DECISION 2003

have been drafted by my party, the Alliance for Democracy (AD), to contest for a seat in the Federal House of Representatives during the upcoming (year 2003) elections. I am humbled by the earnestness of those who sought to persuade me to represent the Boluwaduro/Ifedayo/Ila Federal Constituency in the Federal House of Representatives. Quite frankly, there have been times in the last three and half years when the Nigerian National Assembly seemed to me like a cesspool of corruption, an oasis of immorality and an open sewage of political prostitution and bastardry. Rather than be a fool who rushes where angels fear to tread, one should think twice (or more!) before venturing into a place that has sometimes resembled the facsimile of a political Gomorrah. But then, our National Assembly is only a microcosm of the larger society from where our parliamentarians were drawn. In any case, it is in response to the faith and persistence of my people that I eventually accepted to seek candidacy for election into the Federal House of Representatives. Even so, I entertain no illusion about the ponderousness of the challenges I am about to undertake.

I am eager to hit the campaign trails and discuss with my people the serious issues confronting the Nigerian multi-national enterprise. I am confident that by God's grace, we can terminate the metastasis of parliamentary indecorum, Executive vacillation and the concomitant national malaise that have plagued us for more than three years now. My confidence is rooted in the belief that most man-made problems can be solved and are eventually solved by man under the inspiration of God. Albeit, inspiration alone does not suffice; it must be combined with the perspiration that exudes from hard work and courageous deeds. I have long rejected the fallacy that God will heal Nigeria via endless night vigils and religious jamborees. We, Nigerians, must wake up to the truth that faith without works is metaphysical hogwash and silly abracadabra. One saddening example will suffice to illustrate this point.

The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is the jugular vein of Nigerian commerce; it was constructed to serve as a rapid inland gateway to Nigeria's economic capital - the Lagos metropolis. Today, it is perennially clogged by a miscellany of ever-sprouting religious sects, implacable hawkers, erratic drivers, lawless police and dare- devil robbers. Within three decades, the pride Nigerians once had (even if only briefly) in our network of roads has been replaced by an endless trauma of choking traffic congestions within and between our major cities. During the same period, Singapore has made the transition from the misery and underdevelopment of a third-world country to the comfort and modernity of a first-world economy. Incidentally, Singapore does not rival Nigeria in religious zealotry. Certainly, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is adjoined by the highest concentration of sectarian zealots on earth. Yet, what we get is so much religion but so little spirituality! Alas, the more Nigerians pray at our endless camps, the more rotten Nigeria seems to become! Nigerians must summon the courage to change from the ritualism of pigeonholed religion to the rectitude of genuine spirituality.

The notion of sowing and reaping is more than a casual metaphor. It is a universal law that is as efficacious as the laws of gravity, relativity or thermodynamics. As is the case with an individual or family, a nation sleeps on whatever bed it has laid. For far too long, Nigerians have slept on the bed of conflict and chaos. It is time for us to lay a new bed; it is time for us to change. We parade the sanctimoniousness of orchestrated religion as the sanctification of souls; it is time for us to change. We have traded the dream of a great nation for the nightmare of stagnation and paralysis; it is time for us to change. We shortchange the sovereignty of the Nigerian people for Executive haughtiness, parliamentary dominion and brazen disempowerment of the citizenry; it is time for us to change.

I am embarking on an adventure of faith- the changing of Nigeria into a land where truth, justice and liberty reign. The seeds of truth, justice and liberty shall yield the harvests of the unity and progress that for too long have eluded Nigeria. My goal is to be part of a vanguard that will use the chambers of the Nigerian National Assembly to prepare a new bed for our country. As a Federal legislator, my energy will be focused on enshrining certain bedrock principles that are indispensable to peace and progress in a pluralistic society like ours.

1. The Principle of Secularity: Theology is the mother of all philosophy; people ultimately become whatever they theologize. A heterogeneous country like ours must not risk the centrifugal divisions of rabid proselytizing. Nigerians must be free to believe or not believe in God. Likewise, those who choose to believe in God must be free to worship Him or Her in whatever way they choose so long as their own freedom does not impinge on the freedom of others. Religion should not become a contrivance for heating the polity and sowing strife. Hence, I will work tirelessly to enforce the secularity of Nigeria.

