Nigerian Senator Blasts Qaddafi

Recent statements from a senator in Nigeria, a bit reminiscent of the recent comments by US State Department spokesperson Phillip Crowley, could lead to a row between Libya and Nigeria.  Nigerian Senate president David Mark said that Muammar Qaddafi was a mad man who should not be taken seriously by any right thinking person.

Mark was commenting on Qaddafi’s recent statement that Nigeria should be divided into two, thus bringing an end to the constant ethno-religious crisis which has claimed thousands of lives in the West African country.

“Qaddafi has said the same thing about Switzerland, England, and about any other country, I don't think he deserves attention at all. It is not worth it.” According to Nigeria’s Daily Trust Mark told his colleagues to ignore Qaddafi as his words are those of an insane human being.

Recently the US and Libya engaged in a small spat when Crowley was asked what he thought of Qaddafi’s comment in a speech in which he called for a "jihad" against Switzerland. Crowley said he was reminded of another one of Qaddafi's speeches: "It brought me back to a day in September ‒ lots of words and papers flying all over the place, not necessarily a lot of sense." Crowley was alluding to Qaddafi’s speech at the UN General Assembly in September 2009, which was the cause of many a comment. 

Qaddafi was reported to have said that Nigeria should be divided into two nations to avoid further bloodshed between Muslims and Christians during a speech to students. Such an action would leave southern Nigeria, which is mostly Christian, rich in oil revenues and the north bereft of any major petro dollars to feed the economy.