Temple Chima Ubochi
You politicians have got to look further ahead; you always got a Putter in your hands, when you ought to have a Driver (Will Rogers)
The only foundation of a free Constitution, is pure Virtue, and if this cannot be inspired into our People, in a great Measure, than they have it now. They may change their Rulers, and the forms of Government, but they will not obtain a lasting Liberty (John Adams)
nything said or written by anyone here, has the elements of Aburi Accords, and the vindication of Ojukwu!
A group of eminent Nigerian elder statesmen, called The Patriots, led by Prof. Ben Nwabueze (SAN), met President Jonathan, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Thursday August 29, where they reiterated the need for a national conference to discuss the basis for a peaceful co-existence among the various segments of the country. Thereafter, Nwabueze told journalists that “The Patriots drew the attention of the President to the dire state of the nation, which calls for urgent need for the nation to discuss how to live together. 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 characterizes a constitution as a democratic one, otherwise called a Peoples' Constitution." Nwabueze noted that the argument of 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.
In 2011, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, called for a review of the Nigerian federation. Tambuwal said the post-election and sectional violence and other crises have sought to tear the nation apart and plant distrust and disunity among the people. He said: "We should review how we federate as a nation with the aim of achieving more cumulative efficiencies in the federating units, based on comparative endowment advantages. As the people's representatives, we must heal our people and heal our nation. We must work to redeem the efforts of our political predecessors and we must work to redeem Nigeria."
This writer can’t still understand why it’s hard for this president to convene a national conference, as what happened in July in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, would have served that purpose, had it been given a presidential blessing, approval or seal. The calibre of Nigerians who gathered in Uyo for a national political summit, are those who can decide for all Nigerians how they can live in peace and harmony with one another (see the roll call below).
Soyinka, Sule, Anyaoku, Clark and many others stormed Uyo to a summit that could have as well served as a national conference. It was reported that due to the worsening insecurity and political tension in the country ahead of the 2015 general elections, eminent leaders of thought, statesmen and politicians across the six geo-political zones converged on Uyo, Akwa Ibom State Capital, at Le'Meridien Hotels & Resorts, between July 2 and 3 for a political summit on the future of Nigeria, convened by Project Nigeria- National Consensus Group. The two-day summit, dubbed "the national family meeting" with the theme National Security and Political Stability in Nigeria, according to Malam Nasser Kura, Head of Communications, summit secretariat, was being convened to douse the tension created by the emergency situation in the country and to chart the way forward. In Kura’s words: "The summit is being convened against the background of the current challenges facing our dear country, Nigeria, in the areas of national security and political stability. It is with a view to kick-starting a profound process of national consultations and political negotiations capable of fostering enduring solution to the heightening tension in the country". Kura added that President Goodluck Jonathan, former presidents/heads of state and their deputies, leadership of the National Assembly, state governors and ministers were expected to participate at the summit. Some eminent persons who led delegations and discussions at the confab include:
First Republic Minister and Chairman, Northern Elders' Forum, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule;
legal luminary, Prof. Ben Nwabueze (SAN);
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka (Lead Speaker);
General T. Y. Danjuma,
Dr. Alex Ekwueme
and
Chief Edwin Clark.
