Nigeria violence: What should be done?

Police are attempting to quell riots in the northern Nigerian city of Kano which erupted in protest at an attack last week by members of Christian groups on the predominantly Muslim town of Yelwa in central Nigeria.

Hundreds died in the attack, which was caused by a dispute over land and cattle.

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has called for calm, asking Muslim clerics to restrain their followers "because if you go for an eye for an eye, this country will be bloody".

Muslim clerics have warned in turn that if the government does not do more to prevent such attacks then Muslims would have to defend themselves.

What do you think the Nigerian leader should do to quell tensions? Send us your comments and experiences.

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The following comments reflect the balance of the opinion we have received:

Our leaders live in opulence while the poor are really poor Ibrahim Gereng, Abuja, Nigeria

Until and unless an enabling economic environment is available in Nigeria, these clashes will continue. Too many people are unemployed and they provide ready cannon fodder for such clashes just to loot and vent their pent up frustrations. Our leaders live in opulence while the poor are really poor.
Ibrahim Gereng, Abuja, Nigeria

It is very sad news to hear that there is another crisis in the northern part of the country again. The question that is begging for an answer now is "when is this crisis going to stop?". Government must provide an answer to this question now.
Osiluameh Godfrey, Lagos Nigeria

With 120 million people and over 250 languages spoken in one country, Nigeria is a modern day miracle state, too many variables to work with, that makes for a very complex equation to work with. Split the country into north and south and the variables would be reduced, Islamic north and Christian south.
Mohammed, London, UK

The President should call for restraint on the part of the feuding parties, that is, the Muslims and Christians, and then go ahead to set up a panel of inquiry to investigate the direct and remote cause(s) of the violence in Yelwa and Kano in order to bring the perpetrators to book.
Henry O. Akinyemiju, Lagos, Nigeria

Enough of these senseless killings of innocent people Fred, Vancouver, Canada

The Nigerian government needs to show resolve to stop the violence. There has been too much talk and no action to bring the culprits and whoever is sponsoring them to justice. Enough of these senseless killings of innocent people.
Fred, Vancouver, Canada

The problem with Nigeria can be attributed to a failure of the leadership to implement the rule of law. The government should bring to justice to both the perpetrators and masterminds of this and previous religious motivated outrages.
Joe Ajaefobi, Nigeria/UK

As a Nigerian I find the behaviour of my fellow citizens deplorable. It's time our Northern brethren started thinking about education and less about religion. It's not enough to quell the riots if the underlying cause of the rioting isn't dealt with.
John Oda, USA

It is all the government's (leaders) fault. When people are poor and think of themselves as nothing then they will do anything including killing other people. Leaders should let people know how important they are by empowering them, being accountable to the people and providing basic amenities and allow a safe place for people to invest and in turn employ these people who have nothing to do than kill other innocent people.
Ade, New York, USA

There is little that can be done to quell the tension. This is due to the fact that the problem is created by the politicians against the government in order to score cheap political points, and the government in itself is not addressing the rising levels of poverty in that country. Will a man well educated and well fed go out and kill or burn properties? No, so address poverty, inflation, education and the country will be better of for it in the long run.
Adekunle, Portland, Oregon