Senator Femi Okurounmu led the committee that midwifed the 2014 Na tional Political Conference as chairman of the National Con­ference advisory committee set up by former president Good luck Jonathan.

In this interview, he as sessed the Buhari administra tion and more, declaring that President Buhari is promoting Northern hegemony. Excerpts

What is your assessment of the Buhari administration?

My assessment is that Bu hari administration is going just the way I expected it to go. It’s doing just the things I expected it to do. It’s only those who are not familiar with Nigerian history and Ni gerian politics that will be sur prised about what is going on now. People like me are not surprised, and that was why we warned our people before the elections about the dan gers of voting for the APC in the presidential election, that in the long run, it is not good for Nigeria, it is not good for our people, so I’m not sur prised about what is going on.

Clearly, what is going on now shows that Buhari is a president out on a mission, and the mission is to reinstate Fulani hegemony over the whole of Nigeria. We’ve always said that Buhari is a Fulani irreden tist. This is not a new posture of his. He has always been so, even in his first coming as Head of State, he behaved the same way. You will remember that when he was fighting cor ruption as a military Head of State, those who were most persecuted were the UPN gov ernors, the progressive gover nors of the UPN, NPP and the GNPP. They were the most persecuted, even though they were the least corrupt. Their administration between 1979 – 1983 were most progressive, they achieved the most for their people, but when he took over power, it was they he per secuted the most, so this is not new with him. Every time he has the opportunity, is to rein state Fulani hegemony. That is what he is doing now. Look at the appointments he has made. The first nine appoint ments he made, only one was from the South, I’m not talking of Yoruba now, I’m talking of the entire South, all the other eight were from the North.

The subsequent 32 appoint ments, because we’ve been keeping track, only six was from the South, 26 of those 32 were from the North.

There were six appoint ments he made yesterday (penultimate Thursday), again only one of the six was from the South. How does one jus tify that in a country where there are so many ethnic na­tionalities and the South and the North are almost about equal? Why will the appoint ments be so preponderantly favouring the North to the dis advantage of the South? Even if you are to say its time to pun ish those who didn’t vote for him, did the Yorubas not vote for him? The Yorubas under the propaganda of Tinubu and his acolytes kept crying this agenda of change, support ing Buhari, even though we were warning them that the agenda of the APC of North are totally different. The APC of South were making them selves to believe that there will be change, whereas the APC of the North had only one agenda – to reinstate Northern hegemony, to get power back to the North and get the Fulani back in the control of Nigeria. That was the only agenda they had, nothing else. They only exploited the APC in the South so that they could achieve their aim. One would have expected that Tinubu, with his years in politics should have seen it, but because of his selfish interest, his selfish ambition, he couldn’t. He was been driven by selfish ambition and so he went along and supported the agenda which he knows was not going to be in the interest of his own people. I kept reminding him of Afonja of Ilorin who was betrayed by Alimi. Afonja was betrayed by Alimi even though he was the one that sought the cooperation of Alimi because Afonja was trying to rebel against the Alaafin of Oyo. Afonja achieved his purpose, but after achieving his purpose, what happened to him?

Alimi killed him off and took over and the Fulani established their Emirate in Ilorin, and that was how the Yorubas lost Ilorin forever. Tinubu is the modern day Afonja. I remember I wrote this in several papers because I’m not saying this for the first time. What we had anticipated is what we are seeing now.

Don’t you think it was a grave error that an agreement was not reached on power sharing among
the different blocs in the APC?

Tinubu had his own agenda. The agenda of Tinubu was personal, purely personal, and Tinubu was only using the Yorubas to achieve his personal agenda. Tinubu did not understand the Fulani man. He believed he could use Buhari and that once Buhari is in power, he will effectively be in control. That was why I said he doesn’t understand Nigerian politics.

He should have listened to people with more experience. Money is not all you need to do politics, you also need experience. Tinubu underestimated what Buhari will do when he gets to power. He thought he will be dictating to Buhari. He tried to dictate who will be Senate president, he flopped. He tried who will be Speaker, he flopped. Those controlling Buhari are the northern hegemonies, not the Tinubu party.

What is your take on Buhari’s anti- corruption campaign?

The anti-corruption campaign so far, I think it just mere propaganda. I say that for several reasons. One: as a president seriously interested in fighting corruption, you must try to wage a war that must be effective. If you want to try people for corruption, you try them in court, whether they are special courts or regular course. It is the judges who will try these cases, how innocent are our judges of corruption?

There have been so many studies done saying the judiciary is the most corrupt institution in Nigeria. In 1994, there was a committee under the late Justice Kayode Esho that investigated  the judiciary which strongly indicted our judiciary, which led to the retirement of so many judges. In 2002, there was another one under Justice Babalakin, which strongly indicted the judiciary. Since then, the judiciary has become even worse, to extent that judges openly lobby to be appointed to election tribunals because elections tribunals have become where people just take money and get judgment. Election tribunals are just cash and carry affairs.

A lot of attempt to fight corruption has been stalled by the judiciary. Between 1999 and 2007, there were several cases of investigations, but they couldn’t prosecute them. Most of the cases in court against these former governors have been stalled by judges. More than 12 cases of governors who have been indicted between 1999 and 2007 are still lingering in the courts because the judges will not give ruling. The first step is to clean the judiciary. The judiciary is filled with corrupt people, and you cannot be passing judgment on corrupt people if you are corrupt. Secondly to fight corruption, we must go back to when corruption became a serious cancer on Nigeria. A lot of people have diagnosed this to mean the Babangida era. It was during Babangida‘s era that corruption became institutionalized.

It became a fad because everybody was doing so, and nobody was punished. It has to go back to the Babangida era which led to the Abacha era. All of us know the extent of corruption under Abacha. Although Abacha is dead, a lot of those who worked with him are still alive. A lot of money stolen under

Abacha are still abroad. The agencies fighting corruption are also very corrupt.

We must go back to Babangida, Abacha, Abubakar administrations and also Obasanjo when we had the 16 billion dollars power contract scam. Nothing was done. After all the noise and fury, it all died down. Nobody was prosecuted, nobody was punished.

Why then is the Jonathan administration being singled out for probe?

Because his mission is to fight Jonathan. Look at a person like Obasanjo in alliance with Tinubu, in alliance with Buhari. Their mission is to fight PDP and Jonathan. If you want to fight PDP, PDP didn’t start with Jonathan.

You have to look at what the PDP did between 1999 and 2007. It was then Obasanjo used the EFCC as a witch hunt instrument against his opponents, and those who were loyal to him could get away with anything. In fact, it was because Obasanjo’s regime was so corrupt, that it became difficult for Yar’Adua to fight corruption. Of course, Jonathan is an extension of Yar’Adua who did not want to become president. He was not interested. The people interested were people like Ibori, Odili and so on. What Obasanjo did was to show them their files, which had been compiled by Ribadu about the extent of their corruption, and threatened them with prosecution.

He said if they did not want to be prosecuted, they should drop their ambition and go and fund Yar’Adua. He made these people to fund Yar’Adua’s election and Jonathan. When Yar’Adua got there, knowing who funded his, campaign, how could he go after these men? Obasanjo made it impossible for Yar’Adua to fight corruption and it now turned to a situation where when Yar’Adua got to power, those who were always hanging out with him were the Iboris and the corrupt clique within the Obasanjo administration. If you are going to fight corruption, these are the people you have to go after. Nigeria should have seen that Yar’Adua’s not fighting corruption was due to the way Obasanjo imposed him and made corrupt people to fund his campaign.

Don’t you think the Buhari’s emergence is similar since his election had to be sponsored by politicians?

In fact, look at the leader of the APC, Nuhu Ribadu when he was still active as the EFCC Chairman in 2010, appeared before the National Assembly during plenary to give them a list of governors that had been indicted. He made a special reference to Tinubu that his own was of international dimension. So, if you are going to start fighting corruption,

certainly, you cannot leave Tinubu out. Ribadu has the files on a lot the governors in APC. If you say the PDP was corrupt, how come its leaders came from PDP? If they were corrupt in PDP, did they become saints an soon as they joined APC? They were all in the same camp with Jonathan but because of their Northern agenda, they crossed over to the APC. A lot of people in APC today will have to lose their shirts if Buhari is going to really fight corruption. Amaechi and Tinubu should be some of the first to be probed and jailed.

But we learnt there is no documented evidence to probe Tinubu

That was not Nuhu Ribadu’s EFCC.

The EFCC as I’ve said is also corrupt.

