Date Published: 07/13/11

Boko Haram, Maitatsine and Sharia Law: The Case Of Born To Rule Mentality And Mind Set Of The North by Chidi P. Eze

It seems there is a written or an implied constitutional provision  either in the Quran or in the northern states of Nigeria's assembly or in the  Islamic code that the north was born to rule regardless of the ethnic  diversity of Nigeria.  The happenings in Nigeria with regards to the  northern mentality of ever wanting to micro manage Nigeria, begs for  this topic. Let's go back to Nigeria of 1960s. It will be recalled that  right after the Nigeria's Independence of October 1, 1960 her first  Prime Minister was Abubarka Tafawa Balewa from the north. A  military  coup occurred January 15, 1966 six years after the independence and   he was killed in the process. An accomplished soldier and diplomat  named General Johnson Agui Ironsi from the east became the Head of the  Nigerian government. Six months later, he was killed by  Nigerian  soldiers of northern extraction with all kinds of accusations, though  one of them was not because he was one of the coupist of January 15, 1966. Between July 29, 1966 and January 1970, Nigeria did not function  as a real nation with all her components, so I am going to fast track  this topic.

By January 1970, General Yakubu Gowon had become the head of Nigerian  government. He is from the north. No form of agitation in the name of  religion capable of threatening the existence of Nigeria other than  social agitation was envisaged. In fact I never heard anything called  sharia law. Then on July 29, 1975, Gen. Gowon was over thrown in a  military coup. The leadership of Nigerian government fell on Gen.Muritala Mohammed, another northerner. Again everything was alright in Nigeria. There was no form of religious agitation. Again sharia law  and it's provisions were unknown to many of us still. On February 13,  1976 Gen Muritala Mohammed was killed in another military coup.  An indigene of a junior partner with northern military and political  establishment ( south west) Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo was appointed to  hold brief for the northerners. As a result, there was no religious  agitation. On October 1, 1979 Gen. Obasanjo relinquished his post to  the heir apparent, a northerner, Alhaji Shehu Shagari.

On December 31, 1983 Alhaji Shagari was removed in yet again a  military coup. He was replaced by another northerner, Gen Mohammed Buhari. Gen Buhari arrogated to himself knowledge and solution of all  Nigeria's problems. To achieve his objectives, he would have to Islamize the entire Nigeria and subject the south in general and  Ndigbo in particular to economic, political and social slavery. He applied  military intimidation using so untrained , so uneducated, so  uncultured and so un maintained soldiers of northern extraction  against the south. He accused all his predecessors of being less Islam  and became more catholic than the pope.

All kinds of Islamization  that manifested all over Nigeria. There was a pending introduction  of sharia law using an Islamic bigot in the ministry of justice by name Dr. Aina to draft the sharia law as a federal law. The secularity of Nigeria was about to be desecrated. 10 northern states government were established to raise only the children of the north that would be inducted into operation born to rule. There was WAI (war against Igbos)  Nigerian girls could no longer wear long pants. They were terrorized  and traumatized by the northern soldiers.

Islamization of Nigeria was  about to begin. Three southern Christian students were executed by firing squad on the order of Buhari on a retro-active law. Alhaji Buhari's religious notoriety could no longer be stomached by the West, hence his forced exit on August 27, 1985. He was substituted by another northerner Gen Ibrahim Babangida with a clear advice  from the  West to tone down Buhari's religious rhetoric. He complied. But when he was accused by the northern establishment that he was not Islam enough, he decided to prove them wrong by his symbolic and unilateral imposition of Nigeria on Organization of Islamic Conference (IOC).  After 8+ years of his military and political manipulation, corruption  and fraud, he decided to allow for a democratic electoral process to take place. Which turned out to be a facade. On February 12, 1993

another indigene of the northern junior partner (the west) Chief MKO Abiola was elected democratically. The north did not like it and would never let that happen. His election was annulled. A political stalemate  ensued. To save his neck from military assassination, he  picked another indigene from same junior partner (the west) chief Ernest Shonekan, to head what was never known in Nigeria as National Unity Government (NUG). That was just another baptismal name for a  delayed military coup or a military delay tactics to enable the  northern military establishment  pick an agreeable military mallam who would maintain the born to rule policy of the north.

