The North, Third Term And HistoryBy Zayyad I. Muhammad
The third term agenda is a monster determined to punch the Nigerian state into a full blown banana republic, this is troubling the whole entire masses in Nigeria and it is nerve-racking few elites who reason with the future rather than the present; and one out of the ordinary and disheartening thing is, there are peculiar stuffs associated with the third term agenda that has much to the with northern Nigeria, particular the elites and the political class, though this is not an attempt at blaming the north, but an expression of the level of surprises the northern ‘talakawas’ ( masses) are, to the degree as which their politicians and leaders are involve in the ille gality , called third term ; equally, the rest of the regions have their own share of the guilt.
The vehicle third termers are maneuvering to hijack to take them throw their ill and anti people desire, is the Nigerian constitution, championing the course is a committee headed and solitarily manipulated by a northerner, - the famous Mantu committee, the forefront third term accomplices in the senate are senators from the north: Dalhatu Tafida, Abubakar Sodangi, Adudu, Jonathan Zwingina and the few who want be in the good books of Obasanjo and at the same tim e enjoy the unending public admiration that real anti third term campaigners are enjoying, but this is a situation of either you are for democracy or against it . Never in the history of Nigeria that a constitution was ever named after a Nigerian, excepts the colonial constitutions named after colonial official, Clifford and Marksperson, today Mantu is on his way to make ‘history’, Nigerians have dubbed a constitution in his name, the amendments proposals hurriedly rectified by a mere voice vote in Port Harcourt to be part of the Nigerian political structures is not a Nigerian constitution but Mantu’s and his cohorts.
After the 1999 elections, and the subsequent formation of government by president Obasanjo there was a hullabaloo by some political leaders that the core north w as marginalized; this brought to it height the lingering issue of the core north and middle belt politics; this was thwarted by leaders who reason with their heads, those that believe and share Sardauna’s ideology of: the north is one and for every one, but what an irony, today, the so-called ‘core north’ had been placed in the forefront of championing the anti Nigerians course which it implications to the north is enormous, apart from Governor Ibrahim Shekarau of Kano the rest of the Governors from the core- north are either third term pushers or they are playing hide and seek with the masses. Interestingly the so- called ‘middle belt’ is doggedly fighting for the north, and indeed for Nigeria without a bit of fear, we are all witnesses to the current politics of vendetta our nation is subjected to, by the power that be. Only Gov. George Akume of Benue, Abdullahi Kure of Niger, Joshua Dariye of Plateau and Boni Haruna of Adamawa, are the firmly standing for the north and Nigeria.
Of the six alive former Nigerian Heads of state, five are in the north, it is natural and also an obligation on their heads to bring to the masses a ‘succor’ when unity and nationals survival is threaten, today Muhammadu Buhari is enthusiastically and all-out fighting for Nigeria and democ racy, Gen Gowon has spoken against the sit- tight project which earned him an insult from the mouth that speaks double, but painfully nothing is being heard from the other three respectable statesmen, though some people are of the opinion, the statesmen are fighting in silence, others said they are waiting for the appropriate time; as one, was recently quoted by a national daily “It is wrong even to conclude it (third term) is a reality, if those who fight against the tenure elongation are 40 in the Senate, then the game is lost. You need two thirds of 109 and if 40 said no, then comes no.
It wont be surprising if the rest Nigeria is skewed to expecting the northern elites to be at the vanguard of anti third term crusade and making sure of lawfully and peacefully dislodging Obasanjo from power by May 2007; because it was the north that laundered and presented Obasanjo to the whole of the country for the 1999 election in a quest to stretch national unity, and equally today the bulk of catalyst who are unlawfully trying to elongate the tenure of president Obasanjo are from the north, the afore mentioned two stuffs; Fear and Greediness have prevented political leaders in Nigeria to stand for democratic principle ; though we must confess that standing for democratic ideals are fast becoming dangerous in Nigeria under president Obasanjo , whom of late his styles are, his present and past assertion are completely not in harmony with his actions, his first preys are the spoons that fed him.
Time has come for the northern political elites; Governors, parliamentarians, the business class and the traditional class to do a overhaul on their position about the so-called third term, especially those supporting it and those sitting on the fence, though those supporting the agenda have already chosen the path to dark history, also sitt ing on the fence is totally an act against the Nigerian state though in silence; today is only for today but tomorrow will vindicate every one, but the Nigerian masses have chosen the path true democracy, they have say NO to third term.
Zayyad I. Muhammad writes from Jimeta, Nigeria
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