A Sovereign National Conference Against A Disparity Of Opinions Of Leaders Of Thought In A National Dialogue: A Rejoinder To The Conference Of National Dialogue Held In Lagos State On The 18th Of March, 2024. By David Adenekan.

David Adenekan

"Sovereign National Conference" is a taboo in the mind of many of the elites in Nigeria. Many of them in government are ready to oppose and prosecute you for treason and felony, if you dare say the words Sovereign National Conference that they believe may change the status quo and rebirth a new country." David Adenekan

"LET NATIONS DIE, SO HUMANITY CAN LIVE" - Prof. Wole Soyinka.

To start with, please endeavor to watch the video clip of a genocide which took place in Northern Nigeria, that is posted alongside this article, and make a choice between 'Nations and Humanity' as postulated by Prof. Wole Soyinka in the brilliant quote above. Par adventure, many protagonists of a Nigeria under the fraudulent 1999 constitution may have a change of heart. 

Suffice it to say, the words "Sovereign National Conference" is a taboo in the mind of many of the elites in Nigeria. Many of them in government are ready to oppose and prosecute you for treason and felony, if you dare say the words Sovereign National Conference that they believe may change the status quo and rebirth a new country. 

Yes, many Nigerian elites prefer a desolate society because, they can only flourish in a dilapidated and chaotic society to the detriment of the masses.

Yes, they are scared to death of allowing the people to decide how they want to be governed and will therefore, do everything humanly possible, to perpetuate the status quo.

So far, the part one of this article that was published online two days ago, has provoked two lines of argument. 

The first line of the argument is that, a convocation of Sovereign National Conference is another political jamboree of the gathering of large crowd of politicians that may be too costly and needless at this time. In the light of this, it was suggested that, the 2014 National Conference Report is still valid and good enough to rebirth the country. It should be pulled out from the archives to test run, as the template to restructure the country for a rebirth of a new Nigeria. The question is, what is the strength of the 2014 Confab's Report to fix the many anomalies in the 1999 constitution? Also, it is very important to bear in mind that, the world is dynamic and there are more challenges now than what we envisaged as a country in 2014. 

Nobody ever imagined in 2014 that herdsmen will be let loose and fully armed with AK47 rifles to kill and maim innocent citizens and take over the lands from indegenous owners.

Moreover, the last national conference did not address a lot of fundamental issues, such as the creation of Local Governments based on population. Also, the derivation policy is still very much skewed in favor of the central government. There is need for more devolution of powers to the federating units; to get the government closer to the people. The real development of any country evolves from the grassroot. We must make the central government less attractive and give power back to the grassroot for real development.

Also, our democratic institutions, including the electoral body are just too weak to deepen our democracy. Our electoral system must be rescued from the autocratic power of the President. "You cannot be a judge in your own case." The President should not be the one to appoint the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC in an election that he is directly or tacitly involved in it. The electoral body should be truly independent and its funding should be from the consolidated account.

If we truly want to get it right, we must fix all these problems once and for all, so that, some of these issues will not rear their ugly heads in the nearest future.

In addition, we need a referendum to know if the majority of the people still want to be part of Nigeria. There are too many agitations for secesion in the country that we need to nip in the bud and this is simply by conducting a referendum. 

You cannot force people to live together. The right for self determination is sacrosanct.

The other part of the argument is the fear that, a convocation of a Sovereign National Conference may be the final blow that might end the country called Nigeria. What will be the fate of many nations that constitute the country called Nigeria?  Will the minorities in the Niger Delta area like the Ijaws, Ibibos, Efik, Egun, Urhobos, Binis and Ishekiris merge with a major ethnic group; the Igbos to form a country; bearing in mind, the fear of ethnic domination? Also, will the Tiv, Idoma, Nupe, Igala, Igbira, Lantang and Hausa people in the northern parts of the country surrender their indegenous lands to the minority Fulani to form a country under the leadership of a Fulani Emirate? 

Furthermore, how do we share most of the national assets in big cities like Abuja and Lagos, if the Sovereign National Conference leads to disintegration?

All of these factors that we have enumerated above are not unexpected. Historically, many countries in the world like the defunct Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, England - Scotland -  Wales, Ethopia - Eritrea, Southern Sudan, Indian - Pakistan, Tibet, Austria - Hungary, United Arab Republic, and many others went through disintegration and today, humanity lives. 

The bottom line, is that, this country under the fraudulent 1999 constitution called Nigeria is long over due to die, so that, we can evolve a new trajectory for the rebirth of a new country towards a true nation building.

AGAIN, LET US HAVE A SOVEREIGN NATIONAL CONFERENCE NOW, TO PREVENT THE COUNTRY FROM DISINTEGRATING; AND IF IT IS DECIDED BY THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE THAT THE COUNTRY CALLED NIGERIA SHOULD BE DISSOLVED, SO BE IT.

AGAIN, "LET NATIONS DIE, SO HUMANITY CAN LIVE."

"A STITCH IN TIME SAVES NINE" 

Time will tell!!

David Adenekan Is The Editor Of Shekinah International Magazine And A Media Expert. He Writes From Chicago, Illinois.

davidadenekan5@gmail.com.