.By Peter Nwasike
07037946858Unclepeters555@gmail.com
Many right thinking people, in fact, majority of people in this country called “Nigeria,” support the idea that Buhari’s successor should come from South. The new Telegraph newspaper of Tuesday, July 6, 2021, and Thursday, July 8, 2021, was awash with such popular demands.
My advice to the Southern Governors who voiced their opinion, according to the New Telegraph newspaper of Tuesday, July 6, 2021, that “BUHARI’S SUCCESSOR MUST COME FROM SOUTH,” is this: “A Man is never treated as a kid in sharing the animal he played major roles in its hunting and killing.” (Mmadu anaghi abu nwata n’ anu o gburu) Nigeria came into British Colonial Rule from 1861, when Captain John Beecroft conquered Lagos and annexed her to Fernada Po, for British Rule. The war was against Kosoko of Lagos, who wanted to stay in Slave Trade, but the British wanted to replace Slave Trade with Legitimate Trade of Palm Oil and other products from the African Coast of the Atlantic Ocean. This made Britain to colonize the whole of Nigeria and effectively abolished Slave Trade and successfully replaced it with legitimate trade of products from the Natives. As merchantalisim prospered, the Traders persuaded their compatriot Missionaries in Europe who were specialists in Education and Christianity to complement their civilizing power of merchantalim with their sister civilizing powers of Education and Christianity. So, the Missionaries came with Education and Christianity. In commencement, they established Primary.School, to make people be able to read and write the English Language, and so, be able to serve the Colonizers as Teachers in schools, clerks in offices and Interpreters in courts. Later they established Teacher Training colleges to produce Teachers, and added the secondary school education, to make the products more proficient in their works as clerks and Interpreters to the Colonizers. Southerners took to this education programme, and served the Colonizers and Missionaries satisfactorily, as planned. It happened that the same British Colonizers and Missionaries, also colonized other countries in West African, among them Ghana, (then Gold Coast). So, from Ghana, the Methodist Missionaries produced a brilliant student, James Aggrey, and after his secondary school in Ghana, sponsored him to go to American for university education. James Aggrey become exposed to European system of training, both in Christianity and secular education. The Methodist Church considered him qualified enough, and ordained him a Missionary. In 1920, Rev. Dr. James Aggrey, and his Missionary Colleagues, visited Nigeria, and stayed in their Methodist Church in Lagos. In the morning, they assembled the students in the Methodist College, for Church Service, Rev. Dr. James Aggrey was assigned to preach the gospel. A 16-year-old student, Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe, was there. The Preacher told them that they, as Africans they should know that they were being educated to use their education for service for Africa, and when they do so, they should remember that “ONLY THE BEST IS GOOD FOR AFRICA.” He told them that their chief objective in seeking for the “BEST FOR AFRICAN,” is to see that Africa should be liberated from foreign rule. The boy, Nnamdi Azikiwe (later become Zik), resolved to free African, from colonial rule. After his secondary education in 1922, he got job as Clerk in the British colonial Civil Service But he continued to nurse the ambition to heed Aggrey’s advice, to liberate Africa (Nigeria), from colonial rule. Zik regarded Aggery as his role model. So he resolved to obtain education to the height of Aggrey’s to be able to heed the call of Aggrey. So in 1925, Zik travelled to America, Aggrey’s country of education. He graduated with Masters Degrees in History, Political Science, Education, Economics, Journalism. He felt that he had obtained enough education to do what Aggrey advised. He wrote application for work to Liberia, an Independent country in West Africa to serve as Secretary to Federal Government, but was not successful. He wrote application to the League of Nations, present United Nations Organization (UNO), to serve as a Diplomat, but not successful. He wrote application to British Colonial Government of Nigeria, and also to newspaper proprietors in Nigeria, for work, but not successful. He wrote application to a Newspaper proprietor in Ghana (then Gold Coast), and was employed, in 1934. While