Of Southern Docility, Greed and the Making of "Born to Rule Culture" and Dominance of the North.

Written December 2011

Culled from "The Search for True Federalism: Balancing Feudal Interests with Southern Greed and Opportunism in Nigeria."

SOUTHERN ACQUIESCENCE AND OPPORTUNISM

(1) Orkar’s coup, as formed and executed was to achieve precisely what prominent opinion leaders and the majority of the Nigerian bloggers (Internet writers) want, but when he was overpowered and apprehended then, there was complete silence in the land. No mutiny in the army, no mass protest by the civil society in support of what he stood for. He was tried and executed. And like Kaduna Nzeogwu’s coup, a supposedly popular course of action was nipped in the bud, while a docile populace went about their regular business as usual.

(2) Comrade Uche Chukwumerijie, a social activist to the core, made a caricature of his egalitarian credentials when he became the mouthpiece of a military government following the annulment of June 12, 1993, election.  His loquacious buffoonery assumed a dismal absurdity to drum up support for a military government that refuses to acknowledge Abiola’s popular mandate. In one instance at a community address in the old Gongola State, he declared: ‘for the first time in the history of Oduduwa, Onakankonfo ran away from the war front.’ The Aare Onakankonfo of Yoruba Land later returned from self-imposed exile and died mysteriously a few days later. Umaru Dikko did not write that speech for the Comrade. IBB never did, neither Sani Abacha. Professor Aminu, in spite of his hatred and abhorrence of southern interests, would not have written a better line or contrived such a sacrilege. It was written and verbalized by a southerner.

(3) Also, a Yoruba Judge sent Awo to prison and vanquished the Action Group and its progressive agenda in the west, while lamenting that his hands are tied.  The treasonable felony trial and the imprisonment of Awo did not only derail the one-of-a-kind socio-economic and sustainable development initiatives orchestrated in the history of a developing world, but it also set Nigeria backward unimaginably.

(4) When IBB stepped aside, he handed the reign of government over to Chief Shonekan who willingly accepted the label of an interim President, while a fellow Yoruba man who won the mandate fled to faraway England for his dear life. As expected, the incoherent Sani Abacha came, sacked Chief Shonekan, and brought in social activists, intellectuals, and military officers of southern extraction; and like Chief Shonekan, they willingly obliged their master’s command, while Abiola wasted away in exile.

(5) Twice, the respected Zik of Africa and the Father of Nigerian Nationalism negotiated alliance/accord/ power-sharing arrangements with the ruling party, but forgot to integrate his own core principles into the ideological framework of the new coalition, as if his motivation in power was simply to serve as a ceremonial figurehead. It is the same trend today. Nigeria is now a no-party state because every aspiring political leader gravitates towards political parties where chances of winning are assured. 

(6) With due respect to the eminent and distinguished scholar, Professor Ben Nwabueze, who is today calling for a revolution; when he had the opportunity to transform our educational system as a Minister in 1993, he turned out to be an unrepentant ASUU antagonist.  A so-called “imperfect obligation” was first negotiated by Professor Bab Fafuwa, his predecessor, on behalf of the Federal Government and Dr. Jega, then ASUU Chairman. Imperfect as the obligation was, there was no strike by ASUU. When Professor Nwabueze came into the scene, the negotiation collapsed immediately contrary to all expectations. He gave a diabolical interpretation to the working agreements reached between ASUU and Pa Fafuwa and plunged the Nigerian educational systems into perpetual darkness. According to the Guardian Newspaper, Dr. Jega, visibly exasperated, lamented that he did not understand what the Minister was talking about. Thanks to his mumbo jumbo and legalistic acumen, the entire university system was paralyzed during his first five months as Minister of Education. Nigerian Law School was the only higher institution in Nigeria that was not affected.

(7) When Dr. Jubrin Aminu (then Executive Secretary of National University Commission) authored that infamous memo “Educational Imbalance: Its Extent, History, Dangers and Correction in Nigeria” (http://yoruba.org/Magazine/Summer97/F5.html,), there was no rebuttal from the thousands of professors and PhDs of southern extraction. The memo became public when it was published verbatim as a paid ad in the Guardian Newspaper when Dr. Jubrin Aminu was the Minister of Education. Even though the Obasanjo military government convened a Committee of Vice - Counselors to review the substantive issues raised in the memo, nothing was changed, and Dr. Jubrin Aminu succeeded in his quest to unilaterally define the fundamental framework of our university educational system. And he did. There was no alternative view or a rebuttal from southern scholars and academics to debunk his thesis, even though the memo was ill-motivated, ethnically biased, retrogressive, and openly canvassed the rejection of free university education because only the south would take advantage of the program. Details in Part Three.

