It was a throwback to a discussion I had had earlier in the week, with a young and enlightened colleague, when I tried to disabuse his mind from the normal prejudices against what has become my beloved Northern Nigeria. I have lived here off and on for the past ten years and truly, I cannot say it’s been a bad place to live. I have gained friends from across Nigeria, in Abuja as a melting pot. From the North, East, West and South of Nigeria, I have learnt that there are good and bad people, kind and wicked people, Muslims and Christians and those who privately worship in the traditional way. I am therefore sad that Northern Nigeria is being lampooned from all sides today. Like my colleague, many from other regions of Nigeria, and even foreigners, are now convinced that the North of Nigeria is its biggest problem. But I think not.
The biggest challenge for the North today, is of course Boko Haram; an almost intractable problem, which has seen most northerners becoming victims in their own land, in a war for which they are also labeled as the villains. That is a terrible position to be. As I write, the Punch on Saturday 10th March, comes blazing with headlines “PLOT TO BOMB SOUTH BY BOKO HARAM FOILED”. The long article was a series of quotes from a mysterious ‘source’, which happens to know more than most security agents. The Punch went ahead to state categorically that Boko Haram backers are resident in the South of Nigeria and that Kabiru Sokoto had been ‘sighted’ there, and their ‘source’ believed that there was a reason for that. Thank God I don’t buy the Punch, I can only read online. I believe they engage in sensationalism and in fact, alongside with a few other newspapers in Nigeria, they are very culpable in the deadly morass that Nigeria has found itself.
What story could be more annoying and frightening to a southerner and or Christian than this one promoted by the Punch? Was the intention to create further animosity against Northerners living in the South? Or between Christians and Muslims? Where is responsible journalism which would have required that these guys be absolutely sure of their facts before alarming the entire country in this manner? Of course the reaction to that article centred on calling Northerners ‘Animals’ and insulting Islam. My soul has hit an all-time low for Nigeria and Nigerians. And after hearing the kind of brainless vituperations that come out of the mind and mouths of so-called intelligent Nigerians, I have ceased to care. I am tempted to ask those who are calling for a territorial, tribal and religious wars, to quickly start one, and quit fouling up the cyberspace. I think those guys typify cowardice. Unfortunately, Nigeria has never had a more tribally-biased team of executives at the Federal level. Reuben Abati and Kingsley Kuku, to name just two members of our present cabinet, have openly fanned the embers of ethnic and religious hatred. A law should be enacted that once one takes up national appointments, no matter your prejudices, one’s statements must ALWAYS be national in outlook!
Back to the North and its arable lands. The controversy has been raging for a while now, about whether the North deserves more largesse from the Federal coffers (oil money mainly), or not. Northern Governors have been the chief advocates of more largesse (expectedly), and they have also heard some unkind words from their southern colleagues to the contrary. I would have naturally sympathized with my beloved northern Nigeria, which gets a relatively tiny allocation when compared with others – especially the South-South. Akwa Ibom State cashes anything in the range of N40billion each month, and hence emerges as the ‘best’ state in terms of infrastructural development. Why not? With that kind of money which equals what accrues to at least 6 Northern states?
But given the fact that many northern governors have bitten the bug of waste, I cannot lend my tiny support to the clamour for more money. It used to be that northerners lived simply and honestly. These days, honesty is dead; at least among the elites. More money will therefore lead to more corruption. Secondly, it is a well-known fact that the north is the food basket of Nigeria. So, when the South-South brags about its oil and calls everybody else ‘parasites’, perhaps the North should think about developing what it has – its land, and the food it can grow. The governors took their eyes entirely off the ball, preferring instead to compete with some Southern governors in profligacy, while their region is now equated with backwardness.
If the North could mobilize its resource – which is by far more important than oil, it would have repositioned itself. Poverty is not measured in Dollars, but in hunger. Solving the food problem is therefore our major challenge in Africa. If the northern Governors could summon some vision, they could turn the region into the envy of the world. But most of them actually stole the votes. I believe a number of them were goners before the 2011 elections. The only way they could retain their seats was to cause havoc and create a state of emergency, which they tried to blame on the opposition. It is therefore impossible to build a great house on a nasty, shaky and fraudulent foundation.
If the North could consolidate on food production, then it should first feed its own people, and the Governors should issue edicts that bans Almajirais from begging for food on the road – bowl in hand. No matter the historical perspective of Almajirai, it is indeed a great embarrassment, for people react to such obvious admission of helplessness. The initiative started during the Yar’adua days, to remove and rehabilitate Almajirai, by creating schools which combine Islamic and Western education, seems to be dying already. The problem we have in Nigeria today is mainly that our so-called leaders are not connecting with the led. But for a few like Raji Fashola, Rochas, Amaechi, Obi and a few others, the rest of our Governors are elitist, and lack any profound ideologies which may assist them in embarking on the kind of reforms we require in Nigeria. We need profound thinkers, who are ready to upset the apple cart.
If only the North could wake up. If only the Governors could summon some legitimacy. If only they could sit and really work. If only they could bring down their upwardly-pointed noses. If only they could enhance food production and preservation in Nigeria. The story of the North must be rewritten. Away from Boko Haram and the orchestrated destruction of that region by whomever is behind it. Away from poverty, disease, backwardness, unemployment and squalor. On that day, the North of Nigeria will easily be the best place to reside in Nigeria; a position it only recently lost!
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