₦airaland Forum

This is a thread to burst the outright lies being spread about the Maitatsine uprisings.
It is strange the way the rumour mill hijacks the laziest minds and turns them into efficient propagators of super-stretched tall tales and unenvieble gossip.
The duty of every morally and mentally robust citizen is setting the records straight.

It is easy to see that boko haram is the same as Maitatsine, they share the same beliefs, theology and violent methods. Maitatsine never ended in 1985 (indeed its second leader was arrested in 2004).

[size=14pt]Maitatsine[/size]

Mohammed Marwa (died 1980), best known by his nickname Maitatsine, was a controversial Islamic scholar in Nigeria. Maitatsine is a Hausa word meaning "the one who damns" and refers to his curse-laden public speeches against the Nigerian state.[1]

Background
He was originally from Marwa in northern Cameroon. After his education he moved to Kano, Nigeria in about 1945, where he became known for his controversial preachings on the Qur'an. Maitatsine claimed to be a prophet,[2] and saw himself as a mujaddid in the image of Sheikh Usman dan Fodio.[1] Although a Koranic scholar, he seemingly rejected the hadith and the sunnah and regarded the reading of any other book but the Koran as paganism. Maitatsine spoke against the use of radios, watches, bicycles, cars and the possession of more money than necessary.[3][4] In 1979, he even rejected the prophethood of Mohammed and portrayed himself as an annạbi (Hausa for "prophet".[4]

The British colonial authorites sent him into exhile, but he returned to Nigeria shortly after independence. He returned to Kano and by 1972 he had a notable and increasingly militaristic following of Yan Tatsine.[4] In 1975 he was again arrested by Nigerian police for slander and public abuse of political authorities.[citation needed] But in that period he began to receive acceptance from religious authorities, especially after making hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.[citation needed] As his following increased in the 1970s, so did the number of confrontations between his adherents and the police. His preaching attracted largely a following of youths, unemployed migrants, and those who felt that mainstream Muslim teachers were not doing enough for their communities.[citation needed] By December 1980, continued Yan Tatsine attacks on other religious figures and police forced the Nigerian army to become involved. Subsequent armed clashes led to the deaths of around 5,000 people, including Maitatsine himself.[4] Maitatsine died shortly after sustaining injuries in the clashes either from the wounds or from heart attack.[5]

Legacy
Despite Marwa's death, Yan Tatsine riots continued into the early 1980s. In October 1982 riots erupted in Bulumkuttu, near Maidaguri, and in Kaduna, to where many Yan Tatsine adherents had moved after 1980. Over 3,000 people died. Some survivors of these altercations moved to Yola, and in early 1984 more violent uprisings occurred in that city. In this round of rioting, Musa Makaniki, a close disciple of Maitatsine, emerged as a leader and Marwa's successor.[4][5] Ultimately more than 1,000 people died in Yola and roughly half of the 60,000 of the city's inhabitants was left homeless. Makaniki fled to his hometown of Gombe, where more Yan Tatsine riots occurred in April 1985. After the deaths of several hundred people Makaniki retreated to Cameroon, where he remained until 2004 when he was arrested in Nigeria.[4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boko_Haram

Since the Maitatsine uprising in Kano in the 1980s, Nigerians north of the Niger have witnessed several other crises, with each incident presenting its own peculiarity and sophistication, even as each has idiosyncratic set of challenges. Those conversant with the issue can attest to the fact that the Boko Haram imbroglio is a metamorphosis of earlier unresolved religious fallouts. Quite contrary to views being peddled to the effect that it was a recent development and a creation of a particular person or persons, Boko

Haram remains a phenomenon whose manifestation is the fulfilment of earlier threats posed by the activities of fundamentalists.

The Boko Haram ideology is quite in tandem with the ones expressed by the late Mohammed Maitatsine, Kala Kato, and other fiery clerics whose teachings tended to derive its strength from the Hadith, much more than it does from the Holy Qur'an.

