₦airaland Forum

Is Hindu an ethnic group?

Yesterday when I was less busy, no one replied. Today has started with a lot of work sadly. But when I am free, I will return for this one,

Idekeson:
Lest someone mistake this ignorant ranting as facts.

The Arabic inscriptions is claimed to be on the Naira for the benefit of illiterate Hausa/Fulani.
I don't see any Igbo or Yoruba inscription, to mention but two tribes in a nation of over 250 tribes.

OIC is an organization of Islamic countries. Nigeria is a secular country. The constitution provides for no state religion. I can't recall of any Christian based organization that the government of Nigeria is a member.

I'm all for equal rights for Muslims and other Nigerians, no matter your religion. But mixing religion with government is like mixing oil and water, a recipe for disaster.

I didn't see this earlier, I'd have responded:

First, too many of us especially here in Southern Nigeria make the mistake of defining literacy to be the ability to read and write English, it is not. Anyone here ever heard of Albert Einstein? He didn't understand a word of English until late in life. Same as Niehls Bohr and Enrico Fermi. Honore de Balzac and Louis Pasteur spoke and wrote only in French. Vladimir Ulyanov changed the course of history with only his native Russian, while the greatest works of Karl Marx are all in German. Leonardo da Vinci whom many acknowledge to be one of the most intelligent men to have walked the face of the planet spoke Italian, Latin, Romansch and French. I don't see English on that list.

But then again some people don't mind such a list considering the fact that all these names are European, so let us expand the scope:

When Europe was in the Dark Ages, all the knowledge and thinking of the ancient world was preserved for us by none other than Muslim, Arabic philosophers, men like Ibn Sina and al-Kindi who had never even heard of English (English didn't even exist as the language we know then). We have these people to thank for the fact that we know about Aristotle, Socrates and Plato (all of whom of course would have considered the English to be major babarians had they heard about them).

Confucious spoke only Mandarin and as far as I know could not write (I may be wrong there). So what are we talking about?

Before we go off on a tangent: Islamic civilization spread across what is now known as Northern Nigeria about the time of the empires of Mali and Shongai. With it (as with the spread of Christianity in Europe), spread the Arabic language and culture. This spread was further cemented by the jihad of 1804, during which all educated (schooled people) learnt how to read and write Arabic. Naturally, they borrowed the Arabic script for their own language, in much the same way as Samuel Ajayi Crowther borrowed the Latin script for his own Yoruba language some seven decades later.

The point is this:

Chxta:
FYI, the arabic in the national currency doesn't mean anything other than the denomination in the Hausa language. For example, what we see on a ten naira note is naira goma, written in Arabic script. Naira goma is 'ten naira' in Hausa. For those who may not know (like you obviously don't) Hausa is the de facto official language of Northern Nigeria, and has been since 1804. Traditionally, Hausa is written using Arabic script, the same way English is written using Latin script, or Russian using Cyrillic script or Hebrew using Arhamaic script. What's your point? Does Southern Nigeria have a language that is spoken by all except English?

That we see Arabic script on our currency doesn't change anything. Makurdi is populated by mainly Christians who all speak Hausa while their main language is Tiv. The Tera people of Gombe State are mainly Christian, surrounded by a sea of Muslims, but they all speak Hausa. Almost all Nupe speak Hausa as well. The Zangon people are mainly Christian as well, all of them to a man speak Hausa. What language do we have that traverses the entire region of Southern Nigeria? Pidgin English?

If we agree on that then it is safe to say that the 'ten naira' written on a ten naira note is all good. As is the naira goma.

mochafella:
Good work clearing that up.

Thanks man

YESSSS!!!

So they can join us on the sidelines,

Forza Nigeria, forza Italia!

@ Tosh, I like your signature

What an excellent counter by Kaka and Cafu. If Adriano had missed that, he would have been shot, by a Ghanaian!

www.chxta..com

Over the last two weeks ever since I wrote this story, I have been involved in a series of arguments with other members of one of my main internet fora, Nairaland. See, when I write something that I feel would be thorny, I tend to publish it simultaneously in all associated forums.

