₦airaland Forum

chukwuawka:
I ask myself, if Nigeria must crumble like a giant on a feet of clay, as she must, should we as Igbo people and as Biafrans, also crumble? My answer is an emphatic no! This answer is informed by the potential I see in the infinite resilience of Igbo people to improve their collective lots along the lines of the basic tenets of the ideals of Biafra and their traditional democratic political systems. Although we do not have a politically sovereign Biafra, at least for the time being, we must press forward by all possible means, with actualizing the noble ideals of Biafra. There is something noble in developing science and technology in Igboland, and by extension, building on the inventions and innovations of the Biafran scientists and Engineers that were attached to the Biafran Research and Production (RAP) unit. There is something noble in unifying all Igbo-speaking peoples from one corner of Igboland to the other. There is something noble in building engines of economic growth in Igboland. There is something noble in creating a more culturally progressive Igboland, where all people are accorded equal status and worth, regardless of gender and faith. There is something noble in resolving once and for all time, the Osu problem in Igboland. There is something noble in reforming education in Igboland, and bringing its standard to the level of the era that produced the likes of Chinua Achebe, Godian Ezekwe, Christopher Okigbo and Flora Nwapa. There is something noble in updating Igbo language to reflect the realities of the modern era. There is something noble in providing modern healthcare to all people in Igboland. There is something noble in controlling population explosion in Igboland. There is something noble in reinvigorating the spirit of community development and private initiative in Igboland. And there is something noble in protecting the lives and safeguarding the property of our people wherever they choose to live. Should we be able to accomplish the above tasks, our people who gave up their lives in order that we might have our Biafra, would not have died in vain. And therein lies the promise that was and still is Biafra.

Chukwuawka ,the  particular piece quoted above, if they are your ideas, they qaulify you to enter the pantheon of the greatest philosophers. If they are yours, then you have a task at hand. Enshrining the Biafra of the mind in tablets that Ndigbo of today may have as a guiding light to attaining the Biafra of the mind even if Biafra of territory is yet unattained. You owe this duty to Ndigbo as one of the philosopher-successors to the  Odumegwu Ojukwus, the Azikiwes, the Achebes, the Christopher Okigbos , crafters of the Ahiara declaration and other Igbo philosophers. This is a sine qua non to the survival of the Igbo race beside economical, military and technological might.  If they are not yours, the responsibility goes to whomever the author is.

We need our Descarteses, our Aristotles and Socrateses as much as we need our Napoleons and Alexanders, Our Newtons and Einsteins, our William Gates and  Carnegies as well as our Mandelas,Ghandis, Churchills and Washintons. Thanks a lot and keep posting please.
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This guy has serious backers else why would an escaped suspect have the confidence to remain in the country still moving about unperturbed instead of being in the bahamas. SSS should closely watch against escape No2.

[quote author=High_Chief link=topic=868992.msg10180827#msg10180827 date=1329067650]First off, your effort to tribalize this issue shows that you will never see sense in anything thats explained to you. So keep Soludo out of it. Jos has been restive and so many lives were lost, Maiduguri has a very high death record since the Boko Haram mayhem started. Why has your SLS not paid "condolence visit" to any of those states. What has the CBN done to other affected states? Why doing all that now when its happenin in his own state. If you do not know that problem of Nigeria is tribalism and bigotry, which Awo institutionalized in Nigeria politics then you know nothing about Nigeria. What this man did is wrong and should be condemed. If Okonjo Iweala donates 500m to Imo state over the lost of their citizens up there in the North, am sure you will be here crying foul.[/quote]+1million

Adamu Adamu

Erudition  and oratory  = +1000
sophistry = phenomenal
Message  = -1000

Beaf:
The irony is startling indeed. You would think their attention would be more on the destruction of boko haram for the survival of their people, but No! They are after Soyinka instead.

Wole Soyinka has come out to boldly state the obvious and the result has been a two pronged attack; boko haram marking him for elimination, as well as a cortery of twopenny, severely bush "intellectuals" dreaming that they can malign his esteemed name. Anyone looking with a dispassionate eye at the level of energy behind the assaults on Soyinka, would conclude two things; one, that they are sponsored and two that Soyinka has hit a nerve very close to home.

The attacks on Soyinka have come in thick, fast and with unusual frenzy. How many news articles in the past few days alone?

The nerve Soyinka hit is the image of boko haram in the US. How do I know? Soyinka's address was to the foreign press and in recent weeks, there has been a pitched battle against the US officially listing boko haram as a terrorist group. That battle has been waged by certain interests (lets call them core-Northern elite), shady groups with the money and werewithal to lobby the US congress. They are savvy enough to know that the weight the voice of a Nobel Laureate carries (on any issue) is of galactic proportions.

