The North, the Middle Belt and Nigeria

By

Sam Nda-Isaiah

Sam@nigeriaunlimited.com

 

Today, I am going to be rude. And about time too. A few days ago, Solomon Lar, Walin Langtang, former governor of Plateau State in the Second Republic and first chairman of the PDP, declared first, that the Middle Belt was not part of Northern Nigeria and second, that if the Middle Belt as an entity is not recognised as separate, there will be no peace. I could not immediately ascertain who that threat was directed to. I also could not be certain of the Wali’s state of sobriety at the time, that comment – those who know will agree that he is not always clearheaded. There is obviously something, that chief is upset about. He is entitled to be angry, and I agree there are many things to be angry about, but he has no right to distort the facts. Facts are sacred and they will remain facts even if you don’t like them. Lar, who calls himself the “Emancipator” of his people, nonetheless took the oppressors’ title of Wali in 1994. The Walin Langtang’s mentors were Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto and Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the Prime Minister in the First Republic . He was not exactly qualified for the job when his mentors made him parliamentary secretary.

 

Chief Lar is in the same confused league with Alhaji Tanko Yakassai. In 1999, when the emergent government of Olusegun Obasanjo appointed General Victor Malu from Benue State, chief of army staff, Air Vice Marshal Isaac Alfa from Kogi State, chief of air staff and Admiral Ibrahim Ogohi from Kogi State, chief of defence staff, to complement General T.Y. Danjuma, the newly appointed minister of defence, Yakassai, in a state of absentmindedness, blurted out in fury, declaring that the “North” was being marginalised in the military, meaning that these four soldiers, were not northerners. The implication is that they belong to Solomon Lar’s Middle Belt. Therefore, Yakassai agreed with Lar (both of whom have many things in common) that the Middle Belt was not part of the North. But they and their ilk are liars. They want to destroy the North in service of some funny ambition. In fact, both Yakassai and Lar are small minded, puny little men who would do anything to gain relevance. Is it possible to be more northern than General Danjuma for instance? Where was Yakassai when, as a young major in the Nigerian army, Danjuma risked his life in the name of the North (and for its sake) to effect the arrest of the then much dreaded General Aguiyi Ironsi? Apart from positioning himself to receive the spoils that come with parading himself as a northerner especially in those days, has Yakassai ever taken any risk for the North? There was a time in the Sardauna’s office, when Ade John, Silas Daniyan and Sunday Awoniyi were in charge of the day-to-day affairs of the premier’s office. Yakassai would have complained that these three from the same area were not northerners. The Sardauna I was told, never used the term “far North” or “Middle Belt” and even the late Joseph Tarka, who was the genuine champion of Middle Belt causes, knew the limits of politics and he retreated when he needed to.

 

It is clear that those who agitate for a separate Middle Belt identity do so to continue to remain relevant and position themselves and their families for some gain in the name of a non-existent fraternity. Politically, there can never be any such thing as Middle Belt. I do not know what a Tiv, a Tarok, a Nupe and a Kabba man, have in common politically to discuss and take common positions. The so-called Middle Belt is too disparate and heterogeneous, and worse still, most of the ethnic groups lack any historical or cultural consanguinity. That is why, in spite of all the cacophony about its existence, people like Solomon Lar will keep on threatening and lamenting the lack of recognition for it. But members of the states that make up the North have historical and cultural affinity. It was only in 1914 that the Northern and Southern protectorates were merged. If Lar feels so strongly about the Middle Belt, he should name one single thing he has done for the Middle Belters in all his public service years, either as a minister or even as chairman of the ruling party. He should name one single person that he has developed. The only people he appeared to have developed are Bernie, his daughter, who holds a certain appointment in the presidency and his wife, Professor Mary Nanwor (who by the way is an excellent lady), now an ambassador to The Netherlands. The Wali has obviously sorted out his home, every other person can go to hell. When Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, another acclaimed Middle Belter, was Senate President, virtually every staff member of the then Senate, starting from George Akume, the current governor of Benue State, who was special assistant to the Senate President then and most of other staff members appointed by the Ayu Senate were Tiv.

 

Instead of standing up for their people, they only use the peoples’ plight as a bargaining chip. In the aftermath of the official massacre of the Tiv in Zaki-Biam by the Obasanjo government, Ayu, who was then out of power – after being disgraced and sacked by the president as minister of industries while in hospital recuperating from an illness – declared that the Tivs would never vote Obasanjo again. He said the president had betrayed the Tivs and said so many horrible things against him. But in the countdown to the 2003 elections after Obasanjo had promised to reappoint him a minister, he recanted, declaring on behalf of no one particularly, that the Tivs had forgiven Obasanjo. He is now a minister. Third time minister! This is not to imply in anyway that the Tiv voted for Obasanjo. This is why there is so much tension in Tivland and people continue getting killed daily. Dan Suleiman is now Nigerian ambassador to Moscow. So, he is now likely to be quiet for some time but we all remember that at different times in the past when he was without appointment or relevance, he was either a rabid Middle Belt agitator or a fleeing rambunctious NADECO chieftain.