I am a member of at least 20 different internet forums you see, but very active in two: Nairaland and Juventuz. I may have been active in Naijaryders, but I've come to see the place as full of a few really smart people, and a lot of block-heads (apologies to Henry and Amara). If you want to see me active elsewhere, then you are more likely to find me giving out Windows, Webmaster and/or Networking advice (getting help sometimes) on Computing.net or asking for Linux help on the same forum.

In my years of being a netizen (citizen of the internet) I have encountered Nigerians in various parts of the place, ranging from the early days of Cybereagles to the establishment of Nairaland. I've met a few of them personally after meeting them online. Tochukwu and Amara are two of these. I've also come to realise that while some are highly intelligent people, some are just dimwits with a lot of time (and an internet connection) on their hands. I don't know any Naija netizen who is a 419er though.

Now the main reason for writing this is because of an argument that has been raging on in Nairaland about the basis of Nigerian unity.

First things first, I think anyone who knows me would know that my stand on the unity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is firm and unshakeable. But the utterances of some members of Nairaland, notably Nutter and Afeni make me pause to think about my stand. And after due consultation (with myself and I), my stand remains intact, so I feel duty bound to say something in defense of the unity of this country lest these two characters spread their treason and sedition further.

First some background (my interpretation) of these fellows.

Nutter is a Nigerian(?), Igbo, Catholic, based in the United Kingdom. He joined Nairaland about three months ago, and has182 posts. Most of those posts (especially in the Politics thread) are very anti-Nigeria. He has a forum signature saying: Proud Catholic, proud Igbo. Hated and envied in equal measure!

I don't know how old this guy is, but from what I can see from his posts, he has been in the UK for quite a while (probably all his life) and has lost touch with the realities of the situation on the ground in Nigeria. One thing I must give to him though is that he is quite an intelligent fellow, his arguments brought out a lot in me during the webspat on whether the Igboman is or is not his enemy. But I think he has it wrong, something I would address in due course.

Afeni is a Nigerian(?), Yoruba, based in the United States. He joined Nairaland two months ago and has already made up to 2556 posts as at writing this, an average of 51 per day. Talk about someone who has a lot of time on his hands.

The child is 19 years old, and spews forth a lot of rubbish. What I've been unable to accertain i whether he is a victim of our own bad educational system (Obasanjo are you listening?) or whether he is a victim of the unequal educational system that abounds in the US depending on what 'hood' you grow up in. Whichever way, the boy is of very questionable intellect as can be seen when he goes of on a tangent raving about the origin of the Nigerian flag and its significance.

I am not going to waste any more time responding to this youngman who is of very poor educational heritage because I am at work. I am taking time out to type this because I consider it serious enough to respond to, and I also have some time to myself at the moment (I am a network engineer, and I have the network up and running very smoothly see).

Nutter said here that:
"During the debate for the Independence of Nigeria the view of the Secretary of State at that time, with which I agreed, was that in Nigeria we should attempt to put together a large and powerful state with ample material resources which play a leading part in the affairs of the continent and of the world. This was attractive but it involved forcing several different ethnic and cultural groups into a single political structure. In exculpation, it must be said that we did not then have the example of the collapse of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union before our eyes. It should now be clear for all but the willfully blind to see that it is extremely dangerous to force diverse racial and social entities into a single rigid political structure."

And,
"But in retrospect, it is clear that this was a grave mistake which has cost many lives and will probably continue to do so. It should have been better to establish several smaller states in a free trade area."

Well, all that is true. The British created Nigeria purely for their own economic benefit. There is no doubting that. For crying out loud, what other motives informed the amalgamation of 250 (that's a large number) ethnic groups into one entity and then building just two rail lines (North to South-West, North to South-East) to serve this large geographical entity that is at least four times the size of Great Britain, other than economic?

Lord Lugard it should be remembered was a servant of the British crown, not the Nigerian people. So his legacy couldn't have been for us. His loyalty was to them and them he served very well.

The history of Nigeria since the 1914 amalgamation has a few instances of ethnic clashes, which have come to a head more than once, and resulted first in the progroms of 1966, then the 1967-1970 civil war.

