In this piece, Deputy Editor, LEON USIGBE, beams the searchlight on the stance of the Middle Belt on the quit notice issued by a coalition of Arewa Youth Groups to Igbo in the North.
The entire Nigerian landscape was gripped by fear following the quit notice issued to South Easterners living in the North by a coalition of Arewa Youth Group (AYG). But help was quick in coming as the Middle Belt, under the aegis of the Middle Belt Youth Council (MBYC), immediately rose in defence of the Igbos. The MBYC not only discountenanced the extreme position taken by the Arewa irredentists, the group further offered to provide refuge for interested Igbos in the middle belt, in the event the Arewa groups attempt to follow through their threat and chase away the south easterners from the core North.
In a statement signed by MBYC’s President, Emma Zopmal, the group posited that the Middle Belt is ready to offer Ndigbo asylum any time, any day, saying, “The MBYC is extremely concerned about the ongoing regional tension in Nigeria today and we want to make our position clear to the world.
The statement read, “It is no longer news that our country Nigeria is facing a daunting challenge of peace and unity but we want to assure the good citizens of Nigeria that we have been a peace-loving people and we’ll continue to be. But, in an event one part of the country decides to go away as a separate entity, the Middle Belt is also ready to make an independent statement.
“We want to clarify those who think that the Middle Belt is part of the North: God created everywhere and everyone and He gave it to whom he chooses and Middle Belt is a creation of God and not man (Usman bin Fodio). Therefore, we choose what to use our land for, how to run it and where we want to be. Middle Belt has been a home for the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, South-South and the South-West without any form of discrimination against anyone.”
Another group, the All Middle Belt Youth Forum (AMBYF) sided with MBYC by condemning the Arewa quit notice and asserting the right of the Igbos, just like all other Nigerians, to reside anywhere in the country.
MBYC’s National Leader, Mr. Aluh Moses and its National Secretary, Mr. Andzayi Jonathan, said in a statement that the entire Middle Belt region was not part of the North that the Arewa youths wanted to Igbos to leave. The group stated: “We condemn, in very strong terms, the so-called Kaduna Declaration by Northern Youths’ coalition in its entirety, as it is a deliberate act of driving wedge between northerners and easterners; that the Middle Belt region is not part of the northern region. Hence, the AMBYF distances itself and the entire Middle Belt region from such obnoxious declaration.”
The firm stance by the Middle Belt and the determination to defend the unity of Nigeria has, however, not gone unnoticed. The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) in the South South of Nigeria lauded the middle belt groups for displaying courage by choosing to distance themselves from their Arewa quit order. The Ijaws also commended the Meddle Belt group for standing by the right to self-determination of the constituent parts of the country.
“We state, for the umpteenth time, that Nigeria as presently structured, is suffocating and is in dire need of urgent surgery to reconstruct it so as to achieve unity, peace and progress. It is in this light that we are gladdened by the expression of support for self-determination by the MBYC. This is a clear message to the caliphate north and the Hausa/Fulani oligarchy, that no amount of intimidation and threat would stop the movement for the reconstruction of Nigeria for it to work,” a leader of IYC, Eric Omare, declared.
In continuation of the resolve to cement Nigerian unity, elders of the Middle Belt have now given a seal of approval to the position clearly enunciated by their young men and women. The elders however went further to educate the nation on the need for a restructured polity in line with the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference.
According to them, only the implementation of that report will stem the rising tide of ethnic agitations in the Nigerian polity, which they believe is unbalanced, unfair and therefore, unstable.
The meeting of the elders, which held under the banner of Middle Belt Conference, denounced, as unconstitutional and unacceptable, the Arewa Quit notice issued the Igbos.
The elders said, “We denounce, in the strongest possible terms, recent calls and threats to Nigerians from the South-East, living in the northern States of Nigeria, to move back to their areas of origin. Being free, equal and legitimate citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, such calls on south-easterners are totally unconstitutional and unacceptable. We urge the federal and state governments to take effective steps to ensure the safety and security of all Nigerians, wherever they may choose to reside.”
They, however, called on the various agitators in the country to be patient as the middle belt region works with like-minded regions towards the emergence of a government in 2019 that would be amenable to the implementation of 2014 confab report.
Among the prominent middle belters present at the Abuja meeting where the conference made its position public were Professor Jerry Gana, Air Commodore Dan Suleiman (rtd), Colonel Ahmadu Ali (rtd), Senator Isaac Alfa, David Jemibewon, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, Labaran Maku, and Jonathan Zwingina. They also declared that in the event that the country is ever disintegrated, the Middle Belt would like to remain in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with Abuja as its capital. The communiqué issued at the end of the meeting and signed by its National Secretary, John Darah, pointed out that the conference deliberated “on factors, structures, systems and forces behind Nigeria’s chronic instability.”
Parts of the communique stated, “In a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious country like Nigeria, the federal system makes enormous sense, because it allows the federating units to fully look after their local affairs and to develop at their own pace. Therefore, we hereby renew our loyalty, love and strong support for the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We appeal to all separatist agitators to please allow the restructuring initiative to run its full course including efforts to implement the 2014 national conference report. We need to work together to effect the necessary leadership changes that will facilitate restructuring in Nigeria. However, we are resolutely of the view that the current federal structure is unbalanced, unfair, over-centralised and therefore, unstable.
“Accordingly, we firmly support the demand to re-structure the federation, together with appropriate devolution of powers to the federating units, and a commensurate revenue allocation formula. Since these fundamental matters were considered and resolved at the 2014 National Conference, we urge the Federal Government to take appropriate and urgent steps to ensure full implementation of resolutions and recommendations contained in the conference report. We believe that a faithful and effective implementation of those recommendations will promote peace, harmony and greater security, thereby giving Nigeria a new lease of life.”
The elders affirmed their preference for the Middle Belt to remain in Nigeria, with Abuja as capital, if ever the country were to disintegrate. The communiqué further stated, “Whereas we love Nigeria and all Nigerians, we are constrained to make it abundantly clear that, in the catastrophic event of other components of Nigeria insisting to be entirely on their own, we resolutely wish to remain and continue to be the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with our capital at Abuja.”
While they condemned what they described as the murderous acts of Fulani herdsmen in the Middle Belt and other parts of Nigeria, they urged the Federal Government to intensify efforts to curb the menace. The Middle Belt equally called on the Federal and Borno State governments to rescue the remaining Chibok school girls and ensure their resettlement with their parents. The Middle Belt elders equally appealed to leaders of various communities and components of Nigeria to continue to mutually and tirelessly work together for peace, reconciliation, social justice and harmony, so as to build a free, peaceful, secure, and democratic society, with a vibrant economy, and a bright future for all Nigerians.
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