The adoption of former Vice
President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar
by Northern Political Leaders
may trigger a North/South divide
in the country as the minority
ethnic nationalities, especially in
the south/south geo-political
zone are set to do the same to
counter the northern action.
The South/southerners, THISDAY
gathered in Yenagoa over the
weekend, are already aligning
with the minority people of the
middle belt area who believe
that the northern action is
capable of setting the nation on
an ethnic collision.
One of the organisers of the new
agenda which meeting is planned
for the 15th of December in
Benin said the action of the
Adamu Ciroma committee will
not go unchallenged.
“We are to meet our brothers
from other minority ethnic
nationalities in the South/South
and Middle Belt area before
Monday next week for the
general meeting in Benin on
Thursday. Our meeting is being
summoned basically to have an
appraisal of recent political
developments in the country as it
affects the presidential primaries.
“ You know that the Middle Belt
and other ethnic nationalities
apart from the dominant Hausa/
Fulani in the north as well as the
south- south share common
pains and aspirations; so what
we intend doing is to continue to
remain united and ensure that
we are not provoked needlessly.
“I say this because, perhaps,
Mallam Adamu Ciroma and his
colleagues who are canvassing
northern presidency today might
not know the greater import of
their action; it shows clearly that
there are some who are more
important than others in this
country.
“Painfully, we learnt that
although the committee
acknowledged Bukola Saraki as
the best candidate for his
credentials as young and
dynamic bridge builder, he was
considered a Yoruba man, so he
was denied.

www.thisdayonline.info/nview.php?id=188891

The so-called south-south is not an entity as far as Nigerian polity is concerned. My people say that it is only a fool who does not known his elder sister is a visitor.

excanny:

The adoption of former Vice
President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar
by Northern Political Leaders
may trigger a North/South divide
in the country as the minority
ethnic nationalities, especially in
the south/south geo-political
zone are set to do the same to
counter the northern action.
The South/southerners, THISDAY
gathered in Yenagoa over the
weekend, are already aligning
with the minority people of the
middle belt area who believe
that the northern action is
capable of setting the nation on
an ethnic collision.
One of the organisers of the new
agenda which meeting is planned
for the 15th of December in
Benin said the action of the
Adamu Ciroma committee will
not go unchallenged.
“We are to meet our brothers
from other minority ethnic
nationalities in the South/South
and Middle Belt area before
Monday next week for the
general meeting in Benin on
Thursday. Our meeting is being
summoned basically to have an
appraisal of recent political
developments in the country as it
affects the presidential primaries.
“ You know that the Middle Belt
and other ethnic nationalities
apart from the dominant Hausa/
Fulani in the north as well as the
south- south share common
pains and aspirations; so what
we intend doing is to continue to
remain united and ensure that
we are not provoked needlessly.
“I say this because, perhaps,
Mallam Adamu Ciroma and his
colleagues who are canvassing
northern presidency today might
not know the greater import of
their action; it shows clearly that
there are some who are more
important than others in this
country.
[b]“Painfully, we learnt that
although the committee
acknowledged Bukola Saraki as
the best candidate for his
credentials as young and
dynamic bridge builder, he was
considered a Yoruba man, so he
was denied.

www.thi[/b]sdayonline.info/nview.php?id=188891

If you red the statement in bold, simply confirms what we already know about NORTH 'BORN TO RULE' Political Geography, Kwara is North to make up the numbers, when comes to choosing the candidate, Kwara is Yoruba, It was good that Saraki enter the race to expose the hypocritcal North.

Anybody who think Atiku and co are the best for them good for themwhatever happens to them after the election

Dede1:

The so-called south-south is not an entity as far as Nigerian polity is concerned. My people say that it is o[b]nly a fool who does not known his elder sister is a visitor[/b].

That is if the older sister is cute! What happens if she is ugly?
She go plant dia o!

On a serious note, I often wonder why southern minority groups always make this mistake of saying things like these:

“ You know that the Middle Belt and other ethnic nationalities apart from the dominant Hausa/
Fulani in the north as well as the south- south [b]share common pains [/b]and aspirations

What pains are they talking about? They have been ruling themselves and controlling their own affairs since 1967. That is more than 40 years ago! In fact they have even enjoyed power at the center more than Ndigbo since then.

So, what pains are they still talking about?