(8) In Nigeria, corruption transcends race and geography; therefore, you cannot reasonably and justifiably hold northerners responsible for the stupendous wealth fraudulently accumulated by politicians, CEOs of regional and national Banks and the ten-per-centers phenomenon and “kick-back” trademarks popularized by public service administrators all over Nigeria.

(9) Under President Obasanjo (a southerner), the fleecing of Nigerian wealth took a disturbing proportion unprecedented in the history of Nigerian creation.   In the past 10 years, acquiring exotic property overseas by governors, mostly southern governors, became a status symbol under the watchful eyes of the President.  Electricity and Roads constructions swallowed millions of dollars without ascertainable significant changes in the two sectors.

(10) For eight good years the Benins, the Esans, and the Afemais went into a deep slumber while Governor Lucky Igbinedion transformed Benin City and the entire Edo State into a ghost region. Governor Ibori of Delta State is not a Hausa or Fulani man by any stress of the imagination. Presently, he is hobnobbing from one jailhouse to another, from Abuja to Dubai and to London on account of stupendous wealth stealthily acquired, the source or sources of which he cannot explain.

(11) As you read, the former Speaker of the House of Assembly (a southerner) is facing indictment for embezzling public funds that he cannot spend in his lifetime. Similar stories are true of Tafawa Balogun, Bode George, and Uncle Deprieye.

(12) Though I would like to reserve my comment on the list of the names of Nigerians who allegedly benefited from the oil subsidy windfall, released by the Senate, suffice it to say that the record supports the argument that southerners are as culpable as the Hausas and the Fulanis in the appropriation of the oil wealth.

(13) Adding to that, the period of the subsidy windfall supports the inference that squandering of our riches and misappropriation of our oil wealth also do occur under an administration headed by a southerner and not only in the so-called Hausa/Fulani dominated regimes.

(14) In this section, we do not intend to cast aspersion on anyone, or on any group, but to prove that the underdevelopment and the northern dominance that southerners resent, would not have happened, without southern blind allegiance and greediness. Southerners do not know when to take a stand and to say no to greed, corruption, and ineptitude. Therefore, it is unreasonable to hold the Hausas and the Fulanis solely responsible for everything wrong with Nigeria to the extent that we now want to disintegrate. Because the majority of the southerners who served as Ministers, Advisers, Governors, Commissioners, etc., at the so-called northern-dominated military and democratic governments did not perform better than their colleagues of northern origin, who served in the same governments. 

In spite of everything, I would like to add at this juncture that some southerners who did participate in the recent military governments - Professor Ojetunji Aboyade, Ebitu Ukiwe, Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, Dr. Kalu Idika Kalu, Professor Eme Awa, Dr. Olu Agunloye (FRSC), and Pa Bab Fafuwa were exceptionally above board in the respective government under which they served.

(15) Accordingly, to hold as conclusive that Hausa/Fulanis and the military wing of that cabal are solely responsible for the underdevelopment of our natural and human resources is analogous to concluding that corruption, greed, nepotism, kidnapping, educational crisis, leadership failings, celebration of wealth by few in the midst of nationwide poverty, and the overall socio-economic stagnation are the handiwork of the geographical north.  Also, the argument by disintegration agitators that vanquishing the Hausas and the Fulanis from present Nigeria and undo the amalgamation as the only solution is complete hogwash. It will not stem the tide of corruption and fraud. Furthermore, that their departure will engender a brand new leadership cadre in the new south, devoid of a Bode, Diepreye, Ibori, Balogun, and Igbinedion’s affliction is a mere utopia and does not hold true in facts or common sense.

