The clamour for another national conference: A misconception or a necessity?

BY MOMOH EMMANUEL OMEIZA

From the day to day maladministration of the polity to the rising cases of insecurity, abuse of the rule of law, willful disobedience to the tenets of the constitution, the incessant drumbeats and calls for sovereign states and independence of different ethnic groups, it will not be an assumption or a prophecy of doom to conclude that Nigeria is currently going through a period of turbulence.

The consequences of this turbulence have been the proposal of different strategies which include a cut in the cost of governance, the demand for restructuring the entire polity, the amendment of the current constitution to allow for harmonisation, and more recently, the calls to hold another convention christened a national conference to discuss cogent points which continually tear the polity apart. All these are geared towards ensuring that the situation of things returns to normalcy.

The public outcry to hold a national conference among Nigeria’s multi-lingual and multi-ethnic group dates back to the late ’60s shortly after independence when the nation experienced severe military incursion into politics.

Other conferences which have followed are the various constitutional conferences that were geared towards procuring a harmonised constitution capturing ethnic differences but fostering oneness.

The national conference which could also be termed a national confab seems to be a double-sided issue that some support while others strongly detest. The categories of people supporting and opposing the motion cut across all spheres of life and are not limited to elder statesmen, gentlemen of the press, political observers, and civil society groups, among others.

At this point, it is important to ask: do both sides (supporters and opposers) have a point? Of course, they do. This is when the matter under review is placed on a scale and judged from different perspectives and insights.

In the first instance, calling for another national conference ensures that everyone has a voice and is able to air his or her opinion on matters that affect their collective existence.

Furthermore, calling for another national conference could in some instances foster national unity and cohesion. After all, participants at the conference are drawn from all walks of life and from all the states of the federation to allow for equal representation.

In addition, a national conference, apart from the election, is another way of participating in nation building and public development especially in Nigeria’s context where the “highs” have it always while the “lows” suffer the repercussions of unwholesome practises of governance.

Thus, from the above instances, it is absolutely true to opine that a national conference is another avenue for a Chukwudi from the south-east and an Edet from the south-south to interact with an Adekunle from the south-west and a Danjuma from the north-west in order to draw out modalities of their coexistence. This, in the long run, to facilitate national development.

Not minding the above, however, we still need to ask the necessity of holding another national conference when the initial ones held haven’t yielded profitable results.

What is the essence of holding another national conference when the current realities prove the fact that some tribes are superior to others? Are these not evident in the sharing of federal appointments and other things?

Of what importance is the call to spend another N7 billion (accumulated expenses for 2014 national conference recorded by federal ministry of finance) for another confab when we still suffer from various societal ills and when the nation still remains the world capital for extreme poverty, illiteracy, child and maternal mortality, among others? How about the various rankings which put the nation as one of the most terrorised entities?

Some other personalities have regarded the drum beats to hold another conference as mere propaganda which in the end will circumvent its true purpose and give superiority and preference to a group above the others.

Over time, the national confab which is meant to be a sacred gathering of intellectuals and personalities of proven integrity and high repute has been turned into shambles and a ready-made avenue for siphoning of public funds, ethnic jingoism, bigotry and submersion of the rule of law and the constitution into anarchy.

Every conference continues to make vain promises of providing solutions to the common challenges facing the nation, but in the end, the promises end up empty. When the past and present have achieved little or nothing, what hopes then should the future hold?

Rather than coming out with workable and practical solutions, what is evident is the display of fury and uncontrolled emotions and outbursts. All these without mincing words negate the essence of holding another national conference.

Whether the calls and clamour for a national conference seem to be wishful thinking or a matter of grave importance is what we cannot foretell now. Nonetheless, one point which is certain is that the end will justify the means and our chicken will definitely come home to roost. But until then, the motto remains: “ONE NATION BOUND IN FREEDOM”

Momoh Omeiza can be reached via [email protected]