National Conference 2014- The Conflicted
Agenda
A SEMINAR PAPER PRESENTION IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF
PLSC 904 - PHD PROGRAMME
BY
ATERE CLEMENT OLUSEGUN [PG/10/0149]
PhD Peace and Conflict Resolution
BABCOCK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
ILISHAN-REMO, OGUN STATE
Department Of Political Science and Public Administration
LECTURER: PROF A. D AINA
APRIL 2014
National Conference 2014- The Conflicted
Agenda
ABSTRACT
It is very clear to all and sundry in Africa and even all over
the world that all is not well with Nigeria. Communal and
religious crises, riots, violence, conflicts and many other
crises have become the portion of Nigeria. There is deep mistrust
among the various ethnic nationalities and negative values keep
growing among our leaders. Since the beginning of democracy in
Nigeria, changing of Government at the center by election
presents new set of agitations for the citizenry. The above has
been the portion of Nigeria since the amalgamation of the
Northern and Southern protectorates of Nigeria by British
Colonial Governor Fredrick Lugard in January 1914. The country
since 1957 has conveyed five constitutional conferences to find
solution to our problems but without any solution. There is need
to resolve many issues that has been begging for answers for so
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many years; the structure of the nation, the true federalism, the
resource control and the issue of state and religion. These are
the issues that ordinarily would have been resolved by the
National Assembly but which they failed to resolve due to extreme
partisanship and selfishness. This paper looks at the recently
inaugurated 6th national conference and the various regional
agenda with the view to interrogate various issues raised by each
of the region and suggest ways by which the Nigeria nation can
move forward. The paper adopted the theory of structural social
conflict explain the various national crises and the way to
handle and resolve the conflicts.
Key Words- Nation and Conflicts
INTRODUCTION
The Northern and Southern protectorates of Nigeria were
amalgamated by British Colonial Governor Fredrick Lugard in
January 1914. Abbey (2011) in his write up has the following to
say on Nigeria before amalgamation
Before 1914, the country called Nigeria did not exist. In its place was a hugely
diverse scattering of tribes and communities, some of whom had territory that
overlaps the borders of present-day Nigeria. These varied groups with different
languages, cultures and political practices were all brought together under
British rule to form an entirely artificial nation. The arbitrary drawing of
borders in the 19th century which was so common to Africa in colonial times
paid little attention to the natural ethnic lines of the tribes. Whilst the Western
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world regarded them all as “Nigerians”, they considered themselves as
primarily members of whichever tribe from which they originated.
Many Nigerian scholars and statesmen have expressed conflicting
views about the disadvantages and advantages of the amalgamation.
The British, our colonial master as represented by Lord Lugard
seems to care less about even their own British oxford dictionary
that defines Nation as “A large body of people united by common descent,
history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular state or territory”: hence
no two or three people can co-exist in harmony unless they agree
to share common values like religion, history, culture, beliefs,
and aspirations. Little wonder why ethno-religion conflicts and
political instability is rife in Nigeria.
The building, in Zungeru, Niger State, where Frederick Lugard
supposedly signed the Amalgamation of Northern and Southern
Nigeria on Thursday 1st January 1914
Photo Credit: Oluyomi Abiona/wakaabout.net4
CLARIFICATION OF CONCEPT
Nation
Prabhat S (2011) defined nation as a community or group of people
who share the same history, language, descent, and a common
government and refer to a country as a geographical aspect. It
can be a territory or a region of sovereign states, non-sovereign
states, or a region having people having similar characteristics
Sparknotes, A united States Government and politics study guide
defines nation as;
“a large group of people who are linked by a similar culture, language, and
history. Members of some nations share an ethnicity (almost everyone in South
Korea is Korean, for example), whereas other nations consist of ethnically
diverse groups of people (the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and
Singapore, for instance). However, the members of a nation see themselves as
connected. Fellow members are often regarded as part of an extended family.
