Content
|
|
Government Reaction
|
|
Constitutional Issues |
Other Useful
Sites
Sites will open in a separate window |
|
Sovereign National Conference
|
|
Articles & Commentary
[Select a name to read articles or commentary by that individual]
Tunji Abayomi
- The Error of Amending the 1999 Constitution
PostExpress
May 28, 2000
[excerpt] WHEN we begin from the standpoint that a valid constitution must emerge from the people usually through a uniform voting process, unsubjected to the influence of any authority or body we must conclude that the 1999 is an original error. At any rate no government can give a nation a constitution, it is the constitution that gives governments to a nation. .........full story
back to name index
Idris Abubakar
- Thoughts on sovereign national conference
Abuja Mirror
May 31 - June 6, 2000
[excerpt] The issue I intend talking about is of course no other than that of calls for a "Sovereign National Conference" to "restructure the country", to return the country to "true federalism", to "confederate" the country, to "de-state" and "re-regionalise" the country, to "re-negotiate" the basis of our existence as a nation etc. In attempting to discuss this topic I am aware that the Government has already taken a position that it is opposed to the convocation of such a conference and has clearly indicated it has no intention of convening such a conference, "Sovereign" or otherwise.........full story
back to name index
Martin Adams
- LAND REFORM: NEW SEEDS ON OLD GROUND?
Overseas Development Institute
October 1995
[excerpt] Land reform is generally accepted to mean: the redistribution of property or rights in land for the benefit of the landless, tenants and farm labourers. This is a narrow definition, reducing land reform to its simplest element (Warriner, 1969)..........full story
back to name index
Cornelius Adebayo
- Governor C.O. Adebayo on Sovereign National Conference
Chief Cornelius O. Adebayo
(former Governor of Kwara State)
NigeriaExchange
[excerpt] "With the atomization of Nigeria by means of state creation almost to the point of rendering the constituent units prostrate, I find the concept of zones as the basis of our federation worth examining........full story
back to name index
Adebayo Adedeji
- Involving the people in preparing a revised constitution for Nigeria
Adebayo Adedeji
The Guardian
Thursday, November 30, 2000
[excerpt] ALTHOUGH I have had the privilege of making acquaintance with Chief Adekunle Ajasin, it was not until the evening of his life that I got to know him fairly well. This was particularly during the crisis years that inevitably followed when in an act that tantamounted to wooden-headedness the presidential elections held on June 12, 1993 were annulled by the National Defence and Security Council (NDSC)......full story
Enahoro, Adedeji advocate National Conference without the govt..
The Guardian
Wednesday, November 29, 2000
[excerpt] CAN democracy actually thrive in a multi-ethnic nationality like Nigeria?" This is one question that engaged the minds of prominent Nigerians and others who listened with rapt attention as elder statesman, Chief Anthony Enahoro, yesterday added an almost new dimension to the calls for a Sovereign National Conference (SNC)......full story
back to name index
Abraham Adesanya
- Sovereign National Conference, A Must
Chief Abraham Adesanya
Tempo (Lagos)
October 13, 1999
[excerpt] Nothing has happened between 29 May 1999 and now to invalidate the call for the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference (SNC), where all nationalities would sit down and determine the terms of their co-existence......full story
- Way forward for the Yoruba Nation
Chief Abraham Adesanya
Vanguard
September 29, 1999
[excerpt] At the last Congress, I warned that it is not yet Uhuru. The events of the last one year has again confirmed to many that we need to be as vigilant as ever. Forces of destabilisation are prowling all over the land, creating discord where none should have existed. In Yorubaland, we must avoid actions that can cause disunity and rancour in our midst: We must also resist the temptation to be agents of others who seek to destabilise Yorubaland. Let the quislings beware.
