The inauguration of the 2014 National Conference by President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday March 17, 2014 marked yet another milestone in the annals of the history of this country. Though not a few people doubted government’s sincerity in organising the talk-shop, the various stakeholders who were asked to nominate delegates to represent the different strata of the Nigerian society at the conference complied nonetheless, save for the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
The proceedings of the confab, which will wind up in less than a week from now, have been in the news for both good and bad reasons in the last four months while it sat. This was made possible by the calibre of delegates to the conference. They are from different backgrounds, they have different pedigrees and came with different interests, intentions and missions.
It is therefore for the records that we are presenting to you in this edition a list of some of the unforgettable delegates, whose actions and contributions at the 2014 confab stood them out among the rest.
Justice Idris Kutigi: The No-nonsense Chair
He is a retired chief justice of Nigeria (CJN) and is the chairman of the 2014 National Conference. He was living a relatively private life after his retirement as the CJN, before President Goodluck Jonathan, on March 3, 2014 beckoned on him to chair the august gathering. As a forthright judge, he apparently was not prepared for the intrigues and politicking that were to later take over as the conference proceedings progressed. Not given to frivolity, he at some points ordered delegates to behave themselves with rather harsh words. The climax was when he ordered journalists covering the confab to “disappear and vamoose” from the gallery when the house was to discuss a report of its National Security Committee. No doubt, Kutigi’s name will linger in the memories of both the delegates and journalists for his firmness.
Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi: The Patient Deputy
A professor of political science and former minister of external affairs during the military era, Akinyemi is the deputy chairman of the conference and there is no doubt that the president made a right choice when he picked him to assist Kutigi.
It is on record that the chairman democratised the leadership of the conference by allowing his deputy to also preside, even at crucial moments. It was his style of leadership, particularly his patience and expertise that caught the attention of one of the delegates to the conference, the Lamido of Adamawa HRH Muhammadu Barkindo Mustapha. He honoured Akinyemi with the traditional title of Hasken Adamawa, meaning the ‘Light of Adamawa’.
HRH Lamido of Adamawa: The Punctual Royal
The paramount ruler of the Adamawa Emirate, HRH Muhammadu Barkindo Aliyu Mustapha is a delegate representing traditional rulers in the country. He caught the attention of the nation when he warned ethnic chauvinists to be wary of actions that could disintegrate the country. Whichever way you view the foremost traditional ruler, he is consistent, firm and pragmatic. He was the first northerner at the conference to advocate for 100 per cent resource control for all the states of the federation. It is also on record that he has been the most punctual delegate among the other traditional rulers at the confab.
Pastor Tunde Bakare: Sacrificial Service
A delegate of the South-West zone and the presiding pastor at the Latter Rain Assembly in Lagos, Bakare caused a stir on the first day of sittings of the conference on Tuesday March 18, 2014, when he accused the chairman, Kutigi, of saying things he doesn’t understand in the Arabic language.
When the recent bomb blast in Nyanya Abuja and the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls occurred on Monday April 14, 2014, Bakare called for the stoppage of the conference thereafter as a protest, until when the federal government found a solution to the killing spree in the country.
It is also on record that Bakare refused to collect the bi-weekly allowance of N1.4m for delegates, saying his service to the nation was free.
Malam Kabiru Yusuf: Also Serving Sacrificially
He is one of the two representatives of the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) at the confab. Yusuf, like Bakare, has earned a distinction for himself by offering his services at the confab for free, sacrificing his bi-weekly allowance in the spirit of service to fatherland.
The Odumakins: The Outspoken Couple
Comrade Yinka and Dr (Mrs) Joe Okei-Odumakin are husband and wife and delegates to the ongoing National Conference. While the husband is representing the South-West geopolitical zone, his wife represents the civil society organisations.
When we cornered the couple at their Abuja abode, they said they were at the confab as individuals with different missions. The couple has however been the cynosure of all eyes and among the outspoken delegates at the confab.
