Even as minorities have risen to relevance, people are upset. Yet there was courting of the same minorities when it mattered most in the past on account of their oil wealth. But even with the relentless kicking against the accession to power of one from the oil region, there is a clear indication that our current political condition is inexorable and destined to happen at this time.
In the same manner, the zones that had been crafted as basis for association at the inception of the new democracy in 1999 were being warped by fancies of Northern brothers that they had been in the cold for too long already. Not all zones need to have access to power seemed an unspoken undertone. That is probably the only reason the North was sounding the gong about 2015, when commonsense should prescribe that power should move from South South to South East. The message was clear, but the reading was ominous. The egalitarian principle is the foundation of the constitution, and any group denied equality could seek an exit from the fraternity without much problem.
I hold the view and it is sacred that on account of the incapacity of Ndigbo to develop a rallying point for themselves, they should not bother about power at the centre in the meantime. I extend that view to postulate that minorities only stand a chance of taking our country to higher levels of fulfilment than any other major group. They have the least number of people to waste resources upon. They need little to find satisfaction in comparison to three major tribes. They are easy to placate since they are fewer in number. They are less complex in terms of lifestyle. They have not complicated themselves with received religion. They still have the drumbeats of our heritage which the major tribes have all but lost.
The minorities consequently are the quintessential Nigerians. They should permanently hold the reins in trust for all Nigerians. This is the weightiest statement which the events of the past spewed out from the depths of the mind. Most people may find course to revolt against it. Candid people are bound to see its congruency with events in the future of our country.
It is not positive to scheme for power to vest on any section of the country, especially as a new administration has just been elected. That administration might just solve the nation’s problems with issues like Sovereign National Conference (SNC) and true federalism in which case efforts at scheming for power would be stultified.
No one should give the impression in a plural society that power is a preserve of a section of the society. It is certainly not. No whispers of marginalisation should now be heeded since the origin of the whispers has blown its chances as custodians of national wealth through more than a generation of husbandry that has not led to any notable growth.
The key issue is what is achievable with power in the hands of any group. I prognosticate with conviction that Nigeria will fare better in the hands of minorities than we have fared in the hands of northern majority so far. That is what should govern attitudes of true nationalists in the years ahead if our nation must belong to the league of advanced nations of the world.
It seems to me that judging by past events, we should be better of as a nation leaving power in the hands of minorities for the rest of the future of this country since their actions will be most rewarding to the entire country since they shall have smaller power centres to satisfy. Majority tribes have larger populations to share national resources with and that has spelt underdevelopment for the country through the past 50 years.
The story of the North can be brought home sharply with my experience as member of the Board of Federal Housing Authority in 1991. I was rudely shocked at the level of profligacy in management. A general manager treated funds of the authority as personal funds. He virtually hosted all Hausa community in his house all evening to meals as a potentate of the Northern oligarchy.
That is sadly typical of everywhere a Northern oligarch has appointment to public office. It is for them an opportunity to show benevolence and purchase relevance and perhaps worship of the hoi polloi. This is calculated to put them in good stead for leadership in future. It provides them a ready army of miscreants if need for pre-emptive strike at opponents of their will becomes necessary.
Nothing is positive about this and nothing positive can be expected from a wrong principle. The country has been worse for all the years the Northern military establishment has held the reins of power on this account. They have made little improvement in the welfare of all Nigerians. They have only seemingly improved the welfare of their minions. They have consequently estranged themselves from their youth. The youth rely on power leaving their hands for betterment.
The oligarchs have had their day. Former President Goodluck Jonathan did more for the majority up North than any power elite there can ever do. For one thing, he does not have to cater for an endless string of loafers.
