comments Posted under: Politics Despite the various platforms of discourse provided by the present democratic dispensation, there have been persistent demands for a Sovereign National Conference, SNC, to address the seeming imbalance in the system. FELIX NWANERI reports on the renewed agitation following the endorsement of a national dialogue by the Senate President David Mark. Nigeria’s fragmentation predates independence from colonial rule given her over 300 ethnic groups. However, while successive administrations made efforts to cement the crack, the country is still seen by many as a nation within nations. The argument of some stakeholders in this regard, is 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, clueless leadership of state institutions and processes across board. There is also the quest for some measure of autonomy for the federating units (states) against a too powerful centre; need for fiscal federalism to pave the way for resource control by the states; equality of states and local governments among the six geo-political zones; state police and indigeneship question. It was against these backdrops that notable groups such as the Patriots, National Summit Group, NSG; National Democratic Coalition, NADECO; Afenifere and Ohanaeze had persistently called for a Sovereign National Conference, SNC, to examine the possibility of sustaining the present composition of the Nigerian state, which is gradually drifting towards disintegration. To these groups, a more participatory platform devoid of the present political affiliations is the only way forward. The nation, they further argued will not achieve the much desired political stability needed for economic growth except the different ethnic nationalities meet on equal terms to negotiate and reach a consensus on the contending issues. But sound as their argument is, there is a political school of thought, which believes that the National Assembly remains the best forum to channel all issues for deliberation rather than seeking unusual avenues that could threaten the country’s unity. The position of members of this political school, mostly Northern political leaders, is largely responsibly for past and even the present administration’s indifference to convoke an SNC. The Goodluck Jonathan administration, for instance, at the wake of renewed calls for the confab last year, ruled out the convocation of an SNC on the premise that the Justice Alfa Belgore- led Committee on Constitution Review will address the issues raised by bringing up areas of national consensus from the 2006 National Political Reform Conference for the National Assembly’s consideration in the on- going constitution amendment. Fresh twist While the constitution amendment, which the government assured will address the imbalance in the system is yet to be concluded, the Senate in a fresh twist last week, declared that the call for a national conference by certain sections of the country was in order in view of the discontent in the polity. Senate President David Mark, who spoke while welcoming members of the upper legislative chamber from their seven-week annual vacation, said every matter about the union of ethnic groups that make up the country, should be opened to discussion though with the proviso that the dismemberment of the country should be a no-go area. He said the country cannot continue to shy away from discussing national issues in view of the discontent in the polity and present global realities. His words: “We live in very precarious times, and in a world increasingly made fluid and toxic by strange ideologies and violent tendencies, all of which presently conspire to question the very idea of the nation state. “But that is not to say that the nation should, like the proverbial ostrich, continue to bury its head in the sand and refuse to confront the perceived or alleged structural distortions which have bred discontentment and alienation in some quarters. “This sense of discontentment and alienation has fuelled extremism, apathy and even predictions of catastrophe for our dear nation. A conference of Nigeria’s ethnic nationalities, called to foster frank and open discussions of the national question, can certainly find accommodation in the extant provisions of the 1999 Constitution which guarantee freedom of expression, and of association. “It is welcome. Nonetheless, the idea of a National Conference is not without inherent and fundamental difficulties. Problems of its structure and composition will stretch the letters and spirit of the constitution and severely task the ingenuity of our constitutionalists.” Mark’s position was however without a caveat. He advocated a national conference premised on existing governance structure, saying giving the sovereignty to an “unpredictable mass” to determine the fate of the country “will be too risky a gamble and may ultimately do great disservice to the idea of one Nigeria.” “It would be unconstitutional to clothe such a conference with constituent or sovereign powers. Let me counsel that we make haste slowly, and operate strictly within the parameters of our constitution as we discuss the national question. “Be that as it may, such a conference, if and whenever convened should have only few red lines, chief among which would be the dismemberment of the country. Beyond that, every other question should be open to deliberations,” he said. Jonathan not averse to confab An indication that the government will bow to the wishes of the people as regards the national confab, had emanated last month when President Jonathan declared that his administration is not opposed to dialogue among Nigeria’s various ethnic nationalities, as it is reviewing the possibility of a national conference. The President, who spoke after he received a memorandum from The Patriots, led by foremost constitutional lawyer, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, on the need for a national conference, said that the issue of Nigerians coming together to discuss their future should not be out of place. He told the group that there have been constant discussions within government on how to