I was fifteen years old when the civil
war broke out in Nigeria. Although
we were living in Ibadan in the
South-west at the time, my
sympathies were totally and
unequivocally with the Igbos. When
a people have been so brutally
butchered by their countrymen as
happened to the Igbos, I felt they had
no choice but to insist on leaving the
country. Therefore, I understood why
the Biafrans went to war and what
they were fighting for. But I could
not, for the life of me, understand
what those on the federal side were
fighting for. Why would anybody
fight for Nigeria?
I lost a first-cousin fighting on the
federal side during the civil war. I
wish I could have found out first-
hand from him why he gave his life
“to keep Nigeria one.” Did he really
believe in Nigeria? I doubt it. Why
then did he join the army after the
war broke out and die in the war?
What about those who fought and
did not die? What was in Nigeria for
them? How did Nigeria justify their
sacrifice of blood and gore after the
war?
Fighting for Nigeria
The question is still pertinent today
as we mobilize to fight the scourge of
the Boko Haram. Why would
anybody fight for Nigeria? What is in
Nigeria for us? There is a difference
between joining an army for career
purposes and believing in Nigeria.
There is a difference between joining
the Nigerian army because you need
a job and dying for Nigeria. There is a
difference between going to war and
getting killed and dying for Nigeria.
For a man to die for Nigeria, he has to
believe in Nigeria. For a man to
believe in Nigeria, Nigeria has to
mean something for him. Nigeria
must have something to offer him.
John Kennedy said: “Ask not what
your country can do for you, ask
what you can do for your country.”
That is all well and good; provided we
have fulfilled the first requirement
which is to identify our country. Most
Nigerians have yet to do this. We are
Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba and every other
possible abridgement or classification
but not Nigerians. We are Christians
and Muslims but not yet Nigerians.
Even after 54 years of Nigerian
independence, and after 100 years of
Nigerian amalgamation, most
Nigerians still do not really consider
themselves to be Nigerians.
We can acknowledge the assistance
of the Americans, the British, the
French and others. But the truth of
the matter is that only a Nigerian can
fight for Nigeria against the Boko
Haram. Only a Nigerian can have the
necessary commitment to endanger
his life in fighting against the
insurgents. However, there are few
Nigerians in Nigeria. As a matter of
fact, most Nigerians are Boko Haram
in one fashion or the other.
Nigerian foreigners
I was upset when I read about a
Nigerian who died fighting in the U.S.
Army in Iraq. He not only became an
American, he fought and died for
America. Every year, thousands of
Nigerians play the American lottery,
hoping to relinquish Nigerian
nationality. Every week, thousands
mass at European, American and
other embassies, hoping to travel out
of Nigeria for good. I even met a
Nigerian barber in poor Gambia and
wondered what he was doing there.
What was he doing in Gambia when
there are better business
opportunities for him in Nigeria;
unless anywhere else is better than
home?
The Lamido of Adamawa threatened
that if things don’t work out in
Nigeria, he would simply pack his
bags and move to Cameroon. It
would appear then that the Lamido is
actually a Cameroonian living in
Nigeria. Most countries go to war to
secure more territories for
themselves. The Russians recently
used the opportunity of a little crisis
in Ukraine go annex the Crimea.
However, Obasanjo gave away a big
chunk of Nigeria’s Bakassi Peninsula
to Cameroon. It did not matter to him
that the people of Bakassi are
Nigerians and not Cameroonians.
While we are shouting “Bring Back
Our Girls” today, we forgot to ask
Obasanjo to bring back our Bakassi
Nigerians yesterday.
Hatred of Nigeria
So many theories have been adduced
as to why the Boko Haram prevail in
Nigeria. Some attribute this to the
acute poverty in the Nigerian North-
east. However, there are countries in
the world far poorer than Nigeria,
and they don’t have their own
versions of the Boko Haram. There
are countries with greater income
disparities than Nigeria, and they
don’t produce the Boko Haram. No
matter how poor are the states of the
North-east, they are not poorer than
the adjoining countries of Niger, Chad
and Cameroon. And yet, there is no
Boko Haram in these poorer
countries.
There is also nothing really Muslim
about the Boko Haram. Other Muslim
countries in Africa and beyond don’t
have Boko Haram. When the Boko
Haram plant bombs in market-places;
the bombs are not programmed to
differentiate between Christians and
Muslims. Recently, the Boko Haram
attacked some Emirs, killing one of
them. Surely, the Emirs were not
Christians but Muslims.
In effect, the Boko Haram is a
wonderfully Nigerian phenomenon.
