Northern Nigeria Burn To Rule Mentality Against South

Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed

Some time ago, the Governors of Southern Region of Nigeria did had multiple meetings to deliberate on issues that affect their region in one way or the other and also talked about ways to improve on the region and harness its potential for economic prosperity. The governors did not shy away claims to what they feel should be done in the region by the government, more especially that which the region gets politically and economically in the larger Nigeria space. During the regular meetings the governors have passed some resolutions and reached a certain consensus on certain contentious issues in the region and those that deliberately put them on a lingering course with the federal government and their Northern counterparts. Among the resolutions, from banning of open grazing to the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) by states, some of the governors have spoken with one voice, and it is not just the unison with which they have made their stance known that’s pleasing, but the fact that their decisions are a reflection of the wishes of the people of the region. Since their frequent meeting, one issue has continued to be a subject of concern, as if to say there’s no going back on what we have decided on this particular issue, and that is the 2023 Presidential election that was rigged in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu as president elect by the INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu. Read Also: News Nigeria: PDP Calls For Mahmood Yakubu Resignation It was made clear to the governors that the presidency must return to the south in 2023 without stress, for good measure to respect the zoning continuity and status quo, the governors agreed that they would not support any party that picks its candidate from the North.

Southern Governors Forum

Meanwhile this submission annoyed some elements in the Northern nigeria, they see the assertion as audacious, threat, intimidation by the southern governors to demand for the next president in Nigeria, as they claim that no Igbo man will ever rule Nigeria in their watch, and it is happening till today as we speak. In a shocking comment, the NEF Spokesman, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed opined that the Northern Elders Forum said the region can’t be railroaded into acceding to the demand of the southern governors for a power shift in 2023, then our question remain "Why Are Southerners Part of Nigeria"? The new nation called Nigeria should be an estate from our great-grand father Othoman Dan Fodio. We must RUTHLESSLY prevent a change of power. We must use the minorities of the North as willing tools, and the South as conquered territories and never allow them to have control of their future” This ‘fatwa-like’ remark was said to have been made by Sardauna on October 12, 1960, and the author claimed that the quote came out of a magazine called PARROT. In this article, I will engage in both qualitative (i.e. narrative) and quantitative (i.e. statistical) analyses of this alleged northern arrogation of power, in order to properly address this prevailing anti-Northerners, anti-Muslims, and anti-Hausa/Fulani acrimony pervading the country. Hakeem said that northerners would never be second-class citizens of Nigeria, hence the North would not accept to play second fiddle come 2023, he noted that election is about population and the North has the population to dominate Nigeria for decades. It will interest you to know that people do come into Nigeria from other African countries to vote for any Northern candidate that is Muslim, while the Southerners more of Christian people, their borders are been closed guided with murderous military. Baba-Ahmed who spoke at the maiden Maitama Sule Leadership Lecture Series at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, said nothing would happen if a northerner succeed Buhari. Baba-Ahmed reckless and divisive remarks were greeted with outrage and resentment, and rightly so. Aside from his castigation for his polarising utterances which are capable of deepening the schism and mutual contempt among the dominant ethnicities that inhabit this frightful contraption called Nigeria, his remarks also jolted many from their silent reverie and they raised concerns about the veracity of the numerical strength that the north is always quick to deploy as an instrument of domination and oppression. The notion that the north is populous than the south has been steeped in misgivings in some quarters, and attempts to push the issue to the frontline of national discourse has been suppressed by aggressive public relations by the northerners. It is quite baffling that the North is always quick to play the population card when it comes to election and power in the country? One would expect that a region that sees its disputable numerical advantage as a thing of pride will look inward and see how it can harness such for growth and development. Not everyone will worry if the north have turned this so-called numerical advantage into economic prosperity. But rather, we have a situation where you want to hold on to power at all cost using a phantom large population. Besides, geographical components of the North have dispelled the assertion that there are more inhabitants in the region than in the south. Anyone who has traveled to the north by road will know that the vaunted numerical advantage they are always quick to tout is fictitious. Nigeria is the only country in the world where a swathe of arid land has more people than coastal towns. In the North, you can travel a distance of, say, Lagos to Ibadan, and you will not see a single soul. What you will see are checkered farmlands and an expanse of uninhabited space. Nigeria is bordered in the North by the Niger Republic, the Niger Republic is landlocked and is twice the size of Nigeria and its population is less than 22 million. So how will a landlocked northern Nigeria in the Sahel have more people than South that’s seashore?

Having said that, I think it’s high time Baba-Ahmed and figures like him from the north learned to put their emotions in check when speaking in public. He must communicate effectively and speak in measured tones. Someone like him can’t afford to speak disparagingly or be careless and haughty in his remarks. A northerner has been at the helms of affairs for almost 8 years in months to come and the North is worse off for it, never in the history of Nigeria has the Northern region been ravaged by the level of insecurity it has witnessed in the last seven years. The country is in comatose and the economy is in the doldrums. Should we then continue to toe this part of destruction all in the name of having a Phony humongous population? Also you remember the offensive state license-plate motto "BORN TO RULE" that was was used by the Sokoto caliphate to oppress the South in the past. It has since been replaced with some uninspiring inscription after objections were raised by Nigerians from several walks of life. This is just an indication that ethnicity is a factor in hardship ravaging the country leadership.