By
Ayisha Osori
One of the most searing regrets of many
of the leaders of civil society in Nigeria today is that they did not take part
in the political process and elections in 1999. If good people refuse to take
part in the national conference and toil to influence the outcome for the
collective good, then more hearts will join the growing group of those
throbbing with regret.
After the struggle to end military rule, the majority of
those in the forefront smugly returned to their professions– teaching, managing
law practices and advocating – thinking their job was done. Nature allegedly
abhors a vacuum and by leaving the scene, they left the political field wide
open for the old politicians and their disciples.
The narrative in Nigeria around
participating in politics or working in government is that it is only ‘bad’
people or people who do not mean well who get involved – sadly this has become
a self-fulfilling prophecy. However, as Nigeria continues its economic, social,
political, moral and developmental decline many have since began to realize
that this accepted belief must change; because the professional and moral
caliber of those in government is directly linked to the state of affairs in
Nigeria. Unfortunately, the stakes are high because the personal benefits of
being in government have risen in inverse proportion to our collective
development.
The reasons to be suspicious of the
national conference have been well catalogued and discussed in the last week since
President Jonathan made the announcement. Everything from how the participants
will be selected, to how legally binding the outcomes will be are suspect. And
if we’ve not learnt anything at all from our history, we have at least learnt
from past national conferences – however disguised – that the process and
outcome is prone to hijack, hidden agendas, and wasted opportunities.
The question is: how do we make
lemonade out of lemons? How do people who genuinely believe in Nigeria and want
to see a better-governed country influence the outcome of the conference? When
we get the outcome we want from the national conference, then we can worry
about how to ensure the 469 members of the National Assembly act on the
recommendations.
This is the time for the best minds to
sit together and strategize on the challenges and opportunities which might
exist with this national conference and move the discussions and opinions held
over BBM groups and dinner tables into the public arena. The faces and
antecedents of those who are on the Committee inaugurated by the President
yesterday are not inspiring. Apart from the fact that they are geriatrics with
an average age of 50 years in a country where 70% of the population is below
25, we know their politics: ethnic supremacy, party apologists and champions of
any government in power.
However, we must call President
Jonathan’s bluff. In his remarks during the inauguration of the National
Advisory Committee, he said, “the urgency of a national conversation…need not
be overemphasized”. He is right. Those who hold the reins of power need to hear
that we are extremely worried about the plight of fellow citizens in Borno,
Yobe, Nassarawa and sporadically, Plateau. Hundreds are being terrorized and killed and if nothing
changes it is unlikely that any meaningful election will take place in these
areas unless.
We want to talk about the waste of a
federal bi-cameral legislature. We want to take the whispered discussions about
crude oil theft and lack of accountability and transparency around our
resources into the village square and air out all the grievances about the type
of federalism we practice. We want an end to the debilitating scourge of
‘federal character’ and a warped federalism which has crippled the local
governments, created monstrously schizophrenic states and made the federal
government a reckless spendthrift.
What if well meaning Nigerians come
together to fund a mirror committee where the average age is no more than 35?
With expanded terms of reference and a more participatory process, would this
not be something new or a step in a different direction? What if we come up
with a criteria of those who should be at the national conference and ensure
that the usual suspects as we know them do not get a chance at the table regardless
of how much they are ready to part with?
Otherwise, what are the alternatives?
To do nothing? To pray and fast and
hope in vain? To continue to pick at the gaps in the process and the ceiling
high pile of reports and recommendations which have not been implemented? How
far will this get us? Instead, we must think of the global history of struggles
to over throw oppression and understand that consistent knocking, asking,
demanding, weakens the barricades and there is no knowing then that last tap of
the finger will send the door crashing to the floor or at least provide a gap
in the frame for good to slip in.
Yes, we do talk a lot, some would say
way too much. But we must consider two things: most of the time we are not
talking about the right things and when we do, our talking does yield results.
We have gotten mixed reactions from the fuel subsidy protests, the constant
ribbing of the PDP for a 60-year-old youth leader, the Taraba crisis and who
knows what else.
We must remain encouraged and engaged – think how much worse
things would be in Nigeria if no one was saying anything at all? And who knows,
maybe when we continue to engage constructively, our talk will eventually
translate into action – a real movement of the people, free of the rent-a-crowed
types which currently dominate the scene.
If two heads are better than one, then
2 people who mean well sitting at a table with 8 ‘extractors of value’ should
be considered positive. This is because if every time a selfish or bad decision
is about to be made these two people object or cajole for a change in
direction, then it makes it that much harder for the 8 to get their way – even
if only to slow down the rampage of ill will. We cannot give up and we must not
leave a vacuum that will be exploited during this national conference, this is
our country too.
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