THE general belief held by most southerners about the North is that the region is not just mainly Muslim, but wholly Muslim. Whenever I meet someone from the South and introduce myself, I am correctly placed as a Christian. But once I am asked my state and I say Borno State, the next question becomes, ‘Are you a Muslim?’ This is despite my name being a very common Biblical name, Mark, which is the second Gospel. Matter of fact, I have been asked that question while attending a church programme, with a Bible conspicuously held in my hands. You could imagine my surprise at that question. This has also been the experience of a lot of friends with common names such as ‘Emmanuel’, ‘Daniel’, etc.

To start with, out of the 19 Northern states, at least five have a majority Christian population: Plateau, Adamawa, Nassarawa, Taraba and Benue. At least six more have at least 40 per cent Christian population. These states include Niger, Gombe, Kaduna, Kogi, Kwara and either Borno or Bauchi. That then leaves only Kano, Kebbi, Katsina, Jigawa, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara as having Muslim populations above 60 per cent. How then are we all seen as Muslims?This misconception could be excused when the person has an Arabic name, as there are many Northern Christians who bear names such as Jamila, Habiba, Halima, Sadiq, and Yunusa and so on. But when the person has an obvious Christian name and is even attends church services, you really begin to wonder.

Another common perception of the North is that we are all Hausa. My usual response to this is to borrow the logical argument of Simon Kolawole, the Editor-in-Chief of THISDay Newspapers. In an article in which he attempted to educate his largely southern readership base about the North, he went thus:

“If out of the estimated 250 tribes in Nigeria, we can say that the South-West is mainly Yoruba with a few other tribes around Badagry area, the South-East wholly Igbo and the South-South being most diverse in the South with about 40 tribes, that still leaves the remaining 200 tribes in the North.”

How then are we reduced to one single ethnic group, Hausa? It is only the North-West that is close to being homogenous, mainly Hausa and Fulan[/b]i, but with still some minority tribes in the Zuru area of Kebbi State and the multi-diverse Southern Kaduna. The [b]North-East and North-Central is filled with tribes, many of whom I have never even heard of. For example, Adamawa State is so diverse that the largest ethnic group, the Fulani, is just three per cent of the entire population. In my home state of Borno, there is a local government so diverse that from one village to another, you are likely to meet an entirely different ethnic group. The number of tribes there are so many that we just address the people as ‘Gwoza people’, after the name of the local government.

Even though we all speak Hausa as a lingua franca in order to communicate amongst ourselves as trading partners over the centuries, that doesn’t make us Hausa people as much as communicating English doesn’t make you and I English people. As a matter of fact, in the North-East, Hausa people are a minority and virtually non-existent in the North-Central region.

Now, this is one belief that whenever I am confronted with, it takes me a great deal of self-control not to flip out and lose my temper.

Times without number, when I tell people I am from Borno State, I am asked how come I speak such good English. What the hell? What am I supposed to speak? Arabic? The general expectation is that someone from the North is not supposed to be this learned, this well-spoken and articulate in English, this knowledgeable. I remember when a friend asked me if my mother went to school, and the surprised look on his face when I told him that my mum earned her masters’ degree over 20 years ago. There was also a time when my dad met someone at the Lagos International Airport and they got talking. When my dad told him his profession, the man, in a fit of surprise, exclaimed, ‘I didn’t know that there were professors in the North’.

I admit the fact that the North lags behind the South educationally, especially the North-West and the North-East. But this is not due to our inability to comprehend what we are being taught, but rather[b] due to the incompetence of leadership in the region to give education its premium importance[/b] as a form of human development. We, like every other human being on the face of this earth, can excel when given the opportunity. Talent and intellect abounds everywhere. Opportunity, however, does not. I personally know of many northerners who have excelled nationally and internationally. Daily, the story of young men like Ahmed Mukoshy, who is born, bred and schooled in Sokoto, and yet, rose above his environment to become one of the emerging forces in IT in this country in his early 20s inspires me. This is just one example among many that I could cite but for the lack of space.

