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RE: Re: Faseun and the North’s Moral Dilemma by
Dr. Bawan Allah I took the liberty to wade through your Re: Faseun and the North's moral dilemma, that appeared on the Niger Delta Congress website. One thing I must say has become rather prevalent (if not pervasive) from so-called northerners like yourself, is this rather sordid but unfortunate and jaundiced paranoia towards everything supposedly southwestern. You missed a great opportunity with your article to build bridges. Instead, you took the easiest but most counter-productive route. Rather than exhibiting even the slightest semblance of emotional intelligence and intellectual pragmatism, you, like most so-called northern “literates” took an across-the-board swipe at a whole group of people based on emotion, not facts! It was however true to form that you chose to extol the "noble virtues" of individuals like Akinloye, Akintola and Akinjide, three “great sons of Oduduwa”, whose integrity and character are “quite laudable” (their track record speaks for itself). You also made reference to the notion that most of the top officials of certain parastatals were from Ondo state when Chief Falae was the SMG. I am not sure if you are aware of the fact that Ondo state has the most educated citizens in Nigeria and they are in fact some of the most educated in the world. Would it have been better if the appointments had reflected the so-called “federal character” that promotes mediocrity and gives undue privilege to a group of people (who are either under-qualified or unqualified) simply to satisfy an unproductive quota system? You are not being fair! The same people you and your ilk refer to as Nazis have always been at the forefront of probity, fairness and transparency. When Murtala Mohammed was murdered, the loudest roar of disapproval came from the southwest. The same southwest was supportive of the Buhari/Idiagbon administration until those two felt the need to deny Nigerians their basic and fundamental rights to free speech and association. This same southwest has been and will continue to be home to Nigerians of various nationalities including Lamido Sanusi (who works and lives in Lagos but still has the gall, temerity and audacity to cast heinous aspersions on Yoruba leaders). Furthermore, the Yoruba did not vote for Abiola and Obasanjo, simply because they felt both were impositions of the Northern Hegemony and could not be trusted. However, in keeping with our spirit of fairness and standing by our sons and daughters in the face of perceived injustice, unjustified attacks and cookery, the Yoruba stood by Abiola and are now standing by Obasanjo. You cannot just attempt to use and abuse people to satisfy your shortsighted objectives. I recently received an email from a primary sponsor of a northern media outlet (Ismail Iro). He was responding to an article I had written titled; The psychology of power: A Nigerian experiment . This individual (who to my amazement supposedly has a Ph. D) exhibited a level of intelligence and comprehension that was at best infantile, if not comedic (I will deal with his issue at the appropriate time). His conduct was proof to me that this particular media outlet is nothing but a northern propaganda machine steeped in debauchery and misadventure! I have always been amazed at exactly what it is the so-called North bases its arrogance or supposed superiority upon. May be you, Lamido Sanusi (who probably got his job at UBA through Nigeria’s own laughable version of affirmative action), or members of the northern lunatic fringe such as Wada Nas et al can expound further on what exactly makes the so-called north so indispensable that the south can never do without you. There also seems to be this rather dangerous complacency on the part of the north that your territory is somewhat impervious to attack from the south (the Yoruba in particular). We have recently heard calls from several of your so-called leaders to ‘burn Lagos’ if one more northerner is killed. One thing you and your ilk fail to understand is that you are actually succeeding in alienating even well-meaning and moderate southerners (especially in the southwest) thereby creating the very immediate possibility of a conflagration that may prove even hotter than the desert sands of the barren north! Take a look around; the world has become so small that anything can happen anywhere, and at anytime! Better still, I suggest you take a look at the map of Nigeria; the north is really not that far away, you know. If someone would supposedly like to burn Lagos, I guess they have resigned themselves to the fact that not only would that same fire consume them too, but it would also, without a shadow of a doubt consume their mud huts and groundnut pyramids! Regarding your notion that the north should look to matching the so-called ngbati media in all aspects, I wish you the best of luck, since you’ll need quite a lot of it! Furthermore, you refer to the Yoruba as a sub-specie of human beings (talk about a contradiction); to that I would simply say, “it takes one to know one”. The south (southwest in particular) is tired of carrying dead weight. It will soon become rather clear to you sir, and members of the northern lunatic fringe, that the north is not as indispensable as you thought. “Intellect annuls fate. So long as a man thinks, he is free.” ~~~~~Ralph Waldo Emerson Soboyejo A.S.A. Awosika-Coker, U.S.A.
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