Sunday, November 29, 2020

 The Search For Empathy For the Northern Poor.

INTRODUCTION:
Growing up, I was quite familiar with the Lagos/Ibadan Press Axis epithet coined and popularized by Northern public affairs commentators to decry the slanting of news coverage by the press in favor of the South. The advent of the Internet and social media no doubt exacerbates the existing divide, thus, casting the Northern region (excluding the Middle Belt) as undeserving of nation-wide sympathy in the face of the escalations in Boko Haram's barbarism.
Today, most Souther commentators who find time to write about the security meltdown in the old Northern region of Nigeria, do so only as breaking news: "Five Bandits died and four Nigerian Soldiers also died in a fresh attack at Chibok." "Boko Haram beheaded about 43 farmers." "A whole village in Zamfara State is deserted following the invasion by Bandits." "The Governor of Borno State is lucky to be alive from an assassination plot engineered by Boko Haram sect." Those are some of the headlines that populate Facebook every day.
In other words, though Southern writers or commentators share the news on their Facebook pages, they do so NOT for an expression of a sense of empathy for the victims. But to showcase the failure of President Buhari in his oath of office to ensure peace and security of lives and properties throughout Nigeria. Also, to dramatize the helplessness of the leadership of the Nigerian Armed Forces in its war against Bandits and Boko Haram warriors.
Thus, the victims, unfortunately, are seen as the fruits of the sins of their own brothers who appropriated political power at the top by any means necessary, but lack the wisdom and capacity to make the best of it. Therefore, to overcome that perception and ensure compassionate coverage, a few dangerous lies that underscore the danger of ethnic chauvinism and religious divide must first be recounted. And that is what this essay is about.
ANALYSIS:
The loss of that sense of empathy for the victims is not by design. It is subconscious. Influenced by resentment of the disinformation campaign that Northern political leaders have used over the years to hijack the sensibility of their own people into believing that they are fighting a common enemy in Lagos and Abuja for a common purpose.
The common enemies are the Southern political leaders and Igbo Military Officers. And the common purpose is religious freedom, even when their fundamental right to be a Muslim is never under threat. The usual playbook is that they want to colonize you, take away your Quran, and impose the Bible on you. In spite of the obscene level of Illiteracy in the North, they were able to propagate that false narrative with the aid of the Transistor Radio via Radio Nigeria, Kaduna, and the Hausa Service of the BBC.
That's how the two networks have succeeded in their indoctrination of the helpless and underprivileged Northerners with seeds of entitlements and of discords. They poison their minds, feeding them with Kafir (infidel) label on the unbelievers and the concept of two nations in one, with them as the superior race. Because there are no alternative views available on the airwaves to debunk the systemic lies, it is very difficult to preach civility or love thy neighbor in the event of tribal or religious conflict. And that has been the history of the Nigerian race tragedy.
With that indoctrination in place and fully established, no amount of preaching by Southern commentators, decrying the oppression, poor standard of living, and general deprivations confronting the average Northerners can strike attention in them. It is always about the unfounded lies against freedom of worship that has taken root. And it is about the bogus narrative that Southern political leaders are out to steal political power away from them.
The same reason why a Governor from the North could declare openly that the Almajiri culture is to them, a celebrated culture worthy of continuation. And he was never sanctioned. It is on the same premise that President Buhari and his administration could discontinue the Almajiri Integrative Education Initiative brokered by President Goodluck Jonathan, and no one is complaining in Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina, or Adamawa.

So, what exactly are our national priorities? Can our national priorities be defined from the perspectives of a Southerner or Southern political leaders? Never. Not in the history of the 1914 amalgamation. A Governor can afford to spend at least three days in the state where he is the Governor and the rest twenty-seven days at Abuja. Is that democracy or feudalism?
We are confronted with different realities and our priorities are different. While it was appropriate to label the EndSARS struggle as a Southern conspiracy to topple President Buhari, on the other hand, ending kidnapping by armed Fulanis or the destructive proclivities of the Cattle herders is not a national priority. It is in the same light that annihilating Boko Haram enemy combatants or shooting at sight Terrorist Bandits is not a national priority.

Again, who determines the national priorities? They are the Hausa/Fulani who dominated the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The main reason one Rtd Lieutenant General Azubuike Ihejirika, President Jonathan's Chief of Army Staff didn't qualify to lead the war against Boko Haram in the opinion of Rtd General Buhari and Mallam El-Rufai.
That is why today, Northerners are more worried about the motives of EndSARS peaceful protesters than the killings by Boko Haram and the reign of terror of Bandits ravaging Sokoto, Zamfara, and the Katsina State. Also, in their opinion, Southern Social Media and the EndSARS peaceful protester are motivated by a common goal to kick President Buhari out of office.
As you read, the prosecution of the participants at the EndSARS protest has taken the magnitude of Treasonable Felony threshold, thus, warranting the deployment of the CBN by the Presidency to do its dirty job. Nigerians should not allow it to happen. It was a peaceful protest before the government hired hoodlums came and embark on a vandalism rampage.
Therefore, to debunk the age-old false narrative that the Quran is under threat and the pervasive misinformation of Southern political leaders coming to take over their God-given political power as historically perfected by Radio Nigeria, Kaduna, and the New Nigerian Newspaper, requires an unbiased approach to the true state of affairs in the North by Northern commentators and opinion leaders. The Quran is not under threat. The Federal Government is not your birthright - Allah did not give it to you. And Southern political leaders are not out to colonize the North. So, enough of the lies you are using to shield your managerial deficiencies.
Ending these lies is the first approach to creating a sense of equality and brotherly love between the regions and engendering compassionate tones from Southern commentators. And a society where an eminently qualified Ehibor Osahon from Edo State or Ehijirika Okonkwo from Anambra State can comfortably be a Minister of Defense or a Security Adviser to President Buhari, without subjecting him or her to an ethnic or religious test.
Finally, I must applaud my good friend, Shehu Mustapha Shehu Mustash, the publisher of the Politico, followed by the former Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. And last but not the least, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar, the latest entrant into the progressive struggle. If the custodian of Northern Feudalism is crying out loud about the clear and present danger confronting our sovereignty, I see no reason why Northern powerbrokers should not rally around him to unravel the suitability in office of the man holding court at Aso Rock.
To be continued.

No comments:

Post a Comment

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.

FIFA World Cup Final: Coach Didier Deschamps and a Lesson in Authentic Leadership. (A Master Class)

I am not a Sportswriter, commentator, analyst, or enthusiast. I am a Lawyer by training, and I have a passion for crafting public policy sta...