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OPINION: THE MIDDLE BELT QUESTION: HISTORY, POWER, AND THE CURRENT REALITY.

Published

7 months ago

January 12, 2026

By: Dr. Pogu Bitrus.

It has become imperative to respond decisively to a mischievous and intellectually dishonest article circulating under the headline “The Manufactured Middle Belt: The Untold History, Foreign Backing and the Agenda to Fracture Northern Nigeria,” authored under the pseudonym Safyan Umar Yahaya. Far from being a work of history and of social concern, the piece is an alarmist pamphlet, animated by fear and bigotry, not facts, all aimed at delegitimising the rising social and political consciousness of the Middle Belt.

The anxiety beneath the essay is unmistakable. For over a century, certain ruling blocs have exploited the Middle Belt economically, subordinated it politically, and tried to diminish it culturally. Today, as the people of the region reclaims its history, pride and asserts its unity, anger and blackmail are the responses of the losers.

The central claim, that the Middle Belt is a recent political fabrication without historical roots, is not merely false; it is a deliberate distortion built on colonial convenience and selective amnesia.

WHAT THE MIDDLE BELT ACTUALLY IS.

The Middle Belt refers to the vast geographical and cultural zone inhabited by indigenous ethnic nationalities of the former Northern Region, now spanning 19 Northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, who were never conquered or were never largely ruled by the Sokoto Caliphate or the Kanem-Borno Empire prior to British colonisation.
Put plainly, the Middle Belt consists of the autochthonous peoples of Northern Nigeria who are neither Hausa, Fulani, nor Kanuri, and who historically existed outside the authority of Islamic caliphates, notwithstanding some pockets of Emirate enclaves among it. This is not opinion; it is an established historical fact.

Long before colonial rule, the Middle Belt was home to sovereign empires, kingdoms, chiefdoms, and complex stateless societies whose political systems predated the 19th-century jihads by centuries. Among the most prominent was the Kwararafa Confederacy, centred in the Gongola – Benue Valley. Between the 18th and 19th centuries, Kwararafa repeatedly defeated and humiliated Hausa city-states such as Kano and Zaria and even challenged Kanem-Borno, long before Usman dan Fodio’s jihad of 1804.

Other well-documented polities include the Igala Kingdom, Jukun states, Nupe Kingdom, and countless Tiv, Idoma, Gbagyi, Birom, Angas, Lelna, Bwatye, Eggon, and Goemai societies among hundreds of others – each with distinct political traditions, land tenure systems, and military histories. They had a common solidarity hinged on wading off Islamisation and genocidal slave raids.

COLONIAL CONQUEST AND FORCED SUBORDINATION.

The author inadvertently exposes his argument’s weakness when he ignores a crucial colonial reality: the British conquered the Muslim emirates with relative ease, largely by co-opting existing centralized hierarchies. In contrast, Middle Belt societies resisted British conquest fiercely.

British colonial records, by administrators such as Frederick Lugard and C.L. Temple, document prolonged military campaigns, punitive expeditions, and scorched-earth tactics used against Middle Belt communities from the early 1900s to the 1920s. This resistance is precisely why the British imposed Indirect Rule by force, subordinating Middle Belt peoples to Fulani and Kanuri emirs they had never known, accepted, or recognized.
That imposition,nnot foreign conspiracy, is the historical root of Middle Belt political consciousness.

THE COLONIAL FALLACY OF “NON-EXISTENCE”.

The article’s reliance on colonial maps and constitutions to argue that the Middle Belt did not exist before the 1940s is intellectually indefensible. Colonial documents recognized what served imperial administration, not indigenous reality. By that logic, countless African nations and identities would vanish simply because Europeans failed, or refused, to acknowledge them.
Even then, the claim is factually weak. The term “Middle Belt” appears descriptively in colonial correspondence as early as the first decade of the 20th century, used by administrators and missionaries to describe the non-emirate central zone of Northern Nigeria. The British deliberately refused to create a Middle Belt Region, not because it lacked coherence, but because doing so would weaken the numerical and political dominance of the Hausa-Fulani-Kanuri oligarchy that sustained Indirect Rule.
The agitation for recognition therefore predates independence; it merely became organized in the 1950s.

