After five months of deliberations, rancour and near fisticuffs, the national conference ended on Thursday, August 14. But disagreements did not really die down, as sectional cleavages and mutual suspicion, almost marred the report.
Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi
Northern delegates wanted to frustrate the efforts at the rounding off the exercise on a good note before the conference Chairman, Idris Kutigi, intervened by calling a meeting of all the leaders of the different ethnic nationalities.
The conference resumed on Monday, August 11 when the 492 delegates representing diverse interests, reconvened after nearly a month’s break.
It was again adjourned that day after delegates were given three volumes of reports and agreed at sittings.
They were asked to go home, study the documents and come back on Wednesday, August 13 for the final adoption.
Things did not turn out that way, however.
Before they reconvened on August 13, allegations had started flying about, mainly from Northern delegates of the “smuggling of some extraneous materials” into the draft report.
Northern grouse
The Northern Delegates Forum (NDF) addressed a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, August 13 where its leader and former Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Commassie, rejected the report.
He said: “It is now abundantly clear that the conference has been infiltrated by fifth columnists whose goal is to subvert democratic processes and plunge the country into deeper but avoidable political crisis.
“We Northern delegates to the conference wish to assure patriotic Nigerians and all lovers of democracy that we are neither privy to, nor were we accessory to the emergence of the controversial ‘New Constitution2014’.
“We therefore unequivocally, disown it and emphatically dissociate ourselves from it.”
“If not arrested, the third term agenda, as in the past (2005), is capable of plunging Nigeria into another circle of political chaos with potential of violence and anarchy.
“We as pan-Nigerians and democrats, reject this agenda in its entirety and call on stakeholders of all persuasions and institutions, especially political parties, National and state Houses of Assembly, the media, civil society organisations, women, youths, et cetera, to reject same and continue to champion and uphold democratic principles as enshrined in the Constitution and other legitimate sources of law making.”
North shelves walk out
This position of the NDF polarised the conference into North and South, with Northerners alleging a hidden agenda by Southerners to create a new Constitution through which President Goodluck Jonathan could serve another single six-year term.
“We do know of plot hatched, even this conference was convened, to secure a platform for writing a new Constitution that will guarantee somebody’s third term ambition, by way of a six-year, single term provision in that new Constitution.
“We are opposed to that arrangement which we consider to be undemocratic,” a Northern delegate said.
Northern delegates had planned a walk out thereby rendering the conference inconclusive. But Southerners came up with counter move.
Disagreement between the two camps did not allow for effective deliberations when the conference resumed on August 13, so it had to adjourn again, to enable the leadership meet with leaders of different groups.
A source at one of the meetings recounted that Kutigi reminded Northern delegates that “they are now in the minority and should they stage any walk out, it will not have any effect.”
Southern delegate leaders – Edwin Clark (South South), Olu Falae (South West) and Ike Nwachuckwu (South East) – addressed a press conference, which was also attended by Godwin Dara, General Secretary of the Middle Belt Forum.
Clark’s submission
Clark insisted that “there are no issues that are controversial. We met for about four months and various issues were discussed, debated and about 600 motions passed by consensus. Everybody agreed.
“At the end of that we went on two weeks’ leave. We were surprised when we came back to see volumes of reports. Looking through them we want to say it was a very good job by the Chairman, Justice Idris Kutigi, his deputy, the secretary and the entire secretariat. We congratulate them.
“The reports are three in volumes and there are other ancillary papers. I assure you that if the resolutions contained in the reports are implemented by the government, a new Nigeria would be born.
“We have all learnt a lot in the past four months. Having been a politician for 50 years, what I learnt this period is fantastic, so we congratulate the management of the conference, headed by Kutigi.
“However, it was very unfortunate to learn that some delegates addressed a press conference on new Constitution. When we were discussing during the conference, we touched on many issues, some of which suggested constitutional changes, some policy and others legislative.
“What they have done is to put all the amendments to the 1999 Constitution and additional ones, they were not many. Where there is need for subtraction, they did it and a new document has been produced. And there is nothing wrong if somebody calls it a proposed draft Constitution.
“We have nothing to hide because that will bring change to Nigeria.
“So we want to dispel the idea that there is confusion at the conference, that there is disagreement and all that.
