OPEN LETTER TO PROF. ANGO ABDULAHI
By. Prof B. I. C. IJOMAH
June 21, 2017
Prof. Ango Abdullahi,
OUR attention has been drawn to your statements in Vanguard
of Saturday, June 10, 2017. You are alleged to be in support of
the call on the Igbo to quit. It is unfortunate, grossly
unfortunate, that a scholar of your calibre will be so partisan
as to be unable to see the wisdom in retaining Nigeria as a
corporate entity. I know you have, in the past, been anti-Igbo.
One would have thought that our education exposes us to a
level where we can live even with our enemies. You said in the
alleged publication that, “each year up to the time Nigeria
gained its independence, none of the two regions East and
West was able to produce for its self. I mean none of the
Western and Eastern Regions had the money to effectively run
the affairs of the region until they got financial support from
the Northern Region.” It is this assumption of yours that I want
to address.
First of all it is not true that the North had bailed out Eastern
Region or the Western Region. But you claim that even before
independence none of the regions could live without Northern
subvention. Let me draw your attention to the facts before
independence. You should read W.M.M Geary’s work titled “
Nigeria under the British Rule” published by the Cass and
Company Limited, London (1927).
Subsidizing the North. May I draw your attention especially to
pages 124 and 125. You will see published, General Revenue
for the Northern and Southern Protectorates before the
Amalgamation and the Percentage of Total Revenue
originating from the North. You will see that contrary to your
argument, it was indeed the South that was subsidizing the
North. I am reproducing the tables here for clarity.
I also draw your attention to Abstracts of Revenue, 1809 to
1913 . You will also see that the North could not have survived
without the Imperial grant and the support of the South. When
you look at the third table, Northern Nigeria revenue paid by
the South and the Imperial grant, it will disabuse your mind
and show you that without the South and the Imperial grant,
the Northern government/states could not have existed.
Indeed, one of the reasons for the amalgamation was the fact
that the British colonial government was tired of carrying the
burden of the North and they thought that by merging the
Southern and Northern protectorates, the country would be
stable. Indeed, the circumstances that forced the British
government to amalgamate the Northern protectorate and the
Southern protectorate on January 1, 1914 were motivated
neither by political exigencies nor by a closer cultural
understanding among the diverse elements of the
conglomeration that was later to be called Nigeria. It is
obvious that the primary interest of the British government
was economic.
It was also obvious that the Northern protectorate, because of
its geographical location and cloudy economic prospects, was
not likely to be viable.
In fact, the Lugard administration was finding it rather difficult
to maintain the Northern protectorate which was already
running into deficit. Testifying to the financial difficulty of the
North and the anticipated prosperity that would follow the
projected amalgamation of the Northern protectorate with the
Southern protectorate, Lord Lugard reported that “the
prosperity of the Southern protectorate as evidenced by the
liquor trade, had risen by 57 per cent. In fact, the liquor trade
alone yielded a revenue of One Million, One Hundred and
Thirty-Eight Thousand pounds (£1,138,000) in 1913. This he
believed was the result of amalgamation of the Lagos colony
with the Southern protectorate.
The Northern administration could not have survived without
the imperial grant-in-aid which in the year before the
amalgamation stood at One Hundred and Thirty Six thousand
Pounds, (£136,000) and had averaged Three Hundred and
Fourteen Thousand, Five Hundred Pounds (£314,500) for the
eleven years ending in March, 1912. Besides, the burden of
financing the North seemed to have been resisted and bitterly
criticized by the Southerners. The expenditure of the British
tax payer’s money in financing a colonial territory was a
contradiction of the British colonial policy enunciated sixty
(60) years before by L. Gray which stipulated that “the surest
test for the soundness of measures for improvement of an
uncivilized people is that they should be self-supporting.”
Economic position
This is by L. Gray in The Colonial Policy of the Administration
of Lord Russell, London: Cass and Company Limited, 1853,
page 281″ . Further, the Northern protectorate was not only
land-locked but bounded by territories that fell under the
influence of other European powers. It was, therefore,
inconceivable how the economic position would have
improved without aid from the South.
The only alternative open to Lord Lugard was to amalgamate
the North and the South and thus have a legitimate reason for
the expenditure of revenue from the South in developing the
North. Details of this manouevre was laid bare in a letter
written by Lord Lugard on November 22, 1912 to his wife
explaining how he had used the Southern resources to finance
the Northern deficit.
Regardless of the merit which Sir F.D Lugard saw in his
financial amalgamation of the South and the North, the
prevalence of bitter criticism in the South shows the
unpopularity of the amalgamation. At that time, the export
from the South stood at Five Million, One Hundred and
Twenty-Two Thousand Pounds (£5,232,000) while the export
from the North stood at Two Hundred Thousand Pounds
(£200,000) in 1910. This was very discouraging to the colonial
system and called for urgent remedy. On Tuesday, January 31,
1911, there were attacks on the colonial secretary’s suggestion
that the South should advance a loan of Two Hundred
Thousand Pounds (£200,000) to the North for the completion
