The PortalNews

  The #OgbaruMassacre and the reasons for the persistent insecurity and massacres in Southeast (By Barrister Aloy Ejimakor). Before post-colonial Nigeria lapsed into its current unitary state, while still passing off as a federation, regional security was largely within the purview of the respective regions, not the federal government. And it worked pretty well.  This basic arrangement was not by chance but by well-considered design. Despite their many failings, Nigeria’s indigenous founding fathers and the departing British colonists knew too well that you cannot secure a people within their region without their participation.  Even the mighty British empire knew too well that it couldn’t secure colonial Nigeria without the participation of Nigerians in vast numbers.  In a diverse federation of equals (or even near-equals), Northern Nigerians shouldn’t be the ones exclusively or dominantly securing Western or Eastern Nigeria, and vice versa.  When you do that, ...