Wada Nas
Being
a paper delivered during a lecture organised by GAMJI MEMORIAL CLUB, Abubakar
Tafawa Balewa University Branch, Bauchi by Alhaji Wada Nas
For a comprehensive understanding of the relations between the northern and southern portions of this country, it is important to look at them from different perspectives; political, economic, social etc. This is what I intend to do in this paper.
Politically,
there has been criss-crossing between the two blocks in terms of inter-party
relationship. In the First Republic, there was an alliance between the Nigerian
National Democratic Party, NNDP, led by late Chief Akintola, one time Premier of
the Western Region and the Northern People Congress, NPC, led by the former
Premier of Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto. There was
also an attempt at a working alliance between the NPC and Awolowo’s Action
Group, AG in 1952. But this could
not scale through when the NPC and the National Council of Nigerian Citizen,
NCNC, headed by late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe had one.
In
the approach toward independence, the Niger Delta Congress, NDC, led by Dappa
Dipireye was in alliance with the NPC. That between the same NPC and NCNC before
independence and after the federal elections of 1964 is well known to all of us.
It was this alliance that produced Tafawa Balawa as our first Prime Minister and
Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe our first Governor General, later president, after the 1963
Republican Constitution came into force .
In
the same way the NPC had alliance with southern based parties, the later had
similar alliances with Northern based political parties as well. The well known
ones were the AG-UMBC alliance, and the NCNC-NEPU alliance. At various times the
Borno Youth Movement, BYM had one with NCNC-NEPU, AG and NPC.
Broadly
speaking however, these alliances were grouped into two, the Nigerian National
Alliance, NNA, comprising the NPC NNDC, NDC and their affiliates; and UPGA,
comprising AG, NEPU, UMBC, BYM and their own associates. In this way we could
say that these alliances were aimed at establishing nationally based political
formations.
In
the Second Republic, the North and the Niger Delta Region, or what we today call
the south-south, less the defunct Bendel state,
now Edo and Delta states, respectively, teamed up in one political party, the
NPN, proving their first republic relationship, in the same way the NPP captured
Plateau State.
There
were some interesting and later dramatic developments. In the same way the NPC
and NCNC had a working alliance in the First Republic, so did the NPN, a
successor to NPC and NPP, a successor to NCNC had one during the Second
Republic.
Also,
in the manner the AG refused to join the Balewa government in the First
Republic, so did UPN, its successor, refused to join the Shagari administration
during the Second Republic.
Things
were however to change as happened during the First Republic. UPGA, as noted,
was an alliance among the AG, NCNC, UMBC, NEPU and BYM. Their intent was to
fight the NPC-NNDC alliance but had no common electoral candidates as Awo and
Zik couldn’t agree as who between them would lead the alliance. The alliance
collapsed, more or less, after the 1964 Federal elections.
This
scene was played out during the Second Republic as the 1983 elections
approached. UPN, (AG’s successor),PRP, (NEPU’s successor) NPP (NCNC’s
successor) and GNPP (BYM’s successor) formed the Progressive Peoples Alliance
PPA. Like in the 60’s Awo and Zik could not agree as to who would hold
the flag of the party.
Like
UPGA, PPA collapsed and finally killed by the military coup of 1983.
Joseph
Tarka, leader of the UMBC had already parted ways with AG, during the Gowon
regime, for reasons, which we cannot go in to here. When democratic campaigns
opened in the Second Republic, he teamed up with the NPN largely made up of NPC
elements whom he fought in those days.
The
Babangida era brought a new dimension in to political relations in the country
when politicians were forced in to two political parties, NRC and SDP. The two
were able to capture some states on both sides of the divide with the SDP
however, solely in control of western states. The North was divided between the
two while the East was NRC dominated though the SDP had a state to its credit.
The Babangida experiment was a deliberate attempt to force political friendship
between the two major divides, but unfortunately this collapsed after the June
1993 election and the relation became worse especially between the North and the
South West.
It
would seem today that all the political parties of the First Republic and their
various successors, over the years, teamed up in the PDP, except AD and APP, the
latter which cannot be categorized except as a loose offshoot of BYM and GNPP.
AG, in its present status as AD, lost considerable ground especially in Kwara
and the former Bendel State. This party has refused to expand its frontiers and
if anything remained isolated worse than it has ever been as AG and UPN. Its
branch, within the larger SDP, to which it belonged during the IBB era, was the
one that caused the chain of events we have been experiencing since the 1993
elections. Twice the PF, another branch of the SDP, led by late Gen Yar Adua,
emerged to hold the flag of the
party and twice the AG within, in the form of PSP, scuttled the efforts,
threatening to set the country ablaze should either Ciroma, Shinkafi or
Yar’Adua emerge flag bearer of the two political parties. This was what gave
the military the excuse to ban the 23 presidential candidates of the time,
giving the opportunity for the so-called “second eleven” to emerge and what
we may call the Abiola crisis.
An
overview of these developments is that they put a lie to the long standing
propaganda that the North has not been supportive of the South to provide the
President. As we have said, the NEPU, led by Malam Aminu Kano, a Muslim was
supportive of the NCNC led by Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, a Christian. BYM, led by
Ibrahim Imam and UMBC led by Joseph Tarka, all supported the AG, led by Chief
Awolowo.
During
the Second Republic, PRP and GNPP governors supported either Zik or Awo but the
two couldn’t agree between themselves as to who would hold the presidential
flag. Let us also not forget that UPGA, was,among others, made up
of some Northern based parties, NEPU, UMBC and BYM all of which supported
the candidature of either Zik or Awolowo. That time also, the two could not
agree. They are to blame for the failure of a Southerner to emerge president and
not Northerners.
General
Obasanjo came to power after the assassination of General Murtala Mohammed
largely with the support of Northern officers. It was the same with Shonekan.
The case of Abiola was more pronounced, not to talk of that of Obasanjo. The
truth therefore is that Northerners have been supportive of Southerners to lead
the country and this support started right from independence to this day. On the
other hand, the Yarubas, in particular, have never supported any presidential
candidate from outside the region.
The
former Eastern Region, but particularly the Niger Delta or the South – South
has been the best of political friends with the North. This is why people like
Dr Harry Marshal, Edwin Clark and other leaders from the Niger Delta have been
saying that Northerners have been their best political associates in Nigeria. It
is also for the same reason that they are appealing to Northerners to support
them in producing the president after Obasanjo just like they supported the NPC,
NPN and NRC in the past in which Northerners were leading figures. I believe
that this friendship needs be sustained as they also have a right to demand for
such a support. So also the Igbos. Inspite of everything, the NCNC helped in
stabilizing the Balewa Government as the NPP assisted the Shagari regime. They
also, have not been too antagonistic to the North, Southern media propaganda
notwithstanding. Each portion of the federation needs political friends, and
from our political history, the North and the East have been the best of friends
and this must be sustained.
At
the economic level, while the North has been the supplier of major food stuff to
the South, the region has also been importing palm oil, plantains and such other
products from the former Eastern Region and Bendel State.
In
the case of West, the North has been importing only kolanuts and some
manufactured products from Lagos. Indeed, most of the agro-based industries in
the West are supported by Northern raw materials.
Considering
the central role of oil in our economy, which is largely based in the East, it
is not wrong to say that economically, the North and the East are also friends.
In the way the North depends on East, for its oil resources, so does the region
also depend on North for agricultural resources.
There
is hardly such an economic relation with the West, in terms of what the North
import from them. Indeed, the North exports more to the West than it imports
from there, and as already mentioned, most of the agro industries in the region
are fed with Northern raw materials. The Lagos Port is about the only vital
economic relation between the North and the West, and with Eastern port this is
not much of an issue. What this means is that the North is in better position to
cripple Western economy than most people care to appreciate. This is not exactly
the case between the North and the East. We can starve them of food items and
land in the same way they could starve us of oil resources.
