The National Conference And The Explosive Words of Dr. Junaid Mohammed, By Femi Fani-Kayode

The National Conference And The Explosive Words of Dr. Junaid Mohammed, By Femi Fani-Kayode

FFK vs. Junaid the Terrible (Round One)

Blogger's Comment: It's all about the Dr. Junaids and the Professor Yadudus.

I am not for war, and I am not for disintegration. Nevertheless, given the fact that other regions do not have an Enfant Terrible Dr. Junaid Mohammed and the highly educated smooth operator Professor Yadudu at the ongoing Confab, I do not consider Mr. Femi Fani Kayode's rebuttal divisive. A rebuttal is always necessary. Therefore, taking the fight to the Junaids' face is the right approach. That is where southern academics and intellectuals have failed the nation woefully. The only two southerners they respect or dread are dead: Pa Awo and Dr. Akinola Aguda.  

I am not against the northern region - I have no need to - but I do in my heart abhor the Junaids of the geographical north and their retrogressive antics. My reason for that is not that obvious. Do your research; it is the few Dr. Junaids and the Professor Yadudus of the northern region, operating undercover or directly with successive military governments headed by northerners who determine what to make of Nigeria - the June 12 debacle, creation of States and Local Governments, the 1999 Constitution, just to name a few.

You don't watch and allow ethnic chauvinists to go unchallenged. Because at the end of the day, it is their views that most often carry the day - defining the evolution of the Nigerian project. Not the views of the progressive northerners that are in love with their colleagues from the south. They are highly educated, very vocal, and authoritative. And there are always one or two of them in every Government. These Junaids and the Yadudus of the north do not belong to any political party. They belong to the northern region of their imagination. In their actions and utterances, Nigeria is a British invention.

You cannot succeed in your quest for fiscal restructuring or for true federalism, without a corresponding narrative for restructuring and for true federalism. Just don't say it in a sentence. Make it a project. Therefore, you must be willing to rumble with the vocal Junaids and the smooth operator Yadudus, if you want and end to the status quo. Yes, a rebuttal is very necessary.

In spite of everything, it is not yet time - and the time may never come - for Dr. Junaid Mohammed to start popping champagne for decimating the advocates of true federalism and resource control at the ongoing National Conference. His adversaries are not yet in the known. For now, FFK is starting a process - a voice of one crying in the wilderness - that will mushroom in a very short time.