Dialogues: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Buhari, You Are Doing The Right Thing

When is reporting the news not “fanning the flames”

Should we blame the NYT for the riots that followed the announcement of the results of the presidential elections? The NYT reports are consistent with what her reporters have always done. They report the news as they see they believe they should. The responsibility for the sad news reports must lie with the rioters and their instigators. They are the newsmakers. Reporters follow and report the news.

From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of kenneth harrow
Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 12:45 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Buhari, You Are Doing The Right Thing

like gloria i don't watch cnn (or any tv), but shared her impression re the new york times. they want hot news, regardless of the consequences; for them "riots" and religion are hot
ken

On 4/20/11 12:19 PM, Emeagwali, Gloria (History) wrote:

I notice that euronews is over- emphasizing the religious factor. They are indeed fanning the flames that could

lead to a full blown religious war. I no longer watch CNN so I don’t know how they are covering the crisis. I shall

see what BBC does since they have the most impact on local listeners.

This crisis can really get totally out of hand given the fact that MEND has entered the fray. We are now entering a tit-for- tat

retaliatory mode . Given the fact that MEND perceives Goodluck to be their candidate, things can really blow up.

Oil, politics and religion don’t mix well and unemployed, disenchanted youth, on both sides of the divide, are easily stirred up.

Buhari has to rein in his supporters with all the skills available. It may be more difficult for Goodluck to control MEND.

Gloria Emeagwali

From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of mfatuhu313@gmail.com
Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 9:04 AM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Buhari, You Are Doing The Right Thing

For those who are blaming Buhari and CPC supporters for the violence that erupted after the election, here is a point of correction: neither the leader, Buhari nor us - the enlightened supporters of CPC caused the carnage you are witnessing. These are young men, whom PDP looters have ignored over the years as a consequence, they lack basic education and are so impoverished and perhaps incapable of reasoning in civilized manner. So, don't blame or Buhari or CPC, blame it on PDP. Besides, where do you put the blame of the violence in the Niger-Delta, the frequent religious violence across the country, and the lunatic kidnapping in eastern Nigeria? On Buhari, too??????..

Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN

From: Jaye Gaskia <ogbegbe@yahoo.com>

Sender: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com

Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2011 05:46:52 -0700 (PDT)

To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>

ReplyTo: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com

Cc: leonenet<leonenet@lists.umbc.edu>

Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Buhari, You Are Doing The Right Thing

This caption is very alarming. I am not aware that any of the candidates considered themselves to be candidates of any religion. Apart from the fact both leading contenders had vice presidential candidates from the other religion, in Buhari's case, the running mate is an evangelist, who heads a pentecostal mission.

I think we are falling into the stereotypes reinforced by foreign media coverage of our countries. What this does is that contributes to fueling the embers of religious tension, with the result that grievances become expressed along religious fault lines.

Regards,

Jaye

From: Abdul Karim Bangura <theai@earthlink.net>
To: "USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com" <USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com>
Cc: leonenet <leonenet@lists.umbc.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 11:47 AM
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Buhari, You Are Doing The Right Thing

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 3:46:00 AM EDT

Muslim candidate condemns deadly Nigerian riots

Photo: AP

KADUNA, Nigeria (AP) — The Muslim candidate who lost Nigeria's presidential election is distancing himself from the angry mobs who have killed Christians and set churches on fire across the country's north, underlining the deep divisions within Africa's most populous nation.

Muslim rioters burned homes, churches and police stations after results showed Nigeria's Christian president had beaten his closest Muslim opponent in Saturday's vote. Reprisal attacks by Christians began almost immediately, with one mob allegedly tearing a home apart to look for a Quran to prove the occupants were Muslims before setting the building ablaze.

Mobs also engineered two prison breaks, burned down the home of one powerful traditional ruler and attempted to destroy the home of Nigeria's vice president.

On Wednesday, the cries of children could be heard in a makeshift ward at St. Gerald's Catholic hospital in Kaduna, where wounded people lay outside the emergency ward. Authorities have been fearful of inciting more violence by releasing casualties figures, though at least 31 bodies had been found in Kaduna alone.

Opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari called the violence "sad, unfortunate and totally unwarranted," seeking to distance himself and his party from the riots.

"I must emphasize that this is purely a political matter, and it should not in any way be turned into an ethnic, religious or regional one," Buhari said late Tuesday.

Nigeria has a long history of violent and rigged polls since it abandoned a revolving door of military rulers and embraced democracy 12 years ago. However, observers largely said Saturday's presidential election appeared to be fair, and the U.S. State Department said it was a significant improvement over the last poll in 2007.

The nation of 150 million people is divided between the Christian-dominated south and the Muslim north. A dozen states across Nigeria's north have Islamic Shariah law in place, though the area remains under the control of secular state governments.

Thousands have been killed in religious violence in the past decade. In Kaduna alone, more than 2,000 died as the government moved to enact Islamic Shariah law in 2000. In 2002, rioting over a newspaper article suggesting the prophet Muhammad would have married a Miss World pageant contestant killed dozens here. But the roots of the sectarian conflict across the north often have more to do with struggles for political and economic dominance.

Many northerners wanted the country's ruling party to nominate a Muslim candidate this year because President Goodluck Jonathan — a Christian from the south — had only taken power because the Muslim elected leader died before finishing his term. However, Jonathan prevailed in the ruling party's primary and became its candidate for president.

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kenneth w. harrow

distinguished professor of english

michigan state university

department of english

east lansing, mi 48824-1036

ph. 517 803 8839

harrow@msu.edu

Dialogues

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Buhari, You Are Doing The Right Thing

Muslim candidate condemns deadly Nigerian riots

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