National dialogue: The debate begins

[Mirror]

A great debate has ensued following the Independence Day announcement by President Goodluck Jonathan of the setting up of an Advisory Committee to midwife the proposed national conference, reports FELIX NWANERI.

Mixed reactions have continued to trail President Goodluck Jonathan's Independence Anniversary broadcast in which he announced the setting up of an Advisory Committee on national dialogue that will establish modalities for a national conference aimed at resolving contentious issues in the polity.

The 13-member committee, which has one month to submit its recommendations, is headed by Senator Femi Okurounmu. Other members are Prof. George Obiozor, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, Senator Khairat Gwadabe, Senator Timothy Adudu, Col. Tony Nyiam (rtd), Prof. Funke Adebayo, Dr. (Mrs) Mairo Ahmed Amshi, Dr. Abubakar Sadiq, Alhaji Dauda Birma, Mallam Buhari Bello, Mr. Tony Uranta and Dr. Akilu Indabawa (secretary). Its terms of reference are: To consult expeditiously with all relevant stakeholders with a view to drawing up a feasible agenda for the proposed national dialogue/conference; to make recommendations to government on structure and modalities for the proposed national dialogue/conference; To make recommendations to government on how representation of various interest groups at the national dialogue/conference will be determined and to advise on a timeframe for the national dialogue/conference.

However, while most stakeholders have described the step as one in the right direction, given the persistent demand by Nigerians for a Sovereign National Conference, SNC, to address imbalances in the system, a few has reasoned that it is a decoy by the Jonathan administration.

Advocates of an SNC have consistently argued that the unitary constitution/system of government presently in place under the guise of a federal system has failed to solve the country's numerous problems and therefore, the need for a dialogue to address agitations from almost every section of the country cannot be more urgent than now that the nation is faced with serious security challenges.

Beside insecurity, other challenges, which needed to be addressed, according to them, are systemic corruption; poverty and infrastructural deficiencies; lack of credible electoral process; autonomy for the states; fiscal federalism; equality of states and local governments among the six geopolitical zones; state police and indigeneship question among others.

But despite the arguments in favour of the confab, the indifference of successive governments to the clamour, never gave Nigerians the much sought opportunity to sit at a roundtable to discuss how they intend to continue to live together.

Jonathan's position

Like his predecessors, President Jonathan was initially apathetic to the convocation of a national conference, arguing that the Justice Alfa Belgore-led Committee on Constitution Review will address the issues raised by agitators of an SNC by bringing up areas of national consensus from the 2006 National Political Reform Conference for the National Assembly's consideration in the constitution amendment, which is yet to be concluded.

He, however, bowed to pressure on October 1, when he said: "Our administration has taken cognisance of suggestions over the years by well-meaning Nigerians on the need for a national dialogue on the future of our beloved country.

"When there are issues that constantly stoke tension and bring about friction, it makes perfect sense for the interested parties to come together to discuss. "In demonstration of my avowed belief in the positive power of dialogue in charting the way forward, I have decided to set up an advisory committee whose mandate is to establish the modalities for a national dialogue or conference. "The committee will also design a framework and come up with recommendations as to the form, structure and mechanism of the process."

Kudos for initiative

So far, it has been commendations for the President by a majority of Nigerians. For instance, the President's kinsmen under the aegis of the Ijaw Peoples Development Initiative, IPDI, lauded their son for the approval of a forum where aggrieved groups will air their opinions. The group described the conference as long awaited, noting that the people of the Niger Delta have been yearning for an SNC to trash out burning issues in the country.

National President of IPDI, Austin Ozobo, in a statement said the convening of the national conference will address the many problems facing the nation, especially the Boko Haram insurgency, issues of Niger Delta militancy, resource control, underdevelopment in Niger Delta and increase in oil derivation, among others.

The President's decision was equally backed by his party – Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. A statement by the party's National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, said by taking a definite stand on the issue of national dialogue and setting up a committee led by Femi Okurounmu to fashion out the structure and modalities for the lawconference, Jonathan has again demonstrated that his mandate derives entirely from the wishes of Nigerians.

"We are pleased that the President listens and leaves Nigerians in no doubt that their opinions matter. We recall that he bowed to the wishes of Nigerians on the deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry and we also recall that the wishes of Nigerians have been his compass in crucial measures so far taken to contain terrorism in parts of the country," the PDP said.

The chairman of the Yoruba Unity Forum, YUF, Bishop Bolanle Gbonigi applauded President Jonathan for constituting an advisory committee to advice government on the modalities of organising a national conference.

Gbonigi said: "The Forum therefore supports the setting up of the advisory body to create the framework for convening a national dialogue and shall work with all patriotic Nigerians to ensure that the goals of the national dialogue remain to strengthen existing democratic structures and institutions, negotiate and agree on the terms of living together on the basis of mutual knowledge, mutual understanding, mutual respect, mutual love, mutual cooperation and trust and install true federalism in our dear country."

In the same vein, the Senate, through the chairman of its Committee on Information, Media and Public Affairs, Enyinnaya Abaribe, noted that the President's initiative on national conference is in sync with the upper legislative chamber's position.

