By E.A Adewuyi
National dialogue or national conference is not a new phenomenon in the history of Nigeria's political and constitutional development.
It is incontrovertible and unassailable; the fact that scholars of Nigerian Government and politics agree that national dialogue has been and will continue to be a significant element in Nigeria's evolution and political process.
More often than not, the conferences so far undertaken have as raison d'être, the giving of befitting constitution and removal of obstacles in the path of growth and development of the nation-state.
Prominent among past constitutional conferences are the Ibadan conference of 1950 that culminated in the enactment of Macpherson Constitution of 1951; the 1958 London Constitutional Conference that midwived the 1960 Independence Constitution; September 12, 1966 Conference; the 1967 Aburi (Ghana) Conference; the 1994/95 Constitutional Conference of late General Sani Abacha.
The last attempt at national conference was during President Olusegun Obasanjo's tenure which was aimed at economic emancipation, people's constitution, good governance, and the basis for peaceful coexistence among the ethnic groups in the country.
According to Professor Wale Oladipo, the National Secretary of Peoples Democratic Party [PDP], President Goodluck Jonathan has no hidden agenda on the proposed national conference. He added that it is a machinery to enable Nigerians to hold a national dialogue and we think this is so.
From the point of view of Governor Aliyu Babangida of Niger State, the final document that will emerge from the National and State assemblies after the dialogue will be what we will call a Nigerian constitution made by Nigerians.
A lot of people are positive that the conference will impact positively and may lead to the enactment of a people's Constitution and the continuous well being of the nation because it has the potential of warehousing all shades of opinion of Nigerians towards producing an acceptable Constitution, peaceful coexistence and a new social and political order.
Given the above, the current of opinions in the nation attests to the fact that President Goodluck Jonathan organized the confab because it will be instrumental to the enhancing of the indivisibility of the Nigerian nation and that the proposed conference will contribute tremendously to affording all ethnic groups in Nigeria the opportunity to participate in the promulgation of an appreciable Constitution for Nigerians thereby enabling the people to participate in the decision making process.
The recent constituting of the Peace and Dialogue Committee headed by Senator Femi Okuronmu and the resolve to send the outcome of the deliberation to the National Assembly for ratification is to a very large extent welcome and commendable.
When all the issues raised in connection with the proposed confab had been summed up, both vertically and horizontally, one is tempted to conclude that the putting together of the national conference by the transformational President Goodluck Jonathan is an advance in the right direction and a further attestation to his commitment to transform the Nigeria nation-state in all ramifications in conformity with modernity and international best practices.
Mr E.A Adewuyi writes from Public Communications Department, Federal Ministry of Information, Abuja.Federal Ministry of Information (FMI) Nigeria