The Yusiffiya group, which from every manifestation is an offshoot of the Maitatsine, later Kala Kato, transforming into the Taliban group and later Boko Haram, has its roots in some Middle East countries. When in 2002 a self-styled group, the Taliban, was reported in Kannama in Yobe State and later Gwoza in Borno State, many Nigerians paid little attention to its activities. By 2009, the group had found volunteers among who are believed to be some security operatives, academics, politicians and other professionals.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201107240006.html

Religious unrest is not new to Bauchi State. The Kala-Kato mayhem is the third of such incidents in Bauchi in 2009. During the Boko Haram mayhem in Borno and Yobe States, last July, Bauchi was one of the theatres of conflict, with attendant casualties.

Nigerians expect that some lessons should have been learnt from that incident, and intelligence gathering employed to prevent a recurrence, but this was not the case.

The frequent attacks on law enforcement officers and innocent members of the public during conflicts involving religious fundamentalists call for a more serious approach to the problem of religious unrest in the country. The Kala-Kato sect, which is responsible for the latest conflict, claims to be an offshoot of the original Maitatsine sect of the 1980s. With the violent antecedents of Maitatsine in Nigeria, members of the sect ought to have been closely monitored by security agencies to ensure that they do not become a threat to the public.

http://wwrn.org/articles/32352/?&place=nigeria&section=sectarian-violence

Below, is another article on boko haram:

[size=14pt]Boko Haram[/size]
. . .
Background
Main article: Islam in Nigeria

Since the fall of the Sokoto Caliphate to the British in 1903, the area's Muslims have tended to resist Western education.[8] Some analysts view the group's emergence as an extension of the Maitatsine riots of the 1980s and subsequent ethnic and religious tensions in the 1990s.[14]

Origin
Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf formed Boko Haram in 2002 in Maiduguri.[14] He established a religious complex that included a mosque and a school. Many poor families from across Nigeria and from neighboring countries enrolled their children in the school, which also served as a recruiting center for jihadis to fight the Nigerian state.[8] In 2004 it moved to Kanamma, Yobe State, where it set up a base called "Afghanistan", used to attack nearby police outposts, killing police officers.[15] Yusuf is hostile to democracy and the secular education system, vowing that "this war that is yet to start would continue for long" if the political and educational system was not changed.[16]

In Bauchi the group was reported as refusing to mix with the local people. The group includes members who come from neighbouring Chad and speak only in Arabic.[17][18]

^
If raw means brainless to you, then you even more stup!d than the average NLer holds you to be. Run along now, go find someplace to lick your smelly nuts.

I wonder what the problem is with that Olodostein of a fellow? It is very silly to take a suggestion for the temporary exclusion of the core-North from our intruments of security and convert it into a battle between Igbo and ND.

I understand that my suggestion is on the raw side, but please if you have nothing to contribute, kindly exit the thread quietly. Thank you.

cap28:
WHERE IS YOUR PROOF ?? YOU BA.STARD.

YOU HAVE NO PROOF THAT ANY NORTHERN LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ARE LINKED TO BOKO HARAM.

YOU ARE STOKING INTER ETHNIC HATRED AND DIVISION WITHOUT ANY CONCLUSIVE PROOF - do you not understand how dangerous this is?

You are trying to open up a Pandora's box which will end up in the loss of thousands if not millions of lives - DO YOU WANT A REPEAT OF THE BIAFRA/NIGERIA CIVIL WAR?

Maybe you also know boko haram more than the Northerners themselves? Fool.
Keep to weed addiction and other stuff that gutter types get up to.

[size=14pt]Sarah Jubril blasts Northern Generals, leaders[/size]
By SEGUN AJAYI, OLA AGBAJE and UCHE USIM
Monday, November 21, 2011

In this interview with REMI ADEFULU, the presidential aide laments the insecurity in the country, especially the activities of the Boko Haram sect which is peopled by northern youths.

She opined that most worrisome about the development is the deafening silence of northern elders, Generals and professionals, who have somewhat kept mute on the development, despite coming from a zone that ruled the country for over 30 years.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/nov/21/national-21-11-2011-001.html

Sani was reacting 24 hours after the arrest of a former governor and a serving senator for their involvement in the activities of Boko Haram.
ACF scribe’s reaction came on the heels of allegations made by the Special Adviser to the President on Ethics and Values, Sarah Jubril that some Northern leaders were backing the Boko Haram group.
“We do not believe Madam Sarah Jubril can make such allegations precisely because, Northern leaders are neither terrorist nor do they have something to gain from sponsoring terrorism of any kind or any form of violence for that matter.”

http://newnigerianpolitics.com/2011/11/22/northern-leaders-not-terrorists-%E2%80%93acf-then-condemn-boko-haram/

Or maybe all those arrested as sponsors and spokespeople for boko haram are Southerners and Middle Belters. Liars will see white and call it black.

