The North’s regression

Slowly and inexorably, the north is becoming like Somalia. The only small difference between us and Somalia is that whereas the latter has spent decades without a functional government, there are structures on the ground and people in the north whom we call leaders. Nevertherless, Compared to the south, the north as a political entity is fast sliding back into prehistoric times in terms of development and, indeed, worse than the colonial times in terms of home-grown violence. The situation is so bad that many a frustrated northern youngster is yearning for the British to return and recolonise the country in order to bring back the halcyon times. The solution to our problems is, of course, far from recolonisation. But if it isn’t, then, what is?

For the north, there have been four epochs in the march to (or away from) civilisation. There was the precolonial time when our forefathers engaged in internecine wars and the self-immolating practice of slavery. But then, in parts of the north, the Sokoto jihad came and put aright many things through the institutionalisation of Islamic law. Then came the Europeans, who colonised the area, imposed their crafty system of ‘indirect rule’ through which they milked the nation’s resources and pretended to be developing our people. But a word for colonialism: in spite of its self-serving ends, it put some sense into our people’s understanding of leadership and built a foundation for future progress, such as the railways, literacy and structures for democratic governance. Of course, the colonialists ultimately served themselves, at times employing brute force, while pretending to be serving the natives’ best interests. Hence the stiff resistance against it and the campaigns that uprooted it.

During the third epoch, the post-independence era, it was the natives that took over the mantle of leadership and used state resources in the service of the commonweal. In the north, proofs of their selfless service are legion even today. Even though they were called names by their opponents, we can see, in retrospect, that their dedication to serving the general populace was a thousand and one times better than that of our current leaders.

The fourth milestone is, indeed, today. This dates roughly from the end of the Nigerian civil war to the current reality. It is the worst span in the history of the region. After the violent eradication of those patriotic nation-builders and the 30-month civil war, came the various “corrective” military regimes that pretended, more than the colonialists, to be working in the interest of the nation. The truth is that, apart from the brief spasms of the Murtala and, later, the Buhari/Idiagbon regimes, they worked more for themselves. They institutionalised corruption, cronyism and nepotism. Most of them turned out to become among the richest and, by implication, the most influential people in the country. Because they benefited from a corrupt system, they sustained it and injected their bile into latter day rulers who came in civilian garbs. And because the civilians who inherited the mantle of leadership have been adequately coached in the dark arts of corruption, divisiveness and cronyism, they have carried on, marching within the system and resisting any move to change or overthrow it.

The cycle of violence the north is witnessing, including some of the worst yesterday, is a fall-out of the ruthless system foisted on the region by its selfish rulers of the military and post-military era. Many analysts have pointed at the crying poverty in the region as the primary reason for these volcanic eruptions that are causing the death of hundreds of innocent people, destroying edifices and disrupting the peace. Now what is the cause of the poverty itself? Is it not the tunnel vision – if there is vision at all – of the region’s leaders who have failed to unify the common people through their divisive politics and the misuse of the region’s resources?
The north is fast regressing in all indices of human development. Apart from poverty, illiteracy is growing; so also joblessness among the youth, with concomitant problems such as drug abuse and strange criminality (with many youngsters killing their own parents); collapse of morals and ethics, education, health care, etc. A combination of these problems has created a deep well of despondency among most youth in the region, who have lost confidence in the leadership. They are asking for a change – even away from democracy. Many are saying let’s go back to the sharia law which did well for the region under the Sokoto caliphate, not minding the cultural mix of the present times. Unsure of their success in such agitations in the face of resistance from the state’s coercive powers, many have resorted to hugely violent attacks.

What is the response of our so-called leaders to all this? They shirk their responsibility by simply passing the buck and engaging in histrionics. Appeals to conscience. Calls to prayers. Blandishments. Rhetoric. Trading blames. Peace conferences. Yesterday, all the chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Governor Aliyu of Niger state, could do was an effeminate call on President Jonathan to “urgently convene a national security summit.” We have heard that before, and it won’t work. We are tired of talk shops. Northern leaders should develop the north. Rebuild the infrastructures bequethed to them by the post-independence leaders. Provide jobs. Educate the youth. Stop all the divisive politicking. And stop all the stealing. Try these, and see if the violence and the regression will not disappear fiam – one time!

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My column in today's Blueprint

Taking The Devil Out Of Plateau

The Devil has found an abode in Plateau State. He exploits human frailties and plants doubts, distrust, hatred and revenge in people’s hearts. He finds hearts filled with prejudices and pours in venom. Then he fuels the accumulated anger, heating it to a level where it must burst into violent rage, remorseless killings and destruction. The Devil laughs whenever we discard the love which binds us as a community and is joyful that he can use us to destroy our societies. He lures people onto destruction and, finally, Hell. Isn’t the Devil man’s enemy?

