Civilisation from a general perspective can be said to mean; A society in an advanced state of social development. The quality of refinement and excellence in thoughts, manners, and tastes. Civilisation is also variously described as being the opposite of barbarity.

Going by the articles and comments paraded in internet forums, NVS, beer parlours, and the frequent  bloodletting  that is unleashed on other Nigerians particularly in the North, I am persuaded to believe that  a significant proportion of Nigerians  would comfortably fall into the category of being “uncivilised”.  What is more tragic and worrying, is that even Diaspora Nigerians who have the blessing and benefit of  being exposed to highly organized societies, where the rule of law reigns supreme, still  seems unable to shake off the rigid Nigerian mentality that sometimes justifies even the unimaginable  and absurd. These category of Diaspora Nigerians live in the western world physically, but still live in Nigeria spiritually. It increasingly justifies the often quoted toga that “you can take a man out of the jungle, but you can’t take the jungle out of the man”

We have recently had an author in the NVS (name withheld) who lives in the United States of America, but who has remained so barbaric and uncivilised in his head, that all he does in his articles is amplify sweeping hate generalizations, and stereotypes about whichever race or ethnic group he chooses to pounce on. This particular fellow is so crude and unrefined that he even sought to justify the periodic killings in the North, by pinning it on stereotypes. Every group in Nigeria has one stereotype or the other held against them, if we have to kill on notions of stereotypes alone, then the whole of Nigeria and indeed the world would be an unimaginable killing field. This particular pathetic fellow has clearly illustrated how deeply entrenched the “jungle Nigeria” can remain in our heads even when we live in civilized climes.

History bears witness, that all those in various capacities who killed others on account of flimsy stereotypes where all demonised. From Hitler, to Idi-Amin, to Pol- Pot and back home to General Sanni Abacha etc. The verdict of history has rightly condemned these men to infamy. Stereotypes abound in every society, there is no shortage of it in Nigeria, but look outside your window, observe the men and women of every ethnic group passing in the streets, go to schools, churches, offices, etc and observe these men and women of every ethnic group, and ask yourself honestly; how many  of these Yoruba’s, Igbo’s, Efiks, and Ijaws actually fit the ignorant stereotypes about them that are being bandied about? In all cases you would find that the stereotypes just don’t fit. Some ignoramus cook up stereotypes from their experience with just 1 or 2 people from an ethnic group, and go on to label the whole group as being the same.

Violence is something which all human beings just like animals are capable of unleashing, thus the saying that, “nobody has a monopoly over violence”.  The Igbo, Yoruba, Ijaw etc have just as much capacity to kill, but you don’t see them doing that, not because they cant, but because of the level of civilisation inherent in the South.

In was in Nigeria for my mother’s funeral in February when the Denmark cartoon riots which claimed many lives broke out in the North. A cluster of Northerners live very close to my brother in-laws compound in Awka. A day after the riots had begun, I passed through that area on my way to my brother in-laws place, as I was passing by, I saw some young Hausa kids and their families playing in the area, I was particularly touched when some of the kids greeted me in perfect Igbo language. Even though I was very angry about the riots in the North, I can never even in my dream contemplate attacking or killing those innocent Hausa folks (God forbid). That is the difference between being civilized, and not being civilized. Thankfully throughout the duration of the riots in the North, nobody attacked the Hausa community in my hometown. Of course that has been the trend.

There is no town in the East where you will not see a large cluster of Northerners from Enugu, to Owerri, Onitsha, Aba, Port-Harcourt etc. Yet Igbos or other Easterners have never been known to attack or kill them, even at the height of provocation, save for the Denmark cartoon riots retaliation in Onitsha.

Killing would not be something that is new to Ndigbo (remember Biafran war) we can do it quite creatively. But we are not animals; we hold human life to be sacred and sacrosanct because of our, at least little civilisation Nigerian standard. That to me is the basic difference between “us and them”   

Some commentators have accused Ndigbo of feeling superior to other ethnic groups; there can be nothing farther from the truth. As I have said before elsewhere, Ndigbo are neither superior nor inferior to any group. We all, as God’s children are born equal.  The problem seems to be that people misinterpret self appraisal as construing, a feeling of superiority, but this is happening largely because the Nigerian mind has been programmed to see things only from a tribal perspective. Ndigbo have also significantly undertaken a lot of self criticism openly, perhaps even a little bit more than other ethnic groups.