The
land of the North is not only agriculturally compelling, over the South, but
socially relevant. With massive population explosion, along with scarce landmass
in the South, migration would alter the geo-ethnic composition of the Region in
years to come. This may not happen in our lifetime, but certainly it would come.
This is how Nigeria is going to be ‘Northernized’, not politically,
religiously, tribally or economically, but purely socially in terms of personal
interaction of people. This is why I keep on saying that even if Nigeria breaks
up, its people would continue to live together. The dynamism of the Nigerian
nation is such that while there may be a
political break up, economic and social break up would remain impossible. This
is the reality those calling for a break up would have to face.
Even
at a religious level, which is another form of regional inter-relationship, this
would be problematic. In the same way some religious persons in the North may
feel isolated in the event Nigeria breaks up in to two, similar persons within
the South West may also feel the same. Religiously, Northern Christians are
closer to Southern Christians as Southern Muslims are also religiously closer to
their Northern religious brothers. Thus religion is one of our binding national
cord.
It
should however be noted that inspite of the religious similarity between the
North and the West, both having Muslim and Christian elements, political
relation has been better with the East which is Christian dominated.
I
am still at a loss as to why this is so, but I think this has to do with
political attitudes on both sides.
What
is more baffling is that during the civil war, there was an exchange of students
between the North and the West while both have established “colonies” on
each others land, which ought to ensure a lasting good relationship. There are
more Northern “colonies” or settlements, in the West than in the East as
also there are more Western settlements in the North than in the East. Indeed,
the presence of Kwara and parts of Kogi States in the North, where Yarubas are
found, ought to have strengthened better relationship between the two, more than
North East relation. Unfortunately, this has never been the case. Antagonism has
been the better form of relationship between the two and this dates back to the
First Republic, as understanding has been the case between the North and the
East also dating back to the same era. There is certainly something wrong
somewhere, and I believe leaders of
the two divides must find solution to this .
It
is baffling that the two who have reasons to be the best of friends see
themselves as the worse of political enemies, which ought not be the case. The
point is that the two have better reasons to be the best of friends, yet each is
looking up to the East for better relations and so today the North has better
relation with the East than it has with the West as the West also has better
elations with the East than it has with the North.
There
is yet another relationship between the North and the South and a very
disturbing one; this is the relationship of violence. This dates back to 1953.
In that year, to be precise in March, Chief Anthony Enahoro moved a motion in
the Federal House of Representatives calling for self-government, (not
independence as some always claim) for the regions in 1956. Northern members of
the House felt that the region was not matured enough for this, and so proposed
an amendment to read ‘as soon as practicable’ instead of 1956, however
saying that they will support any region that sought to be self governing in
1956.
This
angered AG and NCNC members inspite of the liberal amendment proposed by the
North and so they walked out and mobilised the Lagos crowd to heap the usual
insults on the Northern members. The following day police escort had to be given
them to take them to the railway station, as their vehicles were stoned as also
the train until they reached Offa. The media followed with the usual insults.
Thereafter
AG undertook what it called a tour to educate Northerners. Painfully, the
media’s unprintable insults followed the departure and so on arrival in Kano,
riots broke out there in which persons 50 were killed and 200 injured.
Today
we have lost count of the number of times Northerners were killed in Lagos,
Shagamu and Ibadan since 1993 to date. The only time in history when Yorubas
were ever attacked in the North, apart from the 1953 incident, was the provoked
killing of their own in Shagamu at the early stage of this administration. On
their part, the attack on Northerners has become a matter of routine, inspite of
the support some political leaders in the North have been giving to them since
independence to date and in particular the massive votes given to Abiola and
Obasanjo. They are doing this at a time when they need Northern votes to give
the president a second term. This is why I have been saying that the attitude of
his people towards Northerners is part of the problem confronting him in the
North. You cannot keep on insulting and killing a people and at the same time
seeking their votes. Not even when such people are slaves.
