The Kaduna Declaration: How every Nigerian Northerner should respond?

by Alexander O. Onukwue

How does, as a Northerner, who does not see Igbos as unruly, uncultured, ingrates and solely responsible for all the moral evils in Nigeria, respond to the ‘Kaduna Declaration’?

“Like all other humans on earth, some Igbos are dubious, have cheated me in the past and will do anything for money, even against their own kindred. Their ‘evils’  –  outweighed by their goods – are not exclusively perpetrated on me or people from the North alone, just as the ‘evils’ by my own people have covered the geographic mass of this nation and beyond”.

For the Nigerian Northerner feeling pressed by the above conundrum of balancing the reality of his experience with some Igbos, and the need to preserve the union of the nation, here are three things you can do right now:

  1. Put out a statement

There are three possible answers to an instruction: agree, disagree, or keep silent. Unfortunately, in the present situation, only one can mean something different from the other two, as to be silent is to consent. Just as the statement by the ‘group’ claimed to represent the North as being tired of association with the Igbos, a Nigerian Northerner’s response should be a complete and factual opposite, something along the line of the tweet by Dr Aminu Gamawa: “No group(s) speak for the whole North. The North is also not one group. The Igbos are not going anywhere. Love trumps hate. #NoToViolence

  1. Raise the Conversation

As the statement is only a day old, it is not yet a wide spread and a big issue; it is a cause for concern, but it would be unwise to grant the group the public attention it craves. The vicious language of the letter is aimed at diverting the focus of the nation from more lofty matters including the health of President Muhammadu Buhari, fixing the economy and the anti-corruption trials of all persons currently under investigation, whether those persons are from the North or South.

  1. See something, say something

Security consciousness, especially looking out for reckless treatments such as forceful eviction of neighbours or harassment at parks, would become, at this matter progresses, more necessary.

One comment

  1. Where is Prof Anglo abdullahi OR is it the case that his strategy for dealing with inflammatory statements was only restricted to dealing with IPOBs and Biafra Agitators??

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