Just as the number of ayes and nays on the proposed national dialogue keep rising, the United States chapter of the Christian Association of Nigerian (CANAN) has taken a position by calling on all Christians to support the proposed national dialogue .At the Ekiti Day 2013 celebration, which held at the weekend, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar joined the likes of Senator Bola Tinubu, and Major General Muhammed Buhari (rtd), both chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to ask Nigerians to reject the proposed conference because apart from the fact that it would clash with 2015 elections, the Jonathan administration does not have the will to execute such a very important assignment. But the Nigerian Christians in America disagree.
In a statement issued by its Bayshore, New York-based secretariat, the association said: "As the federal government progresses on its decision to convoke a national conference to review pertinent political questions, CANAN would like to call on all Nigerian Christians everywhere to take a keen interest in this matter."
According to the association, Christians should consider their involvement in national issues such as the proposed national conference as critical to the emergence of a true and democratic nation where sustainable development and the socio-economic well being of the people would become the true focus of those in government. "As Christians," the statement noted, "we should no longer merely be spectators; we should advocate for and insist on ethical standards and equity in the polity, and for this reasons, CANAN wishes to make the following statements regarding the proposed conference: - That the said national conference can only derive legitimacy if it is allowed to express the democratic will of the Nigerian people.
It noted that while the federal government should be commended for the idea of calling this conference, political manipulations which have made similar gestures in the past a waste of national time and resources should be carefully avoided this time.
- In order to derive legitimacy, the outcome document of the conference should be presented to the Nigerian people directly through a referendum to allow them express their sovereign will and rights freely for the first time on the subject of Nigeria's nationhood, for which the conference is being called.
- The federal government is also advised to ensure a fair selection procedure of delegates to the conference, preferably drawn from the current six geo-political zoning in the country. - Finally, CANAN, joins its voice with others who have called for the active involvement of Nigerians in the Diaspora in this conference.
The association said it would be reasonable and right for the federal government to adopt a similar strategy that the African Union adopted when the AU named Africans in Diaspora its sixth sub-regional grouping in an effort to integrate that critical group of Africans into its plans. "CANAN believes that the federal government of Nigeria should adopt Nigerians in Diaspora as the country's seventh " zone," for this conference and for subsequent national development planning.
" We shall be praying for a truly successful conference, free of any divisive undertones and fears."
According to Atiku, "These are two sensitive issues. We all know how controversial electioneering campaign can be in Nigeria and we also know how controversial national conference can be in Nigeria. These are very sensitive issues that cannot be organised the same time."
While saying he was not opposed to the national dialogue added: "I don't believe this government has the capacity to handle it and, honestly, this is not the best time to conduct the national conference.
"I think that Nigerians talking among themselves can sort out their problems but we also need to get our priorities right. We are approaching electioneering and I think our concern now should be how to make sure we have a transparent and credible electoral process in 2015 and after that we could fix national conference.
However, Senior Special Adviser to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe in an earlier interview with THISDAY disagreed with critics of the proposed dialogue noting that elections in 2015 and the national confab were two poles away in terms of what each intends to achieve and that there was no better moment for the confab than now.
Okupe asked: "How can people perform when the elites have not united or agreed to be a nation? This is just the desperate ploy of politicians who think that all that is important is do an election to win an office, whether I am able to perform or not, if I am able to get some money, good luck to me. Nigeria is much more than that."
BY NDUKA NWOSU
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