A lot of times, I hear so many Nigerians say that "Finally someone from a minority Nigerian tribe became president," or that " president Jonathan is the first Nigerian president from a minority tribe." I always laugh at this,because it clearly shows that a lot of Nigerians don't know their country & its tribes & cultures well enough.
Nigeria has 3 major tribes namely : hausa,yoruba & igbo. These 3 tribes are "major" because there are more states in Nigeria that have these tribes as its indigenous people as compared to other tribes that you'd only find in one state . e.g. you'd find indigenous Yoruba-Nigerian people in Ondo,Lagos,Ekiti,etc...Hausa Nigerian people in Kano,Katsina,Sokoto,etc ...Igbo Nigerian people in Abia,Anambra,Imo etc....as compared to indigenous Idoma Nigerian people that can only be found in Benue state,Igala Nigerian people in kogi,Kalabari Nigerian people in Rivers state etc. Even if you find these indigenous tribes in more than one state, they still don't cover as much land area as the "3 major tribes of Nigeria" (even though the sum total of all of the peoples of these Nigerian tribes are more than that of the Major tribes) that's why they're called "the minority tribes."
Back to the topic,president Jonathan is definitely not the first Nigerian president from a minority tribe.
Former military heads of state :

1.General Badamosi Ibrahim Babanginda is a Nigerian from the "nupe" tribe in Niger state.
2. General Gowon is from plateau state & is from a minority tribe called "Ngas". All the indigenous tribes in Plateau state are minority tribes.
3. General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian from the "Kanuri" tribe which is a minority tribe.
4. General Buhari is a Nigerian from the fulani tribe which is a minority tribe.
5. General Abubakar Abdulsalam is a Nigerian from the "gwari" tribe in Niger state.
Can we all see now that a lot of Nigerians from minority tribes have been presidents of our beloved country? I could go on & on making some more list.....I just wanted to help educate us as a people & correct the notion that "President Jonathan is the first Nigerian president from a minority tribe." That is not correct at all.
You never know if my correction now could help you win a million Naira on "who wants to be a millionaire?" If that does happen,send me my "share."lol.

God Bless the federal republic of Nigeria. Amen.

Pls cross check ur facts,4 dia ar 2muc flaws n ur submisions.

pretty_boi: A lot of times, I hear so many Nigerians say that "Finally someone from a minority Nigerian tribe became president," or that " president Jonathan is the first Nigerian president from a minority tribe." I always laugh at this,because it clearly shows that a lot of Nigerians don't know their country & its tribes & cultures well enough.
Nigeria has 3 major tribes namely : hausa,yoruba & igbo. These 3 tribes are "major" because there are more states in Nigeria that have these tribes as its indigenous people as compared to other tribes that you'd only find in one state. e.g. you'd find indigenous Yoruba-Nigerian people in Ondo,Lagos,Ekiti,etc...Hausa Nigerian people in Kano,Katsina,Sokoto,etc ...Igbo Nigerian people in Abia,Anambra,Imo etc....as compared to indigenous Idoma Nigerian people that can only be found in Benue state,Igala Nigerian people in kogi,Kalabari Nigerian people in Rivers state etc. Even if you find these indigenous tribes in more than one state, they still don't cover as much land area as the "3 major tribes of Nigeria" (even though the sum total of all of the peoples of these Nigerian tribes are more than that of the Major tribes) that's why they're called "the minority tribes."
Back to the topic,president Jonathan is definitely not the first Nigerian president from a minority tribe.
Former military heads of state :

1.General Badamosi Ibrahim Babanginda is a Nigerian from the "nupe" tribe in Niger state.
2. General Gowon is from plateau state & is from a minority tribe called "Ngas". All the indigenous tribes in Plateau state are minority tribes.
3. General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian from the "Kanuri" tribe which is a minority tribe.
4. General Buhari is a Nigerian from the fulani tribe which is a minority tribe.
5. General Abubakar Abdulsalam is a Nigerian from the "gwari" tribe in Niger state.
Can we all see now that a lot of Nigerians from minority tribes have been presidents of our beloved country? I could go on & on making some more list.....I just wanted to help educate us as a people & correct the notion that "President Jonathan is the first Nigerian president from a minority tribe." That is not correct at all.
You never know if my correction now could help you win a million Naira on "who wants to be a millionaire?" If that does happen,send me my "share."lol.

God Bless the federal republic of Nigeria. Amen.

take two tablets of panadol,Amala,chemiron, and 7shots of alomo so that your brain will clear like crystal. See you see oversabi.

orne: Pls cross check ur facts,4 dia ar 2muc flaws n ur submisions.

