Hausa

By Dr Abubakar Mohammed Gombe

It is interesting to understand the divine marriage between a country and its citizens, specifically between Nigeria and Nigerians. In such a marriage, no amount of lives lost puts asunder. The mysterious marriage keeps producing low-quality products who believe eliminating half brothers will better their lives. Nonetheless, the marriage produced the golden voice of the continent that was, however, eliminated by the products of his mother.

The first army General who coordinated the marriage affair was also eliminated by the same products. Many more military coordinators in charge of the Nigerian marriage were eliminated. The latest were the homemade healthy transition of General Sani Abacha GCON; the prison made transition of MKO Abiola with General Shehu Musa Yaradua, and the contagious transition of President Umaru Musa Yaradua GCON. Yet, the marriage stands. It was only death that did them part.

A three-year civil war could not put asunder. The Ojukus were forcefully retained for the survival of the marriage of interest that occasionally accepts religious and tribal killings and hailing such acts by pardoning popular champions like General Zamani Lekot of the Zangon Kataf crises by the IBB regime and rehabilitating others for communal reintegration by the Buhari regime. These are sincerely done to sustain the cracked marriage until death.

The emergence of popular movements like Boko Haram, IPOB, Kidnapping, Cattle rustling, Herdsmen, Bandits, and Terrorism move to ensure the marriage failure. Still, the lifetime Unity in Corruption among the children of the marriage, which recently pardoned Joshua Dariye and Jolly Nyame, is stronger than the distraction of the popular movement groups that also exploit brothers of the same marriage.

While Unity in Corruption ensures poor education for brothers and sisters of the same marriage, BH went on destroying primary and secondary schools. They also vandalized electricity supplying poles and transformers to complement Unity in Corruption’s idea of rural electrification. IPOB, in its territorial states, declares Monday as an additional weekend while Kaduna officially declares Friday as the beginning weekend. In their territorial states, Bandits know all the army free zones where they peacefully operate without stepping on army toes. Cattle rustlers also know where there are no cattle, and so, instead of taking away cattle, they take the lives of entire villages that provoke them by not keeping cattle, their needs.

Nigerian lives are not safe on the road, on rail and at the airport. One finds it difficult to comprehend a passage in which children of the same mother kill within the home. Yet, the marriage stands and keeps producing children. Everyone identifies with the mother in a polygamous family and blames half brothers. In the Nigerian case, there is only one mother with several tribal lands. It seems only the Fulani have no land. Yet, the Fulani also join the powerful elites’ movement of Unity in Corruption. Under the same mother, the socio-political and economic status becomes the dividing line. The certified children that form Unity in Corruption blame the Almajiri for retrogression.  

Then, the most disturbing effort of closing universities to seek the attention of the I Assure You Regime by the educated class that formed ASUU appeared with the support of their supporting staff of SSANU and NASU to seek revitalization. ASUU believes closing universities and sending brothers and sisters home will pain Unity in Corruption. It indeed doesn’t. Instead, ASUU complements Unity in Corruption in denying access to university education and actualizing BH’s mission while in self and family hunger. While most state universities in the north religiously observe the ASUU strike, some state universities in the south graduate students. Yet, the marriage stands till death do us part.  

Considering the time, the response of the previous regimes, the regime of assurance with less action, and the possible incoming regime, ASUU ought to have a comprehensive retreat, call off its hunger strike, restrategize and declare regime change in Nigeria with the support of SSANU, NASU, Colleges, Polytechnics, NUT, students, parents and good citizens.

All Nigerians are deeply involved, and all political and armed movements are sponsored either to sustain Nigeria’s marriage for sponsors’ personal gain or to put asunder. With all the prophesies, projections and armed movements, the marriage of amalgamation remains. What Nigeria needs is the game-changer, and that changer can be found in ASUU. Nigeria needs focus and determination. ASUU must go into governance en mass. Otherwise, one or two members hardly make a meaningful impact.

ASUU should simply declare for the office of the Federal and State University Visitors, Senatorial Districts, Federal and State Houses of Assembly in the 2023 general elections and work with SSANU, NASU, Colleges, Polytechnics, Monotechnics, NUT, students, parents and good citizens. Nigeria must be saved. We remain Nigerians till death do us part. 

ASUU must retain its strong UTAS team and set in motion its national planning and enforcement team, policy enforcement team, economic team, company revival and creation team, employment creation team, national security management team, education monitoring team, patriotism enforcement team, salary and pension enforcement team, manufacturing promotion team, local and international lobby team, Crude oil and refinery enforcement team, action or resignation enforcement team, among others,  

Let’s use our hunger to save our country. With ASUU, SSANU, NASU, Colleges, Polytechnics, Monotechnics, NUT, students, parents and good citizens, Nigeria can be saved.

Let’s save Nigeria till death do us part.

Dr Abubakar Mohammed Gombe wrote from Gombe State University. He can be reached via amgombe2@yahoo.com or +23408060839578.

