Nigeria: Living in fear as tensions rise

The International Crisis Group says polarisation has been exacerbated by the disintegration of public services, forcing people to rely on “self-help measures through ethnic, religious, community and civic organisations”, and that resulting friction has been fuelled by the “eagerness” of the oil-rich country’s ruling elites to exploit social cleavages and factional mobilisation.

They also reported that:

“Splits within the government of Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and increasing jockeying for power have seen a rise in the number of political assassinations and a general sense of insecurity across the country“

As Nigeria slowly disintegrates, with 37 percent of its population subsisting on less than $1 per day.

In other news, a gang of students in the south beheaded a fellow student, killed another and buried a third alive in what may be a politically connected attack. Grim stuff.

LAGOS, 26 September (IRIN) – The town of Dutse in northern Nigeria was recovering on Tuesday after 1,000 people fled their homes in the latest in a series of inter-communal flare-ups that analysts warn could escalate in the coming months.

The violence that erupted in Dutse, capital of Jigawa state and close to the border with Niger, last week was sparked by rumours that a Christian market trader had blasphemed against the Prophet Mohammed. Analysts say the unrest is part of a trend whereby unemployed youths in the dirt-poor, yet oil-rich, former British colony are using religious pretexts for looting sprees.

Mobs of young men rampaged through the predominantly Muslim town, looting shops and burning churches and other buildings belonging to Christians. Over 1,000 people sought refuge in police stations, according to police officials.

Posted by Szamko
Just tries to tell the truth.