After watching the video playing below, I kind of differs a little bit from the views of the Lady. You cannot condemn the almajiri culture without calling on Northern political leaders to give an account of their stewardship over the years. And you cannot separate the scourge of Banditry and Boko Haram insurgency from the ills of Illiteracy. Education is a right and not a privilege. The same people they failed to educate while fighting hard to impede the educational goals of the Nigerians in the geographical south are now the ones turning against them and every one of us. What is missing within the Hausa community is lack of motivations. The entrepreneurial culture reputed of the Ndigbo is disturbingly missing in the far North. On that theory, I am on all fours with the Lady. It is very sad today that the same people who built the famous Groundnuts Pyramids of Kano skyline are now regarded as the laziest inhabitants of the Nigerian geographical space. They are the major casualties of the crude oil wealth. That petrodollar impact is outside the scope of this essay.
On the attainment of independence on October 01, 1960, the Coalition Talk between Sir Ahmadu Bello and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa of the Northern People Congress (NPC) on the one hand and Chief Obafemi Awolowo of the Action Group (AG) on the other, did not materialize because of Awo's insistence on Free Education at all levels. Balewa and Ahmadu Bello were not for it. Then they went to Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe of the NCNC, and a government was eventually formed. Zik became the Ceremonial Head of State, while Balewa took the position of Head of Government as the Prime Minister. Zik did not bring any demand to the coalition talks that would benefit his people. Back Home, the Ndigbo educated themselves with the support of the Christian Missionaries. On his part, Papa Awo, though was not part of the Federal Government, did not relent on his Free Education program in the Western region. But the talakawa majorities of the North were left in the cold academically, in spite of the fact that one of their own was the Prime Minister. Thus, leading to escalations in the almajiri population.
In a similar vein, in 1979, a proposed Accord between Alhaji Shehu Shagari of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and Chief Obafemi Awolowo of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) to jointly form a government at the center did not work out because of Awo's insistence on Free Education at all levels. Alhaji Shehu Shagari, like Balewa and Ahmadu Bello, opposed it. As expected, Alhaji Shehu Shagari went into a Successful Accord with Zik. This time, Zik did not benefit personally. One of his men was made a Minister in the Shagari's government. But the Accord Concordiale did not last long. As it was the case in 1960, Papa Awo and his new party, the Uniparty of Nigeria, went about implementing Free Education at all levels in the Western region and Bendel State. While the Ndigbo toiled to foot their educational bills, nothing revolutionary happens in the North, except in Kano State under the government of Abubakar Rimi of the PRP.
In 1975, or thereabout, that inherent disdain for western education for everyone under the sponsorship of the Federal Government, was placed on a full blast by Dr. Jubril Aminu when he was the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian University Commission. In about 50 pages of a protest memo to the Military Government at the time, he argued that Free Education at all levels as being planned by the Fed is not realistic. His contention had nothing to do with financing the program or the inability of the Nigeria Federal Government to afford it. He stated unequivocally that the program will only benefit the South, because of the aversion of the idea of Western education by Northerners. They took his advice, hook line, and sinker. Obasanjo was the Military Head of State at the time. But the federal government took a step further. They removed the Federal Government Subsidy on Students' feeding. That decision led to the famous "Ali Must Go" protest by Nigerian University students.
The three gentlemen who opposed Free Education at all levels in the First Republic and in the Second Republic, as well as the author of the infamous memo, were Northerners. The political parties that opposed Free Education at all levels in the two republics were headed by Northerners. Where are we today? Boko Haram, Banditry, and the establishment of Cattle Colony are the dominating policy debates at the moment. The educational crisis is a moral issue. And it represents a failure of leadership.
Their retrogressive policies didn't stop the Southern parents from toiling hard to send their children to Grammar Schools and Universities. And it did not stop those who couldn't secure admission or afford the exorbitant tuition from concocting "Oluwole" and bailing out of the country. What you might not know is that the majority of the Northern political leaders behind these retrogressive policies, trained their children overseas, starting from Grammar School level. But not the same with the talakawa and the almajiri population. Our educational problems are directly connected to the feudal leadership system prevalent in that part of the country, which the Northern political leaders espouse with reverence.
And as long as they continue to dominate the leadership and the political system, attaining the Obafemi Awolowo educational philosophy, will remain an illusion for long. And until educated Northerners like the lady below start to speak truth to power, reminding the influential Northerners that non-natives are not their enemies, I do not see any reversion from status quo in the horizon. No one is born to worship poverty and decadence. Northern Political leaders perpetuate that culture with their "some animals are more equals than others" approach to leadership and governance.
Why is this essay necessary? All of us are now paying for the ethnic chauvinism and feudal bent of a few. Today, even the most protected Governor cannot travel by road from Kaduna to Abuja. Also, traveling by road from Abuja via Lokoja to Benin City as well as from Shagamu to Benin City are replete with unfathomable health hazards, courtesy of professional kidnappers, most often dubbed as Northerners. I do understand the frustrations of the Lady in the video playing below, but you cannot condemn the almajiri culture without calling on Northern political leaders to atone for their sins of purposeful abandonment. The scourge of Banditry and Boko Haram insurgency is directly linked with the ills of Illiteracy. Education is a right and not a privilege. The same people they failed to educate while trying to impede the educational goals of some others are now the ones turning against every one of us. Be careful of what you do with power. And no one is safe.
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