By Habib Korede

Restructuring has been a topic on Nigeria’s news headlines for decades, and as the 2023 general election approaches, ‘restructuring’ is one optics for political campaigns. However, the unification of Nigeria, which has continually stirred this debate, results from the colonials’ avarice but has fortunately been a blessing.

Before the colonials, Nigeria was home to over 300 ethnic groups, with Hausa in the North, Igbo in the South-East, and Yoruba in the South-West, as the three dominant ethnic groups. These ethnic groups operate under various separate entities such as ethno-religious, geo-regional, and political nationalities under caliphate, kingdoms, and empires,

The colonials amalgamated these entities through divide and rule policy on 1 January 1914, following Frederick Lugard’s recommendation. The colonials take full advantage of their exploration of the country by sternly concentrating power at the centre to favour their political and imperial interests instead of laying a good foundation for nation-building. This has become a puzzle for Nigeria in the post-colonial era. 

Struggles for inclusion at the centre and resource allocation have resulted in many heated controversies, distrust, compromise, and violent conflicts. These include the crisis that emanated in the 1959 and 1964 federal elections, the January and July 1966 coups, the three years civil war of 1967–1970 when the Igbo region wanted to secede into Biafra, followed by several bloody coups and counter-coups.

The unity of Nigeria has also been threatened by various ethno-religious conflicts resulting from bad governance, such as the Kaduna State Zangon-Kataf crisis in 1987, 12 June 1993, Moshood Abiola’s presidential election annulment crisis, and return to the military junta in November 1993.

The return to the democratic system of government under the leadership of Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, which gave birth to the presidency of Obasanjo in May 1999, led to a rapid paradigm shift in Nigerian political history.

Deterioration in the governance of the country sparked several protests. Protests like the 2012 fuel subsidy removal and the 2020 #EndSARS that resulted in the death of protesters are only a few examples.

From 1999 to date, every region of the country has shown dissatisfaction with the status quo. This dissatisfaction has led to several agitations and overheating of the country’s polity, which metamorphosed to ethno-religious and inter-communal crises, such as the year 2000 Kaduna crisis, the 7–13 Sep. 2001 Jos crisis, and so on.

These crises triggered the formation of several ethno-militia groups such as the Oodua Peoples Congress, Indigenous People of Biafra, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Niger Delta Avengers, the Boko Haram insurgency, banditry and the coordinated Fulani/Herdsmen-Farmers conflict. These militias are agent provocateurs that simultaneously unleash terror in the country to disrupt governance, leading to several national conversations, such as restructuring, decentralisation, creation of state police, and separation. 

The rising agitation for a restructured Nigeria results from perceived marginalisation, discouraging national leadership, identity crisis, ethno-religious intolerance, the concentration of power at the centre, and lack of patriotism.

However, different scholars have interpreted the word ‘restructuring’ differently, and both the antagonists and protagonists for a restructured Nigeria dissent on its meaning. Though, I see restructuring as ‘using an efficient medium to restore a collapsing building to save everyone in the building.’  

From 1914 to 2014, eleven constitutional conferences were held to strategise the most favourable federal system and resource sharing policy to keep the regions satisfied and united. However, the 2014 national conference confirmed inequality in the demand of all the country’s parts. Each region demands a policy for their vested interest even when it disfavours the unity and progress of the country. 

The Southern region suggests the country should revert to the regionalism of the 1963 constitution. Still, this suggestion was frayed by the fear of dominance and marginalisation of the minorities from future governance of the majority in these regions. 

Besides, the founding fathers of Nigeria were more selfless and patriotic than the current group of leaders, and the country’s population is higher than it was; these will make regional governance in contemporary Nigeria impracticable. 

Decentralisation of power and the emergence of state police, as suggested by many, will aid in the production of a pool of authoritarian state governors whose misuse of power will decline the country’s democracy. But, as mentioned by the former president of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, ‘the stronger the boat of (democracy), the more it is able to meet the challenges of its voyage and deliver on its promise to citizens.’

Notwithstanding, the Northern region focused on creating additional states and power rotation among the six geo-political zones. Obviously, creating more states will further deteriorate the already weak economy because of the unnecessary administration cost. 

It is noteworthy that the clamour for creating a new state is not for developmental reasons but political purposes. This will abet the emergence of unproductive parasitic state elites, lead to the agitation for creating additional states, and eventually actuate the aggressive Balkanisation of Nigeria. Like Yugoslavia, East Timor, the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and South Sudan. 

The systemic restructure of Nigeria will be insurmountable. The 1999 constitution stands as a considerable constraint to the systemic and resource restructuring because of the intricate processes involved in amending the constitution. This is one of the reasons the 2014 national conference ended in a stalemate; Nigerian leaders benefit from the current state of affairs in the country. They manipulate the system for their selfish interests. These leaders capitalise on the gullibility of the average Nigerian by using ‘restructuring’ as a campaign strategy to divide Nigerians, to amass votes at the polls after every four years. 

