Nigerians are a greedy, gluttonous and self-centred lots, thinking only of themselves and immediate famlies. What drives them on is not service to their neighbours, community, the nation and humanity, but their overweening ambitions, filthy lucre, fame and extreme comfort. There's is hardly a relationship between Nigerians and (their country), Nigeria. The relationship between these homosapiens called Nigerians and their country run on a parallel line without an iota of interpersonal relationship with the latter.

Not surprising, there isn't a modicum of fellow-feeling amongst Nigerians, except where money is involved - the so-called NATIONAL CAKE or the looting spree - and this is worse amongst Nigerians in the diaspora, unlike countries like Ghana.

Since the nation's independence in 1960, the only unity it has achieved thus far is what I have called: SOCCER UNITY.

What generally governs the thinking of the average Nigerian is what they can get from their country - what's in it for me, and not what they can give to their country, thereby ignoring the wisdom of John Fitzgerald Kennedy: "Think not of what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."
DIASPORA NIGERIANS ARE WORST: THEY DON'T JUST CARE ABOUT OUR NIGERIA!

One would have thought that when a nation is at a critical stage of its national life, as Nigeria ever has been, its nationals in the diaspora would be more pre-occupied with finding solutions to such problems, as nationals of other countries, especially the Diaspora Jews had done in the past and still continue to do, but not so with Nigerians in the diaspora as they chase money 24/7 to meet their immediate families' needs and comfort, and for vainglorious ends to show off back home, especially when they visit Nigeria in accordance with the prevailing national value of money being the measure of value and all things.

Nigeria does not feature in their overall agenda and thinking, except where they think they can use a particular platform/media/NGO to obtain pecuniary rewards back home via contracts, political patronage, elective offices, etc, using these afore-mentioned platforms/fake NGOs to give undeserved awards to their so-called First Ladies, the country's morally bankrupt political officials, some very shameless traditional rulers, etc.

Whenever they are gaining and using these platforms to chop, left and right, chopping with even their legs - guess what the slogan is: ONE NIGERIA, of course! And whenever the reverse is the case, especially when they have fallen out with the system, and its agencies are calling them to account, guess what?

The whole hell is let loose and they will begin to verbalize such nonsense, and go about syndicating sorrow as Fani Power's boy has been doing, appealing to the the general gullibility and the naivety of the Christian community in Nigeria, hollering all over the place: DIS NA RUBBISH COUNTRY JO! We have nothing in common. Let us divide this country make everybody go their separate way. Dis maikunu just the dominate every place and corner everything to themselves unchallenged.
And they will go to the town square and blow the trumpets: "To thy tent, O Israel! To thy tent, O Israel! To thy tent, O Israel!

NOTHING IN COMMON?

But hang on a minute, you have nothing in common?

I must confess that I'm usually at a loss each time I hear my fellow compatriots, especially those from the South of Nigeria, verbalize such nonsense as we don't have anything in common with them, meaning their Hausa and Fulani compatriots - here's what forms the basis of their arguement for the call for each federated unit to go their separate way.

However, as argued above, whether in ancient or in modern times, socio-politico-psycho-geo-cultural homogeneity have never been possible, not even amongst the twelve tribes of Israel as during the land allocation, not all the original owners of those lands in which they had settled were driven out of Canaan and they had to inter-mix with and inter-marry the so-called strangers - those outside of the *Hebraic stock.

In their moments of frustrations with the ever recurring socio-political, and most recently cultural malaise, Nigerians do often forget that before the arrival of the Europeans in the 1800, leading to colonization, slavery and the consequent destabilization of the ancient civilization of the indigenous peoples of the Lower and Upper Niger, cum/together with the amalgamation of the Lower and Upper Niger in 1914 by an agent of the British colonial Government, Frederick Lugard, the indigenous people/s on both sides of the Great River had lived together, interacted by way of commerce and inter-tribal mariages, including many other kinds of socio-politico-cultural intercourses, which had come in form of bilateralism, be it military or trade, such as the trans-saharan and the saharan-sea trades.

