Sudden Attack Leaves Five Dead

A woman in Jos says five of her relatives were shot and killed in their homes this past Sunday night. She survived, along with her husband and her son by hiding behind a metal door. Gloria Dagut told The Associated Press that the gunman attacked her home late Sunday night, and killed her husband's mother, their three adult brothers and three adult sisters. She also said there were as many as then men dressed in all black who attacked her home. These men shot at the metal door she, her husband, and their son were hiding behind, but none of these bullets pierced through the door. In the article she does not state any possible motivation behind the attack, but she does explain that her home is just on the outskirts of the city Jos, which is also know as the hot spot or "middle belt" of the conflicts in Nigeria. Therefore, the attack could have been based on any number of things.

This story shows the danger the cleavages have on the lives of the Nigerian people. The fact that people cannot even feel safe in their own homes, shows the affect the cleavages have on them. The cleavages, along with the upcoming elections, have created so much tension in the people of Nigeria that clearly anything can happen. These types of incidences also prove that as tensions grow higher, that the civil liberties of the people of Nigeria are slowly being taken away. Hopefully soon, the government will begin to take control of these situations and maybe place more restrictions on the Nigerian people to help keep them safe. When this does happen, the Nigerian people may lose the types of freedoms they are used to, but hopefully in the end it will have a positive result.

Northern Nigeria Carries Weight in Upcoming Elections

Recent voter registry for the upcoming presidential election in Nigeria revealed that the predominantly Muslim north has a hold on the outcome. Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian, who took the presidency last year after the death of the elected Muslim leader, faces increasing opposition from not only the north but also from smaller minority parties. Jonathan also will have to overcome the fraud and corruption that has been prevalent in elections ever since Nigeria became an official democracy back in 1999. Jonathan's chances of victory are further impeded by the fact that some 6.2 million votes in Lagos have been taken away by the Action Congress of Nigeria party. A recent report by the Independent National Electoral Commission revealed that the Muslim north has some 36 million registered voters, whereas the Christian south only accounts for approximately 31.6 million of the country's eligible voters. Kayode Idowu, the commission's spokesperson, has released a statement that the findings from the study are indeed accurate but refused to add any further "analysis" because of how difficult ethnic and religious divisions make numerical counts in Nigeria. In fact, census numbers are kept a secret. Therefore, the UN's recorded population of Nigeria at 150 million is largely an estimate. The country fears that the release of this data will only stimulate more issues and violence between the two clashing religions. In addition, in the 50 years since Nigeria became an independent country, Muslim leaders have ruled for 39 years, leaving a southerner in power for only 11 years.

These statistics show clearly the polarizing cleavages in Nigeria. These cleavages are represented not only regionally, between the North and the South, but also, obviously, religiously between the two very distinct and opposing religious groups; the Christians and the Muslims. These cleavages are not only dividing the nation into two separate entities but they are also forcing the government to take extreme precautionary measures in an attempt to prevent violence, such as the withholding of census reports. The country also shoes the trends in political participation and how these upcoming elections in April in particular are drawing huge numbers of people to register to vote. The success of this upcoming election and transfer of power could be a sign of the potential success of Nigeria as an emerging democracy.

Policemen shot and killed in northern Nigeria

Suspected Islamic terroists have attacked and killed two policemen in northern Nigeria over the last four days. This is only the most recent incident in an overarching theme of violence that has left dozens dead.

Attackers shot on of the policemen in his house Wednesday night; trailing him to his house. It is believed that the men knew the cop who was murdered.

A separate incident occurring Sunday night found an undercover cop shot and killed at his home in a similar fashion.

This is believed to be part of the continued violence of the Boko Haram sect. The sect launched a violent uprising in July 2009, shut down by the military, but has been active ever since. Previous incidents include three church attacks on Chirstmas Eve resulting in six dead, and the assassination of governor of the region. Dozens of hit-and-run shooting have been blamed on the sect, also know as the Taliban, over the last few months in the Borno state.

So far, one suspect has been arrested.

The violence in Nigeria continues to escalate in anticipation of the upcoming April elections for president. One can only wonder how much more brutal the region will become leading to this time, and how the north will react if another Christian wins the election. These incidents are a continued reminder of how unstable the country is, and the lack of control the government has over its people. This civil violence because of political change is something that many countries experence, and an important factor to observe during our study of different societies.

