The Sovereign national conference by Matilda Orhewere

According to folklore:
three baby elephants
were chained to
restrain their
movement; as they
grew older, they
realised that their
movement was limited
to the extent which the
chain allowed them;
they accepted it and
remained like that well
into old age.
The amalgamation of
the northern and
southern regions of
Nigeria in 1914 by the
British is still being
viewed by many
Nigerians as a defective
arrangement based on
the economic interest
of the British to secure
the many benefits that
the Nigerian economy
provided.
The decision to
amalgamate the two
regions did not sit well
with the more
enlightened politicians
of the southern origin;
and ever since, the call
for the Sovereign
National Conference
(SNC) has grown louder
by the day. The SNC is
an assembly of
representatives chosen
by the many ethnic
communities or
nationalities of Nigeria.
Some politicians refuse
the call for the SNC on
the grounds that it is
required only in the
situation of transition
from military rule to
civilian rule and others
argue that the call for
the SNC is based on
tribal divisions.
The SNC should have
been convened at the
time of the
amalgamation in 1914
but it was not and it is
has turned out to be
the root cause of all the
issues of inequality and
social injustice of
Nigeria. Nigeria has
grown beyond the point
where things are
reduced to tribes;
Nigeria is more of a
corporate organisation
which must be
effectively managed for
the full potentials in the
abundance of natural
resources to be
converted into
sustainable
development and
improved standard of
living.
Insurgency will not
deliver the results that
we expect; and
disintegration is not an
option to be considered
as it will lead to total
fragmentation of the
body of Nigeria.
The SNC will address
issues of common
wealth and resource
allocation will be
administered in such a
way that every
community benefits.
Fundamental human
rights must necessarily
be addressed in the
course of the SNC,
giving clear guidelines
that will provide
protection for all
Nigerian citizens and all
peoples residing within
Nigeria.
Finally, the terms of
relationships that
should exist between
organised religion and
the Nigerian state
should be clearly
defined.
The suggestion of
power rotation will
easily be resolved by
rotating power within
the three major regions
of Nigeria and not
causing chaos and
anarchy by demanding
that every local
government area or
every other street
must have a
presidential candidate.
The unpatriotic attitude
politicians exhibit in
tribalism over the issue
of power and leadership
already suggests
fraudulent intent in that
people make it look like
taking office is with the
intention to loot as
much as they can and
take home to their
communities; but in the
real sense, the booty
still does not get shared
at the local level.
It is the responsibility
of Nigerians of the new
generation to re-
structure the type of
society that they would
like to enjoy and do
everything possible to
actively participate in
politics and governance
in view of ensuring that
no stale ideologies that
take Nigeria nowhere
will be introduced to
jeopardise the quest to
attain a truly new
Nigeria.