O. JASON OSAI WRITES THAT NIGERIA IS YET TO FORGE A NATION OUT OF ITS MANY TRIBES
Amanifesto is a declaration of a philosophy; it is usually backed by strategic policies and programs aimed at achieving an objective. Manifestoes derive from a mindset and strong beliefs in what ought to be as against what is. It is therefore either a commitment to the status quo or a drive towards a desired state of affairs. Written or unwritten, political manifestoes are generally aimed at expanding the sphere of political influence and economic dominance; this is the essence of imperialism.
Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Alhaji Ahmadu Bello personified the Yoruba (West), Igbo (East) and Hausa/Fulani (North), respectively, in the quest for Nigeria independence. Within these geopolitical blocks, there are more than 250 minority groups. In the North, Hausa is majority while Fulani is a dominant minority resulting from the legendary expansionist exploits of the Fulani patriarch Uthman Dan Fodio in the 19th Century; Ahmadu Bello was great grandson of Dan Fodio.
The Parrot Newspaper of October 12, 1960 quotes Ahmadu Bello, Saduana of Sokoto, leader of Northern Peoples’ Congress (NPC) and Premier of Northern Region, as averring thus:
“The new nation called Nigeria should be an estate of our great grandfather Uthman Dan Fodio. We must ruthlessly prevent a change of power. We use the minorities in the North as willing tools and the South as a conquered territory and never allow them to rule over us and never allow them to have control over their future.”
Note that “the South” under reference encompasses South-East, South-West and South-South zones in contemporary Nigeria geopolitical lexicon. Terse as the above declaration of 59 words is, it contains all the ingredients of the imperialist mindset. Five key phrases contained therein are instructive; they clearly indicate the mindset of internal imperialism, the approach intended to be utilized and the targets for dominance. This strongly worded declaration set the pace for virulent ethnocentric vituperation and underdevelopment in Nigeria.
The five key phrases for this analysis are: one, “Estate of our great grandfather Uthman Dan Fodio”; two, “We Must Ruthlessly Prevent a Change of Power”; three, “Use the Minorities in the North as Willing Tools”; four, “The South as a Conquered Territory” and five, “Never Allow Them to Have Control Over Their Future”. “Estate of our Great Grandfather Uthman Dan Fodio.” In 1996, this author published an academic article in which he criticized the adoption of “Born to Rule” as the sobriquet for Sokoto State; subsequently, that was changed to “Seat of the Caliphate”. The statement “Estate of our great grandfather Uthman Dan Fodio” reflects the “Born to Rule” mindset, which is contemptuous and conflictual. Mentioning the revered Patriarch of the Fulani adorns it a Fulani makes it undoubtedly a Fulani Manifesto rather than an agenda of the North.
“We Must Ruthlessly Prevent a Change of Power”. The call for ruthlessness in preventing change of power situates Buhari’s repeated attempts for the presidency, the methodical and systemic power play that ousted a sitting president and the double standards of branding unarmed placard-carrying protesters in the South as terrorists while armed terrorists in the North are categorized as bandits that are endlessly being negotiated with and appeased.
“Use the Minorities in the North as Willing Tools”. The doctrine of “One North”, which was conceptualized and propagated by Ahmadu Bello, is only applied when the hegemonic group wants to have its way on national issues. The current headship of security apparati and other sensitive national offices by the Fulani drives home the essence of “use the minorities in the North as willing tools”.
“Never Allow Them to Have Control over Their Future.” Doggedly besieged by various resolute pressure groups with the Chief Harold Dappa-Biriye-led Association of Mineral Producing Areas of Rivers State (AMPARS) at the forefront, the federal government created Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC) in 1992 in conformity with the imperialist doctrine of “never allow them to have control over their future”. OMPADEC was deliberately calibrated to fail in achieving the objective of grassroots development of the Niger Delta.
A brief biography of Chief Dappa-Biriye vis-à-vis the story of OMPADEC is pertinent to illustrate the resoluteness of this doctrine. Harold J. Wilcox earned straight “A”s in Cambridge Examinations. He rejected a scholarship to study law in London and opted to fight for the minorities of the Niger Delta. Harold Wilcox’s performance at the Willink Commission for Minority Rights in 1957 in London speaks volubly of his patriotism, brilliance and tenacity. In a rebellious episode that belongs in another narrative, he rechristened himself Harold J.R. Dappa-Biriye; thus commenced the legendary odyssey of Chief H.J.R. Dappa-Biriye as vanguard of the minorities of the then Eastern Nigeria. He was the pivot of the first Executive Council (EXCO) of the then newly created Rivers State; that EXCO conceptualized and meticulously implemented the liberal educational policy of the Diete-Spiff Administration, liberated Rivers State from acute dearth of manpower.
Conscious of the patriotic fervor harbored by Dappa-Biriye, the internal imperialists figured that with him on the saddle, outside influences would be resolutely resisted and OMPADEC will deliver on its mandate. Resultantly, Dappa-Biriye and his compatriots were methodically kept at abeyance from the new Commission; hence, it became a Greek Gift. When OMPADEC failed abysmally and, eventually morphed to Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), it presented a typical case of the proverbial “old wine in a new bottle”. The imperialist manifesto still persists and Niger Deltans are not allowed to control their future.
The five phrases in the combative declaration are instructive and explain burning issues in contemporary Nigerian public life; they are derisive, divisive, contemptuous, contentious and conflictual. Nigerians have outgrown the idiotic docility requisite for actualizing such manifesto. To live in denial of this fact is delusional; therefore, insisting on actualizing the manifesto can only lead to thunderous nunc dimitis. Is anyone listening? He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
• Osai wrote from Department of Political Science, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt
