PRESS RELEASE
The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) has flayed the Catholic Archbishop of Jos, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama over his comment on the proposed national dialogue.
Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, has advised Nigerians, especially delegates to the proposed national dialogue, that the conference should not be an avenue to agitate for resource allocation or negotiate for rotation of power.
The cleric, who spoke to journalists in Jos after an interactive session with religious leaders on the peace process on the Plateau, said that it would be wrong for any group or individual to think that the aim of the dialogue is to serve as a forum to negotiate someone’s right or debate on whether Nigeria can continue to exist as a country or not.
Reacting to the cleric’s comment, the Executive Chairman of CACOL, Comrade Debo Adeniran averred that it is Nigerians that will determine what they really want to discuss at the conference, not a section of people or individuals with parochial interests.
He said,”It is not for anybody to determine what should be discussed at the conference. It would be selfish of anyone to say that the conference should not be an avenue to agitate for resource allocation. We have said it and repeating it for the umpteenth time, nobody should gag anybody and no issue should be made a no-go area. All issues under the heaven must be discussed. We should negotiate our association at different level.
There is need for us to start discussing ourselves as those that belong to the geographical expression called Nigeria. Because Nigeria is not yet what you can call even a country because the people that found themselves in that geographical expression have not agreed that they want to bear that name Nigeria until everybody shows adequate confidence in that name, then it is not yet an acceptable name for everybody, especially when it was done under suspicious circumstances by Lord Lugard and his girlfriend. So that window of opportunity should be harnessed by Nigerians to discuss anything under the heaven.
The Conference Committee has not told us that certain opinion would not count; it has not told us that an issue is sacrosanct or untouchable. The outcome of the conference should fashion out for Nigeria a new legitimate and acceptable constitution that would make every Nigerian live full, adequate and comfortable life ever after.”
Abimbola Adegoke
Media Officer, CACOL
28 Oct., 2013