By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde

Why do they hate us so                much?” was the text      I received from someone who read the comments from some Nigerians of southern origin at the bottom of my article The Advancing Violence in Saharareporters last week. In the question, 'they" connotes such Southerners that are fond of making hate comments whenever a view is contrary to theirs is expressed, while "us" means northerners. That was not the first time I received such an inquiry. Many northerners, if you will permit me use the term just for the purpose of this discussion, continue to wonder why they have been targets of hate speech by some people in the press, especially on the Internet where people can hide behind fake names and publish anything unfiltered.

By Dr. Aliyu Tilde

Foreigners are often surprised to discover how religion is deep-rooted in the psyche of the overwhelming majority of Nigerians. When the Egyptian-American doctoral student of Harvard, Sarah al-Tantawi, visited me early this year to ask some questions regarding the impact of Sharia implementation on women, she did not fail to show her amazement at our religiosity.