Tied
up to this is the attitude of the South West media towards the North. It is one
of abuse, insults, redicule and falsehood. At every stage they have been
manufacturing stories to put in bad light both the North and its people. And
this dates back to the days of Lord Lugard. When he arrived Lagos from Kaduna in
1911 as the first Governor General of Nigeria, the media greeted him with ‘the
man from the kingdom of barbarians’. The insults have never ceased since then.
Some newspapers and magazines have made it a rule to insult Northerners every
day in their publications. A Managing Director of one of these papers once told
a Northern journalist that no newspaper could make it in that part of the
country without insulting Northerners. Doing so, he said, is a lucrative
business venture. So it is not only a tradition to insult Northerners, but also
a lucrative business. Again this has been another form of relationship between
the North and the South, a relationship of persistent and constant Northern
bashing as a way of keeping in business.
I
must say that they have done a lot to damage Obasanjo’s popularity in the
North along, of course, with the OPC. This brings us to another issue. Take the
case of Gen Bamaiyi, El-mustapha, Mohammed Abacha and others. For the past three
years, or so, they have been under trial for murder and attempted murder of one
or two persons.
For
one year, Ganiyu Adams was on the wanted list of the police for mass murder,
genocide, arson and attacks on police stations, during which several policemen
lost their lives. One month after his arrest by the police, he was granted bail.
The latest development is that he has been discharged and acquitted because,
according to the trial judge, Justice Abutu, ‘for lack of diligent prosecution
by the Federal Government’. So here is a situation where the Federal
Government is not interested in the prosecution of a person involved in mass
murder, as the Nazist and racist South Africa did, but interested in the
prosecution of persons for the attempted murder and alleged murder of one or two
persons who, for three years, have been denied bail? The same Federal Government
ordered the destruction of Zaki Biam and Odi for the murder of some soldiers and
policemen, but did nothing to persons who have been murdering thousands,
including policemen. Had Lagos been Bayelsa or Benue, President Obasanjo would
have ordered its destruction long ago. President Obasanjo has brought a new type
of odd relationship between the North and the South anchored on clear
discrimination against the former. His attitude and conduct has worsen the bad
relationship between the North and the South-South and indeed has been growing
worse since his coming. I dare add that at no time has North- South relationship
been worse than since his coming to power. So there has been a relationship of
discrimination, introduced by this administration, which some elements in the
South hail as positive, and infact see it as one of the greatest achievements of
the regime. Anything done against the North is an achievement in the eyes of
such people, and for this they want Northern votes in 2003, so that perhaps more
wrong things would be done against the people of the region only to be hailed
and praised by these elements.
As
I have demonstrated, we have a relationship of Northerners supporting South West
politicians from Awolowo to Obasanjo, but never for once have they supported a
Northern candidate. We have also been having a relationship of non-attack on
Yorubas, except on only two occasions, while we have lost count of the number of
times Northerners were massacred in the South West in particular. There has also
been the relationship of insulting Northerners and the application of vengeance
and discrimination against them.
If
only we appreciate that our people would continue to live together, even if this
country breaks up, into several units or 36 republics, we will not be engaging
in the ugly aspect of this relationship. Whether we like it or not, our people
would remain to interact amongst themselves, no matter what happens to Nigeria.
If an Oduduwa Republic is declared today, it is going to be in the same area. It
is not going to be in any other place. It would be in the same Yoruba entity of
Nigeria with which we have a boarder that would also remain in place and the
same people, that have been interacting freely since ages would still remain to
do so until the day of final judgement. So it is outrightly senseless to engage
in some of the relationships as described above. Perhaps it is good for
self-seeking politicians, but outrightly bad for the vast majority of the
people. We must take cognizance of this.
This
administration needs to do a lot to improve on the relationship between the
North and the South West in particular and the South in general. Indeed, it is
in his own interest as a leader to do so and not to add to its worsening which
has been the case since his coming.
I thank you for your attention.