......full story
back to name index
Kanu Agabi
back to name index
I.O. Agbede
back to name index
MCK Ajuluchukwu
- I'm still militant at 80 - Ajuluchukwu
Guardian
February 16, 2001
[excerpt] If I was in a developed European country like Germany, for instance, at this age, I know I will get some old age allowances and probably allowances for lack of employment. There are children who depend on me for their sustenance. I will get allowance for that also. I say this because I am familiar with the German system having spent some years in exile there after the civil war.......full story
- Confederation: No Going Back
Chief MCK Ajuluchukwu
Tempo (Lagos)
April 6, 2000
[excerpt] We held a meeting at Emofa, a general assembly of Ohanaeze. As you know, the five Eastern governors have made a statement about confederation. And we took a kind of temporary decision to give them support......full story
back to name index
Richard Akinjide
- Separation of Powers Under the Constitution
PostExpress
August 29, 2000
[excerpt] The doctrine of "separation of powers" as it is understood today comes from the work of the French jurist, Montesquieu, based on a study of Locke?s writing and on an imperfect understanding of the eighteenth-century English Constitution. Montesquieu was concerned with the preservation of political liberty. Says he: "Political liberty is to be found only when there is no abuse of power."......full story
back to name index
Bolaji Akinyemi
- Akinyemi Tackles Obasanjo On Sovereign Confab
Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi
Vanguard
February 14, 2001
[excerpt] A former minister of external affairs, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi has joined issues with President Olusegun Obasanjo on the need for a sovereign national conference. Speaking yesterday at a book launch to mark the 70th birthday of Governor Adebayo Adefarati of Ondo state, Prof. Akinyemi described the president's position on the issue as unacceptable......full story
- President Obasanjo Is Mischievous
Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi
Tempo (Lagos)
April 12, 2000
[excerpt] Because it frightens a lot of people, especially the people who are in favour of the status quo. If you are getting a lot of benefits from a system there is no way you are going to be in favour of changes. And of course, those who are not benefiting would be in favour of changes......full story
- Let's Renegotiate Nigeria
Bolaji Akinyemi
PostExpress 12/03/99
[excerpt] In your lecture, you reinstated the National Democratic (NADECO)'s position on the Sovereign National Conference. Your proposal for each nationalities to nominate representatives to the conference appears to be undemocratic. We already have elected representatives of the people at the National Assembly, why do you think that they are not qualify to carry out the restructuring?......full story
back to name index
Tayo Akpata
- Nigerian nationality and the "indigene" question
Guardian
November 23, 2000
[excerpt] Conceptually, the idea of a nation is rational. People constitute nations from their own free will. When one does this, he is responding to his own categoric imperative. You cannot have a nation without a state. The Palestinians have a nation but they are now fighting for a state of their own as all free people do. The Yoruba man in Ibadan can leave to join the Cuban nation. Thus the idea of a nation state is rationale and people belong to them out of their own volition
......full story
back to name index
Mobolaji Aluko
- Choosing the SNC delegates and their voting methods
Sunday Musing
NigeriaExchange
Sunday April 16, 2000
[excerpt] That US sovereignty is GIVEN, is a SETTLED issue. When in Nigeria a CIVILIAN government and a MILITARY government sound alike about the NON-NEGOTIABILITY of the unity and sovereignty of Nigeria, then you KNOW that you have a problem.......full story
- Sharia - Catalyst for the Present SNC Disco
Sunday Musing
NigeriaExchange
Sunday March 12, 2000
[excerpt] "Man proposes, but God disposes," as the saying typically inscribed on an Ekene-Dili-Chukwu-like bus would say. If the present national discourse about the occurrence or otherwise of a Sovereign National Conference in our country was the intention of the Sharia proponents, then they have succeeded famously in re-igniting a national consciousness.......full story
- On the SNC - Again! Re-Venezuela and Zimbabwe
NigeriaExchange
December 18, 1999
[excerpt] Venezuela is in many ways like Nigeria: poor, but oil-rich. The new Venezuelan constitution approved BY REFERENDUM on December 15, 1999 was primarily INSTIGATED by the populist president - and Obasanjo military look-alike - Hugo Chavez. Read with me about Venezuela:......full story
- Organizing Our Sovereign National Conference
Sunday Musing
NigeriaExchange
Sunday December 12, 1999
[excerpt] If a section of the Nigerian population -university lecturers - can have a meeting with the Executive and the Legislature, why cannot the rest of Nigerians TOGETHER form a union to have a meeting with the Executive and the Legislature and call that a (Sovereign) National Conference?......full story
- Re-Structuring the Nigerian Polity and Army: A 21-Point Set of Suggestions
NigeriaExchange
August 29, 1998
[excerpt] Central to the proposals that are presented below is the Regionalization of the political administration of the country (to grant the regions or political zones greater autonomy in a manner faithful to true federalism), and the Regionalization of the command structure of a United army in a manner to be specified below.
