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Calls for national conference.

Again, Nigerians have had cause to call for a Sovereign National Conference.
A few days ago, some eminent Nigerians, after taking a hard look at recent developments in the country, considered the need for the people to come together and agree on the way they should be governed and live as a united nation.
The eminent Nigerians who were led by Prof. Ben Nwabueze (SAN), Chief Audu Ogbe, Chief Olu Falae and Alhaji Balarabe Musa, among others, said that running away from the conference amounts to postponing the evil day.
They believe that rather than break up Nigeria, the conference will strengthen its unity.
The leaders believe that there is an overriding need to address the practice of true federalism, and address the current security challenges for the progress and unity of Nigeria.
There is no gainsaying the fact that agitation for sovereign national conference has become one of the most recurring issues in Nigeria.
The demand has been with us since the 1980s when military incursion into politics became entrenched in our body politic.
But it became strident in the 1990s especially after the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential elections.
We recall that the June 12 crisis was one of the most trying political upheavals that Nigeria has gone through.
During that period, a number of groups and individuals had cause to reflect on the structure and composition of Nigeria.
Quite a good number of them felt, rightly or wrongly, that Nigerians need to come together to discuss the future of the country.
They felt, and strongly too, that Nigeria, as constituted then, was not working and needed to be tinkered with.
However, the return of civil rule in 1999 after many years of struggle for democracy brought some hope to the polity.
It calmed a lot of frayed nerves and, consequently, the agitation for sovereign national conference died down.
Regrettably, the hope died young. Recent developments in the land seem to suggest that so many things are wrong with Nigeria’s corporate existence.
There is so much rivalry and antagonism in the land. When one ethnic or regional group is not pitted against the other, one religious or cultural body will be up in arms against the other.
The most deadly manifestation of this unsettled state is Boko Haram, an Islamic sect which has risen against the government and people of Nigeria.
It has subverted all rules and regulations governing Nigeria as an entity.
Indeed, Boko Haram has practically set Nigeria on fire.
The impression many get from all this is that Nigeria is on a cliff hanger.
They feel that Nigerians no longer believe in the present structural arrangement and therefore need to come together to fashion out a new way of living with one another.
We identify with the concerns of these eminent Nigerians on this matter.
There is no doubt that a country that has become as fractious as Nigeria needs to put its acts together.
It is not for nothing that the country is bedeviled by challenges some of which touch dangerously on its oneness.
No doubt, these problems have been with us for a long time now.
But the ferociousness with which some of them have reared their ugly heads lately gives cause for concern.
As patriots, these eminent Nigerians are concerned about the progress and survival of the country.
That is why they have underlined the importance of a sovereign national conference.
We believe that government has no reason not to support the idea. The conference will be by Nigerians and for Nigerians. We do not expect any external manipulation.
It is therefore an opportunity for the people to bare their minds on the vexed issues that have not helped the progress of the country with a view to solving them.
That is why the leaders held, and we agree, that the conference will strengthen the unity of Nigeria.
Once the facts of our existence are brought to the fore, we will see the hang-ups and seek to deal with them appropriately.
Shying away from the issues have not helped us in the past. It will not help us now.
We invite government to have the large heart to accommodate this patriotic call and make it a reality.