Drug inspired dunce.

[quote author=Mai-suya link=topic=832981.msg9837965#msg9837965 date=1324912423]^
so u support or don't mind the ethnic polarisation and delibrrate incitation on niraland. I remembered when I used to just visit the job and jokes section in the past during 2006/2007 then I wasn't registered, I used to noticed some genuine foreigners on this site. Now I doubt if there are any left. The level of immaturity displayed here daily is enough to drive even sane nigerians off the site[/quote]That is true. They are all gone now, there used to be quite a few African American and Caribbean folk, one of the mods (Gabbry) was even a foreigner too; but they all seem to be gone now. The foreign affairs section used to pull in a lot of Americans, but no more, its all conspiracy theories now.

I really do not agree with Seun that people are just moving on; there also seems to be a wholesale demographic change.

I see that the addled fool called crap 28 aims to derail the thread with id!ocy about MEND.
I will ask a couple of simple questions. Were ND commanders in charge of the battle against MEND? Also, were ND non-commissioned officers sent into the creeks after Tompolo?

It is ok to make up dumb stories about Gaddafi that defy commonsense and reality, but boko haram is not far away like Gaddafi's Libya; it is right here in Nigeria.
The commanders of the battle against boko haram cannot be boko haram sympathisers. that should be clear enough to even the most yam headed individual.

Also, anyone equating the Niger Delta struggle with boko haram is a little beyond mad.

cap28:
Listen you st.upid fuckwit - applying your deranged upside down "logic" would be akin to saying that all niger delta people are in cahoots with MEND. YOU ARE SO DEVOID OF ANY IOTA OF INTELLIGENCE THAT LOGIC NEVER ENTERS THE EQUATION WHEN YOUR "BRAIN" ATTEMPTS TO ENGAGE GEAR.

Fool - Boko Haram DOES NOT EQUATE TO ALL NORTHERNERS OR EVEN THE NORTHERN ELITE - Have you not heard that northerners are also sustaining casualties in this attack you dumb fool.

Have you not heard that there are such things as terrorist groups who operate INDEPENDENTLY AND WHO RECEIVE FUNDING, ARMS AND TRAINING FROM EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS?

yoU ARE NOT qualified in any way to speak about these sort of issues because you are way out of your depth.

GET THIS INTO YOUR THICK DIM BRAIN - GEJ KNOWS WHO IS BEHIND BOKO HARAM AND HE IS POWERLESS TO STOP THEM.

IF GEJ WANTS TO GO TO AN EARLY GRAVE LET HIM DARE RETIRE ANY NORTHERN OFFICERS OR NCOS EN MASSE AND SEE IF HE WILL LIVE TO TELL THE STORY, HE IS FAR FROM BEING IN THE SAME CALIBRE OF THE LATE AGUIYI IRONSI AND HE KNOWS IT.

All Niger Delta people were agreed in their battle against oppression, only a fool wouldn't know that.
So please go chew grass elsewhere with your rambling "born to rule" worshipping crap.
Keep to "herbs" and preaching that Gaddafi is alive to your fellow phased out fools, instead of typing in capital letters about stuff you don't know.

Mrc1:
If a split occurs then what will happen to the Christians in the North and Muslims in the South ? There may be a terrible ethnic/religious cleansing like Yugoslavia.

If it comes to a split, it would depend on where the borders are drawn.
Everything from Southern Kaduna will come to Nigeria, while everything above Southern Kaduna will go to Arewa. On the Western side, everything above Niger state will go to Arewa, while on the Eastern side, Bauchi and Yobe will be split, same as Taraba. The task isn't that diffcult.

gulfer:
What NLders are saying is that the statement is un-leaderlike and does not inspire confidence. Will you always explain the president's statement as something else, even when the man has spoken from his heart's abundance in his own honest way?

The President words were sound enough, but the words in that particular sentence were not the best, they sound even worse when taken out of context for mischief; however what he meant is clear and the fuller posts of his words that I made shows that.

