Expecting Buhari to convoke national dialogue, exercise in futility ― Afe Babalola

Founder of Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola, has said the call by the Southern Governors on President Muhammadu Buhari to convoke a national dialogue in view of the growing tension in the country is an exercise in futility, saying the president would not do anything in this regard.

Babalola in an open letter addressed to the Governors, on Tuesday, noted that they should rather embrace his idea of dialogue tagged ‘Summit of Hope’ where stakeholders across the country would be gathered and discuss the challenges bedevilling the nation and proffer workable solutions to prevent it from sliding into anarchy.

The legal icon while commending the 17 southern governors for putting aside their political differences by coming up with the recommendation from the Asaba meeting, added that “If Nigerian politicians have been rising above party politics the way the 17 Governors did, the country would not have been plunged into the problems afflicting the country today.”

According to the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, all issues raised by the governors in the communiqué released after the meeting if properly executed and managed would in no small measure ensure unity and prevent another civil war in the country.

He said: “It seems to me that the Governors have overlooked the fact that President Buhari has long foreclosed the issue of the convocation of a National Conference/ Dialogue. This was confirmed in a statement by Mallam Shehu Garba, the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity, at an interactive session with Reporters, organised by the All Progressives Congress (APC) Professional Forum in Abuja. For ease of reference, I quote verbatim what was reported: “(Garba) Shehu who foreclosed the convocation of a National Conference, called on the agitators to take their grievances to the National Assembly for an amicable resolution.

“In view of the declaration by the Presidency, the Governors’ recommendation for a National Conference/ Dialogue seems to have been met with a fait accompli. Any recommendation in that regard amounts to an exercise in futility.

“On the crucially important issue of Dialogue/Conference, which the Presidency had foreclosed, as a viable option, I urge the Governors to support the ‘Summit of Hope’ which was hailed by over 21 Obas and over 500 people present at the Bar Lecture on May 4, 2021. The highly respected Ooni of Ife openly accepted the offer and has undertaken to contact past Presidents, past and present Governors on the project.”

He, however, noted that the governors failed to disclose how the recommendations would be implemented, noting that, ” ideas rule the world but only those who translate them into a reality that changes the world.”

To achieve this, Babalola advised the governors to urgently set up a committee of governors to work out the strategies for the implementation of the recommendations without delay or waiting for the Federal Government.

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VERDICT: FALSE. Registration can make you lose your WhatsApp account to scammers.Expecting Buhari to convoke national dialogue, exercise in futility ― Afe Babalola

Expecting Buhari to convoke national dialogue, exercise in futility ― Afe Babalola