I must by now be known as a frequent open letter writer for some people to take this one seriously. I am appealing to such people to be patient with yours faithfully again. I am not a proponent or opponent of the split of Nigeria into North and South, as are some fellow compatriots. I am however, a strong believer in the dictum ‘what will be, will be’, and an UNAPOLOGETIC supporter of the north and its interests.

I used the bold letters in the second to the last sentence of the above paragraph in remembrance to what the late famous journalist and columnists of the Vanguard newspaper, Alhaji Kola Animashaun, once wrote in his column. In the write up, he stated that, and I quote, “I am first, a Yoruba man, second, a Nigerian, and third, a Muslim. And I make NO APOLOGY to anybody”. 

But, if anyone who knew him well enough called him Kola Animashaun without prefacing the first name with ‘Alhaji’, the ranking journalist would just ignore the person for having the impudence to address him without identifying him as a Muslim. Yet, he had no apology to offer to anyone for declaring his Yorubaness, over and above his Nigerianess. And nobody called him to order. 

Imagine such a statement coming from a Northerner. All hell would have broken loose, because the world would have been told of the Northerner’s unpatriotic statement by the Southern media. I am not a Southerner nor am I a famous member of the chattering class, neither am I a columnist, hence the need for the explanation.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the ‘death’ of industries in the northern part of Nigeria and the catastrophic consequences of that. I observed that it was due mostly to what to many in the north see as a deliberate attempt by some powerful individuals from the other side of the divide to bring down the north and render it and its people inconsequential in running the affairs of the country. Or the reason to be away from the ‘parasite’ North. Many of them consider the huge oil reserves in the country to belong to the South, not to Nigeria as a whole.

Be that as it may, the naked truth is that the north needs the help of the Federal Government and the monied northerners to revive and even increase on what obtained in terms of industries in the region, if we are not to believe the veracity of the allegations made against some leading sons and daughters of our Southern compatriots. They were alleged to have been making negative statements and or exhibiting attitudes that have guided their actions toward the Northern region and or its people over the years.

Contemporary events, including the recent attempt by a former governor to pitch President Bola Ahmed Tinubu against the north, have confirmed the several allegations that the security challenges in the north were man made from outside the region, with the intention to create the impression that it was a burden to the rest of Nigeria.

The late ranking Islamic scholar, Shiekh Mahmud Jafar once alleged that Mohammed Yusuf of Maiduguri, the then leader of the rhen emarging Islamic sect, Boko Haram, was not religiously knowledgeable enough to preach the merits or demerits of Western Education. The allegation was believed to be responsible for his murder while he was leading the dawn (morning) prayer.

The Sheikh also alleged that the man known as ‘Maitatsine’, alias Mohammed Marwa, the man who was responsible for the 1980 deadly Kano riot, which claimed an estimated lives of some 4,000 people, was actually not a Muslim, but a non believer from Cameroon Republic, sent to Northern Nigeria to misinform the Muslims. He was allegedly deliberately sent to miseducate the largely Muslim population of the region. He came to Kano, the most populous city in the north, where he preached his brand of ‘religion’ and swore to anyone who disagreed with him, with the words, ‘Allah Ta Tsine’, the corrupted Hausa expression of despondency, ‘Allah Ya tsine!’, meaning ‘may God be displeased’. Hence the name, ‘Maitatsine’.

Another former Governor from an area other than the North once ordered all Northerners to put an identification band around one of their wrists. He only backed out of the seemingly ‘racist’ position when a ‘radical’ Governor from the North visited him and promised to take retaliatory measures against the former’s people, in his state (the latter). The former Governor is now a serial Presidential contestant who desperately wants to rule the country.

There was also a former Governor, now a Minister of the Federal Government, who once declared that his state was a ‘Christian state’ and those  who were not in the religion should accept that or leave the state. The same person made a damming statement about the APC during the administration of your immediate predecessor, but is today a minister of an important ministry and one of mr. President’s closest loyalists, even though he is belongs to the leading opposition party in the country.

A one time civilian leader, who saw himself as a revelation to the country and under whose administration the privatisation exercise begun, was alleged to have a hidden agenda against the North, in order to get even with a leading son of the region. To that effect, he allegedly went out of his way to revenge what was done to him, on the Northern region. He single-handedly manoeuvred for the systematic collapse of many economic heights of the region.

The Dangote|Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) saga on the former’s refinery and the repeated denial of involvement by billionaire businessman and former owner of OWONDO Oil, Mr. Femi Odetola, has exposed your alleged hands in the oil cartel’s efforts to frustrate the former and his multi billion dollar investment in Nigeria. It is argued that there was no way a mere employee of an agency under the mighty NNPC, which is wholly owned by the Federal Government, would take on the richest black person on earth and a Nigerian investor like Alhaji Aliko Dangote, if someone very powerful was not behind him.