Ozin:
Na wa with thread with GEJ o! Every 5 thread posted on nairaland has 1 or 2 to do with the President.Enemies coming in like a flood against him.They gather themselves pretending to post issues on nairaland but end up bringing GEJ as a topic.I stand for him here,bring it on and some of us who can discern the real reason for the hatred against him will not bow to such cowardly postings

Dude, these vultures and hyena's are here to do what vultures and hyena's do. Its best to leave them to their buffoonery, afterall 2015 is very far off and some might even have run mad with their hatred by then! Lol!

Onyocha:
did all the fools talking nonsense and exposing hatred and inciting division read this statement of the Sultan?:

"Speaking on extremism and violence in the country, he said Islam was never in support of those who use violence to achieve their aims. aims".

He made this weak statement a day after 39 people died from a boko haram bomb blast? Not even the slightest commiseration with the families of the bereaved in his entire speech, and not even a mention of boko haram in the above sentence!
Who is he deceiving?

This is the same news story from another agency:

[size=14pt]Global fight against extremism, not against Islam - Sultan of Sokoto[/size]
Sunday, 25 December 2011

THE Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, has stated that the current global fight against extremism should not be a fight against Islam, as a secured society cannot be created through the use of force.

Abubakar, who spoke at the opening of the 69th National Islamic Vocation course of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria in Katsina, on Saturday, said that it was wrong to link Islam with extremism because Islam is a religion of peace. According to him, “Islam is always against violence, we don’t support extremism and violence,” adding that “the violence in Nigeria is unfortunate.”

He attributed lack of sincere leadership to the problem, stressing that political leaders must fear God, and also lead by example for others to follow.

On Boko Haram, Abubakar called on the government to dialogue with the group as a way of resolving issues with them. He blamed media organisations for raising the profile of the group, adding that it was wrong to link every armed robbery and violence to the group.

“Media should always wait on police report on armed robbery or violence before linking it with Boko Haram,” he explained.

Abubakar, who called on the youth to always embrace peace and stop allowing themselves to be used to cause violence, also blamed politicians for using youths to attack and victimise political opponents.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/sun/news/5956-global-fight-against-extremism-not-against-islam-sultan-of-sokoto-

What GEJ really meant is quite clear. There is no need getting over sentimental about one sentence lifted out of context.
Here is a fuller account:

The president said that the acts of killing innocent Nigerians were unwarranted and condemnable.

"The bombing of innocent citizens on a day millions of people all over the world are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, is a dastardly act that must attract the rebuke of all peace-loving Nigerians," he said.

"These acts of violence against innocent citizens are an unwarranted affront on our collective safety and freedom," he added.

"Nigerians must stand as one to condemn them," the president said in the statement.

President Jonathan also expressed his heartfelt condolences to the churches and families who lost their loved ones to the attacks.

He bemoaned the unfortunate incidents, saying that they had spoilt the celebratory mood of people across the country.

He assured Nigerians that the Federal Government remained resolute in resolving the security challenges confronting the nation.

The Nigerian leader also said there was no justification for the crime and called on Nigerians to continue to pray for peace in the country, when he received a delegation of the Christian Community in Federal Capital Territory on Sunday.

"We have challenges as a nation; even this morning, a very ugly incident happened in a Catholic Church. We are yet to get the number of deaths in the incident, the issue of bombing is one of the burdens we must live with. It will not last forever; I believe that it will surely be over," he said.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2011-12/26/c_131328040.htm

freegaza:
Will you fools be there to protect him when they come for him?beside he is one of their targets

But Sarah Jubril, a woman, was able to speak out against boko haram in unwavering terms a couple of months ago. Maybe its time for cowardly men to give way for their wives to come forward instead.

Incidentally, Sarah Jubril claimed that ex-generals and core-Northern leaders are behind boko haram. Maybe she is closer the truth than those with their heads in the sand and their anuses in the air dare believe.

^
Ask yourself why the army should be 70% core-Northern (in your own words). After that, tell me with a straight face why your words are not childish and your "analysis" silly.

oyb:
the first people who should be removed are the incompetent cadre of security chiefs. whe  that inevitavly happens this finger in the wind Arrow will start spamming nl with chaff about gekj's measured and thought out removal of the incompetents

remember his bizarre and foolish ranting about the unlamented waziris's  nail polish and jewlery when she was finally removed ? this from someoen who could not muster a word against her while she was in gej's good books


the real problem with nigeria is scum like beaf who rather than tell their slowpoke that he should step up his game, focus on inanities.

