Historical
Synopsis of Why FFK's position is no fall short of bravery... Meant
only for the Openminded, Willing and Patient Readers
Sincerely I found it quite challenging to make a little remark on the piece of Femi Fani-Kayode. The challenge is not herewith deemed on the difficulty of the subject matter, rather, on where and how the audience would view this position through the most unbiased lenses.
Truth be told, we live in a world apartment of a large chunk of non-deliberately ludicrous and historically half-baked beings. A populace that critically charades mediocrity as an enthroned virtue. Worst still, they are so genuinely oblivious of themselves in this perspectives. Now my case is, if a scenario was painted, I could only attest to it, to the extent best of my mental capability, while continually appealing for more enlightenment.
The foregoing obita-dicta serves as a guiding prologue nonetheless to a thorough dissection of FFK's essay: 'I say goodbye to Nigeria...'
As I first stumbled across this piece on the Facebook today, a piece that has over the years generated a continued conundrum in my seeking directional quest within my conscious worrisome. I had painstakingly read through and came up with a critique in the manner that shall precede.
In the habit of an average usual Nigerian, a messenger is often a victim of attack, rather the message. In this sense, majority of these Nigerians would be quick to jump into a vehicle of bandwagon cynicism once it's against a standing conventional position, even when they do not possess an adequate defensive mechanism of why they have acutely opted for their status-quo.
To this extent, I make bold to categorically emphasize that Nigeria remains an highly unprogressive setting populated by drag-footed heart-lazy lagging-behind beings, a source of worry for the future.
Again, the necessity to stop by on the way becomes so veritable to buttressing the point of a foundational dissection of the kind of beings who sojourn on this platform of historic terra firma. Are we Nigerians really created this way, or the bastardization of our enmeshed historical uprising has repositioned our mentality in this corruptible thinking?
Where exactly am I heading?
Only the patient ones can thoroughly dissect this piece. What I have seen over the years is that an average Nigerian who claims understanding into the Nigerian history without actually knowing as acclaimed jumps into criticism of an argument, even when the nittygritty is unknown to him/her. Such ignorance defense is worst enough, but the insistence on his/her point of ignorance is dastardly terrible beyond qualification.
About two years now, the late literary icon Chinua Achebe made some insinuations towards the rationale for the defeat of the old Biafra in his book 'there was a country...', in which he raised his personal account and perception of the role of the yoruba most revered and greatest legend/icon, late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Upon the release of this book, Nigerian uneducated social media critics threw caution into the wind, raining all manner of abusive connotations against this book, the idea & the writer by extension, even when majority of these people were yet to see the cover-page of the book, let alone the content.
After I took my time to digest the book's content, weighing it side by side with social media criticism, I knew Nigeria is in for a mess.
Similarly, FFK made a statement in his newly submitted essay: '... Give us Oduduwa Republic...'. This phrase did not stand aloof of facts and figures raised in the body of the essay. There were undeniable ad infinitum drawbacks that a section of this country, the North precisely, has caused the other part(s), under the auspices of continued bombing, killing, arson, ideological imposition, bigotry...
Let it be noted, I am not holding a brief for FFK, neither is this piece an intent to coil for any favor from his caucus. Rather, understanding the country of Nigeria from genesis till date, it is crystal clear that Nigeria is not only a failed state, there has never been one country in it real sense of an agreeable system called Nigeria.
Academically & historically stated, 'Nigeria' remained a mere political contraption till 1954, when Federalism was introduced, so where & how the centenary celebration was arrived at in 2014 is a matter of condemnation till tomorrow. Well, this is not where I am going. Nigeria had/has never been, irrespective of who says it, whether FFK, Abacha or Achebe. The truth is there was a potential country that was to be known as Nigeria, but she remains a stillborn, till date... If you have ever pondered on the title 'there WAS a country...'
Now, rather than attacking FFk for exposing the reality, I urge some of us into a few historical accounts of Nigeria under Macpheson/Lyttleton Constitutions up unto the self rule of the old Regions attainment of 1957, 1958 & 1959, linking it with the Independence & first Republic politics, by the time you can subject your mind into openness, you would realise that not until the torn of North is left alone to be on her own, the Southern part of the country has got no where to advance.
