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Re - Dr. Mobolaji Aluko’s Rejoinder to Dr. Mbahi’s Piece on Northern Nigeria leadership. by
Permit me to pass a few comments and observations on Dr. Mobolaji Aluko's rejoinder to my article entitled: Northern Nigeria Leadership, A wasted opportunity, a betrayed trust. I should start by disposing off a few sundry matters by way of introduction. Dr. Aluko is absolutely correct in his observation that we have met before…. On a few occasions, and it is be all right and I should not hold it against him that "it has escaped" him. So may I refresh his memory that we have met on three different occasions. The first time was in 1997 at the Oyingbo African food store at Hyattsville, Maryland, U.S.A, where I had gone to purchase some African Weekly dailies on a Friday evening. I had been at the store the day before but the store lady said the weeklies have not been delivered yet. I offered to prepay for the weeklies so that I can have an assurance that I will have my copy whenever they do arrive but she (the lady) said it would not be necessary for me to do so. She assured me that she would reserve a set of copies for me, since I was a regular customer. I came the following day, only to find out that another lady, who works within the same store, just minutes before I stepped into the store, had handed (sold) to Dr. Aluko the last set of the weeklies. Which incidentally had been the same set reserved for me (by the lady who had promised them to me the day before) and had secreted them at a place at the back of the counter. When this became known to him, he did graciously offered to give them to me since they have been reserved for me but I declined since it was not his fault. He then proceeded to ask what I do and I told him that I was a Resident at Howard University Hospital and he told me that he professes in the department of Engineering at the same University. The second time I had the pleasure of meeting his acquaintance was in June, 1998 at the wedding reception, of the daughter of Professor Arunci Chuku, Dr. Orieji Chuku to my good friend Dr. Kachi Illoh at Beltsville, Maryland, U.S.A. At this wedding I had the honor of being the best man. That was a very pleasurable and memorable experience. I had exchanged pleasantries with him and, to my mind, a pretty decent conversation. The last time we met was in October of 2000 at the Sharon Omni Hotel in Washington, DC, U.S.A. during the Nigerian Independence Day gala. I had approached him and we exchanged pleasantries again. At this occasion I told him that I have followed his commentaries on contemporary Nigerian issues on the Net; and I further alluded to the fact that I do not necessarily agree with his course of action(s) about how best to resolve the lingering problems bedeviling our nation. Dr. Aluko expressed understanding, and extended an invitation for me to drop by his office or call so that we can further exchange views, an invitation that, regrettably, I have not had the chance to honor, Yet. Most importantly however, it is Dr. Aluko’s ubiquitous presence on the Nigerian Cyberspace and his insistent harangue for a sovereign national conference that I am most acquainted with. Now having, hopefully, refreshed his mind about where "we have met before". May I say that it pleases my heart, and indeed I am honored and humbled to note that "at the level of analysing the North and Southern perception of the North," he, Dr. Aluko, finds "it is difficult to fault Dr. Mbahi’s candid observations". And I thank him for being so kind by "not subtracting from it". Further, I cannot agree with him more about his prescriptions to wit: QUOTE 1) The North and its leadership should FOCUS more on education of our people in the North, because the formal education gap vis-a-vis the South appears to be widening rather than constricting, a fact which constitute the greatest threat to Nigeria's stability and unity. A clear DECLARATION OF AN EDUCATIONAL STATE OF EMERGENCY should be done in the North, and pursued with a zeal that will be clear to all to behold. The years of emphasis on political control of Nigeria are indeed "wasted" years. 2) The increasing Sharia-rization of several Northern states will only widen the social, Political, educational and political gulf between the North and other parts of the country. In a truly Federal Republic of Nigeria, not a confederation, not separate republics, eventually these Sharia states will pay a heavy economic price over which their people may eventually revolt. Without a strong economic base or an educational workforce, a fanatical call to Islam (or even to my own Christianity) by these states is "an obvious recipe for disaster." Events such as the cutting off of Mr. Jangebe's hand or the flogging of Ms. Bariya Magazu do little to recommend Islam, Zamfara State, or even Nigeria to that person who could care less the distinction between Zamfara and Nigeria. UNQUOTE For Dr. Aluko however to say that I "ignored these important points, or touch on them only in passing" is at best inaccurate and missing the object of my specific article or at worst, he is being deliberately mischievous or mendacious. I should refer him to an article I wrote and posted on the Niger Delta Congress.com last month entitled: In Defense of Northern Youths for Democracy and Justice, Northern Democratic Movement and Bola Ige in this article, I copiously commented on the Sharia issue. I will therefore suggest he give it a perusal. Here are a few quotes from that article, however, in case he is not disposed to check the whole article out: …" The introduction of Sharia in some Northern States has nothing to do with Religion. But has every thing to do with politics"