It is easy to conclude that we are witnessing tricks that are all matching to the same script and strategy, all written and directed by the core-Northern elite. The threats to Soyinka's life by boko haram and the rolling out of war drums against the man by intellectual wimps are all one and the same thing; two sides of the same coin.

+1000

PhysicsQED:
All this dogon turenchi from Northerners like this fellow Adamu and Sanusi about religion and "intellectual development" yet Gombe couldn't produce more than 17 candidates for university admission out of a group of 18,000 that took qualification exams. Maybe they were too busy relying on "divine guidance"? And it was also found that government officials had stolen millions of dollars meant specifically to improve education in the state. Maybe they were "divinely guided" to loot their state like mad.

Judaism and its offshoots are full of ritual and "pagan-like" mystical "obscurantism", but the author of this article is too daft to even know that. When he figures out why all those Muslims, every year, perform that ritual in which they gather around an inanimate object that they claim Abraham or somebody important touched, maybe then he'll realize what a fool he is. What is "animist" or "pagan" if not the belief that a stone is imbued with some spiritual importance because somebody said to be holy touched it or used it? And these same Muslims that travel miles to gather around a black rock in the desert will look down upon the few remaining Maguzawa and other pagan Hausa as "stone worshipers". I dey laff!


Soyinka = Nobel laureate

Adamu Adamu = A man with two first names, no achievements, and no insight to offer

+1000

Guys should learn how to crawl before running. Why not start from Rep or Senate bf going for presidency?

We dey wait.

This man should be immortalised by he Nigerian State and his loved ones made Govt dependants hence forth. He is a hero of the struggle who has been matyred. Govt  is capble and should hold nothing back in doing this as well as other victims of BH. In so doing,  Govt shows its willingness to not only wage a physical war on BH but also a psychological one that has more lasting results. As well Govt should use the ministry of info to wage an ideological war on them just as the American war on terror has borne more fruits through the ideological than the military war. Reason why it took fellow muslims to expose Sadaam, Bin Laden, Ghadaffi and a host of others. The war must be forth not only through brawn but more through brain.

Great move Kongi. An SNC will have to give us the right constitution

Abeg make the drones no miss their way begin head South o.

Na wao. Trouble dey sleep, nyanga wan go wake am. Kill US ambassador? Afghanistan is calling,

from 247ureports -

Information recently made available to 247ureports.com through sources within the Islamic terrorist group, the Boko Haram indicates that the leadership of the group is uneasy with the proposed memorandum of understanding [MOU] between Nigerian and the United States of America over security concerns posed by the menace of Boko Haram. As gathered, the leadership of the group has proclaimed that “we will murder the US Ambassador if the MOU is signed”.

“We know his house in Maitaima [in Abuja]. We know his vehicle and the time he leaves his house and the time he returns” stated the one of the leaders with the Islamic group who continued to elaborate that Nigeria will be making a grave error if it joins America in an “unholy marriage” to fight “our men”.

As part of the USA – Nigeria Binational commission, a working group drawn from the two nations met in Abuja January 23-24, 2012 “to find a way to bring peace to the north through both security and political responses and to work with the Nigerian government and others in the international community to promote greater economic development and long-term growth throughout northern Nigeria”. This is according to Victoria Nuland, Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson, Washington, DC.

Meanwhile, in a related development, the Boko Haram source revealed that the office of the National Security Adviser [NSA] to the President have opened a line of communication with the leaders of the group – and have met with three top ranking members of the group. In particular, the number 2, 3 and 4th rank members of the group were reported to have met with the NSA in Abuja recently. The details of the discussion are not available to 247ureports.com.

Funny Thread. Another Igbo-baiting effort. Guys why grace this thread with a response? 3 pages? OMG.

Those who make peaceful change impossible make violent change inevitable.

Vintage Kongi. What a mind? Careful chronology. You can't fault his presence of mind.

Kongi is not just a Yoruba son but an open and unrepentant Igbo friend. I personally will join the campaign to punish BH if they touch him. The man dies that does not.

Is it not a ploy for heat to be let off them so they can restrategise and strike again? SSS should take this with apinch of salt unless it is a splinter group.

If they can support BH in this manner, there is no end to the extent they canm go to do Jonathan in. It does not ned any crystal ball. Jonathan's security must go nuclear to protect him. However any such event rings the last death knell on the nation Nigeria.

Please give us the source to your info.

Another Boko Haram apologist. Wish you were at the Mandalla Catholic church entrance on Christmas day 2011. You woundn't have written these after been blown into a thousand pieces. Mr Isaiah, I am sorry for you if you cannot read in between the lines of Kongi's interview. Kongi has always been proved right even many years after his prophetic positions. You are trying to make him out to be an anarchist but I assure you, The man dies that keeps silenct in the face of injustice if he does not become a victim of it very soon.

