Jonathan Must Adopt A Two Phase Conference To Genuinely Address Long Standing Impediments To Nigeria Cohesion Or Face Disperse—Natl. Sec. Lower Niger Congress
The National Secretary of the Lower Niger Congress, Barr. Tony Nnadi has said if President Goodluck Jonathan's foundational principles and undertakings for organizing the national conference is to realistically examine and genuinely resolve longstanding impediments to Nigeria's cohesion and harmonious development as a truly united Nation is anything to go by, then there is need to adopt a two phase conference where federating units of the country which includes the Lower Niger, Sharia Territory, Yoruba Federation and the Middle East are giving opportunities to really sit down to make out their respective constitution, trash out critical issues through a referendum in their respective territories in exercise of their right to self determination before proceeding to the national conference to work out relationship with other federating units.
He said the ethnic nationalities will not accept any election under the existing fraud and enslavement called 1999 constitution, adding that elections must be suspended while all interest and grievances of the federating units are ironed out.
Commending President Goodluck Jonathan for the courage to organise a National Conference to discuss the impediments to the unity and progress of the country, LNC's National Secretary said it was better for today's Nigeria to dissolve peacefully than to re-enact the 1967 Civil War scenario.
He observed that the present contradictions in the polity bore the same imprints of what led to the Nigerian Civil War in which an estimated three million people died, stating that the legal instrument that forced together the peoples of Nigeria guaranteed their separation or renegotiation of the union after 100 years.
Nnadi said Nigeria elapsed on the midnight of December 31, 2013 and that any of its component ethnic nationalities reserves the right to take advantage of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 2007, to achieve self determination.
He noted that taking into account Nigeria's peculiarities, the National Conference should have the inputs of all-nationalities in the various units before the actual conference. He said it should be an Assembly that will draft a constitution for a post-Caliphate-Colonial Nigeria and should decide the fundamental principles that will bind and tackle genuinely all issues of the federating units, — “in particular it should decide on vexed questions like secularism or theocracy, Democracy or Shari'a, the criteria for federating units, power, fiscal distribution between the federating units and the federal government and of course the imposed 1999 constitution otherwise the federating units should be allowed to disperse peacefully.
Making his remark at a press conference in Port Harcourt, Nnadi stressed that failure to grant the wishes of the federating units especially that of the lower Niger before the proposed national conference shall have dare consequences as the lower Niger will have no option than to disperse and opt out of the Nigeria federation. He said the Lower Niger terrritory shall explore the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of indigenous people which invest (the ethnic nationalities) with an inalienable right to self determination. Nnadi stressed that the Lower Niger will vigorously pursue the retrieval of her sovereign rights over her geo-space in rejection of further perpetuation of fraud therein in the name of the entity called Nigeria.
According to the Lower Niger Congress national secretary, the 1999 constitution by former military head of state, Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar was a fraud. He said it represents the full implementation of the 1960 Sardauna's feudal battle script which has collapsed under the weight of its fraudulent origin having been rejected throughout the country. Citing examples he said twelve contiguous states of the North which are enacting and are still implementing Sharia since the year 2000 is a clear repudiation of the 1999 constitution and have by implication opted out of the Nigeria union.
It is on public knowledge that the Yoruba serving Governors jointly presented their insignia of nationhood including flag, artisan and coat of arm; recently an assemblage of Yoruba leaders ratified the decision of the Yoruba National Assembly rejecting the 1999 constitution as the basis for Nigeria or any further election in Yoruba land, directing its members in the House of Assembly to withdraw further participation in amendment of the 1999 constitution charade. Hear him: 'This is an indication that the balance of the country are therefore taking steps in exercise of their right to self determination, to rework the basis of their political future”.
He maintained that the 1999 constitution was a deliberate hijack of the sovereignty of the people and their resources by a tiny cabal of feudal overlords masquerading as our representatives. Nnadi emphasized the need to correct the mistake of 1914 when the British under lord Lugard amalgamated the Northern and Southern Nigeria enslaving some of the federating units especially ethnic nationalities of the Lower Niger.
“The people of the Lower niger has come to the end of their patience concerning the issue of the Nigerian constitution enslaving us, we see the national conference as key but we are against the propagation of this “NO GO AREA” syndrome. The agitation by the people of the Lower Niger is a deliberate attempt to save the lives of ten million people that will die in the event of a war, and to also avert the mistake that led to the First World War”.
Nnadi explained that some persons are making effort to re-define and truncate the objective of the conference as provided by the President, but insists that the federating units must as a matter of priority make out their constitutions before proceeding to the conference proper.
He said refusal to allow the federating units to make out before the conference means to disperse and adopt the UN Declaration on the Rights of indigenous people to opt out of the New Nigeria and should be required to withdraw without disturbing the peace of others.