Building on Danfodio's Legacy
This write-up is instructive on account of the realities of today.
First there is the issue of a seeming stagnation of the majority of Northern Nigerian Muslims in a quintessential saturated ideal that was the ‘Dan-Fodio’ legacy. There has hardly been any attempt to build on the fundamental and universal precepts upon which the Shehu’s revolution were built. Values like scholarship, equitable justice, adherence to ethics and morality seemed to have been over-taken & overshadowed by selfish, egotistical and tyrannical self-servience.
For me I see this no more glaringly than in the way that ‘royalty’ across the Hausaland have expropriated ‘resources’ and sources of livelihood without any commensurate conversion of such into tangible benefits for the populace. No wonder that many ‘outside observers’ will look at the society as being lazy, lacking in imagination and having a weird sense of subservience to hegemony given the apparent indifference to the unending hold that the ‘rulers’ have over the people.
People like Mallam Aminu Kano championed the severing of this ‘unholy’ bond that lacks any benefit through an advocacy for empowerment of the ‘downtrodden’ and lowly. I think for instance taking a case study, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso & Sule Lamido (though not quite in the same manner depending on opinions) - are also following such a path in Kano and Jigawa respectively, where some will argue that the ‘blunt’ nature of their actions are attempts to empower the people.
The second striking issue is that looking at the current configuration of the Northern part of Nigeria we find that the very foundation of most if not all conflicts that characterize the region lies in the frustration of the disparate peoples who feel ‘subjugated’ within the area. A steady dose of hatred has been brewed and a combination of historical events and expediencies has created an environment that is lacking in trust, mutual destinies and leadership.
Therefore, while the traditional institutions warehouse the cultural and value propositions of the peoples, they have the ‘extra baggage’ of vestiges of a system that cultivated a cauldron of inequities and ‘elitist’ divide and rule tactics. From the issues of indigene-settler dichotomies, the plotting to enthrone only those from within by way of ethnic and religious chauvinism…it is bluntly clear that a chasm and disconnect exists filled with distrust, hatred, visionlessness and even hopelessness which breeds an environment akin to a jungle. Law, order and respect for human dignity and sanctity of life has fast deteriorated to the barest minimum in many quarters.
Now given the foregoing bleak account of realities, wither the way forward?
This is why I believe that there is a need to ‘cross’ the threshold set by the Usman Dan-Fodio revolution and create a renewed one by way of a paradigm shift which will take cognizance of the multivariate that is the Northern part of the country.
Our destinies are intertwined even farther than the enclaves we all so much cling to with fervor. Who is not a settler? If sustainable livelihoods had been built and equitable distribution of resources had been pursued we would be talking about citizenship and not indigeneship for no one would care about how long a person has stayed in an area compared to what value addition he/she has been able to provide as a distinct member of the community/society.
Finally there’s no gainsaying that there is no future in a balkanized region with the potential of destabilizing the larger region that is West Africa…but so also can there never be any sustainable one built out of perceived injustices, inequities and blatant disregard for the balancing of responsibilities and rights.
My opinion is that the destiny of Nigeria’s survival as an entity is hinged upon the straightening out of these myriad of issues that have been ‘pushed under the rug’. Panels of inquiries have been continuously setup to find lasting solutions to upheavals and various crises and one common denominator missing is the WILL to implement the recommendations therein. Perhaps our ‘new’ Usman Dan-Fodio revolutionary will be one (or even a group of people) that is/are able to do so.
Haidar Wali
First there is the issue of a seeming stagnation of the majority of Northern Nigerian Muslims in a quintessential saturated ideal that was the ‘Dan-Fodio’ legacy. There has hardly been any attempt to build on the fundamental and universal precepts upon which the Shehu’s revolution were built. Values like scholarship, equitable justice, adherence to ethics and morality seemed to have been over-taken & overshadowed by selfish, egotistical and tyrannical self-servience.
For me I see this no more glaringly than in the way that ‘royalty’ across the Hausaland have expropriated ‘resources’ and sources of livelihood without any commensurate conversion of such into tangible benefits for the populace. No wonder that many ‘outside observers’ will look at the society as being lazy, lacking in imagination and having a weird sense of subservience to hegemony given the apparent indifference to the unending hold that the ‘rulers’ have over the people.
People like Mallam Aminu Kano championed the severing of this ‘unholy’ bond that lacks any benefit through an advocacy for empowerment of the ‘downtrodden’ and lowly. I think for instance taking a case study, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso & Sule Lamido (though not quite in the same manner depending on opinions) - are also following such a path in Kano and Jigawa respectively, where some will argue that the ‘blunt’ nature of their actions are attempts to empower the people.
The second striking issue is that looking at the current configuration of the Northern part of Nigeria we find that the very foundation of most if not all conflicts that characterize the region lies in the frustration of the disparate peoples who feel ‘subjugated’ within the area. A steady dose of hatred has been brewed and a combination of historical events and expediencies has created an environment that is lacking in trust, mutual destinies and leadership.
Therefore, while the traditional institutions warehouse the cultural and value propositions of the peoples, they have the ‘extra baggage’ of vestiges of a system that cultivated a cauldron of inequities and ‘elitist’ divide and rule tactics. From the issues of indigene-settler dichotomies, the plotting to enthrone only those from within by way of ethnic and religious chauvinism…it is bluntly clear that a chasm and disconnect exists filled with distrust, hatred, visionlessness and even hopelessness which breeds an environment akin to a jungle. Law, order and respect for human dignity and sanctity of life has fast deteriorated to the barest minimum in many quarters.
Now given the foregoing bleak account of realities, wither the way forward?
This is why I believe that there is a need to ‘cross’ the threshold set by the Usman Dan-Fodio revolution and create a renewed one by way of a paradigm shift which will take cognizance of the multivariate that is the Northern part of the country.
Our destinies are intertwined even farther than the enclaves we all so much cling to with fervor. Who is not a settler? If sustainable livelihoods had been built and equitable distribution of resources had been pursued we would be talking about citizenship and not indigeneship for no one would care about how long a person has stayed in an area compared to what value addition he/she has been able to provide as a distinct member of the community/society.
Finally there’s no gainsaying that there is no future in a balkanized region with the potential of destabilizing the larger region that is West Africa…but so also can there never be any sustainable one built out of perceived injustices, inequities and blatant disregard for the balancing of responsibilities and rights.
My opinion is that the destiny of Nigeria’s survival as an entity is hinged upon the straightening out of these myriad of issues that have been ‘pushed under the rug’. Panels of inquiries have been continuously setup to find lasting solutions to upheavals and various crises and one common denominator missing is the WILL to implement the recommendations therein. Perhaps our ‘new’ Usman Dan-Fodio revolutionary will be one (or even a group of people) that is/are able to do so.
Haidar Wali
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