I listen with rapt attention at the abridge version of the Northern Elders Talkshop on Channels tv. I was eventually lost on the implication of the very vague concept of Northern Interest repeatedly emphasized by almost every speaker. I kept thinking, what is this Northern Interest? Beyond assembling expired medieval people who don’t seems to understand how a modern state should be run, does Northern Interests ends with a northerner becoming president? Does it extend to fighting poverty, unemployment, educational backwardness, comatose textiles industry etc? Does it extend to allowing me provide functional leadership to my people within a virile and united Nigeria? What exactly is the northern interest? I made bold to state here again, that the united empire created through Sardauna’s NPC was definitely a temporal political fallacy. There is no way we can define a common northern interest from the many conflicting northern nationalities interest. For instance, how do you reconcile the interest of the Gbagyis who are the original owners of Kaduna Metropolis with those of the Hausas who are bent on redefining the ownership of Kaduna town? How can we reconcile the interest of the Kataf Man in Southern Kaduna State and that of the Hausas? How can the Langtang in Jos ever have a common interest with the Hausa in Plateau? How can we reconcile the interest of the Tivs and Idomas farmers with that of the Fulanis cattle rearers? How possible is it to reconcile the Yoruba Okuns in Kogi with those of the Igalas? How do we reconcile the Christians interest with the Muslim interest? It is quite clear, that it will be difficult for anybody to represent the northern interest just as it is difficult for anybody to be truly representative of Nigeria’s interest. I look at the people going for the National Conference, and there is no Gbagyi man. Who is going to speak on his travails in Kaduna where he has been confined to been a bench warmer? Who is going to speak out against corruption in high places? Who is going to canvas a new system where the government will become mere employee of the people? The northern interest, western interest, eastern interest, south south interest and every other interest is a continuum. It is not definite. The best way to continuously meet new challenges is through continuous conferencing. I believe that parliamentary system will ensure that the nationalities questions remain at the front burner at all times. Let us have a brand new Nigeria where all nationalities feel equal and important. Presidential system will never give us this, parliamentary system will….
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 17:50:05 +0000