Should We Get Involved?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/nigeria-violence-islamist-gunmen-kill-hundreds-after-opening-fire-in-busy-village-market-9334388.html

Should the UK, the US and France get involved in Africa's problems?

The Nigerian government doesn't seem to be particularly concerned neither does the African Union.

The continent of Africa is a very large continent containing many countries, some of which have various problems that are alien to civilised countries.

Will Africa ever join the rest of the modern world or are they confined to living forever behind the rest of the world?

Yes I know it upsets some to hear of criticism of Africa and it's people, but these issues must be addressed not for just us but for the good of the African people.

All I ask is "Should we get involved" "Get involved in a more determined manner" "or leave Africa to the Africans"?

[jim360]

Somehow I just knew that you were going to say I had suggested that...

[Brenden]

What a ludicrous situation we are in when Jamaican led Caribbean islands are suing us for reparation over slavery and we are being asked to step in over slavery in Africa. Although I think something has to be done regarding these poor young schoolgirls I notice Jamaica and the Caribbean have not offered any help and they are so incensed over slavery (in which they also partook). Leave it to Africa for a while to see what happens - lets not go in like bulls in a china shop (whatever we seem to do comes back and bites us). Let us concentrate on the child abductions and slavery that is still going on in Europe.

[Bazile]

Well given that we consider that we should have the interest of our nation at the forefront of every thing we do , then yes , subject to certain proviso's .

Afterall , we went into iraq , because of the oil , didn't we ? .
i'm not saying that we should set the sat nav on our aircraft carrier ( have we still got any aircraft carriers ? ) and head towards Africa ; however i dont beleive it is wise to sit back and pretend that we are immunne from events occuring in other parts of the globe .

Smoke doesn't have any respect for borders - neither does terriosm , which is easily exported to other countries , as has been tragically illustrated several times recently .

[anotheoldgit]

If we go into Africa over this, what is saying that there will be some Islamic nutters in this country, condemning us or even taking much more serious action for getting involved in matters concerning Islam?

[Baldric]

Chambers says

COLONIST, noun 1 someone who settles in a colony.

[youngmafbog]

No, I dont think we should get involved if it means boots on the ground it would only come back to bite us.

Advice, yep I have no problem.

[Brenden]

And Islam is the main religion in Africa I believe - take a look around the world and see what is happening when Islam raises it head in a crisis.

[Bazile]

//If we go into Africa over this, what is saying that there will be some Islamic nutters in this country, condemning us or even taking much more serious action for getting involved in matters concerning Islam? //

Don't we get condemned for far less ?

[Gromit]

The problem of religious unrest in Nigeria is of British making.

During colonialisation the British merged the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate, to form the present country. The North was muslim and the South was Christian.

That probably wasn't a brilliant idea.

[Gromit]

// And Islam is the main religion in Africa I believe //

You believe wrong. It is 45% Christian and 40% muslim,

See the distribution here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Religion_distribution_Africa_crop.png#mediaviewer/File:Religion_distribution_Africa_crop.png

[Brenden]

It was 47% Islam last time I looked.

[Bazile]

//I notice Jamaica and the Caribbean have not offered any help and they are so incensed over slavery (in which they also partook). //

Brenden
And what particular help do you think Jamaica and for that matter caribbean countries could give in this instance - they are hardly millitary powers , are they ?

[naomi24]

Gromit, this isn’t ‘religious unrest’ – this is fundamentalist Islam at its craziest – and Britain did not create that.

[anotheoldgit]

Gromit

/// The problem of religious unrest in Nigeria is of British making. ///

Now how did I know you would have put that?

/// During colonialisation the British merged the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate, to form the present country. The North was muslim and the South was Christian. ///

I always thought that the British were criticised for separating certain countries not uniting them?

[jim360]

Separate or unite, I think we can all agree that the way the former Colonies of the British Empire and all other European nations (Belgium, France, Germany) -- that the way they were divided, and where the borders were drawn, was horribly artificial and didn't at all reflect where the real divisions lay. Perhaps the worst example of this was how North and South Korea were created, initially when someone saw a map of the country on the National Geographic with the 38th Parallel drawn in and thought "yes, that will do". It didn't.

[anotheoldgit]

jim360

And what borders separate England, Scotland and Wales?

Yet we all get on reasonably well, well at least we are not forever hacking each other to death.

[jim360]

They aren't straight lines, at least, and in the early days of the borders between the countries there was rather a lot of "hacking to death".

Whenever you see a border on a map that's a horribly straight line, you should expect a troubled history, and especially if the border is recent a troubled present too.

Sometimes I wonder if you are arguing for the sake of it. Can't you see that borders imposed on a native people by outside invaders are a recipe for disaster?

[naomi24]

Why on earth are people banging on about borders? This group, like all potty Islamic militants, are intent on gaining complete control. Their aim is to overthrow the government and to create an Islamic state. Make no mistake.

[Gromit]

AOG

Are you saying that merging a muslim region with a christian one was a sound idea?

I would have thought you would be the first to point out the flaw.

[jim360]

This particular issue may have nothing with border troubles. But a wider issue is that places such as Africa etc. were essentially carved up by the departing colonists. That didn't exactly help anything. Similar crap happened in India/ Pakistan, Cyprus, Korea, etc. etc., and can't just be dismissed as having no importance.