THE UMBC AND THE MYTH OF FOREIGN MANIPULATION.

The United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC) under Joseph Sarwuan Tarka did not invent the Middle Belt identity. It articulated long-standing grievances: land dispossession, political exclusion, cultural suppression, force labour, and religious discrimination.
To dismiss the UMBC as a tool of missionaries or foreign interests is not only false but insulting. Middle Belt people and leaders were among the most educated and politically sophisticated Nigerians of their generation, many trained in Britain and elite Nigerian institutions well before independence. They required no NGO or missionary to understand injustice they lived daily.

The historical record, petitions against Native Authority abuses, resistance to emirate taxation, land struggles, and demands for self-rule, is open to anyone willing to read honestly.

THE CONTEMPORARY MOMENT.

Today’s Middle Belt movement is neither separatist nor violent. It is a demand for recognition, equity, and freedom from an imposed Arewa identity that neither reflects its history nor aligns with its values. The Middle Belt does not deny the existence of Northern Nigeria; it rejects the falsehood that Northern Nigeria is synonymous with the Middle Belt.
What has long been marketed as “Northern unity” has, in truth, been a forced political marriage, sustained by coercion rather than consent.
Increasingly, the Middle Belt is stating what history has always known: this union was never voluntary!
If language must be blunt, then so be it, this relationship has often resembled political rape, and the survivors have finally found their voice.

2027 AND THE PANIC OF DECLINING HEGEMONY.

The fear driving this revisionist essay is understandable. The once-boasted “monolithic Northern voting bloc” is fracturing. Demographics, political awareness, and historical truth are converging.
For the first time, Nigeria’s political establishment is confronting an uncomfortable reality: the Middle Belt is the decisive factor in national politics.

THE MIDDLE BELT, RELIGION, AND THE COLLAPSE OF OLD MYTHS.

A recurring propaganda tactic is to label the Middle Belt a “Bible Belt,” as though its political awakening is a sectarian religious project. This claim is demonstrably false. The Middle Belt has always been religiously plural, home to Christians, Muslims, and adherents of African traditional religions for centuries. Even institutionally, the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) disproves this caricature: its Board of Trustees and National Working Committee include Muslims, reflecting the region’s inclusive ethos. While it is true that the Middle Belt today is predominantly Christian, largely due to historical resistance to jihadist conquest and the voluntary embrace of Christianity, majority faith does not translate into religious extremism. The Middle Belt struggle is not about imposing religion; it is about ending political subjugation, cultural erasure, and systemic inequality. Reducing this legitimate quest to sectarianism is not analysis but propaganda.

Demise of the Hausa/Fulani Amalgam.

Equally misleading is the continued use of the term “Hausa-Fulani” as though it remains a coherent political or cultural bloc. Increasingly, Hausa intellectuals and opinion leaders reject this forced amalgam, insisting that there is Hausa land and there is the Middle Belt, but no natural or “Arewa” identity. The very terms “Northern Nigeria” and “Arewa” now irritate many enlightened Hausa voices who recognize them as tools historically used to sustain Fulani political dominance and economic exploitation. Recent events have further exposed this fracture: widespread violence by Fulani bandits against Hausa rural communities has shattered the illusion of a shared destiny. For decades, the Hausa masses were mobilized as demographic instruments against Middle Belt minorities; today, they are confronting the reality that they too have borne the costs of an unjust hierarchy. What is unfolding is not a Middle Belt conspiracy, but the collapse of an artificial political fiction. History, not agitation, has caught up with it.

Dr: Pogu Bitrus is the President of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) and hails from Chibok, Southern Borno.

