₦airaland Forum

This could be one of the more difficult things to change as it is backed by law (RMAFC)

But wait OP, confirm the one for Bangladesh is not a typing error!

.

gwales:
wow, just wow! fulani population at 3%?? so let's assume that what u are saying is correct, where in the whole of Nigeria can we find the percentage of fulani above that of adamawa since they are just a meagre 3% in the place where everybody knows is their land. I am frm adamawa and also fulani, u can help me by explaining more.

I only quoted an old article. Do not be amazed or express shock. If you have better information you can educate us. I know there are Fulani speakers mainly in Adamawa and other NE states while the Fulani in the NW speak more of Hausa. I also know there are many non-Fulani in the North East who speak Fulani

http://nigerianpilot.com/arewas-middle-belt-region/

We’re not Arewas – Middle Belt region

The Middle Belt region of Nigeria, is at the threshold of reviving its cultures from extinction through agitation for distinct identity from the Hausa-Fulani people, writes, correspondent PATRICK OBI.

It was a gathering of who is who of the Middle Belt extraction in Lagos, to showcase the rich cultural heritage of a region presently located in the region of North Central Nigeria.

The Middle Belt region which is a convergence of varying cultural domains and maintains a tremendous degree of ethno-linguistic diversity, with languages of the Afro-Asiatic, Nilo-Saharan, and Niger–Congo families, three of the primary African language groups, all being spoken, the people are unique but yet, distance itself from the Arewa people.
Areas of Nigeria which are generally referred to as Middle Belt are: Benue State, Kogi State, Plateau State, Nasarawa State, Taraba State, Adamawa State, Niger State , Kwara State as well as the southern parts of Kaduna State, Kebbi State, Bauchi State, Gombe State and Borno State.
It is no longer news that most culture and tradition of the ethnic groups in Nigeria are systematically going into extinction due to the influence of western ways of life.
The people of the Middle Belt, in a bid to curb this imminent danger, gathered for a common cause in Lagos recently to reawaken the sliding culture and tradition of a people characterised by heterogeneity and diversity.
At the maiden edition of the Middle Belt cultural festival organised by the Middle Belt traditional council in Lagos, it was a carnival-like event with different ethnic groups showcasing their unique culture.
The event showcased the richness in culture and tradition of the Middle Belt as Langauges, dances, masquerades, clothes and songs of the various ethnic groups were performed to the amazement of the crowd.
Masquerades and dancers of different ethnic group from the middlebelt thrilled the crowd. They include the Eggon’s Anzalu cultural dance, Igala’s Agbaka cultural dance, Okpachina cultural dance (Idoma), Nzei Mada cultural dance (Mada), Ngas Cultural dance (Ngas), Igede masquerade etc.
Significance:
Speaking with Nigerian Pilot Sunday on the significance of the festival, the spokesman, Middle belt traditional council, Chief Abubakar Enemona said that, “This is the maiden edition and we are coming out to tell the world that in subsequent time, this is what we intend to be doing with our subjects so they can familiarise themselves with what is happening.
‘So many of our children in Diaspora are not privileged to travel to their home state; but for those that are born here, events of this nature are meant to show them examples of what our people stand for and some of this cultural heritage we have acquired from our fore fathers we want to showcase them here so that they can appreciate their rich culture and also propagate it. Our culture are going into extinction because we are aligning with the white men what we are saying as traditional rulers is that, we want to rejuvenate our culture, for everyone to see’.
Also speaking, a paramount ruler of the Idoma’s in Lagos, Chief Ebiega Sylvester said; “We come together as one family to showcase our culture as the culture is almost getting outdated and worn out because we refuse to promote it.
“Today we are creating awareness that no matter where you come from, or go to, you must always remember your culture that is very important. It is because we abandoned our culture that is why the white men are robbing us of our belongings, technology and economic benefits. It is a wakeup call to all the kwararafa kingdom and those holding Nigeria together because as a middle belter, anywhere you go to, the people must identify you with your dresses and way of life.”
National leader, All middle belt youth forum, Comrade Aluh Moses Odeh, said that, “When you look at the middle belt, so many of our cultures and languages have gone into extinction and the only people I will give kudos to, are the Tivs. The Tivs are holding fast to their language but all other languages in the middle belt region of Nigeria, has been taken over by foreign languages. This is to reawaken and home call that the people of the middle belt have come of age.” He said.