I can be very succinct in recapturing some of the then events that would make an average rational & historically informed mind to say indeed, this contraption is the main thorn on every flesh. Alas, it's such an irreconcilable sandwich that has continually sent innocents into early grave since the Western Region crisis of 1962/1963, Jan 1966 coup, July '66 'counter coup', the pogrom that followed, the eventual civil war which sent a lacuna in human development of the South/Eastern region, as well as the bokoharam war of unrelenting nature.
Straight to a few of the histories: Dr Nnamdi Azikwe was a very brilliant chap in his time who wielded so much eloquence, oration & charisma in the political drama of his time. He was thoroughly educated and enlightened, and he dreamt of becoming the Premier in Ibadan, rather than Enugu, a position that Late Awolowo tactically strategized against in the game of politics. The loss of that election to Awo in 1952 owing to Awo extra ordinary human being that he was, more so, that he (Awo) was a Yoruba man, led to the deep seated enmity between Awo & Zik for so long. While Awo was canvassing for self rule for his region and Independence for the country by extension which culminated into motion for Nigeria independence by AG Anthony Enahoro in 1953, the North remained fully passive and contented with the status quo.
The progressive nature of Awolowo against deep seated colonialism earned him a full grown enmity against the British imperials, costing him his political career of delivering the country from the dungeon of blindness that she was going to be plunged.
Awo, a knowledge personified himself, and tested hand of forefront most leading in the continent educational value, housing, health & effective planning for future.
The irony was, despite Awo's undeniable pathfinding, self-navigating and self starting portfolio, the mantle of leadership was handed to a planless and real clueless conservative North. From which day onward Nigeria had never known peace.
You may not fully comprehend the gravity of this, until you go into yours personal historical account as sighted above. Histories don't lie!
One thing was significant during this time in fairness to Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna/ 'the facto Prime Minister'. He kept emphasizing that Nigerian components had lots of differences. He would say "We should remember our differences". While Zik would reply: "We should forget our differences". And Awo made effort for an establishment of confederalism to allow for easy secession in case the center would no longer hold.
Of all these instances, it could be deduced that the founding father of the Northern region had known that North is of a different value, ethoes and ethics. Hence, he had wanted a sectionalized and differentiated system. Historically again, the North rejected self rule for her region because there were no adequate manpower at the time, and for a fear of domination. In this sense, could it not be deduced it North would never partake in an event that is not first and foremost to their large advantage. When a lagging behind setting got her self rule in 1959, she was also the same one that set the precedence for Nigeria of today in a shabby foundational structure.
Since the late 1950s till date, the North has played out their simple ideology 'born to rule'. Since the days of Balewa, Gowon, Muritala, Buhari, Babangida, Abacha, Yaradua &AbdulSalam. We have had only one westerner 'Obasanjo' & one Southerner 'Ebele'!!! Hmmm!
Yet bokoharam sprung up from a total neglect of their region by people of their own.
Anytime the North wanted anything, the caricature country provides for them: Sharia law & Bank of the North. Even same, almost sharia banking. Yet there's no bank of the South or the west.
I have come to realize that the Southern part of Nigeria has live all her life for the north. Resources are taken from the South to develop the North. You need to see double lanes that pass through Abuja to Kaduna, Kano, Katsina etc & weigh it Benin Ore road...
Now, bokoharam wants islamization of the country, thereby killing all, bombing all, kidnapping all amongst others.
Shetima argued for a marriage of kids, he & many of his contemporaries had their ways
One blunt truth is Nigeria can afford great splitting. When North Korean continually pursued an aggressive policy of mass destruction, South Korea seceded, & today SK is always good in the news, as one of the most industrialized nations in the world scaling from 3rd world to a 1st world setting.
In the North, for you to be employed in a prolific employment, ability to communicate in Hausa is always mainly key. While the vlaues / traditions of the Southerners are subsumed for the nationality sake.
Really, we have been living for the North too well. Yet peace is far from Nigeria.
Whether it is the Tinubus or the Akalas of this world that would rule us, it's immaterial, splitting peacefully is indeed a right step in the right direction. Coexistence shouldn't be a hallmark of force.
Hence, even the North can fully align with her muslim breathrens in the upper African north,or middle east without having to mutilate the christian sabongari brethren...
