₦airaland Forum

Incognito403:
Please STFU!!!

Just some buildings burnt?!

People were lynched! A pregnant woman was prevented from going to the hospital! Criminals were released into the society! Guns were stolen from police stations! Law enforcement agents were killed and uniforms stolen! Osun shopping mall was robbed in daylight. Hundreds of millions worth of goods were stolen! Dozens of youths have died in different states!


Una body go hear am. All these criminals will visit your houses one after the other.

You better STFU. If dem born you well, go out tomorrow.

And almost all by the same hoodlums that the Nigerian government paid to attack the protesters but have now lost control of.

The same way that they give gangs guns to rig elections for them and after which they become notorious gangs.

We have video evidence that the incident in Benin was not by protesters,

Incognito403:
Please STFU!!!

Government hired them but still sent police to kill them?

Does that make sense to you? If yes, then RIP to your brain.

Stop being an idiot. The government has done nothing to stop the systematic attacks that these people regularly deal out on protesters and people in general. We have video evidence of these thugs driving with and being organized by government officials.

There is no evidence of the police shooting into the thugs, etc

NGpatriot:
[s][/s]


I'm not interested in ipobs and their anti Nigerian rants. Real Nigerian youths and ipobs youths have different agendas, your agenda is the usual ipob destruction of Nigerian and you think this is the opportunity to destroy Nigeria while the real Nigerian youths just want a better and well governed Nigeria.

Your ipob agenda is dead on arival.

I know your agenda so take your hateful and bitter ipob rant elsewhere.

Continue being proud of a country that actively hunts down and disarms innocent citizens

Incognito403:
Crocodile smile loading...

Shut up.

It is very obvious that you are paid by thus Buharified government to do their bidding and spread confusion.

1. High Buharified officials have again and again praised China's censorship system that uses many paid "users" to sway internet opinion.

2. Operation Crocodile smile declared cyber warfare

3. Recent account that is posting nothing but anti-#EndSARS protest Propaganda.

Go find a real job

masterP042:
When we biafrans were protesting against this government, the affonjas were cheering govt oppression towards us, and tagging us terrorists... Forgetting that what goes around comes around..

They should enjoy their fair share of the government.. Peaceful protest my asss. Terrorists in the guise of protesters.. Kirikiri awaits them

And_by_laughing_at_their_woes_you_are_further_helping_to_perpetuate_the_lack_of_unity_against_the_leaders

Link to the full report:-https://appgfreedomofreligionorbelief.org/media/200615-Nigeria-Unfolding-Genocide-Report-of-the-APPG-for-FoRB.pdf

NIGERIA: UNFOLDING GENOCIDE? New APPG report launched
June 15, 2020

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief has launched a new report in Westminster today entitled Nigeria – Unfolding Genocide?

The report launch featured speeches from the Chair of the APPG, Jim Shannon MP, Co-Chair Baroness Cox, and Rebecca Sharibu, the mother of Leah Sharibu who was kidnapped by Boko Haram two years ago and has yet to be released.

BACKGROUND

APPG members have been alarmed by the dramatic and escalating violence in Nigeria characterised as the farmer-herder conflict. This violence has manifested along ideological lines, as the herders are predominantly ethnic Fulani Muslims and the farmers are predominantly Christians. There has been significant debate about what factors are driving and exacerbating this crisis. Therefore the APPG launched a parliamentary inquiry to help develop a nuanced understanding of the drivers of violence and increase parliamentary, public and Governmental interest in the issue. The report is the result of that inquiry.

IMPACT

The APPG’s inquiry found that Nigerian Christians are experiencing devastating violence, with attacks by armed groups of Islamist Fulani herders resulting in the killing, maiming, dispossession and eviction of thousands. The exact death toll is unknown. However, Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust quote reliable reports that over 1,000 Christians were killed between January-November 2019, in addition to the estimated 6,000+ deaths since 2015.

International Crisis Group estimate that over 300,000 people have been displaced and that the violence has claimed the lives of six times more people than the conflict with Boko Haram. Violence by herders, and periodic retaliatory violence, is costing the Nigerian economy £10.5 billion per year.

CAUSES

The report finds that a key factor driving this violence is the impact of the growing power and influence of Islamist extremism across the Sahel, which drives some militant Fulani herders to target Christians and symbols of Christian identity such as churches. Indeed, hundreds of churches have been destroyed, including over 500 in Benue State alone. Other key factors driving this violence include climate change, desertification, resource competition, the influence of politics, criminality, the ready availability of firearms and the spread of misinformation.

Attacks by armed groups of Islamist Fulani herdsmen have resulted in the killing, maiming, dispossession and eviction of thousands of Christians.

These factors are compounded by the Nigerian Government’s failure to respond adequately to the violence, to protect communities or to bring perpetrators of violence to justice. These issues need to be addressed if we are to save lives and improve the welfare of civilians and the report makes many recommendations about how this can be done.

COMMENTS FROM THE CHAIR OF THE APPG:

In the Foreword to the report, Jim Shannon MP, Chair of the APPG for International Freedom of Religion or Belief says:

Over my ten years as a Member of the UK Parliament, the COVID-19 crisis has surely been one of the most difficult and surreal challenges I have experienced. Constituents have told me of their physical suffering, of job losses, and the pain of not being able to visit their loved ones. This widespread and tremendous difficulty is a somewhat novel experience for many of us in the UK but for countless Christians living in Nigeria, extreme challenges are nothing new.

Shockingly for a Commonwealth country, Nigeria ranks twelfth on Open Doors World Watch List 2020 of the countries in which Christians are most persecuted. By comparison, Syria ranks eleventh and Saudi Arabia ranks thirteenth, with Iraq fifteenth and Egypt sixteenth.

One of the main drivers of this persecution in Nigeria is the militant group Boko Haram who frequently abduct and kill those who refuse to conform to their extremist brand of Islam.

Unfortunately, Boko Haram are not the only threat that Nigerian Christians face. Attacks by armed groups of Islamist Fulani herdsmen have resulted in the killing, maiming, dispossession and eviction of thousands of Christians.

