Yorubas Are The Problem With Nigeria says Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

The Yoruba political leadership, as mentioned by Balarabe Musa, has shown
itself over the years to be incapable of rising above narrow tribal interests and
reciprocating goodwill from other sections of the country by treating other
groups with respect. Practically every crisis in Nigeria since independence has
its roots in this attitude.
The Yoruba elite and area-boy politics;
Igbo marginalisation and the responsible limits of retribution; and
The Yoruba Factor and “Area-boy” Politics.
My views on the Yoruba political leadership have been thoroughly articulated in
some of my writings, prime among which was ” Afenifere: Syllabus of Errors”
published by This Day (The Sunday Newspaper) on Sept 27, 1998. There was
also an earlier publication in the weekly Trust entitled ” The Igbo, the Yoruba and
History” (Aug. 21, 1998).
In sum, the Yoruba political leadership, as mentioned by Balarabe Musa, has
shown itself over the years to be incapable of rising above narrow tribal interests
and reciprocating goodwill from other sections of the country by treating other
groups with respect. Practically every crisis in Nigeria since independence has
its roots in this attitude.
The Yoruba elite were the first, in 1962, to attempt a violent overthrow of an
elected government in this country. In 1966, it was the violence in the West
which provided an avenue for the putsch of 15th January. After Chief Awolowo
lost to Shagari in 1983 elections, it was the discontent and bad publicity in the
South-West which led to the Buhari intervention.
When Buhari jailed UPN governors like Ige and Onabanjo, the South-Western
press castigated that good government and provided the right mood for IBB to
take over power. As soon as IBB cleared UPN governors of charges against
them in a politically motivated retrial, he became the darling of the South-West.
When IBB annulled the primaries in which Adamu Ciroma and Shehu Yar Adua
emerged as presidential candidates in the NRC and SDP, he was hailed by the
South-West. When the same man annulled the June 12, 1993 elections in which
Abiola was the front-runner, the South-West now became defenders of
democracy.
When it seemed Sani Abacha was sympathetic to Abiola, the South-West
supported his take-over. He was in fact invited by a prominent NADECO member
to take over in a published letter shortly before the event. Even though Abiola
had won the elections in the North, the North was blamed for its annulment.
When Abdulsalam Abubakar started his transition, the Yoruba political leadership
through NADECO presented a memorandum on a Government of National Unity
that showed complete disrespect for the intelligence and liberties of other
Nigerians.
Subsequently, they formed a tribal party which failed to meet minimum
requirements for registration, but was registered all the same to avoid the
violence that was bound to follow non-registration, given the area-boy mentality
of South-West politicians. Having rejected an Obasanjo candidacy and
challenged the election as a fraud in court, we now find a leading member of the
AD in the government, a daughter of an Afenifere leader as Minister of State, and
Awolowo´s daughter as Ambassador, all appointed by a man who won the
election through fraud.
Meanwhile, nothing has been negotiated for the children of Abiola, the focus of
Yoruba political activity. In return for these favours, the AD solidly voted for Evan
Enwerem as Senate President. This is a man who participated in the two-
million- man March for Abacha´s self-succession. He also is reputed to have
hosted a meeting of governors during IBB´s transition, demanding that June 12
elections should never be de-annulled and threatening that the East would go to
war if this was done. When Ibrahim Salisu Buhari was accused of swearing to a
false affidavit, the Yoruba political elite correctly took up the gauntlet for his
resignation.
When an AD governor, Bola Tinubu, swears to a false affidavit that he attended
an Ivy League University which he did not attend, we hear excuses.
For so many years, the Yoruba have inundated this country with stories of being
marginalised and of a civil service dominated by northerners through quota
system. The Federal Character Commission has recently released a report which
shows that the South-West accounts for 27.8% of civil servants in the range
GL08 to GL14 and a full 29.5% of GL 15 and above. One zone out of six zones
controls a full 30% of the civil service leaving the other five zones to share the
remaining 70%. We find the same story in the economy, in academia, in
parastatals.