To be continued...
Kehinde Balogun
Sincerely I found it quite challenging to make a little remark on the piece of Femi Fani-Kayode. The challenge is not herewith deemed on the difficulty of the subject matter, rather, on where and how the audience would view this position through the most unbiased lenses.
Truth be told, we live in a world apartment of a large chunk of non-deliberately ludicrous and historically half-baked beings. A populace that critically charades mediocrity as an enthroned virtue. Worst still, they are so genuinely oblivious of themselves in this perspectives. Now my case is, if a scenario was painted, I could only attest to it, to the extent best of my mental capability, while continually appealing for more enlightenment.
The foregoing obita-dicta serves as a guiding prologue nonetheless to a thorough dissection of FFK's essay: 'I say goodbye to Nigeria...'
As I first stumbled across this piece on the Facebook today, a piece that has over the years generated a continued conundrum in my seeking directional quest within my conscious worrisome. I had painstakingly read through and came up with a critique in the manner that shall precede.
In the habit of an average usual Nigerian, a messenger is often a victim of attack, rather the message. In this sense, majority of these Nigerians would be quick to jump into a vehicle of bandwagon cynicism once it's against a standing conventional position, even when they do not possess an adequate defensive mechanism of why they have acutely opted for their status-quo.
To this extent, I make bold to categorically emphasize that Nigeria remains an highly unprogressive setting populated by drag-footed heart-lazy lagging-behind beings, a source of worry for the future.
Again, the necessity to stop by on the way becomes so veritable to buttressing the point of a foundational dissection of the kind of beings who sojourn on this platform of historic terra firma. Are we Nigerians really created this way, or the bastardization of our enmeshed historical uprising has repositioned our mentality in this corruptible thinking?
Where exactly am I heading?
Only the patient ones can thoroughly dissect this piece. What I have seen over the years is that an average Nigerian who claims understanding into the Nigerian history without actually knowing as acclaimed jumps into criticism of an argument, even when the nittygritty is unknown to him/her. Such ignorance defense is worst enough, but the insistence on his/her point of ignorance is dastardly terrible beyond qualification.
About two years now, the late literary icon Chinua Achebe made some insinuations towards the rationale for the defeat of the old Biafra in his book 'there was a country...', in which he raised his personal account and perception of the role of the yoruba most revered and greatest legend/icon, late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Upon the release of this book, Nigerian uneducated social media critics threw caution into the wind, raining all manner of abusive connotations against this book, the idea & the writer by extension, even when majority of these people were yet to see the cover-page of the book, let alone the content.
After I took my time to digest the book's content, weighing it side by side with social media criticism, I knew Nigeria is in for a mess.
Similarly, FFK made a statement in his newly submitted essay: '... Give us Oduduwa Republic...'. This phrase did not stand aloof of facts and figures raised in the body of the essay. There were undeniable ad infinitum drawbacks that a section of this country, the North precisely, has caused the other part(s), under the auspices of continued bombing, killing, arson, ideological imposition, bigotry...
Let it be noted, I am not holding a brief for FFK, neither is this piece an intent to coil for any favor from his caucus. Rather, understanding the country of Nigeria from genesis till date, it is crystal clear that Nigeria is not only a failed state, there has never been one country in it real sense of an agreeable system called Nigeria.
Academically & historically stated, 'Nigeria' remained a mere political contraption till 1954, when Federalism was introduced, so where & how the centenary celebration was arrived at in 2014 is a matter of condemnation till tomorrow. Well, this is not where I am going. Nigeria had/has never been, irrespective of who says it, whether FFK, Abacha or Achebe. The truth is there was a potential country that was to be known as Nigeria, but she remains a stillborn, till date... If you have ever pondered on the title 'there WAS a country...'
Now, rather than attacking FFk for exposing the reality, I urge some of us into a few historical accounts of Nigeria under Macpheson/Lyttleton Constitutions up unto the self rule of the old Regions attainment of 1957, 1958 & 1959, linking it with the Independence & first Republic politics, by the time you can subject your mind into openness, you would realise that not until the torn of North is left alone to be on her own, the Southern part of the country has got no where to advance.
