The southern part of the country is divided over a proposed amendment to the 1999 Constitution, which will include an indigene clause.

Under the amendment, which is among the proposals that have been submitted to the National Assembly, any citizen of the country, who has lived in an area for 10 years, can claim to be an indigene of that area.

The amendment is also aimed at resolving the issue of settlers in some parts of the country, including Plateau State.

While the South-South has kicked against the proposal, the South-East describes it as a welcome development.

The South-West said the proposed amendment is not desirable.

Two Ijaw have argued that the indigene/settler clause would not work in the far North, where “the Hausa/Fulani are intolerant of Christians and southerners.”

Commenting on the proposal, the National Secretary of the Ijaw National Congress, Mr. Robinson Esite, on Thursday, condemned in strong terms those pushing for its inclusion in the constitution.

Esite said that those behind the indigenisation clause were not just sectional irredentists, but a group of fanatics.

He said indigenisation could not in any way be said to be a major problem confronting the country.

The INC secretary expressed the fear that the clause, if included in the constitution, could create widespread inter-ethnic violence and strife in the country rather than foster national integration.

He said it would be inconceivable to think that indigenisation would work without cultural assimilation.

He said the attitude of the northern Muslims and the fanaticism displayed by them would make it impossible for indigenisation to work.

He referred to the recent call by Boko Haram on President Goodluck Jonathan to embrace Islam or resign from office.

Esite said that it was the mentality of the Hausa/Fulani to attempt to impose their culture and religion on people whenever they were many in a particular location whether in the North or South, which would lead to crisis.

He said, “Indigenisation is not the problem of Nigeria. The problem of Nigeria is resource control.

“If you say a Hausa man is an indigene of Bayelsa by virtue of the fact that he has lived there for 10 years and the Bayelsa man who has lived in the North for 10 years is now being told to leave because of religion, then there is inequality and misapplication of the law.

“Then when you talk of indigenisation, you are talking about the culture of the people. A Hausa man who has lived in Bayelsa for example, does he assimilate the culture of the people? He wants to impose his culture, his religion on the people.

“That clause would be difficult to implement; when they are many are they not going to impose their culture on the indigenes because of the cultural and religious diversities in the county?

“Rather, it would result in ethnic clashes and communal strife. More so, the northerners are saying for a Christian to rule, he must embrace their religion. For a southerner to live among them for 10 years to be an indigene, he must be a Muslim against his wish.

“So, you can see that those pushing for this so -called indigenisation are sectional. They are religious fanatics. They should think about transforming the hearts of Nigerians. The only thing that would do that is transparency.”

Spokesperson for the Ijaw Republican Assembly, Ms. Annkio Briggs, said that the mere passing of a law would not translate a southerner living in the North to a northerner as there is more to the issue of indigenisation.

She said that even with such a law in place, it would be practically impossible for an Igbo man who hadlived almost all his life in the North and who is a Christian to become the governor of Zamfara or even Adamawa State.

She said that the clause on indigestion would culminate in the increase of inter-ethnic violence as had been shown already by the clashes between the Fulani herdsmen and their host communities.

She argued that indigenisation was not as important as resource ownership the right to freedom of worship.

Briggs said that the recurrent attacks on the people of the Middle Belt, the Igbo and other Christians in the North had shown clearly that the policy would not work.

She urged Nigerians to be conscious of the wide differences between the North and the South in the areas of religion, language, ethnicity and even education.

“You see, when laws are proposed, their relevance, the level of their usefulness is determined by how many millions of people would benefit from them.

“I don’t believe in passing a law that if an Igbo man has lived in Kano for 20 years, it means that he has become a Kano man and can run for the position of the governor of the state. How realistic, how feasible do you think that would be?

“I don’t believe that the issue of indigenisation is as important as resource ownership, and the right to religion. The other day, Boko Haram was calling on Jonathan to resign as President because he is not a Muslim.

“If for instance, that law comes into force, only the North will benefit.

“It will result in inter-ethnic violence. Look at the issue of cattle rearing, can you imagine what it is causing now? Can you imagine one Emeka Nwachukwu saying he is going to be governor of Zamfara, Kano or Adamawa?

