In what follows, I present a sample of the views readers shared with me on the series that ended last week with the above title. Enjoy! ...
In what follows, I present a sample of the views readers shared with me on the series that ended last week with the above title. Enjoy!
I am highly delighted with your “The
Case Against Nigeria’s break-up. I am more enlighten and more aware
of the geography and culture of Nigeria. People like you with intellectual
capacity are needed not only in Nigeria but Africa at large to counter so
called western globalisation on the African soil. I will like you to send me
the entire series, because i have missed some of it. My regard to you and your
entire family and keep the good work please.
Ya’u Mohammed Jaja
Who are the Igbo historians? What
were the sources of their information, did you check the references to see if
they were merely writing fictions? You wrote: "There was not a single
slave who identified himself as Yourba", but there were slaves who
identified themselves as Igbo (it might have been spelt differently as the
orthography that included 'gb' 'ch' 'kw' etc was only introduced in 1983,
previously they were written 'b' 'ts'/'c' 'q' respectively). I bet you the
so-called Igbo historians are professors and authorities in UK, Austrialia
and New Zealand. Does that make them authorities in a different culture
and history?
I'm not advocating the splitting of Nigeria,
but you didn't mention that the present-day Yoruba traded into present-day
Benin Republic before colonialism. The Borno people related and traded with
their Cameroonian friends. The people of Cross River intermingled with
Cameroonians and those from Equitorial Guinea, as they still do. So it wasn't
as if pre-colonial Nigerians defined a map by trading among Yoruba and Hausa or
Yoruba and Edo, or just within the boundaries of Nigeria. I guess the so-called
historians didn’t mention that the boundaries set before colonialism were fluid
and seamless, changing from time to time according to friendship and wars. Not
that there wouldn’t have been wars within the boundaries, even twin brothers
living under the same roof do have such times. The problem is if
destruction/in-fighting by one party or both parties becomes the basis of their
existence under that roof.
You failed to mention that colonial
India is now three countries (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh). Secondly,
outside India, an India man sees a fellow Indian, Pakistani or even Sri Lankan
as a brother. If they happen to be managers, they don’t care whether you are
Hindi or Punjabi. Would an Hausa manager give a little preferential treatment
to an Igbo man outside Nigeria? Even within Nigeria, an Hausa man once told me
that if an Igbo man and a Lebanese have the same qualification and experience,
he'd give the job to the Lebanese.
Did you know USSR broke up into
15 countries, Yugoslavia into 6 countries, Czechoslovakia has also broken
into two, with some of the countries enjoying friendships as never before?
In 2014, Scotland will be
voting in a referendum to leave the United Kingdom. Though they don't have a
problem within themselves (in fact Scotland enjoys the best privilege among
them: completely free university education, free prescriptions, etc.). They
defined the Nigerian entity and they want to split their own entity in
a referendum. It won't be bad if Nigeria carry out such referendum.
Brilliant!
I have nurtured a thought for a long time that the trio you mentioned planted
the seed for our current imbroglio in Nigeria. The virus has now become
genetically mutated and is passed on as a genetic disorder because it is deeply
ingrained in our minds inseparably. All of us now have this deadly familial
trait. Forgive my rantings. This is a sensitive topic.
Shamsudeeen Sani
I
just read your article in the Weekly Trust newspaper July 7 edition on
"the case against Nigeria's Break up”. If i may add to your beautiful
piece, I would like to point out the fact that out of all the nations colonized
by the British, for instance India, Sudan and co, Nigeria is one of the few
still standing together as one, as India broke up into Pakistan and Bangladesh,
Sudan into Sudan and South Sudan. We need to look for solutions to our problems
as a nation and stop looking for division because I personally believe that
would create more problems of war and continual ethnic conflict amongst the
divided regions. We know we are different by we can turn our different
ethnicities, religions, and cultures into a gift that would unite us all. May
God bless Nigeria and keep us united through these difficult times.
I
just read your Notes from Atlanta column. It is very informative. You are a
brilliant writer. I found it funny and amazing that the word Yoruba emerged out
of the corruption of "Yariba", the word Hausa people refer to the
present-day Oyo, Osun, and some parts of Lagos and Kwara.
I may be wrong, but I think you've opened a flood-gate of criticisms by mentioning that the word "Yoruba" is a corrupted word from what the Hausas called "Yariba". Some Yorubas will vehemently disagree with you. They will not want the history and etymology of the word Yoruba to be associated with the Hausas because of some political and in a way historic rivalry.
Aminu Baba-Ahmed (ambabaahhmed@gmail.com)
I may be wrong, but I think you've opened a flood-gate of criticisms by mentioning that the word "Yoruba" is a corrupted word from what the Hausas called "Yariba". Some Yorubas will vehemently disagree with you. They will not want the history and etymology of the word Yoruba to be associated with the Hausas because of some political and in a way historic rivalry.
Aminu Baba-Ahmed (ambabaahhmed@gmail.com)
I read with utmost delight your column this
week. It was well-thought. So many cases were made against the
amalgamation of Nigeria. I always seriously disagree. I recall having a heated
debate with my cousin who said that the problem is from the race i.e. the black
race. Even there, i disagreed, and cited the cases of Yugoslavia,
Czechoslovakia etc. What do you think?
Auwal Sani (auwalb_z@yahoo.com)
My
weekend is not fulfilled if i don’t read your columns in the Weekly Trust and Sunday
Trust. I appreciate your insights in this week’s column titled “The case
against Nigeria's break-up [1]”. It’s enlightening. I await the concluding part[s].My regard to
your family.
Chris-Sokowoncin Agaji, Kaduna
(caphouse@yahoo.com)
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