As Parliamentarians, I believe it is our responsibility to speak out on behalf of all the survivors and victims of violence, and all those who are suffering but who cannot speak out for themselves. One such survivor is Leah Sharibu, whose mother I was honoured to meet on a recent London visit. Two years ago, 14-year old Leah Sharibu was abducted by Islamist extremists from her school in Dapchi, north-east Nigeria. There are reports that she was enslaved, raped and impregnated, giving birth to a child, and that she has been denied her freedom for refusing to convert to Islam as a precondition for her release. There are thousands of Leahs held all over Nigeria, and across the world. This report is dedicated to her and the millions of others who suffer so unspeakably. Its purpose is to explore the drivers of conflict and to highlight the seriousness of the situation and the level of injustice that Nigerian Christians face.

Among all the injustices for the UK to help correct in the near future, the widespread and growing persecution of Christians should be top of the list. Thus, as the UK faces the challenge of lockdown and mass quarantine for the first time in living memory, I ask you to please spare a thought for those Christians who face not only a pandemic but also threats of violence and persecution that we can’t imagine.

The report urges the Government of Nigeria and the international community to implement its recommendations to help save the lives of Nigerian citizens and to improve their welfare.

The full report

PRESS COVERAGE

Rowan Williams: The violence in Nigeria could end in genocide – both Christian and Muslim populations need help now
The Independent (15 June 2020)

Baroness Cox: We cannot ignore the chilling signs of a new genocide in Africa
The Telegraph (15 June 2020)

Christina Lamb: Call to cut aid to Nigeria over Boko Haram’s bloody campaign against Christians
Sunday Times (14 June 2020)

Nigeria at risk of ‘Rwandan-style genocide’
Sunday Express (14 June 2020)

Ewelina Ochab: Is Genocide Happening In Nigeria As The World Turns A Blind Eye?
Forbes (15 June 2020)

New report says murders of Christians in Nigeria is paving the way for genocide (including recorded interview with Baroness Cox)
Premier Christian Radio (15 June 2020)

Nigeria: Time for Britain to act
Independent Catholic News (15 June 2020)

Nigeria – Christians are being systematically targeted and with deadly results
Church of England Newspaper (19 June 2020)

Source :- https://appgfreedomofreligionorbelief.org/nigeria-unfolding-genocide-new-appg-report-launched/

Link to the report :- https://appgfreedomofreligionorbelief.org/media/200615-Nigeria-Unfolding-Genocide-Report-of-the-APPG-for-FoRB.pdf

AlexBells:
One thing you have failed to understand about Nigeria is that the country is used to breaking most logics, Nigeria currently have no enemy in the greater international space because we are a docile giant apart from our envious neighbours, SA, Ghana and Egypt to an extent, no other country really give a shit, didn't America predict we breaj on 2015

CIA Predictions are not the most reliable as they are typically made public with the purpose of fulfilling a political goal but Geopolitical projects expect us to break up by 2030s

Link to the full report:-https://appgfreedomofreligionorbelief.org/media/200615-Nigeria-Unfolding-Genocide-Report-of-the-APPG-for-FoRB.pdf

NIGERIA: UNFOLDING GENOCIDE? New APPG report launched
June 15, 2020

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief has launched a new report in Westminster today entitled Nigeria – Unfolding Genocide?

The report launch featured speeches from the Chair of the APPG, Jim Shannon MP, Co-Chair Baroness Cox, and Rebecca Sharibu, the mother of Leah Sharibu who was kidnapped by Boko Haram two years ago and has yet to be released.

BACKGROUND

APPG members have been alarmed by the dramatic and escalating violence in Nigeria characterised as the farmer-herder conflict. This violence has manifested along ideological lines, as the herders are predominantly ethnic Fulani Muslims and the farmers are predominantly Christians. There has been significant debate about what factors are driving and exacerbating this crisis. Therefore the APPG launched a parliamentary inquiry to help develop a nuanced understanding of the drivers of violence and increase parliamentary, public and Governmental interest in the issue. The report is the result of that inquiry.

IMPACT

The APPG’s inquiry found that Nigerian Christians are experiencing devastating violence, with attacks by armed groups of Islamist Fulani herders resulting in the killing, maiming, dispossession and eviction of thousands. The exact death toll is unknown. However, Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust quote reliable reports that over 1,000 Christians were killed between January-November 2019, in addition to the estimated 6,000+ deaths since 2015.

International Crisis Group estimate that over 300,000 people have been displaced and that the violence has claimed the lives of six times more people than the conflict with Boko Haram. Violence by herders, and periodic retaliatory violence, is costing the Nigerian economy £10.5 billion per year.

CAUSES

The report finds that a key factor driving this violence is the impact of the growing power and influence of Islamist extremism across the Sahel, which drives some militant Fulani herders to target Christians and symbols of Christian identity such as churches. Indeed, hundreds of churches have been destroyed, including over 500 in Benue State alone. Other key factors driving this violence include climate change, desertification, resource competition, the influence of politics, criminality, the ready availability of firearms and the spread of misinformation.

Attacks by armed groups of Islamist Fulani herdsmen have resulted in the killing, maiming, dispossession and eviction of thousands of Christians.

These factors are compounded by the Nigerian Government’s failure to respond adequately to the violence, to protect communities or to bring perpetrators of violence to justice. These issues need to be addressed if we are to save lives and improve the welfare of civilians and the report makes many recommendations about how this can be done.

COMMENTS FROM THE CHAIR OF THE APPG:

In the Foreword to the report, Jim Shannon MP, Chair of the APPG for International Freedom of Religion or Belief says:

Over my ten years as a Member of the UK Parliament, the COVID-19 crisis has surely been one of the most difficult and surreal challenges I have experienced. Constituents have told me of their physical suffering, of job losses, and the pain of not being able to visit their loved ones. This widespread and tremendous difficulty is a somewhat novel experience for many of us in the UK but for countless Christians living in Nigeria, extreme challenges are nothing new.

Shockingly for a Commonwealth country, Nigeria ranks twelfth on Open Doors World Watch List 2020 of the countries in which Christians are most persecuted. By comparison, Syria ranks eleventh and Saudi Arabia ranks thirteenth, with Iraq fifteenth and Egypt sixteenth.

One of the main drivers of this persecution in Nigeria is the militant group Boko Haram who frequently abduct and kill those who refuse to conform to their extremist brand of Islam.

