What the failed food blockade by North has taught us

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By Tunde Abatan

The food  supply boycott has finally demystified the indispensability of the North as regards the capacity of the South to feed itself. It has shown that Southerners shall not live by tomatoes, onions and perhaps beans alone but by many other staple foods grown in all parts of the South and indeed indigenous to the South.
Decision to suspend the trade boycott is a sign that with the passage of time, Southern states will in their own way either collectively or as a singularly, grew what they need and rear the cattles, goats, chicken etc crucial for their survival.
The trade boycott is also a wake- up call to the South to reassess their capacity to use their economic strength to halt the Norths entitlement attitude to ownership of Nigeria.
It has also shown that being in command of all military postings and headship of government agencies does not translate to good governance.
Indeed,if truth be told of all the thirteen heads of state or government we’ve had in Nigeria,three of which are from the south,only General Abdusalam Abubakar among the ten from the North have left of their own volition.The rest are either shoved aside by military coup,popular rejection as happened to GeneralnIbrahim Badamasi Babangida- IBB .
Only late General Sanni Abacha and Umaru Yaradua were removed by untimely death which only God can stop.may their souls rest in peace.
Indeed,the gentlemanly way Yaradua ran the country during his active days in power could have made a remarkable difference than his predecessors but death prevented him.
The failure of the trade boycott and the near revolt of the poor Northern traders sponsoreded by the purely ruling elite in the region,is also an indication that after all,the North is economically insolvent as it was before the 1914 amalgamation by Lord Lugard,the British imperialist who was looking for ways to reduce British funding of her colonies through the Home office.
The failure of the trade boycott is also a pointer that Restructuring of the country is long overdue to settle the national question and place each of the nationalities that made up Nigeria where they belong in national equation.
Master and servant relationship and overlordship entitlement by some identifiable hegemonic forces has definitely met its death knell.
The nationalities that made up Nigeria should learn to respect each other and accept the fact that equity,fairness, justice and mutual respect is the cornerstone for a peaceful entity we should all crave to build and sustain.
As for the federal government,the events of the past few weeks which has also worsened the state of insecurity is an indication that concentration of power in few hands with ethnic and religious irredentism could not bring about national cohesion and peace needed for progress on all fronts.
Wisdom is paramount to good governance and not the subjugation and subjection of the citizenry to the whims and caprices of the myopic and selfish few in the corridors of power.
A stich in time,saves nine.

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