Many members of a nation take pride in being a part of something bigger than
themselves as individuals, and they celebrate their nation”.
There have been discussions at various stages of our nationhood
when many have asked if Nigeria is a nation or a country. Chief
Obafemi Awolowo has this to say about Nigeria;
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"Nigeria is not a nation; it is a mere geographical expression. There are no
‘Nigerians’ in the same sense as there are ‘English’ or ‘Welsh’ or ‘French’; the
word Nigeria is merely a distinctive appellation to distinguish those who live
within the boundaries of Nigeria from those who do not.”-Obafemi Awolowo
(1947) in his book, Path to Nigeria's Freedom published in 1947”
The late Prime Minister of Nigeria, Sir Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa
Balewa was reported in 1952 in a speech in the Northern House of
Assembly, Kaduna, that
“`the Southern people who are swarming into this region daily in large
numbers are really intruders. We don`t want them and they are not welcome
here in the North”
This study agreed that, having passed through stages in the
process of nationhood including a very bloody civil war, Nigeria
is a nation.
Conflict
Conflict is defined as disagreement between individuals. It can
vary from a mild disagreement to a win-or-lose, emotion-packed,
confrontation (Kirchoff and Adams, 1982).
Conflict is further defined as state of disharmony between
incompatible or antithetical persons, ideas, or interests. It
also can be defined as a disagreement through which the parties
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involved perceive a threat to their needs, interests, or concern.
It is a phenomenon that is an important part of human existence
(Isard, 1992, P. 1) and a natural part of our daily lives (Weeks,
1992, P. ix)
The Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research
definition of conflict is broader and most acceptable to this
study in describing conflicts as: “the clashing of interests
(positional differences) on national values of some duration and
magnitude between at least two parties (organized groups, states,
groups of states, organizations) that are determined to pursue
their interests and win their cases.” (HIIK, 2005, P.2).
The agenda prepared by each of the regions as reported by the
various newspapers is nothing but to protect the interest of
their region and it is clear that there is a clash of interest.
BACKGROUND TO STUDIES
Nigeria constitutional Conferences
The Nigerian nation has gone through 6 attempts at making a
perfect constitution that will guide the way and how we can live
together as a nation. These includes;
The Constitutional Conference of 1957
This conference took place in London under the guidance of the
Colonial master and it was to prepare Nigeria for Independence.
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“The Independence Constitution of 1960 (along with its
slightly revised 1963 version) was the product of sheer
necessity borne out of attempts to reach difficult
compromises among competing regional interests. The Willink
Commission of 1957 was set up to probe the fears of
minorities about their political fate in independent
Nigeria in regions dominated by the Fulani aristocracy in
the Northern Region, by the Igbo in the East and by the
Yoruba in the West. Its publication in 1958 revealed just
how contentious the negotiations for a formula for a
constitutional federalism had become”
Part of the decisions of that conference is to grant autonomy to
Eastern and Western regions and they were granted self-
government in 1957. The conference also decided that the Office
of the Prime Minister should be created and that the Federal
Legislature would be Bi-cameral.
The Constituent Assembly of 1978
The 1979 Constitution that created the current Presidential
System with its attendant checks and balances and Fundamental
Human Rights provisions was the product of this conference.
The Constituent Assembly of 1988
The assembly produced the un-promulgated 1989 constitution. Ajayi
(2009) has this to say about this constituent assembly put
together by General Babangida;
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“The result of the deliberation on the Constitution under review did not
significantly differ from the 1979 Constitution, as mentioned. I might state
that the whole political exercise by the Political Bureau, the Constitution
Review Committee, and the 1988 Constituent Assembly were wasteful
exercises” Ajayi (2009)
The 1994/1995 Constitutional Conference
This conference produced the 1999 Constitution that is in
operation in the country today. One of the major products from
the assembly is the idea of the current Six Geo-Political Zones
that have become one of the avenues for distribution of projects
and public offices in Nigeria.
