Boko Haram: Arewa, Ijaw leaders to meet •Anger, fears of the North • Arrest anti-Jonathan Northerners —CAN • The General Gusau link

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Written by Olawale Rasheed and Hassan Ibrahim Sunday, 04 September 2011

As more facts emerge over the Boko Haram insurgence, there are moves by leaders from the Northern and Southern parts of the country to meet to resolve the political angles to the ravaging militancy.

Sunday Tribune was reliably informed that the planned meeting was designed to address the political sides of the conflicts, even as investigations have revealed the three main fears of the North over the Jonathan Presidency that may be creating safe haven for the Islamists among Northerners.

The Presidency had earlier discovered that the insurgence had a political undertone with some disaffected Arewa chieftains alleged to be behind the sect in the bid to hit back at President Goodluck Jonathan over the controversy that heralded the last presidential poll.

While there was no direct evidence of involvement of President Jonathan in the planned parley, Sunday Tribune learnt that many Niger Delta elders very close to the president are involved with the main purpose of rebuilding confidence between the president‘s home base and the core North.

A prominent elder, who was involved in the organisation of the interaction, told Sunday Tribune that “we intend to rebuild lost confidence and forge ahead for mutually beneficial future. The Ijaw and the core North are traditional allies, right from the First Republic. We intend to look at where mistakes are made and make corrections.

“We have made contact with our brothers in the North and we are getting favourable feedback. Some disaffected politicians are backing the Boko Haram. We think we can ensure reconciliation and rapprochement,” the source that is from Bayelsa State told our reporter.

Findings showed further that though, foremost Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, is not spearheading the move, many old hands from the Niger Delta who were active players in the defunct New Nigeria Alliance (NNA) and the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) are already contacting their colleagues from Kano, Sokoto, Borno, Bauchi and other areas of the North for participation in the political reconciliation moves.

A top administration official who was asked about the reported consultation told Sunday Tribune that, “President Jonathan is the president of the whole of Nigeria and would, therefore, support any well-intentioned moves to restore peace and speed up the transformation of the country.

“Mr. President is not opposed to any genuine moves for the progress of the country. He has welcomed all citizens to contribute their quota to the resolution of the crisis. So, the political move is a welcome development,“ the official, who sought anonymity because he was not authorised to speak, said.

General Gusau‘s Involvement
Further investigations, however, revealed that contact with the former National Security Adviser, General Aliu Gusau, was real and that the involvement of the general, reputed for the depth of his intelligence politics, was part of the holistic strategy to stem the tide of the islamist insurrection.

General Gusau was said to be a favourite pick, not only because of his intelligence background, but also as a way of exploiting his no love lost relationship with some Generals who are suspected of having cold relationship with the administration.

Sunday Tribune reliably learnt that the Zamfara-born General was involved in the move to address the political side of the conflict, in addition to his expected role in tackling the security menace posed by Boko Haram.

Anger, fears of North
Meanwhile, Sunday Tribune investigations have unravelled the three main angers and fears of the core North, beyond the breach of the zoning formula of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last poll.

From Sokoto to Maiduguri, findings showed that the North is said to believe that the present administration has a succession plan that may not be in the best interest of the North, an unsubstantiated feeling that is reportedly fuelling perceived unhappiness with the Jonathan Presidency in the core North.

“When the zoning formula was breached, there was no dialogue; no negotiation with the North. The G20 which surrounded the President from the North then are not genuine leaders of the people. So, by the last election, there was no agreement with the North as to what happens in 2015,“ a prominent Northern leader recently explained.

Investigations also showed that the anger and fears of the North are three, all centering on what happens to the Presidency when it comes up for grab again in 2015.

The first fear of the North, according to Sunday Tribune findings, was the actual intention of President Jonathan as to whether he will vie for second term or not. This is in spite of the president‘s declaration that he would not seek a second term in office.

A Niger Delta politician on Friday pointedly put it this way: “The North is afraid of what Jonathan will do in 2015. They are not sure whether the man will wake up and announce his intention to run for second term to complete his transformation agenda.“

The second fear, according to findings, is whether there is truly an alleged pact between the South-East and the president, preceding the last presidential poll, which resulted in over 90 per cent vote delivered to the ruling party.

Even when administration officials denounced and denied such pact, the rumour mill in the North still believe there is an agreement for an Igbo to succeed the president come 2015.

If the administration supports the return of the Presidency to the North in 2015, there is also the fear that either Vice President Namadi Sambo or Senate President David Mark may be the favourite of the incumbent president, a possibility the core North is said to be opposed to.

The North was reported to have vowed never to allow Southerners to decide again who, from the North, would occupy the Presidency as was done in 2007 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

It would be recalled that General Obasanjo single-handedly annointed the late President Umaru Yar‘Adua in 2007.

Sunday Tribune was told that unless there is a concerted move to build confidence and allay the fear of the North, the present administration may continue to be held with suspicion by disaffected Arewa leaders.

Meanwhile, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 Northern states and the Federal Capital territory (FCT), Abuja, at the weekend, urged the Federal Government to arrest the Northern political leaders who were reported to have threatened to make Nigeria ungovernable, if President Jonathan won last April presidential election.

The Secretary General of Northern CAN, Elder Saidu Dogo, said in an interview in Kaduna that the outcome of the 2011presidential election, which happened to be at the heat of the controversy on zoning, might have instigated the current insecurity in the country.

According to him, President Jonathan should investigate those believed to have made treasonable statements before the presidential election was conducted.

“The truth is this, there are insinuations before the presidential election took place and there were newspapers quoting where individuals, particularly leaders in the North made statements that if Jonathan came to power, they would make the country ungovernable for him.

“Unfortunately, such people are going freely in this country today. And, of course, they are making the whole thing (country) ungovernable for him. The threat is now being put to practice and they have not been arrested. They are roaming the streets, most of them are from the North, who threatened that if Jonathan won the election, they would make Nigeria ungovernable for him.

“Such people are supposed to be called to divest themselves from those statements. Up till now, they have not denied those statements; so, they have a case to answer. And since they have not denied making such statements in the past, they should be held culpable until otherwise, the investigation into the issue prove them innocent. Otherwise, the evidences are there,” he said.