......full story
back to name index
Kola Animashaun
- Wazobia
Vanguard
September 24, 2000
[excerpt] THOSE who coined the above to mean that the fortunes of this unfortunate country rests on the tripod had a point. Their presumption, rightly or wrongly (and I dare say rightly), might have been based on the facts that the three tribes represented by the language groups - (Yoruba), wa, zo (Hausa) and bia (Igbo), put together formed the majority of the population. They did not (I believe) deliberately play down the significance of the other ethnic groups but would have taken it for granted that they would naturally fall in line with majority decisions.......full story
back to name index
Emeka Anyaoku
- How to manage Nigeria's diversity
Guardian
December 22, 2000
[excerpt] BY all definitions, Nigeria is a pluralistic state. In addition to three main ethnic nationalities - Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo there are about 240 other ethnic groups and sub-groups. Nigeria is also a multi-religious state with a population that embraces Christianity, Islam and a host of indigenous religions. As is clear from some of the current political trends in the country, Nigeria like many other pluralistic states in the world faces the growing challenges of constructive management of its diversity......full story
- Anyaoku Advocates Zonal Police, Military
Vanguard Daily (Lagos)
November 3, 2000
[excerpt] "I believe that our experiences in the recent past call for a re- examination of the existing arrangements for the structure and command of the police and the army. We should consider using the six geo- political zones in the country as basis for the structural and devolved command of the security forces," he stated......full story
- Anyaoku Cautions On Adoption of State Religion
Post Express (Lagos)
July 28, 2000
[excerpt] While retired Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, condemned the adoption of one religion for any state in the country, the minister of Police Affairs, Major-General David Jemibewon (rtd) carpeted governors who have resorted to the use of militant groups to check crime in their states......full story
back to name index
Tony Anyanwu
- National Conference is Inevitable
Tony Anyanwu
The Guardian
March 22, 2000
[excerpt] Within a month of the election, the National Conference will be convened at Abuja where they will have six months to discuss all and every matter that relates to the Nigerian state. The conference will be empowered to conduct public hearings and enable all stakeholders and the general public to make inputs on every matter.......full story
back to name index
Fola Arthur-Worrey
- 'States lost their own autonomy with Decree 52 of 1993'
Fola Arthur-Worrey
Vanguard
November 21, 2000
[excerpt] I am not making a policy statement so let's not make the mistake that I am speaking in terms of government's intention. The court has just made the judgement, but I am saying that, there's a legal implication. They are deemed until the process is reversed.......full story
back to name index
J.O.S. Ayomike
- Nigeria: Yesterday, today and tomorrow
J.O.S. Ayomike
Vanguard
November 21, 2000
[excerpt] WHEN you talk of Nigeria yesterday, what do you mean? Where do you start? From the period of Lagos colony and the protectorates up to 1914, or from the amalgamation of disparate peoples with histories and homelands in 1914 to independence in 1960? Or from the military era in 1966 to the period of the on-going civilian rule in May, 1999? Or, still, from the three-region Nigeria era of 1939 to the multi-state Nigeria of today? ......full story
back to name index
Mohammed Bello
- Bello, ex-chief justice, faults Sharia's adoption
Mohammed Bello
Guardian
February 11, 2000
[excerpt] Justice Bello, who is a Moslem, added: "If any other law is inconsistent with the provisions of this constitution, the constitution shall prevail, and that other law shall to the extent of the inconsistency be void."......full story
back to name index
Tunji Braithwaite
- 'Confederacy Wind Will Blow Obasanjo Away'
Tunji Braithwaite
This Day (Lagos) April 15, 2000
[excerpt] Tunji Braithwaite is a peculiar man. A man ever so stubborn with his beliefs, idiosyncracies and crusade. He is one politician who has least benefitted from the venture......full story
back to name index
Hope Eghaha
- Nigeria Must be Renegotiated
Hope Eghaha
PostExpress
September 11, 2000
[excerpt] The Obasanjo administration is a child of circumstance, so to speak. It was produced because Nigerians were in a hurry to get rid of the military. And incidentally, Obasanjo was a ready candidate who seems to have support from the North, from the military, and I think the political party that produced him just lashed onto this and we have him.......full story
back to name index
Alex Ekwueme
- Constitutional issues and the structure of Nigerian Federation
Dr Alex Ekwueme, Shinkafi, Adesanya and President Obasanjo speak out
Vanguard
November 11, 1999
[excerpt] SECOND republic Vice-President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme has said that Nigerians needed a further opportunity to discuss the basic constitutional issues on the structure and framework of the federation. Dr. Ekwueme, guest speaker at the 25th anniversary of Punch Newspapers said, "it is obvious that Nigerians need a further opportunity to discuss the basic constitutional issues dispassionately and objectively.......full story
- Nigeria's Federal Constitutions and the Search for 'Unity in Diversity'
Dr Alex Ekwueme
PostExpress
October 25, 1999
[excerpt] From the onset, therefore, Nigeria was a country with marked diversity as between the predominantly Moslem far North with an established feudal system, the West with established traditional institutions overlaid on a fairly volatile subject population, and a republican and ultra-democratic East. This is obviously an over-simplification of a very complex and diverse country comprising about 400 different ethnic groups.......full story
back to name index
Anthony Enahoro
- Enahoro restates call for sovereign confab
Vanguard
THURSDAY, 30th NOVEMBER, 2000
[excerpt] Speaking yesterday at the first Annual Colloquium of the Ajasin Foundation, Chief Enahoro, leader of the National Democratic Coalition, NADECO, in the Abacha years said the principle of "one man, one vote" is unstable for a multi-ethnic country.......full story
- Enahoro, Adedeji advocate National Conference without the govt..