Lol! You will continue to tell lies like the immoral lil piece of shiit that you are. Keep lying, I have no time for fools.

DeeMain:
ng\So Nigerians are getting wiser now. When 4 Igbo officers and I Yoruba man hatched a coup in 1966, the entire Igbo nation was accused of planning the coup and a pogrom was unleashed on the Igbos that eventually led to 2-3 million Igbo deaths. Today, Boko Haram is unleashing terror and bombing churches and some people are saying it's not muslims, it's not the north. Good logic, except that the same clear analysis was not and has not been given to events events that led to the war and the aftermath.

I will love for those who made this mindless logic, and continues to make them to acknowledge that what was done to the Igbos was most unfair, unjust and an undeserved holocaust. Let's start from this forum and tell ourselves the truth and apologize to the Igbos to kick start the process to national healing.

To heal this nation and save it from the brink, we need to heal the past.

Don't mind many of the clowns on this thread. All they can think about is what they can personally gain from boko haram. They do not realise that Nigeria is really at the brink of fullscale war, a war in which they might lose either their lives or those of their loved ones. So we see them hailling and loving boko haram and telling us that nothing should be done to remove boko haram sympathies from the army. Its a shame really.

Ivynwa:
I just read Buhari's comment over the bombings in one of the dailies and the words he used to describe the govt is "Incompetent", exactly the picture the BH are trying to paint and drive home to us all the masses.
Nigerians were decapitated murdered with their flesh scattered all over the place, is this the right time to paint the govt as incompetent? Any well meaning Nigerian should be offering solution at this point not nagging and playing politics. I am not crazy about politics, I didn't vote GEJ in and I can't look at these dead people now and go shouting "GEJ is incompetent" instead I will think of ways to add my support to GEJ's govt so that this can stop and should I find GEJ incompetent, I will leave that for when GEJ tries to make a second run for presidency to say "No" to GEJ with my vote.

All these cries and nagging of GEJ, are you guys going to unseat him for Boko Haram to stop their acts? Perhaps if that is possible you may try that-----remove GEJ tonight and enthrone a northerner but know that the BHs may only get a bit assuaged.(Isn't that the picture they are painting?) The bombings may decrease but that will not make this go away. Something tells me that we are being manipulated by outside forces who are importing violence to our shores and dragging that avalanche of violence other parts of the world are experiencing to us.

Talking about making sense----- I don't know who is being sensible here, the person looking at solutions to problem or the person bemoaning and nagging the President? I don't want to be part of this argument, my friend. Like I said my heart bleeds for my country and the pains these deads went thru as well as the pains their families are going thru.
I am just looking at the Iraq Bombings today in CNN and my heart bleeds more with my hearts in my hands and fears of where my country is headed to if this is not nipped now. We need to do something about these before Nigeria becomes hell on earth. We are quietly drifting to a state where by we all will be cowering in our houses in fears with bombings and gruel sights of dead humans becoming nothing before our eyes because the picture of the gory sights of mangled flesh that I saw yesterday took something away from me. It took away some of my innocence, I have never seen such wickedness before. I truly feel for my country. The world is watching us here and now is not the time to bicker.

I really respect your outlook. It is very mature, reasoned and wise, but you are discussing with folk who have murderous minds and think that every dead body is a new political pun. They are not worth your refined efforts; except for the young and innocent who might fall on such threads.

cap28:
You are very funny.

Firstly do you have any evidence to back up your claim that northerners are behind Boko Haram?

why would you want to target a group of people when there is no conclusive evidence linking them to these bombings?

Secondly - how do you get rid of a specific ethnic group within the military when they make up the bulk of the officers and NCOs?

It seems as if you have zero knowledge or understanding of what happened shortly before the biafra/nigeria civil war.

Northern NON COMMISSIONED soldiers REFUSED to take orders from southern OFFICERS and many of them even turned on southern officers and slaughtered them.

How is it that Aguiyi Ironsi despite his desperate attempts to appease northern soldiers after the January 66 coup still ended up being brutally murdered by northern soldiers?