in Ghana his writings in the newspaper, the “AFRICAN MORNING POST,” and public lectures, influence a Youngman Teacher in secondary school, with Teachers Grade Two certificate, Kwame Nkrumah. The boy got inspired by Zik and resolved to contribute to fight colonialism and liberate African from foreign rule. In 1935, under the mentorship of Zik, Kwame Nkrumah travelled to America, and obtained same education as Zik. He returned in 1948 to champion the campaign for independence for Ghana and achieved it in 1957 and became Ghana’s First President. After his sojourn to Ghana, Zik returned to Nigeria in 1937, and settled in Lagos. He started to practice his profession of Journalism, and founded his newspaper, the “WEST AFRICAN PILOT,” with the motto: “SHOW THE LIGHT AND THE PEOPLE SHALL FIND THE WAY.” As an orator in public education, Zik used his newspaper and public lectures, to influence a young man, a Yoruba indigene, Obafemi Awolowo. The young Awolowo nursed the ambition to contribute to liberate Nigeria from foreign rule, but considered his Secondary School Education Certificate, as not adequate for the job. He emulated Zik and travelled to England, in 1942, and obtained degrees in Law, Journalism, Business Administration. He returned in 1948 and joined the struggle for Independence. He founded a newspaper, the “THE NIGERIA TRIBUNE” for public education for people, and it is still going strong. He also went into business, in addition to practicing his law, as Barrister-at-law, and also engaged in business, as the pioneer Major Shareholder of Coca Cola Mineral Drinks, thereby creating wealth and employment in Nigeria. He regarded Zik as his role model, that he launched his newspaper, the “TRIBUNE,” on Zik’s birthday, on November 16, 1949.TO BE CONTINUED IN NEXT EDITIONSee photo next page PRESIDENCY 2023 TO BE ZONED TO SOUTH, PREFERABLY TO SOUTH-EAST (2).By Peter Nwasike 07037946858Unclepeters55@gmail.com CONTINUED FROM LAST EDITION Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe (Zik) combined his work as newspaper Editor with business entrepreneurship. He engaged in importing and selling printing materials and accessories. This business prowess increased his profit margin, and his shareholders in his company were happy. He also founded a bank, the African Continental Bank (ACB), for efficient and honest management of their money. After paying dividends to shareholders, Zik had enough money to engage in “SOCIAL WELFARE RESPONSIBILITY OF BUSINESS.” He formed Sports Club, which organized all aspects of sports, such as Football, Athletics, Swimming, Boxing, etc. His staff and members of the public benefitted and were happy. He then used good fraction of the profits to build the Yaba Sports Stadium, for the public, which, has been inherited by Lagos State Government. All these social engagements, his public lectures, editorials in his newspapers, made Zik very popular, and also educated the public on their political rights. So, when Zik stood for election to the Lagos Legislative Council, in 1947, he easily won. But this was because people have seen his achievements and reposed confidence in him, based on merit. In my last edition, I mentioned how Obafemi Awolowo emulated Zik in obtaining university education, returned and contributed in campaign for Independence and also established business enterprises to create wealth in Nigeria and all these made Awo popular. But their Northern counterparts did not believe in education as qualification for political leadership. As their Muslim religion gave them the tradition of polygamy of one man with four wives, they got the license of breeding numerous children, many of them “ALMAJIRIS,” (out of school children), roaming about as street orchins, begging for alms, maturing into kidnapping-bandits, Fulani killer herdsmen and Boko Haram terrorists, their so-called leaders, were satisfied and complacent. During elections, they mobilized the illiterate barbarians and brain-washed them to vote for their ignorant, incompetent and myopic Northern Cadidates. Their leaders, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello and Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, restricted themselves to Teachers Grade Two Certificate, got at village, and dabbled into politics, for leadership. Their only qualification was population, which their polygamous lifestyle gave them. At 1959 General Election for Independence, Tafawa Balewa got 79 Seats in the North, only Zik got 62 Seats in the East, West