The Guardian
Wednesday, November 29, 2000
[excerpt] CAN democracy actually thrive in a multi-ethnic nationality like Nigeria?"
This is one question that engaged the minds of prominent Nigerians and others who listened with rapt attention as elder statesman, Chief Anthony Enahoro, yesterday added an almost new dimension to the calls for a Sovereign National Conference (SNC)......full story
- I Still Have Role To Play, Enahoro Replies Igbinedion
Vanguard Daily
October 2, 2000
[excerpt] Governor Igbinedion had at the conferment of the chieftaincy title of Okaokulo (Warrior) of Edoland on Enahoro by Northern and Central Edo traditional rulers at Auchi weekend advised the veteran politician to quit politics and allow the younger generation to run the affairs of the nation......full story
- Hope dims on democracy, says statesman Enahoro
Vanguard Daily (Lagos)
June 27, 2000
[excerpt] Elder statesman, Chief Anthony Enahoro yesterday reviewed the nation's new democratic experiment under President Olusegun Obasanjo and lamented that hope by millions of Nigerians especially youths and women in democracy was dimming......full story
- Enahoro Allays Fears On Threat To SNC To Political Office Holders
This Day (Lagos)
June 1, 2000
[excerpt] NADECO chairman, Chief Anthony Enahoro has allayed fears being entertained by some political office holders that the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference would terminate their term of office, affirming that any recommendation arising from such a conference is applicable only at the expiration of their terms of office......full story
- The Patriarch (Enahoro) And The Monarch (Oba of Benin)
The News (Lagos)
April 26, 2000
[excerpt] Fears by the Benin monarch, Omo N'Oba N'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo Erediauwa that the Edo nation will lose out in the scramble to restructure Nigeria are allayed by the return of Chief Anthony Enahoro......full story
- Enahoro insists on sovereign confab; meets Obasanjo
Vanguard
Transmitted WEDNESDAY, 19th April, 2000
[excerpt] VETERAN politician, Chief Anthony Enahoro who is still basking in the euphoria of his recent return from four years of exile, yesterday took his agitation for Sovereign National Conference (SNC) to the Presidential Villa, Abuja where he discussed national issues with President Olusegun Obasanjo......full story
- No Running From The SNC - Enahoro
The News (Lagos)
April 17, 2000
[excerpt] "I feel very honoured by this demonstration of affection from people of the area where I have spent so much of my political life. You are successors to the same tradition in public life as I myself had to be here......full story
- Enahoro Returns, Restates Call for Sovereign Confab
This Day (Lagos)
April 11, 2000
[excerpt] Leader of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), Chief Anthony Enahoro, arrived the country yesterday after four years' self- exile in the United States of America and declared that Nigeria is not yet a democratic country......full story
- Democracy and Equitocracy
Guardian
February 21, 2000
[excerpt] In the early 60s, when right-wing anti-democratic domestic forces began to flex their muscles, I found myself again in London appealing to the outside world and the conscience of British democrats to come to the aid of Nigerian democrats. But I found myself extradited as a "fugitive offender" to stand trial back home for treason. That episode caused a change in the law in Britain and resulted in the defeat of many members of Parliament who had favoured my deportation. And then I returned to London in the late 60s, during our civil war, interceding with Prime Ministers Harold Wilson and Lord Home, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons and others to assist in the preservation of Nigeria. In the 1990s, as our country groaned under the heel of military dictatorship, I was here again campaigning for Nigerian democracy.......full story
back to name index
Olu Falae
- Falae to Politicians: You have failed
Comet News
30th NOVEMBER, 2000
[excerpt] "With the way things are going, I’m ashamed of being called a politician. I’m in politics but not a politician in the Nigerian context. I think something needs to be done about this. People who are not ready to be good politicians should please get out of politics because they tarnish our image. I’m not saying I’m a saint, but I know I’m not a thief," he said......full story
- Falae Blames Military For Nigeria's Woes
P.M. News (Lagos)
March 10, 2000
[excerpt] According to him, the coup not only destroyed the country's first constitution which guaranteed true federalism, but also threw away the country's political charter as drafted in 1958 in London. He said since then no constitution has been able to survive in the country hence the nation's constitutional crisis......full story
back to name index
Frederick Fasehun
back to name index
Gani Fawehinmi
- Why We Need Sovereign National Conference Now - Gani Fawehinmi
The News (Lagos)
April 3, 2000