of the Baro to Kano railway, in addition to the sum of One
Million, Two Hundred and Thirty Thousand which was required
from the South.
One of the criticisms of the Northern dependence on the
South was voiced out by Honourable Sapara Williams who
contended that before the loan was to be granted, the
Secretary of State should settle the type of relationship that
existed between Lagos and Zungeru, the two administrative
headquarters for the South and the North respectively.
Existing hostility
He contended that as far as he was concerned, that the
Southerners were strangers to anything connected with the
railway after it has passed Offa, the last Yoruba town on the
line. He referred to the existing hostility between the North
and the South, particularly as regards the issues of extending
the Northern boundary of the Southern protectorate to
incorporate Yoruba territories now locked up in the Northern
protectorate. My dear Professor, the hostility of the
Northerners towards the Southerners is not new in the
Nigerian history. Even during the time of Sapara Williams, the
Northerners did not see anything reasonable in the
relationship with the South.
You will recall the massacres of the Igbos in Jos in 1945; you
will recall the massacres of the Igbos in Kano in 1953; you will
recall the massacres that preceded the civil war. If we cannot
live together, Mr. Professor, don’t you think that it is high time
we told ourselves the naked truth.
You will also recall that in 1964, after the crisis that followed
the elections, that Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe had called on Nigerians
to call a round table conference to discuss how we could share
our assets if it was impossible for us to live together. We kept
on patching this unpatchable relationship. In my honest
opinion, this relationship has soured enough that it will take
the wisdom of God to make us love one another.
We went to Aburi and there the leaders agreed that the only
solution to our problems was to have a confederation but
Gowon reneged. You will recall also that the British
government, after the crisis of 1951-1952, realized that this
country could not be a unitary state and they brought in the
1953 constitution which gave us regional autonomy. If the
colonial masters in their wisdom knew that we could not be a
unitary government and gave us what we had at
independence, we should have respected their wisdom.
You will also recall that after the civil war, the regional
autonomy which our independence conferred on us was
violated by the military government led by the Northern
soldiers. We ended up having this contraption that we are
having now; it has not worked. It will not work, unless there is
proper restructuring of the nation. We should stop pretending.
I believe in all sincerity that if we cannot accommodate every
segment of the federation in one Nigeria, we should call a
constitutional conference to decide how this country can be
restructured so that every area can take care of itself and we
can relate on certain agreed basis.
We have slaughtered ourselves enough. We do not want
another civil war in order to justify the existence of “One
Nigeria”.
May I humbly call on all Nigerians to examine the last
constitutional conference which addressed the issue of
restructuring. Let us not leave it to our youths to tell us when
we can stay together or when we cannot stay together. The
youths in Biafra are crying; the youths in the North are crying;
the Niger Delta youths are crying. The middle belt is not happy
with what is happening to them.
Added to these, the strategies of the herdsmen to penetrate
every nook and corner of Nigeria, is raising some issues for
national discourse. The Federal Government has deliberately
refused to call the herdsmen to order. They have killed many
people and ravaged many communities. None of them has
been arrested. Why? In May 2016, I published two articles and
warned that the activities of the herdsmen was a plot which
would soon cover the whole country. The heavy silence of the
Federal Government tends to support the view that the
herdsmen are on an undisclosed mission which only time
would tell.
The Government must listen to the call for restructuring in
order to have a workable nation.
The military, for partisan reasons, jettisoned the
independence constitution and foisted an unworkable
constitution on Nigeria. Let us be humble and accept that we
made a gross mistake by throwing away our independence
constitution. It is now clear that unless we return to a structure
that guarantees regional autonomy, there will be no peace in
this country. The earlier we returned to regional autonomy the
better for us.
Regional autonomy
I want you to look at the tables I have given you to see that
your postulation that the North, before independence, had
been carrying the burden of the South is a fallacy. The
statistics I have given you here were not compiled by me. They
were compiled by the colonial government in 1809 and 1813.
They show that the North has always been the Southern
burden. Even in this administration, without the resources
from the South, the North cannot make it. This is a gospel
truth. But if the North believes it can go without the South,
what prevents us from restructuring so that the North can be
on its own and the South can be on its own.
Let us call on our government to look seriously at this
unworkable structure called Nigeria. We must not allow our
youths to be slaughtered again defending the indefensible.
This federation as it is, is unworkable.
My dear Professor let us come together as scholars and look
at our country very objectively. You may also want to read
some of my works such as: Nigerian Nationalism & the
Problems of Socio-Political Integration and
Quo Vadis ( Where Are You Going) Nigeria?& Other Essays.
My sincere regards
Prof. B.I.C Ijeomah