Let them call Ribadu and ask him.

Even all of us in Lagos State know the extent of Tinubu’s corruption. We knew what Tinubu was worth in 1999.

Today, he has three private jets. We can even start by asking him the source of the funds for those private jets. He has almost acquired the whole of Lagos

How was he able to acquire all those properties without any trace of corruption?

These are questions, that must be asked. Tinubu could have been jailed in 1999. All the schools he claimed to have attended in his INEC form were fake. He was guilty of all those things Gani Fawehinmi alleged.

You belong to the Afenifere which backed Tinubu for governor; don’t you think you should share part of the blame?

Afenifere supported him to be governor.
Afenifere people are not all saints.

Tinubu turned out to have been the black sheep within the Afenifere. No sooner had Tinubu become governor than he turned against Afenifere. He turned against Baba Adesanya, He turned against Adebanjo. He turned against the whole organization, and he led a rebellion of his fellow governors, because they now had money, and you know in Nigeria, everybody follows whoever has money. Tinubu betrayed Afenifere. He was a rebellious Afenifere man. All the problems in Yoruba land
today was due to Tinubu’s rebellion.

That was what split the unity of Yoruba land that has continued till today.

You midwifed the national conference, can you tell us your experience?

My experience is that naturally; those
who benefit from the status quo would not want a change. The reason many of us have been crying over the years,

including Tinubu was to stop Northern hegemony, the idea of first class citizenship and second class citizenship, where some people would think they are born to rule and others are born to serve. Everybody was feeling that this was inequitable. Not only that. A lot of power was concentrated in the Federal Government. So whoever controls the Federal Government more or less has a strangle hold on everybody else in the society, and that is why the competition for president, was always so severe, and that was why the North always wanted to hold on to the presidency.

So, these are some of the reasons for asking for a national conference to restructure, to decentralize, so that all powers does not reside in the center.

A lot of the power can be devolved on the federating units so that the struggle for the centre will become less severe, less cantankerous, and the idea of born to rule will be removed, so that all of us can have a sense of eq uity, sense of justice.

These are some of the rea sons why many of us have been advocating for a national conference. In fact, all of us in Yoruba land, including Tinubu were advocating for it, but when Tinubu saw that there is a personal advantage for him to back the Hausa/Fulani people, who did not want a na tional conference, all of a sud den the national conference was not necessary. That it was a diversion. He was speaking on his own immediate advan tage, thinking that if they get to power, he will become very powerful. Because of this, he changed his course, turning around to oppose the confer ence.

He was only aligning himself with the North because the North have always been the ones opposing the conference. If you look at the constitution we operate today, it is a con stitution tailor – made to pro­mote Northern hegemony, to make the North dominate the rest of us. Starting from when Gowon had 12 states, six in North, six in the South and Awolowo was his lieutenant. There was justice.

There was every reason to create those 12 states so that they could get the support of the minorities for the war ef fort. It was done in a fair and equitable manner, but as soon as the military hegemonies took over, they began to de stroy things until finally, they started creating local govern ments and today, the North has 200 local governments more than the South, and those lo cal governments became a basis for revenue sharing and representation in parliament.

Even in terms of 19 and 17 states, they have an advantage because each state has the same number of senators, and when you get to the House of Representatives, they have bigger advantage because Kano State alone has repre sentatives than three states combined. The constitution was tailor–made to favour the North. That is why the North has never supported any na tional conference.

That was why when Jonathan finally agreed to have a national conference, the North opposed it. That was surpris ing. What was the national conference. It was a betrayal, a betrayal of the Yoruba people.

Don’t you think the conference timing was rather late?

You know we have been fighting for something for more than 30 years. There have been several presidents before Jon athan. We made presentations to them, they did not listen, in cluding Obasanjo. Finally we found a president who finally agreed to carry it out. You can not say because of the timing, therefore it’s wrong. If that is what we want, any timing is good timing, provided we will solve Nigeria’s problem once and for all. If we solve the problems, generations will still be having elections and those elections will be on the basis of equality. Before Jona than, we made presentations to them, they did not listen. Finally, we found a president who listened and who finally agreed to carry it out.