Nutter also brings up the example of the United Kingdom which in itself is made up of component parts (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales). Then he proceeds to let us know that they are all autonomous parts (or is it semi-autonomous?). But he forgets to tell us that at least they have remained as one country, even though the Irish (Catholics at least) keep saying that they want to go and join their brethren in the Republic of Ireland. The point here is that the more intelligent minds among them realise that there is strenght in unity. England, Scotland and Wales as individual countries would be nonentities in the global scheme of things (hell even as the UK, they are struggling to keep up, what more if they break up?).

Some people might want to bring up China, but it is easy to forget that China itself is not a homogenous nation. Very easy to forget that there is no such language as Chinese. We have Mandarin, Cantonese and a few others. Russia is not a homogenous nation either. Neither is the United States. The only world power that probably can lay claim to being homogenous is Japan, and even they have had their own civil wars.

But you see, these countries do not share something in common with Nigeria, that is a colonial master.

Now we look at an emerging world power, India. India was the country reffered to in the 19th century as the jewel in the crown. The crown in question being the crown of Queen Victoria, the British sovereign.

A quick history lesson for some of you: while the British began serious expansion into the area that was later to be known as Nigeria somewhere around 1861, by 1856 most of India was already under the rule of the British East India Company (equivalent to the Royal Niger Company). India like Nigeria was amalgamated by the British. India like Nigeria is named after a river (the Indus, Nigeria is the Niger). India like Nigeria is multi-ethnic. Nigeria has a mere 250 ethnic groups, India has at least 4365! Unlike Nigeria (and her neighbour Pakistan), the military stayed out of politics, so India grew.

Looking through a history of India since independence (they fought a war and became India, Pakistan and Bangladesh), looking through their history of religous and ethnic strife since 1947, and seeing that even with all that they have stayed together and are now in such a position that the United States looks at them askance, then why should we break up what we have?

Someone mentioned Liechtenstein when I asked for a landlocked country that is doing well in order to support the argument for Biafra. You only need to look at the country's population (34,521) to realise that it is incomparable to Igboland.

I could say more, but I want to move on to another issue, so I will save my ammo for the counter-arguments that would surely follow,

mrmayor:
This is the Logic.

Does Nigeria like fellow Islamic Countries behead people for sins against the Prophet .HELL YES
Did Nigeria like other Islamic Countries go up in flames,burning of churches and killing of Christans because of Danish Cartoons. HELL YES
Does Nigeria stone people to death for Adultery.HELL YES
Did Nigerians Celebrate after the 9/11 attacks. HELL YES
Does Nigeria have Islamic Law as its Criminal Justice System. HELL YES

Nigeria is an Islamic Nation But in Name

Enjoy

Don't be silly. Parts of Nigeria and Nigeria are two different things. Nigeria is majorly muslim in the north and christian in the south. That's the way it is, not the whole of Nigeria as you are painting it out.

For someone who is so into the law, why not sit down and read this. When you are through, we can have an informed discussion on the relevant points.

FYI, the arabic in the national currency doesn't mean anything other than the denomination in the Hausa language. For example, what we see on a ten naira note is naira goma, written in Arabic script. Naira goma is 'ten naira' in Hausa. For those who may not know (like you obviously don't) Hausa is the de facto official language of Northern Nigeria, and has been since 1804. Traditionally, Hausa is written using Arabic script, the same way English is written using Latin script, or Russian using Cyrillic script or Hebrew using Arhamaic script. What's your point? Does Southern Nigeria have a language that is spoken by all except English?

Been waiting on someone to reply since so we would play the next card, but since Afeni and his ilk seem not to be available, let me play it before going to watch some footy,

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Flag_of_Bahrain.svg/125px-Flag_of_Bahrain.svg.png

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Flag_of_Qatar.svg/125px-Flag_of_Qatar.svg.png

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/Flag_of_Indonesia.svg/125px-Flag_of_Indonesia.svg.png

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/Flag_of_Yemen.svg/125px-Flag_of_Yemen.svg.png

Bahrain, Qatar, Indonesia and Yemen, all genuine Islamic countries.

This Afeni fellow is a truly jaundiced mind. Quote me anywhere!

What can we say? You've said it all!

You have sasser.

