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The North, Our North By Ndiame Ba-brik As usual the Northern part of Nigeria was in the news again in the past weeks. First it was the northern union with a report which puts the North 20 years behind the South educationally. Then come UN reports on illiteracy in Nigeria which estimated that 60 million Nigerian adults are illiterates while 10 million children fall into that group. While it was almost predictable, the report further said that 40 million of the illiterate adults are from the North. Just again we woke up on Friday 28st Sept to hear yet again of religious crisis of cause in Kano State. Can we still be in doubt why the North will continue to wallow behind the South Educationally, Economically, Infra-structurally, Socially and otherwise? The North has always had the chances. Let us look at Governments in the past, apart from the brief interludes by Obasanjo and Aguyi-Ironsi, all the past Heads of States are from the North. Eight of them as to Two from the South plus Yar'Ardua now Nine. It was only Gen. Buhari who was purposeful and focused unfortunately he was pushed out. Gen Gowon spent his time fighting the civil war . In life I believe nothing is sacrosanct. While they have had state universities in the south since the 1980s, it is unbelievable that we toy with the education of our children using politics in the North. Take the case of the Plateau state university, students have resumed, lectures have commenced, there are infrastructures on ground, hardly did Dariye go then the University is about to be scrapped. That is unimaginable in the South. Ambrose Ali university Epkoma started in a primary school. Lagos State university started in Jakande secondary school in Ojo. If you have been to Lagos, you should known what Jakande secondary school is. All the states in the South have state universities the latest being Osun and Cross River. Britain has over two thousand years of quality educational system and was the highest foreign exchange earner to the UK last year. But the Prime Minister was in the news emphasising that education is his top priority. There is hardly any big town in the UK that has no university! While the Southern part of Nigeria put emphasis on education and infrastructural development, we in the North seem to put emphasis on religion and tribalism. The press must assist tell ourselves the bitter truth. The rich in the South invest in viable industries and viable private schools whereas in the North the rich invest in palatial houses with a mosque attached to it. Yes we need Aljanat but why do neglect our responsibilities in this technological and changing world for the sake of paradise? In the North both Christians and Muslims take religion to the extreme. I have been so elated by the articles by Musa Abdullahi and one El-Yukubu both residence of Kano posted on the gamji site. I recommend the reading of those article to the few literate Northerners. We have to tell our leaders both political and religious the bitter truth. Why is there religious crises in the North always and never for once in the South. Even if there has been any in the South it has always been engineered and involves Northerners. Therefore it is either the religious leaders are not teaching the right thing or there is something wrong with the system. In the South-West we are told there is hardly any house without a Muslim or Christian yet there is harmonious living. Why can't we borrow a leaf from them in the North? It is ironic that the most recent religious crisis in Tudun Wada Kano is being attributed to primary school pupils, that I believe is a cover-up. But if that is true that show the level of Moral decadence in the system and the society. Children in the primary school are probably 12 years or 13 years at maximum, yet they participate in arson and vandalising of people's properties surely some adults must be behind them engineering them giving them petrol and and arms. The North needs a general re-orientation and copy the good things from the South. The Northern Governors meeting must have as a priority on their agenda to tackle religious upheavals in the North before the Lebanon or Iraq will become a child's play. Culprits must be punished however highly placed they are. 12 years old children or younger might not have the initiatives to go to do arson's, under interrogations they will name their sponsors. On a final note the North should invest in education that is the only guaranteed future. Governor Jonah Jang bring Plateau State university back please. Ndiameeh Babrik ndiame_2005@yahoo. co. uk |