This is why is it really hard to trust the intentions of these southern minorities. They think that only they can gang up against majorities. One of the these days, majority tribes in Nigeria will gang up against them. We will then see who is more powerful in the game of gang ups! The more they do this, the more Igbo question support for Jonathan.

I'm still holding steady though.

vigasimple:

If you red the statement in bold, simply confirms what we already know about NORTH 'BORN TO RULE' Political Geography, Kwara is North to make up the numbers, when comes to choosing the candidate, Kwara is Yoruba, It was good that Saraki enter the race to expose the hypocritcal North.

Anybody who think Atiku and co are the best for them good for themwhatever happens to them after the election

The problem with Nigerians is the inability to differentiate between ethnic group and geo-political zone.Some larger ethnic groups fall into other zones as minorities.The middlebelt has minority Hausa and Yoruba while the South-South has a large Igbo population.I never read where Ciroma called Saraki a Yoruba but Edwin Clarke boldly opposed Peter Odili's VP candidature on the grounds that an Igbo cannot represent the South-South.Jonathan's position today would have been occupied by Odili but for Edwin Clarke.I however do not think that it will affect the position of Igbos in 2011.

What i dont get is, are they trying to produce their own consensus candidate? I mean like SS/NC consensus candidate committee.

I feel that this clique aimed at portraying themselves as minorities may somehow backfire in the long run.

They might want to count Niger, Kwara, Nasarawa and Niger states out. I dont think these see themselves as minorities, since they seem to enjoy very symbiotic correlations with the dominants.

vigasimple:

If you red the statement in bold, simply confirms what we already know about NORTH 'BORN TO RULE'  Political Geography, Kwara is North to make up the numbers, when comes to choosing the candidate, Kwara is Yoruba,  It was good that Saraki enter the race to expose the hypocritcal North.

Anybody who think Atiku and co are the best for them good for themwhatever happens to them after the election

I'm glad Saraki was denied. Serves the jackass right.

@ onlytruth and Dede1, are u saying this with regards to the const'tn of the FRN? If the south-southerners or ur so call minority is not worth being integral part of the FRN, then let us go and form our republic.

DapoBear:

I'm glad Saraki was denied. Serves the jackass right.

He doesn't feel Yoruba. Must people force it on him? He might have checked his history and found out he's of fulani descent.

Saraki is neither a Yoruba nor a Northerner. He is simply a hybrid from Mali.

Nsiman:

@ onlytruth and Dede1, are u saying this with regards to the const'tn of the FRN? If the south-southerners or your so call minority is not worth being integral part of the FRN, then let us go and form our republic.

lol. So who is stopping you? Just don't go with any part of Igboland.

As for a middlebelt/southern minority union, I dey laugh o!

excanny:

He doesn't feel Yoruba. Must people force it on him? He might have checked his history and found out he's of fulani descent.

It isn't by force that one must be Yoruba. But at the same time, there is no reason for a Fulani from Mali to be ruling Kwara

He claims Yoruba when convenient, disassociates when inconvenient. I'm fine with either choice, but want some measure of consistency.

Let him pick very well which identity he wants.

Onlytruth:

lol. So who is stopping you? Just don't go with any part of Igboland. 

As for a middlebelt/southern minority union, I dey laugh o!

I'm sure that folks like Peter Odili in the SS wouldn't be a part of that after they schemed him out of the vice-presidency. They successfully convinced Yaradua that Odili was not a part of them. He could have been President today for pete's sake!

DapoBear:

It isn't by force that one must be Yoruba. But at the same time, there is no reason for a Fulani from Mali to be ruling Kwara

He claims Yoruba when convenient, disassociates when inconvenient. I'm fine with either choice, but want some measure of consistency.

Let him pick very well which identity he wants.

The Fulanis had been ruling Kwara ab initio. So what difference does it make if one of them with a Yoruba first name is still ruling?

^-- It is not clear to me that this is true. I've noticed throughout history and in different parts of the world (Brazil, Cuba, parts of Sierra Leone, Benin, Togo, etc) that when people interact with Yoruba, they tend to get Yorubaized rather than vice versa. Do those Fulani feudal lords in Kwara even view themselves as Fulani still? I remember reading an article in which they interviewed some female relative of their Emir, and it made me wonder.

Perhaps Jarus (or someone else from Kwara) can shed some more insight into the matter.

SS to stop North ? Lwkmd. . .minority versus majority !