I find it outright disgusting whenever people claim that if not for federal character and ‘zoning’, no northerner would be able to compete in this country. Last week, I was shocked when a friend said only 10 per cent of northerners in the Federal Civil Service deserved their places on merit, and went on to add that if he had not known me personally and I were to get a job with the Federal Government, he would believe that I did not earn it on merit.

The most ridiculous one I encountered was when earlier this year, former Minister of Finance, Dr Mansur Mukhtar was appointed a World Bank director. Most of the commentators on the 234Next article announcing this achievement for this Nigerian and Nigeria made the ludicrous assertion that the appointment was done to please the North, that Dr Mukhtar did not merit it. Little did they know that Dr Mukhtar had worked at the World Bank and the African Development Bank, prior to his heading Nigeria’s Budget Office on the invitation of the then and present Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and former World Bank Managing Director, who also recommended him for the post of Finance Minister when she rejected former President Umaru Yar’adua’s invitation to join his government. What is even worse is that they did not care to know: their minds were already made up and could not be confused with the facts.

Another common belief among southerners and most especially spread by southern newspapers is that the entire 19 Northern states act and think as one when it comes to issues of Northern politics. This is one of the biggest untruths about the North. Whenever northern Nigeria is mentioned, the people of Benue, Kogi and Kwara states do not feel it refers to them. Geographically, they are part of the North; politically, however, they and the entire Middle-Belt act independently. This can be clearly in the last elections where President Goodluck Jonathan won in 7 Northern states, even against his strongest opponent, General Muhammadu Buhari, who is a northerner. This was something I am sure a lot of people in the South, save for the political savvy, did not see coming.

One common sight of this perception being entrenched by newspapers is when politicians of Northern extraction speak on national issues. I have innumerably seen a washed-out Northern politician, without any influence or popularity speak regarding an issue, and the next day, newspapers carry bold headlines saying, ‘North rejects this’ or ‘North plans to do that’, quoting the same washed-out politician as speaking for the entire North. I have rarely seen a Bola Tinubu speaking and being quoted as the mouthpiece of the entire Yoruba ethnic group, or a Chief Edwin Clark for the Ijaw people. Methinks this is a way of selling newspapers by capitalizing on the image of the North as one single, political force which moves in a particular direction all-together

Admittedly, as people of the same region, we share a lot in common culturally and socially in the general terms: our mannerisms, modes of dressing, traditional titles (apart from paramount rulers with the exception of emirates), etc. Despite that, the Jukun in Taraba and the Kataf in Kaduna are very different in the specifics, as even the Bura and Marghi people of Borno/Adamawa States. To pick the attitude of one ethnic group in the North and attach it to all the others, is to put it mildly, a very short-sighted way of knowing and understanding the people of Northern Nigeria.

Another belief in the South is that the entire North is but an empty landmass with nothing but trees.I remember the controversy of the 2006 census when Kano State was said to have a slightly higher population than Lagos State. Many of my southern friends called it ‘an impossibility’. In the words of one of them, ‘Lagos is so populated that when you throw grains of rice into the air, they wouldn’t land on the ground, but on people’. However, they all forgot to factor in land mass, because Lagos State is a much smaller state than Kano State, and hence has the highest population density in Nigeria, hence making it look as though it was way more populated.
http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/politics/39214-the-north-that-southerners-dont-know

That is why I always support the NYSC programme despite its disadvantages, cos I come to realise that we dont really understand ourselves, when I was posted to a construction company for my primary assignment after the NYSC orientation in mid 2000s, on introducing myself as an Engineer from Kano state, my supervisor who to my assumption is a highly enlightened and educated southerner was amazed to the brim, he went ahead to say "I thought all of you from Kano studied political science", which I later come to realise he meant his words.

personally while i schooled in the south-eastern part of Nigeria.My friends will ask me from where and when i told them they simply act amazed and suggest things like if you get back you will be the most educated.I felt insulted, knowing that in my immediate family and siblings were graduates in medicine,law(Judge),geology and mining,political science,chemical engineering,mathematics and statistics(lecturer) etc yet some daft people feel am the only educated person.I was in primary school when some of this people graduated.All one could do sometimes was laugh at there gross ignorance and foolishness as a result of arrogance.

