The saying that, “whatever has a beginning must have an end” has again been given life by the National Conference convoked by President Goodluck Jonathan to deliberate on challenges facing the country and chart the way forward. The talk shop had its beginning as Friday, March 17 2014 when it was inaugurated and its end came on Thursday, August 14, 2014 when its final report was adopted.
Actually, there is nothing strange about it coming and going as it has by that simply obeyed the rule of nature. Although, a good number of Nigerians including the government which set up the confab never anticipated it will linger up till last Thursday, it did extend but eventually, its end had to set in.
It will be recalled that from the outset, it was expected that the conference would stretch till June 19. But, along the line, they sought an extension of six weeks which was to spread it to July 31 but alas we have it ending on August 14.
A lot transpired while the honeymoon lasted. Some Nigerians were bitter by the extensions which meant that the delegates would be raking in a purported N4.5 million in addition to an alleged N9 million that was to be their due for the three months there were to spend talking Nigeria. Nobody came out to clear the air on this; hence it was taken as true, nay, a notorious fact.
Willy-nilly, that can’t be said to be all that concerned the National Conference, which is the third in the series; the Abacha and Obasanjo regimes each has one to their credit. In this third edition, there were tiffs which degenerated to furore, there were accusations and counter-accusation and other provocations of which time and space wouldn’t permit me to go into. There was even a particular one that raged at the twilight of the Conference which would have robbed the nation of their final report and by extension the humongous State resources that was drained into it. But, thank heavens, the delegate were able to rise above these to avail us the over 600 amendments to our constitution that their report proposed among other lovely resolutions and interventions.
And that is where I am anchoring this submission. The exact fix that enabled this 492-delegate house to rise above every proclivity to go in opposite direction can also make the greater generality of Nigerians to head in one direction. The mucilage will indeed be capable of trumping every ethno-religious tendencies and other considerations that have conspired to make us perpetually at one another’s jugular.
Thus in as much as we look forward to perusing the content of the Confab’s report, we should plead with them to do us a favour. Call it jara if you like, after all having paid them so handsomely, our begging them for this jara won’t be too much to ask. I’m sure a good number of them patronize our local markets. I believe that those traders selling beans, rice, egusi,garri can testify that after getting the exact value of what their money is paying for, these delegates look forward to receiving that extra Nigerians have come to know as jara.
Oh dear! That mention of delegates just jolted me from delusion. How can someone who is believed to have received the sum of N3 million as a month’s salary patronize the same market commoners like us visit to shop for raw beans, rice, egusi, garri and such commodities, let alone request for that extra? Impossible! Since jara would sound Latin to them we had better defined it to them to mean that addition from the stock of goods that is bought which traders give their customers as a mark of goodwill.
Please pardon my prevarication. I didn’t mean to, like they say, beat around the bush this way. The point I was labouring to make is for the delegates to do us the favour of letting us know how they were able to rise above the expectations of naysayers and divisive tendencies inherent in their convergence to yield the end result which is the report they are to present to President Jonathan come Thursday.
They will be doing us a world of good by revealing this recipe that so worked for them, although that wasn’t among the terms of reference we gave them when they were being inaugurated. But, it qualifies to be what the average Nigerian will call jara. I dare say that this secret which worked for them is more important to Nigerians than the report itself. Why, because a Confab that had as much as 492 delegates most of who are opinion leaders qualifies to be a microcosm of the Nigerian society. As such what worked for them is sure bet to work for Nigeria. It may also be more helpful to us because we don’t know what would become of the final report. This is in view of the fact that the reports of the last two Confabs must have been gathering dust in some far-flung cabinet.
However, my fervour and eagerness to know what fixed the delegate won’t let me be. It led me into digging to demystify it. Luckily for me, it wasn’t so difficult for me to find out that what made this third Confab to come through is National Interest. Yes, national interest it is. In simple terms, it means that if we Nigerians can place National Interest above every other consideration, then shall we actualise even the most daunting of tasks set before.
As an aside, I find it very instructive that the Justice Idris Kutigi-led Confab ended with the delegates passionately singing the old National Anthem which they had advocated that we revert to. It smacks of them practicing what they preach and gives inkling into the fact that they have identified themselves with its wordings. It is also symbolic and profound that they allowed the oldest and the youngest of the delegates to move and second the motion for the adoption of the final report of, I concur, a very successful conference.
The truth remains that it was successful because they clanged to National Interest, thus, if we as a nation does same, we will surely be successful.
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