Illuminati is indeed an unseen but powerful group whose existence is even doubted by many but attributing all these to them fits into a chapter in the book of conspiracy theories

Biu's cup was long filled since his Abacha days crimes

Wetin Nigeria do Ghana sef? Abi we stole their wife?

Great job Igboville.

Source Please.

nedu210:
Umu igbo nl, obu na anyi abalo uba? obu na anyi ama mmenwu ihea igboville melu? Ndi-igbo facebuk na akwado nke ha. Biko onlytruth,point B, ak47 na ndi ozo, ka anyi nebalu okwua anya. ỌNỤLỤ UBE NWANNE AGBANA ỌSỌ.  Igboville na ndi-igbo facebuk akalọ ndi igbo nl na ọnu ọgu, nani otu obi ka ha ji menwuo ya. Ka anyi hafu inọ ebea, anyi na ndi ofenmanu ana akọ ọnụ mgbe ọbụna.

Good suggestion. You can always contact Eze Onlytruth on ezendigbo_nl@ hushmail.com for a more defined suggestion. Thumbs up for this.

Chei, Is this how such able men and woman  met their end?
Bread winners most,
All from one Igbo community,
Such Dikes,
Cut down like rats
Gunned down unannounced
By cowards, riffrafs.

The Nation deceived you to think
It was peace time,
That the war was over,
And not a cease-fire,
And it was now one Nigeria.

RIP umunne,
Hope you find comfort in eternity,
May The Lord comfort  your family and kin still here on earth.
The cries of your blood like those of your other murdered brethren
Reaches daily to the Lord of Sabaoth
And He will surely avenge.

Ndo o
Adazi
Ndonu Ndigbo,
Ndo o Umunne na Umunna.
Ewoo.
Ife eme e.

Ndigbo, teta nu n'ura o
Agwo no kwa na akirika o
Echi di kwa ime o.
Agha amara ukwa ya anaghi kwa eri ngworo o
Ozo emekwala o
Maka na Ugbara okpoko buuru
Nti chiri ya o.

I am reminded of the song sang many years ago by a victim of the 66 pogrom that we heard as kids .Hope I can still recall the lyrics but this is a fair attempt:

Misery,
Agony,
Life for me in death has gone,
In the northern far hausaland,
Is were I met hell in my life,

29th of september 1966,
late in the night the murderers came,
I shouted and pleaded,
But all in vain,
My husband was killed in front of me.

All my children yelling and weeping,
Round their mother  close,
Due to the fear,
Without a pity,
Without a heart,
They dragged them out and killed them all.


Kill me Kill me was all I shouted,
Bury me alive,
Its just the same,
Without my husband without my children,
Oh no what I'm just living for.

No comfort me not,
Tell me no more don't cry my dear ,
No comfort me not,
Tell me no more don't cry my dear.

Home » Education » Understanding the Sovereign National Conference (SNC)

http://www.openmindfoundation.com/index.php/understanding-the-sovereign-national-conference-snc/
The primary duty of the Sovereign National Conference is to address and find solutions to the key problems afflicting Nigeria since 1914 to date. The concern is to remove all obstacles which have prevented the country from establishing political justice, economic justice, social justice, cultural justice, religious justice and to construct a new constitutional frame-work in terms of the system of government-structurally, politically economically, socially, culturally and religiously.

Chief Gani Fawehinmi (2000)

Openmind Foundation is about Education, Empowerment and Change. Out of frustration over the state of Nigeria in terms of poverty, slow/lack of solid human development, terror, corruption and disunity, etc., some Nigerians have attributed these conditions to a faulty country foundation. “The foundation of this country was built upon dishonesty, corruption, selfishness, tribalism and all evil. We need to visit our foundation again, destroy every evil brick, rebuild with love and respect for one another, integrity of the heart, sacrificial living, love for our father land,” COMETI, a blogger, argues. She is not alone in that view. The intensified activities of Boko Haram since the election of President Jonathan Goodluck, is reminding many, once again, of Nigeria’s ugly past, and culminating in growing/renewed calls for Sovereign National Conference (SNC). The purpose of this article is to provide readers with information on the history and purpose of Sovereign National Conference. It is only through reliable information that quality decisions about Nigeria’s future can be made. We will crown the discussion with a reproduction of the text of a speech delivered in March 2000 by late Chief Gani Fawehinmi at a Press Conference in Lagos. The speech is entitled, “A call for genuine Sovereign National Conference, an alternative to chaos, catastrophe and disintegration”.

The Governor General of Nigeria between 1920 – 31 , Sir Hugh Clifford, described Nigeria as “a collection of independent Native States, separated from one another by great distances, by differences of history and traditions and by ethnological, racial, tribal, political, social and religious barriers.” (Nigeria Council Debate. Lagos, 1920). This description captures the problems of today’s Nigeria vividly. The ill-faithed Ad Hoc Constitutional Conference, which got dismissed by Lt. Col. Gowon on November 30, 1966, can arguably be considered the start of demands for a Sovereign National Conference. Describing the purpose of SNC, Theophilus Emiowele Osezua wrote:

The Sovereign National Conference will give ethnic nationalities an opportunity to examine the questions that have made Nigeria such a disaster and come up with some answers such as the right of every nationality to have greater control over their resources.

