Roadblock democracy in Nigeria: For whom?
The irony of it is that despite their own being die-hard supporters of “the great party” and in the majority, they are being schemed out and regarded as under-dogs. In the name of “Boko Haram”, a vindictive cabal and insensitive one controlling the army, SSS, NSA and Aso Rock, is bent on unleashing the security […]
The irony of it is that despite their own being die-hard supporters of “the great party” and in the majority, they are being schemed out and regarded as under-dogs. In the name of “Boko Haram”, a vindictive cabal and insensitive one controlling the army, SSS, NSA and Aso Rock, is bent on unleashing the security apparatus to reduce them to jellies and kill as many as they can, torture their people and aim to increase their misery and hopelessness in a contrived war to fight “Boko Haram”.
It had never been the case when the levers of power were in the hands of mainly northerners. Never had northern elements contrived evil on any other region. The body language of GEJ and his close advisers in words and actions, is a policy to marginalize muslims and in particular, the North-West and the North-East.
This is done with the active support of the southerners and collaboration of a minority in the Middle Belt. The scheme is to live and let die and expect peace to reign and Nigeria to develop. A former US Ambassador to Nigeria wrote immediately after the swearing in of GEJ, that the process of marginalization of Muslim North had began. As expected, government denied and even refused him an entry visa.
The total population of the registered voters in the North West Zone stands at 19.8 million registered voters. The South-South has 9.4 million while the South-East with 7.5 million gives them a total of 16.4 million. Obviously with 19.8 million North-West have 3.4 million more voters than the South-South and the South-East combined. The North-East has 10.7 million voters with Borno, Bauchi, Adamawa, Gombe and Yobe providing 9.4 million voters while Taraba has 1.3 million. All the five governors in the North-East are Muslims except Taraba with three PDP Muslims in control of three states and all the six in the North East zone but one.
In the North West zone, in charge are PDP governors, except Zamfara State that was snatched from the PDP. Even in Kaduna, the truth is that the votes of the Muslim majority were stolen by the Muslim PDP do-or-die politicians and greedy short-sighted village politicians. These village politicians looking for high profile public offices to corruptly enrich themselves are suffering from a complex and out to compete with one another in building palaces in Kaduna and Abuja.
In the North Central, the four states of Nasarawa, Kogi, Kwara and Niger have their governors as Muslim except Plateau and Benue. Even in Plateau, over 40% are Muslims shows that Christians are the minority in the so-called Middle Belt! There are many minority Muslims among the tribes unless being non-Hausa Fulani means one is Christian! In the South-West, the total registered voters stood at 14.3 million out of the six states in the zone. The states of Lagos, Oyo, Ogun and Osun have Muslims as their governors in charge.
A critique of the voters’ register indicates that in the North-West, North-East, North Central and South-West Zones, Muslims hold strong. It is only in the South-South and South-East zones that Christians are in the majority. Even for these, the North Central has more registered voters. It is instructive that the game of numbers did upset the PDP jungle politics on the sensitivities of the members of the House of Representatives.
Under the cover of “Terrorism Act”, Muslims only are being arrested by Christian-dominated security agencies. They sit side by side in Church altars and threaten to deal with Muslims, while Christian criminals committing terrible crimes are not mentioned or dealt with in similar or worst circumstances under the Terrorism Bill. More cash instead is withdrawn to fight wars on Nigerians, but Nigerian Muslims in the North West and East zones in particular for the Lord’s Resistance Army of Nigeria under GEJ as the C-in-C.
The monumental corruption that all Nigerians agree and is increasing by the day is worste than Boko Haram. The cases exposed by the EFCC and the courts as well as the local and international media and a business as usual in the government of GEJ and the PDP as a do-or-die party should worry Nigerians.
Corruption is the reason for the premature death of Nigerians in all respects due to lack of health care, hunger, ignorance, police and army brutality and lack of rule of law. The diversions and the evasions of the corruption and the abuse of office of the government of the day and the collaborators in the security administration who enrich themselves from the Boko Haram bogey is a treachery and a disservice to their conscience if they have any and the peaceful coexistence of Nigeria if it matters to them. Why are corrupt officials not being dealt with like the poor Nigerians and expect sanity beats common sense, why are they above the law?
The sooner the Muslim majority call for balance in the appointments of security the better. If Nigeria is to remain in peace, the Terrorism Bill must be abolished and one that is for the good of all Nigerians to replace it. This is where the Muslims in the National Assembly must come out and perform their duty and defend the interests of their people.
The interests of all Nigerians as stakeholders must be allowed to be expressed freely on such issues and not a tiny Christian minority in the security to carry the day to serve Christianity, Israel and US interests. The Christians are a minority in Nigeria whether one likes it or not and must accept the principle of democracy. If they see Christians as the only stakeholders whose interests must prevail, it is saying live and let die. I do not see how that is possible in a peaceful Nigeria. Governance that is visionary must be devoid of a mind that is contentious and free from pettiness, clannish world view and tribal and religious bigotry.
Hypocrisy has eaten deep into the fabrics of the Nigerian society where the larger majority claim to be followers of Islam and Christianity. How can a nation prosper when it is engrossed in duplicity, insincerity, double-standards, two-facedness and pretence?
Abubakar A. Fari, [email protected]