NEWS FROM ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW: Beating The Drums Of War, Playing The Ethnic Card

by Emmanuel Oladesu  

There is tension ahead of Saturday’s presidential election. Politicians are beating the drums of war. The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), according to observers, has regressed into crude tactics. In their view, President Goodluck Jonathan and top party leaders are playing the ethnic card. This has implications for national integration and mutual understanding in a heterogeneous society, which historians have described as an amalgam of incompatible social formations.

Divide and rule tactics

Nigeria has been a divided country since independence. In this electioneering, it has become more divided, no thanks to the divisive tendency of the Presidency. In its desperation for votes, divide and rule tactics have been the order of the game. When it appeared that it may not produce the desired result, the PDP resorted to fuelling what can best be described ethnic tension and confusion. According to analysts, the President’s failure to live up to the billing of a symbol of national unity has further dented the image of the inept administration.

There is an onslaught against the marginalised Southwest. The politically conscious and sophisticated region is perceived as the beautiful pride and the deciding factor in this critical election. For six weeks, President Goodluck Jonathan has relocated from Aso Villa, Abuja, to Lagos for intense mobilisation. Yoruba in the city state of Lagos and the other five states are being courted. The fruits of the manipulation and division have manifested in the inexplicable endorsement of the Commander-in-Chief by the polarised pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, the factionalised and outlawed militia, Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), the royal fathers and other interest groups. Moral values collapsed in Yorubaland when elders who have criticised the Federal Government for the neglect and marginalisation of the race started speaking from both sides of the mouth. A President who once branded Yoruba elders as rascals suddenly became the messiah for the same elders.

Many questions were raised by critics. Is tokenism the answer for years of marginalisation? In response to the allegation of utter neglect, the President appointed Brig-Gen Jones Arogbofa as his Chief of Staff. In the first 10 leading positions in the country, no accommodation is extended to Yoruba. What is the relationship between the promise to implement the National Conference Report and the relegation of region to the background? Also, in the PDP, Yoruba are complaining about lack of sense of belonging. Should the PDP-led Federal Government relegate Yoruba in Lagos State as they have been relegated at the centre?

Romance with illegal groups

The financial inducement further fragmented the socio-political organisation. Those who were left in the cold are now fighting the major beneficiaries of the inexplicable largesse.

When OPC was instigated by the PDP to protest in Lagos, hell was let loose. Commercial activities in the economic hub were paralysed for hours. Campaign materials of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), including posters, banners, vehicles, were destroyed. There was panic. Many innocent people were harassed and intimidated. Basking in the euphoria of power barons, PDP leaders rise in defense of the protesters, saying that it is a matter of fundamental human right. But, taking an exception into the mayhem, the Convener of Yoruba General Assembly, Gen. Alani Akinrinade, said a wrong signal was being sent to the people of Yorubaland when militants from the East and Southsouth invaded the streets of Lagos to terrorise the state. “It could generate a nasty thought about the type of federalism being practiced,” he fumed.

A curious dimension is the plan to rig in the OPC as an observer group to monitor the polls. Members of the group lack the skill and experience. But, APC Publicity Secretary Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said it is not a rumour. Stressing that the move to recruit OPC members as monitors is outrageous and nonsensical, he said they will be used to perpetrate electoral malpractices.

“In what capacity will Dr. Fasehun deploy OPC members to monitor the elections? Is OPC accredited by the INEC to monitor the polls? When did ethnic militias become election monitors? This is what President Jonathan has caused by drafting outlaws into the electoral process, all in desperation to win,” Mohammed added.

The President’s efforts are being complimented by the PDP governors. When they came to Lagos two weeks ago, they held unusual meetings with indigenes of their states. The main trust of the parley was the sowing of the seeds of discord in a hitherto peaceful state, which has hosted many Nigerians from all sections of the country for ages. In the North, the President’s wife, Dame Patience, has complimented the campaign efforts with hate statements. Apparently frustrated by her husband’s failure in making an in-road into the North, the First Lady castigated the Northerners, saying that they are oblivious of the import of birth control.

