The Middle-Belt Youth Council president Mr. Emmanuel Zopmal has declared unalloyed support for Restructuring and good governance. He made his position known in Abuja during a stakeholders conversation on Policy Monitoring organized by Savannah Center for Diplomacy, Democracy & Development. Date: 13th-14th July, 2017, at Sheraton & Towers Hotel, Abuja.

FULL TEXT

The Role of Youth in the Promotion of National Integration and Development
By
Emmanuel Zopmal
[email protected]
Phone: 08063775948

Introduction
For too long, the peoples of Middle Belt have lived under the illusion that it is well for them in independent Nigeria. On the other hand their detractors who see them as mere second-class citizens make every effort at eroding whatever is left of their political rights and fortunes as well as demeaning their human dignity almost every step of the way in Nigeria’s socio-political advancement.
This assertion may sound large alarmist. But the truth is that, unknown to most Nigerians (the people of Middle Belt region in particular), almost all of Nigeria’s communities have been living under an ambush of a silent code of war which, if undeclared but nevertheless, is still unfolding. It is too recent to forget that the country experienced civil disorders, like the 1980 Maitatsine crisis of Kano, followed by its several aftermaths like the Yan Awaki crisis of Gombe, the Bulumkutu Ward debacles of Maiduguri, the Rigasa riots of Kaduna and the Musa Makaniki-led Doubeli Jimeta uprisings of Yola, and several others. Then came the Boko Haram orgies of killings, burning and total despoliations of whole communities, making millions of citizens to flee to neighbouring countries as refugees and/or into Internally Displaced People’s camps, especially since the past five years to date (2017). This upheaval, notwithstanding the Biafra cessation bid, became the most daring challenge to Nigeria’s sovereignty since independence. Those happenings appear seemingly unrelated and not aimed at the same objective of subverting Nigerian political system in favour of resuscitating and imposing an anachronistic set up. Or you think the events are not related?
To my mind, the salient but silent motives behind starting these relentless internecine wars in the Middle Belt, though waged on the wings and machinery of hate on western education, are part of the perpetual struggle for total control of political economy, preparatory for the long intended onslaught on Nigeria as a whole.
The Middle Belt Region
Without doubt, this was the code of the perpetual status the Dan Fodio borrowed for unilateral imposition on Middle Belt nationalities. But first, talking about the ‘Middle Belt’, who really are they and where do they come from?
As described elsewhere, the Middle Belt is that territory, the Northern fringes of which may be delineated by an adjustable imaginary line drawn west-eastwards from, in Southern Kebbi, to Gwoza, in Borno state, and the southern limits of which is demarcated by the Southern boundary of the defunct Northern Region of Nigeria. The Middle Belt, as described, is a region that is home for myriads of communal autochthons; i.e. ethnic nationalities who, in spite of the very significant influx of other people constantly streaming into the territory from other regions are, to date, still strongly identifiable as unique people groups that are incontrovertibly native to their respective places of abode. Located within this fairly large and contiguous geographical expanse, they collectively constitute the cultural Middle Belt people because, in spite of apparent linguistic variations among them, they all share basic cultural and socio-economic similarities. Above all, though migration is part and parcel of humanity, these people groups who can no longer remember from where their ancestors came from to their present locations, thus qualifying them as natives of their places. As a collective of correlated groups, the natives of the Middle Belt invariably recount related or common historical experiences of the vicissitudes of life on their respective peoples over time and space before, during and after British colonialism over Nigeria.
The Nigerian Question: Are We Recognized the Way We Are?
Marx Weber, a German sociologist, once said and on quote, “man is born free, but I see chains everywhere”. These are chains by the political class, chains by the economic class, chains by the spiritual class, chains by the ethnic class, and to a large extent, racist class. He sees chains in Southern Kaduna, chains in Southern Kebbi, chains in Southern Borno, chains in Southern Bauchi, chains in Adamawa, chains in Gombe and of course, the remaining Middle Belt states. These chains are man-made, they are crafted, they are inhuman, and unGodly. But these chains can be tamed, can be loosen and be broken. This sad development brings to question; is there liberty and freedom which are the essentials of national integration in Nigeria? The answer of course, out of pretence, will be yes.
