We the north of Nigeria are ready for a separation process, which will either involve regionalism or total disintegration.
On the topic, Sagir Aliyu said: Yes, I’m in support of BREAK UP. Because most Nigerian minds are full of hatred, sentiments, ethnicity, religious differences and tribalism. Some are calling for revolution, but instead of loosing lives and property; let the romance end. Also if the 2015 election will result to loss of lives and property, the romance should end before then, Please!
Idris Musa also commented on the subject: Break up is long overdue. Why can some have freedom to perform their religious rites while some are deprived? I can't remain at home on Fridays like Christians do Sundays, Marital dossiers are only emphasized for only one wife & four children. Economically, we are considered parasites because they refused to revamp agriculture. They refused to explore oil deposits in more than five places in my region. Let us break so that we have fresh air.
Musa Maiunguwa: I beg it’s long overdue! Let's break up anyhow regardless of the consequences. I want to be governed by ISLAMIC LAW not this Infidel system of government. I hate to be governed by DRUNKARDS.
These comments were the prevalent type of response from Northerners on facebook to my earlier article on the subject, “Nigeria: Do We Need To Break This Up?”
A majority of northern masses are now making this call as situations keep deteriorating in the nation and undeserved ethnic insults and ethnic torment has become the order of the day from certain quarters in Nigeria. Additionally, it appears that Nigeria as formatted and the perceived disenfranchisement of certain aspects of the South, justify and subject us and Nigeria as a whole to a most terrible regime that is unable to secure life in the north and yield for us the social, economic and developmental dividends of democracy; as poverty reigns at its highest level in the north which is unfairly economically disadvantaged.
Today, Nigeria has 100 million poor, however there is an uneven distribution of the poverty with the South doing more favorably, whereas the north suffers the most with its level of poor as high as 80% living under a dollar a day in many states, this compares to the south that has levels from 20-50%. This level of poverty in the north exceeds the level in neighboring Mali, Chad and Niger, all sharing the northern ecological and cultural demographics.
Trading blame as to whom and what military and civilian dictatorial and usurpist regime caused this high level of poverty is puerile, meaningless and disingenuous; and it contributes nothing towards addressing the real and present epic crisis. Also, asserting that because northern dictators have ruled the nation for 60% of its independent life over 40% Southern rule is meaningless and does not solve the deadly poverty situation.
The ordinary masses are suffering. We gain absolutely nothing from Nigeria’s oil, apart from what we buy of it at the pumps at a price above the global mean, and rather we suffer from oppression and terror as a consequence of, and thanks to bloody oil money. Only the cabal enjoy from the current state of Nigeria. Let it be known that the voices of many so-called northern leaders, which are obviously the loudest, do not represent the sentiments of us suffering masses, wrecked with poverty and lack of opportunity. These ‘northern elders’ are part of a national cabal that exploits and extorts the nation. These cabal obviously have no honest interest in our region as can clearly be seen by their lack of investment in the north, building all their factories in the South. We the real people of the north are eager for autonomy of our region. This is our position.
The landlocked north is clearly disadvantaged. None of the regimes provided the transportation networks to link the north to Nigeria’s ports as would have been the basic and smallest requirement to re-establish a northern economy.
Our agriculture industry has been left to decay. Our textile industry has been completely abandoned, as we suffer from the ‘curse’ of oil and the illusion of Nigeria’s wealth from a mono-economy, which has satisfied and favored only a set of greedy cabal without regional distinction, north, east, west or south.
We see regionalism with the plan of possible disintegration as an urgent next best step towards a northern cultural and economic awakening.
Many of us across Nigeria now agree that military dictator; Aguiyi Ironsi made an error on 24 May 1966, when he released Decree No. 34, which dissolved the regions. Excerpt: “The provisions of the Decree are intended to remove the last vestiges of the intense regionalism of the recent past, and to produce that cohesion in the governmental structure which is so necessary in achieving, and maintaining the paramount objective of the National Military government, and indeed of every true Nigerian, namely, national unity. The highlights of this Decree are as follows: The former regions are abolished, and Nigeria grouped into a number of territorial areas called provinces. . . . Nigeria ceases to be what has been described as a federation. It now becomes simply the Republic of Nigeria.”
We hope Nigerians in South territories share our sentiments and will be happy to peacefully and respectfully discuss modalities of separation into economically independent regions which will test and pave a path for emotional, marital, economical, military and other national related changes and challenges necessary for possible separation in the future.
Dr. Peregrino Brimah