There is something in Nigeria that
provides a fertile ground for the Boko
Haram. That thing is not limited to
the North-east. That thing bedevils
the whole of Nigeria. That thing is
lack of national identity. That thing is
hatred for Nigeria and for other
Nigerians. The hatred of Nigeria by
Nigerians is so deep and ingrained in
us North and South; East and West.
We are Nigerians, but we hate
Nigeria. We are Nigerians, but we see
nothing good in Nigeria. We are
Nigerians, but we would rather be
something else. If push comes to
shove, we would have no qualms
picking up a gun and killing another
Nigerian in the name of whatever
other allegiance we hold dearer.
Battle for independence
Because there are actually very few
Nigerians in Nigeria, it is difficult to
fight against the Boko Haram. To
fight against the Boko Haram is to
fight against ourselves. Every
Nigerian is either a Boko Haram or a
potential Boko Haram. A Boko
Haram is a Boko Haram because he
does not believe in Nigeria. The rest
of us are Boko Haram because we
also do not believe in Nigeria. We
hate Nigeria with a passion. Murtala
Nyako can fight for his citizens of the
North. Femi Fani-Kayode will readily
call his Oduduwa Republic to arms.
MASSOB will easily rally the troops
for Biafra. But there is practically no
one left to fight for and defend
Nigeria.
Only Nigerians can fight the Boko
Haram, but there are few Nigerians
in Nigeria. That is why it has been
difficult for us to close ranks in the
face of the Boko Haram onslaught.
That is why it is easy for the Boko
Haram to get new local recruits in the
fight against Nigeria. That is also why
it is difficult to identify the Boko
Haram among us. The Boko Haram
and the potential Boko Haramite is
anyone and everyone who hates
Nigeria and does not wish Nigeria
well. That means the Boko Haram
are practically every one of us.
The fight against Boko Haram is a
belated fight for Nigeria’s
independence. In order to fight the
Boko Haram successfully, we have to
become Nigerians. Other countries
fought for their independence but we
never did in Nigeria. Suddenly, we
are now saying “Bring back Our
Girls.” But these Chibok girls were
not “Our Girls” before they were
kidnapped. And even if, by the grace
of God, we were to secure their
release tomorrow; they would
immediately cease to be “Our Girls.”
This makes us no different from the
Boko Haram. The Boko Haram
kidnapped these girls because they
are not theirs. Neither do we consider
them to be ours. They cannot be ours
as long as we do not believe we are
all Nigerians. Therefore, all our
“bring back Our Girls” posturing is
just for show.
Nigerian Boko Haram
Nigerians only become Nigerians in
the rarefied context of a national
football match of short duration. But
even while we are united in
supporting the Super Eagles, we
equally support Arsenal and Chelsea
football clubs in England. There was
no report of any Spaniard dying as a
result of the recent Champion League
football match between Real Madrid
and Atletico Madrid. Nevertheless,
two Nigerian supporters of Real
Madrid died out of anxiety arising
from the match. Because we are Boko
Haram, we even kill ourselves over
matters that don’t pertain directly to
us. I am still waiting for the day that I
go to London and find Britons
wearing T-shirts with Enugu Rangers
or Kano Pillars football clubs
emblazoned on them.
Because we are not Nigerians, we
readily adopt foreign “nations” that
don’t recognize us and call them our
own. Because we don’t believe in
Nigeria, we are easily seduced to take
on other “nationalities.” Because we
are don’t believe in Nigeria, we can
easily be led to believe in another
“nation.” We are easily persuaded to
become Boko Haram. Because we
hate Nigeria, we become Boko Haram
instead of Nigerians. We plant bombs
in the market-place. We bring Nigeria
down instead of building Nigeria up.
Since the children of Chibok are not
our children, we steal the money
meant for enhancing their education
and use it to send our children to
school abroad.
The Boko Haram is not only the man
who blows up buildings and kills the
innocent. The Boko Haram is also
that man who ensures that fake
drugs are sold in our pharmacies,
and that our hospitals are places
where people go to die and not to be
healed. The Boko Haram is not only
that man who says “Western
education is a sin.” The Boko Haram
is also that public official who sits
while our universities are closed
down for six months over an
industrial dispute. The Chibok
incident has brought all these
tendencies into sharp relief. We are
the Boko Haram and the Boko Haram are us.
This Piece was written by Femi Aribisala.
