March 23, 2009
Every time a politician from the northern part of the country is bruised by Abuja, he runs to Kaduna, rent a hall and a crowd and says things that are sometimes fit only for the dustbin. Last week’s inaugural annual lecture of the Arewa Media Forum, a voluntary association of media practitioners in the North, provided another convenient platform for some of those politicians to display their usual lack of regards for popular commonsense.
The quality and diversity of the dignitaries that attended the lecture was in itself a huge boost for the organisers. To start with, I wonder if Malam Mohammed Haruna, leader of the Arewa Media Forum, delivered the invitation for the lecture to General Muhammadu Buhari in person; or whether Dr Umaru Dikko knew in advance that Buhari would be in attendance. Buhari has never been any journalist’s favourite target, but when that journalist happens to be a Mohammed Haruna, he is usually as hard as a rock, so to speak. One person whose presence at the event was natural, though, was the Governor of Niger state, Babangida Aliyu. Who else should be at a place like that and at a time like that if not the most chronically mic-addicted politician of all time?
You wonder also what the relationship is like nowadays between Jerry Boy and Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi; once upon a time the two were in the same political party, the ANPP; now one is the beleaguered Chairman of the DPP while the other…well, frankly speaking, I have no idea what Shinkafi’s political address is, currently, beyond guessing that he is probably with his younger sibling, Alhaji Mahmuda Aliyu Shinkafi, the Governor of Zamfara state, who recently decamped to the PDP.
Anyway there they were; some with open conflict with the government of the day, others with barely disguised disdain for the way the government is being run. But two politicians whose presence at the event made sense but whose speeches did not were former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Benue state Governor, now a senator, Mr George Akume.
What did Atiku have to say this time? Some nine years ago when he addressed the leadership class in the North, his speech was full of sound, fury and significance because he basically spoke the truth at the time; he told the leadership class that they had failed, and that the continuous reference to the Sardauna era was a sign of that failure; he had then lamented the missed opportunities that befell the region which after being in power more than any other region was (and still is) the most backward part of the country.
Last week at the Arewa Media Forum lecture, Atiku found himself struggling to reproduce the same performance but using different tactics and phrases; he was also struggling desperately not to reveal his target or his motive. It was a pathetic effort. But not shocking or unexpected. Lately, Atiku has been showing signs of a very negative D-word. ‘D’ here standing for desperation.
I was among those who applauded his decision to stay out of the so-called Government of National Unity and also supported his decision to prosecute his case to its final, legal conclusion.
But his recent visit to his arch political enemy and former boss, former President Obasanjo, and the direction of his mumblings at the Arewa House event last week suggest that we are dealing with a man that is guided, motivated and sustained by one thing only: his personal desire to capture power and live out his dreams. Essentially, this is where Buhari stands apart from all those scrambling for power at the centre. He is not in the race for himself, but for the difference he believes he can make. Unfortunately, this extremely presidential and leadership material is a captive of forces with the same values as those of Atiku’s. Here’s an excerpt from Atiku’s verbiage:
“We need to draw upon our great Northern values of selflessness, honesty, steadfastness, commitment, consistency, courage, and indeed our sense of oneness and unity. We need to draw from the examples of great Northern leaders to revive the North; the revival of the North is now or never”.
And yet while Atiku was VP and de-facto governor of Adamawa state, there was no visible effort on his part to suggest that at that time he believed in the ideals he is now preaching. While his political and economic fortunes soared, those of his state—and the North he so much cares about—nosedived. Sure, the salvation of the North is, as Atiku aptly captures it, a “now or never” situation; but if the region relies on people who have been in power for more than 30 years without any commensurate (to borrow President Yar’Adua’s word) result, that salvation might be closer to never than now.
To survive the challenges of the 21st century which are essentially knowledge-based, the North would need leaders at the state and local government levels that are virtually the complete opposite of what we now have. The search for leadership therefore is more crucial in the North than anywhere, more urgent now than at any other time. Of course this is a topic all by itself which would be dealt with some other time.