The above explanation might sound somewhat selfish, discriminatory and divisive. Therefore, it is not surprising that Dr Ramsom-Kuti, the former Director of the Centre for Constitutional Governance, argued that “to push home the meaning of SNC, an understanding of the history of Nigeria is crucial”. In support of the statement, he wrote:

Long before 1914 when Nigeria was amalgamated, the present space was not a void. People, empires and modes of production existed. The far North was ruled by Hausa Habes which was the home of many tribes, Hausa Magajiya, Abyssinian or of coptic stock. From 900 to 1500 AD. The Hausaland was besieged by political forces from Bornu, the Berbes, Tuyaregs and Arabs. The most formidable was the 1804 Jihad which swept the Habeland, imposed an oligarchy, seized the people and the land until the advent of British rule. The Yorubaland had the Oyo empire which triumphed until about 200 years ago, we also have the Bachama, Birom, Angas, Tiv, Kaje, Nupe, Ijaw, Igbo and numerous others. The merging of the Southern and Northern protectorates in 1914 was accidental so also was the name, Nigeria given to its people. It is important to say that British rule was not forged on negotiations with Nigerians, but negotiations with ethnic nationalities. So also there was no “Nigerian position,” but ethnic nationality positions. The 1960 independence, to our knowledge, was preceded by a curious finding conducted by Henry Willink supported by Gordon Hardow, Philip Mason, and JB Shearer which compiled a report on July 30 1958 now known as the Willink Commission of Enquiry. I advise the senators to read carefully the various positions of nationalities visited by the British agents in compiling their reports. It is of note that every nationality in the space called Nigeria had a position and there was not and will never be a ‘Nigerian position’ except that imposed by the few people in power (www.nigerdeltacongress.com).

This position is shared in a published academic work by Major Abubakar A. Atofarati, student, US Marine Command and Staff College (1991/92). He wrote:

The Federation of Nigeria, as it is known today, has never really been one homogeneous country, for its widely differing peoples and tribes. This obvious fact notwithstanding, the former colonial master decided to keep the country one in order to effectively control her vital resources for their economic interests. Thus, for administrative convenience the Northern and Southern Nigeria were amalgamated in 1914. Thereafter the only thing this people had in common was the name of their country since each side had different administrative set – up. This alone was an insufficient basis for true unity. Under normal circumstances the amalgamation ought to have brought the various peoples together and provided a firm basis for the arduous task of establishing closer cultural, social, religious, and linguistic ties vital for true unity among the people. There was division, hatred, unhealthy rivalry, and pronounced disparity in development” (http://www.africamasterweb.com/BiafranWarCauses.html).

Perhaps you are beginning to appreciate the position of those who claim that the foundation of Nigeria was built upon dishonesty, corruption and selfishness, and consequently demands comprehensive and all inclusive re-engineering. The late human rights activist and lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, stressed the importance and urgency of SNC in a Press Conference on March 22, 2000. He lost his battle with cancer on September 5, 2009 and is greatly remembered for his human rights activities. In reproducing his 2000 speech, we are honouring him and his work. The full text of the speech now follows.

A Call For Genuine Sovereign National Conference, An Alternative to Chaos, Catastrophe and Disintegration

by

Chief Gani Fawehinmi
Chairman, National Conscience Party (NCP)

The root cause of our national tragedies is the fundamental defects that have always afflicted the process of determining every constitutional frame-work of the polity. Our constitutional arrangements since 1914 to date (2000) have never truly reflected the political, economic, social, cultural and religious realities of the country.

Above all, the people of the country have never had the opportunity to make inputs into, accept or reject any constitutional frame-work through a referendum. Consequently, the masses of our people have always been treated as aliens in all constitutional processes from 1914 to 1999 as all constitutional flame-works have always been imposed on them whether or not they like them. Principled policies of governments, loss of moral sensitivity.

SNC As Solution to Grievances

There are so many grievances and accusations against Nigeria and by Nigerians which the Sovereign National Conference must consider and resolve with the sole objective of designing a new Constitution (the Peoples’ Constitution) for the country which will cast into extinction all the evil tendencies which have conspired to make Nigeria’ a virtual ‘ghost’ country, deeply and invidiously polarised in all directions since 1914 to date and more seriously since January 15, 1966. We must pull Nigeria back from the brink and from the precipice with a Constitution made democratically by Nigerians through the SNC and affirmed in a referendum by Nigerians. The alternative to this path of sanity is to continue disastrously to pretend that pious political preaching, posturing and exhortations and the use of governmental power of brute force will contain the mounting crises. They will not. It is time to call a spade a spade and face the reality of our fate squarely, sincerely and courageously, so as to prevent a disintegration of the country.