Unfortunately, Boko Haram are not the only threat that Nigerian Christians face. Attacks by armed groups of Islamist Fulani herdsmen have resulted in the killing, maiming, dispossession and eviction of thousands of Christians.

As Parliamentarians, I believe it is our responsibility to speak out on behalf of all the survivors and victims of violence, and all those who are suffering but who cannot speak out for themselves. One such survivor is Leah Sharibu, whose mother I was honoured to meet on a recent London visit. Two years ago, 14-year old Leah Sharibu was abducted by Islamist extremists from her school in Dapchi, north-east Nigeria. There are reports that she was enslaved, raped and impregnated, giving birth to a child, and that she has been denied her freedom for refusing to convert to Islam as a precondition for her release. There are thousands of Leahs held all over Nigeria, and across the world. This report is dedicated to her and the millions of others who suffer so unspeakably. Its purpose is to explore the drivers of conflict and to highlight the seriousness of the situation and the level of injustice that Nigerian Christians face.

Among all the injustices for the UK to help correct in the near future, the widespread and growing persecution of Christians should be top of the list. Thus, as the UK faces the challenge of lockdown and mass quarantine for the first time in living memory, I ask you to please spare a thought for those Christians who face not only a pandemic but also threats of violence and persecution that we can’t imagine.

The report urges the Government of Nigeria and the international community to implement its recommendations to help save the lives of Nigerian citizens and to improve their welfare.

The full report

PRESS COVERAGE

Rowan Williams: The violence in Nigeria could end in genocide – both Christian and Muslim populations need help now
The Independent (15 June 2020)

Baroness Cox: We cannot ignore the chilling signs of a new genocide in Africa
The Telegraph (15 June 2020)

Christina Lamb: Call to cut aid to Nigeria over Boko Haram’s bloody campaign against Christians
Sunday Times (14 June 2020)

Nigeria at risk of ‘Rwandan-style genocide’
Sunday Express (14 June 2020)

Ewelina Ochab: Is Genocide Happening In Nigeria As The World Turns A Blind Eye?
Forbes (15 June 2020)

New report says murders of Christians in Nigeria is paving the way for genocide (including recorded interview with Baroness Cox)
Premier Christian Radio (15 June 2020)

Nigeria: Time for Britain to act
Independent Catholic News (15 June 2020)

Nigeria – Christians are being systematically targeted and with deadly results
Church of England Newspaper (19 June 2020)

Source :- https://appgfreedomofreligionorbelief.org/nigeria-unfolding-genocide-new-appg-report-launched/

Link to the report :- https://appgfreedomofreligionorbelief.org/media/200615-Nigeria-Unfolding-Genocide-Report-of-the-APPG-for-FoRB.pdf

Seun:
Fellow Nairalanders,

Nairaland loves Igbos and Niger Deltans very much. The thought of being separated from them for any reason is unbearable to us, so we have decided that we will reject any attempt by anyone to use Nairaland to promote the idea of removing Igbos and Niger Deltans from Nigeria.


Thanks,
Seun (Founder Of Nairaland).

"We love you so much that we will happily kill 3 million of you and thousands more every year until you learn to like us back"

Lol

WhizdomXX:
Secession is not the answer, every part of these country has evil leaders ruling over them except for a priviledged few. Secession will just give more of this evil leaders more power. In Igbo land these evil leaders are very much present. You and I both know them. When you break up are these not the same set of guys that will lead you and you think you'll really make reasonable problem with them?? Nigeria needs good leaders not secession. That's not the answer.

But the evil leaders will be infinitely easier to remove following secession. Let and Igbo EFCC try and catch a corrupt Fulani or vice versa and you get the same people that they stole from fighting to defend them. This is in the first place the only reason that these illiterates have been able to rule us, without the huge cultural differences and historical grievances between tribes, (which while it would still exist would be much reduced) we will actually be able to remove these bad leaders.

Also, the entire upheaval process of secession will purge off many of these bad leaders

LOVELYSKINZNEW:
Secession is not an option

It is the only option

Kudejo:
I am pretty sure I would know if their was an ethnic cleansing going on in my own country, There is terrorism and banditry but there is no Genocide in Nigeria

Nigeria is a big country with alot of people ,alot of things happen in Nigeria that you and many people never hear of. Read the APPG report yourself and see what it says https://appgfreedomofreligionorbelief.org/media/200615-Nigeria-Unfolding-Genocide-Report-of-the-APPG-for-FoRB.pdf

This is bullshit. The claims of Genocide isn't something that APPG it is a claim made by several different internationally recognized bodies and repeated by APPG not created by them. The claims of genocide has been made by UNICEF, General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, Amnesty International, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah, The Catholic Church, Sahara Reporters etc. But somehow all of these should be thrown out because a UK based organization agrees with these organizations and people, half of which are Nigerian and the other half of which are international.

Then we get to the Organization and its leader that have attempted to defame the APPG, one Commonwealth Activists (CA) lead by Hameed Williams. I have attempted to dig up some data on them and nothing comes up, no history of other protests, no website, no other member's names, no affiliates, no trace at all. The only thing about the organization that seems to exist online are duplicates of the same news of their protest in front of the APPG office. Same with the report they claimed to have created called “An x-ray of the report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group U.K. on acts of genocide in Nigeria to ascertain the underlining issues as well as the credibility of the sources of the report by the Common Wealth Activists.” no trace of it other than its mention, nothing other than its mention in the duplicate reports of their protests seem to exist.

I find it highly unlikely that a group that claims to compose of members of 58 commonwealth nations has no trace of itself. would personally argue that if this organization exists, it was created recently for the sole purpose of attempting to create a seemingly legitimate push back against the facts presented in the APPG report.

And if the picture attached is any indication this group is composed entirely a small number of Nigerians and Nigerian descended people protesting that the injustices detailed are over exaggerated while simultaneously orders of magnitude more Nigerians are protesting internationally against the injustices and discrimination that the Nigerian state mounts on its citizens.

https://www.iconsnews.com/2020/10/the-world-shaken-as-biafrans-and.html

Now while I couldn't find anything on this seemingly made up organization but could find something that seems to have been their favorite previous way of promoting their agenda of covering up Nigeria's broken security system, one self proclaimed human rights activist called Philip Agbese. He tries to argue against the claims of genocide by first using trying to discredit Britain's colonial past, using half truths at best and then debunking a news story wholly unrelated to the News stories used as evidence for the clams of genocide.