Nigerians riot after accusations of police torture

A mob, furious because of the death of a man in police custody, formed in a Nigerian town on Sunday. A riot in Dambatta in the Kano state broke out after a man arrested on charges of being a notorious thief died while in custody. Both the family of the man and the mob blamed the police for his death, claiming that he was tortured. Police commissioner Muhammad Tambari Yabo denies the claims.


According to officials, the man stole a motorcycle on Friday night immediately after being released from jail. He was then followed by a mob who badly beat and threw stone at him before being brought in again by police. These injuries, Yabo said, lead to his death.


"Unfortunately one rioter was shot dead and two others injured by stray bullets," said Yabo. "The mob was further enraged and they went about burning some buildings."


The buildings burned by rioters include the police commander's home, a church, and the building used for Nigeria's youth service corps program.


In total, 35 arrests were made. This is not the first incident between police and residence in this area as other episodes of tension have occurred over the last few months.


This news story shows that the violence in Nigeria is common and widely dispersed, and not always related to  Muslim and Christan faiths and the presidential elections. The has long been a tense relationship between authorities and civilians in the country, and these types of riots are not infrequent. If the torture claims are true, it is still difficult to imagine something like this happening in the US, let alone the police intentionally harming civilians. The relationship between authority and civilians is an interesting one in many places of the world, and something I think is important to look at while we study these countries.  

New Mining Opportunities Open up in South Africa for Nigeria

South Africa is facing the possibility of losing their mining titles, therefor the South African government is trying to nationalize their mines. With South Africa's lose of many mining investors, Nigeria is now trying to reach out and claim these mining investors. Musa Sada, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development in South Africa, has discussed with many investors the opportunities offered in Nigeria. "The groups are willing to come into the country to invest in the coal development on agreed partnership terms for the local market, which means they would be supplying fuel for the other investors interested int running the power plants," Sada said.

Is Nigeria ready for an even larger global economy? Many think yes, and if they are not then they will adjust to this new type of economy, because the economic benefit is to great to pass up. Over the past decade, Nigeria has been trying to expand their economy into the global world, and this could be the answer. This could be a clear cut path for the Nigerians to build their economy off. Due to the fact that the investors have been through the process already, and already know the markets to send the raw materials to, this would only be beneficial as well as a confidence booster for the Nigerians. This could also show the people of Nigeria that there is a way to do business without the interference of the government.

This relates back to class because it could be one of the first steps toward the country moving from a least developed country towards a developed country. This economic growth could be beneficial to the Nigerians in many ways. One of the best things this new economy could do, is unite the Nigerian people under the new global economy, and could even one day stop the violence between the two religious groups. Another benefit of the investors is the fact that it could be a distraction to the people, and could help stop all the violence coming from the upcoming election.

Cost of Cashews Doubles! People are Going Nuts!

As tensions within the Ivory Coast escalate, production and distribution of the cashew nut has decreased. As the Ivory Coast is the second largest African producer of the cashew nut, this current curbing of production has caused the price of the nut to double. According to Olatunji Owoeye who is the president of the National Cashew Association of Nigeria, "the price of a metric ton of cashew from Nigeria to the international market has gone up from about $600 to $1,200 since November". The current political tensions are the result of a power struggle between the Ivory Coast's former president Laurent Gbagbo and the new president elected this past November, Alassane Ouattara. This has caused the Cotton and Cashew Monitoring Committee to stop the export of cashew nuts in order to halt the funds flowing to Gbagbo. Although Nigeria relied on the Ivory Coast for part of their supply of cashew nuts, they also have their own rather strong agricultural sector in cashew production. In fact, the cashew nut is one of Nigeria's largest non-oil export commodities. Therefore, many countries looking for a new supply of the nut in fear that the situation in the Ivory Coast will worsen are turning to Nigeria.

This story is an example of the most basic ideas of the systems theory. There was, and continues to be a desire for the production and intake of the cashew nut. Therefore there were several countries competing for the potentially lucrative market. As internal issues in the Ivory Coast essentially scare people away from their unstable market, Nigeria sees an increase in the attraction of their own cashew nut market. As they are capable of producing the needed product, this could cause a new period of development in the Nigerian economy which would hopefully come in sync with an increased level of democratization. Because this story is relatively new, we are not able to examine the feedback of this shift in markets but it will be interesting to see how Nigeria handles this new economic opportunity.

