In the 1922 edition of Lugard’s book, ‘Dual Mandate in British Tropical Africa,’ Lugard writes: “Black Africa is unable to stand alone; that the Negro race has never evolved a civilization a literate, or a reed, or founded a stone city, or built a ship or exercise the smallest influence over people not black.”
On the same page 198, in the second paragraph, Lugard differentiated his friends, the Fulani, thus: “The Fulani of Northern Nigeria are, as I have said, more capable of rule than the indigenous races; but in proportion as we consider them an alien race, we are denying self-government to the people over whom they rule, and supporting an alien caste.”
This was the beginning of the problems of the ethnic nationalities of the cultural Middle-Belt and other Nigeria’s ethnic groups. “The seed of Northern isolationism and disparate standards, which were sown by the British, are now bearing bumper harvest,” writes Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Lugard was ruthlessly in his methods by means of military exploits and in pursuance of British Merchantile and imperial interest.
Lugard came here, in 1894, and by 1914 had destroyed and subdued many powerful kingdoms such as Oyo, Benin, Borno, Kwararrafa, etc. It was the privilege of his wife to name these amalgamated nations “Nigeria.” The story of the battles, which led to the defeat and surrender of these kingdoms are well known to students of Nigerian history. What has not been adequately documented is the moral damage done to our culture, autonomy and civilization, leading to the current collapse of Nigeria as a Nation-state.
During Sharwood-Smith’s discussion with Sir Tafawa Balewa, on 14th May, 1957, he remarked that, “…the key was to avoid fragmentation of the North; undivided North was one that would be the major player in an independent Nigeria. The government must, therefore, stand firm against demand for a Middle-Belt Region.”
This decision and action by Sharwood-Smith, who was the Colonial Governor, became the official policy of the British administration even today as we write. The colonies had been founded expressly for those, who settled in the land, for the Proprietor to whom a charter was granted, e.g., the Royal Niger Company.
People from the Southern part of the country were very critical of the British administration, and some of the elites in the South formed part of the movement and agitation for self-determination. Some commentators described Lugard as to have an inferiority complex because he only attended a military school – Sandhurst, in England.
“At that time of Lugard’s period, Obadia Johnson qualified as a Doctor of Medicine in 1884. John Randle qualified as a Doctor of Medicine in 1888; Orisadipo Obasa became a Medical Doctor in 1891, brilliant Herbert Macaulay qualified as an Engineer in England in 1875, and so many others,” writes Sir Olaniwun Ajayi, P.67. Similarly, within the Middle-Belt Region, the politicians and those of the Christian fate were also agitating for self-determination.
In the same vein, there was formed the Middle-Belt Zone League (MZL), which eventually led to the United Middle-Belt Congress. The MZL came about in recognition of the narrowness of the NML, while UMBC sought to further empower the political appeal of the movement. (Kukah, P.8).
The UMBC at that time went into an alliance with the Action Group (AG), which gave the Middle-Belter an in-route into the political base of the country, though it lacked the economic transformations that reflected the dynamism of the emerging elite, who found the need to constantly change its approach and tactics.
The clear gross negligence of the people by Lugard, coupled with poverty and lack of organization, scuttled the protest movements of the people. The degrading treatment to our traditional rulers for not been Muslims had become so noticeable at that time up till today. For example, Mallam Maude Gyani, a former non-Muslim from the Middle-Belt, elucidated that on conversion, he was immediately given a Hausa-Fulani honorific ‘title’ that did not hitherto exist among his Jaba people. He was made the new Wakilin Jaba. (Kukah, P.21). The Chief of Jaba turned his back to the title and said the title did not exist in his kingdom.
While the struggle was, and is still going on, some of the Middle-Belters and politicians became surrogates to the Hausa/Fulani. These people are in pursuit of material comforts to the detriment of their children and those yet unborn. They have since lost sense of dignity.
In the midst of these agitations, the first Prime Minister, Tafawa Balewa, and his colleague in NPC are recorded to have said, “Since 1914, the British Government has been trying to make Nigeria into one country, but the Nigerian people themselves are historically different in their backgrounds, in their religious beliefs and customs and do not show themselves any sign of willingness to unit … Nigerian unity is only a British intention for the country.” (Olaniwun Ajayi, P.71).
As part of the mischievous policy, it was only in 1945 that 4 persons from the then Northern Region went abroad for higher education, compared with the situation in the South. The then Western Region, for example, where in 1821 William Henry Salvage qualified as a Lawyer, Nathaniel King qualified as a Doctor of Medicine in 1875, and many others.
Professor Robert Collins, a colonial health worker, said that the Jihad had no effect on the Middle-Belt area. “It was the British, however, who later, when establishing the Regions of Nigeria, included officially in the Northern Region both the Plateau and the Middle-Belt, etc., tribes such as the Nupe, Tivs, Igalas, Idoma, Burah, and from the Plateau Angas, Birom and Fura.”
The Middle-Belt realized very early that by lumping them together with the imperialists Hausa/Fulani, they were to be worse off; hence their early struggles and agitation for a separate Region of their own.
Despite the unholy attitude of Hausa/Fulani and their foreign backer the British, the self-determination struggle will continue until victory is won. At independence, in 1960, the Government of Nigeria was handed over to the Northern People’s Congress of Alhaji Tafawa Balewa/Sir Ahmadu Bello the Sardauna of Sokoto Caliphate.
Ever since then, Population Census, revenue allocation and political offices became part of the profits that accrued to the Hausa/Fulani. State creation exercises of 1967, 1987, 1991 and 1996 were done in such a manner as to dismember and make more hopeless the status of the Middle-Belt ethnic groups. The satanic state creation exercise and boundary adjustments by the various Hausa/Fulani-led Military Governments of Murtala, Babangida and Abacha are the so-called “six geo-political zones,” which excluded the Middle-Belt, is unacceptable.
We stretch forth our hands of fellowship to other groups from across the length and breadth of Nigeria whose aims and objectives are similar to ours in a joint resolve to achieve a structurally-balanced, peaceful and progressive Nigeria.
We are resolved to negotiate at the National Ethnic Conference on the resolve to fashion, nurture and sustain separate but decent identity and fresh constitution for the country to return to Parliamentary System of Government. To these aspirations, we dedicate ourselves even as we commend same to other ethnic nationalities of Nigeria.
D.I.G. Potter L. Dabup (rtd), writes from Kaduna.