In this regards, decimating the subject is an under statement....


He should be obliterated

They will never like this... They hate the truth

the oracle has spoken

This should be on the fp

That how we do it.

Apologies to my ebony brothers for the incomplete
Pictures of how pretty our girls look.

Indeed we are really blessed with everything.

The case of our problems is the unrevealed pages of history.
We urgently need facts.

My distinguished Prof. Ijeoma, you are too relevant and academically sound to respond an illiterate quota system produced prof Ango.

Please utilize your time for developing important things, leave that thing called ango.

You see history and truth, i still always ask myself why 1914, i don't need to be in a country with this type of people. Hmmmmm

CutieGuy:
That how we do it.

Ebonyi people no go happy for u oo

as for d topic

Abdulahi is a dunce

Julivas:
OPEN LETTER TO PROF. ANGO ABDULAHI
By. Prof B. I. C. IJOMAH
June 21, 2017
Prof. Ango Abdullahi,
OUR attention has been drawn to your statements in Vanguard
of Saturday, June 10, 2017. You are alleged to be in support of
the call on the Igbo to quit. It is unfortunate, grossly
unfortunate, that a scholar of your calibre will be so partisan
as to be unable to see the wisdom in retaining Nigeria as a
corporate entity. I know you have, in the past, been anti-Igbo.
One would have thought that our education exposes us to a
level where we can live even with our enemies. You said in the
alleged publication that, “each year up to the time Nigeria
gained its independence, none of the two regions East and
West was able to produce for its self. I mean none of the
Western and Eastern Regions had the money to effectively run
the affairs of the region until they got financial support from
the Northern Region.” It is this assumption of yours that I want
to address.
First of all it is not true that the North had bailed out Eastern
Region or the Western Region. But you claim that even before
independence none of the regions could live without Northern
subvention. Let me draw your attention to the facts before
independence. You should read W.M.M Geary’s work titled “
Nigeria under the British Rule” published by the Cass and
Company Limited, London (1927).
Subsidizing the North. May I draw your attention especially to
pages 124 and 125. You will see published, General Revenue
for the Northern and Southern Protectorates before the
Amalgamation and the Percentage of Total Revenue
originating from the North. You will see that contrary to your
argument, it was indeed the South that was subsidizing the
North. I am reproducing the tables here for clarity.
I also draw your attention to Abstracts of Revenue, 1809 to
1913 . You will also see that the North could not have survived
without the Imperial grant and the support of the South. When
you look at the third table, Northern Nigeria revenue paid by
the South and the Imperial grant, it will disabuse your mind
and show you that without the South and the Imperial grant,
the Northern government/states could not have existed.
Indeed, one of the reasons for the amalgamation was the fact
that the British colonial government was tired of carrying the
burden of the North and they thought that by merging the
Southern and Northern protectorates, the country would be
stable. Indeed, the circumstances that forced the British
government to amalgamate the Northern protectorate and the
Southern protectorate on January 1, 1914 were motivated
neither by political exigencies nor by a closer cultural
understanding among the diverse elements of the
conglomeration that was later to be called Nigeria. It is
obvious that the primary interest of the British government
was economic.
It was also obvious that the Northern protectorate, because of
its geographical location and cloudy economic prospects, was
not likely to be viable.
In fact, the Lugard administration was finding it rather difficult
to maintain the Northern protectorate which was already
running into deficit. Testifying to the financial difficulty of the
North and the anticipated prosperity that would follow the
projected amalgamation of the Northern protectorate with the
Southern protectorate, Lord Lugard reported that “the