[excerpt] The root cause of our national tragedies is the fundamental defects that have always afflicted the process of determining every constitutional frame-work of the polity. Our constitutional arrangements since 1914 to date (2000) have never truly reflected the political, economic, social, cultural and religious realities of the country......full story
back to name index
Barnabas Gemade
- Agitation for confab outdated -Gemade
Vanguard
WEDNESDAY, 19th April, 2000
[excerpt] NATIONAL chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Barnabas Gemade says agitation for Sovereign National Conference is out of date and irrelevant to the present political dispensation in the country......full story
back to name index
Dwight Herperger
- Distribution of Powers and Functions in Federal Systems
Vanguard
WEDNESDAY, 19th April, 2000
[excerpt] Federalism has proven remarkably enduring as an organizing principle for governments in countries that seek to maintain elements of both unity and diversity in their populaces and political institutions. The federal principle, broadly defined, relates to the distribution of legislative powers between a general government and regional governments so that each order can act directly on its electorate within its own sphere of jurisdiction, thus providing for a system of shared sovereignty. This principles remains an essential feature of federalism today.......full story
back to name index
Joe Igbokwe
- Time to re-examine ourselves
The Comet
21, June 2000
[excerpt] Building a democratic nation in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural entity like Nigeria is the hardest task, demanding special qualities in both leaders and people. The great leaders and peoples of India, America, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland and Ethiopia have managed their diversities so well that their nations are today highly revered in the comity of nations. They were able to reach their present state because they planned, reasoned and then made concessions. The big tribes did not swallow the small ones. Views were respected. Rules were set and respected, and each of the negotiating units knew its boundaries........full story
back to name index
Julius Ihonvbere
- Wrong Steps to New Constitution
Julius Ihonvbere
Newswatch 2000 Volume 31, No. 03
Transmitted 1 February, 2000
[excerpt] It is sometimes difficult to understand why the Nigerian power elite is often so ignorant and incapable of learning from other countries. As an elite that has little to show for over three decades of dominating the country’s political economy, it should be more humble.......full story
back to name index
Ndubuisi Kanu
- Sovereign national conference
Ndubuisi Kanu
The Guardian
December 6, 1999
[excerpt] OUR problem is not the constitution. No matter how one views it, and no matter what side of any divide (social, political, status, ethnic, economic) that one is, that statement holds true. The problem is what had gone into the making and operating of written "constitution", and what had gone into operating one (anyone) since the advent of unitarianism (foisted by members of the military at the central echelon, and by conceptually-militarised members of the civil polity during the civilian interregnum and the last "diarchy")........full story
back to name index
Solomon Lar
- Regional Armies: A Recipe for Disintegration
Solomon Lar
PostExpress
August 17, 1998
[excerpt] It has been very well said that "All it takes for evil to succeed is for good men to remain silent." Never should we ever standby and remain silent in the face of tyranny. As a people, we are known for justice, fairness, and courageous resistance to tyranny and oppression. It is far too late to abandon these noble ideals.........full story
back to name index
Yohanna Madaki
- Middle Belt Not North - Col. Madaki
P.M. News (Lagos)
October 25, 2000
[excerpt] A chieftain of the Middle Belt Forum and former military governor of the defunct Gongola State, Col. Yohanna Madaki (retd) has blamed the military for forcing the union of the core North and Middle Belt states......full story
back to name index
Edwin Madunagu
- Notes on the evolution of states
The Guardian
February 24, 2000
[excerpt] I recall one of my late father's favourite proverbs rendered, of course, in the Igbo language. The closet translation, which I can give to the proverb is: "when an accident occurs, everyone reverts to his or her mother tongue". It is strange that as simple as it sounds, I have not heard this proverb from any other person. It meant nothing to me then, or thereafter, until very recently when I started reflecting on the current upsurge of ethnic nationalism in several parts of the world, including Nigeria.......full story
back to name index
Abubakar Siddique Mohammed
- Human Living Conditions and Reforms of Legal Systems:
The Talakawa and the Issue of the Shari'ah in Contemporary Nigeria
Presented at the Kongo Conference Hotel, Zaria, Nigeria,
November 17-18,1999.
