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New agenda of Arewa: How to reverse the mistake of 1999 |
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This is the second in the series of papers on the legitimacy crisis facing President Obasanjo in the face of the decision of the northern political leaders to withdraw support from him. In the first paper I tried to examine the three bases of legitimacy facing President Obasanjo: the north as the basis of origin of the President; the use of GOD as the basis of origin of the President and the Vox Populi Vox Dei as the basis of origin of the President. I counseled that the first basis, the north is false and without basis in fact or in reality. I counseled the President to call off the bluff of the so-called northern leaders whose plan is to blackmail him and cow him to submission on the false claim that since they made him they could unmake him and run him out of town. I counseled the President to run to the Nigerian people as the voters who elected him on the premise that the voice of the people is the voice of God. The implications of this were spelled out in the paper. President Obasanjo should reject the false claim of the north as the base of his support and should from now on do what the Nigerian people from the north, south, east and west want him to do. He should denounce and reject what the self-serving, unelected and discredited leaders of the north want him to do for the interest of the northern elite, which is at variance with the national interest. Mr. President, for goodness sake call off the bluff of the Arewa Consultative Forum and the Committee of the former Heads of State and nothing would happen if and only if you quickly move to do what Nigerians want. This is a big if, unfortunately. Of course, Mr. President, make your power to depend on 'the will of the people'. This is tough but not unachievable as the only survival kit. How he could achieve this feat is the subject of the third paper. Over now to the second paper! This second paper addresses the implications of the various meetings of the Arewa Consultative Forum and the Committee of the former Heads of State instead of treating them as isolated incidents. First is the wave of Sharia and now the series of meetings in the north few days to the fortieth anniversary of Nigerian independence! Why should these meeting just be taking place at the heel of an on-going debate in the media concerning what the President calls the political Sharia in the core north? What makes the wave of Sharia political is that many Nigerians see the Sharia mania in the core north in a narrow perspective as a sign of rejection of Nigeria as a secular state and of Nigeria as a united entity. This is serious enough matter. It is more than that. What is coming out in the name of the Arewa Consultative Forum and the Committee of the former Heads of State is part of the new agenda within the old agenda of permanent northern rule of Nigeria. For the interest of readers, the old agenda is in furtherance of the original British Design of Nigeria, which we called at various times the 'mistakes of 1914', which later became the 'blessings of 1914'. The new agenda is not a design but an implementation strategy, which deals with how to reverse the 'mistakes of 1999' in the way the 'mistakes of 1966' and the 'mistakes of 1993' were dealt with. Again for the interest of readers, these mistakes have one thing in common, southern rule as a mistake of the northern leaders and how to reverse it, usually by force. ALHAJI LAWAL KAITA FLEW THE KITE IN JULY 2000 I support the President argument that the Shariamania, acknowledged by President Obasanjo as a political ploy would not go away even if the court rules against it until it achieves its political objective of reversing the 'mistake of 1999' and throwing out Obasanjo. It is to this extent that the Sharia issue took such an explosive turn in early 2000 with the active support of the so-called former Heads of State (Gowon, Shagari, Babangida Buhari and Abubakar). Nigeria should see the Shariamania as part of the anti-Obasanjo campaign and a manifestation of a new agenda for the north, which many Nigerians are not addressing at the moment. Nigerians are seeing it as an attempt of the north to make Nigeria an Islamic state. The northerners are no fools; they know that this would not be possible; these northern elite are no different from many Nigerians in the south and they too would not want to live under an Islamic law. Sharia is the opium of the masses and not for the elite, the 'Alhaji', the Abachas of this world and their wives with access to the nation's treasury. Nigerians seem to forget that the northerners had opportunity to introduce Sharia under the administrations of Prime Minister Balewa *1960-66); Heads of State Gowon (1966-75); Murtala/Obasanjo *1975-79); President Shagari (1979-83); Heads of State Buhari, Babangida, Abacha, and Abubakar (1983-99). They had all the power to change a man to woman! Why did they not do it? What Nigerians should appreciate is that it is only when a southerner is in office, specifically and coincidentally whenever Obasanjo is in office that they come up with Sharia as a political issue. Why this coincidence! Really the question is why? I was a member of the Constituent Assembly when Sharia became the issue during the period of General Obasanjo in 1977 in the Constituent Assembly. This was when it was obvious that power might slip from the hands of the north during an election to the south. Those who want to know how the matter was resolved should consult the Proceedings of the Constituent Assembly and the Constitution, which grew out of it. The Obasanjo the north used in 1976 was the old Obasanjo and the one they now find is the new Obasanjo. The old Obasanjo did not disappoint