English

NIGERIA: A COUNTRY IN DISARRAY.
BY: BODUNDE BABATOPE MOSES

Nigeria as a federal republic is composed of 36 states and a capital territory. The country is estimated to have a population of 120 million. This population consist of more than 250 ethnic groups, with different languages and culture. There are four large ethnic groups which comprise two-thirds of the country’s population. The Hausa and Fulani in the North, the Yoruba in the south west, and the Igbo in the south east. The fifth largest group is the Ijaw in the Niger Delta area followed by the kanuri in the north east and the Tiv in the middle belt.

Solidarity with the Comitê de Resistência Popular
(Peoples Resistance Committee)

A house in the dockland area of Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, that was vacant for more than 10 years, was occupied in December 2003 by a group of poor families organised by the Comitê de Resistência Popular. In former times this building was used as a source of income by letting it for different purposes. According to some neighbours the house was lastly used as a garage for private vehicles. Less than a week after the occupation the possessor of the building, the Irmandade de Santissimo Sacramento da Candelária (a confraternity of the Catholic Church), demanded the restitution of their property.