Promoting ethnicity

Observers pointed out that as the President tried to woo the Southwest, it is believed that, at the same time, other ethnic groups, especially Nigerians from the North, East and South-south, are being instigated against legitimate authorities and the political establishment in the former federal capital. In the name of politics, brothers are set against brothers. Non-Yoruba speaking groups are being induced to turn their backs against their hosts for partisan reasons. PDP leaders have hammered on the deep-seated differences between Igbo and Yoruba. They have urged Igbos, Hausas, Ijaws and other ethnic groups in the Centre of Excellence to ignore the substance of brotherhood that has bonded them together in commerce and social relations, as if elections will not come and go. For example, when the PDP campaign train rolled into Ladipo Spare Parts Market, Matori, Mushin, three weeks ago, PDP leaders instigated Igbos against Yoruba, who are leaders of the market.

A PDP chieftain queried: “This market is dominated by Igbo. Why is Yoruba made the market leader?” A day later, there was power tussle between Yoruba and Igbo, who had co-existed peacefully in the market for decades. The face-off degenerated into violence. Scores of traders were injured. The victims have a sad tale to tell.

Community leaders were taken aback by the development.

A Mushin traditional chief retorted: “What is politics turning to? Why is the PDP inciting Igbo against our people? Yoruba is the most accommodating tribe in Nigeria. Why are politicians inciting people against people?” One of the women leaders in the area lamented that the sour relationship may continue beyond the election period.

“There was a civil war in this country and Ibos left for home. We looked after their property and remitted their rents. My father told me that the late Dr. Nnamidi Azikiwe, a leader of Igbo, was elected into the Western Regional House of Assembly, Ibadan, from Surulere Constituency. They told us that Yoruba people like Chief Adeniran Ogunsanya, Chief Theophilus Benson and Chief I.S. Adewale (The boy is good), never deserted him. Why are they now sowing seeds of discord among us in Lagos?” she asked.

Yoruba missing in 50 top positions

Many Yoruba intellectuals have criticised the deliberate attempt by the administration to reduce the race to the second class position. APC Action Group Caucus, Ekiti State, observed that only two slots are reserved for Yoruba in the 50 salient leadership positions. To the group, this scenario is embarrassing. The analysis is confounding. It shows that Yoruba has been edged out in the legislature. The President of the Senate is from the Northcentral, Deputy Senate President (Southeast), House of Representatives Speaker (Northwest), Deputy Speaker (Southeast), National Assembly Commission (Northeast) and Clerk of the National Assembly (Northwest).

In the judiciary, there is no space for Yoruba. The Chief Justice is from the Northeast, President of the Court of Appeal (Northeast); Chairman of National Judicial Commission (Northwest) and Registrar of the Supreme Court (Northwest).

Yoruba also have no place in the top security echelon. The Chief of Defence Staff is from the Northeast; Chief of Army Staff (Southsouth); National Security Adviser (Northwest), Inspector-General of Police (Northwest), Controller-General of Customs (Northwest), Controller-General of Immigration (Northcentral), Controller-General of Prison (Southeast), Director-General of the Department of State Services DSS (Southsouth) and the Chairman, Police Service Commission (Southsouth).

The marginalisation is more pronounced in the executive arm, an organ that has 31 positions. Only two are allotted to the Southwest. These are the positions of the Chief of Staff to the President and the Accountant-General of the Federation. The President is from the Southsouth, Vice President (Northwest), Secretary to the Federal Government (Southeast), Head of Service (Southsouth), Minister of Finance (Southeast), Minister of Petroleum (Southsouth), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor (Southeast), Director-General,NIMASA (Southsouth), Chairman NIMASA (Northeast), Security Exchange Commission (Southsouth), Federal Inland Revenue (Northeast), INEC (Northwest), National Population Commission (Southeast), Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (Northeast), Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Corporation (Southsouth), National Identity Management Commission (Southeast), National Electricity Regulatory Commission (Southeast), Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (Southsouth), Millennium Development Goals (Southsouth), Chairman NDDC (Southsouth), Director-General, Nigeria Health Insurance Scheme (Northcentral), Nigerian Representative in the United Nations (Southeast), Chief Economic Adviser to President (Southsouth), Special Adviser, Political Affairs (Northeast), Special Adviser, Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation of MDAs (Southsouth), Director-General, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (Southeast), Nigeria Petroleum Development Company (Southeast), Chairman and Nigeria Port Authority (Southsouth).

