Barely a year ago, Dr. Obadiah Mailafiya, a former Deputy Governor of the CBN, as one paper out it, “claimed that a governor from the north is a commander of Boko Haram and that insurgents would soon start urban killings and attacking southern parts of the country.” We were shocked that such spurious allegation would come from an elder statesman like Dr. Mailafiya.
When he was invited by the DSS on 11 September 2020 to prove his claim, Dr. simply discredited his earlier assertion, saying that he heard it from the marketplace. The answer put the matter to rest and I humorously dubbed my elder brother “Dr. Balafiya”.
Three days ago, this son of our soil, a rare embodiment of economics, patriotism, micronationalism and courage became truly “balafiya” and passed away two days later.
Dr. Obadiah Mailafiya was undoubtedly one of the few respected intellectuals from this part of the country. That he felt strongly for the role and destiny of his people in modern Nigeria attests to his character of a rare breed that choses values over materialism wealth, fairness over greed and justice over inequity.
Many of his kind in origin, background, status and calling have sunk into the abyss of looting and silence in the face of the prevailing retrogression, impropriety and deceit. Dr. Mailafiya chose to remain on the side of justice.
Yes. Justice. You may not agree with him on standing out for his people. In fact you don’t have to. You may even accuse him of silence when his people were the oppressors in the domains they dominate. That, in my view, does not make him less important than his seniors, like JS Tarka. We cannot be better than the humans we are. The human trait is the train that conveys us in the journey of life. We cannot be faster than it.
In national discourse, many times one finds it necessary to speak out on behalf of those whose voice cannot be heard, negotiating between the interest of the oppressed sub-national group he represents and the overarching national interest, winning the trust of both without losing relevance in the national discourse. In such a terrain, things are not as contrasting as we may wish to paint them. A justice to one, may be injustice to another.
The opposite view that challenges the dominant and prevailing paradigm helps to enforce moderation, improve consideration and push the nation towards better understanding. A nation that doesn’t encourage scrutiny and correction is oppressive and dead. And a mind that chooses silence in the face of such oppression is a dead mind.
The geographical Middlebelt which Dr. Mailafiya fought for will continue to push for the same egalitarian values he stood for, as did his predecessors and as would other demographic elements of the country.
All we pray for is a civilized atmosphere of the dialogue. If there is anything the last twenty years have proved to us is that violence only worsen matters as it dissonates the logic of one another in our ears.
We don’t have to be on the same side to appreciate one another. In his last major battle, Alexander found Porus—the Indian king who marshaled elephants and a formidable infantry against him—an admirably brave adversary so much so that he reinstated him as king of his territory.
To praise Dr. Mailafiya may not necessarily mean the endorsement of his stand on all matters but a recognition and admiration of his intrepid spirit and moral rectitude.
My sincere condolences go to his family. May God give them the fortitude to bear the loss, move forward and remain lafiya forever. Amen.
- Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde, Bauchi
