The Northern elite are the major problem facing the North. This has never been in doubt. The problem of the region has now come full circle and confronts the very same elite that created it and until they clean their own mess, nobody from outside that region can do it for them.
Since the independence of Nigeria, especially since this dispensation from 1999, the North have held power more and have literally come to see governance as the prerogative of the North alone. But to what use have they put this stronghold on power to benefit the region and the people?
All indices of human living and existence have remained negative and daily on the decline even as the elite continue to hunger for power just for the sake of it.
The reason insecurity in the region has remained protracted and monumental is because there is never a shortage of supply of free and willing hands to be used and manipulated to serve the selfish interests of the elite of the region.
So, the logical question to ask is of what use have the northern elite put its hold on power to benefit the country in general and the northern region specifically?
Last week, the embarrassing arraignment of some poorly clad, hunger-stricken underage children in court for alleged acts of treason should be more than enough reason to worry these power mongers from the region that something drastic has to be done to reverse these ugly trends of poverty, malnourishment, illiteracy and continuous general retrogression and misery of the vast majority of the common people of the region.
For one, what the event of last week portrayed remains the same narrative of exploitation of an ignorant population to the benefit of the infinitesimal minority of elite and that these elite would stop at nothing to manipulate and exploit the ignorance of the hunger-stricken and ignorant masses in their quest for power.
That is where we are. That was what happened to those hungry children arraigned in court for alleged treason by the Federal Government.
The ugly spectacle of underaged children being paraded should prick the conscience of the elite from the north. Unfortunately, the elite seem pleased manipulating the vulnerable ones just to push their agenda to grab power just for the sake of it while their children and wards are abroad pursuing education in Ivy League institutions.
With deliberate education programmes across the region, some of the problems plaguing them would be addressed drastically.
One thing for sure, those illiterate children waving the Russian flag do not even know anything about Russia or what the agenda of their manipulative elite are.
Who then are the sponsors of these children?
Hearing the prosecution saying those are not children is to say the least disappointing because whereas some are obviously above 18, most of those docked were clearly below 18.
Again, granted that the laws of the land do not exonerate anyone from being prosecuted regardless of the age for an offence as grievous as treason, it is in tandem with our proclivity or the tendency of our security operatives who are always chasing or hunting small fries while closing their eyes on the big barons and sponsors or those behind these crimes.
Who bought the materials and commissioned the tailor that made those flags? Ignorance is not an excuse in law but constantly hunting the couriers at the expense of the patrons and kingpins behind these crimes only amount to treating the symptoms and not the ailment.
And the consequences of these half-hearted approach to fighting crimes is the reason for the ever-increasing state of insecurity in the land.
For political patronage and correctness, the northern elite have carried on as though all is well, while in reality, the entire north especially is seated on a keg of gunpowder. The north is sitting on a ticking time-bomb that needs urgent, holistic, deliberate actions to defuse it before it explodes in our face.
That exactly, is the reason some worried elite in the north are now crying and calling for a paradigm shift from the old order of seeking for power just to satisfy the minute elite class that have only held on to power for their selfish and inordinate quest and desires.
This, more than anything else, informed a recent piece by Dr. Umar Ardo, convener of League of Northern Democrats, in a recent treatise, which he entitled, “Northern leaders must change their ways or give way.” That piece could not have been more apt.
In it Dr. Ado lamented what is already too well known by all; the lethargy of leadership across the northern region and its unbridled corruption and ineptitude.
Hear him: “Instead of economic transformation and rising prosperity in the 25 years of the current democratic dispensation, the North faces an increasing spiral of poverty, illiteracy, insecurity, moral decadence and underdevelopment. This paradox is driven primarily by poor, incompetent and spendthrift nature of our leaders, particularly state governors and legislators and the bureaucracy they put in place to manage the affairs of state. Far too many of these leaders lack(ed) the skills, capacity and will to harness the abundant resources under their control, resorting instead to purposeless governance, wasteful spending and unsustainable dependence on federal allocations and borrowing. Unless such leaders change their ways or are made to give way and be replaced by competent and purposeful leadership with the ability to unite, guide, influence and inspire people to work together to achieve the common goals of the region and indeed the nation, will continue to suffer economic stagnation, social decay and political instability.”
And as part of his recommendation for arresting or checking the decadence from spiraling out of control, the North, he says, also needs to “shift from its current mode of governance. And this calls for more than just a change in policy; it requires a change in leadership as well. Leaders who cannot demonstrate purposeful leadership in creativity, foresight, fiscal discipline, resourcefulness, integrity and will should not be allowed either to remain in office or be put into office in howsoever manner. The people of Northern Nigeria now need only competent leaders to harness their resources, stimulate economic growth and create prosperity. The region can no longer afford leaders who treat governance as ornament rather than solemn service.”
May God help them in their pursuits.
The time for these selfish leadership to begin to think seriously for the future of that region is now. For too long, they have subjugated and suppressed the ordinary man and made him subservient and pliable to satisfy the caprices and whims of the elite.
All thanks to President Bola Tinubu, who clearly realising that prosecuting these minors who are only pawns in the political chessboard of the elite, would not be in the best interest of his administration, and therefore ordered that they be released on humanitarian ground.
Are we not worried that for as little as a token, people can be brainwashed into doing negative things and risking their lives?
The genuine leaders from the North can begin to put in deliberate programmes to educate the millions of out of school children roaming the streets. They must begin to see education as a means to emancipate their people from the manipulative grip of some greedy, selfish political and religious leaders. They must begin to seek the right leadership as a means to improve the wanton state of neglect, despair, hunger, deprivations and misery and tap the abundance of untapped human and natural resources in all northern states to free them from the shackles and stranglehold of manipulative elements.