Three months later, Gen Sani Abacha was chosen over Gen Gausa, then chief Shonekan was sent home. Abacha regime has begun. So far so good for the north.

The status quo was still being maintained. When he (Abacha) attempted to corruptly and fraudulently perpetuate himself in the leadership of  Nigeria, the West felt that they have had enough of him. The idea of  an all out  surgical operation to remove Abacha and his government militarily was discarded when the  international secret service

observed that such military application would spill excessive blood of  Nigerians. They narrowed it to just remove Abacha alone and collapsed his regime. On June 8, 1998 Abacha was fatally wasted. Again another  northerner Gen Abdul Salami Abubarka was enthroned. While Gen Abubarka  was holding forth, a serious negotiation between the north and the  west was going on. It would have been an ideal thing for Dr. Alex Ekwueme to be the presidential candidate of PDP as the head of the founding members and  one time vice president of Nigeria, but his surname and his zip code  did not match. So, for the north to capitulate and relinquish their birth right, it (north) must choose who would hold forth for her.  Abacha

Again Chief Obasanjo readily came to mind. Having successfully held power for the north from February 1976 to October 1979 and became more north than an Hausa mallam, Chief Ekwueme was dumped for Chief  Obasanjo, hence his immediate release and pardon from the dungeon. In  1999, chief Obasanjo became an elected president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under the banner of a party he knew nothing about (PDP). However, sensing that Obasanjo might have been carrying out policies  not compatible with northern domination, a sharia law was introduced to make Nigeria ungovernable. A certain northern governor from Zamfara state called Ayatollah Sani Ahmed Yerima became the hero of the north by being the first northerner to dust up and officially entrench sharia law in the north. Before one could spell north, sharia law has  swept the entire north like wild fire. With the introduction of sharia law all over the north, by 2001, the objective of sharia law had become obvious-- the massacre of Ndigbo, looting of their properties and destruction of anything Christian in Kaduna, Kano, Bauchi,  Maiduguri and some other northern states. Burning of Christian churches were rampart. Obasanjo did not do a damn thing. Instead he chastised Ndigbo for speaking out for the killing of their loved ones and their bread winners. He truly demonstrated the southern timidity.

Not a single person from the criminal gang was prosecuted. Throughout Obasanjo, a non muslim, from the south, sharia law loomed supreme in  the north occasioned by it's conceited religious violence. One does not need any advance technology  to know that the introduction of  sharia law in the north under Obasanjo was  a disruptive  political tool by the north to let the Christian south understand that by steeping into the presidency of Nigeria, the south is interfering with the northern's right? Soon after Obasanjo's dministration, Alhaji Musa Yar'dua became president, sharia's disruptive political effect petered down. The introduction of Sharia law in the north was the northern expression of their disapproval of a non muslim from the south to be president thereby making the south part of  Nigeria, and deny them right to control Nigeria and maintain economic, military , industrial and financial advantage. 95% of Nigeria' s income comes from the south. 90% of Nigeria's military, federal institutions and industrial complex are based in the north. The armed forces establishments are scattered all over the north, for instance, NMTC, Kaduna, Military institutions in Jaji and Kachia, Kaduna, Nigerian military school, Zaria, Kaduna, Nigerian Defense Industry Corporation, Kaduna, Nigerian Civil Aviation School, Zaria, Kaduna, Peugeot  Automobile Plant, Kaduna, Oil refinery, Kaduna, NIPSS, Jos.

There are two main military divisions in the north. Kano State alone has 44 local government. Jigiwa a very small town carved out of Kano state has 36 local government.  Of the 774 local government in Nigeria, the north has over 450. Guess what the Nigeria's oil money gives each  local government and each state every month?