Political marginalisation:
Reacting to the issue of marginalisation of the Middle belt region, comrade Maha Okpanachi, of the United middle belt Youth congress told this paper that; “when in the early days of Nigerian Politics, J.S Tarka stood up the idea of the Middle belt forum, this idea was received with mixed feelings.
‘’Some elders and politicians believed the idea should be canvassed to establish its genuineness; others were out to rubbish it for lack of merit. The dissenting voices with their northern agenda were stronger but against all odds, he forged ahead with the few progressives of the middle belt politics at that time to make it clear that the Middle belt region deserves a clear identity from that of the Northern region because we are not Northerners. We have so many natural resources that should not be taken for granted by any geopolitical region in Nigeria. We do not have mono religious belief as some claimed that we are purely Muslims. The head of the family in the middle belt can be a Muslim while the children or the wife could be a Christians or outright pagans. This distinct identity can hardly be seen in other regions in Nigeria’’.
Continuing, he said, “the political segregation being called and paraded by some people as North Central, is erroneous as we traditional fathers want to be identified as Middle belters. We have carved a niche for this country and to whom much is given, much is expected. We are saying that we are not Arewas: we are from the Middle belt and when you see the geographical location of the Middle Belt you will understand that truly we are ‘Middle belters’. If you are coming from the north, east, west and south you end up in our place so we hold this country in unity which we have been doing and this has been our projection’’.
Again, he said; “We are blessed with human and natural resources but unfortunately, when it comes to equity we are not taking care of by the government; the past and the present. All we are asking for as traditional rulers in this part of the nation is to ensure that equity, justice and fairness is upheld so that our people will begin to enjoy the dividends of democracy.
“We are not asking for much, but we should have the blessings from subsequent governments so that we middle belters can partake. At our place, the situation is appalling, the road network as well as federal institutions are in a deplorable state. But, the subsequent neglect of the government is our concern so, we are putting heads together to ensure that we package ourselves very well so that government would come to our aid and recognise this people that have been able to cement and bring this country under one umbrella. What we are pursuing is a cause for Paul Unongo, J S Tarka and Solomon Lar of blessed memory.”
Also Sharing the views of Enemona, Chairman Eggon Cultural Association, Lagos branch, Mr. Esson Soja, said, “When you look at the trend of happenings in Nigeria, the Middle Belt has gone a long way. Long before now, the middlebelt has been holding this country together. We are the belt of the nation but in most cases, we have often been used and dumped. When it comes to the sharing of the national cake, they call us “Arna” or even igbos and the unfortunate thing is that, in Yoruba land, they see us as northerners the Igbos also see us in the same light.
“Today, we want to tell the whole world that, we are Middle belt of the nation and looking from the military to the democratic dispensation, we are the one holding the nation.”
Also, Odeh said, “As a youth from the Middle Belt, our pains and bitterness is that, Prospective presidents of Nigeria, often go to the Sultan of Sokoto to seek his consent to be the president of Nigeria, but the Tor Tiv is there no one knows if he is existing. We are a people with distinct identity. We want things to be put clear because we have made a lot of sacrifice. During the Civil War, our father, General Yakubu Gowon fought to put this country as one even though some people see it as against the Igbos but that is not the truth but for the unity of Nigeria.”
On his part, Chief Ebiega said, “When we look at the Middle belt culturally I will eliminate that name Middle Belt but call it a Kwararafa kingdom, a kingdom that was given birth to by the Middle Belt, the people that hold the country together. If you remove us from this country, the country will go astray.”

2015 elections:
The middlebelt traditional council spokesman, Enemona speaking on the forthcoming general elections said; “My advice to the middle belters is that we have stood our ground and I would not want any Middle Belt man to go into any act of thuggery, take the laws into his hands or be engaged in any form of destruction, or foment trouble because we have kept this country unique and because we are known for unique culture.
“Anybody from the Middle belt, who wants to vote, should vote according to what he sees on ground. They must assess the political party they are going to vote or support. Look at what they have done and their antecedents and see if they can project the course and the feelings of their people then vote rightly.”

http://josplateauaffairs..com/2014/01/the-political-question-of-middle-belt.html?m=1


