Arewa’s final warning, by Tahir Ibrahim Tahir
I was livid when I heard former Governor Fayose’s diatribe against the North, accusing us of being responsible for the economic troubles President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT) is facing. I had composed a virulent rejoinder but somehow didn’t get around to writing it out. Then, I heard his brother reminding him of the number of children from their own father’s house, and I was pacified. However, upon reflecting on his words in light of the riots that have broken out in the North, my thoughts turned again. The looting, attacks on public and private property, burning of both public and private property, bombs going off, and the robbing and defacing of a mosque—and a church too—displayed the worst of Arewa in full public glare. Governor Fayose’s words haunted my thoughts, and I felt the sweat of shame on my forehead. Have we become so barbaric and out of control? Is this the Arewa we are all so proud to call home?
What was on display is an accurate illustration of how our society has fallen from the moral and religious values we pride ourselves on. Our decorum has hit the floor, corruption in our society has hit the roof, our moral values have evaporated into thin air, and we are in our worst cultural decline. The culture of Islam that has guided our people has fast become an identity only on our lips, not in our deeds. We say the Salam on our lips and carry war in our hearts. We have abandoned the ways of Allah and the teachings of the Prophet of Allah (SAW), and have erected devil workshops in each of our backyards. We have bred terrorists who maim and kill with reckless abandon. We have groomed an army of terrorist informants and apologists. Today, even some lecturers in higher institutions are part of the terror trade. Family members plot with terrorists in favor of ransom. Babies are dumped in university hostels and gutters around town. Our men and women are into intoxicants obtained from syrups and other harmful drugs. Prostitution and homosexuality are prevalent in almost every home. Our leaders steal publicly and are celebrated publicly. Our traditional institutions have long been desecrated and are now less than even the ceremonial structures they were reduced to ages ago. Our Ulama face desecration and disrespect from the Umma. Our leadership crew is rudderless, with everyone trying to steer themselves into advantageous positions. Our elders lack the altruism handed down by their forebears. We have derailed far from the cloud of providence that used to guide and protect us.
The Arewa landscape is littered with thousands of ex-this and ex-that: Presidents, Ministers, Governors, Defence Chiefs, Permanent Secretaries, Directors, Heads of MDAs, and business moguls. These are merely litters, as they have not nourished the landscape to build the much-needed prosperity for the Arewa citizen. They are few and far between ivory towers that have not given back to society in general. If they have, it has not been adequate. Northern elites have watched the decay and rot in Arewa ferment into the present-day astronomical proportion. The North has had its fair share of power, including in the last eight years, yet the landscape has become more impoverished. How? By building a few and far between ivory towers only. The remaining terrain remains famished. The millions of out-of-school children, unskilled youth, and unemployed youth are becoming an uncontrollable army without a commander in chief. This army will not watch those ivory towers revel in glory while they live in squalor. They will bring them down along with everything else. To them, raising Russian flags is an identity, as they aren’t even aware of the ramifications of it all.
Is Arewa going to conscientiously wake up to this challenge and begin the reform of its society and people? Do we still have leaders among us who can rally our human and capital resources and harness them for the betterment of Arewa in general? Are we going to holistically and transparently fight terrorism, or are we going to keep covering for each other and continue deceiving ourselves? We have a list of our problems, alongside a list of answers. When are we going to cross-match them? If we do not get rid of these self-inflicted problems, they will be the end of us. Are we ready, or is life for the Arewa elite just about power and self-aggrandizement? Of what use is power if it cannot be useful to the people? Our most pertinent problems have not been solved by power, so they must be solved by something else. Now is the time.
If the Northern elite cannot put things aright in Arewa, no one can do it for the region. Our destiny is in our hands. For decades, we have wandered like a shepherdless flock, grazing freely over lush plainlands, without a care in the world. On our way back, it is not so lush. It is time to be creative and more productive. Socialism is being overtaken by capitalism the world over. Only the strong survive, and only the wise excel. The siesta has to end. The slumber has gone on for too long. It is time to wake up to our responsibilities as leaders of this rudderless flock, thanks to our mistakes and missteps. The tough economic decisions are being faced by every region of the federation. Still, food is cheaper in the North than down South, which is a no-brainer. We are badly hit because we are least prepared. We are least prepared because we have been in slumber for too long. Wake up, Arewa, before it is too late. If there is another wave of these riots, there will be no Arewa left. If we do not stand up to help ourselves, even God will not bother. Or are we waiting for PBAT to become that Northern leader who will salvage the North, which all our previous leaders could not do?
-Tahir is the Talban of Bauchi
