Bloodbath In Nigeria

Rwanda and 100 Days of Bloodbath: Lessons for Nigeria

By: Adeyinka Abdulfatai TOMORI

Sometime in the night of 6 April 1994, an incredible incident happened in Rwanda; the plane flying both the Rwandan President, Juvénal Habyarimana, who was from the majority Hutu and his Hutu president of Burundi, Cyprien Ntaryamira was shot down as it prepared to land in Kigali, the two presidents died as well as every other person on the plane. Responsibility for the attack was disputed, with both the RPF and Hutu extremists being blamed. This assassination set off a violent reaction, resulting in the Hutus ' conducting mass killings of Tutsis and pro-peace Hutus, who were portrayed as "traitors" and "collaborationists". This was the beginning of the popular

During the colonial era, the boundaries of the English colony were drawn to serve commercial interests, largely without regard for the territorial claims of the indigenous peoples. Nigeria thus became a forced marriage which did not receive the approval of the couples involved. As a result, about 350 ethnic groups comprise the population of Nigeria, and the country’s unity has been consistently under siege. Several attempts at secession have threatened national unity since the origination of Nigeria, the Biafra War being the last large-scale attempt of secessionist movements. Sadly, thus far, it is very disturbing that a majority of Nigerians have become slaves to their ethnic origins, instead of exploiting these diversities towards national

This will be seen as a total declaration of war on the innocent peoples of the areas and self-help methods including revenge killings will be uncontrollably entrenched. If the Federal Government has failed woefully in taming pockets of group crimes, it will be a near impossibility for it to control such “war by all against all”. With recent happenings across the country, it may most likely be correct to say that Nigeria is nearing “a Rwandan Genocide” episode, considering the ongoing tension in the land. Nigeria should indeed be wary of the grave and detrimental effect of ethnocentric tendencies vis-à-vis the atrocity and barbarity that occurred 20 years ago in