“Even lesser things have led to inter-ethnic violence; Christians of the Middle Belt and the Igbo are targeted because of religion and different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

“The divide between the North and the South is huge in the area of language; education and religion and let us resolve some fundamental issues rather than our lawmakers concerning themselves with the issue of indigenisation. These things won’t work and we should stop pretending about it,” she said

Also, the Yoruba social-political organisation, Afenifere, said the indigenisation clause being proposed for inclusion in the nation’s constitution was unnecessary.

The General Secretary of the organisation, Chief Seinde Arogbofa, in an interview on Thursday in Akure, urged the lawmakers to forget about the idea because it would not work.

He said, “Why should we worry ourselves with such an idea which would only benefit some tribes and endanger the lives of other tribes in some hostile parts of the country.

“The clause cannot achieve any form of national unity and integration because there are lots of unresolved crises at hand in the country.

“The incessant bloody clashes between the Fulani and the Berom in Plateau State are caused by this same amendment being proposed in the constitution.

“The clause should be de-emphasised in the interest of peace.”

But the Ndigbo Unity Forum threw its weight behind the proposed constitution amendment.

The president of the forum, Mr. Augustine Chukwudum, told one of our correspondents in Onitsha on Thursday that the amendment, if it eventually sailed through, would resolve a lot of social and political misgivings in the country.

Chukwudum, who said the Igbo that had suffered tremendously from discrimination because of the non-indigene factor, would now feel free to contribute their full potential to the development of their host states.

He, however, said such amendment might not resolve isolated cases like the Plateau crises between the Berom indigenes and the settler Hausa/Fulani.

“The Plateau problem has a religious undertone, whose solution might not lie in the proposed constitutional amendment. Anything that has a religious undertone should be carefully resolved because of its sensitive nature,” he said.

Also, the ACF gave its nod for the inclusion of the indigene/settler clause in the proposed review of the nation’s constitution.

The forum argued that such statute provision in the nation’s book would not only foster unity, it would also give every Nigerian a sense of belonging.

The National Publicity Secretary of the forum, Mr. Anthony Sani, said, “ACF’s position on indigene/settler issue has been that all those born in a place should be indigenes of that place, since being born in a particular place is not a matter of choice.

“But there should be no dual indigeneship. ACF believes such a provision would promote national integration, since it would put to rest for good the controversy about who is an indigene and who is not an indigene.

“The controversy about who is an indigene and who is not may appear not pronounced in the southern part of the country. But it is not that southerners are friendlier and more accommodating than northerners. It has more to do with the fact that there are fewer settlers in the South.”

http://www.punchng.com/news/seast-swest-ssouth-divided-over-indigenesettler-clause/

divided?

we are not divided.... they should let states have a choice. SE and north should choose yes and see how it works out.

some people are quite myopic in reasoning.

some people living in lagos already feel like 'lagosians'

it wont change anything here.

@OP

The essence of talking about indigenization and amendment to Nigeria constitution in one sentence explains the reason Nigeria is a cesspit. It is either the Nigerian constitution does not guarantee individuals the inalienable right as indigenes of Nigeria regardless of the state or Nigeria is a practical joke.

I have to reiterate the most reasonable thing to do about Nigeria in order to open the door to wave of progress is disintegration. I sincerely expect the disintegration to be peaceful. However, if war is the only the workable option, I say so be it. All these moans about indigenization and resource control are silly copouts and mischievous shenanigans.

Hw lng can we continue 2 hate each oda? We must make law dat wil enhance peace in 9jria. If we'r tlkin of inter-ethnic crisis, how many intra-ethnic crisis hav we xprienced in d past? Itsekiri n urobo,land disput dat claimd lives last tym in ebonyi.

If we're serious about remaining together as a nation, then this bill must be passed else, we should go our separate ways. Let's stop deceiving ourselves.

Lmao. Of course the people who have a lot to lose will settle for this. Give us SNC instead of this rubbish. You can make rubbish of people's ancestral land, culture and resources just because you want a firm grip on it. Even European countries are divided by cultural groups or majority. You can be a citizen, but not an indegene. Even America gives indegenous rights and recognition to the American Indians. This should never be allowed to stand. Residency okay, indegenisation, never!