You cannot say because of the timing, therefore, it’s wrong. If that is what we want, any timing is timing, provided we will solve Nigeria’s prob lem once and for all. If we solve the problem, generations will still be having elections and those elections will be the basis of equity and justice for all Nigerians. If we don’t solve that problem we have now, we will have to conduct elections without carrying out the rec ommendations of the confer ence.

Now we are back to square one in the terms of ethnic domination, back to the prob lem of suspicions among one another. These are the things that create instability. It is not only Boko Haram that can cre ate instability. Once other sec tions of the country feel they are being oppressed, they are marginalised, they too will be gin to organise mini rebellion. The instability will multiply around the country. Instead of us solving the causes of in stability once and for all, we are engaging in the causes of instability. That is what is hap­pening.

How were you able to face criticisms, especially from the northern axis while carrying out your assignment?

Well, I’m not new in politics. I worked with Awolowo. I cut my political teeth under Chief Obafemi Awolowo. As soon I took up the assignment, I already knew what the posi tion of the North would be, what their stand would be, so I was prepared, fully prepared. Fortunately, we already had some kind of accommodation between the South-east and South-south. We were already meeting under the umbrella of the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly.

The Southern Nigeria Peo ples Assembly visited Jona than several times on the issue of the national conference be fore he finally gave in. Because we had this meeting point, we were not as divided as in previ ous conferences. We were able to adopt some common points of view for the South, just the same way the North is always together. Not only was the South together, we were able to get some elements within the Biddle-Belt. The Middle- Belt are the most persecuted people in this country. They are in the North, but they are being persecuted by the Fulani people of the North.

Their own persecution is worse than that of us in the South. They cannot complain. If they do, they get persecuted even more. It’s like a slave complaining against his mas ter. Because of that they sup­ported us in the South, and be cause of that alliance between the South and middle-belt, we were able to get most of the recommendations that will be for the better governance of this country, recommendation, that will devolve power, en sure equity, that will decentralize the Federal government; that will foster equity; that will foster justice, and give more power to the states. All these we were able to do at the na tional conference, but the North was opposed to them. The North wanted the confer ence to collapse because they couldn’t have their way, still we did not allow them to. That made them more determined that power must return to the North.

With all these strides, how did you feel when President Buhari said he would not implement the outcome of the national conference?

As I have said, I knew from the word go, that if he wins, he will not implement it. That was why towards the elections we organized a strong campaign that Jonathan is only the can didate of all the candidates who will implement the reso lutions of the national confer­ence. (Gov) Mimiko led that campaign and we all rallied round him.

We held several meetings around Yoruba land, to let our people know that because we have been the ones champion ing this national conference, we finally got a president who listened to us, we had the con ference, it was very success ful, we have achieved most of our objectives, if we vote for Buhari, we are going to throw away all that we have achieved, whereas if we vote for Jonathan, he has commit ted himself to implement these resolutions.

Of course, the people are always right, our people de cided they will vote for Buhari because of the Tinubu pro paganda machinery, because of the money. Unfortunately, people cannot distinguish be­tween news and propaganda. Tinubu is able to control the media network throughout the country. Almost every news paper editor is in his pocket. He dishes out what he wants people to hear, and everybody who reads them thinks this in the news. Everybody was carried away by the change mantra, and we all voted for Buhari, so this is where it has got us.

What are the lessons from all these?

The lesson is that people must always know their his tory. Today, a lot of those in school don’t even know what happened twenty years ago, and there is no nation where people don’t know their histo ry and make progress. In every Jewish school, they are taught the history of second world war, how Jewish people swere persecuted in Europe, how six million Jews were killed. Ev ery Jewish boy knows that. If you go to America today, and you want to become an Ameri­can citizen, they will give you an exam. If you don’t pass it, they won’t give you citizen ship.

When you talk of Buhari’s record as Head of State, how many voters were mature then to know what happened, so it’s easy to deceive people. That is the problem. Our people don’t know history

Any regrets about the national conference?

No regrets at all because the report is there. We have made the effort. There is a saying that once you try, you try and try again.

We shall keep making the efforts until we die, but if we die, subsequent generations will take up the struggle. The struggle must continue until we achieve a Nigeria where ev erybody feels there is no ruler, there is no servant, and of us are equal citizens. That must be the ultimate goal. I have no regrets at all.

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/we-warned-tinubu-about-buhari-senator-femi-okurounmu/

Soon they will all join the Wailing business...