and Lagos. Awolowo got 27 Seats only in the West. Awolowo saw that Balewa was not competent to rule the new Independent Country, Nigeria, and pleaded with Zik, to be in alliance with him, so that they could add their Seats of 27 and 62, equals to 89, and surpass Balewa’s 79 Seats. Then, let Zik became the Prime Minister, while he, Awo, become subordinate to Zik, with any legitimate office that Constitution may allow, such as Minister of Finance, or Attorney General and Minister of Justice. But Zik, the “Mr. UNITY OF NIGERIA,” declined the suggestion, on the ground that the arrangement would polarize the South against the North, and jeopardize Nigeria’s Unity. So, Balewa continued with his semi-literacy, ignorance and mediocrity and plunged Nigeria into spinelessness. Nobody can give what he did not possess, or have. They made Zik as the President of Senate in 1960 at Independent. In 1961, when the British Governor General, Sir James Robertson, retired, they made Zik as the Governor General. When Nigeria was about to become a Republic in 1963, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, on his visit to Zik, who had watched Balewa’s mediocrity, with disgust, advised Zik to use the opportunity of transition from Parliamentary system to Republican System, and assume the position of the Executive President, with powers of Commander of the Armed Forces, but again, Zik declined, to preserve Nigeria’s unity. Zik simply took the position of Ceremonial President. And so, Balewa with his overlord, the Sarduana of Sokoto and Premier of Northern Nigeria, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, continued to basterdize leadership of Nigeria, with imbecility and spinelessness. It was said that Balewa, the Prime Minister in Lagos, every night, would hold secriet discussion, over the telephone, with Alhaji Bello, at Kaduna, and discus the Agenda of the Federal Government. Anything Bello did not approve, must not be done. On January 15, 1966, the spinelessness and imbecility in Nigeria affairs, under Balewa and Bello, infuriated the soldiers in the Barracks and they struck and removed the Governments. But unfortunately, the objectives were not achieved, to correct the situation. When the civil war, ensued, it was the South who were performing sensitive duties for Federal Army to with the war. Awolowo was the Deputy Chairman of the Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC), and also the Minister of Finance. Chief Anthony Enahoro, was their Minister of Foreign Affairs and Spokes-man, who led their delegates to international conferences to deliberate on Biafra, with World Powers of Britatin, Russia, Organisation of African Unity (OAU), etc. Infact, it was the Southerners, who were their brain-box that won the war for them. It will be recalled that it was this Anthony Enahoro, from Uromi, Edo State who was in Zik’s party, the National Convention of Nigeria Citizen (NCNC) that moved a motion, in 1953, in the Leegistive Assembly, Lagos, that processes should be commenced for Nigeria to achieve Independence in 1956. The Northern delegates opposed it with loud noise. Their citizens in Northern Region, resorted to violence. They maliciously accused the Igbo people living in the North, that their brother, Zik, wanted to use his big education to chase away the Whiteman and use his big education to rule them. They attacked the Igbo people in the North, killed them and burnt their property. That was what is being referred as “KANO RIOT 1953”. But after the War, at the election of 1979, the North brandished their monstrosity of useless population, and snatched victory from erudite Zik and Awo, and imposed another Grate Two Teacher Certificate holder, Alhaji shehu Shagari, on Nigeria, to continue their traditional ignorance and mediocrity. So, this time around, the South, who were those that hunted and killed the animal of Independence, should not allow the North with big-for-nothing population, to treat them like a kid. The Presidency must go to South, preferably, to South East, in view of the fact that Zik, played heroic roles to secure Independence, but was denied to give his BEST FOR NIGERIA, as he was inspired by Rev. Dr. James Aggrey, because of Northern tribalism and nepostism and religious fanaticism., who used the monstrosity of population to monopolize, with greed, as parasites that reap what they did not sow, both in civilian and military regimes, ever since Independence in 1960, till now, 2021, under General Buhari.