An interesting Piece I read online.

In 1952, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa addressed the Northern House of Assembly thus “The Southern people who are flocking into this region daily in such large numbers are really intruders; we don’t want them and they are not welcome here in the North. Since 1914, the British Government has been trying to make Nigeria into one country. But the people are different in every way, including religion, custom, language and aspirations, we in the North take it that Nigeria unity is only a British intention for the country they created. IT IS NOT FOR US”.

In the same year, Sir Ahmadu Bello approached the Colonial Secretary and said “If you want us (the North) to be part of this Nigeria you have in mind, then we want 50% of the membership of the National Assembly”.

It was accepted by the British and the 1953 census figures were manipulated to justify the concession given. With majority in the National Assembly, whatever the North says becomes law of course the ever vulnerable South-East and South-South people the only true Nigerians) would always be used willingly to ensure the North is happy.

When in 1956 after the Northerners defeated the motion for independence moved by Chief Anthony Enahoro and were jeered by their Southern colleagues, Sir Ahmadu Bello said what kind of trouble have we let ourselves in for, by associating with these southern people. Lord Lugard and his amalgamation are not for us. We shall set up our own and cease to have anything more to do with the southern people”.

Two days later trouble broke out in Sabon-Gari, Kano and southerners, mainly Ndigbo, were slaughtered. The Yorubas of the South-West who jeered at them in Lagos oddly enough were out of it.

Awolowo reaction to these happenings was in his ever green speech excerpts of which is “Nigeria is only a geographical expression to which life was given by the diabolical amalgamation of 1914, that amalgamation will EVER remain the most painful injury a British Government inflicted on Southern Nigeria”.

What did Dr. Azikiwe say? Hear him “Nigeria is now a political reality, let us bury our differences and build it together”.

It is instructive to note that Britain had programmed to grant independence to the Babel they created and the North of Nigeria must be appeased by ensuring that they the Northerners control power over the British Babel called Nigeria. So it came to pass on October 1st 1960.

Note that the do or die election of 1959 did not give the North the required majority to form Government until Eastern Nigeria of today South-East and South-South came to their rescue.

Despite that, listen to what Sir Ahmadu Bello had to say on the 12th October, 1960 (record of the then PARROT Newspaper of the same date just eleven days after independence The new nation called Nigeria should be an estate from our great-grand father Othuman Dan Fodio. We must RUTHLESSLY prevent a change of power. We must use the minorities of the North as willing tools, and the South as conquered territories and never allow them to have control of their future.

Note that Southerners were not allowed to join the NPC the political party of the North then.

Students of history would recall how in 1964 the Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, wanted to whittle down Chief Awolowo’s influence in the Western Region and found a willing tool in Chief S.L. Akintola. The Prime Minister gave Akintola all the support to recklessly breach the constitution as it pleased him.

That gave birth to the crisis in the Western Region. Operation wet eee’ followed, leading to the first military coup of January 1966 that was quelled by General Aguyi Ironsi. Then the pogrom of May 29th 1966, then a counter coup in June 1966 in which General Ironsi (an innocent man) was brutally murdered and General Yakubu Gowon took over. Part of his maiden speech to the nation was to be thus Suffice to say, putting all consideration to test: political, economic as well as social, the basis for unity is not there, or it has been so badly shaken not once, but several times”.

All of these mayhem, killings, secession, and civil war were just because the Fulani leaders of the North were not happy and they must be pleased.

So it was in the beginning and so it is now. Nothing has changed.

On the 15th of September 2010, the same day President Goodluck Jonathan declared his intention to seek the mandate of his party and Nigerians to steer the ship of state for an additional four years, a group described as the Northern Elders Forum/Assembly, took an advertorial in a National daily addressed to the President and Commander-in-Chief, captioned As you declare. They proceeded to threaten him. The miserable Northern oligarchs and aristocrats who signed that advertorial were mostly National awardees who claimed to be honest, dispassionate and deeply care about the continued existence of Nigeria as one indivisible, harmonious and peaceful country.

The same miserable aristocrats saw President GEJ’s declaration as ill-conceived, ill-advised and definitely divisive. That for GEJ to declare on the platform of PDP (a Northern party?) heralds a clear and present danger that would undermine the peace and tranquillity of the nation”. That GEJ’s candidature “would open old wounds of primitive politics where sectional ethnic, religious and other undesirable primordial sentiments will assume centre stage with attendant unpleasant consequences.

The so-called Northern aristocrats even saw President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan expression of his intention as illegal and immoral. They said quite a lot and warned the president that the peace, harmony and progress of the country or OTHERWISE are in his hands and he would be answerable to God and humanity for his deciding to declare to run for office of President.

All they said plus the threats of Junaid Mohammed, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule, General Aliyu Mohammed Gusua, Shehu Malami, Lawan Kaita, Alhaji Atiku Abubarka, Adamu Ciroma, Prof. Ango Abdullahi’s and many more interviews, the threats of the Director-General of Buhari Campaign Organization before the election, that they would not accept the results of the elections, if CPC loses are all happening exactly and nobody is looking in the direction of these so-called Northern elders-Tanko Yakassai and Co., and all those who laid the foundation for the violence we are witnessing today.

Nigeria belongs to the Hausa-Fulani of the North as Ahmadu Bello said. They can say or do anything they please and nothing would happen. Rather we would all be scared to death not to offend their sensibilities by complaining. Meanwhile not a single Northern (Hausa-Fulani) was recorded in history as having been part of the true struggle for the independence of the Nigeria they so ardently love to control.

