MIDDLE BELT PEOPLE OF NIGERIA: ARISE

By Godson Offoaro, Monday March 12, 2012

“Let me tell you, in the event of the breakup of Nigeria, the north is the component that will remain one and united”. Junaid Mohammed
Good morning class. Today’s lesson is taken from the Book of Karl Marx. It is about rebellion. By the way, how many of you have heard of Karl Marx? His doctrine glamorized rebellion. He had asked workers of the world to unite against tyranny and or exploitation of any kind by the bourgeoisie, as they (workers or proletariats) in the final analysis, have nothing to lose other than their chains.

He sanctimoniously predicted the rise and eventual dictatorship of the worker over the owners of the factors of production. Okay? Workers indeed did rebel and the result was the now moribund Soviet Union and mighty industrial China. Who was the poet philosopher king that coined the adage, “to reign is worth an ambition; better reign in hell than serve in heaven? If you know the answer, keep it to yourself, as no questions shall be entertained throughout the two hours duration expected of a lesson such as this, this Monday morning. Who remembers that guy of yore, who soliloquized, “give me death in one hand and honor in the other and I will look at both indifferently as I love the allure of honor more than I fear death.” Julius Ceaser. Paraphrased.
Now, from what part of the country did we have a powerful soldiering clique that metamorphosed into a dreaded and influential mafia, named Langtang? Which part of Nigeria has the reputation of having produced the greatest numbers of Generals in Nigerian history? And finally, which part of the Nigerian federation has been involved in coup making more than the rest combined? I forgot. One more question class, and we are on our way. Which part of the Nigerian federation has the reputation of being the bread basket of the country priding itself as possessing or sitting atop the largest concentration of solid mineral deposits in Africa?

If you are of age like I am, come let’s reason. If you are of the younger generation Middle Belt Nigerian, get a sheet of paper handy. Because everything we say in this lesson today, will eventually form part of a quiz to assess your grasp of the knowledge of the wasted lives and resources of Middle Belt peoples of Nigeria. We shall also examine the reason why they lag behind the minorities of the South-south, who have since re-asserted their pre-eminence and single-handedly removed the oppressive shackles (of their majority neighboring tribes); we shall discuss the sickening role of Middle Belt minorities as perpetual cannon fodder for the Hausa-Fulani people in their unending struggle to dominate Nigeria. While we do not in any way claim to approximate to the wisdom of the aforementioned peoples nor do we claim a right to speak on their behalf, we must help since it appears no one hears from Dan Agbese anymore. I want to use this sacred podium to call on the people of the Middle Belt of Nigeria to rebel against the tyranny of the Hausa/Fulani or forever remain the most backward and endure accordingly.

People of the Middle Belt, arise; you have nothing to lose other than your chains.
To fully understand, we must take a trip into the not too distant past of Nigeria’s history. Yes we must! Now, you ask: what has become of the dreaded, respected, feared, war-like Middle Belt people of Nigeria? Who caged the giants of the Middle Belt, Nigeria? Where are the scions of Joseph Tarka and Gideon Orkar and Colonel Iyorshe? Should General Maman Vatsa have died in vain? Over some time, these questions and more have agitated the minds of well meaning Nigerians and lovers of democracy and liberation struggles. Essentially of the Nok culture, the Ebira, Jukun, Gwari, Nupe, Tiv, Idoma, Bissom and the clusters of other minority elements in the Middle Belt region dominate the geographical area we are talking about. They were and are still war-like, thoroughly educated, industrious, fiercely nationalistic and predominantly Christian. The crafty British did not lose sight of this. They recognized this so much that in the beginning, it was from this class that the foundation of the infantry (foot soldiers) of the West African Frontier Force and later the Nigeria Army, was formed. It was not any surprise that the Nigeria Civil War was theirs - just for the asking. Class, hope you’re still with me. Theophilus Danjuma, reputed to have killed Aguiyi Ironsi and Adekunle Fajuyi, comes from this group. Buka Suka Dimka who gunned down, Murtala Mohammed came from this stock. Gideon Orkar, the visionary, revolutionist-soldier who if he was Igbo or from any of the majority tribes in Nigeria would have been transformed into a folk-hero, came from thence. He would have been eulogized in folklores and poetry and dramatized to no end, had he come from the Yoruba nation of Nigeria.

Come to think of it, why can’t the guy, Gideon Orkar, be likened to Odumegwu Ojukwu, as a visionary who came before his time? Is it because he is not Igbo or Yoruba? Didn’t he once upon a time, properly, redraw the map of Nigeria to the secret applause of many? General Malu, who distinguished himself as ECOMOG Commander and later had the inglorious reputation of leveling Odi, came from this tribe. David Mark, who right from when he was a Major in the Nigerian Army, supervised the further abandoning of the abandoned property of the Igbo in Port Harcourt, had held responsible and reputable positions in the land. He too comes from this region. I mean David Mark; the current Senate President (was he at Ojukwu’s funeral?). What of Generals Shelleng, Domkat Bali, John Shagaya, Jerry Useni, Joe Garba, Audu Ogbe et al. At a point in time, these people formed the nucleus population of the dreaded Langtang Mafia.