2mch: Lmao. Of course the people who have a lot to lose will settle for this. Give us SNC instead of this rubbish. You can make rubbish of people's ancestral land, culture and resources just because you want a firm grip on it. Even European countries are divided by cultural groups or majority. You can be a citizen, but not an indegene. Even America gives indegenous rights and recognition to the American Indians. This should never be allowed to stand. Residency okay, indegenisation, never!

I don't care about the name they choose to call it but anybody that has spent a reasonable amount of time in a place should have full rights and claim to such place. If they like they can give indegenous rights to the soil, who cares.

u've all clamour 4 a greater nigeria, here it is and you are complaining. which war or inter-ethnic crisis are we runing from? the one that's living with us already or another percieved one yet to come? if we want to be like other developed nation in the world today, we must have laws that enhances peace because peace is development. if security of lives and properties of nigerians can be guaranteed where ever they find themselves, why not implimenting the law? it is a wellcome development. igbo no the fight over land? itsekiri and urhobo never fight? na today? gej is working and nigeria must move 4ward under him insha-ALLAH

afam4eva: If we're serious about remaining together as a nation, then this bill must be passed else, we should go our separate ways. Let's stop deceiving ourselves.

MAY GOD bless u and ur farmily ! i dont just understand the kind of youths GOD bless this country with. this is something we should wellcome with open arms and the reaction trailing this bill is something else.

afam4eva:
I don't care about the name they choose to call it but anybody that has spent a reasonable amount of time in a place should have full rights and claim to such place. If they like they can give indegenous rights to the soil, who cares.

may u live long! i'm claiming yobe, 4 instance, i'm i not suppose 2 b accorded everything indigens of that states are entitled to? we voted a christain from adamawa in the person of binta koji in 2003 to house of rep, the following election she went to adamawa and still contested there.she represented kaduna central mostly dominated by muslims and they voted her against her muslim opponents. we have an igbo adviser 2 the govnor of kano state, an igboman who was awarded a contract in sokoto state built a mosque 4 the community after completing the contract. u can easily find this in the north than in the south. this is wat the picture should look like. GOD bless nigeria!

onething about the igbos is that "they won't do what they don't want, but whatever they accept doing they must do well"

my stand and the stand of many igbos both here and in real life is
1)"divide nigeria and lets go our seperate ways"
2) give us biafra and you all can have nigeria you want.
above is the major blv of average igbo person.

3) southern nigeria not too bad but can be manageble.
4) southern nigeria plus middle belt if the beltans so desire.

lastly if we must leave together then .
5) one nigeria on the level of equal right. therefore pass the bill.
this is the least of what an average igbo person wants. infact we hate it but if other region love one nigeria
then let it be on the level of equal right.

How can you tell me that you don't want unity and you also don't want seperation.

We igbos don't want anything to do with hausa/fulanis ofcourse bcuz of their backward and fanatism mentality.

we igbos realy don't want one nigeria as things stand. we have said it time and time again.

there are truth in what the south southerners are saying, if we must sign the bill into law,
then shariah nonsense and islamic nonsense in the north will be taking away from our society,
nigeria must totaly be a secular society. on that then sign the bill.

Also, the Yoruba social-political organisation, Afenifere, said the indigenisation clause being proposed for inclusion in the nation’s constitution was unnecessary.
The General Secretary of th the organisation, Chief Seinde Arogbofa, in an interview on Thursday in Akure, urged the lawmakers to forget about the idea because it would not work.

Afenifere social organization spoke this. its not bad at all but is it not better we divide and go our seperate ways?
than to leave together as enemies. OBJ(west) and IBB(north) keep talking nigeria must not divide, while yoruba elders stands that nigeria should not unite and core-northern elders and governors keep making laws that disunite nigeria the more(sharia). pls my take here its better we divide,enuf of deceit and pretence.

But the Ndigbo Unity Forum threw its weight behind the proposed constitution amendment.
The president of the forum, Mr. Augustine Chukwudum, told one of our correspondents in Onitsha on Thursday that the amendment, if it eventually sailed through, would resolve a lot of social and political misgivings in the country.
Chukwudum, who said the Igbo that had suffered tremendously from discrimination because of the non-indigene factor, would now feel free to contribute their full potential to the development of their host states.
He, however, said such amendment might not resolve isolated cases like the Plateau crises between the Berom indigenes and the settler Hausa/Fulani.
“The Plateau problem has a religious undertone, whose solution might not lie in the proposed constitutional amendment. Anything that has a religious undertone should be carefully resolved because of its sensitive nature,” he said.

