#SecureNorth

By Tahir Ibrahim Tahir Talban Bauchi

In the 21st century of global villages, democracy, and westernisation of ideals and even beliefs, it is certainly difficult to comprehend what Northern Nigeria is, let alone what it stands for. The massively Islamised North, where peace and religious scholarship reigned supreme, has become a savannah of religious extremism and terrorism and almost a ground for legitimised banditry and bloodshed.

Life has become almost worthless, and tens of thousands of lives are lost to terrorism from Boko Haram in the east and kidnappings and banditry from the west yearly. Its traditional institutions of legendary valour and glorious kinship remain emasculated by State Governors who neither know the value and importance of these institutions nor have an iota of respect for them. Its political leadership is so partisan and fragmented, with every ‘Kingpin’ in bed with one political party or the other, or worst still, belonging to one candidate or the other. The North has remained in name and geography but fortuitously in almost all other ramifications. 

This is what has become of the behemoth The North since the democratisation of the Republic in 1999. For the few years that power has resided in the hands of Northerners, what good was it, and what did it bring since 1999? A large following of the North did mortgage the North’s future turn in power and campaigned for the continuity of Southern power. Only providence saved the day from the bastardisation of our nascent democracy. And perhaps a fall off from that pitiful nuance was another truncated term of a Northerner in power.

Present day 2015 to 2023 Northern Presidency has also been continually challenged by Northerners largely, and even though it has survived that onslaught, a moment of truth has come upon the North, where power arguably, and reasonably, is supposed to move to the South. It may not have been constitutionalised, and it perhaps may not be carried by the statutes of Federal Character, but no sane mind would oppose the notion of a power rotation for the peace and unity of the supposed federating units.

The raging debate is as to whether democracy remains whole when elections are based on ideas like rotation and, in other quarters, if the North has been shortchanged in this dispensation and power can be retained Northwards as a balancing equation. But what is a democracy, if not a phenomenon where the people are to decide how they want to be democratic? And what amount of tenure would strike a balance enough if other parts of the Federation are wont to run back the clock to cover previous republics or even military regimes?

While those debates are waged by the elite and the political strategists, The North, in the last eight years of power, has not been cured of poverty nor its un-educatedness. The reigns of power resident in the North as against the gains of power, be the reins resident in the North or not, seem to be mutually exclusive events. 

The North must learn how not to be in power and yet, record economic growth and development. Development that seeks to bridge the gap of education, infrastructure and disposition. Northerners behaving like expectant infants, to be fed and bred by the government, is sorely a thing of the past. Communist ideals are rarely ideal in the 21st century, where techies are building worlds that are driven by knowledge and technology.

Embracing a new world order, where self-reliance is a burgeoning business, is the new deal. The North must cut deals with the ruling party, where it stands to gain agriculturally and infrastructurally. Its size and population make it unbelievably powerful in the say-so of what happens to Nigeria’s politics. The last 8 years have seen so many Northerners in positions of power, but alas, they have not been able to affect the lives of Northerners, not even in simple small ways. The groaning populace, under the clutches of poverty, is miraculously Northern, while their brothers fill the corridors of power. To what use is this power? The North surely needs more lessons of utility in power. 

The history of the North is not borne out of vain glory. The reputation of integrity, honour and glory was carved into the annals of our history by hardworking, honest men who believed they were leaving a legacy of honour. If the North was hitherto shortchanged, it is not in its place to shortchange others and perpetuate a cycle of vengeance and unfair play. For posterity’s sake, the North must honour its political agreements, either written or not. Murmurings of betrayals by Northern leaders/ governors must be dispelled and should not be entertained, not even by the evilest amongst us. 

In the final analysis, PMB is honouring himself and the North by leaving in 2023, just like Jonathan did himself and the South in 2015. The writer is an advocate of justice and fair play, and of course, power rotation. Mistakes of the past cannot be corrected by mistakes of the future. There is no remedy for an anomaly that was created by a selfish few who were not thinking of their regions or their country but of themselves only. We have survived the Nigeria 2015 apocalypse by a far stretch of another 8 years. Plunging our nation into unnecessary crises is selfish and barbaric. Keeping Nigeria one and sane is what our leaders should be thinking of before their separate agendas. May God bless Nigeria.

Tahir is Talban Bauchi

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Dangi USA Association of Northern Nigerians has lambasted the atrocities of bandits in Nigeria, voicing a clarion call on the government to remember its cardinal responsibility of protecting lives and properties.

The association reiterated that since bandits had transgressed all common senses, they should therefore be treated as an existential threat that must be eliminated.