them and in fact, did not scheme to sit-tight and in fact aided the succession of a northern leader in 1979. The north faced identical crisis after the sudden death of General Abacha in 1998. The promoters of General Obasanjo according to Dr. Junaid Muhammed did not know that a new Obasanjo would emerge and challenge their credibility among the northern leaders. They are now concerned something would have to be done before they are overwhelmed by the forces from the south, which they would not be able to control. Now the Sharia is an issue during the period of President Obasanjo when it is again obvious that the north is in search of an agenda. What should be obvious to Nigerians today is that if Obasanjo is removed today, the north would forget about the Sharia. This is why I am arguing that the Sharia mania is a political agenda devised for reversing the 'mistake of 1999'. Simple! This new agenda arose from the interjection by the northern political leaders into the media about how President Obasanjo became the President on May 29, 1999. It was started by the former Governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Lawal Kaita in the highly provocative article in the Vanguard of July 10, 2000 with the captivating headline, 'North 'll wrest power from south if', Kaita. I took issue with this in a paper published in a New York paper, African Abroad of August 28, 2000. It is strange that Nigerians on September 20/21, 2000 were reminded by the Arewa Consultative Forum that President Obasanjo was not an elected President, but rather that he was made the president by the Northern acting through the military in 1999. What they are saying is that President Obasanjo did not meet the requirements for becoming the President. It is also strange that the northern leaders have to remind Nigerians including the Yorubas and Obasanjo too that General Obasanjo was released from prison and pardoned because they had a purpose for him after the death of General Abacha. What is most embarrassing was the assertion that they made him the President of Nigeria because the North wanted him to be and not because his people (Yoruba) or the Nigerian people wanted him to be. For those who are interested in the relationship between the release of General Obasanjo and the making of General Obasanjo the President after the death of General Abacha should read Dr. Datti Ahmed's highly provocative article in the Tempo of September 22, 2000 and in the orchestrated articles by four northern opinion leaders in the Sunday Vanguard of October 8, 2000. They were very specific on the relationship between the release of General Obasanjo from prison and the decision of the north to adopt him as 'the son of the north' and later the decision of the political leaders of the north to make 'the President of Nigeria'. Shouldn't voters in the various parts of Nigeria consider these claims not only arrogant but downright offensive? The question is how do the northern leaders want other Nigerians, the international community and President Obasanjo to feel, especially when other Nigerians outside the north thought that they, as part of Nigerians, performed their duty during the supposed Presidential election of 1999? Again one is still waiting to hear from other parts of Nigeria who massively voted for President Obasanjo in 1999. Maybe the Ndi igbo and the southern minority groups voted for Obasanjo because the northern leaders commanded them to do so. And maybe when the northern leaders speak of the act of making Obasanjo, they have in mind the support the north extracted from the Ndi Igbo and the southern minority groups, otherwise why are their leaders such as Dr. Alex Ekwueme and Chief Tony Anenih not speaking out? Since Lawal Kaita is a key leader of the Arewa Consultative Forum, the language of his assertion in July is no different from the language in the Communique of Arewa Consultative Forum. This was understandable because he was the person appointed by Alhaji Shehu Shagari to organize a pan-northern forum from all the organizations acting for and in the name of the north. The mission of this new organization was very clear from the many utterances of the new Chairman, the Emir of Ilorin. To emphasize the importance of Alhaji Kaita one should appreciate that the Arewa Consultative Forum grew out of his effort. When he spoke in July, he was flying a kite and we now know the new agenda. One should therefore relate his words with the words of the Arewa Consultative Forum. According to Alhaji Kaita, "It was the north, it was the core north that voluntarily shifted power to the south". He went on "not constitutionally, not by force, but voluntarily, we shifted power to the south". This was what the Arewa Consultative Forum called 'patriotic and ultruistic decision' taken by the north in order to 'facilitate the shift of power to the south'. What Alhaji Kaita and the Arewa Consultative Forum were trying to convey was that there are three forms or modes of power shift, one by the constitutional means, the second by force and the third by voluntary means. The frightening issues that bother me are the following: 1. What mode of shift is the core north planning to use to take the power back to the north? 2. When is the core north planning to implement its agenda? 3. What is the attitude of the northern led armed forces, if the south refuses to yield to the northern manipulation of the process? 4. What are the various agenda of the groups in the south? 