I find Northernism ludicrous, is the North more developed than other regions of the country? According to Global data Lab, the HDI of all the Northern states combined is 0.447, which if one was to rank the region as a country it will occupy 184th position out of 189. Is that a region to look for savvy statesmen?
When it comes to politics in the Nigerian sphere, the northern region takes the biggest bite. The three major political parties in Nigeria all have northern candidates running for President or Vice president in the upcoming 2023 general elections.
The All Progressive Congress (APC) flag bearer is Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate is former Bronu state governor Kashim Shettima, a Northerner. The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) flag bearer is Atiku Abubakar, a Northerner and his running mate is Ifeanyi Okowa. The Labour party flag bearer is Peter Gregory Obi and his running mate is Datiti Baba Ahmed, a Northerner.
With Northernism slowly replacing Federalism in Nigeria, one question I ask myself is ‘Why?’, ‘Why is the North a big player in Nigerian Politics?’, ‘What is the fancy with Northern politicians?’. Some people might attempt addressing these questions with the aphorism that ‘sharing power with the north ensures political stability and balance of power’, some might jingoistically brag that Northerners are way better in ‘playing politics’ than other regions of the country, and some might speculate that the north are avid of power. I find all these counters, bogus.
With the exception of Atiku Abubakar, why didn’t the presidential flag bearer of either the APC or Labour party choose a South-westerner or South-southerner as their running mates? Why did PDP abandon her zoning system and choose Atiku Abubakar, a Northerner as their flag bearer for the second consecutive time? What is the fancy with North politicians?
Bola Ahmed Tinubu spent a month fossicking for a ‘competent and reliable’ running mate in the North, why not in other regions of the country? After a spending a month parading in asininity, he picked Kashim Shettima. The same politician who ignored a letter from the then minister of state for education, Nyesom Wike, telling him not to hold WAEC exams at Chibok due to security risks posed by Boko Haram. The same politician whose Competence and Reliability resulted in 276 Chibok girls being abducted by Boko Haram.
I find Northernism ludicrous, is the North more developed than other regions of the country? According to Global data Lab, the HDI of all the Northern states combined is 0.447, which if one was to rank the region as a country it will occupy 184th position out of 189. Is that a region to look for savvy statesmen?
Is the North more educated than other regions of the country? According to UNESCO ranking of Nigerian states according to their literacy level, the northern states occupy 17-36th position, with Bronu state occupying the bottom with a literacy percentage of 14.5%, that is the state where the ‘reliable and competent’ Kashim Shettima once governed.
Are Northerners richer than inhabitants of other regions of the country? According to the world Bank, 87% of all poor people in Nigeria are in the North. Is that a region to look for savvy statesmen?
Is the North more economically viable than other regions of the country? According to the National Bureau of statistics, the GDP of the Northern states in Nigeria combined is 91 billion, which makes about 21% of Nigeria’s GDP, if the north were a country it would rank 70 in the world. It should come as no surprise that the nigerian economy has been hit with inflation and recession since the assumption of Muhammadu Buhari, a Northerner as president.
If Northern politicians were indeed ‘competent and reliable’ as Tinubu implied, northern Nigeria should have been an utopia by now. Even President Muhammedu Buhari who is a quintessence of Northernism has failed to transform Nigeria into an utopia. It is a shame that these Northern politicians who could not change the wretchedness of their region are being presented as an adroit politico to the public eye.