Pitting settlers against hosts

Yesterday, Arewa community in Lagos cried out that plans were underway by the PDP to scatter its members, following their refusal to embrace the President’s second term project.

“We are impenetrable. That is why they are subjecting us to this tension and intimidation,” said one of its leaders, Kabiru Abdullai, an architect. “PDP leaders are instigating thugs against us in Agege area. They are shooting our people. Some of them are now in the hospital receiving treatment. Our sin is that we have refused to follow them. They wanted to incite us against our Yoruba brothers. We said no. We have lived peacefully together for many years. We also want to specifically say that the APC government has given the Arewa Community a sense of belonging in Lagos,” he added.

In the last six weeks, the propaganda that the next APC government will move against Ndigbo has been fuelled by the PDP. Indeed, PDP chieftains have not been going empty handed to the Igbo camp during mobilisation. However, the purported endorsement of the President has not been backed by the visceral commitment. The Association for the Defense of Igbo Interests in Lagos (ADIIL) said Igbos in Lagos are irrevocably committed to change at the centre. He said the only identification the President has with Igbo is his two names – Ebele and Azikiwe, adding that it is only during elections that the sentiment is usually played up. Its Chairman, Prof. Chris Nwaokobia, said that the plot to set Ndigbo in Lagos against Yoruba will fail.

“Ndigbo must never forget that where we make our living and where we make our fortune is where we must necessarily protect. We have invested hugely in Lagos. We have our businesses in Lagos. We are working in Lagos. Nobody can discriminate against us and the APC government in Lagos State has been a friend, brother, partner and father,” he added.

The activist urged Ndigbo to reflect deeply on its uncharitable characterization as those meant for hatchet jobs. He said: “Today, hatred, animosity, fear and suspicion have been incited against Ndigbo living in the North, the West and Middle Belt because some traders of fortune benefit from this.”

Nwakobia flayed the President for hypocrisy, saying that he has failed to fulfill his 2011 campaign promises to the Southeast. He said the PDP Lagos chapter has also marginalised Ndigbo in the affairs of the party. Noting that the Southeast has suffered under the Jonathan administration, he said: ” We have salt deposits in Ebonyi State, a broken down cement factory at Nkalagu, a closed down Enugu Coal Mines, a non-functioning Oji-River Thermal Station, the River Dock at Onitsha, which is now a mirage, a second Niger Bridge, which is a political fraud, and the Enugu/Onitsha and Enugu/ Port-Harcourt roads, which are a slaughter slab, the forgotten Aba Dry Dock and the neglected Aba Power Plant, which Prof. Bath Nnaji is try to re-engineer.”

Nwakobia added: “But, this is the same PDP-led Federal Government that is frantically inciting Ndigbo to fight their hosts, the Yorubas and endanger all we have laboured to in Lagos and the Southwest for selfish interests of Jonathan and the PDP.

“This is the same PDP that does not have an Igbo as an executive in the party in Lagos, whereas the APC has an Igbo as its publicity secretary and an Igbo as a commissioner and an Igbo woman as a Senior Special Assistant to Governor Babatunde Fashola on Women Affairs. Ndigbo cannot be deceived. We know that APC is manifestly more sincere and protesting of Igbo interest in Lagos.”

Originally published in The Nation.
All opinion expressed in the above editorial does not reflect the opinions of NAIJAGRAPHITTI BLOG or its publishers.