As
the debate on President Goodluck Jonathan’s speech entered its third
day on Wednesday, focus started shifting from issues raised in the
speech to matters central to the National Conference and what to make of them.
Opinions
and counter-opinions flowed as delegates deliberated on issues of
corruption, security, economic development or the lack of it, religion,
and ethnic nationality with focus on the minority and majority question.
While
some of the speakers suggested that corrupt officers, especially those
in public service, should face death sentence, others agreed that
economic development with the practical consequence of job creation will
check the issue of insecurity nationwide.
Former
Secretary to Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae said
Nigeria’s problem started when the military, in 1966, murdered regional
government which had served as a tonic for development of zones across
the country.
He also stated that abolition of Parliamentary system of government where power was with the entire cabinet and replacement with Presidential system where powers lie with an individual had caused serious political crises in the country.
Femi
Falana, SAN, in a moving contribution, said the Conference, though not
sovereign, has provided Nigerians with a window of opportunity “to find
out why we are poor in the midst of plenty while a microscopic minority
of the population is rich and smiling to the bank.”
He said corruption has endangered the corporate existence of Nigeria, and advocated political justice, social justice and environmental justice.
On
the issue of ethnic minority and majority, Chief Edwin Clark pleaded
with delegates to give it priority during committee discussions so that
at the end of the Conference, existing controversies arising from it
would become a thing of the past.
He
said the natural solution to the problem remains the realization that
no tribe is greater than the other, “no one is a first class citizen,
and no one is a second class citizen. Every one is qualified to rule
this country.”
It
was his view that in the absence of tolerance, the dream of nationhood
would be difficult to achieve; “if you are a southerner and the other
person is a northerner, if you cannot live together, then there will be
no Nigeria.”
Dalhatu
Bashir from Jigawa State noted that at creation, Nigeria came with a
promise and it was that promise that moved the country in the right
direction.
For
instance, he said the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, an Igbo man was born in
Zungeru in northern Nigeria, grew up in Igboland but went ahead to win
election in the heart of Yorubaland.
It
was his view that if at the end, the outcome of the National Conference
makes it possible for any Nigerian living anywhere in Nigeria to have
equal rights of citizenship, then it would justify the reasons it was convened.
Describing
the President’s speech as stimulating, comprehensive and forthright,
Ibrahim Bunu said delegates should not fail to negotiate and should not
negotiate out of fear since Nigeria belongs to everyone.
On
security, Abubakar Chika Adamu from Niger State said, “Nigeria is at
war with itself. Security remains our greatest challenge. We must stop
playing politics with it. We here must do what we ought to do and leave
the President to do what he has to do to solve this problem.
On
corruption, he observed that Nigerians have moved from mere stealing to
looting and have graduated from looting to mass looting. His suggestion
was that a soft-landing should be created for those who stole public
funds to return them without being prosecuted.
“We
must be serious about fighting corruption,” said Magayi Dambatta;
adding that for Nigeria to succeed in this, there was need to reorganize
the anti-corruption agencies followed by diligent prosecution.
A
representative of Nigerian youth, Ben Dontoye demanded legal backing to
the adoption of capital punishment against corruption. He believed this
would be the only way to drive fear into people who have taken to
corrupt practices as a trade.
Former
Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Coomasie cited the absence of
sincere leadership at different tiers of governance as one problem that
Nigerians are worried about.
Added
to this, he said, was the intolerable level of insecurity in the
country. He suggested that agencies constitutionally charged with
maintenance of security in the country should be restructured and
funded.
Retired
General Muhammed Mansur Dan Ali informed the Conference that out of the
36 states of Nigeria, 33, if not more have soldiers deployed to the
streets.
He
said the National Conference should recommend complete restructuring of
the Armed Forces of Nigeria and other security agencies for effective
performance of their duties.
Senator
Seidu Dansadau made one appeal in his comment: that Jonathan should
ensure that the recommendations of the Conference are implemented and
not allowed to go the way of other recommendations in the past.
He
said it was time for delegates to strip themselves naked, “not just to
say that we believe in the indivisibility of Nigeria but to practically
demonstrate it.”
His
position was supported by Professor Godini Dara who insisted that the
lofty ideas and recommendations expected at the end of the Conference
must be implemented to free Nigeria from the grips of economic
apartheid.
On
corruption, he said there was need to establish ethical standards; and
on the economy, Dara strongly urged the President to free Nigeria from
what he called the witchcraft of the World Bank while industrialization
should take the front seat both in budgeting and planning.
Both
Illiya Danga and Burus Daleng remarked on the courageous decision of
the President to go ahead with the Conference in spite of oppositions
and wished that with the same courage, the President would implement the
decisions of the Conference without fear or favour.
Sale
Dauda from Bauchi State attributed insurgency in every part of the
country to the failure of states and local government who he said were
totally dependent on what the federal government would do instead rising
to their responsibilities of providing leadership and governance.
He
said in some parts of the country, it has become difficult and even
impossible to buy a piece of land for the purpose of building a church
for worship and that those responsible for such prohibition were the
elite.
Francis
Doukpolagha from Bayelsa State told the Conference that the failure of
the Nigerian State stemmed from the fact that democracy has become
government of the people by the people but not for the people.
Ignatius
Kevin Edet lamented what he called inequality and imbalance in the
creation of local government areas in the country and urged the
Conference to use the opportunity of the dialogue to correct the
anomaly.
He
suggested the application of capital punishment as a check against
corrupt practices by public office holders, a position enormously
canvassed for by other speakers.
Correct
census as a basis for revenue sharing and infrastructural development
was suggested by Charles Edosomwan, SAN, from Edo State who also
emphasized that “we need to put power in the strata of government that
is close to the people.”
Veteran
journalist, Ray Ekpu, said the President’s speech constituted a new
thesis for the reconstruction of Nigeria and that Nigeria as it is today
requires a new architecture.
Ekpu
noted that Jonathan seemed like someone who does not want “this house
to fall,” still he said the house called Nigeria was too rickety and
weather-beaten to be left on the wish list of a permanent structures.
Ekpu
said for a country that has had 14 different administrations in 53
years, “that is cyclical stability. There is no way a country can grow
in this manner.”
For
Chief Chris Eluemunoh from Anambra State, “the Igbos have no other
country than Nigeria; therefore the unity of this country is paramount
to us. This unity must be anchored on equity and justice.”
Dr
Osahon Enabulele of the Nigerian Medical Association proposed a massive
national health policy that would cater for the health needs of the
rural dwellers.
In
addition, the NMA chief suggested that “a time has come for us to look
at the mental and medical fitness of our political leaders,” as a way of
ensuring that they are fit and proper to occupy public offices.
Dr
Silas Eneyo from Rivers State likened Nigeria to a building with
collapsed pillars and advised: “Let us not pretend to be painting a
building whose pillars are collapsing.”
It
was his view that the pillars of any federation lie in its justice and
equity system and that the Conference has provided the delegates
opportunity to rebuild the house with sound ideas and recommendations.
Gary
Enwo Igariwe said Nigeria has been bleeding for sometime, has gone on
its knees and though it wants to stand, it was actually going down. He
urged delegates to identify reasons for conflicts and address them.
He
cautioned against selective solution, “when you solve a problem in a
particular area and ignore the ones in another area, you have not done
anything; you are merely relocating the problem.”
He
said most of the problems can be easily resolved through restructuring
of the country; advising that delegates should leave their ethnic
standards and discuss Nigeria.
Professor
Eddy Erhagbe told the delegates that for Nigeria to move ahead, the
bottom-line remains good governance because “corruption is not regional,
it is not ethnic; corruption is an elite conspiracy.”
Signed
AKPANDEM JAMES
Assistant Secretary, Media and Communications
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