If the current struggle is selfless and truly in the interest of the North, and not meant to prosper personal ambitions of individuals, then another wait of 4yrs that guarantees the peaceful co-existence of the country, and a golden opportunity to satisfy the yearning of the Niger Delta, once and for all, will definitely not decimate the North either politically or financially. It is by far more rewarding if Mallam Adamu Ciroma, in the company of Obasanjo, Alex Ekweme, Alabo Graham Douglas, Edwin Clark, Bamanga Tukur, and other National leaders will traverse the length and breadth of Nigeria and mould a political consensus around President Goodluck Jonathan for the 2011 polls. The military class ably represented by Gen. Babangida, Gen, Abdulsalam Abubakar and Gen Aliyu Gusau amongst others, in the interest of National Stability and Unity were able to build this consensus around Obasanjo in 1998. Why can't the leaders of the political class sensing danger now, do the same to the nation that has done so much for them? And if they fail, will the next generation of leaders take the gauntlet and save the Nation?'
The intensity of the struggle and agitation to secure power by the North in 2011, clearly confirms that Nigeria as a political entity is still very far from the inter-ethnic unity, the so called "Unity in diversity" we all dreamed of at Independence in 1960. Fifty years of socio-political intercourse and cross breeding amongst component parts have failed to dissolve the strong tribal/ethnic barriers that separated us ab initio.
Since independence, the North has been a political constant in the emergence of National leadership, be it Military or Civilian. Over the years, the Northern ruling class and its elites membership have mastered the act of being dominant and yet benevolent in disposition towards the rest of the country. Because this ruling class is focused unobtrusive and generally not outlandish, it was able to hold on to power and yet hold the country together by being meticulously calculating and highly resourceful in the handling of the various power games and options that have been thrown up over the years.
The unity of the country and its indivisibility have never been negotiable or indeed truly negotiated. But this remained the most powerful coercive instrument of state, both to silence undue opposition and deal with political extremism. It was the basis for the civil war in 1966.
In all of this, the North has maintained an enviable masterly control and has held sway in providing political leadership until very recently. From Tafawa Balewa in 1960, through Yakubu Gowon and Babangida and up till Obasanjo in 1998, the North has maintained effective control of the essential of power apparatus of the Nation - State. The crowning glory and unarguably, the most potent proof of the adeptness of the Northern ruling elite was its well thought out resolve to conceed power to the Southwest specifically, as compensation or "wages" for the "sins" of one or two of their own.
Once again, the North as the custodian of political authority, rose to the occasion and prevented a major catastrophe in our polity, applying concession as a constructive instrument of engagement with the aggrieved opposition - the Yorubas of the south-west. This was not the first time this instrument has been used. It was first placed on the table at Aburi by General Yakubu Gowon before a policy reversal led to the application of force which culminated into the civil war in 1966. The end results were the same. The country came back from the precipice of disintegration to it's "united and indivisible" format.
In 1998, the choice of candidate was decisively deliberate; Olusegun Obasanjo, a general of the Nigerian army, war veteran, both of which implied that he is an apostle of one Nigeria; obviously he can be trusted with ability to hold the country together and also loyalty to the "omniscience" Northern power bloc. In 8yrs of his rule, Obasanjo held Nigeria together and by the time he left in 2007, demonstrated loyalty and commitment by installing President Umar Yaradua by all means and at all costs, no matter whose "ox was gored"
The unanticipated problem was that Obasanjo was his own man with an enigmatic personality, the period of the two terms he served as President, gave him an overwhelming presence and a looming image that will not go away even after he had left power. Nigeria has never had a democratically elected government handling over to another. This was the special political icing on Obasanjo's cake. Neither Nigeria nor the Northern ruling elite was prepared for this!
By the time Obasanjo handed over to Yaradua, the 8yrs of Obasanjo's rule, have thrown the entire political machinery of the Northern Ruling Class into a long limbo, and by the time he single-handedly installed his successors, that machinery had been rendered ineffective and irrelevant, or so it would appear.
The untimely and unexpected death of President Yaradua appears to be the final, if divine, blow which threw the Northern custodians of power into flutter, confusion and total disarray; and before any chance at recovery was possible, a "constitutional coup de Grace" has taken place, installing a total stranger, from a strange ill understood, and the least expected zone on the throne. All we witnessed subsequently, including the diatribes, the threats and brickbats are the flourish signs of the old and aging Northern political Horse trying to regain its erstwhile robust and mighty stature. If God, knowing how powerful the incumbency position is, allows a political tenderling, from one of the smallest ethnic groups in Nigeria to be advantageously placed over and above the Northern interest, then should we not in fear and trepidation submit to God's will?
Is it not in all religions that we learn that power belongs to the Almighty God" and He takes it from whom He wishes and gives to whom He wills? In fact do not our religions teach Total submission to the will of God? Allah?
In our 50yrs of existence, this is the third time that we are once again on deliberate march to the precipice. On the two previous occasions, 1966 and 1998, the Northern ruling class rose to the occasion and pulled the country back. In the last circumstance, the group subsumed its own quest for power and freely conceded to a section that was gravely aggrieved; and Nigeria became better for it. For a long time, the previously constant cry of exclusion from Federal power will not be heard from the south-west zone again.
Unfortunately, many of the Northern elites believe that the North needs to be in power after President Yaradua's demise, if only for the next four years; and I believe this is only natural. If I were a Northerner, and given the political structure of the country today, I will feel the same way.
The truth of the matter however is that I believe personally that God was telling Nigeria something by taking away President Umar Musa Yaradua when he did. If indeed, President Yaradua had lived for another 6months, the PDP would have elected a new Northern Presidential Candidate, even while President Yaradua would have been on his sick bed and we would all have been spared all this trouble. In nearly 40yrs that the North acted as custodians of the power locus in Nigeria, it has shown tremendous and unrivalled capability and expertise in keeping the country together even sometimes to its own detriment. The situation on hand cannot be resolved by zoning or confrontation. A massive preparation for an electoral showdown is not in the character of the North and will only lead to a political fiasco, hither to unprecedented in our political history, the full ramification and consequence of which is better imagined.
One good thing that has come out of this seemingly "bad" situation for the North is that the Giant and ever resilent Northern political machinery has been re-awakened. General Babangida, Atiku Abubakar and perhaps more importantly Mallam Adamu Ciroma with the latter being the Operational Field Marshall have all re-established the potential MIGHT of the Northern political bloc.
However, "if the Biblical Goliath, on sighting David, had declined to engage a rustic defenceless child, the Philistines would have still won the war against Israel and Goliath would have remained Goliath -"the Invincible Giant". One of the most alluring thing about power is having it but not using it. That is why Collin Power, former USJoint Chief of Staff said "of all the manifestations of power, restraint impresses men most"
let us remain a faithful and patriotic Nigerian. Let it be one man, one vote.In this forth comming election.
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