Eminent Nigerians, including former Heads of State and Presidents Yakubu Gowon, Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan, Abdulsalami Abubakar, will storm Lagos on Monday, March 18 for dialogue on the future of Nigeria, TheNATION reports.
Other dignitaries expected to grace the event include former Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations, Emeka Anyaoku, Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, former Chief of Army Staff, TY Danjuma, Chairman of the Northern Elders’ Forum, Ango Abdullahi, leader of the Niger Delta, Edwin Clark, former Chief of Defence Staff, Alani Akinrinade, Northern elderstatesman Tanko Yakassai, leader of Afenifere Ayo Adebanjo, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, Speaker of House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, serving and former governors and legislators, eminent Northern and Southern leaders among other leaders of thought in the country.
They are expected to address the constitutional dialogue on the future of Nigeria at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs NIIA, Lagos.
Announcing the agenda of the constitutional dialogue, on behalf of the organisers at the weekend, the Chairman of the Patriots, a group of eminent leaders of thought in Nigeria, and former Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations, Chief Emeka Anyaoku said the dialogue was designed to help build national consensus, especially among the Nigerian elite on the constitutional future of Nigeria, particularly on how to make Nigeria work for all its diverse peoples and citizens.
In a major national broadcast, the foremost international diplomat and Chair of the Eminent Leaders of Thought Group known as the Patriots announced that the National Dialogue, which is aimed at mobilising Nigerians towards breaking the barriers against the cohesion and good governance of the country, will hold in Honour of the late Prof Ben Nwabueze SAN, a foremost champion and protagonist for the convocation of the 2014 National Confab inaugurated 10 years ago on 17th March, 2014 by President Goodluck Jonathan and whose body was laid to rest last month in his home town in Atani, Anambra State. This is contained in a statement yesterday by Prof. Anthony Kila on behalf of the Patriots Organising Committee.
According to the statement, the historic national meeting is also expected to set a formidable citizens’ agenda for the ongoing constitution review process of the Federal Government initiated by the National Assembly towards the popular reconfiguration, cohesion, stability and prosperity of Nigeria through a constructive advocacy for new democratic people’s constitution to replace the subsisting military decree No 24 of 1999 in force in Nigeria as1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended).