Wat did he say was the SAUCE againmeanwhile wen i get the SAUCE i wil need u guys 2 donate YAM 4 me ooo

Let's wait and see, But are is performing, that's all I can say, I have said it over and over again, I DO NOT CARE, if the whole FEC crew comes from his mother's kitchen.... just produce results for me.....




For car owners, please check my signature and help urself, stop wasting funds on car maintenance u necessarily , check my signature

We warned him too!



BTW, Midolian I've never seen an Anti-Buhari thread under your moniker... Guess you just wanna lead a charge against the Senator!

All these APC, Buhari, Tinubu, South and North wahala don tire me.

Make una join hands to push the country forward jare

You are just a frustrated retired and retar.d senator

PRYCE:
We warned him too!

what did you warn him about?

All what this man has said gives him away to be a staunch member of your party(PDP) and talking like one. This is because it is just too early for an elderly man like him to make conclusions as this about Baba's regime. Plus, majority Nigerians are already feeling the change he has refused to feel. Doint you think so?.

PRYCE:
We warned him too!



BTW, Midolian I've never seen an Anti-Buhari thread under your moniker... Guess you just wanna lead a charge against the Senator!

At least, you have seen one now. This is to show you I am also for everybody and for nobody

midolian:
what did you warn him about?

All what this man has said gives him away to be a staunch member of your party(PDP). This is because it is just too early for him to make conclusions as this about Buhari's regime. Plus majority Nigerians are beginning to feel the change he has refused to feel.

A change where the rule of law has been thrown out The window Midolian? A sitting governor's house who's protected by immunity is ransacked, A change where 99% of the people that have been marked as corrupt and charged are members of the oppostion Save Nyako.... Whose case was even there During The Last Administration? , A Change where the ruling party keeps denying its Various campaign promises? A change where The Federal character Clause has been thrown to the dogs? A change where Our president told us he had no house in Abuja, Owing millions in rent, Has A million, 150 cows, mud houses etc just for the story to suddenly change! Hmmmmm



An EX- Head of state, An EX Minister of petroleum, An Ex General, An elder statesman and national figure head telling you midolian that he borrowed money to build his houses.... Buhari didn't tell us he forfeited all these benefits accrued to him... He didn't reject the Federal Government's cars so he didn't reject the Cash Gifts accrued to him as an ex HOS As being paid MONTHLY IN MILLIONS , General etc.


THIS LIES ARE MIND BOGGLING BROTHER...just wish you can see it... cos it's the same as Babangida coming out to tell you he's poor and you believing it since he was only indicted by the assertions and economic situation of nigerians at that time rather than the courts...

PRYCE:
A change where the rule of law has been thrown out The window Midolian? A sitting governor's house who's protected by immunity is ransacked, A change where 99% of the people that have been marked as corrupt and charged are members of the oppostion Save Nyako.... Whose case was even there During The Last Administration? , A Change where the ruling party keeps denying its Various campaign promises? A change where The Federal character Clause has been thrown to the dogs? A change where Our president told us he had no house in Abuja, Owing millions in rent, Has A million, 150 cows, mud houses etc just for the story to suddenly change! Hmmmmm



An EX- Head of state, An EX Minister of petroleum, An Ex General, An elder statesman and national figure head telling you midolian that he borrowed money to build his houses.... Buhari didn't tell us he forfeited all these benefits accrued to him... He didn't reject the Federal Government's cars so he didn't reject the Cash Gifts accrued to him as an ex HOS As being paid MONTHLY IN MILLIONS , General etc.


THIS LIES ARE MIND BOGGLING BROTHER...just wish you can see it... cos it's the same as Babangida coming out to tell you he's poor and you believing it since he was only indicted by the assertions and economic situation of nigerians at that time rather than the courts...

you should know A politician will always be a politician.

But frankly, just as Jonathan told Nigerians he had no shoes, which aroused sympathy from both old and young, enlightened and the naïve, "sympathetic" and the heartless, and they for this sole reason voted for him, Buhari "probably" thought it wise to pull a fast one there..and it worked. This doesn't mean Buhari isn't a saint compared to other politicians we have in Nigeria.