But in the meantime, we’ll appeal to those who hold or have held various positions of leadership in the region or on behalf of it to spare us the brazen lies and half-truths about our situation. Specifically, the kind of nauseating statement that senator Akume was reported to have said as a guest speaker at the Arewa Media Forum lecture. He told his listeners that Obasanjo “Hates the North”, citing, of all things, Obasanjo’s failed tenure elongation bid which he pursued with very active support from prominent Northern leaders as evidence.
I think Obasanjo had displayed greater love for the North than most of those who call themselves Northern leaders. The facts are compelling enough. In 1979, he defied his people and the rest of the country and handed over power to Shehu Shagari when he could easily have annulled the election and enjoyed a few more years of power. In 2007, he defied everybody and again against all expectations handed over power to the incumbent president who is not only from the North but from what some people refer to as the core North.
It is also on record that while he was head of state and then as president, he evolved policies in agriculture and education (River Basins, UPE etc) that patently favoured the North. Is distinguished Senator Akume also aware that once, when the former finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had the temerity to complain that Obasanjo was pumping too much money into the North, the president chastised her so harshly that some people believed it was the source of their eventual falling out with each other?
And how many states and/or local governments did Obasanjo withhold their allocation from them in the North? Is Obasanjo responsible for the army of beggars in the North? Is he responsible for the abject poverty and poor literacy level in the North? Was it during Obasanjo’s rule that the textiles and the famous Kano industries collapsed? Is Obasanjo responsible for the laziness and indolence that are so pervasive among northerners? If Atiku and his clan wish to mount an opposition (assuming they are morally qualified to do so), let it be based on solid grounds.
Yar’Adua certainly has his faults, legions of them; we expect any opposition to be on the basis of issues that are germane to the welfare of the people; such sickening recourse to sentiments is outdated. Some years ago a prominent northern ‘leader’ summoned me in my capacity as Editor of the Weekly Trust and one of its columnists. He expressed precisely the same rubbish about Obasanjo hating the North. As evidence, this pretender then asked me: “Do you know that since Obasanjo became president three years ago, no northerner has had any contract worth ten billion naira?” Even in my naivety at the time, I found that man’s selfishness galling.
Usually, when our so called leaders speak about the North, this is what it is all about. Nothing has happened so far to suggest that anything has changed; or that what Atiku and Akume said was informed by anything nobler than personal interest.
The quality and diversity of the dignitaries that attended the lecture was in itself a huge boost for the organisers. To start with, I wonder if Malam Mohammed Haruna, leader of the Arewa Media Forum, delivered the invitation for the lecture to General Muhammadu Buhari in person; or whether Dr Umaru Dikko knew in advance that Buhari would be in attendance. Buhari has never been any journalist’s favourite target, but when that journalist happens to be a Mohammed Haruna, he is usually as hard as a rock, so to speak. One person whose presence at the event was natural, though, was the Governor of Niger state, Babangida Aliyu. Who else should be at a place like that and at a time like that if not the most chronically mic-addicted politician of all time?
You wonder also what the relationship is like nowadays between Jerry Boy and Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi; once upon a time the two were in the same political party, the ANPP; now one is the beleaguered Chairman of the DPP while the other…well, frankly speaking, I have no idea what Shinkafi’s political address is, currently, beyond guessing that he is probably with his younger sibling, Alhaji Mahmuda Aliyu Shinkafi, the Governor of Zamfara state, who recently decamped to the PDP.
Anyway there they were; some with open conflict with the government of the day, others with barely disguised disdain for the way the government is being run. But two politicians whose presence at the event made sense but whose speeches did not were former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Benue state Governor, now a senator, Mr George Akume.
What did Atiku have to say this time? Some nine years ago when he addressed the leadership class in the North, his speech was full of sound, fury and significance because he basically spoke the truth at the time; he told the leadership class that they had failed, and that the continuous reference to the Sardauna era was a sign of that failure; he had then lamented the missed opportunities that befell the region which after being in power more than any other region was (and still is) the most backward part of the country.
Last week at the Arewa Media Forum lecture, Atiku found himself struggling to reproduce the same performance but using different tactics and phrases; he was also struggling desperately not to reveal his target or his motive. It was a pathetic effort. But not shocking or unexpected. Lately, Atiku has been showing signs of a very negative D-word. ‘D’ here standing for desperation.