Wednesday, January 29, 2014
THE POLITICAL QUESTION OF THE MIDDLE BELT OF NIGERIA
THE POLITICAL QUESTION OF THE MIDDLE BELT:
THE PLACE AND PLIGHT OF THE PRESENT CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM MINORITIES (CMM)
OF THE NORTHERN STATES OF NIGERIA IN NIGERIAN POLITICAL EQUATION


A MEMORANDUM
SUBMITTED BY PROFESSOR YUSUFU TURAKI*
TO THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE NOVEMBER 13, 2013

*Yusufu Turaki is a Professor of Theology and Social Ethics. He obtained his Ph.D. in Social Ethics from Boston University, USA in 1982. He has authored many books and articles, among which are: The British Colonial Legacy in Northern Nigeria: A Social Ethical Analysis of the Colonial and Post-Colonial Society and Politics in Nigeria (1993); Tainted Legacy: Islam, Colonialism and Slavery in Northern Nigeria (2010); “Historical Roots of Ethno-Religious Crises and Conflicts in Northern Nigeria” (2013).

Mobile: +2348026268546
E-Mail: byturaki@yahoo.com

Address : JETS, P.O. Box 5398, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria


I. Purpose of this Memorandum

The primary objective of this Memorandum is to present and state the political question of the Middle Belt and as well as to define the place and plight of the present Christian-Muslim Minorities (CMM) of the Northern States of Nigeria in the Nigerian political question. The National Dialogue/Conference should make this political issue a national priority. It has become the only political issue remaining to be resolved as the only Regional Minority Groups that are yet to be liberated and emancipated from the dominant yoke of the ideology and idolatry of NORTH-ISM. The political, social, economic, cultural and religious problems and issues of the peoples of the Middle Belt have remained unresolved because of the intransigence of the dominant political class and elites of Northern Nigeria. They and their ideology and idolatry of NORTH-ISM are strongly opposed to any political liberation and emancipation of the peoples of the Middle Belt. This domineering and hegemonic political culture and posture is being held tenaciously and viciously in spite of the good historical examples from the West and East of Nigeria.

The Minorities of the then Western Nigeria were carved out in 1964 as Mid-West Region by the First Republic. The Minorities of the then Eastern Region (Ogoja, Calabar and Rivers [COR]) were carved out in 1967 as Cross Rivers and Rivers States were created by the Military. Later in 1996 the Military merged Mid-West and Cross Rivers and Rivers States to form South-South Zone. The creation of the three Zones in the North, North-West, North-Central and North-East was a continuity of the colonial political mathematics calculated solely to undermine the political aspirations and self-determination of the peoples of the Middle Belt from a complete domination and servitude to the political class and elites of NORTH.

NORTH-ISM is both an ideology and idolatry which the political class and elites of Northern Nigeria worship. This is a doctrine which has been formulated and it seeks to defend, project, promote and protect the imaginary interests of the NORTH. In national politics, it knows no other thing or no one, except its god, NORTH-ISM. The peoples of the Middle Belt, whether Christians or Muslims or otherwise, have heard and had NORTH-ISM drummed into their ears and to many this has numbed their hearts and seared their consciences and dulled their sense of justice, equity, self-determination and freedom. The invoking of NORTH-ISM as both ideology and idolatry upon the peoples of the Middle Belt is a confirmation of their inferior status and socio-political role within the political schemes and stratagems of NORTH-ISM. NORTH-ISM is a ruse for deceiving political enemies and the peoples of the Middle Belt. In political circles, one often hears that “There is nothing called Middle Belt.” But when it comes to the distribution of political rewards, statuses, resources and values, such are the exclusive reserves for the “Superior Northerners.” The NORTH is ONE in all matters pertaining to anything that qualifies as North versus South, but at home, the geo-political entity called NORTH, we Masters and Servants, feudalistic and clientele system. Any human being who sincerely fears God, his/her heart would be ruled by God’s eternal principles of justice, righteousness, love, kindness and humility. But the historical and empirical evidences show that the peoples of the Middle Belt have been subjugated, subordinated and dominated by the Northern political class and elites. We, the peoples of the Middle Belt, all that we see coming from them is the domineering and disdainful spirit that bears the fruits of discrimination, prejudice, preferential treatment, bias, stereo-typing and marginalization. As a whole, this is what NORTH and NORTH-ISM means for the peoples of the Middle Belt. Based upon this superior-inferior and dominance-subordination relationships, who is that person(s) that is(are) so undemocratic and ungodly in their thinking as to deny the peoples of the Middle Belt their quest for full political freedom and rights. All these freedoms and rights are imbedded and rooted in their inalienable ethnic nationality. Empire Builders of Northern Nigeria have over the decades manipulated the ethnic nationality of the peoples of the Middle Belt as to give advantage to one ethnic group over the other. For this reason, this Memorandum calls for the liberation and emancipation of the peoples of the Middle Belt through their inalienable ethnic nationalities. For this National Conference to fulfill the aspirations of all well-meaning Nigerians, the ethnic nationalities should be given the opportunity to tell Nigerians what the Empire Builders who created Nigeria did to them historically, socially, religiously, economically and culturally. The Northern political class and elites who have benefitted from this artificial creation of Nigeria’s geo-political boundaries as done by the Empire Builders would fight tooth and nail to scuttle such a thing as this National Conference. Or, would want the ethnic nationality be stroke out of the National Conference. This political and social variable cannot be set aside by any elitist or hegemonic fear or anxiety. The National Conference would only be a Referendum for the political class and elites, if the question of ethnic nationalities should be kept aside as some of them are agitating and demanding.

