nanos:
All the good news about Nigeria are generated by southerners, mainly Igbo and Yoruba. No Northerner has generated any good new for Nigeria in the last several years
The bad news are generated by all Nigerians and in recent times more so by the Islamic north.

Come to think of it, you're sooo right.

nanos:
All the good news about Nigeria are generated by southerners, mainly Igbo and Yoruba. No Northerner has generated any good new for Nigeria in the last several years
The bad news are generated by all Nigerians and in recent times more so by the Islamic north.

lol... you are funny.
The reputation nigeria has abroad is that of fraudstars and drug dealers. Now tell me, which part of nigeria is more likely to be involved in such things? I mean we have read article on this very forum where nigerians were executed in Malaysia, Thailand and other countries...which region of nigeria were these guys from? and there are many more nigerians from that region on deathrow btw.

~Bluetooth:


But it's the fact na even as far as kwara state,y'all look same to me.The only time the north unite is when the interest of the north is at stake.What is the difference between a kano state born muslim and a kano state born christain. . . .both are more united by tribe than religion.

Hmmm , be that as it may , it still isn't enough reason for the auto-segregation levelled against anything from kwara up.

nother common belief among southerners and most especially spread by southern newspapers is that the entire 19 Northern states act and think as one when it comes to issues of Northern politics. This is one of the biggest untruths about the North. Whenever northern Nigeria is mentioned, the people of Benue, Kogi and Kwara states do not feel it refers to them. Geographically, they are part of the North; politically, however, they and the entire Middle-Belt act independently. This can be clearly in the last elections where President Goodluck Jonathan won in 7 Northern states, even against his strongest opponent, General Muhammadu Buhari, who is a northerner. This was something I am sure a lot of people in the South, save for the political savvy, did not see coming.

well let me clearr the fact that Kogi benue and kwara are not North really they are different entirely...with culture and origin ok...they can be termed as MIDDLEBELT..it was lord lugard Infact the british that coined that word Northen protectorate..cant we use our brain to see..that they are not really northerners..

Revolva:

well let me clearr the fact that Kogi benue and kwara are not North really they are different entirely...with culture and origin ok...they can be termed as MIDDLEBELT..it was lord lugard Infact the british that coined that word Northen protectorate..cant we use our brain to see..that they are not really northerners..

Kogi, Benue and Kwara are in the north. North is not a tribe but a region. Nigerians sha.

most of the southerners who have biases have never ventured away from their comfort zones. most just based their perception of the north from newspaper reports. it will surprise many to know that the igbos are all over the north, even on the islands of lake chad! they provide such essential services as plumbing, electrician, vulcanizers, patent medicine stores, etc. and they will never leave the north, division of nigeria or not. the yoruba is there too, and most have been assimilated into the regions they settled. the north has its problems, as the south has. so it is high time tribal bigots as well as religious bigots get over their prejudices, the better. if northern leaders missed developing the region, its because they were busy placating the southerners!

You don't have to blame us the "southerners" because the people you allowed to represent you and speake for you are the "the hausa/fulani" or the muslims, atleast they present themselves to us as hausa/fulani, and most of you if not all of you are too happy to claim you are all one tribe with one agenda. Until you start (making efforts to demonstrate that you are free to do things without things being imposed on you against your wish) making them to stop forcing their agendas on you then you have no case to say we ignorance. As all we see is a north where everything is done according to the gospel of hausa/fulani muslims and their emirs.

