By Donu Kogbara
LAST week, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the Governor of the Central Bank, ascribed the emergence of Boko Haram to poverty…and highlighted the fact that the funds that Northern states get from the Federation Account are paltry compared to the funds received by oil-producing states.

Sanusi’s statement, uttered during an interview with a foreign newspaper, was (I daresay) motivated by a desire to honestly analyse the causes of a serious problem that is on everyone’s mind. But it was extremely unhelpful at a time when tension between the North and South is not in short supply.

Since I am very outspoken by nature, I sympathise with anyone who doesn’t pull punches and says it like it is. And Sanusi’s comment was not false. But there are times when it is best to keep one’s mouth shut and NOT speak one’s mind!

Any comment that appears to imply that the North is being shortchanged is bound to provoke outrage and hostile counter-comments in Southern circles.

There is a widespread belief that Northerners are too prone to violence and religious zealotry…and have no right to grumble about revenue allocation disparities because they have not contributed enough to the national cake and did not run this country justly or efficiently when they were in charge.

If I were in Sanusi’s shoes, I would not draw attention to regional weaknesses that need only be temporary because they can be eliminated by quality leadership. I would throw my energies into urging my people to forget about self-pity and concentrate on becoming more dynamic and more productive.

The derivation principle is here to stay and it is futile for anyone to go on about it in a manner that indicates a desire to turn the clock back or create a future in which everyone gets the same amount from the communal kitty, regardless.

Niger Deltan states get more money because they are morally entitled to more money. And before anyone accuses me of being a biased ethnic chauvinist, let me assure all and sundry that I would hold this opinion even if I didn’t come from a pollutant-ravaged oil-producing area in which most folks are dirt poor.