We also need to state our historical reason for this Memorandum. The British Colonial Maters, the First Republican politicians and the Military Regimes and soldiers unfortunately compromised, undermined and suppressed the political aspirations and self-determination of the peoples of the Middle Belt. Can the present dispensation and the National Conference be bold enough and be willing tools in the hands of God and justice to liberate and emancipate the peoples of the Middle Belt. The justification for this historical aspiration and quest is the glaring fact and act of the continuity of the inherited unjust pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial structures of domination, subordination, subjugation and discrimination against the peoples of the Middle Belt. The real issue is not for anyone to seek to demand evidences of such, as they are very good rationalization if issues and self-defense, but the act of a political will and justice which grants political freedom to ethnic nationalities who demand them, regardless. The political mathematics of ethnography, geography and population in Zonal, State and Local Government creations has been the potent tool which Empire Builders and the political class and elites have used to cage the peoples of the Middle Belt and kept them perpetually in servitude to “Monolithic North.” Under “Monolithic North” the peoples of the Middle Belt are at best second class citizens or dhimmis within a clientele and masters-servants relationships. Today, the peoples of the Middle Belt form the Christian-Muslim Minorities of the Northern States of Nigeria. For this reason, their voices, aspirations and self-determination should be heard by all Nigerians and not that of their acclaimed surrogate voices that issue from the ideology and idolatry of NORTH-ISM.

From historical experience and reality, NORTH is not monolithic. The Middle Belt has well over 250 ethnic groups, languages and their dialects. Therefore, NORTH is multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious. We have the Core North (Hausa, Fulani and Kanuri). Hausaland consists mainly of Hausa and Fulani. This part of Nigeria can form a North-West Zone in the New Nigeria which should consist of only the Hausa and the Fulani. The Kanuri and their related ethnic groups can form the North-East Zone as well in the New Nigeria. Both the North-West and the North-East should not have any ethnic nationality append or attach to them. While the Middle Belt being the largest region with many ethnic nationalities can be divided into Middle Belt-West and Middle Belt-East. As for the ethnic nationalities, the ethnic boundaries of the peoples of the Middle Belt were well defined by the British Colonial Maters and other anthropologists and such ethnographic maps still exist. Each ethnic nationality can describe its own ancestral land. The task for the National Conference is to demarcate justly and make clear distinctions of both the ethnography and geography of the peoples of the Middle Belt from that of North-West and North-East Zones as defined above. Politics of freedom and self-expressions go hand-in-hand with specific defined land and boundaries. As at present, the conglomerates of the ethnic nationalities of the Middle Belt do not have specific and defined ethnic political boundaries. Without this being done, they remain politically weak and it is on this grounds that the political class and elites of the Northern Nigeria seek to extend and hold on to the land-mass of Northern Region. There is no political power and control where there is not defined land-mass that creates a geo-political entity. The Northern political class and elites claim the geo-political land-mass of the peoples of the Middle Belt as theirs which is politically wrong. Herein lies the political stronghold of the peoples of the Middle Belt. The Sharia Debates are all about land. So also is the Boko Haram insurgency. In politics what matters most is ethnicity (ethnography) land (geography). The National Conference is the only best forum for the ethnic minorities of the North to discuss the politics of ethnicity and land. Any politics that for the Middle Belt that does include these two primordial social factors is not real and genuine politics for them. The Hausa, Fulani and Kanuri have had their ethnicity and land well defined and they do Nigerian politics based upon their own self-understanding of who they are ethnically, territorially, religiously and culturally. It is this primordial self-understanding that they impose upon peoples of the Middle Belt. It is only a fool who allows other to define who he/she is. The Hausa, Fulani and Kanuri who come to the National Conference, he/she does so with his/her self-understanding well rooted in primordial social factors of ethnicity, territory, religion and culture. They stand upon this primordial social foundations and call the peoples of the Middle Belt that they dare not bring their own ethnicity, territory, religion and culture into national debate. This is blatant political hypocrisy which the peoples of the Middle Belt should never accept. Up to this moment, Nigerian politics has not given the ethnic nationalities of the Middle Belt to define themselves ethnically, territorially, religiously and culturally. This is blatant political injustice and discrimination. All Nigerians know who is a Yoruba, Ibo, Hausa, Fulani, Kanuri, Bini, Ijaw and all in terms of their ethnicity and ancestral land and territory. But who is a Middle Belter? First his ethnicity is not defined by Nigerian politics. Secondly, his ancestral land and territory are also not defined by Nigerian politics. Similarly, he is never defined by religion or culture, but seen as one who borrows religion and culture.

