Political leaders are in a major tussle for the hearts and minds of the core north ahead of 2015 but not just for the “electoral college” votes to win in 2015 but in order to create a new pathway to the presidency in 2019! As you know the core north has woken up from a deep slumber.

The recent bombs by Boko Haram (a western education is bad) has confirmed what many in the north have always believed but never had the courage to say, “My neighbor may kill me for my opinion!” Boko Haram claims they believe in Sharia law as they continuously break the very laws they claim to fight for, after all who says one of their bombs may not have killed law abiding Muslims.
In fact killing a law abiding Christian is against Sharia law. The Arabic influence in the North is just so overwhelming it is ridiculous but that’s another matter for another day.


Now politicians have jumped on the band wagon trying to use the fear of its citizen’s for their own political advantage. As we all know government forces have been called in to maintain law and order, we all know they are underpaid as well as victims of the same bombs. After all many of their families live in the affected areas. Now with a clear head let’s be reasonable and analyze this carefully!

• The poor are abused by the leaders who use them as they see fit.
• The soldiers who work for the government are GROSSLY UNDERPAID AND ILL EQUIPPED!
• The same soldiers are risking their lives to give law an order!
• If they are not there ANARCHY would result!
• Once fear and anarchy takes place markets will close, banks will close, businesses will shut down and visitors or foreigners will leave and this will paralyze the economy!

El-Rufai the former FCT minister who we all know has grander political ambitions wants the core north to expel the soldiers out of the affected areas. He has even gone as far as suggesting the process should start from Kano! Now what would I do if I was El-Rufai?

• I would visit the families of the victims!
• Raise money to help them with their funereal arrangements!
• Ask the people to assist law enforcements with neighborhood watch programs where designated people liaise with the SSS to provide neighborhood intelligence to prevent attacks before they are carried out!
• I would do public service announcements on TV, Radio and the newspapers telling the people why they should be their neighbour's keeper!
• Do a bake off by local business owners where they bake bread and give soldiers at various check points. In fact tell local food places to offer lunch to policemen at check points to thank them for risking their lives to protect the rest of us!
• I would have stood with Vice President Sambo and the Sultan of Sokoto with arms raised up to praise the N5 billion in projects to educate the 9.5 billion beggars who may be used as human bombs!
• I would have done a fund raiser to rebuild the churches destroyed by the bombers!

These are some of the things I would have done if i wanted to be president! If he even gets each governor to give N25 million towards the victims crossing party lines, the people will notice! I am disappointed that so many who are educated and want to rule in the north have not done this instead they are telling the people to drive out the JTF! When they leave who will stand up to Boko Haram?! Should we now negotiate with terrorists? Should we now tell 80 million people your beliefs are irrelevant only our own matters? Many of these same Muslims have lived abroad; did the foreigners not give you some basic rights?! Even in prison in America they will give you a Quran in prison.

However this time the Northern Women have joined the fight! Hajiya Zainab Ahmad is an activist, movie producer and a politician who actively participated in the 2011 presidential election in support of the ACN presidential candidate, Malam Nuhu Ribadu. She has since realised that there is a problem with the northern youth and founded Matsalar Matasan Arewa, a non-governmental organisation, to tackle unemployment in the region. More groups like this interestingly enough are being established by women. In fact Zainab is one of the pioneering movie producers in Kannywood! What is Kannywood? It’s the movie industry version of Nollywood but in the north!

When asked if the Northern leaders were doing enough, she replied “To be very honest with you, we don’t have leaders in the North. We don’t have elders in the North, because I have not seen any positive thing they have done for the North. In fact, I will seize this opportunity to tell my Southern brothers, Middle Belt sisters and brothers to go to the North if they feel that these people have done something for that area; let them go and see what poverty is all about. I don’t think we have leaders, we have what is called opportunists in the sense that they use the North as a shield and when they get what they want, it is for them; you have to belong with them to see that. We have no leaders or elders. We the youths are now trying to be our own leaders.” When asked about the northern political class she responded, “We don’t trust them; we don’t believe in them, they have done nothing but to loot and cause more harm to the youth and their own people.”

The rate of change we are seeing in the north is exciting. We are witnessing a cultural as well as societal transformation. President Goodluck will be in Sokoto this week opening one of 400 new schools as part of his N5 billion naira initiative to develop the Core North’s educational system. People like Zainab Ahmad are doing the cultural heavy lifting! She is not alone, others such as Ali Nuhu who many believe is the doyen of Kannywood have also joined the battle. Aminu Saira, who is the reigning director in Kannywood, is another name to watch.
Zainab Ahmad has produced four movies so far. She just released one titled ‘Ribadu’ which she did in a series and distributed free. And she did one based on Malam Nuhu Ribadu’s books I read, ‘Paradise for Maggots’, and ‘My Story My Vision’. She found so much interest in the ‘Paradise for Maggots’ because of the corruption captured in the book.

Well now that Kannywood directors are on the hunt, you better believe accountability and good governance will result! Help is on the way, the core north will be rescued by the youths with help from their fellow Nigerians to the south and together we will make sure politicians serve first the interests of the people they hope to lead.


http://konnektafrika.com/index.php/politics-and-perspectives/item/110-nigeria-the-fight-for-the-hearts-and-minds-of-the-core-north

well this is nothing but the truth................