It does not matter if the substance of Obasanjo's inaugural speech at the International Conference Centre Abuja last Monday was essentially the same speech he delivered to the Constitutional Conference in 1977 or the same as General Abacha delivered to the Military Constitutional Conference which produced the document currently governing governance at Abuja, it was indeed Obasanjo's best. In delivery, in style, in body language, and in clarity, it was the best speech Obasanjo ever made since he emerged into the public arena in 1976.The tone of that speech and the assemblage that received it left no one in doubt that Obasanjo meant the Confab to be a serious affair. And one should commend the Federal Government for succeeding in convincing so many heavy weights in our polity, including virtually all living former heads of State, in spite of the several misgivings and serious opposition to the government sponsored Dialogue. Be that as it may, rumours are already flying about concerning the Enabling Act governing the Conference especially in the area of 'NO GO AREAS!' If the rumour mills were to be believed, the Confab may not go beyond a mere 'Talk shop' or at best, the guttural sound of Obasanjo's pipe, the pipers being no other than the puppeteers teleguidedly chosen by state liaison officers of the ruling People's Democratic Party, with sprinkles from the All Nigeria Peoples Party and 'also rans' from the unrepentant Alliance for Democracy.But we should dismiss rumours and accord dignity and respect to the several respectable individuals, who, regardless of the manner in which they were chosen, are distinguished men and women in their own right.We cannot ignore a parade of the likes of radical intellectual Omafume Onoge, fire-spitting strategist Ebenezer Babatope, irrepressible Kukah, no-nonsense legal luminary Afe Babalola, the petrel ideologue Arthur Nwankwo, philosopher - lawyer Oladosu Oladipo, and the seasoned Umaru Dikko, Dr. Tahir and Uba Ahmed amongst several other leading lights in our community. In a nutshell, we are saying that the calibre of the men and women assembled to shape the future of Nigeria gives some comfort.However, if the stamp of approval that will eventually give authority to the recommendations of the wise men and women has already decided that it would not entertain any thought on the form of government other than presidential, or that Abuja would forever remain the father Xmas that would continue to discretionally dish out what goes into states' beggar bowls, then the Confab is doomed from the start. But we wanted a Confab. Nigeria had needed a genuine Confab since the Military terminated the nation's life-line in 1966. In that year 1966, the Military murdered sleep in Nigeria. In that year, the Military destroyed the tripod which had beautifully and successfully carried the weight of Nigeria. In that year the Military snatched the breasts of the economically, socially, and politically viable regions, and took their nourishing milk to the centre and thus began the systematic and systemic starvation of the regions, the ill-conceived children of the regions called states, and the complete strangulation of the grand children (the baby states) of the hitherto flourishing regions. The Northern region once ably governed by the unforgettable Sir Ahmadu Bello is now being administered by 19 governors, and a retinue of Commissioners, special advisers, special assistants, private secretaries and Secretaries to private desires. The same goes for the Western, Eastern and Mid Western regions. The legendary Obafemi Awolowo's region now carries the burden of 8 governors! Nigeria today spends well over 80 per cent of all its earnings on less than 2 per cent of the population which litters government offices, parastatals, and 'come-and-chop' departments of the hugely corrupt political system. But before going into whether we should group all the ethnic nationalities into viable six regions, we should first of all negotiate our terms of marriage; the marriage which Britain foisted on our amicable relationships prior to 1860. We should agree on equality of partnerships. The Izion man should see himself as an equal to the Fulani, and the TIV an equal of the Yoruba person.We move from this basic position of equality to define the kind of union we want as federating units. We agree on the sovereignty of each federating nationality, and the surrender of part of that sovereignty to collective or federal defence system, federal foreign policy, federal currency, and federal flag. Beyond that, every federating region retains its self-determination, and develops at its own pace while contributing to the national pool for the effective discharge of the functions that may be assigned to the centre.Nigeria will not survive with the debilitating administrative charges imposed on itself by these huge numbers of states, and the senselessly large bureaucracy at the Centre. The duplication or triplication or even quadruplication of functions is staggering.Another nonsense that should be jettisoned is this ill-digested, money-guzzling, winner-takes-all Presidential system which the 1977-78 Constitution decreed for Nigeria. The Presidential system which is a euphemism for plutocratic oligarchy makes it possible for a man flatly rejected at the polls by his own people to be appointed a Minister by a Mr. President to fill the slot of the very people who have rejected him.In a parliamentary democracy, you never become a Minister unless you have been endorsed by your own people at the polls as a Member of Parliament. And the Prime Minister is just the first among equals. He is the leader of the majority party in Parliament, and would not need to mortgage the nation's treasury in his search for votes. What wins elections in a parliamentary democracy is the PARTY'S Manifesto, and the man who best articulates that manifesto. Parliamentary democracy recognises and enthrones a healthy opposition and a healthy debate in parliament. There is a daily and sustained open atmosphere for accountability and transparency.The problem with Nigeria has been that of a wobbled structure. A structure that produced a situation whereby a Lieutenant General in the nation's military would be prostrating for a major! As I had argued in previous discussions on the National Question, the problem with Nigeria was not simply that of leadership. If it was merely a leadership problem, the removal of those considered as bad leaders should have ended our problems.We thought the Innocent Tafawa Balewa was a 'bad' leader, we killed him. What followed' Another set of bad leaders emerged. We slaughtered them. What followed' Another set of bad leadership. We sent them into exile. What followed' Another set of bad leaders. We sent them to prison terms ranging from 20 years to 400 years! What followed' We had thought that with the alleged poisoning of General Abacha, suspected state sponsored murders and assassinations would disappear. What followed'The names of the wise men and women inaugurated by President Obasanjo would remain indelible in our memories if they can succeed in RESTRUCTUING our hydra-headed polity.As long as this structure which consigns 80 per cent of our earnings as a people to the absolute control of and disbursement by less than 1 per cent, this country shall continue to wallow in corruption and mass poverty. And the current tenants of state houses should not let their myopic and selfish considerations distort broad interests of Nigeria's future. They should remember where they were 8 years ago, and think of where they would be 8 years hence! This Confab is not about Obasanjo, Ngige or Shekarau. It is about Nigeria. Nigeria. Nigeria!First published by Tola Adeniyi in Tribune Feb 2005abasaheed@yahoo.ca Texts only 0815 262 7847
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