The call which was in a release signed Sunday by the Director Public Relations of the association, Kabir lsa Jikamshi, disclosed the grievance over the incessant killings of innocent souls.

They said that it is disheartening to witness the ongoing despicable acts of kidnapping, ransom collection and gruesome killing of innocent men, women and children especially in the North-Western part of the country.

The statement reads: “This banditry, presently constitutes a transgression that does not allow room for any negotiation. No previous grievances can justify the wanton destruction of lives and property. 

“Therefore, no one, neither the government nor private parties should negotiate in any form with the bandits.

“We call on the government to remember its cardinal responsibility of protecting life and property. Insecurity is persistent only in an ungovernable situation; Please do not abdicate your responsibilities. 

“The government should do more by taking the war to the bandits and enact the necessary legislation that will allow individuals to defend themselves without any reservation.

“This is a collective responsibility and all hands should be on deck. Thus, the general public must also remember that they have a very important role to play by supporting the efforts of the security agencies. “if you see something suspicious, say something”.

“Informants and any other individual or group enabling the activities of the bandits should be treated as one them.

“The catch and release of some of these criminals without trial is totally wrong and must stop,” the statement added.
Dangi Association also commiserated with the families of the victims of these atrocities.

“We pray the Almighty Allah will offer solace to the victims and their families. We feel the frustrations and anger of the Nigerian citizens.”

“We empathize with you for enduring these harsh conditions of insecurity and constrictions in the liberty of movement and performance of other daily activities,” they added.

Muhammad Sabi’u and Aisar Fagge

The peaceful protests currently being held in many Northern Nigerian states as a result of the rising rate of killings and kidnappings have been hampered by men of the Nigera Police Force and the Department of State Service.

In Kano State, on Wednesday, 15th December, 2021 a group of protesters converged at NUJ Secretariat (Press Centre) to address members of the press and march on Kano streets to call on Federal Government to #SecureNorth and #EndBanditry particularly in Kaduna, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Niger among others but security agents thwarted their plans.

A leading convener of #SecureNorth protest in Kano, barrister Abba Hikima while addressing the press stated:

“People are being killed on a daily basis in these states and therefore, there is a need for our leaders to act. Let me ask this question: What are the service chiefs doing in Abuja? They should be deployed to these areas affected by security problems. Let them rescue all the victims. They know where they are. These terrorists are not unknown. Security know them and their families. They should all be arrested. Let something be done. That’s all we are saying.”

“Look at how security cordoned off the meeting point of our peaceful protests. They intimidated and threatened members of NUJ. They [security] are not willing to give way for the protest to take place. Section 39 says we have the right to express ourselves and section 40 says we have the right to assemble. We’re professionals. We know what the law says. What we expect from the security agents is to protect us as we’re expressing ourselves. Not to arrest and intimidate us,” he lamented.

“One of our demands is that security agents should be empowered with sophisticated weapons and everything they needed to face these terrorists head on,” barrister Hikima concluded.

During the briefing, some protesters lamented how the police are being used to stop the peaceful protests that was being held despite the fact that it’s for the benefit of all—irrespective of one being a civilian or otherwise.

Imam Azzubair spoke to The Daily Reality saying: “We are here making a peaceful protest. People are being killed all over 19 Northern states and nothing is being done. We want to call the attention of the state governments, the local governments and also the federal government, which is the most important part of the government, to take action to bring end of this banditry and killing of people. It’s obvious that you cannot safely travel from one state to another. Businesses are dying; people are dying.”

Noting that security personnel are also victims of the present situation, he added, “The security personnel are also here to stop us from protesting. A message to them is that they should know that we are together [with them] in this situation. They are also being killed… So we are protesting for ourselves including them.”

Another protestant, Sada Sulaiman berated the security personnel for being reluctant in thwarting the activities of terrorists but are always quick to crack down on peaceful protesters.

He said: “They were stationed [to stop the protest] at a time when people are being killed and burnt on a daily basis on the way to Kaduna and Zamfara, but you would never see them taking action against that. And the perpetrators are terrorists. That means terrorists have overpowered the government and, on the other hand, the government has overpowered the people.”

“A village would be stormed; people would be killed; women would be raped; some would be kidnapped; and people’s property would be carted away.

“We really need government intervention. Nowhere is now safe in Nigeria.”

Recall that there has been a spike of activities of bandit terrorists in the northwestern part of Nigeria, who, besides all their terrorist activities, a few days ago set ablaze a vehicle conveying no less than 42 passengers and left all the passengers completely burnt to ashes in Sokoto.