GET THIS THROUGH YOUR HEAD NO NORTHERN NCO WILL TOLERATE THE MASS PURGING OF NORTHERN OFFICERS/NCOs FROM THE MILITARY - the northeners are the power brokers, they know it and GEJ knows it - you better wake up.

GEJ can only secede from the north and command southern troops but not northeners but the bulk of the nigerian army is controlled by the north - so the chances of him succeeding with that are very slim.

No, Southerners are behind boko haram. Ode!
Dude, I am not ready for your rambling posts about incredible foolishness.

Its your call if you wanna worship core-Northerners as "power brokers" or some other born to rule, top of the chain force. The less delusional amongst us recognise that all Nigerians are equal.

Freak, go bark at the Moon or paste pictures of Gaddafi in public toilets.

youngmonie:
And also dnt forget some of this core northerners you want to purge make up most of the Fronline soldiers Nigeria has today, from your peace keeping missions in africa to the JTF operations in Nigeria, they are all there, sooooo?

What is the purpose of having troops you can send on peace keeping missions, but whose loyalty in domestic conflicts is questionable?
It is an absolute nonsense.

When there is conflict of interest, the best thing is to temporarily remove such elements as I have suggested. Those facing the threat of boko haram should be Southerners and Middle Belters; the arena does not matter, it could be in the SSS, police or army.

I will leave fools and haters like oyb to liberally exercise the rocks between their ears, nothing wholesome comes from such hateful gutter minds.

@topic
Even the Sultan who is the leader of the core-North could not find it in himself to unreservedly condemn boko haram on Sunday, instead he made weak excuses for the group.
This is the best the Sultan could come up with yesterday:

[size=14pt]Sultan decries lack of unity among Muslims[/size]
On December 26, 2011 · In News

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar III, on Sunday at Imolisa village, Ogun, expressed concern over what he described as the lack of unity among Muslims in the country.

Abubakar made the observation while declaring open the 92nd Islamic Vocation Course (IVC) organised by the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN), Zone B.

He said although Muslims were in the majority in Nigeria they could not speak with one voice because they were not united.

Abubakar, however, said that there was hope as Muslim leaders had identified the problems and were finding solutions to them.

“It is important for the Muslims to gather and talk about issues affecting Islam where leaders will interact with the youth,’’ Abubakar told the youth, who were drawn from the Southern part of the country.

He said that it was through interaction at such meetings that problems facing Islam could be discussed and resolved.

Speaking on extremism and violence in the country, he said Islam was never in support of those who use violence to achieve their aims.

He said the media were not helping matters as they were always quick to label any act of violence as handiwork of Muslims “without waiting for investigations to be concluded’’.

“When did Boko Haram become an octopus with so many tentacles?

“When people commit crimes these days they hide under the name of Boko Haram’’ the Sultan lamented. (NAN)

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/12/sultan-descries-lack-of-unity-among-muslims/

Any serious core-Northern leader would start ANY statement they make after after Fridays attacks and yesterdays bombing with words like; "I condemn in unreserved terms, the terrorist acts of boko haram. . .  etc"

Someone in the Sultans shoes as the leader of Nigerian Muslims, should say at the very least, something like: "As the Leader of Muslims in Nigeria, I condemn in unreserved terms, the terrorist acts of boko haram. Such acts are abhorrent and against everything Islam stands for. . .  etc"

“When did Boko Haram become an octopus with so many tentacles?

“When people commit crimes these days they hide under the name of boko haram" the Sultan lamented.

He did not even condemn boko haram, rather he seemed to be making excuses for them by claiming boko haram is too small and without the tentacles to commit such atrocities and that various criminals are hiding under the name, boko haram to perpetrate crime.

If his words are not proof that boko haram has the highest backing, then I wonder what proof is.

I really pity those who are talking as if heaven will fall if the demographics of the army are rejigged.

Many have been open sympathisers of boko haram on NL anyway, so its no shock. Most of the others are an akward bunch of hypocrites who float on a sea of rabid GEJ hatred and ethnic bigotry; for them, each bomb and innocent death is a shout of, hurrah.

I will repeat it it that the temporary removal of core-Northerners from the army and police forces will go a very long way to solving the boko haram problem. There is a powerful principle in professional relations that is recognised the World over; it is called conflict of interest.

