By Dr. Micah Adam
APC made several attempts to frustrate the convening of the National Conference, despite the fact that the West has been at the fore front of the agitation for fiscal federalism, since the days of Chief Awolowo. The very necessary restructuring of Nigeria is something they do not desire, as a party, even though they know that the Yorubas have always desired such restructuring.
Some of Buhari’s friends complain that the West is not well represented in the hierarchy of the country’s leadership. They ignore the fact that Jonathan wanted the West to produce the Speaker of the House of Representatives, but the then ACN ganged up with other members of the opposition parties, along with some disgruntled PDP members from the North, and gave the post to Tambuwal. Tambuwal had to be sneaked into the chambers, disguised as a Niger Delta person to avoid what he feared to be a possible arrest by the government on the day of voting for the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Tinubu in his second term, under pressure from the North, contemplated the idea of introducing sharia in the state of Lagos, until it became clear to him that it would not pass. Many of his top staff would not support the introduction of Sharia, that was why it was discarded. See this link http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1973946
APC has been ensuring that they install mostly Muslims as governors in the Western states, even where Christians are the majority. The party certainly favor a specific religion.
States with APC governors, in the South West, have been experiencing strike after strike, unlike the PDP states.
APC has been accusing PDP of many past ills. If you look closely you will find that the foremen of those past demolition crews have relocated to APC. Thus to run away from PDP’s past ills, the best way to accomplish that would be to run away from the present APC.
Buhari in1984 ensured that 11 of the 16 members of the Supreme Military Council were Northerners. Only 5 were from the South. Numbers 1, 2, and 3 were all Northern Muslims. He jailed VP Ekwueme in Kirikiri, but put Shagari under House arrest in Ikoyi. In his PTF days 70% of projects were executed in the North, Only 30% in the South. These are not the antecedents of someone who will implement the National Conference that would limit some of the exclusive privileges conferred on the North by past Northern leaders.
During Obasanjo’s first term all South-South states voted for him. In 2003, Buhari did not want OBJ to have a second term, so he contested against OBJ. Again all the South-South states voted for OBJ. Now the shoe is on the other foot, Buhari again does not want GEJ to have a second term, but the Yorubas are going to do a pay back, to the South-South to his surprise, because even in 1993, all South-South states voted for Abiola. Remember the North did not support Obasanjo’s second term.
The Yorubas do not want to validate, the believe that, some group of Nigerians are born to rule the others. Many Nigerian believe that Northern rule has been responsible for our slow progress.
The North prevented Chief Obafemi Awolowo from becoming Nigeria’s leader. They also prevented Abiola from leading Nigeria, and then prevented General Diya from succeeding General Abacha. When they inevitably supported Obasanjo’s first term, they wanted to rule by using him as a proxy, so they entered into an agreement with him, to surrender certain powers to them, but he did not comply fully with their expectations.
Boko Haram and other forms of insecurity have been supported and funded by Northerners just to make Jonathan’s administration look bad right from the start. Buhari has been outspoken in Boko Haram’s support. The Yorubas are not going to reward these acts of mischiefs by voting for Buhari.
http://obehiokoawo.blogspot.com/2011/09/fbi-cia-put-terrorist-sponsors-on-watch.html
When Northern leaders were sharing oil blocks and giving 80% of it to the North, they did not consider the South-West, why would they expect the South-West to consider them now.
Although the seaports are all in the South and the main one in Yorubaland, to import cement, rice, sugar etc, etc, you have to go to a Northerner to be able to do so. They do not want to preserve these imbalances.
Yorubas value education, but Buhari does not value it. Many Yoruba Okada riders, and many Non-Commissioned Officer in the Military presently are graduates. Buhari, who wants to be the Commander-in Chief, is struggling, with little or no success, to prove that he has WASC.
President Jonathan, by convening the National Conference, has shown faith in restructuring Nigeria, and deserve to be awarded the contract to finish the job.