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With all the social problems they are facing, north(muslim) against south(christian) tensions. Would spliting it into different states be a viable option?
Theyve tried that already when Biafra tried to secede... Bloodshed
Nigeria is another fine piece of work by the British Foreign Office which had to organize and rule Nigeria after Britain and France settled who got what in the scramble for Africa in the 19th century. Nigeria is a nation with more than half of its people Islamic but the majority of its wealth is in the South. In the colonial times the wealth was in Palm Oil and Cocoa and today it is Petroleum. The British exploited Nigerian resources and developed the nation more along the coast they also pushed Christianity and to read the Bible you have to educate them. So southern tribes like the Ibo and Yoruba got an edge over the northerners. Nigeria got its independence in 1960 and there was a careful compremise to share power. The President was Nnandi Azikiwe (Ibo), a northerner Sir Abubakar Tafewa Balewa was Prime Minister since his party won the most seats in Pariament and the opposition was lead by a a Yoruba Chielf Obafemi Awolowo. Once the British were gone the powersharing broke down by 1965 and on January 15 , 1966 the country blew up when the military headed by Ibo senior officers took over to protect southerners living in the North and running things like the police, railroads and many businesses from mobs of Northernrs .Several northern leaders where killed in the January Coup such as Amadu Bello and Balewa. There was a second coup in May 1966 lead by junior officers (mostly Northerners) who killed the senior officers and replaced them . One Ibo officer who surived the July coup was Col Ojukwu and it was he who took the Ibo dominated Eastern Region out of the Federation as the new state of Biafra. I am probably one of few people who has in my collection several notes of Biafran currency which is pretty rare these days as well as several Nigerian shilling and Pound notes which were still circulating when I was there from 1968 to 1972. Now Nigeria has already tried the breaking up along religios/ethnic lines and it didn't go so well the first time! Now you have petroleum which is in the south and eastern region to throw on the fire.
Nigeria is another fine piece of work by the British Foreign Office which had to organize and rule Nigeria after Britain and France settled who got what in the scramble for Africa in the 19th century. Nigeria is a nation with more than half of its people Islamic but the majority of its wealth is in the South. In the colonial times the wealth was in Palm Oil and Cocoa and today it is Petroleum. The British exploited Nigerian resources and developed the nation more along the coast they also pushed Christianity and to read the Bible you have to educate them. So southern tribes like the Ibo and Yoruba got an edge over the northerners. Nigeria got its independence in 1960 and there was a careful compremise to share power. The President was Nnandi Azikiwe (Ibo), a northerner Sir Abubakar Tafewa Balewa was Prime Minister since his party won the most seats in Pariament and the opposition was lead by a a Yoruba Chielf Obafemi Awolowo. Once the British were gone the powersharing broke down by 1965 and on January 15 , 1966 the country blew up when the military headed by Ibo senior officers took over to protect southerners living in the North and running things like the police, railroads and many businesses from mobs of Northernrs .Several northern leaders where killed in the January Coup such as Amadu Bello and Balewa. There was a second coup in May 1966 lead by junior officers (mostly Northerners) who killed the senior officers and replaced them . One Ibo officer who surived the July coup was Col Ojukwu and it was he who took the Ibo dominated Eastern Region out of the Federation as the new state of Biafra. I am probably one of few people who has in my collection several notes of Biafran currency which is pretty rare these days as well as several Nigerian shilling and Pound notes which were still circulating when I was there from 1968 to 1972. Now Nigeria has already tried the breaking up along religios/ethnic lines and it didn't go so well the first time! Now you have petroleum which is in the south and eastern region to throw on the fire.
The truth is that the Europeans, by drawing up arbitrary boundaries and concentrating power in different places, threw the old balances of power that the region enjoyed. Still, Nigeria should stay together and learn how to overlook religious/ethnic differences. At this point, the country is too powerful and has too much at stake to disintegrate.
The truth is that the Europeans, by drawing up arbitrary boundaries and concentrating power in different places, threw the old balances of power that the region enjoyed. Still, Nigeria should stay together and learn how to overlook religious/ethnic differences. At this point, the country is too powerful and has too much at stake to disintegrate.
I agree and note that overlooking religous/ethnic differences is a hard thing to pull off. There are only a few places that have pulled this off like the 5 boroughs of New York, Switzerland and maybe Singapore.
Never a good idea : look what happened to South Vietnam, look what's happening to North Korea right now, look also at Sudan/South Sudan : despite the latter splitting recently, they have both still civil wars with minorities inside their own borders!
