The northerners seem to be at the forefront of political sophistry.  Here's a Yoruba woman that has become a senator representing Southern Adamawa senatorial district in the Senate! The rest of the nation should learn from this event and realize that we do not need constitutional amendments or some unconstitutional national conference before doing the right thing.

Senator Grace Folashade Bent is a Yoruba woman but represents Southern Adamawa senatorial district in the Senate. In this interview with Sunday Trust, she gives reasons why she crossed the mountains to Adamawa state to be married to Major Jackson Bent (rtd), her relationship with her in-laws, and how she operates, being one of the few women in a male-dominated National Assembly. Excerpts:

Distinguished, you are from the South West. We would like you to tell us how you met your husband, considering the fact that he is from the north east. How were you able to fall in love with him, what were the sweet things he told you that made you ignore the long distance?

I am a very spiritual person, and I believe in destiny. In life, God has a plan and purpose for every individual. God has the blueprint for our lives. He orders our steps. He knows where we are going even before we were formed in the womb.

Read the rest of the story here:

http://www.sunday.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2606:my-world-as-a-yoruba-woman-married-to-a-bachama-soldier-senator-bent&catid=57:cover&Itemid=126

Senator Grace Folashade Bent

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I'm sorry to burst your bubble mr Ndu Chuks, Folashade Bent is representing the middle belt and not the mirage called "north". Adamawa south, kaduna south, plateau state, benue state, taraba state, parts of nassarawa, Niger states etc have a collection of people with their distinct tribes, languages and cultures; collectively they're known as the middle belt.
I know this cos i'm of Nok extraction from southern kaduna, we prefer to be referred to as middle belt and not "north". Usually North in Nigerian parlance refers to hausa people, while i have no problem with hausa people, we know we definitely are a very different culture from hausa people.

^^^^ hahah lmfao

edoyad:

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I'm sorry to burst your bubble mr Ndu Chuks, Folashade Bent is representing the middle belt and not the mirage called "north". Adamawa south, kaduna south, plateau state, benue state, taraba state, parts of nassarawa, Niger states etc have a collection of people with their distinct tribes, languages and cultures; collectively they're known as the middle belt.
I know this cos i'm of Nok extraction from southern kaduna, we prefer to be referred to as middle belt and not "north". Usually North in Nigerian parlance refers to hausa people, while i have no problem with hausa people, we know we definitely are a very different culture from hausa people.

You should be smart enough not to miss the main point of the topic because of your prejudices.  Please refer to your primary school geography text book and discover that when North, East, West, South etc are discussed, middle belt is not part of the lexicon. olodo

When I say Northerner, I am refering to areas of Nigeria excluding the old West, and East.  The main point I'm making should not be lost in semantics. This is not a discussion about middle belt, its about Nigeria as a whole.  You are free to posit that the Northerners are not more politically savvy than other Nigerians, but that would be your cup of tea. My own take remains just that.

So too my primary school books tell me that Nigeria is composed of hausa, "ibo(sic)" and yoruba people which is of course a worse lie than the one you just told.
May be if hausa people spent more time on education than politicking you would know these things.

edoyad:

So too my primary school books tell me that Nigeria is composed of hausa, "ibo(sic)" and yoruba people which is of course a worse lie than the one you just told.
May be if hausa people spent more time on education than politicking you would know these things.

I think you woke up on the wrong side of the bed.    Abeg carry ya wahala go, if you don't want to discuss the main point I was making.

Don't you think its time that residency alone should determine who can represent a particular area in the parliament? Won't you agree that an Igbo man who has lived all his life in Kano should be able to contest for office in Kano?  Won't you agree that if a hausa man that has lived in Enugu for 20 years he should enjoy the same rights as Enugu indigenes?

@Topic,
So you just knew. She's been a senator from Adamawa since 2007 and she's the Chairperson of Senate Committee on Ecology. Her husband is from Adamawa but she's a Yoruba from, I think, Osun.

@Edoyad
The whole of Adamawa is in North-East. No middle-belt here. Chuks is correct with his assertion.

