The spokesman of the Middle Belt Youth Forum, Elder Sunday Oibe in an interview responds to issues arising from diverse reactions to the recent proposal for a national conference by President Goodluck Jonathan. Excerpts:

Do you think the proposed national conference could address the problems of the nation?

I will say, first and foremost, the president’s proposal is the best thing that has happened to this country since 53 years of its independence. No doubt, there had been several attempts in the past to get the people to talk, some of them, during military regimes, but this appears to the most appealing. Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo initiated a Constitutional Conference which was ignominiously rested by informed persons who saw the exercise as an agenda for a third term agenda of the then president.

*Bola Tinubu

Since the June 12, 1993 annulled elections, Nigerians, especially the South West have been campaigning for a sovereign national conference as a result of perceived imbalances and inequalities in every aspect of the nation. It is therefore very expedient that the national conference is supported by every Nigerian so that we as a nation can give effect to the Constitution of the country.

It is important for every segment of the country to sit at a round table to find reason to begin a journey toward recreation of a complex nation and negotiate our way out of the wedge of differences and suppressed frustrations and build a nation where everyone can feel equal. The Constitution of the country must be respected by all and we all must uphold its spirit. So, the dialogue is timely, expedient and very welcome.

Are you reflecting the mood of the Middle Belt Youth Forum or this your personal opinion?

This is the general position of the Middle Belt as a whole because if you recal, the region had always been the bridging force that had ensured the unity of the country thus far. The youth wing of the Middle Belt Forum had openly commended President Jonathan for his courage to yield to the yearnings of the Nigerian people for a national dialogue by constituting an advisory committee to fashion a framework that will guide the proceedings of the discussions.

The convener of the Save Nigeria Group (SNG), Pastor Tunde Bakare, has welcomed the proposed national conference, but the national leader of All Progressives Congress, APC Senator Bola Tinubu has criticized it as deceptive and diversionary….

(Cuts in) When I first read the newspaper reports, my initial reaction was to laugh. I laughed because I want to believe that Tinubu was misquoted by the media.

The Yoruba nation has been at the forefront of agitation for a sovereign national conference but here is Asiwaju Tinubu criticizing a proposal that the whole world has praised President Jonathan for. Tinubu owes this nation an explanation as to why he is opposed to national dialogue. Because, Nigeria is faced with several challenges and Nigerians feel this is the best thing that has happened to the nation. Tinubu, at one point, recommended amnesty for Boko Haram, so why is he opposed to national dialogue now?

Even Pastor Bakare, an avid critic of President Jonathan, has endorsed the planned conference, stating that we must all reason together when we have the chance to talk; noting that we must walk the talk.

There are countless Nigerians in different parts of the country who are agitated about one thing or the other. I ran into a crowd of Yoruba Muslims in a shopping mall in Kaduna where they described the proposed conference as an opportunity to ask certain salient questions about their own faith.

They were discussing among themselves why the presidency of the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, should permanently be stationed in the Caliphate; why is it that a Yoruba Muslim cannot become the chief imam of the National Mosque in Abuja. They agreed that these are certain areas that the national conference must address.