By Ibrahyim A. El-Caleel
Nigeria is home to a handful of geographical confusions here and there. Two of these confusions are the “South-South” and “North-Central” regions.
We have four cardinal points— North, South, East, and West. Based on their intersection, we also have four intercardinal points— North East, North West, South East, and South West. There is no such thing as “South-South” or “North Central.” Nigeria created these two regions purely out of political correctness to appeal to the identity sensibilities of the people in those areas.
Therefore, instead of having four geopolitical zones, we ended up with six. The significance is mainly for resource allocation, political and electoral considerations, and other factors. However, I don’t see how this has helped the country. For example, despite the “South South” region receiving higher resource allocation as our host community,which earns us foreign exchange, it still lacks significantly compared to other parts of Nigeria in terms of infrastructure and educational facilities.
For the love of fragmentation, there are people who also call themselves the “Middle Belt” region, which is carved out of the “North Central, “ parts of the “North West,” and sections of the “North East. ” All this is done for political reasons, capitalizing on ethnicity and religion to achieve political gains that primarily benefit the leaders of that region. The ordinary Nigerian caught in these confusions only develops more hatred towards Nigerians from “other regions. ” Nevertheless, he will still face the same harsh economy as his brothers from other parts of Nigeria.
Nigeria’s geopolitical zones serve little practical purpose beyond politics. Take the North West, for example. Despite its supposed uniformity in sociocultural values, it has failed to tackle a basic social issue like the Almajiri child begging program. If geopolitical zoning were significant, North West states would have collaborated on a decisive plan to end this menace and secure the future of the next generation by putting them in school— whether formal or Islamic. But that never happens.
The only time the North West is relevant is during elections when discussions are dominated by talk of bloc votes from Kano, Kaduna, and Katsina. Beyond that, the geopolitical divisions serve merely as political tools, activated once every four years and quickly forgotten. Let me not forget that when it’s time to share resources, the NW leaders will suddenly emerge with their large population numbers to claim a significant share of the available freebies.