prosperity of the Southern protectorate as evidenced by the
liquor trade, had risen by 57 per cent. In fact, the liquor trade
alone yielded a revenue of One Million, One Hundred and
Thirty-Eight Thousand pounds (£1,138,000) in 1913. This he
believed was the result of amalgamation of the Lagos colony
with the Southern protectorate.
The Northern administration could not have survived without
the imperial grant-in-aid which in the year before the
amalgamation stood at One Hundred and Thirty Six thousand
Pounds, (£136,000) and had averaged Three Hundred and
Fourteen Thousand, Five Hundred Pounds (£314,500) for the
eleven years ending in March, 1912. Besides, the burden of
financing the North seemed to have been resisted and bitterly
criticized by the Southerners. The expenditure of the British
tax payer’s money in financing a colonial territory was a
contradiction of the British colonial policy enunciated sixty
(60) years before by L. Gray which stipulated that “the surest
test for the soundness of measures for improvement of an
uncivilized people is that they should be self-supporting.”
Economic position
This is by L. Gray in The Colonial Policy of the Administration
of Lord Russell, London: Cass and Company Limited, 1853,
page 281″ . Further, the Northern protectorate was not only
land-locked but bounded by territories that fell under the
influence of other European powers. It was, therefore,
inconceivable how the economic position would have
improved without aid from the South.
The only alternative open to Lord Lugard was to amalgamate
the North and the South and thus have a legitimate reason for
the expenditure of revenue from the South in developing the
North. Details of this manouevre was laid bare in a letter
written by Lord Lugard on November 22, 1912 to his wife
explaining how he had used the Southern resources to finance
the Northern deficit.
Regardless of the merit which Sir F.D Lugard saw in his
financial amalgamation of the South and the North, the
prevalence of bitter criticism in the South shows the
unpopularity of the amalgamation. At that time, the export
from the South stood at Five Million, One Hundred and
Twenty-Two Thousand Pounds (£5,232,000) while the export
from the North stood at Two Hundred Thousand Pounds
(£200,000) in 1910. This was very discouraging to the colonial
system and called for urgent remedy. On Tuesday, January 31,
1911, there were attacks on the colonial secretary’s suggestion
that the South should advance a loan of Two Hundred
Thousand Pounds (£200,000) to the North for the completion
of the Baro to Kano railway, in addition to the sum of One
Million, Two Hundred and Thirty Thousand which was required
from the South.
One of the criticisms of the Northern dependence on the
South was voiced out by Honourable Sapara Williams who
contended that before the loan was to be granted, the
Secretary of State should settle the type of relationship that
existed between Lagos and Zungeru, the two administrative
headquarters for the South and the North respectively.
Existing hostility
He contended that as far as he was concerned, that the
Southerners were strangers to anything connected with the
railway after it has passed Offa, the last Yoruba town on the
line. He referred to the existing hostility between the North
and the South, particularly as regards the issues of extending
the Northern boundary of the Southern protectorate to
incorporate Yoruba territories now locked up in the Northern
protectorate. My dear Professor, the hostility of the
Northerners towards the Southerners is not new in the
Nigerian history. Even during the time of Sapara Williams, the
Northerners did not see anything reasonable in the
relationship with the South.
You will recall the massacres of the Igbos in Jos in 1945; you
will recall the massacres of the Igbos in Kano in 1953; you will
recall the massacres that preceded the civil war. If we cannot
live together, Mr. Professor, don’t you think that it is high time
we told ourselves the naked truth.
You will also recall that in 1964, after the crisis that followed
the elections, that Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe had called on Nigerians
