Southern Nigerians VS Northern Nigerians: Which Side is Smarter?
By eeetuk

When I meet Southern Nigerians in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State or Lagos, Nigeria or New York, USA one argument that has often taken a center stage is: Southern Nigerians are smarter than their Northern counterparts. What evidence supports this claim?
I am yet to see it!

One good example is the content of the 1999 constitution of Nigeria. That document was produced with full consent and participations of the Southern Nigerians as well as those of the Northern Nigerians. Yet, when you go through the 1999 constitution of Nigeria, the contents favor the people of the North over those in the South. Follow me and I will show you!

One area in which the 1999 constitution of Nigeria favors North over South is the number of states that make up the country of Nigeria. Of the 36 states, North has 19 plus the federal territory. The South on the other hand, has 16 states. This fact did not reveal today, it was there in 1999. That was the time the Southern Nigerians who participated in writing the 1999 constitution of Nigeria should have opposed this current system of government. Now, they are trying to move the goal post after the goal is scored.

And more importantly, the current constitution of Nigeria laid out the process of how the presidency of Nigeria will be produced. One such process is conducting a party primary to select a winner who will then represent the party at national election. But guess who is opposing this process? The short answer is the Southern Nigerians.

The Southern Nigerians main complaint is the process as stated in the 1999 constitution of Nigeria only favors Northern Nigerians.

But wait a minute. When did they know this?
If the Southern Nigerians are smarter than their counterparts in the North, why did the people of the South go along with the Northern Nigerians to approve the 1999 constitution of Nigeria?
That is one of many evidence-which would show Northern Nigerians are smarter than their Southern counterparts.

Northern Nigerians contribute nothing to national treasury, yet, have moved the capital of Nigeria to the north, took home 75% of federal money to the North annually, head most keys government agencies, dominate all sectors of Nigerian economy and produce majority of Nigeria heads of government. Amazing that!

I have decided to write on this topic because I am tired of hearing Southern Nigerians calling for zoning the presidency of Nigeria to the South. The Southerners don’t want election—which voters will have to choose who they want as their president. Instead, the Southerners want an election where one part of the country will take a nap, while the other side will vote. That I disagree.

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In my opinion the north is smarter, it's not by having so many degrees that make one smart.

The north is politically smarter than the south by far on the ratio of 10:6. They were politically ahead even during the colonial days and remain so till today. They easily make educated southerners agree to a policy that only benefits them. Let me leave history behind and focus on the present. Immediately they sensed southerners coming together when southern governors started organising meetings and speaking with one voice, they were rattled but went to work. The result of their work is the current open ticket in the both APC and PDP which clearly is not what southern governors met for. It was so easy to achieve because of the greed in the south. We seem not to learn from history. All southerners are being killed and shortchanged by the unproductive north yet we always fall back to tow the path of their choice. That's political sophistication right there.
Currently the south plus the middle belt can dictate the political path of Nigeria easily but that will never happen because there's no political expertise down south. When southern politicians start making it compulsory to go and bow before Fulani's before running local elections, you don't need a soothsayer to tell you that southern politicians are political neophytes. See Uzodinjo and later Ihedioha just to become a governor. The same with some politicians from the SW. It's a shame that education in southern Nigeria gives us no political advantage simply because we are foolishly clinging to a united Nigeria that isn't designed for our good. Northern Nigeria was posited to lord over Nigeria by the British right before independence for their own benefit and it remains so till today. Fulanis have since then used the advantage to increase their stranglehold on everyone down south while southern politicians are more focussed on individual competition and being sub-regional spoilers while neglecting the common enemy. Where is the wisdom in that?

