Just for the record (and not even as "birds of the same father " was it intended as a joke ) it was a mere slip of the pen when I wrote "My Oxford friend bemoans Monotheism", since he is very much a Cambridge man…( like Ade Puja ) Next week I'm going to invite him to join this forum…
Blast this religion and terrorism thing - even over here in Sweden we are reeling under the impact of terrorism in Brussels and France. I tell folks that Israel hasn't known a day of peace since day one. I tell folks to count their blessings that Stockholm is no Maiduguri which is the epicentre of Boko terror, I say "Boko terror" and they hear "beacoup terror", it must be something to do with how they hear my pronunciation of that abbreviation of the dreaded Boko Haram - and their reaction :
" Please don't bring them here !"
The latest news on Swedish text tv is that they have been badly hit just in time for " Good Friday" :
"Nigeria : Abubakar Shekau, leader of
Boko Haram, suggesting in a video on
online that his time as leader of the
jihadist movement may be feared
over. At least 17,000 people have
killed since Boko Haram took up arms
the Nigerian government in 2009."
On Thursday, 24 March 2016 14:32:12 UTC+1, Cornelius Hamelberg wrote:
...Many thanks for your time and your very valuable clarifications. Unfortunately for me, my response to your article was not directly addressed to you and worse than that, came installmentally in little dribs and drabs, three in all – and so far you have chosen to address the main issue – of the religious divide which I took up – because it is a problem of real magnitude that such identity politics won't go away any time soon. I notice that in your very brief analysis - and we are talking about Nigeria as a whole, not just your still porous, like Ethiopia, still unconquered Middle Belt enclave or the multivalent Yoruba and their tolerance for religious plurality - that not even in passing do you mention the Igbo and their entirely non-Muslim enclave or the importance of that religion difference being at the root of the Islamic-inspired genocidal tendencies that is the centrepiece of your distress…or shall I say of our collective distress. Look at this
My Oxford friend bemoans Monotheism…
Fortunately, with regard to your apprehensions and general paranoia that "There are foreign interests at work -- very deep foreign interests" and your dark hints "They have studied the social structure and geomorphology of Nigerian rural society enough to know that if you armed Fulani herdsmen and used them as a weapon you could destroy the Nigerian agrarian social structure, our food system and eventually our entire nation" ( and why should they want to do that?) - yet, you do not name them explicitly (the foreign agents or the agents of the agents ) perhaps because of too much of diplomatic reserve or fear of other than the Lord you merely paint a vague and not very specific atmosphere of conspiracy and orchestrated foreign machinations of a very malevolent sort - no culpability apportioned to Nigeria/ Nigerians you go on scapegoating foreigners in your midst which only serves to raise further questions; but I'm positive that your usual clarity will be restored followed by even greater clarity about the vale of tears from which Nigerians with a shared unity of purpose and with the help of the Good Lord must extricate themselves or perish as one nation under God - fall apart or be torn apart, as that superb Roman Catholic poet Gerard Manley Hopkins put it "things fall apart" the title of the most famous pioneer Nigerian English novel, to date…
I had better start with the more concrete questions, and here you do express some doubt :
Re- "These same foreign interests know this for a fact. It may be these same forces -- no to talk of Lebanese generator importers -- sponsoring attacks on our power installations, giving minister Fashola the nightmare of his life."
Only ignorance asking here, re- " attacks on our power installations" is this a fact ?
I also used to think that it was malicious foreign sabotage cum the avaricious and irresponsible & corrupt Nigerian power elite that was responsible for the interminable delays in getting the Ajaokuta steel plant to an operational stage…and of course also responsible for the power shortage syndrome of N.E.P.A. = Never Expect Power Always
Since I attended a few lectures of Jeff Holden at the Inst. of African Studies at Legon starting with his introduction of his hero and mine Usman Dan Fodio (my Better Half was/ is the historian – and polyglot) and Michael Crowder's The Story of Nigeria - later on some of Professor Falola (in my 24 hour day) and of course Moses Ochonu's Colonialism by proxy Hausa Imperial Agents and Middle Belt Consciousness in Nigeria , and some prior conversations with my dear Nigerian Embassy friend Mr. Ibrahim Bashir , I had already come to the unflinching conclusion/ understanding that The North (pre-oil, once the bread basket of Nigeria) and the South should be allowed to grow at their own natural pace with their own preferences, religious priorities etc.
