Sunday Musings: South-Western Delegates -or Delegates from the South-West/Yoruba Nigeria - and Other Matters About the Upcoming National Conference by Mobolaji E. Aluko, PhD alukome@gmail Sunday March 9, 2014 __________________________________________________________________________________________________ My People: Within the past week, an official list of 492/494 delegates to the upcoming National Conference - sans APC delegates - was released by the Federal Government, in twenty-six categories ranging from Elder Statespersons to Conference Leaders. They are expected to be formally inaugurated on Monday March 17, 2014. A number of observations on the list are in order: 1. Only 88 of the 492 nominated delegates are women - 17.9% - which is a far cry from the 33% minimum that our women clamor for. To make amends without kicking any already-nominated persons out requires that we add 114 women and no more men to the list -or roughly average of 4.5 women per category. We should consider doing just that - but apologize first for the oversight. 2. Our Yoruba cousins the Itsekiri do not have a single delegate in the list, as well as the Ogoni - and now the Itsekiri are threatening to secede, courtesy the feisty Chief (Mrs.) Rita-Lori Ogbebor . No Rita, no Sagay, no Jemide, no Okorodudu, etc, or even the Olu of Warri/Itsekiri himself in the list? Well, I dont blame the Chief Madam, despite secession being inconveniently on the No-Go list of the conference. If such amajor minority ethnic group as the Itsekiri - with so much oil being found on their territory - could not be accommodated among the twenty-six categories, I cannot imagine how many other ethnic groups have been omitted. This why the un-deployed proposal whereby delegates are allotted by ethnic groups, and each required to fill their quota based on one or more of the twenty-six categories was somewhat meritorious. What is irksome is that of the fifteen delegates chosen specifically for the South-South geopolitical zone (for Socio Political/ Cultural and Ethnic Nationality Groups), one can count about four to six Efik/Ibibio, two to three of us the Ijaw, two or three Ikwerre - but no Itsekiri, and no Ogoni? We should make amends accordingly by expanding the total delegate list - but apologize first for the oversight. 3. There are fifty-two (52) persons listed as Professors in the delegate list, including immediate-past Education Minister Prof. (Mrs.) Ruqqayat Ahmed Rufai and long-past Education minister Jubril Aminu, the latter who, together with another delegate Munzali Jubril was also a former NUC Secretary; one sitting VC (Femi Mimiko of AAU, Akungba); two former VCs (Prof. Akin Oyebode, formerly of the University of Ado-Ekiti; Ishaq Oloyede, formerly of the University of Ilorin); the current Chairman of Nigerias Committee of Pro-Chancellors Kimse Okoko, and the immediate past Executive Secretary of TETFund Prof. Mahmood Yakubu (who is the Conferences Assistant Secretary for Finance and Administration). Surely, this large group of eggheads can form a powerful caucus for (tertiary) Education to ensure the writing into the Constitution of a mandatory minimum of 26% budget outlay on education starting in 2020, with an annual increase of 3% for the next six years from the present miserable 8%? After all, in Egypts latest post-Morsi, referendum-approved Constitution, written in was a mandatory 1% of GDP expenditure on Research and Development in universities: how about that too in Nigeria? 