Yet in spite of being so dominant, the Yoruba complained and complained of
marginalization. Of recent, in recognition of the trauma which hit the South-West
after June 12, the rest of the country forced everyone out of the race to ensure
that a South-Westerner emerged, often against the best advice of political
activists.
Instead of leading a path of reconciliation and strong appreciation, the Yoruba
have embarked on short-sighted triumphalism, threatening other “nationalities”
that they ( who after all lost the election) will protect Obasanjo ( who was forced
on them). No less a person than Bola Ige has made such utterances.
To further show that they were in charge, they led a cult into the Hausa area of
Sagamu, murdered a Hausa woman and nothing happened. In the violence that
followed, they killed several Hausa residents, with Yoruba leaders like Segun
Osoba, reminding Nigerians of the need to respect the culture of their host
communities. This would have continued were it not for the people of Kano who
showed that they could also create their own Oro who would only be appeased
through the shedding of innocent Yoruba blood.
I say all this, to support Balarabe Musa´s statement, that the greatest problem to
nation-building in Nigeria are the Yoruba Bourgeoisie. I say this also to
underscore my point that until they change this attitude, no conference can
solve the problems of Nigeria. We cannot move forward if the leadership of one
of the largest ethnic groups continues to operate, not like statesmen, but like
common area boys.
iii.The Igbo Factor and the Reasonable Limits of Retribution.
The Igbo people of Nigeria have made a mark in the history of this nation. They
led the first successful military coup which eliminated the Military and Political
leaders of other regions while letting off Igbo leaders. Nwafor Orizu, then Senate
President, in consultation with President Azikiwe, subverted the constitution and
handed over power to Aguiyi-Ironsi. Subsequent developments, including
attempts at humiliating other peoples, led to the counter-coup and later the civil
war. The Igbos themselves must acknowledge that they have a large part of the
blame for shattering the unity of this country.
Having said that, this nation must realise that Igbos have more than paid for
their foolishness. They have been defeated in war, rendered paupers by
monetary policy fiat, their properties declared abandoned and confiscated, kept
out of strategic public sector appointments and deprived of public services. The
rest of the country forced them to remain in Nigeria and has continued to deny
them equity.
The Northern Bourgeoisie and the Yoruba Bourgeoisie have conspired to keep
the Igbo out of the scheme of things. In the recent transition when the Igbo
solidly supported the PDP in the hope of an Ekwueme presidency, the North and
South-West treated this as a Biafra agenda. Every rule set for the primaries,
every gentleman´s agreement was set aside to ensure that Obasanjo, not
Ekwueme emerged as the candidate. Things went as far as getting the Federal
Government to hurriedly gazette a pardon. Now, with this government, the
marginalistion of the Igbo is more complete than ever before. The Igbos have
taken all these quietly because, they reason, they brought it upon themselves.
But the nation is sitting on a time-bomb.
After the First World War, the victors treated Germany with the same contempt
Nigeria is treating Igbos. Two decades later, there was a Second World War, far
costlier than the first. Germany was again defeated, but this time, they won a
more honourable peace. Our present political leaders have no sense of History.
There is a new Igbo man, who was not born in 1966 and neither knows nor
cares about Nzeogwu and Ojukwu. There are Igbo men on the street who were
never Biafrans. They were born Nigerians, are Nigerians, but suffer because of
actions of earlier generations. They will soon decide that it is better to fight their
own war, and may be find an honourable peace, than to remain in this
contemptible state in perpetuity.
The Northern Bourgeoisie and the Yoruba Bourgeoisie have exacted their pound
of flesh from the Igbos. For one Sardauna, one Tafawa Balewa, one Akintola and
one Okotie-Eboh, hundreds of thousands have died and suffered.
If this issue is not addressed immediately, no conference will solve Nigeria´s
problems. By Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
Being Excerpts from A Paper Presented At The “National Conference On The
1999 Constitution” Jointly Organised By The Network For Justice And The Vision
Trust Foundation, At The Arewa House, Kaduna From 11th –12th September,
1999.