Attempted Pirate Attack on Nigerian Tanker

It has been reported that a Nigerian tanker was attacked off the coast of Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos, last Thursday. Pirates attempted to board and rob the ship which was stationed in the Gulf of Guinea. The International Maritime Bureau reported the the pirate attack occurred approximately 50 nautical miles off the coast of Lagos. As the chemical tanker attempted to escape the approaching suspicious boat, the pirates opened fire. The pirates then tried to board the boat using a grappling hook but, after an hour of chasing the boat, retreated. This attack comes in combination with a report by Greek authorities that two merchant navy officers who were kidnapped off of a Greek-managed ship in January by Nigeria pirates were released last Friday.

According to the bureau, there has been a rise in pirate attacks in Nigeria over the past few years.

These recent pirate attacks show the inadequacy or incapabilities of the Nigeria government. Although Nigeria has a reasonably strong military, which has no problems using force in issues during recent election issues, it lacks the ability to handle threats from pirates who lack the resources that the government has. It shows flaws in the distribution or communication of power and a maldistributed military. The government should be taking extra precautions in order to repress the pirates in and around the coast of Nigeria so as to advance it's image in the global community.

Rally Leaves Many Dead

On Saturday morning, many were left dead, after being trampled over at an election campaign rally. In Port Harcourt Saturday morning, a group of Nigerians were getting together to listen to Goodluck Jonathan speak on his campaign tour. The stampede occurred after a policeman fired his gun into the air, as thousands of people in the stadium ran out fearing for their lives. The number of casualties is unknown at the moment. At least three women have been declared dead on the scene. Some fear that as many as ten people could have died from this stampede. President Goodluck Jonathan has spoken out since the incident, saying "I am sad, and heavily weighed down by this incident. It is sad, unfortunate and regrettable." He has also begun a full investigation on the incident, as well as postponed his campaigning until something is done. Witnesses say the gunshot was fired to control the rush through the small gate into the stadium. This created a panic among the people, which began to run and start the stampede. Because Goodluck Jonathan is Christian, and most of the recent violence has been over the upcoming election, many people were scared that the gunshots were coming from the Muslims who were out to kill as many Christians possible.

This shows the fear the religious cleavages have given the citizens of Nigeria. The fact that they feel as if they cannot even support something or someone they feel passionate about without the fear of dying. As well as the fact, that a gunshot from a policeman can set off such a commotion as it did, which resulted in at least three, if not more dead. This can also be an insight to the power of the police in Nigeria. The fact that a policeman could set off a shot which could end up killing at least three, and still not have gotten in trouble, this shows the type of power the police have. One positive to the incident, is the reaction from Goodluck Jonathan. He has halted all things he is involved in, to make sure justice is served, and the families of the ones who died are taken care of. This shows the his character and personality. The traits he seems to have are all traits of someone who is needed to rule a country with as many problems as Nigeria has, it shows he is willing to put his countrymen before himself.

Nigeria's economic growth

     According to Bloomberg.com, Nigeria's Ecomony is expected to grow by 7.98% in 2011. This growth exceeded the 7.85% growth in 2010, and is lead by non-oil industries, including agriculture.

     "Commitment to grow the non-oil sector to become the major driver of economic growth,” Finance Minister Olusegun Aganga said in a speech at the capitol on Friday.  

     Nigieria is the most populous country in Africa, and is looking to expand and diversify its ecomony. Oil counts as 95% of export income for the country. This industry accounts for only16% of the GDP, while agricultue counts for 42%. The 24 banks of the country pledged to triple agricultural lending for 2011 to help boost growth for the year, said Phillips Oduoza, chief executive officer of United Bank for African Plc.

     This projected economic growth is one bright spot in Nigeria. The country has been plagued by excessive violence and crime over the past few months because of upcoming presidential elections in April.

     This story shows some of the correlation between economic growth and political change. The upward trend of the Nigerian economy is something that the country should be proud of and embrace during such a difficult year. It will be very intresting to see if this projection comes true by the end of 2011. The political change may or may not effect the ecomony, but it has the potential to decrease growth if excessive violence continues in the African nation.

