Posts
by Ike-Okorie
Now
that Mr. President has received the final report of the National
Conference, the struggle for a new and better Nigeria has just begun. To
begin with, there is, at the moment, no provision for a referendum in
the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended.
If you think that Mr. President is not aware of the lacuna in the
constitution, you’re mistaken. Again, if you expect Mr. President to
start implementing the confab reports, you’ll be disappointed.
Furthermore, if you think the National Assembly will endorse and adopt
the report wholeheartedly, you may be living in a fool’s paradise.
There are three different dimensions to
the socio-economic and political task which the confab kick-started: 1.
The present socio-economic and political system must be made effective;
2. Its potential must be identified and realised; 3. It must be made
into a different system for a different Nigeria. Each task requires a
distinct approach. Each asks different questions. Each comes out with
different conclusions. Yet, they are inseparable.
The new Nigeria is not going to be made
tomorrow; it is being made today, with the submission of the final
reports of the confab to Mr. President, and largely by the decisions and
actions taken with respect to the socio-economic and political tasks of
today.
Conversely, what is being done to bring
about the new Nigeria directly affects the present. The tasks overlap.
They require one unified strategy. Otherwise, they cannot really get
done at all. Knowledge is a universal social resource. It cannot be kept
a secret for any length of time. Above all, it is subject to decay and
can become obsolete unless it is updated from time to time.
It must also be borne in mind that any
leadership position is transitory and likely to be short-lived. No
leadership position is more than a temporary advantage. Our nation is
drifting and worn down; it badly needs economic and political
re-engineering as well as new direction. It is the job of Mr. President
to reverse this drift. It is his job to focus the government on
socio-economic and political opportunity and away from unemployment,
insecurity, disintegration, epidemics, incessant strikes, to recreate
leadership and counteract the trend towards mediocrity, to replace
inertia and its momentum by new energy and new direction which the
outcome of the National Conference has provided him.
I must speak frankly to the National
Conference delegates and all Nigerians. It was Machiavilli who advised
political leaders to diffuse tension in their domain by distracting
their subjects when they clamour for a change. Nigerians clamoured for a
change. They wanted to restructure the system. They demanded a
Sovereign National Conference to negotiate a new Nigeria. Their clamour
was so loud that the political class became alarmed. In response,
applying the Machiavillian dictum, the Presidency convoked a National
Conference.
Admittedly that action was a pre-emptive
move to douse the rising tension. Nigerians through their delegates to
the National Conference had dissipated their energy, talking, discussing
and agreeing on a number of resolutions embodied in the report of the
National Conference. And now, Nigerians want the report to be
implemented. By whom? President Goodluck Jonathan? Or, the National
Assembly? On a platter of gold? Just like that?
You can see why I saluted Mr. President
and the National Conference delegates in my previous article. In every
serious novel, a character flaw of the focal character may have tragic
consequences for the focal or main character. Jonathan showed courage
and patriotism when he convoked the National Conference. That is how far
he can go. What Nigerians choose to do with the report is not Mr.
President’s cup of tea, although he may be affected by the consequences.
Neither the Presidency nor the National Assembly can wholeheartedly
endorse and adopt the reports of the Confab in their entirety.
The destiny of our nation rests on the
shoulders of Nigerians and Nigerians should rise to the occasion because
we are going up or down together.
Thus, Nigerians need to make overtures to
the National Assembly to provide for a referendum in the constitution
through constitutional amendments. The National Assembly may tinker with
some aspects of the reports in this exercise. To lobby the National
Assembly, the National Conference delegates, and indeed, Nigerians,
should form themselves into a pressure group to persuade the lawmakers
to do the needful. Yes, we need to lobby the National Assembly through
our representatives. That’s how democracy works.
Where the National Assembly and the state
Houses of Assembly incorporate a section on referendum in the
constitution through constitutional amendments, then the report of the
National Conference will be adopted through a referendum organised and
conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
In the likely event that this approach
fails, the National Conference delegates, as the vanguard of a mass
action, should mobilise Nigerians to insist that only candidates who are
confab report-compliant should be voted into political offices
irrespective of party affiliations. Candidates who agree to this
condition precedent should be asked to sign an undertaking to that
effect. This undertaking in the event of default or where the candidates
renege could form the basis of recall.
Dr. Okorie, a Writing and Publishing Coach, be reached via ikeokorie@yahoo.com or 08135444109
