A Nigeria Thread (Non-Music Division)

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I liked it fwiw, his points abt the "Left" are mostly on target although imo a bit reductive in terms of seeing 'the Left" as some monolithic entity

love his slam on colonial Britain as well

brain floss mix (sleeve), Thursday, 29 January 2015 16:57 (nine years ago) link

basically an article that needed to be written, hope it gets read more widely than it probably will.

brain floss mix (sleeve), Thursday, 29 January 2015 16:58 (nine years ago) link

I have missed this left-wing Boko Haram apologism. Does it exist?

Vasco da Gama, Thursday, 29 January 2015 17:03 (nine years ago) link

did he mention left-wing apologism for boko haram or just the left-wing cynical exploitation of boko haram to deflect attention from charlie hebdo but otherwise total ignorance?

Mordy, Thursday, 29 January 2015 18:13 (nine years ago) link

At the end he approvingly quotes Mark Ames saying that the left views Boko Haram style jihadis as an anti-imperialist hence progressive force.

People who wanted to divert attention from CH to Nigeria probably wanted to say something like “the West doesn’t really care about Islamic terrorism, it only cares when it hurts white people, or when there is political currency to be gained by appearing to care”.

Vasco da Gama, Thursday, 29 January 2015 18:53 (nine years ago) link

well i mean i agree w/ mark ames analysis of the post-colonial left (aka any enemy of the west is a friend of mine) but i think he's more speculating about why the left doesn't care so much about boko haram (or seleka, or houthi, or a few years ago janjaweed in darfur, etc) under normal circumstances, but not suggesting that there's a cottage industry of boko haram apologia which would be too crass for everyone.

Mordy, Thursday, 29 January 2015 18:57 (nine years ago) link

for one thing, you have to know something about these countries before you can even start on the apologia. easier to just ignore it.

Mordy, Thursday, 29 January 2015 18:58 (nine years ago) link

People who wanted to divert attention from CH to Nigeria probably wanted to say something like “the West doesn’t really care about Islamic terrorism, it only cares when it hurts white people, or when there is political currency to be gained by appearing to care”.

I did see this

curmudgeon, Friday, 30 January 2015 15:48 (nine years ago) link

That guy paints with too broad a stroke re "the Left", "Sahel/Muslim" etc and of course only takes on certain "cool bloggers" (meaning Greenwald, et. al)while ignoring governments and "the right" and right-wing bloggers. Acknowledging enduring aspects of colonialism is propably too cliched left for this guy (some of his writing I just skimmed so I could b ewrong). Thus, it seems like he is just more interesting in some "gotcha" points against certain lefty bloggers, than in trying to get people to really care about Africans in the affected areas.

curmudgeon, Friday, 30 January 2015 16:00 (nine years ago) link

well to be fair he makes it clear that he has been trying to get ppl to care about that for years now, and this column was mostly venting about the way the issue has recently come up

brain floss mix (sleeve), Friday, 30 January 2015 16:03 (nine years ago) link

i think he legitimately cares, but yeah his shtick is a kind of matt taibbi style outrage for the geopolitical set- he's not a particularly sensitive writer. (but also i don't think he feels the need to condemn the right-wing since Pando/Exile is nominally left wing - so they're swinging at ppl in their group)

Mordy, Friday, 30 January 2015 16:04 (nine years ago) link

mordy you do a good job being "provocative" by posting the most asinine "thinkpieces" on political issues, even ones you disagree with. i'm not sure if you think you're going god's work or what.

I dunno. (amateurist), Friday, 30 January 2015 18:50 (nine years ago) link

i'm instantly skeptical of anyone who invokes "the left" as some kind of monolithic enterprise

I dunno. (amateurist), Friday, 30 January 2015 18:51 (nine years ago) link

note to self: never click on a mordy link again. i've wasted so much time reading thinkpieces by smart people making really dumb, overly broad arguments.

I dunno. (amateurist), Friday, 30 January 2015 18:57 (nine years ago) link

idk about "god's work" but I do prefer a "wrong" provocative piece to a "right" boring one

Mordy, Friday, 30 January 2015 19:08 (nine years ago) link

your reaction to an article you didn't like seems a bit over the top imo

Mordy, Friday, 30 January 2015 19:21 (nine years ago) link

i'm just sick of reading stupid thinkpieces, is all.

