Islamic extremism has been a common trend underlying political instability and a retarded growth rate in many states in Northern Nigeria, in as much as i believe Islam to be a religion of peace as preached, we cannot however deny the fact that many young minds are being brainwashed to live life as extremist and might even go to extent of taking another man's life because of their religious point of view.

I want to believe that this is in large part against Islamic teachings and the root stemmed from political selfish ideas of using young minds to cause disturbance in states and effectively on the country as a whole.
We all witnessed the Port Harcourt crises, the Boko Haram saga which left hundreds dead, and the most recent Bauchi bloodshed, this thread has been opened to welcome ideas on how this trend can be curbed particularly among Northerners!

Imagine them throwing tantrums because they feel western education is a sin, for pete's sake, who is teaching such ideas?

Left to me i will propose that any Religious leader {both Christian and Islamic} encouraging extremism should be left to rot away in prison

Pls note: this is not a thread to debate religion, you can find tht in the Religion section, this is a thread to discuss how elements of brainwashing can be flushed out of the society

People perish for lack of knowledge,Nigeria is swimming in the storm of ignorance and ignorance breeds macabre

I fink we should just go our seperate ways then they can kill themselves for all I care.

puskin:

I fink we should just go our seperate ways then they can kill themselves for all I care.

Let's be realistic, that doesn't provide a solution, extremist exist in the south for all i care, they aren't just as prominent

And for people advocating separation of the territories have you considered the economic implication on the country as a whole?

redsun:

People perish for lack of knowledge,Nigeria is swimming in the storm of ignorance and ignorance breeds macabre

Could it be lack of knowledge? Umar the leg bomber was quite educated and well exposed

puskin:

I fink we should just go our seperate ways then they can kill themselves for all I care.

I am just curious, have you pondered on what kind of consequences a separation will produce?  Are you prepared to live next door to angry neighbors with violent tendencies?

Gekko:

I am just curious, have you pondered on what kind of consequences a separation will produce?  Are you prepared to live next door to angry neighbors with violent tendencies?

well but can you think of plausible solutions in sight?
Is it reasonable enough to propose that parents who will rather send their kids to Arabic schools than western schools be sanctioned?
Is it reasonable enough to propose long jail terms to individual that fight in the name of Religion?
what about Alfa's that teach such beliefs?
What about Godfathers that sponsor extremism?

violent:

Could it be lack of knowledge? Umar the leg bomber was quite educated and well exposed

Most nigerians are "brainwashedly" educated,they are like robots,hence their unproductive nature,especially the offspring of the money miss roads,like obasanjo.

Real education is a way of life,survival.

It bothers me when all someone can think of is "My God says i should kill you therefore am right to kill you. . . . and when i do, i get my fair chance with seven virgins"

I wonder how many virgins are there to go around in the first place

violent:

Let's be realistic, that doesn't provide a solution, extremist exist in the south for all i care, they aren't just as prominent

And for people advocating separation of the territories have you considered the economic implication on the country as a whole?

What economic implications are you talking about? Nigeria is lagging in investments. The main place that has many investments in Lagos  while other places have just a few. Investments in the south will multiply if the northern and southern territories were separate because southerners really want to westernize.  Think of the way North and South Korea are. They used to be one nation but once they split, South Korea was able to become a technology hub and one of the worlds strongest economies. The south has more to gain than lose by separating.

Gekko:

I am just curious, have you pondered on what kind of consequences a separation will produce?  Are you prepared to live next door to angry neighbors with violent tendencies?

We are already living in the same country will these people with violent tendencies. By separating we can at least employ some national defense to protect us instead of the current situation where they are free to roam around Nigeria and kill.

All religion are delirious,i always doubt the sanity of the devotedly religious people,some thing is amiss.

trueword:

What economic implications are you talking about? Nigeria is lagging in investments. The main place that has many investments in Lagos  while other places have just a few. Investments in the south will multiply if the northern and southern territories were separate because southerners really want to westernize.  Think of the way North and South Korea are. They used to be one nation but once they split, South Korea was able to become a technology hub and one of the worlds strongest economies. The south has more to gain than lose by separating.


We are already living in the same country will these people with violent tendencies. By separating we can at least employ some national defense to protect us instead of the current situation where they are free to roam around Nigeria and kill.

What kind of national defense is going to protect you from a suicide bomber?

