There are ominous signs in the land that require the immediate attention of the Federal Government just as the two dominant political parties in Nigeria have a sacred duty to help halt the sad development, even though, they presently pretend not to see it. If these issues are not quickly addressed, there is likelihood that it may snow ball into a national crises, during and immediately after the winner of the presidential election slated for March 28, is announced.
Nigerians, who are old enough to see these signs, saw it happened in 1966. It was too late then, before any meaningful steps could be taken to stop the ugly trend; the resultant effect was the Nigerian 30 month’s civil war, which left a lot of sour taste in the mouth of most Nigerians, especially people from the South-East.
I am worried, hence, this little intervention, just few days to the Presidential and National Assembly elections in Nigeria.
This piece is therefore, a deliberate attempt to remind my northern brothers, especially the elites on the need for us, to collectively ensure that this country, Nigeria, remains one indivisible entity. I am however, very worried about some Northern elites’ conspiracy and ominous silence, as events continue to unfold. It was this same attitude and posture on the side of the northern elites; in 1966 that encouraged the pogrom that invariably led to other crisis which resulted in the Nigerian civil war?
Forty-five years after the end of the Nigerian bloody civil war, an experience that was not only traumatic for all the person that witnessed it, young or old, who are still grappling with the pains of losing their friends and relatives in that disgraceful incident. We are again inching towards that ugly past, for no just reason(s) other than, the irrational belief of a few people, bereft of our national ethos, who go about saying “we want our tribe’s man to win the 2015 presidential election, not minding the feelings of other components that make up the country”. This is certainly not the best attitude to be adopted in an election like this.
My humble submission in this matter is that for project Nigeria to work as expected by all Nigerians, every part of the country must have to be part of it. The business of reducing the inequality in the economy is not just the responsibility of the North alone, nor that of the South West, the East or the South-South. It is a collective responsibility. I presume it on this conviction, that people like Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, although, I am not one of his fans, Rotimi Amaechi, Rabiu Kwakwanso of the Kwankwansia Aman fame in Kano, Odigie Oyegun and Babatunde Raji Fashola, a gentleman by every standard, who has suddenly become wild due to politicking just to mention a few and the host of other opposition members of the All Progressive Congress decided for once to square it up, and dig it out in a fierce and threatening battle to wrestle power from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, who over the years has become complacent.
In the raging political battle between the A.P.C. and the P.D.P, issues at stake are the economy, and the enforcement of accountability in governance. 54 years after Nigeria’s independence, there is nothing commensurate on ground to the resources that have accrued to the country, in the area of infrastructures and other developmental indexes, this is the heart of the matter. The above problems as a matter fact were not created by the incumbent President, Goodluck Jonathan, he only inherited some of them, and I think his government has made genuine efforts to solve some of these problems. But Nigerians are saying, they can no longer wait, hence, the clamour for change. Well, the battle line, has long been drawn, but, if the ruling parties invariably still manage to retain power in the face of the stiff opposition by APC and after all odds, on March 28th , individuals, who probably will be most devastated by the P.D.P. victory, are mostly going to be from the South West and the South-South. Some of them would have to leave the country for some time for the dust to clear before returning. As would be expected, there would be political reprisal and vendettas that might affect, their businesses and families, of the above mentioned persons. Same is the case, if the APC wins the presidential election. No one would expect people like Chief Femi Fani-Kayode to hang around anywhere in this country. Sadly, our Northern irredentists are not given these facts any consideration, they are also not seeing things in this light, the struggle for the power as far as they are concerned, is about power shift to the north. Who occupies the country’s presidency is a decision the north must make, it is their birth right to do so. The most annoying thing, about all this, is the fact that some northern elites are in conspiracy act with these group of people. As far as I know, the north cannot say today, that they have been marginalized, in matters relating to the leadership and governance of this great country. These are some of the reasons, why we have to be more careful.
