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| One of the delegates taking a nap during session as reported at http://news.naij.com/62875.html. You should remember that the delegates Of National Conference get paid N1.45 million after sitting for one week. READ MORE:http://news.naij.com/62875.html |
It is expected that the ongoing
National Conference will provide answers and solutions to the many problems
that have kept Nigeria struggling with the rudiments of national development. Though
different from the popularly advocated Sovereign National Conference, Nigerians
welcome any conference that can proffer solutions to their problems.
As Nigerians wait for the outcome
of the ongoing National Conference, questions arise on the capability of the
conference and its delegates to meet the desires of Nigerians. What will be the
outcome of a conference that is made up of the same people that have been
ruling us or have been at the corridor of power in last five decades? Can they
objectively decide the future of Nigerians when they are part of her problems?
How can a conference that is made up of majority of old people and politicians
effectively decide the future of young Nigerians? The issues are endless and
include the financial packages for the delegates and their level of patriotism
to Nigeria.
It is expected that a conference
of such magnitude should have delegates with some level of patriotism to
Nigeria and or the group they belong. People should be selected by their groups
on the basis of what they can contribute and not of what they can get out of
the conference. The monetization of the services of the delegates added flaw to
the composition of the conference. Due to the money involved, ranging from
9million to 12million, many people lobbied their way to the conference based on
what they can get out of it. This is why the monetary package should be de-emphasised
in to ensure that it is only people that have something to contribute that are
sent as delegates. This may explain why some delegates sleep while the future
of Nigerians is being debated at the conference; and others (delegates) spend
time explaining and debating the justification of the money government is
paying them. This leaves many Nigerians to wonder if most of the delegates are
not part of Nigerians that are crying over National Assembly jumbo pay.
However, without spending much
time crying over a spilt milk because it is late and counter-productive
engaging on debates over the composition and money budgeted for the conference,
we want to stress and encourage the delegates to jettison any selfish interest
and work to put their names on the good page of Nigerian history by
prioritizing to objectively proffer solutions to the many problems of Nigeria.
Finally, we advocate that the outcome of the conference should be subjected to
referendum.
