An outline of the ‘Jonathan constitution’

The membership of the conference is largely made up of members of the ruling party and other supporters of the President. As the July date of the end of the conference approaches, there are speculations that its resolutions are increasingly taking the direction desired by the President who it is said is bent on giving […]

The membership of the conference is largely made up of members of the ruling party and other supporters of the President. As the July date of the end of the conference approaches, there are speculations that its resolutions are increasingly taking the direction desired by the President who it is said is bent on giving Nigeria a new constitution.
Sunday Trust (June 29, 2014 edition) reports that the long denied hidden agenda of the conference has finally emerged. This agenda after all, is intended to resolve issues along the lines canvassed by the President in recent times. Top of the bill is the determination of this administration to increase derivation for the so-called oil producing states from the current 13% to 50%. Side by side with this demand for increased derivation for oil bearing states is the advocacy for the scrapping of something very dear to the North – local governments as a tier of government. If the local governments cease to be a tier of government, it means that they will no longer derive federal allocations to run any kind of services.
According to the Sunday Trust report, the conference’s final resolutions are “being pre-empted by a 102-page document entitled “The National Conference 2014:  Terms of Agreement of the Six Geo-political Zones of Nigeria”, which is said to be fake because the contents of this document are yet to be debated by members. Be that as it may, the conference’s Committee on Politics and Governance chaired by Professor Jerry Gana, a perennial apologist of military rule and bad governance, has recommended and the delegates have approved, the abolition of local governments as a tier of government. The committee claims to retain section 7 of the 1999 constitution which provides that states can create as many local governments as possible with a proviso that they are democratically run. Can anybody tell me what will happen to the subsisting aspect of derivation based on the number of local governments? I had thought that local governments, having replaced the Native Authorities, are part and parcel of governance in the North.
What is it I’m hearing about rotational presidency and governorship? After President Jonathan’s denial of the agreement on rotation which effectively bars him from contesting the presidency in 2015, what more is there to rotate? Why should the North accept that the principle of rotation be inserted in the constitution for governors or president? Which purpose will rotation serve in 2015 and beyond? Also ridiculous is the proposal to limit Nigerian president to a single non-renewable tenure of six years; why should the North accept this? Indeed, why six years? Why not nine, seven or five? What is the matter with the current two tenures of four years each? Until the advocates of a six-year single tenure for the Nigerian President proffer superior argument to convince us of the drawback of the current arrangement, the North will not welcome any such change.
It is shame that promoters of the 102-page fake terms of agreement are dangling bribes at delegates who endorse the provisions of their dangerous document. Is it the essence of governance that an incumbent president extracts maximum benefits for his kinsmen from a conference dominated by his handpicked delegates? Is the new constitution going to be built on the strength of resolutions arrived at and passed by purchased delegates? There is also the allegation that some other delegates are being promised new states if only they can sign up to the contents of the fake agreement. Can the economy support the creation and sustenance of 13 new states when we are already complaining that less than a dozen states are self-sustaining?
I am not against the creation of additional state for the South East to ensure equity and parity with the rest of the so called geo-political zones; but 13 additional states, what happens when the price of crude oil tumbles to 40 or 50 dollars per barrel for example? A state like Benue, notwithstanding the closeness between Governor Gabriel Suswam and President Jonathan, has been unable to meet the demands of its primary school teachers who have been on strike for many months now. An enduring constitution should be negotiated earnestly and sincerely so as to have a strong moral foundation and all time credibility and utility. Can this be achieved by delegates compromised and driven by the desire to fulfil personal ambitions at the expense of the society?
But the most bewildering aspect of the conference is the despicable role that its Deputy Chairman, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, is forcing on himself. This otherwise likeable Professor is overreaching himself. How can Professor Akinyemi abandon his deputy chair role and go out of his way trying to convince Northern delegates to accept a new constitution? Whose constitution? Does the conference have the mandate to adopt a new constitution for the country? Did the President suggest this in his inaugural address or mention it as the raison d’être of the conference? Has Professor Akinyemi become the chief lobbyist for President Jonathan’s new constitution? Is that the reason why the North was short changed in the composition of the membership of the conference?
Where are the Northern dele-gates – Justice Usman Muhammed, Alhaji Magaji Dambatta, Professor Auwalu Yadudu, Dr Junaid Muhammed, Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, Dr Haruna Yerima, Mr Anthony Sani, Maria Waziri and others? Is that the best deal for the North that we accept the scrapping of federal allocations for local councils and the jerking up of revenues for others? This has all the imprint of an Ijaw constitution in the making. Is that or isn’t it? So, what will these delegates bring back from the conference as the gains for the North? State police? The Northern delegates should speak so we know whether they have sold out to the Ijaw cabal.