In spite of the extensive scope of President
Jonathan’s October 1 speech, some people still
had cause to criticize it, and for good reason. As
the argument goes, the President made no
mention of the Chibok school girls who have
been languishing in terrorists’ captivity for
about four months running. Apparently, those
Nigerians and others who have taken that step
may have a point; but they seem not to have
taken time to study the entire speech, closely.
One is not holding brief for the President but, to
be fair, it should be pointed out that he did say
something about the terrorists, which Daily Sun
succinctly captured on its front page
(2/10/2014) in four words: “YOUR DAYS ARE
NUMBERED”, with a rider: “Jonathan tells Boko
Haram, urging it to surrender.” In my view,
therefore, because it spoke volumes, this said it
all.
Certainly, if
the safe
liberation
of the girls
depends on
the
ultimate
fate of the
terrorists
who up to
now have
refused to
see reason
but who
are now systematically being dislodged, then,
logically, it stands to reason that Jonathan, by
extension was also saying in the same
statement that the captivity days are no less
numbered. Being a careful person, and knowing
the depth of public feeling on the matter which
has been unnecessarily politicized, it is possible
that by avoiding any direct or categorical
mention of it, he was deliberately trying to
steer off monotony or a situation where people
would accuse him of “raising another false
hopes” on it.
Be that as it may, our main concern here is the
fact that the President struck a beautiful chord
in our national life when he made reference to
the fact that not only that Justice Idris Kutigi
and co. had submitted the National Confab
Report to him but he also promised to
implement it. In this regard, Jonathan, true to
his characteristic consistency, did not
disappoint because none of the several similar
reports of past conferences still gathering dust
in official drawers and on shelves today had the
chance to reach the level of consideration by
any executive implementation committee.
For the same reason, if as they say, a journey of
a thousand miles begins with one step, the
President’s courage is laudable. Considering the
crucial gap the conference’s resolutions will fill
in Nigeria’s constitutional evolution, the Report
deserves every attention this administration
can pay to it.
That was why every well-meaning Nigerian was
held in suspense as the delegates moved out of
one controversy into another, quarreling over
every conceivable important issue, but in the
end arrived at what many, including the
greatest antagonists and cynics alike have
described as “wonderful.” All eyes will now be
on the Implementation Committee, which
should follow the footsteps of the Okurounmu
and Kutigi committees and mortify every
parochial interests in order to take the Report
to the ultimate level, so that Nigeria can move
forward in unity and peace with all sections
feeling a real sense of belonging.
I am no Jonathan’s fan, I must confess, but had
started taking gradual interest in his
administration from the moment it became
clear that the opposition platform has dropped
their sing-song charge of “non-performance”
against him. I felt that the new turn of events
couldn’t have been for nothing; something
interesting and positively worthy of note must
have happened in the realm of federal
governance. Anyway, the important changes or
accomplishments I have noticed so far, besides
the historic conference, which posterity may
well see as the magnum opus of this
administration, are outside the purview of this
short piece.
Given his ample knowledge of the sordid
political history of Nigeria, the President has no
choice but to ensure that the Report will be
implemented, giving Nigeria a brand new
constitution because the future of the country,
to a great extent, now depends on it. Every
Nigerian student of history, who has sufficient
bias for International Relations and Politics,
knows why ancient democracies in Greece and
Achaea woefully perished, with the result that
great political thinkers of that period got fed up
with the whole idea—great minds like Aristotle,
Plato, Xenophon and Thucydides.
Conscious of the incurable foibles of men in
politics, namely greed, corruption, nepotism
etc., 18th century political thinkers like Jean
Rousseau, Edmund Burke and others, whose
views influenced the writing of the American
constitution did not hesitate to make
recommendations charting a fresh democratic
course, believing strongly as Rousseau did, that
“pure democracy is not good for men as they
are.”
It is on record that in spite of the efforts of
earliest reformers and “lawgivers” like Solon
and his contemporaries who did everything in
an attempt to save the Amphyctionic Council
and the Achaean League, attempts in antiquity
at democratic federalism still ended in tragic
failure, just the same way modern democracies
quite frequently come to ruin due mainly to the
inadequacies of politicians. Therefore, copying
either the British democratic model as Nigeria
first did in 1960 to 1966 or the American model
which has been here since the end of the Civil
War is one thing and getting it right in practice
is another. The fault as Shakespeare wrote is
not in our stars but in us.
Not minding the far-reaching resolutions in the
Report which Justice Kutigi submitted to the
President, our politicians and indeed Nigerians
generally still need a change of attitude tinged
with a certain spirit of give and take in order for
viable democratic federalism to be entrenched
here. In addition, there is a crying need for a
culture of not only mutual respect and respect
for the rule of law, but also respect for
democratic values and institutions. Take for
example the institution of the Presidency and
Military. In civilized climes it is not done that
anybody could have the effrontery to abuse or
insult them, calling a sitting prime minister or
president unprintable names like
“nincompoop”, “idiot” “a fool” etc.
But, it is
happening
here in the
life of this
administration. We should thank God we have
in the leadership saddle today a man whose
cool-headedness is legendary; whose patience
and capacity for tolerance can hardly be
overstretched. Obviously, as many people have
observed, Jonathan may not be an angel but he
is perhaps the best thing that has happened on
the Nigerian scene today.
Incidentally, like Gen, Yakubu Gowon, another
gentleman had happened on the scene at
another moment of national trial in 1966/70,
Jonathan is also coming from the so-called
minority background.
Gowon inherited the crises that led to the war
he prosecuted. Jonathan also inherited the
crises that led to the anti-terrorism war which
he is prosecuting. There must be a divine
dimension to the situation, which is perhaps
why we should cooperate with this government
and build our country.
by ROTMANLUV 2023-07-08, 17:34
