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The National Assembly
has set
in motion the process for the
amendment of the 1999 Constitution, severally criticized as a
military legacy, among many other ambiguities and reasons for its
amendment. This has re-ignited the passion, aspiration and quest by
nearly all minority ethnic tribes and groupings within the country
for selfdetermination, and for a better recognition than what they
currently experience. Most, if not all, of these obviously
marginalized minority groups would ideally prefer to own their own
states, as it were, or to form a voluntary association in a more
collective and mendly state union, where their sense of belonging
and group and individual aspirations do not suffer from any
entrenched political disadvantages which is accentuated by the
tyranny of the majority groups and their political gluttony and
inconsideration. This suffocating dominance and its attendant
marginalization of the minority by the majority groups in nearly
each state, inevitably breeds the persistent clamour, agitation and
quest for selfdetermination, and justifiably so.
If the dominant tribes/groups had exercised their demographic
majority and the political advantages it confers with the utmost
responsibility, political refinement, sensitivity, sagacity and
consideration, the issue of selfdetermination would not take its
recurrent dimension. Instead they exploit and stretch their
demographic advantages to a ridiculously crude extent and to the
exclusion of the minority groups, whose irrelevance continues to be
inversely proportional to the strangulating hold of political power
by the majority. This is true of the Idoma group of Benue state, now
agitating for Apa state, the Southern Kaduna people desperate for a
Southern Kaduna state, the Zuru people of Kebbi South angling for a
state carved out of the area and parts of Niger state, the Biu and
Garkida peoples of Borno South and Adamawa respectively, also
craving for a state of their own, where they would have a more
fulfilling political self-expression than is currently the case,
etc. In all of these areas, it is doubtful if in the status quo, any
of the minority groups can ever successfully aspire to govern their
respective states.
In the case of Kebbi, which is similar to most of such cases, former
Emir Jokolo of Gwandu had propounded a doctrine to the effect that
only a Gwandu person would govern the state, and this seems to have
been the operational doctrine in Kebbi politics since then. And when
General Magoro accidentally emerged briefly as the ruling party’s
candidate for the 2007 governorship elections, it was only a matter
of time, as his candidacy was an aberration in Kebbi politics that
must not stand, as it stood contrary to the tenets of the Gwandu
doctrine. Thus, like a bolt from the blues, the Aliero political
dynasty of Kebbi appeared from nowhere to salvage this apparent
‘anomaly’ in Kebbi politics by substituting Magoro with Dakingari.
This political masterstroke orchestrated by the undisputed godfather
of Kebbi politics, put paid to the audacious ambition and daring
aspiration of the most credible candidate from Zuru to date. Similar
attempts in the past by Zuru aspirants had been nipped in the bud
through similar orchestrations, and mostly usually with the active
connivance of the respective party headquarters in Abuja.
Whatever sense of belonging Zuru people had left in Kebbi politics
may have evaporated with the false-hope candidacy of Magoro, which
had to be retrieved to conform to an operational imperial doctrine.
This sense of servitude and hopelessness is further compounded by
the power disposition and take of Zuru Emirate in the current
set-up, where the impression is created that the glaring absence of
Zuru in the relevant portfolios is a retribution for the legitimate
audacity of the Magoro candidacy and his people in contravention of
a potent political taboo. Zuru is indeed paying dearly for daring to
aspire, as it neither got the deputy governor, the speaker, the SSG,
the party chairman, nor does it have the state chief judge. In the
current situation therefore, Zuru is effectively excluded in the
power equation and distribution in Kebbi state, and curiously, it is
yet to make it to the federal cabinet since 1999, and none of its
friends in Gwandu and elsewhere seem to find such a situation
unacceptably unfair. The same situation exists in the distribution
and spread of the dividends of democracy. For example, for all its
national visibility and fame, Zuru incredibly neither enjoys the
broadcast signals and services of NTA nor KBTV. The list could be
endless and sympathetic indeed.