Contrary to the rubbish/false claim that Mungo Park discovered the River Niger and the confluence between the Niger and Benue Rivers, the indigenous peoples had been fishing and using the two rivers for water transportation and many other purposes before the Europeans ever set their feet in Africa.
The Ijaws' (popularly referred to as Ekunekune by the Yalas) interaction with the people of Yala through their yearly seasonal expedition dates back to thousands of years before the barbarians ever organised themselves into the continent of Europe.

Personally, my families had been in-laws to the Hausas and Fulanis, and the Igbiras (known amongst the Yalas as Igbra) even before I was born. Whilst a kid and a pre-schooler in the village, my great grand mother ENE ODRA AGRINYA would always talk about Yala extending to Takum by always saying: Yala jimini ge kwi Yakro (Yakurr), ge kwi Gabu (Gabu), ge kwi Akpoto (Idoma and Igbira), ge kwi Takum. In a nutshell what Great Grand Ma seemed to have in mind was that they were Yalas in these places. This is what I have to find out some day, as the Lord lives - especially with respect to the Takums, for I do well know about the Idomas, and I do also know about the fact that there are some sort of language similarities between the Yalas, the Igbiras, and to some extent the Igalas. And for the Idomas, unarguably, they both have the same ancestral descent, both naturally and historically, hence they refer to themselves as Ogbangh lipu, meaning: CHILDREN OF THE SAME WOMB.

What is more, the yearly seasonal migration amongst the traditional Fulbe cattle rearers - the Bororos from the North to the South as distinct from the ongoing politically, religiously and culturally motivated land grabbing/stealing/seizure/dispossession which are manifesting as political ranches/political land grazing in order to extend the Saudi Arabia's Islamic empire to the largely Christian South had been in existence from time immemorial, preceding both the Arab invasion of Africa and European incursion into Africa, consequent upon the destabilization of the African civilization.

At a more personal level, that interaction between my families and the Hausa and Fulani people, led to these people of the Upper Niger to fondly call or refer to me as YARO MAMA.

In fact, as a boy growing up in the Village until this very day, I had been so much in the hearts and minds of the Hausa and Fulani people. During my boyish days, my father CHIEF PETER ADUMA OGRI alias SEA NEVER DRIES had been approached many times by the Fulanis grazing their cattle around his farmland at Okipu to allow them to adopt me. The fact of my education was the only reason my father Adamede Ogri (in Yala royal cosmos, Adamede is the title of the third in rank to the King and my father in that capacity was a mentor to many kings in Okpoma and was also, their very trusted spokesman) gave to them at various times to prevent their wish from becoming a reality.

Even when I moved to Ebo, my mother's clan, I was still very much in the eyes of the Hausas and Fulanis there. They were as fond of me as those at Okpoma - notably amongst them,  a man popularly called Mai Kasuwa, (real name not known), a very wealthy Hausa man, a popular butcher, then living in Yehe (Yahe), who was very, very fond of me, and would always stop to ask after my education and welfare whenever he would be passing on his motor cycle to Ukele, Wanikande, Igede,  Woleche Ebo, etc. He would pray for me and advise me not to join bad company and ask me to keep studying hard to maintain my excellent grades as a very brilliant and precocious boy.
The herders amongst them would invite my elder brother MR ANTHONY ONWOGIDI and other people at Ebo - Ipuole to attend such social events as weddings and christening of new borns. Even though, they did give me invites too, but because of my schooling, I was not able to personally attend. At such times, they would package plentiful meats and tuwo (rice) specially for me through my elder brother who then was my guardian at this time as I was staying with him at Ebo-Woleche, and later, Ebo-Ipuole when we relocated there.

I must say that a Fulani medicine man at Okpoma was among the early diviners of my future, and this Fulani actually offered to give me medicine to protect me from the enemies. Other predictions of this Fulani medicine man about my future would be reserve for a later date.
Not forgeting, my grandfather, OGRI EKAWU's  singular efforts as the mystic who drove the Fulanis away from Yala whenever  their animals became a nuisance, destroying the crops and farmlands of my people are legendary and are remembered till this day throughout Yala.

