Spokesman of Northern Elders’ Forum(NEF), Professor Ango Abdullahi was one of the elite who supported the Coalition of Arewa Youth Groups when it issued quit notice to Igbos to leave the North on or before October 1. Similarly, he was part of the delegation that brokered the ceasefi re. In this interview with IBRAHEEM MUSA, the former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University(ABU) Zaria, explained why he backed both the quit notice and the armistice
After close to 60 years of independence and over 100 years after the amalgamation, there are still separatist tendencies across Nigeria. Is it correct to say that the country has still not evolved to a nation-state?
Yes that is correct. I think I have expressed this view so many times, particularly in recent years. In this country, the unity question is not yet settled. The oneness of Nigeria as a nation, as you have said, 100 years after amalgamation and almost 60 years after independence, is not settled yet. And this is one of the questions that we have to ask ourselves and give ourselves honest answers.
To me, it is pretentious for anyone to say that the unity of Nigeria is non negotiable because of all the tendencies that we are seeing. It is utopian to even say that Nigeria is indivisible. I don’t believe it because I don’t believe these pretenses that unity of Nigeria is a settle question; certainly it is not.
The way some Nigerians are behaving is much worse than other countries that have ended up dividing like India, Soviet Union and even Britain that has just opted out of the European Union and so on. So, you cannot in all honesty say that any country put together by man cannot disintegrate.
This country was put together by man, by the British, and certainly is not God’s creation. Certainly, God created the tribes of Hausa, Ibo and Fulani and so on but Nigeria is a British creation. Many people have admitted, the (Professor Ben) Nwabueze’s of this world have said that the British made a mistake in bringing the diff erent territories together and called it Nigeria. And the manifestations are still there. Therefore it is utopian to insist that the unity of Nigeria is settled.
Are you also saying that the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates in 1914 was a mistake?
I wasn’t there; this was done over 100 years ago. When I was taking oral history from my grand parents, they said that they were never consulted. It was the British that decided that some pieces should come together to form what is now called Nigeria. There wasn’t any consultation
Certainly, in the cause of bring these components together, mistakes may have been made. In fact, they were made.
You supported the Coalition of Northern Youths that called for Igbos to quit the North on or before October 1st, at a time when the Northern Governors Forum called for their arrest. Surprisingly, you were part of the team that brokered the ceasefi re which resulted in the youths rescinding the quit notice. Why did you change your mind on the quit notice?
North not afraid of restructuring-There is a diff erence between reversal and suspension. The youths suspended the quit notice, I suppose, out of sheer respect for the president. He was out of the country when the events took place. The youths didn’t want him to come back and meet the situations that had arisen, which were particularly forced on our children to take action against the provocations that were going on against their parents and grand parents in the last two years.
The quit notice was a reaction to those provocations and that was why I supported the youths. And some Northern governors, out of sheer ignorance or playing to the gallery, even called for the arrest of our kids. Over these years as governors, they have never raised the issue in their forum, regarding the antics of Nnammdi Kanu or IPoB, or MASSOB with their colleagues; to say that this is not good enough for the understanding that we are trying to generate in the country.
So, when our kids are trying to protect their parents and grand parents from all these assaults and abuses, the governors came out to condemn them. But they never condemned those that were abusing their parents.
That was why I reacted the way I did. I am telling you that this suspension to the quit order is out of respect for the president and hoping that the conditions attached to the suspension will be looked into as spelt out in the elaborate press conference that preceded the suspension.
For the records, what were those conditions that were attached to the quit order?
Well, there were so many; go and read the press conference, they are all stated there. Our youths are not saying that they hate Igbos but they were reacting to hate actions that have been manifesting for a very long time from the same source which created our fi rst problem in 1966.
IPoB insisted that they want to have Biafra and our youths said that they should have their Biafra Republic. So, our youths were just supporting them but in supporting them, they asked Igbos in the North to go and join their people. The Igbos that are living in the North never raised their voices against what Kanu is doing.
So, it is assumed that everyone of them believed that Biafra is something that the Igbos should pursue; so why should they be forced to stay? Now, we have been vindicated, we have seen it, Igbos in high places in government or politics, have been running around in getting him bailed and even escorting him in convoys to his house.
Now that he has violated his bail conditions, they have come out openly to say that Kanu should not be arrested when people were calling for his rearrest. After hiding for so long, that the highest body of Igbo socio-political group is not behind Kanu’s agitation, this particular incident has shown us that all along, the Igbo leadership has been behind it.
