OPINION:THE MIDDLE BELTANS -ARC.BANKAT

THE MIDDLE BELTANS. (North-Central Nigeria: A Politically convenient threshold of substance.) Arc. Bankat, FCT. A quick call for clarity of thought and purity of conscience. A fresh desire to nip in the bud, an utmost desire to reclaim the glory once revered across and beyond the Niger and Benue (like the Nile River bordering Egypt), a base for civilization, a cradle of survival and a crest for livelihood. The Middle Belt as famously coined, separates almost equally, the forgery of a merger between the Northern and Southern spheres of the country called Nigeria. The Middle Belt, as Politically demarcated, is home to Six states of the Federation namely, Benue, Plateau, Nassarawa, Niger, Kwara, Kogi and essentially, the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. History on its own, is fair to place all facts leading to such Political separations with invisible boundaries, a common heritage, similar cultures, norms, attributes and peculiarities, Chief of which constitutes a harbor haven for inhabitants across such areas and its peoples (culture). A linear spread of wealth, heritage, and commonalities. DISCLAIMER: I am not a History scholar but widely interactive and knowledgeable towards the common essence and realities obtainable around the lands of my ancestral lineage and brotherhood enjoyed, endured, strained and neglected from the on-set of our widely acclaimed entity which provided the Nigerian State. COINAGE: Almost all States bordering side by side along the Middle Belt axis are a product of half a century of boundary adjustments arising from apparent desire of the colonial masters to create a provinces to protect the railway lines being constructed at that time and guarantee the sustenance of, especially in Plateau State where i come from, Tin Mining activities, agricultural prospects (Benue), Cultural order and administration (Kogi, Kwara), Physical space (Niger, Gbagyi areas around the present Nassarawa and Abuja) which predates 1902. On the other hand, there was also the strong desire of the people in these areas for Political self-determination. In the formative years of the British colonialism in Nigeria, much of a State like Plateau, was part of the Bauchi province. In 1926, Plateau province, comprising Jos and Pankshin divisions, was carved out of the Bauchi Province. By 1976, the boundary of Plateau Province, which included the Present Nassarawa State osclillated, paralleling the general trend of political development in the country, as the Government of the day succumbed to the agitation of differwnt ethnic groups to be merged with their kith and kin that are of larger concentrations in other surrounding provinces. May, 1967 saw the merger of Benue and Plateau Provinces to become a single entity as a State. One of the 12 states created by the Military administration of General Dr. Yakubu Gowon, GCFR. (who is also from the native Ngas extract of the Present Plateau State). RELEVANCE: The division of the country into smaller semi-autonomous states was meant to introduce a sense of balance between the North (with centuries of administrative presence) and the South (also with centuries of culture, heritage, administration and resources), to encourage self reliance, productivity and to save the Federation from imminent collapse. This action was deemed necessary considering the impending danger the polarization of the country along ethnic lines after the bloody military coup of 1966 and the subsequent crises posed by the attempted secession by the Eastern region. When the country was however further divided into 19 states in 1976, the part that existed as Plateau and Benue provinces under the colonial administration were severed and became separate entities and remained as such until 1996 when the present Nassarawa State was carved out of Plateau State by the Late Gen. Sani Abacha, GCFR. taking to cognizance, cultural hegemony and political affinity. Source; (Memorandum for the creation of South Plateau State: submitted to the National Assembly Committee on Constitution review and State Creation. Monday 4th June, 2012) This summarizes, a seemingly objective pattern as to the creation of political boundaries across the Middle Belt (North-central Nigeria) and indeed, the Country at large. Across board, agitations over reasons of Marginalization, ethnic/cultural/religious/political boundaries, further expanded the urge for further separations and strained relations between the ethnic nationalities of such areas across the belt. For principally political undertones, a seed of discord was planted between a people once acknowledged for unity in diversity. The successive Military regimes provided a semblance of order (not Peace) amongst such political divisions which over time, has proven to only be a method of covering fire with coal for temporary relief just for the same fire to emerge even fiercer than before. RESTRUCTURING OR FEDERALISM? quite recently, various pieces to the Nigerian puzzle, have made vehement demands, altercations, vituperations, press releases and a seeming war on social media over the call to go our separate ways than to remain as a Nation State and one posits that what then shall be the fate of the Middle-belt which seems to be a melting pot of almost all ethnic nationalities by virtue of opportunities such as physical space, agriculture, education, commerce, industry, climatic excellence and above all, an accommodating mandate peculiar to the various groups along the stretch of the Niger and Benue. Not long ago, the Youth wing of the Arewa (Northern) Consultative Forum, made a press release, stating an ultimatum to all Igbo indigenes in the North to vacate the region and return to the East (the land of their ancestors), stating October 1 as a dateline. The Eastern community also, under the auspices of the IPOB (Biafra) with the vocality of the recently incarcerated Nnamdi Kanu, have made countless threats yet again, to secede from the National envelope called Nigeria, with continuous threats of non-participation in subsequent elections, census etc. Which has any inkling of identifying them with the existing composition. (Yet there