If Mr. Femi’s protestations of innocence in the matter is to be believed, then he should open up to his ‘friend’ and fellow dollar billionaire, Alhaji Aliko Dagote, why and to whom he ‘sold’ his company, OANDO Oil. And why he bought a substantial share in the cement company of his ‘friend’, which kept him in the billionaire class that he had existed from when he ‘sold’ his main cash cow.

Even the recent attempt by former Governor Ayo Fayose’s ingratiating attempt to show support to his fellow tribesman, was seen by many in the North to enjoy your imprimatur. The former Governor allegedly told the President that the Northerners were responsible for the country’s woes because of their overpopulation, which was caused by their ‘many wives and children, but he deliberately ‘forgot’ to mention that his biological father also sired up to 30 children, even though he was not a northerner. He himself said it sometime ago. He however, remains unapologetic to the North for making the current statement, insisting that he is not targeting any tribe.

But a fellow southerner and publisher of the famous Ovation Magazine, Chief Dele Momodu, found Mr. Fayose remarks so distasteful that he berated him on his X handle, saying: “my dear Brother AYO FAYOSE, I have just two questions sir: who is more destructive to the nation, the poor man with plenty wives and children or the politician with one wife and many high maintenance girlfriends, who waste public resources on extravagant lifestyles including private jets? Who is more productive, the politician who steals the sweat and resources of the citizens or the poor man who sends his many poor wives and children to the farmland to grow crops for everyone of us!!!

Your Excellence, my dear brother, please, let’s accept that we’ve all failed this country and we need to urgent reset. We cannot afford the blame game at this period when every hand is needed to be on the deck to move the country forward”.

Above all else, a further allegation said that even the so called nationwide strike, which the North fought tooth and nail to abort, was instigated by others with Mr. President allegedly pulling the strings very remotely, so that Nigeria would be broken into North and South, a long time desire and plan of a section of the country.

In any case, to a large extent, the North did NOT take part in, and has continued to oppose, the national strike. Both the religious leaders, traditional leaders, opinion leaders, and the youth played a very significant role in undermining the nationwide strike in the region. Most Imams and other Islamic preachers spoke from the pulpits everyday, calling on the people NOT to participate in the strike. On Friday, in particular. They even perform the Al-Qunut (special prayer within the obligatory prayer) during every obligatory prayer to plead with Allah (God) to ensure the TOTAL failure of the nationwide strike. The traditional rulers called on the people NOT to be any where near the strike. The opinion leaders asked the people to shun the strike. And, the energetic youths advised one another not to take part in the strike, and majority of them did not, and remain against it to this day.

The few who participated in the strike did so only on partisan grounds, and criminal purposes, but never for any altruistic reason or patriotism. These are motives too academic for them to comprehend.

Most people in the North believe that resolution of differences through peaceful means is more enduring and effective than forceful approach will ever guarantee, no matter the development or underdevelopment of a society. Hence the critical decision to oppose the nationwide strike and support peace in Nigeria.

But even the ministerial appointments given to the Northerners, many of which were in not very big or serious ministries, were inconsequential in Nigeria’s brand of democracy, which gives the winner the absolute power to decide everything. A winner takes all, kind of syndrome.

Whether these allegations against the North are true or not, many discerning northerners see them as a case of ‘giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it’. The fact of the matter is that the North, which was noted as home to political power, farming on both large and small scales (subsistence farming being in the main), textiles, cotton and groundnut mills, confectionery and many other productive industries and fields of commerce, is now bereft of almost everything, except the political power, which it uses liberally for the benefit of the whole country.

Many of the farming activities have long been abandoned due to the bandits, who kill, kidnap the farmers on their farmlands, demanding huge (often unaffordable) ransom payments and imposed regular levies to the farmers.

Now, most of the products used in the north are produced in the Southern part of the country, notably the south west, which is to a very large extent, free of the insecurity ravaging the north.

The most damming factor to this calamitous state of affairs is the lack of sufficient electricity to power the industries, coupled with the seeming (deliberate) indifference of the Federal Government (over the ages) to address this challenge.

The Northern leaders NEED to tell the Federal Government and wealthy Northerners, wherever ever they may be living, that they MUST save the situation fast, before the region is completely destroyed, due to the lack of infrastructure, notably electricity, which is taken for granted in serious climes. This critical infrastructure NEED to be supplied regularly to the customer at affordable rates by the relevant authorities without fail. Industries cannot run on generators and expect to make profit.

In serious lands, on the rare occasions when electricity was taken off, even if it was for a brief period, the consumers were instantly notified and pleaded for to be more patient. In those lands, they understand that electricity is security. Such considerations and understandings are not in evidence here in Nigeria.

At the risk of repeating myself, even if not in as many words, it must be stated loud and clear that the North is BLEEDING, and therefore, NEEDS the Federal Government, the region’s monied people and the ‘paupers’ to do something positive about it to save the situation.

May it please the almighty God to frustrate those who want to see us frustrated, only for them to continue raping the Commonwealth when and how it suit them.

Malam Malumfashi wrote from Abuja.