The 2005 National Political Reform Conference
Produced a number of key recommendations that were sent to the
then National Assembly, which were however not perfected.
All the above exercise has neither improved the governance of the
nation nor bring the desired unity of purpose.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
From constitutional development exercises Nigeria has
experimented with five constitutions, the 1960, 1963, 1979, 1989
and 1999 constitutions. (The 1989 Constitution was not
promulgated).
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All the above exercises has not provided the citizenry with the
much needed good government and unity in the country. The
national question remained unanswered. The above will not be far
from the reasons why many are using the opportunity of the
centenary of the amalgamation of Northern and Southern
protectorates to ask for a revisit and determination of how we
intend to live together as a nation.
Akinrinade, a former Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) and a
leader of the defunct National Democratic Coalition NADECO) that
fought the Abacha military administration, was quoted as saying:
“President Jonathan must have come to the realisation that we have structural
imbalances created by the 1914 amalgamation of the Northern and Southern
Protectorates and the unitary federal system created by the military”. Hugo
Odiogor (2014)
This study agreed with Alani Akinrinade that there is indeed
structural imbalance but not only created by the amalgamation of
2014 but also by the greediness and vain arrogance of successive
governments in Nigeria.
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The objective of this study is to look at the various past
efforts on constitutional development in Nigeria, study the
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various regional agenda and suggest ways by which the current
exercise could be beneficial to the nation
THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
There have been extensive write up on the nature, causes and the
impact of conflicts. Depending on the school of thought to which
they represent.
Conflicts are inescapable within and around human beings but the
good news are that conflicts can be used as motivators for
healthy change. In a country like Nigeria there are several
factors that can create competition; they may be differing ethnic
objectives, individual objectives, competition for use of
resources or differing viewpoints. All these have to be
incorporated into the national agenda and exploited effectively
to achieve national cohesion.
The traditional theory is based on the assumption that conflicts
are bad, are caused by trouble makers, and should be subdued
whilst contemporary theory recognizes that conflicts between
human beings are unavoidable. They emerge as a natural result of
change and can be beneficial to the organization, if managed
efficiently. Current theory (Kirchoff and Adams, 1982) considers
innovation as a mechanism for bringing together various ideas and
viewpoints into a new and different fusion. An atmosphere of
tension, and hence conflict, is thus essential in any
organization committed to developing or working with new ideas. 11
There are plenty of conflicting issues in Nigeria and probably
the 2014 national conference may come up with new ideas that will
bring up good fusion.
This study adopts the structural conflict theory to interrogate
various conflicting issues in Nigeria with the aim of providing
suggestions for effective resolution.
Structural Conflict Theory
This theory has two main sub-orientations. The first is the
radical structural theory represented by the Marxist dialectical
school with exponents like Marx and Engels, V.I. Lenin, etc. The
second is the liberal structuralism represented by Ross (1993)
and the famous work of Galtung Johan (1990) on structural
violence. It is also sometimes similar to transformative theory,
which addresses the reactions of individuals, groups, cultures,
institutions and societies to change. It further sees
incompatible interests based on competition for resources, which
in most cases are assumed to be scarce, as being responsible for
social conflicts (Collier 2000). Theories like Marxism, in its
thesis on ‘historical materialism’ present conflicts as mostly
tied to economic structures and social institutions.
The work of Collier is informative on the various agenda set by
various region especially as regards the resource control.
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The main argument of the structural conflict theory according to
Faleti Ademola (2006) is that conflict is built into the
particular ways societies are structured and organized. The
theory looks at social problems like political and economic
exclusion, injustice, poverty, disease, exploitation, inequity
etc., as sources of conflict. Structuralists maintain that
conflicts occur because of the exploitative and unjust nature of
human societies, domination of one class by another, etc
Liberal structuralists like John Galtung, propounded the theory
of negative peace and positive peace to buttress how structural
conflicts can occur in the society. The solution to this type of
conflict, to the Marxists, is that the contradictions will end in
a revolution, civil war, or some form of violence leading to the
overthrow of the exploitative system. Liberal structuralists call
for the elimination of structural defects with policy reforms.