I was among those who applauded his decision to stay out of the so-called Government of National Unity and also supported his decision to prosecute his case to its final, legal conclusion.
But his recent visit to his arch political enemy and former boss, former President Obasanjo, and the direction of his mumblings at the Arewa House event last week suggest that we are dealing with a man that is guided, motivated and sustained by one thing only: his personal desire to capture power and live out his dreams. Essentially, this is where Buhari stands apart from all those scrambling for power at the centre. He is not in the race for himself, but for the difference he believes he can make. Unfortunately, this extremely presidential and leadership material is a captive of forces with the same values as those of Atiku’s. Here’s an excerpt from Atiku’s verbiage:
“We need to draw upon our great Northern values of selflessness, honesty, steadfastness, commitment, consistency, courage, and indeed our sense of oneness and unity. We need to draw from the examples of great Northern leaders to revive the North; the revival of the North is now or never”.
And yet while Atiku was VP and de-facto governor of Adamawa state, there was no visible effort on his part to suggest that at that time he believed in the ideals he is now preaching. While his political and economic fortunes soared, those of his state—and the North he so much cares about—nosedived. Sure, the salvation of the North is, as Atiku aptly captures it, a “now or never” situation; but if the region relies on people who have been in power for more than 30 years without any commensurate (to borrow President Yar’Adua’s word) result, that salvation might be closer to never than now.
To survive the challenges of the 21st century which are essentially knowledge-based, the North would need leaders at the state and local government levels that are virtually the complete opposite of what we now have. The search for leadership therefore is more crucial in the North than anywhere, more urgent now than at any other time. Of course this is a topic all by itself which would be dealt with some other time.
But in the meantime, we’ll appeal to those who hold or have held various positions of leadership in the region or on behalf of it to spare us the brazen lies and half-truths about our situation. Specifically, the kind of nauseating statement that senator Akume was reported to have said as a guest speaker at the Arewa Media Forum lecture. He told his listeners that Obasanjo “Hates the North”, citing, of all things, Obasanjo’s failed tenure elongation bid which he pursued with very active support from prominent Northern leaders as evidence.
I think Obasanjo had displayed greater love for the North than most of those who call themselves Northern leaders. The facts are compelling enough. In 1979, he defied his people and the rest of the country and handed over power to Shehu Shagari when he could easily have annulled the election and enjoyed a few more years of power. In 2007, he defied everybody and again against all expectations handed over power to the incumbent president who is not only from the North but from what some people refer to as the core North.
It is also on record that while he was head of state and then as president, he evolved policies in agriculture and education (River Basins, UPE etc) that patently favoured the North. Is distinguished Senator Akume also aware that once, when the former finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had the temerity to complain that Obasanjo was pumping too much money into the North, the president chastised her so harshly that some people believed it was the source of their eventual falling out with each other?
And how many states and/or local governments did Obasanjo withhold their allocation from them in the North? Is Obasanjo responsible for the army of beggars in the North? Is he responsible for the abject poverty and poor literacy level in the North? Was it during Obasanjo’s rule that the textiles and the famous Kano industries collapsed? Is Obasanjo responsible for the laziness and indolence that are so pervasive among northerners? If Atiku and his clan wish to mount an opposition (assuming they are morally qualified to do so), let it be based on solid grounds.
Yar’Adua certainly has his faults, legions of them; we expect any opposition to be on the basis of issues that are germane to the welfare of the people; such sickening recourse to sentiments is outdated. Some years ago a prominent northern ‘leader’ summoned me in my capacity as Editor of the Weekly Trust and one of its columnists. He expressed precisely the same rubbish about Obasanjo hating the North. As evidence, this pretender then asked me: “Do you know that since Obasanjo became president three years ago, no northerner has had any contract worth ten billion naira?” Even in my naivety at the time, I found that man’s selfishness galling.
Usually, when our so called leaders speak about the North, this is what it is all about. Nothing has happened so far to suggest that anything has changed; or that what Atiku and Akume said was informed by anything nobler than personal interest.
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