Once again, another idiot just wants us to import the American system (which by the way allowed Bush to rig his way into office) wholesale,

Just for some light humor: http://africanshirts..com/2006/03/colourful-pieces-of-cloth.html

One more thing, @ Afeni, you need an education. Mr Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi who designed the Nigerian flag is as Yoruba as you are and as Christian as I think you are.

I didn't know that Ireland, Italy, Mexico and Wales are Islamic nations,

Ireland:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Flag_of_Ireland.svg/125px-Flag_of_Ireland.svg.png

Italy:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Flag_of_Italy.svg/125px-Flag_of_Italy.svg.png

Mexico:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Flag_of_Mexico.svg/125px-Flag_of_Mexico.svg.png

Wales:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/Flag_of_Wales_2.svg/140px-Flag_of_Wales_2.svg.png

Afterall, according to some of the reasoning here, since their flags have significant amounts of green and white,

kajad:
@ chxta, Questions for you

Did you go there to buy market?

How come you sit around a waiting for someone in a red market?

Why does the girl think you really need to buy the product?

Abeg leave number plate and answer my questions?

Read well my friend. I was waiting in front of my wife's office to pick her up and the guy dropped the female just there. There are no rules as to where you can drop off a pro, and besides, streets like Adeola Hopewell and Sanusi Fafunwa which are so respectable in the daytime are something else at night.

Where's Akolawole?

FTR, I am all for business with the Asians. Afterall, they weren't the ones ones who came to buy us as slaves and colonise us,

Seun:
Don't mind Afeni, he's not even in Nigeria and he's talking war because he knows it won't affect him.

yes, the vintage armchair analyst.

@ Seun, why is it that when I type in three dots it changes to a comma?

On the contrary my friend, a lot of people (as can be seen here) are all for fragmentation!

, and where you counted? There will be no rioting.

What is a customised plate number? A way of 'showing' oneself. A way of telling people that I've arrived. Where a normal license plate costs somewhere between N1500 and N5000 (minus the bribes of course) a customised license plate goes for at least N50 000.

A friend of mine once railed against the concept of plate customisation on the grounds that the person in question would be a very easy target for assasins. My response to him was hey, that's their headache. If they want a customised plate, so be it. They can worry about the assasins later. Afterall as they say, more money more problems.

In my view a customised license plate gives an insight into the mindset of the owner of the vehicle, and if you tru to figure out what he wants the world to see about him, you then get to know a lot about where the man stands and what he is all about.

Yesterday night I went get U from her office. While I was waiting outside, this sleek black Mercedes Coupe pulled up and dropped someone. What caught my attention wasn't the car (it is a very fine car by the way), but the plate number. The curiosity in me made me walk up to the discharged person, and the following conversation ensued:

Me: Good evening.
Person: Good evening.
Me: Don't be offended, but I have a question to ask you.
Person: Shoot.
Me: Who is that that dropped you?
Person: I can't tell you that.
Me: Did you notice his plate number?
Person: No, what was it.
Me: ,
Person: So?
Me: Do you know what that means in Latin (Roman numerals actually)?
Person: No.
Me: ,
Person: Shit! I always guessed something was wrong with that man.
Me: So can you tell me who he is?
Person: No, I really can't. All I can tell you is that he is a senator in Abuja.
Me: Hmm, that's interesting.
Person: Na wa o.
Me: Thanks anyway, have a nice night.
Person: Yes, have a nice weekend. But I thought you wanted to price me.
Me: No, I'm married.
Person: That's a shame. You look like you need me.
Me: No not at all, nice meeting you anyway.
Person: You for still try sha.

That ended the conversation.

For those who are wondering, the plate number in question was in Roman script that is Roman numerals: DCLXVI.

If anyone could be so kind, I am trying to connect to 206.51.231.44. If you wish, I could setup an email account for you (done it already, test@iisys-ng.com, password is password). You want to try it out? Either Outlook or Thunderbird.

Reading this thread and wondering what year I'm in

I installed Outlook and Thunderbird on the systems in my office, and for some days they worked fine. Suddenly, there are no longer downloading emails, keep saying they can't connect to the server. Any tips?

And to get it straight, I installed either Outlook or Thunderbird depending on each user's preference.