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Sunusi Lamido’s Nationalist Credentials: Beyond Parochialism By Khalid Imam The main thrust of this piece is not to discuss the most malicious blackmail and character assassination churned out by some desperately sponsored hack writers hurling out naked lies against the current sanitisation drive championed by the reformist-driven new governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Malam Sunusi Lamido Sunusi. As the likes of Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim want us to believe the radical action of our Kano-born Prince Sunusi Lamido was motivated by some hideous, tribal or sectional agenda, but as I earlier pointed out this article intends to aptly paint the true picture of who the accused really is. In my view, one of the easiest ways to paint the vivid picture of one’s true personality or identity is not to examine the type of tribal marks on his/her face or identify his birth place, but to critically subject his/her open utterances/words, writings, and his/her long standing life ideals or philosophy into serious scrutiny. The way one thinks, acts or behaves over time, if you ask me, reveals so much about him/her as well as exposes what he/she is trying to conceal from the public domain, My major concern here is to dig into my archives of Sunusi Lamido’s previous interviews and writings for readers to fully appreciate his uncompromising stand on national issues, as well as his impeccable national credentials which certainly are beyond mere parochialism. To begin with, let me commence by sharing with readers my personal encounter (or should I say my stormy verbal engagement) with the then Malam Sunusi Lamido Sunusi, at his Kano residence, some five or six years ago, when we (my good colleague, Mukhtar A Yakasai and I visited him when he writes his controversial “The Adulterous Diary” to defend Malama Safiya of Zamfara. As I can recall vividly we were ushered into Sunusi’s quasi-palace (“fada”) by our late pal, Bashir Sani. Before that meeting with him I could say, without qualms, that I was a vociferous, unapologetic regionalist/sectionalist’s megaphone; as well as an overzealously intolerant, religious bigot and tribal champion. In most of my private discussions then, especially with non-Hausa, non- Muslims or non-northerners I barked at them like rabid dog. Yes, I was not a nationalist at all even in my public write ups then (thanks to late Wada Nas’ incisive, propagandist, pro-north offerings in his rested weekly column on the pages of Weekly Trust and the tribal, regionalist and inciting outbursts of the late Bola Iges and Abraham Adesanyas). Surprisingly, before my encounter with the nationalist Sunusi Lamido came to an end, like a cube of sugar dissolved into a cup of tea, I realised the futility and frailty of my earlier position by submitting completely to Sunusi Lamido’s vastly superior arguments. And like a joke, since then, I have been viewing and reacting to our contemporary, socio-economic, religious and political issues concerning this battered country of ours from the nationalist prism passionately and no less objectively. Like a patient completely cured from a deadly disease, I still nostalgically remember Sunusi’s well prescribed antidote: “Nigeria could do better if young men like you unchained themselves from the manipulative hands of our selfish elite by rising above the murky waters of religious bigotry, ethnic sentiment and regional chauvinism.” He continued his nationalistic sermon, in unmistakable terms, by spurring us to desist from investing our energy in anti- Nigeria project. And like a good teacher that he is, he demonstrates an unwavering commitment towards a Nigeria project in all his personal endeavours and conducts, unlike those phoney leaders of ours who always do the opposite of what they preach. Again, Malam Sunusi has become a force to reckon with in the media about a decade ago, by aggressively inviting us to the national dining table for an intellectual lunch through his avalanche of mostly controversial, yet well written articles. Sometimes, he courageously engaged those he perceived rightly or wrongly to be championing the gospel of national distrust and disintegration in hotly, but not vitriolic philosophical debates. The likes of Mohammed Haruna, Okey Ndibe, Late Wada Nas, Simon Kolawale and even our revered late Sheikh Ja’afar Mahmud Adam were not spared by his blunt critical pen in his patriotic call for a united Nigeria. Having shared my personal experience, permit me to take you into a journey through Sunusi’s previous writings and engagements with his northern brothers who had voiced out their resentment and opposition to his pro-Nigerian song. For instance, late Sheikh Ja’afar Mahmud Adam publically accused Sunusi Lamido’s open campaign for one Nigeria as a mere apologist attempt to ram his Western concept of nationalism down our throats so much so that he (Sunusi) takes delight in chastising even his kin and kith, the Hausa/ Fulani or his fellow Nigerian Muslims alike. Sheikh Adam added that: “...Anyone who reads these people’s writings (Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s and Dangiwa Umar’s) will know that they don’t know where they come from. They don’t have the identity of the religion they belong to. They equally don’t have the identity of the tribe they belong. President Obasanjo has his Yoruba identity and Christianity as a religion which he overzealously protects; Sardauna had a northern identity and that of Islam which he overzealously protected; Awolowo had his Yoruba identity…Ojukwu had his Igbo identity…Every person who knows what he is doing must have such an identity”. (Refer to an interview Shiekh Adam granted the Weekly Trust of April 16, 2005). Sunusi Lamido’s acerbic riposte to our respected scholar which I personally considered too offensive was not entirely bereft of its merit and sound judgement. In the article entitled: “Identity, Political Ethics And Parochialism: Engagement With Ja’far Adam (2)” Sunisi forcefully argues that Nigerians should crave for what he refers to as “national identity”, instead of always hiding in their tribal or regional cocoons at the slightest instance. To further buttress his point he shows the way forward by further arguing that Nigerians should put premium on “the fact of what we are, rather than the value of who we are.” In other words, as the reformist in Sunusi wants us to believe the “who an individual is, is more critical than the what, the group [or tribe] that one says he belongs to”, which in my own opinion is the most civilized and tolerant way to spur the tide of mutually harmonious and peaceful coexistence in a multi-cultural and multi-religious society like ours. Again, the late Wada Nas too once accused Sunusi of defending the heinous crimes of OPC tribal foot soldiers who waged the cruellest and most primitive wars on his native people. In one of his many write ups, Wada Nas pounced on Sunusi Lamido over what he erroneously perceived in one of Sunusi’s articles “as an insult to the north” or a piece which fans the raging fire of genocide against the Hausa/Fulani people. In his sarcastic response entitled: “Dialogue with a Critic,” which was published on Gamji website on 31st January,2001, Sunusi Lamido argues that he was not supporting OPC’ madness and genocide rather he is simply equating “the killing of northerners in Lagos as the retaliatory killings of Yorubas in Kano.” Instead of glorifying tribalism, Sunusi was more disturbed that “The lives of many innocent Nigerians were taken, [not just that of Hausa/Fulani or northerners] yet, the State could not [or failed to] protect those lives [unnecessarily wasted] and no one was brought to Justice at the end of the day". In his “The Northern Cross In Nigerian Politics: Ethnic Bigotry and the Subversion of Democracy”, Sunusi boldly says: “I was convinced that one Nigerian was not different from the other and that ethnic considerations were backward and reactionary.” And in the same piece, Sunusi exposes the hypocrisy of our political actors, like the critic which he is, by forcefully arguing thus: “It seems that the failure of the Nigeria opposition can in the main be traced to this inordinate fear, contempt and resentment for the ‘north’, feelings that are borne primarily out of ignorance and misunderstanding. An issue that concerns the north is seen as purely parochial while one that affects the south is a national question. The Nigerian opposition, by failing to rise beyond their desire for an ‘ethnocracy’ has denied the people of this country of an opportunity to forge a truly democratic opposition.” Knowing how controversial his views might sound in the ears of his ardent critics and avid fans alike, in his “Values and Identity in the Muslim North," he writes: "It is very common for a writer to be labelled a "traitor" to "the North" or "Muslims" for taking a position at variance with the fantasies of a sentiment-driven eclectic consciousness. Language is a moral medium; writing an instrument of ethical illumination, political conscietization and social mobilisation. The task of the intellectual is not one of blending into the opaque consciousness of the tumultuous mob around him, his voice drowned in a cacophony of misdirected protests. His task is to remind them of who they are and what they ought to be. Our values are not to be taken from conduct of our adversaries but from the great heritage of our people.” So in my view, the above quoted position made years back by the erudite and blunt banker is the most swift response to those at pains to paint him as a northern stooge today, because the same northerners too cried loudly against his actions or postulation when they go contrary to what they expected him to do or say, being one of them. For those who still consider Sunusi Lamido’s recent bank sanitization as someone acting the script of the north, I refer them to his previous writings in order for them to fully appreciate his true views and stand about the Nigeria project. The interested reader may go to www.gamji/sunusi.com to read these and many other articles he crafted calling the spade a spade in, for example: “Muslim Leaders and The Myth of Marginalization,” “In Defense of Reverend Father Kukah”, “Islam, Christianity and Nigerian Politics: A tribute to Thomas Paine (1737-1809),” The Igbos, The Yoruba and History, “Nwobodo, Buhari and the Pitfalls of "Consensus," etc.
I decided to go down memory lane by digging deep into archival references at the risk of boring my readers with copious quotes from the same person many of us maliciously and ignorantly dabbed with all kinds of nasty names simply because his big stick struck those of us who remorseless defraud our bank depositors. Sunusi Lamido has the audacity to take the risk of daring our powerful, corrupt and selfish bank borrowers not minding the tribal marks on their faces. Such a determined, fearless and dogged public officer needs to be supported, and not to be crucified by hack writers being sponsored by drowning men and women of devious characters, whether they are from the South or North. Are those attacking the CBN governor insinuating that southerners are the only ones who take delight in short changing our banks? Are those blaring at the top of their voice against the sanitization drive by the apex bank not insulting our southern brothers? If yesterday, northerners were against Sunusi Lamido’s write ups; our fellow brethrens from South applauded him, what moral right do the southerners have to oppose his actions today? The paradox of Sunusi Lamido’s supposed “Northern Agenda”, if you ask me, is in our genuine desire to provide honest answer to the aforesaid posers: The present CBN governor is a complete Nigerian, and that is why all serious minded and respectable opinion moulders from the Adamu Adamus, the Tonie Iwuomas and the Tunde Fagbunles, with one voice, urge him to go the whole hog with his sanitization of our bank. Period.
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