[excerpt] The current attempt to reform the legal system in Zamfara State and the demands for its introduction in some other states in the Federation have, quite expectedly, generated a lot of controversy across the country. While some people argue that the Shari'ah is essentially a constitutional matter, to be settled by lawyers and judges in our various courts, others are of the opinion that the Shari'ah is more than a constitutional issue........full story
back to name index
Ghalli Umar Na'Abba
- A vision of hope: Contract with Nigeria
Vanguard
February 28, 2000
[excerpt] It is against this background, that you must view, the obvious high expectations of our people, for a dividend from their investment in democracy. As co-managers of this democratic enterprise, we must offer a clear strategy that is geared towards delivering this dividend to the Nigerian people. Articulating this clear strategy, will involve raising to the fore of national discourse, those issues which impact most directly on the ordinary Nigerian. ......full story
back to name index
Arthur Nwankwo
- Recent happenings call for sovereign confab-Nwankwo
Vanguard
WEDNESDAY, 25th OCTOBER, 2000
[excerpt] In a paper he presented at the launching of Demoguard Foundation, a human rights organisation in Umuahia, Nwankwo said that it is only such a conference that could address issues like gross and individual human rights violations, revenue allocation, marginalisation, derivation principles, power sharing and boundary demarcation......full story
- Islamization, Ndigbo and the Death Knell for Nigeria - Dr. Arthur Nwankwo
Post Express (Lagos)
July 21, 2000
[excerpt] The current process of Islamization in the core North, like other social currents in Nigeria, is not a pontaneous reaction of the North. Rather, it is as old as the country......full story
- Imperatives of Sovereign National Conference (2) - Dr. Arthur Nwankwo
PostExpress 07/20/2000
[excerpt] PROFESSOR K. C. Wheare correctly submitted that the fundamental and distinguishing attribute of any federal system is that neither the central or regional/state government is subordinate to the other. Rather, the various levels of government are co-ordinate and inter-dependent......full story
back to name index
Okenwa Nwosu
- A Pan-African perspective on the Nigerian crisis
March 30, 2000
[excerpt] It is estimated that one out of every 4 or five Black Africans is a Nigerian. It is thus easy to see why problems that are perceived as uniquely Nigerian can actually have far-reaching consequences on the continent's future.......full story
- Let's debate the Sovereign National Conference
March 12, 2000
[excerpt] In Nigeria, the transformation to democracy must be seen as a long and painful process because most of our expectations may be slow in coming and some may never be realized in our lifetime. But one thing that posterity will remember this era for is that we have collectively opted to utilize the democratic process in conduct of our national affairs........full story
back to name index
Sylvester Odion-Akhaine
- Activist (Sylvester Odion-Akhaine) Urges Oputa To Recommend SNC
P.M. News (Lagos)
December 7, 2000
[excerpt] A human rights activist and victim of human rights violation by the agents of General Abacha, Mr. Sylvester Odion-Akhaine on Tuesday appealed to Justice Oputa-led commission to recommend the immediate convocation of the much clamoured Sovereign National Conference (SNC)......full story
back to name index
Odumegwu Ojukwu
- Time to Negotiate Nigeria Is Now, Says Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu
Post Express (Lagos)
November 13, 2000
[excerpt] Former Biafran leader and Ikemba Nnewi, Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, at the weekend in Port - Harcourt, said the time has come to negotiate Nigeria, adding that there was no alternative to a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) in the country and that the time for it was now......full story
- Confederacy: Ojukwu Faults Obasanjo's Response
PostExpress
April 18, 2000
[excerpt] Ojukwu, an All People's Party (APP) chieftain who was in Ilorin for the APP leaders' meet at the instance of Second Republic Senate leader, Dr. Olusola Saraki in a parley with newsmen said that it was a "mistake" on the part of Obasanjo to have described the comments of the governors as treasonable......full story
back to name index
Chuba Okadigbo
back to name index
Omo Omoruyi
- President Obasanjo: Go back to your Sermon on Olumo rock of June 1998
March 1, 2001
[excerpt] For those who are wondering about Olumo Rock, Olumo Rock is located at Abeokuta, the home of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. It was at Abeokuta located on Olumo Rock that he, as a man of God made certain pronouncements about the June 12 in June 1998 on the first Sunday immediately he was released from Abacha’s Gulag.......full story
- Resolving the legitimacy crisis in Nigeria: From the 'Will of the North' to the 'Will of Nigerians'!