The Senate President, David Mark, had while welcoming his colleagues from their seven-week annual vacation penultimate week declared that the call for national conference by certain sections of the country was in order in view of the discontent in the polity.

While the commendations by the Ijaw group and the PDP were not unexpected, the Pan Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and even the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, equally endorsed the decision and urged all well-meaning Nigerians to support the President, saying the convocation of a sovereign national conference remains the only option to keep Nigeria beyond 2015.

Opposition kicks

Despite the backing for the President's decision, some members of the opposition political parties and civil societies believe that he (Jonathan) progressed in error with the confab's proposal. Former governor of Lagos State and leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who returned to the country at the weekend after months of 'medical rest' abroad, particularly dismissed it as a diversionary step taken by a sinking ship.

The APC leader, who has over the years been in the vanguard for the convocation of a national conference, wondered why the President is suddenly interested in the national conference after he had earlier rejected the call for it. He said: "How do you develop the agenda? It's a diversionary tactic. How long have we been talking about this? Why suddenly? Now, there is something in political and social history. They say we have Greek gift Two crumbs of poison that will survive the trappings of the onus.

Let us first of all ask ourselves some questions, I am yet to consult with my party, but I see a contradiction here. I see a diversion here, I see deception here, I see lack of honesty and integrity here, I see a state of a sinking ship that needs no raft any longer; allow it to sink, build a new life, move the nation forward. "I will consult with the party leaders and we will look at the agenda and develop our own agenda along it. But Nigeria is divisive now.

Why is this coming a few months before the elections? Can't you smell a good soup when it is passing? It is left for our party and all of us. I am a democrat. This is a president that said it was unnecessary to have a Sovereign National Conference because the sovereignty is in the National Assembly; that was his belief then, now he says it is okay."

His position was supported by the Northern Civil Society Coalition. The leader of the group, Mallam Shehu Sani, in a statement, said: "The national conference idea of President Jonathan's government is nothing but a fraudulent exercise mischievously conceived to rubbish and bastardise the genuine idea of a Sovereign National Conference as propagated by other progressive Nigerians over the years." President and Convener of Nigeria Voters Assembly (VOTAS), Moshood Erubami, also said that the proposal was not in the nation's interest.

"To us in the Voters Assembly, it is a dishonest and wrongly timed tenure elongation agenda being robed as a conference to halt the progressive movement to seize power from the current political hawks masquerading as politicians who are bent on capturing political power for another four years through the back door," he said.

Kano State governor, Rabi'u Musa Kwankwaso, equally condemned the proposal, saying the conference will be a Pandora's Box that will create disunity among the Nigerians. Kwankwaso, who is a member of the PDP, but belongs to the Abubakar Barajeled faction that is opposed to Jonathan's second term ambition, added that the conference is not only unconstitutional, but a waste of time and resources. "In my opinion, the national conference is a colossal waste of resources that ought to be utilised to solve the socio-economic problems clogging the progress of our country.

If properly utilised, this resources that would have been spent in organising the conference would be useful if channelled to other human development areas. "Such conference had held during Obasanjo and Abacha regimes and nothing happened after that," he further said, adding that "anybody who thinks that Nigeria will breakup is wasting his time as the nation will remain indivisible, no matter the pressure," Kwankwaso said.

Bridge to nowhere

Also faulting the proposal, the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP, called on the National Assembly to halt the plan, describing it as a journey to nowhere. In a press statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Osita Okechukwu, the CNPP urged the Senate President to save Nigeria from embarking on a wasteful journey. The group said: "We are making this call to halt the proposed national conference, which from all intents and purposes is diversionary, a bridge to nowhere and which might be hijacked by ethnic merchants.

"The truth of the matter is that the greatest happiness of Nigerians will not be achieved by the loose conference, for ethnic merchants dominated the 13-Man Prep-Committee and its intendment is not sovereign. "It is not only going to split discussion into tribal jargons, but will not achieve critical legislations which Senator Mark promised to Nigerians on June 6, 2011, during his inaugural speech as the second term president of the Senate and Chairman of the National Assembly."

A newly registered political party, Peoples Democratic Movement, PDM, alleged that PDP-led government will use it to confuse Nigerians and win the 2015 general elections. The National Chairman of the party, Bashir Hassan, who spoke with journalists in Bauchi, said: "The decision of President Goodluck Jonathan to convey a national dialogue is a distraction. The reason is because last year, this same President said that there was no reason why we should subvert the constitutional process of making laws and create another one. "Now, he has contradicted himself and this same Jonathan has suddenly sprung up the idea of a national dialogue. He wants a national conference now that his party is disintegrating under him and he is foreseeing the chance of losing the 2015 elections."

Credibility question While kudos and knocks have continued to trail the proposal, there is, however an issue over the credibility of some members of the Advisory Committee. Most stakeholders believe that given the partisanship of some personalities appointed as members, the committee is likely to end up doing the bidding of the Presidency.