is still confusion in their ranks as to where the capital of Biafra should be located. Abia or Enugu? Which is already a time bomb waiting to be ignited once their objective is achieved). The Late Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, who led the war of secession against Nigeria, who had all the foreign backing, resources, army and indigenes at his disposal, fled and came out plainly after the war of 30 months, to decry the level of damage recorded and warned that such a scenario is regrettable and should never occur again in future as "no country has survived two civil wars". Nnamdi Kanu on the other hand, has dual citizenship of the UK and Nigeria, he is western educated and a political activist with no Military background who was not born during the Civil War Era. Yet he calls for the actualization of an entity which was regrettably condemned. He has no resources at his disposal, no Military inclination, no foreign backing and worst of, the south-South has declined cooperation with him on his expedition, the Political, religious, traditional leaders with the added voice of Intellectuals and Elders of the Igbo extraction, have come out openly to decline participation in such a vicious agenda. It is a war lost from inception but NOT to be ignored for the sake of National survival and seeming patriotism (For now). Northern leaders such as the Elders wing of the Arewa Consultative Forum, the Kaduna State Governor, Emir Mohammad Sanusi II, The Sultan of Sokoto, amongst other Northern elders, have come to the fore, to condemn the press release made by the Youths and discarded it as irresponsible, criminal, divisive, treasonable and tasteless. An order was even made to the Police Force, to immediately arrest the culprits....... But no arrest is made as yet! In his words, Emir Mohammad Sanusi II gave an instance stating a historical fact which should receive massive applause. He said " "Do you know that there is a town called Kwankwoso in the city of Kano?This town is where the former Governor of Kano State is from. This town was founded by an Igbo Trader who did on groundnuts by name Chief Felix Okonkwo in 1927. This Igbo businessman named his Company located near the Kano railways Okonkwo & sons In 1927. The Kano indigienes then who were finding it difficult to pronounce the Igbo word OKONKWO mispronounced the man's company as KWANKWOSONS which was later modified to KWANKWOSO. That name later became the name with which the total locality where Chief Okonkwo's Company was located was refered to. This was how an Igbo man founded the Kwankwaso Town in Kano State. Now tell me how you think the children of Chief Okonkwo Felix who has been living and doing business in Kano for over 90years now can find it easy to leave Kano and relocate to the East?" ( His words). AGAIN: Another faction of the Northern youths, this time in Katsina, released another atomic statement, warning this time around, the YORUBAS to desist from hatching plans to make Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, to become the President and warned assiduously, that if such an eventuality occurs, the Nation will receive their angered reactions. They emphasized that this time around, the North must have their eight uninterrupted years in power. They called the Yorubas a set of serial backstabbers and reminded them of the overwhelming support MKO Abiola got from the North in 1993 and stated my home state capital, Jos, as the centre where Abiola was endorsed and adopted. They again, mentioned the support the North gave Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999 to be the President from prison which in a way, gives a sense of magnanimity. I will not want to dig and discuss the instances on a broader plain but stay tuned to my subsequent columns, please. The Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, schooled in Kings college, Lagos. The most respectable Prof. Jibrin Aminu, (former VC of UNIMAID, former NUC Boss, Former Minister and Former Senator), attended the prestigious University College, Ibadan now the Obafemi Awolowo University. A host of other Northern leaders have lived in the west and know exactly how far ahead the Yorubas have carved a niche for themselves in the areas of infrastructure, education, resource control, agriculture etc, As opposed to the North. This recent statement angered the very vocal Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, Governor Peter Ayodele Fayose, Afenifere, Oodua Peoples congress and a host of other Yoruba elites to a point the massively educated FFK as he is popularly regarded, released in two volumes, a response to the so-called Youth leaders from the North who released the prior warning. He stated categorical and with staunch references, the inadequacies situated in the North. He stated historical and statistical facts as to how backwards the North is, giving open evidences to his claims titled "THE CRY OF THE ALMAJIRIS, part 1 and 2) THE NORTH-CENTRAL (OUR FATE) with the incessant call from the various regions of the nation to quit the marriage, using hateful speeches, malicious undertones, abundant threats and all, what then is the fate of we the North-Centralites should the agitations lead as a means to an end of our common heritage and future? I can proudly posit that we along the belt, are the heart to this union that brought the colonially decorated Northern and Southern Protectorates. All regions (North, East, West, South-South) have glaringly made their positions clear. Do we wait until the last minute to realize our full potential of independence before we declare our own stand? OUR POTENTIALS We are endowed with economic and natural resources. In the area of Water resources, there are rivers, lakes, dams for portable water supply and irrigation. Hydro-Electricity potential etc., Electeicity transmission capacity, Agro-Allied industries such as Sugar factories, potato/yam/cassava/tomato processing, agro-forestry, fish processing, solid minerals industry, tourism and hospitality industry, education hub and a host of other creative and innovative industries to thrive as an entity. Brazil survives to a large extent just by the sugar cane