Apparently there was a National Summit Conference of sorts last Monday at the Sheraton Hotel in Lagos. From what I gather this is supposed to be a prelude to a bigger national conference, sovereign or otherwise. So who were those in attendance? From the pictures I have seen, they were mostly our so called elder statesmen.
Apparently there was a National Summit Conference of sorts last Monday at the Sheraton Hotel in Lagos. From what I gather this is supposed to be a prelude to a bigger national conference, sovereign or otherwise. So who were those in attendance? From the pictures I have seen, they were mostly our so called elder statesmen.
They were ably supported by other elements who are obviously out of touch with the realities of our situation as a Nation. Is it really the case that the future of our country depends on these ‘conferencees’ I sincerely hope not, because if it did then we are doomed (finally). Who are these people representing? Can a motley group of people just invite each other to a conference and claim without any possibility of justification, that they are representatives of sections of Nigeria or indeed any interest groups. Most of the people in that hall do not even live in the communities they claim to represent and where they do, they live in highly fortified fortresses with police and other security – for fear of their people! The very people they claim to represent! During the January protests I took time to discuss with people of many different persuasions and even with so called ‘area boys’ who I found to be insightful and more intelligent and less prejudiced than most middle and upper class people. They reinforced the notion I have always held that these ‘conferencees’ represent only themselves and their selfish egoistic interests. They have perfected the art of using their communities as platforms to stand on and position themselves at the table where the scramble for the national cake takes place. ‘They chop till quench’ and only when engorged and constipated do crumbs fall for their communities to also scramble for.
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The common man knows this, everyone knows this except a beguiled and ill motivated few who have refused to tell this motley crowd the truth. The truth being that they are the problem with Nigeria! Yes the people in that hall are the problem with Nigeria! Anybody who in the year 2012 does not realize that the future of this country belongs to a different generation that can speak for themselves and with themselves and do not reckon with these people is either deluded or desperate.
These people will have us believe that a National Conference will solve Nigeria’s problems. The first step should therefore be to identify Nigerians problems, what are the factors holding us down and preventing the progress of a Nation blessed with enough resources, not only to go round but with sufficient leftover to help other less endowed countries. The problem with our country is corruption, which has infected all sectors and resulted in a broken country. A corruption ridden country will obviously have bad governance which will operate without the legitimacy of the peoples’ acceptance and will therefore not meet the ordinary expectations of the people. This was the clear and compelling message of the Nigerian people in January through the protests. The people are demanding good governance, which we all know will remain an illusion in the present suffocating atmosphere of unbridled and at times comical corruption. Our good people of Nigeria are not fooled that Nigeria’s problems are caused by the artificiality of ‘Nigeria’ or the unfair distribution of resources amongst the equally artificial states. They are not interested in shouting at each other (negotiating) about the terms of our staying together. They want a society which affords them the necessities of a bearable existence.
Corruption has made this unrealizable. I agree with the common man, that, a less corrupt Nigeria will reduce the ethnitization of everything, foster better harmony and the question of perpetual agitation for discussions on the terms of staying together will dissipate. During the last election period in Akwa Ibom (my state of origin) I visited my village shortly after the violence in which several lives and property were needlessly wasted. The spin from the usual ‘suspects’ was that the majority Ibibio were against the incumbent Governor of Annang extraction for a 2nd term in office. So I held a town hall meeting with the youths in my village. As Ibibios, the views of an overwhelming majority was that they were not interested in voting along Ibibio/Annang lines. They wondered why ethnicity should be an issue when the candidate of Ibibio extraction and main challenger, was the chief campaigner for the incumbent Annang governor in his first term. So what changed? Did the governor only suddenly become an Annang man? they queried. This gladdened my heart and it is just one of several illustrations of how people resort to crude tribalism for their own selfish gain. I do not accuse the two combatants in that show down (election) of resort to tribalism but obviously many of their supporters saw this as a legitimate campaign tactic. (I must confess that like my villagers, I realize that the two combatants are the ‘same people’.
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How can a national conference make sense when there has been no community conferences. Negotiating the terms of our living together cannot start from top to bottom. It has to be bottom up. The communities must first decide what they want and how they want to be governed and then empower their representatives to go and canvass already agreed positions and negotiate on their behalf. Anybody who goes to sit in a hall claiming to be representing anybody without going through the bottom up process is engaging in a hijack of a subversive nature. Any conference to enjoy any legitimacy must be with the peoples blessing. From what I hear, the people are saying something different!
What is the real motivation for this conference. A conference of that nature would have cost a tidy sum of money. Many of the attendees would have been invited by the conveners/sponsors. Knowing my fellow countrymen well, many of the participants would have had their expenses subsidized. Who is paying. I do not think there is any of those ‘conferencees’ so patriotic that he or she will fund this waste of time.
This kind of conference and the sureness of warm and vitriolic exchanges will distract attention from the real issues. Indeed maybe this is just to distract us. Some interest groups will surely be more comfortable with this kind of conference and its participants than the truths from the people that were evident during the January of discontent! I notice that the Lagos State Commissioner of Police was in attendance, which in our country will suggest that there was ‘Government Clearance’ for the conference.
Unless we want to deceive our hapless people and incite them into needless recriminations and bad blood, is a sovereign national conference feasible? Nigeria has a Constitution and sovereign government. I am aware that there are legal efforts to have the constitution judicially voided. In the meantime the constitution is supreme and binding. The Senate and House of Representatives exist for the very reason behind the agitation for the national conference. Any other assembly that purports to override the constitution is clearly an invitation to confusion. Indeed the mere idea of holding the conference is a vote of no confidence on the legislature and present political structure. But how do you override the structure without dismantling it? How do you dismantle it without anarchy? The lack of confidence is because most of the legislators are the product of a corrupt electoral and political system. So it boils down again to corruption being the problem. A broken country cannot be fixed by broken voices, we need purposeful united and progressive action and not all these shenanigans. The emerging national voice of the January of discontent should be built upon and serve as the platform for the ‘enough is enough’ message. We can actually get rid of corruption if we are united in our fight against it. As nauseating as it is, the reality is that we have to work within the existing structures as otherwise we invite anarchy. The emerging lessons of the January protests include the fact that peoples power is paramount and will always prevail (maybe not immediately) – but it needs to be harnessed and deployed tactically for national causes. Let us educate the people to avoid divisiveness and let them know that they will always prevail once they are united in any cause. The people holding this country down, the cabal are cowards. They thrive now because we are disunited, distracted and not focused. They also believe the myth that we Nigerians are docile and can take anything. January got them scared, let us build on that. Our President has even endorsed stoning - we can start from there!
In conclusion, if we say Nigeria is artificial, what of the constituent states, are they not also artificial? So should we start from communities negotiating their terms of existence in the states? Perhaps that exercise will settle once and for all the fact that this country as artificial as it is, has become naturally indivisible. It will be very wicked for us to push our people to needless and endless instability or perhaps war and then come back and agree to stay as one. All the people fleeing different parts of the country will mostly return! There is a reason why they left their ancestral homes in the first place. Those reasons are still there! It is those reasons we must tackle. Rwandans wasted over 800,000 lives, today they are still one country! We must face the reality of our coexistence and work towards good governance which is the true panacea to the insecurity, hopelessness and all the ills holding us down.
Edo Ukpong
Legal practitioner, Lagos
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