N.B. Jeff Holden (I knew him well enough in seminar rooms and over gallons of beer at the common room and cafeteria) - he was eventually deported from Ghana for saying (this was during Kofi Busia) for saying that "the money of the workers and peasants of Ghana wasn't being used in their best interests" a common charge than even non-foreigners make nowadays about all kinds of incumbent governments in Africa.
Indeed my Lord, "Jos alone can feed the whole West Africa with potatoes" and Sudan has the potential to feed all of Africa with their agricultural produce from the fertile banks of the Nile…
At this stage I'm left wondering in what capacity someone like your inestimable self would, could, should be an adviser and advising the Buhari Administration.
More questions to follow, some of which I must try to understand and answer myself.
Best Regards,
Cornelius
On Thursday, 24 March 2016 09:48:21 UTC+1, Obadiah Mailafia wrote:Lord Cornelius,You do have a point about the Religious Question. But to be honest with you, I have never viewed the challenge of nation building in Nigeria from the black-and-white perspective of "Islam vs. Christianity". What I admire about Yoruba civilisation is that Islam and Christianity co-exist peacefully, even within the single nuclear family unit. There are also Muslims in the Middle Belt. With the exception of the Jos Plateau where General Ibrahim Babangida wilfully engaged in acts of gerrymandering local government mischief, people lived amicably with one another. The Middle Belt historically were never conquered by the Fulani Jihad. That's essentially part of their identity -- the fact of never having been conquered. And we had the glorious Nok civilisation which has direct links with Egypt -- more direct than Yoruba or Bini. The village of Nok is only about 10 km from my own ancestral homeland in Sanga, Kaduna State. Nobody is afraid of any Islamists 'invading' or any of the kind. What rattles us is the new genocidal low-intensity undeclared war that is being waged by the surrogate role of the herdsman -- herdsmen with whom my people have lived amicably with since time immemorial. There is genocide going on. And it is not about one Mailafia sitting somewhere and sounding alarmist. Don't forget that the majority of the Generals and foot soldiers in Nigeria hail from the Middle Belt. It is not fear that stops us from mobilising them. It is ahimsa -- a Hindu word you mentioned -- it is love of country and a deep desire that our country will not be plunged into a stupid conflict. I have always insisted that Boko Haram and the herdsmen are mostly not Nigerians. A foreign aid worker expressed to me with schadenfreude that the way of life of the herdsmen must be protected. There are foreign interests at work -- very deep foreign interests. They have studied the social structure and geomorphology of Nigerian rural society enough to know that if you armed Fulani herdsmen and used them as a weapon you could destroy the Nigerian agrarian social structure, our food system and eventually our entire nation. The Middle Belt is the bread basket of Nigeria. Jos alone can feed the whole West Africa with potatoes. The Middle Belt is the only link holding Nigeria together. These same foreign interests know this for a fact. It may be these same forces -- no to talk of Lebanese generator importers -- sponsoring attacks on our power installations, giving minister Fashola the nightmare of his life. Without any iota of braggadocio, I have studied enough of the European machstaaten since Greece and Rome, the Carolingian Empire, Friedrick the Great, Bismarck, Bonaparte, Metternich -- the whole Kissingerian universe -- to know what they think, how they think and what they can stoop down to do to bring down a rising power like Nigeria. Henry Kissinger was the most brilliant lecturer I ever listened to as a graduate student. But it did not stop me from sensing that he is a beast. It is small fry for the great amoral political philosophers from Leo Strauss and all the great amoral political philosophers from Carl Schmitt to Leo Strauss and the diabolical neoconservatives. Hence no Western country has condemned the Agatu massacre, for example.Forgive my ramblings. I just don't want my people killed, that's all!On Thu, Mar 24, 2016 at 1:42 AM, Cornelius Hamelberg <cornelius...@gmail.com> wrote:Problems can always be compounded or simplified.