DapoBear:

^-- It is not clear to me that this is true. I've noticed throughout history and in different parts of the world (Brazil, Cuba, parts of Sierra Leone, Benin, Togo, etc) that when people interact with Yoruba, they tend to get Yorubaized rather than vice versa. Do those Fulani feudal lords in Kwara even view themselves as Fulani still? I remember reading an article in which they interviewed some female relative of their Emir, and it made me wonder.

Perhaps Jarus (or someone else from Kwara) can shed some more insight into the matter.

You don't need to wait for Jarus. The Emir of Ilorin certainly doesn't claim to be Yoruba. In fact the Fulani's in Kwara have learnt to play a double game; whenever it suits them (where local leadership and money are for grabs), they claim Yoruba, yet on the national scene, they claim to be Fulani. For instance, that is how Bukola came to be "Abubakar."

@DapoBear

I think they still feel fulani. Seems to me that professing Yoruba among this ruling class sometimes turns out to be a liability. I recall(though not vividly) of a would-be Emir who was rejected because he had a Yoruba middle name.

The fulani culture, and by extension the larger Hausa-Fulani heritage, is a very strong one. And by comparison is a more developed one than the Yoruba's. So the Hausa-Fulani folks(who are pseudo-Arabs in my books) would be hard to Yorubanized when they come in contact. This explains why the Yorubas picked up a lot of customs from them.

So i wouldn't think that the theory of other peoples being influenced by Yorubas is true in this case.

^
Dude, Fulani culture is not more developed than Yoruba culture. I am shocked you have said that.

^^^

The Fulanis learnt a lot from the arabs, and even lost almost all their own cultures in the process.

Is the arabian culture not more developed than most african cultures? They've long understood basic concepts in mathematics, astrology and medicine. Even the europeans had to learn many things from them.

Even if Arab culture was more developed than African culture, what does that have to do with the Fulani? Which math or science did the Fulani learn from the Arabs, or teach to Europeans?

Usman Dan Fodio was successful in implementing his jihad and building an empire for himself and his descendants. But that doesn't particularly suggest that Fulani culture was advanced.

Also, it is only in Nigeria that the two groups have become one. Elsewhere in Africa, they are distinct.

Onlytruth:

This is why is it really hard to trust the intentions of these southern minorities. They think that only they can gang up against majorities. One of the these days, majority tribes in Nigeria will gang up against them. We will then see who is more powerful in the game of gang ups! The more they do this, the more Igbo question support for Jonathan.

It appears even you are having doubts about wisdom of Ohaneze's endorsement of Jonathan. With the WIYC endorsement for Ribadu it is apparent that you have little to fear from the pre colonial kingdoms of the Niger Delta, in fact it would appear that stones are being thrown from within the glass house. Unfortunately the issue of mistrust is much closer than you would like to admit.

DapoBear:

Even if Arab culture was more developed than African culture, what does that have to do with the Fulani? Which math or science did the Fulani learn from the Arabs, or teach to Europeans?

Usman Dan Fodio was successful in implementing his jihad and building an empire for himself and his descendants. But that doesn't particularly suggest that Fulani culture was advanced.

Also, it is only in Nigeria that the two groups have become one. Elsewhere in Africa, they are distinct.

Do the fulanis have a culture of their own? No. So that means adopting the arabian culture means having a developed culture. The system of numbering used today in the world at large was learnt from the arabs.

The last time I checked the number of oil wells you have is of no electoral value.

If the South South want to be taken seriously they should look for a better Presidential candidate.

The current occupant of aso rock is the most qualified illiterate you can ever know.

A PhD holder who does not know jack.

^^^It has to be said that your analysis is spot on in theory. Which region actually chooses their candidate? For some in Nigeria even a heaving population has proved not to have any electoral value.

DapoBear:


Also, it is only in Nigeria that the two groups have become one. Elsewhere in Africa, they are distinct.

One of the biggest wayo in Nigeria is the deliberate merger of Hausa and Fulani as a single ethnic group.The aim is just to make them larger than Igbo and Yoruba.Some ethnic groups that are similar enough are not even grouped as one.Eg, Efik,Ibibio,Oron and Annang.Isoko and Urhobo.Esan and Bini.Nigeria is simply majority Yoruba who are almost at per with Igbo in population.

