sometimes i ask myself, was it my fault that i was born into a northern family??, life seems to hold nothing for a young hopeful northern born child like me,i was born in a rural area in zamfara state,a typical Hausa community, i was raised accordingly by my parents, on getting to my teenage years, it dawned on me that everything seemed to follow one pattern in my community, it was compulsory for everyone to follow the Muslim faith, it also seemed compulsory for every male indigene to marry from the same community, i observed the whole life process here, everything seemed the same, nothing different ever happened, men were born local and died local, the whole community lacked innovation, nobody ever thought of anything new, life was an everyday process which everyone had to follow. there was hardly any form of electricity supply in my community, power was supplied on very rare occasions, and on such white collar days, the whole village would gather at the village square to watch tv, most times news, probably to everyone else, they were having fun and expressed it with big grins on their faces, when they saw big cities like lagos, kano, abuja and the rest on television, to me, it was like watching a totally different world, most of the things i saw on television were non-existent in my community,good roads, water supply, electricity and the rest. It all seemed alien-like when i saw them, the schools we had in my community seemed like death traps, with the buildings dilapidated and slowly collapsing due to age, i used to imagine how old those buildings must be, not to talk of the kind of teachers we had, most of them took extra holidays and came to school whenever they wished, we were mostly taught Islamic doctrine and a little bit of arithmetic and English to go with, you would wonder where we the students got our motivation to keep attending school, it all seemed that school seemed to be the most exciting thing happening around us, even though we could not say we had even up to quarter of what you would regard as a stellar education. I myself had dreams to be different, to make my community a happening place, to make my family proud of me, to help all kids in my community have standard education, to put good roads and water in place for my people, but as i grew up, i faced reality and it dawned on me that my dreams would eventually amount to nothing, 'where would i start from?' was the question i asked myself frequently, i was willing to do anything to actualize my dreams, but everytime i tried to muster a little hope for the future, my dreams were dashed by reality .life went on like this for a long while until something happened sometime in August 2008,a group of men came to our community school and separated the male folk from the female folk, we were told that a lot is going to change in our lives in the next few months and advised to prepare for anything.The lessons we were having at school changed totally,we were now lectured in the reason why our lives and community had come to be like this, we were told by our instructors that our kind was hated and neglected in the whole of Nigeria, we were shown videos of how our kind performed roles of servants to the society in urban areas, how our kind seemed to poverty stricken and isolated in such towns and cities, we were told that we would be in the same situation if we tried traveling to such places in search of greener pastures. Therefore we had to do something that would make our lives and that of our families better, we were told that if we cooperated, our families would be rewarded with huge amounts of money and life would get better. We were then told that it would involve killing and suicide bombing for our plans to really work out. Already our minds were prepared for anything. That was how we took up arms to fight for better lives for ourselves and for our families.So next time you want to open your mouth to judge the youth who have joined boko haram,think of the situation of this young man, think of the plight of his family and underdevelopment that had eaten deep in to lives of everyone in their community. live positively!.
This was written by a young Nigerian looking at things from another angle.. I do not support insurgency in any way ..share your thoughts

This doesnt sound true but then.....
Religion is the opium of the masses where there's little education. Poverty and ignorance are the root of fanaticism and extreme ideas. Why not query your elders first and try to maximise the available opportunities for development in your environment?

I know for instance that education is virtually free up North for those who are interested and quota system affords you an opportunity to derive benefits far better than is possible for southerners.If there is lack of progress, its wise to blame your people first before the FG. Its also wise to examine the processes in place and actively but peacefully carry out reviews and the necessary reorientation of the people.

The greatest problem seems to be the hard line stance and mixture of culture with religion. Some people fought great battles for progress (still at it) in the South. Get enlightened, dont fight the wrong battles, be progressive not retrogressive.

The Civilian JTF seems to stand for a better way of doing things. I pray they get adequate support and good education for refined processes and a better future. I pray also that the politicians provide an enabling environment for progress and peace in your society henceforth.