By: Ade Joseph
In light of the recent sit-at-home order complied to by the Igbos in the five Eastern states and some states in South-South Nigeria to mark fifty years of the birth of the defunct Republic of Biafra, some groups in certain part of the country found it as a slap to their faces.
Well, I’m not against self-determination , but I believe these steps ought to be taken through the right channels and not exuding the energy to sound the drums of war.
One of the groups based in Kaduna, Northern Nigeria, headed by one Shettima, gave the Igbos till October 1 (Nigeria’s Independence Day) to vacate every part of Northern Nigeria. Their belief and grouse is that if they really wanted a country, they should be serious about it and start their exodus as soon as possible. As expected, the Ohaeneze Ndigbo responded to the threat as “an act of treason” and that security agencies should take possible and swift action to bring them to book. According to newspaper reports, it was gathered that governors of the Southeast region had taken proactive measures by sending an innumerable number of vehicles and trucks to “bring their people home”, but for the timely intervention of the Governor of Kaduna State who ordered the arrest of the threat makers (no news of their arrest till now).
Section 43 of the Nigerian Constitution gives the right for any Nigerian citizen to own properties and live in any part of the country. Personally, the statement by Shettima and his cohorts is not only reckless but unwise and lack of the requisite education. Let us even assume the Igbos (and other Southerners) left the North on that day, every single one of them (nearly impossible though), the North would lose more than the South and this is why the educated Northerners admist them, especially their leaders should do their utmost best to caution the youths that are fanning the embers of hate.
Though the South would feel the aftermath, it won’t be as grave as the North. Now, let us look at some of these “things” the North would suffer from if the Southerners, especially the Igbos, rich and poor alike, were to eventually leave the North.
Investment: Major investments, especially banks, in the North are owned by Southerners, the major Bank of the North even relocated their headquarters from Abuja to Lagos recently. Even Aliko Dangote, a Northern businessman and the richest man in Africa, has most of his investment in the South. So the North needs the South in this area as major industries based in the South but with branches in the North have been able to provide jobs for their burgeoning population.
Education: As at Nigeria’s Independence in 1960, there were only two secondary schools in the vast Northern Nigeria compared to a nearly thousand schools in the south. As at the time the first university in the North opened in 1962, 426 students were admitted. Of these, only 127 students were Northerners, a paltry 29.81% of the total students population. Space would also fail me to list many schools in the North owned by Southerners and the plethora of Southern lecturers in many high institutions in the North.
Religion: With the Christian minorities in the North, this is a huge disadvantage to them as most Southerners are Christians and they have been able to keep the Muslim dominated North under checks and balances. With the departure of the Southerners, these Christian minorities may lose their voices and footings in the social and political milieu of the North.
Transportation: Major transport companies are owned by Southerners, especially the Igbos. Though it would limit their movements to the South and may not fetch them the desired revenue, the North would be one lonely place in terms of human movement. The North may be populous, but few among them could afford to travel extensively as the Southerners.
Revenue: In Kano State, for example, the commercial capital of Northern Nigeria, 67% of the Internal Generated Revenue are acquired from Southerners. Most of the business activities of that state take place in Sabongari, a town dominated by Southerners. I’m sure the Kano State government wouldn’t want to take that risk.
Time would fail me to touch on other aspects that if these threat is eventually carried out, it would lead to nothing but tribal hate and chaos. I would implore of party to sheath their swords and let us look for a way to move the country forward. Nigeria cannot afford another Civil War. What happened in 1966 must not happen again. Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!
Ade writes from Surulere Lagos
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