Unless Northerners put their heads together to come up with a strategy that should revive its unity of purpose and design a road map for development, it is certainly doomed as region with common interest and value.
The wonderful job done by the first set of our politicians led by the selfless Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardaunan Sokoto and Premier of the Northern Region, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the first Prime Minister, supported by political heavyweights of the time like Mahmudu Ribadu, Michael Audu Buba, Jacob Obande, Zanna Bukar Dipcharima, Inuwa Wada and those in their political class, should be emulated.
These were great patriots who had the interest of the nation and their people at heart. They knew and practiced representative democracy to the letter. They did not play money politics, because they felt obligated to set standards and knew as leaders, integrity should be their hallmark.
I had the privilage as a young boy, of watching politicians in my native Adamawa Province in the early 1960s, mount drums at rallies to converse for support based on issues. They made promises to assist farmers improve their yield by bringing in extension instructors and Takin Zamani at affordable prices and also provide drugs for bovine diseases; promises they 100 percent redeemed after elections.
Things begin to go awry for the North and indeed the country, when the military took over in January 1966. Barely a year later and by the stroke of the pen, the military rulers decided to segement the country in to 12 states. It was a strategy, it claimed, aimed at weakening a section of the country that wanted to secede.
It was a welcome development at the time and deemed appropriate by all and sundry, especially when it seemingly created opportunity for more communities to have government closer to the people. Successive administrations would however politicise the creation of more states to gain acceptance to perpetuate in office. Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha, were the biggest culprits on this. Between the two of them, they created 20 additional states.
And since the action was not primarilly meant to solve problems at the grassroots, it only made matters worse as agitations for more still persist. We can, as a result, hardly have credible census figures nationwide as each state, each local government, each town and city inflates its data figures to improve the chance of attracting bigger chunk of the national cake.
Though civil rule has stabitilised since 1999, priorities have shifted as it comes with leadership quality. A few states of the North were lucky to have had Governors with foresight that emulated the Sardauna in transforming their states, but majority fumbled the opportunity leaving the states worse than they met them.
The lack of collective strategy on how to improve the region has also put the North at a disadvantaged position, despite its enviable position as a kingmaker that brought in Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Dr Goodluck Jonathan to power and two Northerners as Presidents.
The truth is, President Muhammadu Buhari has done a lot in terms of provision of infrastructure for the region, but it could have been better if State Governors had also played their part. El- Rufa’i of Kaduna State has done exceptionally well in this regard, but we need more El-Rufa’is to be able to come out of the woods.
I am therefore suggesting the formation of a very strong think-tank group, even if it means covertly, that will sit and strategise for the North. It can then from time-to-time meet with the Northern Governors as a unit to present blueprint of how to bring more development to the region.
I understand that groups like the ACF, CAN and JNI have been of great service to the region, but this new group to be formed will in no way interfere with its usual contributions. This is in the interest of the North and should be considered as such without attaching ulterior motive to it. The time to do something for the future of the North is now!
Iyawa is Nigeria’s former Ambassador to Mexico
