Abubakar Umar, his eyes blotted out by dark sunglasses, sat by himself at the Kaduna Polo Club on a recent Saturday afternoon. He had hoped to resume playing Sunday. It is seen as a tool of colonialism. The kind of people they had had no choice but to serve the interests of the British.
Some people argue that the military is a continuation of colonial rule.
After ruling Africa's most populous nation for many years, Nigeria's military is going through a collective bad stretch these days. Abroad, its soldiers in a West African force were embarrassed in Sierra Leone when, under their watch, the capital, Freetown, almost fell to rebels in January. May. Many Nigerians believe that powerful generals, who are playing a big role in the election, will retain their influence over the next government and that a truly civilian government will emerge only in four or five years. After all, this city is the seat of Nigeria's military, which has ruled the country for all but 10 years since independence from Britain in 1960. Frederick Lugard, the British governor general who cobbled various territories together to create Nigeria in 1914, founded Kaduna and made it the seat of power of the north.