October 5, 2000
[excerpt] It would appear that the President Obasanjo is faced with how to cope with what appears to be three conflicting bases of legitimacy today. Should he rely on the northern political leaders built around the Caliphate as his basis of survival? Should he have his faith on the Nigerian people broadly defined as his basis of survival? Should he throw his hands up and put his faith on God as he did recently that he was divinely made the President? The President's survival depends on how he resolves this conflict........full story
- What president Obasanjo can and should do to survive
October 13, 2000
[excerpt] There is nothing wrong if he was made the lackey of the north at any stage; but what is important is what he does with the position of the President of Nigeria sworn to do justice for the whole country and not for the north alone. What is at issue is whether the President would be acting as the lackey of the North in office or whether he would act as the true representative of Nigeria committed to the resolution of the lingering political problems afflicting the country?........full story
- New agenda of Arewa: How to reverse the mistake of 1999
October 18, 2000
[excerpt] Mr. President, for goodness sake call off the bluff of the Arewa Consultative Forum and the Committee of the former Heads of State and nothing would happen if and only if you quickly move to do what Nigerians want........full story
- What did IBB know and when did he know it: A review of the transition program
October 31, 2000
[excerpt] My longest stay with IBB is a fact for which I shall forever remain grateful for the opportunity I had to be exposed to the reality of Nigerian politics beyond what I could ever have read in the textbooks or discovered through research. This is why I came to the conclusion after my experience with the famed Al Mustapha then a Captain in the service of General Abacha in December 1993 that Nigeria must be renegotiated. That still remains my position today. ........full story
- The politics of Oil: Who owns Oil, Nigeria, States or Communities?
January 31, 2001
[excerpt] The politics of oil or the question of who owns oil in Nigeria is not a constitutional issue but rather it is a political issue that has to do with two issues. One is power in the plural or polyglot society of Nigeria. Second is the way the succession from colonial to indigenous political class was resolved at the terminal stage of decolonization. ........full story
- A new vision for South-South in Nigeria: Power equivalence: 'Oil power', 'Military might' and 'Presidential power' - Advice to political leaders
February 12, 2001
[excerpt] The debate about Who Owns Oil is academic as the Constitution is very definite as to who owns oil. The Colonial laws and the successive indigenous government laws made the minerals the 'property' of the Federal Government of Nigeria.........full story
- South-South agenda of liberation in Nigeria: What is to be done?
February 17, 2001
[excerpt] Finally, in response to the demands of the oil producing states demanding from me, Professor, what is to be done in the face of the foregoing analysis? The answer by Lenin to the question, ‘what is to be done’ in the first decade of the 20th century is simple, Organization! This has not changed today. In furtherance of this end, the political leaders of the oil producing areas should do three things. .........full story
back to name index
Nze Kenneth Oparaocha
back to name index
Adams Oshiomole
- Oshiomhole Says No to Sovereign Confab
PostExpress 12/15/99
[excerpt] THE much-touted Sovereign National Conference (SNC) suffered another setback on Monday as the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr. Adams Oshiomole declared in Ibadan that workers would not support such a confab......full story
back to name index
Tunji Otegbeye
- Let Us Reposition Ourselves
PostExpress 08/08/98
[excerpt] Well, the question of sovereign national conference, to me is far more important than going for elections because the constitution of the country which has not reflected sufficiently, the national question ought to be amended to reflect the wishes of the people. I think with all the parameters available, the national question must be squarely addressed.......full story
back to name index
Beko Ransome-Kuti
- Understanding the Sovereign National Conference
Guardian
February 23, 2001
[excerpt] Surely the fact that President Olusegun Obasanjo had to make an official statement even though rejecting the call, shows that the agitation is an ever-present shadow. And for the Senate to issue an anti-SNC Communique shows clearly that the senators are confronted again with reality. Boldly, I say without equivocation, that without a Sovereign National Conference, the future of Nigeria remains threatened and monumental pitfalls await the country.
......full story
- Vision For New Nigeria - Beko Ransome-Kuti
The News (Lagos)
December 13, 1999
[excerpt] It is often said that for one to know where one is going one has to know where one is coming from. Although I am often wary of adages because although they appear neat and striking, they are not always applicable to all cases and for all time......full story
back to name index
Itse Sagay
- Nigeria: Ready to self-destruct
Vanguard
November 26, 2000
[excerpt] IT is not a sentimental cliche, to say that Nigeria belongs to all of its peoples and that we are equal stake - holders in its survival; and if at all possible, its future also. But what matters right now, is the very survival of the nation, and from the way most Nigerians are carrying on, it does not appear that there’ll be much of a future to talk or dream about, if we don’t put a stop to our collective death - wish......full story
- We need a conference to renegotiate the future of Nigeria,says Sagay
The Guardian
October 1, 1999
[excerpt] "IKNOW much has been said about this constitution, especially since
the coming into office of the current civilian regime. Starting from the fact that it tells a lie about itself when it says that Nigerians
actually made it and gave it to themselves, when it is clear that it was the military who made it and imposed it on us. There are equally serious aspects of it. For example, it is anti-federal.......full story
back to name index
Olusola Saraki
- States Should Have Own Constitution - Chief Olusola Saraki
Post Express (Lagos)
October 27, 2000
[excerpt] The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) is the coming together of all the leaders of the 19 Northern states. A few leaders, about six or seven coming together, saying, look the North is divided into three groups; there is the Turaki group led by Alhaji Shehu Shagari, there is Sule Katagum group and there is Alhaji Abdulrakeem Okene group......full story
back to name index
Dele Sobowale
- What is Sharia Law?
