by Olumide Goodness Adeyinka
My daily involvement within the virtual social activism, contact and connection within the Northern folks of Nigeria simply qualifies me to speak about the imbroglio and the recalcitrance of the Boko Haram militia in Nigeria. A spade should be called a spade, so I will not mince word to call their activities sheer militia. This means one thing to all Nigerians and that is that we are at WAR. Unfortunately, the Nigeria government wants to play down the scenario suggesting we are not at war and that they are on top of the situation, and what is happening is normal within the scope of a diversified nation as Nigeria. Nothing can further from the truth from FOOLS we have in government. This argument is shallow, strange and grave, but should be expected from the crop of unlearned political jobbers who knows not what the powers of government entails and that the primary role of governance is to provide security for the masses. How on earth are people bombed, killed and maimed and we are not at war? How on earth are AK47 roaming our streets and we are not at war? How come the government practitioners are members of a deadly militia and we are not at war? One reason these guys in government are not concerned is that they are the same people who gives Boko Haram millions of Naira to keep safe, and for as long as that equation remains the ordinary citizens on the streeet will be the ones to bear the brunt of that deadly Sahara militia.
Think about it, what political office holder has been gunned down or killed except those who disagreed with the direct sponsors of the group? Why is Boko Haram always saying they are avenging the death of their leader and they never attacked any government house except Police Stations at a time when there are no police officers there? The Northern structure of existence makes it practically impossible to have strange infiltrators in their midst yet the Boko Haram deadly force roam their streets and still they claim they the invisibility of the group. It is very obvious that the present leadership structure of the Northern hegemony is badly compromised. They are the backers of Boko Haram, they set it up initially to cause an uproar that will make the central government see to the plight of the sufferings masses in the north, so as to provide them with same dialogue and amnesty with which they can also enjoy the egregious largesse to the Niger Delta militia. Why shouldn’t they get to be paid N60,000 – N80,000 monthly for doing nothing and also flown abroad to be trained as Pilots and Engineers even when they do not have the basic qualifications. Honestly I was one of the very few Nigerians who spoke publicly against the Amnesty Programme of the Yar’adua administration. It was a chicken-out strategy of government, and we all know the South-South State governors sponsored them against the Federal government then. It is the same thing we are seeing now with the North asking for the same “favor” by a more deadly force. Here is the problem though!
Let us assume that the Federal government decides that the Monetary Allocation Sharing Formulae with the states reflect the agitation of the North through Sanusi O Sanusi, and Borno, Gombe, Kano states etc will have what accrues to states like River State. It is pertinent to clearly state that none of that money will reflect on the streets of those states. None! What you will see is more billions of Naira and Dollars in the bank accounts of their governors and associates. Don’t be fooled, the money that goes to the South-South oil producing states are all in private pockets till date. Show me the development that reflects that huge financial flow in that area, somebody? So it can be constructively argued that the state/political sponsored Boko Haram is not about the development of the Northern states but a comprehensive agenda by politicians who are competing with themselves on who should be the richest. Bornu Sherriff simply wants to be richer than Ibori! The implication of this can easily be decipher with hindsight; there will be more Almajiris lining up to get daily meals from the super rich idiots in that society. That is what these politicians want. More slavery!
There is a further economic ramification to these conundrums. With the spate of incessant bombings and destructions of the fabrics of the already poor Northern economic base, it is consistent with wisdom to imply that Capital flight from the North is inevitable. Almost all the rich people in the North are moving their capital base to the West because of the relative peace. I don’t blame the Westerners or Easterners for doing so when the rich Northern elements have little or no investment base in the core north itself. With the trend of events, it does not take a fortune-teller to predict that the poor states of the North will further be impoverished with time. So the question then becomes what exactly are we fighting for if not personal vendetta and nothing close to the interest of the North.
A friend of mine from the West who resides in Kano has this to say “I pity the land of Kano because even with the past religious riots with which it was notorious for, there has NEVER been an atmosphere of complete hatred and abandonment of the city by people from other tribes. Everyone I know with any worthwhile business here from the West and East are simply looking for a way out to sell or recuperate substantial part of their commerce and flee the land forever. The atmosphere suggests that even if peace returns the people are just burnt out for any possibility of coming back”. That makes me cry! My sentiment is I have always refer to Kano as my state even though I am originally an Ekitiman from Ekiti State, but Kano was good to me after my NYSC and stayed back for some years. I made good leaving in Kano doing business and made some contact there too. I believe I owe that land something but with the goings on it will be sheer stupidity to think of investing or suggesting it to friends. The North is on a down fall slope and it might take two generations to bounce back. I then wonder why the educated population of the youth in the North still feels like they owe the old generations of selfish greedy gaudy leaders any servitude? Why do the young generations still believe the lies of their fathers and leaders who are foes of their land? Why are the lies still fresh even when the facts are glaring?
There is yet another economic angle to this phenomenon. In the last two years of global economic strangulations, even nations that are known to give aids to battered societies are broke too. The possibility of destroying the North of Nigeria and then expecting that aids and assistance will come is very remote. Every nation I know is tightening their economic mathematics so well as to be competitive in the evolving new world economy. If we continue to encourage capital flight from the North and our children who have means also run away from the land because they do not want to lose what they have, where then lies the hope of the North? Whether this trouble is in the East or West of the North does not matter, everybody only knows one North!
Looking at economic events in the early 60s and 70s, the North also lost out in the equation, while the West made great strides in education and industries then. Money from Groundnut was used in building Textile Industries in the North then, but where are those Textile factories today? Gone forever! Reading newspapers and following Nigeria economic activities vis-à-vis what the State Governments are doing to position their state for economic and human development, it is also important to point the attention of the North to a new development that will cause another round of regret in the next 50 or so years. All I hear is economic partnerships with foreign investors in the states of Ondo, Ekiti, Lagos, Osun, Oyo, Edo, Imo, Ogun. Foreign partnership in investment cannot be overemphasized in the state of our economy now. I do not hear anything going on in the North because it is so burdened with the Boko Haram menace. Great schools are opening in the West and duplicated in the East but not in the North because of obvious reasons. If the North cannot attract foreign investors nor retain already existing capital investments then what is the hope of not regretting the present crisis bitterly in the years to come. The North will have itself to blame, and unfortunately, after all the present players of its destiny would have died.
The rhetoric and verbiage that is popular with the present generation and the youth from the Northern part is so challenging and frustrating. Two days ago I read a Press Release by Northern Summit Group headed by one Garba Wala (a young man I was told) and I almost cried. It was an apology letter of solidarity with the Boko Haram sect, literally providing support and acceptance and simply suggesting that it is a popular opinion in the North. Boko Haram’s reasons for their deadly acts are reasonable to them. Again on the social platform you hear people giving credence to why dialogue and amnesty should be granted them.
Finally, what is most disappointing is the support they get from some Muslims who think this is actually a divine war against the enemy of Allah or Prophet Mohammed. You hear people argue that death is to the enemy of God. If God is almighty why can’t He kill by himself without man shedding blood for Him? That some people buy this religious sentiments and still claim to be Muslims is deadly conflicting. These are demonic-possessed individuals who know recidivist will support any evil done under the name of religion. The North is destroying itself, and should NOT blame anybody for it in the nearest future. Shikena!
Some of us have vested interest!
Olumide Goodness Adeyinka can be contacted at nigardgroup@yahoo.com