Corruption, insecurity, religion and ethnic issues top debate

Source: pointblanknews.com

As the debate on President Goodluck Jonathan's speech entered its third

day on Wednesday, focus started shifting from issues raised in the speech

to matters central to the National Conference and what to make of them.

 
Opinions and counter-opinions flowed as delegates deliberated on issues of

corruption, security, economic development or the lack of it, religion,

and ethnic nationality with focus on the minority and majority question.

 
While some of the speakers suggested that corrupt officers, especially

those in public service, should face death sentence, others agreed that

economic development with the practical consequence of job creation will

check the issue of insecurity nationwide.
 
Former Secretary to Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae said

Nigeria's problem started when the military, in 1966, murdered regional

government which had served as a tonic for development of zones across the

country.
 
He also stated that abolition of Parliamentary system of government where

power was with the entire cabinet and replacement with Presidential system

where powers lie with an individual had caused serious political crises in

the country.
 
Femi Falana, SAN, in a moving contribution, said the Conference, though

not sovereign, has provided Nigerians with a window of opportunity “to

find out why we are poor in the midst of plenty while a microscopic

minority of the population is rich and smiling to the bank.”

 
He said corruption has endangered the corporate existence of Nigeria, and

advocated political justice, social justice and environmental justice.

 
On the issue of ethnic minority and majority, Chief Edwin Clark pleaded

with delegates to give it priority during committee discussions so that at

the end of the Conference, existing controversies arising from it would

become a thing of the past.
 
He said the natural solution to the problem remains the realization that

no tribe is greater than the other, “no one is a first class citizen, and

no one is a second class citizen. Everyone is qualified to rule this

country.”
 
It was his view that in the absence of tolerance, the dream of nationhood

would be difficult to achieve; “if you are a southerner and the other

person is a northerner, if you cannot live together, then there will be no

Nigeria.”
 
Dalhatu Bashir from Jigawa State noted that at creation, Nigeria came with

a promise and it was that promise that moved the country in the right

direction.
 
For instance, he said the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, an Igbo man was born in

Zungeru in northern Nigeria, grew up in Igboland but went ahead to win

election in the heart of Yorubaland.
 
It was his view that if at the end, the outcome of the National Conference

makes it possible for any Nigerian living anywhere in Nigeria to have

equal rights of citizenship, then it would justify the reasons it was

convened.
 
Describing the President's speech as stimulating, comprehensive and

forthright, Ibrahim Bunu said delegates should not fail to negotiate and

should not negotiate out of fear since Nigeria belongs to everyone.

 
On security, Abubakar Chika Adamu from Niger State said, “Nigeria is at

war with itself. Security remains our greatest challenge. We must stop

playing politics with it. We here must do what we ought to do and leave

the President to do what he has to do to solve this problem.

 
On corruption, he observed that Nigerians have moved from mere stealing to

looting and have graduated from looting to mass looting. His suggestion

was that a soft-landing should be created for those who stole public funds

to return them without being prosecuted.
 
“We must be serious about fighting corruption,” said Magayi Dambatta;

adding that for Nigeria to succeed in this, there was need to reorganize

the anti-corruption agencies followed by diligent prosecution.

 
A representative of Nigerian youth, Ben Dontoye demanded legal backing to

the adoption of capital punishment against corruption. He believed this

would be the only way to drive fear into people who have taken to corrupt

practices as a trade.
 
Former Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Coomasie cited the absence of

sincere leadership at different tiers of governance as one problem that

Nigerians are worried about.
 
Added to this, he said, was the intolerable level of insecurity in the

country. He suggested that agencies constitutionally charged with

maintenance of security in the country should be restructured and funded.

 
Retired General Muhammed Mansur Dan Ali informed the Conference that out

of the 36 states of Nigeria, 33, if not more have soldiers deployed to the

streets.
 
He said the National Conference should recommend complete restructuring of

the Armed Forces of Nigeria and other security agencies for effective

performance of their duties.
 