…" How can you explain the out-cry of some people when Professor Jerry Gana was appointed as a minister from Niger state into president Obasanjo’s cabinet. The argument was that Professor Gana is not representative of Niger State, that was very painful but eye opening. The last time I checked, Professor Gana is from the Nupe tribe of Niger State. What they wanted to say is professor Gana is not of a particular religious persuasion. Ditto Mr. Ishaya Balat from Kaduna State. This is what I mean by religious bigotry"
I want to assure the professor that his observation about me "ignoring the Sharia issue" is incorrect. Having said that however, I believe Muslims should and must be allowed the unfettered liberty to practice their religion the way they see fit. The caveat being that it should and must not be extended to non- Muslims or those who elect not to be governed by Islamic Jurisprudence. The harassment of non- Muslims in the name of enforcement of Sharia by vigilante as did recently occur with the flogging of one Mr. Obi in Dakata quarters in Kano, Kano State, must not be allowed to stand. Hooliganism in the name of religion is no virtue but vice. The rights and Liberty of individuals stops where the right and liberty of others begin. You don’t go to somebody else’s house and drag him out and lash him in the name of enforcing a law based on the principles of a religion he does not profess, and the constitution protects him from. The key here, Dr. Aluko should know, is that every Nigerian must be allowed the liberty and freedom of free speech and religious expression. Unfairness and injustice wherever in occurs should not be allowed to prevail because whenever the right and liberty of any Nigerian is disrespected, denied or abridged, all of us are diminished. Dr. Mobolaji Aluko’s main quarrel with me will appear to be the fact that I referred to him as "Champion" and the "Chief Apostle" of the irritating harangue for a Sovereign National Conference. Be assured that no offense was or is meant. Just like no offense was/is meant when I criticize Alhaji Wada Nas or Alhaji Hassan Sani Kontagora when they stake out extreme positions in our national discourse. Nonetheless, I stand by every word and letter I wrote in that piece. I still believe today, as I did on the day I wrote that piece, that it is beneath Dr. Aluko’s academic eminence and exposure to constitute himself into, or to give the seeming appearance of, being an advocate to tribal/regional cause. I believe in calling a spade a spade, sometimes even to my own chagrin. I can’t help myself, especially if the Unity of the country is at stake. I am happy to note that Dr. Aluko realizes that it is not a national dialogue or conference that I am against. And I am not in flagrant opposition either. I think if anything is flagrant, it is Dr. Mobolaji Aluko’s obsession with Sovereign in the National Conference. His obsession with Sovereignty is hard to comprehend unless of course, there is an ulterior motive to it. An open minded and fair appraisal of my article will surmise that the need for dialogue, respect, empathy for one another, and honesty of purpose are what I dwelt on and encouraged all of us to do. Indeed I advocated them as an expedient and imperative necessity. Even at the risk of repeating myself, I want to make it abundantly clear to Dr. Aluko that, I have no objection whatsoever, and indeed I am a firm believer in and supporter of having a National discourse about our future as one indivisible nation. Under God, and dedicated to the proposition of Justice, equity, fair play and, religious tolerance. My major fear against a sovereign conference is this, If sovereign power is given to any such conference, it might be hijacked, and used as a launch pad to secession. Dr. Aluko needs not be reminded about how intemperate we Nigerians can be especially when discussing the hot bottom issues of our Nation. Take for instance, what will happen if at such a Sovereign National conference, tempers flare up and a decision to go separate ways is taken? By definition, that will be it for Nigeria even if a plurality of the populace disagrees with what the sovereign conference decides. Since the decision of a sovereign is inviolate. Unless of course if Dr. Aluko is suggesting that at such a conference, the option of breaking Nigeria up be taken off the table. In which case, it will be an oxymoron to call such a conference sovereign because by definition, you don’t give conditions to a sovereign. That is why I, and I believe the majority of the good people of our nation, unlike Dr. Aluko, will rather have a good faith conference of Nigerian Nationalities and interests. With the understanding that all decisions mutually arrived at in such a conference shall be made and implemented into law/constitution. By an act of our existing democratic apparatus to wit: The National Assembly. Dr. Aluko gave the unconvincing example of the 1979 Constitutional conference and the others like it whereby some "inserts" were made to the document derived from the conference(s). Haba, why is the professor comparing apples and oranges? Or ewedu and egusi soups? Those "insertion" events Dr. Aluko referred to were done by military fiat. I, and most of well meaning Nigerians, are saying that we should have a good faith conference of Nigerian Nationalities and interests and whatever document is arrived at during such a conference should be enacted into law by an act of our National Assembly. Does