The 2011 elections have been
fought and won. The President and Governors have been inaugurated, even if some
of the results are being contested at the election tribunals. In view of the
strategic position and role of the North in the nation building process, the
impending consequences of the winner takes-all political system, makes it
necessary to assess the plight of the region in the federation of Nigeria for
now and the future. This has become imperative in view of the celebrations
that. "the North has been politically emasculated", “the North can be
dispensed with in national politics" and "the North should be
subjected to political servitude" in view of its conquest.
The commitment of the North to
the nation building process cannot be questioned in view of the enormous
sacrifices it has made and continues to make to maintain the existence and
unity of the country. Since the First
Republic, Northern
political leaders have been assassinated all in the course of the development
of the Nigerian nation. The lives of Northern military leaders and soldiers
also have been sacrificed for the continuity of the nation. The sacrifices made
by the North during the civil war were enormous while other regions were busy
sitting on the fence.
The current situation whereby the
North carries the burden of the horrific negative indices of development
deserves some soul-searching. The statistics that were recently released
confirming the acuteness of absolute poverty and illiteracy in the North west
and North East zones is also food for thought. The loss of a credible
leadership and the "escape" of political power from the region call
for an examination of the strengths and weaknesses of the North with a view to
craft a new agenda for the region.
The strengths of the North
The Northern Region has some
prescribed and achieved strengths which even its worst enemies cannot deny or
ignore. But most of the times, they are ignored in the euphoria of apparent
temporary advantages over the North. The political history of Nigeria has
evidently demonstrated over time that the North has always had the last laugh
over the conspiracies plotted against it. The authors of the "treasonable
felony” misadventure in the First Republic, the anarchist and tribal military
coup d’etat of January 1966, the civil war quagmire of 1967-1970 and the third
term tenure extension blun¬derof2007 have all learnt their bitter lessons. You
can only under rate the North at your own peril!
The strengths of the North
include in the areas of population, land area, core values (justice, fairness,
communality. accommodation, consensus, humility. hard work, diplomacy, piety,
patience. selflessness, sacrifice, tolerance. trust, equity and decorum), and
political sagacity and administrative acumen.
The weaknesses of the North
As Amilcar Cabral, the Guinean
revolutionary and social theorist stated, "Every reality has two aspect –
the positive and the negative.' As such having examined some of the strengths
of the North, it is only natural that we should critically investigate the
weaknesses of the region. Like every society, the North has its weaknesses
which were either acquired or imposed on it with all the attendant
consequences.
The major areas of weaknesses of
the North are poverty and illiteracy, agriculture and industry, infrastructure,
and loss of political power.
What is to be done?
In the light of the current
position of the North vis-a-vis the complex scenario painted above, it is
imperative to ponder on what should be done to seize the initiative and turn
the tables. There is no question about the fact that Arewa has to return to the
drawing board. This is in order to come out with a strategic plan that will
return the region to the dominant and enviable role that it has always played
in the nation building process of our unique federation in Africa.
New Leadership
The first task before the North
is to search for a new leadership, not necessary in age but more importantly in
ideas. The pattern of the post election protests by the aggrieved youths of the
North which particularly targeted the compromised political elite and
traditional rulers calls to question the credibility of the current leadership
of the North. While some hitherto champions of the region were outrightly
bribed to subvert the interests of Arewa, others were very insincere and
dubious in their apparent public advancement of Northern interests. While the
Governors supported zoning they paradoxically campaigned for President Jonathan
to win the primaries of the PDP. Some erstwhile heroes of the North were trying
to select a consensus candidate for the North in the Presidential race while
members of their families were deeply embedded in the Jonathan campaign
machine.
• Agenda for the North.
The new leadership that will
emerge for the North must draw up an agenda on current and future burning
issues of the region. This agenda must be visionary strategic and proactive.
There is no reason why the enormous human resources of the North cannot be
developed and deployed to provide skilled personnel for the North, the
federation and the ECOWAS sub-region. Similarly the agricultural and industrial
resources of the North can be harnessed and processed to flood the West African
market and even beyond. With the creation of massive employment and consequent
prosperity, the issues of begging, “almajirai” as well as other negative
socio-economic indices will belong to history.
Intellectuals
It must be loudly re-echoed that
the foundation of the polity of the North was laid by intellectuals, who
changed the old order based on the ideas and values of a just and equitable
society. This was the case up to the assassination of the Northern political
leaders in 1966. The neglect of the role of the intellectuals in governance in
the North has contributed immensely to the backwardness of the region. Here intellectuals
are defined broadly to include not only academics but the artists, film makers.
musicians, journalists, professionals, the clergy and all the people engaged in
the creation of intellectual property. These intellectuals are the citizens who
push the society to new frontiers by finding solutions to old problems and pre-empting
future challenges. During the June 12th debacle, the Northern intellectuals
played a very critical role in defending and promoting the interests of the
region. There is no reason why they cannot continue the same noble role.
lCT, Regional Integration and Globalization
The North must rise from the
ashes of its apparent “political emasculation” to key into the driving forces
of Information and Communication Technology, Regional Integration and
Globalization. The North must master the digital age and put the enormous
powers of ICT to the service of the interests of the North. The region should
be a key player in the regional integration process in view of the advantage of
sharing international boundaries and cultural affinity with the Republics of
Benin, Niger, Tchad and the Cameroun. The
common socio-cultural bonds between these countries and the North have to be
exploited in a win-win situation to prosper Arewa and its international
neighbours.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the North must not
despair in the face of the temporary political disadvantage it finds itself in
today. It is a reversible situation because politics is also a game of the “possible”.
Given a strategic plan and an implementable agenda with timelines the condition
can be changed within the shortest possible time. The strengths of the North
should be explored and exploited to the maximum in a very comprehensive as well
as systematic manner. With a visionary leadership, the weaknesses of the region
can also be overturned into opportunities. In all this new beginning for the
North, the crucial and strategic role of the intellectuals must be used as a
tactical weapon to promote the interests of the North in all spheres of human
development.
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