Why A Revolution Against Tinubu's Government May Start From Northern Nigeria - Dele Farotimi

Human rights lawyer Dele Farotimi has predicted that the revolution and problems that will challenge President Bola Tinubu's government will originate from Northern Nigeria, driven by widespread hardship and dissatisfaction.

In an interview circulating on social media, Farotimi explained that the revolution against the suffering created by Tinubu's administration is unlikely to begin in Eastern Nigeria. He emphasized that the average Igbo person has long adapted to survive independently of government support, making them less likely to initiate such a movement.

"Long ago, I predicted that the Nigerian revolution would start in Northern Nigeria. The only reason I said so at the time is because the North had always been the reason we could not find a common purpose to fight the evil," Farotimi stated. "But now that the person in power in the presidency is not a northerner, and he is at best, a nominal Muslim, and the suffering has now been fully democratised, the Northern streets, not Northern elites, have no interest in forbearing and continuing to suffer."

Farotimi questioned why the North, which tolerated many hardships during Muhammadu Buhari's administration, finds the current situation intolerable. He believes that if the present conditions persist, the movement that will challenge the government will arise from the Northern region. "It might seem like nothing is going to happen but something will definitely happen. This system is not sustainable," he asserted.

Expounding on his point, Farotimi noted, "You will rarely find an Igbo man applying to civil service or looking for a salary job. The average ones, even those who went to university, still attach themselves to someone in the market and learn a trade. They learned to do without the government. They learned to discount the government completely."

According to Farotimi, this self-reliance equips the Igbo people better than any other Nigerian group to cope with the current circumstances where government support is negligible. "The Igbo man was already prepared for the uselessness of the government. Now that he is prepared for it and everyone wants to stigmatise him, I can't blame the Igbo man for turning around and saying, 'it is none of my business, enjoy your government.'"

He added, "He didn't enjoy anything from the beginning. I'm talking about the average Igbo man, not about the Orji Uzor Kalus or the Okorochas of this world who have always fed on the grievances of the Igbo people and have made money by appeasement of the government and presume to speak on behalf of the Igbos."

Farotimi concluded by highlighting the deep-rooted sentiment among the Igbo people that they have no stake in Nigeria, a belief that fueled the Biafran spirit and the demand for Biafra even 50 years after the civil war. "The average Igbo man in Igbo land, in Alaba International Market, in Ladipo, has always lived with the mentality of being victims of the system," he noted.