I can be very succinct in recapturing some of the then events that would make an average rational & historically informed mind to say indeed, this contraption is the main thorn on every flesh. Alas, it's such an irreconcilable sandwich that has continually sent innocents into early grave since the Western Region crisis of 1962/1963, Jan 1966 coup, July '66 'counter coup', the pogrom that followed, the eventual civil war which sent a lacuna in human development of the South/Eastern region, as well as the bokoharam war of unrelenting nature.
Straight to a few of the histories: Dr Nnamdi Azikwe was a very brilliant chap in his time who wielded so much eloquence, oration & charisma in the political drama of his time. He was thoroughly educated and enlightened, and he dreamt of becoming the Premier in Ibadan, rather than Enugu, a position that Late Awolowo tactically strategized against in the game of politics. The loss of that election to Awo in 1952 owing to Awo extra ordinary human being that he was, more so, that he (Awo) was a Yoruba man, led to the deep seated enmity between Awo & Zik for so long. While Awo was canvassing for self rule for his region and Independence for the country by extension which culminated into motion for Nigeria independence by AG Anthony Enahoro in 1953, the North remained fully passive and contented with the status quo.
The progressive nature of Awolowo against deep seated colonialism earned him a full grown enmity against the British imperials, costing him his political career of delivering the country from the dungeon of blindness that she was going to be plunged.
Awo, a knowledge personified himself, and tested hand of forefront most leading in the continent educational value, housing, health & effective planning for future.
The irony was, despite Awo's undeniable pathfinding, self-navigating and self starting portfolio, the mantle of leadership was handed to a planless and real clueless conservative North. From which day onward Nigeria had never known peace.
You may not fully comprehend the gravity of this, until you go into yours personal historical account as sighted above. Histories don't lie!
One thing was significant during this time in fairness to Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna/ 'the facto Prime Minister'. He kept emphasizing that Nigerian components had lots of differences. He would say "We should remember our differences". While Zik would reply: "We should forget our differences". And Awo made effort for an establishment of confederalism to allow for easy secession in case the center would no longer hold.
Of all these instances, it could be deduced that the founding father of the Northern region had known that North is of a different value, ethoes and ethics. Hence, he had wanted a sectionalized and differentiated system. Historically again, the North rejected self rule for her region because there were no adequate manpower at the time, and for a fear of domination. In this sense, could it not be deduced it North would never partake in an event that is not first and foremost to their large advantage. When a lagging behind setting got her self rule in 1959, she was also the same one that set the precedence for Nigeria of today in a shabby foundational structure.
Since the late 1950s till date, the North has played out their simple ideology 'born to rule'. Since the days of Balewa, Gowon, Muritala, Buhari, Babangida, Abacha, Yaradua &AbdulSalam. We have had only one westerner 'Obasanjo' & one Southerner 'Ebele'!!! Hmmm!
Yet bokoharam sprung up from a total neglect of their region by people of their own.
Anytime the North wanted anything, the caricature country provides for them: Sharia law & Bank of the North. Even same, almost sharia banking. Yet there's no bank of the South or the west.
I have come to realize that the Southern part of Nigeria has live all her life for the north. Resources are taken from the South to develop the North. You need to see double lanes that pass through Abuja to Kaduna, Kano, Katsina etc & weigh it Benin Ore road...
Now, bokoharam wants islamization of the country, thereby killing all, bombing all, kidnapping all amongst others.
Shetima argued for a marriage of kids, he & many of his contemporaries had their ways
One blunt truth is Nigeria can afford great splitting. When North Korean continually pursued an aggressive policy of mass destruction, South Korea seceded, & today SK is always good in the news, as one of the most industrialized nations in the world scaling from 3rd world to a 1st world setting.
In the North, for you to be employed in a prolific employment, ability to communicate in Hausa is always mainly key. While the vlaues / traditions of the Southerners are subsumed for the nationality sake.
Really, we have been living for the North too well. Yet peace is far from Nigeria.
Whether it is the Tinubus or the Akalas of this world that would rule us, it's immaterial, splitting peacefully is indeed a right step in the right direction. Coexistence shouldn't be a hallmark of force.
Hence, even the North can fully align with her muslim breathrens in the upper African north,or middle east without having to mutilate the christian sabongari brethren...
To be continued...
Kehinde Balogun