The national dialogue must have a clear agenda, Fashola says Posted by Eki Toju The Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, has said that the national dialogue must have a clear agenda if it must succeed. Fashola disclosed this on Friday during a courtesy visit by the Presidential Advisory Committee on National Dialogue, in Lagos. “If we must have a dialogue, there must be an agenda,” Fashola said. “A dialogue by its very definition, demands that you must listen to every views, both agreeable and disagreeable.” “If those that do not agree are heckled and shouted down, then for me, the platform for dialogue is already defeated.” “And if we refuse to listen to the views of the aggrieved, it portends great concern whether or not we can dialogue,” he said. The Lagos governor advised the Femi Okorounmu-led committee to let everybody have a say” in order to have a successful conference. “So, we must ask ourselves, are we ready, are the elements appropriate to undertake this now? “Indeed for me, the process of nation building is a never ending process, and my advice is that should go back to the report of 2006. “Some negotiations and compromises were made then; we can put this forward and set a legal framework.” ‘Our people do not want better document, but better life,” Fashola said. The governor listed power supply, national security, hunger, unemployment, lack of education, among others as some of the agitations of the people that should be discussed. “What will be more helpful; my view generally is to improve peoples’ lives.” “When the people are prosperous, they often tend to be less violent,” he said. The visit of the members of the committee to Lagos State was a continuation of their consultations with Nigerians across the six geo-political zones. Earlier, the chairman of the committee, Okunrounmu, promised that the views of the people would count. “This is an event that people have been agitating for, for decades and since the annoucement, he has been overwhelmed, he said.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Nov 2013 06:26:37 +0000
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