26-10-2024.

‘Conscience natured by truth’ is the slogan of the Guardian, self touted as the flagship of the Nigerian newspapers. It is a phrase coined by the famous Islamic scholar and reformist, Shiekh Usman Fodio, the leader of the Fulani Jihad and founder of the Sokoto Caliphate. That phrase has remained valid now as then, but unfortunately lacked by most of Northern leaders who prefer to build themselves rather than build the region. Elsewhere the story is opposite of what happens in the north.

By now it should be obvious that the North or large part of it is without electricity for nine days and counting, with the end of the unfortunate situation nowhere in sight. A significant fault rests squarely on the shoulders of some citizens from the region whose only fashion in life would appear to be the amassing of all the money in the world for their personal use.

One Engineer Nafisatu Asabe Ali, (a Northerner by the name), an Executive Director (ED) in the Independent System Operator at the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Red had told the world that the Shiroro-Mando Line could not be repaired immediately due to ‘security challenges’. She claimed to have received the advice from the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu (another northerner). Still, the two remain on their chair as if nothing unusual happened. In serious countries, that is enough to earn them dismissal if they are not preferred to sack themselves for the monumental failure in their respective jobs.

It was a failure of monumental proportion in the 21st century that such a mighty setback could last forever without solution because “where three towers were destroyed are currently inaccessible due to ongoing security issues”, according to the Executive Director.

If the NSA and the ED could  see ‘security challenge’ as a problem, then they should allow persons with the balls (no pun intended) and the patriotism to see it in a different light and approach it differently for a timely completion of the damage, because from all indications, it appears that they are clueless as to how to fix the problem.  Unless someone else’s script is being adhered to religiously regarding the matter.

Even the so called ‘invincibility’ of the bandits operating in the northern part of the country, is only made possible by the financing, support and encouragement of some unpatriotic powerful locals and their foreign collaborators, because of the immense money they make from the misery of their fellow poor citizens.

Some people may be quick to point out that even the mighty United States of America (USA) took a long time to defeat the Osama Bin Laden

‘terror’ group. But such people ignore the fact that the US had to follow the accused all over the world before the leader, Osama, was finally eliminated in a remote area of Afghanistan, a country populated by fiercely anti US people.

As said earlier, the problem may appear to defy immediate redemption for two possible reasons. First, some people may want a certain region to continue being many steps ahead of the north in economic development, or the darkness might have been deliberately created so that the conscienceless northern leadership, in collaboration with others, whose conscience is also focused on accumulation of money, may use it as an alibi to continue raping the region’s Commonwealth.

Whatever may be the reason for the continued non availability of electricity for a large part of the northern region, its so called political elite, which include those in the executive and legislative arms of the government, are to squarely be blamed for the problem.

In his recent outing in the Brekete Family programme, the irrepressible Ordinary President, aka, Ahmad Isa, launched a scathing attack on northern leaders, accusing them of being responsible for turning the region an acute begging place in the country. He said the thieving of the people’s Commonwealth without developing their area with the proceeds of their theft has led to the emergence of many beggars both children and women.

Even some of the few northern leaders with some measure of conscience, like Ambassador Ibrahim Musa Kazaure (Jigawa State) has admitted to being part of the massive corruption that has stunted Nigeria’s development into an economic giant. He said all the people who stole from the government should be imprisoned, including himself.

Apart from serving and former corrupt government officials and their immediate family and the members of the Federal and State Assemblies, only the praise singers and some of the (so called) Islamic Ulamas live in affluence, unaffected by the abject poverty, hunger and anger that have permeated the country, the north in particular. The singers and Ulamas lead a very contented life, courtesy of the leaders, majority of who would rather live for today, and face God’s wrath later.

A former number one citizen in one of the north western states in the country, was fond of admonishing the Ulamas to “always tell power the truth, because your fire is hotter, since you are in the know of what is right and what is wrong”. So are those who profess the belief in Allah, and the day of judgment. Since Allah is very just, and Does not not condone injustice from all his creations, the leaders should fear the day everybody is going to meet Him and account for what they did, whatever they possessed and how they possessed it, as well as how they disposed what they possessed while on earth.

For now, it would appear (as usual) that the leaders in the north have said nothing to the one person who can make things happen at once in the country, or done nothing on their own to rectify the ugly situation in the region. They may even prefer it that way, because it offers some of them the opportunity to continue ‘milking’ the cash cow in their respective states in the name of providing electricity. It is always the same story until the next administration comes along for some people to continue from where their predecessors have left.

Meanwhile, the FEEDERS from the very rich people in the business community, should not get tired of helping their poor compatriots. The present administration has rendered many people unable to feed even once in a day. 

Their large heartedness keeps a lot of people alive in this country of never-ending-bad-economic policies, most of which may have appeared designed (not unlikely) to forcefully reduce the population of the black race’s most populous country in the world.

May God help us to redeem our ourselves and make no mistakes the next time. As for this time, a mistake of unimaginable magnitude has been made in the country.

Malam Malumfashi wrote from Katsina.