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Anyaoku joins calls for national dialogue
…As Obasanjo orders review of foreign policy
From Chesa Chesa,
state
house, Abuja
Former Secretary-General of the
Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, on Tuesday joined the call for measures to
evolve a more practicable federation, as he asked President Olusegun Obasanjo
to urgently convene a dialogue of representatives of the nation’s ethnic
nationalities.
Speaking on the first day of a three-day
Foreign Policy Retreat at the Presidential Villa, Anyaoku said such a
conference would also ensure lasting peace and security, which he argued were
imperative for a successful foreign policy.
Obasanjo had, on the occasion, directed the
Presidential Advisory Council on International Relations, which Anyaoku chairs,
to review Nigeria’s foreign policy thrust in a bid to evolve better ways
of conducting the nation’s foreign relations.
Anyaoku, however preferred to ask Obasanjo
to begin charity at home and extend the gesture of a presidential invitation to
dialogue offered some groups in the Niger Delta, to other nationalities in the
country.
He said, “in recognition of the fact
that peace is a basic necessity for development, our foreign policy of pursuing
peace abroad must be anchored on peace at home. No country can do well abroad
if the home front is weak”.
He noted that while such peace campaigns
abroad are sometimes manipulated to divert attention from domestic problems,
the euphoria never lasts for long, and for which reason a war with Cameroon
over the Bakassi Peninsula is needless.
His words: “In speaking about peace
at home, I would like to draw attention to the need for us to reconfigure our
constitution with a view to achieving a more meaningful federation, a
federation that will more conducive to attaining national peace and stability
and national development.
“In my view, the federal government
which has demonstrated to the general applause a willingness to hold
conversation with the representative of a restive group in the country should,
in our present circumstance, be willing and able to take the initiative to
organize a national dialogue of the representatives of the country’s
ethnic groups.
“The aim of such dialogue would be to
discuss and produce a national consensus on the fundamentals of the
constitution and on the ways of strengthening our country’s corporate existence.”
Anyaoku argued that the review of the
constitution should take into account the economy of running so many levels of
government in a developing society as Nigeria.
“For example, there are currently
eight hundred and twelve ‘governments’ in Nigeria made up of seven
hundred and seventy four local government, (774), thirty seven (37) state
governments including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the Federal
government. Our country must be one of the most administered countries in the
world.”
He further argued that “our present
cost of administration impacts very adversely on the resources available for
our national development. We must free the resources spent on government and
deploy them on development, which will palpably benefit our toiling and
unemployed masses. In this way, we would give our people a greater stake in the
democratic dispensation”.
The distinguished diplomat listed other
challenges facing the country’s foreign policy direction to include the
increasing economic importance of the Gulf of Guinea, the quest for a permanent
seat on the United Nations Security Council; the debt burden; and funding for
foreign missions.
As for the latter issues, Anyaoku stressed
that better funding for diplomatic missions abroad would place Nigeria in a
more advantageous position ahead of other contenders from Africa are right now
better placed in the competition.
“I must add that if the bid is to
succeed, Nigeria must endeavour to out-campaign such other formidable African
candidates as Egypt and South Africa. It must match them in regular payment of
its dues to the UN and its specialized agencies, as well as proper funding of
its mission abroad, particularly its permanent mission to the United Nations.
Declaring open the retreat, Obasanjo
charged the Anyaoku-led council to discuss and analyze particular foreign
policy actions or structures of government, sub-structural issues underlying
foreign policy action, historical and other consequences of these action.
Other issues to be addressed by the retreat
organized by the Presidential Advisory Councils (PAC) as highlighted by the
President include “the character of social forces and the patterns of
socio-political contestations and engagements; our economic structures and the
patterns of production, distribution and capital accumulation; the level of
science and technology development; the disposition of the political class or
power elite to overall growth and development.
“The character, viability and
legitimacy of the institutions and structure of governance, the industrial
foundation of economy; the degree of patriotism, the dedication to duty and
preparedness of the average citizen to defend the nation and its interest; and
the quality of the defence institutions and forces.”
He further mandated the participants to
look at the “long-term security concerns, particularly who are our first
level allies in our sub region, region, and the world? What infrastructure do
we require to attract and sustain the continuing support of our true
allies?”
The retreat is being attended by former
ministers of Foreign Affairs, former heads of the Nigerian Institute of
International Affairs, (NIIA), as well as foreign envoys in Nigeria.
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