The North and ‘Northerners’ The Fear of the Middle Belt

The North and ‘Northerners’ The Fear of the Middle Belt

By: Balami Lazarus

When I recently read some works that are negative and biased on the Middle Belt, it dawned on me to put my contributions on this subject.

Several discourses and comments on the Middle Belt have put fear in the minds of many individuals in the north, fueled by the ‘Northerners.’ The work of one writer recently on the Middle Belt was insulting, where he called it the ‘Bible Belt,’ giving it religious interpretations without any historical considerations, undermining the fact that it has large numbers of other faithfuls, Moslems inclusive. I dismissed that work as fiction of his wild imagination with no specific genre to hinge his work on.

However, the response of Dr. Pogu Bitrus, the president of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), to a recent article by one Safyan Umar Yahaya on the Middle Belt spoke my mind. That piece gave the true picture of the sociocultural, political, and economic dynamics of the Middle Belt. And hence the birth of this piece.

The north today is where lives, properties, and investments are not safe. The three geopolitical zones that formed the geographical north are

a theater of insecurity; homes for bandits, insurgents, and kidnappers; a hallmark of poverty and ignorance where economic activities are cornered and confined. Farming, movements of goods and services, for instance.

There has been a loud ethnic and religious nagging fermented in the cauldrons of sentiments nurtured by the ‘Northerners,’ which has created fear of the Middle Belt and streamed into the minds of the uniformed poor northerners. These have attempted to distort the struggle and agitation for the Middle Belt as a geopolitical zone yearning for a clearly defined cultural identity as a region with political representation. A mark of its geographical identity and expressions.

In this piece, I shall debunk the argument or the notion that the north is a unified bloc, giving my own reasons why it is not. The emergence of the Middle Belt in the body polity of Nigeria long before now has divided the north. For some, it is a recent phenomenon.

First, one has to clearly define the north. Is a geographical expression, and during the days of the

late premier Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, it stretched from the banks of the Benue and Niger rivers to the Chad/Niger borders. The premier then wielded power and respect across the ethnic provinces that made up the north because of his sense of fairness and equity in the ways and manner he handled and discharged his duties and led the region. The north was a bloc with a common purpose and sense of unity. But today these have manifested themselves into ethno-religious sentiments, attacks, and discriminations from Hausa and/or Fulani vs. Christians. Kabilus that paints the pictures of Moslems or Christians in the north, and the ‘game’ is the Middle Belt.

For me, the present north has four definitions that emerged from the crooked activities of ‘northerners.’ These are political north, ethnic north, religious north, and geographical north, which has long been replaced with geopolitical zones.

The Balkanization of the north noticeably came to the fore long before now, where other ethnic groups who constitute part of the north population were not carried along in the scheme of affairs because they are either Arnes or Kabilus, who are considered parts of the ignorant oppressed Talakawas of the north.

The level of ethno-religious divide has caused discrimination between Christians and Moslems in the north. The Middle Belt agitations have further widened the space where the term “Arewa” means “Moslem north,” while “Middle Belt” means “Christian north” in the minds of bigots.

However, when you speak of the north, you need to ask yourself, which of the north are you referring to in respect of the definitions earlier mentioned? Similarly, if you say “Northerners,” which of the Northerners are you also referring to?

Time and space are making so many tribes/ethnic groups realize their cultural history and where they belong with pride of identity. Therefore, the Middle Belt is a fusion of different ethnic nationalities and the right to be different as a Nigerian.

Balami, a Publisher/Columnist 08036779290

The North and ‘Northerners’ The Fear of the Middle Belt