THE MOST PRESSING POLITICAL PROBLEM OF NIGERIA IN A NUTSHELL: The Northern political elite (civilian and military) so thoroughly oppressed and marginalised the rest of the country, and excluded them from the political and economic process, such that no Southerner in his right mind would like to see Presidency return to the Northern elite. The Souther would prefer even the most incompetent Southern leader to the most brilliant Northern leader. President Jonathans administration is a hopeless one, but it is better than what the North has offered this country in the past. I oppose Jonathan because of his incredible incompetency. But I would never want to return to what Nigeria has had since the civil war. We had criminal, dumb, self-seeking, corrupt, inept, incompetent leaders, who above all suppressed and enslaved the rest of the country. They are hated by the Southerners. The Southerners would rather have the country split than go back to the the kind of leadership we have had in the past. And you cant blame them. But we need a better option. It is unrealistic to expect to exclude the Northern elite from the top political office in Nigeria. There is no way to achieve that anyway. It is also not just to do so, because it becomes a them-versus-us kind of thing. As we now know, most Northerners did not really benefit from the fact that Northern political class monopolised power. Indeed, the North is far less developed than the South. And with this insurgency, the North is going to become far and far less developed in the future. That is if the new caliphate does not lead to part of the North being cut out of Nigeria. The Northern leaders, if they were smart, should rather look back and appreciate the fears and concerns of the Southerners. They have to be prepared for a future politics in which they would not oppress and exclude the Southerners. They should be prepared for equitable politics based on mutual and equal respect for all. The South must avoid the sentiment of vengeance. The North is in a terrible shape now. Indeed, it could be destroyed by the insurgency unless the South is prepared to help the North. The South must not refuse to help. It must not watch the North self-destruct just out of a sense of vengeance. We must build a Nigeria based on equality and wellbeing of all its citizens.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 15:46:58 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015