Broderick Bozimo ( An Ijaw leader and former Minister of Police Affairs)
In line with the call for restructuring from different parts of the country, the most appropriate thing the current administration should do is to study the report of the 2014 National Conference. That should be done with a viewing to identifying the aspects of the document that could be implemented immediately.
There is no doubt that the country needs to be restructured. Many eminent Nigerians, including a former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, have acknowledged this fact. In the interest of the survival of the entire country, the Federal Government should consider the conference report as an important document that must not be ignored.
Some people have argued that the process that led to the composition of members of the conference was not democratic. We should know that nothing is perfect anywhere in the world. We cannot dismiss the report on the basis that the process was not perfect. The question to ask is whether the report offers solutions to the current challenges. If it does, we should ignore the undemocratic manner the delegates were selected. What is important now is the positive impact its implementation would have on the country.
Dr. Junaid Mohammed (Second Republic lawmaker
If President Muhammadu Buhari implements the report of the 2014 National Conference, he would plunge the country into a constitutional crisis. With the country already facing different crises, including an economic recession, the administration would not be able to contend with the constitutional crises the implementation of the report would cause.
First, the manner the participants of the conference were selected was undemocratic. The whole arrangement was aimed at ensuring that ex-President Goodluck Jonathan won a re-election. The delegates were handpicked by Jonathan and the governors.
It should be recalled that most Nigerians kicked against the conference. So, the conference itself was a political arrangement. There was no sincerity of purpose on the part of the government. Every Nigerian who followed the process would attest to that.
Also, what is paraded as the report of the conference is different from the resolutions reached by the participants. The report was concocted at the conference secretariat. Those who attended the conference know that the content of the document is different from the consensus reached at the conference. I participated; I was among the three delegates that represented Kano State. So, I know the resolutions that were reached.
How could such a report be implemented? Buhari should not attempt to enforce it. If he does, he would cause a constitutional crisis that he would not be able to handle. Already, the country has several challenges it is trying to address. To add another crisis is not what anybody should pray for.
Adekunle Ojo (Former vice-president, Nigerian Bar Association)
The report of the 2014 National Conference cannot be a basis for moving the country forward. If the current administration chooses to ignore it, that does not mean the country would not achieve its goals. First, the people that participated in the confab were not products of a democratic process. And if our aspiration is to have an acceptable constitution, the process must be people-oriented. The delegates, who had political interests, were handpicked. If we truly want a people-oriented constitution, the 2014 confab cannot be said to be good enough.
Also, there were divergent views on whether the report was a true statement of what transpired at the confab. Some people kicked, saying that it was skewed in favour of some people. So, there is uncertainty about the report. I am not canvassing for another confab. If not that the National Assembly is docile, by now we should have evolved a constitution that people would prefer to the 2014 confab. Unfortunately, the lawmakers started a process but I don’t know how they allowed the confab to hijack it.
Rev. Emmanuel Gbonigi ( Chairman, Yoruba Unity Forum)
It did not make sense when President Muhammadu Buhari said he does not want to have anything to do with the report of the National Conference. It was strange when he said that he would archive it. Buhari should know that he is the President of the whole country. The conference was demanded by the people of Nigeria. Of course, there were people who did not believe in the idea but the majority eventually had their way, forcing ex-President Goodluck Jonathan to bow to the pressure.
The fact that President Buhari did not support it does not mean he should not accept it. Look at his emergence as the President of the county. It was not all Nigerians that supported and voted for him. But following his electoral success, he has become the President of even those who did not vote for him. Nobody can deny that he is the President on the basis that he or she did not support his candidature. That is how democracy works.
The second reason the President should not dismiss the report is that the conference cost Nigeria billions of naira to organise. The economy is currently in recession, and some of the decisions reached were targeted at positioning the economy for a sustainable growth.
Buhari cannot dismiss the report of a conference, which public resources were used to organise because he did not support the idea. To allow that amount of money to be wasted would be immoral and unethical. And anything that is immoral is corrupt. I am sure that Buhari would not want to be associated with that.
Dr. Abiola Akinyode-Afolabi (Founding Director, Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre/delegate to the 2014 National Conference)
The current situation in the country is a call on the government to value any national document that has, at any point in time, addressed any cogent issue relating to nation-building.
Amongst existing national reports, the 2014 National Conference report stands out as a document that spells out the solutions to the current socio-economic crisis. Such a report should not be discountenanced. It should not because it addresses some of the issues bothering Nigerians. It addresses restructuring, constitution review, palliative measures for the challenging economic crisis and the insecurity in the country.
The report formulates a pathway to nation-building. So, it should not be ignored by the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Prof. Alphonsus Nwosu (A former Minister of Health)
Those who have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to revisit the report of the National Conference are nationalists, not enemies of the government. It is in the interest of the country to examine their views. About 500 people met to take serious decisions on the future of the country via the report. So, the government would not do itself a favour if it does not consider the report, especially in line with the recent clamour for restructuring.
I really don’t know the basis of the fear of some people when they hear the word restructuring. The fact is that we either restructure or we perish. Some people think that restructuring is about splitting the country into regions. That is not what restructuring is all about. There is too much power, too much responsibility and too much money at the centre. The Federal Government has no business sinking boreholes. There is no Federal Government that does that anywhere in the world. This is why we have over 8,300 abandoned projects, requiring N2tn to complete, in different parts of the country.
Restructuring means giving the centre the minimum responsibilities and also giving the federating units minimum responsibilities they can execute. In that case, there would be no nonsense called the local government areas as they currently are. Restructuring is not regionalism. States are not regions but federating units. It means the Federal Government has no reason taking over 40 per cent from the Federation Account. It also means that the Minister of Finance would not be in Abuja to share money to states. Rather, he or she would be receiving money from the states.
Which federation does not have a state police? People have forgotten that the native authority police predated the Nigeria Police Force. The United States we love using as a benchmark has state police. But in Nigeria, it is only the federal police. And some people have complained that Katsina State alone has produced four Inspectors-General of Police while state such as Anambra has not even had a deputy IGP. There is too much injustice, which was the essence of the confab.
The decisions reached at the conference were taken unanimously; there was no voting by the representatives of different regions. Maybe some people have reassessed what they benefit from the current structure and have changed their minds.
How can the Federal Government be giving states bailouts? Have you ever heard that any other country is doing that? I think some people sit on a pot of meat, which they do not want to give up. Hence, they do not want the President to implement the report of the conference.
(Compiled by Geoff Iyatse)