A National Emergency Summit held in Lagos recently. It was called by Prof Pat Utomi and involved the assemblage of very important citizens. It was meant to jaw-jaw on ways out of the country’s numerous problems. In this piece, Ayodele Samuel described it as another journey without destination.
Nigerians are reputed as good talkers. Since the nation returned to civilian rule in 1999 various platforms have been created to discuss issues of our national importance but many of the outcome of such dialogues have not succeeded in moving the nation forward.
There was the Pro-National Conference (PRONACO) conference in Lagos in 2005 chaired by late Chief Anthony Enahoro. A draft constitution which is a product of that conference drawn up by a committee headed by the late Prof. Jadesola Akande spelt out better ways to run the country.
The outcome of the much publisised meeting of the eminent leaders was put together in a document which has been in circulation since 2007 but the nation has not moved an inch close to its expected destination.
Ahead of the 2011 elections, a similar move was resurrected under the umbrella of the Mega Summit Movement (MSM) which was championed by former secretary to the federal government (SFG), Chief Olu Falae to proffer lasting solutions to national issues before going into another political era.
The MSM after various consultations with prominent citizens was later hijacked by political forces who viewed the platform as a political instrument to achieve their personal political goals. The movement however, was unable to address any national issue, rather it created more political issues.
While reports of the National Constitutional Conference held between 1994 and 1995 during the reign of the late military dictator, General Sani Abacha and the 2006 Political Reform Conference cooked up by the Olusegun Obasanjo’s Government are still begging for consideration from necessary authorities, another emergency roundtable discussion was called in Lagos to fashion out the way out of the mounting challenges facing the country.
The national dialogue organized by the National Summit Group led by renowned economist Prof Pat Utomi was expected to x-ray government positions on burning national issues such as deregulation of the economy, the Boko Haram hostilities and National stability among others before drawing up proposals as well as modalities for a peoples’ National Conference, where the country’s crisis was expected to be resolved once and for all.
The meeting paraded a colorful list of attendee like Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, Mallam Adamu Chiroma, Obong Victor Attah, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in attendance. Some of the 100 eminent political leaders invited to the emergency summit included; Alhaji Maitama Sule, Dr Tunji Braithwaite, Dr Kalu Idika Kalu, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, Prof Ben Nwabueze, Chief Audu Ogbeh, Chief John Nwodo, Chief Olu Falae, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Prince Tony Momoh, Olisa Agbakoba, Femi Falana, Chief Emeka Anyaokwu, Abdulwaheed Omar, Comrade Peter Esele, Col Umar Dangiwa, Chief Victor Umeh, Chief Edwin Clark, Dr Lateef Adegbite, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, Chief Bisi Akande, General Alani Akinriande, Gen IBM Haruna, Bishop Bolanle Gbonigi, Alhaji Lateef Jakande,Chief Richard Akinjide, Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, Dr MT Mbu, Rev Father Mathew Kukah, Senator David Dafinone, Mr Joseph Daudu, Prof Adebayo Adedeji, Dr Jibrin Ibrahim among others
Utomi said the mission of the summit was to review the present state of the nation. He explained that the summit was a means of urgently preventing a perceived civil war, as being perceived by the outside world.”
He stressed that the subsidy controversy was only a small part, indeed a symptom, of the problems bedeviling the Nigerian State, and pointed out that with the exodus of Northerners in some parts of the country moving back to the North for fear of reprisal attacks, the country was once again going through another perilous times, comparable to the events of 1966.
Utomi lamented that the country was gradually returning to the brink lamenting that “our country cannot continue in this manner. So, our coming together as eminent Nigerians is to see how we can look for a way forward. And one of the issues that on our agenda is the issue of subsidy.
“Eminent leaders in our country from across the federation, across professional lines and across generational lines, assembled to dialogue about the situation in the country – whether you talk about pricing of petroleum products, or security problems in the country, or about the Constitution of our country – the moment is now.
“We owe it to our country to do something, because people are afraid that a certain prediction that the country will become a failed state by the year 2015 will be fulfilled. We have told ourselves that we cannot stand by and watch our nation degenerate.
“So, we have, after very widespread consultation, decided that this moment – a very trying moment for our country - on account of what has been happening, it is time to dialogue on how to get Nigeria working again.”
Dr Tunji Braithwaite expressed optimism that the emergency National Summit helped to articulate and give direction to the aspirations of the Nigerians in the geo political zones, Labour movement, Civil society and the Private sectors among others “as eminent leaders of thought in the nation’s building blocks were invited to the historic national summit on the state of the nation.
PRONACO mouthpiece Olawale Okunniyi believes President Jonathan was not the problem, nor subsidy removal, “but the warped system operated in Nigeria. Nobody can do better than he is doing now, if Nigeria is not first restructured. We all are devolving our energy and anger now more positively to demand system overhauling now through an immediate National Summit and peoples’ conference! ‘if the foundation be destroyed, what can the righteous do.”
President of Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Alhaji Yerima Shettima also believed it was imperative for Nigerians to chat a way forward in order to prevent disintegration of the country
General-Secretary of organizing group, Mr Tony Uranta, explained that among the critical issues discussed were the provision of basic commodity for the people of Nigeria, security and most importantly the constitution. He added that despite the crisis currently facing the nation, there was so much for Nigeria and Nigerians to live for.
“For a very long time”, he said, “Nigerians lost their voice. What is happening across the nation shows that the Nigerian people have discovered their voice. Such a dialogue at this point unlike in the past has greater possibility of bearing fruit.”
The organizers expressed optimism that the summit after all helped to articulate and gave direction to the aspirations of the Nigerian people.
After the conference, the question on the lips of Nigerian is; to what extent did the conference go in giving hope to the common man in whose interest the conference was conveyed in the first instance. Nigerian’s are still bemoaning their fate aftermath of the hike in fuel. Things have never been this bad for the average Nigerian.
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