On Tuesday, 26th November 2019, a bill seeking the establishment of the North West Development Commission was presented in the hallowed chambers of the Senate by Senator Barau Jibril (Kano North), which was co-sponsored by the entire Senate from the Northwest......CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>>>
Essentially, the bill seeks to provide for the establishment of the Northwest Development Commission to act as a catalyst to develop the potential of the Northwest as well as address the gap in the infrastructural and educational development of the seven northwestern states, namely Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, kano and Jigawa.
Historically, the Northwest was created in 1967 as one of the twelve states of Nigeria with its headquarters in Sokoto. In 1976 the northwest was further divided into Sokoto and Niger states. Later in 1991, Zamfara State was created from Sokoto State. In the year 1994, during the military administration of General Sani Abacha, Justice Nikki Tobi led a constitutional conference further subdividing the country into six geopolitical zones for ease of administration or administrative convenience. It was the Alex Ekwueme committee that manipulatively removed Niger State from the northwest zone to the North Central.
With the return of democratic rule in 1999, any arrangement that requires the sharing of political offices or placement of developmental projects in the northwest zone, Sokoto State, has always been relegated or denied its rightful position. The people of Sokoto state are naturally shy and humble, observing the culture of pullako and do not usually request their rights, especially where the beneficiaries are Muslims or northerners. Other states in the northwest seem to take advantage of this weakness of an average Basakwache. Today it is only in Sokoto state you can find a non-state indigene rising to the exalted position of Permanent secretary in the state civil service without a petition or complaint from any quarters.
In the quota system arrangement of the federal government, vacancies and positions meant for Sokoto state indigenes are readily cornered by other northwestern state indigenes to the detriment of the people of Sokoto state. This can also be seen in the sharing of political offices. In the present administration, the position of deputy senate president was zoned to the northwest, which Kano State occupied. When the position of the speaker of the national assembly was zoned to the Northwest, again Kaduna State took it. In the military hierarchy, the position of chief of defence staff is a political appointment, yet Kaduna State has it.
While all these were going on, all Sokoto state indigenes holding executive appointments in the federal government agencies and parastatals were relieved of their appointments. Starting with Jelani Aliyu, the managing director of the National Automotive Design and Development Council. He was denied reappointment despite his competence and excellent performance in the first term. The Executive Secretary of the National Teachers Institute, Prof Musa Garba, was removed from office even before the end of his tenure without regard to the constituted authority. Umaru Ajiya was removed as financial controller of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited and finally, Abdullahi Bala was also removed from the Nigeria Police Trust Fund as executive secretary. None of them was replaced with someone from Sokoto State to justify the federal character principle.
It was in the middle of this brouhaha that the federal government announced the appointments of the Northwest Development Commission’s management team. From the beginning, Sokoto State was not considered the headquarters of the commission even though Sokoto is the historical headquarters of the northwest zone. Again, no Sokoto state indigene was found worthy of appointment as chairman of the commission or as the managing director. Sokoto state was reduced to one non-executive directorate in a commission that was supposed to be calling the shots.
Sokoto was not only marginalised in the NDC; it was humiliated. The seat of the caliphate that produced the only premier of northern Nigeria and the first executive president of the federal republic is now without a voice in the federal establishment and is also silenced in regional affairs.
This reminds me of the ‘parable of the boiled frog’. The Chinese understand frogs very well. Because a frog believes that water is not capable of any harm. So, if a Chinese chef wishes to boil frogs, he places them in a container filled with warm water. The frogs will lay comfortably in the water. As he puts on the burner and raises the temperature, the frogs will continue to adjust to the heat until they all die in the boiling water. None of the frogs will attempt to jump away from the boiling container. Because they believe water is a safe place for them.
Sakkwatawa, we cannot continue like this. Sokoto has lost its supremacy since 1999 and today we are not relevant in the regional political equations. Even our traditional leaders have compromised their turbans and become politicised to the point they lost their clout to stand for their people. This is a clarion call for those that are still standing. If the political leadership has failed us, we should be ready to organise ourselves and fight it on our terms. So that we don’t suffer the parable of the boiled frog. Ko ba Haka ba
– Engr Aminu Ganda MNSE writes from Sokoto State, and he can be reached via [email protected]
Disclaimer: This article is entirely the opinion of the writer and does not represent the views of The Whistler.