The Maitatsine Revolution in Nigeria

The Maitatsine ‘Revolution’ in NigeriaThe spate of disturbances which had the appearance of Islamic fundamentalismin Nigeria in the early eighties can be viewed as a passing phase ofunderdevelopment. This symbolizes the realities of the Third World countriesespecially the African continent, where subsequent inefficient administrationshave created a people at odds with itself, hampered by theunderdevelopment of its economy, and socio-political lives, large turn-overof regimes and governments, all of which are engaged in governmentalmismanagement, military autocracies, and democratic dictatorship. Such disturbances,if not promptly nipped in the bud, can lead to a more serious disturbancereminiscent of the war in Chad and Ogaden desert or the revolts in Shaba.Of interest here is the series of riots which took place in some states ofNorthern Nigeria spanning specifically from Kano (1980), Bulumkutu (1982)and Jimeta Yola (1984). There were scares in 1982 of the same riots in majortowns in the North including Bauchi, Jos, Zaria and Sokoto. There were alsoclashes with the police in Kaduna, the headquarters of the former NorthernRegion, where an Assistant Police Commissioner was captured by the riotersand killed!Since then, there has been an avalanche of comments by the general public,many of them trying to find the cause(s) of the unrest. These various commentsassumed such a divergent outlook that it is not easy to group them neatlyunder any general heading(s). They range from the trivial and grotesque tothe most serious; from the possible and plausible to the absurd. While somedubbed the riots as sheer religious fantacism, others thought that it was politicallymotivated; and yet athers believe that the disturbances were caused byfaceless illegal aliens; while there are also those who think they were causedby outside interests like Mossad or Al-Mafisa ...