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.
This was contained in statement signed by Akpandem James, Assistant Secretary, Media and Communication. He said “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.”
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. Every one 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.
On corruption, Abubakar Chika Adamu 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 Magaji 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.
James also quoted the former Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Coomasie as citing 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 lamented the constant retirement of generals in the army after spending huge sums to train them. “Over 140 generals trained with country’s hard earned money have been retired within the last two years”
