The POLITICIAN 1000

41
Majority of the Muslims in
Nigeria are peaceful, law
abiding and religiously
tolerant people and they do
not advocate nor endorse the
radical extremism of the sect
that has now come to be
known as “Boko Haram”,
which in English translation
simply means anti-western
education/teaching. This sect
claims to be against what
they believe is the
secularisation of the Northern
part of the country, and have
sadly embraced violence as
a means of expressing and
furthering their cause.
One of the most memorable quotes of the Prophet is as follows,
“To overcome evil with good is good but to resist evil by
evil is evil”. These are the words of the Prophet himself. If he
was alive today he would be the first to condemn the murderous
actions of these terrorists. There is no place in our society
for murderous acts in the name of politics and freedom.
Nigeria is a multi-cultural society with over 250 ethnic groups
living as one entity under the umbrella called “Nigeria” and
the majority of us want to stay that way.
They’re still a number of small groups within our nation
who are still clamouring for the separation of the country. I
cover this topic exhaustively in my latest book entitled “Nigeria;
One nation, One destiny”. The book will be out on
general release from September 2013. The majority of Nigerians
however are still very happy to be part of this incredible
nation, and we will not allow the myopic views of a few racist
vermin’s in our society to alter our perception and love for
our fellow Nigerian brothers and sisters irrespective of their
ethnic/tribal origins and ancestry.
As a nation, we have come a long way since the civil war
and yet the journey is still far. We still have a lot of work to do
to in order to heal our nation of the ethnic and tribal wounds
of yester years, and bridge the gap between the rich and the
poor. Nigeria, just like every other nation in the world has its
elites, families who dominate the economic landscape of the
nation, and whose influence and connections go right to the
very apex of political power. It is the way of the world and I
don’t understand why so many people treat it as if it is idiosyncratic
to Nigeria when it certainly is not.
In the United Kingdom where I was born, the British
elites are fully entrenched in the society and they dominate
the lives of the common man on the street. The gap between
the rich and the poor is also widening and we witnessed its
manifestation last summer when the country of the United
Kingdom spiralled into an inferno of rioting and violent disorder.
Currently, in cities all across America and Europe, the
citizens have mobilized and begun demonstrations which
they have tagged “occupy”, protesting against economic inequality
and corporate greed. So for us to sit here and behave
as if Nigeria is the only country in the world where there are
issues of social class and economic division is nothing short
of “ridiculous”.