The bitter truth about Northern Nigeria kidnappings, killings and political leaders Haram (2), by Nura Jibo
Continuation…
Now back to the point on the Northern Nigeria disappointments and sheer deceits of its Northern elite, so-called intellectuals and elders.
The eleven-man committee (names above) came out with a robust strategy on how to tackle the plethora of issues such as poverty, insecurity, political and economic instabilities and other grovelling absurdities in the North.
Part of the agenda was to sensitize those that we think are elite on the troubles with the North and the objectives of coming together to bring out desired actions that are capable of removing completely the North from its dwindling situations.
Indeed, our Zaria meeting was aimed at identifying resource persons and senior citizens that we thought would work with an ultimate key objective of mobilizing the status quo and the powerless and relegated former presidents such as Shagari, Gowon, and Muhammadu Buhari against the backdrop of Obasanjo’s sectarian rivalry to the North.
The senior citizens that we enlisted to approach and talk them over our common problems of poverty, lack of education and political power were as follows:
Gowon (former Nigeria’s President); Shagari (former Nigeria’s President); Babangida (former Nigeria’s President); Sunday Awoniyi; M. Yahaya Gusau; Maitama Sule; Sarkin Fadan Kano; Inuwa Wada; Shettima Ali Monguno; Ajiyan Bauchi; Ibrahim Damcida; Wazirin Fika; Idrisu Koko; Ahmadu Kurfi; Ezekiel Yusuf; Damboyi Zang; J.C. Obande; Sidi Mamman Askarawa; Hamzat Ahmadu; Tilly Gyado (elder); Ahmad Joda; Magaji Mu’azu; Gen. Victor Malu; Olu Sola Saraki; Abdulsalam (former Nigeria’s President); Sule Katagum; Adamu Ciroma; Gen. Danjuma; Justice Mamman Nasir; Justice Bello; Marafan Sokoto; and Aminu Dantata etc.
These were the people that we picked and intended to meet with them in a very open and clear manner to discuss the Northern Nigeria problems and see how we can use their wisdom and grey hairs to salvage the region from its perturbed and pathetic situation. That was seventeen (17) years ago!
Prior to the Zaria meeting, on Saturday, 19 June 2004, late Malam Abba Kyari (a retired civil servant and very recently former President Buhari’s Chief of Staff); Adamu Adamu-the current Nigeria’s Minister of Education who was then a ravenous and prolific Newspaper columnist with Weekly and Daily Trust Stable; Ibrahim Waziri; Dr Mamud Tukur; Prof Ango Abdullahi and I sat in Kaduna at Dr Mamud Tukur’s residence to strategize our moves to tackle President Obasanjo’s unfair leadership treatment to the Northern region.
Indeed, one of the arrowheads of writing that strategy meeting minutes was Malam Adamu Adamu. Adamu took time to explain to Prof. Ango Abdullahi and us how to checkmate Obasanjo’s leadership ineptitude.
Hear Malam Adamu:
“As a result of the unprecedented misgovernance, coupled with a holier than thou attitude in the leadership that does not acknowledge its mistakes or take steps to look for solutions, Nigeria has today come face to face with the possibility of its self-destruction. Even the most optimistic and tough-minded believe in the inviolability of the corporate existence of the country, and have slowly come to accept the near inevitability of its eventual dissolution….”
Adamu Adamu continued thus: “…all attempts will be made to save Nigeria from an incompetent leadership, save it even from itself, and finally act on the myriad of the mistakes and problems inherent in its creation and founding so that it begins to march in the path of purposeful leadership”.
The reason why I quoted Adamu Adamu extensively is to make a case in point by drawing a cogent comparison over the ideas that he prophesized and amply wrote when he was not in power, and when he does not know anything about political leadership besides writing long Friday essays on the pages of Daily Trust and Weekly Trust Newspapers in the name of his “Definitions in Humour”.
In view of this, therefore, one may wish to, in the end, subject Malam Adamu Adamu – the essayist (not as Nigeria’s Education Minister) to the vagaries of his polemics and pathological misconception of developing the North or Nigeria via writing Newspaper literature that he misconstrued as something that can make his region grow.
Dear honourable reader, if time permits, I may eventually reproduce in full the minutes that Adamu took in our Zaria meeting at Dr Kabiru Tsafe’s Dean’s Office, Faculty of Arts, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. And for those that know the handwriting of Malam Adamu Adamu they will quickly identify it, especially the ones that knew him very well because he often writes those kinds of words in the name of bailing out the North from its calamitous situation.
Hence before the concluding part of this analysis, it will be better to lay a solid foundation for practical interesting scenarios of the Arewa crises. So that the entire Nigerians could see graphically and judge why the Arewa (North) problems of kidnappings and Boko Haram emerge and have apparently gone beyond tackling and solution.
Indeed, it is the disappointments of these so-called learned elders and elite that hardly stick to their fraught sincerity that ended up throwing the entire North into a Deja Vu phenomenon.
As one writes this it will be very important to state that our 17-year old intention to bail out the North from its chronic crises was to realistically approach the so-called Northern senior citizens individually as listed elsewhere in the course of this analysis to discuss and have a broad spectrum“antibiotics” for the Northern abject poverty and lack of education. The essence was to have a broad-based preponderance of younger generations, including technocrats, retired people and young and upcoming businessmen and women and genuine leaders.
Unfortunately, it was not only Adamu Adamu that disappointed the strategy meeting to rescue the North. Dr Kabiru Tsafe was also part of the heavy disappointments. Because at a point in time we found it extremely difficult to relate with him, because he was not coordinating well, and remained rather condescending and careless.
Indeed, that was the first Northern disappointments that often come and are usually displayed by Northern elite for reasons best known to them!
The point I am trying to make in telling this bitter truth to our people is to show and prove in the end that people such as Adamu Adamu that used his long essays and grammar in Daily Trust to impress the old and the ignorant pitched his tent with them very well by becoming a Minister under President Buhari’s cabinet, and it ends there! Because he has today proved to Nigerians beyond any doubt that he knows nothing about governance and political power. And the only thing that he has is the power of the pen, which is never enough qualification to be given an education Ministry to lead.
To the best of one’s knowledge, it was never heard that Honourable Minister Adamu Adamu’s had contributed to knowledge or education as a primary school, secondary or higher education teacher. At best he’s a freelance writer and an accountant! He confirmed this to all Nigerians when he goofed by sacking the Universities’ Governing Councils of certain universities in Nigeria.
Really, ours was a genuine effort to emphasize on unitizing and utilizing the abundant resources in the North and freak the conscience of Northerners in the areas of science and technology (not agriculture as you were dubiously made to believe); solid and liquid minerals; and take their advantages. Our main focus was to make these so-called northern elite and elders recognize first the inherent dangers and blind investments that they presided over the people and children of the North in the name of leadership that today make the region a slave entity in whatever monster emerges as Nigeria after President Buhari is through with the country in a year or so.
Nura Jibo is a lifetime member of West African Research Association (WARA), African Studies Centre, Boston University, United States.
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