I dunno. (amateurist), Friday, 30 January 2015 19:36 (nine years ago) link

idk about "god's work" but I do prefer a "wrong" provocative piece to a "right" boring one

― Mordy, Friday, January 30, 2015 1:08 PM (28 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

disagree. who need to get their blood pressure up for no reason? not me.

I dunno. (amateurist), Friday, 30 January 2015 19:37 (nine years ago) link

Maybe its a worthwhile discussion in its own right but I'm not particularly interested in the whole leftist disingenuity wrt Islam angle he hooks the piece on. His gloating on the matter cheapens whatever genuine interest and sympathy he purports to have; even more so when he links back to earlier pieces in making his point that feature the same factional sneering.

Beyond that its a pretty good illustration of the nonsense you're likely to come up with if you evaluate culture and religion in broad strokes and through the prism of warfare. His conflation of all Sahelian conflict is particularly daft. His relating of Boko Haram to Arab racism/skin tone is baffling and completely nonsensical.

The blunt vilification of the Kanuri is appalling bordering on outright racist. In fact much of the ethnography he employs in that piece vacillates between patronising, ill considered and flat out malicious. Its baffling to me that he thinks it makes sense to refer to century old sources that are couched in the scientific racism that underpinned the colonial period and use them unreservedly in blanket evaluations of modern day people. He might as well bring out some tape and start measuring skulls.

This is a decent (and relatively concise) appraisal of much of what the article touches on for anyone that's interested.
http://africanarguments.org/2014/12/19/the-tragedy-of-borno-state-local-dimensions-of-boko-harams-insurgency-by-michael-baca/

The history he lays down is extensive (even admirably so) but also deeply flawed. You're better off disregarding his description of the civil war and its causes entirely. The narrative that places the Igbo as victims of Nigerian history and the Hausa/Fulani as the hand of oppression is seductively elegant and easy to swallow but also beyond facile. I strongly suspect that much of his understanding of the Biafra war and the Igbo people came from Chinua Achebe's "There Was a Country" and while a great read, it is a reflection of Achebe's place in Nigerian history as an Igbo man that loved his people and fought for Biafra. It reflects his growing disillusionment with the realities of Nigerian statehood shortly before he passed. It is a memoir, not a dedicated historical text but it's quite clear that this guy has treated it as such.

A weird piece. Aside from the Igbophile streak and a blanket disdain for Islamic Sahelian cultures I can't really understand where he's coming from or place what paradigms he's followed to get to a lot of the conclusions he's made. I can't be too mad at that because he's essentially working in a vacuum with this. The people he considers his peers aren't likely to challenge what he writes here and I guess that gives him room to take a lot of license with the topic. At least in that sense the lack of "Hunger for Knowledge" he refers to presents a real issue.

To his credit I will say the aside about Ben Okri made me chuckle.

tsrobodo, Tuesday, 3 February 2015 23:33 (nine years ago) link

Thanks

curmudgeon, Wednesday, 4 February 2015 16:11 (nine years ago) link

yeah, good critique there

parakeetal pancreasface (sleeve), Wednesday, 4 February 2015 16:13 (nine years ago) link

An NRA style response to a NY Times article on the brutality of Boko Haram:

Why can't we arm the women? Everyone else has guns. They seem as plentiful as gum drops. At least then they'd have a fighting chance.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/06/world/africa/boko-haram-refugees-recount-brutality-and-random-killings-in-nigerias-north.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

curmudgeon, Friday, 6 February 2015 15:07 (nine years ago) link

i'd love to read a breakdown of chad's foreign affairs involvement over the last 2 decades

Mordy, Friday, 6 February 2015 15:12 (nine years ago) link

Chad's involvement in Mali with the French was considered a success by some, but its role elsewhere as you have noted has been considered more problematic. Someone must have published and posted a study or report or something on their recent history

curmudgeon, Friday, 6 February 2015 18:31 (nine years ago) link

Nigeria’s election agency on Saturday night put off a closely contested presidential election after weeks of pressure to postpone it from the ruling party, which analysts say was facing potential defeat for the first time in more than 15 years

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/world/africa/nigeria-postpones-elections-citing-security-concerns.html?mabReward=R4&action=click&pgtype=Homepage®ion=CColumn&module=Recommendation&src=rechp&WT.nav=RecEngine

curmudgeon, Monday, 9 February 2015 16:56 (nine years ago) link

one month passes...
two weeks pass...

