Nigeria: The Giant of Africa Essay

Two futures for Africa are possible-one with a democratic and stable Nigeria, and one with a Nigeria stricken by autocratic rule, corruption, and intermittent coups. An entire continent awaits the result of the Nigerian experiment with democracy. Nigeria has the resources and can provide leadership to foster greater regional and international cooperation, leadership that many of Nigeria's neighbors need. A successful Nigerian democracy would provide hope for many of Africa's other burgeoning democracies.

Intrastate conflict has historically been savage and chaotic; nowhere have these descriptors been more fitting than within African civil wars. A legacy of colonialism, ineffective governance, and regional conflict scars the continent, resulting in regular political instability within its territories. The Nigerian civil war of the late 1960s cost the lives of an estimated three-million people- the majority of whom were civilians who succumbed to starvation (NWE 2015). This conflict has traditionally been understood to have been caused by ethnic tensions within the state, and justifiably so (Falola 1999, 125). The ethnic cleansing of the Igbo that occurred throughout September and October of 1966 in northern Nigeria undoubtedly played a

Nigeria would soon become a prime example of the issues with arbitrary borders and the long term effects they can create. Nigeria would gain its independence in 1960 and would become a Federal Republic with three regions. This federalist republic would bring out regional rivalries and fears amongst the people. Violence against Igbo would erupt around the North and soon after `the Southeast secedes as Biafra. (Reno, pg. 2) A three year war would follow and illness and hunger within Biafra would prevail. Britain got involved in the issue and would aid Nigeria in pulling Biafra back in as a way to avoid a chain reaction. Eventually, the Southeast region would give in, and return to Nigeria. However, regional distrust remained an issue, and would take on ethnic and religious dimensions for years to come. In addition, there was a deep disregard to many of the institutions and practices that had already been set in place by the people.

The Boko Haram sect in Nigeria has been a huge problem for the country in the past, and the threat is only growing. This group is considered responsible for a handful of government attacks, targets on the United Nations, and often churches who undermine the Islamic religion. Their actions have spawned from the idea that their country is controlled by “fake Muslims”, and aim to create an Islamic nation ruled with Sharia law.

Different sources have different causes of what they say was the motivation for Boko Haram’s attacks. Some sources say it was the killing of their leader in 2009 and some even say that the it was due to global warming within that country, but whatever it is, it is a big problem not only for the Islamic states but all of the other countries of the world. Their different attacks seem to show what the source of this motivation was. The group is very hard to understand in terms of their overall motivation because there is so little known information about them. Information in general is hard to come by from Nigeria. Police officers and city officials so corrupt that they give the citizens little to no information as to what is going on (Walker, 2012, p. 7). They are too motivated by their own selfish goals. The Boko Haram group itself has given no really helpful information as it has denied bombings and other terroristic activities.

Both of these events that occurred in human history caused seriously traumatic impact to the citizens, who were surrounded by all the destruction, devastation, and mayhem that resulted from it. In similar cases like these, violence is clearly not the answer. The reason being because so many innocent people get hurt and they are mostly the people who would never cause any harm in the first place. In the situation of Boko Haram and his beliefs, he wanted a nation that was entirely Islam and any country or person who was against it was his enemy, which resulted in most of the Nigerian population being eliminated from existence. In relation is the Holocaust, which had Germans disliking Jews because they were seen as “inferior” towards the Germans

This article is about the mistreatment of people fleeing from Boko Haram who thought that the Nigerian soldiers would save them. As hundreds flee from Boko Haram claimed territories, Nigerian soldiers are picking them up and holding them as prisoners in detention centers, claiming to be trying to protect others from extremist claiming to be victims. This has lead to some accusations of mistreatment because these detention centers are holding men, women, and infants for months on end in unsanitary and unsafe areas. The article then explains that the Nigerian government and army are being accused of being too extreme in its persistence and ways of trying to eliminate Boko Haram. While Nigeria is struggling to handle the threat that is Boko Haram,

For the past seven years innocence have been injured, killed, or brutally tortured by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. They have lost their homes and precious possessions due to a cruel, selfish satisfaction of this organization. Boko Haram members believe that these “brutal penalties” is just an ordinary way to express their culture. Although Nigeria came to a conclusion that these terrorists had given up, it only took five months later to realize it was not the end. Nigeria’s strategies had gotten them nowhere and only led them back to where they started.