Yujin:
The north is politically smarter than the south by far on the ratio of 10:6. They were politically ahead even during the colonial days and remain so till today. They easily make educated southerners agree to a policy that only benefits them. Let me leave history behind and focus on the present. Immediately they sensed southerners coming together when southern governors started organising meetings and speaking with one voice, they were rattled but went to work. The result of their work is the current open ticket in the both APC and PDP which clearly is not what southern governors met for. It was so easy to achieve because of the greed in the south. We seem not to learn from history. All southerners are being killed and shortchanged by the unproductive north yet we always fall back to tow the path of their choice. That's political sophistication right there.
Currently the south plus the middle belt can dictate the political path of Nigeria easily but that will never happen because there's no political expertise down south. When southern politicians start making it compulsory to go and bow before Fulani's before running local elections, you don't need a soothsayer to tell you that southern politicians are political neophytes. See Uzodinjo and later Ihedioha just to become a governor. The same with some politicians from the SW. It's a shame that education in southern Nigeria gives us no political advantage simply because we are foolishly clinging to a united Nigeria that isn't designed for our good. Northern Nigeria was posited to lord over Nigeria by the British right before independence for their own benefit and it remains so till today. Fulanis have since then used the advantage to increase their stranglehold on everyone down south while southern politicians are more focussed on individual competition and being sub-regional spoilers while neglecting the common enemy. Where is the wisdom in that?

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Very good analysis. I don't think I have heard north east insulting north west zones. An average northern is well informed on the happenings in the country. Always with their radios. The majority of southern guys have this I don't care attitude. In addition, greed won't let southern leaders focus on their service to their region. I highly believe foriegners are actively involved in the bigotry that goes on in nairaland daily to ensure they lose focus on the important issues in the country.

I'm not interested in the national elections of the evil contraption because nothing positive will come out of it. Even if a Christian southern politician wins, he won't be given a free atmosphere to fix things right. His government will be sabotaged thereby rendering his tenure less space to achieve much. That said, let me analyse the current trajectory of the presidential election which will show how foolish southern politicians are.
Ordinarily, one will think that southerners are coming together to form a united front for once in history while ensuring equity is followed. It was not to be so because of two factors.
1. The usual greed and the unproductive sub-regional politics.
2. The background influence of the north.

Southerners don't know that you have to be suspicious when an outsider is supporting you to challenge the legitimacy of your brother to a position that ordinarily he deserves. Southern politicians from the three subregions are falling over themselves for the presidency even when they know that only one person can clinch the position. That shows that the home front hasn't been sorted out. While the north understand how to close ranks at critical moments and still sponsor divisions down south, southerners will be neck-deep in wrestling themselves without the knowledge of doing the same to the north. This is the simple reason why the south always loses.
Currently, all southerners know that there's an existential threat which demands a common front. This common front should be saddled strongly with two missions which are
1. Restructure Nigeria into an equitable political arrangement that neutralises the advantages conferred on the north by the 1999 constitution so that fulanis or any other ethnic group won't be able to lord it over others again.
2 If the first point fails, then disintegration follows strictly backed by both the south and middle belt.
To achieve this, the south needs someone who isn't tied to the fulanis psychologically. Already, certain persons don't fit into the personality already and shouldn't be supported by the south.
Currently, the south have lost the plot already which will see another Fulani emerging as president. This therefore will condemn them to suffer for more 8 years at the end of which hundreds of thousand would have perished in the hands of fulanis and millions rendered refugees in neighbouring countries. Southern youths, your politicians have failed you again.
With the SW insisting on going for the presidency when clearly all southerners are meant to support a SE candidate, we all clearly will suffer the decision. The SE seeing the lack of conscientious support from the rest of the South especially the SW, they will themselves choose to sabotage the SW which will see power going back to the north on a platter. The SW loses nothing by supporting the SE in a united southern bloc but stand to lose much if they make the current mistake the north is urging them to push. The north will simply freeze the current situation and reap repeated from it by always pitting the SW against the SE. They will rule in perpetuity because of our collective foolishness. It means that existential threat isn't enough for the SW to support the SE. It is a shame.

This is the debate for another day.
Let's move Nigeria forward first.
The war is not over,why the sharing of spoils?