Government and the registration of non indigenes

The men were detained by the military at the 144 battalion of Asa, Abia State.The military said they had arrested a Boko Haram kingpin among the arrested people, but up till now they have not said his name nor paraded him.After many days, most of them were deported.All along, the governors, may be to be […]

The men were detained by the military at the 144 battalion of Asa, Abia State.
The military said they had arrested a Boko Haram kingpin among the arrested people, but up till now they have not said his name nor paraded him.
After many days, most of them were deported.
All along, the governors, may be to be ‘politically correct’ didn’t do much to help the traders who are poor artisans, trying to eke a living in the South as southerners also go to the North.
That is apart from the Kano State Governor, Engineer  Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, who sent a team to visit the detainees, but the team was denied access to them.
Then to add insult to injury the story came that northerners would now be registered and  issued identity cards in Imo State to protect the state from Boko Haram. And the agitation came to do so in other South eastern states.
 Raids on mosques, houses and  a school of northerners  were also carried out on suspicion of them being Boko Haram members.
All along people were wondering:  where is the Northern Governors Forum? In all this humiliation of northerners it had never issued a statement, even to warn of the dangers posed to national unity if it does not stop, since definitely at some point, some reactions may come up.
Then even at the national level,  people expected the Federal Government to caution those states registering northerners since it is against the constitution, as every Nigerian has a right to reside and make a living in every part of Nigeria.
However, it too pretended as if nothing was happening,  that is until some groups in the North issued threat to southerners that the government asked the states registering non indigenes to stop.
A group called Arewa Youth Development Foundation gave a two-week ultimatum to southern Nigerians living in the North to relocate to their states last week in Kano.
This threat made the leaders of southern Nigerian residents in Kano to visit the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II on Sunday.
Also another group, Concerned Arewa Citizens sent a bill to Kano State House of Assembly last week and Kaduna State House of Assembly this week respectively, called the “Registration of Southerners and Allied Matters Bill.”
Presenting the bill to the Speaker of Kaduna State House of Assembly,  Shehu Tahir, President-General of the group, Audu Bulama Bukarti said the  bill sought to  protect the state from  evils of drugs and human trafficking, kidnappings, baby factories, armed robbery, importation of fire arms, pipeline vandalism and other terrorist activities, which he said have become prevalent in southern Nigeria.
These developments have suddenly woken the Federal Government from its seeming slumber to its responsibilities.
However, does the government feel responsible for only southerners?
To show that these threats by the youth groups have really rattled the government was when it condemned the registration and deportation of non indigenes after the National Security Council meeting chaired by President Goodluck Jonathan.
In fact the Director General of Department of State Security (DSS) Ita Ekpeyong, said, “The council discussed the reaction by some groups in Kano State and other parts of the country. The council observed that this threat was more potent than Boko Haram and could disintegrate the country.”
In fact the government said the matter was so important that another meeting would be held next week!
“As a matter of fact, to show the urgency, the Council of State meeting will be held any time next week to discuss these issues,” Ekpeyong said.
Even the National Orientation Agency has suddenly found its voice and saw the danger of registering non indigenes. The  Director General of the agency,  Mike Omeri, in a statement condemned it , describing the action as an impunity that must be stopped.
“Nobody should be subjected to status of second class citizens in their own country. The purpose and goal of citizen registration in some states is inimical to national objectives of peace and progress,” he said.
This sudden concern by the government shows that some Nigerians are more equal than others, while the role of the government is to protect everybody irrespective of where they come from. And that is when people will have confidence in government.