THURSDAY COLUMN BY SAFIYA ADAMU
yandokye@gmail.com
In 1953 the founding fathers, leaders of the three regions, Eastern, Northern and Southwestern that made up Nigeria came together to discuss and agree on a date for Nigeria’s independence at the House of Representatives in Lagos. Sir Ahmadu Bello moved to amend the motion and unequivocally put the stand of the Northern Region forward, clearly and unambiguously and this is what he said; ‘”I should like to make quite clear, the stand of the Northern region in this very important matter. Let there be no misunderstanding. We from the Northern Region never intended, nor do we intend to retard the progress of any region. Nor do we say that those who demand self-government, if it is for their own region alone are wrong. Far from it. For, after all every community is the best judge of its own situation. In this regard, Mr. President the people of the North are the best judges of their own situation and we feel that in our present situation we cannot commit ourselves to fixing a date for the attainment of self-government”.
This speech was delivered in the midst of hostile “partners” and environment. He was neither intimidated nor fazed by the people and the environment. He simply stated it as it was and probably still is. He comfortably admitted and stated the whys. He thought it was hasty to demand it then at least for the North. He correctly observed in that speech, on that occasion that politicians tended to talk loosely, and it delighted them to talk loosely about the unity of Nigeria. This observation implied then and does even today the insincerity, the condescension with which politicians treat the people. No one speaks or stand by the people. To the politicians the people did not really matter. But Sir Ahmadu Bello was different; he stood and spoke for the people. It was not about personal accolades and ambition, for him it was all about the people of Northern Region to whom he has pledged his service. He made it abundantly clear what will serve the North for good and articulated what the people wanted. Sixty years before the year 1953 there was no country called Nigeria. There were just a large number of communities of different sizes with different outlooks and beliefs. The coming of the British and western education did not much change that especially for the Muslim North. There never were any concerted efforts on the side of the people or the British government to materially alter the situation. The different communities did not work to knit themselves into a composite unit. So our coming together has always been superficial. The amalgamation did not unify the people, as it was not meant to do anyway. The North and south had two distinct administrations, and the people of the different regions viewed each other with suspicion. The western educated south looked and treated the less “educated” north with barely veiled condescension and contempt. Sir Ahmadu Bello and his colleagues recognized from the onset that if the North was to come together with the other regions then they must undertake policies and invest in education in order to be competitive. It was a tall ambition but he was not fazed. This much he acknowledged in the same speech made to move for the amendment to the demand for self-government by the Southeast and Southwest regions. He said in the speech before the House that for years the outside world has been led to believe that Northern Nigeria is some backward, extremely conservative, unreceptive of modern ideas country by local papers and through utterances of some politicians from the south. He stated clearly that he needed to have the mandate of the people of the North before he could commit to accepting the proposed date as being demanded. As representatives of the people he asserted that they from the North find it of absolute necessity to consult with their people before committing. He was perfectly aware of the resentment and contempt that would come with whatever response there will be. And he was not wrong.
On April 1st 1953 the Daily Service published a speech by the leader of the Action Group in opposition to the motion moved by Mallam Ibrahim Imam. In the speech the leader of the Action Group made the assertion “ That the masses of the people in all countries are not generally interested in matters of self=government or even government itself”. Sir Ahmadu Bello’s response was quite the opposite; “ We in the North do not agree for one moment. We maintain that the question is vital to every townsman and farmer and that they must be consulted”.
Such utterances from the leader of the Action Group encouraged the organization of bands of hooligans to attack every northerner recognized as such. This was a disappointing development that is carried on to this day. In that era it only helped to spur the Northern leaders on to accelerate as fast as they possibly could their proposed reforms and development policies. Development and reforms in all sectors were put on the front burner and education in particular received as much attention as they could afford. (to be continued).