From the foregoing, we can state that the many analyses of Northern Nigeria, whether of its ethnicity, religion, culture, politics, economics, or geography, have always failed to address the political question of the Middle Belt in Nigerian politics. The Middle Belt of Nigeria today consists mainly of the Christian-Muslim Minorities (CMM). The Empire Builders, the Sokoto Caliphate and the Sultanate of Kanem-Borno and the British Colonial Administration have all failed in creating a viable and conducive political and social environment for the well-being of the CMM who reside in the Middle Belt of Nigeria. These Empire Builders created artificial political, social, religious and economic boundaries that grossly denied the CMM of the present Northern States of Nigeria their political rights and freedoms. When the British gave all Nigerians their political independence in 1960, in Northern Nigeria, the instruments of political power fell on the shoulders and laps of the political class and elites. The CMM of the Northern States of Nigeria have been kept under a perpetual internal colonialism as the subordinate subjects of the ideology and idolatry of NORTH-ISM. The time has come for all Nigerians to rise up and speak with one voice for the liberation and emancipation of the peoples of the Middle Belt of Nigeria. This is one of the major tasks that await this long awaited National Conference.

The rest of this Memorandum is an explanation of what the Empire Builders have done to the peoples of the Middle Belt. We need to state very briefly how the Empire Builders created the present Middle Belt problem and the plight of the CMM in national politics. We also need to state how the political class and elites, the politicians and the soldiers have treated the political question of the Middle Belt and the plight of Christian-Muslim Minorities of the Northern States of Nigeria.


II. Historical Preamble and Answer

The answer to the political question of the Middle Belt and the present plight of the Christian-Muslim Minorities (CMM) of the Northern States of Nigeria is historical....

The rest of the article is on the link...

Middle Belt Areas are:

Niger State
Plateau State
Nasarawa State
Benue State
Taraba State
Adamawa State
Kogi State minus 5 Yoruba LGA's
Kwara State minus 12 Yoruba LGA's
Southern Kaduna
Southern Kebbi (Zuru)
Southern Bauchi (Sayawa)
Southern Gombe (Tangale & Waja)
Southern Borno - debatable
FCT

The Middle Belt is different from North Central

This is extremely disrespectful and I expected it to have been condemned by most persons commenting

VellyG:
Seriously I watched Buhari's interview on channel and I was so so disappointed .. If this the man some of u are fighting for to become our next president then know we have a long way to go.. Buhari is as clueless as Jonathan. Recycling of leaders how stupid can that be.. Imagine with our population and the number of technocrats we have in this country we still prefer an old retired General to rule us. May be after Buhari other past generals like Babangida will take their turn.Nigerians use ur brains for once .

One billion likes!!

