Nigeria's descent into holy war - by Daniel Elombah

Note: An Igbo point of view

Causes.com

9 February 2012

Nigeria's descent into holy war - by Daniel Elombah 

Last night I had a long telephone conversation with my brothers and sisters living in several parts of northern Nigeria, and confirmed that Igbos are indeed fleeing the north. I also spoke with members of my family living in the southern part, and confirmed that Hausa's have fled the south. I ask fellow Nigerians: Quo Vadis...My answer? nunc diminitis

If Igbos Flee the North,and Hausa's flee the South, and Boko Haram is allowed to Massacre Igbos and other Christians in the North, in "ethnic and religious cleansing", seeking to ignite a response in the South; What it will take to set the country on fire is just one serious retaliatory killing of the Hausas in Igboland....and then THE END WILL COME!!!

A single retaliatory killing would change the trajectory of this war and let loose hordes of Alamajiris against the Igbos in Northern Nigeria in an orgy of Violence, killing and looting.

These killings were reminiscent of the start of the Nigerian civil war which claimed over a million lives in the late 1960s. We are reminded of the pogroms, and the genesis of the Biafra war that took place in Nigeria.

It is evident that the Nigerian authorities have no answer to this style of flash gun attacks, the same way they had no answer to the bomb attacks.

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I spent my early childhood in the northern part of the country, precisely in Niger State. I maintain contact with friends from the north. I have also spoken with some political leaders from northern Nigeria on this issue. In contrast to how some of my friends feel, the feelings of these northern politicians about this Boko Haram are at best disappointing, almost amounting to tacit support.

Their feelings seem to be: 'since Goodluck Jonathan stole the presidency from us, let him govern and let us see; we are watching him, let him solve the problem and let us see.'

What they fail to understand is that if this house is allowed to crash, it will also consume all of them!

To my Arewa friends I say: Boko Haram is giving Islam and Northerners a black eye! evil thrives when good men do or say nothing!