What other outcomes from the Conference would you highlight?

First, we have put paid to the idea that that federated units in Nigeria should be nationalities. We concluded that federated units should be states. You could have as many as 300 or 400 ethnic nationalities, and that’s unwieldy. The Conference decided there should be an additional 18 states in Nigeria. I have serious reservations about that, although I support the idea of an additional state for the South-east for equity purposes. But that was an outcome of the Conference.

Secondly, the conference agreed that there should be state police. The federal police is a unifying force, but Nigeria is far too large and the challenges are so complex that we need to states to be more involved in security matters. For those states that are ready to do so, there is need to have state police. State budgets are already supporting the police, so those are the resources that can be used to create police forces in the states. The history of police in the states has not always been positive; so there have to be safeguards so that politicians, especially the governing parties, will not use state police against their political opponents.

Third – and this one is dear to my heart – involves the adoption of the report that I presented to the Conference as Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora. The Conference agreed on the need for a separate Commission responsible for the Foreign Service. Like many institutions in Nigeria, standards have fallen. The professionalism of the Foreign Service has declined. What is needed is a separate Commission that is responsible for recruitment, discipline and promotion for diplomats – rather than being subsumed in the larger Public Service Commission. There is also the matter of funding. If you look at countries in Africa of comparable size and influence – let’s say Egypt or South Africa – the proportion of the national budget allocated to foreign affairs is much higher than that of Nigeria. The Conference also agreed to increased funding.

Fourth, the Conference recommended the removal of the immunity clause from the Constitution so that elected public officers at all levels, especially the Presidency and Governors in the States, could be prosecuted for offences committed while in office. The Conference also agreed that Nigerians in the Diaspora ought to be able to vote. The World Bank estimates that $22 billion was remitted last year by the Nigerian Diaspora. And it is not just about their money. Nigeria needs these citizens to participate in the development of the country and hence the Conference agreed that a Diaspora Commission should be established without further delay to help facilitate the inputs of and to support Nigerians in the Diaspora.

You overall assessment of the National Conference is positive?

Yes – and this conclusion is not because I was a delegate. Despite the diversity, the way in which the Conference did its work really left me with a very good feeling. Any effort by any group to hijack the Conference was quickly put to rest. And there is the quality of the reports, which I would believe will prove very helpful for the government after the election in 2015. All the committees of the Conference managed to adopt their reports by consensus and the Conference at plenary managed to endorse them. The downside is that, unfortunately, the voice of the youth – the next generation – didn’t really come as strongly as it should have, especially on the issue of massive youth unemployment. The second downside is that the voice of ethnic champions – the people who have made their own careers by championing the interest of ethnic groups – that voice was too strong in the Conference.

I believe that more recognition should have been given to informal groups such as the one that I was privileged to steer – the Consensus Bridge Building Group, with Muslims, Christians, Northerners, Southerners, women and youth – to look at issues that are contentious and try to address them before they arise or once they arise. We met throughout the Conference to see how we could promote consensus by discussing issues beforehand and by making suggestions on how to go forward, and that was found to be quite helpful

What in your view is needed for Nigeria to move forward in a positive direction?

Ours is a country that has so much potential but that has been so poorly led. We must translate that potential into a good life for the majority of our people and the principal responsibility for delivering good governance lies with the leadership in Nigeria. Our major resource is not oil. There was Nigeria before we found oil. In fact, Nigeria was better managed before oil. The hope for Nigeria is our tremendous human resources. The challenge we face is how to restructure Nigeria and how to reeducate the political class in order to provide the kind of leadership that the country needs.

I believe we have people who are prepared, if given the opportunity, to put Nigeria on the path to the kind of greatness it deserves. The people must make the right choices in the coming elections and their votes must count.

Culled from All Africa.