This combination of half truths and goal post moving was only the beginning as Phillip Agbese continues to argue against a strawman, claiming the report by APPG paints the entire conflict as a religious one when in fact they dedicate entire sections of the report to detailing the aspect of the conflict that is resource shortage and criminality. Obviously this intentional avoidance of the nuances of the paper rings suspicious and wouldn't you know, he has connections to the current Nigerian government.

http://www.theleaderng.com/benue-born-activist-philip-agbese-decorated-with-an-award-of-excellence-in-recognition-of-his-humanitarian-activities-across-the-country/

The article above shows this connections and hopes by Phillip Agbase to further these connections and rise to important positions among the Nigerian administration. Thus I would argue that this is only part of the calculation to further that goal. However one could argue that this is just a coincidence, however with further digging for articles by this author they always retain a pro-current Nigerian administration stance and given the numerous hardships that the Nigerian people have suffered under this current administration, i feel that this is damning evidence for an extremely biased author whose pro-Nigeria criticisms need not be heeded.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/04/covid-19-pmb-as-the-man-who-saw-tomorrow-1/
https://dynamicmagazine.com.ng/general-buratai-mentorship-key-instrument-in-leadership-development/
https://www.nairaland.com/4050709/pythons-dance-must-sync-new#60401220
https://thewillnigeria.com/news/opinion-the-war-against-insurgency-and-unacceptable-distractions/

Personally I see two people here. The Nigerian Nationalist who wants people suffering under the Nigerian government to just shut up and suffer and wait until the Nigerian government decides it wants to be good and the people building "Stomach Infrastructure", individuals willing to say anything to get on the good side of the elites in hopes of getting some of the crumbs off their tables.

Lol

GreatResearcher:
Righteousness89

depends on what exactly you think happened during Noah's flood. The text uses the word that it flooded the world, however from the context of other near eastern texts, we see "the world" usually meant known world. As we see used by the Akkadians, Assyrians. Persians and Greeks when they each conquered an increasing larger region and called it "the world" as the regions outside that wasn't well known.

Knowing the Biblical writers are near easterners, they probably wrote the same way and the question now is how wide was their known world and how much of that was flooded?.

In this paper, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261834700_The_geomorphological_and_hydrogeological_evidences_for_a_Holocene_deluge_in_Arabia

Mohammed el bastawesy argues that the Younger Dryas event created floods which in the region of the Persian gulf, Mesopotamia and Parts of Arabia would have been flooded for around 2 months, pretty close to the 40 days given in the Bible before the Ark landed on the mountains of Ararat, close to modern day Armenia, which while the highest of the mountains probably weren't flooded, such highland would be the first to return to dry land.

Read FUNAM’s threats:
That there is a clear agenda to divide Nigeria and exterminate the control of the FULANI people. We are long aware of this plot. We call on FULANI all over Africa to prepare for this inevitable war and set our people on an offensive path rather than being weaklings that choose a defensive strategy in warfare.

We have said it over and over, that Nigeria is the only inheritance we have in Africa and anywhere in the world. This land belongs to us, from Sokoto to the banks of the Atlantic Ocean. This was the destiny bestowed on Uthman Dan Fodio which would have been fulfilled since 1816 if not for the obstruction of this great assignment by the British. It is no longer time to play the ostrish(Sic). Our men are waiting. We are eager to fight. We are boiling with the zeal to actualize our dream; enough of double dealing and ambivalence by FULANI political leaders who unfortunately think the FULANI can only take back what belongs to us through appeasement and elections destined to reflect cultural values antithetical to the preachings of Uthman Dan Fodio.

We warn that nothing will be able to save those raising their voices against us and Allah. Nothing will be left behind, from the East, West and Middle Belt except those who accept the creation of Allah and the leadership place of Fulani in fulfilling this destiny. Since this irresponsible Western notion of democracy was imposed, the Fulani have been shortchanged and maligned. The Middle-Belt, the West and the East should be prepared. We are already here.

Let the Birom and the ethnic minority invaders in the entire Middle Belt leave our territory or be prepared to accept our ways of live. It is time for them to savour their wounds. It is just the beginning. Many more will come and nothing can stop us.

Insha Allah, we shall take this battle across the sea, on the land, in the air, on the mountains, in every territory currently occupied by the Kafirs. This is our position. This is our destiny. For those who think they can stop or continue to conspire against us, we wish them good luck.

P E R F E C T I O N

The first goal is the political will and alliance between su

uuzba:
We need to start again.
All of us were not here when the British formed and colonized Nigeria.
Our great, grand parents didn't know what was happening.
Majority of the masses were just simple village farmers, chilling and enjoying village life.
We didn't have plenty educated people then as we have now.
Now, at least, majority can read and write. All of us here have now read the story of the colonization and seen the bitter impact it has caused with corruption and them "sacred cows" that are never held accountable.

So we better start again.
a). disband the nation and go back to village?
OR
b). form new Terms and Agreements with accountable government.
-
They can't keep playing oyibo 419 game on our head perpetually.

The message of restructuring Nigeria had always been part of the movement. Join #RevolutionNow

Razzness:
Hmm. I still don't know sowore's ambition. I wonder if he thinks he can topple buhari and be our dream president, or he just wants to be famous. What ever the case he should know that protest and raising banners in abuja will not even disturb buhari's afternoon nap, let's assume buhari and his cabinet become 'patriotic' enough to step down, who will now replace them? Is it not the same cycle of corrupt ppl.
Lets be real now, our problem is bigger than buhari or tinubu, in a country where u can buy vote for 500, what do u expect? Even after revolution, Nigeria will still be up for the highest bidder.

