The first thing I will tell you as a Nigerian is that Nigeria is not at war, but this does not tell the whole story.
There are issues that have happened in the country that will give off the feeling that the country is at war. There are quite a lot of disturbances in Nigeria because Nigeria is basically a mashup of people that do not necessarily have a lot in common, but we are mashed together on a piece of map by the Europeans.
And this amalgamation of people from different places has led to unrest, depending on what part of the country you are in. So yes, it could be said that Nigeria is at war, but also Nigeria is actually not at war. Nor at war with any other country at all today, and definitely not at war with itself.
But that is not the full story. And I will use the following subtopics to explain what is actually happenng.
The Boko Haram Menace
Nigeria is currently grappling with issues of terrorism, especially in the northeastern part of the country, occasioned by the Boko Haram Islamic sect terrorists. This group of people has an agenda, and it is to make the country more Islamic and to reject anything that has to do with Western education.
These terrorists often wage war on the country, especially on the northern borders, and the height of this was when they kidnapped hundreds of girls in Chibok. The Nigerian military has not really lived up to its expectation of bringing peace and calm to the northeast.
Boko Haram has been dealt a blow, but they have dealt us a blow as well. So if you are reading this news on the pages of your newspaper in America, Australia, Canada, or Cambodia, then it will appear as if the country is at war, because truly the images that acts of terrorism leave behind are those of a country at war.
The movement for the establishment of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)
IPOB, are a group of people who are fighting for the breakaway of the eastern region of the country to become their own country. The eastern region had a fight with Nigeria in the 1960s, spearheaded by General Ojukwu, and the war, which raged on for three years, led to the deaths of at least, perhaps, a million easterners, and they have not been able to break away since then.
But that doesn’t mean that they have not tried. They have renewed the cause for the breakaway of the eastern part of Nigeria, and this agitation has been hijacked by people, kidnappers, and bad actors who hide under the name of agitation for the eastern country to perpetrate evil.
Of recent, even a convoy of United Nations workers was attacked in eastern Nigeria, if you see such images in the pages of your newspaper in Japan, China, or Mauritania, it’s going to look as if, of course, Nigeria is at war.
The Odua People Movement
As the northern part of Nigeria rages into war, in the form of terrorism, and the eastern part of Nigeria says they want to break away, the western part of Nigeria, dominated by the Yoruba people, have also said they also want a country of their own.
The Yoruba people are also clamoring for their own breakaway, and in recent times, this has been spearheaded by a man called Sunday Igboho. But their desire to have a country isn’t because they really want to break away from the country; it is more because of the inability of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to provide adequate security for the Yoruba people, especially farmers, who are often left at the mercy of Northern herders.
It’s more of a threat than a war. There’s actually no violence. So Nigeria is not at war. Nigeria is relatively peaceful, but this doesn’t mean that there aren’t issues here and there. In particular, there have also been issues with bandits, who attack people and cause terror. But Nigeria is not at war, even though you will see images of what looks like a war-ravaged country coming out of Nigeria.
Author
Abbey Johnson has a Masters degree as an engineer and has over 3 years of teaching and research experience. He is happiest when on a bike and is also interested in electric energy and computer Science.