create an acceptable platform for a national dialogue that will reinforce the ties that bind the country’s many ethnic nationalities and ensure that Nigeria’s immense diversity continues to be a source of strength and greatness. The President, however, added that a limitation is that the constitution appears to have given that responsibility to the National Assembly. “I have also been discussing the matter with the leadership of the National Assembly. We want a situation where everyone will key into the process and agree on the way forward,” he said. The Patriots demand The Patriots’ delegation, which included Ayo Adebanjo, Solomon Asemota, Chris Okoye, Bola Kuforiji-Olubi, Dan Suleiman, Kimse Okoko and Michael Orobator, told the President that the convocation of a national conference was the fastest way to achieve the most needed transformation in the country. Nwabueze, who briefed State House correspondents after the meeting, said his group drew the attention of the President to the dire state of the nation, which calls for urgent need for the people to discuss how to live together. He said: “We have done our own research; and we are not perfect. But our own review is that we have in the country 389 ethnic nationalities. We need to bring these nationalities around a conference table to discuss how we are going to live together as one country in peace with the aim of achieving national unity.” He added that Nigeria was not yet a nation but a state and the convening of the national conference should be seen as a matter of priority as soon as possible, in any event before the 2015 general elections. His words: “Nigeria is a wobbly state in part because it stands on a very weak foundation, which creates a necessity to transform it. The foundation of a polity or state, that is to say, its super-structure, is its constitution. A polity or state rests on a very weak foundation if the source of authority of its constitution, as the supreme law of the land, is not the people directly, acting in a constituent assembly or a national conference and a referendum; that is what characterises a constitution as a democratic one, otherwise called a Peoples’ Constitution.” He also noted that the argument of some members of the National Assembly that the conference was not necessary because of their existence does not hold water, as the 1999 Constitution was a schedule in Decree 24, and the only thing the President needs to do is repeal the decree and a brand new constitution would emerge for the country. Thumbs up for NASS The surprise nod by the Senate President for a national conference has been hailed by several group and individuals including the Pro National Conference Organisation, PRONACO; Nigeria Political Summit Group, NPSG and the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly, SNPA, led by the trio of former Vice President Alex Ekwueme; one time Federal Commissioner for Information and Ijaw Leader, Chief Edwin Clark; former Anglican Bishop of Ondo Diocese, Bishop Emmanuel Gbonigi. PRONACO’s spokesperson, Olawale Okunniyi, who also doubles as Head of Secretariat of the Political Summit Group, PSG, praised the Senate for heeding to one of the resolutions of the recent summit organised by the group in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State that a conference of the diverse nationalities and people of Nigeria would be desirable for ending growing instability and insecurity in the country. The SNPA, in a statement signed by Ekwueme (South-East); Clark (South- South) and Gbonigi (South-West), urged President Jonathan to before December this year set up a committee that will map out strategies and modalities for the convocation of a national conference that will give the ethnic nationalities of Nigeria the opportunity to discuss the collective future after what they termed a “forced” marriage of 100 years. The statement read in part: “We are indeed elated that the Senate President has aligned with our long held view that a conference of ethnic nationalities is imperative in correcting the enormous discontent in the Nigerian polity. Instructively, the position of the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly in resolving burning national issues threatening the corporate existence of the nation has been very clear. “We therefore call on President Goodluck to set up a committee to work out strategies and modalities for the convocation of a national conference by not later than December 2013, giving the ethnic nationalities of Nigeria the opportunity to discuss their collective future after a “forced” marriage of 100 years, the most rewarding centenary gift President Jonathan can give to Nigerians.” Similarly, the chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Ikeja, Lagos branch, Onyekachi Ubani, said the country stands to gain by organising a talk where the question of the ethnic nationalities staying together would be honestly and unemotionally discussed. “If the ethnic nationalities agree to stay together, then the terms and conditions for staying together will be openly discussed and agreed upon,” Ubani said, adding that the people are the only ones capable of deciding whether to stay together or not, and how. North differs As expected, the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, which has remained indifferent to calls for an SNC, in its reaction said it won’t solve Nigeria’s woes, which are not the constitution, federal structure or form of government but lack of political will by those in authority. The Publicity Secretary of the forum, Anthony Sani, who stated this while speaking with newsmen at the weekend, however said the North would not oppose a national conference, as long as Nigerians wanted it. He said: “I have told you that SNC amounts to passing a vote of no confidence on our democracy and its institutions, which no group has the right to do. I honestly do not know how they hope to ensure that all ethnic nationalities will be represented, considering that there is no consensus on the number of ethnic nationalities let alone how they can be represented to the satisfaction of all. “I say this