Known for his outspoken
character, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode is in the news again for another of his
numerous outbursts in the media. In a recently published article by him, he
exposed the Northern agenda for Nigeria and explained the major reason behind
the lopsided appointment of key aids by President Buhari which favours the North
alone.
His revelations will
sock you to the bone, more especially as a Southerner.
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| Fani Kayode and President Buhari |
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Excerpts
Whether he is President of Nigeria or King of the
North, Buhari would do well to retrace his steps. The consequences of not doing
so for both his government and the unity of our country will be grave and
costly. The south cannot be subjugated and treated with contempt and the people
of the South will never be slaves. Fairness and equity in the distribution of
national resources and key government appointments are a fundamental
pre-requisite for peace, security and national unity in our country.
In 418 B.C. Herodotus, the Greek philosopher who
is known as the “father of history”, said “a man who does not know anything
about the events that took place before he or she was born will remain forever
a child.” Not only was he right but one must go a step further by saying that
those who refuse to learn from their history are condemned to repeating its
mistakes.
In 1957, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Saurdana of Sokoto
and the Premier of the North, said the following: “We the people of the North
will continue our stated intention to conquer the South and to dip the Koran in
the Atlantic ocean after the British leave our shores.”
Three years later, on October 12, 1960, he went a
step further by saying the following words to the Parrot Newspaper:
“The new nation called Nigeria should be an estate of our great grandfather
Uthman Dan Fodio. We must ruthlessly prevent a change of power. We must use the
minorities in the North as willing tools and the South as a conquered territory
and never allow them to rule over us and never allow them to have control over
their future”.
That same year he said: “I will allow Sir Tafawa
Balewa to go and become Prime Minister and lead the unbelievers of the South
whilst I will stay in the North and lead the faithful”.
One year later, in a television interview with
the BBC (which can still be viewed on YouTube) he was asked whether his
“Northernisation Policy” would be a temporary or permanent feature. His
response was as follows. “In actual fact the policy is a northerner first. If
you cannot get a northerner then you get an expatriate like yourself on
contract. If we cannot get that then we will employ another Nigerian from the
south on contract too. This is going to be a permanent policy as far as I
forsee”.
Not to be outdone, in January 1947 on the floor
of the Northern House of Assembly, Sir Tafawa Balewa, a man who was to become
the first Prime Minister of Nigeria 13 years later, said the following words:
“We do not want our Southern neighbours to
interfere in our development. We have never associated ourselves with the
activities of these people. We do not know them, we do not recognise them, and
we share no responsibility in their actions. We shall demand our rights when
the time is ripe. If the British quit Nigeria now at this stage, the Northern
people would continue their uninterrupted conquest to the sea”.
The passion for the total domination of the
Nigerian state by the North has not in any way diminished over the years. As a
matter of fact it appears to have become even more pronounced and, for some, it
has become an obsession. Consider the following.
On October 2, 2014, one Aliyu Gwarzo said the
following to Pointblanknews:
“When I say that the Presidency must come to the
north next year I am referring to the Hausa-Fulani core north and not any
northern christian or minority tribe. The Christians in the north are nothing
and the minorities know that when we are talking about leadership in the north
and in Nigeria, Allah has given it to us, the Hausa-Fulani. They owe us
everything. This is because we gave them Islam through the great Jihad waged by
Sheik Usman Dan Fodio. We liberated all these places and all these people by
imposing islam on them by force. It was either the Koran or the sword and most
of them chose the Koran. In return for the good works of our forefathers Allah,
through the British, gave us Nigeria to rule and to do with as we please. Since
1960 we have been doing that and we intend to continue. No Goodluck or anyone
else will stop us from taking back our power next year. We will kill, maim,
destroy and turn this country into Africa’s biggest war zone and refugee camp
if they try it. Many say we are behind Boko Haram. My answer is what do you
expect? We do not have economic power or intellectual power. All we have is
political power and they want to take even that from us. If they don’t want an
ISIS in Nigeria then they must give us back the Presidency and our political
power. Their soldiers are killing our warriors and our people every day but
mark this: even if it takes one hundred years we will have our revenge. Every
Fulani man that they kill is a debt that will be repaid even if it takes 100
years. The Fulani have very long memories”.
