The bitter truth about Northern Nigeria kidnappings, killings and political leaders Haram (1), by Nura Jibo
(Tribute to Dr. Sulaiman Kumo and Dr. Mamud Tukur)
Fellow Nigerians, it is with unfathomable concern and seriousness that I am compelled to tell the bitter truth to all Northerners living in Nigeria and the ones that are residing and watching its events in diaspora. The Northern Nigeria situation is by now very clear to everybody.
Readers of this piece should forgive me because a write-up like this will be incomplete and meaningless without name-calling! Hence certain people must be mentioned bare if at all we are to seek for a common front and standpoints or search for a permanent solution to the northern abyss, and hopelessness! I hope to conclude this analysis in two weeks after which I am expecting reactionary northern brothers and sisters to crucify or abuse me of indifference. Whatever the case, I take responsibility, and I have no apology for anyone that takes offence!
If we agree to this, dear reader you are at chance and very free to call me names or even take to court to claim damages over this bitter exposition of the present situation of the people of the North.
No prophet of doom, soothsayer, fortune-teller or any northern leader so-called that can rescue the Northerners’ current quandary(s). The best all Nigerians can offer to the dejected North, including our Southern brothers and sisters is prayer.
Alas, the “best” Northerners can do is to keep on deceiving themselves often by writing “Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un” on Facebook; Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp. That’s the highest an average Northern intellectual who feels he/she can read and write commentary(s) whenever topical matters of national insecurity such as kidnappings and Boko Haram are unprofessionally, but deliberately reported by the BBC; DW; RFI and other international media outfits. I shall delve into this point in a separate piece after this one. Then I expect rebuttals from my BBC and DW friends. It is well and healthy!
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The Northern elite/ intellectuals’ disappointments
Before I proceed, it will be good to lay provocative backgrounds on this bitter truth with certain events that took place seventeen (17) years ago, which ended up as bundles of contradictions and disappointments.
To be precise, on Tuesday, 2 November 2004 at 12 pm I and ten (10) ‘likeminded’ people sat and had a meeting at Dr Kabiru Tsafe’s Office in ABU Zaria, Nigeria before proceeding to Kaduna to meet with late Dr Mamud Tukur (may Allah forgive his shortcomings) at his residence in Raba Road. The following people attended that Zaria meeting:
1. Prof. Ango Abdullahi
2. Late Dr Sulaiman Kumo (may Allah forgive him)
3. Late Dr Mamud Tukur (may Allah forgive him)
4. Malam Adamu Adamu (former Daily Trust Stable Friday columnist/ essayist and current Nigeria’s Minister of Education).
5. Late Malam Abba Kyari (former President Buhari’s Chief of Staff, may Allah forgive him).
6. Dr Kabir Tsafe (former Dean of Faculty of Arts, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria).
7. Alhaji Sabo Nanono (local agriculturalist and former President Buhari’s Minister of Agriculture) who was in absentia.
8. Malam Ibrahim Waziri of Iya Abubakar Computer Centre, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
9. Nura Jibo of the then Quantity Surveying Unit, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
10. Tukur Dan Mu’azu of Zazzau
11. Late Idrissa Umar (Dankaka) (may Allah forgive him) of the Department of Agriculture, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
These are the full names of the people that were enlisted by my very good friend and ally Mallam Ibrahim Waziri, Professor Emeritus Umaru Balarabe Ahmed, Dr Sanda Mohammed Yabo and I at Professor Umaru Balarabe’s residence in Congo Campus, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. It was after concluding on the list of the persons to be contacted that I and Ibrahim Waziri on the advice of Prof. Umaru Balarabe travelled to Kano to see late Dr Sulaiman Kumo and briefed him on the imperative of bailing out the then Northern Nigeria from its economic and political comatose.
Indeed, the whole idea of rescuing the North from its bad situation came from Ibrahim Waziri and I. It was ‘hatched’ right inside the sculpture garden of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
The aim was to bring Northern Nigeria intellectuals, elite, and people with vision, mission and genuine commitments that we thought could help us in improving the lives and livelihoods of Northern people. Apologies please to my Southern brothers and sisters. Your situation was by then far and a little bit better than your Northern brothers and sisters! Courtesy of the Abraham Adesanya’s, Justice Adewale Thompson’s, Tinubu’s and the Harry Marshal’s of the Southern Nigeria world! But even at that time, it was very clear that even yours was not in any way holier than thou! But if time permits I hope to unravel this in a separate analytical framework on the “Issues with Nigeria”.
To be continued.
Nura Jibo is a lifetime member of West African Research Association (WARA), African Studies Centre, Boston University, United States.
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