The
trending topics today are ‘secession’, ‘restructuring’, ‘devolution’, etc. Each
region is taking a stand and, as we all know (and as discussed here a couple of
weeks ago) Arewa always lags behind in these political elite-created problems.
The political elite, be they in the Villa, under the Dome or in Government
Houses, continue to connive and consolidate their hold on our polity, and our
lives.
The
‘silver lining’ is a group trending as ‘Arewa Initiative for Good Governance’
(AI2G). It is a conglomeration of about fifty intellectuals (a majority of whom
I know personally and many of whom I trust unconditionally) who recently came
together to discuss our national morass and quagmire. These distinguished
ladies and gentlemen have met about seven times so far at Arewa House, Kaduna
(apt for an Arewa Initiative) to brainstorm on ways out not only for Arewa, but
for all the nation.
Part
of the AI2G remit is that it aims to be a liberating platform to make the
interest of the old Arewa the priority of a new Arewa. The Initiative avers
that some of the current Northern leaders appear pro-Arewa outwardly, but are
actually anti-Arewa deep down. So AI2G aims to bring all people of Arewa
together on a platform of justice, by prioritizing actions that will make the
Region move fast, and by avoiding those that may slow it down.
It
was observed that any discerning mind could see the destruction of the nation
has its root in the rot in our politics which has only been breeding rogue
leadership at all levels of government. There is need, therefore, for
likeminded individuals to come together and address the recruitment processes
within the parties since they ultimately produce the leadership of governments.
This could be done by creating a platform that will bring together all
concerned irrespective of background.
When
they rose from their last meeting, members agreed that a Draft Charter be
prepared for adoption in order to have a document which shall form the basis of
the Initiative. This document has been prepared and is being circulated to
members as “Draft Charter for the Political Salvage of Nigeria”. The next meeting
of the Initiative will consider the Draft and consider suggestions and
amendments related thereto. Also, the leadership structure of the Initiative
will be unveiled.
As
a member of the Initiative, I hereby ‘coopt’ my readers in helping AI2G firm up
this Draft Charter by making suggestions and comments directly to
ai2gsecretariat@gmail.com which may be incorporated into a Final Charter.
Following
is the Draft Charter:
“According
to Edmund Burke, ‘The only thing necessary for the success of evil is for good
men (and women) to do nothing.’
“WE,
THE CONCERNED CITIZENS OF NIGERIA, having watched how in the last two decades
or so, our country has consistently failed to develop; indeed how every circle
of election leaves us worse than the previous one; specifically how poverty has
deepened and become entrenched in the face of enormous oil revenues; how
corruption has become endemic and systemic, defying even regimes that rode to
victory on the crest of fighting corruption; how our pristine societal values
are eroding and our society is gradually decomposing; how the economy has been
collapsing, impoverishing the poor, fueling crimes and insurgencies; how the
teeming jobless youths have been abandoned to their wits with no hope on the
horizon; how the millions of out-of-school-children have been ignored as their
numbers keep swelling; how governance
has been reduced to vengeance and personal aggrandizement; and how our
political parties, especially their leadership recruitment mechanism, keep
churning out incompetent, irresponsible and corrupt leadership;
“WE
ARE THEREFORE DETERMINED to come together to put an end to these tragic, nay
catastrophic, self-afflictions and salvage our country from the brinks of
collapse and disaster by carrying out a thorough diagnosis of the problem and
charting a way out; precisely to create a formidable platform to bring on board
and mobilize all those worried about the future of our country and ready to
stand up for it; and to participate in this rescue mission and to do all it takes
to deliver it on the path of safety, growth and development.
“RECOGNIZING
THAT our democracy is clearly not giving us the leaders that can take us out of
the woods; rather we are finding ourselves further into the woods; indeed at
the rate we are going it is obvious that our society is being consumed by a
quick sand of a dangerous political culture; a political culture that is
recklessly, unashamedly and seemingly endlessly predicated purely on pecuniary
considerations, violence and all manners of crimes; a political culture that
has subverted our value system, decimated our social order and is blunting,
nay, obliterating our senses of shame
and outrage. Incontrovertibly this rogue political culture has calibrated our
leadership recruitment mechanism in our political parties to produce inept,
clueless and precipitous leaders who only know how to swindle the electorate
and loot our treasuries dry. All projections on this trajectory are indicating
that we are heading towards a failed state and a failed society as evidenced by
the vertical and horizontal rise of horrifying violence. Some studies done by
international watchers have been setting dates for our collapse as a nation.
Now that our hope for rebirth after the heavily fought 2015 elections has come to
naught, we must wake up from our slumber and complacency and salvage our
society before it becomes too late. We further recognize that ‘rather than
continue to curse the darkness, it is better that we light a candle’. In other
words, ‘we must stop agonizing and start organizing’.
“WE
HAVE THEREFORE AGREED to bring all the good men and women, in and out of
politics, in public and private sectors, young and old, from every tribe and
religion, from every walk of life together onto one platform and create a critical
mass so as to move together in one direction and ensure that the flawed
leadership recruitment mechanism in our parties is fixed. This we also agreed
can work best when we are able to create a movement down to the grassroots that
can mobilize the whole society for this reform, very much like the
Anti-Third-Term movement. Thus this movement must resonate with the concerns
and worries of the wider society and articulate the solutions in clean and
clear terms defining the roles of every stratum of society. We further agreed
that the media and strategic communication are key to this project. We
therefore ask men and women of conscience in the media to join this struggle as
part of their corporate social responsibility.
“WE
THEREFORE COMMIT OURSELVES to participate in this process of a political
re-birth with all our strength and wits, to move together into a carefully
considered political platform to ensure that the party is re-calibrated to
produce conscientious, competent and courageous leadership that will endeavor
to be guided by the best practices of democracy, accountability and responsible
leadership for the moral, social, political and economic development of our
country. We pledge our honor, dignity and integrity that we shall give this
mission the uttermost priority and will not allow partisan political
considerations or any personal interest to stand in our way.
So
help us God!”
Source: www.dailytrust.com.ng
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