Eminent Nigerian citizens began a two-day meeting on Monday to take a critical look at the state of affairs in the country and returned a grim verdict: ‘Nigeria is on the brink of collapse and needs to be saved,’ according to local media reports.
Drawn from the six geo-political zones of the country, the citizens, including politicians, lawyers, activists, religious leaders, monarchs and members of the academia were unanimous in condemning corruption, insecurity, poor state of infrastructure and inability of successive governments to develop the country.
They all agreed that the country, as a matter of urgency, must find a winning formula to improve on the fortune of the citizenry, 70 per cent of whom live below the poverty line.
However, they were divided on how ‘to save the sinking ship of state’.
While some canvassed convocation of a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) to restructure the country into a true federal state, others said a national conference would be sufficient.
There were also some who feared that a national dialogue would lead to the disintegration of the country.
Those present at the opening session of the ‘Eminent National Leaders of Thought Dialogue’, organised by the National Summit Group (NSG), included former governors Alhaji Balarabe Musa, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife and Obong Victor Attah, and a host of other VIPs.
Moderated by Professor Pat Utomi, a former presidential candidate, the hall was charged and emotions ran high as speakers took their turn in lamenting the fragile situation in the country.
Welcoming the delegates, Utomi said he was sad because Nigeria was on the brink again – on the edge of the precipice as it was in 1967.
He said: “I draw your attention to our differences that can be managed very well. We must overcome those challenges. We must address the issue of power. Elsewhere, checks and balances are the first things of governance. We must seek to get the Nigerian people to hold those in power accountable at all times because power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
“Our governors are not performing because of the system. We need to restructure the country to empower the federating units leaving little duties for the centre. If the National Assembly benefits from the system, they, certainly, cannot be the people that will change it. We need a country where the cost of governance is low and where our leaders will serve and not to be served.’
Saying that Nigeria was on the verge of being a failed state, former governor Musa, said pre-independence, First and Second republic leaders were more patriotic and responsible than current leaders even though they were feudal and autocratic.
“If the leaders in the colonial and First Republic have remained one way or the other, we certainly would not be where we are now. In spite of our riches and wealth, we are now one of the poorest countries in the world. We have more bitterness and quarrels. Our responsibility as we gather here is to continue the process of reversing the situation from a negative situation to a situation where there is hope like we started during the 1960s,’ he said.
To tackle the problem, Elder statesman and Ijaw Leader, Chief Edwin Clark, said Nigeria started derailing when the leaders abandoned true federalism.
“In 1958, we all voluntarily agreed to have a federation. The leaders of the three regions agreed that we should be a federation where everybody is equal but today some groups are in power, we have first class and second class citizens. In 1953, we agreed that 50 per cent of resources produced in a region should remain in that region and every region developed at its own pace. But today, we have 36 states where some states are holding others down those who want to develop. We must sit down and agree on the basis of living together.’
On the security challenges, legal icon, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), said the menace of Boko Haram, Niger delta militants, and Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), among others, were symptoms of the problems of the country that could only be addressed through a dialogue whether sovereign or otherwise.
Failure to do so, he contended, would amount to ‘treating leprosy with an eczema drug’.
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, Alhaji Maitama Sule, Alhaji Adamu Ciroma, Justice Alfa Belgore (rtd), National Security Adviser (NSA), retired General Owoye Azazi, who could not attend, sent solidarity messages in support of the dialogue and urged Nigerians to participate in the convocation of a national conference.