National integration and development cannot be achieved without addressing the issue of insecurity which is induced by Fulani herdsmen. First of all, reterritorialization of culture, power, and politics has spiritually dislocated our sense of nationhood as a result of the Balkanization of people who have common culture and currently sparsely situate in strange contraptions of politics and power. The intrusion was intended to distort our sense of ownership, affect our drive for collective action and has reduced progress and growth to ‘power holders’ only. Unless when you belong, or you miss out. It is gradually becoming a norm that people from the extraction of the Middle Belt areas cannot hold certain offices at the national level and in some states where the Middle Belters are minorities even when they are the majority but so far they are not in control of political power unless they find their way out of the labyrinth by luck. Political participation of these autochthonous peoples of Middle Belt areas have become a function of lobby before their grand self-styled masters who introduced this model of politics so to exclude or fence them out of participation in their own governance process. To a more extreme point, it has become a crime to speak for their rights and whoever does that, will be relegated permanently to the periphery of the socio-economic and political space.
Without prejudice to our system, the system structure in Nigeria is violence in itself. Violence also against its people especially we the minority groups be it in any aspect of our national life. Apparently, it is justifiable that Nigeria does not have respect creation. This is largely attributed to our current federal system in practice. Permit me to say that we are now back in the state of nature as Thomas Hobbes once postulated. Liken it to what he said that in a state of nature, “life is brutish, solitary, nasty and short”. To my interpretation, it is brutish because of too much hate. Solitary because the oppressed are left to suffer alone and die alone. Nasty because of socio-economic and political decadence and, short because the Fulani hatemen (herdsmen) are free to kill, maim, destroy and devastate anytime anywhere in Nigeria and our government is presiding over this evil on its populace. I insist once more, that we do not have respect for creation in Nigeria, because minority groups with their God-ordained lands are not allowed to choose which state, local government or ward area they want for themselves. They are beggars of their natural resources from a far-flung visible agent and invisible agents. By visible agent here I refer to government while the invisible agents are those kinds of people that framed that system of government in their favour.
National Integration
It has become very necessary for the sake of unity of nations, national integration process to be cultivated among younger generations and the youths. Dr S. Radhakrishnan posited that “national integration cannot be built by brick and mortar; it cannot be built by chisel and hammer. It has to grow silently in the minds of and hearts of men. The only process is the process of education”. Drawing from this perspective, national integration is the only instrument for national unity. A nation of multicultural orientations like ours must work hard to aggregate these orientations into a national value. The national values should be an embodiment of these default orientations devoid of religious sentiments and primordial narrow sentiments. Therefore, national integration is a nation-building process towards national unity.
Since national integration is a process and not an art, the younger generations and the youths should be the primary targets and the older generation should be chained from their contagious influence on the youths. The introduction of this work pointed out how we lost national integration process in the past through which the older generation misused the youths to sever the national integration to this point that we are. Till today, the lessons are not learnt. Arewa youths are giving eviction notice to the Igbos, IPOB is agitating for cessation. Niger Delta youths are destroying ‘national assets’. Boko Haram is unleashing terror to Islamize Nigeria. The only relatively quite voices today are the Middle Belt and the Afenifere.
Problems of National Integration in Nigeria
 Political Parties: Different political parties in Nigeria have lost their essence of being political parties. Political parties should not have primordial sentiments of any kind to the detriment of national cohesion but rather as a vehicle for national values. It is posited that colonialism has helped African societies to eliminate our primitive and earliest forms of political systems such as tribes, family and bands through the introduction of political parties.
 Leadership: As earlier stated, bad leadership with sentiments is a major hindrance to national integration. The youths may grow up and unconsciously emulate those pattern of leadership, hence, it becomes endless as a common value
 Regionalism: Regional jealousy and narrow interest is overplayed in Nigeria above national interest. The North-South politics and dichotomy is a contagious political game played with the intention to manipulate uniformed citizen population. There is no iota of national unity in regional politicking. It is crafted out of history of the elite class interest to subject nationalism to primordial passion to retain power for them.
