Akwai matsala a Arewa (Northern Nigeria), By Prince Charles Dickson PhD

…when a leader stubbornly keeps the cubs of lions as pets. When the cubs grow, it will become a danger to both the owner and the villager…

Let me quickly state that this admonition will step on toes, it will step on even legs, arms, and possibly shoulders; and this is because while I am not crediting myself with all the knowledge and expertise on the subject matter and issues around it, most of what I am about to share with us are largely true, in public space and thus do it hurts, I am not sure if it will bother our leaders.

This also is not the first nor fourth time I have engaged on this clarion call to leaders of the Northern part of Nigeria, I am equally certain, that in recent times I am also not the only one that is expressly concerned, and again with the recent showing of our people during the endhunger and endbadgovernance protests there is cause for alarm.

The region is on fire, and the flames are being fanned by its own leaders, who seem more concerned with their personal interests than the welfare of the people.

The Arewa Peoples Congress, once a respected voice of the North, has become a retirement home for lame leaders, while the Northern Governors Forum is more interested in globe-trotting than addressing the pressing issues facing the region. The North is being left behind, while the rest of the country is making progress albeit slowly. Schools are springing up in the South, but in the North, billions are being spent on building mosques, getting people married off, or engaging in emir-ship tussles, as if that is the solution to the region’s problems.

The North is a complex system of different ethnic groups, including Hausas, Fulanis, Tarokh, Tivs, Idomas, Nupes, and many others. However, instead of celebrating this diversity, the region is plagued by infighting, with Fulanis, Tivs, and Beroms at war with each other. Elders, both religious, and traditional have failed to provide leadership and guidance, and the region’s people are suffering as a result.

The almajiri system, which was once a noble tradition, has degenerated into institutional begging, with children roaming the streets instead of being in school. The region’s farmers are suffering, and farmlands are being ravaged, while the deserts are being deserted. Women and girls are being raped and killed, and the response is often a shrug of the shoulders and a resigned “In Shaa Allah.”

The North is facing an identity crisis, with different groups struggling to define themselves. Who are the Hausas, who are the Fulanis, and what about the Hausa/Fulanis? What is the place of Islam in the North, and how do Christians fit into the equation? These questions are not being addressed, and instead, the region is being torn apart by divisions and conflicts.

The North’s poor leadership plague, continues with successive governments failing to address the region’s pressing needs. The Talakawa agenda, which was once a rallying cry for the masses, has been abandoned, and the oligarchy has failed to provide a vision for the region’s development. The people have no direction, and the leaders are more concerned with their own power struggles than with finding solutions to the region’s problems.

The Middle Belt, which was once a bridge between the North and the South, is now an emotional wreck. If the North were to decide to exit from Nigeria, it is unclear whether the other regions would fight to keep it. Would it be 19 states, or would some states opt out? The people of Plateau, Nasarawa, Benue, Kogi, and others are already tired of being lumped together as “the North” without being consulted.

The North with her immense natural resources, including gold, precious stones, and fertile land, instead of developing these resources, is being plundered, and the people are being left behind. Dangote, the richest man in Africa, is from the North, but the region is also sadly home to some of the poorest communities, and nearly all his investments are outside the North.

The South-west, despite its own challenges, is making progress towards regional integration, while the South-east and South-south are also moving forward in a way. However, the North is stuck in the past.

The current state of the North is a reflection of the failure of its leaders and the people’s willingness to accept mediocrity. The region is being destroyed by its own people, and it is time for a change. The people need to demand more from their leaders and start working towards a better future.

Using religion as a tool to dumb our population down, and using ethnicity as a tool to fan the embers of hatred and then sit back and watch won’t work forever. The template has remained the same, albeit with slight modifications from time to time…nothing has changed. If anything, we are witnessing it become much worse.

The North needs to wake up and take control of its destiny. It needs to stop relying on the federal government and start developing its own resources. It needs to stop fighting each other and start working together towards a shared common goal. The region needs to stop being held back by its own people and start moving forward. The time for change is now. 

It is time for the North to take a hard look at itself and stop lying to itself and its people. The region needs to stop relying on prayer and luck, population and start working towards a better future.

I will end this admonition in the words of one of the problem sons of the North, retired General Danjuma, “We need to think more, pray more, plan more, work harder, RELATE BETTER, and talk less. Battles are better fought and won through wisdom and strategy than through inflammable pronouncements and political tantrums.” This is to the North but it equally applies to Nigeria—May Nigeria win!