National conference as a political concept in Nigeria has attracted several and varied comments from numerous concerned individuals, scholars, opinion molders, statesmen, organizations and leaders of though at one time or the other ever since the Federal Government made known the intention to convene the Conference. The proposal has generated heated debates on pages of newspapers and magazines, television screens, legislative houses, social and political gatherings and even at village or town assembly meetings in various parts of the country.

Some people in their thinking felt that this period is too critical to convene a National Conference considering the volatile nature of our political arrangement and the “not too strong” security arrangement on ground. Others are of the opinion that what Nigerians need now is food on their tables, employment opportunities, and infrastructural development to spark off industrialization rather than the so called National Conference. Again, others refused to give the conference a nod considering the colossal amount which runs into hundreds of millions of naira which the venture will gulp while millions of Nigerians are walloping in abject poverty, starvation and hunger and moreover, in the long run nothing meaningful will be achieved as similar conferences in the past ended up either on the drawing board or in futility. Some people even believed it was merely used to divert public attention from some serious national issues that intended to “rock the national boat”. The last and not the least group has the phobia that the outcome of the conference will be manipulated and doctored by the “powers that be” before it is made public, which in the final analysis will fail to represent the wishes and aspirations of the entire Nigerians.

In every democratic setting, there are always divergent views on many important national issues. Articulating and harmonizing such divergent views to reach at a compromise for national interest shows the beauty of democracy in any given society. In the case of the proposed national conference, those who expressed their views against the conference should not be antagonized or crucified for what they stand for, rather concerted effort should be made to convince them why their opinions should not prevail and moreover, they should understand that in democracy, majority opinion should prevail. This unarguably, will give them sense of belonging in the scheme of things and invariably eliminate cogs in the political progress.

In as much as some people are entitled to their views and opinions by opposing the national conference as highlighted above, they should not feign ignorance of the fact that many advantages are also accruable from the said conference. There is no gain repeating the obvious that the conference will offer greater opportunity to proffer solutions to all the nagging issues that undermine our national stability and unity from every organization, ethnic group, tribe, or region with the objective of forging ahead as one strong and indivisible entity in order to regain and maintain our position as the giant in African continent and as a force in world politics and economy. This write  strongly subscribes that the national conference should be convoked without further delay because, unless and until those organizations, ethnic groups or our brothers crying against their marginalization in the scheme of national development and allocation of values are listened to and their representations utterly addressed, political stability and economic development will continue to elude Nigeria and Nigeria will continue to exist as a “mere geographical expression” according to some people. The activities of ethnic militia and insurgents thriving in Nigeria today are off-shoot of unaddressed agitations and marginalization against some ethnic groups or regions in the country.

We always talk about one Nigeria. We always celebrate together international sports victories. Together we protect our territorial integrity against external aggression. Together, we sing our national anthem. And why can’t we together share the feelings and problems of our brothers who are clamoring for attention no matter the socio-cultural or religious differences?

There is no oneness when one is crying, starving and dying and the brother is feeding fat and laughing. There is no oneness when your brother’s good or bad condition does not affect you. Nigeria has lost so much in terms of human, financial and material resources as a result of not addressing or paying attention to numerous agitations on marginalization or lope-sided sharing of national values. Many states, ethnic groups or regions in Nigeria today have one form of socio-political problem or the other which is affecting their psyche as members of the country.  Some of these problems include but not limited to; state and local government creation, boundary adjustment, revenue allocation formula, sitting of Federal institutions, appointments into positions of authority, security, electoral matters, ownership and control of natural resources etc. Not addressing the perceived imbalances in the above fundamental issues in our national life has orchestrated social upheavals, riots, ethnic militia, insurgency and clashes which led to loss of astonishing number of human lives and property as well as national reputation. It is expedient for Nigerians to come together now that the Federal government is eager and poised to see that those issues giving some Nigerians sleepless nights are addressed once and for all. Problems cannot be solved by pointing at them neither can sweeping them under the carpet can solve them. Some people usually say that Nigeria as a country is bad because of socio, political and economic problems. I always disagree with such dispositions because Nigeria was well created by God with diverse and large quantities of natural resource and good climate attached. The problem is nothing else other than human element. It is that human element that is responsible for all our national woes including our political and economic quagmires.

Presently, a golden opportunity is striking at the door of Nigerians. Let all Nigerians embrace this opportunity of coming together to discuss our differences which will go a long way to strengthen our unity and national development. This national conference is like a family meeting where all the aggrieved family members come together to settle their disputes. In such a platform, where every member is given opportunity without prejudice to say his/her mind, and where everybody’s submission is given due and objective judgment, such family usually comes out of such meeting happier, and more united. Allowing the national conference hold is giving peace chance to reign and to wish Nigeria well. There is no alternative to dialogue and peace. Experience has shown that most national and global conflicts that ravaged mankind in various societies eventually were settled through dialogue on a round table conference. Rejection of this great opportunity now tantamounts to rejecting peace, unity and progress of Nigeria. There are still groups of people or regions who are still embittered because of unsettled anomalies and imbalances in the nation’s state of affairs. These groups/regions can continue to heat up the polity and in real terms make the country ungovernable if things are not quickly put into proper perspectives.

We should thank and support Mr. President for mustering courage to convoke this auspicious conference. More so, prayer should be offered for a peaceful and fruitful deliberation.

During the conference, on no account should any group be prevented from expressing fully their views or grievances on any national issue. There should not be any “No go area” because such no go areas are part of the main issues of contention and cry for marginalization. The only thing is that those going to represent their groups should be mindful of their languages; use decent languages, respect opinion of others no matter how unreasonable, no display of arrogance or prde before others, no use of ambiguous words or high-sounding vocabularies as to hoodwink or confuse others. No display of acrimony, anger or ridiculing the image and reputation of others etc.

As a matter of patriotism and in the spirit of one great nation, we should not pretend that all is well when in real terms “Things have fallen Apart”. Convening the national conference will eliminate those ill-feelings and injustices that heat up the polity especially now that Nigeria has attained the centenary age in existence as a nation. It will also avert impending anarchy and catastrophe and rather put Nigeria on developmental pedestal where every Nigerian citizen will live and move with national pride. Every right thinking Nigerian should make concerted effort to garner support for immediate holding of this spectacular, brotherly and peaceful gathering. We can’t be crying for peace and running away from social justice and equity. The future and better time to do it is now because a stitch in time saves nine and DELAY IS DANGEROUS!

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