The Langtang Mafia was essentially of the soldiering class which later metamorphosed into a lose confederate of the movers and shakers of policies in Nigeria. More than half of the population of the G34 Group belonged to the mafia. They grandfathered the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). All these men, if they had belonged to a distinct country, collectively would have possessed a cumulative knowledge, education, wealth and experience enough to put that country in the top bracket of the world’s most performing economies. This region was so important and predominant in the makeup of the Nigerian armed forces that when the mantle of leadership hovered during the uncertain days that preceded the murder of Aguiyi Ironsi, it fell on the hands of one of them - Yakubu Gowon. I hate to push General IBB into this column. Strictly speaking, that is where he should belong. But, he is Muslim.

Now, if the aforementioned people all come from Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, and have been at the corridors of power (following Hausa-Fulani up and down like mumu) for as long as God knows, why is it that their area has been some of the least developed in Nigeria second only to the Niger Delta? Why are there no good roads in the Middle Belt area of Nigeria? Why is the road from Keffi in Nasarawa through Makurdi in Benue, a living hell? Why has that road not at least been dualized? Why are there not (except Dangote Cement) any industries of repute in the region? Why are the people’s brands of agriculture not being revolutionized? Why is there runaway unemployment in the Middle Belt zone? Why didn’t the leaders, earlier produced from this region do enough to uplift the quality of lives of its people?

Why are the political wishes and destinies of the people of the Middle Belt (who arguably make at least a quarter of the Nigerian population) still tied to the apron strings of the Hausa/Fulani oligarchs? Why? Why is it that every important political appointment meant for the north always ended up in the kitty of the Hausa/Fulani? Why is it that any important federal investment meant for the north ends up in the belly of the Hausa-Fulani geographical area? And why is it so, that the area belonged to the north only in name? Why doesn’t the Middle Belt area of Nigeria have anything to show for the political support it had shown to the core north? When will the Middle Belt region be liberated? Why is it that the people from the area do not have a voice of their own? Why are there not visible coherent political pressure groups like the Ohaneze, Afenifere, South-South Elders Forum, and or the MASSOB, the OPC, and the BOKO HARAM in the Middle Belt region in spite of the areas’ strategic importance?

NIGERIA AT CROSSROADS: THE POSITION OF THE MIDDLE BELT PROFESSIONALS (MBP)

Introduction
Our country Nigeria is on a time bomb. Incessant crises in the Niger Delta, the Boko Haram crisis, inter group violence across the country, minority factor in Nigerian politics, citizenship challenges, religious intolerance, bad governance at all levels are all shaking our faith in the unity of the country and calling into question our collective future. The situation is exacerbated by the inability of the Federal Government to guarantee security of lives and property. The National Assembly also looks helpless. The Middle Belt Professionals (MBP), a group of technocrats of Middle Belt extraction recently met and reviewed the Nigerian project and unfolding developments.

Though the MBP as a group are committed to the unity of Nigeria and are prepared within reason to do whatever it takes to ensure that unity, we are however, extremely disturbed by the irresponsible and violent way in which different stakeholders in the Nigerian project are expressing their grievances against the State and putting ordinary law abiding Nigerians at risk.

The inability of the Federal Government to decisively contain the escalation of these crises is bringing to the fore, the many contradictions in the national fabric, leading many to doubt whether we can manage our diversity and mutual suspicions well enough to still build a nation state that will ensure our collective destiny. Already other stakeholders are giving subtle notice of their intentions to reconsider the Nigerian project.

The National Question
The MBP as a group is of the opinion that as the Federal Government grapples with the escalating crises and the different ways in which the National Question is being manifested in the country today, transparent attempts must be made to get Nigerians talking in order to decide whether they want to live together or not.

Should we want to live together, as is our prayer and hope, we must ALL commit to a secular state where there will be absolute freedom of worship without any one riding on religion and faith to hold others to ransom. We must also commit to a citizenship status in which the settler indigene divide will be obliterated to allow for every Nigerian to feel at home in every corner of the country he or she may choose to call home. Commitment must also be made to restructure the country to allow for appropriate empowerment of federating units.

Should we decide to abandon the Nigerian project, which will be extremely unfortunate, instead of spilling unnecessary blood, we must be responsible enough to use the Southern Sudan template allowing for stakeholders who want to leave to decide through a referendum.

Clarion Call to Middle Belters
The MBP calls upon all people of Middle Belt extraction and other Nigerian minorities to support the call for a Sovereign National Conference. The country is structurally skewed against the minorities and we must support a forum that will give us an opportunity to renegotiate our Cinderella status in the country, and should others decide that they are done with the Nigerian project, we must be ready to take our destiny in our hands.

Doing this requires acute awareness of the minority factor in Nigerian politics. The Minorities of Nigeria are an entity larger than any of the Southern or Northern regions of Nigeria. They account for about 51% of Nigerians and are indisputable power brokers in Nigeria. The minorities are responsible for Nigerian stability and many of the country’s core values.

