THE philosophy of reason is predicated on understanding of differences and seeking of accommodation. It is rather difficult and indeed impossible, however, to maintain equanimity in any debate if the original intent of the proposition is to cause offence or create malice and disaffection. An article which appeared in The Nation newspaper on June 26, 2024, titled, “The Northern question again: Facts unknown or ignored”, by one Mr. Niyi Akinnaso, provided some food for thought and an opportunity for a sober introspection on the situation prevailing in Northern Nigeria today.
We may take issues with some “facts” in the said article from both historical and intellectual perspectives, but doing so might not be productive of a reasoned discourse or lead to a satisfactory rational outcome. Despite the peremptory dismissal of the region from reading the concluding part of the article, and the likely imputation of the hopelessness of the situation of the North, we must accept as realities its thrusts and act on some of the evidence that it adduced or provided against the Northern condition. More importantly, we must admit that there are serious and even existential challenges besetting the North today.
Northerners themselves are acutely aware of this and have been voicing their concerns and deep disappointment for many years. No less a person than the former National Vice-chairman of the All Progressives Congress for North West, Mr Salihu Mohammed Lukman, had cause to issue a clarion call to Northern politicians in an open letter on June 29, 2024, to draw attention to the dire and explosive situation in the region. Northerners have not buried their heads in the sand like the proverbial ostrich. Rather, some of them have been doing their utmost to highlight the situation in the region which is far from the ideal or approved condition of living of any people anywhere in the entire world today.
I, in my humble capacity and situation, had cause as far back as 2008, to submit a study on stagnation in Northern Nigeria and the remedies to be adopted. I have also repeatedly advised that we should take a hard look at our leadership selection process and come up with better alternatives to what is obtaining today for the sake of the North to rescue it from the grips of various challenges and negative forces that are buffeting it from every direction. The emergence, however, of a person like Professor Babagana Umara Zulum in Borno State, offers a respite and hope about retrieval of the situation and correcting of deficiencies in our governance processes.
Mr. Niyi Akinnaso’s article therefore; could be considered as another addition to the calls to have an honest and objective assessment of the situation in the North to bring about course corrections mainly in leadership and governance in the region, and the deployment of resources towards ensuring just and sustainable development of its economy. Northern leaders, especially state governors, have had every opportunity from 1999 to date to remedy the conditions in their states by addressing the perceived shortfalls and deficiencies in critical areas such as education and other human development indices. However, due to some unfathomable reasons, no substantial inroads have been made so far in making life safer and better for the citizens. On the contrary, life keeps getting worse and precarious with the ascendency of poverty and increasing lack of opportunities for advancement.
One of the most complicated and disastrous situations staring at the Northern region today is the explosion in human population and the unrestrained and massive movement of people from the rural areas into the towns and cities. Pervasive insecurity may have contributed to this phenomenon admittedly, but other factors like dwindling economic fortunes and restricted opportunities are among the drivers of this unprecedented calamity. The generation now going into late adolescence and early middle age in the North, is possibly the least educated and most underprivileged in terms of access to opportunities in the region’s history. It is also the generation that is the least guided in terms of being shown the better aspects of societal organisation and achievements of breakthroughs in development. This generation has no experience or recollection of better days in the past or hopes of happier prospects awaiting it in the future. As such, it constitutes what Mr. Salihu Lukman termed as a ticking time bomb waiting to detonate!
There doesn’t seem to be elite consensus on where or in which direction the North should go, in terms of a collective drive towards modernity, economic development and human prosperity. This lack of consensus and a common perspective on the ways and means to advance the region, have left many of us bewildered and apprehensive about the fate of such an important region. Many people are even questioning the utility of politics as a means of bringing forward leaders to guide the development of the region. The near-total collapse of the local government administrations in almost all the Northern states and their irrelevance towards contributing to the development of the region is another factor that has rendered the situation in the North so precarious and dire.
The development of Western education effectively took off in Northern Nigeria much later than in the Southern parts of the country. However, the North had a rich and well-entrenched system of Islamic education that had existed for centuries. If conscientious efforts had been made over the years, the two systems would have been adapted to create a suitable framework of learning that would be productive of better results and opportunities. However, due mainly to negligence and lack of appreciation of the positive attributes of education, a general state of apathy towards Western education was allowed to subsist, which today resulted in the disturbing phenomenon of out-of-school children that is so common but not peculiar to the region.
It must be admitted that multiple and intersecting challenges are facing the North today. Insecurity which has become widespread and endemic, is a matter of serious concern and apprehension to everybody. Other phenomena like banditry, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining and cattle rustling, drug addiction and the abuse of substances as well as many other ills, seem to have overwhelmed both reason and behaviour of people in the region. That is not to say that these are only happening in the North and nowhere else in the country. But their continued manifestation and widespread occurrence in the region call for introspection and decisive action to contain and roll back these evident threats to human security in the North. They have affected the region’s productivity and effectively placed it decades behind the South in terms of development.
The most worrying situation about the North is the generational gap that is growing between it and the South, not only in terms of education but also in terms of broadening the horizons of their citizens and creating general awareness about modern systems and methods of arrangements and organisation of societies. There is an overwhelming deficit in the North about awareness of advances in corporate organisation and culture, as well as a general lack of exposure to technical and technological advances such as in artificial intelligence, computing, and associated subjects that have become indispensable to modern economic arrangements.
With such growing gaps in opportunities, the conditions of underdevelopment and dependency between the North and South will inevitably increase to the detriment of both sides. A relatively developed South confidently marching on the path towards progress will inevitably create perceptions of inequality and unfair economic advantages that would likely impact the country’s politics and overall governance postures. The retardation of the North’s economic fortunes and prospects will, undoubtedly, also affect the interests of the South, especially in disposing of its manufactured products.
To allay such fears and improve the prospects of national cohesion, a better way of allocating and managing resources will need to be put in place. More importantly, oversight systems to regulate the expenditures of states and ensure their deployment towards more productive and impactful ventures should be agreed on, with the overall understanding of the prerogatives of both the state and federal governments. A modus vivendi must be found if the North and the South are to move at the same pace or at least in the same direction towards creating a cohesive national outlook and achieving development objectives based on the recognition of their shared mutual interests and associated destiny as two segments that have been brought to live together by historical circumstances beyond their control or determination. The North doesn’t mind if it has only nine fingers and these are counted in its face. It will only make the reality of its condition apparent and the need for improvement necessary. If cohabitation under mutually agreeable terms seems awkward and undesirable as suggested at the end of Mr. Akinnaso’s article, then a way to resolve the situation “one way or the other” should be discussed amicably and intelligently.