because some people talk as if the current legislators are representatives of not people but ghosts. If Nigerians want a national dialogue, who is ACF to say no, more so, the resolutions of the conference must still go through the legislature in order to find accommodation in the constitution. “ACF has made it clear that the problems of Nigeria have nothing to do with soundness of the laws but with the unwillingness of the operators to live up their responsibilities. And this has been brought about by the collapse of national ideals, moral values and total collapse of social contract among groups and individuals.” The governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, who expressed similar sentiment, said the North will not be a party to an SNC. According to him, such a move will entail all elected politicians vacating their positions and handing over to a committee that will be in charge of the conference. His word: “Those calling for sovereign national conference must understand the implications of that. You cannot have two sovereignties in one place. If anybody says he is going to organise a sovereign national conference, all of us in government must resign our jobs and then transfer the sovereignty of the country to a committee that is going to discuss the sovereignty of the country. I will love a national conference that will look at our constitution and really give us justice, equity and fairness in our body politics and in our national life.” Aliyu insisted that the North is not afraid of a national conference because it believes such will move the country forward. “A lot of people are making it look like the northern states are afraid of conference, we are not. Let us come and talk, let us come and look at our problems if it means restructuring the country, let us come and do it but we must not be hoodwinked. “If people want to secede let them secede and then we see under which constitution they are seceding. Let us not be intimated; we cannot be intimated because intimidation will not give us good policies. Intimidation will not give us a good nation; intimidation will not give us any progress,” he said. Unresolved puzzles and way out With the seeming consensus that the convocation of a confab is inevitable, the question most people have asked is: what would be its status, composition, structure, mandate, agenda, tenure and relation to the incumbent government? Some analysts, who proffered solutions, faulted the model proposed by the Senate President, as a national conference without sovereign power is worthless. Civil rights activist Shehu Sani, who described Mark’s proposal as diversionary because whatever decision taken at such conference would not be binding, said: “Nigerians are not just asking for a conference, but a sovereign one. It is not the usual conference that comes out with a communiqué, but a conference with a resolution that is binding on the Nigerian people.” He added: “Right now, the country is operating under the military conference and the constitution authored by the Generals Sani Abacha and Abdulsalami Abubakar military regimes. We need to use the opportunity of our centenary to freely discuss all issues that bother the Nigerian state, so as to strengthen our unity, democracy and enhance the well-being of our people.” Similarly, former Minister of Petroleum, Prof. Tam David-West, said: “We need an SNC where the representatives of all ethnic groups would sit and freely discuss on how we relate with one another, do we still want to remain as a country and what type of government do we want. “We should not run away from the truth, we should come to a round table conference to discuss our differences and the structural distortions in the polity. Whatever decisions taken at such conference become sacrosanct like the Bible and the Qur’an.” Former governor of old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, who said the President may not be disposed to convening an SNC because his government will have to be removed, however dismissed fears over a selection process for would be delegates for the proposed national conference. “All registered voters of Nigeria constitute the sovereign people of Nigeria. They will function through a body chosen by them, because registered voters, who could be up to 100 million, cannot all participate in a national conference. They would have to do so through democratic representatives. And those democratic representatives, who can represent the people after due election of delegates are civil society organisations such as the Nigeria Bar Association, Academic Staff Union of Universities, Nigeria Labour Congress and other credible civil society organisations,” he said. On a probable agenda, he said: “Our agenda for the national conference, in short, is first to reconcile Nigeria because Nigerians have doubts about the continued existence of Nigeria. Secondly, to review the state of the nation; thirdly, to decide and agree on our fundamental national objectives; fourthly, to produce a draft constitution of Nigeria, which would be subject to a referendum; and lastly to conduct a free, fair and transparent election, leading to a legitimate government. “And the participants are those who should organise it. I mentioned earlier that it should be the sovereign people of Nigeria, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, which means everybody is involved. The executive, the legislature and the judiciary should be honest enough to know that they have failed and that is why we are having this negative state of the nation, which is endangering the continued existence of the nation. Since no section of the society can solve the problem, let everybody be involved in the national salvation.” With the general believe that there is need for a restructuring of the country along the lines of true federalism, it is doubtful if both the Federal Government and the National Assembly will endorse a national conference with sovereign powers though sovereignty in a democracy belongs to the people.
Posted on: Tue, 24 Sep 2013 06:41:55 +0000
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