This situation is intolerable by any civilized standards. There is
no credible hope that it would improve, giving the suffocating
stranglehold on Kebbi politics by the Aliero political dynasty and
the stupendous resources they have continued to amass in furtherance
of their dynastic megalomania over Kebbi politics. The most
reasonable option for Zuru in the circumstance, and those others in
similar, if not identical, situation and geography, is to aspire and
apply for self-determination in a state of their own or in a
coalition and/or association of equal partners in both demography
and culture, as much as possible.
Such agitations, however, may have already been put at risk by the
membership of the senate committee of 37 for the review of the 1999
constitution, since most of the members are from the majority groups
in the states they represent in the committee. For example, while
Kebbi state has senator Adamu Aliero as its representative in the
committee, Kaduna state has senator Ahmed Makarfi, etc. Thus, the
aspiration and justified agitations of the minorities are already
vulnerable and susceptible to ambush, as they are unlikely to get
the understanding and sympathy they desire and deserve. If this is a
coincidence, then the senate president, David Mark, is both naive
and insensitive to the plights of minorities, because the minorities
and all state agitators have a legitimate stake in him, for he
carries the burden of their fears, hopes and aspirations, as
embodied in the struggle of his people in Benue state.
The case of Zuru Emirate in southern Kebbi is only a classic one,
but similar to nearly all those peoples, ethnic groups and
minorities that occupy the southern parts of their respective states
who, as if victims of a conspiracy of geography, are in similar
distress, frustration and political hopelessness, in their current
political unions. As things currently stand, and except if and when
the magnanimous political maturity of the majority takes the better
part of their political psychology, mentality and visionary
judgment, the minorities will continue to be excluded from the
leadership positions of their respective states. For example, for
all their national statue, qualifications, credentials, capability
and suitability, it is arguably impossible for a Magoro, the
Bamaiyis, Tanko Ayuba, Dan’ Asabe, etc, to be appealing enough for
the Kebbi establishment to accept, adopt and promote as governor. A
similar situation obtains in Benue where a David Mark, Lawani, the
Onojas, Young Alhaji, etc, couldn’t successfully aspire to be
governor of their state, in spite of their unassailable CVs. The
same applies to Yakowa, Isaiah Balat, Ali Madaki, etc, in Kaduna,
all on a similar account of a rather discounted citizenship, like
others elsewhere. This is replicated in southern Borno, Gombe,
Adamawa, Kogi, Kwara, even Plateau, etc.
The situation in Adamawa state is both ironic and instructive in
this whole regard. While senator Grace Bent, a southwest Yoruba
woman, could be accepted and elected by the Bachama people of her
husband, he the husband could not however successfully aspire to be
so accepted and elected governor of the same Adamawa. The same could
also apply to Buba Marwa. In spite of his national presidential
appeal in 2007, it is doubtful if he could have made a more
successful impact in Adamawa, were his aspiration limited to its
government house. This is because like the political aspirations of
all minorities, the texture and quality of his local citizenship
would have been an insurmountable hindrance, as it contravenes the
conventional wisdom of Adamawa politics and power equation.
The implication of this widespread phenomenon is that a great number
of very highly skilled manpower resources that ought to be
cultivated, motivated and relevantly deployed and invested in the
collective development of the state, is senselessly excluded for
retrogressive and unhelpful considerations. Whatever qualification,
relevance and suitability these quality people have, and the
attendant value they may bring to the leadership and developmental
strides of their respective states are considered immaterial, as
they are considered inferior by a mindset that is trapped in a
superiority complex that seems obsessed with the perpetual need to
maintain and sustain a suffocating demographic political advantage.
Such attitudes constitute a serious hindrance to the free flow of
the motivational energy necessary to forge the kind of solid unity
of purpose, direction and focus needed to successfully power the
nation through the challenges of globalization and the 21st century.
The fuel for creating that unity is indeed fairness, equity and
justice.