Jos is hellish today because the Devil is there. Jos is almost no longer fit for human habitation. It is a war zone in a jungle, where people live in fear. Human life no longer has any sanctity. Death stalks the city, even in the interludes of peace, like the promise of acid rain. Today, even policemen and soldiers, on whom the civilian population depends for protection, are afraid to serve there. A report published in LEADERSHIP yesterday said that 52 cops had been killed in the crises that rocked the city since 2002.

It is most unfortunate that the Devil lives in Jos because, first, it is a beautiful city; the Devil should display his wares in ugly places. Second, Jos used to be very peaceful, hence people from all over the world made it their home, making it the most cosmopolitan town in northern Nigeria. In the past, people ran to Jos whenever there was sectarian violence in Kano or Kaduna. Third, the Devil shouldn’t have been living there because it is home to some of the most religious people in Nigeria. It has been a missionary hub since colonial times. Christian and Islamic evangelists regarded it as an important base in their task of spreading the Word not only in the old Benue-Plateau area but also across northern Nigeria.

So, how could the Devil, that most accursed creature, find a safe haven in this idyllic place, the city of pastors, reverends, malams and sheikhs? Who gave him a permanent residence there, a base from which people carry machetes, knives, swords, cudgels – and now bombs – to send one another to the great beyond? Who are his landlords on the Plateau? Politicians blame politicians for the crises. I want to agree because in the past, before politics was used to divide the city, ordinary people lived together in peace, eating together, partying together and sleeping together. Many inter-married.

To drive the Devil away, our leaders must find the so-called politicians who instigate this murderous conflict. Everyone agrees that some high-level personalities are culpable. But who are they? They should be named and severely punished, together with their errand boys, the killers who carry out the attacks.

Another point on which everyone is agreed is failure of leadership. This contributed much to the crisis. Meaning what? The Jonathan administration has refused to declare a state of emergency there. It is only paying lip service to the crisis. The state government has also failed to embrace every resident as a Nigerian citizen. Instead, it is mouthing phrases like ‘settler’ and ‘indigene.’ Where was this deadly dichotomy in years past when the people lived together as brothers and sisters?

This failure of leadership has been linked to the governance style of Governor Jonah David Jang. A wide spectrum of opinion in and out of Plateau is agreed on one indisputable fact: Jang is part of the problem – if not THE problem – in the resolution of the Plateau conundrum. His failure to provide statesmanlike leadership in his domain, by either wilfully fanning the embers of the crisis or from sheer incompetence, has been an obstacle in the way of finding a lasting peace. Many Christian leaders who are not afraid to tell the truth believe that the governor is pitifully incapable of solving this seemingly intractable problem; instead, he has been chasing shadows – such as blaming his opponents within his own political party. This gargantuan failure is responsible for the unending calls from both sides of the divide for the imposition of a state of emergency in the state.

In more civilised climes, Jang would have resigned from office long ago. Amazingly, he is eyeing another four-year term as governor! But it is imperative for him to quit the Rayfield Government House at the end of his first four-year tenure and not seek re-election. This is because it is easy to surmise that four more years of him as governor could mean four more years of conflict in Plateau State; four more years of hundreds or thousands killed, and four more years of the wild goose chase and failure to end the inter-ethnic and inter-religious divisions in the state.

Jang should show statesmanship, as any conscientious leader should, by not regarding himself as a factional leader. He should accept that his four years as governor have brought only death and destruction, and that renewing them would have a long-term implication for interreligious harmony not only on the Plateau but also in the rest of the country. It could redefine the future of cohabitation in the country. All civilised nations are becoming multi-ethnic and multi-religious. Jang should accept that he has had enough of this madness and allow another person, who could even come from his village, to become governor so that, perchance, a sea-change would occur.

This all-important decision may not be Jang’s alone; community leaders nationwide should help him decide. Because it is for the common good, they should impress it upon him that a new leadership is needed to address this unfortunate tragedy, a leader with a new vision of how peace could return; a leader untainted by the divisive politics of the moment. Any other governor in Plateau would be more trusted than Jang, who wears a cloak of suspicion and distrust. It is important to know that Jang cannot protect anybody; was he not there, with all the executive powers and funds, when hundreds of Christians and Muslims were killed and properties destroyed as if in Beirut, Baghdad or the Gaza Strip?

If Jang refuses to see the light and decides to carry on at all cost, then the good people of Plateau State must vote him out this year. In a democratic dispensation, and with the promise of free and fair polls, any recalcitrant politician must be shown the door by the electorate in a peaceful manner. Voting for Jang would mean voting for four more years of conflict. That would mean giving the Devil the licence to continue to stalk this picturesque state, causing mayhem and genocide. Jang should help his people – Christians, Muslims, Berom, Hausa, etc. – to expel Satan.

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Published in LEADERSHIP WEEKEND, Saturday, 01 January 2011