Yoruba’s socio-cultural group, Afenifere Group, in the United Kingdom and Europe, has questioned the governance system of President Muhammadu Buhari, in which Nigeria is on the verge of collapse.

In a statement by the Secretary of the group, Anthony Ajayi, Afenifere said the Buhari administration skewed key appointments, heads and agencies to the North while the only good thing he had for the Southern region is the Cattle ranch (RUGA).

The group wondered how Buhari approved Air Force University in Bauchi after Police College in Kano, Defence Academy in Kaduna, War College in Abuja, Army University in Borno, Navy University in Kano, Army Staff College in Jaji (Kaduna) and Transport University in Daura (Katsina) but RUGA is the only thing that is good for the South.

Afenifere said,

The resurgence of high profile crimes within the polity and the ineffective response by the national security apparatus have reignited the need to decentralize the police and allied security organizations in Nigeria.

The centerpiece from where the household, community, the local government area, the state and the federation evolve and revolve as security circles of different radii.

Security concerns are in circles and actors within each circle are better attuned to concentrate and manage the security challenge therein. Accordingly, it underscored the need for decentralization of the police and other state-owned agencies of internal security management in order to mitigate the upsurge in crime and violence including those emanating from armed robbers, political assassins, ransom kidnappers and Islamic insurgents among others.

It questioned, however, if most of the Nigerians living in Europe could show one multi-ethnic state where one group is positioned to dominate the rest.

For those who do not know, what you call ethnic groups in Nigeria are called nations in Europe. There’s nowhere in the world where the white man accepts domination from another white man in perpetuity.

In Nigeria, you have people arguing that a decrepit, structurally-flawed and crisis-prone artificial contraption badly configured system being dominated by the North don’t have an agenda.

How you justify 81 of 100 appointees by President Buhari as Northerners? Buhari’s appointments are either from the North-East, North-West or North-Central since he became President of Nigeria.

As at April 2021, the paramilitary and anti-graft agencies based on their state of origin showed that 12 out of 16 of them (75 percent) are from the Northern part of the country, while just four (25 percent) are from the Southern part of the country.

These agencies are Defence, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Airforce, Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Security (DSS), National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Nigeria Correctional Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, and Nigeria Customs Service.

Others are Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Federal Fire Service, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices And Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

Also, Buhari’s approval of the list of Justices of the Court of Appeal released in 2021 reflects staggering inequality, with 61 per cent of jurists coming from the North while 39 per cent from the South.

The judicial appointment also once more brought to the fore the issue of the President preference of Northerners in key government positions.

If there is no agenda to conquer other parts of Nigeria and make them slaves, why the sectionalism, myopia, ethnic imperialism, nepotism, division, hate and treasonable promotion of interests inimical to the peace and security of Nigeria?

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.