WHAT IS MIDDLE BELT? In a statement by a prominent Middle Belt - TopicsExpress



          

WHAT IS MIDDLE BELT? In a statement by a prominent Middle Belt leader, Leonard Karshima Shilgba, PhD: We the peoples of the Middle Belt in particular and non Dan Fodians, in general, must rise up and resist this egregiously inhuman vision with every sense of pride and purpose. You can never be wrong in seeking to be free. Some have derisively asked the clear description of the Middle Belt peoples. Socially speaking, all non-Dan Fodians in the geographical north and central north are Middle Belt people, the oppressed people, deceptively huddled up under the “One North” of Sir Ahmadu Bello. However, geographically, it is generally acceptable to many scholars from the region that the Middle Belt federation consists of people in the present BENUE, NASSARAWA, TARABA, ADAMAWA, PLATEAU, SOUTHERN KEBBI, KOGI, KWARA, NIGER, SOUTHERN KADUNA, FCT, SOUTHERN GOMBE , and the two minority local government areas of TAFAWA BALEWA and BOGORO in southern Bauchi State. At a reception for General T.Y. Danjuma following his resignation as minister of defence, Chief Solomon Lar, the foremost advocate of the Middle-Belt, define the sub-region thus: “By way of clarification”, said Lar, “the geographical Middle Belt is distinct from and smaller than the political Middle-Belt. The political Middle-Belt encompasses all the marginalized minority groups in Northern Nigeria. These are the nationalities that have historically resisted feudalism, political oppression, injustice, religious discrimination and the economic emasculation of the unfavoured masses”. Chief Bola ige in occtober 2000 at jalingo reminded the public that his political godfather Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Awo was a champion of the creation of the Middle-Belt. During the struggle, Ige said, Awo worked hand in glove with the likes of “Senator Joseph Tarka, Joseph Olawoyin, Reverend David Lot, Joshua Zagi Dass, John Adeyebe and Gaius Gilama”. Ige then told his audience that the time was now ripe to re-visit the case for the Middle-Belt. Ige did not define the boundary of his new Middle Belt, but from his list of Awo’s comrades-in-arm in the struggle for the sub-region, it was clear that Ige’s Middle-Belt was wherever Christian minorities were predominant in the North. Otherwise, Ige would have remembered to include in his list anti-Establishment Muslim Northerners like Raji Abdallah from the old Kwara Province and Abubakar Zukogi from the Niger Province. Ige, in effect, singled out religion in defining the boundary of the new Middle Belt was however not surprising. Ethnicity as a political weapon in a sub-region which contained probably more than half of Nigeria’s estimated 250 tribes plus, many of them with a history of rivalry and wars, was a weak and blunt weapon. However, the plurality of these tribes, albeit not their majority, had the common denominator of being Christians. Lar, of course, was not alone in his emphasis on politics – or religion, if you will – instead of geography in his definition of the Middle-Belt. Among many others, Group-Captain (rtd) Jona Jang, former military governor of Benue State and present governor of Plateau state, shared the same view with Lar. In an interview in The Comet of November 12, 2000, Jang’s emphasis in defining the Middle-Belt was again religion, even though he was quick to deny it. “We” he said, “have already stated what areas we consider the Middle-Belt, which are Southern Kebbi, Southern Kaduna, Southern Borno, Southern Bauchi, Southern Gombe, Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Nassarawa, Kogi, the Federal Capital Territory, Kwara and Niger”. These are states or parts of states where Christians are in the majority. The reason for the emphasis on, or the singling out of, religion, in defining the Middle-Belt should be apparent to anyone who takes even a cursory look at the population of the geographical Middle-Belt which is the North-Central Zone. This zone comprises Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nassarawa, Niger, Plateau and the FCT. Of these six states and the FCT, only Benue and Plateau states, the heart of the Middle-Belt, have an overwhelming Christian majority. Of the remaining four states, Kwara and Niger have an overwhelming Muslim majority, with Nassarawa and Kogi probably having a not-so-slim Muslim majority. With the FCT it is hard to tell; among indigenes, Muslims are probably in the majority since the FCT was carved out mostly from Niger, Kwara and Nassarawa states in that order. Its new status as the country’s capital has changed this demography in such a way that it is hard to tell without an exercise specifically aimed at determining the religious mix of the city. It is this fear that Christians will be a minority in the geographical Middle-Belt that may have driven such Middle-Belt champions