Who is to blame for the under-development of Nigeria and the North?
When people talk about the North being backward or is underdeveloped,it is relative to the South which western education reached many decades before it arrived in the North.What is more, because the education came through missionaries,Islam attempted to resist it on the ground that it was all a ploy to convert Muslims to Christianity.
There are still echoes of that resistance,especially when regard is paid to what the insurgence claims to be the reasons for their heinous activities.
Though scarcity of funds is a factor,the resistance contributes to the out of school phenomenon in the North.
Other factors underscoring the backwardness include failure of purposeful leadership and of the concerned followership not only in the North but across the country.
The discovery of oil made it possible for the leaders and the followers to regard the Nigeria State as a Trust Fund State financed by largely oil wealth that is not result of hardwork.
Dearth of sufficient power for development of industries has contributed in no small measure to under development of industries. Poor infrastructure also contributed to the backwardness of the North under development throughout the country. Most of all in the North is the prevalent insecurity caused by the insurgence, banditry, armed robbery and kidnapping that have kept many activities for economic development in the North on hold.
One may not be totally wrong to say the backwardness of the North and underdevelopment of the country have many factors that have caused them,and not a single source.The North today is at war with itself.
How can Nigeria get out of the leadership crisis it faces?
We are practicing multiparty democracy which allows Nigerians to choose their leaders, and how they want to be governed. If Nigerian voters decide to make judicious use of their democratic right and ensure that votes count, the problems of leadership would be no more.
One way of doing this is for all Nigerians to pay taxes, however small, so they can own the government and hold the leaders accountable. If ordinary poor Nigerians pay taxes, no matter how small, they would help fight corruption and vote buying.
Is the North opposed to restructuring of the country as advocated by leaders in the South?
The North is not opposed to any restructuring that can lead to improvement of the governance of the country. What the North has been saying is that this country has been restructured several times, be it geopolitically, form of government and models of economic development.
Geopolitically, we started with three regions and moved to four by 1963 after which the country was split into 12 to 19 to 30 and now 36 states and FCT.
By way of forms of government, we tried parliamentary system, went through military dictatorship and now presidential system of government.
As regards the economy, we tried state capitalism, mixed economy and now outright privatisation. With the foregoings, one may not be wrong to submit that the problems dragging the country have nothing to do with the structure of the country. They are due to the collapse of national ideals and moral values.
Those who focus on structure of the country, where sections of the country can develop at their own pace are those who want Nigerians to live as if they are in different countries where some sections are on cutting edge and some others on the knife edge of survival.Such people ignore the trite that narrowing of inequality is an attribute of good leadership and good governance.
What does the region expect the Tinubu’s administration to do for the North before 2027?
The simmering discontent of the North borders on the need for the president to see governance as part of balancing competing demands among constituent parts.That is to say,his management of diversity has been less than satisfactory.
Being a skillful leader, Mr President asked the appointees in the federal government to engage northern leaders with a view to dispelling any misconceptions and explain the government to their people, northerners. The interactions were healthy development in the management of social contract between governments and the people. I believe the government will use the interactions and make amends in those areas which beg for attention.
Is there a Northern agenda to stop Tinubu in 2027?
I am not aware of any Northern Agenda for removal of President Bola Tinubu. Given the politics of zoning which will enable the president to come to the North in 2031,the odds favor President Tinubu whose tenure cannot go beyond 2031.
You would recall it was politics of zoning which made it possible for President Bola Tinubu to defeat former VP Atiku in the North in 2023.
What is more, the coalition for the defeat of President Bola Tinubu is in three factions of PDP, ADC and in LP each of which will have a presidential candidate reminiscent of what happened in 2023 when the opposition split to PDP, NNPP, LP and Wike’s G5. That was what made the BBC say Bola Tinubu arose from the ashes of the opposition split.
In addition, the opposition has not told Nigerians what they will do differently from what the president is doing.
What’s the region’s expectation of the next INEC chairman? Does it agree with calls for the President to stop appointing INEC chairmen?
The expectations of the North is for INEC chairman to possess what it takes to deliver on the promise of free and fair elections. If the President does not appoint the INEC chairman, then who should do the appointment? My suggestion is for the President to appoint the INEC chairman and the commissioners but their removal should require a super majority in the Senate.That is to say, only two-thirds of the number of the Senate can remove the chairman or commissioner.
That way, the INEC chairman and the commissioners would not fear removal, and perform creditably without fear of removal.
And if all the elections are conducted on the same day, it will reduce cost and prevent a bandwagon effect. If Kenya can conduct all elections on the same day, Nigeria can also do it.