5. How will all these conflicting demands play out between now and the next election, if we ever get there? CONSTITUTIONAL 'POWER SHIFT" My interpretation of power shift through the constitution is simple. It means the power shift that is in accord with the Constitution and the Electoral laws. Alhaji Kaita said emphatically that President Obasanjo did not meet the constitutional test. This is implied in the Communique of the Arewa Consultative Forum and in the statement issued on the BBC Hausa Service by Alhaji Shagari on behalf of the former Heads of State. In fact, the spokesman of the Islamist Jihadist in the north, Dr. Datti Ahmed of Kano, who called General Obasanjo a close friend before he became the President, did not mince words in describing how the north had to adopt him as the 'son of the north' as a condition for making him the President. This is false but serious claim and as a revelation, it bothers on arrant nonsense. Maybe the annulment occurred because this was not done for Chief Abiola before he ran for the nomination and election in 1993. Is this the way the north sees the Nigerian politics? What is the reaction of the south? Dr. Ahmed also talked of how the money for the election of President Obasanjo was contributed by the northern leaders. Was Dr. Ahmed saying that President Obasanjo was paid to do certain for the north? This is another way of looking at what President Obasanjo is sworn to stop, corruption in public life. Again this could not be said of Chief Abiola. In fact, what could be said of Chief Abiola was that he had many northern leaders on his pay roll. It was a public knowledge that Chief Abiola used to sponsor many of them for the hajj. I knew that he used to send many of them for medical treatment abroad. I recall one northern leader most vocal on the need for the north to rule today and forever and a personal friend of mine, who once told me in 1993 after the annulment that Chief Abiola once gave him a 'gift' of three million naira when he just told him he was 'broke'. He confessed to me that the northern leaders were very worried about the sources of his wealth and to them to be giving money to the northern rulers was a traditional and religious crime. Why? The north did not feel comfortable with a ruler who would not be dependent on them for his political and economic survival. When all that fundraising activities were taking place, I told a friend in Boston that it would backfire sooner or later. It was a big mistake and morally indefensible for the President as a candidate to have accepted the unlimited money from the northern leaders for his election. The various donations from the northern leaders came from the same source. I knew as of fact and maybe not a matter of public knowledge and to General Obasanjo that that source was the old NPN coffer, which was recently replenished from the military. How many of us watched the ugly spectacle at the Hilton hotel during the post-nomination when over 400 million naira was raised was on the spot? What should or ought to have been known to Nigerians was that that money came from one source, but was distributed among many hands in typical 'NPN style'. Unfortunately the Presidential candidate Obasanjo did not know this because he was new to the north game of using state resources for election. The northern investment in his election is now been used to blackmail him today that the northern leaders contributed money to his election. Did the Nigerians from the south know that this was government money in private hands from previous regimes headed by the northern leaders? The embarrassing statement credited to the Presidential candidate Obasanjo at the fundraising dinner was that those who want democracy must be prepared to finance it. The northern leaders financed 'Obasanjo's democracy' as they know it then and hence they are complaining today. Their notion of democracy is not one based on the 'will of the people' as derived from the voters decision but one financed by money from known and unknown sources as an investment, hence they are now demanding their pound of flesh. The organized press interviews in the Sunday Vanguard of October 8, 2000 by the four opinion leaders emphasized the relationship between the contributions of the northern leaders and their expectation after the election. This is the source of their frustration with President Obasanjo. POWER SHIFT' BY FORCE If power shift is brought about by force, it means a power shift that could come through an armed intervention. We saw how the situation was violently reversed after the first coup in 1966. Alhaji Kaita was also emphatic that the President was not made a President by an armed intervention. From the heavy attendance of retired military officers and the support the Forum enjoys among the former military Heads of State, could one argue that there was a military aspect to the making of President Obasanjo and could also be in his unmaking? VOLUNTARY 'POWER SHIFT' The third was voluntary power shift. What does Alhaji Kaita mean by this mode of power shift? This was not quite specified by Alhaji Kaita. The Arewa Consultative Forum was very specific in this too. When Alhaji Lawal Kaita used the word, voluntarily, the Arewa Consultative Forum used the word, patriotic. They convey the same implication and we can only interpret this within the context of other issues that are associated with the constituency of Alhaji Kaita and by extension of the Arewa Consultative Forum. We could use Alhaji Kaita as a point of analysis. For those who are wondering what I am talking about, let me put Alhaji Kaita in context. Alhaji Kaita is the power-house in the north or in the core north, that believes in the divine rule of the north or the core north. This means that the north or the core north is the permanent ruler of Nigeria. What does this mean? It means two things. One is that the north or the core north can part with that power as and when the north or the core north decides and not as the Nigerian voters want. Second is that the north or the core north can withdraw that power as and when the north or the core north decides and not as the Nigerian voters