There is nothing wrong with a Yoruba lad for example, undertaking some form of self appraisal saying; Yoruba’s are statistically the most educated Nigerians, this ordinarily should not be construed to mean that Yoruba’s are feeling superior to other Nigerians, just as an Igbo lad, saying Igbos are individually quite enterprising or hardworking should also not ordinarily be construed to mean that Igbos are feeling superior to other ethnic groups.

Other Nigerians from other ethnic groups sometimes do make the same observations of positive attributes about the Yoruba, Igbo, Ijaw, or Efik etc. We need to be more objective and open-minded in our outlook towards such issues to avoid jumping to the wrong conclusions. That is not to say we would not have some pedestrian, paranoid, loud, and overtly boastful individuals from time to time, as they exist in every ethnic group, but we should be able to isolate and ignore such freak individuals who are only a tiny minority.

I  have often been highly critical of  the  extremist elements of the  Caliphate North,   not because I hate them,  most honestly I feel more of pity for  such  obviously very ignorant and uncivilised  extremist elements who have absolutely no value for human life. The reason for my quarrel with the North has been quite specific. The re-occurring scandalous and shameful religious violence is a problem that has been identified by all and sundry as a national catastrophe and shame. And one that is quite capable of starting another war, and tearing the nation apart. Unfortunately there has been no moderate voices in the North  seeking to put an end to such barbarity, lending credence to the long held believe that the Northern establishment is behind the killings.

Part of the Image problem we Nigerians are facing, is directly linked to the barbaric killings in the North. The world wonders what kind of an uncivilised people we are, that such killings are taking place randomly, when you can not even kill a dog and go Scot free in their own societies. An Irishman I disagreed with, once called me “nothing but an animal” and justified it by saying, we slaughter ourselves in our society. That is a clear reflection of how they see us.

Civilised man is supposed to be highly refined, and excellent in thoughts, manners, and tastes. Obviously if a great majority of Nigerians had these attributes, our outlook, way of life, and society would have been very different. Most of the differences we see on ethnic and religious divides would not exist. The North which I pity so much is the worst hit. They are generally and comparatively more lacking in these attributes of finesse, and excellence in thoughts and manners. That explains why they are ever so unconscionably quick to hack their erstwhile neighbours to death.

We as a people should strive to attain the highest levels of all the attributes of civilisation. Once that is achieved, the attendant harmony will unshackle our abundant energies into more productive and constructive ideas for the re-awakening and reconstruction of our dying nation.

Email:lawrencenwobu@yahoo.com

Robot  Villager

# 1 Civilisation from a general perspective can be said to mean; A society in an advanced state of ...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 08.08.2006 07:16

kvin33  Villager

# 2 Be careful everyone. This game of claiming superiority over any group no matter how veiled, is a recipie for disaster. We forget that although analysis is good and sometimes helpful, plans for change and improvement are better and needed. This subtle glee I detect when southerners assign a "backwardness index" to our northern brothers on account of education statistics, commerce etc is short-sighted and counter productive. My point is, we must see the north for what it is: the northern conservative elite and the people. The elite maintain power by denying their people "too much" education and instituting and propagating fanatical Islam tendencies and cultural intolerance. For too long they have been successful because the rest of the country instead of undermining them have retreated and in a few cases have started copying them. Educational institutions in the east have been ignored for about 2 decades and are now effectively destroyed, any one from the east will tell you, if nothing changes, it is just a matter of time and they'll all be at par. So the result is: the Southern fanatics and Northern fanatics have hijacked the country. From the Sahara to the Atlantic, there is now an installed base of poorly educated, easily manipulated and hopeless youth. Fanatic Islam is being entrenched in the north. The Onitsha retaliation shows that the south east is willing to drag this into the gutter. Unfortunately, this is a example of what the future holds. This is in nobodys' interest! The moderates need to step up and engage in this war. We must see the people up north as part of our collective constituency. Look, if the people in the north stay less educated, then then they will be amenable to easy control by the say, religious fanatics. You can't have it both ways, if you choose to laugh instead of fight for their education, fine, soon you'll be fighting for your life as one day they'll be sent to descend on you. I believe that the majority of the north can be plied away from the control of their elites with sustained campaigns -over decades. We must engage these kids in the schools, media, everywhere. If the moderates up north, the progressives among them continue to be successfully marginalized, then we will have our collective cowardice and short sightedness to blame. Posted by kvin33| 08.08.2006 08:50

