... While We Were Calling For A Better Nigerian President, They Were Agitating For Power To Return To “core” North

By Stephen Akuma

A nincompoop will say “Stephen you have changed from being a nationalist to an ethnic bigot”. To the nincompoop, being a nationalist is to keep quiet and watch your people die in the hands of Fulani terrorists while you shout and cry for “core” Northerners when they are attacked by Islamic terrorists (Boko Haram).
In the last election, most Christian/Minorities in the MiddleBelt supported a Fulani/Muslim man against a minority/Christian man because they feel they will get a better president in Buhari. So while we were calling for a better Nigerian president, they were agitating for power to return to the “core” North. To some of them, they have used us to install their brother; over 99% of the “core” Northerners voted Buhari simply because he is a Hausa/Fulani Muslim.
When Buhari came in, we tried to give him some early support despite some of his wrong decisions. The more we gave him cover, they more they saw us as willing puppets to be used. So PMB went ahead to appoint “core” Northerners to head almost all military and paramilitary formations, then he kept quiet and watched his Fulani brothers go on a killing spree without condemning their act of terror. Instead, he went ahead to inaugurate a military task force against cattle rustlers, thereby prioritizing cows above human lives.
He didn’t stop there, he started appointing his “core” Northern brothers to head agencies and parastatals, disregarding federal character. The sad side is that he is appointing incompetent people to head key ministries and parastatals. He has shown us that he is first a Fulani man before he is a Nigerian. So we cannot be shouting nationalism! nationalism! when the president himself has not exhibited a trait of a national leader. He has raised ethnicity to the rank of religion via placing his ethnic group above the entire Nigerian state.
Following his definition of change/nationalism, we have no choice than to fall back and protect our own people. Since the civil war, we have never been divided as we are now, no thanks to the President’s style of leadership; a similar type of ethnic bias led to killings of Tutsis in Rwanda. He has taught us to raise our ethnic flag before our national flag. Although Umaru Musa Yaradua was a Fulani man, he saw every ethnic group as his primary constituency. Unfortunately for us, he passed away.
As for me, I am a Tiv man and we are most hit by this government that nepotism holds sway. The Tiv are the 4th largest ethnic group in Nigeria (Check at the Nigerian Population Commission) spread across, Benue, Taraba, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Plateau, and Abuja but this President has refused to appoint a Tiv person to head any parastatal or ministry. The Same government has turned a blind eye to the massacre in Tivland by Fulani terrorists. Then because your people have been settled, you want us to keep quiet. Search your conscience and answer this question: Will you keep quiet if your people are treated like this?
You may be wondering why things are not going well with this government. A government that seeks to promote a particular ethnic group above other Nigerians cannot get the blessings of God, for God is a lover of all.
So Mr. hypocrite, instead of saying Stephen has changed, prick your conscience and know what is making him change.