Source-- www.vanguardngr.com/2014/06/boko-haram-3/

Titilayodeji13: I was fifteen years old when the civil
war broke out in Nigeria. Although
we were living in Ibadan in the
South-west at the time, my
sympathies were totally and
unequivocally with the Igbos. When
a people have been so brutally
butchered by their countrymen as
happened to the Igbos, I felt they had
no choice but to insist on leaving the
country. Therefore, I understood why
the Biafrans went to war and what
they were fighting for. But I could
not, for the life of me, understand
what those on the federal side were
fighting for. Why would anybody
fight for Nigeria?
I lost a first-cousin fighting on the
federal side during the civil war. I
wish I could have found out first-
hand from him why he gave his life
“to keep Nigeria one.” Did he really
believe in Nigeria? I doubt it. Why
then did he join the army after the
war broke out and die in the war?
What about those who fought and
did not die? What was in Nigeria for
them? How did Nigeria justify their
sacrifice of blood and gore after the
war?
Fighting for Nigeria
The question is still pertinent today
as we mobilize to fight the scourge of
the Boko Haram. Why would
anybody fight for Nigeria? What is in
Nigeria for us? There is a difference
between joining an army for career
purposes and believing in Nigeria.
There is a difference between joining
the Nigerian army because you need
a job and dying for Nigeria. There is a
difference between going to war and
getting killed and dying for Nigeria.
For a man to die for Nigeria, he has to
believe in Nigeria. For a man to
believe in Nigeria, Nigeria has to
mean something for him. Nigeria
must have something to offer him.
John Kennedy said: “Ask not what
your country can do for you, ask
what you can do for your country.”
That is all well and good; provided we
have fulfilled the first requirement
which is to identify our country. Most
Nigerians have yet to do this. We are
Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba and every other
possible abridgement or classification
but not Nigerians. We are Christians
and Muslims but not yet Nigerians.
Even after 54 years of Nigerian
independence, and after 100 years of
Nigerian amalgamation, most
Nigerians still do not really consider
themselves to be Nigerians.
We can acknowledge the assistance
of the Americans, the British, the
French and others. But the truth of
the matter is that only a Nigerian can
fight for Nigeria against the Boko
Haram. Only a Nigerian can have the
necessary commitment to endanger
his life in fighting against the
insurgents. However, there are few
Nigerians in Nigeria. As a matter of
fact, most Nigerians are Boko Haram
in one fashion or the other.
Nigerian foreigners
I was upset when I read about a
Nigerian who died fighting in the U.S.
Army in Iraq. He not only became an
American, he fought and died for
America. Every year, thousands of
Nigerians play the American lottery,
hoping to relinquish Nigerian
nationality. Every week, thousands
mass at European, American and
other embassies, hoping to travel out
of Nigeria for good. I even met a
Nigerian barber in poor Gambia and
wondered what he was doing there.
What was he doing in Gambia when
there are better business
opportunities for him in Nigeria;
unless anywhere else is better than
home?
The Lamido of Adamawa threatened
that if things don’t work out in
Nigeria, he would simply pack his
bags and move to Cameroon. It
would appear then that the Lamido is
actually a Cameroonian living in
Nigeria. Most countries go to war to
secure more territories for
themselves. The Russians recently
used the opportunity of a little crisis
in Ukraine go annex the Crimea.
However, Obasanjo gave away a big
chunk of Nigeria’s Bakassi Peninsula
to Cameroon. It did not matter to him
that the people of Bakassi are
Nigerians and not Cameroonians.
While we are shouting “Bring Back
Our Girls” today, we forgot to ask
Obasanjo to bring back our Bakassi
Nigerians yesterday.
Hatred of Nigeria
So many theories have been adduced
as to why the Boko Haram prevail in
Nigeria. Some attribute this to the
acute poverty in the Nigerian North-
east. However, there are countries in
the world far poorer than Nigeria,
and they don’t have their own
versions of the Boko Haram. There
are countries with greater income
disparities than Nigeria, and they
don’t produce the Boko Haram. No
matter how poor are the states of the
North-east, they are not poorer than
the adjoining countries of Niger, Chad
and Cameroon. And yet, there is no
Boko Haram in these poorer
countries.
There is also nothing really Muslim
about the Boko Haram. Other Muslim
countries in Africa and beyond don’t
have Boko Haram. When the Boko
Haram plant bombs in market-places;
the bombs are not programmed to
differentiate between Christians and
Muslims. Recently, the Boko Haram
attacked some Emirs, killing one of
them. Surely, the Emirs were not
Christians but Muslims.
In effect, the Boko Haram is a
wonderfully Nigerian phenomenon.