Of course i agree and started a thread to that effect, but don't come here and give credit for Folashade's presence in the senate to the "north", cos we know what that usually implies. I hope you know kaba people of kogi state are historically yoruba people and fall in middle belt. Smart Adeyemi can be said to be another yoruba man representing the middle belt though his case is different cos He's from kogi state unlike senator Shade who's from Osun.

edoyad:

Of course i agree and started a thread to that effect, but don't come here and give credit for Folashade's presence in the senate to the "north", cos we know what that usually implies. I hope you know kaba people of kogi state are historically yoruba people and fall in middle belt. Smart Adeyemi can be said to be another yoruba man representing the middle belt though his case is different cos He's from kogi state unlike senator Shade who's from Osun.

I'm glad you noted the bolded portion of your post. There's no point comparing apples to oranges.

first of all stop talking nonsense, She is not from osun state, she is from Obasanjo area, OGUN STATE, Do you see why she won. And did she win? ? that question is for your mind.

Theface200:

first of all stop talking nonsense, She is not from osun state, she is from Obasanjo area, OGUN STATE, Do you see why she won. And did she win? ? that question is for your mind.

Please read the interview, the lady is from Osun state. Please provide references in you have contrary information.

Mr jarus, let me inform you on something. The North Central geopolitical zone, is a diffent entity from the middle belt. People of middle belt extraction happen to fall into other geopolitical zones by reason of the politics that was used in state creation. That is why you hear people of southern kaduna extraction agitating for their own state because they bear no connections culturally and historically with the people they're zoned with. It is same for the people of Adamawa south, parts of bauchi and gombe states too. In this areas you wont find Emirs cos the people are predominantly christian, and even when they're not christian they still hold on to their cultural traditional titles.

The opponents of this topic are just too fo.oolish that they cannot deduce the salient point of the thread which emphasizes unity in diversity. Please spare us such unwarranted prevarication of issues and make commendable judgements.

Dont mind the bigots, they shall always be in denial.

ndu_chucks  
 obasanjo was the reason. ok, agree osun state. obasanjo was the reason why.   look at what she said,  

At a point in time, they did not know I could speak Hausa. Some of them went over the radio and the television to campaign against me because I was a Yoruba woman. The greatest opponents I had were my husband’s friends. Infact, there was a particular one that my husband really helped. He bought his marriage suit for him. He was his close friend but he was the same one who took a public address system telling people not to vote for a Yoruba woman.

http://sunday.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2606:my-world-as-a-yoruba-woman-married-to-a-bachama-soldier-senator-bent&catid=57:cover&Itemid=126

Does that give a sense that they love her her or yoruba people, so 1 yoruba woman living in a state with 2,000,000 northerner         1/2000000


Obasanjo

sd-6:

The opponents of this topic are just too fo.oolish that they cannot deduce the salient point of the thread which emphasizes unity in diversity. Please spare us such unwarranted prevarication of issues and make commendable judgements.

sd-6, Your statements are most welcomed and refreshing. Thanks.

Fact, Shade Bent removed senator Jonathan Zwingina in the PDP adamawa south senatorial seat.
Does the name Jonathan sound like a hausa name to anyone ?
Does the name Zwingina sound like a hausa name to any one ? If you know any body from adamawa state ask them which people bear the name Zwingina.
The day a yoruba or ibo woman married to kano man wins senatorial seat in kano state comeback and talk diversity, rubbish !

It seem some people are not happy when good news come from the North, Anyway, the same is happeningin the South,

Theface200:

ndu_chucks  
 obasanjo was the reason. ok, agree osun state. obasanjo was the reason why.   look at what she said,  



http://sunday.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2606:my-world-as-a-yoruba-woman-married-to-a-bachama-soldier-senator-bent&catid=57:cover&Itemid=126

Does that give a sense that they love her her or yoruba people, so 1 yoruba woman living in a state with 2,000,000 northerner         1/2000000


Obasanjo

Assuming what you said was true, then why is she still in office, why are the people not kicking for her removal - if they didnt love her; they certainly dont hate her either.

However, the question that begs to be answered:is where has the equivalent or anything close to the above ever happened in Yoruba, ibo land or anywhere else in Nigeria; other than the present example, in the north.