he, Dr. Aluko, think that any thing can be inserted into such a document through the back door? The most important thing is that the members of the National Assembly must have unequivocal understanding that this is a document drawn up by the Nigeria people and that is what and how we want to be our laws/ be governed. The professor was right in his assertion that when Biafra attempted to break away, it was not as a result of a sovereign national conference, nonetheless, it is the consequent events of that we continuously pray that we do not witness again. Ever! His assertion however that when the Balkans broke away from the Soviet Union, it was not as a result of a sovereign national conference is not exactly factually correct. Remember that after the unsuccessful coup attempt to overthrow Mikhail Gorbechev in 1990, The component states met (very similar to a sovereign conference) and decided to go into a loose confederation (Commonwealth of Independent States) the result of what happened after that is history. Of course one or two Balkan states had broken off before this, but nonetheless, the bulk of the breakage came after the meeting I referred to. In this obsession with Sovereign National conference, I should remind Dr. Mobolaji Aluko that those who ignore the lesions of history are bound to repeat it. Recall that the major problem with the struggle for the actualization of late Chief Moshood Abiola’s mandate is that some people hijacked a cause so noble and made it into a seemingly tribal/regional endeavor. For Dr. Mobolaji Aluko to persistently give tribal/regional slant to most, if not all, of his call for national discourse is to say the very least a disservice to our dear nation Nigeria. I should further suggest to the learned professor that he should instead use his "reputation" to build a coalition at the center of the Nigerian political spectrum, a coalition of the centrist majority of Nigerians. Which should cut across regional, tribal and the religious divide. A coalition that could be used to influence political events in Nigeria by way of, say, recruiting and funding tried, tested, competent, detribalized and incorruptible individuals to run/ be appointed into public offices. Rather than be obsessed about sovereignty to the extent of building a web site dedicated solely to that purpose in addition to a lot of other "subterranean" endeavors. Mobolaji Aluko should, more than any body, know that dynamics of the Nigeria politics are such that even the seemingness of tribal slant to any endeavor could and shall be interpreted as such.
My article seems to have, inadvertently, rattled and irked Dr. Aluko. And despite the fact that he elected to minimize it’s major thrust but instead embark on a wild goose chase, I will indulge in quoting, for his benefit, some of the ideas I talked about in the said article. Lest we loose focus:
…"There is no doubt about the fact that there is aplenty wrong, and skewed about the Nigerian Polity as it is today. Especially with regards to revenue sharing, State police, Niger delta, Rotational Presidency etc., but I do not believe that a sovereign National Conference is the answer to all these problems. The answer lies in a genuine and honest national discourse with each component "nation" putting it’s self in the other’s shoes".
…" The problems with Nigeria today are not insurmountable. Too many of us think they are. They are manmade and therefore they can be solved. To think otherwise is defeatist. The Nigerian enterprise is not a finished product but a work in progress whereby each generation should see itself as generational watchmen/women and builders whose main purpose is to bequeath a nation that is better than what was handed to it".
…"There is nothing wrong with Nigeria today that cannot be made aright by what is right with it"
…" Nigeria is abundantly blessed so let us put aside the shortcoming of the past as a nation, never ignoring however to tap from the benefit of the wisdom that comes by learning from mistakes of the past".
…" Quoting President John F. Kennedy and paraphrasing him into the Nigerian context, "let us not be caught up in a vicious and dangerous cycle with suspicion on side breeding suspicion on the others…. Let us not be blind to our differences, but let us also direct attention to our common interests and the means by which those differences can be resolved. For in the final analysis, our most common link is that we inhabit a small part (Nigeria) of this planet. We all breathe the same air. We cherish our children’s futures. And we are all mortal".
Even in his rejoinder, Dr. Aluko could not help but betray the ulterior motives for his belligerent and obsessive call for Sovereign National conference. Hear him:
…"If a portion or portions of Nigeria were to successfully secede today, would ECOWAS, OAU and the UN recognize them? I believe so. Consequently, these world bodies do not see this happening as an anathema, and I am not sure why we should quake about it. Maybe if they banned secession, we might stop considering it ".
The bible says, "From the abundance from the heart, the mouth speaketh". Cognizant of this biblical saying, when I hear Dr. Mobolaji Aluko speak as quoted above, I get very worried….very worried for our Dear Nation Nigeria. From the quotation above by Dr. Aluko, does "subterranean secessionist plot" ring a bell to any one?
"I REST MY CASE"
Dr. Musa Adamu Mbahi is a Resident in Clinical and Anatomic Pathology at Howard University Hospital, Washington, DC, U.S.A and writes from Laurel, MD
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