The Lamido’s unedifying outburst

The Lamido is one of 13 delegates representing the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria in the Conference. Granted a written request to the Conference Chairman for recognition to speak on what he said was the provocative utterances of some delegates, the Lamido proceeded to make remarks that are risqué, given his position.  Obviously […]

The Lamido is one of 13 delegates representing the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria in the Conference. Granted a written request to the Conference Chairman for recognition to speak on what he said was the provocative utterances of some delegates, the Lamido proceeded to make remarks that are risqué, given his position.  Obviously irked by attempts to blackmail northern delegates to the Conference, Alhaji Muhammadu threatened to walk out of the conference if such behaviour by delegates from the South, especially the Niger delta region, continued. The more irksome part of his statement was a reference to the people he said caused most of Nigeria’s current travails as being the same people who ‘have no place to go should the country disintegrate’. It is true that certain delegates, even before the conference was convened, have been downright patronizing, even tauntingly derogatory, in their comments regarding the social and economic challenges that have befallen the North in recent years, and have been in the forefront of hinting at the disintegration of the entire country, with the Conference as the harbinger. In contrast, right from post-colonial times, it is the North that has been arguing for inclusions and unity among all ethnic groups of the country. The Lamido is one of the most respected stools among Nigeria’s traditional institutions; but Alhaji Muhammadu’s outburst, clearly made out of justifiable anger, and ignoring the ‘no-go’ areas, including the unity of Nigeria, spelt out for delegates, are not representative of the entire North.
 The Lamido is not representing himself at this Conference. His walkout threat only plays into the hands of those who harbour a wish to use the forum to pursue their sinister agenda.   Much of the public reaction to the Lamido’s outburst has however been hasty and off-point, and reflects the well-known profiling of the North.  Indeed, his assertion that “jingoism is not the exclusive preserve of anyone” should be taken seriously when the Conference’s work begins in earnest. Delegates, from whatever part of the country or representing whichever interest, need to tone down their bellicose language and divisive rhetoric. Although it is not clear how Chairman Justice Idris Legbo Kutugi will resolve the contentious issues that the conference will grapple, the rabble-rousing and sabre-rattling attitudes of some delegates are signs that there will be many reasons for disagreements. Disagreements should not necessarily lead to acrimony and name-calling. The conference is just getting underway and in the coming weeks, it will be clear that by allowing political, ethnic, religious and social divisions to coalesce over the decades without serious checks, past and present leaders may have endangered a conference that could otherwise be beneficial. Although acceptance of nomination should normally have meant acceptance of the guidelines, many delegates claim that they did not sign any undertaking to be guided by any restriction, including the so-called no-go areas. There is something to be said about a situation like this, in which fifty two years after independence, Nigerians would still be locked into their religious and regional identities. Unless there is some understanding, even acceptance, of how disparate peoples like this country’s can relate within one united nation, the conference will be like the biblical Tower of Babel, a waste of time.  Ingrained secessionist notions, and the ill-motives of the drivers of ‘resource control’ are the very foundation for the frustrations that people like the Lamido feel, and cannot stomach it anymore. By orientation and tradition however, Alhaji Muhammadu is not expected to join these people in the gutter.