4. Of the 13-Member Presidential Advisory Committee on National Dialogue, six of them, apparently chosen on a geo-political basis (Chairman Dr. Femi Okunrounmu, Secretary Dr. Indabawa, Senator Khairat Gwadabe, Prof. Anya Anya, Col. Tony Nyiam (surprisingly not his replacement Chief Solomon Asemota), and Dr. Siddique Mohammed) are returning as delegates to the Conference proper. Fine - that should give some original intent guidance to the Conference 5. There are 103 delegates (with 24 women) with Yoruba/South-Western roots out of the 492 delegates - see Table 1 below. That is 21% of total delegates and 23% women representation - which are slight under-representations of the 22-33% of the Nigerian population estimated/women required. I believe that the Yoruba can live with that fair representation. Mind you, those 103 people include four Ilorin/Kwara royalty/nobility (two Gambaris, one Saraki, one AbdulRazaq(-Gwadabe)) of dual roots, and a non-Yoruba woman married to a Yoruba delegate (the only known husband-and-wife team in the list is Joe and Yinka Odumakin.) However, what again is irksome is that of the fifteen delegates chosen specifically for the Socio Political/ Cultural and Ethnic Nationality Groups in the South-West geopolitical zone of six states, as many as six delegates are from Ogun State alone (or are Lagosians with strong Ogun connections), and only one each from my state of Ekiti, and from the State of Osun. Is this marginalization a coincidence or what, bearing in mind upcoming gubernatorial elections in the two states? Unfortunately, we are stuck with this uneven arrangement- but there must be better care taken next time - after apologies. 6. I am fully aware that the OVERWHELMING number of delegates were chosen NOT because they come from any particular ethnic group or geopolitical zone. But having been chosen based on their professional or other affiliations, can their ethnic groups of prideful association be completely obliterated in their minds during conference considerations? For example, do we have South-Western (aka Yoruba) Delegates, or merely Delegates from the South-West (aka Yoruba) Confederation - is that a distinction with a difference? Or what does Diaspora representation really mean if for example delegates Gabe Okoye or Jonathan Obaje are taken completely under ethnic Igbo or Middle-Belt wings? Will for example delegate Mama Diaspora Chief (Mrs) Temitope Ajayi speak up for the Diaspora, for women, or for the Yoruba? Hardly likely will there be a distinction without intentionality - and that distinction can only be assured if the delegates engage their primary constituencies before AND during the National Conference to determine constituency, conscience and confederation positions, and to determine where they converge and diverge. But we shall see. 7. Finally, when will APC fill its two vacant seats - or has that window been permanently closed? If it has, what about the seven un-filled female vacancies in Edo, Delta, Oyo, Yobe and Rivers States, and a Muslim Leader and former Governor; and the one unfilled vacancy for Academy of Social Sciences? The Federal Government can start by just filling all ten positions with women - to boost the female percentage slightly to 20% - and see what APC does! :-) And there you have it. Let the National Conference begin - and one still hopes that it will result in a new and popular National Constitution - otherwise the five to seven billion naira to be spent might just be a terrible waste of money. Best wishes all. Bolaji Aluko _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Table 1: SOUTH-WESTERN/YORUBA DELEGATES to the 2014 NATIONAL CONFERENCE of NIGERIA 103 Delegates, 24 Women (highlighted and starred) S/N Name of Delegate 1 Dr Tunji Braithwaite 2 Chief Ayo Adebanjo 3 Chief Richard Akinjide 