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Atiku: Presidency Cannot Clear Itself Over Alleged PFIPC Scandal

Published

13 hours ago

August 7, 2026

Our Reporter

By Fabian Apechihin

The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has accused the Presidency of attempting to absolve itself of responsibility in the alleged fake Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) scandal.

Atiku argued that the Presidency could not rely on the interim report of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) as proof of its innocence, insisting that the findings instead raised serious questions about how the alleged fraud was able to thrive within government institutions.

The former vice president made his position known in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.

According to Atiku, the ICPC’s interim report reportedly identified instances of negligence and alleged connivance by public officials that enabled the fake agency to operate.

He noted that the allegations extended beyond the actions of a single individual, pointing out that the suspect allegedly forged a presidential appointment letter, created a fictitious federal agency, operated from government offices and opened bank accounts using forged legislative documents.

“If public officers were negligent, who are they? Who granted access to government offices? Who recognised this supposed Director-General? Who enabled him to operate within the machinery of government?” Atiku queried.

He maintained that the reported recommendation for sanctions against public officers whose negligence facilitated the alleged activities showed the matter could not be dismissed as the work of a lone impostor.

The ADC presidential candidate also demanded that the identities of all officials allegedly involved be made public.

“Nigerians deserve to know who did what, who authorised what, and who opened the doors that made this possible,” he said.

Atiku further called for the full publication of the ICPC report, arguing that an interim report should not be treated as a final declaration of innocence while investigations into possible collaborators and related bank accounts were still ongoing.

He also urged the National Assembly to conduct a transparent public hearing into the matter and broadcast the proceedings live, noting that the call had become even more compelling after the central figure in the controversy, identified as Mr. Adeyemi, reportedly expressed willingness to appear before lawmakers and testify publicly.

“If the Villa is truly clean, it should be the first to welcome live television coverage. Let Nigerians watch, unedited, as the witnesses testify and the evidence is presented under oath,” Atiku said.

He warned that any process lacking transparency could further fuel public suspicion that influential individuals were being shielded from accountability.

“Transparency cannot stop where the trail enters the corridors of power. The Presidency cannot investigate itself into innocence,” he stated.

Atiku urged the Federal Government to subject the investigation to full public scrutiny, ensure witnesses testify under oath and allow Nigerians to independently assess the evidence as it emerges.

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Kwara: Aggrieved APC G15 Rebrands As ‘Otoge Progressives’

Published

13 hours ago

August 7, 2026

Our Reporter

Endorses President Tinubu for Second Term

Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

The aggrieved G15 governorship aspirants within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State has formally rebranded as The Otoge Progressives (TOP), marking a new phase in the movement’s quest to promote inclusive leadership, internal democracy and the preservation of the ideals that inspired the 2019 Otoge political movement.

The announcement was made on Thursday during a Stakeholders’ Engagement and Town Hall meeting held at the Arca-Santa Arena in Ilorin, where the new name, logo and identity of the movement were unveiled.

The movement, which originally comprised ten APC governorship aspirants, members of the National Assembly, party elders and other stakeholders, said the rebranding reflects its rapid expansion since its emergence in June, with more political leaders and grassroots stakeholders identifying with its objectives.

According to the leaders, the transition from G15 to The Otoge Progressives became necessary to accommodate the movement’s growing membership and provide a broader platform for individuals who share its vision of strengthening internal democracy, promoting inclusive politics and sustaining the principles upon which the Otoge movement was founded.

Addressing the gathering, the spokesperson of the movement and former Senator representing Kwara Central Senatorial District, Yahaya Oloriegbe, said the rebranding signified growth rather than division, adding that the founding members of the movement remained united and committed to their shared objectives.

He said the movement had continued to attract respected political figures and stakeholders from across the state, stressing that its activities were driven by collective interest rather than individual political ambition.

Senator Oloriegbe commended party members and supporters for their steadfastness despite what he described as sustained political pressure and intimidation, assuring them that the leadership of the movement would remain focused on pursuing its stated ideals.