These pessimists further argued that besides the likes of Nwabueze and Okurounmu, who are known ardent advocates of national conference (though the latter was recently named a member of the Board for National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, NASENI), others are well-known Jonathan's supporters and members of the ruling PDP. An example was cited of former Minister of Education and presidential aspirant, Birma, who only recently had his group – North, South New Nigeria Forum, endorsed the President's second term bid.

The same goes for Uranta, Indabawa and Sadiq. While Uranta has never hidden support for the President since the inception of his administration, Idabawa was the presidential aide in the storm over the donation of N500 million each to the Jonathan/Sambo Campaign Organisation, by some state governors in the 2011 elections. Sadiq on his part has the President to thank for his appointment as Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation in 2010. Senators Gwadabe and Adudu are cardcarrying members of the PDP.

The former represented the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, between 1999 and 2003, while the latter represented Plateau North Senatorial District of Plateau State between 2003 and 2007 on the platform of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, but later defected to the PDP.

There were no representations for civil societies vocal groups such as the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA; Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU; Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and even youths who constitute more than 70 per cent of the country's population.

Nwabueze pulls out

Meanwhile, foremost constitutional lawyer, Nwabueze (SAN), has pulled out of the 13-member advisory committee on National Conference inaugurated yesterday. In a letter dated October 2 and addressed to President Goodluck Jonathan, Nwabueze said he won't be available for the advisory committee on health grounds. He, however, nominated, Mr. Solomon Asemota (SAN) as a replacement.

His words: "I am presently in London for medicals and may be away from Nigeria for some time. "I will be glad if I could be replaced in the Presidential Advisory Committee on national dialogue/conference by Mr. Solomon Asemota (SAN) who is a member of The Patriots."

Fear of no-go-areas

While there is likely to be a caveat, especially on the country's unity when the confab begins, as the Senate President (Mark) insisted on a national conference premised on existing governance structure, because "giving the sovereignty to an unpredictable mass will be too risky a gamble and may ultimately do great disservice to the idea of one Nigeria," most stakeholders are of the view that the conference should be free to discuss any issue.

Two leading Niger Delta groups; South- South Peoples Assembly, SSPA, and Ijaw National Congress, INC, in separate reactions on the issue insisted that the planned talks should be held under a free atmosphere, where Nigerians will discuss any issue affecting the country.

The SSPA in statement jointly signed by its National Leader and First Republic Information Minister, Chief Edwin Clark and acting national chairman, Air Commodore Idongest Nkanga (rtd), said: "We wish to appeal to President Jonathan to create a completely unfettered atmosphere where there are no restrictions or no-go areas for Nigerians to dialogue.

"We equally appeal to all Nigerians to actively participate and cooperate with Mr. President to give the project a resounding success. This will justify the many years of our agitation for a national rebirth.

"Much as we know that a number of people in this country are persuaded by their overt dependence on the resources (oil and gas) found in the heart of the Niger Delta, such overdependence without due cognizance to equity, fairness and justice would be antithetic to the fundamental essence of true federalism. When people cohabit and federate on the principles of mutual respect, such union would be strengthened and enduring.

"It is based on the forgoing that we wish to express our endorsement for the national conference and preparedness to participate in the ensuing dialogue." On its part, the INC, through its president, Chief Tari Sekibo, told a press conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State that any restriction of the scope of the national conference would rubbish its outcome.

His words: "The military-type resort to creating inhibitions by the designation of certain topics as 'no-go area' will make nonsense of the express intention of letting Nigerians to express their freedom of speech.

The fear that the nation will break up without the designation of 'no-go areas' is unfounded and amounts to sheer scare-mongering. "To foreclose the discussion of certain topics will cast a shadow of doubt on the fidelity of the conference and the decisions that 'we the people of Nigeria' will arrive at when the conference is concluded."

Spat over representation

With the conference's status, composition, structure, mandate, agenda, tenure and relation to the incumbent government yet unresolved, a row has already ensued between some political groups in the North and South-East over representation for the country's geo-political zones.

Ohanaeze, in welcoming the President's decision, had insisted on equal representation of the country's six geo-political zones, adding that such would be the basis for their participation in the conference. President General of the group, Chief Garry Igarawey, who expressed the position, said the zones must be treated equally, noting, however, that representations from the zones must also take into cognisance the ethnic diversity in the respective zones. But, the ACF quickly faulted the call, saying it would amount to injustice.

Anthony Sani, the group's National Publicity Secretary said: "Someone needs to inform Ohanaeze that its recommendations that representations in the national dialogue should be on equality does a lot of violence to definition of injustice by Aristotle who said injustice is not only when equals are treated unequally, but is also injustice when unequals are treated equally."

He added: "One wonders the justification in making the representations by the Igbos and Idoma of Benue State to be on equality, or that of South-East and North West to be on equal basis. Those making such submissions are trying to reinvent the wheel or redefine democracy to mean minority prevails."

While the debate on the planned National Conference is expected to get more interesting in the days ahead, most Nigerians are of the view that the various interest groups, particularly the political class, should look beyond personal gains in taking positions, either for or against on the issue, as there is an urgent need for a restructuring of the country to save it from imminent collapse.

Source: National dialogue: The debate begins

[Folami David]

There are so many debates going on in this cointry right now so we can only hope things are resolved as soon as possible