NIGERIA: Preparation for the Demise of a Country by Godwin Etakibuebu

My column for last week Tuesday 6th of June 2017 was captioned “Nigeria may soon become history”. On the same day, Wednesday 7th of June, the first bravo of the Nigerian-State’s disintegration was fired by the North, as properly represented by different coalition groups from that region.

The North unleashed terror on the Nigerian Federation by giving all Igbo resident in the 19 States of the North a three-month ultimatum to quit or be forced out after its [the ultimatum] expiration, which is October 1st 2017. That made my article of the same day very prophetic.

The announcement by the representative of the North is not just one of those loose talks of separation which have been going on for years in Nigeria. This particular one carried weight because it outlined process and procedures of implementing the quit notice as much as spreading out consequences for disobedience on the side of the “ungrateful Igbos”. The coalition groups, consisting of Arewa Citizens Action for Change; Arewa Youth Consultative Forum; Arewa Youth Development Foundation; Arewa Students Forum; Northern Emancipation Network and Northern Youth Vanguard, made its declaration with boldness and audacity, the same way a sovereign nation would declare military hostility against another nation.

The National President of the Northern Emancipation Network, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman who read the message out has this to say: “With the effective date of this declaration, which is today, Tuesday June 6, 2017, all Igbo currently residing in any part of northern Nigeria are, hereby, served notice to relocate within three months and all northerners residing in the South-East are advised likewise”. He was not done at that point. Read more of the terrifying things he said,

“All northern civil societies and pressure groups are, by this declaration, mandated to mobilise for sustained, coordinated campaigns at their respective State Government Houses, State Houses of Assembly, local government council secretariats and traditional palaces. Our first major move shall be to reclaim, assume and assert sole ownership and control of these landed resources currently owned, rented or in any way enjoyed by the . . . Igbo in any part of northern Nigeria”.

These are very grievous and dangerous declarations and whoever says or thinks otherwise would need his or her head examined. One, if the Igbo fail to evacuate from the 19 States of the North before the deadline of “October1, 2017”, the announcement pronounced a daring consequences for them as they may be forced out. This speaks of likely bloodbath. Two, either they are leaving or not, seizure of all “landed resources currently owned by Igbo” in all the 19 States of the North is a forgone conclusion. Again, to implement this threat there is likely going to be bloodbath as the Igbos may not just be shouting Hallelujah with clapping hands while their properties are being taken away from them with such impunity.

There are many other factors pointing to total bloodbath in the Arewa land of the Fulani before or beginning from October 1, 2017, when the ultimatum given for Igbos to quit the 19 northern States would have expired. The greatest fear-factor of this declaration is the fact that the groups did not only gather in any other place in Kaduna [the political capital of Northern Nigeria, from the days of the most respected Sardauna of Sokoto; Sir Ahmadu Bello] for the declaration but inside the reverend Arewa House. Arewa House in Kaduna is almost a symbol of the Hausa/Fulani authority. Any pronouncement made there remains sacrosanct ipso facto.

It is for these reasons that I did not pay any serious attention to those leaders from the north, like the types of the Kaduna State Governor; Mallam El Rufai, who ordered the police to “arrest and prosecute those that made the declaration”. I consider him and his types as “deceivers” in the language of Jeffery Archer; that famous writer and author. El Rufai would not be honest to claim that he did not know of the meeting of the groups in Arewa House on that fateful day – June 6 and what the gathering was all about.

Through past experiences, l understand what it takes to grant permission to anyone or group to carry out any activity in the Arewa House. But El Rufai had to do what he did – pretending that the Northern establishment, which he adequately represents, knew nothing about the detonating of the bomb that has put paid to Nigeria’s cooperate existence. That pretence of El Rufai was however exposed when the Northern Elders Forum [NEF] on Friday June 9, 2017, affirmed total support to the group that made the declaration.

Speaking through its Spokesperson; the erudite and seasoned Professor Ango Abdullahi, the NEF condemned whoever that may not agree with the Arewa Group, saying “I am disappointed in the decision taken by Northern Governors’ Forum disowning and condemning the agitation by this young agile and progressive youth groups. Let me ask these Northern governors, who are they representing, are they representing spirits, ghost or people of the north?”

It is therefore not unexpected when there was no one policeman in Nigeria to carry out the instruction of El Rufai and the earth did not shake [knowing the governor with his traditional love for wading power] because he never meant what he said but just to deceive Nigerians from the South geo-political zone and probably, the acting President; Professor Yemi Osinbajo.

There are interpretations to be made from the Arewa House in Kaduna’s declaration for sure, because if the truth must be told, this looks like the beginning of the end for a country called Nigeria. Let us meet here next week to continue the interpretations.

Godwin Etakibuebu, a veteran journalist, wrote from Lagos