Quote: (01-10-2015 07:51 PM)DjembaDjemba Wrote:
Even with a northern guy this will keep up.
The problem stems initially from many players and factors.
The old (mostly northern) generals who ran the country into the ground, and looted everything out of it, the oil curse (dutch disease), the overpopulation of the north, and the Almajiri schools where impoverished undereducated northern families sent their impoverished, malnourished kids to beg for food, and read the Q'ran.
Another massive wildcard factor was the rapid Christianization of southern Nigeria from the 50s to now. The south went from a split of Christianity and indigenous traditional beliefs, to fully Christian with very vocal and powerful Evangelical element. Christianity in the south acts as a unifying source, swiping away old tribal allegiances. But it creates massive friction with the historically muslim north.
Then there's the North's slow decline into irrelevance. The south got richer, the north got poorer. Even though the rulers of Nigeria were mostly Northeners. The issue here is the rampant poverty in the north, fueled by some serious ignorance.
Muslims send their kids to Almajiri schools, which are free (state schools are not). There, they learn the Qran and beg. Pretty much all the kids who go to Almajiri schools come from large, dirt poor families. Muslims with means send their kids to real schools where they learn basics like math, and science.
The Almajiri kids aren't exactly broadening their horizons, between reading the Qran in a language they don't understand, to begging for a cup of rice to avoid starvation. You got dudes who were bankrolled by disgruntled northern politicians offering these youngsters food, shelter, and heaven. Everyone saw the Almajiri problem years ago when these kids were roaming the streets squatting, but no one did anything. No one is still doing anything. Now even if a Northerner wins, the murders will continue because this thing is out of the hands of the people who started it.
And if people think this will end just because a muslim is in power, remember that this started with President Yar'Adua still at the helm.
Umm a couple things: you're mostly well informed on this, I just thought I should clarify some things:
The Northern part of Nigeria is mostly made of the equivalent of Arabs (Hausa and Fulani) who were invaded by Middle Easterners during the Atlantic Slave Trade. All their traditions and cultural heritage were pretty much wiped out, and they were structured as Arab nations. They aren't just "Muslims", they practice Sharia Law (which isn't practiced by all Muslims; you'd find millions of muslims in the South of Nigeria, who are pretty much interchangeable with Southern Christians, outside of the fact they pray five days a week.) The British couldn't get Christianity in the North, and were only able to get in the South as long as they accepted not to interrupt cultural norms among ethnic groups.
The crisis began based on an agreement that was made by members of the political party that Goodluck Johnathan belongs to (PDP). It was agreed upon, in 1999, in the party, that every election cycle where there was to be a new candidate for president, the representative of the party would switch to a tribe. Pres. Obasanjo who was from the Yoruba tribe was the first. Then it was supposed to switch to the Hausa tribe, which is where Yar'Adua comes in. He died (some believe it was due to suspicous causes, esp. in the North) and Goodluck Jonathan, who is from the small state of Delta took over. Many of the northern politicians of the PDP were pissed and requested that he leave at the end of the first full term in 2011 which he refused. And since then, Bokoharam has been on a rampage. It is believed by most Nigerians that the work of Bokoharam is being funded and enabled by Northern politicians in order to shame and disgrace Jonathan out of office. If Bokoharam spreads to the South, it would initiate a Civil War and the North would probably get wiped out.
Since the North produces little value to the Nigerian economy which had been booming until the drop in oil prices, the North was mostly left out of the massive economic growth and foreign investment from China, India and the West - they haven't been getting the government subsidies they expected, having a president from their tribe. Most of the northerners are not trained in professional careers (the northern politicians do send their children to get educated in Western education, and then bring them back to rule the Northern masses), which is why you're not likely to meet many of them in foreign countries like Yorubas and Igbo people. They are raised mostly to be soldiers or nomads. Thus all the poverty has basically made the place erupt in madness. Many northerners are dying, and they're all Muslims mostly, since the few Christians who live in North have always routinely gotten bombed or killed. Most of them have fled.