A CONFERENCE OF Blackmail (2):Conceptually, the idea of a “sovereign” national conference started in Benin Republic during the era of Kerekou. From there it spread to Niger, DR Congo and the rest. It never took place in any country that is not French–speaking. In the case of Nigeria, today there is an existing elected government, elected parliament and a judiciary. Thus, will there be dual “sovereignties” of an elected government and an unelected body of ethnic champions? Who will convene the conference? Those advocating the national conference are saying it should take place among “ethnic nationalities”; no one has ever said what an ethnic nationality is and when that has become the unit of Nigeria’s federation. It tells a lot about the backwardness of these people that while Europe, with all its diversity, is tending towards unity, these ethnic champions are talking about “tribes”. No wonder they are proud to be called “chiefs”, not knowing that another definition of “chief” is a leader in the tribe of baboons! Let them know that from the former Gongola State, now Adamawa and Taraba states, alone, there are 104 different ethnic groups! By the time the six states of the Yoruba bring one representative while Kaduna State brings 80 representatives, they would start shouting that there is tyranny of the minorities! It is just because these people do not know Nigeria that they are shouting about “conference of ethnic nationalities”. One of the things they keep talking about is the structure of the nation – that the old Northern Region with 72 per cent of the total land mass and about 60 per cent of the population has slight advantages in the number of states and local government areas. These are geographical, political and historical realities. When the old Southern Protectorate had three regions and the north was left as one, no one complained. In any case, from 1967 when Gowon created states, there are no more regions but states as units of the federation. The so-called geopolitical zones are now being deliberately used by the federal government in appointments to statutory bodies. This is not only illegal but unconstitutional. There are no geopolitical zones in the constitution but states. And if there are going to be any regions based on the geopolitical zones, they cannot be six because that will be inequitable, totally unfair and very unjust. The best thing is to use the states as recognized by the constitution because, already, many are being shortchanged with these illegal zones. It has also become fashionable for some people to talk about “their” oil because they happen to be “oil-producing” states. There is no problem with that, even though there is no human effort for the oil that is there. As a convinced federalist, I am not against even 100 per cent control of all the resources available in each state by the states. But, like the airspace, what is in the sea should belong to the whole country. This is the best way to harness other resources since oil is becoming less strategic and is now available everywhere. The greatest asset of any nation is its people. The second greatest asset after the people is land. These two assets are what the area now being held in contempt by those with a finite resource called “oil” has in abundance. Land has always been the greatest resource apart from people. That is why it is important for those who have land or who hold land in trust to consider it very precious. For thousands of years now, land is not being created. Everyone knows where to get energy or other raw materials but land, especially fertile land as we have here, is scarce. Forget about oil, which will finish anyway and which virtually everyone now has in any case. Forget about the sea which, by international convention, every country must have access to, even if it is landlocked. Hold what you have dearly: land for agriculture and people for overall development. We have tried to understand what this so-called national conference is all about. We have tried to understand its meaning, its implications, and how it applies to the given national circumstance we are in now. Whether it is a political idea or it has political aim, we are now ready for it. If any section of Nigeria thinks it has monopoly of grievances or it can hold the rest to ransom, then, it is in for a big surprise – a shocker even. After all, as Bismarck said, politics is the art of the possible. And we are ready for the possible and inevitable. Two are always more than one for the mechanic of history and thus for the mechanical politician. And there is no historical event in the world that cannot be judged from two points of view. In the name of an ambition that is yet to be clear, in the name of a conference that is yet to be possible, no one can continue to insult, threaten, abuse, intimidate, blackmail and antagonize any one. The goal of the blackmail is insufficient from a national standpoint, unsatisfactory from a political point of view, impossible from a folkish standpoint with its eye on the future, and insane from the viewpoint of its consequences. History is always on the side of the oppressed.-Abba Mahmoud.Thursday column.Leadership Newspaper.
Posted on: Sat, 12 Oct 2013 09:42:47 +0000
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