibility.

The school bombing is thought to be in response to the Boko Haram Islamist attacks on several Christian churches on Christmas Day in Nigeria. More than 40 people were killed in the attacks this year. Christian churches were also attacked in Nigeria on Christmas Day last year.

Obisesan writes:

The president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Reverend Ayo Oritsejafor, urged followers Wednesday not to take revenge but said they should defend themselves, their property and their places of worship "any way they can".

"The consensus is that the Christian community nationwide will be left with no other option than to respond appropriately if there are any further attacks on our members, churches and property," Oritsejafor told reporters.

As frustration rose over the state's seeming inability to stop attacks despite military crackdowns, President Goodluck Jonathan said: "we are doing our best" with the assistance of African and other countries that have experienced extremist attacks in the past.

"... we will restructure, we will readjust and make sure that we get a team that will meet with this challenge that we are facing today," he said, adding that arrests had been made and "interrogation is being done".

Jonathan urged Nigerians not to shield the culprits.

This situation is going from bad to worse, and the Nigerian government has got to get it under control. A religious war is not something that Nigeria needs with all that's going on in the country. Christians absolutely need to defend themselves, but seeking revenge is something completely different. In the words of race-uprising icon Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"