kulutempa: Very true. Same thing happened in Palestine, India, and Sudan, all former British colonies and all of which have split along tribal and religious lines since the British left. However in Nigeria, we continue to deceive ourselves and live a lie of unity everyday.

Callotti: Same goes for the world and Africa.
Blame God!

adegeorge: Nigeria is a very complex country. Our problems did not start yesterday. It started about 1884. Lord Lugard came here about 1894 and many people did not know that Major Lugard was not originally employed by the British Government. He was employed by companies. He was first employed by East Indian Company, by the Royal East African Company and then by the Royal Niger Company. It was from the Royal Niger Company that he transferred to the British government. Unless you know this background, you will not know the root causes of our problems. The interest of the Europeans in Africa and indeed Nigeria was economic and it's still economic. They have no permanent friends and no permanent interests. Neither their interests nor their friends are permanent. Nigeria was created as British sphere of interests for business. In 1898, Lugard formed the West African Frontier Force initially with 2,000 soldiers and that was the beginning of our problems.

Anybody who wants to know the root cause of all the coups and our present problems, and who does not know the evolution Nigeria would just be looking at the matter superficially. Our problems started from that time. And Lugard was what they called at that time imperialist. A number of British soldiers, businessmen, politicians were very patriotic. But I must warn you; they were operating in the interest of their country. Lugard became a Lord.

Nigerians, too, should operate in the interest of their country. When Lugard formed the West African Frontier Force with 2,000 troops, about 90 percent of them were from the North mainly from the Middle belt. And his dispatches to London between that time and January 1914 are extremely interesting. Lugard came here for a purpose ant that purpose was British interest. Between 1898 and 1914, he sent a number of dispatches to London which led to the Amalgamation of 1914.

The Order - in - Council was drawn up in November 1913 signed and came into force in January 1914. In those dispatches, Lugard said a number of things, which are at the root causes of yesterday and today's problems.

The British needed the Railway from the North to the Coast in the interest of British business. Amalgamation of the South (not of the people) became of crucial importance to British business interest. He said the North and the South should be amalgamated. Southern Nigeria came into existence on January 1900. When Benin was conquered in 1896, it made the creation of the Southern Nigerian protectorate possible on January 1, 1900.
If you remember, Sokoto was not conquered until 1903. So, there was no question of Nigeria at that time. After the conquest of Sokoto, they were able to create the northern Nigerian protectorate. Lugard went full blast and created what was to be known as the protectorate of Northern Nigeria. What is critical and important are the reasons Lugard gave in his dispatches. They are as follows: He said the North is poor and they have no resources to run the protectorate of the North. That they have no access to the sea; that the South has resources and have educated people.

The first Yoruba lawyer was called to the Bar in 1861. Therefore, because it was not the policy of the British Government to bring the taxpayers money to run the protectorate, it was in the interest of the British business and the British taxpayer that there should be Amalgamation. But what the British amalgamated was the Administration of the North and South and not the people of the North and the South, that is one of the root causes of the problems of Nigeria and the Nigerians.

When the amalgamation took effect, the British government sealed off the South from the North. And between 1914 andl960, that's a period of 46 years, the British allowed minimum contact between the North and South because it was not in the British interest that the North be allowed to be polluted by the educated South. That was the basis on which we got our independence in 1960.
When the North formed a political party, the northern leaders called it Northern Peoples Congress (NPC). They didn't call it Nigeria Peoples Congress. That was in accordance with the dictum and policies of Lugard. When Aminu Kano formed his own party, it was called Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) not Nigerian Progressive Union.

It was only Awolowo and Zik who were mistaken that there was anything called Nigeria. Infact, the so-cared Nigeria created in 1914 was a complete fraud. It was created not in the interest of Nigeria or Nigerians but in the interest of the British. And what were the structures created? The structures created were as follows: Northern Nigeria was to represent England; Western Nigeria like Wales; Eastern Nigeria was to be like Scotland. In the British structure, England has permanent majority in the House of Commons. There was no way Wales can ever dominate England, neither can Scotland dominate Britain. But they are very shrewd. They would allow a Scottish man to become Prime Minister. They would allow a Welsh man to become Prime Minister in London but the fact remains that the actual power rested in England.

That was what Lugard created in Nigeria, that was the root cause of ALL of our troubles.

careytommy: @ OP, just know it that I owe you a distillery or brewery(both if you wish)!
@ abubaka, what you wrote isn't enough reason why nigeria should remain one. You need to try harder.
For scotland breaking away, yes because they were forced into the british empire centuries again(against their wish) which is the same situation for southerners
As for sudan example, isn't it the more reason why we should earnestly seek a peaceful dissolution of this false contraption rather than allowing it to degenerate to sudan-like situation?

careytommy: @ OP, just know it that I owe you a distillery or brewery(both if you wish)!
@ abubaka, what you wrote isn't enough reason why nigeria should remain one. You need to try harder.
For scotland breaking away, yes because they were forced into the british empire centuries again(against their wish) which is the same situation for southerners
As for sudan example, isn't it the more reason why we should earnestly seek a peaceful dissolution of this false contraption rather than allowing it to degenerate to sudan-like situation?

careytommy: @ OP, just know it that I owe you a distillery or brewery(both if you wish)!
@ abubaka, what you wrote isn't enough reason why nigeria should remain one. You need to try harder.
For scotland breaking away, yes because they were forced into the british empire centuries again(against their wish) which is the same situation for southerners
As for sudan example, isn't it the more reason why we should earnestly seek a peaceful dissolution of this false contraption rather than allowing it to degenerate to sudan-like situation?