₦airaland Forum

This is not a good development at all and will result to more deaths due to accidents at the level that we saw before El Rufai banned Okada.

Why can't the minister help to finance commercial buses and assist businessmen with government backed loans to buy these kinds of buses.

I can't remember the number of times I almost ran over and killed a wayward okada driver in Abuja - this is very bad news.

una well done o. una don derail my thread and turn am into "core north" vs middle belt bruhaha. Una congratulations o.

PapaBrowne:
Many folks here arguing against Edoyad's point are  doing so because they've never been in the north and don't understand the very strong points he has raised.

Ndu Chucks, your point is very clear and understandable and I agree with the fact that such representations should happen more across the country, however you made a statement referring to the term "the northerners" and that is the point Edoyad disagrees with.
Middle beltans, like Edoyad, see themselves as Middle Beltans and not as "Northerners". The term Northerner usually refers to those of the Hausa Ilk.
Adamawa South where Senator Grace Bent represents is Middle belt.

The Northern region is divided between the Middle belt and the Core North, The core north is predominantly Hausa/Fulani Muslim, while the middle belt is mainly Christian with so many tribes such as Jukun, Berom, Idoma,Igala, Tiv, Kataf, Igbirra, Nupe, Bachama and so many others.
I had been for long periods in Taraba state, and I can tell you categorically that there is a wide difference between the core north and the middle belt both culturally and geographically, which I think, is the point Edoyad is trying to get across to the forum.

Go and tell Tuface Idibia(Benue) or Wande Coal(Taraba) or M.I(Plateau) that they are northerners and they would tell you straight up that "you are wrong"  and that they are "from the middle belt"!

Edoyad's point is simple. while such acts are possible in the middle belt, they are practically impossible in the core north. In fact, up north, there are hardly any female politicians as the religion of Islam as practiced there, to a large extent appears to abhor female participation in politics.
The core north would not even allow for a Christian from that state to be elected in any position talk less of someone from another state.

Papabrowne, your points are well taken.  There is no reason to debate whether the Northern region is divided between the Middle belt and the Core North as this is trivial to me.  I've already explained that when I used the term northerner in my initial post, I was referring to the Northern region of old which includes middle belt. 

Whether the act in question is possible in the today's "core North" is debatable. I for one think the rest of the country should emulate Adamawa State in this regard,  and that is the more important point I was attempting to make.

In a country with more than 250 ethnic groups or tribes, it is easy to see why people like Edoyad would offer such a vigorous protest. I'll gladly change my initial statement to "The Middle belters (or some Northern states) seem to be at the forefront of political sophistry" if it'll help to protect the main point of the post. I have no interest in starting another Zango kataff type of conflict in cyberspace.

[quote author=sd-6 link=topic=394445.msg5466225#msg5466225 date=1265555817]The opponents of this topic are just too fo.oolish that they cannot deduce the salient point of the thread which emphasizes unity in diversity. Please spare us such unwarranted prevarication of issues and make commendable judgements.[/quote]sd-6, Your statements are most welcomed and refreshing. Thanks.

Theface200:
first of all stop talking nonsense, She is not from osun state, she is from Obasanjo area, OGUN STATE, Do you see why she won. And did she win? ? that question is for your mind.

Please read the interview, the lady is from Osun state. Please provide references in you have contrary information.

edoyad:
Of course i agree and started a thread to that effect, but don't come here and give credit for Folashade's presence in the senate to the "north", cos we know what that usually implies. I hope you know kaba people of kogi state are historically yoruba people and fall in middle belt. Smart Adeyemi can be said to be another yoruba man representing the middle belt though his case is different cos He's from kogi state unlike senator Shade who's from Osun.

I'm glad you noted the bolded portion of your post. There's no point comparing apples to oranges.

edoyad:
So too my primary school books tell me that Nigeria is composed of hausa, "ibo(sic)" and yoruba people which is of course a worse lie than the one you just told.
May be if hausa people spent more time on education than politicking you would know these things.

I think you woke up on the wrong side of the bed.    Abeg carry ya wahala go, if you don't want to discuss the main point I was making.