Lest I forget, in the course of all my investigations round the Northern States of Nigeria, I can remember with sweet and nostalgic memories how welcoming my fellow compatriots there had been, especially whenever I visited their fadamas, they would rush with bowls full of garden eggs and tomatoes to present to me, whilst announcing: "Bako!" "Bako!"

And outside of their fadamas, those in the urban areas and cities, Government Houses and individuals had equally extended that hospitality to me to put up with them in their Guest Houses, their private houses, Government Guest Houses for the period of each round of my many investigations that span across decades, but all of these generous offers were politely declined by me for obvious reasons - and they were all never happy at my turning down these invites.

And over a decage ago, when my elder brother Mr Anthony Onwogidi died, a relation of mine, Echukwu Olite whom we had both lived together with my elder brother, Ongwela Onwogidi and grew up together, although Echukwu was of a senior age grade, was to give me a lift on his bike from Ebo to Yehe when I was to leave Ebo-Ipuole for Okpoma, preparatory to leaving for Lagos, but his motor cycle stopped abruptly after a few metres going to Yehe.

But when he turned back facing the side of Wanokom, his motor cycle would miraculously start moving - and if he turned round with me seated at the back facing Yehe which was my destination, the motor cycle would stop. This mystery happened thrice in the course of Echukwu conveying me to Yehe. Whilst every relation that had milled around me to bid me good bye were wondering at the mystery, I suddenly remembered that this similar mystery had happened to me years back when this same relative of mine on one of my visits home from Lagos was conveying me to meet with my late elder brother, Mr Anthony Ownogidi at Woleche-Ebo, which was then his base, Echukwu's motor cycle stopped abruptly mid way between Ebo-Ipuole and Woleche- Ebo, and whenever he turned towards Ebo-Ipuole, where from we were coming and going to Ebo-Ipuole, his motor cycle would mysteriously start functioning again, but if he turned with me towards my actual destination, which was my late elder's place at Woleche-Ebo, his motor cycle would stop moving - and sensing in the spirit something was not right, I had to disembark from Echukwu's motor cycle, thanked him and politely told him I would rather walk the rest of my journey with my luggage to my late elder brother's place.

And noticing, something was not right after the re-occurrence of a similar incident when this same relative of mine was to convey me from Ebo-Ipuole to Yehe after my late brother's burial, I again as I had done the last one on my journey from Ebo-Ipuole to Woleche-Ebo thanked him, politely declined his taking me to Yehe on his motor cycle and disembarking from his bike, I told him I would rather walk to Yehe, a distance of 8 kilometres.

But no sooner had I disembarked, than a Fulani herdsman on his bike was beckoned to by my other relatives to stop and pick me to Yehe. The herder bike owner agreed to take N15xx from Ebo to Yehe, but on getting to Yehe, he refused to take the money saying: kabe rishi, kaberishi...lefam, lefam (meaning: don't worry, leave it!. Forget about the money...forget about the money.").  Having thanked him and was about to go, he offered to pray for me and I enthusiastically and whole-heartedly accepted his generous offer of prayers, realising, this was one of the numerous times the Hausa and Fulanis would pray for me. Besides my parents, I had received the most prayers from the Hausas and the Fulanis more than any group of people in the world. Whilst cogitating upon this generosity of my herder benefactor, many thoughts and questions coursed through my mind - did he sense in the spirit I had as a journalist been taking up their case up with all Governments starting from Ibrahim Gbadamosi Babangida till the time of my late brother's burial? The true/authentic Fulani Bororos, to me are generally imbued with prophetic giftings, in addition to possessing the spirit of discernment - psychic insight!

