Confab: Challenges facing resolutions

When the President inaugurated the meeting, he erroneously told the gathering and the nation that the report of the jamboree would be subjected to a national referendum. What the president however failed to say was how the referendum was going to be and the instrument that would warrant the holding o0f such referendum in a […]

When the President inaugurated the meeting, he erroneously told the gathering and the nation that the report of the jamboree would be subjected to a national referendum. What the president however failed to say was how the referendum was going to be and the instrument that would warrant the holding o0f such referendum in a constitutional order where such provisions are absent.
Perhaps to help the president advance his utopia was what made the Senate Committee on constitution review immediately package a deception, which was resoundingly rejected by the chamber in plenary as to the need to amend, further the constitution to make way for the president to call for a referendum at the end of the conference.
This is not the first time that Nigerians are treated to such a circus show by a government especially for two main reasons, viz; where a government finds itself in deep mess or where it desires to succeed itself through dubious means but seeking to pretend to peoples legitimacy.
Where this conference is a little different is that it shares the two aspirations. It is under tremendous heat due to glaring nonperformance and the desperation to go beyond 2015 in the face of these outrageous failures. Little wonder it is therefor that Senator McCain would define it as a practically non-performing government, a view that was further corroborated by the White House in DC.
The view of non-performance has been sounded several times by several Nigerians but each time, those who benefit from the rot would argue that the assessment was borne out of the fact that either the president was a minority or from the South. This is bunkum!
Capacity is capacity while incapacity will remain as such and that is what characterizes this government.
Because the government is confused, under tremendous pressure for failures and the desperation to succeed itself in 2015 are two reasons that in the view of this piece precipitated the national dialogue. The weak thinkers of the government thought they could devise strategies of diffusing the palpable national tension when such a meeting was convened where the attention of Nigerians would be tilted to other secondary issues while the primary issue of failure is temporarily under the carpet until an election is conducted and possibly won or rigged.
Unfortunately this thinking is failing woefully as the meeting is taking a just a little attention while the colossal failures in government and administration, which has kept the country on the edge unfortunately continues to abate. Even at a time those who think and speak for this government continue to falsely assume that the failures are caused by some people who do not want a Goodluck Jonathan presidency.
Did the president and those in this thinking boat assumed that contesting elections and staying in office is a tea party? Why would someone who won an election freely and squarely as the president often say especially at international gatherings continue to lament on the banter of either minoritarianism or some conspiracy dictum to define his inefficiency and ineffectiveness? It’s unheard of.
Now that the conference is on and about to wind up, there exist several traces of confusion from both the conference and possibly the government.
Apart from the unity and indivisibility of Nigeria, the conference has been asked by the president to discuss every other issue. Such seem to be the agenda.
One issue of confusion however is that it is unlikely that if Nigeria would dismember, it will happen after a conference. What is likely to dismember the nation may not be far fetched and related to the endemic issues of poor governance as is manifested in this divide and rule tactics and crass inability to improve the standard of living of Nigerians through efficient utilization of the nation’s massive resources and wealth which is on a minute by minute basis stashed out by privileged ones in government and their cronies.
The initial argument at the conference as to what constitutes a conference decision in my view was unnecessary because the entire conference is a mere presidential advisory committee whose resolutions are at best inputs to the presidency and could only have direct consequences on policy and not laws or the constitution.
Any matter that is of consequence of law must pass through the National Assembly while any resolution requiring tinkering of the constitution must equally go through the rigorous constitutional amendment process.
We all know that the processes are very tedious and time consuming. Those who think for instance that if the conference decides that states be created, the resolution would be as given in my view suffer from that serious social ailment called ‘myopia’.
I think it is important to remind the delegates as they wind up that theirs is to discuss and advise the president on issues and not to assume a role and responsibility, which they do not have.
Democracy and especially federal democracies thrive on constitutionalism. No one tier or organ allocates powers to the other but the constitution. The president therefore does not have the power to legislate but execute legislations just as both he and the legislature cannot adjudicate.
No matter how much we are aggrieved about the present order and arrangement, there is only one acceptable way of change that is though the constitution and not any form of back door strategy which amazingly many otherwise very informed citizens are given tremendous premium and plotting to exploit just to meet up some personal and selfish obscurantism.
Certainly Nigeria needs reforms but the most critical is the reform of attitude and mainly at the level of leadership so that it can administer reward and sanction on the society. This is fundamentally absent and a major issue in the nation’s backwardness.
It is tragedy in Nigeria today that those who are supposed to be the informed segment of the society are worst than pedestrians in their comprehension, perception of issues that will move the nation forward.
It is safe to conclude this intervention by reminding the national conference and the rest of the nation that Nigeria is at a very critical threshold in its history. The epileptic political craftsmanship as exemplified by the government in Abuja is unlikely capable of seeing the nation out of the woods. There is the need for more commitment and resolve to replace inactivity with activity; incompetence with competence and this can only be through the electoral process.
The nation must stand up to the occasion if it is to survive this onslaught from its elites and leadership. The National Conference is at best an advisory committee to make suggestions and recommendations to Mr. President. While we shouldn’t expect anything in finality from it, it is important to remind the meeting that it lacks powers in law and the constitution to assume its decisions are conclusive.