SapeleGuy:

It appears even you are having doubts about wisdom of Ohaneze's endorsement of Jonathan. With the WIYC endorsement for Ribadu it is apparent that you have little to fear from the pre colonial kingdoms of the Niger Delta, in fact it would appear that stones are being thrown from within the glass house. Unfortunately the issue of mistrust is much closer than you would like to admit.

I don't have doubts about Ohanaeze's endorsement. I come from a school of thought which teaches that not everything is for sale. BELIEVE ME. 

The kids who endorsed Ribadu are just truants.

Having said those, if this election is ever free and fair, Jonathan has his work cut out for him because I see a lot of Igbos growing more uncomfortable with a south south that keep making statements suggesting that Ndigbo are part of their problem.

If we are in a no-win situation with folks down there, the Ohanaeze endorsement won't help him on elections day.

@Abagworo: I didn't understand completely understand the last statement you made. But if I had to guess by population:

Igbo
Yoruba
Hausa
Ijaw

(And it isn't sentiment that makes me think the Yoruba are more numerous than Hausa, I just think that part of the country is far less populated than officially claimed)

Then various other groups in different number.

Not sure what the percentages would be, though.

DapoBear:

@Abagworo: I didn't understand completely understand the last statement you made. But if I had to guess by population:

Igbo
Yoruba
Hausa
Ijaw

By my own unconfirmed hypothesis based on my having traveled round I feel it goes this way

Yoruba
Igbo
Hausa
Fuani(scattered)

They now merged 3rd and 4th to form a larger group and got this

Hausa/Fulani
Yoruba
Igbo.

How on earth is Yoruba likely to be more numerous than Igbo? Their home region is 95%+ Igbo, and they are also a significant number in all other states in Nigeria.

What then would you estimate, if you had to place percentages? Or if you had to guess the true population of states?

Are even Fulani sef really that numerous? There are two types, city Fulani who speak Hausa and the nomads. I don't think either group is very large, is it? And the Hausa-speaking Fulani are basically Hausa, at this point, no?

I'm not as traveled in Nigeria as you though (or traveled at all, period), but I'm surprised by your estimate.

EDIT: I don't mean nomads. You know the ones who have those little villages in the bush? Those types. They are the same ones who herd, right? And there are the city ones.

DapoBear:

How on earth is Yoruba likely to be more numerous than Igbo? Their home region is 95%+ Igbo, and they are also a significant number in all other states in Nigeria.

What then would you estimate, if you had to place percentages? Or if you had to guess the true population of states?

Are even Fulani sef really that numerous? There are two types, city Fulani who speak Hausa and the nomads. I don't think either group is very large, is it? And the Hausa-speaking Fulani are basically Hausa, at this point, no?

I'm not as traveled in Nigeria as you though (or traveled at all, period), but I'm surprised by your estimate.

EDIT: I don't mean nomads. You know the ones who have those little villages in the bush? Those types. They are the same ones who herd, right? And there are the city ones.

I believe that Abagworo is orchestrating his windy attempts at appearing cosmopolitan again.  Rational folks are not fooled though.
No one has ever done a credible census in Nigeria since 1953. So I don't know where his figures are coming from.

You rightly pointed out the large presence of Igbo outside Igboland, which cannot be said of the Yoruba.

The most credible way to find out Nigeria's population distribution is to require ethnic information on national documents, eg, ID cards, voting cards, tax documents (if there is anything like that).

There are embedded interests fighting against this effort, but they are not insurmountable. This is one of the things I expect(ed) Jonathan to fix. He can and he should!

^-- I don't think you are a friend of Jonathan, then. The allocations that go to the North, almost all of their power is built upon falsified census figures. If Jonathan tries to single-handedly fix this, he will probably be killed.

Simply put, you cannot expect to take power away from another group of people without expecting them to fight back. This is like backing a dog into a corner. Extremely dangerous thing to do, and a strategic mistake, imo.

In any case, are you so sure you want the true figures to be known? You realize that all hearts and minds in Nigeria will then unite against your group, right? And you might say, "Well Nigeria is already against us." But these things are relative. The easiest way to unite the other groups in Nigeria that don't necessarily like each other (Yoruba, Hausa, Middle Belt, South South) is to give them an external threat. It isn't clear to me that the benefits outweigh the costs, for your side.

You should study other countries like Lebanon where the official demography is clearly false, but maintained so that bloodshed and chaos are avoided.