want. THREE ISSUES IN THE VOLUNTARY POWER SHIFT How do we handle this notion of voluntary power shift within the prevailing debate in Nigeria today? We should take three issues. One is the accusation of the north or the core north about the President's decision to abandon the pact he signed with the northern leaders when the north was voluntarily conceding power to the south through him. We do not know the ingredients of this pact. Is that why the President was frequently accused by the northern leaders of marginalization of the north? The second notion in the voluntary power shift is the determination of the north or the core north to deny President Obasanjo a second term in accordance with the Constitution, if he decides to seek a second term. The core north is beginning to see how difficult it would be should the President decide to seek a second term in accordance with the Constitution and the Electoral law. Is this why there is a change of tactics? We are beginning to see the implication of the third political issue now engulfing the country, which is a variant of an armed intervention. I am referring to the new wave of politicization of religion through the shift from the "Penal Code of 1958 to Sharia in 1999. This is the hidden agenda. HIDDEN AGENDA IS REVERSE POWER SHIFT AND SHARIA AS A PLOY Under the Penal Code System concocted by the late Sir Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto and adopted by successive military and civilian leaders from the north since 1960, there was respect for the religious pluralism of Nigeria. But under the Sharianization of the core north commenced by the Zamfara State government in November 1999 the religious pluralism of Nigeria is placed on the back burner. PRESIDENT OBASANJO AS A VICTIM OF INTERNAL POLITICS IN THE NORTH What Alhaji Kaita represents in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), should form the basis of this analysis. Alhaji Kaita is not only the coordinator of the Arewa, the North or the Core North as he likes to insinuate, he is the leader of a wing of the PDP, the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), the followers of the late General Shehu Yar'Adua. It should be noted that it was the PDM that was used to back the President in the 1999 election and it was the PDM that also produced the Vice President. If it was the instrument used in what the northern leaders now call 'a mistake of 1999', Alhaji Lawal Kaita believes that the PDM should be the instrument for correcting that mistake. We should also note that it was the PDM that was mobilized by the retired military officers from the north under the leadership of General IB Babangida to redefine the Northern Permanent Interest (NPI) to accommodate General Obasanjo, a Yoruba and not an Ndi Igbo, Dr. Alex Ekwueme. This is the dilemma General Babangida faces today. How does he want to define the Northern Permanent Interest again? What I find distasteful in the ongoing development is that the retired military officers were the same officers who annulled the June 12 and used the entry of General Obasanjo as a cover-up for the sins of annulment. What is becoming obvious was that the action of the retired military officers was interpreted to be an insurance that a northerner would have the opportunity to reclaim the top job after one term. Did they think that President Obasanjo would facilitate this effort? His crime is that he is failing them in this regard. This is what President Shagari called the 'abuse of the trust of the north'. What should be noted was that the position taken by the PDM on the instigation of the retired military officers was in opposition to the permanent or divine rule concept enshrined in the Nigerian politics since 1960. The three traditional conservative groups in the north, the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) under the leadership of retired Justice Mamma Nasir, the Turaki Committee (TC) of the former President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, the Turaki Sokoto and Unity and Development Foundation led by Alhaji Sule Katagum took this position in the past. But they were overpowered by the retired military officers and supported by the out going military junta that a trusted southerner would be 'stop-gap' while the north prepares for the next election. This is the 'mistake of 1999' and they now want to reverse it by force. Those who would want to know what I am talking about should cast their minds back to the roles of these organizations in collusion with the military top brass in the events leading to the annulment of the June 12 and after. We can also go back to the violent change in 1966. The northern leaders are oblivious to the changes in the world today and in the country. PRESIDENT OBASANJO BACKERS IN THE CORE NORTH KILLED THE JUNE 12 The core north of Alhaji Kaita's dream killed the dreams of June 12. They are now worried that the issues in the annulment might be raised, discussed, and resolved through a National Conference. They are concerned that the pressure for a national conference is building from many quarters in the south. They are afraid that before long the President might be forced to see the need for a form of a 'national round table conference' for the airing, discussion and resolution of the lingering political and economic problem afflicting the country. The leaders of the core north know very well that the end of such a process would not be to their advantage. All the key leaders of the core north did not only support the annulment, they were in the forefront in the defense of the annulment and in support of the self-succession bid of the late General Sani Abacha. They strongly were opposed to the use of the Sovereign National Conference to resolve all the political issues as part of the transition program after the death of