Re: Jonathan gave all scholarship slots to southerners

I’ve been asked by some ogas at the top to help compile the names of those who sat the screening exams but weren’t “successful”.  So, if you sat the screening exam and are not on the list, please send me your details.  In the meantime, following is a selection of readers’ reactions to the columns.  […]

I’ve been asked by some ogas at the top to help compile the names of those who sat the screening exams but weren’t “successful”.  So, if you sat the screening exam and are not on the list, please send me your details.  In the meantime, following is a selection of readers’ reactions to the columns.  Many of them found fault with the vision of northern leaders.  Enjoy.
Ral Mustafa: I think we should blame ourselves. However, than you so much Doctor. Likulli shai’n Sababa!  It’s now obvious that we’ve been marginalized in this government. It’s left to us to find ways of helping and improving ourselves.
Sani Dahiru Buba:  I don’t blame the southerners for doing this, but i blame the northerners for two reasons.  One, when they had the chance of training their sons, they refused to do it. Two, why is it only the Southwest that is agitating for regional government in the national conference? Let us separate from the south and allow them to drink their oil instead of being comfortable with the status-quo and keep complaining.  Many countries without oil in the world are living and doing much better than Nigeria.
Further, we should not be blaming Allah all the time for our weaknesses. It is very obvious that the unity of Nigeria is only artificial and I don’t see any reason why our fat belly leaders in the North are insisting on things that do not work any longer.  Let them work out a regional plan for the North too. The South can control their oil, oil money and all they want to control over there, but they cannot and dare not withhold rain from the sky.  With that rain and our land, we can flourish in agriculture, so why do we have to humiliate ourselves?   After all, with all the oil Nigeria has, we are ranked among the poorest in the world. Just last week, Nigeria recorded another ranking with the largest displaced persons in world, ahead of Syria that is enveloped in civil war for more than two years.
Suleiman Yusuf Alhaji: A wakeup call for the northern people! Allah ya sauwaka.
Maikano Abdullahi: While we cannot be hasty in passing judgement, this is an issue the northern senators, representatives and opinion leaders have to compel NUC and the implementation committee to explain to Nigerians (beyond reasonable doubt). When, where and how was the slots advertised, the list of all applicants, the criteria used for screening, and the scores of the successful candidates.   If the advert was transparently and fairly done and if the selection process was strictly on merit (with nobody from the north qualifying) we shall then do away with all histrionics and accept the results.
Salamatu Abdullahi Wachiko:  Vote your non performing governors and reps out, then vote in credible individuals. The extravagant lifestyle of these corrupt people is mind-blowing, to say the least. REMEMBER to vote them out!
Adamu Isa: We deserve what we get. We need to mend our ways. Allah does not change the situation of people until they change themselves.  More is to come.
Musa Salisu: That reminds me of the efforts you made some years ago and your interaction with some northern governors and how disappointed you were by their reluctance to heed your counsel and consider your initiatives by not showing willingness to co-ordinate in getting admission in Malaysia for our youth.  I also remember the meeting you had with Kwankwaso then.  I can remember reading it somewhere. But Alhamdulillah, look at how things have changed within a short period and how hundreds of youth are benefiting from those ideas. What may appear to be a little effort can yield results at the end. May Allah reward you abundantly.  Keep it up, please.
I’m afraid the worst marginalization may come if they succeed in remaining in office beyond 2015. Not good for the country at large, not only the North. God forbid. We shouldn’t wait for the country to be divided before we know we have a fertile land, we shouldn’t wait for presidential scholarships as long as we know the states governments in the north and many individuals can sponsor hundreds of youth to study abroad, but the pertinent question is: are they willing? They cannot even provide a quality primary and secondary education in many states, let alone tertiary education. May God help us.
MD Lugos: These are people who set the laws and the rules but they never observe them. We have National Character Commission that should be involved in the screening and selection process for the purpose of providing an enabling platform for equal representation, yet obvious marginalization like this are still seen as normal in my country. Actually, the criteria for such selections should take into consideration regional disadvantages and issues of unclassified degrees, which I think the implementation committee is conversant with. Well, it’s good someone has seen this, but I want to believe lots of things like this have already been done.  I don’t know what he intends to project as elements of credible administration for future elections. I agree with those who describe this administration as corrupt, incompetent, clueless and all other related perverse adjectives, considering what we see on a daily basis since this administration came on board. May God deliver us from the hands of this wicked government.
Busari Sherif: Let NUC publish the criteria they used for the selection of 104 out of 623 who sat for the aptitude test.  Only four parameters could have been used in my opinion: first class (which we all have), O’level result (which we know), test result (which the system displayed after the test) and state of origin. Let NUC publish these details and the aggregate. Simple!