By Adisa Adeleye

In the noble exercise of attempting to plan for the future greatness of Nigeria, perhaps it would be necessary to peep into the past and examine the present.  Before the peculiar amalgamation of 1914, British military forces had already prepared ground for Lord Lugard who gave the country the name, Nigeria.

In post Independence Nigeria, both the Hausa/Fulani and the Yoruba monopolized the political leadership of the country under civilian and military regimes.  The intrusion of the Ibo was rudely interrupted by a military counter-coup of 1966.  That we have an Ijaw man as the President is a welcome and pleasant rarity.

The pertinent question is what is the Caliphate?  The Sokoto Caliphate which was established in the early 19th century as a result of cultural and religious jihad, covered a large area of Northern part of Nigeria and Ilorin, (a Yoruba town), except Borno, Borgu, Igala, Idoma, Tiv, Jakun and most of Plateau areas.  The illustrious founder, Shehu Usman Danfodio (1754-1814) was a religious crusader without any dynastic pretension.  The military wing of the religious and cultural revolution was left to Danfodio‘s brother, Abdullahi (1756-1828).

The Sultanate of Sokoto which later became a very strong dynasty till today was established by Danfodio‘s four sons who became Sultans at one time or the other, except Muhammad Buhari, the third son from whom the deposed Sultan Ibrahim Dasuki descended.

The Sokoto Caliphate which became a powerful religious and dynastic power, spreading its tentacles into many parts of the country throughout the 19th century was conquered in 1903 by the British.

It will be interesting also to understand the Yoruba race.  The Yoruba, according to history were brought to Ife (now in Osun State) by that legendary but mythical man called Oduduwa whose scattered children founded many empires in South-West Nigeria.  The most famous one was the Oyo Empire.

I once wrote that ‘surely, the Yoruba of the present era will perhaps feel a sense of nostalgia as they look back on the grandeur that was the old Oyo Empire or dream of the halcyon days that once pervaded the reign of Oba Abiodun, the Alaafin of Oyo-Ile in the 18th Century. The Yoruba Kingdom, before the advent of European colonialism and internecine wars, had flourished in Ife, Owu, Ijebu,Ijesha, Ketu, Popo, Egba, Sabe, Egbado, Igbomina, Ekiti, Owo, Ondo, Ila and Lagos.

The break-up of the finely tuned constitutional set-up of Oyo Empire as a result of conflicting and inordinate ambition of central government officials. The sack of Oyo-Ile by the Fulanis in 1830 signified the end of the glorious Oyo Empire.  The History of the Yoruba in the 19th century is that of internal conflict and act of senseless warfare.  Maiming and killing of the Yoruba by the Yoruba became the vogue, even after the crushing of the Fulani forces at Oshogbo in 1840.

In the 20th century, the story was less pleasing.  The glorious attempt to bring the Yoruba together under one political umbrella foundered on the rock of irreconcilable personal differences between Chief Obafemi Awolowo, leader of the Action Group(AG) and his deputy, Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola.  Years after their death, the Yoruba are still divided, scattered into different factions.

The rivalry between the Hausa/Fulani and the children of Oduduwa ended in the 19th century leaving the later divided.  The History of the Yoruba in the 19th century was that of internecine wars. The Caliphate consolidated while the Yoruba embarked on elusive unity until Chief Awolowo emerged in the 1950s. In the intervening period before 1960, the Western Region under Awolowo and Northern Region under Ahmadu Bello were in healthy competition though their political parties, Action Group (AG) and Northern Peoples‘ Congress (NPC) were in bitter rivalry.

The political scene in the 1950s changed with the addition of the Ibo into the leadership struggle.  Dr Azikiwe became ‘the beautiful bride‘ after the elections in 1959, and eventually aided the Northern NPC to form the first federal government and with Dr Azikiwe, ‘the bride‘ becoming the first indigenous President of Nigeria.  The unfortunate saga of post independence politics was that a faction of the Yoruba teamed up with NPC while a larger faction went with the NCNC.

The disputed elections of 1964 and the loss of trust among the leading tribes of Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba and Ibo led to a situation which allowed some misguided youths (in military attires) to stage a coup which appeared unfair and unjust in its execution.  Majority of the victims were Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba – the presumed trouble makers.  The Ibo leadership escaped unscathed.  The consequences of such dastardly act, no doubt, provided the foundation for the costly Civil War of 1967-70.  It was no surprise that the Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba and others combined to prosecute the war to a successful end.

The predicament of today is a thing of joy.  The minorities are seemingly happy in their states and one of them is by the grace of God, the President.

The defeated Ibo of 1970 are now back fully in Nigeria as Army Chief of Staff and Secretary to the Federal Government.  President Jonathan seems to be playing the balancing game well.

Presently, President Jonathan‘s problem is the greed of his party (PDP) in cornering all political offices to the exclusion of others (by design).  How could a party which won elections with over 22 million votes against opposition strength of 18 million votes could fairly and justifiably rule alone a country that needs all hands on deck?

How about the future?  President Jonathan is faced with insecurity in the North, armed robberies and kidnapping in the South and mass unemployment throughout the country.  And as of recent, the Sultan of Sokoto has expressed his displeasure over the lack of trust in anything Muslim – the religion of the Caliphate and many Yoruba in the South West.

Feedback: sms only   07059197616