By; SADIQ ABUBAKAR, Maiduguri
A university don and senior lecturer who is also a Professor of Geography in the Lake Chad Basin, Professor Hassan Bdliya has refuted media reports (not this medium), against him, published by some media on January 3, 2023, captioned, “It’s an insult to say I’m marginalizing any ethnic group – Zulum.”
He claimed that the media reports accused him of insulting his ethnic group and further accusing Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum of marginalizing Bura ethnic group of Southern Borno in state government appointments or affairs.
A statement issued and signed by Professor Hassan Bdliya, made available to journalists in , Maiduguri Friday said, “I wish to clarify the context in which the aforementioned article, which pitched me as an insulter of Governor Zulum.
”The journalist who wrote it apparently did not have enough time or space to present it. Governor Zulum in his address at the Bura Cultural Day held at Marama on January 1st 2023, did indeed express his displeasure about a statement that I made in my address as the guest speaker at the event.
”Among many statements that I made in the address, in the context which I now wish to clarify, I indeed stated that the people of Biu, albeit of Southern Borno, are marginalized.
”The following is the context of my address:
”My aim, in tandem with the purpose of the Bura Cultural Day program, was to contribute to the continued development of Bura culture as a tool for promoting development.”
”I did this by pointing out antecedents that have predisposed us as a people to operate sub optimally.
”This is how. According to the 1963 census the Bura/Pabir or Biu people is the 25th largest ethnic group in Nigeria. But due to the influence of alien civilizations or cultures (slavery, imperialism/ colonialism, Islam, Christianity, hegemony, etc), we today lack the clout that is commensurate with our numbers in the scheme of things.
”The alien civilizations have disaggregated us into small units that have made us easy objects of divide and rule, as well as domination. I accordingly wish to urge our people to consolidate and reclaim our clout.
”We see our current situation as an expression of the current position of affairs in the dynamic process of human development. What am I saying: At a certain point/stage in human development it was considered normal to hunt human beings for meat. This became unacceptable for society. People were traded as commodities (slavery), and it was acceptable then.
”Society sanctioned this about 250 years ago. The more organized or advanced people who drove the slave trade also conquered others to form empires like Songai, Kanem Bornu, etc, for their sustenance or development.
”It was a vogue then. Then more civilized groups colonized the empires along with other groups that were yet to be subjugated. It was accepted as normal thing to do then.
”Colonialism was rejected in the 1950s and 1960s. Now we are in the era of internal colonialism, with our various sub groups or ‘nationalities’ jostling for dominance or self-determination.
”This will surely transit into a more egalitarian form of coexistence than what we have now. The transition from slave trade, through colonialism to now hegemony and internal colonialism was characterized by turmoil at every stage, with retrogressive/negative consequences.
”In Nigeria we are currently transiting from the era of internal colonialism/hegemony, with the 1966 to 1970 civil war as a land mark starting point.
”The system of democracy we are practicing has been taming the transition. The national landscape is now dotted with various nationalities struggling to liberate themselves from perceived or real dominance.
”The movements for Biafra and Odua republics are examples. There are then several others who are not looking for republics but equity. Some are already openly staging their struggles, like the Idoma in Benue state.
”Some have remained as ‘the elephant in the room’, who may sooner or later bolt and cause serious problems. An example of this is the hegemonic relationship between the Kanuris and the other ethnic groups/nationalities who have been merged to form Borno state”, the statement said.
According to the statement, “Over the past 100 plus years, our coexistence has transited from exploitation/harvest, through control, to domination or manipulation and now transiting into partnership.”
Professor Hassan further said, “It is in the above context that my address was couched. We all know that other ethnic groups in Borno, who were less advanced, were appended to the more advanced Kanuris to form Borno province, now Borno State. ”
”The Kanuris with the privileges bestowed on them by this circumstance, have been dominating/lording it over the others. For us in Biu, and indeed the whole of southern /Borno,
”in this transition from the era of hegemony to a more egalitarian society, our aspiration is to relate as partners to the Kanuris and not appendages, to develop the state. It is no longer in vogue for any nationality to lord it over another in our present era of human development.
”This has been an elephant in the room which has been snorting. As a patriot I want the presence of this elephant to be acknowledged, and then removed from the room before it causes havoc.
”My call is to assist the Biu people, as a culture, to position themselves for the process of getting this elephant out of the room. I want them to recognize and harness their latent strength in numbers and manpower, by breaking the barriers that have disaggregated them, to become the big group which they are.
”Then they can boldly go to the negotiating table. Simple. I want to initiate honest consultations in order to avert reactionary interactions, as we are witnessing with IPOB and Odua. Let us mount this horse of change while it is still trotting and steer it.
‘;We should not allow it to start galloping at free will to undesirable destinations. I wish to assure Governor Zulum that as an individual I am not antagonistic of his administration or his person. I am playing on a turf which is more than a hundred years long, but because we are at the verge of an election.
”With political stalwarts having turned the Bura Cultural Day into a political rally, his attention was unavoidably focused on his administration, which is the last four years at the tip of this long turf.
”The marginalization that I alluded to is about the over 100 years of our coexistence in Borno. It is certainly not about Governor Zulum’s administration or person.
”I see him as a courageous man, and my aspiration is that if the people of Borno do grant to him a second term, he can deploy his courage to address the elephant in our room. This elephant has been slowing us down and it is now poised to wreak havoc for all of us. My intentions are good, and I come in peace, ” the statement added.