Senator Seidu Dansadau made one appeal in his comment: that Jonathan

should ensure that the recommendations of the Conference are implemented

and not allowed to go the way of other recommendations in the past.

 
He said it was time for delegates to strip themselves naked, “not just to

say that we believe in the indivisibility of Nigeria but to practically

demonstrate it.”
 
His position was supported by Professor Godini Dara who insisted that the

lofty ideas and recommendations expected at the end of the Conference must

be implemented to free Nigeria from the grips of economic apartheid.

 
On corruption, he said there was need to establish ethical standards; and

on the economy, Dara strongly urged the President to free Nigeria from

what he called the witchcraft of the World Bank while industrialization

should take the front seat both in budgeting and planning.

 
Both Illiya Danga and Burus Daleng remarked on the courageous decision of

the President to go ahead with the Conference in spite of oppositions and

wished that with the same courage, the President would implement the

decisions of the Conference without fear or favour.

 
Sale Dauda from Bauchi State attributed insurgency in every part of the

country to the failure of states and local government who he said were

totally dependent on what the federal government would do instead rising

to their responsibilities of providing leadership and governance.

 
He said in some parts of the country, it has become difficult and even

impossible to buy a piece of land for the purpose of building a church for

worship and that those responsible for such prohibition were the elite.

 
Francis Doukpolagha from Bayelsa State told the Conference that the

failure of the Nigerian State stemmed from the fact that democracy has

become government of the people by the people but not for the people.

 
Ignatius Kevin Edet lamented what he called inequality and imbalance in

the creation of local government areas in the country and urged the

Conference to use the opportunity of the dialogue to correct the anomaly.

 
He suggested the application of capital punishment as a check against

corrupt practices by public office holders, a position enormously

canvassed for by other speakers.
 
Correct census as a basis for revenue sharing and infrastructural

development was suggested by Charles Edosomwan, SAN, from Edo State who

also emphasized that “we need to put power in the strata of government

that is close to the people.”
 
Veteran journalist, Ray Ekpu, said the President's speech constituted a

new thesis for the reconstruction of Nigeria and that Nigeria as it is

today requires a new architecture.
 
Ekpu noted that Jonathan seemed like someone who does not want “this house

to fall,” still he said the house called Nigeria was too rickety and

weather-beaten to be left on the wish list of a permanent structures.

 
Ekpu said for a country that has had 14 different administrations in 53

years, “that is cyclical stability. There is no way a country can grow in

this manner.”
 
For Chief Chris Eluemunoh from Anambra State, “the Igbos have no other

country than Nigeria; therefore the unity of this country is paramount to

us. This unity must be anchored on equity and justice.”

 
Dr Osahon Enabulele of the Nigerian Medical Association proposed a massive

national health policy that would cater for the health needs of the rural

dwellers.
 
In addition, the NMA chief suggested that “a time has come for us to look

at the mental and medical fitness of our political leaders,” as a way of

ensuring that they are fit and proper to occupy public offices.

 
Dr Silas Eneyo from Rivers State likened Nigeria to a building with

collapsed pillars and advised: “Let us not pretend to be painting a

building whose pillars are collapsing.”
 
It was his view that the pillars of any federation lie in its justice and

equity system and that the Conference has provided the delegates

opportunity to rebuild the house with sound ideas and recommendations.

 
Gary Enwo Igariwe said Nigeria has been bleeding for sometime, has gone on

its knees and though it wants to stand, it was actually going down. He

urged delegates to identify reasons for conflicts and address them.

 
He cautioned against selective solution, “when you solve a problem in a

particular area and ignore the ones in another area, you have not done

anything; you are merely relocating the problem.”
 
He said most of the problems can be easily resolved through restructuring

of the country; advising that delegates should leave their ethnic

standards and discuss Nigeria.
 
Professor Eddy Erhagbe told the delegates that for Nigeria to move ahead,

the bottom-line remains good governance because “corruption is not

regional, it is not ethnic; corruption is an elite conspiracy.”