Nigeria has always been divided along many lines, religious, political, ethnic, socio-cultural, and so on; and those lines keep getting wider, that even outstretched arms are unable to meet to come to a unanimous agreement, except for our collective hypocrisies, even in that, we are divided.
Our world is a complex one, not any more complex than many other countries with demography like ours, though, but our complexity seems to not see a resolve, and decidedly so.
Partisanship has caused many to be blinded to the possibilities of long-term visions, and this myopia is also present in those who bond over their collective need to satiate their rapacious hands and bellies, leaving the country bereft of any substance, hanging empty and making promises that only pass their lips and fall flat on the ground with no hope to rise into action.
I will be looking at the subject of the division along tribal lines, and this time a look into just one section of the country that, on one hand, can be identified as victims, and on the other hand, are overstating their victimization and using that card to oppress the rest of the population.
A side note: I am not alleging that the other regions in the country do not get to play the victim, but as it is that this article is centered on the people from the northern part of the country, their ongoing battle with the insurgents going wild in the North-East and North-West, and the fact that they have Nigeria under their thumb until 2023, the focus on their victimization as a people will be more highlighted.
To state that the north has produced as much impact as white ink on a white piece of paper will be stating the obvious, yet, they demand more control over the day-to-day running of the country. One who is not in full control of his home cannot helm a larger unit, and this is very obvious in what we have presently occupying the Aso Rock Villa and in the states in the northern parts of the nation.
The most recent subject of contention is that of the Amotekun, a code name for the Western Nigerian Security Network (WNSN), which is a brilliant move from men who, although, were only jarred from their drooling slumber only after one of the members of their elite circle lost his daughter to the aggressively ravenous hands of herdsmen, thought to take the matters of security into their hands because enough was enough.
Life only means something when you lose what matters to you. Stories of kidnappings, banditry, rape, which happens during kidnappings as well as isolated events, insurgency, these are just a few of the things besieging this country that appears to have a lot of potentials to take the bull of insecurity by its horn, but what do you get? Men of the military going on retreats as they are committing their duties to the hands of their supreme being, as their minds are weary from the constant strategies that, to be honest, has done quite a good job, as it should if effective strategies are put in place to tame the wildness of the desert warriors.
Amotekun is a welcome relief. According to Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, it is “a welcome New Year Gift.” The initiative has received a groundswell of praises except for a faction: the north.
The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, who lives in the luxury and comfort and safety of his home, oblivious of the ordeal of the ordinary Nigerian and blinded by some other elements that are a mystery to me and many other Nigerians described the initiative as “illegal.”
Another group that came out in opposition to the initiative is the Miyetti Allah Kaute Hore, inferring to the South-West playing to the gallery and playing with their ticket in the 2023 presidential election.
The north has seen the most aggressive attacks carried out by various insurgent groups, leading to the creation of a kind of vigilante group, the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), which has recorded a lot of successes in the region, but the South-West has unveiled its own plan to curb the rising insecurity in the region, and they risk their ticket in the next election?
You see, the footsteps and footfalls of northerners can be heard in the corridors of power only strategically installed by the one who holds the whip, couched in the comfort provided by the sweat of the ordinary Nigerians wielding a short leash on these men who drive the economy off the path of growth and into the beaten path of desultory progression.
A quick Google search will show you the stark (not unexpected) reality of our government today: overrun by northerners, which is nothing nocuous as long as they are appointed meritoriously but the opposite is always the case. The one who rules, who has the power to appoint anyone at whim as head of agencies, parastatals, corporations, members of boards, institutions, and so on, and those whom he has favored are men with whom he shares kin (in a sense).
A PUNCH 2016 news article titled: ‘Buhari’s Appointments Tilt Towards North’ tells you more than I’ll delineate in this article. In that piece, it said that, as of the year of the article’s publication, of the country’s 17 security agencies, 14 of them were steered by northerners amid the cries that other states should get the chance at the piece of the national cake.
The year 2016 may not seem like a good year to evaluate the inclusiveness of this government, but the fact still remains so: northerners are very much in control of the majority of high-profile offices. Slight changes in power can be observed, in an attempt to satisfy the wailing of the other tribes that feel left behind, still, this subtlety is not satisfying, as it only amplifies this government’s penchant for populism.
To cap it off, I’ll be toasting to a Nigeria where tribalism doesn’t serve as a hindrance to the progress of the country, where merit trumps nepotism, where the common man’s voice is not regarded as white noise.
***Written by Kindness Udoh.
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