Abiola and Abacha in 1998. They are the ones now using the Sharia as a political platform to destabilize Nigeria under President Obasanjo. This was aptly put by Dr. Junaid Mohammed in the Sunday Vanguard of October 8, 2000 that 'there is a correlation between new Obasanjo and his policies and the introduction of Sharia in the north'. The new Obasanjo, as distinct from the old Obasanjo is at the root of the complaint of the Arewa leaders and it is critical to the development of the new agenda of the north. The question is whether the President knows of the relationship between the wave of Sharia and the plan of the north to use the National Assembly to obstruct him and run him out of town. If he does, what is he doing about it? It was well known that the former President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari wanted his former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme as the candidate of the PDP, if and only if the party had to shift power to the south. I doubt if Alhaji Shagari was even sure of or serious with his support of Dr. Ekwueme. It is a matter of record from the voting behavior of the people of the three states that grew out of the Sokoto Emirate that they support the party founded by the supporters and followers of Abacha, the APP. The person that would have won the support of the Caliphate would have been the Marafa Sokoto, Alhaji Umaru Sinkafi. The NEF and TC were not convinced as to the merit of a power shift and were not prepared to risk the future of the north or of the core north on the altar of power shift. But the Retired Military Officers (RMO) led by the former military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida redefined the Northern Permanent Interest (NPI) to include looking for a southern candidate that could be trusted for one and one term only. The RMO were willing to guarantee such a southern candidate who would protect the NPI. General Babangida recently confirmed that that was the basis of his visit to General Obasanjo immediately he was released from Abacha's gulag. General Babangida confirmed how he joined others to extend invitation to the man who bailed out this country in the image of the north in the past. Of course that man was the one they used in the past as a stop gap at a critical period when the northern leadership of Nigeria was in crisis after the death of General Murtala Mohammed in 1976. The Obasanjo the north used in 1976 was the old Obasanjo and the one they now find is the new Obasanjo. The old Obasanjo did not disappoint them and in fact, did not scheme to sit-tight and in fact aided the succession of a northern leader in 1979. The north faced identical crisis after the sudden death of General Abacha in 1998. The promoters of General Obasanjo according to Dr. Junaid Muhammed did not know that a new Obasanjo would emerge and challenge their credibility among the northern leaders. They are now concerned something would have to be done before they are overwhelmed by the forces from the south, which they would not be able to control. This is the crisis facing Nigeria today. What Nigerians would be interested in knowing from Alhaji Kaita and the Arewa Consultative Forum is the meaning of voluntary or patriotic power shift? Did that mean that the core north military-jacked the transition and later rigged the election in order to achieve its purpose? Chief Olu Falae, the candidate of the other party might be right in challenging the election of General Obasanjo. It is too late for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to inquire into this issue today. This is not all. What is frightening one was the assertion by Alhaji Kaita that the people who voluntarily surrendered power to the south would want it back. The question is when and how? Would this be after one term of General Obasanjo? Does Alhaji Kaita know that the one-term pact the core north signed with General Obasanjo is unconstitutional? Does he know that General Obasanjo is not and has never called himself the spokesman of the south? Does he know that the south believes that the period of President Obasanjo is counted as the extension of the northern rule of Nigeria? Does he know that the south wants to commence their rule as soon as President Obasanjo completes his term? SOUTH WANTS TO RULE NIGERIA FOR THIRTY YEARS What should bother Nigerians is the method that would be used by the core north to get power back from the south and give it to the north. Would this be through the constitutional means or through force or what? From the way one sees the debate going, it ought to be known to the core north by now that the southern political groups are determined to have their share of the political leadership of Nigeria in turns. Do the northern political leaders know the true feelings of the southern groups? If they do not know, they should be told that the southern politicians are determined to rule in turns for another thirty years. The Yoruba leaders are determined to reconsider their position in Nigeria, if the north for whatever reasons pushes out President Obasanjo before or after one term. Other groups such as the Ndi igbo and the southern minority are determined to ensure that after the term of President Obasanjo (Yoruba), the two other groups, the Ndi Igbo and the southern minorities would take turns. To them this is an irreducible minimum for the survival of Nigeria as it is today. Would the core north be prepared to live under southern leaders for another thirty years? The key element in the fundamental restructuring of Nigeria is that the south would not surrender power voluntarily to the north in the next thirty years under the prevailing structure of Nigeria. The key term is the prevailing structure of Nigeria. WHAT IS THE NEW AGENDA OF THE NORTH? Maybe the method in the new agenda is to