My Dear , you spoke the truth and this stereotyping of the north has been on since 1914 ( read the the ,members bill on self government presented by Ahmadu Bello in the house of representatives in 1953. Of course He was not a northern premier at the time - the speech was featured in The Leadership on Sunday - last Sunday 15th April 2012. ) it is most frustrating but , we Northerner could have , and can still make use of that negative image to quietly surprise them. All of us do come across such arrogance from our southern compatriots. Discussing Fela's music with a southern friend , he was full of condescending praises for me that as a northerner , That i even knew much about Fela. He said I must be a Christian from middle belt as they are more enlightened . I am of course a Muslim from an emirate. Since I am aware of Fela's contemporary musicians in other lands, Michael Jackson, James brown , Elton John , aBBa, hunger Baker and many other funky jazz Fela musicians of the era , I wonder why I am not allowed to know Fela or even the juju & Sakara musicians. And I was ( with all humility) more formally educated ( western , eastern , anything than that guy). But I am a northerner , that's the problem. Don't mind them.
And surprise surprise. This your thread will not be long. Most Nairalanders would prefer the ignorant stereotypes and wont bother to be involved with enlightenment.

at Nagama, d truth is dt most northerners that the southerners have met arent enlightened despite their education. I can tell u we have few liberated northerners. I served in the north and i met a lot, though my director is a muslim whom i respect but i respect her for her high level of intelligence and i mean emtional intelligence. with the recent happennings in Nigeria, the southern have every reason 2 believe that most northerners are educated illiterates. I love kano bt i cant visit now because of the crisis. Thank God for NYSC dt made me go there. One love all. God bless us all christains and muslims alike.

OP travelling is part of education and as most of us southerners do not leave our immediate geopolitical zones sadly our education is not complete. To be candid it wasnt until i began to travel the lenght and breadth of Nigeria that I began to comprehend how truly heterogenous the denizens of this country are. Kudos to the writer of the article.

Beautiful article...

Yet they (the Muslim north, I mean) are killing people like goats and chicken? I know the typical northerner and he is a, brainwashed, scheming, power-hungry fanatical murderer.

i could remember, i had a lecturer in uniben in those days from the middlebelt and he will come to the class and tell us
" They say i got admission into this school by quota system, okay assuming its true, what of my 2(1) is that also quota system? what of my ICAN, what of my CIBN is that quota system?

The truth is if you place southern and a Northerner head to head with the same opportunity, the southerner wouldnt do better.

Being a southerner or a northerner is just a geographic demacartion, It has nothing to do with the individual.

That is a nice and intelligent piece anyway.

mayorteeny: OP travelling is part of education and as [b]most of us southerners do not leave our immediate geopolitica[/b]l zones sadly our education is not complete. To be candid it wasnt until i began to travel the lenght and breadth of Nigeria that I began to comprehend how truly heterogenous the denizens of this country are. Kudos to the writer of the article.

You must mean Yorubas do not leave their immediate geopolitical zones, right? You could not have said that about Igbos, am sure.

Powerful article. I admit I'm partially guilty of this ignorance. BUT, I know that "Northern" is also POLITICAL Northern which is often under the control of the Muslim Hausa/Fulani. Maybe when our Christian brothers in the North starts to assert themselves more politically by pulling down obnoxious institutions like SHARIA LAW in those Northern states with majority Christian population, only then would we take a far closer look.
Great information though.

nanos: Yet they (the Muslim north, I mean) are killing people like goats and chicken? I know the typical northerner and he is a, brainwashed, scheming, power-hungry fanatical murderer.

wow, yet another clever nairalander! this ur statement no be am. dnt some southerners also kill people like goats and chicken on the basis of tribe? shior.

anyways, I too am guilty of stereotyping northerners. However, i've met some recently and i've learnt that not everyone frm the north is hausa!

