The recent news that Sudan has finally ended its long years of war and is about to usher in a new referendum that will separate the Christian south of the country from the Muslim North has sent a collective sigh of relief across the continent and half way around the world. It has also sparked discussions among several of the well meaning Nigerians I happen to know.
Their position is that Nigeria may benefit from towing a similar path, i.e. issuing a referendum to split the country along the North-South divide. A very nice sentiment, one that i can understand a person having in view of what Nigeria's been through. There is one little problem however. There is no 'North-South' divide in Nigeria. Our problem is far messier than that. There is the North-South distrust and disagreements, the East/West rivalry, the South East/South South grudge, the Middle Belt/ Deep North in-fighting, the Midwest/West exclusionary tactics. No, there is no easy way to divide the country. To the man in Jos, the 'Northerner' is as much an outsider to him as it is to a southerner. We live in a country where the tribe, the place of origin, is king. With over 200 of them, which tribe commands enough of the Nigerian space to go off on its own? None.
If they want us to fix our problem, lets figure out a way to do it that will encompass our reality. Lets not just say things because its been said over and over. Nigeria is not Sudan. I wish them the best, God knows, Im glad the killing is over. I hope their arrangement works out. But please, let no one try to apply the same logic to Nigeria. The last time it happened, it left us with the bitter taste of war in our mouths. no one swallows a bitter pill twice, unless they are really sick. And I like to think we're not. Peace out.
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