But former governor of Kaduna state, retired Col Abubakar Umar has also cautioned against arresting Kanu because of the possible backlash that it may cause…
(Cuts in) Well, in that case everybody should break the law and in fact they should go and open the prisons and release all convicted criminals. That is the meaning of what he said, that people who have either been convicted or are awaiting trial should be set free! That’s all.
As an elder statesman, what is the way out of these fi ssiparous tendencies of secession and eviction notices?
Honesty! We should be honest enough to say that after experimenting for over 100 years, that is when the British brought us together, and after experimenting for close to 60 years after independence, we have not succeeded in believing that this country could be one. I have argued in earlier interviews that it is not the ordinary Nigerian in the market or on the farm, that is fomenting crises.
It is we, including perhaps me, as elites at the political, administrative and traditional strata, that have been fanning these divisions and fault lines, instead of papering over them and narrowing them.
These divisions are becoming more and more unbearable. So, the way out is to sit down face-to-face and tell each other the truth that this marriage, which many people have agreed was a mistake in the fi rst place, should be looked into to see whether it should continue or be dissolved.
I am surprised by your position because the impression that has been created is that Northerners favour the status quo and don’t want the future of this country discussed…
(Cuts in)This is not correct! I think what people have been mistaken is the northern culture of patience, diplomacy and its philosophy of ‘’Do unto others as you expect them to do unto you’’. The North has been absorbing all the shots that were instigated against Nigeria, whether externally or internally. It is the northern patience and accommodation that has really kept this country in peace. What really led to the crisis of 1966 was that the north had reached the limit of its patience.
Its leaders were killed in cold blood. People in uniform killing their seniors, killing sections of the political leadership of the country and so on.
What kind of provocation can be worse than that, that we should expect the North to close its eyes and do nothing or say nothing?
So, we have to come and face the reality of our pretenses. We pretend a lot. Rather than pretend, we need to perhaps come and talk to each other. If the elites that have more or less brought this country almost to its knees and stalled its development will continue the way they are going, l think we owe it a duty to the future generation, to take the correct decision as soon as possible. So that people who feel that they cannot put in their best in places other than places of their birth, or their ethnic enclaves, can say that its time to really take a look at our future.
But why is the North afraid of restructuring?
The North is not afraid of restructuring! What is your defi nition of restructuring? Yes, tell me! Because if you talk to a 100 people, their defi nition will be diff erent. So, what is your own defi nition so that I can give you an answer. Individual states or regions or what ever federating units should be allowed substantially to run their aff airs with little interference from the centre.
That was done in 1960! We had the Northern region, Western and Eastern regions. They were almost autonomous; each region had its own constitution, with a federal constitution which listed out the responsibilities of the federal government, the regional government and areas where there was concurrence. In fact, if there will be any restructuring that will make sense to me, is to go back to the regional arrangement.
But the North will not be a monolithic political unit as it used to be, if the nation reverts to the regional arrangement…
(Cuts in) It never was! Neither the west nor the east were monoliths! In 1963, the monolith western region of the Yorubas gave birth to the Mid western region. So, what is diffi cult about eastern Nigeria sitting down with its various components, saying that we are going to separate this way or that way? We are not objecting to that in the north. If there are some sections of the North that believes that it is also time that the north should not work together politically or any other way, I am one of those who believes that we can seat and iron it out. If there is reason to create another region in Northern Nigeria and there is enough grounds to do so, I will support it.
But don’t you think that that will weaken the North politically?
No it will not. In fact, let me tell you one little secret. When I was talking to Professor Nwabueze, I reminded him that it was a Northerner that decided to create six states out of the big north.
He himself reacted by saying that even though you have been divided into six states but you are still working together.
So, the fact that some units may want a separate identity in the North, it is very unlikely that it will disrupt the fraternity that has been built over several generations between groups of tribes and so on. In fact today, I can bet you, there are many minorities that feel more for the north that we Hausa/Fulani.
At the level of elites or ordinary Northerners?
At the level of everybody, including the elites in particular. Some of the serious minded people who have held diff erent positions of responsibilities in government and politics, believe that the North had a good time under the leadership of Sardauna(the late Premier of the North, Sir Ahmadu Bello).
They always say that ‘’Sardauna was a good leader. Under his leadership we were happy.’’ In fact, it is those who succeeded Sardauna as Northern leaders that have failed. Maybe talking things over may correct things but if we cant agree, and some sections feel that they want a bloc of their own, in the form of a region or whatever, we should cooperate. Its self determination.
