The national conference resumed plenary on Tuesday, focusing debates, comments and opinions on the speech delivered by President Goodluck Jonathan during the inauguration.
Moderated by the Conference Deputy Chairman, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, most of the delegates described the President’s speech on March 17 at the inauguration of the Conference as agenda-setting on issues to be discussed and the outcome Conference.
Former President of the Senate, Dr. Iyorcha Ayu said: “I stand not to praise nor vilify the President’s speech. It is the speech of a leader who is worried about his country. It is the speech of great expectation, and the whole country expects a lot from all gathered here.”
Delegates however observed that beyond the letters of the elegant speech lies the responsibility of translating the words into action for the benefit of Nigerians so that the report of the current Conference will not go the ways of others.
Some of them said the timing of the Conference was apt; coming on the heels of Nigeria’s centenary as a country because it would create opportunity to reflect on the last 100 years while planning for the next.
Elder statesman, Richard Akinjide, SAN, described Nigeria as the leading country in Africa and asked Nigerians to “stop being demolition contractors, let us be building contractors” so that Nigeria can become “the greatest republic in Africa.”
Former Minister of Petroleum, Professor Jubril Aminu, said based on issues identified by the President for discussion, he hoped the 2014 National Conference would be the last of such conferences because it would help strengthen the constitution and make it better.
Mrs. Brenda Akpan, a journalist, said the centre-piece of the speech was that of inclusion as against the practice of exclusion and current discrimination against women, children and the disabled.
She said the Conference must ensure that every Nigerian has a sense of citizenship, demanding that “we must create space for their participation in governance.”
While some delegates hammered on the issue of drafting a new Constitution for the country, others said the Conference lacked any legal backing to embark on such an enterprise; and that only President Goodluck Jonathan who convened the Conference will decide on what to do with the report.
Former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah, in his contribution, said Jonathan’s speech clearly identified the problems with Nigeria and the challenges before the Conference not only in discussing the problems but in proffering functional solutions to such problems.
He said for so long, Nigerians have imprisoned themselves in the north-south divide explaining that these differences and disparities have always been there, adding: “we may not be able to remove them, but we can make them irrelevant and ineffective.”
Bishop Felix Ajakaiye said the problem of Nigeria was not for lack of ideas towards solution but the lack of political will to implement such ideas. He urged the delegates to use their God-given talents to redeem the country by making the best out of the Conference.
Nike Akande in her comments said she was more concerned about Nigeria’s march towards rapid development; a situation she said would justify Jonathan’s expectation in the Conference which she described as a “landmark journey that will make us proud as a nation.”
Former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dr. Ahmadu Ali, said the speech delivered by the President should serve as a guiding principle to the Conference; he described it as a speech from the heart of someone who loves Nigeria.
Tunde Bakare said, “The President has made plain his expected outcome of this Conference. If our expectations are different from his, then we are in a jamboree. It appears Mr. President knew his onions and laid them bare that the greatest problem facing Nigeria today is the issue of governance.”
Former Governor of Bayelsa State, DSP Alamiyeseigha, described the President’s speech as revolutionary and statesmanlike because it captured issues that have bedeviled the country since its amalgamation in 1914.
For Mariam Jummai Bello, the problem of Nigeria lies with the women who have refused to bring up their children in a manner that would ensure respect for the law and focus on character development.
Although Conference Chairman and former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi had placed embargo on clapping, Bello’s contribution was heavily applauded when she accused women of pushing their husbands to engage in corrupt act as a short cut to luxurious living.
