Connect with us

Politics

Sovereign National Conference And Nigeria’s Polity

Published

on

If they want to initiate moves to breakup the country, fine, if they want to secede and form their own Oduduwa Republic or the MOSSOB people want to re-enact the Biafran tragedy, they are welcome to it. But they should know that it is not going to be their own decision only; it is going to be the decision of all Nigerians.”

These were the words of social critic and second Republic parliamentarian, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, who, by his closeness to the corridors of power in Nigeria in a long while, and attachment to governance can unarguably be regarded as an elder-statesman. He spoke at a recent meeting he convened on the nagging issue of Sovereign National Conference (SNC).

Put subtly, Mohammed expressed the opinion that those who clamour for a SNC are doing so out of their selfish interest, either to favour themselves, or the group they represent as against the idea that it is in the interest of the country at large.

In an interview in “The Sun” of March 4, 2012,  Mohammed hinted that having an SNC is not a wrong idea but that all key stakeholders in the Nigerian State must be given an opportunity to be represented, if for nothing, to avoid a reoccurrence of the 1967 to 1970 Nigerian Civil War.

According to Mohammed, “Where an issue has become a national issue, rightly or wrongly, whether the issue has been properly defined at all, and we are at the risk of being dragged or pushed to slip into another Civil War, without knowing it, I think anybody of conscience, especially those of us who are young men, we have a responsibility to say, ‘look, yes here I am, if this is a valid and meaningful discussion, I will participate.’

Consequently, he said “let us go ahead to have the conference, but I want to warn every Nigerian that what they call Sovereign National Conference is nothing but a complete transfer of power from the current leaders of the executive branch, from the legislative and even certain judicial powers to the SNC, which will be sovereign, it will be the ultimate authority in the land.”

Part of Mohammed’s grievance over the call for a SNC stems from his belief that proponents of the conference consulted Balarabe Musa, who allegedly spoke as a representative of the Northern Nigeria.

“That, to me, showed the level of duplicity and audacity of this people and those behind the calls for the SNC. If you want people to be represented, you look for their genuine representatives, the genuine people who speak for them.

“Whether what they say is pleasant or not, you know that they are speaking for some people. If you speak to a rather nobody like Balarabe Musa, then he will speak for nobody. Then when it suits you, you say that Balarabe Musa is representing the North, and when it does not suit you, you say the North does not like SNC.”

On record, proponents of the call for an SNC express the belief that the National Assembly, made up of the Senate and House of Representatives, as constituted, will be incapable to come up with a truly representative Nigerian constitution which would comprehensively address the anomalies in the Nigerian State, hence the call for an SNC, which they believe, will be more representative of all facets of the Nigerian populace.

They say from decisions that would be reached at the proposed conference, an improved federal constitution will be drafted from the 1999 edition.

However, renowned legal luminary, Chief Ricahrd Akinjide, thought otherwise; according to him, “people think as long as you change the constitution, things will change. I don’t accept that, I think that is nonsense.

“The fault is not in the constitution, it is in the people.” He gave credence to the Chinese constitution, saying as small as it is, it takes care of a far higher population than Nigeria.

“Go and look at the Chinese constitution, it is a very small document, and is being used to govern 1.4 billion people so, even if you summon another conference and write a new constitution, can you tell me it is going to work?”

The major problem, Akinjide said, is that “Nigeria is just a country, not a nation.”

This, he explained, is because “you have people shouting they want Yoruba President, they want Igbo President, and they want Northern President. Why don’t we say we want a Nigerian President?

“No matter from which part of the country he or she comes from, until we see ourselves as brothers and sisters, this nation cannot move forward.

“The problem we have is that when somebody from another section is the President, another person is agitating and wanting the President to come from their area as if the other President is not elected by the people of the country,” he said.

This, to a large extent, adds credence to the activities of the Boko Haram sect with base in the North, which has produced the greatest number of the country’s leadership from independence in 1960. Boko Haram’s initial grudge was against Western education including its development paradigm, which they claim was inimical to their existence and why they would prefer a Sharia country.

