THE NORTH UNDER SIEGE

Let me begin this piece by extending my heartfelt sympathies to all those who lost their lives in the killing spree going on in the north in the past two years.  Those who lost people near and dear to them must have gone through traumatic experiences while trying to understand the madness sweeping across the region.  Human life in the north is today ten a dime.  With governments at all levels folding their arms and pretending helplessness while killers are cutting short lives and visiting anguish on innocent people.  The impunity with which murderers operate knowing that nobody will arrest them and bring them to justice makes it more painful to those who lose their loved ones.  I pray God should give them the fortitude to bear their irreplaceable loses

The frequency of these killings escalated, incidentally, with the ascension of Goodluck Jonathan to the presidency of the country equally as well the impunity of the killers increased directly to the longevity of Goodluck in the Aso Villa.  The north has become a basket case, no matter how one look at the situation – politically, economically, socially or otherwise.  By now, I want to believe the intention of those oiling the killing machine ought to be clear to anyone interested in knowing.  It is my personal opinion that their intention is twofold – first, the complete destruction of all commercial activities in the region and second, to engender religious crisis in the region.  The first was achieved by ensuring that places like Jos, Maiduguri and Kano, hitherto major commercial hubs in the region are down and out.  People go to these places only if it is absolutely necessary.  What remains for them is the second objective, which is the spawning of religious crisis in the north.  After killing thousands in Jos, Maiduguri, Yola, Bauchi, Kano and Gombe without achieving their aim, they have resorted to bombing churches on Sundays when the churches are full to capacity with worshippers.  The reactions to the bombings in Zaria and Tirkana in Kaduna appear to have fulfilled the objectives of these unscrupulous people.

With the killings going on in Kaduna, those that want the north on bended knees will be patting each other on the back that they have finally found the North’s soft spot and may continually hit its underbelly until such a time the religious conflagration spreads throughout the region.  With all the contrived attacks on worship places, non achieved what Kaduna did and may even have surpassed the expectations of the perpetrators.  With the destruction of Jos, Maiduguri, Kano and Kaduna the north has effectively being brought to its knees.  For those jubilating, this is a culmination of a project began well before the country achieved flag independence.  What politicians of the first and second republics failed to accomplish in a lifetime of trying despite their best efforts, was achieved in thirteen years.  This is a made possible by compromising greedy, visionless and focusless politicians from the region whose main interest is the accumulation of wealth and continued relevance or lack of it not minding whose underwear they wash.

Almost half a century after the murders of Balewa, Sardauna and those crops of selfless politicians, who were on their way to positioning the region into one of the biggest regional economic powers within the country, their heirs have turned the region into the biggest colony of beggars the whole world over.  Northern politicians in this dispensation have become shameless and uncaring and are completely disconnected with the people that they do not care the number of bodies that litter our streets as long as they will be appointed into any government even it is headed by the devil himself. 

Northern Nigeria is gradually descending into chaos and may very well turn into another Somalia, God forbid. There is no certainty of seeing a whole day out for anyone except those who go around with a convoy of fierce looking, gun wielding security men who shoot first and ask after.  A region that was known as the economic power house of the nation all over the world is today without a single industry that employs up to two hundred people full time.  Successive governors of the region neglected two critical sectors in the area – agriculture and education.  And the two happen to be the drivers of development.  But the prize for the criminal neglect, thievery and selfishness goes to the current crop of governors who operate as if the section dealing with conscience in their brains has been removed.  Their policies succeeded in spawning the current state of insecurity that we find ourselves in today.   Kids that are supposed to be in school are on the street while their age mates, the kids of the high and mighty, pass them by on their way to or from school.  These kids may well turn out to be our undoing not any religious differences.

We have seen the federal government through the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Niger Delta Ministry and the Amnesty Programme office, have been sending their kids abroad for training in skills acquisition.  Why can’t our governors start such a programme locally in order to take these unfortunate kids off our streets, which in my opinion, will minimise the menace of wanton killings and destructions of properties that we are daily confronted with.  The heirs to the first and second republic politicians in the region are only interested in the education of their kids and the amassing of wealth that may either take them to jail or die without utilising.  While the north is burning, they have continuously kept a deafening silence.

To my Christian brethren in the north, I would like to say let’s start using our heads rather than our hearts.  It is becoming apparent that somebody somewhere is bent on making sure Muslims and Christians in the north are continuously at each others throats while whatever agenda they have is gradually and successfully unfolded & implemented.  In none of the cities that have experienced violence has the governments (states and federal) shown any sense of responsibility by quickly nipping potential troubles in the bud.  They always sit back and watch while Christians and Muslims kill each other.  If we are sincere and set aside sentiments, how many of those arrested are ever taken to court?  What becomes of them after the arrests?  And if I may ask, how many of those arrested with explosives or guns are Muslims?  Why is it only mutilated bodies are labelled as boko haram but those arrested in the act of burning churches are either hypnotised, have issues with their churches or madmen?  We should be demanding for answers from our governors not killing each other.

Creating killer colonies like Gonin Gora or Riyom will only exacerbate our distrust for each other rather than solve any problem.  They do not advance the cause of either of the religions nor should any religion be in completion with the other.  They are rather injuries to all not just Muslims and us.  The reaction of the residents of Gonin Gora is directly responsible for the bloodletting in Kaduna and this has been going on since 2000 with no government ready to do anything about it.  Whenever they struck, the Abuja – Kaduna highway is effectively closed to all.  Also the curfew imposed on the people of Kaduna is on everybody not just Muslims.  So we all bear the brunt with all its economic and social consequences.  And where is your president?  Off to the Brazilian beaches with a retinue of one hundred and sixteen hangers-on.

We are being systematically destroyed by the twin evils of religion and ethnicity.  They destroyed our unity and communality, something the region was known for and envied, discourage our interaction and steal our peace by creating a siege mentality and sowing hatred amongst us.  We then unwittingly fall into the traps set for us by our elites for their benefits that come at the expense of the rest of us.  It is my hope that we can, collectively as northerners, overcome our primordial sentiments for the collective good of the region.  As the Yorubas will say, Arewa, Ronu.