Because Nigeria has remained an indivisible entity for over 100 years shows the unity of the country. The many challenges Nigeria is facing arises from the selfishness of the leaders and the mindset of the citizens. It is eminent that Nigerians should recognise the power in population and diversity before it is too late. Thomas Malthus explains that: ‘The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power on the Earth to produce subsistence for man’.

Nigerians yearn for a prosperous Nigeria, and Nigerians need to know that prosperity comes with unity, sacrifices, and patience. ‘The cost of disintegration (of Nigeria) is higher than the cost of being together. We have everything to gain by being united than disunited,’ as stated by the former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo.

The perennial agitation for restructuring and separation ensues from bad governance, corruption, insecurity, nepotism, and ethnic intolerance.

Achieving two concurrent goals will solve these problems: the first will be to intensify the country’s social structure, which will aid in reconciling Nigerians and redefine the perception Nigerians perceive Nigeria. The second will be strengthening the central government by building robust institutions where no one is above the law and where meritocracy always supersedes mediocrity.

Social restructuring of Nigeria is achievable under different progressions: by prioritising civic education and history at the basic education level; refurbishment of unity primary and secondary school across the country; the national youth service corps should continue to aid the youths of the country to explore the diverse cultures and enhance pragmatic multicultural solutions to the country’s problem; there should be an effective orientation agency that will be responsible for sufficient enlightenment of the masses, particularly on peace and unity of the country; and investing in intercultural dialogue.

When there is an unarguable socially restructured Nigeria, patriotism will augment, and every other thing will fall into place.

Most of the 36 states governors are doing a lot of things wrong. Still, the centre always receives the blame because of the rising weakness in the capacity of the central government to sanction the misappropriation of resources and bad governance by the state government adequately. Building powerful autonomous institutions will strengthen the central government.

Powerful institutions will enhance check and balance in the activities of the other arm of the government, which will help filter the best candidate for the leadership position in the public sector, and will unquestionably prosecute the guilty ones.

Powerful institutions will promote democracy and credible leaders. In the words of Chinua Achebe, ‘Nigeria is what it is because its leaders are not what they should be.’

Nigeria, a country with the fastest growing economy in Africa, the highest GDP on the continent, and the sixth most populous country globally, has all the potential required to become the world superpower. Good governance will enhance an excellent economy, peace, stability, and prosperity.

According to Ibrahim Index of African Governance, good governance is ‘the provision of the political, social and economic goods that any citizen has the right to expect from his or her state, and that any state has the responsibility to deliver to its citizens’.

Therefore, when the citizens are getting all the social and economic values they are expecting from the government, no region will have the urge to clamour for restructuring or separation of the country. However, there cannot be good governance when there is no equity, equality, transparency, inclusiveness, accountability, justice and responsiveness in the country’s activities

Habib Korede is a BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering graduate and a writer. He authored Propelling Success, and The Kalahari Review has featured his work. He can be reached via habibkorede247@gmail.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam 

Materialism is not limited to friendship or brotherhood; marriages and relationships also suffer greatly.

Friendship and brotherhood are gradually losing their true meaning, if not buried at all, because of this sudden shift of behaviour to materialism, The Daily Reality gathered. 

The menace led and is still leading to the breakdown of many relationships, including marriages, thereby manifesting itself into a serious problem in society – such as the increase in the number of widows and heartbreaking individuals.

The Daily Reality speaks with some people on this issue.

People like Aisha Mujitaba believe that guys pretend to be rich in life in order to woo girls.

“Nowadays, both loves and marriages are based on materialism; that is how equivocation and deception have chipped in in the process of getting married.

“Guys pretend to be wealthy in order to win girls’ hearts. Consequently, when they are joined in matrimony, the true nature of what the person is will be revealed. This leads to the breakdown of relationships,” Aisha said.

Parents were also accused of encouraging this lingering issue in society, according to Suwaiba Umar. 

She said, “Today, parents encourage their children to marry rich people. Marriages nowadays are not for the sake of Allah, the almighty. That is why guys make-believe a big life.”

Frowning at this behavioural change, Juwairiyya Aminu compared marriages in the past and marriages today.

She said, “Marriage in those days was entirely different from the marriage in these days, including the process, lefe (trousseau), ceremonies and whatnot.”

Both girls and their parents find it very exciting to have rich as their husbands or sons-in-law, making it difficult for the poor to get married.

“A poor man finds it very difficult to be loved, much less being married. But when a rich person proposes, without hesitation or any proper investigation on his religion, habit or maturity, he will be accepted,” Sa’adatu Shu’aibu.

Buhari Ahmad posited that guys fear being rejected by the girls, let alone the parents. For this, he said, “Guys make a pretence of big life out of fear of being rejected by girls and their parents.

“That is why guys now rent clothes, hats, shoes, bikes or even cars when visiting their suitors.” 

Materialism: What Brings About It?

Dr Muhammad Sulaiman Abdullahi is a lecturer at the Department of Nigerian Languages, Bayero University, Kano. He told this reporter in an interview that many reasons made our society materialistic.

“There are so many reasons which contribute to the moral decadence we are witnessing today in the Hausa society. I can summarily list them as follows:

“1. Deficiency in terms of Islamic education and pursuing more in terms of Western educational life and style.