Currently, they claim their actions are necessitated by apparent poverty in the North, warranted by unjust revenue allocation, as alleged recently by Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, with full backing by northern governors as clearly enunciated by Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State. He said his state got between N2.4bn and N4.5bn monthly allocation, while some others got 20 times the amount.

Therefore, “it will not serve any useful purpose if some parts are not doing well while others are doing exceptionally well,” hence “the pressure from Boko Haram will continue until we are able to find a solution.”

The question, therefore, is how will this solution, or whatever solution for that matter, come if there is no opportunity for dialogue by the Nigerian populace which constitute the sovereignty of the country?

Meanwhile, the Senate says any quest for a change in the political configuration of the country must be pursued through members of the National Assembly because it must follow stipulations of the constitution, particularly Section 9, which prescribed how the constitution may be amended.

However, The sun, as quoted earlier, disagrees with this stand in its editorial, saying “We disagree with the position of the Senate that Nigerians can only dialogue on the way forward and the best political configuration for the country through the politicians in the National Assembly.

“This preposterous idea stands on its head. Sovereignty without any equivocation belongs to the people, and not the politicians in the National Assembly. Election of politicians as representatives of the people in the National Assembly does not in any way limit Nigerians’ right to self-expression and self-determination. Legislators should be subject to the wishes of the Nigerian people, and not the other way round. Any view contrary to this is an affront on democracy.”

Senator Pius Akpor Ewherido, representing Delta Central Senatorial District seems to have this in mind when he said in The Nation of Thursday, March 15, that “the democratic institutions that you see are not as free as you look at them. So you cannot just come up and say it should be as it is in the constitution.

“The provisions in the constitution are being flouted daily and nothing is happening.”

There could not have been a better picture than the fore-going that the issue about the SNC is not whether it should hold, but  how best it can  be held in such a way that decisions will  truly represent all facets of the Nigerian state, without prejudice to any personal interest seem to be the crux of the matter, and on which concentration should be focused for a better Nigeria.

Continue Reading

Politics

Reps Constitution Review Committee Holds Zonal Hearing For Rivers, C’River, Akwa Ibom In Calabar

Published

on

In a renewed effort to deepen Nigeria’s constitutional democracy, the House of Representatives Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution has announced the commencement of its Zonal and National Public Hearings across the country.

A press statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Cross River State Governor, Mr Linus Obogo, disclosed that the Calabar Centre — designated as Centre B — will host representatives and stakeholders from Cross River, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom States.

The public hearing is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at the Transcorp (Metropolitan) Hotel, Calabar.

The initiative, according to the statement, is designed to promote inclusive dialogue and capture the aspirations of Nigerians from all regions.

It aims to serve as a platform for citizens to contribute meaningfully to the ongoing national efforts to refine and strengthen the country’s legal and institutional frameworks.

“Citizens, civil society groups, professional bodies, traditional rulers, and other interest blocs are invited to participate in this landmark engagement aimed at advancing a more just, equitable, and responsive Nigerian Constitution,” the statement read.

The hearing forms part of the broader review process of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and is seen as a strategic move toward fostering national unity and addressing structural legal issues within the federation.

 

Continue Reading

Politics

Tinubu’s Contribution To Buhari’s Presidency Marginal – Ex-SGF

Published

on

Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, has stirred fresh political controversy by dismissing claims that President Bola Tinubu was highly instrumental to former President Muhammadu Buhari’s emergence in 2015 after the merger of political parties that formed the All Progressives Congress (APC).

For the first time since 2022, when then-presidential aspirant Alhaji Bola Tinubu declared he made former President Buhari Nigeria’s President in 2015, Mr Mustapha dismissed the claims, stressing that the merger only contributed about three million votes in addition to Buhari’s existing 12 million votes in the North.

He insisted that former President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to the breakthrough, not the three million votes from the merging parties, which he described as insignificant.

Speaking on the role of the merging parties, particularly President Tinubu, the leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr Mustapha, who was the keynote speaker at the launch of the book ‘According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesman’s Experience’ authored by Mallam Garba Shehu, described the impact of the votes from other merging parties as very insignificant.