2. The Principle of Constitutionalism: Our present constitution is a piece of forgery foisted on Nigeria by a cabal of military adventurers; we must replace it with a testament that emanates from the sovereign wishes of our people. Parliamentary sovereignty is a borrowed commodity; it should only be derived from the supreme wishes of the people as expressed in a freely derived constitution. As it were, the carts of parliamentary or presidential sovereignty have been placed ahead of the horse of a freely derived Nigerian constitution. The present arrangement, having been flown on the wind of certified fraud, has yielded the whirlwind of internecine conflicts. We must summon the courage and ingenuity to provide for ourselves a constitution that will reflect our hopes, assuage our fears, and minimize our conflicts. Such a constitution must be freely negotiated. In particular, we must not use secession or disintegration as a bogey to scare ourselves from contemplating a national dialogue on the conditionality of Nigeria as a multinational edifice. Hence, I will work hard for a freely negotiated constitution emerging via a Sovereign Conference of Nigeria's federating nationalities.

3. The Principle of True Federalism: As bestowed by our constitution, the Federal Government is a monstrous octopus; its tentacles will continue to asphyxiate the progress and unity of our people. Our constitution must devolve far greater power from the central government to the federating units of Nigeria. We must summon the courage and creativity to err on the side of human rights and self-determination than on the compulsion to rule a multiethnic country in a militarist unitary fashion. Within the chambers of the National Assembly, I will work hard to terminate the virtual omnipotence and omnipresence of the Federal Government which cause the epilepsy of our power supply, paralysis of our railway system, incapacitation of our police, ruination of our educational system, pollution of our environment, corruption of our polity and strangulation of our economy.

4. The Principles of Justice, the Rule of Law and Accountability: For too long, successive regimes have attempted to unite Nigerians via overbearing centralism and coercion. Their dismal failure is a conclusive demonstration that we must utilize a different strategy to unite our peoples. Justice is the only glue that keeps a country in harmony. Unfortunately, ours is a country where justice is often denied, continually perverted and habitually mocked. In Nigeria, because of the lack of accountability, giant camels, even if they are carrying hippopotamuses on their backs, easily pass through the eye of a needle. We must summon the courage to terminate on-going impudent criminality from sacred cows within and near the corridors of power. No nation can know lasting peace or progress until its pubic officials are fully accountable to the people and to law. Hence, we must wage a peaceful revolution for the supremacy of law in all aspects of Nigerian polity. I intend to be one of the arrowheads of this peaceful revolution.

5. The Principle of Building Bridges: For far too long, we, Nigerians, have trapped ourselves in the myth of the greener grass. A 'them-versus-us' dichotomy is a nagging thorn in the Nigerian flesh. Often, we perceive other parts of our country as oases of comfort, parcels of Dante's Paradiso! Meanwhile our respective corner of Nigeria is viewed as a fragment of hell, a piece of Dante's Inferno. The fairy tale is further perpetrated by our seeming incapability to listen to and empathize with the anguish of one another. Why is it so difficult for all of us to see the flagrant injustice inflicted on our oil-producing areas? Must all of us be Ogoni or Ijaw before we can be appalled by the environmental degradation and pollution of the Niger Delta estuaries? Rather than perish or stagnate together in the floods of needless conflicts, why can we not build bridges of understanding? Why can't we collaborate to hasten the infrastructural development of our northeast, terminate the injustices meted to our south-south, and accelerate the educational development of our northwest? Why must the southwest and the southeast be structurally hampered from developing at whatever pace suits them? The cacophony of the last three and half years must be replaced by a symphony of tolerance and the humility to listen to one another. I will work hard to elevate our National Assembly to a chamber of sober reflection, gentle persuasion, robust analysis and essential compromise.

I am convinced that a glorious future is beckoning Nigeria. Such a future requires sacrifice of self, malice to none, fairness to all, respect for law and the courage to change. Mine is an abiding commitment to the progressive cardinal programs of the Alliance of Democracy - the provision of education, health, rural development and gainful employment. I will consistently seek to reduce the burdensome cost of government so that funds will be available for capital projects and the rapid modernization of infrastructure that will enhance Nigeria's competitiveness with other nations.

Either within or outside of the Federal House of Representatives, I shall not mortgage my conscience for filthy lucre and earthly possession. Girding my loins with truth, I will strive for that which is noble and of good report before God and in the court of history. I am trusting that God will enable me to bring to the Federal House of Representatives the nationalism of Mbonu Ojike, the seriousness of Obafemi Awolowo, the erudition of Bola Ige, the humility of Aminu Kano, the courage of Joseph Tarka and the crusading spirit of Kenule Saro-Wiwa. My watchword shall be the motto of my alma mater, Ilesa Grammar School - E huwa omoluwabi (i.e., Be noble in character). I am counting on my leaders and friends for prayers, intellectual inputs and immediate financial support to wage a successful campaign. May God crown our efforts with resounding success.

Prof. Sola Adeyeye, currently Interim Chairman of a care-taker local government in Osun State, formerly of the Department of Biology, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, is running for the Federal House of Rep. under the AD banner