The Sovereign National Conference being advocated is to rebuild this single sovereign nation from its collapsing foundation, not to tear the country into several sovereign nations. If we don’t, I shudder to think of the catastrophic consequences to the very existence of the country and its horrible effects on the black race, Black Africa and the world at large.

Let us move away from the brink. The answer is the Sovereign National Conference. We must prevent the experiences of Rwanda, Burundi, Srilanka, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Kosovo, Croatia and Bosnia from happening in Nigeria.

The only opportunity we have to do this is the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference. We need to talk, talk and talk ourselves to true peace, genuine justice and appropriate peoples’ Constitution in which all Nigerians will find a fulfilment of their hopes and aspirations and unshaken guarantee of peace, stability and prosperity.

How To Convoke A Sovereign National Conference

The Sovereign National Conference, which is the only option left to save this country from sliding into disintegration, must be convoked as quickly as possible.

The Sovereign National Conference is not to govern the country but to find solutions to all the problems that afflict the polity. All the governments under the present constitutional dispensation should be preliminarily involved in the process of convoking a Sovereign National Conference. Consequently, the President of Nigeria, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of House of Representatives, all the thirty-six (36) Governors of the states of the Federation and the thirty-six (36) Speakers of the thirty-six (36) state Assemblies must quickly meet jointly to set up the Sovereign National Conference Planning Committee . The National and State Assemblies should promulgate laws in support of the SNC so that fresh elections are held at the expiration of the tenure of the existing Government in year 2003 on the basis of the Constitution that will be drawn up by the SNC and subjected to a referendum of the people.

Composition of Sovereign National Conference Planning Committee

We recommend that the Planning Committee should comprise 50 members-25 officially selected and 25 non-officials who will be selected across the country based on their track records of patriotism, honesty, integrity, hard work, and ability. The Chief Justice of Nigeria will swear this committee into office as members of the Sovereign National Conference Planning Committee.

Duties of the Sovereign National Conference Planning Committee:

The SNC Planning Committee should be mandated to: (a) Conduct elections in collaboration with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), into the Sovereign National Conference. (b) Determine the venue of the Conference. (c) Ensure the full inauguration Conference.

Composition of Sovereign National Conference

(a) We must use what we have to achieve what we want. By virtue of section 3(6) of the 1999 Constitution, there are seven hundred and seventy four (774) local governments in Nigeria. Each local government area will elect a member into the Sovereign National Conference. But such election must not be on party basis.

(b) There are important interest groups which cannot be involved in the election at local government level but whose views could be of paramount importance in the resolution of grievances that could come before the Conference. These groups include: The Judiciary, the Army, the Navy, the Airforce, the Police, the Customs, the Prisons, the Immigration, interest groups, professional and trade associations such as those of Teachers at all levels of educational system; Lawyers; Medical Doctors; Pharmacists; Nurses; Engineers; Sociologists; Political Scientists; Administrators; Secretaries; Accountants; Bankers; Architects; Quantity Surveyors; Journalists; Students; Farmers; Market women and petty traders; Artisans; Organized Labour; Employers; Chambers of Commerce and Industry; Women; Religious bodies including Christians, Moslems and Traditional worshippers; Civil Servants at local, state and Federal levels; Human Rights Community and pro-democracy organizations; Ethnic organizations fighting for self-determination; and Traditional Rulers, etc. Each of these groups will in its respective organization elect representatives to the Sovereign National Conference based on its numerical strength. The modalities for doing this can be easily worked out by the Sovereign National Conference Planning Committee.

SNC Not just An Assembly of Nationalities

The import of the recommended composition of the SNC above is that the SNC should not be conceived solely as an assembly of nationalities. Multiple nationality is just one of the realities of Nigeria as a plural society. Other realities of Nigeria such as religious differences, social stratification, gender subjugation, professional and economic interests must also be considered.

Observer Status At the Sovereign National Conference

Observer status should also be given to international bodies such as the UNO, OAU, ECOWAS, EU, Commonwealth, National and International Human Rights and Media Bodies, etc.

Function Of The Sovereign National Conference Primary Function:

The primary duty of the Sovereign National Conference is to address and find solutions to the key problems afflicting Nigeria since 1914 to date. The concern is to remove all obstacles which have prevented the country from establishing political justice, economic justice, social justice, cultural justice, religious justice and to construct a new constitutional frame-work in terms of the system of government-structurally, politically economically, socially, culturally and religiously. Furthermore, the conference is to receive and deliberate upon all grievances and whether contained in memoranda or letter from individuals or groups within and outside Nigeria. The Sovereign National Conference will be enjoined to discuss and deliberate on everything under the sun with regards to Nigeria and how to preserve the country in which Nigerians will have fulfilment of their hopes and aspirations. In other words, a Nigeria where every ethnic group will find succour; and where the masses, the neglected, the persecuted, the deprived and the cheated will find solace. In short, the Sovereign National Conference is to rebuild the country called Nigeria from scratch and to establish a new constitutional structure for a new Nigeria.