The case of unofficial Somaliland splitting from Somalia is also interesting : albeit not recognized internationally , Somaliland (North of the country) has managed to develop a form of political stability, peace, and even a bit of prosperity, but the consequence is that the world is forgetting the South of the country which is becoming more and more dangerous, drought and famine ravaged, and which has no government.
And further back in history, remember the American Civil War : the secession of the South was not a good thing in American history, and it is never a good thing in any country history when division takes hold and unity disappears...
"Never a good idea"... lol.
If asked "should [ANY african country] split into X" the answer is almost always "YES!!!"
Almost all of Africa's problems stem from the arbitrary nonsensical borders that the countries are created from. Look at the situation in Mali right now, you have two vastly different ethnic groups, Bambara and Taureg, that are suppose to live within the same borders and under the same laws? Why? Just because the French drew the map that way a few hundred years ago? That's idiotic.
The former Yugoslavia is the perfect example of modern day Africa. You had a ton of different ethnic groups (Croatians, Bosnians, Serbs, Montenegrans, Albanians, Macedonians, etc.) who were suppose to all live together? lol yeah how did that work out? Don't you think it is MUCH BETTER today that they each all have their OWN nations?
This is the same thing as Africa. Of course there is going to be conflict any time a country splits, but it almost always ends up being better in the long run. Yeah Sudan and South Sudan are fighting over a few things and have border disputes and whatnot, but just wait 10-15 years when they figure everything out and agree on permanent borders, it will be a MUCH BETTER place than it was when they were both forced to live in the same country.
Africa has around 50 countries, but due to it's size and the number of very distinct ethnic groups, it really should have around 100 or more! I really can't think of many African countries where breaking up into smaller countries would NOT be better than the current situation. All the violence in places like Cote d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Mali, Nigeria, Sudan, Congo, Libya, etc. could all mostly be avoided if all of those people weren't forced to live in the same country together!
If asked "should [ANY african country] split into X" the answer is almost always "YES!!!"
Almost all of Africa's problems stem from the arbitrary nonsensical borders that the countries are created from. Look at the situation in Mali right now, you have two vastly different ethnic groups, Bambara and Taureg, that are suppose to live within the same borders and under the same laws? Why? Just because the French drew the map that way a few hundred years ago? That's idiotic.
The former Yugoslavia is the perfect example of modern day Africa. You had a ton of different ethnic groups (Croatians, Bosnians, Serbs, Montenegrans, Albanians, Macedonians, etc.) who were suppose to all live together? lol yeah how did that work out? Don't you think it is MUCH BETTER today that they each all have their OWN nations?
This is the same thing as Africa. Of course there is going to be conflict any time a country splits, but it almost always ends up being better in the long run. Yeah Sudan and South Sudan are fighting over a few things and have border disputes and whatnot, but just wait 10-15 years when they figure everything out and agree on permanent borders, it will be a MUCH BETTER place than it was when they were both forced to live in the same country.
Africa has around 50 countries, but due to it's size and the number of very distinct ethnic groups, it really should have around 100 or more! I really can't think of many African countries where breaking up into smaller countries would NOT be better than the current situation. All the violence in places like Cote d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Mali, Nigeria, Sudan, Congo, Libya, etc. could all mostly be avoided if all of those people weren't forced to live in the same country together!
If African countries split even more, they will be useless on the international stage. This world we live in is dominated by large nations with huge populations (US, India, Brazil, Russia, China, Nigeria). Even Germany, the engine of the EU is huge by Euro standards. If Africa wants to be competitive, they need to get over these differences. Someone above noted that Switzerland, Singapore, and NYC have moved past differences, but the truth is they haven't. Switzerland is very divided by language. In Singapore, anti-Chinese sentiment is strong. In NYC, the boroughs are VERY divided by race/ethnicity. What unites each case is a common, overlaying culture, and well as shared profit. That's the problem with London, for instance. Minorities there feel cheated and shunned, so they riot. Nigeria needs to "create" a Nigeria; a culture that accepts, but dominates the tribal, religious culture. That is why I think Nollywood can be so powerful. Above all, it should be Nigeria, not Yoruba, or Islam, or the Pope.