use force to bring about a shift of power from the south to the north after one term of President Obasanjo. Senator Waku who is not known to be flippant voiced this after the meeting of the northern Senators and the Arewa Consultative Forum after its close door meeting came out with a rejection of President Obasanjo and support of the National Assembly. Our system of government does not provide for an assembly government. Supporting the National Assembly in the light of the prevailing crisis in the legislative process against the President is an invitation to gridlock and chaos. The solution they know very well would not be in President Obasanjo handing over the running of the government to the National Assembly, as we know it today. What one would want to know is whether force would be used to bring about a shift of power from the south to the north. CONDITION FOR DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIA In view of the source of the lingering crisis from 1993, I argued as soon as the current dispensation was heralded as democracy, that there could not be democracy or power shift unless three conditions were met. I still hold this view today. One is a fundamental restructuring of the armed forces so as to have representative armed forces. The second is that there should be a fundamental restructuring of the federal system of Nigeria to make the units have most of the power now enjoyed by the Federal Government. The third is that the federating units should have local control over local resources. Alhaji Lawal Kaita should take a cue from the Patriots, the Afenifere, the Ohaneze Ndi Igbo and the Union of the Niger Delta or the South-South and appreciate their new resolve. Their determination to push for the thirty-year southern rule of Nigeria through the fundamental restructuring of the armed forces, the fundamental restructuring of the federation and local control over local resources are not negotiable. Where do we go from here? One is beginning to see the merit in Dr. Arthur Nwankwo's conclusion that maybe we are seeing the last President of a united Nigeria. The Arewa Consultative Forum and the Committee of the former Heads of State should not remind Nigerians how the core north misruled Nigeria for over thirty years and how the Arewa voluntarily or patriotically agreed in 1999 to live under a southern rule. The Communique and many utterances of the Arewa Consultative Forum were issued under the signature of the Emir of Ilorin, a Traditional Ruler of a predominantly dominated Yoruba State is very disturbing. His use of the predominantly dominated Fulani organization to insult a President with a close ethnic affinity with the Ilorin people, his subjects, the Yoruba is an abuse of the good sense of the host subjects. More seriously, his decision to use the auspices of the Pan Northern organization to engage in partisan politics sends a disturbing messages to other traditional rulers in the country and the President and the Governor of Kwara State should call the Emir of Ilorin to order. All Traditional Rulers should be above partisan politics. The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Forum is the former military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon. For Nigerians who are wondering how General Gowon should associate himself with the Arewa should go back to how he responded to the call of the same group to come home from the United Kingdom to be the standard bearer of the North through the NRC. I was shocked that this native of Pankshin of Plateau State in the middle-belt had to commence his race from a predominantly Hausa/Fulani and Muslim location of Wusasa, Zaria. Here is a man who was the Head of State with the support of so many southern leaders such as Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Anthony Enahoro, Dr. Okio Arikpo Alhaji Femi Okunnu etc. and now calling himself the leaders of an anti-Southerner plank and leadership. Here is a man preaching Christianity all over the place, associating himself with those northern bigots, who call Obasanjo's use of God as anti-Islam. The spokesman of the Committee of the former Heads of State is the former President, Alhaji Shagari who at critical moments uses the BBC Hausa Service to sell the northern agenda and his anti-Obasanjo view points. There is no reason why Alhaji Shagari knowledgeable in English should not speak in the English Service for all Nigerians to understand on a major issue like the one he championed. There is no reason why Alhaji Shagari a former President on the basis of the votes of Nigerians should not distance himself from the former military Heads of State, who never knew anything about coming to office on the votes of all Nigerians. It is a big disappointment that the former President I respect highly from our days together in the Constituent Assembly to associate himself with those who ruined him politically in the past and ruined the democratic health of Nigeria for over 30 years, because of Arewa and not Nigeria. President Shagari disappointed many Nigerians including me for not using the English Service of the BBC, which all Nigerians who supported him in the past and who have respect for him can understand. One can see why Chief Richard Akinjide and Senator David Dafinone are bitter that he let them down. Should the activities of the Arewa Consultative Forum and the former Heads of State be taken lightly by the President and Nigerians who believe in the unity of Nigeria? What should be the attitude of Nigerians and the international community who believe in the peaceful transfer of power from one section of the country to the other? All these issues will be examined in the third paper on the premise of 'how President Obasanjo want to survive'. 
Prof. Omo Omoruyi |
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