The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), one of the self- appointed custodians of northern interests, marked its 25 years of existence a couple of weeks ago. But there could be no clinking of glasses to notch the occasion, or celebratory pats on the back for milestone achievements. Instead, the anniversary came at the most inopportune and the most inauspicious of times. The episodic insecurity which had plagued the north for most of the existence of ACF, reached another climax at this time. In its wake were the abductions of students and worshipers from different locations in the north. This was followed rather quickly but inevitably, by the closure of several educational institutions in a region where the number of out-of-school children was already one of the worst in the world. This is the grim reality of the north, a region plagued by its own contradictions. And this, by extension, is the scorecard of ACF at 25.

What really should have been a period of celebration had ACF lived up to its billings or ‘raison d’etre’, turned out to be a period of mourning. What easily could have been festal songs of achievements quickly turned a dirge of preventable failures. The expectation of ACF at inception was that it would build on the legacies of the founding fathers of the north. It was the least it could do. It was supposed to be payback time because most of the leading lights of ACF, and indeed the elites in the north, were educated by regional and Federal Governments and fast tracked into enviable positions in the economy and the public sector. They were supposed to build on the foundation of education, industrialization, agriculture and unity which Ahmadu Bello and Tafawa Balewa laid. Instead, they became increasingly entitled expecting Nigeria to always do their bidding. That bidding was more for personal aggrandizement than for the talakawas or even the long-term interests of the north itself. Someone described it as the Association of Comfortable Families (ACF). It might have been said in jest, but it is not too far from the truth given its privileged status. The sad part is that these elite members have become oblivious to the suffering of their poorer cousins on behalf of whom they derive power and thereafter, receive state resources.

A united north with its sheer size and potentials, despite its current limited human resource, would have been too big a lump for a fractionalized south to swallow. In fact, it probably would have made the north to continue ruling the country. That in any case, was the strategy of the founding fathers. It was to have a common identity; a common vision and a common destiny. It started with a common language. Language unites. It did that for the north. Even southerners who could speak Hausa enjoyed certain privileges at a time. I grew up naively thinking Hausa was indigenous to all the people of the north. Today, some people from the north, especially from the Middle Belt, would feel insulted if you labelled them Hausa/Fulani. That is part of the unenviable scorecard of ACF at 25 and the other leaders to whom Ahmadu Bello handed the baton of nurturing the north to. Sunday Awoniyi, a Christian Yoruba from Kogi State was the Personal Secretary and confidant to Ahmadu Bello, Premier, Kingmaker and as the Sadauna of Sokoto, the most powerful person in the north and perhaps in Nigeria in his days. It is virtually impossible for that to happen in today’s religiously divisive north. Prof Ishaya Audu, the first Vice Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University was a Christian but one would not guess it because he blended so well with the largely Muslim establishment. That could be said for the many Christian northerners who rose to prominent positions in those days. Ethnic and religious differences had always been there. But they were played down in the overriding drive for one north, one destiny. The north I met as a young reporter had a hierarchy which enabled it to speak with one voice despite occasional dissents. The leadership was matured enough to quickly recognize and douse ethnic and religious tensions. This lent credence to the perception of one north.

The north today is more fractionized than the south and with more telling consequences. While the south tries to at least accommodate each other on issues of land and the economy, the north is increasingly testy. The battle for economic displacements rages with telling scars. While the south is religiously tolerant, the north has grown more intolerant. The battle for the mind of God rages with satanic weapons. The result of this ethnically, religiously and economically enabled insecurity is that the north, especially North-East and North-West, is the most backward region in all social sectors in the country. It has the highest birthrate in the contemporary world and the lowest level of economic development. It has the least access to education and has among the highest girl child dropouts. It has millions – between three to six – of internally displaced people. The Almajiri system which virtually throws children into the streets, is the clearest abandonment of familial responsibility I have seen. This data is not mine and even worse can be unearthed by whoever is interested. The result is that the north has a large number of youths who are not in school, not in any family home and not in employment. These are the youths fuelling insecurity in the north and threatening to spread it to other parts of the country. Making Abuja responsible for these self-inflicted injuries is just half the story. The most significant part of the story is the failure of its leaders to anticipate the developments in the Sahel region and avert the consequent collapse of socio-economic structures in its own region. The saddest part of the story is the complicity of its leaders due to ethnic, political, religious and private economic considerations.

The future of the north depends on leadership giving purpose to collective efforts to revamp the north. It relies on the ability to think, plan and act for the good of the larger community, especially the poor. It rests on the willingness to silence religious noises which had torn the unity of the region apart and had turned brothers against erstwhile brothers. The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) is one of the main bodies aggregating the leaders in the north. It is time for it to earn its stripes. Other bodies and leaders must also accept the consequences of their actions or inactions. Blaming Abuja for the woes in the north is like calling a dog a bad name in order to hang it. The south which is largely more stable, has not received more favors than the north from Abuja over the years.

• Muyiwa Adetiba is a veteran journalist and publisher. He can be reached via titbits2012@yahoo.com

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