Northern leaders have been urged to stop referring to Middle Belt people
as Northerners. National Publicity Secretary, Middle Belt Leaders
Forum, Dr. Dogo Isuwa who gave the warning also asked former President
Obasanjo not to relent in writing letters to President Muhammadu Buhari
on key national issues and other matters that affect Nigeria. He
described Obasanjo as a patriot who deserves commendation from Nigerians
for having the courage to say the truth to those in authority. Isuwa
also spoke on other national issues in this interview with TUNDE THOMAS.
What
is the Middle Belt Forum’s reaction to reservations expressed by the
Northern Elders Forum, NEF, to the regular meetings and the recent joint
reactions to national issues by Southern leaders?
Yahaya Kwande
and his leader, Prof. Ango Abdullahi who is the Northern Elders Forum
President, are daydreaming. They are not only dreaming, they are
suffering from illusion. Both men are still living in the past, and the
earlier they face the reality, the better. The bitter truth which Ango
Abdullahi and Kwande may find difficult to swallow is that the Middle
Belt is no longer part of the North. It will be very unfortunate if both
men have not come to this reality. For emphasis’ sake, and for further
clarification, I’m using this medium to inform both men, and others who
still reason along Ango Abdullahi and Kwande’s line that Middle Belt is
not part of the North. NEF and its leaders should count the Middle Belt
out of their so-called North.
If they are talking about the
Middle Belt being located in the northern part of the country
geographically, that is another thing, but aside that, we have no
relationship again with the North Ango Abdullahi and Kwande are talking
about. For us in the Middle Belt, we are an independent entity. Even
during the colonial era, and years after colonial era when we were
merged with the North, that arrangement never benefitted us. That
arrangement was never to the best interests of the Middle Belt as the
so-called North oppressed, and persecuted our people. Even up till
today, that persecution has continued through killings of Middle Belt
people in Zamfara, Benue, Plateau, Southern Kaduna, and Taraba states
just to mention a few, and Ango Abdullahi, the Northern Elders Forum
President has never spoken out against the killings of Middle-Belt
people. And now, he and his NEF members are referring to Middle Belt as
being part of their North. What an illusion.
The earlier Ango
Abdullahi and his NEF members wake to the reality, the better, and the
bitter truth I want to emphasise here again is that they should count
the Mddle Belt out of their so-called North. The Middle-Belt is an
entity on its own. Our link to the North was during the colonial era
,and few years after the nation’s independence. But we are no longer
part of the North,we are now on our own. We don’t want any association
with the North. We don’t need the North.
I can understand Ango
Abdullahi, and his NEF members, they need the Middle Belt because they
are used to exploitation of our people. Northern leaders have always
been depending on the Middle-Belt to achieve their selfish objectives,
but we’ve now removed that yoke, and there is no going back on our
decision to remain an independent entity with no link whatsoever with
the North again.We don’t need the North.
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