I knew that when somalia was hit recently by suicide bomber,nigeria will just be a matter time.Islamisism strive in rogue states,at lowest ebb of societal decadence,it creeps up.

redsun:

All religion are delirious,i always doubt the sanity of the devotedly religious people,some thing is amiss.

Religion is now being used as a tool. and it makes me shiver to think the country is only going to be worse off as a result of that, it removes the use of intelligence and free thinking

redsun:

I knew that when somalia was hit recently by suicide bomber,nigeria will just be a matter time.Islamisism strive in rogue states,at lowest ebb of societal decadence,it creeps up.

But can this be curbed? more and more Islamic extremist are thinking along the line of the wars fought by Mohammed, and they see any other persons without their beliefs as infidels who should be killed right away as commanded by their beliefs.

To think this is becoming popular in this time and age is ridiculous, how can this be stopped in NIGERIA?

redsun:

All religion are delirious,i always doubt the sanity of the devotedly religious people,some thing is amiss.

Poverty brings about deep religious affiliations and tendencies.

Gekko:

What kind of national defense is going to protect you from a suicide bomber?

What's to prevent suicide bombing to begin now. People already get killed like animals. At least when the south is on its own the govt. may take some action to try to protect its citizens. If suicide bombing began now, the Nigerian govt. won't do anything. So, might as well have a govt. that will try to look after its citizens.

trueword:

What's to prevent suicide bombing to begin now. People already get killed like animals. At least when the south is on its own the govt. may take some action to try to protect its citizens. If suicide bombing began now, the Nigerian govt. won't do anything. So, might as well have a govt. that will try to look after its citizens.

I'm sorry but there is no indication that our current leaders in the south care for its citizens.

trueword:

What's to prevent suicide bombing to begin now. People already get killed like animals. At least when the south is on its own the govt. may take some action to try to protect its citizens.   If suicide bombing began now, the Nigerian govt. won't do anything. So, might as well have a govt. that will try to look after its citizens.

I don't believe Nigeria has gotten to that stage yet, i doubt if such can happen anytime soon on Nigerian soil,

the only solution to such extremism is secular education and poverty alleviation.

what does yemen and nigeria have in common? poverty and illiteracy.   It would be wrong to attack Islam considering Islamic countries like turkey are peaceful. The constitution must be enforced at all costs, sharia law shouldn't be allowed to exist in a so-called secular country.

bawomolo:

the only solution to such extremism is[b] secular education[/b] and poverty alleviation.

what does yemen and nigeria have in common? poverty and illiteracy. It would be wrong to attack Islam considering Islamic countries like turkey are peaceful.

well said

But how do you achieve a secular education when people preach, and fight against it?
I also don't believe poverty is a common cause, there is poverty in the south as well, Umar the leg bomber was not poor, and yet i believed before he was apprehended he probably preached extremism too

violent:

I don't believe Nigeria has gotten to that stage yet, i doubt if such can happen anytime soon on Nigerian soil,

I'm not saying that Nigeria is at that stage. I'm saying that defending against things like that will be less likely to happen under the current Nigeria than in a southern nigeria country.

Gekko:

I'm sorry but there is no indication that our current leaders in the south care for its citizens.

Most of the current leaders don't care, but if there was a southern nigeria country that fought to secede, there would be a greater chance that the new leaders would be those with some sense of national pride. Keep in mind that most of the current people didn't win election fair and square so they are not the kind of people that wanted to win in order to better the lives of the citizens.

bawomolo:

the only solution to such extremism is secular education and poverty alleviation.

what does yemen and nigeria have in common? poverty and illiteracy.   It would be wrong to attack Islam considering Islamic countries like turkey are peaceful.

I agree wholeheartedly. And this can only work if political and religious leaders of the North start being honest with their counterparts.  
They need to demystify their message and stop spreading fears and fantasies to individuals in the North.

trueword:

I'm not saying that Nigeria is at that stage. I'm saying that defending against things like that will be less likely to happen under the current Nigeria than in a southern nigeria country.

Most of the current leaders don't care, but if there was a southern nigeria country that fought to secede, there would be a greater chance that the new leaders would be those with some sense of national pride. Keep in mind that most of the current people didn't win election fair and square so they are not the kind of people that wanted to win in order to better the lives of the citizens.

