Are we really one country by Femi Fani-Kayode

Boko Haram have taken over the town of Gwoza, killed
the Emir and declared the place an islamic state. They
have seceded from Nigeria and they are beheading
Christians and southerners and all moderate northern
muslims that do not share their views.
I wonder what would
have happened if it had
been a town in the
south-east that had
been taken over in this
way by a group of Igbo
nationalists and
Christian
fundamentalists. I
wonder what would
have happened if they
killed the local
traditional ruler and then started to kill every
northerner, every muslim and every moderate
Christian in that town that did not share their views.
I wonder what Nigeria would have done to them if it
was an Igbo town that declared secession in this way
and not a northern one. I wonder how our northern
brothers would have reacted to this and how they
would have felt if any southern terrorist group had as
it’s main objective the wiping out of islam and all
muslims in Nigeria and the establishment of a Christian
fundamentalist state in the whole of the south that is
governed by Christian canon law.
I wonder if our northern brothers would be as calm, as
forgiving and as patient as we in the south have been
about Boko Haram. The last time that a part of this
country attempted to secede, we slaughtered and
starved to death over two million Igbos in order to
keep Nigeria one. Yet, today, Gwoza has been taken
over by murderous secessionist forces and we act as if
it is no big deal.
The truth is that this is a nation of double standards
where southerners are subject to a different set of
conventions, laws, rules and regulations when
compared to northerners. Northerners can get away
with secession and establishing an islamic caliphate
whilst southerners dare not try to do the same sort of
thing.
This begs the question: is Nigeria really one country
and are we really one people. And even if we say it is
one country and we are one people, how much longer
can this remain so given what is going on in the north
today with Boko Haram?
Some northerners have said that if power does not
return to the north next year they will smash up
Nigeria and make the south pay dearly. They believe
that they own Nigeria and that they were born to rule.
How are we as
southerners supposed
to react to this? Are we
supposed to accept it
sheepishly and just bow
down and surrender?
Does a southerner from
the Niger Delta not have
a right to serve two
terms in office as
President of Nigeria?
Are southerners and Middle Belters not human beings.
Are they nothing but slaves to the core muslim north?
Are the issues that Ojukwu raised in 1967 not still
relevant today?
Surely, it is time for us to answer these difficult
questions even though we keep brushing these matters
under the carpet. It is time to either answer the
Nationality Question once and for all or begin to
prepare for the break up of this great country into two
or more pieces.

.

Hmmm!

We are at best described as different nations with diverse socio-political and religious beliefs in one country. The problem is how the nations can cohabit. As long as a nation in this country would want lion's share there can never be peace. But can we really live as a country? The answer is self-evident but time will reveal it in reality.

The stronger bokoharam gets, the easier it's to get Biafra.