Divide and rule is an age long tactic oppressors use to keep the people down, to be able to Lord it over them. It’s a very simple tactic of pitching the people against each other by exploiting their weaknesses and citing well known differences among them.
The British used it when they came to Nigeria, and it was used in the civil war by the Nigerian government against Biafra.
Since then, the North has successfully used the tactic to keep the rest of Nigeria down, and it has been paying off. They know they have a lot to lose if they allow the unity of the South.
The #endsars protests in the South of Nigeria and its attendant unity among the different people that make up the South, have really unsettled the Northern Nigeria power bloc. It is so because the only way they have been holding on to power is by pitching the people against each other. They saw the unity of purpose among the protesters as a threat to their continued hold on to power. This is the simple reason why Northern folks never supported the #endsars campaign, as many saw it as a ploy to remove Buhari from power.
It is also the reason why the Northern Governors were against the disbandment of SARS.
The main reason why the silly narrative that it was the Igbos that are destroying Yoruba land came up, was the fear of the unity of Southern Nigeria by the North. The protesters never wore ethnic and tribal garbs during the protests, and the bullets from the guns of the military men didn’t differentiate between Yoruba, Igbo, Ijaw, Tiv, etc. It’s not surprising that many people are already buying into the narratives, but the most important thing is that awareness level of the people is now higher than it were in the 60s. A lot of people have also seen through the plots of the North.
The South should as a matter of fact maintain this unity, and not give into emotional blackmails from the North, which largely has a political undertone. By so doing, Nigeria will be changed for good.
By
Odumodu Gbulagu
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK