My own reading is quite different. True, the North
has several complaints against Obasanjo, far removed from ministerial
appointments. There are more important and lasting appointments than ministerial
ones, which the administration has not been quite disposed to granting the
North. Take what happened at the Tourism and Culture Ministry. Before Obasanjo
came in, of the eleven parastatals of the ministry, 5 were headed by
Northerners. Today only two are being so headed by them. How fair is this? Then
the issue of retirement. Of the seven Permanent Secretaries, the Director
Generals, first
retired, five were from the North, all retired in their prime. Again, how fair
is this? Furthermore, if we look at the pattern of some non ministerial
appointments, we will discover that the North got one third
and the south two thirds based on the former three regions.
But as we know the three have never been equal.
Inspite of what some people say, census figures, since 1925, have been proving
conclusively that the North has been having more population than the two of the
southern region put together. During the colonial era, when the counting were
conducted, the North had no educated elements to protect its interests, let
alone manipulate the figures. Indeed, the various exercises were carried out by
the colonial masters, assisted largely by southerners. And according to a close
friend, who did his NYSC when the 1973 census was conducted, he was counted
seven times while serving in the former Western Region. He further told me that
the census officer, who registered the students in the school he served, was a
lady but handed over the assignment to a boyfriend who was a teacher in the
school. A school of five classes with 40 per class recorded a figure of 2000
instead of 200. That the teacher told him that ‘this is
what you Northerners do’. So, if there are goats and sheep in the
North, as Adesanya told us, there are also rats and snails counted as human
beings in Adesanyas Odudualand.
The point here is that the North cannot be denied 15
out of 30 seats available. The outcry of the North has also got to do with economic
matters, such as the neglect of agriculture, solid minerals, the dredging of the
Niger, the stoppage of search of oil in the region and many others. There is
also the issue of divide and rule and very importantly the Nazist approach
towards Northerners by the Oduduas, and of course the constant insults
on them by officialdom at each fora. These and more are the greater
issues of concern, not temporary ministerial or ambassadorial appointments which
only benefit a few.
We are talking of policies and actions that have to
do with the common man. They are the key issues of greater importance. So, what
the North wants is not the presidency, but a leader who could be fair to its
people. The North is not in favour of seeking for better treatment,
over and above others but fairness and equity to all. In our type of
society it would be wrong for any group to insist for better treatment, above
others, but absolutely right to insist on equality based on certain known
criteria
The North wants a leader that would see the whole
country as his constituency, paying attention to particular needs, within the
frame work of the constitution, a leader whose people would not engage in Nazist
practices against others; a leader who does not insult people collectively; a
leader who believes in the unity of the country in diversity; a leader who cares
and performs to the fair satisfaction of the people.
With due respect to all, up here in the North, some
of us have observed a particular trend. As at today, the Yorubas are in firm
control of the economy, the social service sector, the public service, the
security services, the political arena and virtually all other sectors. In
short, they are in total control of the polity in all its ramifications. To be
honest with ourselves, what has been the outcome? For the first time in
Nigeria’s history the country is virtually controlled by one single ethnic
group out of about 250, and yet failure has been the hallmark since then. Giving
the preponderance of the sons of Odudua in our national affairs and their
domineering role, I feel the pain to say that their political establishment must
share in the failure of the Obasanjo administration. I may apologise for
indulging in collective guilt, but the reality is that by virtue of the fact
that the greater majority of those running the affairs of the country, in all
sectors we could think of, they cannot but share the blame for the failure of
the administration. This truth must be told, even as it is very bitter.
Our fault, perhaps, is that we have entrusted the
greater portion of the affairs of our country into the hands of one ethnic group
who determines and implement policies respectively, and does not seem to care
about the feelings of others except their own. Indeed, they indulge in
collectively insulting those who dare point out the faults of the administration
which they see as their own, exclusive of others. Anybody, who dares discuss its
failure is roundly insulted, just as Olabode George insulted Governor Kalu, who
played a greater role than him in bringing Obasanjo to power. In a way they have
appropriated the administration as their exclusive property in which others must
not interfere. Worse, they introduced Nazism and vindictiveness to deal with
those who dare complain.