I get where you coming from but we shouldn't be so quick to throw away the baby with the bath water.  I rather live to experience an unified Nigeria prosper than a separation.

violent:

well said

But how do you achieve a secular education when people preach, and fight against it?
I also don't believe poverty is a common cause, there is poverty in the south as well, Umar the leg bomber was not poor, and yet i believed before he was apprehended he probably preached extremism too

doesn't the south have groups such as MEND,massob, opc etc who used poverty/marginalization as an excuse for violence?  We need to stop singling out the north as if the south is that much better.  We would continue to have religious extremism if religions leaders preach intolerance and call each other infidels or unbelievers.

Gekko:

I agree wholeheartedly. And this can only work if political and religious leaders of the North start being honest with their counterparts.  
They need to demystify their message and stop spreading fears and fantasies to individuals in the North.

but that's what gets votes in countries like Nigeria and kenya. It pays them to keep Nigerians ignorant.

bawomolo:

but that's what gets votes in countries like Nigeria and kenya. It pays them to keep Nigerians ignorant.

So,at what point does it end? How can we turn the pages? Things can't continue like this forever.

bawomolo:

doesn't the south have groups such as MEND,massob, opc etc who used poverty/marginalization as an excuse for violence?  We need to stop singling out the north as if the south is that much better.  We would continue to have religious extremism if religions leaders preach intolerance and call each other infidels or unbelievers.  

None of these groups use brainwashing techniques to achieve their overall objective and their activities, although violent is largely uncorrelated with terrorism  . . . if you brainwash a child, you take away his freedom to think for himself, and from all indications that's what is gaining ground in the north, children stay away from school because they teach western values

Gekko:

I get where you coming from but we shouldn't be so quick to throw away the baby with the bath water.  I rather live to experience an unified Nigeria prosper than a separation.

If Nigeria can find a way to be unified and live in peace with eachother, then thats great. It's just that I get frustrated with what has been going on in Nigeria for many years and how its potential is being wasted. When I look at why things have been like this different things indicate that the northern oligarchy is a major reason for Nigeria's poor state. Initially as you may know there was the Southern Protectorate of Nigeria and the Northern Protectorate of Nigeria. I think that initially it was separate like that for a reason, until Britain decided that it had other plans.

Until the northerners become more tolerant of other religions and shys away from any islamic extremisms, Nigeria's breakup will be become inevitable.

bawomolo:

doesn't the south have groups such as MEND,massob, opc etc who used poverty/marginalization as an excuse for violence?  We need to stop singling out the north as if the south is that much better.  We would continue to have religious extremism if religions leaders preach intolerance and call each other infidels or unbelievers.  

Its true that MEND, etc are using violence, but their is a difference between their reason for the violence and the northerners. If the FG were to pay attention to the region and develop it, just about all violence from those groups would stop. But how can the northern religious extremists be appeased. Many of them want Nigeria to become an Islamic state and that's just something that's not going to happen.

The Niger deltan's have a reason to be angry but I don't see what reason the northern extremists have.

trueword:

If Nigeria can find a way to be unified and live in peace with eachother, then thats great. It's just that I get frustrated with what has been going on in Nigeria for many years and how its potential is being wasted. When I look at why things have been like this different things indicate that the northern oligarchy is a major reason for Nigeria's poor state. Initially as you may know there was the Southern Protectorate of Nigeria and the Northern Protectorate of Nigeria. I think that initially it was separate like that for a reason, until Britain decided that it had other plans.

Until the northerners become more tolerant of other religions and shys away from any islamic extremisms, Nigeria's breakup will be become inevitable.

Its true that MEND, etc are using violence, but their is a difference between their reason for the violence and the northerners. If the FG were to pay attention to the region and develop it, just about all violence from those groups would stop. But how can the northern religious extremists be appeased. Many of them want Nigeria to become an Islamic state and that's just something that's not going to happen.

The Niger deltan's have a reason to be angry but I don't see what reason the northern extremists have.

i doubt if anyone can put it better

Gekko:

So,at what point does it end? How can we turn the pages? Things can't continue like this forever.

it has to start with their education and the media, what are school children in the north being taught and what do they listen to on their local radios or in the mosque?  

Like they do in Europe, The Nigerian government may need to start spying on mosques.

I feel this topic. Any extremist should be jailed for 20years or more; Every traditional chief or program should be disbanded and discontinued with their names in the history books saying not confirmed. Every state should not be allowed to use religious or traditional laws that can affect the national unity or in summary, inconsiderate to other people.



to be continued.