Lagos — There is always that air of conviviality as the year begins to draw to an end. Moreover it has become traditional, over time, for families, groups and corporate bodies to commence from end of November to organize end of year parties, exchange gifts and presents and above all pray for a more prosperous new year.

For Christians this season is the hallmark of their faith, reminding them of the birth of the Saviour. It is thus a period of rebirth and stock-taking. As the year finally draws to a close, all eyes, all plans and indeed all dreams are focused on the in-coming year. Remember the new year resolutions that many people fondly indulge in, during which our bad habits or poor performances are denounced and vows are made to henceforth change for the better. What of the predictions for the new year from self-acclaimed prophets and prophetesses and those scary pronouncements for the in-coming year by the ubiquitous star-gazers and palm readers. Just like dreams and wishful thinking, they all simply last for a brief moment because we can only play God for a while, but we will never understand the ways of the Almighty creator. In summary, none of us is in a position to foretell what the new year has in stock for us, but we can only pray to God to guide and direct our ways according to His will.

The new year 2010 has finally arrived, having been ushered in by the month of January. For some, the year has started on a dreadful note, signified by the very recent events in far away tiny island of Haiti and our own city of Jos in Plateau state. Our hearts and thoughts must reach out to all the families which have been affected by the calamities that have visited that country and our own city Jos. Precious lives have been lost and physical assets and infrastructures have been destroyed beyond human use.

Haiti is a small island in the Pacific ocean which was hit by an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 as measured on the Richter scale [a scale of 1-10]. The effect of this tremor was calamitous for two obvious reasons, one being that the epicenter was located quite close to the capital city Port-au-Prince. The second factor, and the more serious, was that the epicenter was also shallow, leading to great impact on the physical structures within the radius of its path.

These two factors readily explain away the degree of ruin experienced in Haiti in this recent tremor, because earthquakes of higher magnitudes [beyond 7.0] have occurred in some other areas and places in the past without a corresponding degree of damage. In such instances, probably the epicenters were located far away from high concentrations of human habitation and also these epicenters must have been deep-seated. It is thus evident that what happened in Haiti is what you might call a natural disaster or an act of God. These are events beyond human control or wish. The global media, both electronic and print, have been awash with the devastation caused by this calamity. Thousands of lives have been lost and many more have been rendered homeless. When disasters of this magnitude occur, especially in impoverished climes, the vulnerability of the citizenry is predictably unspeakable.

Haiti has been classified as the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, and you can imagine what colossal harm this earthquake must have visited on Haitians and people living in Haiti. The United Nations [UN] has waded in, countries from different continents have expressed shock, humanitarian organizations have moved in, and individuals and groups of goodwill have begun to make contributions to alleviate the sufferings of these people. All these efforts are meant to empathize and rehabilitate the affected people of this region. In essence the whole world is identifying with the people and government of Haiti in this period of monumental grief.

In all these we will continue to see the hand of God in our lives. Miracles and more miraculous occurrences have been reported in course of this rescue mission and that should gladden our hearts even as we mourn. Imagine humans being pulled out of rubble 12 to 15 days after this earthquake had flattened most of the buildings in this crowded city and its environs. What else can we attribute this to but the awesomeness of God and His infinite mercies. God definitely answers our prayers but at His own time and not ours. Whatever happens, be it good or bad in our own understanding, it is surely for a purpose. This we must continue to understand and appreciate.

But why is the whole world falling over to come to the aid of Haiti at this point in time? Since Haiti, all along, had been declared the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, how come it was left as such all these years? These are legitimate questions to ask, but permit me to attempt to proffer my simplistic answers. First, natural disasters know no boundaries and are capable of rendering the high and mighty impoverished. In such a circumstance, human instincts will gravitate towards helping the needy and afflicted. For the other question, it is simple logic that where you have all that it takes to make progress and you squander such opportunities, it will take Christ-like understanding for other people to bother about you. Haiti was once a great exporter and earned revenue from its natural resources which sustained its economy and promoted national development. However, some rulers and leaders took over the reins of power and transformed the national commonwealth into personal wealth. Gradually Haiti turned into an impoverished nation and a nation where some individuals in power and corridors of power took the rest of the masses for granted and ignored their needs and concerns. For years therefore, Haiti was left to either self-destruct or to self-heal. That was the issue with Haiti before this catastrophe. Let us now turn our attention to the occurrence in Jos city.

Back home in Nigeria, January also witnessed spontaneous loss of lives, displacement of citizens and destruction of physical assets and general mayhem. Just as in the case of Haiti our minds and thoughts will continue to reach out to all the affected families which have lost loved ones and those who were rendered homeless. But we must accept that what happened in Haiti is not in the same league as what happened in Jos. Whereas the calamity that occurred in Haiti was a case of unforeseen natural disaster, that of Jos was a case of destruction of lives and property arising from man's inhumanity to man. This can be termed self-inflicted, in a generic sense, and therefore avoidable or to say the least, preventable.

Jos was once a city people from different parts of the country loved and wished to spend their retirement time in the temperate climate and hospitality associated with the plateau. But since 2001, sectarian violence and hostilities have overtaken the tranquility of this great city. But for how long can we pretend and ignore the root cause of this madness? At a stage, during one of such wanton destruction of lives and property, a state of emergency was declared and commissions of inquiry instituted. Each calamity had had inquiries set up and public sittings organized to find lasting solutions. Above all, arrests had been made in the past and vows proclaimed to bring the culprits to book, with the usual cliché, no matter whose ox is gored or no matter how highly placed. As we speak, no one can point to any one individual who has been prosecuted and dealt with according to the law since all the time these things have been happening in Jos. How then can you stamp out or discourage this madness?