THE KINGS OR THE KONGS OF THE NORTH?

Presumably, Arewa can be considered as the most dangerous place to live for now; especially for Northerners, not only for the banditry or kidnappings, but for the excess hate, disrespect and underrating attitude among men and groups that ought to embrace one another, instead they prefer to stab themselves for any slightest differences. Among same or different religion, tribes, parties, communities and all, we’re just becoming the biggest enemies to ourselves.

Had the North respect one another, no force or weapon forged against us would dare conquer us; instead, we are filled with self hate, animosity, greed, competition, envy and we constantly do everything to tarnish, discredit or clamp down on any shining stars among us, just to prove that they’re ‘nothing’ while we’re ‘something’. Politics and hate has rubbished us, so much that we can’t even defend ‘ourselves from ourselves’. In same region, a lot of tribes and religious men are used as agents of destruction, simply because they don’t feel part of the North.

In our quest to an unknown destination, we’ve bastardize our youth to lacking focus, the proper knowledge to life and general living culture for survival in the 21st century, where our elders are filled with pomposity and disagreement among themselves, while our Islamic Clerics are drowned by ideological separatism; of Shi’a, Izala, Qadiriyya, Salaf, Tijjaniyya, government affiliates, Allo’ Alarammas, Islamiyya’ Sheiks, Boko aqida, Ahmadiyya, Boko Sana’a, Boko Haramun while on the other hand the CAN clerical contentions etc.

We shouldn’t be blaming the South for whatever they do or say about the North, it is because we’re giving them every reason to see us like this or treat us the best way we should be treated, a lot of our youths are drugs and porn addicts, rape and kidnapping masterminds, the banditry and killers herdsmen are real, the Boko Haramites and arms dealers, conspirators, merchants of deaths and politically motivated crimes are everywhere, we don’t display intellectual vibrance, mocking and shaming the North and creating impression that we’re truly whatever names they call us and we all know it, despite the existing ritualists, pirates, drug Baron’s, armed robbers, blood sucking cultists and all forms of criminals in the south, the North is now considered as the only Headquarters of crimes.

In defending the North, what is the role of our traditional rulers? The billionaires and the Professors? The political war lords and the power bloc mafias? The retired Generals and the King Kongs? Who are the proud Northern leaders, phase setters, agenda designers and Qibla compass of the North? Who cares and who dares when the ‘Arewa poor’ are fatally injured or if the image of the region is faltered? Who raised a daring finger whenever the sanctity of our institutions are rubbished or insulted?. May be for political ambition and affiliation, or fear not to be dragged by Journalists and the media, nobody want to be called extremists, Arewa loyalist, conservative, preservationist or diehard patriot to the North!

The North is just surviving by the grace of God, if not the name Arewa would have been a history. In our communities, on social media and at the National space, we are just 2nd class citizens in Nigeria. We slap ourselves, others slap us on both cheeks; even donkeys and chimpanzees take chances to slapping us and nothing ever happen because we considered ourselves as nothing!. We kept quite where we should bragadociously shake the world, we only patronize TV stations and Newspapers that are locally transmitting comedy, irrelevant contents to development and junks in the name of entertainment; as such we don’t have a loud voice!. We don’t even have a single media to write our own part of the stories and we don’t have the journalistic culture for mass reporting.
Openly, we watch how drugs are coming into the North in Tons, illiteracy escalate through negligence, extremism grow through ideology, immorality grow through our entertainment and social media, yet no single developmental agenda for the region that is regionally recognized and implemented by various government across the region on Agriculture, Health, Education, Industry, Technology and most importantly Security. The region is shattered to the extent no recognized leadership. The youths that are supposed to be galvanized in a solidified unity and solidarity are busy planning and digging graves for one another.

When we should collectively rise up violently on matters of life and death, we are seeing talking about celebrities’ lifestyle, football, trending challenge and petty politics. When we are to pay attention to ground breaking heights, we are found hauling insults on ourselves, especially when other Nigerians that we consider role models are the ones that champion the insults. We keep quite when criminals among us are committing crimes and we act as if we are the most unproductive, unpatriotic and irrelevant Nigerians when in reality we are the hidden potentials of Nigeria. The South are never our enemies, they’re only a people working for the actualization of their aspirations and survival, we’re the enemies to our own self.

Despite the bitter facts, Arewa is a home we can never betray or give up on, no matter the odd and no matter the challenges, we must accept and work on our weaknesses and champion the cause for the desired change for our better future. Finally, we should be reminded that we created our misfortunes and until we get back on the right track, our dignity, glory, prosperity and aspiration as a people is limited and may be truncated!. Allah ya kiyaye.

Zaid Ayuba Alhaji
(Sir. Kuli Kuli).
National President, Arewa Youth Consultative Council