to call a round table conference to discuss how we could share
our assets if it was impossible for us to live together. We kept
on patching this unpatchable relationship. In my honest
opinion, this relationship has soured enough that it will take
the wisdom of God to make us love one another.
We went to Aburi and there the leaders agreed that the only
solution to our problems was to have a confederation but
Gowon reneged. You will recall also that the British
government, after the crisis of 1951-1952, realized that this
country could not be a unitary state and they brought in the
1953 constitution which gave us regional autonomy. If the
colonial masters in their wisdom knew that we could not be a
unitary government and gave us what we had at
independence, we should have respected their wisdom.
You will also recall that after the civil war, the regional
autonomy which our independence conferred on us was
violated by the military government led by the Northern
soldiers. We ended up having this contraption that we are
having now; it has not worked. It will not work, unless there is
proper restructuring of the nation. We should stop pretending.
I believe in all sincerity that if we cannot accommodate every
segment of the federation in one Nigeria, we should call a
constitutional conference to decide how this country can be
restructured so that every area can take care of itself and we
can relate on certain agreed basis.
We have slaughtered ourselves enough. We do not want
another civil war in order to justify the existence of “One
Nigeria”.
May I humbly call on all Nigerians to examine the last
constitutional conference which addressed the issue of
restructuring. Let us not leave it to our youths to tell us when
we can stay together or when we cannot stay together. The
youths in Biafra are crying; the youths in the North are crying;
the Niger Delta youths are crying. The middle belt is not happy
with what is happening to them.
Added to these, the strategies of the herdsmen to penetrate
every nook and corner of Nigeria, is raising some issues for
national discourse. The Federal Government has deliberately
refused to call the herdsmen to order. They have killed many
people and ravaged many communities. None of them has
been arrested. Why? In May 2016, I published two articles and
warned that the activities of the herdsmen was a plot which
would soon cover the whole country. The heavy silence of the
Federal Government tends to support the view that the
herdsmen are on an undisclosed mission which only time
would tell.
The Government must listen to the call for restructuring in
order to have a workable nation.
The military, for partisan reasons, jettisoned the
independence constitution and foisted an unworkable
constitution on Nigeria. Let us be humble and accept that we
made a gross mistake by throwing away our independence
constitution. It is now clear that unless we return to a structure
that guarantees regional autonomy, there will be no peace in
this country. The earlier we returned to regional autonomy the
better for us.
Regional autonomy
I want you to look at the tables I have given you to see that
your postulation that the North, before independence, had
been carrying the burden of the South is a fallacy. The
statistics I have given you here were not compiled by me. They
were compiled by the colonial government in 1809 and 1813.
They show that the North has always been the Southern
burden. Even in this administration, without the resources
from the South, the North cannot make it. This is a gospel
truth. But if the North believes it can go without the South,
what prevents us from restructuring so that the North can be
on its own and the South can be on its own.
Let us call on our government to look seriously at this
unworkable structure called Nigeria. We must not allow our
youths to be slaughtered again defending the indefensible.
This federation as it is, is unworkable.
My dear Professor let us come together as scholars and look
at our country very objectively. You may also want to read
some of my works such as: Nigerian Nationalism & the
Problems of Socio-Political Integration and
Quo Vadis ( Where Are You Going) Nigeria?& Other Essays.
My sincere regards
Prof. B.I.C Ijeomah