There is something in Nigeria that
provides a fertile ground for the Boko
Haram. That thing is not limited to
the North-east. That thing bedevils
the whole of Nigeria. That thing is
lack of national identity. That thing is
hatred for Nigeria and for other
Nigerians. The hatred of Nigeria by
Nigerians is so deep and ingrained in
us North and South; East and West.
We are Nigerians, but we hate
Nigeria. We are Nigerians, but we see
nothing good in Nigeria. We are
Nigerians, but we would rather be
something else. If push comes to
shove, we would have no qualms
picking up a gun and killing another
Nigerian in the name of whatever
other allegiance we hold dearer.
Battle for independence
Because there are actually very few
Nigerians in Nigeria, it is difficult to
fight against the Boko Haram. To
fight against the Boko Haram is to
fight against ourselves. Every
Nigerian is either a Boko Haram or a
potential Boko Haram. A Boko
Haram is a Boko Haram because he
does not believe in Nigeria. The rest
of us are Boko Haram because we
also do not believe in Nigeria. We
hate Nigeria with a passion. Murtala
Nyako can fight for his citizens of the
North. Femi Fani-Kayode will readily
call his Oduduwa Republic to arms.
MASSOB will easily rally the troops
for Biafra. But there is practically no
one left to fight for and defend
Nigeria.
Only Nigerians can fight the Boko
Haram, but there are few Nigerians
in Nigeria. That is why it has been
difficult for us to close ranks in the
face of the Boko Haram onslaught.
That is why it is easy for the Boko
Haram to get new local recruits in the
fight against Nigeria. That is also why
it is difficult to identify the Boko
Haram among us. The Boko Haram
and the potential Boko Haramite is
anyone and everyone who hates
Nigeria and does not wish Nigeria
well. That means the Boko Haram
are practically every one of us.
The fight against Boko Haram is a
belated fight for Nigeria’s
independence. In order to fight the
Boko Haram successfully, we have to
become Nigerians. Other countries
fought for their independence but we
never did in Nigeria. Suddenly, we
are now saying “Bring back Our
Girls.” But these Chibok girls were
not “Our Girls” before they were
kidnapped. And even if, by the grace
of God, we were to secure their
release tomorrow; they would
immediately cease to be “Our Girls.”
This makes us no different from the
Boko Haram. The Boko Haram
kidnapped these girls because they
are not theirs. Neither do we consider
them to be ours. They cannot be ours
as long as we do not believe we are
all Nigerians. Therefore, all our
“bring back Our Girls” posturing is
just for show.
Nigerian Boko Haram
Nigerians only become Nigerians in
the rarefied context of a national
football match of short duration. But
even while we are united in
supporting the Super Eagles, we
equally support Arsenal and Chelsea
football clubs in England. There was
no report of any Spaniard dying as a
result of the recent Champion League
football match between Real Madrid
and Atletico Madrid. Nevertheless,
two Nigerian supporters of Real
Madrid died out of anxiety arising
from the match. Because we are Boko
Haram, we even kill ourselves over
matters that don’t pertain directly to
us. I am still waiting for the day that I
go to London and find Britons
wearing T-shirts with Enugu Rangers
or Kano Pillars football clubs
emblazoned on them.
Because we are not Nigerians, we
readily adopt foreign “nations” that
don’t recognize us and call them our
own. Because we don’t believe in
Nigeria, we are easily seduced to take
on other “nationalities.” Because we
are don’t believe in Nigeria, we can
easily be led to believe in another
“nation.” We are easily persuaded to
become Boko Haram. Because we
hate Nigeria, we become Boko Haram
instead of Nigerians. We plant bombs
in the market-place. We bring Nigeria
down instead of building Nigeria up.
Since the children of Chibok are not
our children, we steal the money
meant for enhancing their education
and use it to send our children to
school abroad.
The Boko Haram is not only the man
who blows up buildings and kills the
innocent. The Boko Haram is also
that man who ensures that fake
drugs are sold in our pharmacies,
and that our hospitals are places
where people go to die and not to be
healed. The Boko Haram is not only
that man who says “Western
education is a sin.” The Boko Haram
is also that public official who sits
while our universities are closed
down for six months over an
industrial dispute. The Chibok
incident has brought all these
tendencies into sharp relief. We are
the Boko Haram and the Boko Haram are us.
This Piece was written by Femi Aribisala.
Source-- www.vanguardngr.com/2014/06/boko-haram-3/

K

na only you be boko haram

i fall in love with this article, if only we can tell our selves the truth Nigeria can be better any were find our selves we can be an agent of change.

stinggy:
K

my guy, u sabi chop space