ONLY FOR THE BROAD MINDS; AS IT CONCERNS URHOBO. The National Conference against all odds has been convoked and its the second week already with numerous plenary sessions discussing the rules of procedures e.g method of decision making via votes and who is the final report of this conference should be submitted to. With majority of delegates calling for the familiar 2/3rd voting pattern of most legislatures in the world and equally call for its final decisons to be subjected to a referendum, some others mainly the northern elite have put up strong resistance demanding a concensus of 75% voting pattern and insist that the reports be sent to the president who appointed them. Some of the unpopular views supported mainly by the north claims that they are not representing any group of people since they were not elected and thus must act in accordance to the presidents earlier stated will. The above amongst other issues of resource control which the south is agitating for full ownership has been met with resistance from the north sparking an heated argument in most cases but, what does this tell us as a people from the south? Isnt it Obvious that we are not one and these so called Northern elite are bent on maintaining the status quo? Personally, I had publicly made known my loss of fate in this conference based on the unequal representation of all ethnic Nationalities but watching from afar, one cannot help but notice the great divide amongst the Ethnic Nationalities of the south and that of the north and to think that the conference is just barely two weeks old yet some northerners like the Limido of Adawama are already threatening a boycot which he predicted heavy consequences as a resultant effect of such moves coupled with the serious fight over voting patterns & if the outcome be subjected to a referendum, One can only draw up his or her conclusion as; Nigeria is indeed sitting on a time bomb waiting to explode. At this point, it is pertinent to note that this post is not to report the National Conference proceedings as most media experts do but to spark up a needed debate which ought to have started a long time before now about what will be the fate of the south-south particularly the one of my people of Urhobo should incase Nigeria disintergrate naturally as a result of these disagreements driven by vested interests? To this end, it is absolutely important to dive into a less charted territory amongst my people of Urhobo called Self Determination. This I hope my people will begin to grasp a well defined understanding of and promoted by the sound minds amongst us, Of course only a man with some measure of uncommon sense will see the importance of putting politics aside and think firstly of the destinies of his people even at a time when politicking is at its peak. Now, Self-determination denotes the legal right of people to decide their own destiny in the international order. Self determination is a core principle of international law, arising from customary international law, but also recognized as a general principle of law, and enshrined in a number of international treaties. For instance, self-determination is protected in the United Nations Charter and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as a right of “all peoples.” Hence it is incumbent on us as a people of Urhobo to stand up (irrespective of the perceived lacuna or deep gap in leadership) and decide our position plus push tirelessly for such to be actualize. The United Nations Charter Article 1 (2) states Equal rights and self determination of peoples. The UN charter Article 1 (2) establishes that one of the main purposes of the United Nations, and thus the Security Council, is to develop friendly international relations based on respect for the “principle of equal rights and self determination of peoples”. The case studies in this section cover instances where the Security Council has discussed situations with a bearing on the principle of self determination and the right of peoples to decide their own government, which may relate to the questions of independence, autonomy, referenda, elections, and the legitimacy of governments. Now while the concept of self determination may not be new to the people of the south, it is often thought of as a Jaguda style of expressing grievances arguing that it was the main excuse by the then millitants of the Niger delta for destruction of Government properties and in some cases killing of a few innocent people which most likely was purely accidental. Worse more, the majority of my people of Urhobo has been completely mute in this regard either by limited understanding of the concept or a complete ignorance of what sovereignty which have been established to reside with the people truly means. If the happenings taking place in the world of late are anything to go by, Nigerians may one morning wake up to a different reality but once this happen, what would have clearly been the position of my people of Urhobo? Or after these marginalisations that we are faced with and often cry about in todays Nigeria, we shall then be faced by a more greater monster of neo-colonialism by brotherly tribes who first understood and embraced the concept of self determination (which ever way u think they went about it)? This is not a prophecy of doom as some may want to classify it. Initially it was USSR and now over 10nations, Sudan and now South south and Sudan, Crimea under Ukraine but now Crimea under Russia, Scotland is set to leave UK later this year, Venice is agitating for independence from Italy etc. URHOBO, What shall be your fate when this agreed forced Union called Nigeria finally tears herself apart Naturally? I leave my question to the scholars of Urhobo to debate on now or forever remain silent when the worse (Neocolonialism) befall us. Ikpan Samuel Aaron Creative writer, Filmmaker & Social Advocate.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 08:20:01 +0000
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