Mbeke-Ekanem
From: Diana Okon-Effiong, Calabar
A group of Ibibio people in Diaspora has called on the Federal Government to make appointments to any office in Nigeria to reflect its ethnic diversity.
The group under the umbrella of Ibibio Nation stated its position in a statement which summarised what it called “Ibibio common and consensus demands and inputs for the upcoming National Conference’’.
The statement, made available to our Regional Correspondent in Calabar, explained that ethnic diversity in Nigeria should be regarded as strength instead of a source of dissention.
It also stated that the representation of Ibibio at the conference should reflect its population and contribution to the Nigerian nation state,
It read: “Ibibio Nation is the fourth largest ethnic group in the country. We demand commensurate recognition in all at-large events in the country in a manner reflective of this population and contribution to the nation state.
“ At-large appointments to any office in the country must reflect the ethnic diversity of the country, which is strength instead of a source of dissention.
“ As an example, if there are 6 at-large nominations in Nigeria, an Ibibio person must be one of them.
It also called on Nigerians to recognise that the stability, progress and prospects of democracy in Nigeria and her survival is angled on how we choose to live with each other, and how we treat and relate to one another.
It stated that the National Conference should afford Nigerians the opportunity to discuss the conditions binding them together, which must be clearly established in the Constitution.
The group also advocated for a parliamentary system of government in Nigeria as oppsed to the current Presidential system for a number of reasons.
It stated: “We are aware that all the regions in Nigeria today have opted for a Parliamentary system as opposed to the current Presidential system of government.
“ We support this call with understanding that, at least, 75 per cent of the power shall reside with the regional and local governments with the federal government controlling the military and external affairs.
“Failing a move to a parliamentary system, a true federalism which devolves powers to the federating units and recognizes the centre and the Regions/States as being equal in their respective sphere of authority, shall be an acceptable alternative.
The group also called for a process that would ensure that lands and waters extending to international waters belong to the regional/state government and the abrogation of the Land Use Act.
“The lands and waters extending to international waters shall belong to the regional/state government. The Land Use Act does not serve the needs of the citizens and should be abrogated.
“The onshore-offshore dichotomy must be abrogated in totality. The Continental Shelf boundary established in Article 76, paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 of the 1982 Convention of the Law of the Sea must replace the 200 meter isobaths.
“Land ownership shall revert to citizen and any mineral resources found thereby in the land shall be proprietary to the land owner.
“Appropriate taxation to the government shall be levied on mineral derived from such properties. Mineral exploitation shall be controlled by the Regional government.
“Environmental protection shall be a priority in order to protect the environments and minimize ecological degradation brought about by decades of oil exploitation,’’ it sated.
On revenue sharing formula the group stated: “We take the position that we exploit our resources and pay adequate taxes to the central government.
“On the alternative, the central government shall be paid 25%, while the Regional/State and local governments where oil or other mineral deposits are produced share 50% and 25%, respectively.
“Indigenisation is discouraged in the immediate future until the vestiges of tribalism are removed from our dispensation.
“ Our society is presently mired by religious and tribal issues that must be addressed before efforts to ascribe citizenship to place of domicile become the norm.
“We demand that there must not be any immunity from prosecution for anyone who controls the public purse, be it local, state or federal government.
“ Consequences for activities by everyone (including ALL elected or appointed officers) have to be the order of the day.
“ The removal of immunity from the controllers of public resource is the only means to check the excesses attributable to our governance. The level of transparency in our polity should leave nothing to be desired.
“Community policing should be established in every constituency. Law enforcement officers must live with the people they are meant to protect. Police and military barracks except for the recruits and training exercises should be abolished.
“That every available resource be employed towards the effective implementation of free and fair election, even if the military have to be used to effect such implementation.
“A country that is not ruled by the elected is doomed to be raped and plundered by the selected. This scourge of selection in the name of election must stop.
“ Every aspirant to a political office must be elected by the people, NOT by an imposition. We demand free and fair elections and fraudsters should be exemplarily punished to the fullest extent of the applicable law.
“The Ibibio demand is that any non-enumerated powers not cited in the federal Constitution must remain in the Regions/States and not the Federal Government.
“The democratic process should make accommodations for independent candidatures, for those who are not affiliated or seek not to be affiliated with any party.
The group also stated that since steady and reliable power supply is the bedrock for economic growth and development, regions and states should be allowed to independently generate power for use in their areas.
It also stated that any clamour for state creation must be with the total consent of the indigenes that would be affected.
“Such consent shall be obtained through a referendum of the host communities from whence a state may be created and separate from.
The group also called for a revisit of the ceding of the Bakassi Peninsula to the republic of Cameroon.
According to the statement: “The signing of treaty that gave up Bakassi whose residents were mostly Ibibios was not perceived as carried out in good faith.
“We therefore call for a revisit of this issue at the Conference and relevant authority established to facilitate a plebiscite in which the residents decide their fate.
It stated that the result of the National Conference must not be subjected to ratification by the National Assembly.
“It must be presented as a referendum to the people and the actual voice of the people must be heard.
The document was endorsed by Dr Tom Mbeke-Ekanem, Moderator Ibom Forum and Author, Beyond the Execution – Understanding the Ethnic and Military Politics in Nigeria, Los Angeles, California and 23 others.
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