A7:
The north is in no way threatened by the middle belt, the middle belt itself was coined by few power hungry individuals and even in the six states I mentioned only one can boost of the coalition relevance today . So it is just a name that once struggle to materialise but failed.

In the political atmosphere, it is irrelevant and lack the apparatus to influence the settlers of that region. Today people refer to the north central as midle belt out of pity, sarcasm or for no any reason but the first republic attempt of the minorities to segregate from others.

It may look like the Middle Belt failed, but go and check the 2011 elections and see why the Hausa-Fulani did not want a separate region for the minorities... The Middle Belt being recognized as a separate region is vital for a multi-ethnic country like Nigeria in order to give citizens a sense of belonging...

This is why the Middle Belt is going to vote Jonathan again, not because he is anything close to the kind of president we want

A7:
Only the six north central states are referred as middle belt today.

Referred to by who?

North Central was formed in 1995

The Middle Belt has existed since colonial times championed by Joseph Tarka, Pastor David Lot and Patrick Dokotri and more recently by Bala Takaya. Only the lack of political power of the minorities helped the Core North to frustrate its emergence as a separate region before independence. Up till now the Core North is uncomfortable whenever the Middle Belt is mentioned and always tries to downplay it as a separate region

A7:
Taraba, Adamawa and kaduna are not in the middle belt, I advice yoU brush your knowledge of the nations geo political zones first before discussing politics.

Middle Belt is different from North Central...

The proposal is for restructuring, not a break-up. But then again, these six zones do not properly reflect Nigeria's cultural regions. There should be 5 autonomous regions after a little modification for some areas to be in their proper regions

macof: Can anyone list all the ethnic groups in the middle belt. I am trying to compile a list.
Btw aren't Igede people more or less Idoma, I mean being that in language classification igede is Idomoid.

I feel it's pointless taking them as separate ethnic groups. middle belt should come together and organize their tribes into appropriate groups

You are quite correct

There are so many ethnic groups in the MB, especially in the upper parts. It is easier to just consider the areas that are none of Hausa, Fulani and Kanuri in the far north. However, note that due to migration, the HFK enclaves can also be found in the MB areas. Most of the MB groups are not known to other Nigerians, including those in areas considered part of the MB

The first step would be a universal identification and recognition of the MB area

Personally, I identify the MB as follows:
Ethnic Groups: Tiv, Nupe, Igala, Idoma, Ebira, Gbagyi
Area Groups: Adamawa, Taraba, Plateau, Nasarawa, Southern Kaduna, Kainji

atlwireles: The conference created a process for state merging,If the people and state assemblies so choose.

As long as the current political elite remain influential, I don't see any mergers taking place. I may be wrong though. I was one of those disappointed they did not consider the regional option

That is if any of these will even be implemented

atlwireles: where is the tenth state? I hope you are not counting Abuja.

Oops, you are right. That's 9 for each zone. But looking at the map, some states may agitate to be 'reassigned' to a different zone. #guraraonmymind

atlwireles: No more confusion, each zone with 9 states each.

10 for north-central! Then we will start creating one more each in another conference for the zones with 9 states!

Bump...

http://www.ethnologue.com/country/NG

This web site is reliable

7) That the judiciary be decentralised with each zone having its High, Appeal and Supreme Courts.

Good write up. We will need a legal professional to explain possible implications of number 7 before I can agree with that

Pharoh: Dismantle the states and make the local governments the federating units and let them form loose regional affiliations for joint cooperation. This will eliminate the three big groups fighting each other.

Regions have to be strong in order to assert their autonomy and identity rather than be a loose, maybe unofficial association of local groups

trillville: This is just a suggestion.

I think nigeria should completely eliminate the state level of government. We should maintain local governments and a loose regional/federal (parliamentary system) government. Resources and taxes are controlled mainly at the local government.

A prime minister who makes central resources decisions will be elected from all the local government governors. Elections for who becomes the prime minister can occur at anytime of the year. Once opposition feel they have the numbers, they can call for elections( basically just like England )

A president who is simply a figure head with no control of resources but just an extra voice for the people(preferably a very old man/ woman) should be elected every four years. This will also ensure that they is continuity in leadership.

I believe this will solve a lot of the issues minorities have in Nigeria. Gowon's biggest mistake was the creation of states.