When Alhaji Yar'dua died and his then vice president Dr Goodluck Jonathan, a southern Christian, became president by virtue of the provision of  the constitution doctored and approved by the northern military and  political establishment. Here comes another sharia based organization, only this time it was rebaptized and renamed Boko Haram. Sharia, Maitasuni, Boko Haram are all the same thing, same intention, same  philosophy, but different name.Boko Haram was born at Dr. Jonathan's accension to power and began their gradual operation of killing Christians living in the north, burning their churches and looting their properties. They finally showed their violent religious intensity after Dr. Jonathan was duly elected over their Ayatollah Buhari. The so-called demand by these terrorists is just a defense  mechanism for the revenge for non muslim southerner being elected  president and the killing of their violent Islamic symbol Osama Bin Laden.

It has been alleged that these terrorist group has infiltrated the Nigerian army and the police. Should that surprise any one. At least not me. The Nigerian army and the police of northern extraction instituted the massive massacre of non muslims in the north. Till this moment, the army and the police still provide, protect, incite and encourage those terrorists in the north. Some of the members of the Nigerian army and the police of northern extraction are nothing but legalized terrorists in the official uniform. Their mode of operation  and zeal by which they carry out their operations leave no body in doubt as to the professional assistance they get  from  well structured and well funded organization. It is not out of place to say that the government's inability to prosecute and convict any of the terrorists showed that their sponsors, trainers and suppliers are well connected and well entrenched in the very porous and unaccountable system made easy by the northernization and islamization policy. Since these Islamic terrorists have been killing Christians in the north and  burning their churches and dispossessing them of their livelihoods, not a single one of them has ever been charged not to talk of  prosecution.

But Ken Sarawiwa protested injustice, he and eight other protesters were arrested and hanged. What will save Nigeria and Nigerians is to stop pandering to the whims and caprices of the north  and their mind set and get real revolutionary. Nigeria?s managers should institutionalize every thing by merit and merit only. This so-called zonalization principle is entrenching mediocrites, corruption, fraud, immorality, pedophiles, social outcasts, religious bigots, tribal irredentists, professional laziness and unaccountability into the system, thereby making progress and development impossibly non attainable.If a company is run for over 40 years by a certain group of people  from the same family with same philosophy and same mind set and it did never get off the surface instead it continues to sink lower and lower, and the owners of the enterprise could not effect a revolutionary change and want the same  people to continue to manage the company and be doing the same thing and expect any positive  change, the owners must be educationally, psychologically and mentally  challenged.

One of the many wrongs about Nigerians is that they will see wrong thing happening and would not say a word, but after its has happened, they begin to complain. Philosophically put, Nigerians will see a dying man that could be saved if rushed to hospital, but  would just stand up looking for the dying man then after he has died, they begin to complain that they should have taken him to the hospital. Take for instance, the corruption issue in Nigeria. Though this will be an article for another time. In the final analysis, it is a well known fact that the north will always introduce an obstructive and terrorist principle against any non muslim or a southerner elected to the high office in Nigeria to make governing impossible as they have nothing to loose.

The northern military and political establishment is aware of the infiltration of the  terrorist and Islamic fundamentalist gang into the Nigerian armed forces, the police, the SSS, other various security establishment and the Nigerian government. It will be impossible for a non muslim or a southern president to effectively rule Nigeria in the face of the obstructive principle of the north.  We need to stop apologizing for  celebrating merit and hard work. We need to stop apologizing for wanting to protect an individual right to quality education and Christian values. We need to stop apologizing about stemming the tide of entitlement mind set that's out there. We need to stop apologizing for our legitimate right to own business and legitimate political aspirations.

Our neighbors in the north are never going to like us, so let's  quit trying to curry favor with them. Alhaji Atiku Abubarka has already spoken the mind of the north, when he said that north determines the direction of Nigeria and that when the north sneezes the rest of  the country catches cold. We need to stop glorifying laziness and we need to stop apologizing for accepting and adopting western influence and education.

We also need to stop apologizing for believing in Almighty God through Christianity. We need to shake off the north's violent intimidation. The only way the south will be able to stand up to the north and to stop the threat is to adopt the principle of one American movie called, "Two can play the game."

Chidi P Eze     

 e-mail: pceze@academicplanet.com

Houston, Texas USA.