By Lawal Jet Kaugama
No society can thrive on disunity, disharmony and permanent discord. Therefore, every responsible leader should play the important role of uniting our people. I am totally disappointed by the kind of destructive and negative roles some of our so-called Northern Elders are playing to promote and accentuate division and disharmony among Northerners.
A few days ago Professor Ango Abdullahi of the Northern Elders Forum declared in Bauchi that “any Northerner who votes for the PDP is enemy of the North.” This kind of violent and reckless language should not have come from the mouths of those who parade themselves as Northern elders. We are in a democracy and, therefore, nobody has the right to subject Northerners to such blackmail. Every Nigerian is entitled to vote for whoever they want or whichever party they want.
In the words of the late American poet, Maya Angelou, “Hate has not built anything’ positive.” Professor Ango Abdullahi and his ilk are not helping the North by dividing the people and making them enemies of each other and one another. It is irresponsible to seek relevance and cheap publicity by spreading the seeds of discord and animosity among the people.
I would, however, acknowledge the amazing efforts of patriotic Northerners like Vice President Namadi Sambo who has dedicated his time and energy to uniting Northerners. The North has always attracted negative publicity because of ethnic and religious crises, leading to deaths and destructions. And nobody benefits from these needless and destructive crises.
Since his election as Vice President, Namadi Sambo has been trying hard to rebuild Sardauna’s legacy of a united North. Like Sardauna, Namadi has always tried to unite Northerners in such a way that they would embrace one another as brothers and sisters. Sardauna pursued a policy of mutual respect and non-discrimination among Northerners. Vice President Sambo has taken it upon himself to unite all Northerners in the spirit of Ahmadu Bello’s philosophy.
Sadly, instead of uniting behind the efforts of Vice President Namadi to promote harmony among Northerners, some self-styled Northern elders and selfish politicians are working just as hard to undermine his efforts to unite Northerners.
Those self-styled Northern leaders can neither equal nor surpass Namadi’s commitment to peace, unity, harmony, tolerance and peaceful coexistence among Northerners. In the 21st century, only people beret of ideas resort to the politics of dividing the people. Political and religious demagogues have been responsible for violent conflicts around the world.
Vice President Namadi Sambo has proved himself as an exponent of unity and a bridge builder. He is not parochial like the demagogues seeking to divide the North. None of these enemies of Northern unity can claim to be more patriotic and committed to the interest of the North than he. Does the interest of the North mean promoting hatred, acrimony and division, which self-styled leaders like Professor Ango Abdullahi are aiding and abetting?
Vice President Namadi has risen above this kind of politics and would not associate himself with those who are only interested in igniting the flames of acrimony and disunity among Northerners. All Northerners should rally round Namadi Sambo and avoid politicians who are seeking power or relevance by exploiting the religious and ethnic sentiments of the people. None of these enemies of unity can claim to love the North more than Vice President Namadi Sambo.
How can the North move forward with Boko Haram and with dangerous demagogues seeking to divide the region by promoting intolerance? The worst enemies of the North are hate mongers and not the PDP. Vice President Namadi Sambo and other PDP members should not succumb to the blackmail of unscrupulous politicians and opportunists who would not mind setting the people against each other to gain power or relevance. I am proud of Vise President Namadi Sambo because he has demonstrated clearly that a divided North cannot achieve progress. Calling PDP supporters “enemies of the North” is the height of irresponsibility and parochialism.
No political party was registered as Northern party or Muslim party. Therefore, the idea of calling PDP members “enemies of the North” is a clear evidence that the people promoting this propaganda don’t deserve to lead anybody. All Northerners and who believe in our unity and progress should reject politicians who exploit ethnic and religious sentiments to again power or relevance. We don’t need those who promote hatred and division. We should throw our weight behind Vice President Namadi Sambo in rebuilding Sardauna’s legacy of a formidably united North.
Kaugama was Special Assistant (Media) to former Governor Saminu Turaki of Jigawa state
