By OMONIYI SALAUDEEN
Due to several unanswered national questions on appropriate revenue sharing formula, resource control, state and local government autonomy, power devolution and true federalism among others, agitation for a sovereign national conference has been rife in Nigeria. All is not settled for the smooth take-off of the national dialogue proposed by President Goodluck Jonathan to forge a way forward. Since it was announced barely a month ago, different shades of opinions have been expressed by various stakeholders. These border largely on the issue of what do with the recommendations of the conference committee after the conclusion of its assignment.
President Jonathan had stirred the hornet's nest in his recent public statement when he disclosed that the outcome of the talks would be forwarded to the National Assembly for ratification. While it has further provoked opposition of those already suspicious of the motive of the conference, some interested opinion leaders in different geo-political zones have been holding consultations with relevant interest groups in order to present a common agenda.
In line with its mandate, the Presidential Advisory Committee led by Senator Femi Okurounmu has been on tour of the states to meet with different ethnic nationalities to garner their support and collate their suggestions and opinions on the conference. The mandate of the committee is to determine the structure of the national conference, its composition, mode of selecting candidates, its size and what should form the agenda.
These are by no means an easy task to accomplish judging from what has been gathered so far. One of the major challenges before the committee is how to cope with the deluge of agitations, dissenting views and opinions of various interest groups. The concern here is modality for consensus building on some of the national questions begging for answers. Like in the past, positions of different ethnic nationalities are as complex as they are varied. In virtually all the states where public debate had been organised, consensus building was almost impossible.
In the Southwest region, apathy and resentment greeted the confab advisory committee session held in Akure on Friday, October 19. In line with the position of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the zone on the conference, Osun, Ekiti, Ogun and Oyo states boycotted the public sitting. Only the host state, Ondo, participated in the session.
The leadership of the APC at the end of its meeting in Abuja on Tuesday had vowed not to be a part of the conference, alleging that President Jonathan lacked credibility to organize a national dialogue. Their main grouse is the decision of the president to send the recommendations of the conference to the National Assembly for approval. The Interim National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said, "What we see today is that this government has lost focus, it has lost credibility, it has lost control of the economy as well as security. Corruption has attained uncontrollable proportions. This government lacks the credibility to organize a real meaningful national conference. In any event, we see this thing as nothing but diversionary. What are we talking about conference for when even the president himself has said that the outcome of that conference would be subjected to the approval of the National Assembly? So, what we really have to do is a constitutional amendment, not a national conference and we shall not be a party to that. If it is a clear, meaningful national dialogue, we will participate but this is not. The President himself has said whatever is discussed there will be subjected to the approval of the National Assembly. So, what you are having is constitutional amendment."
Similarly, the Yoruba Socio-cultural group, Afenifere, has added its voice saying nothing short of a sovereign national would be accepted by the people. Chief Ayo Adebanjo, presenting the position of the group in Akure during the public hearing organized by the confab advisory committee submitted that "Our group insist that sovereignty belongs to the people and therefore the outcome of the conference should not be tampered with by federal government. We insist on a sovereign conference with sovereign power with regard to the implementation of the decisions of the conference. Only a referendum should be conducted."
This past week, South East and South-South governors equally held a meeting in Enugu to discuss and harmonize their positions on the agenda for the confab, but they are yet to disclose the details of their discussions. In the South East region, agitation for creation of additional states to be at par with other zones which are having six each has always been on the front burner. There is also the issue of perceived marginalization of the Igbo race in power sharing. These and many more would certainly form part of the agenda to be presented at the conference. As for the South-South, resource control and appropriate revenue sharing formula have always been crucial. Lack of consensus on these issues was what primarily led to the failure of the last Political Reform Conference organized by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Many still fear that the same fate may befall the present initiative, if there is no spirit of give and take among the stakeholders.