Goodluck Naija

A MOOC, what's a MOOC? (Bananaman Begins), Saturday, 28 March 2015 21:27 (nine years ago) link

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32139858

General Buhari won. 1st time a sitting Nigerian president has been defeated in an election.

curmudgeon, Tuesday, 31 March 2015 22:49 (nine years ago) link

So he's gonna stop corruption and Boko Haram.

curmudgeon, Wednesday, 1 April 2015 14:35 (nine years ago) link

Yup he'll also bring peace to the middle east and make the NCAA pay student athletes.

Reaction has been relatively muted which I guess isn't surprising. I'd imagine most feel like his presidency doesn't actually start until we get first indication of how good (or bad) he's actually going to be.

Asari-Dokubo is tacitly and eloquently threatening a return to militancy in the Delta which is also expected but his words are resonant.

“While President Jonathan enjoys his moments and basks in the euphoria of a new world-renowned statesman having congratulated Muhammadu Buhari, we must quickly be reminded that our struggle was never about Jonathan or about the presidency.

“President Jonathan is an establishment beneficiary of our struggle, our sweat and blood that many bled and died for. He was never in the struggle and he can never wish away our collective march for statesmanship.

“Yes indeed, to an extent, he was a mitigating factor in self-determination pursuit as we went on sabbatical. This mitigation he seems to have willingly repudiated. The days coming will be critical. We shall study all the conditions and consult widely before determining the way forward for our collective existence and survival as a people. The days coming shall either drive the quest of integration or further separate us.”

tsrobodo, Thursday, 2 April 2015 11:10 (nine years ago) link

Is this the dude who jailed fela?

Mordy, Thursday, 2 April 2015 13:28 (nine years ago) link

I think so

curmudgeon, Thursday, 2 April 2015 16:53 (nine years ago) link

http://granta.com/lagos-must-prosper/

Mordy, Friday, 10 April 2015 23:07 (nine years ago) link

14 April marks one year since the nearly 300 ‪#‎ChibokGirls‬ were kidnapped in Nigeria, and kidnappings and violence are ongoing. Today, UNICEF released a report about the hundreds of thousands of children facing abduction and conscription in regions where Boko Haram is active. ‪#‎365daysON‬ ‪#‎BringBackOurGirls‬

hard to believe it's been a year

Mordy, Tuesday, 14 April 2015 14:01 (nine years ago) link

two weeks pass...

Just got around to reading the piece on Lagos you posted Mordy, it was excellent. Captures a very wide snapshot of where the city is right now. Thanks for putting me on to that guy had never heard of him.

tsrobodo, Tuesday, 28 April 2015 17:09 (eight years ago) link

two weeks pass...

Hopefully the Nigerian government can finally do something but it does not look good

curmudgeon, Tuesday, 19 May 2015 14:31 (eight years ago) link

three months pass...

this is outrageous - that it's going on and that it has been ongoing w/ barely a whisper in the media:
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/09/18/number-of-children-displaced-by-boko-haram-surpasses-1-4-million/

Mordy, Friday, 18 September 2015 18:15 (eight years ago) link

four weeks pass...

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/16/dozens-die-in-double-suicide-bomb-attack-on-nigerian-mosque

I really hope the US can bring some stability to Nigeria. I know it seems unlikely but this seems to me like the kind of foreign intervention that the US can execute effectively and make a difference. It reminds me in many ways of the recent French intervention in Mali - and not just because I love music from both countries. For one, they actually seem happy that the US is there: http://news.yahoo.com/nigeria-welcomes-us-troops-cameroon-over-boko-haram-152233717.html

Mordy, Friday, 16 October 2015 03:02 (eight years ago) link

Also, although it gets a bad rating from the Democracy Index, surely the election in March and peaceful transition of power is an indication that democracy is much healthier in Nigeria than previously thought?

