By Bartholomew Madukwe

FORMER president of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, Dr.Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) has said that the National Conference failed because it was hijacked by people with ethnic political philosophy that upholds liberty as its principal objective.

Speaking with journalists in Lagos, Agbakoba explained that the National Conference failed to inspire an intellectual arm that ought to have driven the process of creating a workable framework for a national order.

He said: “The National Conference which was delivered under the watch of President Goodluck Jonathan, though commendable as perhaps the first major opportunity for creating a workable framework for a national order, failed because the conference was hijacked by ethnic libertarians.

“The conference was too unwidely; many participants came to the roundtable, inflamed with preconceived ideas. Also, the conference failed to galvanize an intellectual arm that ought to have driven the process.”

Agbakoba, who was a delegate to the conference, further said it was lamentable that with 492 participants, the core issue of the country’s national existence was not resolved.