The answer is to restructure Nigeria as something of a Confederation of autonomous regions after the revolution and restructuring has been popular in the movement

By Douglas Anele To fully answer the question that forms the title of our discussion today, it is important to pose a subsidiary question: a mistake for whom or from whose perspective? Now, going by the saying that “One man’s meat is another man’s poison,” it is evident that different answers would be given to the main question by a typical British colonial official; members of the ruling northern establishment; a prominent Yoruba politician who feels that in 2023 he might be chosen by his party to contest for the post of President; an Igbo who believes strongly that his people do not have a sense of belonging in Nigeria; and so on. In other words, because the subsidiary question will elicit different responses from different categories of people, the leading question requires a nuanced answer. All the same, a fruitful way of tackling it is to examine some defining features and events in Nigerian history to ascertain whether the country has recorded meaningful progress especially since 1960 when it attained independence from the British colonial master. In addition, we have to determine as objectively as possible whether Nigeria has been a blessing or a curse for the various ethnic nationalities and majority of her citizens nationwide. The literature on Nigerian history records that the late Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of the defunct northern region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, was the first prominent politician to declare unequivocally that the British amalgamation of northern and southern protectorates in 1914 was a mistake, a conviction which, according to Frederick Forsyth, “runs right through northern political thinking from the end of the second world war to independence.” The Sardauna’s negative assessment of the creation of Nigeria was made while contributing to a heated debate in March 1953, on the floor of Parliament in Lagos where he proclaimed that “The mistake of 1914 has come to light, and I should like it to go no further,” meaning that he was against any additional measure that would bring northern and southern Nigeria closer together as one country. Since that ominous declaration most Nigerians, particularly members of the dominant ruling power blocks, either are unaware of the Sardauna’s pessimistic conclusion regarding a unified Nigeria or gloss over it as if it were of no consequence. That is a very big mistake, in my opinion. Had Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and other southern protagonists of One Nigeria before independence reflected deeply on the kernel of truth in Sardauna’s statement and acted on it, perhaps there would have been no Nigeria as we know it today, and the devastating Biafran war together with its hideous repercussions still weighing the former eastern region down like a huge hunchback would never have happened. Failure to examine critically the foundational principles of the colonial amalgam we inherited from Britain has encouraged intellectual and moral laxity amongst the ruling northern elite and their southern enablers towards the serious contradictions and anomalies that lie at the very core of Nigeria, her origin, and ultimate justification. Ironically, pioneer leading northern political figures who later benefitted immensely from the amalgamation, including the Sardauna himself and Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, perceived clearly more than their far better educated southern counterparts (with the probable exception of Chief Obafemi Awolowo) that the Nigerian project is almost an improbable proposition. For instance, during one of the early constitutional conferences, Balewa affirmed that “Nigeria existed as one country only on paper. READ ALSO: Amalgamation: The bright side of 1914 It is still far from being united. Nigerian unity is only a British intention for the country.” On another occasion, he proclaimed: “We do not want, Sir, our southern neighbours to interfere in our development. …I should like to make it clear to you that if the British quitted Nigeria now at this stage the northern people would continue their uninterrupted conquest to the sea.” That very statement by Balewa who was later rigged into the office of Prime Minister by the British colonial administrators expressed the long term hidden agenda of the dominant northern ruling block, also known as Fulani caliphate colonialists by Chinweizu, namely, its intent to capture and colonise southern Nigeria after British colonial rule might have ended. There are several reasons why the amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates to create Nigeria ought not to have been carried out. To begin with, the country did not come into being as the end result of an unplanned natural process of geopolitical evolution by ethnic nationalities majority of whom could have formed independent nations on their own. Rather, she was artificially cobbled together by an imperialist or colonial power without the consent of her citizens, comprising over two hundred and fifty ethnic groups arbitrarily herded together into an unwieldy and non-consensual union by British imperialists. According to Max Siollun, one of the perceptive writers on Nigerian history, “Nigeria was so ethnically, [culturally] religiously, and linguistically complex that even some of its leading politicians initially doubted it could be a real country.” Chief Awolowo, one of the greatest political philosophers to have emerged from Nigeria, argued that “Nigeria is not a nation; it is a mere geographic expression.” Sir James Robertson, the last British Governor-General of Nigeria, was very worried about whether the country would survive after independence the centrifugal forces that had emerged since the amalgamation. In a note he wrote in 1956, he affirmed as follows: “The general outlook of the people [northerners] is so different from those in southern Nigeria as to give them practically nothing in common. There is less difference between an Englishman and an Italian, both of whom have a common civilisation based on Greek and Roman foundations and on Christianity, than between a Muslim villager in Sokoto, Kano, or Katsina, and an Igbo, Ijaw or Kalabari. How can any feeling of common purpose of nationality be built up between people whose culture, religion, and mode of living is so completely different?” So, the British colonialists knew that there are fundamental cultural, behavioural, and ideological differences between Muslim northerners and southerners and, yet, they insisted on amalgamation and handed power to ill-prepared northerners who on several occasions slowed down the processes leading to independence. Some might argue that Nigeria is not the only multiply plural country created artificially by an imperial power. However, apart from being one of the most linguistically and culturally diverse countries in the world, the combination of Trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonialism, and neo-colonialism impacted indigenous communities especially in southern Nigeria in ways for which there are no true equivalents in other multiply plural countries like the United States, India, and so on. Throughout the ages contacts between the aboriginal societies that were wedded together to form Nigeria had led to varying degrees of cultural intermingling and assimilation. Nevertheless, wide differences which always generated centrifugal forces in a unified Nigerian state remain. The northern part dominated by the Hausa and Fulani (the latter having originally migrated mostly from Fouta Jallon) are traditional, socially conservative, and largely Muslim. Centuries of intermarriages and cultural cross-fertilisation have obscured the differences between the two ethnic groups. In spite of that, the notion of a monolithic northern Nigeria is a myth. There are many minority groups especially in the north east and middle belt of the country, although for political contestation the northern establishment enthusiastically presents the veneer of a single northern geopolitical behemoth that aspires to dominate the rest of Nigeria. In the south, the Igbo and the Yoruba have always been demographically preeminent, with a substantial number of Christians. But southern Nigeria also comprises several minority ethnic nationalities that have some sociocultural affinities with the two major ethnic groups there. The British did very little to encourage a nationalist outlook on the diverse peoples they forced to come together as one country. In fact, the official colonial policy was to maintain the separateness between the north and the south. Forsyth captured the situation shortly before independence succinctly when he wrote: “None of the basic differences between the north and the south had been erased, nor the doubts and fears assuaged, nor the centrifugal tendencies curbed. The hopes, aspirations, and ambitions of the three regions were still largely divergent, and the structure that had been devised to encourage a belated sense of unity was unable to stand the stresses later imposed upon it.”

