Op–ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Jtownonline
A new pipeline is in the offing, from Port Harcourt to Kano.
Then three new power plants. One in Kano, one in Kaduna, one in Abuja.
This comes as more resources are being devoted to the search for oil in
the North-East, then there’s that 3% of VAT thing, that somehow Kano got
itself involved in, despite a) not being in the North-East, and b) not
exactly being victims of Boko Haram’s festivities.
There’s no hiding it. This administration has a clear agenda, and the North is front and centre of that agenda. Many of my southern compatriots have complained, bitterly in some cases,
about how we are constantly “shafted” by the North. I think different.
To be honest, I can’t help but envy the almost laser sharp focus of the
northern elite in cornering the resources of this ‘ere country for their
purpose. Whether those resources are used properly is another matter.
What matters here is the lessons to be learned.
First, it is true that
the northern elite is ahead, only just, of the various factions in the
South as the most hedonistic and self-obsessed group of people in this
country, and those guys have managed to abuse noble concepts like Zakat
for their own selfish purposes. But I’m a firm believer in the theory
of enlightened self-interest, and as the resources available to share
dwindle, and the population, especially in the North, grows, I believe
that a leader will eventually emerge in the North, who will go beyond
merely giving his people fish, but teaching them how to fish. When that
happens, someone else will teach his people how to create a scarcity of
fish.
Concurrently, what will
happen in the South? Our own ‘leaders’ here are too busy feathering
their own nests and not giving a hoot about building sustainable
alliances. Within the South.
You see, one of the
greatest victories of the Northern establishment is in the manner they
managed to convince so many in the South that we must all have a
“national vision”, yet if you look closely, many in the North, the
intelligentsia, the common people, always promote the Arewa ideal. Are
they wrong?
The answer is NO.
There is nothing wrong
in advancing the interest of your section of the country. Where things
start to get messy is when you advance your interests, and deliberately
pull down others at the same time. That is what has been happening in
Nigeria. Unfortunately, we have spent the greater part of three
generations making it look like advancing your own interests is dirty,
and as a result, abusing people, especially Southerners, who try to
advance their own interests. This has to change, and what is important
is the context within which it changes.
You see, if we make this
change, but maintain the current context, we will be caught in an
endless loop where the moment someone comes into power in the all
powerful Abuja centre, only the “interests” of his people will be
advanced for four years. Then when he leaves, the pendulum swings, and
so on. That, is not sustainable.
However, if
we have a situation where people are allowed to be creative within their
own small enclaves, then pay Abuja an agreed percentage of their sweat,
while keeping the rest, then we will quickly find that we can all
advance the interests of our sections, and the interest of Nigeria.
By Cheta Nwanze
No comments:
Post a Comment