Mordy, Friday, 16 October 2015 03:04 (eight years ago) link

I met a guy from here this summer who was definitely not treating his job as a sinecure: https://www.cert.gov.ng/
I actually think that bodes well. A tiny anecdotal indicator but hey

BRAAAAAAMETHEUS (El Tomboto), Friday, 16 October 2015 03:11 (eight years ago) link

to unpack that a bit - having a national CERT function is a bit of a luxury, and having one that has senior staff who really seem to care, and want to work collaboratively with their peers and counterparts, is a sign that a state is investing in infrastructure in a pretty forward-thinking way. If you want an advanced economy then you invest in ICT capacity, and if you want the best ROI on your ICT investments then you sponsor security and risk management functions like a national CERT. If that is indeed where NG is heading then that's really exciting. This reminds me yet again that I need to pay more attention to G77 goings-on.

BRAAAAAAMETHEUS (El Tomboto), Friday, 16 October 2015 03:56 (eight years ago) link

just supplying intelligence not combat

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/14/us-nigeria-bokoharam-usa-defense-idUSKCN0S828F20151014?mod=related&channelName=worldNews

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/14/us-nigeria-bokoharam-usa-idUSKCN0S823F20151014

U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the troops would provide intelligence to a multi-national task force being set up to fight Boko Haram and composed of troops from Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Chad and Benin.

curmudgeon, Friday, 16 October 2015 15:08 (eight years ago) link

three months pass...

just in case you weren't sure if the boko situation was still a horrific mess: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nigeria-violence-idUSKCN0VJ265

Mordy, Thursday, 11 February 2016 17:56 (eight years ago) link

Stealing NG's bandwidth
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/content/dam/news/photos/000/838/83851.jpg

Lurkers of the world, unite! (Sanpaku), Thursday, 11 February 2016 21:13 (eight years ago) link

Incredible thing is how much further it is to the absolute front.

I mean yeah the scale of the thing is grotesque and the traffic it results in is beyond insane but once you actually go to the camp and see the orphanage, rehab centre, soup kitchen, the schools, banks, the clinic, maternity centre and the jobs the whole outfit generates, Wole Soyinka grumbling about the Ibadan expressway seems somewhat irrelevant.

tsrobodo, Saturday, 13 February 2016 15:20 (eight years ago) link

nine months pass...

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/12/world/africa/niger-nigeria-boko-haram-food-crisis.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

DIFFA, Niger — Only 2 years old, Fatouma Ouseini lay in a hospital room, undernourished and listless from fever.

She is among the nearly half a million children expected to endure the food crisis that has plagued the Lake Chad region in the past year, aid groups say, a disaster brought on by Boko Haram’s relentless campaign of killing, kidnappings and looting of entire villages.

Fatouma and her family fled from just across the border in northeastern Nigeria, the epicenter of the war with Boko Haram, where scattered areas have teetered on the brink of famine for most of this year, according to the United Nations. Now, some aid workers fear that similar conditions could spill over to bordering areas like here in Niger, putting even more children at risk.

More than 70,000 people fled their homes along the border between Niger and Nigeria in the first half of this year after militant attacks increased. Many have resettled in Diffa, living in labyrinth-like neighborhoods of mud-brick homes, competing with longtime residents for food and water.

Will see what the UN and ngos can do...

curmudgeon, Monday, 12 December 2016 19:31 (seven years ago) link

three years pass...

On the current mass protests against police brutality (that I mentioned in the Wizkid thread):

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/12/world/africa/nigeria-protests-police-sars.html

https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2020/10/14/in-pictures-protests-in-nigeria-2/

Queer activist Amara, one of the protesters profiled in that Al-Jazeera piece, ran into her own problems unfortunately:

A lady brought a 🌈 rainbow flag
and our fellow
protesters turned on us at Berger Roundabout Abuja.
they tore our placards and seized the flag.
I got it back but they refused that we fly it.
I wore it on my neck and they refused.
said we either take it off or leave.
I’m leaving pic.twitter.com/ZyaTzR7TQg

— Amara, the lesbian. (@the_amarion) October 14, 2020

Welcome to Nonrock (breastcrawl), Thursday, 15 October 2020 14:22 (three years ago) link

Good thread on the protests:

I’ve been looking for a thread to share with some context to the #EndSarsNow protests for my followers but I haven’t seen one yet – so I’ll do one. Feel free to quote tweet threads in the replies.

— Black as in Revolution. (@annie_etc_) October 11, 2020

xyzzzz__, Wednesday, 21 October 2020 10:20 (three years ago) link


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