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Sunday 7 July 2019

The left behind in Northern Nigeria suffer not for their sins but ideology


"Practical solutions abound, sadly they're in danger of drowning in the snake oil.., the left behind are feeling the pain but putting up barriers is not the answer"- Stephen King.
In my last blog post on the controversy about RUGA settlement initiative of the Nigeria government to address the herdsmen-farmers crisis ravaging the North, i was quick to observe that this initiative widely rejected in the Southern Nigeria has further exposed the historical divide which the politicians assume can be swept under the carpet with elections every four years. Personally , i'm yet to see the need for such an irrational policy having made my position known in my writings. The truth is if the country is serious about a stable future, everything, national identity, diversity, integration should be on the table. Politics is about co-poeration not conflict.  Its only when we do the right thing that we will not only solve the problem, we will get it done as a nation, unfortunately double standards does not guarantee a stable future. A lot has been written about the level of poverty in the North despite nearly six decades of power grips. The truth is there is lack of political will to address this urgent task despite becoming a national catastrophe. The extent of a burning desire to solve this problem is yet to be seen, just mere political rhetorics as everyone knows that the development model in that region does not support growth. Available Records show almost zero domestic tax revenue, mineral resources fuel conflict and insecurity,  and oil revenue funds luxury and adorenment and the next election. I think the traditional feudal system is largely to be blamed. Traditional rulers in the North are some of the most paid, government officials fund medical and education tourism, their children are rewarded with choice jobs on return, funding religious activities including pilgrimage is part of the state budgets, borders are kept wide open in the name of brotherhood, etc. instead of investment in infrastructural development, education and healthcare, agriculture which is their main stay is now threatened by terrorism , an attack on food security. Whether we agree or disagree, the political leaders in the North should apologise to their citizens for a disservice by denying them economic opportunities especially inability to exploit comparative advantage and competition which federalism guarantees with abundant evidence, instead of pursuit of capture and corruption, grab your share. The times are changing fast, only those societies who are equipped or provide the enabling environment will be able to benefit from the challenges of the future. The North must embrace modernity to drive growth not violence, unfortunately increase in violence simply brings more violence. Investment in security to maintain power is a development misfit, it only promotes capture and corruption which benefits just few people as events of nearly six decades has shown. No doubt, by pursuing this ideology the region has failed to look at the big picture to realise that charity begins at home. Come to think about it, how and why do you think you can change the whole country when the rest of the people in your home states are the poorest in the country, thinking needs to change. According to Stephen King; ''Practical solutions abound, sadly they're in danger of drowning in the snake oil..., the left behind are feeling the pain but putting up barriers is not the answer". A shift in mindset holds the magic key. Young people in the Northern Nigeria should be challenged to re-think ideology, carry out objective enquiries to find the right answers instead of wholesome allegiancies to bias, lies, distorted facts and untruths to keep them more impoverished. Today any society that resists adaptation will definitely be left behind. If Dubai can become one of the world's most attractive centre, i wonder why such wouldn't happen in the Northern Nigeria. Definitely we would all be concerned because ''everybody  eventually loses out'', as we're currently witnessing now, the horroffic atrocities of extremism and terrorism due to bad governance. It's unthinkable to imagine that cows are being allowed to travel from Sokoto to down South-East destroying private and commercial farmlands in the name of cattle grazing , whereas the rest of the societies who have unlocked great opportunities in this sector have all embraced innovation and modernity to achieve growth so this total bad governance, ruthlessness and failure of governance, fresh thinking is needed. The political leaders in the North must be bold to accept the truth about their dysfunctional system and bring the political will-power to effect change, now is the time to make change happen. I read an insight on Facebook about how the Igbos who were massacred, and given only £20 to survive have suddenly emerged stronger and richer whereas the dominant North that masacred and destroyed them are now the poverty capital of the world with ravaging and incurable terrorism which has come to stay, this should be a great challenge to everyone, not the next election and where the next President comes from, charity begins at home. In the words of Einstein the great; "insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results". Every society must embrace universal values that champion peace, prosperity and progress to make the world a better place. Everyone wins if the political leaders do the right thing, Political Power can be a force for development if properly utilised. Growth requires a shift in mindset.  The Politicians in the North created a philosophy of ''greed is good'', there must be a desire for people to stand on their own feet. People must think of taking responsibility for their economic and social circumstances. In changing times, people must learn to challenge ideology and politics that makes change inevitable rather being persuaded by propaganda and ideology to remain stuck, My view. Click on this link to read about my position on the controversial RUGA initiative of the Federal Government.  I think the focus should be how to start implementing it in the North where there is abundant land resources and where culture practices will guarantee its success rather waiting for the rest of the society to donate land before its eventual take off since it has the potentials to drive economic development, provide jobs, income and reduce unemployment and poverty: http://www.theleadprojectfoundation.com/2019/07/the-honest-truth-about-controversial.html
Uche Okeke is the Founder of  The LEAD Project Foundation. He lives in London. He has participated in the course: From Poverty to Prosperity: Understanding Economic Development.

3 comments:

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  2. The left behind in the North suffer not for their sins but ideology. They said charity begins at home.Those aspiring to be leaders should start from their homes. According to Stephen King; "The left behind are feeling the pain but putting up barriers is not the answer". Perhaps, capture, corruption, luxury and adorenment may not be a development good fit, we can explore the alternative, 'comparative advantage and competitition'. The young people should lead ojective enquiries that can unlock growth, especially why more than five decades of power grips did not result in improvement in living standards for citizens. Power grips may not be a precursor for development.

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  3. We must abolish the philosophy of ''greed is good'',encourage people to think and take responsibility for their economic and social circumstances, there must be the incentive for enterprise and hardwork, else the persistence of poverty and stagnation will become a permanent feature especially as the population explodes and people compete for scarce resources-Uche Okeke

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