Finally, it is beyond my understanding why southerners always discuss in a whispering mood about alleged northern dominance. How many southerners have gone to court to argue for equal protection violations following the abuse of federal character and quota system by the Nigerian government? Must you wait for the elusive Sovereign National Conference (SNC) to be convened before you table your grievances?  By the way, where is your case for SNC? Where is the education in you if you cannot articulate the purpose and benefit of SNC? Must you wait for SNC before you articulate what ails you? What is wrong with now? Wake up, southerners! SNC might not happen in your lifetime. You are part of the problem. 

NORTHERN POWER MADNESS AND FEUDAL MACHIAVELLIANISM

(1) The classification of the progressives in the north, as well as those in the south as Fakir (infidel), is the oldest trick in the book. They use the New Nigerian Newspaper and Radio Nigeria Kaduna - a federal government own radio station to propagate fear of southern dominance in the mind of average northerners. They successfully and consistently monopolize political structures and governmental institutions through strategic placements facilitated by the application of national character and Quota System to strengthen their dominance as well as the resistance of outside influence and the much-derided western culture and Awo populist programs.

(2) In the past decades, while it was morally and constitutionally sacrosanct to apply federal character and quota system from the position of the vice president to the lowest level in government in every administration - even under military regime when the constitution was supposedly suspended - the position of the president was appropriated with unbridled impunity by the Hausas and the Fulanis for many years, without regards to the rotational constitutional arrangement.

(3) Intriguing as the inordinate power ambition has been, it was never appropriated for the benefit of the poor and the generality talakawa. It was simply designed to protect the business empire and political interests of the very privileged few who have been in government over the years.

(4) I do not think that the talakawa on the streets of Kano, Kaduna, and Sokoto would have supported the continuation of British occupation of the entire country because of the imaginary fear of second colonization of the north by the south at the exit of the British as expressed by the leadership of the Northern People’s Congress in 1953.  NPC was not ready for emancipation, and the rest of the country had to wait until October 1960 for them to be prepared to take power at the center.

(5) Similarly, Midwestern Region was never created because the Northern People’s Congress (party in power at the center) care for Midwesterners more than Action Group (the party in power in the region); the creation was calculated to dilute Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Action Group’s national spread and influence. The Northern part, as at the creation of the Midwest Region was almost twice the size of the western region, yet the northern region was left intact.

(6) Adding to that, the demand for the creation of a Middle Belt Region by Chief Joseph A. Tarka and members of the United Middle Belt Congress was as fierce as the demand for the creation of the Midwest Region by the Osadebes, the Benin and the Deltas. Middle Belt Region was never created. It was all about magnitude and dominance.  Shrewd political leaders as the Sadauna of Sokoto and Sir Abubakar Balewa were, they understood that very well and did everything possible to diminish the importance and influence of their fiercest competitor - Awo.

(7) As stated above, Balewa left northern region intact, because doing so was of a significant strategic and political importance, because the bigger northern is, the larger the power and strength it commands in the union - a development that Awo considered anemic to the original concept of federalism. However, when the time came to allocate oil money, the present generation of the same northern power block did not hesitate to splinter the same untouchable northern region into pieces - even more than structural reasonable - because doing so brings more money to the part from the federation account. The same north region that Balewa and Sadauna did not want to touch, now has more states and more local governments in Nigeria than the entire southern area that was already three regions before the civil war.

(8) Today, free education at all levels, though practicable, is an aberration at the national level because Dr. Jubrin Aminu now Professor (Senator) Jubrin Aminu thought that a nationally implemented free education at all levels has the potential to widen the already educational gap between the North and the South.  I do not believe northern students, their parents, and teachers would have opposed the introduction of free education at all levels in line with the retrogressive argument of Dr. Jubrin Aminu to the effect that free education at all levels would only benefit the south.

In his own words: “In the Universities themselves, the Federal Government is now contemplating introducing free education. Whatever may be the merits of this considered step, its likely effect on the University population must be mentioned. It is going to result in an even greater imbalance in enrollment, for the simple reason that at the moment, there are a fair number of highly eligible candidates for University education, mainly from the educationally advanced states,[west, east, and Midwest] who unfortunately cannot enter University simply on financial grounds.” “Educational Imbalance: Its Extent, History, Dangers and Correction in Nigeria” By Dr. Jubrin Aminu, National University Commission.