as Ige, Lar and Jang to redefine the Middle-Belt essentially by religion, if not by singling it out as the criteria. So by definition middle belt is an idea or a group of people from the northern part of Nigeria who are minority and are marginalized based on religion (christainity) as against the Hausa Fulani (islam). Middle is not a geographical map as we may call northern central political zone, rather it is a group of people from various states in the north and predominantly north central. WHO ARE THOSE WHO CALLED THEMSELVES MIDDLE BELTERS If we will use the geographical map draw out in various definition of middle belt, we should have the following prominent Nigerians as middle belters; Prof. Jerry Gana Senator in 1983, He was appointed chairman of Mass Mobilisation for Social and Economic Recovery under General Babangida’s government. He subsequently became a cabinet minister for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Information and Culture, Cooperation and Integration in Africa and again for Information and National Orientation Prof Jerry Gana was the founding national secretary of the Peoples’ democratic party (PDP) in 1998. In June 2001, President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed Gana Minister of Co-operation and Integration in Africa. In January 2001, Obasanjo dissolved his cabinet. In the new cabinet announced in February 2001 Gana was Minister of Information Gana was also secretary of the PDP Board of Trustees Gana resigned in July 2006 as special advisor to President and in August 2006 announced he would contend for the PDP candidature for the 2007 Presidential elections Chief Solomon Lar Member, Federal House, 1959-64; Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Establishment, 1964-66; National Secretary, Nigeria Legal Aid Association, 1973; Chairman, Plateau State Manpower Development Panel, 1975; Chairman, African Continental Bank Ltd, 1976-79; Founder, Club 19, later Nigeria Peoples Party, 1977; First Civilian Governor and Chief Executive, Plateau State, 1979-83; Minister, Police Affairs, 1993; member, the group of 34; first National Chairman of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 1998, holding this position until 2002 when he handed over to Chief Barnabas Gemade. In February 2004 he resigned as chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, handing over to Chief Tony Anenih at a caucus in Abuja General T Y Danjuma His political career Since 1999 Danjuma has played an active role in Nigerian politics, some of his key appointments have been: 1999 Appointed as Minister of Defence to President Obasanjo’s Cabinet 2003 Appointed as Chairperson for investigative committee on the warri conflict 2010 Nominated as Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council by Acting President Goodluck Jonathan And a host of others like; Senator Joseph Tarka, Joseph Olawoyin, Reverend David Lot, Joshua Zagi Dass, John Adeyebe and Gaius Gilama, Governor Jona Jang e.t.c WHAT DOES THE MIDDLE BELT WANTS As Middle Belt has come a long way in history, it has expanded on the political fillip of a feeling of system emasculation and oppression. Indeed, such feeling has drawn more who were not ordinarily, by geography and culture, considered by Middle Belt. Mid way, it was simply those who considered themselves unfortunate to be hemmed into the Northern Nigerian political system. That way, even some of the ethnic groups, evident northeast bound but living on the feeling of alienation, either by the old Northern system or the evolving Northeastern patch-up, had to seek succour under the umbrella of Middle Belt. Middle belt is an idea by the so called marginalised northerns at large Nigerians, but the question we should ask is are we marginalized and at what point or to what stage are we marginalised, is it culturally or religiously, if any or both, who in plateau state is marginalised, or who in Benue state is marginalised based on religion, who in Taraba Marginalised? If we talk culturally, who is marginalised in Nassarawa? Who is marginalised in Niger, who is marginalised in kwara, who is marginalised in Benue, who is marginalised in Kogi, who is marginalised in Bauchi, who is marginalised in Gombe, and also I deep look at Borno who is marginalised there also, is the marginalisation based on religion, culture or wealth? DOES THE MIDDLE BELT WANT POWER? Middle belt has enjoyed power both at central and state level than any other region in Nigeria, since 1960 to date no government that has been formed or is being form that does not have middle belters championing it, even the present government has middle belt dominating it than any region, from the Senate president to the cabinets and also political party affairs runners are occupied by north central (middle belt). It depends on what we call power or control of power, that control which middle belt seeks and how much of it