If African countries split even more, they will be useless on the international stage. This world we live in is dominated by large nations with huge populations (US, India, Brazil, Russia, China, Nigeria). Even Germany, the engine of the EU is huge by Euro standards. If Africa wants to be competitive, they need to get over these differences. Someone above noted that Switzerland, Singapore, and NYC have moved past differences, but the truth is they haven't. Switzerland is very divided by language. In Singapore, anti-Chinese sentiment is strong. In NYC, the boroughs are VERY divided by race/ethnicity. What unites each case is a common, overlaying culture, and well as shared profit. That's the problem with London, for instance. Minorities there feel cheated and shunned, so they riot. Nigeria needs to "create" a Nigeria; a culture that accepts, but dominates the tribal, religious culture. That is why I think Nollywood can be so powerful. Above all, it should be Nigeria, not Yoruba, or Islam, or the Pope.
No I don't think its just a need to get over these differences. I think we need to get comfortable with these differences. In a classic episode of Star Trek whose creators used the series to raise some of the thorniest issues in 1960s America. Captain Kirk in a discussion with Mr. Spock said humanity had a record of being killers and are still killers today but we have learned to not be a killer today, tommorow and so on. What I am saying is that a Nigerian can be a Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, Ibo or one of hundreds of other tribes and be proud of it and speak his language but that is not to be a reason for violence or killing. For national office they need to learn to look at all the candidates and judge the man on his character, abilities and temperment instead of his/her tribe rather than fot their regional champion.
They shoudn't be fearful if a Northerner, or Southerner is President but understand he is a man with a difficult job that he trying to the best of his abilities to do. He is a man or women and is not prefect so he will make mistakes but it is not worth rioting or killing over. Make your thinking known and if you think a better leader can be found find him and support him/her regardless of where he comes from in Nigeria which has over 100 million people so you probably have that special man/woman somewhere.
No I don't think its just a need to get over these differences. I think we need to get comfortable with these differences. In a classic episode of Star Trek whose creators used the series to raise some of the thorniest issues in 1960s America. Captain Kirk in a discussion with Mr. Spock said humanity had a record of being killers and are still killers today but we have learned to not be a killer today, tommorow and so on. What I am saying is that a Nigerian can be a Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, Ibo or one of hundreds of other tribes and be proud of it and speak his language but that is not to be a reason for violence or killing. For national office they need to learn to look at all the candidates and judge the man on his character, abilities and temperment instead of his/her tribe rather than fot their regional champion.
They shoudn't be fearful if a Northerner, or Southerner is President but understand he is a man with a difficult job that he trying to the best of his abilities to do. He is a man or women and is not prefect so he will make mistakes but it is not worth rioting or killing over. Make your thinking known and if you think a better leader can be found find him and support him/her regardless of where he comes from in Nigeria which has over 100 million people so you probably have that special man/woman somewhere.
Oh I completely agree! There should be pride, but not to the point of hating people who are not like you. To that end, I still think that they should follow a quasi-American/Swiss route, where there is still pride, but the tribal/racial/linguistic pride does not override the National one. National pride is needed above all in the country.
As you can probably tell from my screen name, I'm Igbo, and Nigerian. I loudly shout that this so called country should break up!!! The major tribes have absolutely NOTHING in common to bind them together. If the Northerners were honest they will tell you that they have far more in common with people in Niger and Chad, not Igbos and Yorubas. So let them go and join their brothers and sisters in those countries. If you need any proof that Nigeria does not work just look at what Boko Haram is doing right now. We are just very different cultures with different religions and outlooks. Some people will mention Switzerland as an example of different groups living together peacefully but bear in mind that Switzerland has been united as one country since the 1300s at least. Nigeria was thrown together mish mash by the useless British in the 1900s. Has there been a colonial power that left such a trail of destruction everywhere she went like England??? Its American colonies instituted genocide against the Indians, slavery against blacks, and racial injustices that have consequences till this present day. It's South african colonies had aparthied, its Australian colonies almost wiped out the Aboriginal population Good God...but I digress...
There is only one reason why ANYONE is in favor of keeping Nigeria together. And that is the oil. That oil money has built up all the cities of the north, Abuja, Kaduna, Kano...all of them. Without southern oil, the North would be just as wretched as Chad/Niger, and they know it, so they will continue to jump up and down claiming how much they love Nigeria, and since their army boys have dominated Nigerian politics for most of its existence, they know the oil gravy train will keep on coming.
This is very personal to me, my father fought in the civil war as a teenager, and spoke of horrifying stories of the atrocities committed by the Nigerian troops. My mother lost all 4 of her siblings to that war. My wife's father came to the US as a war refugee from that time. I was fortunate to have been born after the war, but my family (and countless others) still carry the scars. We have to make sure that the sacrifice of so many does not go in vain. In Biafra we trust.
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