Judges are removed from cases where they have conflict of interest. The same goes for policemen, it is against the law the World over, for a policeman to handle matters involving themselves or their families. It is a jailable offence for stockbrokers to trade to themselves, due to the same principles.

In the army, conflict of interest in enshrined in the Duty of Loyalty.
If you do not have a loyal army, or one that is demographically and religiously balanced, then you are a non-starter in internal conflicts where issues of ethnicity and religion are at the front burner.

aletheia:
^Of course they have. . .but what is needed is a calm reasoned approach that involves isolating these elements and declawing and defanging them. Not all "core-northerners" are BH sympathizers or didn't you read how in Kano local Muslims chased down and help apprehend BH operatives? So we can hardly expect that in the military and police that all "core-northerners" are BH. Besides when you read the list of names of military and police BH-induced casualties, you will find that "core-northerners" predominate.

What you suggest is a sure fire way to feeding the sense of us-against-them that is almost inbred into the average far northerner and thus providing more recruits for the BH cause. We need to learn lessons from the American mistakes in Iraq. They disbanded the Republican Guard and the Baath party and thus provided well-trained soldiers for the ensuing insurgency.

By keeping the elements sympathetic to BH within the military albeit isolated; you can control them and turn them to your advantage.

The solution to the BH problem doesn't need the drastic measures you suggest. With firm political will: BH can be eradicated within 2-3 years.

I guess you are right in some ways. The catch all thing would make it seem that the rest of the country is out to defeat the core-North in is a measure that really rough at the edges; however it can be argued that boko haram is a core-Northern weapon of war against the rest of the country and its already a we and them situation, so niceties and civilty in response will lead to defeat.
In war, there can be few niceties, so long as human rights are not infringed on.

Considering what happened in Kano though, my proposal seems rather simplistic.

ocelot2006:
This has got to be the most silly proposal I've heard. Like every other Nigerian, Northerner have the constitutional right to serve in the Nation's military and security services. Hell, they're even at the fore front in the fight against BH, and a lot have paid the ultimate price.

I personally would suggest that any new intake be SERIOUSLY VETTED, regardless of the place of origin or religion. Check for affiliations with extremist sects. Also run a polygraph test monthly for every other person. It will help.

The boldest shows that you acknowledge that there is a problem that needs to be addressed with radical methods. From your posts on NL, I am certain that you are a soldier, and that might be why you are skittish about what I have proposed.
Guess who will be affected by the hunt for extremist tendencies? lol!

Give us the sort of background info that your military experience would have given you over the years; tell us the sorts of mountains that will require climbing to get any misfits (and their friends friends) out of the army and police.

aletheia:
^I never expected such a poorly thought out and hysterical post from you.  How does your suggestion reduce bloodshed? It pretty much guarantees an even bloodier conflict involving soldiers. Ask the residents of Obalende their experience on April 22, 1990.

My fear is that boko haram has sympathetic military and police backing.
I am concerned that condemnation of boko haram by the core-Northern leadership has been inaudible at best; that in itself leads to the weighty interpretation that there is organised support for boko haram at the highest echelon. During the recent Yar Adua saga, several references were made by the core-Northern elite to their strategic advantages in the armed forces; indeed these advantages were so great that they were able to move the Presidential guard outside of the authority of the Vice President and that of the 3rd in our leadership hierachy, the Senate President.

In my opinion, the worry is a real one that needs addressing. This is even more so with the levels of sophistication displayed by boko haram.
Military officers (including a General) have been caught helping boko haram, so the suggestion for some sort of temporary separation is not far fetched and should go a long way to reducing bloodshed. The alternative would be to spill more blood.

aletheia:
You need to calm down.

Lol!

Obiagu1:
What drives me insane is this one sided killings. They attack established authorities, they attack Christians in a never ending cycle. Northerners that have talked talked in favour of Boko Haram; some called them revolutionaries, some said their demands should be met. We Southerners shouldn't have to wait till it gets to our backyard before we start asking serious questions. People are dying, our brothers are being killed too.

What's this their demand and the revolution all about? Why not address it now we are in power? If it means confederation, let them fck off with their Islamic Arewa! If it means outright division, for goodness sake it's an opportunity to free ourselves if we still believe that human life still have some worth.