Others are Chief Emeka Anyaoku,
Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu,
Chief Ayo Adebanjo,
HRM Amayanabo Alfred Diete-Spiff,
Dr. Tunji Braithwaite,
Chief Solomon Lar,
Alhaji Tanko Yakassai,
Alhaji Balarabe Musa,
Amb. Christopher Kolade
and
Alhaji Aliko Mohammed,
Chairman, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Mallam Adamu Ciroma,
Chief Olu Falae,
Alabo Graham Douglas,
Chief Bisi Akande,
General Alani Akinrinade (rtd),
Prof. Pat Utomi,
Chief Reuben Fasoranti,
Afenifere leader;
Chief Audu Ogbeh,
Bishop Emmanuel Gbonigi,
Sheik Ahmed Lemu,
Senator David Dafinone,
Alhaji Ishiaku Rabiu
and
Gen Jeremiah Useni (rtd). Senator Ken Nnamani,
Chief John Nwodo,
Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor,
Bishop Mathew Kukah,
Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife,
Alhaji Bamanga Tukur,
Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN),
Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN),
Alhaji Gambo Jimeta,
Mr. Abdulwaheed Omar (NLC president),
Mr. Peter Esele (former TUC president)
and
Prof. Grace Alele-Williams. Dr. Iyorchia Ayu,
Chief Philip Asiodu,
Prof Akin Oyebode,
Dr. Arthur Nwankwo,
Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi,
Mr. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi,
Prince Tony Momoh,
Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu,
Mr. Femi Falana (SAN),
Mallam Nuhu Ribadu
and
Dr. Kalu Idika Kalu. Prof. Dora Akunyili,
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,
Prof Kimse Okoko,
Alhaji Bashir Tofa,
Prof. Chidi Odinkalu,
Solomon Asemota (SAN),
High Chief Raymond Dokepsi,
Dr. Frederick Fasehun,
Dr. Odia Ofeimun,
Prof. Attahiru Jega,
Dr. Sule Hamma,
Dr. Junaid Mohammed,
Otunba Gani Adams,
Hon Nkoyo Toyo,
Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa,
Mrs. Ayo Obe,
Mr. John Momoh,
Mr. Shehu Sani,
Rear Adm. Ndubuisi Kanu (rtd),
Mr. Ben Murray Bruce,
and
Chief Mike Oze-khome (SAN),
among others.
The Guardian of Tuesday, June 25, 2013,wrote that “Balarabe Musa and Opadokun want national confab held before 2015 polls” : “Expressing worry over what he called persistent tension in the polity as we approach 2015, Balarabe Musa said: "The only option, if at all President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Assembly would listen, is to convene a national conference. In a similar manner, a leading member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), Ayo Opadokun, warned that any attempt to conduct another election in the country on or before 2015 without first convening a conference might drag Nigeria into unprecedented chaos”.
Recently, discussants gathered to deliberate on how to make local councils in Nigeria effective at a forum in Lagos, because, “there is so much rot in the councils and decisive actions are needed to make them deliver democracy dividends”. Among those who proffered solutions to the decay in the councils were Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; legal icon, Professor Itse Sagay, SAN; Professor Francis Oluyemi Fagbohun; and Mr. Onyekachi Ubani (Chairman, Nigeria Bar Association, Ikeja branch).
Prof Fagbohun, who chaired the event, said that late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu was right when he called and fought for confederacy in 1966 but people misunderstood him and branded him a rebel. According to him, events in the country indicate that "we are returning to confederation. Nigeria has concepts which you can't find anywhere in the world. Our federalism is homegrown. What we have is not a federal system. We started on a wrong note. The federating units did not come together and agreed to unite. That is the basis of our problems. Nigeria is an artificial creation. Before independence, we had true federalism. The East was even operating three tiers of government and it worked. After the 1976 local government reforms, the councils have never remained the same. Even the establishment of the Joint Account Committee has become a problem in most states."
Speaking in like manner, Sagay said the question of autonomy for councils in a federal setting was an aberration. His words: "What we have in Nigeria is an aberration. It is unheard of for local government to be listed in the constitution. The local government is totally and completely an agent of the state government for development. What should happen is that every state should decide how many local governments it wants and fund them by itself. The Federal Government should not fund local governments. Why should we have a federation account? Why do we all share from one account and say we are a federation? Why must we have the same system of government in all the councils? States should be able to decide the form of local government system they want whether parliamentary or presidential… Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo recognized in 1947 that the only way we (Nigeria) can be together is through federalism. We should be thinking of how to reduce the stifling control of the centre. Nigeria has to practice a federal system of government. What we have now is a semi-unitary system. The Federal Government should be thinking of how to convert the zones into powerful regions and leaving the centre with a few responsibilities because the Federal Government is the weakest government in the country. If we follow the correct principles of federalism and allow power to devolve to the federating units, we will get it right. The regions funded the Federal Government in the past and kept 50 per cent of their revenue. Today the Federal Government strips states of their resources. The Federal Government has no resources. All they have is Abuja and Abuja has nothing. If it is not Niger Delta oil or Lagos VAT, it is Customs duties. Not up to five per cent of Federal Government resources come from the Federal Government.