The article in question :
Towards the purpose-driven nation by Obadiah Mailafia ( D. Phil Oxford
I should just like to add that although Nigeria is still a secular nation – and a member of the OIC, whilst the Christian flock are members of various organisations such as the World Council of Churches it's just that the Muslim- Christian divide could be further exacerbated not just by Boko Haram extending their sphere of activities southwards but by even more democracy aspiring non-violent movements such as what Muslims have been able to achieve in the UK , namely the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain ( where Muslims assemble to discuss their problems) could also be extended to Nigeria.
I close my eyes and imagine the rise of a similar albeit a non-legislative body such as " The Muslim Parliament of the Federal Republic of Nigeria "– even just as an experiment and shudder to imagine the reaction of the Ade Pujas … and Ike- Hides and the counter –insurgencies of the Ogbeni Alhaji Mallam Menahem Qadiris
On Wednesday, 23 March 2016 23:20:51 UTC+1, Cornelius Hamelberg wrote:
My immediate reaction to reading Dr. Mailafia's "Towards the purpose-driven nation"
Africa Unite is always something to sing about and it's something that has to be done – starting with people unity. That's why I think that Christians ought to be informed about Islam as much as Muslims should informed about their Christian neighbours, for example, that they are not evil people just because they pray to the Almighty in a different way - They don't like the way I pray and be tolerant and respect other people's existential choices beyond the philosophy of any prophet - e.g. tolerant of the career of Lamin Sanneh.
Surprisingly, there is a singularly important factor that is glaringly absent from this analysis of nation building with a special focus on Nigeria, , and that is the religion factor which has effectively split Nigeria from the very inception and implementation of the Lugardist experiment back in 1914 when Nigeria was birthed. Throughout the trials and tribulations since Independence on 1st October 1960 , this religion divide has been an important role factor for politicians and military to contend with and at times, conveniently or not so conveniently to exploit to their own advantage.
On the Nigerian landscape the divide inherent in OH, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet could be equally true in the epic poem yet to be written, much like Kipling's with the opening lines of the first verse stanza running ,
" Oh, North is North, and South is South, and never twain shall meet" -
("Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat") -
and if I am to read Lord Mailafia correctly, in any future eventuality – not necessarily catastrophic, it is the Middle Belt ( as a buffer zone) that shall separate them , separate the true North from the South – for indeed it was only yesterday that I read Dr. Mailafia say: "Methinks there is a conspiracy to send the Fulani herdsmen as an advanced guard to conquer and subjugate my people. Nigeria may or may not survive as a single corporate entity. What we are seeing is a jostling for territorial space. But they are grossly mistaken. The Middle Belt will be independent of the core North in the event of the unthinkable happening. Make no mistake whatsoever about it. The suffering and pain the peoples of the Middle Belt and their Church -- and our Holy People -- have experienced has reached the ears of the Almighty God. He will confound our enemies. And those who have risen against us with the sword are under the curse and judgement of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They are labouring under a curse."
And elsewhere, very strong concerns expressed by the venerable Dr. Obaidiah Mailafia about his own home turf, the Middle Belt
Every serious Nigerian espouses the rule of law as the panacea to the impunity posed by pernicious wanton corruption: So in a nutshell, I think that the best solution is to accommodate two legal systems in the one country known as Nigeria . Understandably, Christian folks such as Dr. Mailafia are apprehensive of al- Islam/ Muslim hordes from the North sweeping over their non- Muslim home turf - their as yet safe Christian enclaves and eventually imposing majority rule Sharia Law on them the children of Jesus Christ – a Sharia Law which would consign them to a
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