..And I am sure you know this wasn't the only reason Nigerians voted Buhari. They were fed up of GEJ's way of ruling and needed a change of government... and they simply made it happen.

wailing wailers everywhere well Femi Adesina said it That 12million people voted for clueless man in other words 12million Nigerians are officially clueless so take them away will take time. So embrace CHANGE! wailing won't help u. Washington Post, New york times, CNN, ALJAZERA, arise news All endorsing keep wasting your life on Tinubu....

The only things this man stands for is bartering national conference for power.
The whole essence of their existence is tinubu.
Those fighting for the independence of the homeland know themselves. Okunrunmu is definitively not one of us . Useless old men.
The clear and present danger was Jonathan disastrous and absentee presidency and the danger remains remnants of that's presidency
Like Gen Alani akinrinade stated, " these afenifere old men are a bunch of sadist. A few months ago , they were all shouting marginalisation "

Demmzy15:
Chai! See how this man dey wail/lament!! Them SeveredSnake, Pa Shukwudi, I chew dodo(ichi'dodo), etc no get hope.

Mr.Senator, the Yoruba nation isn't complaining so why are you warning?

Did Jagaban the Slayer of Otuoke Ogogoro Mafia complain to you? Why carry other people's business like bread and beans?

I know WailingWaters/saTANs go flock in here like flies, nevertheless it's over to you wailers!!

FTC o! Oya make una carry one one buns, no striking o! OZAOEKPE/OREMUSSANCTUS no come again o!

Please i want to eat nah

I don't know why APC rodents flood everywhere the truth about Nigeria is told by a Southern Christian politician.
They believe everything said by northern Muslim even if they are lying. God save this country.

Tinubu exploited religious divide of the yorubas. Promoting muslim interest by putting into govt houses only muslim Govs except in Ekiti. The hausafulani saw this as a future sharia loving south, so they quickly form an islamic party APC making Tinubu the promoter while the Fulanis hid their faces from gullible younger generations in the south that don't know how wicked their history was.
So it worked perfectly with Jega/PVC politics.

My brothers, senator Okeshorumin knows so much on this people. I give him 101% correctness politically!

The way these people are foaming in the mouth abeg whoever has the ears of President Muhammadu Buhari should kindly appeal to him on our behalf to please give these old men small attention. They seriously need the attention of Mr President to look in their way, but they are not even in the man's radar at all. They have just been behaving like a toddler who is seriously looking for his/her mom's attention but the mother would not even budge for a second. The kind of pain one suffers when you are seriously attacking your enemy but the said enemy wouldn't even look in your side is earth-shattering.

Abeg o na beg we dey beg Mr President, these our people don old if una no give them attention, they fit kpeme oooooooooooooooooooooo.

midolian:
what did you warn him about?

All what this man has said gives him away to be a staunch member of your party(PDP) and talking like one. This is because it is just too early for an elderly man like him to make conclusions as this about Baba's regime. Plus, majority Nigerians are already feeling the change he has refused to feel. Doint you think so?.

"My bro, the modern day "afonja" has sold yorubas out to the north", quote me anywhere.

Aminat508:
Please i want to eat nah

You always on this boi's thread, hope he didn't bury a cow for your head?
"PMB is a terrorist", quote me anywhere.

-EPHAPHATHA

keep warning him still.

OZAOEKPE:

You always on this boi's thread, hope he didn't bury a cow for your head?
"PMB is a terrorist", quote me anywhere.

-EPHAPHATHA

biko, leave me abeg

Aminat508:
biko, leave me abeg

Eku simi my love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!






-EPHPHATHA

As if the national conference decision will still not pass through the North-dominated national assembly. As if there is a better hope for Yoruba under Johnathan. Afenifere has turned itself to PDP moutupiece, they 'll soon crumble.

No matter what PDP think, we are glad to have elected Buhari. If PDP think the defeat was a mistake, they can try Jonathan again in 2019. Even KOWA, APGA and LP will have more votes than PDP.

Those who fail to heed the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them!

When elders who history talks, instead of the youths to listen, they'll bask in an emotional fury and insult them. But their insults won't remove the consequences of their myopic decisions.

Be that as it may, the people have decided and PMB is the president. We can only watch keenly for now as he weaves his magic. Anyone who underestimates the children from Futa Jalon does so at their own peril.

The North has always opposed equity and justice. They will seek to keep and sustain their hegemony and dominance but they will soon meet their limits.