In July 2013, Chief Emeka Anyaoku said that for Nigeria to achieve the stability and pace of development to which it is entitled by its human and natural resources, it should return to true federalism by having six federating units with enough powers. According to him, the existing structure of the country, with 36 federating units and an all-powerful centre, compels disproportionate national resources on recurrent expenditure; and a destabilising competition for the control of the centre. For Anyaoku, to achieve true federalism, each of the six federating units should be responsible for the pace of their development with the revenue from all minerals shared equally among them after allowing a reasonable portion for the mineral-producing areas. Anyaoku lamented that the failure of Nigeria to match the Asian countries with which it started the development race with similar social and economic indices at independence, had been primarily based on its pluralistic nature, which made it difficult for the country to field its first 11 team in the management of national affairs. In his words: "I am convinced from my long experience of the politics and development of over 50 other countries, that the governance structure I am advocating will give our country a much better chance of dealing with the multifaceted challenges that continue to retard its progress and stability. Our major roads are still crying out for attention; the quality of education in most of our institutions is still well below the standards that we had attained in the early years of our independence; our public health facilities are still inadequate and so inefficient that the massive drain on the country's foreign exchange through citizens seeking medical treatment abroad continues; and our economic activities continue to suffer from inadequate power supply to energise our manufacturing sector thereby creating employment for our growing population of unemployed youths".
To mark the 15th year remembrance of the death of Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola, M.K.O, the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 election, a group, Coalition of Yoruba Autonomy, COYA, reiterated its call for a Sovereign National Conference, SNC, to address the imbalance in the Nigerian polity. President of the group, Ambassador Adekunle Adesokan, said: "We, in COYA, demand a truly people's democratic federal constitution through a Sovereign National Conference, and stoppage of the superficial, ordinary, deceitful, illegitimate and self-serving amendment of the 1999 constitution, currently being undertaken by the National Assembly”.
Vindication of Major Gideon Orkar
To paraphrase The Vanguard; the orgy of violence in the old Kanem Borno empire had become a threat to sovereignty of Nigerian state, and direct challenge to the authority and power of the Federal Government, as the insurgents had vowed to topple the democratic order by the use of force, to enthrone a theocratic state, based on Sharia’s jurisprudence. The unrestrained killing of security personnel, diplomats, women, children and men in farms, churches, markets, schools, parks, had gone on with glee. Before the imposition of state of emergency on Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, the three states that emerged from the old Gongola State had become the hot bed of Islamist insurgency, spearheaded by the Boko Haram sect. These three states are part of the North-East, and that was the part of the country Major Gideon Orkar and co. wanted to exorcise from Nigeria pending its pledge to see all Nigerians as having equal rights and equal opportunity to occupy any office in the land as long as one is qualified for it. To know what Major Orkar and co. wanted to achieve in 1990, let’s gain more insight from Col. Tony Nyiam, who was among the officers who wanted to remove Babangida from power then. Nyiam, as an insider, told us what influenced their action then. It’s very important that one reads all that Nyiam said here. More to that, he (Col. Nyiam) also raised another important issue (the census and the Kano State Governor’s vilification of Chief Odimegwu for saying the truth)! Col Tony Nyiam, in an interview he granted to the Punch, said:
“The unsung hero, Gideon Orkar, was far from anybody who wanted to divide the country. He was calling all regions of the country to some conditionality that they have to meet, if they want us to coexist. It was because that was an era when certain people were saying that they were superior, and that power was their prerogative and that they had the monopoly of power”.
Read (re-read if you have read this before now). Please note what Col Nyiam said about Chief Odimegwu and the three reasons why they struck:
To be continued!
TIT BITS
THE THANX IS ALL YOURS!!!
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