If the northern states are ruled by sharia then in what sense is the country really unified?
Well you'll have to thank the British for that, I will explain why.
Let me start by saying that you Americans were never really into the colonial business, so you don't really understand what the British and the French were really up to when they ran their African empires.
The British had a cosy relationship with the local feudal Islamic rulers because they came into the colonial business seriously understaffed and it was simply more convenient for them to rule through the local feudal power structure. Unfortunately, that meant:
1. That the British encouraged Sharia law.
2. That communities that had spent several years withstanding Usman Danfodio's Islamic Jihad were suddenly brought under the control of Usman Danfodio's successors.
3. The British went out of their way to DISCOURAGE the activities of Christian missionaries in Northern Nigeria.
The end result was that after the colonial era, the local Islamic rulers felt even more empowered to spread Islam, because they rightly concluded that the British were on their side.
(Before you get too cocky and wonder why the Brits were so daft, that is EXACTLY what you are doing in Iraq and Afghanistan)
So your good friends the British wrote Sharia into the legal code of Nigeria, that is the foundation of the problem. Then local politicians with the support of Saudi Arabia (Nigeria is mainly Sunni) decided to take it a notch further and implement the Saudi Arabian version of those wretched laws. This understandably, created problems for non-Muslim minorities and has led to never ending orgy of violence.
Should Nigeria be split? For all the best efforts of the mad mullahs of Sokoto and Kano, Christianity is still growing rapidly. A study by the Pew Forum illustrates the impact these two religions have on women - The number of Muslim women of child bearing age who cannot read or write is 71.9% as compared to 23.9% for non-Muslim women. Thus Christianity is growing even in the heavily Muslim areas due to its observable impact on attitudes to work, maternal mortality and education. If the nation splits, a significant Christian population will be left to live in Somalia-like conditions in the World's newest Islamic State.
As a Christian, I doubt the wisdom of a split. I really care about my Christian brethren.
P.S: Let me add that the British are at it again, they have introduced Sharia to Britain (and so have the Canadians). As usual, the Brits learn the wrong lessons from their colonial mistakes.
Well you'll have to thank the British for that, I will explain why.
Let me start by saying that you Americans were never really into the colonial business, so you don't really understand what the British and the French were really up to when they ran their African empires.
The British had a cosy relationship with the local feudal Islamic rulers because they came into the colonial business seriously understaffed and it was simply more convenient for them to rule through the local feudal power structure. Unfortunately, that meant:
1. That the British encouraged Sharia law.
2. That communities that had spent several years withstanding Usman Danfodio's Islamic Jihad were suddenly brought under the control of Usman Danfodio's successors.
3. The British went out of their way to DISCOURAGE the activities of Christian missionaries in Northern Nigeria.
The end result was that after the colonial era, the local Islamic rulers felt even more empowered to spread Islam, because they rightly concluded that the British were on their side.
(Before you get too cocky and wonder why the Brits were so daft, that is EXACTLY what you are doing in Iraq and Afghanistan)
So your good friends the British wrote Sharia into the legal code of Nigeria, that is the foundation of the problem. Then local politicians with the support of Saudi Arabia (Nigeria is mainly Sunni) decided to take it a notch further and implement the Saudi Arabian version of those wretched laws. This understandably, created problems for non-Muslim minorities and has led to never ending orgy of violence.
Should Nigeria be split? For all the best efforts of the mad mullahs of Sokoto and Kano, Christianity is still growing rapidly. A study by the Pew Forum illustrates the impact these two religions have on women - The number of Muslim women of child bearing age who cannot read or write is 71.9% as compared to 23.9% for non-Muslim women. Thus Christianity is growing even in the heavily Muslim areas due to its observable impact on attitudes to work, maternal mortality and education. If the nation splits, a significant Christian population will be left to live in Somalia-like conditions in the World's newest Islamic State.
As a Christian, I doubt the wisdom of a split. I really care about my Christian brethren.
P.S: Let me add that the British are at it again, they have introduced Sharia to Britain (and so have the Canadians). As usual, the Brits learn the wrong lessons from their colonial mistakes.