The National Conference?

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By Okechukwu Ukekwe

“Fellow Nigerians, ladies and gentlemen, the presidential campaign for 2015 has started in full. Like most Nigerians, I lack faith in the National Assembly to help me, my party PDP is making matters worse for me, my opponents are capitalizing on these to castigate me and I am confused now. Given any chance, my opponents will collude with the National Assembly and legislate me out of power.

"Therefore, in order to ambush them, I decided to organize a National Conference. Any more pressure from any quarter, I will declare it Sovereign National Conference. I will set up an Advisory Committee on the National Conference to be headed by Senator Okunroumu. This will buy me some time, reduce pressure on me, keep them busy and divert their attention from my performance which I know is abysmal, until I unveil my electioneering propaganda in last quarter of 2014.

"All the recommendations of the National Conference will be part of my presidential reelection campaign promise. There is not much I can do now until 2015 after my reelection. So help me achieve this, fellow Nigerians”. This should have been the broadcast by President Goodluck Jonathan on October 1, 2013.

The fact is that the campaign for 2015 election has started in earnest. The announcement of a National Conference on October 1, 2013, is just a dummy well packaged to divert attention and keep some Nigerians, especially the opposition busy. Prove me wrong. The Conference is to start in 2014. The grand plan is that Nigerians will first of all jostle all over the place just to be members of the Conference. By this the jobless politicians will hope to garner political relevance.

The Conference will last till the presidential campaign becomes official in 2014. The Conference will submit their majority and minority reports in 2014. Another committee will be formed to harmonize the reports and sneak in some obnoxious recommendations.  After “due deliberation and consideration”, the President will promise Nigerians that he will implement all the recommendations of the Conference if they vote for him for a second term. That his second term will be devoted to full execution of all stipulations of the Conference. This in a nutshell is the game plan. Electioneering hoax.

There is nothing practically wrong with a National Conference or Sovereign National Conference, the problem is that at this time it is just being convoked as a palliative to stem the implosion of PDP, maintain a grossly inept federal government, waste huge tax payers money, waste time and achieve nothing, except PDP hegemony.

This mechanism is called diversion of aggression. As a political party, PDP is in serious crisis of attrition. It should resolve to tackle the myriad of problems bedeviling Nigeria, resolve to settle its internal crisis, and offer listening ears, thinking heads and capable hands to Nigeria. Without practical solutions to the obvious problems of Nigeria, seeking a detour through a National Jamboree will be merely postponing the dooms day.    

It is interesting that the National Assembly will acquiesce to this venture now which is a total indictment on their intellectual redundancy and existential superfluity. If the National Assembly is up and doing, do we need any other legislative Conference? The Assembly should conduct a poll and truly understand what Nigerians think about them.

There are few good ones; Senators and Representatives, but the others are there for ‘where is the money’. ‘I want it big and right now’. If the National Assembly is prepared to legislate for Nigerians and good governance, our development and political environment will be far different and better than it is.

For 14 years PDP failed to rightly interpret the socio-political cues in Nigeria. The only thing they understand now is fear of losing Federal control of the polity due to nonperformance, corruption, insecurity, unemployment and ineptitude. If not much good had come to Nigeria from PDP governments, what is the guarantee that it will be different now? Many conferences and committees had been formed in the past, reports produced and nothing else heard about the reports after wasting huge resources.

Let no one misinterpret me. There is obvious need for Nigeria to reexamine our existence and development. I am for one Nigeria until we exhaust all political mechanisms for oneness. The timing of this National Conference is masked in a hidden ominous political agenda and this President does not have the courage nor capability for any far reaching implementation for the benefit of Nigeria and Nigerians.

He is in a cage and is constantly gasping for air. The National Conference should take place in 2015, after the elections. Then it should be Sovereign National Conference and no topic or issue will be off limit. Representation in the Conference will be broad based and global. The recommendations will be subjected to a plebiscite and fully implemented.  

Okechukwu Ukekwe wrote from 3800 white Plains Road, Bronx, New York 10467, USA. He can be reached at ukekweo@yahoo.com