Monday, April 2, 2012

YES TO SOVEREIGN NATIONAL CONFERENCE

The recurring call for the convening of a national conference – sovereign or otherwise – is more and more sounding like a broken record.  But to me, the call is sounding more like a bargain or blackmail tool, which some people use from time to time to help them achieve certain objectives.  This is very okay with me because it shows a sense of purpose on the part of those using this particular tool for gaining advantage in every national discourse so far.  What riles me is the perception of some of us that the convocation of the conference will be to our disadvantage.  I cannot fathom what informs this line of reasoning by, particularly the political class of the north.  The call for the convocation of the conference has been on since after the Beninoise convoked their own and booted out Matthew Kerekou.  This also coincided with Babangida’s annulment of the June 1992 election, which some ethnic bigots fortuitously interpreted to mean that a section of the country is against the presidency by a Yoruba man.  So for all intents and purposes, those calling for a Sovereign National Conference are simply copycats and also merely ethnic champions masquerading as nationalists.
In the years between 1992 to date, there have been at least two national conferences that readily come to mind.  The one convoked by the late General Sani Abacha in 1995 – 96 that succeeded in fractionalising the country further into six geo-political zones by adopting the Ekwueme model and the one called by Obasanjo in 2004 – 2005 to specifically amend the constitution to make way for his ambition to rule Nigeria for as long as he lives.  These are the two that readily come to my mind and from where I am sitting none addressed the myriad problems we are faced with as a nation.  Rather, the Abacha conference succeeded in breaking up the north into three “zones” – a project began in the 1960s and a lifelong ambition for some.  Though they have succeeded in splitting the north, the region’s politicians helped in no small measure in bringing this reality to fruition by either being complicit or docile in some instances.  Today, northern Nigeria is the most fractured of the entire pre-military foray into politics in 1966.  This fractionalisation, sadly, is not only physical but also mental.
The call this time may not be unconnected with the ill-advised call for the revision of the revenue allocation formula by some northern politicians, particularly our governors.  In all the previous conferences, the north got the short end of the stick due to our self-imposed roles of guardians of the sanctity of the unity of Nigeria.  But we always come out bruised literally and metaphorically.  The region is perceived by outsiders as weak and a burden to the rest of the country due to the way it has been projected by our politicians in the last thirty years or so.  Flowing from leadership failure at all levels in the north, we are more fractured today than at any point in history.  The region is racked with crisis that is destroying what remains of its commercial activities; our governors and other leaders care less what happens in critical sectors like education, health and agriculture; our youth are ill-equipped to face the challenges of present day world because since they are not “ex-militants” government doesn’t care whether they go to school or not; and our elders are all busy playing the ostrich while the region is gradually sinking into pre-historic times with mini-wars raging all across the region.  If these problems are not enough to call for a conference, then I shall be damned! 
I am all for a national conference (sovereign or not) for all the “ethnic nationalities” to come together and chart a way for either our continued existence as a country or for the breakup of Nigeria into 250 or more countries.  But before then, I would like to call on the conveners to carry out a census of the “ethnic nationalities” with a view to determining who is what so that ALL should be represented.  This is to avoid a problem where all northerners can be lumped into a convenient contraption called ‘Hausa. Fulani’.  This will raise more questions than provide answers.  Beginning from my state, Adamawa State, I know a Yofo man will never allow himself to be represented by a Yandang or Gengle or Sate nor a Chamba Leko be represented by a Chamba Ganye.  In the Numan Federation alone, the Bachamas are distinct from the Mbulas, the Battas, Lungudas, Kanakurus and the Kwas.  The Mumuye of Tola has nothing in common with the Chamba of the area.  The Fulanis have the Wuitis, the Kesus, the Ba’en and the Mbororos.  The Veres of Fufore don’t see eye to eye with their Batta neighbours.  In Karim Lamido local government of neighbouring Taraba State, you have twenty-seven distinct “ethnic nationalities”.  This is the local government that the late Deputy Inspector General Police, John Haruna came from.
I am pointing out these “nationalities” to educate some of us on the diversity of the “nationalities” that make up Nigeria because as I write this piece, I am already all set for the conference and I would not like to be part of any talk shop regarding the future of Nigeria that one single “nationality” will be excluded from.  We have seen how every subset of a tribe call itself a “race”, a “nation” and a “kingdom” in the last thirteen or so years.  Therefore, to give every local potente his dues, I suggest that every subset be represented at the conference table.  The hunger that drives the rise in ethnic assertiveness must be satiated for we, the poor to have peace of mind otherwise the demon unleashed by politicians who are comfortable in being ethnic chauvinists than truly community or national leaders will devour us all.  The fad now is that whoever fails to make an impact on a larger platform retreats to his ‘laager’ for relevance.
Northern politicians, community and business leaders screaming for an increase in the allocation of federally generated revenue will do well for the region to get cracking on how to prepare for the inevitable national conference.  They must also prepare an economic blueprint for the region because we will very soon be weaned from suckling the crude oil tit that we, as we are being told to our face, contributed nothing in its production, transportation, refining or even retailing.  I am thinking of going into the processing of cow products (being a mbororo, you know).  I am looking for partners to start the processing of things like fresh milk & yoghurt, kpomo and transportation of frozen meat because my agenda does not include interstate transportation of live animals.
Such a conference may be the only way to awaken us from our oil-induced stupor to rediscover our dignity and revive our economy and other institutions of the region inherited from those founding fathers of the north long gone to the beyond but still remain our reference point.  If nineteen governors cannot manage the New Nigerian Newspapers, NNDC, Arewa Textiles and various BCGs scattered all over the north, then it is time to sit and consider turning over the region to our traditional rulers, whom the British used during the days of indirect rule.  Those were the days when the north was feared and respected by all.  Not now when a suspected armed robber turned “militant” will be rewarded with a $103million contract for insulting the collective people of a whole region.

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