2. Negative modernity

3. Access to the new media and multi-media stuff which led to increasing in absorbing haram items.

4. Lack of proper orientation, etc.”

The solution to materialistic life

“Having sound Islamic education and fear of Allah, pursuing what is halal in any form of education and social life; and abiding strictly to Islamic teachings are the solution,” Sulaiman added.

By Muhammad Isyaku Malumfashi 

People nowadays cease to understand that everything in this life is ‘do me, I do you’. Nonetheless, very few people have the discretion of paying good for the bad input. 

On several occasions, I have heard people complaining about why others don’t treat them as they had treated them or relate with them politely. But, unfortunately, even my humble self is not an escaped or sacred being to that temptation, to be honest. 

People want to be treated more kindly than they treat others. But we often forget that life is “reciprocal”. We don’t get in return more than what we do give. However, the clean-minded people would always do good even if otherwise was done to them and vice-versa. 

I recently witnessed fascinating neighbourly scenarios, which will be the foundation of this piece.

An elder brother from a distancing place narrated a heart-touching story between him and the community members in one of the states in the West. He lived there for a while as a civil servant. He left on transfer to another workplace.

That brother is a northerner who was lucky to have come from parents who nurtured good parental upbringing to their children so that they could live with others even when the parents are no more, and the children might still be young. 

His transfer announcement threw the entire mosque to sombre as if life was about to be lost. Now, come to think of it. This man was transferred from North to West for public service. Still, he understands that despite the seeming differences in culture and religion to some extent. We’re all humans and citizens of this beloved country, so we can still live in peace and harmony. And that was the secret behind his love by those people.

Similarly, a female Christian neighbour in our school’s postgraduate hostel was robbed on her way back home to  South-South from school for Christmas and New Year season. The news shocked us. We were all disturbed for not reaching out to her to sympathize because the phones were confiscated during the robbery, plus other valuables.

As a mature woman, she always takes precautions while interacting with us to maintain the opposite sex. You know North is very sensitive about religion. However, her friendly attitude made us so open to her. We once had a total blackout at the hostel for three weeks due to the theft of some expensive fuse from the transformer. This woman collected our laptops and phones down to the school’s clinic to charge. She still did that though their law didn’t allow anybody outside the clinic to charge there. Then, sometimes unknown to us, she would cook and take it to our rooms and plead with us to bless the food. 

Another case study was a female Christian corp member serving in our school. The corp member hails from West, but she’s that kind of person one could describe as snobbish. She stays in the PG hostel with us too, but you hardly see her talking or greeting people. Her case was not a familiarity issue as many females in the hostels socialize far better than many males.

Her fate came during Christmas and New Year seasons. I’m a living witness because I didn’t travel earlier for that break until I submitted my chapter three to my supervisor. One day, when coming from the town, I overheard her complaining to someone on the phone that she’s tired of this Katsina, adding that the people are not as hospitable and accommodating as being alleged. Nobody wished her Merry Christmas except those calling on the phone from distant places. She added that some people even frowned at her when they met as if they wanted to fight her. The submission came to me as a shock!

More so, a respected former corp member and brother from North Central who served in my local government area recently unfolded his ordeal on how some of our people maltreated him during his national service. Even though he deserved to be retained but nepotism didn’t allow it. 

Furthermore, I witness many such scenarios where in one way or the other, someone falls victim to “not being our tribe person or just for me been a Muslim and Hausa in the South”, but I never used that to stereotype the southerners. Because if some hurt me, I was accommodated and loved by others of the same tribe. Thus, every society has the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

May we be the reason why others will anticipate our race.

Muhammad Isyaku Malumfashi sent this via muhammadisyakumalumfashi@gmail.com.

By Ismail Hashim Abubakar

Although the articulation of the presidential ambition of Bola Ahmed Tinubu (if actually this his real name) is seizing the attention of the public these days, Tinubu’s psyche might have likely become fraught with political confusion since 2020 when Mamman Daura gave the popular BBC interview on competence as the chief criterion for Buhari’s succession, rather than regional or ethnic consideration. 

This time around, the greed of  Bola Ahmed Tinubu seems even to surpass that of Atiku Abubakar. The man is using every channel to realise his (of course, legitimate) ambition while at the same time subjecting himself to more public shame. The man has become too wild in his bid to realise his dream of emerging as President, and there is a strong indication that he can go to any length to achieve his goal.

However, Tinubu is in a very disadvantageous position occasioned by the mixture of his ethno-religious and geographical inclination. The man is a Muslim, no one doubts, but of course, a very nominal Muslim who favours ethnic proclivities more than religious brotherhood and solidarity.

Based on clear historical evidence, to Tinubu, a Yoruba Christian is far better than a Muslim of any linguistic extraction. However, his hatred for the Hausa is beyond any human quantification. The series of brutal massacres of northern Muslims by government-backed OPC in the Southwest, especially Lagos when Tinubu was governor, still evokes gory memories in the minds of many Muslims, and this will play well as Nigeria approaches the general election in 2023.

