President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday extended the tenure of the National Advisory Committee on National Dialogue led by Senator Femi Okurounmu to six weeks as against the four weeks he announced in his Independence Day address to the nation.
Jonathan announced the extension of time while inaugurating the committee at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He said the extension became necessary in order to give Muslims who would be on Hajj the opportunity of returning to the country and contributing to the committee’s work.
A prominent member of the committee, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, was absent from the ceremony as he was said to be undergoing medical checkup abroad.
The Secretary-General of the Project Nigeria Consensus Group, Wale Okunniyi, had told The PUNCH on Sunday that Nwabueze had written the President indicating his desire to be represented on the 13-man committee. There was no one at the event that indicated that he was standing in for the octogenarian Senior Advocate of Nigeria and expert in constitutional law.
During the ceremony, the President also gave members of the committee the free hand to decide the nomenclature for the planned conference whether it would be called a national dialogue, conversation or conference.
Jonathan also said he decided to change his initial anti-national conference posture because of his realisation that “as challenges emerge, leaders must respond with the best available strategies to ensure that the ship of state remains undeterred in its voyage.”
He explained that the initial scepticism he exhibited on the need for another conference or dialogue was borne out of the nomenclature of such a conference, taking into cognizance existing democratic structures that were products of the will of the people.
Describing it as a child of necessity, he said with the inauguration of the committee, the nation was taking historic and concrete steps to further strengthen its citizens’ understanding, expand the frontiers of their inclusiveness and deepen their bond as one people under God.
He further described the steps as sincere and fundamental undertakings aimed at examining and resolving longstanding impediments to the nation’s cohesion and development.
The President said, “There is a view by some of our people that we do not need to sit together to talk over the socio-political challenges facing our country. Some believe that because we have held several conferences in the past, we do not need to hold another one.
“I was one of those who exhibited scepticism on the need for another conference or dialogue. My scepticism was borne out of the nomenclature of such a conference, taking into cognizance existing democratic structures that were products of the will of the people.
“However, we are in a democracy, and in a democracy; elected leaders govern at the behest of the citizenry. As challenges emerge, season after season, leaders must respond with best available strategies to ensure that the ship of state remains undeterred in its voyage.
“Nations rise to the challenges that each epoch presents. It is imperative therefore, that in our march to nationhood, we have to be dynamic in our approach and response to the problems, even as we seek solutions to them. We cannot proffer yesterday’s solutions to today’s problems.”
He recalled that conferences that were held before 1960 were designed to produce a political system and a road map to Nigeria’s independence.
Jonathan said while the Constitutional Conference of 1957 in London prepared Nigeria for Independence, the Constituent Assembly of 1978 gave the nation the 1979 Constitution and also created the current presidential system with its attendant checks and balances as well as fundamental human rights provisions.
He added that the 2005 National Political Reform Conference produced a number of key recommendations that were sent to the fifth National Assembly, which were however not perfected.
The President also said the Justice Alpha Belgore Committee whose mandate was to review the reports of past conferences worked hard and came out with a report that included a number of bills, which were forwarded to the National Assembly.
He expressed the belief that the bills would form key components of the ongoing Constitutional Review by the National Assembly.
He said, “Clearly, every dialogue adds something valuable to our evolving nation. The urgency of a national conversation in the present therefore, need not be over- emphasised.
“As we continue to strive to build a strong and virile nation, especially in the midst of agitations and tensions, we cannot deny the fact that sitting down to talk is one right step in calming down tensions and channelling our grievances, misgivings and suggestions into more positive use for the good of our country.”
While allaying the fears of those that think the conference would call the integrity of Nigeria into question, Jonathan said the discourse would strengthen the nation’s unity and address issues that are often on the front burner.
He advised the committee members to see their assignment as a serious task and consult widely before developing the framework that would guide the proceedings of the discussions.
The President said, “In the task before you, no voice is too small and no opinion is irrelevant. Thus, the views of the sceptics and those of the enthusiasts must be accommodated as you formulate this all important framework. This conversation is a people’s conversation and I urge you to formulate an all-inclusive process that protects the people’s interest.
“We have wasted too much time and resources, bickering over sectional versions of what define reality. This is an open-ended luxury we can no longer afford. Let us move forward, with honest conviction and patriotic courage, to strengthen this Republic, and get it to work better and brighter, for all of us, to the glory of God.”
Okurounmu, in his acceptance speech, expressed the confidence that at the conclusion of the committee’s assignment and the national conference that would follow, those who were once sceptical and critical of the idea of a national conference would have become persuaded of its benefits to the nation.
He observed that no committee in the polity is more sensitive or carries higher expectations from Nigerians than the advisory committee.
He recalled that for over two decades, there had been calls from many sections of the public for the convening of a national conference in one form or the other.
Okurounmu promised on behalf of other members of the committee that they would not fail Nigerians.
The event was witnessed by the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dr. Bamanga Tukur; Chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih; Governor Idris Wada of Kogi State; Governor Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State; members of the Federal Executive Council and presidential aides.
Punch
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