The full text of Gwarzo’s contribution can be
read on Pointblanknews or elsewhere. His words are self-explanatory
and they need no further analysis. Thankfully his views do not represent the thinking
of the majority of Hausa Fulani people but he does speak for a dangerous and
vocal minority and his words constitute a clear statement of intent. Simply
put, it is his desire to conquer and subjugate Southern Nigeria and to restore
northern domination and supremacy in the affairs of our nation in perpetuity.
The quest for Northern domination in the affairs
of our country is as old as the hills. It led to a brutal civil war between
1967 and 1970 in which millions were killed. It led to pogrom after pogrom and
slaughter after slaughter in the North. It led to a series of military coups
and counter coups. In 1991, it led to a coup by Major Gideon Orkar which, if it
had been successful, would have resulted in the excision of the core Northern
states from our country. It led to the annulement of Chief MKO Abiola’s presidential
election of June 12, 1993, which almost resulted in a second civil war.
It led to the brutal suppression of the South by
General Sani Abacha and the murder, torture, incarceration and exile of many
southern leaders. It led to stiff opposition to the government of President
Olusegun Obasanjo in the North which came in the guise of “political sharia”.
And finally it led to it’s most barbaric and hideous expression in the
relentless opposition to the regime of President Goodluck Jonathan which came
in the form of Boko Haram.
Judging from recent events, with President Buhari
now in power it appears that those who have been lusting for total northern
domination for the last 55 years have finally had their way.
The inability to think deeply or profoundly is a
curse. The inability to read widely and learn from others is a pitiful and
costly affliction. If there were ever a time for profound thinking and deep and
sober reflection when it comes to the affairs of our nation, it is now. I say
this because only three months after President Buhari has been sworn into
office the power configuration, vis-a-vis North and South, has resulted in the
following mess.
1. President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria –
North. 2.Senate President – North. 3. Speaker of the House of Representatives –
North. 4. Chief Justice of the Federation – North. 5. President of the Court of
Appeal – North. 6. Chief Justice of the Federal High Court – North. 7.
Secretary to the Federal Government – North. 8. Chief of Staff to the President
– North. 9. Chief of Army Staff – North. 10. Chief of Air Staff – North. 11.
Comptroller General of Customs – North. 12. Director-General of State Security
Services (SSS) – North. 13. National Security Advisor – North. 14. Director
General, NIMASA – North. 15. Chairperson of the Independant Electoral
Commission (INEC) – North. 16. Comptroller-General Immigration – North. 17.
Accountant-General of the Federation – North. 18. Commander of Civil Defence
Corps – North. 19. Chief Security Officer to the President – North. 20. ADC to
the President – North. 21. Principal Secretary to the President – North. 22.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on media – North. 23. Chairman of the
EFCC – North. 24. MD Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) – North. 25. Head of Service
– North. 26. DG, National Communication Commission (NCC) – North. 27. Chairman
NDLEA – North. 28. CEO, AMCON – North.
There is no gainsaying that this is unacceptable.
Some of us warned that this would happen but we were insulted and lampooned for
doing so. These appointments are not only lopsided but they are also a
manifestation of the fact that in just three months southern Nigeria has
finally been relegated to being little more than an occupied region and a
vassal state. The people of the south appear to have been placed in servitude
and bondage. Our chains may be invisible but they are very much there.
The question must be asked: is Buhari the
President of Nigeria or is he the King of the North? Some have argued that the
federal character formula has no place in our affairs anymore and that merit
ought to be the only criteria for government appointments. Permit me to qoute a
young man from twitter who responded to that absurd logic rather well by saying
“if federal character isn’t important, why is the Vice President also not from
Daura? Educated people should not speak like illiterates”.
Others have said that we should wait for the
ministerial list and that after that things would balance out. Again this is
absurd logic and those that spout such convoluted thrash appear to have
forgotten the fact that the President is compelled by law and the constitution
to appoint a Minister from every state of the federation, including each of the
southern states.
Whether he is President of Nigeria or King of the
North, Buhari would do well to retrace his steps. The consequences of not doing
so for both his government and the unity of our country will be grave and
costly. The south cannot be subjugated and treated with contempt and the people
of the South will never be slaves. Fairness and equity in the distribution of
national resources and key government appointments are a fundamental
pre-requisite for peace, security and national unity in our country.
It has served our collective interest well for
many years. Those who seek to upset the applecart and jettison it today are not
considering the inevitable and monumental consequences of their actions. Power
may have returned to the North but the people of the South must be treated with
respect, sensitivity, dignity, fairness and decency. Those that refuse to
accept this counsel and that insist on charting a different course do so at
their own peril.