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/07/was-the-amalgamation-of-northern-and-southern-nigeria-in-1914-a-mistake-1/

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/07/was-the-amalgamation-of-northern-and-southern-nigeria-in-1914-a-mistake-1/

Another crucial point against the amalgamation is the extremely selfish, myopic and immoral reasons British imperialists carried out the exercise. Clearly, the intention or purpose for creating something largely determines the use(s) to which it would be put and the moral weight or importance to be attached to it. With respect to nation-building, this requirement becomes a categorical imperative because the moral telos or foundation of a nation serves as the beacon of light for clarity of vision in the future and subjective glue that binds together individuals and groups that constitute it. Given that the British colonial government was motivated by the very self-serving and ignoble obsessive quest for maximum economic exploitation of “Niger area” and administrative convenience, the amalgamation was built on a moral and ideological quicksand. Let us be clear on this point: Britain never intended to create a great Nigerian nation that would be the pride of its citizens and the black race in general. Whatever benefit Nigerians derived from colonialism eventually was largely incidental, since it was impossible to exploit the colonial amalgam and its peoples without putting something in place to help the process. Therefore, it is not surprising that the task was spearheaded by the utterly despicable bisexual paedophile, Lord Lewis Vernon Harcourt, British Secretary of the Colonies in the early decades of the 20th century. In 1913, Lord Harcourt claimed that: “We have released northern Nigeria from the leading strings of the treasury. The promising and well-conducted youth is now on an allowance on his own and is about to effect an alliance with a southern lady of means. I have issued the special license and Sir Frederick Lugard will perform the ceremony. May the union be fruitful and the couple constant.” Lugard who actually carried out the amalgamation not only thoroughly distrusted the western-educated southerners; he expressed divergent views about the Hausa-Fulani, the Yoruba, and the Igbo. In the handover notes he wrote on September 25, 1918 to his colleague, Walter H. Lang, he stated hyperbolically, among other things, that “The Hausa-Fulani has no ideals, no ambitions save such as is sensual in character. He is a fatalist, spendthrift and a gambler. He is gravely immoral and is so seriously diseased that he is a menace to any community to which he seeks to attach himself. …the people of Lagos and indeed the westerners are the lowest, the most seditious and disloyal, the most purely prompted by self-seeking money motives of any people I have met. [The Igbo of astern Nigeria] are fiercely rebellious with no regard for authority. Though industrious and religious, in deference to the objectives of her majesty and the crown, they are highly dangerous to be trusted with power.” Now, if Lord Lugard really meant what he said about the divergent characteristics of the three major ethnic nationalities in “Niger area” why did he bring them together to form one country? As a corollary, assuming that the last British Governor-General, Sir James Robertson, was acquainted with Lugard’s views and probably had first-hand knowledge about them, why did he conspire to hand over power to the “gravely immoral and seriously diseased” Fulani? Answers to these question will emerge as we continue our analysis. The point to note at this juncture is that Lord Harcourt’s amalgamation plan envisaged a long-lasting marriage between northern Nigeria (the husband) and southern Nigeria (wife). For Lugard, the main task was to unite the administrative machinery of the colonial contraption, not peoples, and to incorporate southern Nigeria into the north. Hence, aside from efficient economic exploitation especially of southern Nigeria, British colonial administrators created “Niger area” in such a manner that the south which provides most of the essential economic resources for sustaining the union would be subordinate to the north in perpetuity. One hundred and six years after, the situation has remained relatively unchanged as the British envisioned it. Not only did Britain create Nigeria so that the north would dominate the south despite the gaping educational and economic backwardness of the former, British officials introduced manipulation of census figures and elections into the country by cooking up figures in the 1953 census and 1959 elections to favour the north. It is instructive about the inner workings of imperialist mentality that Britain which ranks amongst the most evil colonial power in the world is now grandstanding about good governance and free and fair elections when her nationals perpetrated some of the most atrocious political corruption in British colonies across the world. READ ALSO: Was the amalgamation of northern and southern Nigeria in 1914 a mistake? (1) For example, in the 1959 general elections the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) scored 2,594,577 votes, which is the highest representing 34% of total votes cast; Action Group (AG) came second with 1,992,364 votes or 26.1%, whereas the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) polled 1,922,179 which is 26.1% of the lawful votes. But in the absurd political arithmetic implemented by Sir James Robertson and his co-conspirators, the NPC coalition was allotted 148 seats in the federal parliament, whereas NCNC and AG got 89 and 75 seats respectively. Naturally, Chief Awolowo and Dr. Azikiwe in particular have been criticised for not joining forces to prevent Balewa from becoming the first Prime Minister. Azikiwe, according to some accounts, rejected Awolowo’s offer of a coalition arrangement between NCNC and the AG that would have made Azikiwe Prime Minister while Awolowo takes up the post of finance minister. There is even a story in Uchenna Nwankwo’s book entitled Zik, Ndigbo and their Southern Neighbours according to which different delegations from AG met separately with NCNC and NPC simultaneously and that was why Azikiwe, thinking that AG was acting like a double-headed snake, decided to align with the NPC to form what Max Siollun called “a shaky coalition.” These accounts may contain grains of truth. However, even if NCNC and AG had wanted to work together, machiavellian British officials had already decided to hand over power to their northern friends (or puppets) at independence. More specifically, according to Chinweizu in his little book, Caliphate Colonialism: The Taproot of the Trouble with Nigeria, Sir Robertson had already “invited Balewa to form the government even before the rigged results were fully in.” In his memoir, Robertson justified his bizarre decision by claiming that he had prepared Balewa for the leadership of Nigeria in the late 1950s, having shared with the latter sensitive security issues about British interests in the country, and before independence proper had unofficially and unconstitutionally assigned to Balewa defence, police, and foreign affairs portfolios. Again, Robertson was keen to placate the north whose leaders led by Ahmadu Bello always threatened to secede anytime they wanted concession from the British especially during pre-independence constitutional conferences up to 1966. It appears that Britain was so committed to pleasing the Fulani caliphate to the extent that high-ranking colonial officials were willing to perpetrate the worst kind of injustice against the south to sustain the colonial amalgam they created. Further evidence of British determination to let northerners dominate the rest of Nigeria politically come what may can be distilled from the confessions of Harold Smith, a top British colonial officer, in an interview thirteen years ago by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Smith detailed how the British colonial administration did everything possible, including blackmailing Dr. Azikiwe, to make sure he backed Balewa’s NPC instead of the better option represented by Chief Awolowo and his Action Group party. From the interview it is clear Britain never really wanted the most qualified Nigerians from the south to lead the country. That was why Robertson deliberately handed over to a devout Muslim who, despite his humble disposition, lacked the intellectual skills and competence to govern a new country. Having said that, Azikiwe and Awolowo should have set aside their personal animosity and challenged the choice of Prime Minister already made by the departing Governor-General. Their failure to do so ranks as one of the most consequential political blunders by these two great Nigerians