Referendum

The Constitution made by the people’ Sovereign National Conference will be subjected to the people’s referendum for the first time in the history of Nigeria.

Economic Restructuring

It is perhaps imperative to stress that contrary to the conception of some new organizations and individuals who have just woken up to appreciate the necessity of the SNC, the work of the SNC should not be limited to political restructuring based on ethnic factors. A key concern of the SNC is economic restructuring.

The SNC should discuss and resolve the character and nature of the economic system that can ensure sustained improvement in the material lives of the ordinary people. The SNC should be concerned with establishing an economic system that will guarantee economic rights of Nigerians, whether rich or poor.

The ordinary people must enjoy the right to work or unemployment allowance in the absence of jobs, cost-free housing, education, health, water, electricity, etc. In a restructured polity, access to social services by the masses should he regarded as fundamental rights. An obligation ought to be imposed on all levels of government to provide social services such that citizens constitutionally, legally and politically can challenge the government in the event of non-provision. If the provision of social services is made to the the constitutional responsibility of all tiers of government, then national resources will be utilized meaningfully in the interest of the larger society. Accountability of government to the people will equally be promoted because governance will acquire a focused and definitive character. When a government has so many constitutional responsibilities and the people are aware of their constitutional rights and are prepared to fight for them legally and politically, looting, stealing, misappropriation of public resources will be minimized if not eliminated.

Relationship of Sovereign National Conference To The Present Constitutional Dispensation

The Sovereign National Conference is not to govern the country. It is to find solutions to the problems of the country. It will therefore not interfere with the governance of the country at the Federal level, in the States and at the Local Governments. Those to govern the country have been elected in 1998/1999 to do so for 4 years and their tenure will end in the year 2003.

Those elected on December 5, 1998 to the Local Governments, on January 9, 1999, to the States and on February 13 and 27 to the centre are now functioning within the confines of a fundamentally defective constitutional arrangement, which was made on the 5th of May 1999 after their elections. Since the military- imposed 1999 Constitution is fundamentally defective and is incapable of satisfying the aspirations of the people, there is a need for a democratically drawn up Constitution through the SNC. The existing Constitution has proved incapable of containing national chaos and steady decline into catastrophic and bloody disintegration in which the teeming poor masses will bear the brunt while the rich many of whom have looted public treasury will find succour and solace in foreign countries. It would be foolhardy to want to protect such a Constitution. It is in the interest of democracy, in order to avert the impending disaster that a new Constitution be drawn up through a mass participatory process.

Conclusion

Our humble contribution contained in the text of this Press Conference should not he miss-understood. Our major concern is to draw public attention to the urgent need for a SNC. Our viewpoints here are mere suggestions rather than a rigid and unchangeable blueprint. Though some other forces equally make demands for SNC, none has given thought to the practical way of setting it in motion and explaining the relationship to the existing power structure.

We hope that the ideas in this publication will spur the relevant organs of Government to take necessary action if they are genuinely interested in taking Nigeria forward positively in the interest of the masses. Public officials who are committed to the principles of democracy, justice and freedoms for our people should not feel threatened by the convocation of the SNC. It is either we allow the SNC to peacefully save Nigeria or Nigeria may be no more on the long run. Though the initiative to convoke the SNC has been placed on the shoulders of the existing government, organisations of the civil society have a responsibility. The ruling classes hardly take an action in the interest of the larger society without the pressure of the masses from below. We therefore hope that this publication will motivate other organisations in the civil society to intensify the pressure for the convocation of the SNC”.

The information about SNC is now in your hands. What you do with it is your human right, as long as it doesn’t infringe other citizens’ human right.

Piqued by recent developments in the country, the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Abuja chapter, on Sunday, called on President Goodluck Jonathan to, as a matter of urgency, convene a Sovereign National Conference to address the unity of the country.

This is coming just as the congress warned politicians and other stakeholders in the Nigeria project to stop making inflammatory statements that may derail the nation’s nascent democracy.

The chairman of the congress, Dr Goddy Idaminabo, who stated this while addressing newsmen in Abuja noted that SNC had become imperative, “in view of the recent developments in the country and the attendant insecurity caused by extremists.”

Speaking further, he said, “we are aware that some groups of people, through their utterances, are fanning the embers of war under the guise of fuel subsidy removal. We, therefore, advise such groups to desist from such utterances and actions and work towards the unity of the country.

