Northern Nigeria seems to be an autonomous division within Nigeria. A zone sitting geographically on 719,435 Square Kilometers of land – which is about 79% of Nigeria’s landmass and has about 392 numbers of ethnic groups (North West 54 North Central 123 North East 205) and almost 75 million or 53.6% of Nigeria’s population is no doubt the biggest zone in Nigeria.
So far the zone has gone through several forms of ups and downs which is presently posing a big treat to its optimal capacity and overall survival.
Several studies carried out to seek an understanding of the numerous challenges ravaging the zone ranging from high illiteracy level which stands at 70% to housing the largest number of handicaps in the country. Child immunization acceptance against dangerous childhood diseases is still around 10% and then the worse of all; the Boko Haram insurgency.
The Boko Haram insurgency might indeed be termed to be political in its design but the fact that it is being hosted in the North is a big treat. Questions coming to mind is, why will the people of the North allow the Boko Haram infest so deep within their habitat? This is simply the result of high illiteracy level in the North. The North is thought to be religious but are recent happenings not pointing to an opposite direction? It is really shocking that this same region is the one that has produced wonderful Nigerian leaders in the past like Sir Tafa Balewa, Umaru Dikko, Shehu Shagari, Sadauna and many more, so what actually went wrong?
Looking deep into the current situation in the North, a careful observer will see a degradation and fallout which can be attributed to gross negligence of some sort by prominent statesman.
Other regions also play host to some civil unrest such as the Ife and Modakeke, Offa and Erin-Ile battle and Okene unrest to mention a few, but the point of interest in these civil unrest is that all prominent persons such as traditional rulers and politicians whose region were affected usually start a cleanup program so that such events are never to be witnessed ever again in the future, they don’t leave things in the hands of faith and pure negligence unlike many of their Northern counterparts.
Series of war in time past had broken out in the Northern part of Nigeria, I am sure we will remember;
-The Kaduna riots of February 2000, where thousands died due to religious riots between Christians and Muslims over the introduction of sharia law in Kaduna State.
-Yelwa massacre of February – May 2004, Yelwa, Shendam and Kano where 975 were reported dead due to religiously motivated killings between Christians and Muslims.
2013 Baga massacre of 19-20 April 2013, Baga, Borno and a total of 228 were killed, although the identity of the perpetrators remains unclear; some blame the Nigerian military while others blame the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram.
Kaje civil unrest and many other more, but after all these civil unrests, there has never been an orientation program or rehabilitation for the victims and the participants, a young boy who saw killings of tens of people in his presence grows up to become a wild animal and worst of it is if he actually participated in the killing.
We shouldn’t have been here if these Northern youths had not been exposed to a wild life right from the beginning of their lives, a visit to the North will amaze one’s sense of what responsible parenting means. One will see a pack of boys in their early teens popularly called ‘almanjiri’ savaging around just to stay alive. They wander through life without any close understanding of what “good life” really means or entails.
Who do we hold responsible for the sorrowful and meaningless life these kids are subjected to? An average young boy of age 14 from the North would most likely have visited about 20 states in the country by following truck loads of goods without any real life expectancy.
August 12, 2015 was the World Youth Day and I ask, “Is there anything worth celebrating for the Northern youth? Is it the unproductive life they have inherited or the uninspiring environment they now live in?
The move by the Senate President Bukola Saraki in identifying with the people of the North by his recent visit to the zone and the call on international community to help rebuild the North is a step in the right direction which all stakeholders must take a cue from.
The North needs massive infrastructural development but most importantly mental rehabilitation to guide against another brutal sect in the future. We must be ready to capture the traumatized youths and re-orientate them. The negligence of the past is exactly what led to the situation we are in right now.
Why has the North been so marginalized and relegated to the background in terms of mental capacity building? There is another area the government must look into, this has to do with making sure that Northern youths are trained to understand the beauty in staying alive and being purposeful and productive.
Sadly the North that had once been the economic hub of this great nation is now being ravaged by war, poverty, illiteracy, diseases, high infant mortality. If the current happenings are not adequately managed to capture the victims, the North might just be a breeding place for a more sophisticated killing machine. I beg to ask why shouldn’t the kids from the North be equipped to compete with kids from the South, East and West?
@shewn007 on Twitter
Views expressed above are solely that of the author and doesn’t represent the views of Omojuwa.com or its associates.
