by Gimba Kakanda
The Northerners now advocating abolition of Federal Character Principle clearly have no idea they’re digging a grave for mass burial of the dreams and ambitions of people, including technocrats, from this part of the region.
The North is a generation behind the south, and it will be selfish to assume that the colonial legacy has already been redeemed. The South isn’t a factory of cerebral people, but it’s historically advantaged and thus leads in the statistics of professionally and intellectually accomplished citizens.
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No, I do not feel inferior to any Southerner, nor do I believe I’m incapable of discharging a duty a Southern peer could. I’m only apologising for the colonial legacy that legitimizes adherence to our peculiar Quota System in which my people are the main beneficiaries.
We ARE still traditionally deficient in the production of educated and desired human capital, and it’s absolutely selfish for fellow educated Northerners who, against all odds, obtained a Bachelor’s degree and grabbed a slot to “represent” the region in civil service, to endorse the end of a system that sustains fair representation.
I think we are getting carried away because our man, Buhari, is in the State House today, but the day merits become the only yardsticks for admissions into universities and employments in public service, which the excited mob desires now, is the day we may realise the deep gap between the North and the South, as dug out and built by our colonial masters and political ancestors.
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Before praising Buhari’s indefensible pattern of appointment, remember that he wouldn’t have won the election if he had not subscribed to the “Quota System”, choosing a running mate from the southwest to ensure fairness, even though there’s a northerner, like Professor Auwalu Yaduda, who can match Professor Yemi Osinbajo’s feats as a legal academic.
Gimba Kakanda tweets from @gimbakakanda.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
