'I am Arewa' An Open Letter to General Gowon (rtd)
By
Your claims of an "Arewa birthright" and your denunciation of the Middle Belt makes an interesting revolution of your ignorance of, and
insensitivity to, contemporary political developments in Nigeria. Your claim is a re-enactment of the Esau-Jacob's episode.
Denying your Angas nationality for the Arewa birthright just for the crumbs is not only absurd but degrading for your age and status as a former head of state. In case you don't know, the Middle Belt movement is a struggle for True and Correct identity of the minority ethnic nationalities for the Middle Belt region of Nigeria who have erroneously, though deliberately, been lumped with the Hausa-Fulani of the far North. And by this systemic arrangement, these minority nationalities have been used and dumped, in addition to the deprivation of cultural, social, political and economic development.
General, as an Angas man, you can never be, and will never be accepted by your "Arewa brothers." A few instances will suffice to remind you, in case
your memory is failing. After you had outlived your usefulness for their cause, your "Arewa brothers" went for your life on trumped-up charges in
1976. It was the minority tribes of the Middle Belt region that stood by you. It was also the Middle Belt people in Plateau State that built for you a
befitting house in Jos.
My dear general, what further bemused me, and many of your (former) admirers, is your gullibility and inability to recognise when you are being used for
diabolical motives despite your (assumed?) experience and educational attainment!! Your acceptance to head the "Save Nigeria National Prayer"
project constituted for the ignoble General Abacha's transmutation programme left a very bad impression in our memory. You exposed your political naivety by
alluding that "former heads of state of Northern extraction who all belonged to ACF had made a solemn pledge not to engage in partisan politics..."
General Babangida's involvement and maneuvers in the current political dispensation is an open secret. And General Buhari's recent call on Muslims to vote only a Muslim president can never be anything less than partisan.
It is incredible and most awful that 34 years after the breaking of regions into states, you still think that Edo State is synonymous with Mid-western region.
It is hoped that you are not under the illusion that the Union Jack (British Flag) is still flying in Nigeria! General, if you do not wake up to the dynamics
of the Nigerian politics, you will soon find yourself alone in the doldrums. General, it is unfortunate that you adduced your ascension to the exalted
position of head of state to your Arewa fraternity.
Obviously, it was the injustice that characterised the Nigerian polity then which propelled you over and above your superiors and seniors that led this country into a bloody civil war. It is equally unfortunate that you did not realise that your progress was based on merit achieved through the benefits of a good educational background provided by the missionary schools that you attended. Your "Arewa brothers" realising the impact of education on the liberation of the minority tribes, deceived you into taking over the missionary schools, thereby truncating the progress and rise of the Middle Belters. The resultant effects of the take-over of missionary schools are the fallen standard of education and moral decadence prevalent in Nigeria today. Nigerians hold you responsible for these, amongst many other ills of your maladministration.
The renaissance of the Middle Belt movement is awakening of the consciousness of the ethnic nationalities of the Middle Belt Region. The movement is aimed at
affirming the True and Correct identity of the nationalities in the Middle Belt region, rather than the omnibus and pseudo identity of "Arewa."
However, general, if you wish to discard your ancestral Angas nationality for a Hausa-Fulani or Arewa, you are free to flirt. But remember that you can only
run but you cannot hide.
In conclusion, general, the Middle Belt movement believes that Nigeria should be a country devoid of all forms of social deprivation and discrimination. A
country where tribe and/or religion are not the determinants of economic or political advancement and development. The Middle Belt movement is an ideal that
cannot be killed by whimsical denunciation on the pages of newspaper.
I pray that our good Lord gives you the wisdom to appreciate the contents of this letter - Amen!
Long live the Middle Belters;
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Kpang David, Bariga, Lagos.