4 Chief Olu Falae 5 Erelu Olusola Obada* 6 Chief Afe Babalola, SAN 7 Prof. Ibrahim (Agboola) Gambari 8 Gen Raji Rasaki 9 Barr Samuel Adetuyi, CP (rtd) 10 Chief Babatunde Ala 11 His Royal Highness, Alh (Kolapo) Sulu Gambari, CFR, Emir of Ilorin 12 His Royal Majesty, Oba Michael Gbadebo Adedeji, JP, CON, Ariyowonye Lim Owaoye of Okemesi 13 His Royal Majesty, Oba Arc Aderemi A Adedapo, Alayemore of Ido Osun, Coordinator 14 Mr Akin Arikawe 15 Promise Adewusi 16 Issa Aremu 17 Michael Olukoya 18 Oyinkansola Olasanye* 19 Sunday Olusoji Salako 20 Olakunle Olanrewaju Olaitan 21 Chief Kola Jamodu, OFR 22 Ajani James Olawale 23 Ben Durotoye 24 Yinka Gbadebo, GCNS 25 Olayinka Dada (JP) 26 Kasim Akande 27 Mosunmola Umoru* 28 Mrs Remi Kuku* 29 Chief (Mrs) Anthonia Balogun* 30 Chief (Mrs) Temitope Ajayi* 13 Mrs Felicia Sanni* 32 Hajiya Bola Shagaya* 33 Senator Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja 34 Commodore Olabode George (rtd) 35 Prof Is-haq O Oloyede 36 Alhaji Nurudeen Lemu 37 Pastor Emmanuel Bosun 38 Joe Okei-Odumakin Women Arise for Change Initiative & Campaign for Democracy * 39 Femi Falana, SAN Leader, Civil Society Organizations 40 Dr Abiola Akiyode Women Advocates Research & Documentation Centre* 41 Wale Okuniyi PRONACO 42 Bisi Olateru Olagbegi Women Consortium of Nigeria * 43 Steve Aluko Civil Liberties Organization 44 Adebayo Oladimeji 45 Barr Ayodele Adekanmbi 46 Mr Lanre Ogundipe 47 Senator Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele (Lagos)* 48 Supo Sonibare (Ogun) 49 Sir Olaniwun Ajayi (Ogun) 50 Dr Adetokunbo Awolowo-Dosumu (Ogun)* 51 Chief Ajibola Ogunsola (Oyo) 52 Barr Niyi Akintola, SAN (Oyo) 53 Mr Yinka Odumakin (Osun) 54 Senator Anthony Adefuye (Ogun) 55 Senator Femi Okunrounmu (Ogun) 56 Hon Salvador Adegoke Moshood (Lagos) 57 Bashorun Sehinde Arogbofa (Ondo) 58 Dr Amos Akingba (Ondo) 59 Chief Gani Adams (Ondo) 60 Dr Femi Obayori (Ekiti) 61 Pastor Tunde Bakare (Ogun) 62 Dr Philip O Salawu 63 Bayo Ojo 64 Sen. )Gbemisola) Rukayat Saraki* 65 Engr (Senator) Adefemi Kila, FNSE; The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) 66 Dr Segun Aina, OFR; Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIB) 67 Arc Waheed Niyi Brimmo, fnia, pnia; Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) 68 Senator (Chief) Felix Kolawole Bajomo, FCA; Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) 69 Mr Johnson Oludeinde Oluata, FCNA; Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) 70 Dr Rotimi Oladele, FNIPR; Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) 71 Mrs Bunmi Oke, frpa ; Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAPN)* 72 Prof Olu Ajakaiye; Nigeria Economic Society 73 Prof Oyewale Tomori, FAS, NNOM 74 Hon Justice G A Oguntade 75 Senator Khairat Abdulrazaq-Gwadabe * 76 Chief Olusegun Osoba 77 Senator Iyabo Anisunlowo* 78 Hon Sheik M Sekoni 79 Rt Hon Abudssalam Taofig Olawale 80 General Alani Akinrinade (rtd) 81 Prof Olawale Albert 82 Prof Akin Oyebode 83 Prof (Mrs) Bisi Aina* 84 Bishop Felix Ajakaye 85 Chief Olusola Akanmode 86 Mrs Wosilat Marcarthy* 87 Mr Supo Sasore, SAN 88 Prof Tunde Samuel 89 Olufunmilayo Osinowo-Bashorun* 90 Mr Fola Adeola 91 Barrister Bisi Adegbuyi 92 Prof (Mrs) Titi Filani* 93 Dr (Mrs) Yemi Mahmud-Fasominu* 94 Prof N Oluwafemi Mimiko 95 Barr Remi Olatubora 96 Chief Gbadegesin Adedeji 97 Chief Femi Akande 98 Mrs Bola Ogunrimade (mni)* 99 Chief Adeniyi Akintola 100 Prof Ganiyu Raji 101 Chief Shola Ebiseeni 102 Prof Bolaji Akinyemi Deputy Chairman 103 Female nominee expected from Oyo State*
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 15:56:21 +0000
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