THE MENACE OF ‘YAN KALARE POLITICAL THUGS IN GOMBE STATE, NORTH-EAST NIGERIA 1999-2019

The menace of socio-political and religious violence has been one of the major predicaments militating against proper economic growth and attainment of social stability in Northern Region since the Nigeria independence in 1960. The region has been stumbling from one crisis to another culminating into religious bigotry, poverty, inter-ethnic confrontations, economic deterioration and general insecurity. These crises ranging from the Nigerian civil war that claimed many lives and properties, Maitatsine, Boko Haram, and many other local and inter-communal confrontations. The Maitatsine uprising which lasted between 1980 to 1985, resulted in the death of 4,177 people in Kano, 53 people in Kaduna, 118, people in Maiduguri, 568, people in Yola and 105, people in Gombe as well as numerous destruction of property worth millions of naira. This accounted for less than the loss sustained from Kalare political thuggery in Gombe state. The finding of the research establishes that Kalare terrorism has been a unique phenomenon to the people Gombe state. Their activities degenerated from politically motivated attacks beginning from 1999, into public assault, rape, murder, harassment and extortion of properties from ordinary citizens. The research also indicates that the Kalare groups are formed by youths who are more often than none been manipulated by few ravenous and self-centered politicians, elites and unscrupulous religious leaders to annihilate political opponents and or achieve their selfish desires. The youths are susceptible to all forms of violence partly because of poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, and partly due to their voracious desire to be rich overnight. The research adopts historical methodology which entails the use of primary and secondary sources of information gather through oral interviews and written documents in analyzing the phenomenon under study.