Gowon, IBB, Danjuma, Abdulsalam, others tipped for support
From MURPHY GANAGANA, Jos
Buoyed by rising feeling of distrust, impoverishment and political marginalisation by the core North, leaders of ethnic minorities comprising the North Central states have formed a platform to galvanize support from individuals and groups to protect the political interest of the geopolitical zone ahead of the 2019 general election.
To actualize the agenda, a socio-cultural body, the North Central Unity Bridge (NCUB), an initiative that has been on the wings less than a year ago to forge unity among Middle Belters, is undergoing registration procedures at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), preparatory to its formal launch after the requisite structures had been put in place.
Mike Mku, a former Senior Special Assistant to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo on Human Trafficking, who is also a leader of the aligning groups, gave the hint in an interview with Saturday Sun. He said apart from the issue of religion which had been one of the common problems of the northern minorities, the NCUB was formed to protect the interests of the North Central states, including political marginalization by the core north.
“The NCUB is an initiative put together by like-minded people from all the states in the North Central, which has six states plus the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. We have been put together by destiny; the geographical location of the country has put us together. Even though we are the most diversified in the entire country; diversified by tradition, religion, language, and a few other things, but because we have been put together by destiny, we felt there was need for us to sit together, look at our common problems, see how we can handle them and be a strong and united body. Something along the likes of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Afenifere and Arewa Consultative Forum; we want to come together and be on our own as far as the Nigerian situation is concerned”, he stated.
Mku, a two-time governorship aspirant in Benue State under the banners of the PDP and defunct UNCP in 1999 and 2003 respectively, said the formation of the pan Middle Belt group, which is an amalgam of various individuals and groups from all the existing political parties, marked the beginning of serious efforts by ethnic minorities of the North Central states to put an end to their marginalization and dominance by the larger ethnic nationalities.
He spoke on the ideological differences between the NCUB and erstwhile Middle Belt Forum (MBF), which became inactive after the leadership of Chief Isaac Shahu and Prof. Jerry Gana, as chairman and secretary, respectively.
“If politically, we believe that a particular political party is the one that is going to look into our own problems, why not? We can tell our people look, go and vote for this political party, it is the one that will take care of our interests; but that is not to say that we are all going to be in one political party. This association is made up of people in the PDP, APC, APGA, and other political parties; the interest of the North Central is paramount”, he asserted.
Excerpts of the interview:
How was the Middle Belt Forum formed?
Well, the MBF as I know it, is actually an association of Christian minorities in the North, and this extends from Benue to Taraba, Adamawa, Kaduna, Plateau, FCT, Niger, Kogi, and all. That had been on, and the last chairman I knew was Isaac Shahu, who was the chairman of the MBF, and I think the secretary was Prof. Jerry Gana. For now, I don’t know if it is still functioning, because they have been off for a while. I can’t see what they are doing, but they don’t seem to be active anymore.
What was the propellant for its formation?
You know in Nigeria, there has always been this issue of major and minority tribes. The major tribes in Nigeria clearly are the Igbos, the Hausas and the Yorubas. But outside that, there are many other minority tribes like you know, and they seem to have a common problem. Those minority tribes in the North, many or most of them are Christians and most of the Hausas are Muslims. It is not as if there are no Christians within the Hausa tribe; there are Muslims within the minority tribes in the North, but the proportion, the size, is what is relevant. I think that was one of the reasons those smaller tribes coming together to seek solutions to their common problems. That was the reason behind the formation of the MBF.
What are those common problems the northern minorities have faced?
Well, as I said earlier, religion is one of them; tradition is also one of them. And based on these, particularly, the religious factor as far as I know and as far as I am concerned, must have been one of the major issues that made them to come together.
There is this impression that the minorities in the North are being marginalized by the Hausa/Fulani who allegedly use and dump them politically. How true is it?
Well, those things have always been there, they have talked about it. Apart from the religious aspect, that is one of the reasons why they decided to come together because they felt marginalized, they felt used. When it came to fighting for anything, it’s one North; but when it comes to sharing the goodies and all that, the minority tribes are looked upon as not being part of the main North again. This started way back in the First Republic, and has continued even up till now; the complaints are still there. So, that is one of the reasons why the northern minorities decided to come together to fight since it was common to all of them.
You hinted of a new initiative that you are part of. What is the name of the organization?
The name of the new organization is North Central Unity Bridge (NCUB). The NCUB is an initiative put together by like-minded people from all the states within the North Central, which has six states plus the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. We have been put together by destiny; the geographical location of the country has put us together. Even though we are the most diversified in the entire country; diversified by tradition, religion, language, and a few other things, but because we are forced to be together by destiny, we felt there was need for us to sit together, look at our common problems, see how we can handle them and be a strong and united body. Something along the likes of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Afenifere and Arewa Consultative Forum; we want to come together and be on our own as far as the Nigerian situation is concerned.
What are the aims and objectives of the group?
It is actually a socio-cultural organization that would bring together our people by way of culture, by way of societal issues and other matters that are common to all of us, so that we could form a group. Politically, when issues come up, we should be able to work as an entity that finds itself in a situation. For instance, they are talking about restructuring of Nigeria; whatever definition people give about restructuring, at the end of the day, there is going to be physical restructuring. Since destiny has put us together in a geographical zone, we have to think of coming together as part of the structural adjustment of the country. So, there is need for us to come together, and form a bridge between the North and North and the South, because of our geographical location; that is why we are trying to come together.
When was it formed, and who were the brains behind the new organization?
It was formed less than a year ago, and we’ve held several meetings. It was driven by people that you may not consider popular; I am one of them, the convener is from Niger State. We’ve been meeting; we are about to put together a Constitution for registration at the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, and all that. Very soon, we shall be launching the association, and we put together an Exco, and a Board of Trustees, and Board of Elders. We have got a great number of elders in the zone; the likes of General Yakubu Gowon, General Ibrahim Babangida, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, all former Heads of State; we have General T.Y Danjuma, and others. Those are the people we consider as elders of the zone. Some of them are not aware of this association yet, but our idea is to talk to them; whatever it is. They know that they are from this zone and whatever we are doing, they are our elders; they’ve got to know about it. So, we are putting them together as a group, and urging them to also meet themselves and forge an agenda for the development of the North Central. We are also going to talk to the governors of the North Central states. In recent times, the governors of the South-south are meeting, the governors of the South-west are also meeting; the same goes for the governors of the South-east, North-west, and the North-east. But you never heard of the governors of the North-central meeting. We are going to let them know that there is the need for them to also meet as an entity within the North-central.
Is 2019 in view?
Well, you can’t leave that out, but I want to assure you that what we are doing, the NCUB, is not a political association; the association is non-partisan, but that does not mean that we cannot as a group, decide on what is best for the North Central geopolitical zone. If politically, we believe that a particular political party is the one that is going to look into our problems, why not? We can tell our people look, go and vote for this political party, it is the one that will take care of our interests; but that is not to say that we are all going to be in one political party. This association is made up of people who are in the PDP, APC, in APGA, in all kinds of political parties. The interest of the North Central is paramount. Whichever party you belong to, consider the interest and development of the zone; that is our agenda.
Can we say this will be a platform for the people of the Middle Belt to pull out of the domination of the core North?
Well, we are not fighting anybody; we know we belong to the North and that is why we are called North-central. But we are only trying to see what we can do for our geopolitical zone. Whether you like it or not, the North-west is there, they are looking after their problems; the North-east is there, they are looking after their problems; we should also look at our own problems, including the age-long marginalization of the minorities. The North-central will come together and decide where to be, politically.
Credit: Saturday Sun
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