There is nothing more politically frustrating, demeaning and
demoralizing than a discriminatory hindrance to a people’s
individual and collective aspirations, expression and attainment,
however veiled, subtle and pretentious. This pretence and
marginalisation seem more intense and entrenched in the North, where
the agitation for self-determination is often viewed with contempt
and intolerance, divisive intrigues, blackmail, obstructions,
administrative and political victimizations and outright hostilities
from their respective governments, which are always the monopoly of
the majority. It tends to be viewed in the North more as a loss of
imperial possession and influence than as an avenue and opportunity
for faster compact development and accomplishments.
In the South, especially Southeast, where both the current governor
and Achike Udenwa are in the vanguard clamouring for an additional
state from the current Imo state, it’s obvious that they have a
better informed appreciation of the inherently positive
developmental advantages. Thus, while those in the Southeast are
more concerned with developmental issues, those in the North seem
always more concerned with, and mired in an unfortunate and
regrettable mindset, of the dwindling of cultural and territorial
influences. States creation must therefore be seen in the positive
light of its great advantages of fostering compact intra-unity for a
closer development and impact on the citizenry than otherwise. Great
leaders, great states and national economies are made of visionary
mindsets and strategic choices and advantages, and not of those
whose mindset is held hostage by the relics of traditional
folklores, ideas and values that now constitute a serious
psychological limitation and hindrance, in the developmental
imperatives and realities of globalization and the 21st Century.
Thus, the aspiration and agitation for the creation of additional
new states in the southern Kaduna area, southern Kebbi area,
southern Borno/ Adamawa area, and the Benue/Kogi area, should be a
positive event. These four main state agitations should be the
irreducible minimum requirement for state creation in the North.
This is without prejudice to the other state agitations in the North
like Mubi, Kano, Katagum, Ndaduma, Kar’ Adua, etc.
The new exercise must be a departure from the previous kinds in
order to stem its recurrence. To achieve this it must be based on
fairness, justice and self-determination, where new states would
emerge voluntarily either through outright creation or through
voluntary realignments. Such new creations and political units must
be based on some internal memorandum of understanding among the
federating units, and must be constitutionally recognized and
enforceable, as a guarantee. Such MOU is to embody the
identification, articulation, appreciation and recognition of the
fears, apprehension, rights and aspirations of each constituent
unit, and their protection and guarantee by law, for a more
pennanent reassurance of the practical equality of citizenship,
rights, privileges, aspiration and attainments. The institution of
such enforceable guarantee would no doubt guarantee a sense of
equality and belonging, whose absence continues to engender the
recurrent clamour for separation, especially in areas like Kar’Adua
where such guarantees alone may be sufficient since the division
there is less of ethnic and cultural discrimination, and more of
political exclusion. Thus these new political units and realignments
must embrace and start off such unions with such confidence building
covenant and mechanism.
It is an irony that Kebbi state was created with the connivance and
consent of probably two prominent Zuru generals then in government,
than by any serious agitation by its current landlords. It was also
particularly convenient for IBB and the regiment of Niger state
generals to encourage and influence a Kebbi state as currently
constituted, if only to rid themselves of the competitive menace of
another set of generals from Zuru Emirate. The official excuse
however was for Zuru to provide the needed manpower requirements for
a new Kebbi state.
The ceding of Zuru Emirate to Kebbi state is one such dislocation
too many in the chequered history of Zuru and its quest for
political identity and emancipation, political aspiration and
fulfillment. Thus, between 1904 and the present, Zuru Emirate has
oscillated from one colonial province to the other, and from one
state to the other in post-colonial Nigeria. It was in Sokoto,
Gwandu and Niger provinces in the colonial past, and later in North
Western, Sokoto and Kebbi states in modern times, and always as a
major minority. There is probably no prominent ethnic group in the
country that has experienced such rather involuntary nomadic
political migrations in search of its political identity and
self-determination without a corresponding sympathy and success like
Zuru has.