Some decades earlier, whilst working at Exam Success, between 1983 and 1985, another Hausa elederly man, Alhaji Sani Dauda, Baba Rakiya, a very wealthy Kano business man, whilst coming to enrol a ward/guardian of his for a correspondence course had prayed for me thus: "....I give you my blessings."

Baba Rakiya used to lodge at Excellsoir Hotel at Apapa in Lagos. And whenever he was in Lagos, he would stop by at Exam Success, Palm Grove, and would invite me down. Alhaji Dauda, like many other Hausas and Fulanis before him had proposed adopting me to live with him in Kano and offered to fund my education to a univeristy level. He did make many predictions about me just like others before him, but these would be kept secret until the appointed time.

As a matter of fact, I lived with an Hausa man, Sergeant Thomas Kade, a Bashaman (Bachama) from Numan in the present Adamawa State and his Igbo wife, Mama Rita or Mama John as she was popularly known then at the Military Cantonement, Ikeja, Lagos, whilst in secondary school, attending Aladura Comprehensive High School, Anthony Village, Lagos when my elder brother, Lawrence Onwogidi, who actually brought me to live with him in Lagos together with his immediate family after the 41 Division, Artillery formerly based at Agege in Lagos was moved to Badagry - and I used to join them there whenever on holidays. The reader must be aware that in barracks, any person from core North, no matter their ethnic nationality was regarded as an Hausa person.

Herein, then lies my heart beat, anger, lamentations, worries and sleepless nights over Boko Haram and all that are happening in Nigeria currently, especially the involvement of the once gentle, godly, friendly, very compassionate and considerate Fulani herdsmen and their families in the orgiastic killings that had been going on for sometime now, having been misinforemed about their other Nigerian compatriots and indoctrinated and poisoned against them by the Fulani and Hausa elites, politicians, emirs, clerics, mullahs, sheikhs, imams, etc, who have been busy all those years collecting money from Saudi Arabia and other Muslim majority nations to islamise Nigeria and introduce Sharia, the "sharia-creep" which I had spent decades warning the Nigerian Governemnts and the Nigerian people about!

Therefore, as one with insight knowledge of the root causes of the perennial clashes, turned into internecine war between the farmers and the Fulbe herders, consequent upon the ongoing pogrom being perpetrated by the latter and given tacit support by the Presidency under the arch-Islamist, jihadi Muhammadu Buhari, also brazenly supported by the security agencies, all urban/elite Fulanis and Hausas, all emirs, and of course, the cabals to whom all connected directly or indirectly to them never, ever smell the prison walls, and who are openly and brazenly supporting this dastardy, I can confirm to the peoples of Nigeria and all of humanity that the so-called herders of today are in fact, political zombies, created by these morally bankrupt, conscienceless and cannibalistic Islamists in high places, and who having given them mind-altering drugs (MADs), unleash them on their 'enemies' - the Christian South and the Middle Belters, who are yet to learn, strategise and respond appropriately and fiercely to this gruesomeness, bestiality/predatory and the invasion of their lands.

If Nigerians want to trace the origin of all the pogroms and domination of the Hausa and Fulani people over the rest of the country, they must follow Sakonfa, the mythical bird to the past and ask a very searching question: what did colonial Britain tell the descendants of Uthman Dan Fodio? Why did Sir James Robertson had to stay back after the independence with Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe, jocoseriously telling him he could stay as long as he wanted? What and how was he coaching and mentoring the Hausas and Fulanis to whom they had handed power on the nation becoming independent?

And what exacly have been the very negative influences of Saudi Arabia on Nigerian politics since the colonial times, through independence till date?
Just what is the Sunni-dominated United Arab Emirates's (UAE's) and the rest of the Sunni world's connection in all of the ongoing killings in Nigeria? And what are the roles of the House of Saud in the ongoing land-grabbing and killing sprees in Nigeria in order to expand their Islamic empire and begin to carry out their Islamic/Sharia agenda in the Federal Republic of Nigeria? Just who are the Saudi Arabia's agents in Nigeria - by this I mean their agents in the current Mujahid Buhari-Hausa/Fulani-Saudi Arabia-led Government, idividuals, political officials, individuals, charities, embassies, etc, etc?

