National Conference: Truth in retreat – Guardian
In their long quest for restructuring the country and putting it on the path of equity, justice and fairness, Nigerians have so far been failed by the delegates to the soon-to-conclude National Conference. Balking as they have done at the most significant issues, they now run the risk of reducing the deliberations to a mere jamboree. Suddenly, the euphoria appears to be dying for millions of Nigerians who have patiently waited for months with excitement over the prospects of a new dawn for the country. This would be a shame, unless the final report remedies the situation.
By passing up concrete issues of true federalism, devolution of powers and resource control, the Conference seems bent on confirming the worst fears of sceptics who viewed it as a farce at its inception. The onus is on the delegates upon resumption on August 4, to change course, and infuse hope into their work.
No doubt, because all sectional interests or groups went armed with their own 'make-or-break' agenda, the interests of Nigeria suffered during debates. For the most part, delegates dabbled into matters that ought to be left to government of the day to handle. Time was wasted on pettiness and grandstanding until core issues that tore interest groups apart came on the burner.
At the tail end of discussions, debates on critical matters in the report of the Committee on Devolution of Powers showed certain selfish sectional interests and a hate mentality among the handpicked delegates. The result is that the Conference ran away from addressing, thoroughly, key problems afflicting the country and in the process, failed to tackle the big issues of federalism.
Based on reported concessions and disagreements at the talks, the Conference would seem to have only served a diversionary purpose and failed to chart a viable path to reconstruct the country based on the wishes of the people.
That defining moment to set pace for acceptable terms of relationship beckoned but the opportunity was bungled. That the talks polarized delegates whose submissions were fuelled by hardened positions on issues germane to the much-sought understanding and peaceful co-existence of the people and soon resulted in ambiguities on definitive issues, portends a grave danger for Nigeria's future. It was obvious that some elements in the country had a mindset and spared no effort to have their way, which neither helped the conference leaders, other delegates nor even the collective wishes of Nigerians.
In its wisdom, the Conference decided to stand down any recommendations on derivation principle and resource control. Even more worrisome is the clear abdication of responsibility by the Conference, amid tension, passing the buck to the government to set up a technical committee to advise it (government) on the most appropriate percentage for derivation principle, solid minerals development and insurgency intervention fund which had been pegged at 18 per cent, five per cent and five per cent respectively.
Proceedings did not seem to advertise a demonstration of any gusto and the will to make significant changes worthy of any enduring legacy. So far, a serious national assignment has almost been reduced to nothing more than cheap political horse-trading. Indeed, deferring to a government technical committee on the three most crucial decisions not only implies that the conference, already suspected to be far from altruistic and even dubious in intention, is now, in conclusion, something of a farce. It is a further indication of the exclusion of the Nigerian people in the process of engineering their own future. A technical committee of the Conference to work before the August 4 reconvening for report consideration would have made more sense, not a government's committee.
It is important to state that working towards a people's Constitution should be devoid of negative tactics. All Nigerians are asking for is a true federation in which there is fiscal federalism, resource control and the devolution of powers appropriately from the centre. A Federal structure should make Nigeria a strong country where the component parts run or thrive smoothly as against the present false arrangement. Here is the irony: the present clearly undefined system of government is fast pulling Nigeria down. The Conference either failed to realise this or simply refused to muster the will to seek to build the country.
Barring the First Republic, Nigeria has not run a truly federal structure. Sadly, some of the delegates seemed to demonstrate a total lack of understanding of Federalism in its true sense, and ignorantly refused to accept the sustaining factors of a true federalism even when those are the ingredients of a nation's greatness.
Democracy and Federalism are the key to Nigeria's future with every tribe or group having a say and realising its destiny under a common roof. Nigeria's diversity is not a weakness but her greatest strength, and the federating units should be able to develop as they exploit the resources in their domain while paying an agreed royalty to the common pool. Of what significance are minerals domiciled in a region that cannot be exploited to produce jobs for the people? Building a great Nigeria out of the current decrepit and false contraption ought to be predicated on a solid structure of robust arguments at such a Conference as is about to end. Alas, at least on the most crucial issues, the delegates robbed Nigerians of such robustness in their debates, denied the people a good clash of reasoning, and instead of a concrete report, they have been given a lose collection of further talking points.
What has played out only demonstrates a predilection for a pretentious management of a warped system as it is instead of a genuine attempt at forcing real change. And again, Nigeria is about to slip further into the depths of misery when it could be making history. Some have logically traced the faults at the conference to the questionable composition of membership, querying for example, the load of the aged whose wisdom was to be the greatest asset, but whose ideas do not seem to have bettered their years. Sadly, the younger elements have not fared much better.
If this Conference fails, what hope is there for a more glorious opportunity? The failure of this Conference would mean the triumph of ethnic jingoists and political jobbers, a victory of narrow or warped vision over real patriotism. A failure could mean simply that there would be no other chance to discuss and forge a virile Nigeria, in which case posterity will hold these Conferees responsible for failing to design the proper architecture and lay the building blocks for a truly federal and strong Nigeria.
It would mean that this generation of Nigerians cannot again dream of an equitable and just country, thereby foreclosing same for future generations. By resorting to expediency and shying away from addressing deep issues of federalism/federal structure, democracy, devolution of powers and resource control, the Conference is passing up the best chance yet, to reverse Nigeria's decline. This approach failed the earlier two conferences under the late General Sani Abacha and President Olusegun Obasanjo, and the result is there for everyone to see.
Once more, the country seems headed for the crossroads with the pending report of the 2014 National Conference which ought to have been a step towards the ideal society all long for. In that Conference's current incomplete assignment and considering the people's great expectations, Nigerians would be right to ask their leaders again and again, Quo Vadis?