Confab a failure, waste of funds -Igbo group
Latest blog entries - Eloti tV
Confab a failure, waste of funds -Igbo group
Members of the Igbo Leaders of Thought have declared the ongoing national conference, as presently constituted, “a failure and waste of tax payers fund.”
They said on Monday, in Enugu, that the 75 per cent majority controversy and other ground rules that slowed full commencement of the conference wouldn’t have arisen if the organisers were diligent and had consulted properly.
Members of the ILT spoke after an emergency meeting in Enugu.
Leader of the group, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, also said that non-adherence to selection of delegates based on ethnic nationalities was another challenge that may derail the conference from achieving the set objective.
The group, however, said that despite its belief that the conference may not achieve the expected objective, it still believed that something good could come out of it.
“Ethnic nationalities are the best suited to solve Nigeria’s problem. You can’t achieve anything except the ethnic nationalities come together.
“We all individually belong to an ethnic nationality. We cannot run away from that; it is a sociological reality,” said Prof. Nwabueze.
He said, “The problem is how you coalesce 389 ethnic nationalities? The day you find the answer to this question, then Nigeria’s problem will be solved.”
Nwabueze disclosed that at a meeting of ethnic nationalities conference recently organised, only 58 ethnic nations attended. He therefore said, “They spent millions organising it, meaning that mobilisation requires government intervention and funding.”
Speaking on the crisis that trailed the voting pattern of 75 per cent majority, Nwabueze further said that the controversy was needles and avoidable ab-initio.
He said, “The problem of 75 percent shouldn’t have been there. The 75 percent is impossible to achieve. Muslims already, not the North as a whole, are over 190 (about 34 percent). They have equally created Northern Delegates Forum. And the other day, the Sultan led a delegation to the president where they complained. I would have said let them try and achieve a consensus, but where it fails, they should go for absolute majority, not necessarily on percentage.”
He explained that even the 70 per cent said to have been agreed on by leaders of the delegation, will still be difficult to achieve.
According to him, absolute majority, which means majority of 492 delegates and not simple majority, which is majority of delegates present at a particular sitting, would have taken care of the problem.
The group, however resolved to remain a permanent advisory body to provide advice to Nigerian government and Ndigbo on national issues from time to time.
Nwabueze said that the group came into being after the announcement by President Goodluck Jonathan during his independence anniversary broadcast last year to convoke a national conference.
More so, he dispelled insinuations that the group was being bankrolled by governors in the South-East zone.
Nwabueze said members of the group, including himself and a member of World Igbo Congress, Dr. Obi Thomson, bore the cost of printing the books and other documents which were distributed free of charge to Ndigbo, both at home and in Diaspora.
He said, “This meeting is a crucial one for us. All the time we have not settled the objective of Igbo Leaders of Thought, but today we have defined it. The objective is how to achieve a new, better and united Nigeria. The first step in the pursuit of the objective is the production of the position of Igbo Nation for the National Conference for a renegotiated constitution, and we have accomplished the first step.
“The production has cost us millions of naira. The money was provided by myself and Obi Thomson of World Igbo Congress. No governor is funding the Igbo Leaders of Thought as being erroneously speculated. As at today no governor has given us one kobo.
“The second part is about the national conference as constituted by President Goodluck Jonathan. The question now is whether the conference as presently constituted will lead us the realisation of the objectives, which is a new, better and united Nigeria? Though it appears a waste of time but I think something good might still come out from the exercise.”
He added, “We have also agreed in the meeting that Igbo Leaders of Thought should be kept alive. We will continue monitoring proceedings at the conference and see where we can make contributions.”
Read More
Comments
Post a Comment