There was a time in the 60s when Nigeria avoided international organizations that were dominated by Arab states such as Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC.

When Sir Ahmadu Bello, leader of the Northern People’s Congress, NPC and Premier of the Northern Region, was appointed Vice Chairman of the World Muslim League, he demanded that Nigeria should join the organization but Prime Minister Balewa promptly and decisively refused, maintaining that Nigeria was a secular state. What has changed since then? If we compared what happened then with common instances that we hear about today, is it a case of comparing apples and oranges or likes and likes?