Independent from British ruling since 1960, Nigeria today still suffers from ethnical and religious divisions as well as unequal distribution of power and resources among its regions. A high degree of violence and insecurity has shaped Nigeria’s political framework since colonial times. The region is characterized by systematic human under-development and socio-political decay. By draining resources from development, terrorism creates an additional burden on the society and interferes with development opportunities.

The north-east region of Nigeria is an area that has “been poor, underdeveloped and dominated by agricultural industry and subsistence farming” (Akinwotu). For the past four years, the Islamist group Boko Haram has aided in the creation of more problems within that region, one being that farmers cannot plant and harvest their crops, leading to the starvation of many. The Nigerian army has been able to regain some territories held by the Boko Haram but many areas remain unreached by aid workers. The inability of aid workers to reach needed areas is partially because the Nigerian army but also because aid agencies are hesitant to enter areas occupied by jihadists. Regardless, “there is “no conversation” about aid crossing front lines…The Nigerian government’s rules about where aid agencies can go are simply accepted” (“Famine menaces 20m people in African and

In Northeast Nigeria, where the book Things Fall Apart takes place, the terrorist group Boko Haram is constantly causing the governrnent trouble. Whether it’s when they kidnapped over 200 girls from a school, kidnapped and trained child soldiers, or just this March attempted to bomb a Mosque. Not to mention how Polio and malnutrition are indirectly being worsened by the group. However, the similarity to 20th century Umuofia is uncanny. This is because both Boko Haram and the Igbo share the same fight, that against western culture. Boko Haram actually translates to Western education is a sin. Although it’s not their full, official name, it is it’s slang name and what the media uses. Consisting of muslims the group has many differing beliefs to all of Western society, largely gender related. Not all people share equal rights, another struggle that also occurs in the book. In conclusion, Through this group, although they are terrorists and the Igbo were not, you can see that people are still fighting against the same change in that area, even if it’s under a different

The first was the weak sense of nationalism caused by all the ethnic groups where religion played a major part of the division. The main three ethnicities in Nigeria are Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo; the former is Muslim while the two latter are Christians. The second cause mentioned was the “divide and rule” which was a British tactic to employ ethnic groups against one another, and thus “helped ensure that ethnicity would be the main line of political cleavage after Nigeria became an independent country.” The third cause is the personal rule system based on “big men” and what this means is that Nigerian’s who worked for the British used their personal relationships to gain power and wealth, and in a certain way it is still used today in the Nigerian government. The fourth devastating cause was the “creation of an increasingly active and interventionist state during WWII and after until its independence in 1960, but that opened the doors to patronage, which would be used to gain political power and wealth. The past reveals the problems Nigeria has had for several decades, some of which have not disappeared but seem to get progressively worse. (CITATION)

Article Summary (100 words Approx.) This article explained who Boko Haram is, who leads it. It explains their intentions, plans and their actions. One of the key incidents that occurred in Nigeria, 219 school girls were taken by Boko Haram, this was also spoken about in the article. It gave a clear insight

Before we begin, let’s take a look at the country and its environs. Nigeria a former British Colony, located in the western part of Africa, it shares borders with Benin, Cameroun, and Niger. A growing population of 150million, labour force of 51million (70% Agriculture, 10% industry and 20% service), urbanisation is less than 40%, GDP is over $300billion, Per capita income is $2300. Nigeria is blessed with different cultures, languages and ethnic groups (252 in total); this was due to the colonization of the British in the early 19th century (Columbia Encyclopaedia). The British amalgamated its protectorates in 1914 to enable stable control and governance which made them create one Nation of Nigeria formed from all the groups, community and empires around the Niger area under their control. Nigeria had her independence on the 1st of October 1960 and since then various civil wars, political and religious unrest in the country to share power and resources amicably.

Corruption in the Niger delta region of Nigeria as resulted in youths becoming militants and kidnappers which have led to killing of innocent individuals. During the past few years a lot of people have died in the Niger delta due to violent killings because of dispute over oil revenue and compensation. Most of these atrocities are carried out main by youths, who are agitated by the corrupt practice of the