Confab: Let Referendum Decide

Fresh concerns are being raised over the many controversies, misrepresentations and unfinished businesses of governance and lawmaking that the just concluded National Conference threw up. From indications, the report of the confab, in three volumes, will be presented to President Goodluck Jonathan at a ceremony tomorrow even with perceived flawed insertions, deductions and agenda for further actions.

Whether or not what is being submitted reflects the conclusions at the confab, we feel the delegates have done what three National Assembly sessions had failed to do. The confab reflected on the realities of the nation, using past and ensuing prognoses. We believe, however, that the people of Nigeria have not surrendered their sovereignty to either the National Conference or the National Assembly. Indeed, in most cases, the National Assembly that is being bandied as the people’s representatives has, by its conduct, alienated its members from the same people. So, asking them to pass the recommendations, even if not doctored, into law will amount to committing class suicide. They have, since the last election, jettisoned their sacred responsibility to the people for the lucre of self-preservation and perpetuation.

We are not unmindful of reported cases of “smuggled” items with serious consequences to our quest for a people’s constitution that may be inherent in the final report being sent to the president. Worried as we are about items wrongly added, deleted or omitted in the proposed constitution amendments, we feel that the secretariat, which has been asked to rectify the problems identified by some individuals and regional groups, will respect their place in history. The people of Nigeria never at any time surrendered their sovereignty; they know what they want in their statute book. If all corrections and observations made do not represent the hopes and aspiration of the people, no matter what is submitted to the President Jonathan, they are bound to fail.

After several attempts and numerous hiccups at changing the military-imposed constitution, all stakeholders must give and take by allowing the people to decide. This is made more important as the conference itself side-stepped its Order 12(d-e) to reach consensual decisions by 70 per cent in its clause-by-clause treatment of every issue and substituted them for voice vote. Our constitution-making process has to be methodical. While we welcome this child of necessity, we hold that it should not be thrown away with the bath water. A National Assembly that could not midwife a “people’s constitution” should at least be willing to allow the outcome of the National Conference to be subjected to a referendum.

Other countries had gone through constitution drafting and amendment with the use of a referendum; therefore, we should not wrest the sovereignty from the people to ratify what they like and dislike about all the recommendations without exception, through a credible, fair and transparent referendum.