The Third Republic Governor of Anambra State, Chukwuemeka Ezeife, in this interview with ALLWELL OKPI, speaks on the relevance of the proposed national conference to the future of Nigeria
What is your opinion on the national conference that has been proposed by President Goodluck Jonathan?
I believe the national conference is exactly what we need. That is what will bring the transformation we need now. If President Goodluck Jonathan pulls it off, he will be the greatest President of Nigeria.
Some people have questioned the motive behind the proposal and the timing, saying it is a political gimmick, considering that it is coming less than two years to the 2015 elections?
With the way things are in the country, do you think we can have a free, fair and peaceful election? It is only the national dialogue that will make the 2015 elections feasible. By 2015, we shall have reached an agreement on how we want to live. There will be less pressure on the 2015 presidency. As it is now, it is do-or-die for some people; even holding the elections is in doubt. And in my opinion, if we don't finish the dialogue in time, it might be wise to postpone the 2015 elections and complete the dialogue. We may give two extra years to incumbent governors and President. By the time the decisions of the conference have been approved through a referendum and they comes into force, everything will be fresh. There will be a new constitution; the people contesting will know how many years they will spend in office per term; the legislature may be trimmed to one chamber or we might find other ways for citizens' representation. When the permanency of Nigeria is established, the struggle for political offices will reduce.
Considering that some sections of the country are not interested in the national conference, and some individuals and groups have said they will boycott it, do you think Nigerians can actually agree at the conference?
We have no choice. If all ethnic groups in the country look at their long-term interest, they will see that that it is better to have one Nigeria perfected. Some people say the country will disintegrate, I disagree. But all ethnic groups must present their interests. Nigerians should give up their temporary advantage to gain a permanent advantage. I hear some people say the conference is unconstitutional. My question is; what is constitution? Constitution is what the people make. What if the people choose to make another one? I don't know where the brain wave came from; some people saying it should be left for the National Assembly. The National Assembly is a creation of the people. The lawmakers are agents of the people. They can only repair the cracks in the wall, but the people can rebuild the wall if they want. If you look at our history, we Nigerians have not made any decision by ourselves for our future. And that is what is coming now.
Aren't you surprised that the strongest opposition to the conference seems to be from the South-West?
No. The people of the South-West are the strongest supporters of dialogue. Don't mind some people who have some temporary advantage, that are making statements in the press. The South-West people are the most enlightened and they are the ones backing the dialogue the most. They have developed a roadmap for the country and for themselves. They are ready to integrate their region, the way South-South, South-East should. The fact is that the current structure, where we have 36 states or federating units, is unviable. We should have fewer federating units for meaningful development. We can start with the six geopolitical zones that we have. Or, we can make them into 12 geopolitical zones that will have their own police, apart from the national police. We can then develop ideas on how to ensure equity.
Another aspect that is worrisome to some people is that the resolutions of the conference would be passed on to the National Assembly. With that, do you think the conference, which will not be sovereign, is worth the time and energy that will be spent on it?
I think it is an illegitimate assumption that the people will meet, develop their decisions; get draftsmen to produce a constitution and then submit their decision to their own agent; their own boys and girls, whom they put in the National Assembly. It is not possible. If the decisions of the national conference will go back to the National Assembly, there will be no use at all to hold the national conference. But we don't have to have it as sovereign before it will stand. What we need to do is to prepare the modalities for the conference to include what happens after the conference. We don't have to have a sovereign national conference for the decision of the people to stand. We just need to go through the normal process of constitution making; then we empanel draftsmen to draft the constitution, starting with 'we the people of Nigeria'. After that, the constitution will go through the process of a referendum and what comes out of it will be final. The problem is how to organise the referendum properly. We don't need the involvement of the National Assembly. Anybody who wants the National Assembly to be involved has an ulterior motive. I heard my friend Tanko Yakassai, saying the decisions of the conference will go to the National Assembly, with the hope that the National Assembly will remove parts of the resolutions that will not favour his part of the country, since they are the majority in the National Assembly. The military had structured the country to give advantage to the areas where most of the military heads of state came from and Yakassai is from the same region. So, what he is saying is that when the Nigerian people are done, those who have an advantage created by the military will sit on the people's decisions. I'm happy that some people are complaining on that grounds but they cannot condemn the idea of dialogue.
But can the national dialogue solve fundamental problems such as corruption?
Let me give you an example; if we have a regional government for the South-East for example, and we get an allocation due to the region or generate some money from within, we will not allow the governor or premier to embezzle it because we would be able to identify with the money as our own. When we identify the region's money as our own, you can't embezzle it and go free; some people will kill you on the highway. That is one way it can reduce corruption. The police will be zonal and they will understand the language of the people in their zone. There will be more synergy in dealing with situations by the police. There are two main advantages. One is the economy of scale; we can give ourselves power, we can solve ecological problems. Transport problems, water problems, etc., are better dealt with at the zonal level. Number two; there will be competition. As it is now, no state is competing with any other state. But in those days, the Premier of the Eastern Region, Michael Opara, was competing with Ahmadu Bello of the Northern Region. Obafemi Awolowo of the Western Region was competing with Opara. These competitions helped develop the regions. The national conference is not a magic wand, but it can help set the structure for development of our country. Jonathan is only being used by God to bring about God's plan of salvation for Nigeria. And let me add that the average people in the South-West are the greatest supporters of the national conference, no matter what any leader or assumed leader may say. I'm qualified to say this. Many of my grandchildren are Yoruba. I was in the Alliance for Democracy and I fought harder for MKO Abiola than any man alive. I know the people. There is no way anybody can tell me that the South-West does not want the national conference.
How can the committee bring all interests together to the roundtable when some people, including major political parties, are planning to boycott it?
Everybody will be at the national conference, but not by label of Boko Haram, or All Progressives Congress, or Peoples Democratic Party, or in the name of any political party or religious group. The only ones who will come with labels are unions like the Nigeria Labour Congress, and stakeholders in different sectors, but not political parties. Let me add that,this is the time for the press to focus on issues that will promote the unity of the country and not its disintegration.
