Good Outcome

National Conference Delegate Optimistic Of Good Outcome

          

One of the delegates to Nigeria’s National Conference is optimistic that the conference will have a good outcome, one that will provide answers to several questions and lead to the settlement of various grievances.
Mr Goddy Uwazurike, on Friday, said that the conference would present a chance for as many people as possible who were not in the National Assembly to talk to each other, airing their grievances on several issues of interest.
The conference delegate, who is a lawyer, pointed out that there was no way the diverse problems Nigeria was facing could be resolved if an opportunity was not provided for the issues to be discussed.
“We make contributions and seek for answers and we make recommendations to those who are going to implement them. That is what a conference is all about,” he said.
But a lot of Nigerians are worried over the implementation of such talks considering the fact that the National Assembly may tinker the outcome if it has to go through them before it is made law.
They are also fears that the result of the conference will not be implemented like those of other conferences held in the past.
Noble Intention
Mr Uwazurike explained that the conferences held in the past were riddled with hidden interests of the leaders that instituted the conference at that time, a situation, he said, marred the whole process.
“Whether we like it or not, the outcome must be fruitful. Those who are coming are decision makers. The ones that are not decision makers were sent by decision makers. The intention of those setting it up is noble.
“I do not think that there is any hidden intention. Jonathan is eligible for second term in office and there is no personal intention. This will make the conference free of interference from the leaders.
“Government is seen as an esoteric gathering of people who have too much power to dispense and very little favour to give to people.
But when you have this kind of conference, you end up demystifying government which is actually what the National Assembly is also doing. But we, people of Nigeria, when we have a National Conference, we are free to talk, question and even free to tell you that we do not want federalism and we want parliamentary system.
“The first thing that destroys a conference is when those working with you think you have something hidden.
“Whatever will come out is for the future of this country,” he said.
The legal practitioner further stressed that the implementation of the agreements reached at the conference was also important, as it may be sent to the National Assembly for ratification.
“No law is made in Nigeria that will not go through the National Assembly. But I can assure you that the National Assembly members will want to please the people because it is campaign year,” he said.
He pointed out that the inclusion of persons that attended the Constitutional Assembly held in 1977, as delegates to the National Conference, was in the right direction, as it would help ensure that the other delegates do not reinvent the wheel.
“You have only about 20 of them out of 492 delegates and that is no problem. You will have about 20 committees and if you have one of them in each committee and they share their experience, it will help ensure that we do not go down the same dark alley,” Mr Uwazurike said.
He stressed that the major reason for the conference was to ensure that peace would reign, emphasising that residential rights has become an issue in Nigeria, leading to crisis in different places.
“The symptom of, ‘you are a foreigner and I am a citizen’ is the problem. You are supposed to have all the rights of an area after staying there for some time. It is in the constitution but it is not being implemented.
“If you send your son to go and do youth service in Borno State, he should live in the place freely since he has the right to reside there,” he said.
He also said that they may be the good, the bad and the ugly but expressed optimism that the good would overcome the bad and the ugly.