“We are worried about the spate of unprovoked killings in the North, in order to make the country ungovernable. We have, in the past, supported leaders from other ethnic groups to achieve their programmes and aspirations towards nation building. The distraction being given to the present administration in its transformation agenda is, to say the least, worrisome,” he said.

While calling on Ijaws to remain calm, he said that, “we request the Ijaws wherever they find themselves, particularly in the North, to remain calm as the situation is being studied very careful. At the appropriate time, they will be informed on the next line of action.”

http://africanheraldexpress.com/blog7/2012/01/09/ijaws-demand-sovereign-national-conference/

Is Sovereign National Conference the answer?
By Emmanuel Oladesu 15/08/2011 00:05:00
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Braithwaite, Abayomi, Briggs, Kalu and Okunniyi at the meeting held in Lagos.
Ethnic nationalities have intensified their clamour for the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) to discuss the basis for peaceful co-existence in Nigeria, reports Deputy Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU.

The slain Attorney- General and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, delved into the heart of the national question almost 20 years ago. Do we still want to live together as a country?, he asked. If the answer is yes, he again asked: how? To the former governor of Oyo State, a national family meeting was crucial to deliberate on the terms for unity among the component units that are coordinate with the central government.



Ige’s proposal trailed the postulation of his leader and mentor, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, former Premier of the defunct Western Region. In 1947, the nationalist had published a book titled: “Path to Nigeria’s freedom”. There, he telescoped into the future, predicting that only true federalism could sustain Nigeria, which is the amalgam of incompatible social formations.

Governor Hugh Clifford, who took over from Lord Fredrick Lugard as governor of Nigeria in the colonial days, had also dissected the huge plural society forcefully lumped together by the British. He identified the fundamental elements of its plurality, including diverse languages, customs, traditions, and religions, which have the ultimate potentials of shaping their reactions and perceptions of the socio-economic and political milieu.

As the colonial country wobbled on to independence, nationalist politicians, who were eager to receive the bastion of leadership from the interlopers recognised Nigeria’s limitations. Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, who later became Governor-General at independence, said: “Let us forget our differences”. But Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, who became remained as the Premier of Northern Region, disagreed, saying: “We must understand our differences”.

The three regions; North, East and West, were not the same, both in quality and quantity of their population. In 1998, Ige remarked that, for the North to catch up with the South in the race of progress, development must be at a standstill in the South for 20 years. The ‘gift of nature’, which is now a source of blessing and curse, in the country is also skewed. None of the three big tribes, or ethnic nationalities, is a major producer of oil, which is now the mainstream of the economy.

While the founding fathers of Nigeria settled for federalism and regionalism during the pre-independence and immediate independence era, with the advantage of healthy competition that went with the options, the military, which submerged the country under its centrist system of administration sowed the seeds of discord.

The early strain manifested in the three years of avoidable civil war. When states and local governments were created in response to elite’s scramble for power and relevance, the distribution by the military was lopsided, thereby engendering bitterness. The military nationalised the regional assets and formula for equitable, just and fair distribution of the commonwealth. The principles of derivation, need and national interest were turned upside down and the goose that lays the golden eggs was inflicted with the burden of neglect and denial, prompting violent protests in the Niger Delta.

Efforts at constitution amendment have been futile, owing to the insincerity of the power that be. While the Abuja Conference set up by former President Olusegun Obasanjo ended in a fiasco due to the third term agenda, the Pro-National Conference Organisation (PRONACO), which held an alternative dialogue in Lagos, lack the zeal to market the its draft to the government and people of Nigeria. The Abuja Political Conference was crippled at its inauguration when the former Commander-In-Chief declared that there would be no-go area.

Many believe that, unless the constitution is amended or reviewed to reflect the yearnings of the people, Nigeria will remain a tension-soaked, fledging federalism. Although no ethnic nationality has really indicate intention to opt out of the federation, there are repeated inclinations for the protection of diverse identities and interests, which global organisations describe as the anthem of this millennium.

Echoing these feelings and sentiments, Ayo Adebanjo, lawyer and politician, posited that the solution to the tensions and contradictions that plague the country lies in the Sovereign National Conference, which has been made elusive by the enemies of Nigeria.

The leader of the Southeast-Southsouth professionals, Emeka Ugwu-Oju, lamented that powerful forces which arrogate wisdom to themselves have consistently blocked the opportunity of a conference. He said a national debate or dialogue is a soothing balm to the pains and scars inflicted by the fading federalism, recalling that, when there were national conference in Abuja and the alternative conference in Lagos, there was no single case of violence in the Niger Delta for the whole year.

Eminent Nigerians under the aegis of the ‘National Consensus Group/Project Nigeria are of the same opinion. The group believes that peace, trust and tranquility would return to Nigeria if two criteria are met. The first is the drafting of a new democratic constitution to replace the 1999 constitution, which it described as a military-imposed document. The second is the convocation of a conference.

