Very special congratulations to my teacher, Professor Mrs Oyinade Odutola-Olurin who was 80 on Feb 2. She was a Head girl. She married EO Olurin, later Professor of Surgery and President of NMA. She broke through the glass ceiling, becoming the first African female Professor of Ophthalmology, UCH, Ibadan. She is a consummate role model, mentor, teacher, professional, humane and empathetic leader. She was ‘multitasking’ before the word was invented in medicine, in NGOs like being patron in Educare Trust, in business, religion, social and family life. People smile on hearing her name. Who smiles at your name? Work on your humanity. Be like her, become ‘The Miracle In Some Stranger’s Life’. ‘Happy 80th Birthday, Ma’am. E pe fun wa, Ma’am, Live long’.
So the conference is officially the National Conference. We fought for 30+ years for a Sovereign National Conference. We will call it ‘The 2014 NSNC –the 2014 Non-Sovereign National Conference’. Is half bread better than none? Only time will tell, but we the people can make it happen. ‘They’ say there is a hidden agenda to keep Jonathan in power. So what? There is always a hidden agenda by politicians or civil servants. Remember the third term agenda of Obasanjo, the election agenda of Babangida and Abacha? The only people supposed not to have a hidden agenda are the Nigerian citizens.
So let, ‘we the people’, have our say and our way for a change. Let us reveal the ‘Hidden Agenda’ of the masses of people that the 492 ‘chosen many’ delegates will represent. THE DELEGATES MUST NOT BE PAID SECRETLY OR PUBLICLY OR GIVEN ‘ALLOWANCES’ EXCEPT BY WHOEVER SENT THEM. THE CONFERENCE MUST HOLD IN A SCHOOL OR POLY OR UNIVERSITY CAMPUS, NOT AN EXPENSIVE HOTEL COMPLEX.
Fellow Nigerian citizens have the ‘Hidden Agenda’ of ‘De-corrupting Political party funding’; ‘True Federalism’; ‘Good Governance’; ‘Revenue Re-allocation Formula’; ‘Reduction of Federal Exclusive List, removing Railways, Electricity, Waterways and a branch of the Police’; Reduction in National Assembly (NASS) Houses from two to one; Reduction in numbers of NASS members, salaries and perks as unsustainable; Reduction in days of sitting to 180 days/year.
True federalism is not just enforcing federal character for appointments. Once you get a federal job, discrimination may force you to remain in one office while favoured colleagues are moved with frequent posting around departments and on secondments, making them ‘over-qualified’ for accelerated promotion. Is this a regular feature of NNPC, agencies, judiciary and Civil Service?
The key areas needing resolution are several fiscal and moral including the revenue allocation formula which gives the federal government more than 56% of the budget plus control of Excess Crude Account with subsequent underfunding of the states and LGAs especially with corruption at all levels.
The major source of Nigeria’s massive political and civil service corruption is ‘The Official And Unofficial Funding Of Nigeria’s Political Parties In And Out Of Political Power’. Corrupt civil servants enable political corruption based in the common ‘Corruption Multiplier Effect Principle’ that ‘If I steal for you, I steal for me’, thus multiplying the ‘taken funds’. The political parties do this by inflation of contracts, diversion of contract funds and demands of 30-75% of contracts and consultancy fees. These brazen methods purportedly execute the ‘legally illegal’ scams for corrupt enrichment of party and officials and the consequent impoverishment of the citizenry. Political parties must keep their hands out of the government purse. The need to expose party finances to public scrutiny and solid accounting future controls, must be put on the agenda for the 2014 Non-Sovereign National Conference. We must make these the real issues of the NSNC!
So the only ‘No GO Area’ is the ‘unity’ of Nigeria? Unity requires happiness with the outcome of the NSNC. If not, then ‘unity’ will become a very ‘Go Go Area’. If true federalism reigns, the need for dissolution of Nigeria will not be discussed in homes around Nigeria and in the diaspora.
For Nigeria there is no greater opportunity than now to sort these problems out. There must be a more equitable revenue allocation formula- maybe 30% for federal. We must make sure it gets on the agenda. Please, you can help save your country, peacefully. Contact, see or send a letter, phone, e-mail, tweet, Facebook, your nominated representative, write to your professional representative, your royal and religious leaders, your NGO representatives, write letters to the editor against this problem. Do not leave it to others. Do It Yourself. Jonathan can still write his name in gold, but Rivers is a black blot on his reputation. Good governance is the goal but it requires the NSCS and your close personal attention to the above details. The wide range of delegates is fantastic as is the curbing of politicians which will force politicians to listen to our concerns for ‘our’ nation.
Mysteriously, President Jonathan chose the main ‘interested party’, the National Assembly, over the ‘We The People’ referendum, as the final arbiter. The National Assembly’s greed is notorious worldwide. Will it agree to destroy one of the NASS houses and go part-time when demanded by the NSNC? Let the NASS know that ‘we the people’ are Nigeria and we are greater than our employees –the NASS and politicians. Can the NASS be trusted to lead ‘belt tightening’ within itself and display that rare trait- Nationalism, or ‘In The National Interest’?