The emphasis of structural theory is thus on how the competing
interests of groups tie conflict directly into the social,
economic, and political organization of society as well as the
nature and strength of social networks within and between
community groups. Ross noted for instance that, in situations
where economic and political discrimination and weak kinship ties
are the defining characteristics of a society, the chances that
negative forms of conflict will result are higher than in
situations where the conditions are the exact opposite. In other
words, when social, political, economic and cultural processes
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are monopolized by a group, it creates the conditions that make
people to adopt adversarial approaches to conflict.
DISCUSSION
The 2014 National Conference and the Regional Agenda
The journey to the national conference began on October 1, 2013
when President Jonathan announced during his nationwide broadcast
to mark Nigeria’s 53rd Independence anniversary the setting up of
a conference committee headed by Afenifere chieftain and strong
advocate for a National Conference, Senator Femi Okunroumu.
The inauguration of the conference took place on March 17, 2014,
in his speech president Jonathan strongly believes the conference
will be another landmark in the efforts to strengthen national
unity and consolidate democratic governance in our beloved
country. Speaking further he said;
“I also believe that this National Conference is coming at a very appropriate
time. Having just celebrated the first centenary of our country, the most
compelling task before us, as we move ahead and contemplate what our nation
will be at the end of its second century, is to lay a much stronger foundation for
faster development.
This we can achieve by building a more inclusive national consensus on the
structure and guiding principles of state that will guarantee our emergence as a
more united, progressive and prosperous nation.
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In our history as a political entity, we have experienced highs and lows but have
always forged ahead. To my mind, the fact that we have weathered all storms
and continued with the mission of evolving a truly national identity signifies that
we are going in the right direction.” Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (2014)
However, very many key figures in Nigeria do not agree with the
above views of the president on the ongoing National conference
and quote below such views across the country. Mr. Orji Uzor Kalu
on the conference said;
“I have studied the reports of past conferences and how far preceding
governments could go in the implementation of the reports, and regrettably
wish to state that the whole thing has not been palatable. If I am asked to
hazard a guess as regard the estimated figure on how much had been spent on
past conferences I would say it runs into hundreds of billions. Then the
question is: is this amount commensurate with what had been achieved over
the years? The answer is capital ‘NO’. There is no questioning the fact that
Nigeria would have been better off if the reports of these conferences had been
meticulously and patriotically implemented.
Feelers from the secretariat of the just-inaugurated National Conference show
that the conference would gulp over N12.4 billion. And this amounts to N12
million per delegate for the three months they would spend. My grouse is not
about the amount each delegate gets at the end of the day. My worry is that
the report of the conference might be so controversial that it may not be
implementable. So, what happens to the billions expended? As usual it goes
into the drainpipe.” Uzor Kalu (2014)
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Prof. Nwabueze opined that the conference as constituted lacks
power to produce an acceptable constitution because the
convocation, its composition, its functions, its modus operandi
are not catered for by law;
“Let me correct the impression that we are in the process of another
constitution making. The National Conference, as constituted by the
President, lacks the capacity to draft a constitution to be submitted to the
people for approval through a referendum. It doesn’t have the capacity, so it
does not entail a constitution making at all. That is something we have to
realize, arising from the nature and type of the conference as constituted or
established by the President. The reason for this is that the conference is not
established by virtue of any law enacted by the National Assembly. The
convocation, its composition, its functions, its modus operandi are not
catered for by law. It is established entirely by virtue of the inherent powers of
the President under Section 5 of the constitution. With its limited functions, its
establishment is within the immediate powers of the President. The
conference not established under a law enacted by the legislative authorities
of the country cannot adopt a constitution. It lacks the capacity to draft a
constitution that will be binding on everybody as law.” Nwabueze (2014)
Yinka Kolawole reporting for Thisday reported the opinion of Mr.
