Emmanuel Tyokumbur
That the late Sir Ahmadu Bello (Sardauna of Sokoto) will be turning angrily in his grave or heaven about the current plight of northern Nigeria is not a strange thing to imagine. Here was an elder statesman that saw to the rapid development of the region irrespective of religion, ethnic affiliation or gender. Under him as the premier of the northern region, there was development in all facets of progression. Like the late sage Obafemi Awolowo, development to the premier of northern region was synonymous to existence in itself. Under him, a university sprang up in Zaria, a polytechnic and various industries in Kaduna, diverse scholarships for educational attainment and an assured future for the region.
Today, the story is different and abhorrent to all northerners and Nigerians in general. What then are the many travails of the north? Firstly, it is the problem of education. This problem was taken care of by past administrations through admission quotas allocated to the region and through the various schools of basic studies. Why then would a Shekau and his cohorts rise up in this generation to torment the north and Nigeria in general given this opportunity that would have captured him as a beneficiary? Similar programmes had been put in place and lately the Almajiri program of President Jonathan to address the educational lapses of the region. Nine out of the twelve universities established to resolve the imbalance in federal universities in all states of the country came from the region. So why is the region so educationally backward and in effect dragging the entire country in the reverse direction? Perhaps post-graduation employment would be the answer. For many graduates remained jobless many years after graduation nationally and therefore the incentive of siting new universities did not become an automatic carrot to bite.
Secondly, it is the problem of transportation. Incidentally, the minister of transport is from the north. The north has no seaports and must rely on the ports of Lagos, Port Harcourt and Calabar. Thus, the roads are literally closed down by heavy haulage trucks thereby increasing cost of procurement on the end users in the north. What business has heavy tankers conveying petroleum products on our roads when they can be conveyed by pipelines for refining in Kaduna and onward distribution at the NNPC depots? To the most ardent Jonathan supporter, a trip on the Oyo-Ogbomosho, Ilorin-Jebba, Mokwa and the other parts of the north will convince you about the slim chances he has in 2015 save for the minimal repair works going on there. This anger can be sighted in other parts of the country as well.
Thirdly, it is in the area of air transport. There are no cargo airports in the north and this explains why the roads are continually choked up to a gridlock stage. If there were cargo airports in the north, most of the goods would be imported directly to the main cities and the heavy trucks blocking the highways would only have to convey the goods from the airport to their various destinations that would be nearby anyway. Who is then ready to rehabilitate the truck owners when the development comes? Water melon that is a delicacy in all parts of the country would be internally airlifted as much as other fruits and vegetables from the north to other parts of the country thereby making the roads free of traffic jam and prone to accidents. It also appears most northerners see themselves more in the light of the religion which they profess than as Nigerians thereby obstructing their collective need to demand for international airports that would airlift them to their various pilgrimages for spiritual rejuvenation and for cargo transport that would create jobs.
Fourthly, the north more than ever before faces the problem of security of lives and property. This is occasioned by the incessant Boko Haram attacks that do not spare anybody. The most recent is the Mubi and Gombe attacks with complete takeover of some parts of Adamawa by the insurgents. Most shocking is the fact that the sect leaders have a dream of leading Nigeria (not even northern Nigeria!). This shows that the sect has noticed a leadership vacuum in the north as provided by the late Sardauna of Sokoto which unfortunately cannot be reversed to the previous status quo.
Fifthly, the north faces the problem of trust among the various constituents. This is why you can hear of north-west, north-east and north-central that are all self-serving to politicians. Unemployment and poverty remains very high in the region. Some blame it on neglect from past leadership of the country which was held in trust for many years in the north. Most industries in Kaduna and many parts of the north have remained closed. There is the need to support agriculture in the region in order to solve the twin problems of unemployment and poverty.
In conclusion, the north needs peace in order to develop competitively with other regions of the country. Boko Haram is not the answer.
Tyokumbur wrote from Department of Zoology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan
