THE NORTH AND THE REST OF US!
by
DOTUN ONI
Behind North and South divide - as behind nearly every dispute in Nigeria - lies a hunger for power and wealth. Behind the thin veil for power lies the new cry of political insignificance in Nigeria today referred to as marginalisation by those who now considered themselves relevant for the survival of the modern polity of Nigeria. ‘’Marginalisation adequately described by the concise English dictionary as ‘’not considered central, important or insignificant’’- perhaps described the justification for argument of Arewa Consultative forum about the North’s marginalisation in the present dispensation.
Many northern leaders are now convinced that under Obasanjo they are receiving the short end of government political goodies of appointments, influences and often over inflated contracts. In other words they are feeling absolutely dejected that their power of yester-years are now greatly curtailed. To understand these insecurities the answers lies in the arrogance for power as perceived by the minority self appointed ruling class of northern part of the Caliphate. There are three questions raised by this sudden alarm call of marginalisation, that the Arewa Consultative Forum might wish to consider; How long has Nigeria being under Northern subjugation since independence?, In terms of Northern Leadership how much have we achieved? And how exactly can we define the North in the geographical and political sense of modern day Nigeria?
Considering the first issue; the population census first conducted in the 1960s assumed either by landscape or reality that the North made up of Hausa/ fulani and the middle belt have more citizens than the rest of Nigeria. Based on these sentiments and the tribal nature Nigerians voted until the elections of Abiola- gave the North the assumption by landscape or early census the ‘’keys’’ to power. Sadly enough this is where most of the so called Political authorities of Arewa Consultative forum derived their imaginary power base.
In answering the second question one can easily reach a conclusion that at least seven out of heads of Governments in Nigeria so far came from Northern Nigeria, and without escaping realities the last Northern Head of State probably created enough problems for us all including Northerners if we can refer to a particular group without defeating the purpose of Nigeria as an entity. The point here is not that Northerners are not capable of leading but there are for some reasons major leadership problems in the North just like the rest of us except that it seemed that there are more than enough leadership problems in this part of Nigeria than the others. Even the creator of our endless democratic problems, Babangida himself in his attempt to re-write history agreed that his administration made more than enough mistakes with Nigeria.
Finally the North is now a geographical expression that includes the middle-belt of the Nation some whom in reality will not count themselves as Northerners. Obviously the Tivs nor the Afonjas of Kwara or Kogi cannot nor would not describe themselves as Northerners. The lesson here is that if true North is Hausa/Fulani, the Arewa Consultative forum might find themselves a minority ruling the majority. Even the laws of apartheid as conceived by the reforms of South Africa no longer permit this.
Perhaps the ironic issue raised by the sudden marginalisation alarm is that during the Ogonis/Niger Delta or Biafra problems none of the Northern elite’s viewed marginalisation as an issue. In fact in their infinite wisdom they probably thought that it was just a minor disgruntled elements in the South that where fermenting trouble. While they obviously enjoyed the trappings of power. ‘’Now that the pigeons has come to roost’’, it has become another political anxiety- the question is why should the rest of us dance to the tunes of a few Northern elites who have more interest in self preservation than protecting the real interest of the ‘’North’’ they still imagine?
What is certain about the political ideologies of the Arewa Consultative forum is that the northern nobles had held their own forth in the oil boom years, using powerful positions in the central government to funnel money and create imaginary everlasting power for themselves. While the well of power now appears to be dry they have no other alternative but to usher in a new era of tribalism: for the Princes of the Caliphate, the world is divided into Them and Us. The outsider is suspect, change worrying, and feuds are bitter and three generations long. It is an attitude that sets the stage for a fictionalised group that will make today’s Northern Aristocrats Vs Northern Radicals camps look like one big happy family. The inner circle of the political lords of the North and those who hangs on to their coat-tails are becoming restricted to a cosy world where anything unfamiliar will be censured - obviously, they never bargained for this with Obasanjo .The result is that Obasanjo has raised eyebrows which has made him unwelcome and they unfamiliar. While these immaginary noblemen see his administration’s policies smacking off the metropolitan conservative elitism they are very much familiar with.
What the Northern elite’s will soon realise is that they are now living in modern Nigeria, at this age of globalisation: when all the world’s your stage, it is better to be at ease with the man in the Mercedes Benz and the man on the Camel. The Arewa Consultative forum’s arguments belongs to a narrow platform in modern Nigeria - and it can draw only the most narrow of support. How many votes will they get in the North compared to the votes from the rest of us?
Dotun Oni wrote in from the London School of Economics