×

Advisory Committee Needs A Year To Complete The Job – Bakare

A Public Affairs Analyst, Bola Bakare, on Wednesday said that the six weeks given the advisory committee to submit a report on the proposed National … Continue reading Advisory Committee Needs A Year To Complete The Job – Bakare


A Public Affairs Analyst, Bola Bakare, on Wednesday said that the six weeks given the advisory committee to submit a report on the proposed National Conference will not be enough as the job cannot be done in such a short span of time.

Mr Bakare’s argument while speaking on Sunrise Daily brought a fresh twist into the on-going discussion on whether the plan for a National Conference is the way to go.

Commenting on President Goodluck Jonathan’s call for a National Confab, Bakare stated that the initiative is good but there are several other things to consider, including the tendency of the average Nigerian to be dishonest.

He also said: “Let’s look at how we got here. Let’s look at timing. Let’s look at the National Assembly. Let’s look at the mode of operation. Let’s look at the aftermath of non-implementation.”

He added that the timing is wrong. This thing cannot happen in six weeks. The best bet is for the advisory committee to put it together and then it should be pursued after a year.

The advisory committee which is currently visiting different regions of the nation for consultations on how the people want the Conference to be conducted is expected to submit its report by the second week of November.

Mr Bakare doubts that the timing would enable the committee to achieve much as the magnitude of the assignment needs a whole year to finish up.

The process of consulting with the people, putting together a report and thereafter submit it to the President cannot be completed in 6 weeks as stipulated by President Goodluck Jonathan. “It won’t get done in nothing less than 12 months,” Bakare said.

He also raised concerns that as 2015 draws near, election campaigns would also overshadow the plans for a National Dialogue.

Although many have argued that good governance and not a Conference is what the country needs, Mr Bakara opined that the problem with the nation lies with the individuals that make it up.

Calling for an inward reflection on the people’s part, Mr Bakare said “we need to look at ourselves. What is wrong with Nigerians is the person (you as a person, me as a person, we as Nigerians). We are highly dishonest people”.

He added that, the orientation which accommodates embezzlement of public funds by public and political officers as long as they leave office so that others can do the same is wrong.