Southern Leaders Are To Blame for Northern Hegemony

The rapid northernisation of every department in Nigeria has been put down to the selfishness and short-sightedness of Southern politicians, a political group has alleged. The group under the aegis of the Committee for Transparency and Good Governance (CTGG) allege that southern leaders are too selfish and greedy. Speaking through its Secretary-General Mr Chris Unwachukw at a symposium in Lagos, the group berated southern leaders for always scheming for themselves and not their children or hangers-on. “Instead of concentrating on building the younger ones, you often find our southern leaders suppressing them and assuming positions that expose their greed. “How can a leader from the south who is already in his late 70’s wanting to be appointed a minister?” Mr Chris questioned.  Nevertheless, an analysis showed that most of their decisions were taken to keep them alive. “How do you want them to survive if they give way and sit at home? Asked the analysts. But the northerners have been able to groom their younger ones who seamlessly graduated from obscurity to prominence. “That’s why they plan 20 years ahead from now by recruiting their younger ones into strategic places”, explained Mr Chris. A visit to most “grade A” Federal Agencies would find the lucky northerners crawling all over unabashedly; many of them earn fabulously while the southerners are relegated as “contract staff” with poor salaries—or allowances. This may explain why churches boom down south with frustrated people trooping for a spiritual reprieve. “It is not funny when you are unemployed for years while your counterparts from the north just simply walk into choice places”, Chris lamented. “This is all down to our leaders who deprive us of our benefits and remain in contention even till death”, he said.  Would this scenario change? It is doubtful fo much grounds have already been lost.