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/07/was-the-amalgamation-of-northern-and-southern-nigeria-in-1914-a-mistake-2/

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/07/was-the-amalgamation-of-northern-and-southern-nigeria-in-1914-a-mistake-2/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_odAy4rVz8

I feel like the Igbos of Nigeria are stuck in a Catch.

If they go North to create businesses, they will be seen as dominators and economic conquerors.

If they stay home and develop their home, they would be seen as thieves and suspecious, needed special laws to curb their power. They would be also seen as Greedy and unwilling to share their wealth.

I am reminded of the Jews of Early Modern Europe, hated for their growth in wealth even in adverse conditions by a peasantry that could not understand any form of economic development that wasn't extractive.

Federate this thing already, let every region be Autonomous give the smaller ethnic groups their own border states between the larger Ethnicities. Make the Central government weak and in control of a castrated small arm force whether it is ruled by a Hausa-Fulani King, the British Queen or Dictator as long as they can do little against the might of even just 40% of the federated states it is Okay.

Let every one have a national and regional passport. Let the Federated states have high control over their internal laws the the Central government be limited to settling dispute between regions and foreign policy.

Let each region be run according to their own resources, no more centrally allocated resources. Each State runs from its own resources of which all states in Nigeria have many. Let each federated state be unable to independently made deals with other countries but be able to independently make deals with multi-nationals.

Let each Federated states' ability to vote/interfer with the Central government be relative to its per capita so that each of them have a selfish reason to improve the standard of living of their citizens

If Northerners want no more Igbos we too should be able to eject their Amaljiri and Herdsmen that they keep sending south.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_odAy4rVz8

I feel like the Igbos of Nigeria are stuck in a Catch.

If they go North to create businesses, they will be seen as dominators and economic conquerors.

If they stay home and develop their home, they would be seen as thieves and suspecious, needed special laws to curb their power. They would be also seen as Greedy and unwilling to share their wealth.

I am reminded of the Jews of Early Modern Europe, hated for their growth in wealth even in adverse conditions by a peasantry that could not understand any form of economic development that wasn't extractive.

Federate this thing already, let every region be Autonomous give the smaller ethnic groups their own border states between the larger Ethnicities. Make the Central government weak and in control of a castrated small arm force whether it is ruled by a Hausa-Fulani King, the British Queen or Dictator as long as they can do little against the might of even just 40% of the federated states it is Okay.

Let every one have a national and regional passport. Let the Federated states have high control over their internal laws the the Central government be limited to settling dispute between regions and foreign policy.

Let each region be run according to their own resources, no more centrally allocated resources. Each State runs from its own resources of which all states in Nigeria have many. Let each federated state be unable to independently made deals with other countries but be able to independently make deals with multi-nationals.

Let each Federated states' ability to vote/interfer with the Central government be relative to its per capita so that each of them have a selfish reason to improve the standard of living of their citizens

If Northerners want no more Igbos we too should be able to eject their Amaljiri and Herdsmen that they keep sending south.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_odAy4rVz8

I feel like the Igbos of Nigeria are stuck in a Catch.

If they go North to create businesses, they will be seen as dominators and economic conquerors.

If they stay home and develop their home, they would be seen as thieves and suspecious, needed special laws to curb their power. They would be also seen as Greedy and unwilling to share their wealth.

I am reminded of the Jews of Early Modern Europe, hated for their growth in wealth even in adverse conditions by a peasantry that could not understand any form of economic development that wasn't extractive.

Federate this thing already, let every region be Autonomous give the smaller ethnic groups their own border states between the larger Ethnicities. Make the Central government weak and in control of a castrated small arm force whether it is ruled by a Hausa-Fulani King, the British Queen or Dictator as long as they can do little against the might of even just 40% of the federated states it is Okay.

Let every one have a national and regional passport. Let the Federated states have high control over their internal laws the the Central government be limited to settling dispute between regions and foreign policy.

Let each region be run according to their own resources, no more centrally allocated resources. Each State runs from its own resources of which all states in Nigeria have many. Let each federated state be unable to independently made deals with other countries but be able to independently make deals with multi-nationals.

Let each Federated states' ability to vote/interfer with the Central government be relative to its per capita so that each of them have a selfish reason to improve the standard of living of their citizens

If Northerners want no more Igbos we too should be able to eject their Amaljiri and Herdsmen that they keep sending south.

I see 2 factual inconsistencies here for One

"The Fulani have settled in many places including the Federal Capital Territory before the farmers came there" is a pure lie, scientific data puts the Funali migrating south with the desertification of the Sahara into West Africa, while the Berbers went North and we have reasons to believe that before west Africa got so desertified, some Funali were living North enough to be Mercenaries for the Roman Empire. After this they migrated to the Sene-Gambian area and Guinea area, where they mostly kept their nomadic life style, till the 1800s when they started migrating west eventually reaching Northern Nigeria and would in a few generations, conquer first the Hausas, who they will mix with till today where it is sometimes difficult to tell them apart, and then conquering the rest of Northern Nigeria to form the Sokoto Caliphate. This is recorded in the Hausa and Sokoto histories, other evidence for this is that the Hausa Origin myth included all other Major/Large Neighbouring peoples as Banzai Bakwai (Bastard Hausa), such as the Nupe, Jukun, Yoruba, Gwarri and a city that has heavily Kanuri influence, with the only people left out being those below the joint of Niger and Benue whom they would have known little about, the presence of Ancient states named after the Fulani such as Great Fulo, Futa Jallon, Fula Tarro all existing in the Sene-Gambian area and Guinea area, with all pre-colonial Funali states located in the Niger-Nigeria region all post dating Sokoto Caliphate