Bola Tinubu said;
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“A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC),
Senator Bola Tinubu, Wednesday decried the moves by
President Goodluck Jonathan to the proposed national
conference, describing them as a tactic to divert
attention from his second term ambition” Yinka Kolawole
(2014)
For General Buari, the conference is just a waste of public funds
:
A former Head of State and national leader of the All
Progressives Congress, APC, Maj. Gen Muhammadu Buhari
(rtd), on Monday described the ongoing national conference
as a waste of public funds. He said the huge amount
budgeted for the delegates and the entire process should
have been put to judicious use in other pressing areas
because the National Assembly was in a better position to
do what the conference was trying to achieve. Daniel
(2014)
The Northern Agenda
Speaking on the agenda, Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State
said
“the northern governors took a bold step at their just
concluded meeting in Kaduna on the points to be presented
at the conference and assured that the points would not in
any way tamper with the unity and development of the
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country. “In our last meeting, we took a principled
position to send our best and experienced people to the
conference and this will include those who will be able to
defend and discuss the issues without fear or favour but
which will not tamper with the unity and development of
the country,” Babangida Aliu (2014)
Ndako, who is also the secretary of the Northern Governors’
Forum, listed the 30 points the north would canvass at the
conference to include;
“fiscal federation, structure of government, issue of state police, and labour
matters, especially as they relate to uniformity or otherwise of wages and
salaries. Also on the northern agenda, as listed by Ndako, are electricity as a
major weapon for economic growth, especially on whether states should be
allowed to generate power independently; tenure of president and the
governors; devolution of power; the traditional institutions; immunity clause
as it presently affects the governors and president; the independence of the
legislative arm and the judiciary as well as who is to monitor the Judiciary;
gender and special groups like the handicapped; onshore and offshore
dichotomy; and Resource control” Ndako(2014)
Other points include tenure of president and governors,
devolution of power, traditional institutions, immunity clause
for governors and president, independence of the legislative arm
and the judiciary, onshore and offshore dichotomy, resource
control.
There are also social security, including health, housing,
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electoral law which include how elections should be conducted,
system of government — presidential or parliamentary, security,
creation of more states and local governments and transformation
of the agricultural sector as the mainstay of the northern
region.
South-South Agenda
The South-south geo-political zone, the chief revenue generator
for the country, also wants restructuring, fiscal federalism and
50 per cent derivation. Currently, derivation is a miserly 13 per
cent.
Most participants at the one-day South-south zonal conference on
the National Dialogue held at the Cultural Centre in Calabar, the
Cross River State Capital, last week, insisted that local
communities and states where natural resources emanate should
control their wealth by, at least, 50 per cent. They argued that
if this singular issue is resolved, the national atmosphere would
be convivial.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/02/national-
conference-agenda-igbo-yoruba-north-ssouth/#sthash.r5R1WL6N.dpuf
The South East Agenda
According to Nwaorgu; Igbo want restructuring, reparation for
incessant killings –
On the agenda of the Igbo for the conference, Nwaorgu said it is
not different from what the Ohanaeze presented to the Senator 19
Femi Okurounmu-led President Advisory Committee (PAC) on National
Conference when it visited the South-east last October 27 and 29.
His words: “We are prepared for the conference and we are
determined to make it succeed. The issues we want resolved
include: the structure of government-presidential or
parliamentary, fiscal federalism, devolution of power, resource
control, citizenship right, security of lives and property, and
reparation over the continuous killing of our people and
destruction of their property.”