Nice write up. However, it all boils down to their attitude and tolerance.

Idango:

The truth is if you place southern and a Northerner head to head with the same opportunity, the southerner wouldnt do better.

This is correct; however the North had all the opportunity to be better than the south and they blew it. How could people who ruled the country no less than 37 of 52 years be poorer for it in a country where clanishness, nepotism and an ''our-own'' mentality reign supreme?

ti-ebe:


wow, yet another clever nairalander! this ur statement no be am. dnt some southerners also kill people like goats and chicken on the basis of tribe? shior.

anyways, I too am guilty of stereotyping northerners. However, i've met some recently and i've learnt that not everyone frm the north is hausa!

You will make sense when you demonstrate that any southern group has unleashed so much death (as the Islamic North)on citizens. Thank you.

.

Nice write-up by my brother, Mark Amaza. Keep the pen rolling man.

The North that southerners know:

1. Good-loving people especially those from Taraba, Nassarawa, Kogi, Adamawa (in part), Gombe, plateau, Bauchi (in part)and other mixed states

2. Extremely evil people from Kano, Borno, Kaduna, Sokoto, and other core Islamic states

Northerners are northerners irrespective of their religion,I think it's time you appreciated that as a fact.When issues of national interest happens especially those concerning revenue between north and south,we dont hear christain north or muslims north but only when its a north affair.
Y'all look same to me since you have hausa/fulani language binding you together.

So sad that majority of southerners do not travel beyond their enclave. Majority of commentators on NL too never go out of their locality many have never gone round Lagos state not to mention other SW state which is their region .This does not exclude people from other regions. How do you expect them to be informed about their distant neighbours- Northerners etc

ziccoit: So sad that majority of southerners do not travel beyond their enclave. Majority of commentators on NL too never go out of their locality many have never gone round Lagos state not to mention other SW state which is their region .This does not exclude people from other regions. How do you expect them to be informed about their distant neighbours- Northerners etc

The 100s of 1000s (if not 1000000s) of Igbos that have traveled and lived in the North for many years that you guys have been killing for your religious rituals are not southerners, right?

I don't belong to the category of southerner who think Hausa/Fulani is the only ethnic group in the north or that Islam is mainly or wholly muslim. if you think of it, it's even the northern muslims that push this thinking. They want people to beleive that Christians are minorities in the morth.

I agree with most of what the write said except this:

I find it outright disgusting whenever people claim that if not for federal character and ‘zoning’, no northerner would be able to compete in this country. Last week, I was shocked when a friend said only 10 per cent of northerners in the Federal Civil Service deserved their places on merit, and went on to add that if he had not known me personally and I were to get a job with the Federal Government, he would believe that I did not earn it on merit.

Without federal character, the north will be more far behind than they are right now. Who do they want to compete with? is it the Igbos or Yorubas? If the north are so good, how come they don't dominate private establishments the way they dominate NNPC, NTA, INEC etc.

ti-ebe:


wow, yet another clever nairalander! this ur statement no be am. dnt some southerners also kill people like goats and chicken on the basis of tribe? shior.

anyways, I too am guilty of stereotyping northerners. However, i've met some recently and i've learnt that not everyone frm the north is hausa!

true talk. Nt every1 4rm d north is hausa bt d fact is dat southernerz dnt kill pple lyk goats nd chicken. Durin tym of crisis, i was in kano nd saw a lot of killings, in 1996, in 2004, nd in 2010. Wn i left 4 d south, it was as if there were no crisis cos d hausas there were untouched bt in d north, d southernerz died lyk goats.