 

The Middle Belt as carved out by Solomon Lar & co includes the southern and minority parts of Kebbi, which annexes Zuru. General Ishaya Bamaiyi, former chief of army staff, who has been in detention since Obasanjo came to power over unsubstantiated allegation of the attempted murder of Mr Alex Ibru, belongs to the Zuru ethnic group. One would have thought that the Middle Belters (so called) would have been on top of their voices, babbling against the injustice of keeping the former chief of army staff perpetually in prison while releasing Iyiola Omisore, the prime suspect in Bola Ige’s murder or even Ganiyu Adams, who we all know leads a murderous gang. But they will not talk. Talking will affect their appointment as ambassadors and ministers. Has Chief Lar seen the list of those recently arrested for security breach? The list does not differentiate the North from the Middle Belt. Sometimes, it is even difficult to tell what the agitators want. In the early 90s, General Ibrahim Babangida appointed Mrs. Pamela Sadauki the deputy governor of Kaduna State. He thought by doing that, he would be solving a long-standing problem in Kaduna State. Mrs. Sadauki is Christian and Hausa/Fulani. But Babangida was shocked when some prominent Middle Belters from southern Kaduna still complained they were being marginalised. They complained that Sadauki favoured her Hausa/Fulani stock in all her decisions. The then deputy governor was said to have been taken aback because she thought being a Christian would assuage the southern Kaduna people, who are mainly Christians.

 

The several Middle Belt groups were not formed for the welfare and well being of the people, but the political bargaining power of their promoters. And the people of these areas know it. That is why even though Solomon Lar was chairman of the PDP, Langtang voted ANPP. Lar told his people that they are not northerners; Jerry Useni of the ANPP said they are northerners. In the House of Representatives contest between Bernie Lar (the Wali’s daughter) of the PDP and Victor Lar (Useni’s boy) of the ANPP, the people passed their verdict. Victor Lar is now the member representing the Tarok in the House of Representatives. It is noteworthy that the Langtang election was one of the very few, Obasanjo and his men could not rig.

 

To be sure, there is nothing wrong with the idea of a Middle Belt, just like there is nothing untoward with the concept of CAN, JNI, Northern Christian Elders and all the other sub-groupings in the North, if the idea would be to take up certain noble causes of the people. But this cannot conceivably be done outside the purview of the North no matter how one tries. As a Christian, I am a member of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). In fact, I remember the late Jolly Tanko Yusuf saying that the Sardauna encouraged him to form CAN in the North during the First Republic. As Jerry Useni said last week, the Middle Belt is part of the North and nobody can do anything about that. And there is no one northerner that is superior to the other. That is why all the 19 state governors of the North meet regularly on equal basis to discuss the common problems of their people. And one must agree that there are a lot of problems, many of which border on the very existence of the people. Those who call themselves Middle Belt leaders can engage themselves meaningfully in resolving the intractable internecine wars between the Tivs and Jukuns, Jukuns and Kutebs, Tarok and Hausa/Fulani, Christians and Muslims and the nebulous indigene/settler syndrome. But they will not do that because it is not one of their objectives. Most of them instead stoke the wars by the rubbish that comes out of their mouths.

 

But it must also be said that Solomon Lar & co did not start this problem. I have researched and asked a lot of questions from both sides and my conclusion as recorded in this column in an article entitled: Danjuma, The Making of a General (November 17, 2003), is that General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua’s ambition (wittingly or unwittingly) worsened the chasm, which in any case had always existed but was subdued to manageable levels. Because General T.Y. Danjuma was by far Yar’Adua’s superior, he (Yar’Adua) needed to create his own power base outside the traditional one that would have made Danjuma the leader of the North. He succeeded, but that divided the North. And seeing a fissure, petty minded people seized the opportunity with Danjuma to promote their own agenda. It got worse when Danjuma left the army because they needed his money and stature to continue to flower the divisions. But again, Danjuma was never invited to many of the Northern Elders Meetings. Many people, including Danjuma, I was told, found that amusing. I remember that Adamu Adamu, has had cause to rebuke certain northern elders on the futility of convening any northern meeting that excludes the former minister of defence. Malam Adamu told one of them pointedly not long ago, that Danjuma was their leader.

 

But it is not only the elders that are guilty of this suicide politics. I have a very close friend who regularly organises a Northern interest meeting, at his office not far away from my own office. He invites almost everyone, most of whom are my friends and colleagues to that meeting but not me. I do not know what makes him or any of those who he invites more northern than myself. But it was when Malam Kabiru Yusuf, Publisher of Daily Trust/Weekly Trust, who was probably surprised that I was not part of that meeting told me that the gathering actually started a long time ago as “The Buhari Support Group” that I burst into laughter. Why did I laugh? Because, none of those who attend the meetings can claim to be more Buhari than me. Truth be told, probably only Buhari himself can claim to be more Buhari than me – for clearly very good and unsentimental reasons of course. Obviously, the North needs to put its house in order fast. As, without a very strong North, Nigeria will continue to remain weak!

 

Sam Nda-Isaiah is the Publisher of Leadership Confidential