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What manner of dialogue?
IHEANACHO NWOSU
PRESIDENT
Olusegun Obasanjo’s inauguration last week of an eight-man committee to fashion
out the framework for the convocation of a national dialogue has stirred the
polity.
Across the six geo-political zones in the
country, the move has elicited far-reaching reactions with opinions sharply
divided on it. While, predictably, few with a disposition towards government
have hailed the action, some tribal socio-cultural organizations, notable
personalities and pro-democracy groups have either given it a knock or expressed
deep scepticism over its workability.
The committee headed by Kaduna State
Governor, Ahmed Makarfi is made up of Ondo State governor, Segun Agagu, Senate
Chief Whip, Udoma Udo Udoma, Political Adviser to the President, Prof. Jerry
Gana, that of the Vice President, Prof. Aliyu Yahaya, Director-General of
Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Prof. Joy Ogwu, Prof. Okwudiba
Nnoli and Chief Cornelius Adebayo, Minister of Communications.
Specifically, according to the President
the committee is expected to produce a "background paper that would form the
basis for dialogue by a broadly composed national body soon to be constituted.
By government’s calculation, the dialogue
is billed to take place next year. And, among other targets, the outcome of the
conference is expected to result into the following:
•Produce, through a review of the 1999
Constitution, a sound, relevant, coherent, consistent and well articulated
constitution that would strengthen national unity, promote democracy, facilitate
good governance and ensure human rights within the rule of the law with citizens
obligations.
•Refine the electoral system for the
purpose of ensuring the conduct of free, fair and credible elections that are
cost effective and ensure level playing ground for all political competitors.
•Build a highly principled, sharply
focused, well organised, effectively-managed, value oriented and disciplined
political parties to sustain democracy.
•Provide a harmonious system of checks and
balances based on the separation of powers, with transparency, integrity and
accountability; and
•Mobilize and transform civil society into
viable organisations that would be relevant and responsive to the needs of the
nation within the cultural milieu of the society.
The President’s countenance during the
inauguration of the Makarfi committee at the council chambers of the
presidential Villa, Abuja, left no one in doubt that he is happy and confident
about his action producing the desired result.
But cross section of Nigerians are not
tickled by the new step. And that is demonstrated by the tempestuous reactions
that have trailed the proposed dialogue since it was announced by President
Obasanjo.
Afenifere,
pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation dismissed the planned dialogue as a
smokescreen calculated to end the persistent clamour for a national conference
by prominent Nigerians.
"It seems to us that the whole idea may be
an attempt to take the wind out of the sail of the agitation for a National
Conference," the group argued.
Fierce democracy activist and former
presidential flagbearer of the National Conscience Party (NCP) Chief Gani
Fawehinmi, (SAN) also share the same position with Afenifere. He argued
that the proposed national dialogue is a "waste of time, energy, thoughts and
resources."
He contended that the plan of the Federal
Government is to undermine the growing call for a Sovereign National Conference
(SNC).
The grouse of critics against the confab
starts with the composition of the Markarfi committee. As far as Gani is
concerned, those who peopled the committee are political rookies who do not
understand the reason behind the unrelenting clamour for SNC. Apart from that
the composition of the committee by mainly serving government officials,
according to him, is indicative of the fact that the Federal Government was not
serious about the conference.
His argument "we are talking of an SNC and
not national dialogue. Obasanjo wants to divert our attention. The committee is
a collection of Obasanjo’s friends and we are not interested in that type of
nonsense."
Director of Social Communication Lagos
Catholic Archdiocese, Rev. Fr. Gabriel Osu re-echoed the position of Gani. He
said the fencing off of eminent Nigerians, outside the government who have been
in the forefront for a National Conference puts a hole in the arrangement.
He reasoned that, to dress a garb of
credibility on the confab, President Obasanjo ought to have named some members
of "The Patriots" a group of respected Nigerians led by legal luminary,
Chief FRA Williams as members of the committee.