On the international front, Pope Francis has been a leading voice in the the condemnation of the killings of Christians in Nigeria by the Saudi Arabia-backed Sunnis in Nigeria, and not surprising, Iran too had cried out when the Saudi Arabia-controlled-teleguided-Sunni-Government in Nigeria deliberately massacred close to 1, 000 Shi'ites in Nigeria, the pertinent question then is, why haven't the House of Saud, the Governments of the Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Muslim majority world join voices of reason and conscience to condemn these unwarranted killings of Christians in Nigeria by their Sunni Brethren, together with the monstrous activities of Boko Haram in the North East of Nigeria?

When the Israelis do kill Palestinians, the current Sunni Government in Nigeria do spend State resources to condemn the often tagged so-called injustices against "Our Brethren", just as all the previous Muslim-led Governments in Nigeria were won't to be doing in joining the global bandwagon to condemn such killings in the far away Middle East?

But why is it that when Christians are being killed in Nigeria by Muslims and in other parts of the world, no Muslim leader, nation and Government ever opens their mouth to condemn such unwarranted killings and general persecutions against the adherents of the Christain Faith?
If anyone out there in Nigeria is genuinely out to look into the killings of the Christians by the mostrous Muslim political zombies, they must be aware that in the last 25 years, I had never failed to bring to the attention of the Nigerian State that most of the authentic/original/native and indigenous Bororo herders had migrated to Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, etc, where grazing conditions are more favourable.

From my book: THE CALIPHATE DELUSION

***To be continued.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Odey Aduma was formely Executive Secretary, Foundry Association of Nigeria; Southern Coordinator of President Muhammadu Buhari's pastoralists NGO - THE PASTORAL RESOLVE; Chairman, Editorial Board of the Daily Times of Nigeria Plc; member, National Committee for the Nigerian Youth Festival, 1993; member, core Committee of the National Tecnology Summit and was the Summit's chairman for two of its sub-committees - Publicity and Exhibition, 1998; member of the Administrative Panel of Inquiry set up by President Olusegun Obasanjo to investigate the illegal trade in and smuggling of endagered species of wild fauna and flora into and out of Nigeria, 2003.

He was the Chairman, Planning Committee of the General Murtala Muhammed Memorial Lecture for two consecutive years, 2001 and 2002 before it attained a Foundation status in 2002, having first been upgraded to that status in 2001. General Murtala Muhammed was one of Nigeria's former Heads of State and was killed in the abortive coup led by the then Colonel Buka Suka Dimka on February 13, 1976.

That same capacity saw Mr Aduma delivering huge succcesses during the Daily Times of Nigeria's 75th Anniversary (in which he raked in N6, 000, 000 into the coffers of the Daily Times of Nigeria Plc) and also, playing a similar role in a similar capacity during  Dr Isma'il Babatunde Jose's 75th Birth Day. Dr Jose, doyen of Nigerian journalism was Mr Aduma's personal mentor. That relationship was so close and solid such that whilst Aduma was leaving the shores of Nigeria for Britain in 2003, Dr Jose gave him N10, 000.00.

In 1992, Mr Aduma's contributions to journalism was recognised with  the awards of the Nigeria Media Merit Award as the Investigative Reporter of the Year and the Diamond Awards for Media Excellence as the Reporter of the Year, and also, the British Chevening Scholarship, which saw him studying International Journalism at City University of London in 2003-2004, with specialism in Environment.

Aduma is the author of the inspirational best-seller, THE DIAMONDS ARE HERE and the founder of Vigilance, the World's Leading Security Magazine and Scorpion News Corp, in addition to founding the Nationalists Unity Movement of Nigeria (NUMON).

God bless our Nigeria.

The Voice of One Crying from the Diaspora...

*Proudly leading the NATIONALISTS UNITY MOVEMENT OF NIGERIA (NUMON).