In attendance were former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, chair of the event; immediate past Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; SGF George Akume, who represented President Tinubu; PDP’s 2023 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar; former Chief of Staff to Buhari Ibrahim Gambari; elder statesman Babagana Kingibe; former governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Chris Ngige (Anambra), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Raji Babatunde Fashola (Lagos); former ministers Solomon Dalung and Sunday Dare; former Army Chief Tukur Buratai, and Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu’s spokesman, among others.

According to Mr Mustapha, “I do not intend to stir up any controversy. The merger in 2013 was midwifed to create a Buhari presidency. Let us look at the statistics. In the 2003 election, it was the Obasanjo-Buhari presidential contest where Buhari recorded 12.7 million votes. In 2007, it came to 6.6 million, and it went back to 12.2 million in 2011.

“When we were conceptualising the merger, what would give us a headstart? Obviously, it was at the back of our consciousness that the merger with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), though it had only one state, the ACN had six states, ANPP three states, and when you sum up the total votes that we had as the presidency in 2015, the aggregate of the total votes was 15.4 million.

“So, basically, what we brought to the table after the merger outside the Buhari 12.5 million votes was three million. Before turning to that presidency, it is important to recognise the former President’s role in reshaping Nigeria’s political trajectory.

“In early 2013, as the leader of the CPC, Buhari formally requested and supported the creation of a CPC merger committee, part of a broader coalition-building process that brought together the ACN, ANPP, APGA faction, and elements of the ruling party through the breakaway ‘new PDP’ group. His endorsement and participation, along with other party leaders such as President Tinubu and Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, lent credibility and direction to the merger, helping to unify disparate party factions under the banner of the APC. That coalition-building paved the way for the first democratic defeat of an incumbent ruling party in Nigeria’s history.

“President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to that breakthrough. No account of President Buhari’s tenure would be complete without acknowledging the extended periods he spent on medical leave. These moments, while politically delicate, were also telling of his leadership philosophy and personality,” he said.

In his remarks, President Tinubu promised to build on the legacies of former President Buhari, stressing that “nation-building is a relay. The efforts of one administration lay the foundation for the next.

“In this regard, I acknowledge the efforts of my predecessor, President Buhari, and assure all Nigerians that the reform-oriented path he initiated will be consolidated and strengthened under this administration. Our Renewed Hope Agenda is inspired by the desire to build a resilient, just, and inclusive Nigeria—a nation that delivers dividends of democracy to all its citizens”.

Continue Reading

Politics

Your Lies Chasing Investors From Nigeria, Omokri Slams Obi

Published

on

Former Presidential aide, Mr Reno Omokri, has accused Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, of spreading false information about Nigeria’s debt profile, claiming it is deterring foreign investors from the country.

Speaking during an appearance on live television on Wednesday, Mr Omokri alleged that Mr Obi’s statements were misleading and damaging to the country’s economic prospects.

Mr Omokri said some investors currently operating in Nigeria were considering exiting the market due to Mr Obi’s remarks.

“That is not true. He doesn’t rile me up. I rile him up. The reason why I came here is because I’m a patriot. Peter Obi lied. You know, foreign direct investors are watching your programme, who are making investment decisions not to come to Nigeria. There are foreign investors in Nigeria that are making investment decisions to leave Nigeria because of the lie he told.

“One of the lies he told is that President Tinubu has borrowed more than the administrations of Yar’Adua, Jonathan, Buhari. That is a blatant lie”, Mr Omokri said.

To buttress his claims, Mr Omokri referenced figures from the Debt Management Office (DMO), maintaining that President Tinubu had actually reduced Nigeria’s external debt burden since assuming office.

“I have here with me data from the Debt Management Office, and Nigerians who are watching can go to DMO.com and search Debt Management Office, Nigeria State of Indebtedness 2015.

“As of 2015, Nigeria was owing a total of $63 billion. When Buhari was leaving office, Nigeria was owing $113 billion. Today, from the DMO, our debt has gone from $113 billion to $97 billion, meaning that Tinubu has reduced our debt by over $14 billion.

“We should be appreciating this man. Yet Peter Obi came here and lied to the Nigerian people. He took the debts and translated them into naira to make it look like the debts have increased”, he said.

 

Continue Reading

Trending