In the past three weeks, Northern Nigeria’s cyberspace has been inundated with discussions about alleged blasphemy involving a certain scholar from a particular sect. The same intensity of energy was witnessed when a similar allegation was levelled against another scholar from a different sect in 2021. Though the epicentre of this latest controversy is Kano State, the entire North has been engulfed by the debate. From Sokoto to Borno, major pulpits have remained fixated on the issue, with no end in sight, perhaps not until the trial is concluded and the scholar is found guilty or acquitted.
From Facebook to TikTok, the number of posts and videos on this same issue of alleged blasphemy has been overwhelming. Each post generates thousands of comments and counter-comments. This same energy was unleashed when the late Bauchi State cleric declared that he needed no help of any form from anyone except God. If it is not this type of issue, then it would be about Hadiza Gabon not covering her hair fully, or Laila Ali Othman being too “careless” in her public display of affection towards her husband. This energy is real and unmatched by anything else you can imagine. And the question remains: why doesn’t this same energy extend to other pressing issues that plague our region? And is this what obtains in other parts of the country?
Within this same span of time, the Net-Works Business Club of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), whose mission is to empower Christian business professionals through networking and supportive resources in a community that fosters collaboration, growth, and shared values, held a session titled “Tax Compliance and Planning: Strategies for Businesses and Individuals in the New Tax Landscape” with Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, the Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee. It was an event worth watching and rewatching, an educational and highly impactful session for business owners and individuals alike.
You also need to see the professionalism with which the two young moderators anchored the event. One thing became obvious as they introduced the speakers and managed the flow of the programme: the structure and leadership of the Net-Works Business Club are deliberately geared towards empowering business owners and professionals to be profitable, productive, and excellent in their fields.
In a similar period, The Platform, convened by Pastor Poju Oyemade of The Covenant Nation, a major non-political and non-partisan national development initiative, held one of its annual Independence Day events titled “Rebuilding Our Nation.” The Platform continues to gather high-profile leaders, policymakers, and experts to foster critical discussions and thought leadership on governance, economic development, and innovation in Nigeria and across Africa. Among the guest speakers were the first female President of Kosovo and a Chief Economist at the Afreximbank.
I am not even going to talk about the deliberate efforts and ventures of the Church in Southern Nigeria into education, establishing some of the nation’s best institutions that continue to produce world-class professionals. It gladdens my heart that we now have Tazkiyah University, founded by Professor Ibrahim Maqari, the Chief Imam of the National Mosque, Abuja. It holds great promise for academic excellence.
And to be fair, there was also the Northern Nigeria Investment and Industrialisation Summit held within this same period. The event was convened by the Northern Elders Forum in collaboration with 19 Northern states. However, its impact, both online and offline, was minimal compared to the heated attention given to moral and religious controversies. If you doubt this, search “Northern Nigeria Investment and Industrialisation Summit” here on any social media platform and compare the results with “Sheikh Lawal Abubakar Triumph.” The difference reveals what truly dominates the minds and psyche of the majority in the region.
The truth is, we cannot develop as a people if our collective energy remains fixated on moral and religious outrage while economic, educational, and developmental concerns receive little attention. We continue to become lonely pawns in the center of a chessboard ready to be taken by anyone who has interest in our region. This same passion could transform our region if redirected toward solving insecurity, reforming education, and building industries that create jobs.
At some point, we must ask ourselves a hard question: What exactly do we want for the North — growth or endless outrage? While others are busy building systems and shaping the future, we are busy trending moral battles that lead nowhere. Development might be painfully slow but it does not answer to noise; it responds to deliberate attempts, focus, strategy, and hard work.
Until we begin to channel the same passion we pour into controversies toward innovation, education, and human capital development, our stagnation will remain self-inflicted. Yet, we will keep pointing fingers at the West or the Jews for what is, in truth, our own negligence. The day we start trending transformative ideas instead of trading insults will be the day a new North begins to rise.