Don't you think its time that residency alone should determine who can represent a particular area in the parliament? Won't you agree that an Igbo man who has lived all his life in Kano should be able to contest for office in Kano?  Won't you agree that if a hausa man that has lived in Enugu for 20 years he should enjoy the same rights as Enugu indigenes?

edoyad:
[size=14pt]CORRECTION[/size]
I'm sorry to burst your bubble mr Ndu Chuks, Folashade Bent is representing the middle belt and not the mirage called "north". Adamawa south, kaduna south, plateau state, benue state, taraba state, parts of nassarawa, Niger states etc have a collection of people with their distinct tribes, languages and cultures; collectively they're known as the middle belt.
I know this cos i'm of Nok extraction from southern kaduna, we prefer to be referred to as middle belt and not "north". Usually North in Nigerian parlance refers to hausa people, while i have no problem with hausa people, we know we definitely are a very different culture from hausa people.

You should be smart enough not to miss the main point of the topic because of your prejudices.  Please refer to your primary school geography text book and discover that when North, East, West, South etc are discussed, middle belt is not part of the lexicon. olodo

When I say Northerner, I am refering to areas of Nigeria excluding the old West, and East.  The main point I'm making should not be lost in semantics. This is not a discussion about middle belt, its about Nigeria as a whole.  You are free to posit that the Northerners are not more politically savvy than other Nigerians, but that would be your cup of tea. My own take remains just that.

The northerners seem to be at the forefront of political sophistry.  Here's a Yoruba woman that has become a senator representing Southern Adamawa senatorial district in the Senate! The rest of the nation should learn from this event and realize that we do not need constitutional amendments or some unconstitutional national conference before doing the right thing.

Senator Grace Folashade Bent is a Yoruba woman but represents Southern Adamawa senatorial district in the Senate. In this interview with Sunday Trust, she gives reasons why she crossed the mountains to Adamawa state to be married to Major Jackson Bent (rtd), her relationship with her in-laws, and how she operates, being one of the few women in a male-dominated National Assembly. Excerpts:

Distinguished, you are from the South West. We would like you to tell us how you met your husband, considering the fact that he is from the north east. How were you able to fall in love with him, what were the sweet things he told you that made you ignore the long distance?

I am a very spiritual person, and I believe in destiny. In life, God has a plan and purpose for every individual. God has the blueprint for our lives. He orders our steps. He knows where we are going even before we were formed in the womb.

Read the rest of the story here:

http://www.sunday.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2606:my-world-as-a-yoruba-woman-married-to-a-bachama-soldier-senator-bent&catid=57:cover&Itemid=126

https://www.sunday.dailytrust.com/images/stories/police/bent.jpg
Senator Grace Folashade Bent

A court decision such as this is long overdue. Maurice Iwu and his 4 commisioners have been rigging elections at will. The chairman and four commissioners of INEC contravened section 159 of the 1999 Constitution which stipulates that INEC is to be run by a chairman and 13 commissioners. The said section also stipulates that one–third of the 13 members (comprising five members) must be present before any decision could be taken.

As long as Iwu only has 4 commisioners that he can control, his rigging will continue. Kudos to this judge, albeit he didn't give Falana all he prayed for.

It may not be a bad idea to postpone the Anambra elections until INEC is properly constituted, otherwise there will be a definite court challenge by the losers of that election.

First the South/South senators were reportedly frustrating handover to Jonathan.  We now have South/South reps doing the same thing. In the maintime, some of their uninformed and highly ignorant subjects who reside in diaspora are continuously romanticizing the idea of a south/south seccession.

Wonders shall never end.

The South-South Parliamentary Caucus in the House of Representatives yesterday defended President Umar Yar’Adua on the controversy over his not formally handing over to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan before travelling.
In a statement in Abuja, the Caucus said it had met to review developments in the country and resolved that “it is natural for any creation of God, including man to be indisposed at one point in time or the other.”
The statement signed by the caucus Chairman Andrew Uchendu said the President and the Vice President ran the Presidential Election on a joint ticket.

“We, therefore, observe that in compliance with the constitutional provisions the Vice President has, so far, most ably covered the duties of Mr. President including deployment of troops during the recent Jos crisis.
“It is unfortunate that some elements are reading some regional bias to the issue of transmission of letter by Mr. President to the National Assembly. This should not be so.

The South-South Caucus do realise what is in its best interest and we know the due season for it,” the caucus said.
The lawmakers wished the President quick recovery, saying it supports the House resolution delegating a seven-man team on a goodwill visit to President Yar’Adua in Saudi Arabia.

http://thenationonlineng.net/web2/articles/35117/1/Jonathan-South-South-Reps-Back-YarAdua-/Page1.html