Simply put, affordability by the Fed was never his argument.  His divisive logic was that if the Fed provides free education at all levels, poor families in the south who would not have taken their children through the university system, because of financial problems, would now be able to do so. On the other hand, poor families in the north will not take advantage of the policy because of their resentment towards western culture and values. That was Dr. Aminu’s argument in the memo, not mine. Such a development, he argued, would ultimately add to the existing education gap between the north and the south; therefore, the idea of free education at all levels should be jettisoned. And they did. Obasanjo was the Military Head of State. And that remains the policy till today.

(9) The same Dr. Aminu later served as a Vice-Chancellor of a national University, Ambassador, Minister of Petroleum, Minister of Education, and now a Senator for life. Only in Nigeria! It will never happen in another country – for a guy who so shamelessly and openly agitates sectional interests to be able to serve in strategic national positions over and over again.

(10) As a Minister of Education, he introduced nomadic education, designed exclusively to educate children of herds’ men (cattle ranchers). As usual, they gave him a blank check to accomplish his wishes. But at the same time, he waged a personal war against Dr. Festus Iyayi of UNIBEN and the entire ASUU members; he starved our Universities of needed funding and wasted millions of dollars on the program without a single pupil graduating from it. He later abandoned the plan for reasons left for Dr. Aminu to explain.

(11) The educational gap between the north and south that Dr. Aminu wanted to bridge by all means possible did not happen overnight in the south. It was made possible by the embrace of Christian Missionaries in the East - integration of religious studies with scholarly pursuit - by the Ibos, the free education program of Action Group in the western region as well as the acceptance and embrace of western culture and values side by side with the Yoruba creeds by the people of the Western Region. Dr. Aminu acknowledged these facts in his 53-page memo, rather than strive to adopt the same programs nation-wide, he demanded that the rest of the country wait for the north to catch up, whether or not the North was willing to embrace the same values and programs that made educational advancement possible in the south.

(12) There is no denying the fact that Boko Haram is chicken coming home to roost. The educational policy selfishly designed to frustrate poor southern families is today, a boomerang in Dr. Aminus face. It succeeded in creating generations of uneducated, easily manipulated religious extremists in his backyard – a cesspool for Boko Haram adherents and a recruitment reservoir for those who want to impose a state religion on the rest of us. What is called for is coherent national education policy, with the full support of the federal government, similar to what Action Groups did in the Old Western Region and what the Late Abubakar Rimi did in Kano State in the second republic – a grass-root educational campaign that won his administration a UNESCO Award.  

(13) Also, I do not think that the electorates in the geographical north would have voted for the nullification of the June 12, 1993, presidential election won by a southerner, if there was a referendum to that effect. IBB did not serve the interest of the Talakawas when he annulled a successful presidential election – a rare accomplishment by the international standard - that would have made him a great leader today. Smart as he is, IBB allowed that invisible oligarchic clique in and out of the military to hijack his sense of judgment and succumbed to the antediluvian popular convention to the effect that the north is ordained to retain the presidency of this country as long as it wishes.

(14) When IBB and the remnants of the Northern People’s Congress decided to pacify western region for the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election won by a Yoruba man, they went for one of their own, Obasanjo – the Clarence Thomas of Egbe Omo Oduduwa - a captive of feudal Machiavellianism when he served as a military head of state in the 70s.

(15) Not long ago, some of our Northern Governors introduced Sharia Laws, without apparent reason, other than the emergence of a southern Christian as the President of this country, in the person of President Obasanjo. There is no excellent or socioeconomic explanation for the introduction of Sharia Law in those states. The introduction of Sharia Law is today, a catalyst for the audacity of Boko Haram and the escalation of their crusade. The legislative stamp on Sharia Law via the legislative actions of the northern governors goes to the root of the mystery surrounding the evolution of Boko Haram and their operational network.

Here, we set out to prove two things: One, that the northern appetite for power (presidential office) knows no limit, and two, to show that that presidential power that they have so ruthlessly pursued, and with so much impunity and ruthlessness, hardly transform to purposeful governance or improvement in the overall well-being of the generality of the people - the talakawas. Therefore, in light of these facts, it would be uncharacteristic of me to support a call to throw the bathwater out with the baby. Instead, effort should be made to wrest power from those that wield it on behalf of the privileged few. 

2011