Dr. Godsmark Eddy Ugwu who was a delegate to the 1994/95 national
conference, says;
“the national conference should provide modalities for
which there will be periodic review of the constitution
of the country so as it be in consonance with events
happening in our contemporary society. He said the Igbo
agenda should include the demand for reparation to
curtail the negative after- effects of the civil war
of1967 to 1970 on the people of the zone. He also advised
the delegates to demand for equal number of states so
that the number of states obtained in the zone will be
at par with other zones that have six states each, while
the North West has seven”. Maurice Okafor (2014)
Middle Belt Agenda
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In an article written in Vanguard newspaper of March 9, 2014
Abutu was quoted as saying;
“We are going to the National Conference to demand for a political identity that
defines who they are, their culture and heritage in the Northern region. We are
Middle Belt region and not North Central as the North prefers to call us.
The northern political establishment has always been opposed to the effort of
the Middle Belt to establish a political identity that reflects the history, culture
landscape of the region.
The leader of the United Middle Belt Congress, the late Joseph Tarka, was
persecuted and tried for his efforts to establish the North-central Region as
distinct from Northern Region. During the fourth republic, Mr. George Akume,
as the governor of Benue State, faced a backlash from the north when he tried
to start from where Tarka stopped in the first republic. There is a new wave to
push for a Middle Belt identity at the National Conference”. Hugo Odiogor
(2014)
South West Agenda
The Yoruba agenda is a coalition of thoughts of socio-cultural
groups in Yoruba land.
The punch Newspaper of February 28, 2014 reported on Yoruba
agenda as stated below;
“While reading out the summary of the 15 issues on the Yoruba Agenda,
Akinrinade said, “When the conference holds from March 10, 2014, the Yoruba
people will make a proposal for a new Nigeria, consisting of a central
union/Federal Government and six regional governments based on the current
six geo-political zones, including all other Yoruba outside the imposed artificial
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boundaries; that is to say, in Edo, Delta, Kogi and Kwara states; and operating
federal and regional constitutions, respectively. He further stated that the
Yoruba would agitate for regional autonomy for the South-West within a united
Nigerian federation. Akinrinade added that the conference offered an
opportunity for the ethnic group to actualise its agenda, especially with the
“expiration of the amalgamation by mistake of 1914.” Olufemi Atoyebi and Ade
Adesomoju (2014)
The Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) on February 12, convoked a
Yoruba Constitutional Conference (YCC) in Ibadan with a view to
working out a definite regional agenda, it was reported thus;
“Chairman, Hon. Wale Oshun, said would form the plank of the Yoruba’s desire
for negotiation at the national conference. The conference made it clear that
the Yoruba people were forced into Nigeria. The conference observed that the
aspiration of the Yoruba people for self-identity, progress and peaceful
development “cannot be fulfilled within Nigeria as presently constituted,”
adding, “Nigeria is not a nation and never in the past had there been any
serious attempt to build a nation out of the contraption. The current effort
towards a national conference is suspicious as it is glaring that the president
lacks the will and the sincerity of purpose to midwife a genuine conference.”
Akinsanmi Gboyega (2014)
CONCLUSION
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The president, acknowledging the various challenges confronting
the nation and also the thoughts of the diverse ethnic
nationalities on the solution to the challenges said;
“the conference is being convened to engage in intense introspection about
the political and socioeconomic challenges confronting the nation, and to
chart the best and most acceptable way for the resolution of such challenges
in the collective interest of all the constituent parts of our fatherland. He
reiterated that he was convening the conference due to his belief that his
administration must assume responsibility for ensuring that the long-running
national debate on the best way forward for the country is not in vain. He
urged participants to patriotically articulate and synthesize peoples’ thoughts,
views and recommendations for a stronger, more united, peaceful and
politically stable Nigeria, forge the broadest possible national consensus in
support of those recommendations, and strive to ensure that they are given
the legal and constitutional backing to shape the present and the future of our
beloved fatherland…... Indeed, I am quite worried when I hear people say
that some participants in this National Conversation are coming here to
defend and promote ethnic or clannish agenda. It is very regrettable that
there are persons who believe that we cannot undertake any collective
task in our country without the hindrance of ethnic rivalry even after 100
years of nationhood” SaharaReporters (2014)
It is indeed worrisome to note that each political zone arrived at the national conference venue armed with the zonal agenda; it is more worrisome to note that these agenda are conflicting. The Igbo wants 50% derivative or total resource control whereas the North wants the status quo to remain. Dr. Junaid Muhammed one thedelegate to the National conference, for example was reported
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telling New Telegraph that resource control and state creation will be dead on arrival.