We must, therefore, shift ground from the West to the
East. As far as Northerners are concerned, Easterners, whether Igbos or the
minorities, have been our best
political friends. Twice, Nnamdi Azikiwe stablised administration
headed by Northerners at a time when he could become the prime minister
in an alliance offered by AG. He refused and teamed up with the NPC in the lower
rank of ceremonial Governor. During the Second Republic, he alone, of the other
leaders, came to Shagari’s assistance, and the southern minorities, the only
hold the NPC had in the south then, was in their area. Furthermore, since the
Second Republic, they have been voting the same parties with the mainstream
Northern political leadership. And if we go further, NEPU had a good working
alliance with the NCNC, and significantly too, an eastern dominated party, NPP
captured a northern state, Plateau.
What these mean is that there has been friendly political fraternity with our
brothers in the East to our own greater advantage. Certainly we owe them a debt,
a debt which we must pay. They have done to us more than what we have done to
them in terms of political support. This is a fact.
In politics you need lasting friends and our lasting
friends have been Easterners, and to strengthen this friendship, we must support
them for project 2003, if not because of this, at least to apologise to them for
what some of us did to Ekwueme. We know that we made a costly mistake though some
of us warned much early in the day.
I think it was M C Ajulucukwu that recently revealed
that Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe once told them that they have a ‘residual friend’ in
the North and that they must stick together. Many have proved that what happened
to Okadigbo was because of his politics of friendship with the North. And only
recently the southern minorities have made it known that Northerners are their
best political friends.
These are all shows of good will towards us for which
we ought to show greater appreciation through project 2003. It is in the
interest of both the nation and our region for us to do this. Of course some of
our leaders are free to continue with their Obasanjo project, but we must tell
them that Obasanjo and his people have since moved away our minds from this in
favour of our better political friends, and they are resident in the former
Eastern Region. We need their friendship as they need ours in a mutuality of
respect.
Inspite of the civil war, they have not been
indulging in collectively insulting and
killing us as others have been doing. Tarka worked for them. So did PRP and GNPP
governors. Late ‘Yar’adua also worked for them during the second phase of
the Second Republic. Our soldiers put Obasanjo in power in the 70s as they did
to Shonekan in the 90s.We voted for their own Abiola and Obasanjo and indeed
Falae, who was imposed on APP by our own. Yet, killing and insulting us have
been the show of appreciation.
Those we did less to them, the Easterners, have not
been doing such to us. Even as there were attempts to put a wedge between us,
following the false report on the Kaduna crises, they still see us as political
friends. As I said, Okadigbo fell victim because of his determination for our
two people to stick together. Igbo newspapers, and commentators alike, stood
firmly behind Na’abba more than they even did to Okadigbo. We can’t ditch
such people, inspite of what some of our leaders are saying. While we highly
respect such leaders, we must plead with them not to lead us to the slaughter
slab again. As the Hausas say ‘a man bitten by a snake, when he sees a rope he
will run away’. Since Obasanjo came, Odudua snakes have been chasing and
biting us for no offence committed. Our downfall has been their wish; our
calamity has been their desire; our misadventure has been their cause for merry
making; our patriotism has been their cause to insult us; our silence has been
the opportunity to malign us; our political support has been the cause to refer
to us as foolish people who deserve mass murder and our readiness to extend
hands of political friendship has been used to insult our leaders collectively;
and even we, the ordinary, have not been spared. Nothing good we do to them that
has not been rewarded with insults and mass massacre of our own. They hate us
for no reason, they don’t want us in their midst, they like us dead and in
hell; they hate us living; they despise everything about us. Once bitten, twice
shy.
Which Northern leader, worth his name, dare drag us
to another gas chamber again, except if he is not such a leader? I pause for an
answer.
Wada Nas