By Rufa’i Ahmed Alkali
By the time one finishes reading Lasisi Olagunju’s essay, published in theshieldonlineng.com, one is left with the unmistakable impression that Northern Nigeria is not merely a region facing profound challenges, but a geographical curse upon Nigeria; a vast human desert populated by people incapable of contributing anything positive to the country’s progress. That conclusion is not only incorrect and unfair; it is also dangerous and provocative.
The tragic part is that Mr. Olagunju chose a moment of national grief to launch what amounts to a sweeping indictment of over one hundred million Nigerians. At a time when families are mourning loved ones lost to terrorism, banditry, insurgency and kidnapping, one would have expected words of comfort, solidarity and national reflection. Instead, we are presented with an acerbic commentary that effectively places the blame for Nigeria’s woes at the feet of an entire region and its peoples. No fair-minded Nigerian should accept such a characterisation.
Let us begin with an obvious truth: Northern Nigeria faces serious security, educational and developmental challenges. No honest Northerner would deny this reality. Indeed, some of the strongest voices calling for reforms and change have emerged from the North itself. Traditional rulers, scholars, religious leaders, civil society organisations and ordinary citizens have repeatedly expressed alarm over insecurity, poverty and educational deficits. At the same time, acknowledging these challenges is entirely different from branding an entire region as “Nigeria’s implacable enemy.”
Words matter. History teaches us that societies begin to descend into dangerous territory whenever the criminal actions of a few are transformed into the collective guilt of innocent millions, many of whom are themselves victims of those same crimes. The kidnappers who abduct schoolchildren are criminals.
The bandits who terrorise villages are criminals.
The terrorists who murder innocent citizens are criminals. Some of them may come from Northern Nigeria, but they are not Northern Nigeria. They do not represent the values, traditions and rich cultures of the region.
The first victims of these criminals have overwhelmingly been Northerners themselves. Who have suffered more from Boko Haram attacks than the people of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States?
Who are the people from the villages and communities repeatedly attacked and destroyed by bandits in Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi and Kaduna States?
Who are the thousands of widows, orphans and internally displaced persons living in camps and temporary settlements across Northern Nigeria?
Who was General Rabe Abubakar, whose tragic death inspired much of the columnist’s article? Was he not a Northerner? Were the senior military officers, soldiers, police personnel, vigilantes and civilians killed in the struggle against terrorism not overwhelmingly Northerners? To suggest that Northern Nigeria is somehow collectively responsible for the crimes committed against Northern Nigeria itself is both illogical and unjust.
In his article, the author repeatedly invokes the metaphor of the Kalahari Desert. It is a powerful literary device, but a poor analytical tool. Civilisations are not deserts. People are not geography. And Northern Nigeria is not a Kalahari Desert. Northern Nigeria is not merely a landmass. It is home to some of Africa’s oldest civilisations, centres of learning, commerce and governance. It produced reform movements that shaped the course of West African history. It nurtured generations of scholars, jurists, diplomats, military officers, public servants and entrepreneurs who contributed immensely to the making of modern Nigeria. Northern Nigeria has been an integral pillar and foundation of the Nigerian state.
One may criticise its leaders. One may question policies. One may challenge institutions. Northerners themselves have often done so with passion and conviction. Indeed, this intervention should not be mistaken for a defence of every Northern leader or every policy pursued over the decades. Many Northerners have consistently criticised failures of governance, educational neglect, economic mismanagement and elite complacency that contributed to some of the challenges confronting the region today.
But no fair assessment can reduce an entire civilisation to a metaphor of barrenness.
Even more troubling is the article’s suggestion that Nigeria needs a President who would tell the North that it is Nigeria’s enemy. Such language may generate applause in some quarters, but it lacks depth, prudence and foresight.
How does a nation defeat insecurity by declaring war on one of its largest regions?
Why should a President governing a federation be encouraged to demonise millions of citizens? How does one build national unity by deepening regional divisions? The answers are simple: one does not.
Nigeria’s crises are historical, complex and national in character, even when they manifest differently across regions. The South-East has struggled with separatist agitations, sometimes accompanied by violence. The South-South has grappled with militancy, oil theft and environmental degradation. The South-West has witnessed rising incidents of kidnapping and organised crime. Northern Nigeria has contended with insurgency, banditry and other forms of violent criminality for more than a decade, with devastating consequences for lives, livelihoods and development.
These are Nigerian problems requiring Nigerian solutions.
To isolate one region as the embodiment of national failure is to misunderstand the complexity of our challenges.
If poverty alone explains violence, why are some of Nigeria’s poorest communities relatively peaceful? If geography determines criminality, why have desert societies elsewhere become centres of prosperity and innovation?
If ethnicity explains insecurity, why are victims and perpetrators often drawn from the same ethnic and religious communities? The reality, as the author himself surely knows, is far more complicated.
For years, Nigerians have spoken about misgovernance, corruption, youth unemployment, educational deficits, weak institutions, porous borders and decades of policy failures. These factors have combined to create the crisis confronting the nation today.
No region is insulated. No region is entirely innocent.
And no region is entirely guilty. The danger facing Nigeria today is not Northern Nigeria. The danger is the growing temptation to replace objective scientific analysis with stereotypes, citizenship with regional identity, and national solidarity with mutual exclusion and suspicion. When Nigerians begin to speak of one another as enemies rather than as compatriots, the terrorists have already won half the battle.
The appropriate response to the tragedy unfolding across Northern Nigeria, and Nigeria as a whole, is not condemnation but accommodation. Not denunciation but reform.
Not regional hostility but national partnership.
Northern Nigeria undoubtedly needs educational transformation, economic revitalisation and stronger institutions. But so too, do the other regions of Nigeria. The challenge before us is not how to isolate and ridicule the North, but how to save every part of Nigeria from the forces threatening our collective future.
General Rabe Abubakar and all those Nigerians who died in captivity under horrific conditions deserve our tears and our remembrance. His wife, who reportedly remains in captivity, together with abducted schoolchildren, teachers and countless other victims across the country, deserve our prayers and our collective determination to rescue them and end this menace. Thousands of anonymous victims also deserve justice. But none of them are honoured when grief becomes an excuse for the broad-brush condemnation of an entire people.
Nigeria will not be saved by pointing accusing fingers at victims in moments of despair. Nigeria will be saved when all regions unite to confront the real enemies: ignorance, poverty, extremism, criminality, corruption and misgovernance. Those enemies have no ethnicity. They have no region or religion. And defeating them requires a united Nigeria, not a divided nation.
Let it therefore be clearly understood: Northern Nigeria is not a Kalahari Desert. It is a region of immense human and material resources, rich history, resilient communities and enduring contributions to Nigeria’s development.
Its challenges are real, but so too are its strengths. To dismiss an entire people because of present difficulties is neither fair nor wise. Nigeria’s future will be secured and assured not through selective blame, but through collective responsibility, national renewal and a shared commitment to justice, security and development for all, irrespective of which part of the country they come from.
…Rufa’i Ahmed Alkali is a Professor of Political Science and former Special Adviser on Political Affairs to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.