The group led by the revolutionary lawyer, Dr Tunji Braithwaite, said: “It is now clear that the 1999 military constitution is neither amenable nor amendable to panel beating as it has been attempted in the past and now by the political class”.

A member of the group and leader of the Movement for the Survival of Ogonis, (MASOB), Ledum Mitee said that the group should come up with a draft, while building consensus among long standing advocates of genuine constitution review. This idea has been backed by the founder of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Dr Fredrick Fasehun. He said: “We need to revert to regional autonomy to allow the regions to develop at their own pace and permit their governors to strategise on developmental priorities as currently being done by Southwest governors”.

However, Third Republic Senator Sulaiman Salawudeen urged a return to the independence era.”We should revert to the 1960 Constitution. We must restructure the country”, he said, warning that the current unitary system in the garb of federalism would presage doom.

Former Finance Minister Dr Kalu Idika Kalu asked the ethnic nationalities to engage the government with the national questions, adding that their resolution would herald a new dawn.

Southeast and Southsouth Professionals emphasised the urgent need for the national dialogue, warning that Nigeria may disintegrate before 2015, if the terms for peaceful co-existence are not agreed upon by the ethnic nationalities.

Braithwaite, who said that a constitutional surgery is long overdue, insisted on the constitutional restructuring of the country, urging President Goodluck Jonathan to put in motion a machinery for enacting a new constitution acceptable to the country.

At the meeting held in Victoria Island residence of Dr Braithwaite were rights activist Dr Tunji Abayomi, Kalu, Fasehun, Prof Adebayo Williams, Salawu, Yerima Shettima, Shehu Sani,leader of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni, Leden Mitee, Wale Okunniyi and Niger Delta activist Mrs Ankio Briggs.

A communiqué released at the end of the meeting and read by Mrs Briggs also called for the establishment of a National Consensus Commission to coordinate the process foe making the new constitution.

It reads in part: “Project Nigeria believes the way forward is to immediately begin the process of making a peoples constitution to replace the illegitimate and false constitution.

“Project Nigeria calls for the conveying of a constitutional conference through elections by the people for the purpose of giving to the people their own constitution, which is their fundamental rights.

Abayomi, who spoke on the flaws of the 1999 Constitution said: “The foundation of this country is not clear. There is no agreement by the ethnic groups about Nigeria. Until there is an agreement on the basis for co-existence, there will be no nation. It will be worse for our children in the future.

“The military gave the power to make law to itself under its decrees. But, it lacked the power to make a constitution for Nigeria. The people delegated to the National Assembly their power to make laws. Let them make a law that will give power to the people to make a peoples’ constitution. Yoruba, Ijaw, Boko Haram would meet. Yoruba may want agriculture. Ijaw know what they want. Boko Haram say they don’t want education. All these issues would be discussed. We will decide the way forward at the conference. We should agree on the terms for co-existence”.

Ugwu-Oju said: “If we are still going to have a federation, we must first define the boundaries of the federating units, their powers and functions. We must ask ourselves whether the states and local governments as they are now, should continue as the federating units and be allowed to be draining the scare development resources”.

The leader of Ijaw Professionals, Denzil Ketebe said: “Up to now, we have conventionally worked with the so-called geo-political zones and know that they have come to stay. What remains now is to recognise and admit them as a constitutional fact”.


http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/politics/15869-is-sovereign-national-conference-the-answer.html

SIMILIAR CALLS IN ETHIOPIA

Call for the Ethiopian Sovereign National Conference to be held soon.

The objective of this conference is to organize a transitional period for democracy in Ethiopia,this is like the NTC of Libya.So,I want all Ethiopians to nominate good people from all sorts of life,religious leaders,community organizers,intellectuals ,political groups from all over the world .

I nominate the following,Obang Meto,prof Getachew,Dr AL,Dr Kassa,Meron Ahadu,Shekspear Feyissa,Abrha Belay,Aba Menkorios of Canada,Siye Abrha,Birtukan Mideksa,G/M Araya,Mekonnen Zelelew,Tamagn Beyene,and all the people that I couldn't remember to be added by you guys, I also nominate OLF,EPRP,G7,ONLF,and other parties to be added by you guys, I also nominate the following medias to be part of this conference,ESAT,Ethiopian Review,Ethiomedia,Sweden Ahmed's radio,ECADF,Addis Dimts,Nestanet La Ethiopia,Qale and Assimba paltalks, more to be added by you the people.

we need an urgent solution to our problem ,I know I am not a politician or a celebrity ,but as one of the 80 million Ethiopians I am expressing my view to facilitate the liberation of Ethiopia from the current brutal aparthied dictatorship.Please nominate more good folks and other parties and organization that I did not mention.you are welcome to comment on the idea itself.I want everybody to know that I raised this call after I had heard the idea from Prof Ayitee of Ghana on ESAT.

http://www.ethiopianreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34108