A memorandum presented to the Presidential Advisory Committee on National Dialogue by Oporoza House on 25th October, 2013 PREAMBLE Several questions have been begging for answers on how the Ijaws and the People of the Niger Delta came to be citizens of Nigeria. Did the Ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta actually willingly submit themselves or were they forcefully enslaved by the actions of the British Colonial Government? Lack of answers to these and many more questions have sparked of continuous agitations from the peoples and Nationalities of the Niger Delta. These agitations in recent years have become violent and getting more sophisticated by the day making the people to clamour for a national discourse. The trend is not only causing heavy human losses but it is tending towards bringing about violent demise of Nigeria. It is against this background that we welcome Mr President’s declaration for a National Conference and the follow-up appointment of An Advisory Committee. The Oporoza House, therefore supports the National Conference initiative wholeheartedly, provided it is approached from a perspective that is capable of addressing the myriad of problems intriguing the Nigerian State. BEFORE NIGERIA Who where the Ijaws before Nigeria? Prior to the arrival of the Europeans in their scramble for Africa, the Ijaws were living on their own not being under the suzerainty of any group, local or foreign. They were as independents, relating with their equally independent and contiguous neighbours including the Urhobos, Itsekiris, Binis, Igbos, Ibibios, Ogonis etc in a loose confederation up to the 1880s as illustrated in the attached map of the Lower Niger. Our contact with the Europeans (Portuguese) way back in the 1450s was not as a result of conquest but for purposes of Commerce and trade which were conducted via treaties. Based on these treaties, the Europeans without recourse to us created Protectorates for their administrative conveniences. Using these administrative set ups, they applied a combination of subterfuge and brute force to take partial control of our sovereignty which was surreptitiously transferred to the 1914 immiscible Union of the Northern and Southern Protectorates. This grievous action chained us to an area that is not contiguous with our territory and driven by a different civilization diametrically opposed to ours and we woke up to see our legs chained to several stakes. This we consider an aberration, eccentric, basically anathemic and in the words of Ex-Judge Stocker “is a setback to our level of civilization” resulting in truth replacing falsehood, mediocrity replacing merit and ignorance dethroning knowledge. That Nigeria, documented in the current Constitution is what we reject and our agitation for a Conference is for the purpose of freely negotiating the terms of our relationship in any Union with others. Declassified Colonial records now reveal to us, that the Amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates was essentially an annexation of the South to the North bequeathing the South to the North as a possession thereby enslaving the South including Ijaw People, lands and waters. This was what Ahmadu Bello was celebrating in October 1960, when he declared to his lieutenants; “The new Nation called Nigeria should be an estate of our Great Grand Father Uthman Dan Fodio. We must ruthlessly prevent a change of Power, we use the minorities of the North as willing tools and the South as a conquered territory and never allow them to rule over us and never allow them to have control over their future”, Parrot Newspaper, 12th October, 1960. Looking back in time, Ijaw is sad to report that the present constitutional order emerged as the full materialization of that 1960 Mission Statement/Battle Script of Ahmadu Bello that the North has faithfully upheld to the detriment of the Peoples of the South. WHAT IS REQUIRED FOR THE CONFERENCE In response to the question of Structure, Issues, Procedure and even Legal Procedures for the Conference, Ijaw will insist on an originating discourse with other Ethnic blocs to freely negotiate the basis of any union in a manner that would result in a new charter of relationship {Constitution(s)}. In other words we agree with the position of Afenifere that the Conference should answer a first question of whether we still want to continue in the union or not. If the answer is yes, then the terms. The outcome of the Conference must be sacrosanct, ratified by a referendum and not by the existing National Assembly which is a product of falsehood and brutal force. In terms of Procedure, since a Federation presupposes a Union of many Constitutions, just like Nigeria had up to 1966, Ijaw will insist in a process that will first distil constitutions of units that wish to federate before any conference to discuss the terms of federating them. The Procedure must be in two layers in which prospective Federating Units in contiguous formations of their choice will first produce their charter (constitution) which may be subsequently federated in the second layer of the Conference involving other blocs equally armed with their own Charters. Anything short of this will reinforce the unitary basis of the current Nigeria. The time frame to accomplish these should not be driven by any programmes based on the present Constitution including the elections previously planned for 2015, reason being that this Constitution is the sole subject of the controversy that the proposed Conference seeks to resolve. The outcome of the Conference would determine when elections will hold. It could be earlier than 2015 or later depending on how we all proceed. While the beneficiaries and defenders of the current order, are at liberty to premise their suggestions on current structures including Wards, Local Governments, States, Senatorial zones, Geo-political zones, Federal Constituencies and all other dubious derivatives of the fraudulent old order, and as we approach the expiration of the 100yrs life span of the 1914 Amalgamation, midnight 31st December, 2013, our priority at this stage is to intensify our consultations and discussions amongst ourselves and with our contiguous neighbours in pursuit of a charter to federate ourselves into a bloc that would engage other blocs if and when they turn up with their own Charter. If they don’t, then we have no choice other than to formalise our Charter into Legal Existential framework. Regarding the legal framework, the irreducible minimum is that the outcome of both stages of the Conference can only be ratified by the people in a referendum in exercise of their sovereignty. This will confer absolute legitimacy and unquestionable legality on the outcome (Constitution), as such will be autonomous. The suggestion that the decisions arrived at, at the Conference should go to the National Assembly for ratification is like suggesting that the Judges of a Community be appointed from among the ranks of convicted thieves. CONCLUSION In conclusion, it is our view that whatever else it does, the Advisory Committee would have succeeded in its task if; (1) It distils the issues to be discussed in a manner that translates into an uninhibited wholesale renegotiation of the being and terms of the Nigerian Union by the ethnic Nationalities of Nigeria both in CONTENT and PROCESS. (2) It distils a representation pattern that neither leans upon the current imposed structures nor upon the mostly amorphous and indeterminate ethnic units but rather in formations that will first produce the Federating Charters that would eventually be federated afresh. (3) It works a legitimization, legalization and ratification process for the outcome of the Conference in a manner that is anchored fully on the sanctity of the Sovereignty that vest in the people as against current claims by impostors and thus justify a new preamble of “We the People” and not “We the parliament” We therefore, pray that the Father Almighty guides you through this arduous and onerous task of making Nigeria a better place where equity, justice and fair play become the central theme of our co-existence if we come out in one piece from this proposed national discourse.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 15:24:32 +0000
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