. Afe Babalola, Iwuanyanwu suggest agenda
The national dialogue proposed by President Jonathan continued to divide opinion among individuals and interest groups yesterday, with an official in the last such conference held in 2005 saying this one is “very, very suspicious.”
On Tuesday, Jonathan said he was bowing to popular pressure by convoking a gathering of Nigerians to resolve what he called issues that currently cause friction in the polity.
This is coming eight years after the National Political Reform Conference called by then-President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was accused of trying to use that to achieve his third term agenda.
Professor Ishaq Oloyede, who served as co-secretary of the 2005 conference, said yesterday he had “strong suspicion” about the national dialogue being proposed by President Jonathan.
“I have my very strong suspicion about the motive of the conference,” said Oloyede, who is secretary of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. “I am very suspicious of the whole thing but the council will discuss it and we will come out with our own position,” he told Daily Trust.
“But for me as a person, I have my suspicion based on activities leading to the turn-around of the government because the government, including the Senate President, have been opposed to it but suddenly overnight, they changed their opinion. I am very suspicious; very, very suspicious of the change of mind.”
Also, the Joint Action Committee of Northern Groups (JACONG) yesterday said Jonathan had pre-determined, narrow goals to achieve through the dialogue.
“Nigerians need to be wary of the goals of the national dialogue being planned by President Jonathan’s administration,” spokesman for the group Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed said in a statement.
“In the context of current challenges which the nation and the administration face, the most logical conclusion is that the dialogue is being planned to achieve pre-determined and narrow political goals. Far from easing the stresses and tensions which pervade our national life, these goals are very likely to worsen them.
“The nation has been down this path before. At great expense and amidst very high expectations, the collective endeavours of many credible Nigerians were perverted to seek personal goals.
“This time, the excuse that Nigerians need to talk is being used to process political goals. It is a wrong move from the wrong quarters. The presidency is not a suitable facilitator of a forum which should involve critical assessment of our polity, economy and the record of the administration itself. Its involvement in this venture will divert its attention from serious issues around governance; and divert attention of the nation from major deficits in its performance.”
The group said the president should have focused greater efforts towards improving the security situation and the economy, as well as tackling crude oil theft.
“The funds that will be spent on the proposed dialogue will be better utilised towards resolving the current crises in our education sector, which is now responsible for the closure of most of our universities and polytechnics,” it added.
For his part, retired jurist Justice Abdulkadir Orire described as “very vague” the dialogue/conference proposed by the president.
“What sort of conference are we talking about? Is it an economic conference or what after 53 years of independence?” he queried while speaking with Daily Trust.
“We have held constitutional conferences for four times now. If it were economic conference, ok but mere national conference, it is very vague…. After 53 years, is it feasible? Which country in the world is doing what we are doing now after 53 years?”
But legal luminary Afe Babalola yesterday suggested that the proposed conference should discuss whether the National Assembly should be full time or part time, and bi-cameral or uni-cameral.
In a statement in Lagos, Babalola said the federal legislature as presently constituted is too expensive for Nigeria, and therefore needs streamlining to reflect the country’s realities and the worth of its contributions to governance.
He said Nigeria must be pulled back from the brink with a constitution made through the conference and approved in a referendum by Nigerians.
Babalola said also the conference “will afford Nigerians the opportunity to frankly marshal their differences, fears and commonalities and address such sundry issues as insecurity, corruption and intolerance among others.”
He said the conditions for the country’s continued co-existence should also be discussed, and urged the advisory committee to do a thorough job with a
view to solving the nation’s problems.
In his reaction, elder statesmen Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu said there was need for a review of the country’s constitution through a Sovereign National Conference to give it more relevance.
He said that the issue cannot be left in the hands of the National Assembly because they cannot do it alone, adding that without a viable constitution, the country is bound to collapse.
But Iwuanyanwu said the unity of the country is non-negotiable.
He expressed optimism that a lot would be achieved by the dialogue advisory committee set up by the president.
President Jonathan on Tuesday set up a 13-member committee to come up with modalities of convening a national dialogue/conference to resolve what he called issues that currently cause friction in the polity.
The advisory committee has Dr. Femi Okurounmu as chairman and Dr. Akilu Indabawa as secretary, and is expected to complete its assignment within a month.
Others members of the committee are Prof George Obiozo, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, Senator Khairat Gwadabe, Senator Timothy Aduda, retired Col. Tony Nyiam, Prof. Funke Adebayo, Mrs Mairo Ahmed Amshi, Dr. Abubakar Sadiq, Alhaji Dauda Birma, Malam Buhari Bello and Mr Tony Uranta.
Jonathan will inaugurate the panel on Monday.
The committee’s terms of reference are to consult with stakeholders with a view to drawing up agenda for the conference, as well as recommend its structure, modalities, representation, timeframe and legal framework.
Also, the committee is to advise on the legal procedures for integrating the conference’s decisions and outcomes into the constitution and other laws.
Source: Daily Trust
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