Nevertheless, the shaky religious credentials of Tinubu, besides the status of his wife as Christian and his Christian handlers, do not at all make him a Christian or outside the fold of Islam. If that is the case, if, for example, he is nominated to contest for President, CAN and Nigerian Christians will never accept him as their representative, lest it means his running mate can be a Muslim.

Moreover, for most Muslims, especially in the North, Tinubu does not have enough moral credentials to be nominated as a Muslim candidate with any (northern) Christian candidate. Many northerners, in fact, will prefer a Christian from the South and a strong Muslim from the North to be paired to contest for the big office rather than Tinubu.

Tinubu’s visit to Kano a few days ago and his meeting with important and influential clerics in the city would not likely be sufficient to make his ambition sellable. Likewise, the many (courteous) praises showered on him by some Muslim scholars during the visit will not help him either.

So far, this is the dilemma that Tinubu has found himself in. My biggest fear, which I pray situations will not lead to that, is if all the above peculiarities tend to remain the huge stumbling block in the way of Tinubu to the Villa, and he may be left with no option but one: to publicly proclaim to accept Christianity. This decision will then mark his burial in the cemetery of Nigerian politics.

Ismail Hashim Abubakar wrote from Rabat and can be reached via ismailiiit18@gmail.com.

By Aisha Abdullahi Bello

As the principal of a renowned private school here in Kano, I am saddled with many responsibilities, from managing the school’s activities to attending to visitors, sometimes from the ministry, other times parents of our students. This goes on and on and on throughout the term till the end.

On one of such tiring occasions, after the day’s work, I was trekking home as usual (I don’t have a car) when I saw some middle-aged men, most probably in their late 30’s conversing. At first, what they were discussing was incoherent. But as I walked closer to where they were seated, I began to get a grasp of what they were arguing about.

The conversation goes thus: you ‘Ausa’ (Hausa) men don’t know ‘au’ to pronounce English words, says one of the two men who looks just like a Yoruba man. This word ear (here) is ‘ferry’ and not ‘berry’, he adds with all seriousness.

The other guy, who is undoubtedly a Hausa man, then replies by saying,’ you are the ones who do not know how to fronounce (pronounce) English words correctly. Look, says the Hausa man, the word is pronounced ‘berry’ and not ‘ferry’.

As curious as I am, maybe due to my position as a teacher, I went close to them demanding to see the word which is the bone of contention that resulted in the heated debate. Lo! And Behold! The actual word they were all referring to is ‘Very’

Aisha Abdullahi Bello teaches English at Kuntau Science Academy, Kano. She could be reached via: aishaabdullahibello@gmail.com.

By Musa Kalim Gambo

January 15 marks 56 years since the gruesome murder of Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of Northern Nigeria. To borrow a few words from Shakespeare, both were like Colossus under whose giant feet the North strode.

The description of that Saturday’s night events still haunts many of us here in the North. Though we sincerely believe that Allah must have predestined that these servants of His were not going to exceed that day on earth, and they would die from the bullets of Igbo-led soldiers. It is still a tragedy we will never forget.

On Tuesday, January 11, Daily Trust published an opinion piece written by my excellent friend Sa’adatu Aliyu titled “Igbos too deserve Nigeria’s presidency”. When I saw the title, at first, I thought it must have been written by an Igbo ethnic nationalist from South-Eastern Nigeria, for she is expressing an opinion that is utterly alien to Northern Nigeria’s political thought and discourse. One should expect this line of thinking to come from the Igbo because the Igbo elite has popularized this illusory notion of exclusion from Nigeria’s corridors of power, especially Aso Rock, as one of the major precursors for secessionist agitation in today’s Nigeria.

By the way, this is the ethnic group that produced Nigeria’s first civilian president, Nnamdi Azikiwe, in the 1960s. Then, again on the return of democracy in 1979, Chief Alex Ekwueme emerged as Nigeria’s Vice-President.

In 2019, Atiku Abubakar had Peter Obi, a former governor of an Igbo state, as a running-mate. Unfortunately, it was a wrong calculation, and we saw how it ended. One of Obi’s major sins that stained Atiku’s ticket is that as a governor in Anambra state, he reportedly came up with policies that frustrated Northern traders and artisans in his state. This sin is an expression of the general attitude towards the Northerner in the South-East region – where the Northerner is perceived with disdain and attacked in the event of any slight provocation.

Again we cannot forget Sardauna’s warning about the Igbo tendencies and quest for dominance in every little sphere of endeavour. This warning and the pain of Sardauna’s murder is still with many of us.

But it is important to understand that even without this fear of domination, the Igbo vote on its own is inconsequential in the making of a president in a democratic Nigeria. So even without January 15, which now resembles the Roman Ides of March, when power mongers assassinated Julius Caesar, the Igbo will not make it to the president.

However, suppose we have an Igbo man in the line of succession within the political equation. In that case, a natural tragedy as it happened to Umaru Musa Yar’adua may undeservedly promote an Igbo man to occupy the exalted seat of the president. And that will be a pure work of Providence that the North will pray for God to forbid.