My own take regarding this discourse simple. The name that you gave your dog, that's what it will answer.
An average northerner(mostly moslims)in terms of education is better off with islamic education, koran recitation _
as seen recently with the inauguration of almajiri school. Their system and preference of education instead of
developing them is taking back to the stone ages. Also their refusal to most times not to participate in immunization,
family planning etc,is not only peculiar moslim north. No matter what indices you may like to use to compare the north
and south, it can never be even. Nice post though.

nanos:
All the good news about Nigeria are generated by southerners, mainly Igbo and Yoruba. No Northerner has generated any good new for Nigeria in the last several years
The bad news are generated by all Nigerians and in recent times more so by the Islamic north.

haha. Internet fraud (yahoo yahoo), 419, drug peddling, all of which are largely carried out by southerners, are by far responsible for the bad image of nigeria abroad. Pls let's not even go there. Let's not derail this thread.

emmke: haha. Internet fraud (yahoo yahoo), 419, drug peddling, all of which are largely carried out by southerners, are by far responsible for the bad image of nigeria abroad. Pls let's not even go there. Let's not derail this thread.

We can agree that Nigeria both from the North and South have soiled the image of this country. But we also have to agree that most if not all goood news have been generated by southerners.

And yet you people unite to oppress and islamize the country.
I dont hate the north but i passionately hate islam. Islam is the root of nigeria problem,a clog in the will of progress of nigeria. It is time the minority tribes and christians in the north speak up or there will be no nigeria. Northern christians and minority tribes are major factors why we still remain nigeria today. So they should speak up like there counterpat in the south. This is problem Gideon Orkah wanted to solve.

Most northerns have diffused their ethnicity so you hardly differentiate them from hausa-fulani unlike the case in the south

nanos: Yet they (the Muslim north, I mean) are killing people like goats and chicken? I know the typical northerner and he is a, brainwashed, scheming, power-hungry fanatical murderer.

You sir are hopelessly stupid.

~Bluetooth:

Northerners are northerners irrespective of their religion,I think it's time you appreciated that as a fact.When issues of national interest happens especially those concerning revenue between north and south,we dont hear christain north or muslims north but only when its a north affair.
Y'all look same to me since you have hausa/fulani language binding you together.

Maybe if your head wasn't so deep up ur ar'senal then we would'nt look thesame to you.. just maybe..

Very powerful article. I myself for sure have experienced some of the things u the writer spoke about.it really baffles me wen so called educated ppl from othr parts of nigeria speak about the north with such ignorance. Am a 22 year old muslim hausa girl with a masters degree under her belt and yes I finished with a Merit. Ppl need to be more open minded, we need to move foward as one country. We are all gifted ppl with a very resourceful land.

3direct: The writer is not from the north all the saying na lie
Before a diamond shows its brilliancy and prismatic colors it has to stand a good deal of cutting and smoothing
his dull shyness anger and envy of the west is making him witty!!
northerners Ke!! Compare? nibo,
From what i know every northerners is a Mootola!! Heavy Ofrugbe
If we increase the size of the penguin until it is the same height as a man and then compare the relative brain size, we know find that the penguin's brain is still smaller. But, and this is the point, it is larger than it was, so are my good neighbours the haramist the mootolas!

You have succeded in confusing urself abi...? eeeeeeediot

"I served in the north" come here, cooking up all sorts of stories about the
north. Most of the "room mate's friend", "my uncle's aunty" stories just amuse me sometimes.

I am not a northerner, I have lived many years in different parts of the north,
I have lost people in the chaos and I know better than all the fairy tales pasted on NL.

belovedaja: And yet you people unite to oppress and islamize the country.
I dont hate the north but i passionately hate islam. Islam is the root of nigeria problem,a clog in the will of progress of nigeria. It is time the minority tribes and christians in the north speak up or there will be no nigeria. Northern christians and minority tribes are major factors why we still remain nigeria today. So they should speak up like there counterpat in the south. This is problem Gideon Orkah wanted to solve.

Pls dont Hate!... Just Resist The Devil As The Bible Says... And He Will Flee with his Darkness (moon and stars) Religion...!