“We have all met Kutigi and his team today, we have agreed that by tomorrow, we should adopt the reports they have produced on our behalf. I can tell you that Nigeria has never been so united like this before.”
Falae’s views
Falae said: “Some falsehood has been injected into the media in the last few days. There are allegations that we are working for some political leaders. That is false and insulting.
“Since I got to this conference, nobody has tried to influence me or my delegation on any matter whatsoever, and I am sure that is true for all of us. There were specific allegations that we had recommended a single tenure of six years for the President which is not true.
“We said two terms of four years as in the present Constitution. So how people manufactured those lies to deceive the public beats me completely.
“However, that is not to say that all those allegations are not true at all. The documents we have are three. Volume one and two and the draft Constitution. The information in each of the three is exactly the same.
“In other words, the three contain all our resolutions arrived at by consensus. The first volume presents the report in prose, the second volume presents the report in tabular form. The draft Constitution presents the same conclusions in constitutional format. It is the mode of presentation that varies. The information is the same.
“And there is nothing there that did not come from our decisions and it was agreed this morning that if anybody observes any error or omission or commission, they should send a paper to the secretariat and it would be corrected on the basis of the hansard that contains the proceedings of the conference and of the votes and proceedings of the conference.
“So there is no room for any disagreement at this stage.”
Nwachukwu’s position
Nwachukwu said: “We have been faithfully pursuing our mandate to redesign and redefine Nigeria in which no man or woman would be oppressed; a mandate to free the ethnic minorities from bondage and to ensure that no section of this country lords it over the other anymore.
“This conference has achieved that.
“Second, no one has asked us to seek a third term for anyone, as it has been said. The final point I want to make is this, our report and our recommendations should be placed in the public domain so Nigerians can understand what was done and they would then decide whether we have wasted their money and their time or we have given them the opportunity to build a new Nigeria.
“So I urge the government to put the recommendations in the public domain so the people would decide what is better for them.”
Dara provides support
Dara said: “I would like to put it on record that the wrong impression that the whole Northern Nigeria is opposed to the resolutions taken and reports that are being presented, is incorrect.
“The Middle Belt Forum consists of 14 out of 19 states of Northern Nigeria and the delegations of those states are solidly in support of the outcome of the conference.
“Not only that, we are very impressed with the level of integrity and accuracy demonstrated by the secretariat in reflecting that the logical outcome of the constitutional changes we have recommended is that there should be a new Constitution or the 1999 Constitution as amended.
“Whichever way, it is a question of the cup is half full or half empty. The reality is that Nigeria will be operating on a new improved Constitution, based on the deliberations of the conference subject to the approval of the people of Nigeria.
“We have discussed the modalities in the conference and the overwhelming majority of delegates are in support of the need for referendum, this is without prejudice to the role of the National Assembly (NASS) and the executive would subsequently play but sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria.
“And every other organ of government derives its legitimacy from the position.
“On a final note, we would like to say that even those who have expressed misgivings are not controverting the accuracy of the report of the secretariat.
“Their concern is that they are not mentally prepared on the idea of a new Constitution and that reality was a bit shocking to some people. But that is actually the logical outcome of all our resolutions and decisions.”
Northern game changer
However, when the South and the Middle Belt thought they had things wrapped up, the core North wanted to play its card.
A source, who did not want his name in print, disclosed that a delegation of Northern traditional rulers, led by the Etsu Nupe, Yahaya Abubakar, visited Kutigi on the night of August 13 and asked him to respond to the allegation that a move was being made for a new Constitution.
Abubakar, whose subject Kutigi is, reminded him that people now abuse the Nupes all over the country because of the role he is allegedly playing at the conference.
The source said it was probably because of the pressure mounted on Kitigi which made him to drop the idea of a new Constitution.
However, another source privy to the meeting Kutigi had with Northern delegates said Kutigi was rather the one who chided the Northerners for behaving childishly over a non-existent new Constitution.
But even when this was done on Thursday, August 14, before the conference drew the curtains, Northerners were still kicking against the decision to put the report to a referendum instead of taking it to the NASS for ratification.
Demand for referendum
A Southern delegate and Labour Party Chairman, Dan Nwanyanwu, said subjecting the report of the conference to a referendum will accord it legitimacy.
But a Northern delegate, Buba Galadima, countered that it is possible to manipulate the result of the referendum by claiming it is the decision of the majority.