Point the flaws out.

chiover: take two tablets of panadol,Amala,chemiron, and 7shots of alomo so that your brain will clear like crystal. See you see oversabi.

You can't know anything reasonable when your life revolves around all those things you have just mentioned so I'm guessing you really don't know anything right?

pretty_boi:
Point the flaws out.

For one, if we follow your definition of minority tribe ie indigenous to only one state, then Ijaw is not a minority tribe. There are indigenous Ijaws in Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states and there are some Ijaw villages in Edo and Ondo.

GEJ is Ijaw, from Bayelsa, so following your definition he isn't from a minority tribe. So your argument is flawed ab initio.

Zik is from Onitsha ethnic nationality.
Ironsi is from Umuahia nationality.
Onitsha tribe is very different from Umuahia tribe, Enugu tribe, Nkanu tribe, Nsukka tribe, Awka tribe, Nkwerre tribe.


OP, SMB!

The fact that most Nigerians are intellectually lazy does not make poster of this thread wrong. It is a brazen display of idiocy to say or write Hausa-Fulani ethnicity.

Most Nigerians cant think deep thats why they dont see the sense in what OP is saying

Gowon was an Angas, I am sure there are more Ijaws than Angas. So if Jonathan is from a minority tribe then Gowon also is from one


Some say North doesnt allow Middle belt rule

Gowon 9yrs, IBB 8yrs are from the middle belt so the middle belt has ruled for 18yrs already

Key question

Are the Angas, Nupes, Kanuris, Fulanis traditionally independent from the Sokoto Caliphate? Are they not part of the Emir group of the north?

Nigerians are intellectually lazy!? This is absolute nonsense.

Sayings Nupes are totally independent of the Sokoto Caliphate is like saying that Liverpool is independent of England.

Jonathan is from Ijaw; the Ijaws are completely independent of Igbos, Urhobos, Yorubas, Efiks, etc

^^^ ok could you explain how the nupe people who my great grandfathers used to fight against during the time of ekiti parapo are under the sokoto caliphate? cos they have a distinct language that's not hausa or fulani and they are found in kogi and niger states. not every inch of the northern region was controlled by uthman dan fodio or islamic militants.

@OP. Also add:

Nigeria's first and only Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa

Although it is widely (incorrectly) presumed that he was Hausa, Balewa's father Yakubu Dan Zala was in fact of Bageri ethnicity, and his mother Fatima Inna was Fulani. In contrast with the largely aristocratic ruling elite in the north, many of whose ancestry derives from royal lineage, Balewa had very humble origins. His father was a slave who rose in service of the Madaki of Bauchi.

chiover: take two tablets of panadol,Amala,chemiron, and 7shots of alomo so that your brain will clear like crystal. See you see oversabi.

Do you know that I was almost mistaking his thread to be a nursery rhyme like; Polly Put that kettle on, Polly put that kettle on, Polly put that kettle on and let's have tea! Very funny dude!

Interesting!

dayokanu: Most Nigerians cant think deep thats why they dont see the sense in what OP is saying

Gowon was an Angas, I am sure there are more Ijaws than Angas. So if Jonathan is from a minority tribe then Gowon also is from one


Some say North doesnt allow Middle belt rule

Gowon 9yrs, IBB 8yrs are from the middle belt so the middle belt has ruled for 18yrs already

You actually make sense on Nairaland for once.

lari03: ^^^ ok could you explain how the nupe people who my great grandfathers used to fight against during the time of ekiti parapo are under the sokoto caliphate? cos they have a distinct language that's not hausa or fulani and they are found in kogi and niger states. not every inch of the northern region was controlled by uthman dan fodio or islamic militants.

language is Hausa the general language. So far any 'tribe' in the north has an emir, this implies that they are under the rule of the caliphate.

saintneo: language is Hausa the general language. So far any 'tribe' in the north has an emir, this implies that they are under the rule of the caliphate.

So you mean Gbong Gwom Jos, Etsu of nupe, tur tiv, attah of Igala are Emir?

Some of them still have peculiar culture different from that of sokoto caliphate

Nice work @op. Its obvious many Nigerians lack proper knowlegde of the social and ethnical composition of Nigeria. An average southerner especially Igbos and Niger deltans, assume all 19 northern states are hausa speaking. This shows how lazy and interlectually deficient we are in this country.
Its a pity for this our generation!

That means David Mark, Tuface Idibia, MI, Tunde Idiagbon, Yakubu Gowon, Theophilus Danjuma, Jerry Useni, etc are all Hausas

The ignorance of some people is mindboggling