Some people suspect that an average Northerner hates the Igbo man; that is a wrong assumption. No, the Northerner is comfortable doing business with the Igbo man, as can be seen by the presence of Igbo businesses in every village, town, and city in the North. However, in the political scene, the average Northerner is apprehensive about the Igbo man at the apex of political power. The Northerner does not want January 15 to repeat itself in terms of the elimination of our most revered political leaders.

In the end, I like to re-emphasize, as has been emphasized by many Northern political elites, we are in a democracy. An Igbo man is free to purchase a ticket on any political party’s platform to run for any political office, including the president. If he can generate the requisite number of votes to win the election, who will stand in his way?

Let it be known very well that the presidency of this country is not a baton in a relay race that would just be handed over to the next athlete standing. No, it is a tug of war with competing parties pulling against each other on opposing sides. So, no one should come here again with that sense of entitlement declaring that the Igbos deserve Nigeria’s presidency too. Instead, they should be advised to jump into the arena and fight for the seat with the full knowledge that the North’s deciding population will not clap for them. We study and honour history, its figures, and defining events in the North.

Now, on January 15, and every other day, let’s not forget to pray for Allah’s mercy and blessing upon the souls of Sirs Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Ahmadu Bello, and all other departed heroes of ours who had the progress and development of our region and people at the centre of their hearts.

Gambo writes from Zaria, Kaduna State, via kalimatics@gmail.com

By Lawi Auwal Yusuf

The amalgamation of the protectorates in 1914 predetermined a united state for multiple precolonial chiefdoms. Highly diverse Nigeria featured by a rainbow of cultures is deeply fractioned along ethnic and religious lines.

Imperial misrule left a bad legacy for national unity. Regional devolution caused intense tussles among regional forces over the powerful central authority, which was the basis for post-independence sectarian disputes.

Thus, six-year-old Nigeria witnessed a catastrophic separatist war that took the lives of many heroes. Since the aftermath of the bloodletting, the country has been bedevilled with lingering ethno-nationalisms coupled with regular fatal brawls between the tribes. This was due to extreme polarization and segregation of the heterogeneous groups with no sense of togetherness, community cohesion and dovishness. 

Deeply ingrained tensions have been the order of the day. Igbos accuse Northerners of their grief and impeding their chances of realising the apex power. The Northerners equally see the Igbos as power maniacs. Yorubas feel discontented with the status quo, while minorities have the impression of a roughshod ride over them.

Tribal and religious absolutism are awful threats as multiculturalism has failed, and communities have become ever more fragmented. Patriotism has eroded, and Nigerians are less tied by the bond of nationality. They are no longer one united people and do not regard themselves as national brothers with a sense of shared identity. Hence, there is an absence of the desired unity in diversity, tolerance and integration.

Politicians must develop the impulse and genuine commitment to national unity. They must believe that this is a dire task that transcends beyond cultural exhibitions, festivities or even wearing traditional attires of host communities during political rallies. Instead, it requires solid whims, sacrifice and effective policies.

Technocrats are required to accomplish this task efficiently. They must design policies that ensure equitable treatment of the ethnocultural groups alongside the creation of space for all the divergent voices to be heard. Everybody must have a say in society. Moreover, they must devise ways to live together harmoniously, without prejudice or malice.

Integration is so effective in ensuring peaceful coexistence between fractious groups. Therefore, increased contact across the nation should be emphasised, and Nigerians should increasingly intermingle with one another. This will allow people to live closer to one another, work amicably, and ensure that relations remain peaceful. Therefore, disputes will vanish obstinately.

This can only be realised if there is an honour for individual cultural preferences in public life. All institutions must make special provisions for all Nigerians’ choices and cultural needs. So, everybody will develop a worthy stake in the social order. Policies must be put in place to accommodate the values, diet, dressing, spiritual convictions, and practices respectably.

We need to facilitate multilingualism by encouraging people to learn several native languages. Speaking one another’s languages diminishes suspicion, tensions and conflict. This will also build trust, honour and understanding across all cultures.

Social exclusion creates deficient opportunities for disadvantaged/minority groups suggesting that they don’t have equal rights. As a result, they are treated as second class citizens, hindering cohesion and egalitarianism featured by social inclusion and pluralism. Moreover, it leads to distress to the abandoned groups, which poses a persistent threat of disharmony. However, institutions must make efforts to meet the needs of all communities and not tilt towards the needs of a particular section.

Regrettably, the tribes have distorted perceptions of each other. Malevolence aggravates because of misleading histories and myths falsifying the reality and typically portraying others as diabolic. They hold malicious convictions and stereotype each other based on their previously treated beliefs. Any trivial provocation warrants the impression and becomes a basis for vengeance. The exasperation of hostilities by IPOB, ESN, Afenifere and others are clear examples.

It is needful to enact a statute outlawing attitudes of these tribes calling one another with derogatory or slur names that denigrate or demonise others. Ethnicities hardly unite if they are abusing one another.