VOR  Villager

# 3 Most of the differences we see on ethnic and religious divides would not exist. The North which I pity so much is the worst hit. They are generally and comparatively more lacking in these attributes of finesse, and excellence in thoughts and manners. That explains why they are ever so unconscionably quick to hack their erstwhile neighbours to death. For someone that does not wish to stereotype, what do you call this? This ostrich article (“look at us southerners, we are more civilized than the northerners� ) trying to pit the south against the north and vice versa will not work. I know a number of uncivilized southerners for your information, those that will not think twice to kill for political appointment – or will you consider this civilized behavior? Why don't you try your hands at more constructive things? Write articles on how to solve the numerous problems in our country be part of the solution and not the problem! Thanks Kvin33 - we need more like you not people who trying to disguise blatant tribalism in form intellectual articles!!! Mr. Nwobu, how are you different to the Irish man that called you an animal because apparently "we kill each other"? Just has he has tarred all Africans (Nigerians) with the same brush so have you tarred all Northerners (including those boys you say greeted you in your language) with the same brush If you wish to do your own ethnic championing please restrict it to your area and don’t include other southern Nigerians, you do not speak for us! Thank you!! Posted by VOR| 08.08.2006 10:30

Obi  Villager

# 4 Well written. I was really touched by how you felt about those Hausa kids. It is not in our (Igbo) nature to kill. There is even a saying in Igbo which i can't remember, that reminds us of the imperative to keep our stranger out of harm's way. Other southern ethnic groups evidently uphold similar practice, buttressed by the fact that beside the Biafran war, history never recorded any serious tribal conflict amongst us. I have not been able to figure out why the killing of southerners in the North has gone unabated since the first Hausa massacre of the Igbo in Jos 1945. The Jos massacre was occasioned by an austere condition at the time, which the Hausa residents of jos blamed on the young Igbo governor general. Consequently, his Igbo kinsmen paid with their blood. Ndigbo are well mannered; they don't feel superior or talk down on any group. The bane of the accusations being levelled on them, is the harsh economic situation in Nigeria, and the inability of successive governments to put in place social programmes that can cushion the effects. In a country where there is a total absence of income support, unemployment benefit, child-care benefit, disability benefit and every other form of safety net, the group that is less dependent on the state will fare better than the others. In the process, every statement made by any member of such group could be grudgingly misinterpreted by the others. It is natural with human beings. And I can tell you that most of these accusations levelled on the Igbo by other Nigerians are based on this hypothesis. Concerning the unrelentless carnage in the North, I expect the privileged Northerners who contribute to the discussions in the NVS, to think about organizing orientation seminars for the Talakawas. Such that will aim to educate them on the need to respect the sanctity of life, irrespective of religion or race. Anyone of these Northern villagers that will assent to this idea, will have my nod, and that of many villagers I believe. If that will warrant financial contributions, I am ready. If we are to succeed, we must build a nation with common values, goals and aspirations. Posted by Obi| 08.08.2006 10:30

