PATRIOTIC NORTHERN LEADERS

PATRIOTIC NORTHERN LEADERS

Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua

Patriotic leaders from Northern Nigeria, it is with love and concern I wish to share my feelings and the concerns of many Nigerians with you. Many Nigerians look up to you for the liberation of the innocent Nigerians who sleep with one eye closed and the other eye open everyday in some part of your domicile. It is not that there are no security challenges in other parts of the country but given the sense of unity which many of us believe exists among you and the role some of you have played in the governance of Nigeria, I am optimistic that you can do more to ameliorate the security situation in the Northern region. Your abode used to be empires and emirates adorned with natural resources. The products from your farms used to refresh, feed and satiate people from every part of Nigeria. Long time ago, the groundnut pyramids from the North was a subject in our school curriculum. Your agricultural products of rice, millets, guinea corn, sugar cane, tomatoes, onions, carrots, garden eggs, potatoes, yams, beans etcetera were among the nation’s export commodities to the Western world. We need a peaceful atmosphere to sustain these resources and make life blossom again in your region. 

It is a common proverb that when the elder is at home, he should not allow the rains to put off the fire from the wood. When the darkness cannot be illumined by the light and when the dusk refuses to allow the dawn, the right thing to do is to ask the elders why. Many of you are experts in strategic studies. Some of you fought the civil war to keep Nigeria one. Your traditional rulers are highly respected. Many people are convinced that you have the capacity to stop the inferno that is consuming some parts of the North if you are determined. I believe that you are religious enough to cry out to God who never turns down the prayer of sincere elders. After doing all that is humanly possible, God may grant success to your efforts. Some of you who are blessed with material resources would not go unrewarded if you spend your wealth to save the life of your people and those who live among you. Above all, your willingness and courage to pursue this difficult but noble project could disprove the conception of some people who speculate that some of you are sponsors of this unpleasant saga. Remember that what the elder sees while lying down cannot be perceived by a child even from the top of a tree. It is with this sense of confidence I dare to make this appeal. Life comes before any other political agenda. It is the living that plays politics. No position is permanent. Every masquerade has a time and space to dance after which it quits the stage for another.  

On October 1, 2013, Sahara reporters, New York posted that Sheik Ahmad Abubakar Gumi in his comment marking Nigeria’s 53^rd Independence anniversary warned President Goodluck Jonathan that power is not a substitute for blood. He was also reported to have said that “the best Jonathan can do in 2015 is to organize free and fair election and go in peace, rather than be deceived by power mongers at all cost”. Gumi gave the impression that the President is helpless in the present security challenges in the country.   He is reported to affirm that “Boko Haram, a ragtag group of peasant al-majiris were abruptly well-equipped to carry out highly sophisticated military like clandestine operations”.  He debunked the   insinuation that the violence in the North was triggered as a reaction of the northern region to reject Jonathan’s rule. He referred to this as a strategy of “calling a dog a bad name to hang it”.

The rest narrative of the insecurity history in Nigeria by Gumi is provocative and interesting. It is consoling and encouraging that Gumi revealed that Islam calls for peaceful co-existence, progress, mercy and compassion on all humanity (Qur’an 21:107).   However, there are lots of questions we could ask and deeper reflections we should do for the sake of conflict resolution and transformation in Nigeria in general and in the North in particular: Is it possible to look beyond the person of the President and save our people from the existing peril? Who were the agents used to equip the “ragtag group of peasant al-majiris” according to Gumi? Were these agents imported from outside? What gave rise to the al-majiris and where are they from? Do these al-majiris have parents? Could not these al-majiris be liberated through proper education and parental guidance in order to save them from being manipulated into their present state? Could the fear of God that created human life not have prevented these children from being brainwashed into their present bizarre world view? Which President “manufactured” the Maitatsine?

These questions are relevant for us to reflect on the areas we could have made mistakes in bringing up our children. Acceptance of a good diagnosis is the first stage to a healing process. The big problem in the world today is that no one blames oneself. In the narrative of the sin of our primal parents, Adam accused Eve for the forbidden fruit which he ate and Eve shifted the blame on the serpent. A thorough examination of conscience is indispensable in our present ordeal. A person should be able to give account of his or her action now or hereafter. We must therefore ask ourselves sincerely how we arrived at this sad level of insecurity if we are determined to heal the problem from the root.  Every good father ought to guard against external forces that are capable of turning the children against their parents. Let us not forget our African identity, culture and tradition that promote communal life and corporate existence. We owe our children a divine obligation to hand on to them these sacred values instead of leading them to self destruction and the destruction of others.

Venerable leaders, it is the living that will witness the elections of 2015. The statement by Gumi that power is not a substitute for blood should be personalized by every politician and patriotic citizen. We may not understand the weight of this statement if we narrow it to the President of Nigeria only. Let every leader and politician examine his or her conscience as regard this “trading blood for power”. Sometimes the media report certain statements from individuals or groups in a way and manner that looks as if everybody in the North sat down to make the statement. It is not common to hear or read statements like, “the East, West or South says” akin to the report by Sahara Reporters, New York on October 2, 2013 that “the North has reacted to President Goodluck Jonathan’s plan, which was unveiled in his National Day address, to hold a National Conference, dismissing it as a ploy to score a political goal and that it has a pre-determined agenda”. Reading the report further, we see that it is “the Joint Action Committee of Northern Groups (JACONG)” that made the statement. On Wednesday October 3, 2013, the same media reported that “The Northern Elders Forum has said the North is not afraid of the break-up of Nigeria if its citizens vote for it at the end of any conference”.  This expression “the North” could imply the perceived unity that some people think exist in the North. Whether this unity is real or not, let the Northerners claim it and translate it into positive reality.  While I pray God to rest the souls of the innocent victims of violence in Nigeria, I pray that God may allow his peace to reign in our country Nigeria and the whole world. Love and peace from your brother in dialogue! 

Fr. Prof. Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua is the Director of Mission and Dialogue of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Abuja; and Consultor of the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims (C.R.R.M), Vatican City (comonokhua@hotmail.com).