A region at war with itself

Since I was born, I have never seen Nigeria more divided than it is this time under President Muhammadu Buhari. Even those who shared the same geographic location, history to some degree, and even ancestral origins at one time, are fighting today.

To be precise, the current standoff between Hausa and Fulani is so disturbing to my psyche. Who really cursed us? Have we been used to such trivialities before or did we just find ourselves in this mess we find ourselves in right now by accident?

How can we convince the rising generation that the North was once a peaceful land where people mingled peacefully with each other regardless of tribal affiliation or other identity considerations? After all, sparkling tales have gone from bittersweet to ugly.

Maybe the identity crisis was such a dark thing in the North at that time. For several decades, the ethnicities have been very accommodating to each other as if they were of the same origin, although they are to a certain extent. They even managed to bury the ethnic difference by creating social unions between them.

Unfortunately, today we are talking about another issue. Things have changed over time. We bow down and take on another dimension that goes against that of our grandfathers. Growing hostility is out of this world to date among major northern ethnic groups.

It is completely unseemly for the conflicting parties to avoid the story of their peaceful relationship to cheap questions that are not worth destroying their cordial relationship.

However, there is a lesson to be learned for the future. Furthermore, I suspect a plan orchestrated by intruders to break this eternal combination. Soon the invisible hands kindling the fire of animosity between the interdependent parties would bury their faces in shame. The North will never be divided.

Abdulrahman Yunusa, Bauchi

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