 Language Problem: There is a marked problem of language diversity. It becomes difficult to harness the diversity. In some cases, there are language superiority and imposition tendencies on minor ones perceived inferior ones.
 Youth Unemployment: Unemployment is the greatest problem to national cohesion. It causes frustration, superiority and inferiority complexes, conflicts, restiveness, crimes, discontentment, and envy among them. It makes the youths become enemy of their own country.
 Politico-Religiosity: Politics is married to religion in Nigeria. It has become difficult to distinguish between the two. Christians in Muslims predominant population, no matter how credible and competent, can never occupy political and important bureaucratic positions vice versa. This is a fast lane to alienation. By this, it has distorted sense of national integration.
Prospects and Way forward
Nigerian youths are very enterprising generation. They like leadership career and role modeling. They loathe idleness. Formal education is gradually withering from their minds because of the huge number of redundant unemployed graduates sitting at home without jobs. The following must be done to address the problem of national integration and it will help the youths develop sense of national unity (integration).
 Youth Friendly Economic Free Zones should be introduced so as to allow them fully participate without some forms of exploitative and restrictive competitions with the existing unmerciful bourgeoisie class. This will create many self-employment opportunities. This is also a strategic path to youths’ economic integration.
 Latent discriminatory government policies and actions against people because of their regional, religious and ethnic background or any form of affiliations must be avoided
 Indigenization of land should be enshrined in the Constitution so that whoever wants to live in any part of the country should acquire it through a legal process. This is particularly to address the fundamental problem of indigene-settler feud that has ravaged our sense of national unity.
 Sanity must be introduced in our polity by allocating heavy penalty on defaulters not just losing at the Courts or Tribunals. Most of the instances of youths civic disengagement and resort to violence, terror and eventual loss of sense of integration is largely as a result of political deprivation
 Education must be made key to national development. Positive reward system must be introduced and made free, fair, and open to all irrespective of class, or any form of social advantage against the other. Religious studies should be removed from public schools and allow on religious schools to offer that.
 Positive Youth Development programs should be introduced and made effective so as to ward off idleness and sense of alienation amongst the youths.
 Exemplary leadership must be encouraged among the ruling class so as to stimulate the youths imbibe the culture which advance the course of our national sense of belonging and development. An African adage says, when the mother cow is chewing cud, the baby cow may be watching keenly.
 Locust culture in politics must be discouraged amongst the youths and the younger generation. They should be set on the path of leadership, honour and dignity
 To galvanize these proposals into action plan, I suggest a Youth National Conference to be organized by Nigerian government backed by the National Assembly. The reports of this Youth-based Confab should be passed into law thereafter. The proposed Confab should consist of Niger Delta youth platform, Middle Belt Youth Council, Afenifere Youth, Arewa Youth, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council and any other registered operational voluntary youth organization. The National Youth Council of Nigeria is already Balkanized, politicized and privatized among politicians and desperate youth leaders.
 I totally agree as a core federalist, that the 2014 National Conference Report should be implemented without omitting a single letter from it because the youths can play a very a insignificant role national integration in an unbalanced system.
Let me conclude by stating that, national integration can be achieved if ethno-religious sentiments are not wrapped in the name of national interest to be imposed on others. Nigerians should be more civilized and exhibit ways of earning respect for her dear country. No nation can exist together as one with domineering tendencies of one group or region over another or silent code of war. National integration cannot be built by hate on one another; it cannot be built by guns and bullets; it cannot be built by power of imposition; it cannot be built in a state of constant fear; and it cannot be built by government propaganda. We lost the script long ago, and it may take us another longer time to achieve it. Our national Constitution should not be adjudged on the basis of quantity but the quality of the Content. The Content should be seen from the purview of the mind of the writers or drafters, the meaning of the words used, the sentences that make up all the clauses and the intentions. Our political system should be built on the basis of fairness and equity. May God deliver us from oppressing powerless people.
Thank you all.

count | 52

Emma Zopmal throws weight behind Restructuring and Good Governance in Abuja