THEM SAY MAKE WE TALK O!

We should not allow anyone to pull the wool over our eyes, under the guise of convening a national conference. When did it become pressing to change our democracy by replacing an elected arm of government (the legislature) with individuals handpicked by the president to chart a course for us? National conference or whatever it is called is a waste of time. We have congressmen who are constitutionally responsible for dialoguing on our behalf. What is the National Assembly doing? Why do we like to duplicate functions?

It is evident that nobody in Nigeria is happy. Kidnapping, terrorism, ASUU and doctors’ strike, oil bunkering, no light, no water, bad roads etc are there for all to see.  Our issue is not one of the North, South, East or West, but of a failure by our leadership to create strong institutions that will ensure strict compliance with the spirit of our constitution. There is no need for us to renegotiate our coexistence; a constitutional conference is the wrong course to channel our energy and resources into. What we need to do is to strengthen our electoral, judicial and security processes ahead of the general election in 2015. We, all of us, need to take ownership of our destiny. Think about it, do you have any problem with your neighbor because of his ethnic background or religion? No we do not. We share the same hopes and desires and unless it comes to politics or resource control, which distribution is not fairly addressed, we are quite happy to love one another. So we have no problems with our diversity.  We are not confused.     

Calling for a constitutional conference is an indictment on the legislative arm of government.  Of course, our constitution as it currently stands is not perfect – far from it. But that is not the issue. The United Kingdom for instance does not have a written constitution. They operate instead, a system of natural justice based on the betterment of their collective society.  They have a clear separation of powers and strong institutions that answer to the people. That is what is lacking here. 

We claim to operate a federal system but “de facto”, what we have is a loose dictatorship based on what we have inherited from the military. The president has too much power, as do the governors. When the president or governor switches off or travels abroad, governance practically shuts down because we do not have institutions that function efficiently without the “emperor’s” personal intervention. The situation is worse at state level, where governors are the biggest threat to grassroots development by openly opposing local government autonomy. The military destroyed our public service and it has not yet been fixed. Political appointments are now the norm, under the guise of zoning. This is politically expedient but degrades moral and the quality of service provided. It suits our leaders so they gladly let the rot continue. Where we need to focus our attention is in rebuilding those public services by ensuring that our institutions do what they are established to do: providing us with service and vice versa.

The concept of federalism is hinged on empowering and serving the people by government at the centre, at state level, local government and ward level, all with strong and functional institutions where the structure and citizenry matter and not the individual holding an appointed post, who answers only to “my oga on top”. We need to be in control of our resources and freely choose those to administer them. We must take ownership of our place, be allowed to develop and enjoy our raw materials and happily pay taxes to the state, who will provide us with the securities that we so desperately need. This does not need to be discussed at any parallel forum.  

In this era of economic and social integration, when other countries are making progress by opening their doors to the right kind of immigration, we are here setting our nation aback, preferring to give every argument an ethnic or religious twist.  We are Nigerians and amongst us live foreigners, foreigners from within and without. We should celebrate and learn from that diversity and accord any resident the same rights as any “indigenous person.” In the United Kingdom today, one of their favorite foods is Chinese cuisine. The Chinese population there is neither ostracized nor treated as foreigners, leaches, invaders nor settlers. The descriptions are offensive to me, so imagine me calling a fellow Nigerian by those terms. We should understand the need for immigration to better our lands and improve the successes of our societies. America, arguably the most successful society in the world, was built this way.

How do we achieve this when we do not recognize what our problem is, who we are and what we aspire to be?