Do you want to retain the current local councils without any intermediate tier before the national level? How do you then distribute functions between the federation and local levels? It looks like a more extreme situation than what we are currently practising where we have 36 "weak" states. However, I like the parliamentary idea. How will the president be selected / elected?

Having replied you, I must still stress that the thread is about discussing the middle belt as an autonomous region (federating unit) within Nigeria, intermediate between the national and the state or local level, depending on what can be agreed

^^^^
There are several pages before this one which try to discuss the ethnic make-up of the MB with respect to the groups which are a bit more prominent. There are also various maps showing Nigeria's ethnic geography but most of them are simplified and could be misleading but they just try to give a general idea, especially for areas with many small groups

My suggestion is to keep these areas with small groups together as much as possible while granting the large groups their autonomy

For a more detailed map, refer to www.ethnologue.com and check the Nigeria maps

NB. Please read the whole thread and make your contributions. This is an attempt to improve knowledge of the area's ethnic and cultural setting

Nowenuse: Good map u hv there Karfe, but I'd say it's quite misrepresenting.

On the previous pages, you will see some more detailed maps. However, all these maps give different levels of complexity and help us appreciate how best we can run a workable structure

Simplified 'cultural areas'

ujoinme: eddiebruk you are right what you have seen is the narrow guage rails from lagos to kano which has been revamped by this administration and trains or what you called locomotives are running on them. There is another narrow guage line from port harcourt to maiduguri which is also been revamped and construction trains are already running on the eastern end from port harcourt to enugu conveying construction materials.

Besides these narrow gauge rails that has been revitalized, there are plans to build standard rails that can support train carriages that can run as fast as the ones you showed on the picture above. I can certainly tell you that the there is on that will run from Abuja to kaduna which construction is ongoing and the itakpe warri standard rail line is complete and there are several other projects that are ongoing at the moment.

If every administration did what GEJ is doing in nigeria especially in Aviation and railway then our infrastructure would have been better off.
That being said more still needs to be done and nigeria is in an infrastructural ditch of up to $350billion. but a journey of a thousand miles begins with a step.

Well done. I am impressed by all this information and hope the master plans will be properly executed. However, the government needs to improve awareness about these activities within the country. Our news space has been taken over by very negative information. Improved awareness of these infrastructure developments will influence other sectors like tourism, agriculture, etc

What is the official recruitment process for the Nigerian foreign service?

That map above is so not the way I figure it

Abagworo: Murtala's broadcast proclaiming Abuja as federal capital - February 3, 1976.

Lagos will, in the foreseeable future, remain the nations commercial capital
and one of its nerve centres. But in terms of servicing the present
infrastructure alone the committed amount of money and effort required will
be such that Lagos State will not be ready to cope. It will even be unfair
to expect the state to bear this heavy burden on it sown. It is therefore
necessary for the Federal Government to continue to sustain the substantial
investment in the area. The port facilities and other economic activities in
the Lagos area have to be expanded. There is need in the circumstances for
the Federal Government to maintain a special defence and security
arrangement in Lagos which will henceforth be designated a special area.
These arrangements will be carefully worked out and written into the new
constitution. Kaduna and Port Harcourt are to be accorded similar status and
designated..........

thank you

peleson: @afam4eva, i know my point is strongly superior.Having seen and visited all these places with details, i have seen and known for myself.
Leaving states to develop at it's pace and developing just Abuja and Lagos will not get us nowhere.Portharcourt on her own has developed to be the 3rd most developed city on her own....Invariably, without the present of FG in Abuja and Lagos,PH would have been the best city Nigeria can boast of...So poor.
Rivers State Government has tried in all ramification to sustain continues failing of infrastructure in that state.Nigerians and foreigners troop into that coastal city on daily basis and hence determined to stay.
Why would other states be left to develop at it pace when in actual sense 80% are not developing in the very right way and some are not developing at all! Some Governors and stake holders wait every month to share allocation from Abuja without talking about where and how the money is made.
Since it is the responsibility of the Government to develop a nation,they should do it where needed and where necessary.
Since all states are being left to develop itself,what have we got?LOS ANGELES? OR OHIO?Even in US, once there is a need, usually Washington D.C steps in.The present of D.C is everywhere in the USA.I won't be surprise if D.C presence is not in your domain(NIGERIA).Can u bet on that?

thanks