The Lies of Religion and Race in Nigerian Politics.

Can you possibly force a Northern Fulani Muslim to voluntarily relinquish political power in Nigeria in favour of a Yoruba Christian from the South? Also, can you deprive Northerners of their turn to rule Nigeria for eight years when the Yoruba tribe under President Obasanjo was the President for eight years and a Niger Delta President Jonathan for five years? It has never been about the ability to govern, but more about race and religion.

It is irrelevant that President Jonathan did more for Kano State in terms of infrastructural facilities than he did for Niger Delta. It is irrelevant that President Jonathan introduced the Almajiri Integrative Educational Initiative that benefited Northern Youths. It is irrelevant that President Jonathan appointed more Kano indigenes into Ministerial posts than he offered to his state.

And it is irrelevant that thousands of Northerners are dying every year at the hands of Bandits and the Boko Haram sect. Yes, it is irrelevant that the Service Chiefs appointed and kept in office by President Buhari are indisputably incapacitated by the weight of the unceasing atrocities of Bandits and the Boko Haram sect.

Can I, an Esan man, for instance, in the capacity of a Minister of Interior, recruit mercenaries from South Africa to decimate Bandits, the Boko Haram sect, and the kidnapping cell who are predominantly Hausa/Fulani without garnering the wrought of Hausa/Fulani political leaders? By the way, can an Esan man be trusted with the Interior or Internal Affairs Ministry under a Buhari administration or a Presidency headed by a Northern Hausa/Fulani?

In Nigeria, it is politically incorrect to frame these questions or scenarios without falling victim to being labelled a bigot. And you are more likely to be blacklisted from Federal Government jobs or appointments in Nigeria for having the audacity complain about the impacts of Hausa/Fulani nepotism and ethnic chauvinism.

Ethnic chauvinism and religious factors are keeping President Buhari in office while bloodshed eats our land unabated. And they are the reasons why Northerners are grieving and weeping with no end in sight. The enormity of the grief is a translation of the financial haul benefiting the instigators and the combatants. And it is in sharp contrast to what Utham dan Fodio stood for and fought for.

These ones are greddy. It is about them. And it is about their family members, friends, and cronies. Boko Haram, yet their children and grandchildren are in the UK and North America, imbibing Western culture and quality education. They were the finest colonel and ordered their breakfast from Dubai. They drive exotic cars in Abuja and line the corridors of power at NNPC, CBN, EFCC, ICPC, CAC, NPA, as well as the rank and file of our armed forces and the Customs and Immigration Services. And they are the special ones on standby to be betrothed to the scion of that Governor, that Minister, that Senator, or that business magnate. And it is historical.

On the other hand, the Abokis, Almajiri and Talakawas live in a different world, where Boko Haram is strictly Haram and where Sharia Law trumps the country's constitution. With hoe and willbarrow in hand, they are toiling daily for stipends to keep body and soul together. The Almajiris remain homeless, wondering, soliciting favours to survive, while praying for another election. They are the tools for rigging and mass thomprinting. Finally, the breeding Talakawa - the jobless man with three wives, the man most often, the beneficiary of state-sponsored marriages, the man certain to have his name on the payroll as one of the thousands of aides to a State Governor, doing nothing, but collecting a salary every month. And of course, a part of the recruitment reservoir for chieftaincy ends - banditry and kidnapping.

Until Nigerians start asking and answering the impacts of religion and race questions in our leadership struggle, President Buhari will remain in office. And the untouchable foreign Fulani killers, bandits, and kidnappers will continue to roam our landscape, killing and kidnapping for ransom with enthusiastic abandon.

We must be willing to reject political correctness and confront the uncomfortable truth. We do those things we are on the path to overcoming the emergence of a leadership structure defined by third-rated performers. And that is the unmaking of a great nation-state - the perpetuation of mediocrity in satisfaction of religious and ethnic ends. Nigeria will stop burning when real and true patriots are given the chance, irrespective of their religious background, ethnic label, or social-political views.