Club for restructured Nigeria welcomes Obasanjo: SNC before 2023 elections (4)

THIS week, I will examine the need to urgently convene a Sovereign National Conference ahead of the 2023 general elections to discuss Nigeria’s political future; to address and find solutions to the key problems afflicting Nigeria since 1914.

Why convene a Sovereign National Conference?

The call for a Sovereign National Conference gained primacy in Nigeria in the wake of the annulment of the 1993 general elections which essentially served as an eye-opener to the Nigerian people on the need to restructure the political system of Nigeria. Perhaps more than before, the people realized that the union of the various nationalities in the Nigerian political sphere was done without their consent. The British, when they forcefully amalgamated the various geopolitical entities into one political entity in 1914, did not take into consideration the perceived and manifest differences in the history, culture, religion and development of the different nations. The interest of the British in marrying the different nations was purely commercial and economic, rather than being born out of a consideration of the greater good. The birth of Nigeria was simply a matter of administrative convenience. The British much like other colonial powers across Africa, were more interested in finding a more efficient means of administration than in building nations. The bringing together of unfamiliar groups and identities was therefore bound to cause problems of nationhood as is now the case. In his book, the State of Africa, Martin Meredith stated as follows:

The most difficult task facing Africa’s new leaders was to weld into nations a variety of different peoples, speaking different languages and at different stages of political and social development.  The new states of Africa were not ‘nations’.  They possessed no ethnic, class or ideological cement to hold them together, no strong historical and social identities upon which to build.  For a relatively brief period, the anti-colonial cause had provided a unity of purpose. Nationalist leaders had successfully exploited a variety of grievances among the urban and rural population to galvanise support for the cause.  But once the momentum that they had achieved in their drive for independence began to subside, other loyalties and ambitions came thrusting to the fore.  “We have all inherited from our former masters not nations but states,” remarked Felix Houphouet-Boigny, “states that have within them extremely fragile links between ethnic groups”.  Indeed, as the result of a long historical process during the colonial era, the engine of ethnic consciousness – the tribal factor – was more potent than it had ever been before.

From the above, it is clear that the fate which has befallen Nigeria is not too different from that which has befallen other African countries. Since 1885 when the area Nigeria was shared to Britain, Nigerians have not been able to imbibe the spirit of nationhood. In 1948, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, who later became the prime minister during the first republic stated as follows: “Since 1914 the British Government has been trying to make Nigeria into one country, but the Nigerian people themselves are historically different in their backgrounds, in their religious beliefs and customs and do not show themselves any sign of willingness to unite…”

The above is also why the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo described Nigeria as ‘mere geographical expression’.

As I had noted in the previous editions, the real problem of the Nigerian state is the 1999 Constitution which was foisted by the military and never represented the socio-economic and political ideals of the people. Nevertheless, the Independence and Republican Constitutions of 1960 and 1963, respectively, best suited the ideals of the Nigerian people in the face of the British marriage of convenience. Knowing that Nigeria contains more than 250 ethnic nationalities with different cultures, languages, religions and customs, Nigeria’s founding fathers, after sitting together in Lancaster House in London for almost 10 years, fashioned out a constitution that united the different ethnic nationalities. This was one of the main reasons why both the 1960 Independent Constitution and 1963 Republican Constitution worked well before the military made a forceful incursion in governance following the military coup of January 15, 1966.

There is no doubt that the 1999 Constitution does not recognize the unique identities of the nation-states which were forced into marriage by the British. This perhaps accounts for why the different ethno-cultural regions had, at different times in the Nigerian history, clamoured for different things. While some have advocated a confederation or some other constitutional arrangement that would confer greater power to the states or each of the federating units, some are clamouring for the constitutional recognition of Sharia as their own peculiar way of life, and in the extreme, some have clamoured for a cessation and the recognition of their own independent government. These diverse ethnocentric ambitions are a function of the amalgamation of different cultural beliefs, ways of life and ideals.

Again, in one of the lectures I delivered on the issue of restructuring, I highlighted the need to convene a Sovereign National Conference in view of the diverse political structures in Nigeria. I noted as follows: ‘The unfortunate events that led to the regrettable internecine civil war for about 30 months, the threat of annihilation of the tribes in Southern Zaria that are predominantly Christians, Zango Katafs, the periodic uprisings in Kano and lately in Kaduna, the threat of civil unrest in Ilorin, the mayhem that almost turned Modakeke and Ife into rubble, the agitations for control of oil and mineral resources by the producing states, the undeclared war between the Jukuns and Tivs, the perennial Ijaw-Itshekiri and Urhobo clashes, the threat of sharianisation of our legal system and the violent uprisings in reactions to it and many more issues of national importance are, to me, different ways by different people of reacting to failure to address the critical issue of how the numerous nations in Nigeria can live together as members of one and only one nation. The truth is that all these confusions arise because of the initial efforts of classifying as a nation what is best a mere geographical expression. The over-concentration of powers at the centre with the consequential abandonment or near neglect of designing a workable developmental programme for all other component parts of the country, particularly in areas where the bulk of the resources that sustain the union are derived is partially responsible for the recent clamours in those areas.’

The way forward

Politics in Nigeria is the most lucrative business, therefore, those who are in government have turned deaf ear to people’s agitation, including the call for restructuring of Nigeria by convening a Sovereign National Conference.  By its very design, a Sovereign National Conference is convened to carry out political transformation. As I once noted in an editorial, it is appropriate where the economic, political and social structures seem incapable of solving the problems of the country as it is in Nigeria today so that instead of resorting to arms, a peaceful and orderly change can take place. The operative word, “sovereign” in a Sovereign National Conference connotes that the body is not merely advisory or consultative. Rather, it will be an assembly of elected representatives of the Nigerian people, backed by an enabling law, with the mandate and power to fundamentally restructure the political, economic, social and constitutional future of the country. It will encompass a forum for national dialogue for many Nigerians to participate in nation-building in an otherwise exclusionary political system dominated by a handful of elites.

Unlike the previous national conferences which have been largely ineffective in addressing the nation’s existential challenges, particularly because they have been reactionary rather than being proactive, there needs to be a Sovereign National Conference ahead of the 2023 general elections which will effectively discuss and resolve issues of resource distribution, insecurity, effective political representation, among other contentious matters. It is also paramount that the conference considers the inefficiency of the 1999 Constitution in addressing the ethnocultural and socio-political diversities in Nigeria. No doubt, the only constitution that will endure is the one that is truly expressive of the supreme will of the people.

Conclusion

As it currently stands, the future of the Nigerian state is gloomy and more than ever before, there is a need to revisit the structural foundation upon which Nigeria’s political future, ethno-cultural unity, and economic sustenance are premised. Nigerians must have a voice in the constitution which governs them, otherwise, the propensity to fall into more chaos is more within reach than ever.

AARE AFE BABALOLA SAN, CON

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