As a southerner who have stayed in the north for more than a decade and have also traveled almost the lenght and breath of the north, i wouldn't blame any southerner who believes that the north are all hausa and that they are backward in everything good because; 1. One hardly hears about all this tribes in the north onlike the south where the smallest tribe is well known. 2. This tribes are under the dominance of the hausa/fulani which are the most barkward in education yet the are learned. 3. When ever there is crisis, this christians don't always come out to condemn what the hausa muslims are doing out of fear. So how do u gain recognition without speaking out?

nanos: Yet they (the Muslim north, I mean) are killing people like goats and chicken? I know the typical northerner and he is a, brainwashed, scheming, power-hungry fanatical murderer.

In Osun state, there are several ritualists and other fetish beliefs, they kill one another and others. It does'nt mean a Lagosian is d-same...

No region in Nigeria is homogeneous except arguably SW, with everyone coming under the Yoruba umbrella.. Even the Yorubas are not naturally homogeneous - because not every Yoruba subgroup came from Ile Ife. I know for a fact that my subgroup never migrated from Ile-Ife, we came to the president day Nigeria before Oduduwa. But that's a topic for another day...

This is more reason why the youths need to embrace Nigeria - and look for way to make it work..

@OP,
Nice write-up, and mostly factual. Emphasis on MOSTLY.
However lets reverse the table a little; how would you react to an igbo from Anambra who tells you he's a muslim? I dare say 9 out of 10 Nigerians will react with suprise. My point: stereotyping is annoying and terribly upsetting, BUT in this case you really cant blame southerners who react with suprise at your being a christian. My advice: live with it, homie.
-
Secondly, you're offended that you're referred to as ''Hausa''. Well, here's a heads-up: I am from Anambra but i have never thrown a tantrum when my Yoruba friends tell me that my Aba ''brothers'' are the worst thugs in Nigeria. For your information Aba indigenes speak Ngwa, and i dont understand jack of what they say. My point again: It hurts, yeah, but live with it.
-
My suspicion is that you're disgusted with the present depiction of Hausa-speaking muslim northerners, and you hate to be associated with it. I can understand that, and i dont blame you. BUT have you considered the flip-side? If it was, say Imo state traditionalist causing such mayhem that is affecting the entire country, wouldn't you be one of those saying ''It is these Igbos''?
-
Like Nas said, Life is harsh; live with it.

I love this article.
Kwara, Kogi, Benue, Nasarawa, Abuja, Jos and Edo; are all middle states. Thus they have mixed religion and culture. And non of them is an Hausa state (except maybe, Nasarawa).
People are so ignorant about these things.
People who use the Islamic religion to promote violence (Boko Haram), are just being stupid and allowing politicians to exploit them.
Some reason that makes people ignorant about Northern Nigeria and the Middle belt, is the fact that the Northern states are too far and too big. The leaders are too corrupt. The youths are not empowered cause they are being used as by the politicians, due to their illiteracy. Poor transport system. Insecurity. And many more...
Lets try to be optimistic about Nigeria and Nigerians.

@OP: What the Bleep d'ya expect us to think in a world where "Muslim" or "Arabic" or "Islam" or "Northerner" is synonymous with "Suicide Bomber" and "Rights Infringement" and "Sharia"?

mamasani: most of the southerners who have biases have never ventured away from their comfort zones. most just based their perception of the north from newspaper reports. it will surprise many to know that the igbos are all over the north, even on the islands of lake chad! they provide such essential services as plumbing, electrician, vulcanizers, patent medicine stores, etc. and they will never leave the north, division of nigeria or not. the yoruba is there too, and most have been assimilated into the regions they settled. the north has its problems, as the south has. so it is high time tribal bigots as well as religious bigots get over their prejudices, the better. if northern leaders missed developing the region, its because they were busy placating the southerners! Hw would they leave there there comfort zone and travel to the north with all the boko haram threats and the killings and maimings of southerners in the north. Just a small bomb that went off in sabon gari area of kano which is dominated by christian southerners and the hausa muslims are in wild celebration. Am in the north but wont encourage anyone to come to the north, atleast for now. We are not one nigeria as we claim. Prove me wrong.