Justice Mamman Nasir and Yadoma Mandara: The Oldest and Youngest Delegates
HRH Justice Mamman Nasir is the district head of Malumfashi town in Katsina State and delegate of the state government to the confab. He is no doubt a northern star and a nationalist who attained the peak of the legal profession before he retired voluntarily to take a traditional title.
Nasir at 92 is unarguably the oldest delegate to the 2014 National Conference and has not disappointed the gathering as he has always provided wise counsel for the other delegates whenever needed. At a point, he extended his voice beyond the conference, to call on President Jonathan and the governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, to sheathe their swords when their altercations were becoming embarrassing.
The least in age is the 24-year-old Yadoma Bukar Mandara, who is representing youth organisations at the confab. Her presentations at plenary sessions of the conference have since endeared her to those of the older generation present.
Rt. Hon. Orok Otu Duke: The Poet
A former speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly and delegate of the South-South zone, he is one of the outspoken delegates at the confab. He is however unique, as he often contributes poems and by so doing douses the tension that may have built up during proceedings. Duke would read a soothing poem laced with the words needed for the moment, to the admiration of the other delegates.
Amb Yusuf Mamman: The Bridge Builder
He is a former ambassador to Spain, ex-national chairman of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and currently one of the delegates of the North-West zone. The atmosphere at the confab in the last three days had been tense and rowdy, but Mamman did not join the bandwagon. He is one of the delegates who have been preaching peace, unity and brotherhood over the contentious issues that have had delegates at daggers drawn with one another.
He spearheaded a group of delegates that organised the All Time Democrat Awards event last Thursday, where some delegates and other living nationalists were honoured, in an attempt to promote the unity of the country.
Olushola Ebiseni: Confab Historian and Statistician
He is one of the Ondo State delegates and is the current commissioner for environment in the state. On Monday May 26, 2014 when the report of the Committee on Environment was under discussion, Ebiseni made a new disclosure in order to ‘correct’ an age-old historical fact when he said oil was first discovered in his state and not in Oloibiri in Bayelsa State, contrary to widely held belief.
On another occasion, his contribution was greeted with a round of applause from other delegates, as he gave an analysis of local governments’ creation in Nigeria vis-à-vis the glaring injustice done to some pioneer states in the country with large populations. Ebiseni wondered why Lagos State with about 15 million people would have 20 local governments, while Osun State with about four million people has 30 local governments. He also told the plenary that Bauchi State with about five million people has 20 local governments, while Borno State with roughly the same population has 27 local governments.
Chief Asara Asara: Inventor of the ‘Only in Nigeria’ Slang
He is from Bayelsa State but a delegate of the federal government.
Asara had, in the early stages of the confab inadvertently introduced what soon become a catchphrase for other delegates whenever the ills bedevilling the country were being discussed.
It was as he was commenting on the inaugural speech of the president that he attributed the occurrence of all manner of irregularities, malfunctions and other ills in the country to be happening “only in Nigeria”. He repeated it over and over until other delegates started mimicking Asara and thereafter began to use the phrase to tease one another.
Adamu Maina Waziri: The Patriot
The ‘Only in Nigeria’ slang had been in use for weeks before a delegate from the North-East, Adamu Maina Waziri, raised a point of order from the National Conference Procedures 2014 against the users of the phrase. Waziri described it as derogatory against one’s fatherland and invoked a relevant section of the rulebook that forbids delegates from portraying their country in bad light. Waziri deserves to be recognised as a patriot because since then, the use of the phrase stopped.
Others
There are many other unforgettable delegates who by their actions – either good or bad – will be remembered for quite a while to come. Take, for example, statesmen, the peace builders, the truants, the seat warmers and the ones who said the conference is a waste of time and they simply came to join in and waste time, while they pocket millions of naira as allowances.
The list is inexhaustible; one could go on and on but whatever it is, everything will become history in a matter of one week from today.
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