GEJ really had good intentions for the nation, but the propaganda vuvuleza from the APC drowned every sense of history and reason.

While we're allowed to determine or choose our choices, we cannot determine or control the attendant consequences.

Let everyone hit the history books.

friends and colleagues from every part of the nation and some of my best friends are not even from my side of the country.

However, recent events are making me to have a deeper reflection and I wish we- Southerners in this instance- can have some kind of introspection. Out of 25 appointments made so far, 18 are from the North, 3 are from the South West, 4 are from the South South while the South East has ZERO appointments. A tweet which I saw today stated that “southerners are only competent when it’s time for elections but northerners are competent in terms of governance” and this made the following thoughts run through my mind:

1. Only Southerners have been accusing fellow Southerners of corruption. Oshiomole has been attacking Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as if Ngozi turned down his marriage proposal. The same Oshiomole tried to make nonsense of Akinwumi Adeshina’s successes in the agriculture sector. Ambode tried to pull Fashola down and successfully smeared him with stains. Maybe that’s why Fashola did not get the Chief of Staff role. I’m yet to see a Northerner accuse another Northerner of corruption, even when they belong to different parties. The closest a Northerner got was when the new Kano State Governor attacked Rabiu Kwankaso but he quickly sheathed his sword and even disowned previous reports of attacks. Why are we like this?

2. Are Southerners the only ones who are corrupt? Were there no northerner heading the ministries and parastatals? Did the outgone Comptroller-General of Customs, Abdullahi Dikko not have an alleged case of certificate forgery but he still served out his tenure until he resigned voluntarily? I’m not in support of corruption under any guise but the fight against corruption must not be seen to be sectional.

3. How come it’s easier for the President to believe that Sanni Abacha was not corrupt in spite of recovered loot while it is so easy for him to believe Goodluck Jonathan is irredeemably corrupt?

4. I still remember that aside from God, Tinubu made Tambuwal what he is today. The same Tambuwal would later call Femi Gbajabiamila ‘incompetent’ and rated Dogara as more competent. The same Tambuwal was propped up by Tinubu, a Southerner against a fellow Southerner, Mulikat Akande. Obasanjo was very key to denying Goodluck Jonathan a second term. A good number can still recall how OBJ tore his PDP membership card in public glare. The Northerners find it easy to support themselves but we are always pulling ourselves down. Babangida Aliyu, Sule Lamido and all the other Northern Governors including the former PDP Chairman Adamu Muazu often times refused to campaign for Goodluck Jonathan openly and many times even espoused the virtues of the opposing candidate on the rostrum!

5. Southern leaders and Presidents pull down Southern business men but prop up Northern ones. How many people still remember how Obasanjo ran Mike Adenuga out of town but both Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan made Aliko Dangote what he is today. No northern leader goes against their own. I dare to put it on record that President Buhari will never go against Aliko Dangote for any reason.

6. How come OBJ pardoned Salisu Buhari, the ex-Speaker who forged his credentials and he later was given an appointment as a Governing Council member of a University and heavens did not fall- but when Goodluck Jonathan pardoned Alamieyeseigha it became one of the major issues counted against him? Is there one rule for some and another rule for others?

7. We find it easy to raise our voices in support of the deportation of Buruji Kashamu but have no qualms with Atiku Abubakar strutting around the corridors of power.

8. Only Southerners find it so easy to abuse their elders when they voice opinions not in tandem with the popular opinion. We find it easy to diss Afenifere elders and call them ‘Afenifebi’ while hurling expletives and curses at them. We even abuse our kings and priests. Northerners will never abuse an Emir no matter how unpopular what he said is. Can you imagine any Northerner raising his voice against the Sultan? In spite of Tanko Yakassai, Balarabe Musa and Dangiwa Umar’s perceived support for Jonathan, northern youths did not abuse them. But our own youths run down our elders on social media while our educated elite also support the act.

These are some of the thoughts that have been running through my mind. I don’t pretend to have all the answers and I do this at the risk of being labelled an ethnic bigot. The point however is that Southerners have to get their acts right. We have to put our house in order. The bickering must stop. Let’s engage our emotional intelligence. Let’s not allow others to exploit our tendency to self-destruct.

Just wondering how Tinubu is coping with the Demon he promoted far above GEJ to be president. With clear extreme Northernization agendaaaaaa!