@ OP, I agree with you but not totally. We all share part of the blame, many southerners (exp the yorubas of which am one) are fund of staying put to their part of the country and never border to venture into knowing what is obtainable in other part of the COuntry (exp the north) It is during NYSC that many southerners get to see the real picture of what happens in the north, and they realised that the story is different from what is been spread. I stay in the core north for 3 years now and I realised through my sojourn that most NYSC corp members posted from this particular northern state, relocate back to their state. Their Reasons varies, but all still winds down to stigmatisation like being called MOLA, ABOKI communication problem e.t.c. The fact is many of them can't cope with the level of competitive life down south. The reverse is the case, when southerners are posted up north. Southern corp members do not only survive, but they thrive. Southerners and northerners should d/4 try and expand there horizons, travelling and education has a synergistic effect on how you see other people and how you interact with other tribe and nationality. So, instead of sharing false information that a group of people are inferior to your own, take a trip to their land, study their ways and culture and you will realize that your reasoning will be redefined. TRAVELLing is Part of education.

nanos:

You must mean Yorubas do not leave their immediate geopolitical zones, right? You could not have said that about Igbos, am sure.

I always thought all Northerners (NE & NW including NC are hausas) until i found myself in Jos North and Jos South, Plateau State for my NYSC. I was shocked to discover that they weren't hausas but just spoke hausa to make communication easier amongst them and they were mainly christians except in Jos North and like 2 other Local Governments because of the Hausa/Fulani population there. I miss the fura, weather, girls and the suffering i endured there. Overall, it was a worthwhile experience. If not for NYSC, i wouldn't have had any cause to leave the West and made this discovery.

kay9: @OP,
Nice write-up, and mostly factual. Emphasis on MOSTLY.
However lets reverse the table a little; how would you react to an igbo from Anambra who tells you he's a muslim? I dare say 9 out of 10 Nigerians will react with suprise. My point: stereotyping is annoying and terribly upsetting, BUT in this case you really cant blame southerners who react with suprise at your being a christian. My advice: live with it, homie.
-
Secondly, you're offended that you're referred to as ''Hausa''. Well, here's a heads-up: I am from Anambra but i have never thrown a tantrum when my Yoruba friends tell me that my Aba ''brothers'' are the worst thugs in Nigeria. For your information Aba indigenes speak Ngwa, and i dont understand jack of what they say. My point again: It hurts, yeah, but live with it.
-
My suspicion is that you're disgusted with the present depiction of Hausa-speaking muslim northerners, and you hate to be associated with it. I can understand that, and i dont blame you. BUT have you considered the flip-side? If it was, say Imo state traditionalist causing such mayhem that is affecting the entire country, wouldn't you be one of those saying ''It is these Igbos''?
-
Like Nas said, Life is harsh; live with it.

Is Imo not an Igbo state?
You hate it when people associate you with Aba boys? How will you like to be associated with the Boko Haram sect?
The integration of States in the South is incredible! But that integration did'nt spread to the North(excluding the middle belt, cause of their proximity to both the Igbo and Yoruba states) because of the Biafran ideology. Nigerians should have a bit of enlightenment so as to have a bit of patience/compassion for the North... Thats all is needed.

Yawns

op if what you write is the truth then all of you (educated northerners) re selfish, you should have used your education to free your fellow northerners who re still tied to the aprons of your emirs and alhajis who manipulate and use them for their evil ends. After all an educated society is a free society. And I dont think the north is free.

Kudos to the writer of this article. The chap understands the south and the north very well and I suppose he is widely travelled. He even went further to address the issue of other tribes in South west and wrote about the non groups in the Badagry area.
Yet some nairalanders have lied through their teeth that Bsadagry is Yorubaland and that Egu are Yorubas.
I pity all this liars here.

I'm sure if the north was the toast of Nigeria and Africa, the article wouldn't have been written. people just like associating with success and dissassociating with failure.