Plateau State Governor, Jona Jang, presented the position of Middle Belt nationalities when the Presidential Advisory Committee visited the state in continuation of its assignment. He said the conference should revisit the present revenue sharing formula because the Middle Belt region is at a disadvantage under the existing arrangement. He lamented that the present situation where some parastatals received revenue from the federal account more than some states government was inappropriate. Also speaking in the same vein at a public presentation of the position of North Central Zone at Eliel Suit in Jos, the Middle Belt Forum listed fiscal federalism, revenue allocation and resource control as part of the issues to be discussed at the conference.
Already, the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has disclosed that the country may have a new revenue sharing formula by next year. The chairman of the commission, Engr Elias Mbam, said a proposal to that effect would be submitted to the President by December. He promised that an acceptable revenue sharing formula would be worked out. But according to some analysts, this may be an attempt to preempt the work of the conference on the contentious issue.
In some sections of the north, there are perceived fears that a sovereign national conference may lead to the breakup of the country. Concerns have also been expressed by many opinion leaders that states in the region are not getting a fair share of the nation's resources. So, it is very unlikely that delegates from the region would accede to a proposal that would support a total resource control or compromise their agitation for what they call equitable revenue sharing formula. During the last political conference, northern opposition to an upward review of the present 13 percent derivation for the oil region was what led to the collapse of the national dialogue. While the Niger Delta insisted on 18 percent derivation, the north wanted the status quo to be maintained. The two parties threw caution to the wind and as such reason could no longer prevail. In the end, delegates from the Niger Delta region walked out of the conference. The National Assembly, noting the surreptitious inclusion of the third term agenda of Obasanjo into the recommendations of the conference, threw away the baby with bathwater. The rest is history. Therefore, if the past pitfall is to be avoided, the Okurounmu-led committee would have to find a way to strike a balance between these two opposing views.
Already, the arrow ahead of Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Prof Ango Abdullahi, has raised the opposition of his group to the proposed conference saying it is a ploy to actualise Jonathan's ambition for 2015. While fielding questions from Journalists in Bauchi, he said the national dialogue cannot resolve the numerous problems facing the country. Instead, he suggested a return to parliamentary system of government as practiced in the First Republic. "I will argue strongly that the first constitution amendment that Nigeria should talk about is for Nigerians to decide whether to go back to parliamentary system of government and abandon the presidential system because the presidential system is corruption prone and expensive," he opined.
For some reasons, many people do not have confidence in the National Assembly to debate and approve whatever would be the outcome of the conference. But one of the notable opinion leaders in the north, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, wants recommendations of the conference to pass through the National Assembly. In a statement lately, he said power to change or modify the constitution is vested in the National Assembly. "Setting up a National Dialogue/ Conference Advisory Committee and convening the conference itself by President Goodluck Jonathan is in line with the approach adopted by previous governments in organizing debates and discussions on the Nigerian constitution. During the Murtala/Obasanjo administration, a similar committee was set up by late Gen Murtala Ramat Mohammed and he named it Constitution Review Committee with the late Chief Rotimi Williams as its chairman. It was that committee which was known as 49-member committee that prepared the modalities for the 1978/79 Constituent Assembly."
"During the era of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, another constitution review was undertaken. Prior to the inauguration of the Constituent Assembly by the regime, a committee similar to the current Advisory Committee was appointed and was named Constitution Review Committee with Justice Muhammadu Buba Ardo as its chairman. Similarly, prior to 1994/95 constitutional conference, General Sani Abacha's regime set up a similar committee, which was known as Constitutional Conference Commission. It was the commission that worked out modalities for the 1994/95 constitutional conference. The commission was headed by Justice Sa'idu Kawu," he said.
These are some of the debates that have engaged the minds of the stakeholders as the Okurounmu-led committee commenced its assignment in full swing. Ordinarily, these issues shouldn't have been too difficult to deal with, if all stakeholders would concede to superior argument. But sectional interest, insincerity and lack of political have always marred consensus building efforts. This is yet another opportunity to recreate a new Nigeria. The hope is that those in position of authority would have learnt some lessons.
To achieve meaningful result, they must avoid the past pitfalls.
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