The Nigerian contraption has remained a classical case of ‘the more you look, the more you see’. As presently constituted, Nigeria is no doubt a political invention that is in urgent need of divine intervention. The unwilling union of the forcefully amalgamated southern and northern protectorates has continued to trudge on and secure validation at any major turn while shying away from the reality of Fulani control and domination.
An election cycle has just ended and a number of southerners in Nigeria are in a jubilant mood about the outcome that saw the emergence of a Yoruba man from the South West as President. For these southerners, their folly, however, lies in the fact that they have refused to think deeply to actually recognise the fact that they did not in fact break away from Fulani domination, but only enhanced through a compulsive image-laundering exercise.
It is no longer surprising that apart from the antagonism between the North and South, the Nigerian union has not managed to yield any tangible fruit since 1914. Right from inception, the union was set up to promote the perennial interest of Britain which actually offered hope and ultimately a platform to the interrupted conquest agenda of the Fulani, which began in 1804.
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As much as many Nigerians will for political expediency want to wish these things away, one truth that cannot be whitewashed is that those who laid the foundation for Nigeria never at any time factored in the unborn generations into their selfish considerations. Through careful, and skillful machination, it was orchestrated in such a way that southern Nigeria was never going to be allowed to have control over its future by the Fulani feudal lords and this was exactly what was amplified by Ahmadu Bello 12 days after independence when he said the following words:
‘The new nation called Nigeria should be an estate from our great grandfather, Othman Dan Fodio. We must ruthlessly prevent the change of power. We must use the minorities in the North as willing tools, and the south as conquered territories, and never allow them to have control of their future.’
Many Nigerians, especially southerners are often quick to dismiss these realities when it seems politically dangerous to express them, however, no matter how long they continue to downplay them, the truth will always remain the truth.
Perhaps many of these Nigerians have not wondered why Northern Nigeria has always held the majority as far as the control of Nigeria’s parliament and political composition since independence despite the glaring and undeniable facts that the South has more educated minds. They have not questioned the fact that a large chunk of the country’s wealth comes from the South (Niger Delta oil, Lagos port etc) however, the North not only decides the fate of the rest of the country but also pockets the largest share by the virtue of the present political arrangement.
Only people with discerning minds will agree that right from day one, Nigeria was a failed project that was meant to be a feudal estate where the North would control all other tribes and relate with them as a master would relate with his servants. The composition of the country largely reflects this and till today, only little has been done to alter it.
Sadly, southern Nigerians are not oblivious to this reality. They are fully aware of this political bondage yet they have not deemed it fit to find ways of uniting themselves to seek ways of improving their situation in this union. A political restructuring of the country which is supposed to give it some semblance of nationhood has not been compulsively demanded by southern Nigeria for reasons mostly centering on foolishness, greed, and the desire to be in the good books of the slave master who in this case even goes as far as fuelling the disunity amongst them.
It is sad that rather than unite, the leaders from the South have allowed their ego and selfish interest to play into the hands of the Northern leaders who perceive them as nothing but willing tools that are always useful whenever there is a need to execute their political agenda. In return for their political freedom, they are always unremorsefully used after which they are dumped or on rare occasions, allowed to have a bite of the national cake.
Ever since Nigerians acquired their independence in 1960, disunited southern leaders have always resorted to forming a coalition or alliance with the North rather than coming together to improve equity in the existing arrangement which best positions them as slaves. A look back in time will reveal that it was because of the clash of personality and interest between Obafemi Awolowo and Nnamdi Azikiwe, that made the latter align with the North in an alliance that could only make him lame-duck ceremonial President in a government that was essentially run by a Prime Minister. On a normal day, one would have expected the two sages to unite and refuse to be mere political instruments in the hand of the Fulani overlords. Events of the years after failed to teach both sides good lessons because only shortly after, Samuel Akintola aligned with the same North after he fell out with Awolowo.
This lack of unity has always remained a constant as far as the political composition of Nigeria was concerned. For many decades, the south has remained in an unending battle for positioning as the favourite bride of the North to obtain political crumbs. In recent times, the South has continued to witness recurrent situations of division between their leaders. The 2015 elections readily come to mind as a good example of disunity whereby all the states in the South-west except Ekiti state pitched their tents with a Northern candidate against a candidate from the South, whereas the South-south and South-east pitched their tents with the candidate from the South. As a matter of fact, the Fulani-controlled North would never do that unless deemed politically expedient.
Given the unhealthy disunity in the South, the question is when will southern leaders unite for once against the political feudalistic lords in the North? How long are they going to continue to be willing tools at the expense of their unborn children?
Today, Bola Tinubu is President. Granted that he is from the South West, however, due to his lack of alliance with the South East and the South West, his Presidency will move only in the direction that the Fulani oligarch want it to go. For the fear of removal or outright impeachment, whenever his masters ask him to jump, his only question will always remain, ‘how high’.
The truth many southerners must begin to come to terms with is that a house divided against itself will not stand. The South, a conglomeration of East, West, and South-south will continue to be lorded over regardless of how educated they may be if they do not speak with one voice and correct the mistake of 1914. This constant craving to present themselves as more loyal and trustworthy slaves to the slave master will lead them nowhere.
In conclusion, while it is an uncontestable truth that Fulani Oligarchy was handed the country by the British through overt and covert means, the fact still remains that the southerners have done well to strengthen their grip on the system through their foolishness, envy, lack of foresight and outright stupidity. If the willing slaves in the south continue to thread this inglorious, disdainful, and ignominious path, they will remain slaves forever and not even their loud mouths and penchant for noise-making will provide them the needed succour.
… To be continued.