As for the Obasanjo factor; another question: who put him there?

olanajim:

It seem some people are not happy when good news come from the North, Anyway, the same is happeningin the South,

Unfortunately, left to some people nothing good can ever come from the north? Tis a pity that its true.

My guy, stop acting draconian, which north ? That thing happened in adamawa south, middle belt, predominanlty christian. How many hausa people use Jackson Bent as a name or have daughters called Ricky Bent ? If you're asking yoruba people that question why are you not asking your hausa people the same question ?
Can you believe this joker ? Or are hausa people exempted from Nigeria now ?

I am 100% behind edoyad! I can understand him very well.

A lot of us southerners need more lessons about the so called north.  

The day this type of a thing happens in Kano, we may then reevaluate.

ndu_chucks, try another move.

I was in Kaduna during the Zango kataff  riots and I know what edoyad is trying to say.

Leave the comedians. They're coming here to talk of the wife of a Bachama man removing Jonathan Zwingina from his seat and trying to lay claim to it. It would be like Niger Delta people citing Wole Soyinka as an example of their heritage. Are hausa people the same with bachama people in Adamawa state ? Cite an example from sokoto, Zamfara, Kano, Jigawa etc, states or senatorial zones with predominantly hausa people so we can see.

The fact still remains that she is a Yoruba woman who won a senatorial seat in Adamawa State.
That's a big plus for the female constituency and it also shows the tolerance in that part of Nigeria.
The last time we saw such was during 1993 elections when option A4 was adopted.

And what part of Nigeria would that be Mr ola ?

ndu_chucks:

sd-6, Your statements are most welcomed and refreshing. Thanks.

Ndu, long time no see, how is chi_chi, bruv, and emc ? laterz, bai bai.

Cheers

G. 

@ edoyad
Oh what a load of CRAP from a so called educated man.
Are you by any chance suggesting that the senate seat for Adamawa south is at the exclusive preserve of the bachama christians - as if it is a sort of heritage and not an elected office - how silly can you get.
You must be high on burkutu (local brew) again, didn't teacher tell you that it is not good for the brain cells?
As for the middle belt not being part of north, well try google northern Nigeria and note its composite make up. You may also wish to tell your governors to stop attending meetings/ activities of northern states since they are not part of the north; better still, ask southerners if they regard you or the so called middle belt as not part of the north, or whether they would care to distinguish you (christian or not) from hausa/fulani when taking reprisal attacks against these latter people.

By the way, during the June 12 elections of 1993, Kano people voted for a Yoruba man, MKO Abiola( against their own son, Bashir Tofa) as well as the entire northern states, not to a mere senatorial seat but for the presidency of Nigerian i.e. the most coveted seat and currently the excuse for on going agitations.

It would do you good to read your history again, Mr. educated man, perhaps it might cure you from the affliction of selective memory - quite commonly associated with ethno religious motivated hatred - that has become evident in you.

Many folks here arguing against Edoyad's point are  doing so because they've never been in the north and don't understand the very strong points he has raised.

Ndu Chucks, your point is very clear and understandable and I agree with the fact that such representations should happen more across the country, however you made a statement referring to the term "the northerners" and that is the point Edoyad disagrees with.
Middle beltans, like Edoyad, see themselves as Middle Beltans and not as "Northerners". The term Northerner usually refers to those of the Hausa Ilk.
Adamawa South where Senator Grace Bent represents is Middle belt.

The Northern region is divided between the Middle belt and the Core North, The core north is predominantly Hausa/Fulani Muslim, while the middle belt is mainly Christian with so many tribes such as Jukun, Berom, Idoma,Igala, Tiv, Kataf, Igbirra, Nupe, Bachama and so many others.
I had been for long periods in Taraba state, and I can tell you categorically that there is a wide difference between the core north and the middle belt both culturally and geographically, which I think, is the point Edoyad is trying to get across to the forum.

Go and tell Tuface Idibia(Benue) or Wande Coal(Taraba) or M.I(Plateau) that they are northerners and they would tell you straight up that "you are wrong"  and that they are "from the middle belt"!