When is Christians going to act? Is this what it means to be a Christian? I think we are dumb, really dumb people.
Fck Christianity if it means we have to be sacrificed every now and then.

I feel your pain.
The only positive is, 2015 is quite a long way away and a lot can still happen within that time. Disunity is the greatest undoing of the South, in fact there is no South so our batlle is fragmented. We just need to take our time and work to a long range plan, within ourselves and using loyal resources.

ping pong:
sorry o. I thought you are the Senior Special Adviser on Anti-North, Subsidy Removal and behind licking.

Sir, it is because you are daft.

^
Tell them, bruv. People just come on NL to chat shiit, as if we never saw the pictures of the rioters and as if we were not here on NL wondering when Buhari would call his armies to order. He could have at least uttered a few words of condemnation, but he never did, instead he said the riots were justified; and he said that several times over.

Buhari is a murderer.

Onlytruth:
Yes, that is exactly my point, but I emphasize LOWEST RANKS.
Officers are relatively easy to control. All you need to do is retire them; frame them up for a "coup" and massively retire them. However, you still have to pull from the lowest ranks!

The North used the same strategy to corner the Nigerian judiciary (the bench). They plan WELL AHEAD. When was the last time we had a southern CJN? So, if anyone wants to change the power base, let him look TO THE GROUND, not up.

We need to FLOOD the lowest ranks with southerners (particularly those known for their ability to fight).

You have a very solid point indeed. I doff my hat.

ping pong:
When you have people like Beaf advising GEJ, is it any surprise that we are not making any progress? Where is the CIA, Mossad, KGB and MI5 you promised us after the UN bombings?

And where did you learn that I advise GEJ? From your okija shrine?
There are too many sicko's on NL.

Onlytruth:
I was chilling at home enjoying my Christmas day (swearing I wasn't coming here today), but was jolted by the news on CNN about this bombing. So, here I am!

Bros Beaf, your idea about expelling core northerners from the army is "good" but I fear it would only aggravate the situation because those so removed will simply join the ranks of Boko Haram.

It has been my honest feelings for something, that the Nigerian army lowest ranks, i.e. those in the ranks from private to sergeant, are too Northern for my liking. The Northern dominance of those ranks proved devastating during the counter coup of 1966. It was really the main reason why the counter coup against Ironsi succeeded. It was also part of why the North Nigerian army won the following civil war.

Someone close to Jonathan should have advised him to FLOOD the Nigerian army with southern (particularly Eastern and Mid-western) soldiers. My mark word, nothing can ever change in Nigeria power game until someone does this.
When the North goes about with their "born to rule" mentality, the fact of their dominance of the bulk of the Nigerian army fighting force, is the only reason.

There are too many idle folks in the East and Midwest that needs a job in the army. If that is the only achievement GEJ records, he would have solved a MAJOR problem for Nigeria.

Firstly, I don't think that it would be an entirely bad thing for those purged from the army to join boko haram. It is certain that a good number are already proxy members and flushing them into the arms of boko haram would make the enemy more visible and locatable than when they operate from within the ranks of our military and police forces.

I quite subscribe to your idea of flooding the army with southerners (or creating parallel security groups). That too is a workable idea, however it will not solve the problem of who physically holds the key to the amoury, that will have to come through ejection or relocation.

freecocoa:
Just how clueless and unserious can GEJ and his people get?*smh*

The word, clueless is just a fad in Nigeria.
It is the new fashion to just level a charge of cluelessness without digesting the full import of the info before us.

If I have now got your kind attention, what that declaration means is that we have taken an inexorable step toward outright war. Those with a keener sense of history will recall the Aburi Accord, its like history repeating with the tables turned. Let those with ears, hear.

Choose where you stand.

aurenflani:
go ahead with dis plan to purge d security of core northerners. in fact christianised the whole army and other security agencies of muslims. a slowpoke never thinks first b4 talking trash.

Purging the army off core-Northerners is not a religious thing, ok?

@topic
Another fundamental change that is required, well as the purge is to make nomadic cattle rearing illegal. Designated areas should be created for nomadic cattle rearers in their states of origin.
If any body is found herding cattle outside their state, they should be treated as boko haram and shot like common armed robbers.