“We are conscious of the difficulties confronting many of our supporters. We are aware of efforts
to secure their allegiance through financial inducements, promises of political appointments
and other personal advantages. We have also received disturbing accounts of threats,
intimidation, blackmail, name-calling and undue pressure directed at those who refuse to
abandon their convictions.”

“We understand the burden you carry. We appreciate the price you are paying for standing on
principle, and we assure you that the leadership of this movement stands firmly beside you.”

Also speaking, former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Salman Jawondo, SAN, said the movement regarded the protection of democratic values and internal party democracy as a collective responsibility, adding that its members would continue to pursue their objectives through lawful, democratic and constitutional means.

The bloc also unanimously rejected all candidates produced by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazak for elective positions across the state, describing them as a “disgrace to the ideals of Otoge Revolution that stakeholders collectively fought for. They said they’re a conduit by which the Governor hopes to perpetuate himself for a ‘Third Term’ in government after exhausting his constitutionally allowed two-term tenure”.

Earlier at a separate stakeholders’ meeting held at Notkel, Ilorin, participants overwhelmingly endorsed a proposal empowering the leadership of the movement to explore alternative political options ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The approval followed an open voice vote coordinated by Jawondo, after which a committee was proposed to examine available political options and make appropriate recommendations to the leadership within a week.

The meeting also reaffirmed the movement’s support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. A motion moved by the Senator representing Kwara Central Senatorial District, Senator Saliu Mustapha, reaffirmed the stakeholders’ Vote of Confidence in President Tinubu and endorsed his re-election for a second term in office in 2027. The motion received overwhelming support from participants.

Among those in attendance were Senator Saliu Mustapha; Senator Yahaya Oloriegbe; Senator Sodiq Umar; Senator Lola Ashiru; Mr Dele Belgore, SAN; Amb. Yahaya Seriki-Gambari (represented) Hon. Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa (represented); Hon. Bio Umar; Alhaji Tajudeen AbdulKadir Audu; Senator Ajadi Makanjuola; Senator Ahmed Ahmed; Senator Bisi Oyewo; Hon. Adamu Manko; Hon. Ahmed Abubakar Ndakene; Captain Ahmad Mahmud; Hon. James Kolo; Hon. Yinka Aluko; Hon. Tijani; Hon. Razak Owolabi; Hon. Gideon; Hon. Odetundun; Hon. Jimoh Abdulrahman Alapata;

Others include Chief James Bamisaiye Ayenioye, JP; Alhaji Baba Olosasa; Alhaji Baba Adefalu; Barrister Salman Jawondo, SAN; Dr Yakub Yahaya Oloriegbe; Lt. Col. Abubakar Edun (Rtd.); Mallam Adebayo Abdullateef Oloyin, immediate Principal Private Secretary to the Governor; Alhaja Aishat Bolanle Ismail aka Iya-Lamule, SSA Women Mobilisation to the Governor. Party elders across Kwara State; Former public office holders; Women leaders and youth leaders.

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Rescued Woro Kidnap Victims Arrive Ilorin Sobi Barracks

Published

13 hours ago

August 7, 2026

Our Reporter

To be presented to Gov AbdulRazaq

Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

The victims abducted during the deadly attack on Woro community in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State have arrived in Ilorin following their rescue after spending several months in captivity.

They arrived late last night Thursday.

The victims were kidnapped when armed bandits invaded the community earlier this year, killing scores of residents and whisking away many others into the forest, triggering widespread outrage and intensified security operations.

Following sustained military operations and coordinated efforts by security agencies, the victims regained their freedom and were transported from Niger State to Ilorin late Thursday night.

They were received at the Nigerian Army’s 2 Division, Sobi Barracks, Ilorin before being moved to an undisclosed location where they spent the night.

The rescued victims are expected to be officially handed over to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who has consistently engaged security authorities to ensure their safe return.

Their arrival marks a major breakthrough in the months-long efforts to secure the release of the abductees, while authorities continue to verify the number of those rescued and provide necessary care and support.