#1) why not Ohaneze who is the NUF? Who is mr.chukwudum why not ohaneze secretary. the man's idea may not be bad but he is not speaking for the igbos in this matter.
#2) i don't blv the 2nd bolded that this law will solve nigeris disunity and social political problem. bcus the major players on that field are the core-north and they are not realy ready to giveup their evil ideas that disunite us.
#4) he is totaly rigth on this

the NUF guy doesn't speak for igbos no matter how right and gentle he might sound.

Those who bring us back into nigeria, did you do it for us to leave as cat and rat?
what is the essence?

please when is the bill of dividing or leaving together gona come on the table?
this is what we need. divide this nonsense and let us go our ways.

Obviously, some people will benefit while others wont. I can understand why some regions are resisting this move. Though I doubt if it can be put into practice. But failure to put it to practice will put a nail to the coffin of this country.

by ACM10: 6:30pm
Obviously, some people will benefit while others wont. I can understand why some regions are resisting this move. Though I doubt if it can be put into practice. But failure to put it to practice will put a nail to the coffin of this country.

ofcourse me and you doesn't like this move but we can vote it as a good move only if nigeria wants to move forward.

how can northen elders suport the move while they make sure all core-northen states are totaly islamized.

anyway we know it wont work.

i smell sumtin fishy.naija abej pedal slowly.two sworn-rivals are at it again.
(Also, the ACF gave its nod for the inclusion of the indigene/settler clause in the proposed review of the nation’s constitution.

The forum argued that such statute provision in the nation’s book would not only foster unity, it would also give every Nigerian a sense of belonging.

The National Publicity Secretary of the forum, Mr. Anthony Sani, said, “ACF’s position on indigene/settler issue has been that all those born in a place should be indigenes of that place, since being born in a particular place is not a matter of choice.

“But there should be no dual indigeneship. ACF believes such a provision would promote national integration, since it would put to rest for good the controversy about who is an indigene and who is not an indigene)
(But the Ndigbo Unity Forum threw its weight behind the proposed constitution amendment.

The president of the forum, Mr. Augustine Chukwudum, told one of our correspondents in Onitsha on Thursday that the amendment, if it eventually sailed through, would resolve a lot of social and political misgivings in the country.

Chukwudum, who said the Igbo that had suffered tremendously from discrimination because of the non-indigene factor, would now feel free to contribute their full potential to the development of their host states).

Somebody just said something abt circular state in Nigeria,well Nigeria can never be a circular state me and you knows that the best thing to do is for us as inhabitants under the union flag "Nigeria" can come together and negotiate how we can separate peacefully in a mature and mannered way,in keeping our natural right to self determination. Biafra emerged as a result of necessity.The people were faced with a very real and imminent danger to their continued existence on Earth as a people.And is still going on, then,nigeria and its allies were poised to exterminate all the peoples of Biafran extraction from the surface of the Earth. It is interesting to note here in conclusion that the United States has just taken a bold step in this direction when on the 16th of December 2010 their President Barack Obama decided, though belatedly, to officially endorse the 2007 United Nations General Assembly declaration of Indigenous Peoples Right to Self-Determination,i believe we are getting there, Nigeria is over due

I would rather that my people Ndigbo keep mum over this issue because we have a bigger issue to worry about.

The indigenization would NEVER work in Nigeria BEFORE resource control. It is almost anachronistic and tantamount to putting the cart before the horse.
Let us deal with resource control first whereby every state depends on her own resources; after that we can talk of indigenization.

Nigeria is VERY FRUSTRATING to Ndigbo. We are in an existential trap.

Onlytruth: I would rather that my people Ndigbo keep mum over this issue because we have a bigger issue to worry about.

The indigenization would NEVER work in Nigeria BEFORE resource control. It is almost anachronistic and tantamount to putting the cart before the horse.
Let us deal with resource control first whereby every state depends on her own resources; after that we can talk of indigenization.

Nigeria is VERY FRUSTRATING to Ndigbo. We are in an existential trap.

this program is bound to fail.

afam4eva: If we're serious about remaining together as a nation, then this bill must be passed else, we should go our separate ways. Let's stop deceiving ourselves.

Yeah, it's a good development. But be ready to take the Fulanis that have lived in your state for ten years as an indigiene. Which means you all have equal right in your state. And there will be nothing like chasing them away from your state when they start their crises, since they are already an indigiene of your state. If you're okay with this, then so be it.

Onlytruth: I would rather that my people Ndigbo keep mum over this issue because we have a bigger issue to worry about.

The indigenization would NEVER work in Nigeria BEFORE resource control. It is almost anachronistic and tantamount to putting the cart before the horse.
Let us deal with resource control first whereby every state depends on her own resources; after that we can talk of indigenization.

Nigeria is VERY FRUSTRATING to Ndigbo. We are in an existential trap.

True talk.
However, for Nigeria(if we really want to be one)to be a developed nation, we must first abandon primitive tribal streaks, the way Europe, America, China, and even India have been able to do over the years.

The stronger the tribes the weaker Nigeria gets as a nation. It will take a political genius like Ghandi, Abe Lincoln, or Charles de Gaulle to emancipate us from primitive tribalism.
All these so-called SS minorities fearing Igbo/Yoruba/Hausa domination know and see what happens in America and Europe, but in Nigeria, they want to eat their cake and have it too.

Mr.chippychappy:
The aim of this bill is simple = CONTROL OF OIL IN NIGERIA!!!

Yes o! Fulanis will export alamajiris to Bayelsa state and they will claim indigenes too. This is just another way of dipping Quaran into the Atlantic ocean

Do the national or state laws of Nigeria actually officially recognize anything like "settler" and "indigene"?

PhysicsQED: Do the national or state laws of Nigeria actually officially recognize anything like "settler" and "indigene"?

Yes!
They recognize "state of origin" which is the same thing as "indigene", but does not recognize "settler".

I am shocked, for the first time in my life I completely disagree with SE. First time for everything. WTF was SE smoking that day to agree on this new law?

Anyway sha, no, This new law would create more controversy and more problems in Nigeria than fixing. If anything, it would not bring the nation closer but it would create more division. Am I the only one that's seeing it? Someone mentioned North domination in the political environment of Nigeria and with this new law, it would decrease their political domination. First of, in what way will it do so? If anything, it would increase their political domination.

No No no No. SE needs to listen to SS and SW.

One_Naira: I am shocked, for the first time in my life I completely disagree with SE. First time for everything. WTF was SE smoking that day to agree on this new law?

Anyway sha, no, This new law would create more controversy and more problems in Nigeria than fixing. If anything, it would not bring the nation closer but it would create more division. Am I the only one that's seeing it? Someone mentioned North domination in the political environment of Nigeria and with this new law, it would decrease their political domination. First of, in what way will it do so? If anything, it would increase their political domination.

No No no No. SE needs to listen to SS and SW.

That is why I said this above:

Onlytruth: I would rather that my people Ndigbo keep mum over this issue because we have a bigger issue to worry about.

The indigenization would NEVER work in Nigeria BEFORE resource control. It is almost anachronistic and tantamount to putting the cart before the horse.
Let us deal with resource control first whereby every state depends on her own resources; after that we can talk of indigenization.

Nigeria is VERY FRUSTRATING to Ndigbo. We are in an existential trap.

One_Naira: I am shocked, for the first time in my life I completely disagree with SE. First time for everything. WTF was SE smoking that day to agree on this new law?

Anyway sha, no, This new law would create more controversy and more problems in Nigeria than fixing. If anything, it would not bring the nation closer but it would create more division. Am I the only one that's seeing it? Someone mentioned North domination in the political environment of Nigeria and with this new law, it would decrease their political domination. First of, in what way will it do so? If anything, it would increase their political domination.

No No no No. SE needs to listen to SS and SW.

The SE didn't endorse this bill rather some selfish ignorant snakes who are unfortunately representing the SE endorsed it. Those F00LS don't speak for me and i am sure they don't speak for the millions of Igbos in Nigeria.