THE PROPOSED SOVEREIGN NATIONAL CONFERENCE (SNC): AN ANTIDOTE FOR SOLVING NIGERIAN TRIBAL CRISIS. Written by Saint-Olawale Jimoh

“The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him.”
-Leo Tolstoy




The subject of Sovereign National Crisis (SNC) introduced by President Goodluck Jonathan's government has been controversial since the matter was raised few weeks ago. This action was first opposed by the national leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and supported by Dokubo-led MEND. The argument has been that we don’t need to have another conference since we have representatives at the National Assembly.

   To me, it's simply an ignorant and selfish assumption. It's disheartening to see how the likes of Asiwaju Tinubu and others play politics with national issues. They should know when to play politics and when not to. The horrific killings going on in some parts of the country almost on daily basis, should stop being a political plaything.

 I had written earlier that Nigeria is an association of many 'nations' with different interpretations of what Nigeria is to them. Lord Luggard put dogs and cats in same cage and expected nothing but peace! Cat wants rats; dog wants bones. North wants power; South wants resources control yet West hates violence but loves to rule..

    With all the political scientists we have in our midst, people forget that what we are practising is what can be called indirect democracy. Indirect democracy in the sense that proprietary right over people’s sovereignty is delegated to people we elect to make laws for us. When it comes to making constitutional reforms or constitution making, you go to what is called direct democracy. Direct democracy means direct voting by the people in the form of a referendum and that is why the universal practice is that a constitution making process that does not go through a constituent assembly, whose decisions are approved by a referendum, is null and void. A practical example can be seen in South Sudan whose creation resulted from a referendum.
    How is it that Nigerians do not understand that for a constitution to be legitimate, it has to be driven by the people, and the people are usually represented by a constituent assembly? This constituent assembly is usually made up of non-partisan politicians, because partisan politicians are only concerned with the next election. Posterity or long-term issues relating to the country are never priority of partisan politicians. In essence, constitution which outlives people and a generation should be driven by civil society, collection of every nationality in the country and clerics.
    It is only in our land we oppose right actions because they are from opposition party. For constitution to be workable, it must depicts the yearning of the people in every class of the society.

I think, if the young met no history, he would have known folktales and snippets yet folktale is the father of history!
An African proverb says we cannot shave a man's head in his absence.