On October 13, 1999, barely five months after he was inaugurated senator, Mr Femi Okurounmu moved a motion on the floor of the upper legislative chamber, seeking the convocation of a national conference in the country, to address salient issues. In the motion, the former senator asked the Senate to consider the convening of a National Conference on True Federalism towards a review of the 1999 Constitution. Chuba Okadigbo, who succeeded Evan Enwerem as Senate President, upon assumption of office in 2000, constituted the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution and made Mr. Okurounmu a member. The Committee later became part of the Joint National Assembly Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution. In 2001, Mr. Okurounmu served a notice on the Senate about the plan by him and eight other senators to sponsor a fresh motion on the floor of the Senate, seeking the convocation of a national conference. The eight senators were: (a) Arthur Nzeribe (Imo West) (b) Ike Nwachukwu (Abia North) (c) Jim Nwobodo (Enugu East) (d) Tokunbo Afikuyomi (Lagos Central) (e) Afolabi Olabimtan (Ogun West) (f) Sunday Fajimi (Osun West) (g) Emmanuel Diffa (Bayelsa West) (h) Melford Okilo (Bayelsa East) They titled the notice “Motion that the Senate should mandate the Joint Committee on the National Assembly on the Review of the 1999 Constitution to convene a National Conference as a necessary part of the process in its Review Exercise, and to forward the motion, if passed, to the House of Representatives for concurrence.” He also recalled that apart from receiving the support of the former Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations, Emeka Anyaoku, the agitation of a national dialogue had received unreserved support of the second meeting of the Tradition Rulers and Leaders of Thought from the six geo-political zones. On June 12, 2001, on the eight anniversary of the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, the debate on Mr. Okurounmu notice came up, but its consideration almost led to a rowdy session induced by opponents of a National Conference in the country. His colleagues, notably late Senator Afolabi Olabimtan (AD, Ogun West) made significant, but failed attempt to have it scale through. When the then Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim, who is the current SGF, put it to vote on whether the motion should be taken or not, Mr. Olabimtan and other AD senators present in the session, laboured unsuccessfully against striking it out. Although their action indeed demonstrated strong support for Mr. Okurounmu, they were overwhelmed by their colleagues who were in the majority and who subsequently shut it down. As Mr. Olabimtan later explained in a statement he issued on June 14, 2001, “There is no doubt that the majority shall always have its way, but the minority in a democracy should be allowed to have its say…. But Mr. Okunrounmu was not deterred. On March 7, 2002, he made another deft move by bringing up, this time, a bill on the issue. It was titled, “AN ACT TO MAKE PROVISIONS FOR CONVENING OF A NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE PEOPLES OF NIGERIA FOR PURPOSES OF PREPARING A CONSTITUTION FOR CONSIDERATION AND ADOPTION BY THE PEOPLE OF NIGERIA AT A REFERENDUM AND MATTERS ANCILLARY THERETO.” The former senator successfully got the Senate Committee on Rules and Procedure headed by Dalhatu Tafida, the current Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, to list the motion for first reading at the plenary session. Mr. Okunrounmu, and many senators, including Olabiyi Durojaiye (Ogun East) and late Mr. Olabimton, voted for it, but again the motion failed to scale through the first reading, even though the senator and his supporters stood courageously behind the bill. Curiously, Mr. Nzeribe, who was one of the eight senators that signed the earlier notice to the Senate on the issue, led the onslaught against the bill. The maverick former senator produced a document against the bill and lobbied his colleagues to back him in his surprise bid. The death of the bill, particularly Mr. Nzeribe’s betrayal, was devastating to the pro-conference senator. In a statement he gave this reporter, who was then covering the Senate, Mr Okurounmu explained, “IT IS ON RECORD THAT I EFFECTIVELY REBUTTED EVERY POINT OF ORDER OR CONSTITUTION THAT WAS RAISED AGAINST THE BILL, AND THE BILL WAS ONLY KILLED BECAUSE OF THE FIXED NEGATIVE MINDSET OF MANY SENATORS, AS WAS GLARINGLY EXHIBITED BY SENATOR NZERIBE’S PREJUDICIAL DOCUMENT WHICH HE HAD CIRCULATED TO ALL SENATORS AND HONOURABLE MEMBERS (OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES) AS SOON AS THE BILL WAS CIRCULATED, CANVASSING THAT THE BILL SHOULD NOT BE ENTERTAINED. “It is also important that the public be informed that the bill was actually the product of some of the best minds in Nigeria – The Patriots –and I was mandated by the Senate President to sponsor it since I have consistently and unrelentingly associated myself with the contents.” Regrettably, Mr Okurounmu left the upper legislative chamber in May 2003, after spending four years, without realizing his dream of having the nation to dialogue, no thanks to the stern opposition of most of his colleagues to it. But with Mr. Jonathan’s nod to a national dialogue and Mr. Okurounmu’s choice as head of the Advisory Committee, the former senator appears set to have the last laugh. premiumtimesng/news/145843-analysis-femi-okurounmu-and-his-relentless-battle-for-national-conference.html
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 15:48:34 +0000
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