has the middle belt had or has? ROLE OF MIDDLE BELT FROM 1960 TO DATE Yoruba, Igbo, Northern, Middle Belt and Southern cabal, alike, have worked together to destroy our Nation. Rather than seeing beyond this, we the masses allow ourselves be used as pawns to the cabal’s ultimate, eternal advantage Nigeria’s Middle Belt, just like any belt does, has historically fastened the South to the rest of Nigeria. Indeed this vast area of mixed tribes, including some who will associate as Northerners and others who will call themselves Southerners. A rich even mix of Muslims and Christians has long been the capital and command and control center of Nigeria. A quiet, hidden giant. Silently operating to foster unity and maintain its quiet dominance. Little surprise the capital of Nigeria is not situated in Lagos anymore and was not moved to the impoverished North, but was rather situated at Abuja, FCT, right beside IBB’s Niger state, in the Middle Belt. Who orchestrated the first military and ethnic coup, and initiated military rule in Nigeria? Kaduna Nzeogwu. Who dissolved the regions? Aguiyi Ironsi Who decimated Biafra? Yakubu Gowon and OBJ. Who betrayed and sold the South? Azikiwe. Who was behind, financing and establishing coups upon coups in Nigeria, installing the worst leaders to destroy our history? Abiola. All, not that typical Muslim or North/Northerner that we choose to blame for all our woes. We in middle belt claims to be marginalised and underdeveloped by the hausa Fulani, but is this actually the case, why can’t we look deeply into the history of Nigeria for us to understand who has been marginalised and who is marginalising us, is it a case of religion and culture or is it a case of corruption and greed of our leaders from middle belt. For four years and three months from 1979, Solomon Lar, as governor of Plateau state, and his fellow indigenes were completely in charge of the state. For those four years and three months, they had enough statutory allocations flowing to the state, not to mention other grants and internal revenues, to have turned the fortunes of their people around. Instead they left them no better than they found them, if not poorer. Twenty five years later, Lar turns round to blame others for enslaving his people. Who is to be blame for underdevelopment in Niger state, who is to be blame for underdevelopment in Kwara? mostly kwara north where the Nupes are predominant and also Muslims, or Kogi north, or Benue state and Nasarawa? we should further ask; why an Abuja Gwari indigene has never been the minister of Abuja. What is marginalization of middle belt? The case for blaming the so-called Hausa-Fulani for the poverty of his people is clearly a weak one. It is further weakened by the fact that out of the 332 months during which Northerners ruled the country from 1967 when General Yakubu Gown came to power, the so-called core-Northerners (General Murtala Mohammed, Alhaji Shehu Shagari and General Muhammadu Buhari) ruled for only 77 months, depending on whether you regard General Abacha, who ruled for 60 months as a minority Kanuri or an adapted Kano indigene. Between Generals Gowon, Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar, all from the geographical Middle-Belt, they ruled Nigeria for 215 months. Clearly, if the sub-region has been marginalized, its leadership has itself largely to blame. Unfortunately, politics is all too often about distorting or even fabricating facts and appealing to emotions rather than to facts and logic. Middle belt is an idea under an idea, religion, rather than geography or ethnicity would be the preferred weapon for anyone interested in dividing the North and Nigeria at large, by mobilizing the smaller tribes against the dominant tribe, in order to rule the region and Nigeria. However, my idea of a Middle-Belt and I am sure that of a lot of us in these cut out middle belt, and for that matter, of anyone who means well for Nigeria, is one in which all its ethnic and religious groups, alike, live in peace and harmony with each other and with others in the larger North, and, needless to say, in Nigeria. For, in the end whether, like me, you are Nupe or whether you are Tiv or Tarok or Kabba, and whether you are Muslim or Christian and of course whether you are from the North or South, our people, if not we ourselves as leaders, all face the common enemies of poverty, disease, illiteracy, insecurity and general backwardness. Playing politics with tribe, religion, history or even geography instead of balancing them within the framework of one man one vote will never solve those problems. I will not want to define leadership as only the man on top of the heap. I rather define leadership as a collective thing, so that no part of the country can claim to have been left out.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 08:42:25 +0000

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