Edoyad's point is simple. while such acts are possible in the middle belt, they are practically impossible in the core north. In fact, up north, there are hardly any female politicians as the religion of Islam as practiced there, to a large extent appears to abhor female participation in politics.
The core north would not even allow for a Christian from that state to be elected in any position talk less of someone from another state.

PapaBrowne:

Many folks here arguing against Edoyad's point are  doing so because they've never been in the north and don't understand the very strong points he has raised.

Ndu Chucks, your point is very clear and understandable and I agree with the fact that such representations should happen more across the country, however you made a statement referring to the term "the northerners" and that is the point Edoyad disagrees with.
Middle beltans, like Edoyad, see themselves as Middle Beltans and not as "Northerners". The term Northerner usually refers to those of the Hausa Ilk.
Adamawa South where Senator Grace Bent represents is Middle belt.

The Northern region is divided between the Middle belt and the Core North, The core north is predominantly Hausa/Fulani Muslim, while the middle belt is mainly Christian with so many tribes such as Jukun, Berom, Idoma,Igala, Tiv, Kataf, Igbirra, Nupe, Bachama and so many others.
I had been for long periods in Taraba state, and I can tell you categorically that there is a wide difference between the core north and the middle belt both culturally and geographically, which I think, is the point Edoyad is trying to get across to the forum.

Go and tell Tuface Idibia(Benue) or Wande Coal(Taraba) or M.I(Plateau) that they are northerners and they would tell you straight up that "you are wrong"  and that they are "from the middle belt"!

Edoyad's point is simple. while such acts are possible in the middle belt, they are practically impossible in the core north. In fact, up north, there are hardly any female politicians as the religion of Islam as practiced there, to a large extent appears to abhor female participation in politics.
The core north would not even allow for a Christian from that state to be elected in any position talk less of someone from another state.

Papabrowne, your points are well taken.  There is no reason to debate whether the Northern region is divided between the Middle belt and the Core North as this is trivial to me.  I've already explained that when I used the term northerner in my initial post, I was referring to the Northern region of old which includes middle belt. 

Whether the act in question is possible in the today's "core North" is debatable. I for one think the rest of the country should emulate Adamawa State in this regard,  and that is the more important point I was attempting to make.

In a country with more than 250 ethnic groups or tribes, it is easy to see why people like Edoyad would offer such a vigorous protest. I'll gladly change my initial statement to "The Middle belters (or some Northern states) seem to be at the forefront of political sophistry" if it'll help to protect the main point of the post. I have no interest in starting another Zango kataff type of conflict in cyberspace.

@papabrowne, leave the deceitful liars to keep fo.oling themselves, they think the rest of the country is ignorant of their petty machinations. They know all these things but for some strange reason seem to think whatever it is they concoct has blinded the eyes of other folks. Thanks also for the Tuface and MI illustration(MI is actually from taraba but nothing spoil It's all middle)

Yes mr aboki, it so happens that during retaliations to religious riots in the south east, people of middle belt extraction sometimes fall victims cos they too are called hausa ; but that is more out of ignorance than anything. As time has gone by, that is sorting itself out. And as for the middle belt govs, Jang did not attend the last rubbish they called which itself is a signal to you.

ndu_chucks:

I have no interest in starting another Zango kataff type of conflict in cyberspace.

lolz, J, you never change.

cheers

G.

Who is her husband? Is she married to an Adamawa person? If so what is wrong in her being a Senator in Adamawa? This is completely insignificant

@ edoyad
Always deviating from the real issue so that you can continue to spew your venom of hatred.
So gov Jang did not attend the last northern govs. meeting (even though he had been attending all along)- oh, big deal.
What about the other govs from the so called middle belt, didnt they attend, including your own state gov.- shouldn't that also tell you something?
How does that change the reality on the ground, that the middle belt is and is still seen as part of the north - lest if you can physically uproot it from its current location above the Niger - whether you or all its people wish not to identify with it or not; the fact still remains that:
A Yoruba woman had been elected as senator in Adamawa state in northern Nigeria and that such a feat or its equivalent has so far not been repeated elsewhere in the country. Period.