Vanguard
February 26, 2000
[excerpt] It was a well-known fact that Area or Sharia Courts in most Northern States were used by the police, the powerful and well connected to subvert justice. In 1988, a Christian friend of mine was arrested and taken to Area Court in Kano on a dispute about money involving him and an Alhaji Kano indigene......full story
back to name index
Wole Soyinka
- Ethnic Violence Makes Sovereign Confab Imperative -Soyinka
Vanguard Daily (Lagos)
July 21, 2000
[excerpt] Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka yesterday in Lagos said the ethnic violence and consciousness being witnessed across the country since the death of Ken Saro-Wiwa five years ago, had made the convocation of Sovereign National Conference (SNC) very imperative......full story
- Constitution and Continuity
Tempo
March 16, 2000
[excerpt] We, humanoids, however, persuade ourselves, with some justification, of having transcended the constitutional monologue of the leader of a pack of gorillas, which beats its chest to announce to interlopers the existence of its own territory, its own laws, its own foraging and existential strategies for the family or herd under its protection. We flatter ourselves that we have advanced beyond the organisation of the honey-bee, which is centered on the so-called drone, the hub of life in the complex network of responsibilities - provisioning, breeding, Soldiering. etc. - of the bee-hive.......full story
back to name index
Bola Tinubu
back to name index
Bashir Tofa
- Resolve Your Differences - Bashir Tofa
The News (Lagos) INTERVIEW
August (?) 30, 2000
[excerpt] Well, democracy is always worth it, whatever the difficulties. And I think despite the current problems, we couldn't have had anything better than democracy. So, as far as I'm concerned, the journey is worth it and I wish Nigeria many centuries of democracy......full story
back to name index
U.U. Uche
- Call for confederation is about equity and fairness - Prof U.U. Uche
Vanguard
Transmitted Wednesday, 29 March, 2000
[excerpt] WELL, let me say quickly that there has been a lot of disenchantment about how the federation is now. There has been a strong feeling and indeed a generalised urge to look again at the structure of Nigeria in terms of whether what we have is indeed a federation......full story
back to name index
Achike Udenwa
- On confederacy we stand
Vanguard
Transmitted 16 March, 2000
[excerpt] THE recent call by the South-Eastern governors for confederation in Nigeria represented the view of the generality of the Igbos, Gov. Achike Udenwa of Imo State declared yesterday. The Pan-Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohaneze Ndigbo, has already thrown its weight behind the governors’ call even after President Olusegun Obasanjo described the demand as mischievous and unpatriotic.......full story
back to name index
Bala Usman
- Military Rule Destroys Federalism
PostExpress
August 26, 1998
[excerpt] The current transition programme is a product of efforts made by Nigerians to ensure that the military does not remain in power under any disguise. The present government is made up of people with ability. They are planning, they are participating, and whether we see democracy or not will not depend on them, it depends on us, that is how serious and how determined we are......full story
back to name index
Ralph Uwazurike
- National conference or no conference... we are asking for Biafra
Vanguard
March 19, 2000
[excerpt] MASSOB is the movement for the actualisation for the sovereign state of Biafra. It was founded on September 13,1999, and it has come as an aftermath of the thirty years of marginalisation of the Igbos, who feel that after thirty years of marginalisation they are still excluded from the governance of Nigeria. So we decided to ask for the re-enactment of Biafra. That’s our stand point at the moment.......full story
back to name index
Rotimi Williams
- Constitutional limits of power sharing, by Williams
The Comet
May 20, 2000
[excerpt] "Speaking broadly, the job of the legislature is to make laws for the peace, order and good government of Nigeria; while the job of the Executive is to exercise the executive powers of the Federation, which includes the execution of anything to be done under any law. With regard to finance, the Constitution itself confers on the President, the power to prepare annual estimates of revenue and expenditure for the year, and to lay these estimates before the National Assembly — that is, the House of Representatives and House of Senate........full story
back to name index
Anwalu Yadudu
- The Shariah Debate in Nigeria: Time for Reflections
Gamji.com
[excerpt] From 1976, when the 1979 Constitution was in draft form and was being subjected to public debate, to late 1998, when the draft of the current constitution was being debated for adoption, the Sharia debate has, as far as one can make any sense out of it, been about the following cluster of issues:........full story
back to name index
| |