“Absolutely certain, we won’t support resource control. We will fight it with the last drop of blood. We know the history of revenue allocation in this country. That history did not begin in 1958 when oil was discovered in Oloibiri. There was a country before 1958 before the discovery of oil and there would be a country long after the oil has finished.So, the North is not going to support resource control” Ayodele Ojo etal (2014)
Prominent in the mind of the Yoruba delegates to the conference are the issues of regionalization and state police, again the Northern delegate will not agree to any of these and was made clear by another delegate from the North,Mr. Anthony Sani, who said
“Regions with their states, police, etc, is reminiscent of confederal arrangement with weak centre that can presage split of the country. This should not be allowed.” Ayodele Ojo etal (2014)
As a matter of fact some delegates seems to be ready for
anything and are already making remarks that can make the
conference rancorous and make the situation of the nation worst
off post conference. Mohamed Junaid again was quoted as saying;
“If those in the MOSSOB are demanding that they dont want to be part of
Nigeria, fine. If the terrorists in MEND and NDVF or whatever they call
themselves say they also want to have their own state, fine. Let me tell you, in
the event of the breakup of Nigeria, which will be very unfortunate, the North is
the only component that will remain one and united.
And we will retain Abuja as the capital of that truncated Nigeria much to our
displeasure. We also have two other cities which could serve as capital of
Nigeria. Kano is as good as a capital anywhere in Africa. Kaduna will be good a
capital too. Dont forget, Kaduna was the capital of Northern Nigeria. So going
back to Kaduna will be the natural thing for us to do. So what is all the farce? 24
What have we gained from being a part of Nigeria? Tell me! I dont know what I
gained for instance. Look at the revenue allocation formula and tell me how
this revenue allocation formula can ever allow peace and stability in any
country, not just in Nigeria, which already they say is an artificial creation. And
let me tell you that in the event of the breakup of this country, Ilorin and Offa
will remain 100 % Northern Nigeria and not one each of land will be ceded to
them.” Tim kola (2014)
This study therefore concluded that because the delegate see
themselves first as a member of an
ethnic nationality rather than Nigerian, they are at the
conference not for Nigeria agenda but for ethnic or even selfish
agenda. Therefore the conference will not be in want of rancorous
moment and may not be able to make good suggestions on the good
way forward for Nigeria. The country must exercise caution at this
time so that the conflicted agenda may not bring a greater
conflict than what we are currently witnessing.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilmann in the 1970s identified five
main styles of dealing with conflict that vary in their degrees
of cooperativeness and assertiveness. One of the styles is
compromise; Nigerian leaders at this time must try to find
solution that will at least partially satisfy every region.
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“Everyone is expected to give up something and the compromiser him- or herselfalso expects to relinquish something. Compromise is useful when the cost ofconflict is higher than the cost of losing ground, when equal strength opponentsare at a standstill and when there is a deadline looming.” Thomas andKilman, (1976).
Nigeria as a nation was able survive a civil war and some other
challenges, extreme care must be taken not think that future
challenges are not probable. This study believe strongly that
national development and unity cannot be guaranteed as the
country is presently constituted
We need to go back to the social, structural, cultural, religious
and historical roots of our present-day problems to resolve the
ethnic, religious, cultural, and post-colonial social factors
that have become the building pillars and major obstacles to our
peaceful and harmonious coexistence.
Whilst agreeing that the unity of Nigerian is non-negotiable, we
must begin that process of reforming the inequities in the
country.
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BIBLOGRAPHY
Abbey (2011) Should Africa draws a line under colonial crimes and
move on? Sourced on 24th March from internet
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