Our Northern elites might quickly ask for my evidence. My proof is based on my personal experience as 12 years old boy in 1966, who saw things first hand in the North. The clandestine and nocturnal meetings and other numerous events that culminated into the civil war then, have again resurrected their ugly heads in most part of northern Nigeria in 2015, unchallenged. Sadly, our northern elites are again, looking the other way. The unfolding political drama in the country in 2015, is gradually pointing towards the direction of old. If something is not done to halt this recklessness now, and our northern elites refuse to speak up against it, we may again find ourselves in a situation similar to what happened in 1966. This is my concern. After the first military coup of 1966, which failed and the counter coup that followed that same year, which details are already in the public domain. I happened to have travelled to Gusau to spend some time with my father’s friend family, who happened to be an Igbo man. Okemili, as he was fondly called was a transporter based in Gusau. He has for some years before my visit, pleaded with my parents to allow me visit and spend some time with him. It was that visit that almost turned fatal, and has since remained indelible in my memory. Immediately after the counter coup of 1966, the political tension in the country became palpable. In most Northern part of Nigeria, there were as it is today all manner of meetings most southerners and easterners then, I must confess, did not quite make sense out of those meetings. And as such did not take preventive steps, as they did not anticipate the severity of the likely consequences of those clandestine meetings. One faithful night after I have spent three enjoyable days with my host and his family, at about 12 midnight, we began to hear unusual noise in our neighborhood in Sabo-Gari, Gusau, my host immediately took me alongside his wife, who has just delivered a baby girl, alongside other children into his inner bedroom and lock the door, while he sat quietly alone in the living room expecting the worst to happen to him and his family members. As we all remain silent in the dark, the new baby girl, who was not comfortable, could not cry, once, she made attempts to cry, her mother would grab her nose, forced her to breathe through the mouth. While this drama, was going on inside Okemili’s bedroom, we could hear agonizing cry all around our building, it was in this state of extreme anxiety we waited until the following morning. What we saw, when we began to pack the little belongings we could lay our hands on, in a desperate bid to escape the pogrom, to a safe haven in Cabinet Hotel in Tundu Wada, then owned by one Mr. R.C. Kamuche, whom I am told is now late, where all the Igbos and non-Hausa indigenes in Gusau were gathered, before final arrangement were made on how to escape the pogrom enmass after some weeks in that place. What we witnessed during that period was an eye sore, what I saw that morning as young as I was, were the corpses of innocent souls littering all the places. In fact, of particular pain to me, was the killing of one man from Ogbomosho from South West, Nigeria. Three days that I spent before this incident was going to his bookstore to buy some of the books I required for leisure. I later got to know, that he was a former secondary school principal, who on retirement, decided to establish a bookstore, while organizing extra lessons on the side in English and Mathematics to augment his living. That was a man, who could never harm anybody, he was killed that night in cold blood and his bookstore vandalized. These were people who went to bed the night before, not anticipating death, it was unfortunate and unbelievable. Up till now I have reasons to ask myself occasionally, why do Nigerians love doing evil to their fellow country men and women? I still cannot find an answer. The Igbos, who were the principal targets were not the only people massacred. In that atrocious act, that night there were two groups of northerners, who perpetuated this evil, the elderly, who went about marking the houses and residences of non-indigenes and the yan-daban (area boys) who were the agent of destruction. Among the innocent people killed were Yoruba, Edo, Effik and Ibibios, who legitimately, were doing their businesses in that part of the country, were all killed in cold blood in their homes, in that senseless riots that night. What saved me alongside the family I visited, according to what I was told when we safely arrived at the camp was that we had the good fortune of having among the elders, who were marking the residences of non-indigenes, a serving police inspector, who was a friend of the Okemili family. He could not stand our destruction for no just reasons. The Police officer, I was told, stood his grounds that the mob move on, to other houses and homes, insisting we must not be touched.
Before things got to that ugly point, I am yet to be shown any of the Northern elites then till date, dead or alive, who made deliberate efforts to calm down the tension that built up for several months, that was about to explode then. What we saw then, just like now, is a dignified silence from the Northern elites. This type of incident must never and never be allowed to happen again in this country. Hence, my present outburst.
Gabriel Omonhinmin is a Lagos based Media Consultant.