The writer is not from the north all the saying na lie
Before a diamond shows its brilliancy and prismatic colors it has to stand a good deal of cutting and smoothing
his dull shyness anger and envy of the west is making him witty!!
northerners Ke!! Compare? nibo,
From what i know every northerners is a Mootola!! Heavy Ofrugbe
If we increase the size of the penguin until it is the same height as a man and then compare the relative brain size, we know find that the penguin's brain is still smaller. But, and this is the point, it is larger than it was, so are my good neighbours the haramist the mootolas!

Nice write up. I can identify with the issues raise. I experience them very often.

The one that hurts the most is being underrated because one is from the "north".

Recently i was the best candidate in a national examination and at the ceremonies night some people were curious where i came from. When i let it out people went "ah!" as if i don't deserve it! As if i got it through quota system or something.

May I add that the North is getting more fragmented than before thanks to ethnic and religious politics. The North is not one- not any more. So many group wanting different things. Some want change quickly, others are not so sure; some want change in one direction, others in another etc

afam4eva: I don't belong to the category of southerner who think Hausa/Fulani is the only ethnic group in the north or that Islam is mainly or wholly muslim. if you think of it, it's even the northern muslims that push this thinking. They want people to beleive that Christians are minorities in the morth.

I agree with most of what the write said except this:



Without federal character, the north will be more far behind than they are right now. Who do they want to compete with? is it the Igbos or Yorubas? If the north are so good, how come they don't dominate private establishments the way they dominate NNPC, NTA, INEC etc.

Good observation. Forget ethnic bigot, any unbias poster would have noticed what Afam typed down(highlighted).

^afam, get off your high horse.

@ OP : You nailed it totally
The southerners , especially some yorubas have this superiority complex , and a grossly wrong assumption that nothing good can come from the north.
My brother was once asked by his yoruba friend if he lives in a mud house up north. And he expressed surprise at how civilised my brother appeared.
Less than two months ago , I had a fierce argument with my friends over whether or not majority of northerners have terroristic tendencies.

When I do things right , the normal commendations might be given me , but when I miss a step or do something out of the norm , some people around say " ok , he grew up in the north , abajo ". This for a mistake that can be made by anyone

The fault is all our leaders' , for failing to forge the unity necessary for equality in this widely diverse country of ours. They are only united when personal interests are at risk.
You can't blame the average Nigerian for thinking or acting in this line sometimes , for he/she might not know better
A lot of people will like to visit other regions of the country , but who will want to risk his/her life amidst these security problems we find ourselves today ?
The rot is from the top , and the fastest means of fixing it is from there
Thumbs up OP , this will surely open a few willing eyes.

emmke: ^afam, get off your high horse.

Abeg, afam is right. Why don't they dominate d banking industry among other private industries? Why only government establishments? Cmon, its d truth!

frgy_: @ OP : You nailed it totally
The southerners , especially some yorubas have this superiority complex , and a grossly wrong assumption that nothing good can come from the north.
My brother was once asked by his yoruba friend if he lives in a mud house up north. And he expressed surprise at how civilised my brother appeared.
Less than two months ago , I had a fierce argument with my friends over whether or not majority of northerners have terroristic tendencies.

When I do things right , the normal commendations might be given me , but when I miss a step or do something out of the norm , some people around say " ok , he grew up in the north , abajo ". This for a mistake that can be made by anyone

The fault is all our leaders' , for failing to forge the unity necessary for equality in this widely diverse country of ours. They are only united when personal interests are at risk.
You can't blame the average Nigerian for thinking or acting in this line sometimes , for he/she might not know better
A lot of people will like to visit other regions of the country , but who will want to risk his/her life amidst these security problems we find ourselves today ?
The rot is from the top , and the fastest means of fixing it is from there
Thumbs up OP , this will surely open a few willing eyes.

Aboki why you come dey vex na ?

Its plain ignorance

~Bluetooth:


Aboki why you come dey vex na ?

Una see wetin I dey talk ?
Omo yoruba lemi o .
Olodo :p