production. Isreal, largely a desert, thrives with technology in agriculture. WHAT HAS GOD NOT DONE FOR US? (in the words of Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah) RELIGION: across the North-Central region of the country, religion has played a key role in defining our current destiny. We are the quickest to forgive and embrace peace shortly after any upsurge of violence, insurgence, crises and terror attacks. We are largely objective and accommodating. We were assumed to be Northerners when we fought Eastern christians during the civil war. We were assumed to be fighting a religious war when we joined other souther christians to fight the menace of terrorism, crises, insurgencies and reprisal attacks here in the north, giving ethnic, religious and political reasons. We are always in the middle and even geographically, we separate the two parts. SO WHAT IS OUR ACTUAL STAND? THE POLITICS OF RELIGION : we have watched with dexterity and equanimity, how the various religions that are meant to unite us, bring a seed of discord amongst our divergent views in unison or disarray. Religion has been brought to the fore, to blind objectivity, reasoning and logic. How can one be told to kill in a Holy war to gain immediate access to heaven? How can a child of 13 or 14 be told that if they do not register and vote, they shall not see the kingdom of heaven and that all their prayers can not be accepted? How do we begin to believe that by killing an individual of the opposite faith, they will be a divine applause from heaven? (Please Africans, our MUMU don do) A ray of light always shines but the blindfold of religious backings, have deterred our objective views. Here in the North Central, we are known to be hospitable, habitable, cultured, religious and accommodating. There are people from all walks of life, religion, ethnic backgrounds and even international extracts who permanently reside with us, all under God. We accept different people from different regions devoid of their heritage or mission. Little wonder, when people from all places gain settlement in our places of abode, by way of coming to school, NYSC, business or otherwise, they hardly pick up the guts to return to their Political/ethnic regions. Here in Plateau State and other States of the Middle-Belt, we have had people enrol into the Military, Civil Service, NDA, Police Force, Federal and State agencies under our own quota system. We have had people contest and occupy Political offices under our own quota also, and i wonder if a Plateau man can ever be as little as appointed into office around the country, let alone to contest and win elections.. We preach true federalism, we discard with a wave of hand the argument about indigineship and settlership to pave way for the idea of "State of permanent residence" yet there are no equal opportunities when we from the North Central travel to seek fortunes elsewhere. We accept everybody. Where i come from, when a visitor comes, you clean up your best room and in most cases, your personal space to accommodate, feed and hospitalize your guest BUT in our own case, when we travel, we are made to sleep at the gate in a show of distrust and acrimony. So for how long do we give what we do not get? All regions brag of their potentials to survive alone yet we are attached to such an agenda for our wealth and resources. We are said to be part of the 19 Northern States but over the years, whenever there is a meeting of the Northern Governors Forum, one is held in Kaduna for all and Sundry and afterwards, another one is scheduled in Kano, Sokoto or any other far Northern State with the exclusion of Plateau, Benue, Kogi and Kwara States while the inclusion of Nassarawa and Niger States are obvious for reasons believed to be the inclination of Faith. Since the return of democracy in 1999, in Plateau State, with the exception of Amb. Fidelis Tapgun ( commerce and industry) , Hon. Damishi Sango (sports) , Hon. S. Aku (sports) and recently Hon. Sarah R. Ochekpe (Water resources) Married to a Benue man and Hon. Solomon Dalung (Sports) all other Ministerial portfolios coming to the state were Junior Ministers of Federal Ministries. They are, Hon. Dame Pauline Tallen, (science and tech) Hon. M. I. Musa Azi (Transport), Hon. Ibrahim Dasuki Nakande (Information),Hon. Bagudu Hirse (Foreign affairs), Hon. Josephine Tapgun (commerce and industry). ALL STATE MINISTERS! When the largest portfolios are shared, the North-Centralites are minorities but when the numbers are needed, we are all Northerners. A large chunk of Lagos and parts of England, were developed from the proceeds that emanated from the mining of Tin and Colombite on the Plateau, yet religion and naivety has taught us better than to raise militants or terrorists to insist on an Ecological Fund.. So why are we treated like cancer? NATIONAL CONFAB: The report of the National Confab was well articulated with far reaching recommendations to guide our national life and a high degree of agitations were heard, resolved and induced into such recommendations with respectable members from all regions and interests but we are still yet to adopt the blueprint, even after the National Assembly has asked the Executive arm of government to turn it into a Bill and forward it to them to study, criticize, amend and evolve it into a law to the benefit of all Nigerians but a segment of vested interests and powerful cabal, are insisting that it is opportunistic, irrelevant and ill-timed chiefly attributed to the fact that it does not benefit thier personal aspirations or regional prosperity. WARNING: Nigeria is in deep crises and each region are flaunting their ability to stand independent so where do we go from here, dear Middle Beltans. A looming desperation is in the air just like fire in your neighbors house. It is only a matter of time before it gets to you. All regions are clamoring for self-determination and we still are watching through blurry lenses. WAKE UP DEAR MIDDLE-BELTANS. LET US GO TO THE TABLE AND ILLUSTRATE OUR STAKE WHILE PEACEFULLY DEMONSTRATING THE NEED FOR OUR GOALS TO BE SERVED. HOW CAN WE BE TREATED LIKE SLAVES IN OUR FATHERLAND? Food for thought... Arc. Bankat, FCT.