The priest said "the committee is not
broad based enough to handle such an important national assignment. Main people
in the forefront of the demand for a National Conference like The Patriots,
clerics, students, labour activists, market women and civil liberty activists
should have been appointed into the committee.
"It is not proper to use only government
and political appointees into an assignment which had taken so long to come by."
Former president of Civil Liberties
Organisation Mrs. Ayo Obe and Chairman Conference of Nigerian Political Parties
(CNPP) Alhaji Balarabe Musa also took the same line of argument. The duo told
Daily Champion that the political credentials of the committee members as
well as their positions in the government create serious doubt about the
sincerity of government in the whole thing.
"I agree totally with Afenifere
that the Federal Government’s action is merely to take the wind out of the sail
in the agitation for an SNC. I mean, the composition of the committee shows that
the government is only out to play a trick," Musa said. "I have no confidence in
the committee. Why should the Presidency limit membership of the committee to
only government appointees," Obe added.
However, although the President may have
anticipated that people especially his critics would query the composition of
the committee, his concern appears instead to reside in the committee ensuring
that it meets the mandate given it.
All through the inauguration he harped
repeatedly on it. The mandate include producing a background paper that would
contain ideas on such areas ass:
•The transformation of political parties
from mere vehicles for contesting elections into viable instrument capable of
deepening the content of our democratic values and nation-building process;
•How to ensure internal party democracy so
as to produce high quality candidates for elective offices and party leadership;
•How best to enforce party discipline and
supremacy, while giving ordinary party members legitimate avenues for seeking
opportunities and redress;
•The process of constitutional reforms,
taking into consideration the on-going exercise at the Executive and Legislative
levels;
•How to thoroughly refine the electoral
system so as to ensure credible elections with substantial reduction of cost
election to both the government and individual contestants;
•How to strengthen neutrality and
independence of electoral commission;
•How to effect vital reforms of the
structure of governance and relationships between the various organs and tiers
of government, so as to produce rapid development and service delivery with
efficiency, effectiveness and transparency’
•How to effectively deal with the
hydra-headed issue of corruption at all levels and in all shapes and forms
nationally;
•How to reorientate Nigerians from
politics of patronage and materialism to that of service;
•How to ensure that politically elected
officials and political appointees are held accountable for corruption and
criminal offences while still in office.
No major attack has been visited on the
terms of reference given to the committee by critics of the confab. They have on
the other hand not expressed their satisfaction with them. The dominant fear of
many is that the planned exercise does not end in trash can.
Gani is already convinced that it will go
that way. He uses the fate that befell the report of Oputa Panel, Presidential
Committee on the review of the 1999 Constitution and the Okigbo Panel report to
buttress his argument.
Afenifere
and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) also think the same way. In a
statement titled: "National Dialogue Committee: Okay, But... Afenifere
argued that there were pointers already that the conference might end like the
late Gen. Sani Abacha’s Constitutional Conference which was used to hoodwink
Nigerians and which ended without serving any purpose.
The group admonished that, to eliminate
the scepticism of Nigerians on the proposed confab, government should strive to
broaden the scope of the meeting to include all fundamental issues. In the same
breath, government should expand the spectrum of participants to include all
stakeholders.
"The National Conference is a project of
which government happens to be one. The Obasanjo panel therefore can only be
meaningful in presenting government’s idea to a broader platform by all
stakeholders which would now midwife a National Conference.
"The agenda of the committee should be
broadened to include fundamental issues of true federalism. The critical issues
of the powers of the conference, its composition and modus operandi are also
fundamental that all stakeholders must agree on," the group said.
However, although there may be a lot of
imperfections noticed in the new committee, the leadership of the Nigerian Bar
Association believes that the President’s move still deserve commendation.
According to Chief Bayo Ojo, NBA President, "It is the desired pathway to
achieving a National Conference.
"We have been clamouring for a National
Conference in this country. I am happy it has been accepted and a committee set
up to midwife it. I am not bothered by whatever name you give it.
In the next few weeks, more reactions are
definitely going to trail the new committee. But the initial steps of the
Makarfi Committee will determine whether to repose confidence on it or not.
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