Last week Thursday, while at the fourth quarterly meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council in Abuja, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, delivered a damning verdict on the abject state of insecurity plaguing northern Nigeria.The Sultan specifically stated that the northern region was the worst place to live in the country.This was not the first time that the Sultan would complain about the decay of northern Nigeria. In February, while at a security meeting in Kaduna, he also warned that the setting up of a security outfit, Operation Shege-Ka-Fasa, by the Coalition of Northern Groups, was another terror group in the making. In that meeting, he complained about the number of solutions they had proffered on the northern situation, but which had not been implemented by their governors and other members of the political elite.
Two days after the Sultan spoke in Abuja, a group of elders under the aegis of Coalition of Northern Elders for Peace and Development issued a press statement commending him for his bravery in speaking out on the deplorable state of security. Their national coordinator, Zana Goni, and the National Women Leader, Hajia Mario Bichi, stated that the Sultan had vindicated their frequent alarm-sounding on the crisis of insecurity besieging the region. While it is puzzling that stating the obvious should be considered heroic, it also reflects their relief that a high-ranking member of the conservative northern establishment is breaking what looks like an enforced code of silence to speak to issues.
However, when you piece the Sultan’s February speech together with the recent one, you also find a man frustrated with politicians who are not ready to change a thing about the dysfunctionality of northern Nigeria. Like the rest of the leadership class that plagues Nigeria, they are unimaginative, corrupt, and innately sadistic.
There is not much anyone can achieve with a set of leaders impervious to reason and progress other than just talk. While talk is useful, it can also be cheapened when it does not stimulate corresponding relevant actions. One or two more speeches like the one the Sultan gave last week, and he may end up like former Emir Muhammad Sanusi II. Sanusi talked and talked about the many northern Nigeria problems at every opportunity he got until the sharp edge of his criticisms blunted. Sanusi’s criticisms were important, no doubt, but their potential effectiveness was also circumscribed by the limits of what is possible for a traditional ruler whose legitimacy partly subsists on the upside-down world he was seeking to overturn. It also did not help that the ghosts of his hypocrisies stood on his shoulders and haunted his message. It is only a matter of time before the Sultan’s talk too gets overwhelmed by unrelenting reality.
what is happening in the north cannot be solved by mere speeches,actions need to be involved.
come to think of it,the northern part of the country is known to have the highest level of low income,poverty and illetracy.is it not enough reason for the youths to embark on social vices?
The government need to pay attention to their cries ,as lives are being wasted.
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