The present mass idleness must be evaded alongside the creation of decent jobs. Graduates happen to be jobless long after they have left school. Similarly, numerous unknowledgeable youths remain redundant. Ethnic and religious skirmishes intensify every day due to hardships encountered by youths in their efforts to have a lawful means of subsistence. Many of them have the requisite skills and qualifications but found them not helpful in securing employment. They have fallen victim to anxieties, delays, and disparagement and developed a strong feeling of despair, oppression, and unfairness. Hence, they engage in crimes or sectional clashes to counter the injustice and avoid the distress of poverty.

With such dissimilarities in all parts of society, tolerance is indispensable if Nigerians want to live in peace. The capacity to live in a plural society will secure a harmonious future for multiethnic Nigeria. However, Martin Luther King Jr. once said to Americans at the peak of racial segregation that “we must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

Lawi Auwal Yusuf wrote from Kano, Nigeria. He can be reached via laymaikanawa@gmail.com.

By Alkasim Harisu Alkasim

The challenges of marriage are common knowledge within and outside Nigeria. To sensible people, marriage is a keystone of luxury life. Yet, although marriage sometimes falls short of happiness and peace, personal uprightness and esteem still accompany and embellish those in the industry.

The marriage industry is chaotic. It is now commonplace to see overaged women competing for the love of a single male person alongside younger ladies. This explains how choked the industry is. Marriage, as an institution, demands a lot from us. To excel in this business, one has to school himself in patience, courage and determination. Otherwise, one will do a lousy job, and things will go south. 

In today’s materialistic world, what we call true love is lacking. Money buys love. A person can date a highborn woman even if he is lowborn. What allows him to do so is bucks. In cultures such as Indian, there is what they call a “caste system” that stratifies the society whereby one marries from within one’s caste. Interclass marriage is an abomination and, thus, a bad omen. Excessive expenses usher marriage.

In northern Nigeria today, to marry means a lot. One has to break the bank to afford marriage and multitask to afford to run a family. The trousseau he will gather robs him of too much money. If not loaded, one will feel like breathing his last while readying himself for this Sisyphean task.

Many a great family pressure prospective male spouses a lot to the extent they feel compelled to compensate their colossal expenditure by undertreating the girls they wed. The sight of the girls bores them; as a result, they start to mistreat them. This also purges them of the hate they hold for these exploitative families.

Poverty is raging, and the employment industry is becoming more competitive. Degree holders swarm places looking for well-paying jobs. As a result, some graduates are now resorting to low jobs that discredit scholarship and the status they are beginning to build. Some, willy nilly, accept works that break the back and pay low, thanks to the devastating nature of Nigeria’s economy.

Telling a greedy girlfriend that your wages or salary is not handsome implies losing her.  It once happened to my friend whose name I won’t mention here, for I feel that should be private. This happened when his family went to the girlfriend’s place. His father honestly told them about the level of income of his son. This bitter truth opened for my friend Pandora’s box. The relationship had since then staggered. In short, the two lovebirds have parted ways.

What hardens the issue of marriage in the North is our belittling the effort of even the hardworking people. We neither accept what our sons-in-law present nor study the situation on the ground. We need to wise up on this. But, unfortunately, some circumstances press people to do only those things that top their priorities.

It is worrisome that many families capitalise on their children’s beauty to milk boys of all their money. Such homes allow their daughters to tryst (zance) with more than a person at a time. In some houses, queues are made every day for a single girl. Boys take turns. Sometimes, some inpatient boyfriends cut in on the conversations of their co-suitors. What a world! The girl is seen as a moneymaking machine. Likely, after cashing in on her suitors, the girl will go out of fashion. Her beauty and charisma will decrease. As she puts on age, her boyfriends vanish, and the likelihood to marry a dream husband reduces. Now it is her younger sisters’ time. When it salaams at their home, the sendee will mention the name of her younger sisters instead. It will take time before she gets dated by somebody. Indeed life is a roller coaster. 

The social commerce between a girl and a boy worsens when the girl’s family pressure the boy for money. As he feels absolutely tired of lifting the girl’s responsibilities, he looks for a way to benefit from the dealing. The social intercourse between a girl and a boy does not stop at the former’s house as the duo rendezvous at their chosen spots. Now, the love glue between them starts to grow stronger. He will undeniably feel the urge to do the unlawful with her to the level he begins bedding her.

The groom has to pay dowry that a time costs him much. There is an amount which, if he pays below, he will have his money returned or hotly debated right at the place where the thing of the knot is occurring. In some instances, such disagreement plants in the groom’s family some disregard for the bride’s home. A bride needs to be lodged and fed. And if the groom doesn’t have his own house, he will have to find a place to sleep with his wife. Today’s brides come with vast furniture; the groom has to look for a house that sleeps like five people to contain his wife’s belongings. 

Believe it or not, the complexion of our societies has changed; we are not aiming at uprightness. We are after money and money-related things. If you are monied, you are everything. You can marry who you want. One can be immoral and still have a choice wife. That is why the deep-pocketed hire people to fake it as their parents/relatives. A bastard, in the world of today, betters a son borne in wedlock. Therefore, to be virtuous is to be well-endowed.

