Calls for Confab Report implementation -By Ayo Baje

Any group that thinks that the status quo should be maintained does not love this country. It is that body structure of the polity that is evoking all the problems, because there is injustice, there is inequality amongst others. – Dr.Joe Nwogu, Secretary General of Ohaneze Ndigbo

As an ardent advocate of the imperative of political restructuring of the country, for it to move forward in the comity of nations, the recent clamour by some segments for the implementation of the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference deserves urgent attention. This would no doubt ensure and engender equity, fairness and justice in the socio-political and economic milieu in addition to bringing governance closer to the people. The Confab Report submitted in August last year contained over 600 recommendations and passed by 492 worthy Nigerians, all by consensus.

Amongst the fundamental flaws of the polity to be re-jigged include the devolution of political power away from the bloated centre to the states, fighting corruption, presentation of annual budget, revenue sharing, state creation and legislative structure. Other areas include pensions and gratuities for political office holders, state of government-acquired schools and the status of people living with disabilities.

As recently highlighted by Gov.(Dr.) Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, one of those championing the implementation of the report, the structural changes would be far-reaching. For instance, with it each state will have their own constitution; its own police force, prison service and create their own local governments. The added benefits also include the freedom to own their sea ports, air ports and railways. The solid minerals that have been the exclusive preserve of the all-powerful Federal Government has been moved to the concurrent list.

All these would no doubt assist the states to create more employment and develop at a faster pace. It would be recalled that with political power in the hands of the former Premiers of the Northern, Western and Eastern Regions governance was much closer to the grassroots. It is instructive that in the absence of crude oil the Western Region under Chief Obafemi Awolowo of (blessed memory) was able to institute free education, massive infrastructural development of roads and water supply, the first television station in Africa south of the Sahara using revenue from cocoa. It was a similar situation of fast-paced development in the North and the East using economic inflows from ground nut, cotton, hides and skin as well as from palm-oil and rubber respectively.

Besides all of these, the recommendation of the Conference to tackle the monster of corruption headlong is noteworthy, if implemented. Those found culpable would be jailed for 50 years in addition to forfeiting their loot. On the economic front, the Mineral Oil Exploiting Fund for minerals exploitation across the country would be upped from the paltry 1.6 per cent to 5 per cent.Also,6 per cent of oil fund would go to agriculture to enhance diversification of the economy from the mono product of crude oil.

Interestingly, two factors have emerged with the resurgence of the call for the implementation of the Confab Report. One is that the two most prominent ethnic nationalities from the Southern part of the country-the Ndigbo and the Yoruba are at the forefront of this increasing clamour. The second is that both are insisting that the forthcoming presidential election should swing in favour of the initiator of the Confab, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan who is more disposed to implementing those recommendations for structural change.

Said Nwogu of the Ohaneze Ndigbo: “The main features of the Confab are equity, justice and fairness. That is where we, as Ohaneze, stand.”And Mimiko adds that: “We, the Yoruba people are one of the most blessed ethnic nationalities in the world…we demonstrated this during the First Republic that we could hold our own in the comity of other republics. This is why we are very strong in canvassing for the implementation of the resolution of the 2014 Confab.” His line of thought, as the Southwest coordinator of the President Jonathan’s re-election committee was similar to that of the Yoruba Council of Elders including the likes of Gen. Adeyinka Adebayo, Chief Olu Falae, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, Ayo Adebanjo, Richard Akinjide, Prof.Dupe Olatuibosun and Yinka Odumakin.

But those in opposition, especially top members of the All Progressives Party, APC are not impressed by what they term as a political antic, all in the PDP’s bold bid to win support for incumbent President Jonathan. They have therefore, raised the crucial questions as to why there has been no White paper or an Executive Bill sent to the National Assembly on the recommendations of the National Confab, if indeed Mr. President was sincere about it all. To them and some concerned Nigerians the reason adduced by the Presidency that the current National Assembly, by its body language was not well disposed to adopting the Report was not tenable enough.

Even if that was true, what has stopped the president from implementing those aspects of the recommendations that are not backed by law? That is the pertinent question the opposition and people such as Chief Orok Duke, a former Deputy Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Mr. Auwal Rafsanjani of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy and the Executive Director of Civil Liberties Organisation ,Mr. Ibuchukwu Ezike are also asking. These areas include sports administration and funding as well as making payments into the consolidated revenue account. The answer, as they say is hanging in the wind.

Beyond making a political capital out of the Confab Report is for enlightened Nigerians to first of all agree that we have been bedeviled by the incubus of political imbalance for far too long. And that only a holistic restructuring that gives politico-economic powers to the federating units through fiscal federalism would right those wrongs. We can no longer paper over the ever-widening socio-economic cracks that skew the wealth of the nation in favour of the parasitic political class, while the masses groan on in preventable poverty. Enough is indeed, enough.