THE IMBALANCE CALLED 'CHANGE'. Written by Saint-Olawale Jimoh

  
One African proverb says he who does not understand the cry of a palm-bird complains of the noise it makes. When I first wrote that beheading can never be solution for headache and that even though the former President Goodluck Jonathan may not have done enough to convince Nigerians to re-elect him, the desperate Northern candidate cannot be a better replacement, some people tagged me a pro-Jonathan activist. Yet, the recent action of the incumbent President is a clear pointer to the fact that this government made possible by all Nigerians is simply for the Northerners.

    One highly respected Northern elite was quoted to have said, 'the damage has already been done. The key positions had gone to the North and what remains may not correct the imbalance even if all the 300 future appointments go to the South. This is the gospel truth that would never be spoken by CHANGE evangelists in APC camp. Even in the ministerial appointments to come, at least, by law 19 must go to the North in addition to the existing appointments.
   Fact is, each time we talk or author an article about this injustice in our system, few of our over-enlightened people would say "my own is who can do things better, nothing concern me about tribe."

     The Northerners do not think the way we are thinking. They don't joke with power and their rights and they are not pretentious of it. But here in the Southwest, we allow sentiment to becloud our sense of true judgement. Incidentally, some of these imbalance practices have a way of coming back to haunt us and regrettably, the result is what we are faced with today.

      For instance, over the years, the Northerners were in charge of the military, where they raised standard for all non-Northern candidates and lower it for the North in the name of federal character. Again, let's consider this. The Chief Justices of Nigeria since 1987 till date are Northerners and this happened because federal character principle was not followed in the appointment of Judges into the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Same for other federally owned agencies yet none of these seem to bother us, especially the party 'faithfools' who would say "if Buhari likes, let him appoint everybody from his home town, my own is I want change".
I believe Federal cabinet selection is not like national soccer team selection where people don't care where players come from as long as they deliver the trophy. It's about ensuring the colonial legacy that legitimizes adherence to our peculiar Quota System in which every region counts.

    Our children and grand children will ask us questions that we may not be able to answer and make no mistake, either you agree or not, Buhari has concluded the most important appointments of his government only that the skewed appointments lacked political, regional, religious and ethnic colour and this evidently is not the change entire Nigerians voted for.