Increasing spate of insecurities has rocked the North of Nigeria more than any other part of the country. We have seen killings getting little or no attention. It was almost becoming norms until this air of intolerance began to blow like hurricane.
If nothing else, we have seen that what keeps the uprising in Nigeria from becoming yet a full blown revolt is the calmness in the boiling atmosphere of the North. The people are held down against their wills by powers that be – the Kings in the north.
The ruling class’ repression on public education in the north, in the name of ‘Boko is Haram’ and in preserving political and traditional cum religious oligarchy, are the weapons being used to control the politics and opinions of the northerners. Indeed, the most potent weapon in the hand of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.
A paradigm shift from this control of false opinions on our northern brothers, would be a catalyst to the Nigerian liberation. Perhaps, by then, the discussion on restructuring and/or secession might eventually become an outlived conversation. What we need to see is that the society is only polarized along the very distinct lines of the wealthy and poor.
Many of the primitive ideas being used to keep down the northerners, especially those who have been denied their rights to quality education, are being ignored by the ruling class of the North. The laws are only meant for the poor!
We all saw the wedding of the president’s son and how national treasury was squandered. We saw the fleets of jets and how the elites partied lavishly without interruptions. Meanwhile, we have the Hisbah chasing the children of the poor around, shaving their heads, and destroying drinks in the name of preserving culture and decency. These have not come with much condemnation from the north, but rather louder in the south.
From Daidiyata to Mubarak Bala, censorship against criticism in the north could mean sudden disappearance of vocal individuals. The northerners have been so turned against their southern brothers that during the #EndSARS uprising, many northerners were not only hostile, they were holding anti-EndSARS rallies too.
This weaponized manipulation up north by the political and traditional leaderships, considered sacred, is what keeps the ‘Kings in the north’ in power and wealth.
Today, #NorthIsBleeding is breaking out, not because the North had not always bled, but because the manipulation of our brothers is becoming weakened by the persistent widening of the gap between the rich and the poor. By extension, the fact that the social wealth and security are being guaranteed for the rich class alone, sinks the majority the more into the pool of questions that keep begging for answers.
The North is bleeding, the ruling class whom the northerners labour to enrich are quiet and even sleeping. Apparently, their psychological hold on the people, no matter how long, cannot protect the people as much as it represses and exploits them. This is why the task to liberate Nigeria cannot come without the north first liberating itself and move with the pace of the south in this effort. Southern vocal voices have to back the north the more at this moment.
Nigeria is bleeding as much as the north is bleeding, and we must secure the north, but not the kings in the north.
Gbenga Oloniniran.
gbengaoloniniran@gmail.com
Facebook: Gbenga Von
Twitter: @gbenga_von
