The reports making the waves that the strong man of Lagos politics and former governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is alleging that the timing for the confab is wrong, political, suspicious, that it appears to be a Greek gift and, advised Nigerians to be wary of such. He accused the President of trying to be smart with the timing of the confab now, bearing in mind that it is just few months to the election. No doubt, Asiwaju is entitled to his opinion as I am and, he has expressed it but, on this his opinion on the timing of the confab, he cannot be right to my thinking.
I have warned before that politicians can only go for elections if and when Nigeria is still standing as a country. The deep hatred, intolerance, disrespect we have against fellow Nigerians has become alarming and, it is only desirable for us as a country to come together and talk now, the timing cannot and should not be a barrier. We cannot always play politics with every government policy and national goal, more so, that which will lead to achieving peace, unity and development. It is obvious, glaring that Nigeria has become killer field, where every week media reports estimate the number of people killed as thousands. The military are becoming overwhelmed by the powerful and coordinated effort of the militants, most Nigerians had thought that with the declaration of war against the militants by the combination of all security outfits in the country that Boko Haram is a goner but alas, we are dead wrong. We are now more convinced that what we need more to live together as Nigerians, to right the wrongs of the past, to accommodate all irrespective of religion, ethnic and political leaning is this talk and, talk we must!
Asiwaju Tinubu missed it here. There can never be the right time, we can hold the confab before the elections, for goodness sake, the confab can last for not more than three months if the right structures, leaders and most importantly the dialogue allowed to go on without any spanner thrown into the wheel of progress by government, NASS, religious, ethnic groups or big politicians. It is this sort of confusion from the likes of Asiwaju Tinubu that could derail the confab. My thinking is that leaders like him should posit better ideas, challenge Mr. President on the success of this confab, recognizing that the solution to Nigeria’s myriad of problems lies on this conference, if that is the case, why postpone it and to when? Most conferences are usually for the resolution of very knotty issues and, in our case we have very many challenging and threatening issues that we must attend to if Nigeria must remain one.
The 2015 election cannot in anyway be an issue as far as the confab is concerned. The body (INEC) responsible for organizing elections in this country is not the same as the committee responsible for putting the confab together. The two bodies are clearly different in every way and manner and as such would work without interference from either. Certainly, the confab would come before or after the elections not during so either way, no elected President would resume work on May 29 and inaugurate a committee for the conference instantly. Our leaders must sometimes excuse themselves from unnecessary politics for the advancement of Nigeria. The attitude of most political opponents of the leading party at the centre is to fault everything that comes from the presidency without analyzing and understanding the benefits. For years Asiwaju and many Nigerians have shouted for the convocation of national conference, now it is here but, because President Goodluck Jonathan is the one convening it and taken the credit, then it is No – we must rubbish it.
In the past, Mr. President refused to accept National Conference for Nigeria because according to him we have the National Assembly where we can go and lay down all our troubles but, we continued pressing it on him that the assured way for Nigeria’s stability, peace and progress is still the National Conference as NASS cannot be any solution. For him to now turn around to reason with advocates of the conference, he indeed deserves our encouragement, support for the success of it. Good or bad, President Jonathan will live the Presidential Villa, our mandate as Nigerians is to contribute our quota to have this country succeed irrespective of who is in power. We must as stakeholders be constructive in our criticisms so, as to bring out the best in our leaders for a better Nigeria.
This talk is to talk us out of political clashes, religious killings, ethnic and communal cleansing, to promote respect for our citizenship, reorganize our resources and civil service for the benefit of all, reduce wastages and unnecessary spending because of our over bloated democracy. When your children are daggers drawn, you do not postpone settlement because it is Sallah, the joy of your celebration is that you and your children celebrate the mood in peace. There is no better time to talk than now, for it is only the living that would go to the polls.
Written By Uzodinma Nwaogbe