Chekereke  Villager

# 5 "This subtle glee I detect when southerners assign a "backwardness index" to our northern brothers on account of education statistics, commerce etc is short-sighted and counter productive" - kvin33. My brother, while I agree with all the salient points you raised, I have to disagree with the above. There is no glee (whether mischievous or malicious) intended whenever the north is described as backward. It is a statement of fact. Like you pointed out, the northern elites have subjugated the masses, and ensured that they are comparatively backward. They encourage the poor to send their children to koranic schools (turning them into ‘talakawas and al majaeris), while their wards are sent to Harvard and Oxford! This ensures that they have abundant fodder for their religious cannons! Since religion is the opium of the masses, they always have adequate quotes from the holy books, to confuse the poor masses, and make them believe that they were appointed by the almighty! What can we do bout it? I don’t really know, but I think articles like this should challenge us to start evaluating issues critically. Our educated brothers from the north should also start passing the message to the uneducated ones. They should be ready to rock the establishment's boat, and when they get into positions where they can influence government policy, they should use it to improve the education of the masses. After all, the south-west is the most educated part of Nigeria thanks to one person (Awo)'s efforts. Posted by Chekereke| 08.08.2006 12:04

ADEDOTUNB  JJC

# 6 I think we are missing the point here. The main reason for this sad phenomenon is the inability of the security forces and the legal system to bring the culprits to book. Who incites the violence? Have any of them faced the full force of the law, how many of them have been executed? The resulting chaos is a failing of the government. The order we see in the west is not a result of some innate quality westerners have, if you break the law there are consequences, that is the main deterent. The exact opposite of what obtains in Nigeria, the killing is just another effect of this sorry state of affairs. It is really no different from the corruption endemic in the nigerian society, another effect. Efforts at reorientation and the like are all well and good, but these are long term solutions, what do we do in the interim? Enforce the law, have some of the culprits executed and this will put a stop to this nonsense. Posted by ADEDOTUNB| 08.08.2006 13:47

cdimkpa  Villager

# 7 Dear Chekereke, After all, the south-west is the most educated part of Nigeria thanks to one person (Awo)'s efforts. I want to debunk the above assertion. The south west used to be, but now no more the most educated Nigerians. And, mind you, the emphasis is on most not best. Relatively speaking, there is really no good universities anymore in Nigeria. Nigerian universities are nowhere around the best 5000 universities in the world. The annual world university rankings confirm this. So what education are we talking about? The South-west has long been overtaking on the MATTER of education in Nigeria. Please check the jamb website: http://www.jambng.com/adm_ume.php http://www.jambng.com/polytechnics.php Find out for yourself the current situation of things. Many falsehood have been bandied about and it is time matters are put in the right perspective Posted by cdimkpa| 08.08.2006 14:18

Akin Oyesiku

# 8 Cdimkpa, Sorry to disappoint you...Chekereke is absolutely right! You can "debunk" the assertion of Chekereke all you want...but that will not remove the fact. Wetin! When will guys like you stop stressing yourselves over facts that can never be destroyed? Or is this part of the superiority-claim deceit? In spite of your so-called "debunk" though, you in fact made me happy when you stated that: "The south west used to be, but now no more the most educated Nigerians..." So, if the south west "used to be", what could have changed that situation? Here is your suggested opinion: "Relatively speaking, there is really no good universities anymore in Nigeria. Nigerian universities are nowhere around the best 5000 universities in the world..." So, are you saying that the "fall" in the quality of education affects only the people of the south west? For God's sake, where is the logic? Then you went on to state that: "The South-west has long been overtaking (sic) on the MATTER of education in Nigeria. Please check the jamb website" JAMB my foot! Definitely, you're one of the products of the said falling standards of education in our nation. Otherwise you would not rely solely on some JAMB admission lists as your statistical data in determining the most educated section of Nigeria? You don't even have to be an expert in statistics to figure this out! For your info, for some years back, there have been many parents, notably in the south west, who have chosen to ignore JAMB. Rather, they have been sending their kids to tertiary institutions abroad and private schools within Nigeria. Go to all those private universities in the country and take a census of the students! Afteward, you can come back here to do all the "debunk" you want to do. Haba! http://www.jambng.com/adm_ume.php http://www.jambng.com/polytechnics.php Posted by Akin Oyesiku| 08.08.2006 15:43