I read the advertorial of the Northern Miserable Elders ten good times and allowed my thoughts to flow towards their instinctive directions. I saw, in the words of Sir Ahmadu Bello, ‘THE MISTAKE OF 1914′. I saw Chief Obafemi Awolowo in Hell Fire crying of his Judas attitude for betraying Biafra secession campaign because of ministerial appointment having convince Dr. Nnadi Azikiwe and others at the Constitutional Conference of 1957 in London, to stand with him and demand that a SECESSION Clause be inserted in the constitution of Nigeria (for the independence), so any tribe that becomes unhappy with the union could leave, which failed upon Dr. Azikiwe and other delegates support, hence the Colonial Secretary ensured that the Northern Delegation watered down such exclusive clause due to majority representation the North had in the conference as 1953 census was manipulated in favour of the North prior to 1957 Constitutional Conference also.

I remembered how Winike Briggs, J. Umorem and another Niger Delta people rushed to the North in 1966 to plead with them not to break away after Nzeogwu’s coup.

I remember former Governor Kure arrogant statement in 2006 about the South-South daring to dream of becoming
President of Nigeria. I remembered the political support the Ijaws, the Efiks, Ibibio, Kalabari, Ogoni etc have given to the North since Dec 1959 up until 2007. And whenever there is a deadlock, the Ndigbos are forever ready to compromise and help.

History have the recorded of arrogance statement of Dr. Dikko said “Presidency is not for sale” to Abiola in 1983. History have the record of the killing of male children above eleven years of age with their fathers and uncles in Asaba on October 7th 1967 under the instructions of General Murtala Mohammed who we reverend with his picture on our national banknote.

History still have the pogrom of May 29th 1966, July 29th 1966 and September 29th 1966. (all Fridays ). First of its type in Africa. History still have perhaps first genocide in Africa long before Rwanda. In fact, how people were murdered by their best friends in 1967.

Thinking of that advertorial, I felt Ralph Uwazurike’s was not stupid. I felt the apparent ‘treason’ of the Niger Delta militants should be commended. Thinking of the Advertorial, I respected the Yoruba even more as the smart tribe in Nigeria with a focus on development for their land and their people only, I saw the ignorance of the South East and the South-South people who, as very forgiving people with enormous liberal hearts, would be prepared to die for a Northerners who they call their friend and brother but who sees them as instruments to be used to acquire power and then killed them afterwards whenever they feel unhappy to do so.

I have been seeing the liberal minded South East and South-South people, endowed with excessive natural and human resources, but lacking in cohesion to conspire for power like their Northern compatriots or the successful South Westerners, until this blessed year of 2012. Maybe Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was right when he said, ”We are different in too many ways”.

Our sense of Justice is just not the same and may never be reconciled; not with the hopeless Unitary Constitution imposed on us by Generral Abdusalam Abubakar. No! We would not forget the drama when the late President Yar’dua was ill. I certainly do not think so!
Lest we forget, since 1966 the Ndigbos of the South East have been crying for justice. By 1993 the Yorubas in the South West joined and started crying. In 1994 and 1995 the South-South people found their voice and started crying also. Today, it seems the Northern ( Hausa-Fulani) also cry but with the blood of innocent citizens on their miserable hands. These are trying times indeed!

History have recorded that never has a seat of Head of State been so embarrassed for tribal reasons apart from the emergence of President Jonathan. History have recorded that those who never really fought for the development of Nigeria but have enjoyed her more and held her captive for so long, are today in the fore front to hijack mantle of leadership or rather threatening to break up falsehood Nigeria, which their past leader seems to despised in the first place.

Oh Lord, I could write a book on this “let’s open old wounds”. Who inflicted the wounds? Who was wounded and still being wounded? Can we count how many times innocent blood particularly that of Ndigbo have been shed in the North since 1949? For reasons nobody has explained till today, and nothing happens except panels of inquiry, reports and then silence.

Have we forgotten what happened in Odi, Choba communities respectively when the allegation was that the people there killed by members of the Nigerian Armed Forces and Police Force? Youth Corpers were killed in the last Presidential election and Soldiers are being killed in the North all these ugly trends have been happening with auspices of so-called Northern cabals now and nothing have happen. I do not want to hear that it is religious. Lies! That is the opium they use. It is political. If a Hausa-Fulani like Buhari rigged massively and won, there would have been peace though.

How come there was no riot when late president Musa Yar’dua won the hopeless election of 2007 against the same Buhari? In 2003, he planned a mass action and ex- President Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo wrote him a stern letter of warning of treasonable felony and he rather resorted to the Court of law alternatively.

If the Hausa-Fulani wanted a National Conference, it would be held. If they wanted true Federalism, so it shall be. The day they decide that Nigeria would become a Dubai, so it shall be. Until then, we all must wait, be killed whenever they need to appease their knives and now bombs.

We say nothing, do nothing all because Nigeria matter most to us.

At times like this, we must remember the words of our true Elder. The Rt. Hon. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, frustrated by the activities of our Northern in 1964, had this to say If this embryo republic of ours must disintegrate, then in the name of God, let the operation be a short and painless one”.

And in the words of President Goodluck Jonathan “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!”

thelastPope:
How come there was no riot when late president Musa Yar’dua won the hopeless election of 2007 against the same Buhari?

Food for thought ...

With majority in the National Assembly, whatever the North says becomes law of course the ever vulnerable South-East and South-South people (the only true Nigerians) would always be used willingly to ensure the North is happy.

How mischievous. When I got to that point I stopped reading. So the South Easterners and South Southerners are the only true Nigerians? By what standard?

Besides it's all hear say as there are no quoted sources for his quotes. People should be looking to make the country work, not divide it further.

wrong thread.

@OP

Baring few slips of tong or should I say pen, it is a very interesting article with truthful facts.

The almagamation of northern and southern nigeria in 1914 was a huge mistake.

Interesting write-up