Rebel Leader's Wife Appointed to Government Position

Forty years ago, a rebel leader by the name of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the son of a millionaire and army officer led the dissented Republic of Biafra and nation into one of its most tumultous and bloody civil wars to date. The war, spearheaded by efforts in Biafra caused the death of some one million people. President Goodluck Jonathan's spokesperson claimed that the president had chosen to appoint Bianca Ojukwu to the position of Senior Special Assistant of Diaspora Affairs and the position would come into effect immediately. The former rebel leader, now 77, has been hospitalized for the past few weeks in the United Kingdom. It is believed that this appointment was made in order to insure Jonathan's success in the important upcoming elections to take place in April.

This appointment to government position shows the power of political culture in Nigeria as well as a poor foundation of legitimacy within the nation. It illustrates the idea that as long as you can appoint a name that people respect into some form of power, people will have a greater positive response to your regime as a whole. Similarly, this demonstrates the idea of elite recruitment and leadership and how qualifications and experience are not the only things that can help a campaign. Rather, public opinion and trust has a greater effect on the outcome of an election. Likewise, it shows that because Nigeria's "democracy" is so new and fragile it is still deeply effected and manipulated by the divisions created by previous civil wars and violence.

Adamu: Putting his Nation's Name in the Mud

Over the weekend, the final sentence for the five football (soccer) officials has been declared. The man who sparked the most controversy in the country was Amos Adamu, who is now a former FIFA and CAF executive member. Back in November Adamu was banned from all football related matters, but this past Friday, the football's world governing body, FIFA, announced the results of the appeals the men had made. "Amos Adamu: the appeal has been rejected and the decision of the FIFA Ethics Committee confirmed. The sanction of a three-year ban from taking part in any football-related activity and a fine of CHF 10,000 has been maintained." This was the worst punishment of them all. Also, with the spark of all this corruption in the football world in Nigeria, FIFA has also denied Nigeria the chance to host the world cup in 2018 and 2022. This means that not only are the men going down for the things they have done, but they are bringing the country down with them. Everyone knows that the hosting the world cup brings a large economic chance for the country, but now, Nigeria will not get the money they oh so direly needed.

From what I could gather, the five officials had been shuffling money around from the FIFA account straight into their pockets. Due to the fact that Adamu was one of the top executive members in both FIFA and CAF, he is the one who had been leading the whole operation. Therefore, he is suffering the most punishment.

There were some who were upset by this punishment and others who were upset with the Nigerian government for not stepping in and helping the FIFA officials. The claimed that by this getting out into the news makes Nigeria look corrupt and gives them a bad name. Of course, these were all the people who had worked with Adamu and FIFA. The people of the country had a very different reaction to the sentence given to Adamu. They said that it was Adamu's fault and he got what he deserved. They said he was throwing the Nigerian name into the mud, and that it was not the government's responsibility to cover for Adamu.

This relates to what we have learned in class because it ties back into the corruption of the wealthy in Africa. They have so much power and freedom that they were able to place so much money into their own pockets for years without anyone knowing it. If FIFA a worldwide organization had not stepped in these men would not have been discovered. We all know there is much corruption in the African system, but this is proof of corruption in the wealthy.

Man jailed after insulting governor on Facebook

Mukhtar Ibrahim Aminu, a 24-year-old man, was jailed for 10 days after insulting a state governor on Facebbok, and was release on Thursday. Aminu posted an "uncooth" message about Sule Lamido, current governor of the Mulsim state Jigawa, after the governor's public support of presidential candidate Goodluck Jonathan in the upcoming April elections. Jonathan, a Christian, has faced resistence in the Muslim north.

Aminu posted "O Allah destroy Sule Lamido and the rest of his friends" on Facebook, a statement which has no been removed. He was arrested on Janurary 19 and sent to trial on the 29. At first, the judge ordered that the man spend more time in jail, a verdict that was later retracted and Aminu set free. The commissioner has told reports that the governor dropped charges and withdrew the case in public intrest.

Ibrahim Aminu, father of the convicted man, is a former member of the Nigerian State Parliment. He believes that Lamido jailed his on simply to settle the political score against him.

Mukhtar Ibrahim Aminu has since been hositalized because of "tramau" from the incident.

This incident shows the inability of citizens in Nigerian to excersice freedom of speech against their government. Simply for speeching out against a political figure on a social media site, and man was jailed on perfectly acceptable grounds. The incident also shows the deep religious cleavages within Nigeria between the Muslim north and Christian south.