I applaud President Goodluck Jonathan for setting up an Advisory Committee comprising reputable Nigerians to come up with modalities for organising a National Dialogue or Conference. The men and women who make up the Committee are very knowledgeable people and have enviable antecedents. Some of them have long been advoca...tes of a Sovereign National Conference and have already done commendable research in that area. I am confident that they will not let Nigerians down.
The National Conference must have no "no-go areas" like in past attempts at having a national dialogue which ended up being merely wasteful talk-shops that led us nowhere. The outcomes of the National Conference this time around must not be subject to review by the Government or even the National Assembly. The Legislature's only role should be to give legal and constitutional effect to the decisions taken by representatives of all our ethnic nationalities and other legitimate stake-holders at the National Conference. The key challenge, therefore, facing the Senator Femi Okorounmu-led Advisory Committee is how best to get Conference Delegates who truly and equitably represent all facets of Nigeria's socio-economic and political mosaic.
Whatever may be President Goodluck Jonathan's motivation, Nigeria has embarked on an irreversible process. The events in our nation in the last two years are of such gravity and sensitivity that no politician or group should presume that the National Conference can be used as a mere temporary distraction or to achieve a pre-determined parochial agenda.
The National Conference must have no "no-go areas" like in past attempts at having a national dialogue which ended up being merely wasteful talk-shops that led us nowhere. The outcomes of the National Conference this time around must not be subject to review by the Government or even the National Assembly. The Legislature's only role should be to give legal and constitutional effect to the decisions taken by representatives of all our ethnic nationalities and other legitimate stake-holders at the National Conference. The key challenge, therefore, facing the Senator Femi Okorounmu-led Advisory Committee is how best to get Conference Delegates who truly and equitably represent all facets of Nigeria's socio-economic and political mosaic.
Whatever may be President Goodluck Jonathan's motivation, Nigeria has embarked on an irreversible process. The events in our nation in the last two years are of such gravity and sensitivity that no politician or group should presume that the National Conference can be used as a mere temporary distraction or to achieve a pre-determined parochial agenda.
Most people who have resisted the idea of having a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) over the years have done so on the assumption that it will inevitably result in the dismemberment of Nigeria. That is not necessarily going to happen. But our continuity as one country must be discussed. If there are tribes or sections which are determined not to be part of Nigeria and they refuse to be persuaded to remain, they should be allowed to leave peacefully. There is no need for fear that the SNC is a ploy to divide the country.
But how will the country even be divided? There is no clear fault-line on which a clean division can be made. There are indigenous Christians and Muslims in each state. Many Nigerians are irreversibly bound together by marriage, friendship and business partnerships. While the very vocal tribal "activists" on social media platforms and some politicians would like us to believe that most Nigerians want the country divided into ethnic nations, the evidence does not support their claim. If you travel around Nigeria and interact with the mass of our people, it is obvious that they are all victims of poverty induced by the greed and corruption of our "leaders" at all levels of government and that they really do not care so much whether the President is Ijaw, Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, Igbo, Esan, Jukun, Igbirra or Ibibio; or whether the person is a Christian or Muslim.
What most Nigerians want are Visionary Leadership, Good Governance, Peace, Prosperity and an Equal Opportunity to achieve their dreams. But our system is built on falsehood. Our foundation is destroyed. Inequity, injustice and lies are at the root of our nationhood. We cannot continue to pretend that we can achieve greatness without revisiting the very basis of our nationhood. No section of the country should feel exploited and manipulated. The SNC is now our only chance to pull back from the brink and work at truly building a nation where peace, truth, justice and prosperity can reign.
Nigerians have yet another chance to re-build the foundations of our country and (re)negotiate our nationhood on the basis of truth, justice, equity and righteousness. We must not fail. Our posterity depends on it.
God bless Nigeria!
Nigeria di fure!!
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