Element

# 9 The south-west is still the most educated sector of Nigeria. University degree owners do not have to be educated. Ever before Awo came into the picture, the southwest has always been light years ahead of other areas, having graduates in the 19th century! We must give credit for that. Awo was not the first Yoruba lawyer or graduate? But Zik was one of the few Igbo graduates of early 20th century Igboland. Do not subtly dismiss the achievement of others. These days majority of the 'superior tribe' sell spare parts and engage in questionable business deals more than others in Nigeria, and we are always hearing of better than others? Do not be surprised that even the often denigrated ones above the River Niger do have civilizations which have existed before our 'superior tribe' ever stepped out of the calico wearing mode and are still struggling to adjust to the new lifestyle. How about the killings in Onitsha, and the Okija shrines, and the 'anu-madu' epithets, are these signs of civilization. Spare us this nonsense of ingratiating what you are not. We need to go beyond tribe and speak holistically of advancing as Homo sapiens in a world where Africans are still at the lowest rungs of the ladder. The withdrawal into comparisons always tells about chip on somebody's shoulders. Posted by Element| 08.08.2006 15:44

Eche

# 10 Akin Oyesiku: There is no need for the Mumbo jumbo about checking out private universities. The established Jamb statistics is more reliable for now.Thanks. Element: Civilisations and Empires rise and fall. First was the Egyptian civilisation, then the Ottoman Turks, the Romans, the British, and now America, tommorrow it could be China. So your argument about whose civilisation was first in Nigeria is stale and dumb. Jamb statistics downloaded below: Decree Decree Board History Board History Registrar/CEO Registrar/CEO Management Team Management Team UME UME PCE PCE UME UME PCE PCE Application Application Admission Admission UME UME Polytechnic Polytechnic NCE NCE UME UME PCE PCE ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Home Contact JAMB What's new Check Mail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- UME APPLICATION STATISTICS UME 2001 A total of seven hundred and seventy- five thousand, nine hundred (775,900) candidates completed and returned application forms for the 2001 Universities Matriculation Examination. Out of this number, twelve thousand, eight hundred and forty-three (12,843) candidates did not turn up for the examination at their various centres across the country. The sum total of all those who sat for the examination therefore is seven hundred and sixty-three thousand and fifty-seven (763,057). Application by states The tables below shows a breakdown of the states having the highest and lowest number of candidates: S/N STATES NO. OF APPLICANTS 1 Imo 78,495 2 Delta 66,211 3 Anambra 56,159 4 Edo 54,368 5 Ogun 50,101 6 Ondo 37,346 Total 342,680 S/N STATES NO. OF APPLICANTS 1 Borno 3,076 2 Katsina 2,449 3 Kebbi 2,190 4 Taraba 2,149 5 Yobe 1,330 6 Zamfara 523 Total 11,717 Application by Faculty The pattern of application by faculty shows that there is a high demand for the professional courses such as Administration, Engineering, Medical Science, Law and the Social Sciences. S/N FACULTY TOTAL NO. OF APPLICANTS PERCENTAGE(%) 1 Administration 200,436 25.83 2 Agriculture 4,796 0.61 3 Arts 31,656 4.07 4 Education 6,659 0.85 5 Engineering and Environmental Technology 129,857 16.73 6 Law 75,398 9.17 7 Medical Sciences 121,570 15.66 8 Sciences 39, 931 15.14 9 Social Sciences 153,835 19.82 Total 764,138 100 Application by Gender A total of three hundred and eighteen thousand, four hundred and eighty - one (318,481) female applicants subscribed to various courses in both the federal and state universities in the country. With this figure, female applicants accounted for 41.04% of the total applicants (775,900) seeking admission to pursue first degree programmes in the Nation's Tertiary Institutions. Further analysis shows that Imo State has the highest number of female applicants with thirty - nine thousand, four hundred and thirty - four (39,434), followed by Anambra State with thirty - one thousand, six hundred and thirty - six (31,636) applicants while Delta State has twenty - seven thousand, eight hundred and fourteen (27,814) female applicants. See more: 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- View Detailed University Application Statistics -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2006, Joint Admissions And Matriculation Board, All Rights Reserved. Home About the Board Contact Check Mail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by Eche| 09.08.2006 01:36

---

The conversation continues in our forum. Click here to read all comments

---