"All the places like Enugu, Benue and Taraba, if Fulani don’t go there to fertilize their land, nobody will go there to farm" Also false. we know that farming in Nigeria has been long from evidence from the Ile-Ife, Igbo Ukwu and Nok finds, to name a few, the youngest of which is over 1100 years old, even looking at other African and Eurasian peoples, if anything it is the opposite, as Nomadic peoples such as the Fulani are nomadic in the first place because their initial lands don't support food crops, only grass, which to make use of u need animals to eat, which you then eat, the reason why they don't stay one place with these animals is because the animals quickly over graze, so go are constantly on the move to avoid over grazing being issue, so when ever Nomads go to Settled areas they don't fertilize the land as much as they overgraze and destroy it, that's why settled communities tended to be distinct from their Nomadic Neighbours and Also, Cow manure isn't potent enough to support our large population, but artificial manure is and it is what farmers tend to use, or a mixture.

What these statements have shown me is what these Herdsmen use to Justify their invasions
"We de fertilize their land so we get right to allow our cow chop their farm"
"Them de chop our cow meat so them suppose allow our cow chop their farm"
"Them thief the cow we i de use make money and because i de use cow make money e de more important dan person"

I think that not only would this in the long run not solve the Fulani Herdsmen issue, but it would infact worsen it, in the long run at least.

1. We have the fact that this is a one way solution, not only favouring instigators but very critically, doing nothing to punish the murderers among the Fulani herdsmen. This would become a great source for instigation of violence and hatred by host communities as they would feel the settlements are unjust, cruel and a reward for crime, which would no doubt fan the flames for further strife

2. Due to this idea heavily favouring the Fulani, the host communities are heavily inclined to be uncooperative and even if the governours are bribed into accepting this deal, the actual host communities are not going to be happy with it. The settlements would also more than likely take some valuable fertile lands from farmers given how much land would be needed for so many Fulani people and livestock to use, as their method of raising livestock is very lands inefficient and cows quickly graze a region to nothing if left on the same land for a long period, that is why they have to be constantly migrating around with their cattle, as such for their nomadic life style large swathes of farmer usable lands must be sacrificed. Both of these would breed future resentment, as they locals see the Fulani as land grabbing conquerors and the Fulani see the locals as greedy and wanting them to starve

3. The Population, Climate and Culture problems.

3a. First with population the poorer Fulani population that would be housed in these settlements are stuck at the 2nd phase of the Short notes on the five essential stages of Demographic cycle, as shown in this article http://www.preservearticles.com/articles/short-notes-on-the-five-essential-stages-of-demographic-cycle/5444, while every other population in Nigeria is stuck either in 2.5, 3, 4 or 5 as such they have a very high population, this would mean that their population grows much faster than that of their host, but while this sounds bad the main problem is that in a few generations, maybe even less than 50 years the Fulani and cow population rises so much that the settlements are no longer enough and they start demanding more or larger settlements, but by this time the host population would have grown enough that, while growing slower than the Fulani population, it would still be large enough that there would be no more land to give. The 50 year period is even an over exaggeration as given the hospitals and other health care serves to be constructed there, this would allow their population to rise even faster. Also the Fulani presence would mean that the host population cannot grow as much as it is stifled by competition with the Fulani and the total Fulani population is allowed to thrive while the population potential of other groups suffer

3b. The Climate problem is that, combined with population are the original source of the Fulani herdsmen issue, as the combination of a hotter climate caused by climate change and overgrazing resulting is less grazing land and increased Fulani and cow population caused by better healthcare, which ironically caused the over grazing that destroys their grazing lands, would mean that combined with population increase, the RUGA lands would quickly become unable to support the Funali that would then require more lands

3c. The Culture problem, as the RUGA population grows the host community would start noticing more and more children begging in the street, especially at noon, these are the Almajiri. They would start seeing seemingly homeless elderly people in the streets and disabled people sometimes with children, who seem to have no family, as the settlers become more comfortable they would start seeing imams coming to their houses to demand donations to their Almajiri schools, they woulds start seeing fights over sharia law being implemented in and around the settlements. Nigerians are not one and the culture of North and South are very different, with the eventual population growth in the settlements many of them would be forced to move to the Neighboring cities to look for jobs and there not only would all the boiling over hatred be expressed, but cultures would clash and almajiri children disturbing people for alms would be slapped, and pastors refusing to sponsor almajiri or going to preach would be killed, as seen with Mrs. Eunice Elisha, with the growth of the Fulani population and the self segregation between them and their host, there would be periodic massacres, first against their host and then retaliations against the settlements, thousands would die and this would make the settlers lose faith in the government and start demanding their own separate local and communal governours, which the locals would basically see as the "Invaders" taking over a piece of their lands. We all know this is where it would go with most of the settlements and must do something reasonable to stop it before it starts

4. I recently listened to a Youtube documentary on the Abbasid revolution, link here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MdITJvZymo&t=1724s , which touches on how the Arab conquerors of Persia constructed garrison towns for themselves next to the Persian cities, from there when ever the Persians revolt or attempt to free themselves, the Arabs (Almost entire a warrior Caste by now) go out, fight and subjugate the Persian cities and keep their control. While this is not the current purpose of the RUGA settlements, this is what any savvy Fulani politician like Buhari would turn them into, we have video evidence of Buhari instigating his supporters to violence if he did not win during the 2015 election and what better way to scare a population into supporting you than by basically having an armed and ready Garrison with a population close to theirs in every significant population centre of the opposition.

5. Since Buhari continues to lie that no herdsman carries guns, it no doubt means that these settlements would in no doubt come with their own military security force to "Protect Them", but whether that sentiment is true or not it would still mean a sizable detachment of Fulani soldiers neither loyal nor sympathetic to the host population, but loyal to the FG, Army and most importantly the Fulani Herdsmen, so that any conflict between the settlers and the host community, the settlers would have the backing of an army and this makes the problem in 4. even worse. While there are already many Fulani soldiers in the South and East, these people are forced to some what integrate and do not have to decide between their loyalty to the tribe or their duty to protect, and do not have a large population of their people constantly making them to be nepotistic