Are you comfortable with the current structure of Nigeria? If no, do you realize that the internal transformation of a country has its advantages and disadvantages? The good only outweigh the bad if it is done in an orderly fashion. If we take the Obasanjo presidency as the status quo, are you satisfied with the status quo? When do you envisage Nigeria would be most at risk? I think the time would be during the transfer of political power either to himself [Obasanjo] or to whoever. Let us for the sake of continuity affirm that Nigeria is going to survive, which I hope she does., but, we cannot run away from answering this question: Is it possible for Nigeria to undergo an internal restructuring so that when power shifts or slides, those whom it has shifted from, would not feel shafted?

The Muslim north is not happy and when they are not happy, they use proxies to express their dissatisfaction. ‘Those calling for Sovereign National Conference [SNC] must do first things first, that is sack the National Assembly members, get the President to resign, and hand over government to Her Majesty the Queen, while each state will elect representatives to the Sovereign National Conference to take decisions on how we will live together’.[cometnews.] How do the Fulbes pull this off? Suddenly, there is a call to retreat. Shagari, Shinkafi, Kaita, Maitama Sule and my godfather Wada Nas have withdrawn from the point. In comes Dr. Gowon of Wusasa [sorry, Pankshin] and a relative of the Attah leading the north. The last we heard, The Fulbes and Habes were complaining of marginalization because allocation of political spoils earmarked for the north were being hijacked by the middle belt. Now, the middle belt is championing the cause of the north. How do they do it?

Those pushing for the ‘new north’ are raising the same issues as those canvassing for an SNC. Personally, I think the SNC is an eisegetical concept construed by enemies of Nigeria to help her function and achieve nationhood. But, who in his right mind would take advice from his enemies? The problem with power shifts and slides is that they create their own ambiguities which if not properly handled could lead to a retrogression of society as we know it. Suddenly, we are a land of marginalized people! The truth is, each side is just trying to out maneuver the other and position itself for control of the ‘vineyard.’ Why do we run away from the truth? What guarantees do we have that, the south would accept the idea of the north correcting the perceived wrongs assumed to have been meted out by the Obasanjo government? Don’t forget, only one citizen could be made the Comptroller of Immigration at any one time. Also, it is not enough for the north to scheme and wrest power from the south. What we want to know is, what is the north going to do with political power this time around, when they get it? Or, am I asking for too much?

The idea of expunging the six zones from the national vocabulary is synonymous with relying on representatives from states to the conference. [How did the state structure come about?] All polemical nonsense. Umaru Dikko has put it most succinctly. Nigeria was conceived by force. The colonization, annexation, amalgamation, regionalization, state creation, zonal alignment were all done by force., and if you want a conference, he is ready to attend provided…….. This is understandable when you look at our history. Those who think they can willy-nilly tamper with the status quo should find this interview he gave to Tell Magazine and go over it.

Now, I have to go ask the Queen to come take over a former colony which she could do without, so as to give the natives time to elect representatives to the SNC, that would take decisions on how they would live together. Britain? a country that could not bring respite to the Sierra Leone! Did the Igbirras take permission from the Queen before they sent the Kabbas packing? What makes Mahmoud so sure that a majority of us want to live together? And if we do, why use the Queen? Wasn’t the institution of the Attah of Igbirra in existence before the advent of the Europeans? Where on earth is it written that only England could confer sovereignty? I do not think very many people would bet against Danjuma and Obasanjo if they are going up against Gowon and Attah. Need I say more?

A funny exchange took place between the Dan Masanin and Yasser Arafat at the recently concluded United Nations conference in New York. The Dan Masanin was reported to have told Arafat that ‘ we the US are capable of changing governments and maps' to which Arafat retorted ‘don't forget that I am the champion of the world’s political struggles and liberation movements’. Be that as it may, it shows clearly that Britannia no longer rule the waves. As at now, it is in the Yankee’s best interest for us to stay together or until there is a quantum shift in alignments, enough to threaten oil supply to the west. Get used to these; the Yankees are going to impinge on our local power dynamics and create an overlay or a power blanket that would define the Nigerian political landscape for some time to come. So, between the white house and the white hall, I think the house is the moderating player.

On behalf of the Niger Delta Congress, Mr. Pickering, if you are reading this, could you kindly get these goons off our back, because right now we are paying them 87% for security and they are making a poor job of it. What if we go fifty : fifty for twenty years?

Orok Edem