Where are the mods: mynd44,i know you won't like this but do the needful, i am watching you

CutieGuy:
That how we do it.

Bro add these to your collection. 1st pic is Ebony. Threat a child like the rest and he will be happy...

Cooly100:


Bro add these to your collection. 1st pic is Ebony. Threat a child like the rest and he will be happy...

Noted....

History is always there to correct the lies of those who want to maintain this so called one Nigeria so they can continue feeding fat on the resources of the south..

Ango abdullahi, here's one for you, now u know where the burden lies since you did a poor job at reading you history.. You should hide you face in shame

With this kind of sound and verifiable history, one wonders how Ango became a Prof. SMH for him.

Sound

Reading this article makes me feel PROUD OF MY TRIBE.
PROUDLY IGBO NDI IGBO NMA NMANU

mods will not see this.... What can we say of a tribe, that worships Double standard, if it is this tribe say it's not in support, straight to Fp even with 0 comments



And this right here is a Prof. well grounded with history and facts.


UK, Britain etc Northern Nigeria have oil, they are self sufficient.... The experiment is enough!!!!

Observing

CutieGuy:
That how we do it.

Apologies to my ebony brothers for the incomplete
Pictures of how pretty our girls look.

Indeed we are really blessed with everything.

And you?

Quite revealing. Restructuring is a better option for now not Biafra. Prof harps on it too in her submission.

Very apt analysis from Ijeoma. Ango abdulahi is a confused man. For anyone to even think that North subsidized Southern Nigeria is unbelievable! Anybody who believes in one Nigeria is delusional.

Splinz:
With this kind of sound and verifiable history, one wonders how Ango became a Prof. SMH for him.

Quota system is why people like Ango is a prof.

History!

More intelligent people like Prof Ijeomah should speak up more often.
Key points in this article:

(1) The South was already prosperous before the amalgamation.

(2) Restructuring is the way to go.

Why should respectable Prof Ijeomah bother educating a quota quota system ango abdullahi. The man doesn't reason. He is not an intellectual. He is just like the rest of them northerners - anti christainity, anti igbo. His father Ahmadu bello said worse.
That they prefer employing Europeans into Northern Nigeria civil service, than employ an Igbo man-because (according to him) igbos are ambitious, as if having ambition is a bad thing.

Quota system prof Ango Abdullah can not read history of Nigeria cos he doesn't need to read hard to be Fulani Professor. Quota system have made them lazy to read or work hard like others.

C: lalasticlala, mynd44, obinosky

Were re though?
Nigerians re just too tribalistic

If na AKWAIBOM or IJAW reject Biafra, na frontage material.

hmm.

This is uppercut on Ango Abdullahi

History never forgets.

A devastating rebuttal by Professor Ijeoma. I concur with his submissions except for one point :

You will also recall that after the civil war, the regional
autonomy which our independence conferred on us was
violated by the military government led by the Northern
soldiers.

This cannot be true. It was Gen Ironsi in 1966 who imposed a Unitary system of government on Nigeria. I would like to be enlightened if anyone has a different opinion.

LUGBE:
My distinguished Prof. Ijeoma, you are too relevant and academically sound to respond an illiterate quota system produced prof Ango.
Please utilize your time for developing important things, leave that thing called ango.
You see history and truth, i still always ask myself why 1914, i don't need to be in a country with this type of people. Hmmmmm

You are as confused as the so called "Professor" Ijeoma who went to quote 1813 trade figures of the British when it was almost 100 years before British concurred northern Nigeria and made it a British colony. Even the royal Niger company which was trading with the emirates of the area later known as northern Nigeria, was only constituted in 1886. The liquor trade he was talking about grew from slave trade when the southern chiefs caught their subjects and sold them in exchange for a bottle of gin or similar. That's the origin of their drunkenness and craving for ogogoro just as intended by the white man.
Any time before 1900 the British had no lordship over northern Nigeria and had nothing to do with the revenue of the caliphate or the emirates or any parts of the present day northern states. They were independent, the had some trade with the Royal Niger Company as independent kingdoms and never had to account to the British before 1900. Please refer to the letters exchanged between the British government representative and the Sultan Attahiru the leader of the caliphate between 1900 - 1902 where the British threatened to place northern Nigeria under its control and make it a protectorate like the south. Read the Sultans defying response where he said " there is nothing between you and us, and we are ready to fight if you insist on invading our land " . All the letters are available in archives and on the internet.
The British invaded northern Nigeria with the arrival of Fredrick Lugard in 1900, and defeated Bida, Ilorin and Kontagora in 1901 followed by Zaria and Kano in 1902 and sokoto in 1903 at the Giginya battle. So where did this fake professor get his figures from?
The British fought ruthlessly and only subdued the caliphate and brought it under the British rule by 1910 and adopted and modified the system of taxation already in existence in the north. They introduced cattle tax and encouraged cash crop cultivation cotton, groundnuts,beniseed in the main and mining of tin, columbite and gold. The poll tax and cattle tax which was a major source of colonial government revenue continued until it was abolished by the Shagari government in 1980 taking a cue from the two PRP states of Kano and Kaduna.
What the Expo Professor needs to do is to show us a comparison table of revenue , expenditures by regions as from 1910 to 1960 when the regions were all under the British crown. We can then show him how the north subsidized the south for 50 years. And we can demonstrate that A quota system Professor is worth more than 20 Expo Professors like Ijeoma.

Having a daft neighbor is a big deal cos you have to take all the $h"t