Allah Ka gyara ma na. Amin.

Alkasim Harisu Alkasim wrote from Kano. He can be reached via alkasabba10@gmail.com.

By Lawi Auwal Yusuf

Several innovatory constitutional devices, administrative and technical solutions were tried to resolve the sectional tensions that, minimally in writing, attempted to enhance tolerance and political affinity between the heterogeneous regions of our dear country, Nigeria. These supposed solutions failed because they were unfounded paperwork, if not lip service.

The dispositions of politicians denote that they have no true intentions of dissipating all forms of religious and tribal harassment that undermine Nigeria’s progress as a diverse but cohesive society. They exploit the divisions for political deceit and their malicious divide and rule tactics. Politicians misuse the distinctions to garner more support, increase popularity and gain votes. But the effect is that it augments people’s consciousness of the differences and raise the importance they affix to them.

Hence, there exist mutual antipathy among the ethnicities. They strongly hold ethnic prejudices and stereotypical views against each other and counter-blaming themselves for the country’s woes. Frequent destructive fracases, secessionism and bloodshed depict Nigeria.

We need a poly-ethnic policy that will help us forge a pluralist democracy that fully respects tribal and religious dissimilarities. A country that truly recognizes and values such pluralism in society. This worthwhile project must establish mutual veneration among Nigerians which is essential for a peaceful future of multiethnic Nigeria. It should socialize Nigerians to enfold cultural diversity, support multiculturalism and believe that the tribes can harmoniously cohabitate through respecting each other’s cultures.

For this dream to become reality, the policy must be accompanied by genuine efforts to eradicate poverty and inequality. Research confirmed that lack of cohesion results mainly from inequality.

This policy must emphasize universalistic moralities like supremacy and rule of law, transparency in governance, economic development and nationalist sentiments to combat the particularistic moralities of the individual tribes. This will make Nigerians united by a common purpose rather than individualistic purposes.

Also, there is an immense need of maintaining a distinct Nigerian identity to replace particularistic cultural identities. People will develop a sense of common identity. Nationalism is a powerful ideology that unites perversely fractious and ethnocentric cultures effectively. It leads to a sense of sameness, uniformity and also bring people into closer fraternities. This will help them understand their differences and how to live with them. Therefore, tolerance will manifest and subsequently love will flourish among them. Diversity will be a source of strength, unity and progress.

Good leadership must be the leading force in this trip. Ethnic favouritism and turning public office an instrument of creating wealth for acquaintances and tribal brethren must utterly vanish. Justice, transparency and equal treatment of all irrespective of closeness or ethnic background must prevail.

Furthermore, Nigeria should adopt the integration approach to ethnic relations. Ethnic relations exist where individuals show allegiance to different groups that conflict exists among them. When disputes and competition divide tribes, then integration brings them together. Conflict wither away and there will be no ethnic consciousness and therefore less potential for dispute. Integration is a permanent cure for the ailments generated by ethnic relations. This model involves a continuous process by which individuals learn one another’s language, acquire modes of behaviour, characteristic attitudes and habits. At the macro level, the process also involves the gradual incorporation of smaller groups into the mainstream culture.

Increased contact and intermingling ought to be facilitated through ensuring inter-regional trading, sports competitions and encouraging people to travel widely because contact between members of divergent tribes reduces tensions, suspicion and dispute. This will turn Nigerians into cosmopolites. Those are individuals who travelled extensively and lived in different communities. Thus, they tend to be familiar with different cultures, communities and languages. Instead of exhibiting an overwhelming loyalty to their tribes, they have intricate repertoires of loyalty and identity. Therefore, they hardly become bigots.

Institutional ethnic stratification has to be dispelled from society. Political, social and economic institutions must be crafted to help manage the differences and all indigenous people need to have equal rights whatever their social background. Policies should be devised to deal with such diversity and prevent forms of social exclusion both at the national and community levels. Equal opportunities must be given to all and these institutions must be reformed so that they no more exclude and discriminate against minorities or disadvantaged groups.

Minority cultures must be protected because resistance intensifies where the dominant groups arbitrarily oppress the interests and aspirations of the feeble minorities. The conflict may manifest either violently or through political processes. Moreover, fundamentalist convictions emerge among minorities as they become apprehensive that their cultural distinctiveness will perish as the elements of dominant cultures become integrated into their own. They retaliate to defend their cultures in malevolent ways to people from the major cultures.

Finally, it is of paramount importance to establish an agency with broader powers and scope to enhance tribal equality in Nigeria. It should have the responsibility of implementation of the new policy. Yet, it can be assigned with the tasks of promoting peaceful co-existence and provision of legal aid to victims of harassment. In the same vein, statutes should be enacted making it obligatory for government agencies and private enterprises to vigorously exterminate all forms of discrimination and ensure equal opportunities for all.

Lawi Auwal Yusuf wrote from Kano, Nigeria.