Zuru and its citizens have indeed paid their dues wherever they
found themselves, both at the federal and state levels, always
without the commensurate rewards. They have historically and
consistently and persistently been shortchanged in all aspects, be
it in allotted population figures and constituency delineation,
legislative representation, local government areas, political
participation and appointments, rewards and patronages,
developmental projects and amenities, etc. The unfortunate thing to
all these inequities, in a state that prides itself with the Land of
Equity slogan, is that the landlords are so unsympathetic and
unapologetic in their politics of domination and exclusion by
insensitively pretending that these problems are either
non-existent, unreal, exaggerated or even self-inflicted. But in a
situation where Zuru Emirate as a whole is unable to produce any of
the principal political officers at both the state level and the few
federal slots allocated to the state, renders it completely
irrelevant and relegated, and consigned to perpetual servitude.
It is therefore obvious that Zuru cannot find self-expression and
political fulfilment in Kebbi state as presently constituted and
operated. It thus must continue in its seemingly endless quest for
self-determination in a voluntary political union that will give and
guarantee it equal opportunity and access, stake and partnership,
and guarantee the fulfillment of its legitimate aspirations free
from the superiority complex of a hegemonic doctrine. The compelling
attraction of the proposed New Kainji state, or Sudan state, or
whatever it may eventually be called, is that all the constituent
emirates will federate on equal partnership and opportunities, both
political and cultural, and devoid of any degraded citizenship, as
they all share more common cultural traits and identities than
otherwise.
The New Kainji state is proposed to comprise of Zuru and Yauri
Emirates from Kebbi state, and Kontagora, Borgu and Kagara Emirates
from Niger state. This seems a rather large state, but if they all
agree to federate, so be it. The creation of Ndaduma state would
however change the equation here. It will realign and merge the
Nupes from Niger state with their Pategi, Tsonga, and Lafiagi kins
across the border in Kwara state, thus leaving Minna, Suleja and
Kontagora in Niger state, while only Zuru, Yauri and Borgu would be
left to federate in a more compact New Kainji state. It is important
to note however that the last request submitted to the National
Assembly was that of a Kainji state without Yauri Emirate. It is in
the overall interest of Yauri to be part of any new arrangement that
could emerge here.
Indeed, adjustments in the proposed new state in this area may be
inevitable, but any of the options that would be finally agreed upon
would certainly be as viable as any of the existing states, if not
more so. It must also include Zuru. In addition to the vast
agricultural and mineral potentials of the area, there would be the
presence of Kainji Dam and the proposed Yauri inland river port. The
collective developmental potentials of these economic assets and
resources, when purposefully harnessed and developed in a visionary
manner, would transform the young state into a functional and
responsible modern commonwealth.
There is a compelling reason for each of the voluntarily federating
emirates to desire to belong to the New Kainji Commonwealth. The
areas with the most advantages are likely to be Yauri and Kontagora,
for while the latter could easily lay claims to the capital city on
account of its geographic centrality, Yauri must naturally occupy
the center of the economy, especially if and when a visionary
administration integrates and actualizes the establishment of an EPZ
into the existing national plan for an inland river port and
railways in Yauri. The centrality of Yauri inland river port to the
economy of the entire Northwest subregion can best be imagined.
Given the vastness of the agricultural potentials of both Kontagora
and Zuru areas, and the latter’s emerging position as a gold mining
area, coupled with the marine and aquatic assets and potentials of
the Kainji Dam areas, etc, the optimum development and realization
of the full economic potentials of the new state may indeed surpass
that of its parent states of Niger and Kebbi.
Any misgivings arising from any contentious issue, either historical
or contemporary, among the federating emirates cannot be as
important as the immense promise and the limitless opportunities and
possibilities that would abound in the new unions. The current
situation for all the parties involved is as barely tolerable as the
tyranny of the majority could be. This must therefore give way, and
also form the basis for a fair, just and equitably guaranteed
federation of the New Kainji Commonwealth of shared aspiration and
stake-holding, contented sense of belonging and destiny. And like
with all legitimate agitators for self-determination elsewhere
within the Nigerian state, you must all opt for the timeless wisdom
in Nkrumah’s dictum of seeking first the political kingdom, and
every other things shall be added unto it.
SHEIKULLAH wrote in from Zuru. |
