How best can one describe the despicable value in our country today! Life is no longer precious. Death is as cheap as peanuts in the local markets, either in the North or South. How we got to this point is not unimaginable.

Just on Tuesday, some notable personalities converged on Lagos to appraise the state of the nation. Their damning verdict was that Nigeria, the most populous black nation and richly-endowed was already gaspimg for breathe. Their mission, according to most of the personalities, was to save the country from an impending catastrophy. Ironically, a handful number of the discussants had played one active role or the other in official capacities during Nigeria’s gradual march to infamy.

Indeed, all of us are in trouble. The reason is that all those virtues that had made us stand out as highly progressive and humane are on the verge of extinction. We have lost our sense of neighbourliness. A lot of people in our midst are no longer their brothers’ keepers.

Instead, they are incredible killers. The Boko Haram  vividly captures the ugly phenomenon. It is the greatest height of the degeneration in our values as a people.

We are faced with a spectre of battles across the land. Banditry, militancy, ethnic cleansing and all manner, of bloodbaths underscore the dilemma of country, which at independence, in 1960, held a lot of promises for mankind. Thanks to a capricious section of the economic and political elite, whose actions and inactions have created the current frightening climate in the country.

We do not kill the body alone. The Nigerian system has equally been killing the soul. The kind of serious thing that formed the trademark of the nation’s first generation of political leaders are now in short supply. It has been overshadowed by ego, personal aggrandisement and survival instinct by a few members of the political class left with conscience. Corruption manifests in different shades.  

For too long, we have harped on the need to convene a national conference to address the those knotty issues threatening the foundation of the country. The debate has even culminated in producing drafts of the kind of constitution suitable for the close to 500 ethnic groups that make up the federation. 

Some made attempts to lobby members of the National Assembly to consider those documents during efforts to rewrite the Nigerian Constitution. Apart from a body of senior citizens called The Patriots, a number of activists also take other steps, such as initiating steps to secure the cooperation of the legislature to pave the way for a national conference.  

All these were carried out at the time Nigeria was not faced with the menace of terrorism as we have now.    We are back to that period. And how far can we go this time round?

We need a conference. But those forces opposed to it have left the shores of the country.  In fact, their ranks may have swelled over time, after building intimidating business empires. Their cronies are many in the political circle, and who believe that current arrangement is the best for the country, because of their narrow interest. I believe that those who constitute a majority in benefiting from the present political arrangement might not give in easily.

The stiffest opposition could come from a section of the country, where those behind the Lagos meeting could ill afford to ignore.

Therefore, the Lagos summit should be seen as the first step in the overall plan to convene a national conference capable of taking Nigeria out of the jaw of the lion. The most crucial step still has to be taken, which is building a national consensus on the subject matter.  Except for a few, most of the summiteers had been regular faces at similar gatherings designed to tackle national issues dispassionately in the past. In fact, the Lagos lawyer, Mr Femi Falana apparently inferred this observation during his submission at the meeting.   

Again, the political class needs to reassure the people that they would not be let in the renewed quest to reinvent the country. The people laboured hard to enthrone democracy on May 29, 1999, by making sure that the military retired to the barracks.

The general expectation was that the era of “business as usual” was over. It is sad that today, those vestiges that made military rule unpopular and tragic are being replicated by political leaders, a few of who had professed to be democrats. They have not only abandoned the people, but also impoverished them through unpopular economic policies and programmes. A lot of them are dropping the names of nationalists of blessed memories, who did all they could to wrest Nigeria from colonialism.
Besides, the initiators of the Lagos talk must guide against the possibility of their actions of being misconstrued. There is the need to achieve spread in representation. It is by so doing that they can allay the fears of those that might think that the initiators harbour a hidden agenda. In other words, all efforts must be made not to make the current exercise a sort of gang-up against any section of the country, which may cause more harm than the good the leaders have set out to achieve.
• Oderemi, 08023501874 (sms only)

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