NORTHERNER: Letter to Hausa-Fulani of the North By Femi Ogunshola
I found it all joy pening down this letter at this very point when results of the 2023 Presidential election is being collated. You have exhibited unprecedented honour by keeping to agreement, coming swiftly to rescue Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu from the jaw of Lion, false prophets, betrayers, cowards, religion bigots. You honestly did prove your mettle.
In the build up to the 2023 General Elections, the narrative out there was that the North will disappoint South West, they cannot leave their son to vote a Yoruba man, it was an everyday song on their lips especially on social media, my fear became palpable, but my experience in the past with you makes me trudge on.
One of my friend from Southern Kaduna shared a post on his wall “”Instead of Tinubu to win, make trumpet just blow make all of us go rest.’ And I commented thus “Democracy is a contest, the majority take the lead while the minority register their impact ” His replied was again troubling, I fidgeted, he captured it ” Femi Ogunshola, you will always remember what I told you….”a typical Hausa man will never hand over power to you.” This weaken me but I bodly ignored.
So many unrefuted stories were told about you, with names that truly didn’t define the value you hold so dearly, possibly because you aren’t given to noise on social media. You believed much in action than noise. Those noise makers called you betrayer, never to be trusted, you cannot handover power to the south among others, it was more of speculation than real.
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But I found a defence for you, the example you exhibited during the late Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, the Presidential candidate of Social Democratic Party (SDP) a southerner and a true Yoruba man who you massively voted for to defeat your very own, late Alhaji Bashir Tofa, the presidential candidate of National Republican Convention (NRC) in his Kano base. MKO won the 1993 general elections with a landslide courtesy of your unalloyed support.
Yes, Abiola lost in the South East but the North came to the rescue, unfortunately Sen. Aurthur Nzeribe (now deceased) from Imo, set the pace for the annulment of his election, he was used to scuttle the exercise via his Association for Better Nigeria (ABN). Nigeria did not recover from the impasse.
In trying to drive home their point, those social media noise makers always reminded us that event has overtaken the MKO scenerio, that anyone who trust the North does that at his peril. But I never doubted your ability to stand by your word to reciprocate the gesture extended by the South West with the formation of the All Progressives Congress that saw to the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari having tried three times failing.
My friend Muhammed Abbas from Katsina State, Daura LGA, an Atiku man was the first to congratulate me even when the results of the election were still being counted. I told him “I love the northerners more.” He however gave a not too good verdict about President Muhammadu Buhari’s for the poor showing of APC in Katsina
In all, northerners are trusted people, they pay good for good and not what the social media warlord want you to believe. Northerners are men of honour. This election could not have been won by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu without Northerners reciprocating the gesture of 2015 general elections that saw Buhari deafening an incumbent.
This is the way to go and you have proved naysayers wrong that your honours are intact, people can call you names but you remain true to your words.
Thank you for doing this for Asiwaju.
