OPINION: RE: PKK MICROZONING: A CASE OF ELECTORAL XENOPHOBIA

By: Samuel O. Nentawe,

My attention has just been drawn to a write of one Hosea Nash, titled: PKK MICROZONING: A CASE OF ELECTORAL XENOPHOBIA, published by REALITY NEWSPAPER few minutes ago that has caused my heart to bleed.

I took my time to also googol to know the profile of the writer, and I discovered that, he is the Publisher/Owner of the defunct APEX Magazine.

In his write up that may have gone viral, courtesy REALITY NEWSPAPER, Hosea claimed and I quote that, “The opportunity created by political parties to enthrone geopolitical equity and good conscience is about to be mangled by ethnic fear as fortune seekers attempt to forge an arrangement that is not supported by any historical facts and antecedents.

“First of all, constitutional matters must be separated from Party privileges and consensual norms. The entrenchment or creation of geopolitical zones, senatorial districts, federal constituencies, state constituencies, and Federal Wards in the 1999 constitution was to keep the federation intact in terms of political representation.

“The same constitution is silent on how the tribes within such political demarcations collaborate and coagulate socio-politically. To a large extent, political parties intervene with privileges such as rotation or zoning. But not even the political parties prescribe zoning or rotation along the political prefabrications of Federal, State, or Wards.

“Rather, ethnic or cultural configuration is the predicate of zoning to the effect that it conduce cross-cultural cooperation, understanding, and reduces tension and self asserting agitations”.

I really do agree with him that, there is nowhere that political agreements among tribes have been documented like the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and that, the ethnic groups within a State, Constituency or Ward, work things out in order to effect “Cross-Cultural Cooperation, Understanding in order to reduce suspicion, under development, marginalization and some form of superiority and domination in all forms.

It therefore calls to question Hosea’s write up, on whether it is the Ngas tribe (People) alone that took the decisions in the Central Zone of Plateau State, as he failed to put it across to his readers.

It is unfortunate that, Hosea, being a Plateau Son from the Southern extraction, who must have been educated of the tribal composition of Plateau Central Senatorial Zone from his Primary School days to his present exposure is found wanting, as he mischievously equates PKK to mean Ngas people.

There is nowhere in the history that he has relied upon from Gowon to J. D. Gomwalk that the Ngas people have every claimed PKK.

To me, this imagination is troublesome!

Secondly, if he believes that there is zoning among the tribes in the zone, it simply means that, the people of PKK wish to remain equals, while providing the needed opportunity for each component of the brotherhood to have a thirst of several political appointments and elective offices, which in my humble reasoning includes, the governorship seat.

Sadly, it is shameful to read and note that, a Journalist of Hosea’s standing, who is supposed to lead in the information industry with the expected wealth of his exposure, could hardly differentiate between a Military Rule and Democratic System. As he tried hard to mislead his readers concerning General Yakubu Gowon, as Head of State, and the great Joseph Gomwalk of blessed memory.

Kindly allow me, to reproduce part of his assertion on this and how his thought and pen trekked with his reasoning.

Hosea, having his brain between his legs stated and I quote, “Come to think of it, who is attempting to twist the records and stand history on the head? An excursion into history will throw up some truths and inalienable facts that are non-negotiable in this context. Even if the curtain is drawn against the era of General Yakubu Gowon as head of state, and Joseph Gomwalk as the military governor of the erstwhile Benue Plateau State for years in excess of present day term limits, PKK that is attempting to avoid electoral justice by pleading micro zoning, has been lavishly favored by the restoration of democracy since 1999”.

What a chase of the wind! Is he implying that, Ngas people should have closed their eyes in the face of an opportunity like this, which will allow many tribes in PKK, who are able and credibly qualified to replicate quality leadership in the state, to go away without nipping it on the bud? Haba Jama’a!

From the collection of the Aspirants from PKK, is there any that he can fault not to be able to wear the shoes of past leaders that have governed the state or is he already saying that, he and his undisclosed sponsors and group are more worried about the emergence of an Ngas?

I want to put it to him already that, the people of Ngas are ready to put in, the needed lobby and sacrifices in order to balance the inequality within the Plateau Central Senatorial Zone, politically without fear!

This is democracy and it is the government of the people by the people and not an instructive government by an administration, like Hosea Nash wants his readers to believe and treat as TRUTH.

The Ngas people have spoken and have advised in the course of their lobbying for the “Microzoning” that, it is for the Peace, Unity and Progress of PKK and not just Ngas as a tribe, just as Mangu/Bokkos Federal Constituency is not about Mwagahvul people as been erroneously pushed by Hosea in his baseless write up.

His baseless write up has not added anything to knowledge, peaceful living or the unity of the zone, as it rather speaks volume about the inherent greed and selfishness of those, who have no respect for other tribes and their people.