Unfortunately, the way they have been scattered across Nigeria and, overrun in some states especially in the North has made it extremely difficult for them to cohere into a very potent political force in the country. The minorities of the south- south are still largely in the shadow of the major groups in the South while many of those in the North have remained in the shadow of the Hausa- Fulani. If the Nigerian project is to survive, the minorities must unite, demand and be given sufficient political space within which to contribute on mutual terms in the project. In states like Gombe, Bauchi, Niger, Adamawa, Kebbi, Kaduna and Zamfara where they have been overrun and virtually chocked by pockets of Hausa- Fulani elements, their liberation must be a condition for our continued existence.

Minorities must go back to history to challenge and interrogate myths and silences propagated and reinforced against them by majority ethnic peoples in the country. In the North for example, they must challenge Hausa-Fulani hegemony and expose the conspiracy between Lord Lugard and the Caliphate to subjugate minority groups through the agency of the Caliphate and Indirect Rule which conspiracy is the foundation of current instability especially in the North.

Northern Minorities must rigorously contest the post Jihad narrative of Northern identity that seeks to conscript them into a monolithic North in which they remain a footstool for the so called ‘true north’ because of their characteristic refusal to pander to the religious orthodoxy of the Caliphate. Northern Minorities must be aware of the potency of the ‘Maguzawa template’ which the Caliphate has used to silence and turn non Muslim Hausa into ignoble minorities in their land and the ongoing attempts to deploy the template effectively against northern minorities by isolating them and undermining their self confidence.

Northern Minorities must realize that ‘Hausa’ in the sense we know and use today is a political and quasi religious derivative from the writings of Othman Danfodio who conceived a political union of the different Hausa States and proceeded to foist a Fulani leadership on the union through arbitrary force and stealth after holding the states as an amalgam of bad Muslims.

Northern Minorities must valorize their history and politically construct their identity to include the marginalized others in the North into a greater Middle Belt comprising minority nationalities as far as Bornu to the North East and Kebbi to the North West.

The MBP reiterate that the basis for our commitment to a one Nigeria can only be assured if all Nigerian nationalities commit to a secular state where freedom of worship is unequivocally guaranteed. This will guide against attempts in parts of the North to foist Islam as a state religion, promote Islamic symbols in public spaces using public funds thereby undermining other ways of worship. Nigerians must accept our diversity and multi religious nature as inviolable.

We must cherish and respect it. We must also commit to a citizenship status obliterating the indigene/settler divide to allow Nigerians call anywhere they maybe living truly home. Incessant flash points across the country arising from binary tensions between so called settlers and indigenes must be resolved in favour of a citizenship that does not privilege primordial sentiments. The current situation in which one can walk into the country from neighbouring Chad or Niger to settle for two or three years in some northern town and becomes more ‘Nigerian’ than others who might have been around for decades is unacceptable . Our commitment to a one Nigeria will also be assured with the restructuring of the federation to allow the federating units to be sufficiently empowered through responsible devolution of powers from the centre. Nigeria cannot be sustained through the sharing of oil revenues without accountability nor attempts to develop other revenue sources including robust tax regimes.

The position of the MBP is that these conditions are the basic minimum for our continued existence. We think our fathers and brothers shed their blood to maintain the unity of this country without carefully thinking through the considerations that would accrue to them. Others who shed less blood have been corruptly feasting on the unity of the country and pauperizing our people. Worse, it is their actions as sponsors of crises, religious intolerance and self centeredness that are pushing us to the brink today. While they may be the first today, even in old age to indicate willingness to fight for a one Nigeria, we will not shed our blood again for this country and such people unless we are convinced that we will be better for it.

The MBP urges Minority states of the country, especially in the North to urgently legislate against indiscriminate grazing of life stock by itinerant Fulani herdsmen in the employment of their patrons in the cities. Their activities are destabilizing and a serious security threat to many parts of the Middle Belt. States should require those who have cows to keep them on farms or ranches. This is global good practice. Such legislation will safeguard the farms of our people, enhance food security, reduce friction and close a destabilization window which Caliphate agency has been using against our communities.

Conclusion
The MBP urge politicians, scholars, professionals and opinion leaders of Middle Belt extraction to close ranks quickly in order to articulate a common position in the Nigerian project and begin to explore strategic alliances with other Nigerian Minorities especially those in Cross River, Akwa Ibom and other parts of the South South.

On our part, we will intensify awareness creation on these and other issues within the greater Middle Belt. We will also continue to champion a Middle Belt identity and the need for a very responsible political recruitment process within and amongst the different nationalities of the Middle Belt. We are open to honest and committed dialogue on the Nigerian Question and urge all stakeholders to come to the table with open minds and clean hands. Anything short of this will not serve the Nigerian Project. We are building a website to help in awareness creation and efficient networking as well as the collation of inputs and ideas that will advance and give voice to our concerns in Nigeria.

Signed:
Kwagher Tartenger, PhD
Convener
15th March, 2012.